Charles young wiki

United States Army officer (1864–1922)

This article is about the United States Army officer. For other uses of the name, see Charles Young (disambiguation).

Charles Young (March 12, 1864 – January 8, 1922) was an American soldier.

He was the third African American graduate of the United States Military Academy, the first Black U.S. national park superintendent, first Black military attaché, first Black man to achieve the rank of colonel in the United States Army, and highest-ranking Black officer in the Regular Army until his death in 1922.

In 2022, in recognition of his exemplary service and the barriers he faced due to racism, he was posthumously promoted to brigadier general, and a promotion ceremony was held in his honor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.^[2]

Early life and education

Charles Young was born in 1864 into slavery to Gabriel Young and Arminta Bruen in Mays Lick, Kentucky, a small village near