Crack Negro Soldiers.
June 25, 1898
Summary
African American soldiers state that they prefer their own commanders to new White commanders.
Transcription
Major Young, Ohio Volunteers, the only colored line officer in the Army.
[From the New York Press.]
“I would rather serve under Lieut. Young than any other man I ever saw.”
This is the opinion of Maj. Gen. Axline, of the Ohio National Guard regarding the only Negro line officer in the regular army. As Major of Volunteers, Lieut. Young will lead a battalion of Negro volunteers from the State of Ohio.
There have been several Negroes in the line of the regular army, but Young is the only one left now. His father fought in the Union Army in the Rebellion, and the son, Charles, was born in Kentucky thirty-one years ago. At the close of the war the family moved to Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, and the son was sent to the common school, to the high school, in which he was afterward principal, and then to a preparatory school to fit him for a Jesuit college, his early ambition being to become a priest.
More for the purpose of the pure competition, he entered the examination fifteen years ago for a cadetship at West Point, from the Twelfth Congress District of that State. He stood second among twenty-seven applicants, and was appointed alternate. The young man who at the head of the list failed to pass the entrance examinations, and when Young got the chance, he succeeded. He entered the Academy in 1885, and in 1889 was appointed additional Second Lieutenant in the Tenth Cavalry, a Negro regiment. The same year he was transferred to the Twenty-fifth Infantry, also a Negro regiment, and obtained his commission as full Second Lieutenant. He was then transferred to the Ninth Cavalry, the other Negro cavalry regiment. Having passed the examination for promotion, he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and was transferred to the Seventh Cavalry, Custer’s old regiment in 1896, and last year went again to the Ninth Cavalry.
In 1894, Lieut. Young was detailed as professor of military science at Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio a Negro institution. He did so well here that he was selected to perform the same work at Antioch College, Ohio, attended by white students. Last year he was detailed to inspect and instruct the Ninth Battalion of the Ohio National Guard, Negroes, which was in camp at Newark.
Young is of large, imposing build, and thoroughly soldierly appearance, and his race expects great things of him in the war.
[From the New York Press.]
“I would rather serve under Lieut. Young than any other man I ever saw.”
This is the opinion of Maj. Gen. Axline, of the Ohio National Guard regarding the only Negro line officer in the regular army. As Major of Volunteers, Lieut. Young will lead a battalion of Negro volunteers from the State of Ohio.
There have been several Negroes in the line of the regular army, but Young is the only one left now. His father fought in the Union Army in the Rebellion, and the son, Charles, was born in Kentucky thirty-one years ago. At the close of the war the family moved to Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, and the son was sent to the common school, to the high school, in which he was afterward principal, and then to a preparatory school to fit him for a Jesuit college, his early ambition being to become a priest.
More for the purpose of the pure competition, he entered the examination fifteen years ago for a cadetship at West Point, from the Twelfth Congress District of that State. He stood second among twenty-seven applicants, and was appointed alternate. The young man who at the head of the list failed to pass the entrance examinations, and when Young got the chance, he succeeded. He entered the Academy in 1885, and in 1889 was appointed additional Second Lieutenant in the Tenth Cavalry, a Negro regiment. The same year he was transferred to the Twenty-fifth Infantry, also a Negro regiment, and obtained his commission as full Second Lieutenant. He was then transferred to the Ninth Cavalry, the other Negro cavalry regiment. Having passed the examination for promotion, he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and was transferred to the Seventh Cavalry, Custer’s old regiment in 1896, and last year went again to the Ninth Cavalry.
In 1894, Lieut. Young was detailed as professor of military science at Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio a Negro institution. He did so well here that he was selected to perform the same work at Antioch College, Ohio, attended by white students. Last year he was detailed to inspect and instruct the Ninth Battalion of the Ohio National Guard, Negroes, which was in camp at Newark.
Young is of large, imposing build, and thoroughly soldierly appearance, and his race expects great things of him in the war.
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Right Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Cali Hughes
Citation
“Crack Negro Soldiers.,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed February 15, 2026, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1420.