Black Sailors in the Civil War

During his 35-year federal and not-for-profit career, James H. Bruns has served as Director of the Department of the Navy’s Museum System, with administrative oversight of the Navy’s nine national Museums. He lives in Lorton, Virginia.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction1. “That will do”: Towards Freedom2. Runaways3. Robert Smalls4. Northern Black Mariners5. Recruiting in Major Cities6. Welcome to the Navy7. The Need for Army Contrabands and Its Fleet8. From Overseers to Boatswains Mates9. Blue-Water Black Bluejackets10. Brown-Water Black Bluejackets11. The Great Exodus in 1862 and 186312. Seizing the Lower Mississippi: David Farragut, the Minority Flag Officer13. Capturing the Upper Mississippi: Andrew Hull Foote, the Union’s Pious Sailor14. Vicksburg: The Gibraltar of the Confederacy15. Prizes and Problems Along the Red River16. Coffee17. The Safest Service18. Marked Passing19. Black Bluejacket Valor20. The Union Navy’s War on Salt21. Mobile Bay22. The Union’s Starships23. The AftermathChapter NotesBibliographyIndex

“Finally, there is a book that gives African-American sailors the credit they’re due for the winning the Union’s war on the waters.”—Claude Berube, PhD, director, United States Naval Academy Museum, author of On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era