"Jimmy Smith's father, who fought with General Sherman,
and came back to become an alderman in Columbia, had
told the boy that when he got to West Point among soldiers
he would be treated justly, and you can imagine how the
hungry boy felt when he trudged back over the hot campus
to see Colonel Black and General Schriver, who was then
Superintendent of the Academy.
"The black boy came and stood before the commandant and
handed him his appointment papers and asked him to read
them. Colonel Black, Colonel Boynton, and other officers
looked around inquiringly. Then they got up to take a
good look at, the first colored cadet. The colonel, red
in the face, waved the boy away with his hand, and, one
by one, the officers departed, speechless with amazement.
"In a few moments the news spread through the Academy.
The white cadets seemed paralyzed.
"Several cadets threatened to resign, some advocated
maiming him for life, and a Democratic 'pleb' from
Illinois exclaimed, 'I'd rather die than drill with
the black devil.' But wiser counsels prevailed, and
the cadets consented to tolerate Jimmy Smith and not
drown or kill him for four weeks, when it was thought
the examiners would 'bilge' him.
"On the 16th of June, 1870, I saw Jimmy Smith again at
West Point and wrote out my experiences. He was the
victim of great annoyance.
"At these insults the colored cadet showed a suppressed
emotion.
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