Johnson Chesnut Whittaker: Difference between revisions

Johnson Chesnut Whittaker
Johnson Chesnut Whittaker
	Johnson Chesnut Whittaker as a West Point Cadet.
Born	August 23, 1858; Camden, South Carolina
Died	January 14, 1931 (aged 72); Orangeburg, South Carolina
Resting place	Orangeburg Cemetery, Orangeburg, South Carolina
Education	University of South Carolina; United States Military Academy
Occupation(s)	School teacher, school administrator, college professor, attorney

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Johnson Chesnut Whittaker (August 23, 1858 – January 14, 1931)^[1] was one of the first black men to win an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.^[2] When at the academy, he was brutally assaulted and then expelled after being falsely accused and convicted of faking the incident.^[3] Over sixty years after his death, his name was formally cleared when he was posthumously commissioned by President Bill Clinton in July 1995.^[3]

Biography

Whittaker was born into slavery on the Chesnut Plantation in Camden, South Carolina.^[3] He studied privately with Richard Greener, the first African American to graduate from Harvard College.^[4] Greener would later defend Whittaker at his court-martial. After studying with Greener, Whittaker attended the University of South Carolina, then a freedmen's school.^[4] He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1876 after receiving an appointment from South Carolina Representative Solomon L. Hoge.^[3]^[5] For most of his time at West Point, he was the only black cadet,^[6] and he was ostracized by his white peers.^[3]

On the morning of April 5, 1880, he was found with his arms and legs tied to his bed, unconscious, bleeding, and bruised.^[3]^[5] His hands and face had been cut by a razor, and burned pages from his Bible were strewn about his room.^[3]

Whittaker told administrators that he had been attacked by three fellow cadets, but his account of the morning was not believed.^[3] West Point administrators said that he had fabricated the attack to win sympathy.^[3] Initially, Whittaker was held by a court of inquiry, where he was defended by Martin I. Townsend and his old friend, Richard Greener, and finally granted a court-martial.^[7] After more than a year of nationally publicized hearings, Whittaker was found guilty in an 1881 court martial of staging the attack, and expelled from West Point.^[3]^[5] The prosecuting attorney was West Point Judge Advocate Major Asa Bird Gardiner, later a Sachem of Tammany Hall in New York and disgraced New York District Attorney, who blatantly talked of the "inferior" and "superior" races and commented that "Negroes are noted for their ability to sham and feign."^[5] His defense was led by Daniel Henry Chamberlain assisted by Greener.^[7] Though the verdict was overturned in 1883 by President Chester A. Arthur, West Point reinstated the expulsion on the same day on the grounds that Whittaker had failed an exam.^[3]

In his later life, Whittaker was a teacher, lawyer, high school principal in Oklahoma City, and psychology professor in South Carolina.^[3]^[2] He died in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1931.^[3]^[1] Whittaker was buried at Orangeburg Cemetery.

His sons, Johnson Whittaker Jr. and Miller Whittaker both served as Army officers in World War I.^[5] In addition, a grandson, Peter H. Whittaker, joined the all-black Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.^[5] A great-grandson, Ulysses W. Boykin III, served as a first lieutenant in the Vietnam-era Army and a judge of the circuit court in Wayne County, Michigan.^[5]

Posthumous commission

In 1972, a book^[8] about Whittaker by John Marszalek, a historian at Mississippi State University, drew attention to his case.^[3] In 1994, a television movie based on the book aired, which generated momentum for the movement to award Whittaker a posthumous commission as an officer in the US Army.^[3]

On July 25, 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded the commission to Whittaker's heirs, saying, "We cannot undo history. But today, finally, we can pay tribute to a great American and we can acknowledge a great injustice."^[2]^[3]

In popular culture

Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker is a 1994 TV movie about the case.^[9]

Matter of Honor, a stage play by Michael Chepiga retelling Whittaker's story while at West Point, was produced at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, in September 2007.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Marszalek, John F. (2016-07-26). "Whittaker, Johnson Chesnut". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c Purdum, Todd S. "Week in Review: 115 Years Late, He Won His Bars." New York Times (July 30, 1995).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Purdum, Todd S. "Black Cadet Gets a Posthumous Commission." New York Times (July 25, 1995).
^ ^a ^b Marszalek, John (August 1971). "A Black Cadet at West Point". American Heritage Magazine. 22 (5). American Heritage Publishing Company.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Editorial: Seeking 'Fair Deal' for a Black Cadet." New York Times (January 31, 1994).
^ "Editorial: After a Century, a Black Cadet Is Vindicated." New York Times (July 20, 1995).
^ ^a ^b Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. pp. 327–335
^ Court-Martial: A Black Man in America. New York: Scribner, 1972; subsequently published as Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Pub. Co., 1994).
^ Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker at IMDb
^ Verini, Bob (September 4, 2007). "Matter of Honor". Variety.

