"Johnson Chestnutt Whittaker" (1885-1931)

The second black cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point,was born a slave in 1858 in South Carolina to an enslaved mother,Maria J. Whitaker and her free husband, James Whitaker.(Later in life he added a second "t" to his name).By October 1869,Johnson attended a freedman's school in Camden,where he received lessons in five years.In the fall of 1874 he became one of the first African American students to enter the University of South Carolina.He was an exceptional student,academically ahead of most of his classmates;he averaged 94 percent in all his courses at the University.After befriending Richard T. Greener,his professor,Johnson was nominated to attend West Point.He arrived on birthday,August 23,1876.Johnson shared his room with the first black cadet,Henry O. Flipper,who was a few years senior.Despite his stellar record at the University,academically Johnson performance at west point was average.He had learned from Henry to adjust to the physical harassment from white cadets by turning the other cheek.With Henry graduation,by June 1877,Johnson was the only black cadet in the academy,one year later he ran into academic and social solitude.None of the other cadets spoke to him either in class or in non academic settings during the years he attended West Point.One morning of April, 1880,an officer found Johnson unconscious and bound to his bed suffering from slashed earlobes.His hair was cut in several places.West Point Commandant John M. Schofied,immediately investigated the incident and concluded that Johnson had inflicted these injuries upon himself and then tied his legs to the bed.Following his brief investigation the Commandant added that it was unreasonable to expect blacks to complete successfully with whites and that it was a mistake to make them try.He urged that the doors of West Point be closed permanently to non-white youth.Johnson shocked at the summary decision,claimed that three masked men were responsible for his injuries and immediately requested a court of inquiry.The court met from April to June 1880 as the case received front page coverage in major newspaper while Congress debated the incident.The court of inquiry upheld Commandant Schofield's but added that there was extensive prejudice at West point toward Johnson because of his race.President Rutherford B. Hayes removed Schofield from his post and replaced him with former Freedman's Bureau head Oliver O. Howard. Commandant Howard ordered a full court martial to determine what actually happened.He granted Johnson a leave of of absence to prepare his case.His defense was handled by former South Carolina Governor Daniel Chamber Richard T.Greener,his former university professor.The Army's case was presented by Asa Bird Gardiner,the foremost army trial lawyer of the era.The president of the court martial was General Nelson A. Miles while the head of the Army,General William T. Sherman closely followed the proceedings which begin in June 1881.Johnson was again found guilty.Secretary of war Robert Todd Lincoln declared the court martial invalid,a decision ratified by President Chester A. Arthur on March 22, 1882.On the same day(March 22) Robert ordered Johnson dismissed from the academy because he failed an examination in June 1880.After leaving West Point,Johnson went on a brief speaking tour to discuss his experience.Then he because a teacher at Avery Institute in Charleston,South Carolina.After studying law,Johnson was admitted to the South Carolina bar on May 26,1885 and began practing in Sumter.He married Page E. Harrison and the couple had two sons.He found legal work difficult to obtain and returned to teaching school in 1890 and soon became principal of the first black public school in Sumter.In 1900 Johnson briefly worked for the U.S.Census Bureau.From 1900 to 1908 he was principal of the Colored Normal Industrial,Agricultural and Mechanical College (which later became South Carolina State University).From 1908 to 1925 Johnson was a teacher, assistant principal and finally principal of Douglass High School in Oklahoma City Oklahoma.The writer,Ralph Ellison,was one of his most famous students.After his speaking tour,he never publicly commented about his time at West Point and lived out the rest of his life as he lived in West Point.Johnson passed away,less than a week from the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of his court martial.He was buried in a black- only cemetery in Orangeburg,South Carolina.