Transcript

Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast

From American History Tellers · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 38 min · 5,667 words · 36 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast", an episode of American History Tellers published February 26, 2025 (38 min, about 5,667 words). It mentions 15 people, works and ideas, including James Webster Smith, Henry O. Flipper, Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern, Michael Howard, Charles Young.

What this episode is about

The content explores the experiences of Black cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in 1870, focusing on the systemic racism they face as they strive for acceptance and respect in a predominantly white institution. It highlights a tense confrontation with a white cadet and the internal struggles of the characters as they navigate discrimination and contemplate their responses to injustice.

Key takeaways

  • In 1870, standing up against bigotry at West Point is a risk—it can earn you exclusion instead of inclusion.
  • The first black cadets faced not just academic tests, but an unwelcoming environment rife with intimidation and violence.
  • Graduation day became a dramatic turning point; Henry Flipper's applause marked progress amidst years of adversity.
  • McCord's aggression demonstrates that prejudice doesn't remain in the past—it's an ongoing battle for dignity and respect.
  • Though Flipper was the first black graduate, the echoes of institutional racism at West Point have yet to fully fade.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Michael Howard, Robert McCord, Henry O. Flipper, James Webster Smith
  2. – 10:00: Civil War, Henry O. Flipper, James Webster Smith, William T. Sherman
  3. – 15:00: James Webster Smith, Michael Howard, Henry O. Flipper, General Benjamin Butler
  4. – 20:00: James Webster Smith, Henry O. Flipper, Michael Howard, Civil War
  5. – 25:00: Henry O. Flipper, James Webster Smith, Michael Howard, Charles Young
  6. – 30:00: Henry O. Flipper, James Webster Smith, Charles Young, Buffalo Soldier
  7. – 35:00: Charles Young, Henry O. Flipper, Buffalo Soldier
  8. – 37:47: Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern, University of Virginia Press, 19th Amendment

Notable quotes from "Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast"

