Side A: In 1918, Charles Young made a desperate attempt to convince the U.S. Army that he was fit for duty. The Army’s highest-ranking Black officer, he had been medically retired and not given a command during World War I. To demonstrate his fitness, he rode 497 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. Leaving on June 6 he made the journey in 17 days, 16 on horseback and 1 resting. Averaging 31 miles each day, he rode 45 minutes and walked 15 minutes every hour. Upon his arrival, Young met with Secretary of War Newton Baker. Pressured by the Black press and the White House, Baker hedged. He recalled Young to active duty a year later and assigned him to Camp Grant, Illinois, just five days before the end of the war.
Side B: On Thursday, June 6, 1918, Colonel Young saddled his horse, packed his saddlebags, put on his uniform, and set out from Wilberforce to ride to Washington, D.C. He followed the road then called State Route 11 that is now U.S. Route 35. He covered 30 miles the first day and stopped for the night at Washington Court House. While the town had a very small African American population, it is not known where he stayed. In some towns Colonel Young found no accommodations for Blacks and had to sleep near the stable with his horse.
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