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 In 1890, Congress created Sequoia and General Grant
national parks and assigned the management of the parks to the Department
of Interior. The National Park Service was not established until
1916, so until that time the U.S. Army assigned cavalry troops to
protect the parks. Each summer a company of mounted cavalry troops
were dispatched from San Francisco's Presidio to patrol the parks
and protect the Big Trees.
The progress made in protecting and improving these
parks varied greatly during these years, but one summer stands out
as a monument to energy and commitment -- 1903. This was the year
that Captain (later Colonel) Charles Young and soldiers of the all-black
troops I and M of the 9th Cavalry came to the Sierra.
Young and his troopers accomplished more in that
one summer than their predecessors had in a full decade. They completed
the first road to the Giant Forest, making the grove easily accessible
for the first time. On the day the road opened, modern tourism began
in Sequoia National Park.
Last modified on:
November 10, 2003
www.nps.gov/seki
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Colonel Charles Young
Colonel Charles Young distinguished himself throughout
his entire life. He was the first African-American to graduate from
the white high school in Ripley, Ohio, and through a competitive
exam he won an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point. He became the third African-American to graduate and earn
a commission from West Point in 1889, and became the highest-ranking
black officer of the First World War. Young also served as the first
black military attache in American history. A distinguished soldier
and teacher of military courses, he was nationally known by the
time of his death.
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Click here for more details on Colonel Young
"…he has left as heritage the fine example of an honorable,
efficient, and upright life, remarkable in its spirit of service
and of sacrifice for duty, honor and country."
--from the Class of 1889, Annual Report of the Association
of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point,
New York, June 12, 1922.
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