***Johnson Chesnut Whittaker***
(b. August 23, 1858; d. January 13, 1931)
South Carolina. Born enslaved. Mulatto.
Occupation: lawyer, teacher.
Father's occupation: tailor
Mother's occupation: domestic servant
Johnson Whittaker was born into slavery on Mulberry Plantation in Camden, South Carolina to Maria J. and James Whitaker. James was a freedman who worked as tailor, and Maria was a house slave. Johnson's father left the family shortly after Johnson was born, claiming that Johnson and his twin brother were not his offspring.
Johnson and his mother Maria were owned by Colonel James Chesnut, a wealthy planter. His daughter-in-law was the author of A Diary from Dixie Mary Boykin Chesnut. At the start of the Civil War, the Colonel owned almost 500 slaves and several plantations. Mulberry Planation was sacked by Union soldiers in early 1865. Once the Union army took control over the region, the Whittakers became freedpeople.
As freedpeople, the Whittakers remained in Camden, and Johnson's mother worked as a domestic servant for a relative of Colonel Chesnut. She was professionally successful and, by 1876, owed property, a rare achievement for a freedperson.
During this time, Johnson attended a freedmen's school in Camden and later was privately tutored by the minister of his church, Edward M. Pinckney. He was friends with fellow future U of SC student William Boykin. In July 1874, he took the entrance exam for the University of South Carolina and was awarded a scholarship.
Johnson registered at the University of South Carolina on October 5, 1874. He entered into the sub freshman (or college preparatory) class, but by January 1876, he was in the college class, following the classical studies track.
Johnson left the University of South Carolina in 1876 to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. Richard T. Greener, one of his professors, had encouraged him to apply, and he received an appointment from U.S. Representative Solomon L. Hoge.
West Point had only started admitting African Americans in 1870, and at the time, no African American had graduated. The African American students had very difficult experiences: they experienced abuse and social ostracization by white cadets. When Johnson entered West Point, all but one of the African American students had left.
The one remaining African American, Henry O. Flipper, was Johnson's roommate his first year. Early during that year, Johnson was struck in the face by a white cadet. Johnson reported the incident to school authorities, and the cadet was court-marshaled and received a suspension. The rest of the year was largely uneventful.
At the end of the year (in June 1877), Henry O. Flipper graduated, and a new African American cadet, Charles A. Minnie, entered. However, Charles was dismissed in January 1878 due to poor academic performance.
The departure of Charles left Johnson as the only African American cadet at West Point, and he experienced extreme social isolation. The white cadets "cut" him, that is they refused to interact with him except when required at formal functions by school officials. This treatment evidently took a toll on Johnson as he academic performance began to decline. However, he endured and remained at the school until summer 1880.
On the morning of April 5, 1880, Johnson was found tied to his bed, bruised and bleeding from cuts to his ears, face, and hands. He claimed to have been attacked at night by three cadets and, as evidence, produced a warning note he had received the previous day. School officials responded by accusing him of fabricating the attack to avoid taking examinations. What exactly happened was debated in legal proceedings that took place over the next two years.
Three days after the incident (on April 8, 1880), the Superintendent of West Point John Schofield established a court of inquiry to investigate the matter. The court proceedings were followed by the national press. After 2 months (on June 25, 1880), the court found that Johnson's wounds were self-inflicted and recommended he be separated from the academy. Johnson was suspended, pending a trial by court martial.
The court martial was established on December 31, 1880. Johnson was defended by former South Carolina Governor Daniel H. Chamberlain and his former professor Richard T. Greener. At the trial, his former professors Henry J. Fox, Anson W. Cummings, and William Main testified in his defense. Despite their testimony, on June 10, 1881, the court found Johnson guilty of mutating himself, forging the warning note, and then lying to the court of inquiry. They recommended he be dishonorably discharge from the academy and forced to perform hard labor for 1 year at a penitentiary.
The court's decision was reviewed by President Chester A. Arthur, and on March 22, 1882, the President voided both the sentence and the decision. He justified his action by arguing that the court martial had improperly admitted evidence. Despite this, Johnson was discharged from West Point on the grounds that he had failed a philosophy examination held during the court of inquiry.
In the summer of 1882, after being dismissed, Johnson gave public lectures on his experiences at West Point. His lectures were well-received, but he began to fade from the public eye. After his summer lectures, he largely avoided discussing his experience at West Point for the remainder of his life.
By January 1884, Johnson had returned to South Carolina and was teaching at the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston. He also began studying law and was admitted to the South Carolina bar on May 26, 1885, possibly after taking law classes at Claflin College (which maintained a law school in the Charleston). He ran a law practice in Charleston until around 1887 when he moved to Sumter.
In Sumter, Johnson continued to practice law. He was one of the lawyers who represented Republican politician Thomas B. Johnston in contesting the 1894 election for House Representative of the 7th District. The lawyers achieved modest success: a congressional committee declared the seat void, a decision that removed Johnston's opponent from office.
Johnson also continued to work as a teacher. He taught at Lincoln school, Sumter's first school for African Americans. The school describes Johnson as serving as a principal from 1890-94 and 1895-1900. However, Johnson was also living in Washington DC and working as a clerk in the U.S. Census Office in 1891 and 1893.
Johnson left Sumter for Orangeburg in 1900. He moved to accept a faculty position at the Colored State College (now South Carolina State University). He taught chemistry and mathematics, and later served as principal of the preparatory department. He also took over the military science program. Around the time he moved to Orangeburg, Johnson stopped practicing law, reportedly after deciding that it was contrary to Christian principles.
Johnson left South Carolina for Oklahoma in 1908. His son John was experiencing health problems, and the family thought Oklahoma's climate would help him. They settled in Oklahoma City, and Johnson worked at Douglass High School, serving as teacher, assistant principal, and then principal. One of his students was the celebrated novelist Ralph Ellison.
In 1925, after his children had grown and left the house, Johnson moved back to South Carolina and returned to teaching at State College. He worked as principal of the preparatory department and professor of psychology and education. He was remembered by students as a stern, although soft spoken, disciplinarian.
Johnson died on January 13, 1931. He is buried in Orangeburg Cemetery.
Johnson was posthumously awarded a military commission by President Bill Clinton on July 25, 1995. His experience at West Point is the subject of the stage play Matter of Honor and the 1994 TV movies Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker.
Johnson's son Miller F. Whittaker was the Third President of State College, serving from 1932-49. The university library is named in his honor.
Sources
1). Marszalek, John. Assault at West Point: The Court Martial of Johnson Whittaker. Touchstone (1994).
2). Hine, William C. South Carolina State University: A Black Land-Grant College in Jim Crow America. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2018.
3). Washington, D. C. City Directory, 1890. Washington, D.C.: R. L. Polk Co., 1890
4). Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1893
5). Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1893
6). Burke, W. Lewis. All for Civil Rights: African American Lawyers in South Carolina, 1868-1968, University of Georgia Press, 2017.
Posted 4/3/20 w/drawing from Wikipedia