On an April morning in 1880, West Point cadet Johnson Chestnut Whittaker failed to appear at 6 a.m. roll call. He had endured continuous abuse from his white classmates and was found unconscious and bloodied after a brutal beating. But as he recounted the story of his attack, he was met with suspicion from West Point officials.

In West Texas, the Army’s first Black commissioned officer faced a court martial over his handling of commissary funds and the buffalo soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalries pursued the final resistance of fierce Apache warriors. After years of service, buffalo soldiers would be forced to confront the broken promises of the U.S. government.

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