  • For your turn to have your shoes shine in a crowded boot black shop you and your roommate Michael Howard the only other black candidate stand in the doorway at the back of the…
    about Michael Howard · at
  • Your story in the spring of 18 1970 James Webster Smith and Michael Howard arrived at West Point New York with the hopes of becoming the first black Cadets in the history of the US Military Academy they.
    about James Webster Smith · at
  • Black cadets at Old West Point Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern welcome to American history tellers thank you for having me I'm excited to be here let's begin our conversation on June 14th 1877 its graduation day at.
    about Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern · at
  • Sheep skin eventually they get to Henry oion flipper and here is where this ceremony is unique because Henry oion flipper is the first black CET to graduate from West Point and…
    about Henry O. Flipper · at
  • Through the Civil War and paid attention was aware that there were a number of West Point graduates who had fought for the Confederacy fought for the South and had committed…
    about Civil War · at
  • Congressman would nominate a Cadet from their district and this starts in the late 1860s with Benjamin Butler trying to nominate the son of a veteran of the war who had served…
    about General Benjamin Butler · at
  • Everything he becomes the first black troop Commander the first black squadron commander he becomes the first black officer to be promoted to Colonel however he's still…
    about Charles Young · at
  • Belief that the best Horsemen in the Army were the Buffalo Soldier regiment so they made a Buffalo Soldier Detachment that was staffed from the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments and brought it to West Point to train Cadets on horsemanship and.
    about Buffalo Soldier · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • James Webster Smith — Person · Referenced historical figure (early Black West Point cadet) · 13 mentions · first at
    Central to the episode’s Reconstruction-era integration narrative as the first Black cadet admitted to West Point (1870) and a key case of harassment, isolation, and institutional failure.
  • Henry O. Flipper — Person · Referenced historical figure (first Black West Point graduate) · 11 mentions · first at
    His 1877 graduation is used as the narrative anchor for West Point’s early integration; his experience of silencing and later vindication (discharge upgrade, pardon) illustrates long-term institutional redress.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern — Person · Main guest (interviewee) · 2 mentions · first at
    Provides expert historical analysis of West Point integration during Reconstruction and contextualizes the experiences of Smith, Flipper, Alexander, and Young.
  • Michael Howard — Person · Referenced historical figure (prospective Black cadet) · 8 mentions · first at
    Appears in the opening dramatization and historical summary as the other Black candidate in 1870; his assault by McCord and subsequent exam failure underscore the hostile environment.
  • Charles Young — Person · Referenced historical figure (third Black West Point graduate) · 7 mentions · first at
    Used to show the narrow pipeline of Black graduates (third in 1889) and the constrained career paths and discrimination faced by Black officers into WWI-era policy decisions.
  • Robert McCord — Person · Referenced historical figure (white candidate; antagonist in 1870 incident) · 2 mentions · first at
    His assault on Michael Howard and threat toward Smith exemplify the overt racism and intimidation faced by early Black candidates at West Point.
    Other black candidate stand in the doorway at the back of the line behind you a white candidate named McCord wanders back and forth on the porch you lock eyes with him as he…
  • John Hanks Alexander — Person · Referenced historical figure (second Black West Point graduate) · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited as the second Black graduate (1887) and an example of limited archival visibility and early death shaping what is known about early Black officers.
    Regiment and after serving some time in the Buffalo Soldier regiment was transferred to teach tactics and Military science at Wilbur Force University where he died of an aortic rupture Charles young graduated in 1889 also.
  • William T. Sherman — Person · Referenced historical figure (senior Army leader at graduation) · 2 mentions · first at
    His applause at Flipper’s diploma moment is presented as a meaningful signal that shaped audience reaction, highlighting the importance of elite endorsement.
    Approval with what was described in multiple sources as a hearty Applause and once Sherman started applauding the Applause became more General it's a little unusual for a Cadet…
  • General Benjamin Butler — Person · Referenced historical figure (political critic/actor re: nominations) · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a prominent critic of West Point and as an early congressional actor attempting to nominate a Black cadet candidate, illustrating how nominations—not academy policy—drove integration.
  • Winfield Scott Hancock — Person · Referenced historical figure (ceremonial speaker) · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a prominent Civil War hero and speaker at Flipper’s 1877 graduation, helping situate the event within high-level Army leadership and public ceremony.
    Graduating class of 1877 assembled on and around the stage are Major General Winfield Scott Hancock a hero from the Civil War and still serving in the Army and one of the…
  • John Shaffield — Person · Referenced historical figure (West Point superintendent; likely misspelling) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as superintendent at the 1877 graduation; provides institutional context. The transcript spelling likely refers to John Schofield.
    Speakers at the graduation ceremony the superintendent of West Point Major General John shaffield as well as Commanding General of the army William tumpa Sherman and a number…

Companies & orgs

  • University of Virginia Press — Company · Publisher · 1 mention · first at
    Publisher of the book discussed in the podcast, providing historical context on black cadets at West Point.
    Pleasure to be here that was my conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern the book that he co-edited race politics and reconstruction the first black Cadets at Old…

Concepts & topics

  • Buffalo Soldier — Concept · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of black soldiers and their roles post-Civil War, including assignments of black cadets.

Places & events

  • Civil War — Event · Historical context · 5 mentions · first at
    Provides the backdrop for the challenges faced by black cadets at West Point during Reconstruction.
  • 19th Amendment — Event · Historical context · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing as part of the broader historical narrative of civil rights in America.
    Bringing you an encore presentation of our series The Fight for women's suffrage in 1920 the ratification of the 19th Amendment guaranteed all women in America the right to…

