  charles young (march 12, 1864 - january 8, 1922) was the third african-american graduate of west point, the first black u.s. national park superintendent, first black military attachÃ©, first black to achieve the rank of colonel, and highest-ranking black officer in the united states army until his death in 1922. ==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 maysville, but he grew up a free person.brian shellum, black cadet in a white bastion: charles young at west point, lincoln, ne: university of nebraska, 2006, pp. 6-13, accessed 8 jun 2010 his father gabriel escaped from slavery in 1865, going across the ohio river to ripley, ohio, to enlist as a private in the fifth regiment of the colored artillery (heavy) volunteers during the american civil war. accounts differ as to whether he took his wife and child with him then. his service earned him and his wife freedom, as did emancipation at the end of the war. as a young woman, arminta had learned to read and write, and may have worked as a house slave before becoming free. after the war, the entire family migrated to ripley in 1866, where the parents decided opportunities were better than in postwar kentucky. gabriel had earned a bonus by continuing to serve in the army after the war and had a stake to buy land. as a youth, charles young attended the all-white high school in ripley, the only one available. he graduated at age 16 at the top of his class. following graduation, he taught school for a few years at the newly established black high school of ripley. ===west point=== while teaching, young took a competitive examination for appointment as a cadet at united states military academy at west point. he achieved the second highest score in the district in 1883, and after the p
1864_births 1922_deaths African-American_military_personnel American_military_personnel_of_World_War_I American_military_personnel_of_the_Indian_Wars American_military_personnel_of_the_PhilippineaAmerican_War Buffalo_Soldiers Burials_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery Spingarn_Medal_winners United_States_Army_officers United_States_Military_Academy_alumni Wilberforce_University