This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Posthumous West Point commission honors first Black cadet
President Clinton awarded Johnson Chestnut Whittaker, once expelled after a racially motivated assault in 1880, a posthumous West Point commission. Whittaker, born a slave in 1858 in Camden, endured ostracism and a court martial overturned by President Arthur. His family plans to archive his Bible at South Carolina State University.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Clinton
West Point
Johnson Whittaker
White House
Whittaker
Secretary of the Army
South Carolina
Johnson Chestnut Whittaker
Camden
S.C
U.S. Military Academy
N.Y
Robert Lincoln
Academy
Chester Arthur
National Archives
Cecil Whittaker Pequette
Los Angeles
America
South Carolina State University
Orangeburg
Ernest Hollings
D-S.c
Army
Johnson C. Whittaker