Remembering the Civil War’s Black sailors
The lives and experiences of African American and immigrant sailors during the American Civil War will be explored in a new study
Around 118,000 sailors served in the US Navy during the American Civil War, 30 per cent of whom were first-generation British or Irish immigrants, and 15 per cent of whom were African Americans. Now, a £685,000 study led by Northumbria University, Newcastle, intends to bring their stories to life. The research project, called Civil War Bluejackets: Race, Class and Ethnicity in the United States Navy, 1861-1865, will include the creation of newly digitised muster rolls – registers of the officers and men on Union Naval vessels – from the conflict. This is expected to provide a valuable online resource for both social historians and people looking to discover their family histories.
The pilot study, started in 2020, was undertaken by Professor David Gleeson and Damian Shiels in collaboration with the University of Sheffield information scientists Dr Morgan Harvey and Dr Frank Hopfgartner. Its next stages will begin in
March 2022, examining the experiences of United States Navy sailors (called ‘Bluejackets’ for their short shell-jacket uniforms) in the hope of better understanding the issues of race, class and ethnicity throughout the war and the proceeding years.
Commenting on the project’s significance to descendants, Professor Gleeson said: “As well as providing a fascinating insight for fellow academics and researchers… [the study] should also be of particular interest to… African American genealogists, as many of the formerly enslaved first appeared in their own right with full names on ship musters as they claimed equality through naval service.” The findings will be presented at a final conference at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in February 2025.