During his five years of service on the Western Frontier, one of Captain Charles Young's most notable assignments was that of Acting Superintendent of Sequoia National Park, the home of the Giant Forest - the world's largest trees. Some of these ancient trees are over 3000 years old. According to the Presidio of San Franciso, his responsibilities included enforcing the rules and regulations of the Department of Interior, along with protecting and securing the park and its wildlife from harm.

You can find more about his Sequoia experience at the excellent National Park Service website.

Young arrived with his African American troopers in Sequoia after a sixteen-day horseback ride. Afterwards, they worked tirelessly that summer to build much needed roads to make the park accessible. Young and his men accomplished what previous crews had failed to do, and by the end of that summer, they built roads that extended to the base of the famous Moro Rock.

Just as Theodore Roosevelt - the President of the United States under which he served - Young also had a passion for the environment and the preservation of our national forests. Young wrote eloquently about his views on the environment in his final official report before leaving the park, saying:

"…Indeed a journey through this park and the Sierra Forest Reserve to Mount Whitney country will convince even the least thoughtful man of the needfulness of preserving these mountains just as they are with their clothing of trees, shrubs, rocks, and vines, and of their importance to the valleys below as reservoirs for the storage of water for agriculture and domestic purposes. In this, then, lies the necessity of forest preservation. The United States should learn its lesson in time."

Young was a multi-dimensional person, and in many ways he lived his life endeavoring to raise the consciousness of white Americans to embrace not only the true value of a black man but also the true value and equality of all humankind.