External links

Johnson Chesnut Whittaker at Find a Grave

[:0-1] Marszalek, John F. (2016-07-26). "Whittaker, Johnson Chesnut". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-02-28.

[week-2] Purdum, Todd S. "Week in Review: 115 Years Late, He Won His Bars." New York Times (July 30, 1995).

[black-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Purdum, Todd S. "Black Cadet Gets a Posthumous Commission." New York Times (July 25, 1995).

[Marszalek081971-4] Marszalek, John (August 1971). "A Black Cadet at West Point". American Heritage Magazine. 22 (5). American Heritage Publishing Company.

[seek-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Editorial: Seeking 'Fair Deal' for a Black Cadet." New York Times (January 31, 1994).

[cent-6] "Editorial: After a Century, a Black Cadet Is Vindicated." New York Times (July 20, 1995).

[Simmons1887-7] Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. pp. 327–335

[8] Court-Martial: A Black Man in America. New York: Scribner, 1972; subsequently published as Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Pub. Co., 1994).

[9] Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker at IMDb

[10] Verini, Bob (September 4, 2007). "Matter of Honor". Variety.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Early African-American West Point cadet (1858–1931)}}
-[[File:Johnson C. Whittaker 2.jpg|thumb|"The West Point outrage - the Court of Inquiry in session" ([[Harper's Weekly]], May 1880)]]
+{{Infobox person
+| name               = Johnson Chesnut Whittaker
+| image              = Johnson C. Whittaker 3.jpg
+| caption            = Johnson Chesnut Whittaker as a West Point Cadet.
+| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1858|08|23}}
+| birth_place        = [[Camden, South Carolina|Camden]], [[South Carolina]]
+| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1931|01|14|1858|08|23}}
+| death_place        = [[Orangeburg, South Carolina]]
+| restingplace       = Orangeburg Cemetery, Orangeburg, South Carolina
+| education          = [[University of South Carolina]]<br />[[United States Military Academy]]
+| occupation         = School teacher, school administrator, college professor, attorney
+}}
-'''Johnson Chesnut Whittaker''' (1858–1931) was one of the first black men to win an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]].<ref name="week">Purdum, Todd S. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3DD1E3CF933A05754C0A963958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fU%2fUnited%20States%20Military%20Academy "Week in Review: 115 Years Late, He Won His Bars."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 30, 1995).</ref>  When at the academy, he was brutally assaulted and then expelled after being falsely accused and convicted of faking the incident.<ref name="black"/>  Over sixty years after his death, his name was formally cleared when he was posthumously [[Officer (armed forces)#United States|commissioned]] by President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="black"/>
+'''Johnson Chesnut Whittaker''' (August 23, 1858 – January 14, 1931)<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/whittaker-johnson-chesnut/|title=Whittaker, Johnson Chesnut|last=Marszalek|first=John F.|date=2016-07-26|work=South Carolina Encyclopedia|access-date=2018-02-28|language=en-US}}</ref> was one of the first black men to win an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]].<ref name="week">Purdum, Todd S. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3DD1E3CF933A05754C0A963958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fU%2fUnited%20States%20Military%20Academy "Week in Review: 115 Years Late, He Won His Bars."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 30, 1995).</ref> When at the academy, he was brutally assaulted and then expelled after being falsely accused and convicted of faking the incident.<ref name="black" /> Over sixty years after his death, his name was formally cleared when he was posthumously [[Officer (armed forces)#United States|commissioned]] by President [[Bill Clinton]] in July 1995.<ref name="black" />
 ==Biography==
+Whittaker was born into slavery on the [[James Chesnut, Jr.|Chesnut]] Plantation in [[Camden, South Carolina]].<ref name="black">Purdum, Todd S. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDF123AF936A15754C0A963958260 "Black Cadet Gets a Posthumous Commission."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 25, 1995).</ref> He studied privately with [[Richard Theodore Greener|Richard Greener]], the first [[African American]] to graduate from [[Harvard College]].<ref name="Marszalek081971">{{cite journal|last=Marszalek|first=John|date=August 1971|title=A Black Cadet at West Point|journal=[[American Heritage Magazine]]|publisher=American Heritage Publishing Company|volume=22|issue=5|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/black-cadet-west-point}}</ref> Greener would later defend Whittaker at his court-martial. After studying with Greener, Whittaker attended the [[University of South Carolina]], then a freedmen's school.<ref name="Marszalek081971"/> He was appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]] in 1876 after receiving an appointment from South Carolina [[United States Representative|Representative]] [[Solomon L. Hoge]].<ref name="black"/><ref name="seek">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DB1539F932A05752C0A962958260 "Editorial: Seeking 'Fair Deal' for a Black Cadet."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (January 31, 1994).</ref> For most of his time at West Point, he was the only black cadet,<ref name="cent">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DE1231F933A15754C0A963958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "Editorial: After a Century, a Black Cadet Is Vindicated."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 20, 1995).</ref> and he was ostracized by his white peers.<ref name="black"/>