Full transcript with timestamps

wondering imagine it's June 7th 1870 in West Point New York two weeks have passed since you arrived at the US Military Academy to prepare for your entrance exams you and the rest of your squad of prospective Cadets are waiting for your turn to have your shoes shine in a crowded boot black shop you and your roommate Michael Howard the only other black candidate stand in the doorway at the back of the line behind you a white candidate named McCord wanders back and forth on the porch you lock eyes with him as he uses a pocket knife to scrape dried mud off his boots his stare is menacing but you refuse to avert your gaze he puts his knife in his pocket and walks toward you his shoulder slamming into Howard's as he pushes his way into the shop move Howard says nothing you tap mord on the shoulder hey watch it what did you just say Howard shakes his head fiercely silently warning you to be quiet but you can't

help yourself I said you better watch where you're going I'll go wherever I please your friend should learn to get out of my way mord steps forward and slaps Howard across the face he stumbles nearly losing his balance you steady him and then turn back to mord clenching your fists you feel the heat of the squad stairs what gives you the right to strike him what gives me the right I'm an officer in the United States Army you're not an officer yet you haven't even passed your entrance exam same as the rest of us and besides officers don't strike their soldiers mord reaches into the pocket where he stashes knife you know what I think I think I ought to cut you open you're about to respond when Howard grabs you by the elbow and steers you away from a cord and out of the shop let go of me I won't let him think he can intimidate us come on it's not worth it Howard drags you away and you reluctantly fall into step behind him

but you're already making plans to appeal to your superiors you feel that if you don't take steps to stand up to bigotry now your classmates will make the next four years a living nightmare from W I'm Lindsey Graham and this is American history tellers our history your

story in the spring of 18 1970 James Webster Smith and Michael Howard arrived at West Point New York with the hopes of becoming the first black Cadets in the history of the US Military Academy they quickly became targets of harassment in June a white candidate named Robert McCord struck Howard for not moving out of his way as he entered a boot black shop Howard and Smith reported the incident up the chain of command but West Point officials concluded that they had exaggerated their claims in an effort to cause trouble after this this and several other incidents Howard failed his entrance exam and returned home leaving Smith to enter the academy alone his time there was marked by isolation abuse and Injustice to discuss the integration of West Point during Reconstruction I'm joined by Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern an associate professor in the department of history at West Point and the co-author of race

politics and reconstruction the first black cadets at Old West Point Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern welcome to American history tellers thank you for having me I'm excited to be here let's begin our conversation on June 14th 1877 its graduation day at West Point but it's a special graduation the graduation of Henry oian flipper set the stage for us what was this day like so it was a sunny day the graduation stage and seating area and chairs and the audience were set up amongst this Grove of maple trees that provided some shade just outside the barracks and this was on the edge of West Point's famous plane so picture beautiful weather a morning Breeze soft morning Breeze and about 10:30 in the morning the band at West Point strikes up their Marshall Music and Out Come Marching the graduating class of 1877 assembled on and around the stage are Major General Winfield Scott Hancock a hero from the Civil War and still

serving in the Army and one of the speakers at the graduation ceremony the superintendent of West Point Major General John shaffield as well as Commanding General of the army William tumpa Sherman and a number of dignitaries and guests and family members of the cadets the ceremony would have gone largely as every other ceremony before it there would be a speech from the president of board of visitors a speech from General Hancock as an invited guest speaker and a speech from the superintendent and then they would start awarding the diplomas what West pointers at the time called their sheep skin eventually they get to Henry oion flipper and here is where this ceremony is unique because Henry oion flipper is the first black CET to graduate from West Point and according to accounts of the ceremony as his name is called General Sherman signaled his approval with what was described in multiple sources as a hearty Applause

and once Sherman started applauding the Applause became more General it's a little unusual for a Cadet at this point in the roster as flipper was to receive a general Applause and we know it's unusual because newspaper reporters commented on it and by all accounts flipper paused for a moment maybe somewhat surprised at the reception given what he had experienced in four years at West Point and appeared to Bow his head in silent recognition and then walked off the stage and the ceremony continued well let let's talk about everything he had been through and go back a few years to when flipper arrived at West Point in 1873 I guess let's start with what was the state of the academy in the wake of the Civil War this was troubled ground for the Academy as a matter of fact uh the academy was still generally well regarded in American society but he was in a low point of public esteem for a number of reasons

