Military
1864-1922
Born in Mays Lick, Kentucky, Col. Charles Young was admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1884. Though he was ostracized because of racial prejudice, he persevered and graduated on August 31, 1889. Young’s military career began when blacks had just recently been allowed to serve but were still restricted to all-black regiments.
During that period, the black regiments in the Twenty-Fourth Cavalry earned respect when they rescued Theodore Roosevelt’s “rough riders” at San Juan Hill. Young, in charge of the Ninth Ohio Regiment in the Spanish-American War, advanced to become the highest-ranking black in the U.S. Army in 1918. In November 1919, he was appointed military attach
Military
In January 1944, the naval officer corps was all white. There were some one hundred thousand African American enlisted men in the Navy, however, none were officers. In response to growing pressure from American civil rights organizations, the leaders of the Navy reluctantly set about commissioning a few as officers.
Sixteen black enlisted men were summoned to Camp Robert Smalls, Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois:
Jesse W. Arbor
Samuel Barnes
Philip Barnes
Dalton Baugh
George C. Cooper
Reginald Goodwin
James E. Hair
Graham E. Martin
Dennis Nelson
John W. Reagan
Frank E. Sublett Jr.
William S. White
Charles Lear
Lewis Williams
J. B. Pinkney
A. Alves
All had demonstrated top-notch leadership abilities as enlisted men. The pace was demanding and forced the sixteen men to band together so that all could succeed.
During their officer candidate training, they compiled a class average of 3.89, a record that has yet to be broken.
Although all passed the course, in March 1944, 13 of the group made history when they became the U.S. Navy’s first African-American officers on active duty. 12 were commissioned as ensigns; the thirteenth was made a warrant officer.
They became known as the “Golden Thirteen.”
They were often denied the privileges and respect routinely accorded white naval officers and were given menial assignments.
Only one of the Golden Thirteen made a career of the Navy, and he opened still more doors to black officers. The other members of the group made their marks in civilian life after World War II.
Military
1920 – 1978
James joined the segregated United States Army Air Corp while attending Tuskegee Institute. He was made a second lieutenant during World War II. James received the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in the Korean War, during which he flew more than 100 combat missions. In 1957 he graduated from the Air Command and Staff College in Alabama. James was named deputy commander for operations of the Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing in Thailand in 1966. After a series of promotions, he was named a four-star general in 1975, including command of the North American Air Defense system. During his career, James received the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Presidential Unit Citation.
Military
Mary Elizabeth Bowser was a black women that served as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. She was born a slave outside of Richmond, Virginia where she served the Van Lew family until the death of her master, John Van Lew. She remained with the Van Lew family and Mrs. Van Lew sent her to Philadelphia to obtain an education.
At the start of the Civil War she returned to Richmond to do espionage work with Mrs. Van Lew. Mrs. Van Lew was able to hire her Bowser out as a servant at the Confederate White House to spy on Jefferson Davis. It is said that she did a great job at pretending to be quite dumb while she listened to the dinner conversation of the Confederate President. Each night Bowser would recite to Mrs. Van Lew word for word the military plans discussed over dinner by leaders of the confederacy.
Military
(b. July 1, 1877, Washington, D.C., U.S.–d. Nov. 26, 1970, North Chicago, Ill.), soldier who became the first black general in the U.S. Army.
After serving as a volunteer in the Spanish-American War (1898), Benjamin Davis, Sr., enlisted as a private in the 9th Cavalry of the U.S. Army. He rose to sergeant major within two years and earned a commission as a second lieutenant in 1901. In the next four decades he served in Liberia and the Philippines and taught military science at the Tuskegee Institute and at Wilberforce University. All of his duty assignments were designed to avoid a situation in which Davis might be put in command of white troops or officers. He rose slowly through the ranks, becoming the first black colonel in the army in 1930. In 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After commanding the 2nd Cavalry Division in 1941, he was assigned to the office of the inspector general of the army. During World War II he headed a special unit charged with safeguarding the status and morale of black soldiers in the army, and he served in the European theatre as a special adviser on race relations. He retired in 1948 after 50 years of service.
Military
Black soldiers fought in Washington’s army during the War of Independence, and served with Andrew Jackson at New Orleans in 1815. Late in 1861, Colonel T. W. Higginson took command of the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, the first Black regiment in the service of the United States.
On June 28, 1866, an Act of Congress authorized the creation of two cavalry and four infantry regiments, “which shall be composed of colored men.” They were organized as the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th through 41st Infantry. The 9th and 10th Cavalry would go on to play a major role in the history of the West, as the “Buffalo Soldiers.”
On September 21, 1866, the 9th Cavalry Regiment was activated at Greenville, Louisiana under command of Colonel Edward Hatch and the 10th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas under command of Colonel Benjamin Grierson.
The term “buffalo soldiers” came from Cheyenne warriors who first encountered these black men in blue uniforms, whose dark skin and thick hair resembled the buffalo. The initial strangeness turned to respect buffalo soldiers participated in most of the campaigns against hostile tribes, earning themselves battle honors and no less than 18 Medals of Honor for individual heroism.
The Buffalo Soldiers consistently received some of the worst assignments the Army had to offer. They also faced fierce prejudice to both the colors of their Union uniforms and their skin by many of the citizens of the post-war frontier towns. Despite this, the troopers of the 9th and 10th Cavalries developed into two of the most distinguished fighting units in the Army.
After the Indian campaigns, the buffalo soldiers continued their outstanding service during the Spanish-American War and along the Mexican border. For three years during the Philippine Insurrection, portions of all four black regiments and two black volunteer regiments saw action. They were distributed among army posts throughout the archipelago, the black soldiers, both regulars and volunteers, participated in military operations from Northern Luzon to Samar.
Elements of the 9th and 10th went on to fight in Cuba, and took part in the charge up San Juan Hill. The 10th Cavalry took part in the expedition against Pancho Villa, with General Pershing.
In addition to their fine combat record, the buffalo soldiers steadfastly performed the other duties. They explored and mapped vast areas of the southwest and strung hundreds of miles of telegraph lines. They built and repaired frontier outposts around which future towns and cities sprang to life. Without the protection provided by the 9th and 10th Cavalries, crews building the ever expanding railroads were at the mercy of outlaws and hostile Indians.
Despite its dreariness, hardships, boredom, and fatigue, they had the lowest desertion rate of the frontier Army; on $13.00 a month, meals, and a roof, if available.
The two regiments were formed into the 4th Cavalry Brigade in 1941, commanded by General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., at Camp Funston, Kansas. The horse cavalry regiments were disbanded in 1944, and with them, the long and proud history of The Buffalo Soldiers.
