The Legacy of Henry O. Flipper in the Borderlands 

by Jose Ramon Garcia 

Perhaps you’ve heard the remarkable story of Henry Ossian Flipper who was born into slavery in Georgia in 1856; became the first African-American graduate of West Point military academy; a Lieutenant in the 10th U.S. Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers; engineered Flipper’s Ditch—now a Black Military Heritage Site in Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and who unjustly faced a U.S. military court martial in 1882. 

But not many people know about his activities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Activities that contributed to the development of Nogales, Arizona—which might not have transpired without the undeserved court martial proceedings. Perhaps things happen for a reason?  

While based at Fort Davis, Texas, Lieutenant Flipper was charged with embezzling approximately $3800 from commissary funds. He was found not guilty of the charge but was convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and dishonorably discharged.  

Nevertheless, Henry Flipper was not one to be defeated. Instead, he sought a new life as a surveyor in mapmaking. This endeavor led him to the borderlands where his fluency in Spanish would prove beneficial.  

Settling in the Arizona Territory border town of Nogales in 1887, he worked as a civil engineer making mine and land surveys in both the United States and Mexico. We don’t know exactly where Flipper set up his shingle, but an 1891 map suggests two lots south of the town jail on Nelson Avenue. Flipper seemed to fit in well with the local townsfolk, though he would face intermittent discrimination due to his color.  

Then in late 1893, Flipper became the talk of the town in a joyful way. While employed as a Special Agent of the U.S. Court of Private Land Claims, his survey of the Los Nogales de Elías Land Grant determined that the granted land extending northwards past Nogales was in error. It missed the border, and hence Nogales, by one mile, making the grant null and void.  

The ruling of the land claims court benefited the property owners of Nogales in that their clouded titles would become clear; making the holders of these titles the sole owners of their properties. On appeal, the case went a second time to the U.S. Supreme Court. But it once again failed, as the justices upheld Flipper’s findings. 

Throughout his life, Flipper worked diligently to restore his military status and rank. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 3, 1940, before achieving this goal. Thirty-six years later, due in part, to the Civil Rights movement, Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper was granted an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1976, and in 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton granted him a full pardon.