15 Facts About Colonel Charles Young

1 June, 2010 (06:37) | African American History | By: Haasim

Colonel Charles Young

15 FACTS ABOUT COLONEL CHARLES YOUNG

1. Col. Charles Young was also a teacher. Upon graduating an all-white high school in Ripley, Ohio in 1880, at the top of his class, at the age of 16 he went and taught at the all-black high school in Ripley.

2. Col. Young was the first black National Park Superintendent, the third African American graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, and was the highest ranking African American military officer until the day he died on Jan. 8, 1922.

3. Col. Charles Young served 28 years in the military. He was a an excellent mentor and teacher for many soldiers including Benjamin O. Davis, the first African American general. An honor Col. Charles Young was denied.

4. When Col. Charles Young served as superintendent of Sequia and Grant National Parks his troops accomplished more in one summer then the three previous military officers who had been assigned to the same post accomplished in the previous three years.

5. Col. Charles Young was awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, an award that annually recognizes the African American who made the highest achievement during the year in any field of honorable endeavor, for his service as an attache to Liberia and helping them to build the country’s infrastructure.

6. Col. Charles Young rescued General Beltran in 1916 during the Punitive Expedition in Mexico. He led his squadron and defeated Pancho Villa’s forces without losing a single man at Agua Caliente.

7. Col. Charles Young was an honorary member or Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

8. Racial segregation and discrimination prevented Col. Charles Young from leading black troops into battle during World War I and from being promoted to General.

9. In 1918, Col. Charles Young rode a horse from Wilberforce, OH to Washington DC to prove his physical fitness after being involuntarily retired and placed on the inactive list due to high blood pressure.

10. Col. Charles Young served as commander of Fort Huachuca in Texas. He was assigned this post due to his exceptional leadership of the 10th Calvary during the war in Mexico.

11. Col. Charles Young died on Jan. 8, 1922 from kidney infection during a mission in Nigeria.

12. Col. Charles Young was a close lifetime friend of W.E.B. DuBois. It was also W.E.B. DuBois that delivered his eulogy.

13. Col. Charles Young was an accomplished linguist and taught Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and German as well as Military Science at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

14. The slave quarters in May’s Lick, Kentucky where Col. Charles Young was born still stands on a farm near Helena Station Road.

15. There is a giant sequoia named in honor of Col. Charles Young. It was dedicated during the National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary celebration of Col. Charles Young’s tenure. He also has numerous American Post Legion’s named in his honor.

FEATURED ART PRINT

Lt. Charles Young by Don Stivers

Title: Lt. Charles Young
Artist: Don Stivers
Edition: Limited Edition Lithograph
Edition Size: 1200
Size: 18.5 x 22.5 inches
Retail Price: $150.00
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