[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18777-18782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07404]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 60 / Thursday, March 28, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 18777]]


                Proclamation 8945 of March 25, 2013

                
Establishment of the Charles Young Buffalo 
                Soldiers National Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Colonel Charles Young was the highest ranking African-
                American commanding officer in the United States Army 
                from 1894 until his death in 1922. He also served as 
                the first African-American superintendent of a national 
                park, overseeing Sequoia and General Grant (now Kings 
                Canyon) National Parks while commanding a troop of 
                Buffalo Soldiers in the years before the creation of 
                the National Park Service.

                Young served nearly his entire military career with the 
                all-black 9th and 10th Calvary regiments, often called 
                ``Buffalo Soldiers.'' Commissioned in 1889 as a second 
                lieutenant, Young attained the rank of colonel in 1917. 
                During his career he served on the western frontier, 
                saw combat in the Philippines, and rode with General 
                John ``Black Jack'' Pershing in Mexico in 1916. He was 
                the first African American to serve as a United States 
                military attach[eacute], first to Hispaniola (Haiti and 
                the Dominican Republic) and later to Liberia. Young's 
                diverse military career included a posting to 
                Wilberforce University to serve as a professor of 
                tactics and military science.

                Born to enslaved parents in Kentucky in 1864, Young's 
                parents, Gabriel and Arminta Young, moved to Ripley, 
                Ohio, in 1866 with their two-year-old son Charles to 
                improve their prospects after the Civil War. This Ohio 
                River town was a center of abolitionism renowned as a 
                welcoming place on the Underground Railroad during the 
                antebellum years. Young thrived there and, in 1881 at 
                age 17, he graduated with academic honors as a member 
                of his integrated high school class. His mother 
                encouraged his life-long intellectual and musical 
                pursuits. Young grew up proud of his father's military 
                service as a Union soldier during the Civil War, and he 
                heeded his father's advice by entering the United 
                States Military Academy at West Point. In 1889, Young 
                was the third African American to graduate from West 
                Point and the last African American to complete West 
                Point until 1936.

                Young established his career between 1889 and 1907, 
                serving in the 9th Cavalry at western posts as a second 
                lieutenant in Nebraska and Utah before accepting the 
                military posting at Wilberforce University, where he 
                was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. During 
                the Spanish-American War he was commissioned in the 
                volunteers as a major, and accepted command of the 9th 
                Ohio Volunteer Infantry Battalion. Although the unit 
                did not deploy or see action, it gained a reputation 
                for discipline and efficiency. Following the war, he 
                returned to his regiment, and was promoted to captain 
                in 1901. He saw combat with the regiment in the 
                Philippine Islands and returned with the 9th Cavalry to 
                California, where his troop was selected as honor guard 
                for the visiting President Theodore Roosevelt--the 
                first time African-American soldiers had served in that 
                capacity. While assigned to the Presidio, Young and his 
                regiment of Buffalo Soldiers were dispatched to Sequoia 
                and General Grant National Parks where Young served as 
                the acting superintendent, and earned the respect of 
                not only the African-American troops he commanded, but 
                also of the white construction crews

[[Page 18778]]

                he directed. His achievements drew the attention of 
                President Theodore Roosevelt. Captain Young was 
                appointed military attach[eacute] to Hispaniola in 
                1904--the first such appointment for an African 
                American--before rejoining the 9th Cavalry in the 
                Philippines, Wyoming, and Texas from 1908 to 1911.

                In 1894, when Young accepted a posting at Wilberforce 
                University, he returned to Ohio and with his widowed 
                mother purchased a large house and adjoining farmland, 
                which he named ``Youngsholm.'' While a professor at 
                Wilberforce University, Young established life-long 
                friendships with poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and 
                philosopher W.E.B. Dubois. Youngsholm served as a 
                gathering place for elite African-American thinkers, 
                performers, and leaders. Young opened his doors to 
                aspiring young people, and welcomed a revolving 
                extended family there even during his many military 
                postings. Although Young's career took him to far-flung 
                places, it was Wilberforce, Ohio--where he established 
                his home, raised a family, mentored a successive 
                generation of leaders, and found intellectual refuge--
                that remained his base of operation.