the first one was that anyone who lived through the Civil War and paid attention was aware that there were a number of West Point graduates who had fought for the Confederacy fought for the South and had committed treason and had shed blood of United States Army Soldiers so its critics accused West Point of being what some of them called a hen house of treason what some of them called a nursery of treason because of those resignations and because of those West Point alumni who had been Confederate officers a second strand of criticism against West Point at the time was that it was a finishing school for Aristocrats this strand of criticism had its most prominent mouthpieces in Congress among those who had compiled excellent records during the Civil War but felt that they had had opportunities denied them because they did not graduate from West Point they were volunteer officers in the Army so

people like General John Logan who eventually became a senator from Illinois people like representative Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts who served at high rank as major Generals in the Union Army uh but felt that their military careers during the war had been stifled because they didn't have a West Point background now at the same time it's the 18 7s and the landscape in American higher education was changing before the war a few institutions had become integrated institutions so take oberin for example but around the time when we see James Webster Smith is the first black CET admitted to West Point around the time that he's navigating West Point we also see the first black students navigating other institutions like Harvard and the same year that Henry o flipper became the first black graduate of West Point Brown University also produced its first black graduate and how did West Point react to the

growing wave of integration in education this is interesting you can see in the archive West Point's a little ambivalent to what's going on with racial integration at other institutions that is not to say though that the idea of integration was popular at West Point it was not by a long shot and the unpopularity of it is what came to frame and Define the experience of Henry o flipper and James Webster Smith and other black Cadets of the era well let's talk more about these first Cadets how did West Point begin to admit them were the uh criteria for their admission the same for white candidates there's no application to West Point so there's no way in which West Point itself as an institution has decided we are going to integrate so what would happen is that Congressman would nominate a Cadet from their district and this starts in the late 1860s with Benjamin Butler trying to nominate the son of a veteran of the

war who had served with the all black 55th Massachusetts the sister regiment to the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment and he tried to nominate Charles suner Wilson to West Point but Wilson however was just too young once nominated a young man at the time um we would not see women nominated for Cadet ships at West Point until 1976 so once a young man was nominated they would arrive at West Point report for duty at West Point and they would be referred to then as prospective cadetes now in 1870 we see the first successful nominations of black Cadets and that was James Webster Smith from South Carolina in addition to Michael Howard from Mississippi both Howard and smithed their nominations in May 1870 and both of them showed up to West Point before the end of the month as they report they have to face first a medical exam and then an academic exam and the academic exam was incredibly attritional it was

not uncommon in those days for up to half of prospective cadetes to fail the exam and you've seen the exam that West Point used at the time if perhaps West Point knew that black Cadets were coming in was there any indication at all that these exams or admission procedures at all were changed for these Cadets to perhaps root them out there was certainly the suspicion that it had because James Webster Smith and Michael Howard being the first black perspective Cadets took the exam in 1870 and the failure rate in 1870 far exceeded the failure rate in years before it so there certainly was a suspicion that this was The Smoking Gun this was West Point trying to make sure that black Cadets would not get admitted cuz in fact in 1870 a majority of those who took the exam failed it to include Michael Howard James Webster Smith passed I've seen the exam it's hard I would be surprised actually if modern students could pass

the exam but I've also seen the records on all the decisions leading up to the exam and all the decisions about what the exam would look like and its level of difficulty were made not only well before Smith and Howard showed up but also well before they were even nominated I believe the historical record shows that this was just an overcorrection on the exam that made it hard for everybody and was not making it overly difficult for any one particular group so then at long last we have our first black Cadet admitted to West Point this is a long experience and a very difficult one for these men they have to be nominated then admitted and then they have to endure several years of mistreatment and rigorous classes and then they actually have to graduate in total how many completed this Gauntlet West Point ran on a very attritional model it wasn't just the entrance exam it was the whole academic program was

