Chautauqua Program: Colonel Charles Young

Winchester Black History & Heritage Committee, along with the Winchester- Clark County / Winchester Heritage Committee presents: Colonel Charles Young, Bridge Builder 1864-1922. Presented by Michael Jones, as part of the Kentucky Humanities Council - Chautauqua program. 

Charles Youn was the third African American to graduate from the United States Military academy at West Point. Young was born near Mays Lick, Kentucky, in Mason County, on March 12, 1864, a year before the end of the Civil War. His parents, Gabriel and Arminta, moved to Ripley, Ohio, to raise their son after the war ended. Young had a distinguished career of more than 30 years in the United States Army, rising from lieutenant to colonel, all while battling racism in a nearly all-white office corps. Young's success in an army that was not quite ready to embrace him required steadfast devotion and perseverance. He was at the height of his career when America entered World War I. Youn accomplished much during his career, including being the first African American superintendent of a national park, the first African American military attache', and the highest-ranking African American Regular Army office at the time of this death.