Davis, Benjamin Oliver, Sr.

(1880-1970)

   The first African American general in the U.S. Army, Benjamin O. Davis Sr. was born in Washington, D.C., where he attended high school and took part-time classes at Howard University. In 1898, he joined the 8th Volunteer Infantry and served for a year in Georgia before mustering out. He rejoined the 9th Cavalry (one of four black regular regiments established by Congress after the Civil War). He rose through the ranks and became a first lieutenant in 1905. After a posting in the Philippines from 1901 to 1905, Davis took a position as professor of military science at Wilberforce University in Ohio. He was posted as the U.S. military attaché to Liberia from 1909 to 1912. He was posted back to the Philippines in 1917 and returned to the United States in 1920 as a lieutenant colonel. During the 1920s, Davis held different teaching positions at Tuskegee Institute and Wilberforce University. He made brigadier general in 1940 and retired in 1941 but was recalled following U.S. entry into World War II. During the war, he toured U.S. bases and the European Theater of Operations as an “adviser on Negro Problems.” He reported on conditions and the morale of African American servicemen, but most of his recommendations were ignored. His primary role was to act as a morale-boosting model for black Americans. He retired in 1948. Davis was awarded the Bronze Star and the Distinguished Service Medal. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.