                From 1912 to 1916, Young served as the military 
                attach[eacute] to Liberia, helping to train the 
                Liberian Frontier Force, and then served as a squadron 
                commander during the Punitive Expedition in Mexico 
                against Pancho Villa. He distinguished himself at the 
                Battle of Agua Caliente, leading his men to the aid of 
                a cavalry unit that had been ambushed. During the same 
                period, Young won additional promotions, to major in 
                1912, and lieutenant colonel in 1916. The 1916 
                examination board for his promotion to lieutenant 
                colonel acknowledged Young's prior illness (malaria 
                contracted while in Liberia), but concluded he was fit 
                for duty.

                On the eve of World War I, Young was the highest 
                ranking African-American officer in the U.S. Army. As 
                the United States readied its forces for Europe, Young 
                and his supporters expected that he would continue to 
                rise in rank and contribute to the wartime effort. 
                Subsequent examination boards recommended Young for a 
                promotion, but also noted medical concerns about his 
                fitness to serve. In June 1917, Young was selected for 
                promotion to the rank of colonel; however, his physical 
                exam revealed he suffered from nephritis (a condition 
                first diagnosed in 1901), high blood pressure, and an 
                enlarged heart. Around the same time, several Southern 
                Senators were pressuring President Woodrow Wilson and 
                his Secretary of War to take steps to reassign or 
                otherwise prevent white officers from serving under 
                Young's command. Indeed, as the United States entered 
                World War I, the War Department generally kept African 
                Americans from assuming leadership of African-American 
                regiments being sent to France and largely restricted 
                African-American troops to non-combat roles.

                In July 1917, Young was medically retired as a result 
                of his illnesses, and promoted to Colonel in 
                recognition of his distinguished Army service. Young 
                was disappointed, and he and his supporters asked for 
                reconsideration. To demonstrate his fitness to serve, 
                Young--who was then 54--made an historic 500-mile 
                horseback ride from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, 
                DC Afterwards, the Secretary of War gave Young an 
                informal hearing, but did not reverse the decision. The 
                War Department's action in this matter was 
                controversial, especially within the African-American 
                community, during this time of significant racial 
                tension. Young continued to protest his retirement and 
                work for the civil rights of all African-American 
                soldiers.

                Yet, Young's career was not over. Though medically 
                retired, he was retained on a list of active duty 
                officers. During World War I, the War Department sent 
                him back to Ohio to help muster and train African-
                American troops being recruited for the war. Days 
                before the November 1918 armistice, Young was assigned 
                for a few months to Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois, 
                to train African-American servicemen for non-combat 
                duties. Shortly thereafter, at the request of the State 
                Department, Colonel Young was sent once more to serve 
                again as military attach[eacute] to Liberia, arriving 
                in Monrovia in February 1920. While in neighboring 
                Nigeria, he passed away at the British hospital

[[Page 18779]]

                in Lagos on January 8, 1922. In 1923, Colonel Charles 
                Young became only the fourth soldier to be honored with 
                a funeral service at the Arlington Amphitheatre before 
                burial in Arlington Cemetery.

                Colonel Charles Young's story and leadership are also 
                emblematic of the experience of the Buffalo Soldiers 
                during difficult and racially tense times. The story of 
                the Buffalo Soldiers' bravery and service is not fully 
                told at any existing national park sites. In 1866, the 
                Congress established six all-black regiments, later 
                consolidated to four, to help rebuild the country after 
                the Civil War and to patrol the remote western frontier 
                during the ``Indian Wars.'' Although the pay was low 
                for the time--only $13 a month--many African Americans 
                enlisted because they could earn more and be treated 
                with more dignity than they typically could in civilian 
                life. According to legend, American Indians called the 
                black cavalry troops ``buffalo soldiers'' because of 
                their dark, curly hair, which resembled a buffalo's 
                coat. Aware of the buffalo's fierce bravery and 
                fighting spirit, the African-American troops accepted 
                the name with pride and honor.

                The Buffalo Soldiers fought alongside white regiments 
                in many conflicts and were instrumental in the 
                exploration and settlement of western lands. They were 
                also an important part of the early history of 
                America's national parks. Before the Congress created 
                the National Park Service in 1916, the U.S. Army played 
                a critical role in administering several parks. The 
                Army sent the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at the 
                Presidio to manage Yosemite, General Grant, and Sequoia 
                National Parks in California. The Buffalo Soldiers 
                blazed early park trails, built roads, produced maps, 
                drove out trespassing livestock, extinguished fires, 
                monitored tourists, and kept poachers and loggers at 
                bay.

                WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 
                225, 16 U.S.C. 431) (the ``Antiquities Act''), 
                authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare 
                by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and 
                prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic 
                or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands 
                owned or controlled by the Government of the United 
                States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a 
                part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in 
                all cases shall be confined to the smallest area 
                compatible with the proper care and management of the 
                objects to be protected;

                WHEREAS the National Park Foundation and the Trust for 
                Public Lands, with the assistance and cooperation of 
                the Friendship Foundation, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, 
                and Central State University, have relinquished the 
                existing remainder of the Youngsholm property, 
                consisting of Colonel Young's home and surrounding 
                farmland, to the United States for the purpose of 
                establishing this monument;

                WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve and 
                protect the objects of historic and scientific interest 
                associated with Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers 
                at Youngsholm in Wilberforce, Ohio;

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 2 of the Antiquities Act, hereby proclaim, 
                set apart, and reserve as the Charles Young Buffalo 
                Soldiers National Monument (monument) the objects 
                identified above and all lands and interests in lands 
                owned or controlled by the Government of the United 
                States within the boundaries described on the 
                accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part 
                of this proclamation, for the purpose of protecting 
                those objects. These reserved Federal lands and 
                interests in lands encompass 59.65 acres, which is the 
                smallest area compatible with the proper care and 
                management of the objects to be protected.

                All Federal lands and interests in lands within the 
                boundaries of the monument are hereby appropriated and 
                withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, 
                sale, leasing, or other disposition under the public 
                land laws, including withdrawal from location, entry, 
                and patent under the mining

[[Page 18780]]

                laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to 
                mineral and geothermal leasing.

                The establishment of the monument is subject to valid 
                existing rights. Lands and interests in lands within 
                the monument boundaries not owned or controlled by the 
                United States shall be reserved as part of the monument 
                upon acquisition of ownership or control by the United 
                States.

                The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall manage 
                the monument through the National Park Service, 
                pursuant to applicable legal authorities, consistent 
                with the purposes of this proclamation.

                The Secretary shall prepare a management plan for the 
                monument, with full public involvement, within 3 years 
                of the date of this proclamation. The management plan 
                shall ensure that the monument fulfills the following 
                purposes for the benefit of present and future 
                generations: (1) to preserve and protect the objects of 
                historic and scientific interest identified above, (2) 
                to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Colonel 
                Charles Young, and (3) to interpret the struggles and 
                achievements of the Buffalo Soldiers in their service 
                to the United States. The management plan shall 
                identify steps to be taken to provide interpretive 
                opportunities concerning Colonel Young and the Buffalo 
                Soldiers both at the monument and at other sites where 
                appropriate. The management plan shall also set forth 
                the desired relationship of the monument to other 
                related resources, programs, and organizations 
                associated with the life of Colonel Charles Young, such 
                as the U.S. Army, the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and 
                Wilberforce University, as well as to other sites 
                significant to the Buffalo Soldiers.

                The National Park Service shall use existing 
                authorities as appropriate to enter into agreements 
                with Central State University, Wilberforce University, 
                Omega Psi Phi, the Ohio Historical Society, and other 
                organizations and individuals to provide further 
                opportunities for interpretation and education 
                consistent with monument purposes. The National Park 
                Service shall coordinate with the Golden Gate National 
                Recreation Area, which manages the Presidio in San 
                Francisco, and Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite 
                National Parks to commemorate the historical ties 
                between Colonel Charles Young and his military 
                assignments at those sites, and the role of the Buffalo 
                Soldiers as pioneering stewards of our national parks. 
                The National Park Service shall use available 
                authorities, as appropriate, to enter into agreements 
                with other organizations to provide for interpretation 
                and education at additional sites with an historic 
                association or affiliation with the Buffalo Soldiers.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke 
                any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; 
                however, the monument shall be the dominant 
                reservation.

                Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not 
                to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature 
                of the monument and not to locate or settle upon any of 
                the lands thereof.

[[Page 18781]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

Billing code 3295-F3



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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD28MR13.009


[FR Doc. 2013-07404
Filed 3-27-13; 8:45 am]

Billing code 4310-10-C
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