-[[File:Johnson C. Whittaker 3.jpg|thumb|left|Johnson C. Whittaker as a West Point Cadet.]]
-Whittaker was born into slavery on the [[James Chesnut, Jr.|Chesnut]] Plantation in [[Camden, South Carolina|Camden]], [[South Carolina]].<ref name="black">Purdum, Todd S. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDF123AF936A15754C0A963958260 "Black Cadet Gets a Posthumous Commission."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 25, 1995).</ref> He studied privately with [[Richard Theodore Greener|Richard Greener]], the first [[African American]] to graduate from [[Harvard]] college.<ref name="Marszalek081971">{{cite journal|last=Marszalek|first=John|date=August 1971|title=A Black Cadet at West Point|journal=[[American Heritage Magazine]]|publisher=American Heritage Publishing Company|volume=22|issue=5|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/black-cadet-west-point}}</ref> Whittaker later attended the [[University of South Carolina]], then a freedmen's school.<ref name="Marszalek081971"/> He was appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]] in 1876 after receiving an appointment from [[Solomon L. Hoge]].<ref name="black"/><ref name="seek">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DB1539F932A05752C0A962958260 "Editorial: Seeking 'Fair Deal' for a Black Cadet."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (January 31, 1994).</ref>  For most of his time at West Point, he was the only black cadet,<ref name="cent">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DE1231F933A15754C0A963958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "Editorial: After a Century, a Black Cadet Is Vindicated."] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 20, 1995).</ref> and he was ostracized by his white peers.<ref name="black"/>
+On the morning of April 5, 1880, he was found with his arms and legs tied to his bed, unconscious, bleeding, and bruised.<ref name="black" /><ref name="seek" /> His hands and face had been cut by a razor, and burned pages from his Bible were strewn about his room.<ref name="black" />
-In the morning of April 5, 1880, he was found tied to his bed, unconscious, bleeding, and bruised.<ref name="black"/><ref name="seek"/>  His hands and face had been cut by a razor, and burned pages from his Bible were strewn about his room.<ref name="black"/>  Whittaker told administrators that he had been attacked by three fellow cadets, but his account of the morning was not believed.<ref name="black"/>  West Point administrators said that he had fabricated the attack to win sympathy.<ref name="black"/> Initially, Whittacker was held by a court of inquiry, where he was defended by [[Martin I. Townsend]] and his old friend, Richard Greener and finally granted a court-martial.<ref name="Simmons1887">Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p327-335</ref> After more than a year of nationally publicized hearings, Whittaker was found guilty in an 1881 court martial and expelled from West Point.<ref name="black"/><ref name="seek"/>  The prosecuting attorney was West Point Judge Advocate Major [[Asa Bird Gardiner]], later a [[Sachem]] of [[Tammany Hall]] in New York and disgraced New York District Attorney, who blatantly talked of the "inferior" and "superior" races and commented that "Negroes are noted for their ability to sham and feign."<ref name="seek"/> His defense was led by [[Daniel Henry Chamberlain]] assisted by Greener.<ref name="Simmons1887"/> Though the verdict was overturned in 1883 by President [[Chester A. Arthur]], West Point reinstated the expulsion on the grounds that Whittaker had failed an exam.<ref name="black"/>
+[[File:Johnson C. Whittaker 2.jpg|thumb|"The West Point outrage – the Court of Inquiry in session" (''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', May 1880)|left]]
-In his later life, Whittaker was a teacher, lawyer, high school principal in Oklahoma City, and psychology professor in South Carolina.<ref name="week"/><ref name="black"/>  He died in 1931.<ref name="black"/>
