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The total number of black men to serve in the Union Navy has never been established. Although the army was extremely race—conscious and segregated, the navy, incredibly, did not list men’s races when they enlisted. So far at least 18,000 blacks have been identified as having served in the navy, out of 118,000 total men in the naval forces. Nearly four hundred African Canadians were among the blacks who signed up for service at sea. 1
Some of the blacks who joined were escaped slaves who had been born in the United States. More appear to have been the sons or grandsons of slaves who had left what became the United States during the Revolution, the War of 1812, or in the subsequent decades. The recruits were principally from modern Ontario and the Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where blacks had long been going to sea. 85% of the black enlistments took place in the second half of the war, after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.2
Hundreds of African Canadians were among the more than 18,000 black men who made up 15% of the Union navy’s personnel.
Because of their merchant marine experience in the civilian shipping industry, African Canadians often came in with higher skills than their United States-born black or white counterparts. Most of them enlisted in the same places as the native-born, at recruiting stations in New York and Boston. They served on at least 160 different Union vessels during the war.3
With immigrants and blacks making up 60% of naval personnel, African Canadians were part of the mosaic of sailors, seamen, and landsmen that crewed ships. The diversity was noted by an officer of the U.S.S. Florida who described his crew as “a motley collection…from all parts of the world-England, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Poland, Norway, Sweden, have representatives onboard. Besides these we have a Lascar, a Mexican, Sardinian, Italian, one from Maderia. One from Manila, another from Peru…” 4
The navy that the African Canadians were entering had a long history of enlisting blacks. Unlike the army, which barred black soldiers until 1862, the navy had allowed up to 5% of enlistees to be black even before the war broke out. By the end of the war, about one-in-seven men serving in the navy were black. 5
The navy began enlisting escaped slaves as early as July of 1861 and the first African Canadians joined in the same year. While officers feared that the mixing of black and white seamen would lead to race riots on board ships, the results were more mixed. The navy promulgated regulations providing that the escaped slaves, called “contrabands”, not be “ill treated by the rest of the crew.”6
What the officers found when Union ships cruising through coastal Georgia and the Carolinas picked up escaped slaves defied expectations. According to historian Michael J. Bennett:
[W]hat happened when slaves called at the railings of blockade vessels and river gunboats amazed officers and sailors alike. Union sailors looking into the faces of people they resented on sight-given their racial dispositions-did not turn them away or stage ragged protests. Instead, they helped them aboard… They could have made the contraband journeys to ships difficult or nearly impossible…They did not. Instead, white tars helped these fugitives aboard night after night, often at the risk of their owns lives.7
While the sailors may have sympathized with the escaped slaves, they were still guided by the prevailing racism of American society in how they treated blacks who enlisted. African Canadians would, like all blacks on board ship, have been subject to racist nicknames and would have been pressed by white sailors to work harder than the rest of the crew. On some ships entertainments gotten up by the crew included “minstrel shows” in which white men blackened their faces and depicted blacks in demeaning attempts at humor.8
Black crewmen defied racial stereotypes when they proved themselves to be excellent fighters.
When black enlisted men were placed on a legally level promotion structure to whites after the first year of the war, some white sailors became resentful. They may not have objected to former slaves filling menial roles in the navy, but they believed that if blacks served in the technical and skilled positions, they themselves would be demeaned to the level of slaves. 9
In some naval squadrons, the officers imposed segregation onboard ships. For example, in the Mississippi Squadron Admiral Porter ordered that freed slaves and whites be kept separate, The squadron even prohibited the former slaves from eating with white sailors. One white man recalled that on his ship “there were about thirty negroes aboard…Their mess and mess cook was entirely separate from ours.” 10
In spite of the extreme racial segregation in the Mississippi Squadron, on most ships blacks and whites with the same skill levels worked side by side. As blacks proved themselves capable seamen, most officers advanced them to manning gun crew, serving on night watch, and filling other crucial shipboard roles. Even the segregationist Admiral Porter conceded that because of manpower shortages “I work in the darkies,” who he admitted, “do first-rate” work. 11
Sources:
1. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015) pp. 56-60; Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011); Life in Mr. Lincoln’s Navy by Dennis Ringle published by Naval Institute Press (1998); War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 by James McPherson published by Univ. of North Carolina Press (2012); From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War by Robert Browning published by Univ. of Alabama Press (1993); Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War by Robert Browning published by Brassey’s Inc. (2002); Navy in the Civil War, The: Vol. 1, The Blockade and the Cruisers by James Russell Soley published by Scribners (1887).
2. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015) pp. 60-64
3. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015) pp. 64-79
4. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015) pp. 80-81
5. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011); African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015)
6. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011); African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015)
7. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011); African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid published by Kent State University Press (2015)
8. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011) pp. 160-164.
9. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011) pp. 166-171
10. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011) pp. 163-165
11.Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War by Michael J. Bennett published by University of North Carolina Press (2011) pp. 165-168
The Immigrants’ Civil War is a series that examines the role of immigrants in our bloodiest war. Articles will appear twice monthly between 2011 and 2017. Here are the articles we have published so far:
1. Immigrant America on the Eve of the Civil War – Take a swing around the United States and see where immigrants were coming from and where they were living in 1861.
2. 1848: The Year that Created Immigrant America – Revolutions in Europe, famine and oppression in Ireland, and the end of the Mexican War made 1848 a key year in American immigration history.
3. Carl Schurz: From German Radical to American Abolitionist– A teenaged revolutionary of 1848, Carl Schurz brought his passion for equality with him to America.
4. Immigrant Leader Carl Schurz Tells Lincoln to Stand Firm Against Slavery.
5. …And the War Came to Immigrant America -The impact of the firing on Fort Sumter on America’s immigrants
6. The Rabbi Who Seceded From the South
7. The Fighting 69th-Irish New York Declares War
8. The Germans Save St. Louis for the Union
9. New York’s Irish Rush to Save Washington
10. Immigrant Day Laborers Help Build the First Fort to Protect Washington-The Fighting 69th use their construction skills.
11. Carl Schurz Meets With Lincoln To Arm the Germans
12. Immigrants Rush to Join the Union Army-Why?– The reasons immigrants gave for enlisting early in the war.
13. Why the Germans Fought for the Union?
14. Why Did the Irish Fight When They Were So Despised?
15. The “Sons of Garibaldi” Join the Union Army
16. The Irish Tigers From Louisiana
17. Immigrant Regiments on Opposite Banks of Bull Run -The Fighting 69th and the Louisiana Tigers
18. The St. Louis Germans Set Out To Free Missouri
19. Wilson’s Creek Drowns Immigrant Dream of Free Missouri
20. English-Only in 1861: No Germans Need Apply
21. After Bull Run: Mutineers, Scapegoats, and the Dead
22. St. Louis Germans Revived by Missouri Emancipation Proclamation
23. Jews Fight the Ban on Rabbis as Chaplains
24. Lincoln Dashes German Immigrants Hopes for Emancipation
25. When Hatred of Immigrants Stopped the Washington Monument from Being Built
26. Inside the Mind of a Know Nothing
27. The Evolution of the Know Nothings
28. The Know Nothings Launch a Civil War Against Immigrant America
29. The Know Nothings: From Triumph to Collapse
30. The Lasting Impact of the Know Nothings on Immigrant America.
31. Lincoln, the Know Nothings, and Immigrant America.
32. Irish Green and Black America: Race on the Edge of Civil War.
33. The Democratic Party and the Racial Consciousness of Irish Immigrants Before the Civil War
34. The Confederates Move Against Latino New Mexico
35. Nuevomexicanos Rally As Confederates Move Towards Santa Fe—But For Which Side?
36. The Confederate Army in New Mexico Strikes at Valverde
37. The Swedish Immigrant Who Saved the U.S. Navy
38. The Confederates Capture Santa Fe and Plot Extermination
39. A German Regiment Fights for “Freedom and Justice” at Shiloh-The 32nd Indiana under Col. August Willich.
40. The Know Nothing Colonel and the Irish Soldier Confronting slavery and bigotry.
41. Did Immigrants Hand New Orleans Over to the Union Army?
42. Did New Orleans’ Immigrants See Union Soldiers As Occupiers or Liberators?
43. Union Leader Ben Butler Seeks Support in New Orleans-When General Ben Butler took command in New Orleans in 1862, it was a Union outpost surrounded by Confederates. Butler drew on his experience as a pro-immigrant politician to win over the city’s Irish and Germans.
44. Union General Ben Butler Leverages Immigrant Politics in New Orleans
45. Thomas Meager: The Man Who Created the Irish Brigade
46. Thomas Meagher: The Irish Rebel Joins the Union Army
47. Recruiting the Irish Brigade-Creating the Irish American
48. Cross Keys: A German Regiment’s Annihilation in the Shenandoah Valley
49. The Irish Brigade Moves Towards Richmond-The Irish brigade in the Peninsula Campaign from March 17 to June 2, 1862.
50. Peninsula Emancipation: Irish Soldiers Take Steps on the Road to Freedom-The Irish Brigade and Irish soldiers from Boston free slaves along the march to Richmond.
