Description: Sketches drawn by Charles Young as part of his West Point portfolio. The scenes and objects contained in this portion of the portfolio are “Sailboat,” “Scene w/ full moon,” “Rosette,” “Exercise X,” “Exercise XI,” “Exercise VII,” “Exercise VI,” “Exercise V,” “Les Marguerites” and “Molly Pitcher’s Carriage” (now preserved in Fort Clinton, West Point, New York). Young graduated from West Point in 1889 and was the third African American to do so. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Page1
Subjects: African American soldiers; West Point (Military academy); Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: West Point (New York)
 

Description: Carte de visite photograph of Winfield Scott, from the William T. Sherman Photograph Album, ca. 1865-1880. Winfield Scott was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on August 4, 1786. He briefly attended the College of William and Mary. He served in the United States military from 1808 to 1861. He served under every President from Jefferson to Lincoln. He served in the War of 1812, the Seminole Wars, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican-American War and in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He died on May 29, 1866, in West Point, New York, where he was buried in West Point Cemetery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04349
Subjects: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Military officers; Ohio History--Military Ohio; Generals--United States
 

Description: This is a landscape drawing by Ulysses S. Grant, drawn while he was a cadet at West Point in New York, ca. 1840. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Upon entering the United States Military Academy at West Point, he attempted to change his name from Hiram Ulysses to Ulysses Hiram but found that his name had already been mistakenly recorded at West Point as Ulysses Simpson Grant, which he never corrected. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Grant was promoted to the rank of general and granted command of the Union army by President Abraham Lincoln. After the victory of the Union over the Confederacy, Grant's popularity led to his election as the 18th President of the United States in 1868. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H83983_01
Subjects: Grant, Ulysses S., 1822-1885; Civil War 1861-1865; Military Ohio; Presidents--United States; Drawings (visual works)
Places: West Point (New York)
 

Description: Sketches drawn by Charles Young as part of his West Point portfolio. Contained in this portion of the portfolio are "Building elevation," “Exercise Nov. 23, 1887,” “Hues,” “Exercise I,” “Exercise II,” “Exercise III,” “Exercise IV,” “Exercise V,” “Dead load exercise” and “Cadet Young exercise." Young graduated from West Point, only the third African American to do so at the time, in 1889. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Page1
Subjects: African American soldiers; Artists; West Point (Military academy); Young, Charles, 1864-1922.
Places: West Point (New York)
 

Description: Carte de visite photograph of Major General Judson Kilpatrick from the William T. Sherman Photograph Album, ca. 1865-1880. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was born January 14, 1836, near Deckertown, New Jersey. While at West Point, he dropped his first name. He graduated in 1861 and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st US Artillery. Within five days, he was appointed Captain of the 5th New York Infantry. Later in life, he was active in politics. He was appointed Ambassador to Chile by Andrew Jackson and served from 1865 to 1870. He later ran for a seat in Congress in 1880 but was defeated. He was then reappointed as the Ambassador to Chile in 1881, but died shortly after his arrival on December 4, 1881, in Santiago, Chile. He was buried in the West Point Cemetery in West Point, New York. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04335
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio History--Military Ohio; Generals--United States; Military officers
 

Description: Two photographs show Charles Young, one of the first African American men to enjoy a successful military career. One photograph, which measures 3.2 by 4.1 inches (8.22 by 10.46 cm), shows Young in the uniform of a United States Military Academy cadet. In the second image, measuring 3.7 by 6.2 inches (9.4 by 15.75 cm), Young wears the uniform of an army officer. Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om873_807073_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American Soldiers
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); West Point (New York)
 

Description: Charles Young created this portfolio while a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Young was an army officer, expert mapmaker, and musician. A selection of pages from the portfolio provided here includes pencil drawings, drawing exercises, cartography exercises, and a map of West Point. The portfolio measures approximately 19.75" by 24.25" (50.17 by 61.60 cm). Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place him in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1799_1765273_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Arts and Entertainment; Military Ohio; United States Military Academy; Portfolios
Places: West Point (New York)
 

Description: This 4.7 by 6.8-inch (11.94 by 17.27 cm) painting depicts Charles Young, a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om873_806518_004
Subjects: Arts and Entertainment; African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American Soldiers
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); West Point (New York)
 

Description: Carte de visite portrait of Civil War officer Colonel Charles G. Harker. A notation on the back of the card states that he was "Killed at Kennesaw Mt June 27 / 64." Attached to the back of the card is a tax stamp. Harker was born in New Jersey in 1825, and graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1858. Harker served on the frontier until the beginning of the Civil War when he was ordered to Ohio. He accepted the position of Colonel of the 65th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was promoted to Captain in the regular Army. He distinguished himself at the battles of Pittsburgh Landing, the Siege of Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and Resaca. After the Battle of Chickamauga, he was promoted to Brigadier-General. Harker was mortally wounded at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC2948
Subjects: Soldiers--Ohio--Photographs; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Military officers; Photography--History
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Dated ca. 1861-1865, this is a photograph of American Civil War Brigadier General John Sanford Mason. Mason was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1824 and attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and Washington College in Pennsylvania before being appointed to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1843. After battling illness while serving in the Mexican War, Mason served in the American Civil War and eventually became the colonel of the 4th Ohio Infantry. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC3316_1_BrigGenMason
Subjects: U.S. Army; Civil War 1861-1865; Military officers; Generals--United States
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Illustrations of scenes from the life of Ulysses S. Grant while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, published in "A Personal History of Ulysses S. Grant" by Albert Deane Richardson in 1885. they are: "The South Barracks," "The Big Leap," "Academy Building," The North Barracks," and "The Mess Hall." Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant, Ohio. During the U. S. Civil War, Grant was promoted to the rank of General and granted command of the Union army by President Abraham Lincoln. After the victory of the Union over the Confederacy, Grant's popularity led to his election as the 18th President of the United States in 1868. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04557
Subjects: Grant, Ulysses S., 1822-1885; Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio--History, Military; Presidents--United States; West Point (Military academy)
Places: New York
 

Description: Carte de visite photograph of General Frederick Steele, from the William T. Sherman Photograph Album, ca. 1865-1880. Frederic Steel was born in Delhi, New York on January 14, 1819. He was a 1843 graduate of West Point and served in the Mexican-American War and as a Major General in the American Civil War. He died in San Mateo, California on January 19, 1868. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04356
Subjects: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio History--Military Ohio