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Black omega squadron6/10/2023 He also taught military science, served as a military attaché, and fought with distinction in the Phillipine-American War, winning the praise of his commanders for his troops' courage and professionalism in and out of combat.Ģnd Lieutenant Charles Young, second from left, in front of cadet formation at Wilberforce University. who later became the first African American to attain the rank of General.īetween 18 Young served in the 9th Cavalry at western posts and rose to the rank of captain. Here, Young mentored Sergeant Major Benjamin O. After a year, marked by isolation and hostility, Young transferred to Fort Duchesne, Utah, where the command and fellow officers proved more welcoming. This time, Young passed and was awarded his diploma and commission in the summer of 1889.Ĭharles Young and soldiers after setting up bivouac on the frontier.Ĭourtesy of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio Early Military Careerīecause military leaders would not allow an African-American officer to command white troops, the Adjutant General's Office waited three months after Young's West Point graduation in 1889 before assigning the newly-commissioned 2nd Lieutenant to the 9th Cavalry at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Faced with a failing grade in an engineering class during his last semester, Young received tutoring from his instructor and was allowed to re-take the exam. He would do so and did well over the next four academic years. After a dreadful first academic year, Young was faced with repeating his first year, or Plebe year, in order to continue his education. Despite these indignities, he would persevere. Young would be dispatched to Wilberforce shortly after Alexander died of a sudden heart condition in 1894.Īs a cadet, Young encountered the same racial insults and social isolation from instructors and other cadets on a daily basis as those before him. Duquesne, Utah for a few years before Alexander would leave to become a professor at Wilberforce University in Ohio. Lieutenant John Hanks Alexander would be a classmate of Charles Young at West Point and they would serve together at Ft. On February 19, 1999, President William Jefferson Clinton pardoned Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper would be drummed out of the Army over controversial and questionable charges of ".conduct unbecoming an officer." In the mid-1990's, his descendants began a campaign to restore his name and clear his legacy of these charges. The other two African-American graduates, Henry Ossian Flipper (1877) & John Hanks Alexander (1887), would earn their commissions but would only see short careers in the Army. He entered West Point on Jto become only the ninth African American to attend the Academy and only the third to graduate. When the candidate ahead of him dropped out of West Point, Young would receive his opportunity the following year. Young scored the second highest on the exam and was not selected to the Academy that year. In 1883, Charles Young's father encouraged him to take the entrance examination to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Portrait of Cadet Charles Young by Pach Brothers, NYĬourtesy of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio West Point He would continue to chase his thirst for knowledge and education while under the guidance and mentoring of renowned African-American abolitionist John Parker. After high school, Young taught at the African-American elementary school in Ripley for two years. At age 17 he graduated with academic honors from the integrated high school in 1881. His public education was supplemented with generous amounts of help from his mother who was educated while she was a slave, a rarity for any slave during those times. ![]() Charles flourished in Ripley in academics, foreign languages and in music. ![]() Sometime after Gabriel's enlistment, young Charles and his parents relocated from Kentucky to across the river in Ripley, Ohio, seeking a new life in the river town which just happened to be the center of abolitionism. That same year his father escaped enslavement and in February 1865 joined the 5th Regiment, U.S. ![]() Young was born to enslaved parents, Gabriel & Arminta Young, on March 12 th, 1864 in May's Lick, Kentucky. Courtesy of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, Ohio Early Life
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