51. Slaves Immigrate from the Confederacy to the United States During the Peninsula Campaign
52. The Irish 9th Massachusetts Cut Off During the Seven Days Battles
53. Union Defeat and an Irish Medal of Honor at the End of the Seven Days
54. Making Immigrant Soldiers into Citizens-Congress changed the immigration laws to meet the needs of a nation at war.
55. Carl Schurz: To Win the Civil War End Slavery
56. Carl Schurz: From Civilian to General in One Day
57. Did Anti-German Bigotry Help Cause Second Bull Run Defeat?
58. Immigrant Soldiers Chasing Lee Into Maryland
59. Scottish Highlanders Battle at South Mountain
60. Emancipation 150: “All men are created equal, black and white”– A German immigrant reacts to the Emancipation Proclamation
61. The Irish Brigade at Antietam
62. Private Peter Welsh Joins the Irish Brigade
63. Preliminaries to Emancipation: Race, the Irish, and Lincoln
64. The Politics of Emancipation: Lincoln Suffers Defeat
65. Carl Schurz Blames Lincoln for Defeat
66. The Irish Brigade and Virginia’s Civilians Black and White
67. The Irish Brigade and the Firing of General McClellan
68. General Grant Expells the Jews
69. The Irish Brigade Moves Towards Its Destruction At Fredericksburg.
70. Fredericksburg: The Worst Day in the Young Life of Private McCarter of the Irish Brigade
71. Forever Free: Emancipation New Year Day 1863
72. Private William McCarter of the Irish Brigade Hospitalized After Fredericksburg
73. The Immigrant Women That Nursed Private McCarter After Fredericksburg
74. Nursing Nuns of the Civil War
75. The Biases Behind Grant’s Order Expelling the Jews
76. The Jewish Community Reacts to Grant’s Expulsion Order
77. Lincoln Overturns Grant’s Order Against the Jews
78. Irish Families Learn of the Slaughter at Fredericksburg
79. Requiem for the Irish Brigade
80. St. Patrick’s Day in the Irish Brigade
81. Student Asks: Why Don’t We Learn More About Immigrants in the Civil War?
82. Missouri’s German Unionists: From Defeat to Uncertain Victory
83. Missouri Germans Contest Leadership of Unionist Cause
84. German Leader Franz Sigel’s Victory Earns a Powerful Enemy
85. Immigrant Unionists Marching Towards Pea Ridge
86. German Immigrants at the Battle of Pea Ridge: Opening Moves
87. Pea Ridge: The German Unionists Outflanked
88. German Immigrants at the Battle of Pea Ridge
89. The Organization of the “German” XI Corps
90. The Irish Brigade on the Road to Chancellorsville
91. The “German” XI Corps on the Eve of Chancellorsville
92. The “Germans Run Away” at Chancellorsville
93. The New York Times, the Germans, and the Anatomy of a Scapegoat at Chancellorsville
94. An Irish Soldier Between Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
95. Lee’s Army Moves Towards Gettysburg: Black Refugees Flee
96. Iron Brigade Immigrants Arrive at Gettysburg
97. Iron Brigade Immigrants Go Into Battle the First Day at Gettysburg
98. The “German” XI Corps at Gettysburg July 1, 1863
99. An Irish Colonel and the Defense of Little Round Top on the Second Day at Gettysburg
100. A Prayer Before Death for the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg: July 2, 1863
101. The Irish Regiment that Ended “Pickett’s Charge”: July 3, 1863
102. Five Points on the Edge of the Draft Riots
103. Before the Draft Riots: The Cultivation of Division
104. The New York Draft Riots Begin
105. Convulsion of Violence: The First Day of the New York Draft Riots
106. The Draft Riots End in a Sea of Blood-July 14-15, 1863.
107. Pat Cleburne: The Irish Confederate and the Know Nothings
108. Killing Pat Cleburne: Know Nothing Violence
109. Pat Cleburne: Arresting a General, Becoming a General
110. The Immigrant Story Behind “Twelve Years a Slave”
111. A German Immigrant Woman’s Gettysburg Address
112. Pat Cleburne: The Irish Confederate’s Emancipation Proclamation
113. Pat Cleburne: The South Can’t Use Black Soldiers Without Ending Slavery
114. The Suppression of Pat Cleburne’s Emancipation Proposal
115. An Irish Immigrant Colonel’s Warnings Ignored at Chickamauga
116. An Immigrant Colonel’s Fighting Retreat at Chickamauga
117. August Willich: German Socialist at Chickamauga
