Slaves, Sailors, Citizens: African Americans in the Union Navy / Edition 1

Slaves, Sailors, Citizens: African Americans in the Union Navy / Edition 1

by Steven Ramold
ISBN-10:
0875802869
ISBN-13:
9780875802862
Pub. Date:
11/01/2001
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
ISBN-10:
0875802869
ISBN-13:
9780875802862
Pub. Date:
11/01/2001
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
Slaves, Sailors, Citizens: African Americans in the Union Navy / Edition 1

Slaves, Sailors, Citizens: African Americans in the Union Navy / Edition 1

by Steven Ramold
$42.95 Current price is , Original price is $42.95. You
$42.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores
$33.40  $42.95 Save 22% Current price is $33.4, Original price is $42.95. You Save 22%.
  • SHIP THIS ITEM

    Temporarily Out of Stock Online

    Please check back later for updated availability.

    Note: Access code and/or supplemental material are not guaranteed to be included with used textbook.

Overview

As many as one in six Union navy sailors was African American, many of them former slaves. This richly detailed history shows that the free blacks and "contraband" slaves who joined the U.S. Navy during the Civil War were essential to Northern victories at sea. Through their role in preserving the Union, they helped to win recognition for African Americans as full citizens.

African Americans joined the U.S. Navy from the first days of the war and soon demonstrated to a skeptical Northern population that they would fight for their freedom. Faced with the hazards of battle, African American sailors performed with great heroism, and several earned the nation's highest military tribute, the Medal of Honor. Their service in the navy paved the way for their wider employment in the U.S. Army.

Despite the lack of official records on the subject, Ramold has combed through mountains of memoirs, court documents, pension reports, and other sources to discover the true magnitude of African Americans' contribution to the naval effort. The book presents a vivid description of the lives of these sailors from enlistment to discharge, telling the story as much as possible in the words of the sailors themselves. A dozen rare photographs illustrate the range of African American service.

Ramold demonstrates that the navy, from necessity and from tradition, treated African Americans in its ranks far more equitably than did the army or any other public institution in antebellum America. Decades later, black sailors would be consigned to work in the mess hall, but in the Civil War era they fought side by side with white sailors, were treated equally in courts-martial, and received the same pay and benefits. Slaves, Sailors, Citizens allows us to rediscover these largely forgotten heroes, whose story can now take its rightful place in the history of the war and in the struggle of slaves and free blacks to become citizens.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780875802862
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Publication date: 11/01/2001
Edition description: 1
Pages: 262
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Steven J. Ramold is Assistant Professor of American History at Virginia State University.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction
1. "America Has Such Tars": African American Sailors before the Civil War
2. "The Wants of the Service": The Politics of African American Enlistment
3. A Unique Set of Men: The Demographics of African American Sailors
4. "Sick of the Sea": Everyday Life in the Union Navy
5. "Energetically and Bravely—None More So": African American Sailors in Combat
6. Before the Bench: African American Sailors in the Navy Criminal Justice System
7. One Who Was There: Charles B. Fisher, United States Navy
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews