Charles Young Class of 1889 Posthumously Promoted to BG

Charles Young graduated from West Point in 1889. He was only the third African American to do so, after Henry Ossian Flipper and John Hanks Alexander. There would not be another black graduate until Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. in 1936. Young was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served for 28 years, primarily with the Buffalo Soldiers in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. He became the first Black military attaché to a foreign country. He served in various assignments from Haiti and Liberia to Mexico and Nigeria. When he was medically discharged from active duty, COL Young was the highest-ranking Black officer in the military, promoted to colonel. On Jan. 19, 2022, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth informed Charles Young’s family of his posthumous promotion to the rank of Brigadier General.