incredibly attritional picture that for this window from 1870 to 1889 that this is the window of West Point's first experience with racial integration for the first half of that with one exception all the nominations are coming out of the South and the vast majority of those young black men being nominated from the south started their lives in a state of slavery which imposed unbelievable limitations on their education so when you think of the handicap that they have even taking an entrance exam that's already a trting close to 50% of their white counterparts who do not have an enslaved upbringing when you picture that it's going to take an almost superhuman effort to overcome that deficit there were between 1870 and 1889 27 young black men who we know of were nominated 12 gained admission to the academy and only three graduated

now while it was novel for West Point to receive black Cadets it was absolutely unheard of for these black Cadets to find themselves at West Point this was a very new environment for them what was it like where did they live where did they eat how was their life on campus it's hard to put into words how difficult it was for them Henry o flipper left us A Memoir of his time at West Point where it becomes painfully obvious throughout the Memoir just how much the isolation of the experience affected him there are a few things in his Memoir that appear in every single chapter and one of them is some commentary on just how badly he was isolated I said earlier that this was unpopular at West Point and the reason why this was unpopular is because within American Society at the time people drew sharp distinctions between what they called either political or Civic equality your right to access the

political system and your right to benefit from the legal system and they drew this sharp distinction with social equality on the other hand your right to access public spaces your right to access certain professions so it was entirely possible at that time in American history for somebody to be have been leading up to and during and in the early years of the Civil War an out andout abolitionist and come through on the back end of the Civil War confirmed in those beliefs an advocate for radical reconstruction but also to not be a believer in Social equality and to take off fence and a front where you see integration of the races within certain professions public spaces some people interpret did integration at West Point to be in a front black Cadets during this initial period of reconstruction were segregated so take for example James Webster Smith when he reports as a prospective kadet

he's put into a room with Michael Howard because Michael Howard is another prospective black Cadet however after the academic exam Michael Howard has to depart the academy James Webster Smith marches out with the rest of the class for a summer encampment and he's put into a tent by himself and during the academic year he occupies a Barracks room by himself and he only gets roommates when other black Cadets show up in Smith's last year at the Academy his fourth year there are admitted two black Cadets Henry o flipper and a young man by the last name of Williams and they all room together for eating accommodations there was no real option to segregate there was one mess hul and everybody had to eat there this did cause some controversy there are plenty of instances of white Cadets refusing to sit and eat next to Black Cadets or demanding that their tables be changed their seating assignments be

changed and James Webster Smith's case what you see are cadets trying to deny him food they would insist that as white Cadets they got to eat first and then as soon as they got their helpings they would pass all of their food serving platters the the serving platters to the other side of the table and try to keep him away from the food for the duration that they were allowed to be there black Cadets were also isolated socially West Point had a code of silencing sometimes they refer to it as cutting but a cut Cadet or a silenced Cadet was a Cadet to whom nobody would speak unless Duty compelled them to silencing itself was something that in the past prior to this period of integration had been applied to Cadets who had been caught stealing lying or doing any other offense that Cadets found to be socially dishonorable once we get into the period of integration it's a practice that is applied to every black Cadet that showed

up and this is just devastating for black Cadets so naturally as they go through a a demanding curriculum that is asking them to tackle advanced math foreign languages the English language engineering natural and experimental philosophy which is a 19th century version of physics chemistry as they're navigating this curriculum they cannot rely on each other in the same way that their white counterparts can and I would imagine silencing a tradition of abuse ingrained at West Point is the least of it we know that they faced all sorts of different abuse that's true here's where James Webster Smith's story is particularly important as the first admitted black Cadet he entered an environment where the core of cadets response was one of active resistance it is 1870 there are southern states being readmitted so you actually do see some Cadets being admitted to West Point who have relatives who are Confederate

