Black men were not limited to serving in the USCT. Granville Lucas, who lived in Rome Township in 1880, [1] served as a cook on the steamer USS Undine.[2] Unlike the army, the navy was racially integrated, so Black sailors like Lucas lived and served with white sailors. Of the sixty men listed in the 1864 Undine muster rolls, 18 of them were Black, thirty percent.[3] This was within a normal range for ships on the Mississippi Squadron, which drew many of its crew members from Cincinnati and Illinois.[4] Due to racial prejudice, many Black sailors served as cooks and stewards, as Granville Lucas did. Black crew members often associated with each other rather than their white crew members.[5] Like these men, Lucas may have formed friendships with his fellow Black sailors and avoided the white crewmates who were not so welcoming. The Undine was one of many ships to recruit Black sailors. By summer 1862, 15 percent of men staffing naval vessels were Black. Some were contrabands, others free Americans.[6] Lucas’ service on the Undine was one of the many opportunities Black Americans to serve alongside white men in the war.

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Notes

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1. “Crew of the US Steamer Undine,” David Butcher Collection, People of Color Exhibit.

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2. “Complete Descriptive List or Muster Roll of the Crew of the U.S. Steamer Undine,” Muster Rolls of U.S.S. Uncas, 1862-1863; U.S.S. Underwriter, 1863; U.S.S. Undine, 1864; U.S.S. Union, 1861, 1863-1865; and U.S.S. Unit, 1864-1865, National Archives Catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/134452281.

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3. Joseph P. Reidy, “Black Men in Navy Blue.”

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4. Joseph P. Reidy, “Black Men in Navy Blue During the Civil War, Part 2,” Prologue 33, no. 3 (fall 2001). National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/fall/black-sailors-2.html.

 

5. Joseph P. Reidy, “Black Men in Navy Blue During the Civil War,” Prologue 33, no. 3 (fall 2001). National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/fall/black-sailors-1.html.

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6. 1880 United States Federal Census. Rome Township, Athens, Ohio, USA. Ancestry.com Census Database.

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Image: Granville Lucas Portrait. Courtesy of David Butcher, People of Color Exhibit.