User:Estevezj/sandbox/History of African Americans in the United States Navy

Continental Navy to the Civil War (1775–1861) edit

Revolutionary War edit

In contrast to army or militia service, blacks were not restricted from naval service and served in most of the state navies and the Continental Navy, making up an estimated 10 percent of naval personnel.[1] Harsh duty conditions (that dissuaded many volunteers), peacetime duty at sea, and the remote likelihood of slave insurrection meant that blacks were targeted for recruitment at the beginning of the war.[2] On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy.[3] There is limited documentary evidence, but some ships' musters make note of race; one muster included 2 black sailors aboard the famous Bonhomme Richard (1765).[4]

The duties performed varied, but Blacks generally held higher ranks in the state navies than in the Continental Navy where they served as "officer's boy and powder boy".[5] In state navies, for example, black sailors were often employed as pilots due to their pre-war experience on the water.[6] The number of privateers, however, far exceeded the number of ships held by the Continental and state navies, offering a refuge for runaway slaves, most famously James Forten.[7][8]

War of 1812 and Continental Expansion (1812–1861) edit

American Civil War (1861–1865) edit

Reconstruction to World War I (1865–1913) edit

Nadir of American race relations

Spanish–American War and the Rise of the Modern Navy (1898–1914) edit

World War I and Inter-war years (1914–1940) edit

 

Inter-war entrenchment and expansion (1918–1941) edit

World War II (1941–1945) edit

Post-war to the present (1945–1991) edit

Post–Cold War (1991–present) edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Sharp, Allison L. (2006). "Sailors and merchant mariners". In Jessie Carney Smith, Linda T. Wynn (eds.) (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American Business. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. pp. 710–720. ISBN 0313331103. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Lanning 2005, p. 87–88.
  3. ^ "Establishment of the Navy, 13 October 1775". Naval History & Heritage Command. US Navy. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  4. ^ Lanning 2005, p. 89.
  5. ^ Quarles 1996, p. 63.
  6. ^ Lanning 2005, p. 92.
  7. ^ Lanning 2005, p. 93.
  8. ^ Quarles 1996, p. 64.

References edit


Noted edit

"Editorials: Mass Crucifixion". The Crisis. Vol. 52, no. 1. 1945-01. p. 8. ISSN 0011-1422. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)