Heading to Amphitheater Point

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Wow, isn't that a phenomenal view? Well, we've got about five minutes till our next stop.

It's a small pull-off called Amphitheater Point, and from that scenic overlook, you'll see unobstructed views of Morro Rock and the surrounding mountains.

In the meantime, let's get back to a little national park history, okay? So, by 1890, we had established parks like Yellowstone, Sequoia, and Yosemite, right?

But what we hadn't established yet was the National Park Service to take care of them.

The Role of the U.S. Army

So, for a little over 20 years, from 1891 to 1913, it was the U.S. Army that oversaw the parks.

In ranger-like roles, they fought poaching, put out wildfires, built roads, and, yes, asked to see your campground reservation.

And there was one particular regiment of the Army that spent a lot of time running these parks. 

They were the All-African American Regiments of the U.S. Army, otherwise known as Buffalo Soldiers.

Buffalo Soldiers, fighting men, rolled for the Army to clean up the land. Nobody messed with the 9th and the 10th, from the Kansas plains to the Rio Grande.

Challenges Faced by Buffalo Soldiers

Now, let's remember something about the African American experience at the turn of the century. I mean, it was pretty awful. African Americans had to deal with segregation, racism, and inequality.

Even when they were in a position of authority, such as a U.S. Army regiment running a national park. And that brings me to one incredible person named Charles Young.

Charles Young’s Legacy

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Charles was born in Kentucky to enslaved parents in 1864. 

His family fled across the river to Ohio, where Charles got an education. He was the first African American to graduate from his high school and only the third African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Eventually, along with his career in the Army, he became a military sciences professor.

But his accomplishments were far from over.

Young’s Efforts to Preserve Sequoia

In 1903, Captain Charles Young led the 9th Cavalry, his Buffalo Soldiers, here to Sequoia. And they became the first African American acting superintendents of any national park. 

Young absolutely loved the trees. Here in Sequoia, he named one of them the Booker T. Washington Tree, after the famous civil rights activist.

Young also fought against logging and tourists who carved their names into the tree trunks. 

Honoring the Buffalo Soldiers

Yeah, folks, please do not do that while you're here, okay? Anyway, Charles led a long career and retired as a colonel. And the rest of the soldiers?

Well, in 1951, the last of the Buffalo Soldier regiments were disbanded. So why don't we take a minute to honor their hard work? We'll reach the amphitheater viewpoint in just a moment.

The only way to be a man was in that uniform. Some had never had their freedom. Others fought for dignity, not soldiers on the frontier, the part of history.

Buffalo Soldiers, fighting men, rode for the Army to clean up the land. Nobody messed with the 9th and the 10th, from the Kansas plains to the Rio Grande.