Charles Young
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For information on the now-retired UCLA Chancellor and UF President, see Charles E. Young.
- For the television character on The West Wing, see Charlie Young.
| Charles Young | |
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| March 12, 1864 – January 8, 1922 (aged 57) | |
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| Place of birth | Mayslick, Kentucky |
| Place of death | Nigeria |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Years of service | 1884–1922 |
| Rank | Colonel |
Charles Young (March 12, 1864 - January 8, 1922) was the third African American graduate of West Point, first black U.S. national park superintendent, first African American military attaché, and highest ranking black officer in the United States Army until his death in 1922.
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[edit] Early life
Young was born in Mayslick, Kentucky, United States, the son of former slaves. His father enlisted as a private in the Fifth Regiment of the Colored Artillery (Heavy) Volunteers. When Young's parents moved to Ripley, Ohio, he attended the all-white high school there. He graduated at age 16 and was the first black to graduate with honors. Following graduation, he taught school in the black high school of Ripley.
[edit] Acceptance to West Point
While engaged in teaching, he had an opportunity to enter a competitive examination for appointment as a cadet at United States Military Academy at West Point. Young achieved the second highest score in the district in 1883, and after the primary candidate dropped out, he reported to the academy in 1884. He was turned back and had to repeat his first year after failing mathematics. He graduated with his commission in 1889, the third black man to do so at that time, and was assigned to the Ninth U.S. Cavalry Regiment. His subsequent service of 28 years was with black troops — the Ninth U.S. Cavalry and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry.
[edit] Military service
[edit] National Park assignments
In 1903, Young served as Captain of a black company at Presidio of San Francisco. He was appointed acting superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks, thus becoming the first black superintendent of a national park. He was responsible for the supervision of payroll accounts and directed the activities of rangers. Young's greatest impact on the park was road construction that helped to improve the underdeveloped park.
Due to his work ethic and perseverance, Young and his troops accomplished more that summer than the three military officers who had been assigned the previous three years. Captain Young and his troops completed a wagon road to the Giant Forest, home of the world's largest trees, and a road to the base of the famous Moro Rock. By mid-August, wagons of visitors were entering the mountaintop forest for the first time.
Young was transferred on November 2, 1903, and reassigned as troop commander at the Presidio. In his report to the Secretary of the Interior, he recommended the government acquire patented lands in the park. This recommendation was mentioned in legislation introduced in the United States House of Representatives. The Visalia, California Board of Trade showed appreciation of his performance as the park's acting superintendent by presenting him with a citation.
His first assignment after graduation was with the Buffalo Soldiers in the 10th Cavalry in Nebraska, and then in the 9th and 10th Cavalries in Utah. With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he was reassigned as Second Lieutenant to training duty at Camp Algers, Virginia.
Young was then awarded a commission as a Major in the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Later, during the Spanish-American War, he was in command of a squadron of the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers in Cuba.
After the war with Spain, Young was reassigned to Fort Duchesne in Utah where he successfully arbitrated a dispute between Native Americans and sheep herders. He also met one of the many soldiers who would eventually benefit from his encouragement, Sergeant Major Benjamin O. Davis. Later, Davis would became General Benjamin O. Davis, the first African-American to reach the rank of General in the U.S. army.
Charles Young distinguished himself throughout his military career with the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalries, and the 25th Infantry. He also served as Professor of Military Science at Wilberforce University, Ohio.
With the creation of the army's Military Information Division (MID), came his assignment as one of the army's first military attachés, in Port Au Prince, Haiti. His job was to observe the training and exercises of foreign armies and make reports on their relative strengths and weaknesses. United States intelligence was desperate for new maps and information about groups struggling for political power in Haiti. Young risked his life to fulfill his assignments, only to have his maps and reports stolen and sold to the Haitian government.
In 1903 Captain Young was in command of the 10th Cavalry, who were segregated at the Presidio of San Francisco. He was assigned "Acting Superintendent" of Sequoia National Parks in California for the summer. The management of the park was the responsibility of the army, which had very little Congressional funding. This problem and the fact that no "Acting Superintendent" of Sequoia National Parks ever stayed at this assignment for more than two consecutive summers resulted in the construction of less than five miles of roads within the park. The lack of a wagon road severely limited the number for people who visited the Giant Forest of Redwoods, which are the largest trees in the world.
Young and his troopers arrived in Sequoia after a 16-day ride. Their first priority was the extension of the wagon road. As always, Young's aggressive style of leadership, produced results. A road longer than all previous roads combined was produced, ending at the base of Moro Rock. This opened up the park to a the public who was clamoring to experience Sequoia National Parks. Soon wagons and automobiles were winding their way to the mountain-top forest for the first time.
[edit] Other military assignments
Young was sent to the Philippines to join his 9th regiment and command a squadron of two troops in 1908. Four years later he was once again selected for Military Attaché duty, this time to Liberia. For his service as adviser to the Liberian Government and his supervision of the building of the country's infrastructure, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal, an award that annually recognized the African-American who had made the highest achievement during in any field of honorable human endeavor.
During the 1916 Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico, Young was praised for his leadership in the pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa, who had murdered American citizens. Commanding a squadron of the 10th United States Cavalry, he led a cavalry pistol charge against the Villista forces, routing the opposing forces without losing a single man. The swift action saved the wounded General Beltran and his men, who had been outflanked.
On another occasion, Young was credited with averting disaster when he and his men came to the relief of the 13th U.S. Cavalry squadron who were fighting a heavy rear guard action.
Because of his exceptional leadership of the 10th Cavalry in the Mexican theater of war, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was briefly Fort Huachuca's commander in Texas.
Young was devoted to his wife Ada and their two children; son, Charles Jr. and daughter Marie. He was sure to have played the piano, and at least a few of his compositions, when he was home between assignments. Being versatile, he also played the violin and guitar. Linguistically, he spoke several languages.
Colonel Charles Young was the highest ranking African-American officer in the army when WW1 started. He was also the first African-American to reach that rank in the army.
With the explosive arrival of WW1, the public, and especially African-Americans considered the possibility of Young receiving a major leadership role in the war. He had met challenges of racism, bigotry, and discrimination embedded within society and within the military. He had shown himself to be exceptional, not only as a military officer, but also as a leader of men.
But justice and the rule of equality in the military were not for Lt. Colonel Charles Young. When he took his scheduled army physical, the doctors said his blood pressure was too high. Young and his comrades, his supporters, and the African-American news media believed otherwise. On June 22, 1917, Young was retired, under protest.
Racial segregation prevented Young from leading black troops into battle when the United States entered the World War I. He was medically retired, based on a diagnosis of Hypertension, and spent most of 1917 and 1918 as a professor at Wilberforce University. On November 6, 1918, after Young had ridden his horse from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness, he was reinstated. In 1919, he was again assigned as a military attaché to Liberia. He died January 8, 1922 of a kidney infection while on a reconnaissance mission in Nigeria. His house near Wilberforce is a National Historic Landmark.
He is an honorary member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
This article is based in part on a document created by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. government. As such, it is presumed to be in the public domain.
[edit] Bibliography
- Sweeney, W. Allison (1919), History of the American Negro in the Great World War, <http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16598> - infobox photograph