Veterans while maybe their black counterparts had started life enslaved you do have some white Cadets who started life as enslavers so this is kind of a volatile mix and you throw in discipline and it doesn't go well so when James Webster Smith reports what we see is active resistance in his first month at the Academy he's physically assaulted at one point he and Michael Howard before the academic exam were sleeping in their room and somebody broke into their room and upended a bucket of urine and feces and other waste all over them when he joins the summer encampment he reports having a sleepless night because these tents that are out there in the summer encampment they are pitched on top of wooden platforms and after he goes into his tent a couple of white cadetes Gather in the darkness and they scratch at the tent flaps and then they have an audible conversation about the best way to pry

the floorboards loose so they can pour gunpowder underneath and blow it all up with Smith in it in addition to that he's assaulted while trying to gather water from a well he's assaulted with a heavy wooden Ladle and finds that he has to fight back with his own Ladle so they're really terrorizing him you're describing a West Point that is largely at War war with itself and The Changing Times these black Cadets felt the brunt of this war of course but I I also wonder what was happening at the top those officers and administrators that are able to witness and make decisions what did they do to perhaps address the racism and attacks on black Cadets it's a hard question to answer West Point has a long and proud history and we should and ought to be proud of those Cadets who endured what they endured in the effort to graduate or in the case of Henry o flipper and John Hanks Alexander in 1887 and Charles young in

1889 did endure to graduate but West Point does not have a lot to be proud of and how it conducted itself as an institution as it was integrating a lot of the hurdles that arose a lot of the obstacles that arose for black cadets at West Point at the time could and should would have been removed by leadership and they were not there's a perhaps less physical but even more devious campaign that's trying to leverage West Point's disciplinary system to get Smith kicked out so what would happen is that when wrongdoings were committed against Smith he would report them as he was told to do and the commant Emory Upton at the time who was a committed Abol iist and saw himself as committed to this cause of integrating West Point would take Smith's report and say that's not right I'll look into it I'll investigate it and then he would go to the cadet's accused and ask them very directly you know did you kick Cadet

Smith in formation I say no and so he'd ask other Cadets who would have been in the vicinity in the same formation you know Smith alleges that he was kicked did you see that happen they would say no and after he got about anywhere between three and five Cadets refuting the original charge Upton would then write Smith up for making false charges and place him under arrest and investigate him because as much as Upton was committed to this project he was such an institutionalist that he couldn't fathom that a West Point Cadet would lie to him in his first year at the Academy Smith endured one qu of inquiry which is one step below a court Marshal and two formal courts Marshal in the two courts Marshal he was found guilty and ultimately he was sentenced to dismissal so Smith spends his entire first year almost all of it under close arrest close arrest means you're confined to your room you can only go to

and from class and to and from the dining facility and that is it so at the very end the grant Administration overturns the sentence and they send back a powerfully worded statement that says something to the effect of the cadet Smith's very Presence at the Academy should be taken as a signal piece of evidence that he should be there and so they accept the verdict overturn the sentence and change the sentence from dismissal to repeating that first year at the Academy and president ulysis Grant's action of overturning the verdict changes the environment Cadets see now that politicians will not allow him to go away so they actually change their approach away from this active form of resistance based on violence and they change it to a more passive form of resistance that's based on silencing and soul crushing isolation in the hopes that that will make a Cadet opt to leave so while we do see Cadets who come after

Smith suffer some violent assaults notably Johnson Chestnut Whitaker in most cases violence is of a petty occasional nature and the largest hurdle that they're dealing with is the social isolation imposed by this code of silencing so it very well could be said that James Webster Smith paved the way for Henry o flipper and all other black Cadets that followed to be successful in terms of just reducing the amount of abuse and violence to be endured I believe that I've argued that in pieces that I've written that without James Webster Smith's staying power without his endurance I cannot properly Express how terrible that first year was for him that his staying power his persistence Beyond it was what allowed Henry o flipper to graduate in 1877 even if Smith's own story ends short of grad uation and ultimately ends tragically Smith's story is that he endures that horrible first year is sentenced to

repeat his first year goes on for three more years so he's at the end of his fourth year at the Academy and he fails his exam in natural and experimental philosophy at West Point in the 19th century if you fail one of your academic exams you're going to be declared academically deficient and you're going to be dismissed from the academy so James Webster Smith was dismissed he was hired on the basis of the Education and Training that he received at West Point to go to South Carolina at what's now South Carolina state to teach military science to their own Cadets and this was an integrated institution at the time but within two years he died of tuberculosis so Smith's story is largely lost to us because traces of it exist in the archives you have to really dig what most people know of James Webster Smith they only know what Henry o flipper included in his Memoir and that gives us a very mixed picture of Smith but what

I've found in my own research is that Smith really is the undersung hero in the story flipper certainly is a hero in the story as well Smith is the one that we don't fully appreciate and he's the one that made the graduation of black Cadets like Henry o flipper

possible so of course though we did have the first black Cadet to graduate Henry o flipper but tell us a little bit about the ones who followed in his footsteps so John Hanks Alexander became the second in 1887 and Charles young became the third in 1889 we honestly don't know too much about Alexander or his time here because the tragic fact is that he died young he was assigned to a Buffalo Soldier regiment and after serving some time in the Buffalo Soldier regiment was transferred to teach tactics and Military science at Wilbur Force University where he died of an aortic rupture Charles young graduated in 1889 also assigned for service in Buffalo Soldier regiments now young though his career is long and he's very successful and what we see is after he gets past 1894 basically everything young faces he's the first black officer to do everything he becomes the first black troop Commander the first black squadron

commander he becomes the first black officer to be promoted to Colonel however he's still following this awfully constricted career path where there are two Cavalry regiments that he's available for assignment towards and if not there he must be teaching at a black or predominantly black college so that takes him all the way to 1917 and in 1917 of course we enter World War I and at the time young was a colonel there are a lot of people who are very concerned that anybody who is a a colonel will necessarily be a general and what they've been able to do with Charles young so far in his career is make sure that where he was in positions of command he would never command white troops and if he became a general that wasn't possible so he was medically retired now young questioned this thought that he was in great health so he to protest the decision got on a horse in Kansas and rode it to Washington DC to prove his Fitness and

asked for a reexamination they reexamined him they brought him back onto active duty as a colonel however they assigned him to Service as the Army atese in Liberia and he served there until his death in the early 1920s so that was the third graduate Charles young who graduated in 1889 but the fourth graduate did not graduate into 1936 a large gap what happened here once reconstruction ends you see Congressman willing to take the political risk to nominate a black Cadet to West Point almost falls off a cliff it comes down to a trickle once young graduates in 1889 we are over a decade out of reconstruction and we are into the Jim Crow era there are a couple young blackmen nominated to the academy in World War I but they do not last long they are out after 6 months or a year year and there's no African-Americans in uniform at West Point until 1907 and in 1907 the Army makes a decision to change how it's resourcing

the Cavalry Detachment that's stationed at West Point and it was a widely held belief that the best Horsemen in the Army were the Buffalo Soldier regiment so they made a Buffalo Soldier Detachment that was staffed from the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments and brought it to West Point to train Cadets on horsemanship and Cavalry tactics and the horse Detachment was a Buffalo Soldier Detachment from 1907 until the Cavalry was disbanded in the US Army in 1947 these Troopers would have been training Cadets on horsemanship on Cavalry drills on Cavalry tactics they could learn on the field in front of the Cavalry barracks on the south end of post and also West Point built an indoor ride in Hall which is still in use today though as a classroom building it's it's where my office is it's where I teach but they continued to be subjected to a lot of the norms and standards that arose during the era of Jim Crow their

Barracks were put at the far end of post they had to endure indignities for example not being allowed to walk through the main post area and when we think of their tenure here from 1907 to 1947 you can think of all the military figures whose names Loom large in American history Dwight Eisenhower Omar Bradley every General you can think of who helped to win World War II was shaped while at West Point by this horse Detachment when then did the fate of black West Point Cadets finally change oh it took a long time it was nearly a century after this first period of integration so Charles young graduated in 1889 and then the fourth black graduate was Benjamin OD Davis Jr in 1936 Benjamin O Davis Jr's experience at West Point from 1932 to 1936 was almost identical to Henry o flippers he was silenced he was treated poorly and The Optimist in me always wants to believe that progress is a steady Arc upward so once we get Beyond

World War II and we get into the 50s then there is some black presence in most classes that presence doesn't get into the double digits until the 60s how are these early black Cadets Remembered at West Point today annually there's a dinner given an honor of Henry o flipper and it's a more a banquet to present an award for a Cadet who has shown considerable perseverance in the face of adversity that's what flipper story is flippers story ultimately is a story of heroic persistence and that of other black Cadets from this initial period of reconstruction most cadetes in their freshman year they take a class on the history of the army most Cadets are exposed to Flippers story during that course now the memory of flipper went through a long Arc because of course flipper was driven out the Army in the 1880s after being court marshaled and dismissed and the 19th century dismissal was equivalent to what we would call

today an other than honorable discharge interest in flipper spiked once we got up to the Centenary of his graduation and descendants of The Flipper family and a very committed educator named Ray McCall started digging into the case conducting research and the Army in 1977 changed Flipper's characterization service to an honorable discharge which allowed flipper to be reinterred with full military honors and it also was the origin story of this annual dinner at West Point in honor of flipper and there it stood for a while and ultimately in 1999 the Clinton Administration pardoned flipper so what we see is over time attempts have been made to write these wrongs which have allowed the Army to celebrate flipper as we should Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern thank you so much for joining me on American history tellers thank you it's been a pleasure to be here that was my conversation with Lieutenant Colonel

Rory McGovern the book that he co-edited race politics and reconstruction the first black Cadets at Old West Point is available now from the University of Virginia press and a note the views Lieutenant Colonel McGovern expressed in this interview are his own and do not represent the views or official positions of the United States Military Academy or the United States Army from Wonder e this is the fourth and final episode of our series on the Buffalo Soldiers for American history tellers in our next season we're bringing you an encore presentation of our series The Fight for women's suffrage in 1920 the ratification of the 19th Amendment guaranteed all women in America the right to vote but the battle for women's suffrage began much earlier in a little church in Upstate New York in 1848 to celebrate women's History Month we'll trace the story of that s years struggle and three generations of

activists who risked violence arrest and even death for the right to cast a ballot American history tellers has hosted edited and executive produced by Me Lindsey grah for Airship sound designed by Molly Bach music by Lindsey Graham voice acting by Ace Sanderson additional writing by Ellie Stanton this episode was produced by poly Striker and Alita rosanski our senior interview producer is Peter aruni managing producer Desi block senior managing producers Callum ples senior producer Andy Herman and executive producers are Jenny lar Beckman Marshall Louie and Ain oity for wondering

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast"?

Lindsey Graham (Host), Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern (Guest).

What is "Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast" about?

The content explores the experiences of Black cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in 1870, focusing on the systemic racism they face as they strive for acceptance and respect in a predominantly white institution. It highlights a tense confrontation with a white cadet and the internal struggles of the characters as they navigate discrimination and contemplate their responses to injustice.

What is mentioned in this American History Tellers episode?

15 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including James Webster Smith, Henry O. Flipper, Lieutenant Colonel Rory McGovern, Michael Howard, Charles Young, Buffalo Soldier. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Buffalo Soldiers | Suffering in Silence | American History Tellers | Podcast"?

The episode runs 38 min; the transcript is about 5,667 words in 36 timestamped sections.

More from American History Tellers

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.