+Whittaker told administrators that he had been attacked by three fellow cadets, but his account of the morning was not believed.<ref name="black" /> West Point administrators said that he had fabricated the attack to win sympathy.<ref name="black" /> Initially, Whittaker was held by a court of inquiry, where he was defended by [[Martin I. Townsend]] and his old friend, Richard Greener, and finally granted a court-martial.<ref name="Simmons1887">Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. pp. 327–335</ref> After more than a year of nationally publicized hearings, Whittaker was found guilty in an 1881 [[court martial]] of staging the attack, and expelled from West Point.<ref name="black" /><ref name="seek" /> The prosecuting attorney was West Point Judge Advocate Major [[Asa Bird Gardiner]], later a [[Sachem]] of [[Tammany Hall]] in New York and disgraced New York District Attorney, who blatantly talked of the "inferior" and "superior" races and commented that "Negroes are noted for their ability to sham and feign."<ref name="seek" /> His defense was led by [[Daniel Henry Chamberlain]] assisted by Greener.<ref name="Simmons1887" /> Though the verdict was overturned in 1883 by President [[Chester A. Arthur]], West Point reinstated the expulsion on the same day on the grounds that Whittaker had failed an exam.<ref name="black" />
+In his later life, Whittaker was a teacher, lawyer, high school principal in Oklahoma City, and psychology professor in South Carolina.<ref name="black" /><ref name="week" /> He died in [[Orangeburg, South Carolina]] in 1931.<ref name="black" /><ref name=":0" />  Whittaker was buried at Orangeburg Cemetery.
-His two sons served as Army officers in World War I, a grandson joined the all-black Tuskegee Airmen in World War II and a great-grandson served as first lieutenant in the Vietnam-era Army.
+[[File:Johnson Chesnut Whittaker Jr.jpg|thumb|left|Johnson C. Whittaker Jr. as a lieutenant in World War I.]]
+His sons, Johnson Whittaker Jr. and Miller Whittaker both served as Army officers in [[World War I]].<ref name="seek"/> In addition, a grandson, Peter H. Whittaker, joined the all-black [[Tuskegee Airmen]] in [[World War II]].<ref name="seek"/> A great-grandson, Ulysses W. Boykin III, served as a first lieutenant in the [[Vietnam War|Vietnam-era]] Army and a judge of the circuit court in [[Wayne County, Michigan]].<ref name="seek"/>
 ==Posthumous commission==
-In the 1970s, a book about Whittaker by [[John Marszalek]], a historian at Mississippi State University, drew attention to his case.<ref name="black"/>  In 1994, a television movie based on the book aired, which generated momentum for the movement to award Whittaker a posthumous [[Officer (armed forces)#United States|commission]].<ref name="black"/>
+In 1972, a book<ref>''Court-Martial: A Black Man in America''. New York: Scribner, 1972; subsequently published as ''Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker'' (New York: Collier Books, Macmillan Pub. Co., 1994).</ref> about Whittaker by [[John Marszalek]], a historian at Mississippi State University, drew attention to his case.<ref name="black"/> In 1994, a television movie based on the book aired, which generated momentum for the movement to award Whittaker a posthumous [[Officer (armed forces)#United States|commission]] as an officer in the US Army.<ref name="black"/>
 On July 25, 1995, President Bill Clinton awarded the commission to Whittaker's heirs, saying, "We cannot undo history. But today, finally, we can pay tribute to a great American and we can acknowledge a great injustice."<ref name="week"/><ref name="black"/>
 ==In popular culture==
-''[[Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker]]'' is a 1994 TV movie about the case.<ref>{{IMDb title|0109161|Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker}}</ref>
+''[[Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker]]'' is a 1994 TV movie about the case.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q3694740|title=Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker}}</ref>
 ''Matter of Honor'', a stage play by Michael Chepiga retelling Whittaker's story while at West Point, was produced at the [[Pasadena Playhouse]] in Pasadena, California, in September 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2007/legit/markets-festivals/matter-of-honor-1200556667/ |title=Matter of Honor |last=Verini |first=Bob |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 4, 2007}}</ref>
 ==See also==
-*[[Henry Ossian Flipper]] first African American to graduate from West Point, Class of 1877
+* [[James Webster Smith]], first African American to attend West Point
+* [[Henry Ossian Flipper]], first African American to graduate from West Point, Class of 1877
+* [[List of African-American pioneers in desegregation of higher education]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 31: / Line 49: @@
 ==Further reading==
 * Marszalek, John. ''Assault at West Point: The Court Martial of Johnson Whittaker.'' Touchstone (1994). {{ISBN|0-02-034515-1}}
+==External links==
+* {{Find a Grave}}
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 37: / Line 58: @@
 [[Category:1858 births]]
 [[Category:1931 deaths]]
-[[Category:African-American people]]
+[[Category:19th-century American slaves]]
-[[Category:American slaves]]
+[[Category:American military personnel who were court-martialed]]
-[[Category:People who were court-martialed]]
 [[Category:Overturned convictions in the United States]]
 [[Category:People from Camden, South Carolina]]
 [[Category:University of South Carolina alumni]]
 [[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
+[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]

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