Henry Ossian Flipper: West Point's First Black Graduate

"In 1878 Henry Ossian Flipper seemed destined for a long military career. Four years later, he was on trial at Fort Davis, Texas, for embezzlement of government funds and conduct unbecoming a gentleman. Found "not guilty" of the more serious charges of embezzlement, the nation's first black officer was court-martialed on the specious conduct charges. Thoroughly "humiliated, discouraged, and heartbroken," Flipper would soon embark on a career which in time would bring him more honor and fame than if he had remained in the military. One hundred years later, his name was cleared and the 1882 records of the black soldier were changed to reflect an honorable discharge" . . .This book "captures the sum and substance of a nation torn apart by political ambitions and extreme prejudices and reveals the uncertainty of acceptance and intolerance of blacks in America following Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation."