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Office of the Deputy Attorney General
POLITITA AMOUNT
Washington, D.C. 20530
July 20, 1998
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Charles F.C. Ruff
Counsel to the President
FROM:
D
Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Deputy Attorney General
SUBJECT:
Posthumous pardon request on behalf of Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper
Petitioner, who died in 1940 and on whose behalf pardon is sought posthumously by a
group of attorneys, was a second lieutenant in the United States Army who was found guilty on
December 8, 1881, of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman after a general court-
martial convened at Fort Davis, Texas. He was sentenced in the same month to dismissal from
the Army, which sentence became effective on June 30, 1882.
Petitioner was born a slave in Georgia on March 21, 1856, received an appointment to the
United States Military Academy at West Point in 1873, and was the first African-American cadet
to graduate from the Academy, doing so in 1877. Lt. Flipper ranked 50th in a class of 76 and he
became the first African-American commissioned officer in the regular United States Army. He
was commissioned a second lieutenant, assigned to the Tenth Cavalry, and served honorably for
the next several years on frontier duty, during which time he was well regarded by his various
commanding officers. At the time, the Tenth Cavalry, also known as the "Buffalo Soldiers," was
one of the only two all-black units in the United States Army. During this period, while assigned
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"ocrText": "Office of the Deputy Attorney General\nPOLITITA AMOUNT\nWashington, D.C. 20530\nJuly 20, 1998\nMEMORANDUM\nTO:\nCharles F.C. Ruff\nCounsel to the President\nFROM:\nD\nEric H. Holder, Jr.\nDeputy Attorney General\nSUBJECT:\nPosthumous pardon request on behalf of Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper\nPetitioner, who died in 1940 and on whose behalf pardon is sought posthumously by a\ngroup of attorneys, was a second lieutenant in the United States Army who was found guilty on\nDecember 8, 1881, of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman after a general court-\nmartial convened at Fort Davis, Texas. He was sentenced in the same month to dismissal from\nthe Army, which sentence became effective on June 30, 1882.\nPetitioner was born a slave in Georgia on March 21, 1856, received an appointment to the\nUnited States Military Academy at West Point in 1873, and was the first African-American cadet\nto graduate from the Academy, doing so in 1877. Lt. Flipper ranked 50th in a class of 76 and he\nbecame the first African-American commissioned officer in the regular United States Army. He\nwas commissioned a second lieutenant, assigned to the Tenth Cavalry, and served honorably for\nthe next several years on frontier duty, during which time he was well regarded by his various\ncommanding officers. At the time, the Tenth Cavalry, also known as the \"Buffalo Soldiers,\" was\none of the only two all-black units in the United States Army. During this period, while assigned"
}