Press Kit: Discovering the Civil War
Discovering the Civil War
Integrated But Not Equal
An integrated crew served on this U.S. gunboat, probably the Mendota. During the Civil War, 18,000 black men-and more than a dozen women-served in the U.S. Navy. However, black sailors served only in the lowest ranks. On the Mendota, many of the black crew members were recently freed slaves. National Archives, Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer
 An integrated crew aboard a U.S. gunboat, probably the Mendota. |