The Post Chapel

The Post Chapel. Fort Davis National Historic Site. Chapel... library. . . schoolroom. . . and Friday night ballroom, this unadorned building was the community center., Mattie Belle Anderson, the town's first schoolteacher wrote, "A non- commissioned officer conducted a school for the children in the post, using the post chapel for his schoolroom five days in the week. Friday nights from 8 to 12 it was used by the officers' families for a dance, the music supplied by the post band which ceased exactly at midnight, leaving lancers or waltz unfinished. That was the band Cinderella would have liked. Every Sunday evening the post Chaplain preached in the chapel, certainly a useful and adaptable ediface.", Photo Circa 1923, Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper , Henry O. Flipper became the first black graduate of West Point in June of 1877. One month later he accepted a commission as a second lieutenant assigned to Company A of the 10th United States Cavalry. Henry Flipper's excellent field services during the Victorio War drew much praise. The black lieutenant then assumed the duties of Acting Commissary of Subsistence and Post Quartermaster at Ft. Davis., However, in 1881, Flipper's bright military future was cut short when he was accused of embezzling government funds and "conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman." The Post Chapel was the scene of Flipper's controversial court-martial proceedings. Flipper was found innocent of embezzlement, but under prejudicial overtones, was found guilty of improper conduct and dishonorably discharged from service in 1882. Despite this set back, Flipper continued to strive for success. He was the first prominent black civil and mining engineer in the United States and served as Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior from 1921-1923., Henry Flipper and his descendents sought to clear the military's charges against him. In 1976, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records reviewed the Court-Martial transcripts and changed Flipper's discharge to show an Honorable Discharge, dated June 20, 1882.