Washington ( CNN ) -- William Henderson Foote was a lawman of the highest order in his small town of Yazoo City , Mississippi , when he died in the line of duty more than a century ago . He 'd once been the town 's constable , town marshal and circuit clerk while serving in the Mississippi legislature . And on Monday , Foote was remembered and recognized as the first African-American federal office killed in the line of duty . The Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) posthumously awarded its Gold Star Medal to Foote , who served as a post-Reconstruction-era deputy collector with the U.S. Department of the Treasury , Bureau of Internal Revenue -- a predecessor agency to today 's ATF . Foote was honored 128 years after his death as part of National Police Week . Several of Foote 's descendants were in attendance and Foote 's great-grandniece , Bettye Gardner , a professor of African-American history at Coppin State University in Baltimore , Maryland , accepted the award . In December 1883 , on what would be his last Christmas Eve , Foote intervened to protect an African-American man from being lynched . In the scuffle , three white men in the lynching party were shot and killed , but Foote ended up being put in prison . Four days later , Foote was killed by a lynch mob that stormed the prison where he was held . He died December 29 , 1883 . `` They wanted him out of that job , that was a white man 's job , '' said Gardner . Foote 's name is the latest to be added to ATF 's Memorial Wall . As a part of a larger effort to honor all fallen agents of law enforcement , ATF has gone back through historic annals to excavate overlooked stories of heroism like Foote 's . `` It was very important once I saw that he had slipped through the cracks of history that we make sure that we bring him and his story to life here at ATF , '' said ATF historian Barbara Osteika , who discovered William Foote 's story in a New York Times article from decades ago . On the wall beside Foote 's name is the name of William L. Pappan , an agent of the then , U.S. Department of Treasury , Bureau of Internal Revenue , Alcohol Tax Unit , who died in 1935 as the first Native American federal investigator killed in the line of duty . `` It was too long , but the fact is we 're not perfect in getting all of the names up on the wall . But , it 's my passion to make sure each and every agent that served to protect our communities against violent crime -- each and every one of them that has lost their life in the line of duty -- will get on our wall , '' said Osteika . Foote was born a free man in 1843 . And the period following the Civil War was a complicated one , explained the keynote speaker of Monday 's event , Sharon Malone , wife of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder . `` The shocking thing to me , actually being a Southerner , ( was ) finding out that there were free black people in the state of Mississippi at the turn of the 19th century , not the 20th , '' said Malone who hails from Alabama and is her family 's historian . She added , `` We tend to know only one narrative of life in the South , and that is of slave and slave owners . But there is a very rich and varied history that we have yet to tap in to . '' While Foote 's story of sacrifice has recently gained public attention , his has been a story of family lore for generations of his ancestors . `` It 's just been a wonderful legacy come to life , '' said Patricia Nolcox , who is Foote 's great-granddaughter . `` And , the interesting and important thing is that it was n't new to them ( the family ) , they knew the story also . We had pictures , we talked about it . But , it was just our story , the family story , '' she said , as she stood beside her cousin , Gardner . The process of documenting Foote 's story brought both a new perspective to the African-American experience during the period of Reconstruction , and also brought an extended family together . `` I had n't seen her since she was a toddler , '' Nolcox said of Gardner as they stood side by side in ATF 's atrium . `` I 'm the oldest descendant and I 'm proud of it , '' she added . `` The real legacy is to understand that black people , people of color have been involved and have been patriots in this country from its very inception , '' said Malone .
The memorial honors Captain Henderson Foot , who was killed 128 years ago . Foote was the first African - American federal officer to die in the line of duty . He worked for a predecessor agency to today 's ATF . He was killed by a lynch mob in Chicago , in March .