The nation's first Black general in the Army, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was born in Washington, D.C. on July 1st 1877. Davis attended M Street High School, where he obtained his first military experience by participating in the school's corps of cadets program. During his senior year, he also enrolled in courses at Howard University, which enabled him to play on the school's football team. After his 1898 graduation, Davis served briefly as a second lieutenant in the District of Columbia National Guard's Company D 1st Separate Battalion. After high school, Davis enlisted in the U.S. Army and tried to enter the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. His application was rejected—President William McKinley’s staff explained that it was “not politically feasible for Black cadets” at that time.
Captain Robertson Palmer, a White officer in the African American 8th U.S Volunteer Infantry, subsequently offered Davis a commission if Davis helped him recruit soldiers necessary, for the Spanish-American War. Palmer and Davis quickly recruited their company, and on July 13, 1898, Davis was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry's Company G. After the war, Davis was discharged from the volunteers and joined the regular army as a private. He soon became a non-commissioned officer. In late 1900, Davis's unit was commanded by Lieutenant Charles Young, one of a handful of African American officers serving in the U.S. military at that time. Young encouraged Davis and tutored him in the subjects covered on the officer candidate test. On February 2, 1901, Davis was commissioned a second lieutenant of Cavalry.
In the spring of 1901, Troop I was posted overseas to serve in the Philippine–American War. In August 1901, Davis assumed officer's duties when he was assigned to Troop F, 10th Cavalry. Davis spent a year on the island of Panay as his new regiment fought Filipino insurgents. After service in the Philippines, Davis returned to the United States, and in October 1902 he married Elnora Dickerson. Davis was promoted to first lieutenant on February 28, 1905. In April 1905, he was assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. A year and a half later, Davis was assigned as professor of military science and tactics at Wilberforce University. After completing his Wilberforce assignment, Davis served briefly with the 9th Cavalry until November 1909, when he was posted as U.S. military attaché in Liberia. He was recommended for the post by U.S. ambassador Ernest A. Lyon.
Davis was responsible for training Liberia's military forces as part of a larger U.S. effort to prevent invasion by the European powers during the period of African colonization. Davis's judgment was that Liberia's military was inept, and that it lacked a coherent command and control structure. Davis's judgment was that Liberia's military was inept, and that it lacked a coherent command and control structure. Among the events he witnessed was a mutiny in which soldiers threatened Liberia's Secretary of War over nonpayment of wages. Davis suggested reorganizing Liberia's military under an American cadre of two officers and three non-commissioned officers. The proposal was not accepted, but Liberia's government subsequently offered Davis an appointment in their military.
Davis was informed that he could not constitutionally serve both countries. The country's climate and the food and water that were then available in Liberia caused Davis to become ill, and in 1911 he requested reassignment. He returned to the United States in November 1911, and in January 1912 was assigned to Troop I, 9th Cavalry. The 9th Cavalry was assigned to patrol the Mexican-United States border to prevent the cross-border raids during the Mexican Revolution in 1913. In February 1915, Davis was again assigned to Wilberforce University as professor of military science and tactics, and he was promoted to captain in December 1915. His wife, Elnora died from complications of childbirth during the spring of 1916. The next year, Davis requested reassignment to a troop unit.
The War Department reassigned Benjamin O. Davis to the 9th Cavalry at Fort Stotsenburg, Philippine Islands. As the army expanded for World War I, Davis was promoted to temporary major in 1917 and temporary lieutenant colonel in 1918 and was shipped to the Philippines. During this posting to the Philippines, Davis successively commanded the regiment's Supply Troop, served as post quartermaster, commanded 3rd Squadron and then 1st Squadron, and served as post provost marshal. Disappointed at being denied the opportunity to lead troops in combat, Davis was also incensed to read an article in the Army and Navy Journal alleging that Blacks were not promoted because they were “deficient in moral fiber, rendering them unfit as officers and leaders of men".
In 1919, he married his second wife while in the Philippines. After returning to the United States in 1920, Davis returned to his permanent rank of captain, but was soon afterwards promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel. He was then assigned to Tuskegee Institute as professor of military science and tactics. Davis commanded the school's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, and was responsible for providing instruction in basic infantry subjects. In 1924, Davis was posted to duty as senior instructor with 2nd Battalion, 372nd Infantry Regiment, an African American unit of the Ohio National Guard, in Cleveland, Ohio. Davis supervised the development of plans for individual and collective training and oversaw the battalion's officers and non-commissioned officers.
In November 1929, he was the only Black officer in the U.S military. Davis was promoted to full colonel in 1930. The following year, Davis was again assigned to Tuskegee Institute as professor of military science and tactics and commander of the R.O.T.C program. In April 1938, Davis was assigned as senior instructor of the 369th Regiment a unit of the New York National Guard. Davis served in this assignment only briefly, because in May, Governor Herbert H. Lehman commissioned him as a colonel in the National Guard and appointed him to command the regiment. He took command in July, and led his all-Black regiment during its individual and collective training. While he was in command, the 369th Infantry was reorganized as the 369th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment.
With the U.S. military beginning to expand in expectation of entering World War II, several African American leaders advocated for the increased enlistment of African American soldiers as well as opportunities for commissions and leadership roles. These advocates also pushed for Davis to be promoted to brigadier general. Army leaders did not include Davis on a list of colonels slated for promotion in late 1940, claiming that he was too close to the mandatory retirement age of 64. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wish to woo the African American vote the president recommended him for advancement to brigadier general, with Roosevelt's staff making the claim that Davis had been inadvertently omitted from the original list. Davis was promoted on October 25, 1940, becoming the first African American general officer in the United States Army.
In June 1941, General George C. Marshall, the army's chief of staff, inquired whether Davis was willing to continue serving beyond his mandatory retirement date in July. Marshall's plan was for Davis to serve as an assistant to the army's inspector general, with specific responsibility for identifying and resolving concerns arising from the expanded use of segregated Black units. Davis accepted, retired on July 31, and was recalled to active duty on August 1. From 1941 to 1944, Davis conducted inspection tours of Black units throughout the army, including visits to the European theater of the war from September to November 1942 and July to November 1944. While serving in the Office of the Inspector General, Davis also served on the Advisory Committee on Negro Troop Policies.
During the summer of 1947, he was appointed United States special representative to Liberia's centennial celebration with the personal rank of ambassador. In October 1947, he was assigned as special assistant to the Secretary of the Army. In this posting, he was responsible for policy review and recommendations with respect to the role of African Americans in the army, including plans for desegregation. Davis, noted for his expertise in race relations, was summoned by the U.S. High Command to Europe where intense racial conflict among American troops had reached epidemic proportions. Davis’s investigation indicated that racial strife was due primarily to discrimination against Black troops by their White countrymen. Davis also found that African American troops deeply resented their exclusion from combat duty.
On July 20, 1948, Davis retired in a White House ceremony presided over by President Harry S. Truman. On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 which abolished racial discrimination in the United States armed forces. In retirement, Davis resided in Washington, D.C. From July 1953 to June 1961, he served as a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission. As a member of the commission, he made numerous trips around the United States and to Europe to commemorate veterans and dedicate monuments and memorials. His efforts were a significant part of planning, constructing, and dedicating six military cemeteries in Europe. He remained active in the civil rights movement. Davis died in November of 1970, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His son Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. On December 9, 1998, he was advanced to four-star general.