Charles Young

Charles Young
Brigadier General
10th Cavalry Regiment
March 12, 1864 – January 8, 1922

Brig. Gen. Charles Young forged an unforgettable path, blazing trails for African Americans aspiring to command as officers in the United States Army. Young’s military career spanned over 30 years and culminated with his promotion to the rank of colonel. He was the first African American Soldier to reach that rank, and his career proved that the racial barriers of commissioned service could be broken.

Born into slavery on March 12, 1864, in Mays Lick, Kentucky, he was the son of Gabriel and Arminta. His father escaped slavery and enlisted in the Union Army in 1865. After his honorable discharge in 1866, Gabriel returned to Kentucky and moved his family north to Ripley, Ohio. Arminta, who could read and write, took pride in her son’s education, significantly impacting the academic rigor he was known for later in life. Young graduated from high school with honors in 1881 and taught at the local African American school in Ripley for several years.

In 1884, Congressman Alphonso Hart of Ohio nominated Young to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. No definitive record remains as to why Young chose West Point, knowing the challenges he would face as a Black cadet. Still, a combination of his father’s military service, West Point’s reputation as one of the top educational institutions in the country, and free tuition are likely factors. Upon arrival at West Point, only one other Black cadet, John Hanks Alexander, was attending. Together, they overcame racism and severe emotional and social isolation. White cadets and, in some instances, faculty members resorted to a practice known as “silencing,” a collective strategy aimed at severing all nonessential communication with Black cadets. Commissioned in 1889, he was just the third Black cadet to graduate (preceded by 1st Lt. Henry O. Flipper and 2nd Lt. Alexander) from West Point. The changing political environment and expansion of Jim Crow laws ensured he was the last until 1936.

Young’s first assignment was to one of the “Buffalo Soldier” regiments, the 10th U.S. Cavalry. In 1894, Young served as a professor of military sciences and tactics (PMST) at Wilberforce College (now Wilberforce University), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Ohio. He was the only Black line officer in the Regular Army. Young formed a lifelong friendship with the emerging Black activist and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois, also a professor at Wilberforce. As the War with Spain unfolded in 1898, Young accepted a commission as a major in the U.S. Volunteer Army and assumed command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Battalion, an all-Black National Guard unit. The unit was mobilized and underwent training in Virginia but never saw combat. Young completed his assignment in 1899 and reverted to his Regular Army rank of first lieutenant. He next served with the 9th U.S. Cavalry, posted at Fort Duchesne, Utah. During this assignment, he mentored Sgt. Maj. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., who later became the first Black general in the U.S. Army.

In 1901, Young deployed to the Philippines as the troop commander of I Troop, 9th U.S. Cavalry. He next served as the superintendent of Sequoia National Park in California, becoming the first African American to hold the position. He oversaw expansive road development, trail clearing, and successful patrolling operations against illegal poachers and livestock grazing. Young was then selected as the military attaché to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. After his tour in Haiti, he returned to the 9th U.S. Calvary with duty at Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming.

By 1911, there were three Black line officers in the Regular Army: Capt. Young, 1st Lt. Davis, and 1st Lt. John E. Green. For the next decade, all three Black officers rotated through a circuit of assignments that systematically limited their opportunities to command White Soldiers. Those assignments included the military attaché to Liberia, PMST at HBCUs — notably Wilberforce University and Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University), or with one of four Buffalo Soldier regiments.

Maj. Young served again as a military attaché, this time in Liberia. After a three-year tour, he transferred to the 10th U.S. Cavalry. As a squadron commander, he participated in a 1916 campaign to locate and defeat Pancho Villa and his paramilitary forces along the U.S.-Mexican border. Young and his Soldiers performed exceptionally well, resulting in his promotion to lieutenant colonel. During that year, Young was also awarded the Spingarn Medal, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for organizing and training the constabulary in Liberia. The Spingarn Medal was annually awarded for the noblest achievement by an African American during the preceding year.

As World War I drew closer, the War Department’s concerns grew regarding Young’s ascension into the senior military ranks. After a medical board found signs of high blood pressure, the War Department medically retired Young in 1917. To prove his physical fitness, Col. Young embarked on a historic 497-mile horseback protest ride from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. Although he successfully proved his physical fitness, the War Department refused to alter its decision, and he remained medically retired. Shortly before the end of World War I, he was recalled to active duty in the Army and sent to Camp Grant, Illinois, to help train Black Soldiers.

In 1920, Young returned to Liberia to serve again as a military attaché. It would be his last assignment. On Jan. 8, 1922, Young died of a kidney infection in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1923, his remains were returned to the United States. The funeral service for Young was held at the Memorial Amphitheater, and he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. Young was survived by his wife, Ada, and his two children, Charles Noel and Marie Aurelia. Today, his home is designated a National Monument of the United States and is designated as The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, located in Wilberforce, Ohio. A century after his passing, he received a posthumous promotion to brigadier general, recognizing his exemplary leadership and unwavering commitment to duty. His legacy, marked by breaking through barriers of racial injustice and segregation, paved the way for thousands of African Americans with aspirations to serve.

Felix Camacho
Graduate Historic Research Intern

Sources

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“Itinerary for Col. Charles Young’s trip from Wilberforce, OH to Washington, DC.” Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 1918. Document. https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2010.39.3.

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“Proclamation 8945-Establishment of the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument,” The American Presidency Project, March 25, 2013. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-8945-establishment-the-charles-young-buffalo-soldiers-national-monument.

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