Charles DeLesline Foster (1948-1986)

On September 6, 1966, Charles DeLesline Foster became the first African American to enroll in The Citadel Corps of Cadets, the military institution in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1842. Foster was born on November 26, 1948, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to … Read MoreCharles DeLesline Foster (1948-1986)

The Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School (1901- )

The Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School was a military base and training facility located on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa. During World War I it was the training facility for the first large group of African Americans officers to serve … Read MoreThe Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School (1901- )

The Manumission of Monimia Travers: A Slave Freed at Fort Vancouver

Few people identify slavery with Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.  However, there were slaves in the region particularly in the decade before the Civil War.  In the following article, Gregory Paynter Shine, the Chief Ranger and Historian at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, describes … Read MoreThe Manumission of Monimia Travers: A Slave Freed at Fort Vancouver

Buffalo Soldiers at Vancouver, Washington Barracks (1899-1900)

In 1849 the U.S. Army established its first military post in the Pacific Northwest at Vancouver, Washington.  Known varyingly as Columbia Barracks, Fort Vancouver, and, since 1879, Vancouver Barracks, the post played a leading role in major military actions in the nineteenth century American West, … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers at Vancouver, Washington Barracks (1899-1900)