American Historical Ephemera and Photography

2 silver gelatin photographs, each 5 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. on 9 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. cardstock mount, framed to 14 1/4 x 23 1/4 in. The photographs, which were published in the 1910 Illustrated Review: Ninth Cavalry, Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming. (Denver, CO: Medley & Jenson, publishers), show both Black and white members of the 9th Cavalry. The first photograph features a group of 32 officers, most notably Captain Charles Young (seated in the front row, fifth from the left), and the regimental chaplain, Captain George Prioleau (seated in the front row, far right) (chip to top edge of print; edge and corner wear to mount). The second photograph shows 56 members of the company, mostly Buffalo Soldiers. A flag representing the troop is visible at far left, marked "9 / L" (9th Cavalry, Troop L) (edge and corner wear to mount).

The US 9th Cavalry Regiment was one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments that saw extensive combat during the late Indian Wars in the western frontier and during the Spanish-American War. In 1899 and again in 1904, the 9th Cavalry patrolled Yosemite National Park, joining other soldiers as the first "rangers" of the park system. Under General John J. Pershing, the regiment fought in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1916, and the regiment was in the Philippines during World War I.

Charles Young (1864-1922) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1889 despite heavy racial abuse from his classmates and teachers. He was only the third African American to do so, after Henry Ossian Flipper and John Hanks Alexander. There would not be another black graduate until Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. in 1936. Young was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served for 28 years, primarily with the Buffalo Soldiers in both the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. He eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, the first African American to do so. Immediately prior to World War I, Young was removed from service reported due to health reasons, however, it was almost certainly to prevent Young from commanding white officers.

Chaplain George Washington Prioleau (1856-1927) was born into slavery in South Carolina. One of just five chaplains in the Buffalo Soldier regiments, he was stationed at Fort Walla Walla with the 9th Cavalry and served in Cuba and the Philippines. Prioleau was with the 9th Cavalry for 20 years before being transferred to the 10th Cavalry and later the 25th Cavalry with a promotion to major. He retired in 1920, and helped found the Bethel A. M. E. Church in Los Angeles a year later, where he often delivered sermons.