118. Hans Heg:at Chickamauga: Norwegian Commander on the Eve of Battle
119. Ivan and Nadine Turchin: Russian Revolutionary Aristocrats at Chickamauga
120. German Immigrants Pinned Down at Chickamauga
121. Hans Heg: To Die for His Adopted Country at Chickamauga
122. Patrick Guiney: An Irish Colonel on the Edge of the Wilderness
123. Immigrants March Out of The Wilderness and Into a Wicked Hail of Gunfire
124. Peter Welsh in the Irish Brigade’s Purgatory at Spotsylvania
125. Peter Welsh: What Sacrifice Must the Immigrant Make for His Adopted Land?
126. A Second Irish Brigade’s Catastrophe at a Forgotten Fight Near Fredericksburg
127. An Irish Man and a French Woman Between Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor
128. Two Irish Brigades Swept Away by a Hurricane from Hell at Cold Harbor
129. Petersburg: The Start of a Ten Month Siege that Devoured Men and Disabled the Irish Brigade
130. A Volcano in Virginia: The Battle of the Crater
131. 1864 Election: The Immigrant Voter & Abraham Lincoln
132. August Belmont: The German Jewish Immigrant Who Led the Opposition to Lincoln’s 1864 Reelection
133. Lincoln and the Superiority of the “Negro” over the Irish
134. Lincoln’s Germans and the Election of 1864
135. Lincoln’s German Lawyer Comes Out Swinging in the Election of 1864
136. Lincoln Wins the Election of 1864 With Immigrant Votes
137. American Refugee Camp in Civil War Kentucky Destroyed by Union Soldiers
138. Kentucky Civil War Refugee Camp Reborn and Reconstructed After Expulsions
139. Immigrant German “Hamburgers” Tormented and Captured at Petersburg
140. German General Weitzel and His African Canadians at Petersburg
141. Irish Regiment at the Beginning of the End of the Confederacy at Five Forks
142. Richmond Burning: The German Immigrant and Black Troops Who Saved the City
143. Appomattox: The Capture of a Confederate Army & the Fall from Grace of an Immigrant General
144. Lincoln Assassinated: John Wilkes Booth’s Immigrant Conspirators
145. Immigrants Hunt Lincoln’s Killers and Help Capture the Confederate President
146. Lincoln’s Murder and the New York Irish American
147. Lincoln’s Funeral in Immigrant New York
148. German General Carl Schurz Begins His Investigation of the Post-War South
149. Carl Schurz Warned That a “System of Terrorism” Was Taking Hold in the Post-War South in 1865
150. Immigrants in the Union Navy: Minorities in the Majority
151. How Immigrants Were Recruited into the United States Navy
Cultural
Painting of the Return of the 69th from Bull Run Unearthed
Blog Posts
The Real Story Behind The Immigrants’ Civil War Photo
Why I’m Writing The Immigrants’ Civil War
The Five Meanings of “The Immigrants’ Civil War”
The Fallout from No Irish Need Apply Article Spreads Worldwide
No Irish Need Apply Professor Gets into a Fight With Our Blogger Pat Young Over Louisa May Alcott
Books for Learning More About The Immigrants’ Civil War
Free Yale Course with David Blight on the Civil War
Cinco de Mayo Holiday Dates Back to the American Civil War
New Immigrants Try to Come to Terms with America’s Civil War
Important Citizenship Site to be Preserved-Fortress Monroe
Should Lincoln Have Lost His Citizenship?
The First Casualties of the War Were Irish-Was that a Coincidence?
Civil War Anniversaries-History, Marketing, and Human Rights
Memorial Day’s Origins at the End of the Civil War
Germans Re-enact the Civil War-But Why Are They Dressed in Gray?
Leading Historians Discuss 1863 New York City Draft Riots
The Upstate New York Town that Joined the Confederacy
Civil War Blogs I Read Every Week
First Annual The Immigrants’ Civil War Award Goes to Joe Reinhart
Damian Shiels Wins Second Annual The Immigrants’ Civil War Award
Mother Jones: Civil War Era Immigrant and Labor Leader
Immigration Vacation -Civil War Sites
Fort Schuyler-Picnic where the Irish Brigade trained
The Fallout from No Irish Need Apply Article Spreads Worldwide
No Irish Need Apply Professor Gets into a Fight With Our Blogger Pat Young Over Louisa May Alcott
Books for Learning More About The Immigrants’ Civil War
Free Yale Course with David Blight on the Civil War
Cinco de Mayo Holiday Dates Back to the American Civil War
