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Henry
O. Flipper Collection
1913-1978
0.5 linear feet
NOTE: A paper copy
of the finding aid,
with container list,
is available at the
Atlanta University
Center Archives for
in-house consultation
and may be obtained
for a fee.
Henry Ossian Flipper (b. 1856 d. 1940) was a solider, engineer, and author. Born
a slave in Thomasville, Georgia, Henry and his family received their freedom
as a result of the Civil War. Subsequently, the family settled in Atlanta where
they prospered. Henry Flipper attended Atlanta University 1872 -1873. In 1873
he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy. Although not the first
Negro to attend West Point, in 1877 he became the first graduate. Upon graduation,
Flipper was assigned to the all-Negro 10th Cavalry Regiment and served at several
forts in Oklahoma and Texas. While at Fort Davis, Texas in a general court-martial
on November 4, 1881, Flipper was accused of embezzling funds. He was cleared
of this charge, but found guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen,
and dismissed from the Army June 30, 1882. Flipper went on to become a successful
engineer working in the Western U.S., Mexico, and Venezuela. He subsequently
served in several government positions as a special agent, translator, and interpreter.
In 1919 Flipper served as an assistant to the Secretary of the Interior. Flipper
was also a writer, publishing three books and a few articles in journals and
newspapers. His autobiography, The Colored Cadet at West Point, was published
in 1878. His memoirs were posthumously published in 1963, Negro Frontiersman:
The Western Memoirs of Henry O. Flipper (edited by Theodore D. Harris.) Flipper
also authored two books of law, Mexico Laws, Statutes (1892) and Venezuela Laws,
Statutes (1925.) Throughout his adult life, Flipper tried to clear his name from
the court-martial and efforts continued after his death. Finally, in 1976 the
Army exonerated Flipper and awarded him an honorable discharge.
This small collection
on Henry O. Flipper is primarily comprised of materials
gathered in the planning for
a commemorative ceremony honoring Flipper and recognizing
his exoneration. The ceremony was sponsored jointly
by Atlanta University and the Atlanta Branch of the
Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and
History. The most significant item in this collection
is a typed manuscript entitled "Biographical
Sketches". This typescript is the memoir published
in Negro Frontiersman: The Western Memoirs of Henry
O. Flipper. Other materials in the collection include
newsclippings about Flipper (most after his death)
and copies of letters and resolutions written in
the effort to exonerate him. There are programs and
news articles related to events posthumously honoring
Flipper after his exoneration. |
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