Black Jack: African American Sailors in the Civil War navy

In the following essay Professor Reidy presents some preliminary findings of the African American Sailors Research Project's research into the social history of black sailors in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Reidy describes the computerized database compiled to reconstruct the demographic profile of the group as a whole-which numbered some 20,000 men and at its peak represented approximately 25 percent of the navy's enlisted force-as well as the service histories of individual men. He also explores aspects of the men's lives before, during, and after the war as revealed in surviving pension files.