Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young

by Brian G. Shellum

"A valuable read for anyone with an interest in the final years of the frontier Army, American imperialism, African-Americans in military service, and American military history in general." —A.A. Nofi, Strategypage.com An unheralded military hero, Charles Young (1864–1922) was the third black graduate of West Point, the first African American national park superintendent, the first black U.S. military attaché, the first African American officer to command a Regular Army regiment, and the highest-ranking black officer in the Regular Army until his death.  Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment tells the story of the man who—willingly or not—served as a standard-bearer for his race in the officer corps for nearly thirty years, and who, if not for racial prejudice, would have become the first African American general.  Brian G. Shellum describes how, during his remarkable army career, Young was shuffled among the few assignments deemed suitable for a black officer in a white man’s army—the Buffalo Soldier regiments, an African American college, and diplomatic posts in black republics such as Liberia. Nonetheless, he used his experience to establish himself as an exceptional cavalry officer. He was a colonel on the eve of the United States’ entry into World War I, when serious medical problems and racial intolerance denied him command and ended his career. Shellum’s book seeks to restore a hero to the ranks of military history; at the same time, it informs our understanding of the role of race in the history of the American military.  

Genres: History, Biography

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Brian Shellum is a full time writing historian with a focus on the Buffalo Soldiers, military attachés, and military intelligence history. He retired from government service in 2015 after serving eight years as a senior intelligence officer with with the Department of Defense in the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. Prior to that he served as a government historian at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for 12 years. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1994 after service as an armor officer and West European foreign area specialist. His career highlights include various troop assignments with tank units, a tour as an army attaché in Bonn, Germany, Gulf War service with the 2nd Brigade, First Armored Division, and work as a senior political-military analyst at DIA. He lived and studied for ten years in Germany and speaks fluent German. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, holds a graduate degree from Campbell University, and studied at the University of Bonn. His military decorations include of the Bronze Star Medal and the Order of St. George.

Reviews

[Adrian Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and Mandatory Reading list Recommendation

This was a great account of American military history. A must read for aspiring military service professionals. This hero has has gone unnoticed until now.

[Alex Milton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian G. Shellum’s Black Office in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment: The Military Career of Charles Young is a biographical history of the first African American to receive the rank of colonel in the United States Military. Written for a general audience, Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment provides insight into racial power dynamics within the United States Military during the late nineteenth century. The book focuses on Charles Young’s military career from his graduation at West Point, stationing at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The book provides extensive detail on Young’s stationing at Fort Duchesne, Utah and experiences of racial discrimination within Utah. The book puts particular emphasis on Young’s deployment to Cuba during the Spanish American War and work with the National Park Service during his late career. Although the book’s depth in engaging with experiences of race and racism within Buffalo Soldier regiments beyond Young’s own experiences, Shellum bases his work on extensive primary source research, using government documents, newspapers, and Young’s own personal papers.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give this book a 2.5 I would. This book is for historians, I am not one of those people. The remarkable story of this mans life is amazing along with the many accomplishments he had in his life. I'm not a fan of the writing style but this is a book that needed to be written. This man was so humble despite his amazing achievements. He was a huge part of black history that few knew about.

[JT Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched and passionate on its topic, but Black Officer is extremely repetitive and reads almost like an underclassmen essay. Further, it’s full of editorial asides about the sorts of things Col. Young “must have been thinking,” or presumptions about the people he “must have met.” These are just distractions to an important work, and I agree with the author that Col. Young should be better known.

[Adelbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent information on an important figure in the history of the US Army.
Writing is sometimes repetitive and makes unsupported statements about Colonel Young.
Important reading for any student of the post Civil War army.

[Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have to echo Victoria's review that this is not an easy read (which drove a similar overall rating), I would like to amplify the thought that Charles Young was a remarkable human being and American Citizen whose story should be much better known. Charles endured so much prejudice and constantly rose above it to serve his country...and as a white US male there is no doubt in my mind that I would have abandoned serving if faced with those barriers. The accomplishments and adventures of Charles Young provide ample raw material for compiling an appealing book and possibly someone will tackle that task.

When I visited the Center for Civil & Human Rights in Atlanta I regaled a docent about Charles' story and encouraged an exhibit to promote some awareness. This is a story which needs to be told.

[Spud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel about The GREATEST African-American military officer in U.S. history, and the 2nd greatest BLACK General in the history of the world. The Colonel did his duty to his people, his country, and most importantly himself by serving others.

[Grace Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an eye opening book. I liked reading about Young's challenges and accomplishments which are usually overlooked because of his race.