In August 1906, gunfire erupted in Brownsville, Texas, killing one man and wounding another. The gunman was unknown. But white residents blamed Black soldiers of the 25th Infantry stationed at nearby Fort Brown.
The soldiers denied involvement. Their commanders reported they were in their barracks. Still, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered 167 Black soldiers discharged without honor and without a trial.
Among them was First Sergeant Mingo Sanders, a veteran soldier who had ridden with the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps across the American West and fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Sanders lost his military career and his pension. Undaunted, he returned to civilian life and eventually settled in Washington, D.C. He found employment with the federal government, working as a messenger in the Department of the Interior. He died in 1929, his name still stained by the accusation.
But finally, in 1972, the Army reinvestigated the Brownsville Affair and cleared the men, including Sanders, this crime.
The Joy Trip Project celebrates the enduring legacy of Black American History. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American historical figures, events and cultural contributions.
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