Charles Young - Class of 1889 - Biography

Colonel Charles Young graduated from West Point in 1889.  A Buffalo Soldier serving with the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 25th Infantry, Young eventually became the first African American to achieve the rank of colonel in the United States Army. Charles Young was born to ex-slaves in Mays Lick, Kentucky in 1864.  In 1889 he became the third African American to graduate from the Academy.

As a second lieutenant, Young’s assignment options were limited to the four Buffalo Soldier regiments. After serving five years on the “Western Front” with the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments, Young left to become a professor of Military Science and Tactics for four years, between 1894 and 1898, at all-black Wilberforce University in Ohio, where he became close, lifetime friends with fellow faculty member W.E.B. DuBois.

Young returned to active military service as a major in the 10th Cavalry of Buffalo Soldiers during U.S. operations in Cuba and the Philippines.  He was in command of the cavalry as they participated in the celebrated charge up San Juan Hill.  In 1903, Young was appointed superintendent of the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks in California.  He was the first African American to hold the post of National Park Superintendent. In 1904, Captain Young became the first Military Attaché to Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Young joined 23 other officers (the only African American among them) serving in these diplomatic posts in the Theodore Roosevelt administration. 

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, many assumed Young, the highest ranking African American in the Army, would be given a prominent command.  Instead, he was declared physically unfit for duty due to high blood pressure.  After a 500-mile horse ride from Ohio to Washington, D.C. to prove his fitness, Young was returned to active duty in 1918 and promoted to Colonel.  He was later appointed United States military attaché to Liberia.  Colonel Charles Young died in 1922 while visiting Lagos, the capital of British Nigeria.  He was interred in Lagos with full honors by British troops.  However his body was returned to the United States in 1923 and interred at Arlington National Cemetery.  The eulogy was delivered by his friend W.E.B. DuBois.

The Cadet Gospel Choir has twice completed the Colonel Charles Young Haiti Mission Trip honoring Colonel Young’s legacy.

In recognition of the service and achievements of U.S. Army Col. Charles Young, the Under Secretary of the Army, Hon. Gabe Camarillo, promoted Young to the rank of Brigadier General, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, April 29, 2022.

COL Charles Young Wreath Laying Ceremony

Each year Do More Together gathers at schools in the Army/Navy host city to give back to the community through engagement and mentorship of our youth.

Before our 2021 Give Back program, we hosted a Wreath Laying Ceremony in remembrance of COL Charles Young on December 10, 2021. He was the third African-American graduate of West Point, a Buffalo Soldier, and the first African-American to achieve the rank of Colonel.

Promotion to Brigadier General

In recognition of the service and achievements of U.S. Army Col. Charles Young, the Under Secretary of the Army, Hon. Gabe Camarillo, promoted Young to the rank of Brigadier General, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, on April 29, 2022.