African American Seamen Prior to 1900

African American seamen were a major but little known part of maritime history prior to 1900. There are very few references to black men taking part in the United States Navy. Most references are simply death records when seamen died during a deployment.

In reality, seafaring was one of the main occupations for black men, both free and slaves from about 1740 to 1865. In the 1800's many of the black seamen were free. These men were looking to make money and enjoy the liberty associated with like at sea.

Black seamen benefitted African Americans who stayed ashore. Because of their almost unlimited travels, black seamen were the ears and eyes of the onshore black communities. The seamen would bring back news and information that was considered important and very valuable to those in the black community.

Some black seamen helped out slaves by smuggling them to freedom. This was not a regular occurrence because smuggling slaves was a crime, the majority of seamen were not willing to jeopardize their freedom to help free someone else.

Life at sea was not always easy for African American seamen. Prejudice was present on every boat. The white men onboard always acted as if they were superior to the black men. This was often aggravated by the officers of the ships because the officers were white and sided with the white sailors when conflicts arose onboard. There were, however, times when every sailor on the ship had to put aside their differences and work together. Inclement weather and other unfortunate accidents often served to bring all of the men together.

One of the major contributions that black seamen made to maritime history prior to 1900 was their service during the War of 1812 when the United States declared itself at war with Great Britain. During this time, black seamen helped to secure the waterways in order to keep them controlled by the United States. It was during this time that one of the greatest controversies concerning black seamen occurred.

The northern waterways of the United States were considered to be the greatest vulnerabilities that the United Stated had during the War of 1812. Many saw the largely unprotected waterways as an easy entry for the British. The government decided that protecting those waterways was a priority.

By 1813, the waterways were pretty well protected. A large portion of the men serving to protect the waterways were African American. The series of events that led to this occurrence is what began the controversy.

In March of 1813, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry was ordered by Commodore Isaac Chauncey to complete the building of the Lake Eerie flotilla in Eerie, Pennsylvania. The orders included Master Commandant Perry taking command of the flotilla once the ships were completed. By July of 1813, all eleven vessels were sea worthy and ready to sail. Master Commandant Perry had a problem. He only had 120 men that were fit for naval service. He needed approximately 700 men to properly staff his vessels.

Master Commandant Perry attempted to get his superior officer, Commodore Chauncey to allocate men from other areas of the fleet to staff his vessels. His attempts went unanswered. At this point, Master Commandant Perry decided to inform the Secretary of the Navy of his problems since his staff shortage affected the security of the northern waterways.

Naval officials soon began to pressure Commodore Chauncey to find the man power to adequately staff the Lake Eerie flotilla. Commodore Chauncey found the actions of Master Commandant Perry to be unethical. Despite this, Master Commandant Perry soon received the seamen that he needed to staff his fleet.

When the men arrived in Eerie, Pennsylvania, Master Commandant Perry was shocked. Most of the men were African American. He considered the seamen that reported, both black and white, to be less than competent, in poor condition and severely under trained. He quickly sent word of his concerns to Commodore Chauncey. In reply, Commodore Chauncey stated that he had colored men aboard his ship and some of them were his best men. He further said that he did not see how a person's skin color affected his ability to work.

Master Commandant Perry once again broke the chain of command and brought this matter to the Secretary of the Navy. Despite this complaint, Master Commandant Perry was forced to sail with his men as they were.

Master Commandant Perry and his crew did record a victory. On September 10, 1813, after a hard fought battle, the Lake Eerie flotilla declared victory over Commander Robert Heriott Barclay's British Lake Eerie squadron. After this victory, Master Commandant Perry sent word to Commodore Chauncey praising the men serving under him. He included praises for both black and white seamen.

All in all, the life of a black seaman during these times was very difficult. This is especially true when you factor in the harsh realities of life at sea coupled with the often unbearable actions of ship mates who were prejudiced, especially on the vessels where the officers and supervisors chose to ignore the serious problems of racial discrimination.