Henry Ossian Flipper graduates from West Point

Background. The United States Military Academy, founded in 1802, is a service academy in West Point, New York, educating cadets for commissioned officer service. Post-Civil War, the academy struggled to reintegrate Southern cadets. In 1870, James Webster Smith became the first black cadet admitted. Flipper, from Georgia, followed as the first black graduate in 1877.

Graduation. Flipper persevered through his time at the academy and became the first of his group to graduate in 1877. He graduated 50th in a class of 76, earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. His experiences were later described in his 1878 book, The Colored Cadet at West Point.

Significance. Flipper's graduation marked a historic achievement for the academy, as he was the first African American to complete the program. This event occurred during a period when the academy was modernizing and expanding its educational system, following the admission of the first black cadet in 1870.