Henry Vinton Plummer | |
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Born | Three Sisters Plantation, near Bowie, Maryland | July 30, 1844
Died | February 19, 1905 Kansas City, Kansas | (aged 60)
Resting place | National Harmony Memorial Park Landover, Maryland |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Baptist preacher, United States Army chaplain |
Henry Vinton Plummer (July 30, 1844 – February 10, 1905) was an American Baptist preacher and chaplain with the United States Army Buffalo Soldiers. Born a slave on a plantation near Bowie, Maryland, he escaped slavery in his early 20s and enlisted in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. He served as a pastor at several churches before being appointed chaplain of the 9th Cavalry Regiment by President Chester A. Arthur in 1884. At that time, he was the only black officer in the US Army. In 1894 he was dishonorably discharged from the Army for drunkenness and poor conduct, but his discharge was upgraded to honorable after a review in 2005.