army and navy of the union during the civil war

With the exception of Alexander Caine, who enlisted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in January 1862, the other Albemarle sailors enlisted after the fall of 1863. Our six Albemarle-born sailors were Joseph Brown (aged 18 at time of enlistment), Alexander Caine (21), John Edwards (19), Harry Hill (29), David Linton (33), and Henry Murray (19). Black sailors greatly aided the Union war effort because they provided much needed labor on ships that helped defeat the Confederacy. Through the use of naval service records, accessed through the National Park Service’s Soldiers and Sailors Database, and secondary sources on the wartime navy and black sailors, we have produced a preliminary reconstruction of the wartime experiences of our Albemarle sailors. While most of the men in our Black Virginians in Blue project were soldiers in the USCT, six served as sailors aboard five Union vessels.

Out of the approximately 18,000 African American sailors who served in the Union navy during the Civil War, over 2,800 were born in Virginia, the most from any state.

Army and navy of the union during the civil war