James Webster Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1850 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | November 30, 1876 (aged 26) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1870—1874 |
| Rank |  Second lieutenant(posthumous) |
| Other work | University professor |
James Webster Smith (June 1850 – November 30, 1876) was an American professor and a cadet at the United States Military Academy. A former slave, Smith became a scholar and is recognized as the first black person appointed to a cadetship at West Point. His tenure at the academy, from 1870 to 1874, was fraught with racial prejudice and ended with Smith's formal dismissal a year before completing his studies. Embittered by his experience, Smith nonetheless found success as a professor at South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute. He died of tuberculosis in 1876.
Although Smith's military career was curtailed by racism, he later served as the Commander of Cadets at South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute.
In 1996, at the request of South Carolina Congressman John Spratt, President Bill Clinton approved the posthumous commission of James Webster Smith, to the rank of 2nd lieutenant of the U.S. Army. At the ceremony, Spratt stated: “It's an atonement, long overdue, for what James Webster Smith had to suffer at West Point.”
Often overlooked in black history, Smith's tenure at West Point is obscured by the accomplishments of Henry Ossian Flipper, the first black cadet to graduate from West Point.