James W. Smith, the "colored cadet" at West Point...

Item # 689149

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January 28, 1871

FRANK LESLIE'S ILLUSTRATED, New York, Jan. 28, 1871

* James Webster Smith illustration - print
* 1st African American appointed to cadetship
* West Point - United States Military Academy

Inside is a half page print: "West Point, New York--Court Martial Of James W. Smith, The Colored Cadet--Smith Reading His Defense, Jan. 12th."
James Smith was an American professor and a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy. A former slave, Smith became a scholar and is recognized as the first black person appointed to a cadetship at West Point. His tenure at the academy, from 1870 to 1874, was fraught with racial prejudice and ended with Smith's formal dismissal a year before completing his studies. Embittered by his experience, Smith nonetheless found success as a professor at South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute.
Also within are: "The Hahnemann Hospital, No. 307 East 55th Street" & another half page has four illustrations of the Esquimax (Eskimos).
Sixteen pages, very nice condition.

Category: Post-Civil War