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Explore the Union African-American Sailors Index

 

The current sailors' list is the product of a team of researchers from Howard University, who, working with a Historian's Steering Committee representing Howard, the Naval Historical Center, the National Park Service, and academic experts, examined hundreds of thousands of pages of naval records housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. for evidence about the black sailors of the Civil War. You can read more about their efforts through the links that accompany the Black Sailors index.

The result is both informative and compelling. Take some time to explore the world of the Black Sailors.

 

Future Sailors' Indices

The NPS and its' CWSS partners are committed to eventually including the names of all Union and Confederate Naval personnel. Given that the records sources for the Navy are not as well organized as the Army records, nor are they micro-filmed, the target date for this is still to be determined. In the meantime, with funding from the Defense Department, NPS has partnered with Howard University to identify African American sailors who served in the Union Navy during the Civil War (see above). The research has resulted in a database of approximately 18,000 African American sailors from various historical Navy documents. These are currently available on our web site with other related features. This project has received grants from the Department of the Defense Legacy Resources Management Program.

 

In this black and white photograph, an African American Sailor leans against a rail on the deck of the ship, which forms the backdrop of the photo.
Anonymous Sailor on the
USS North Carolina