African American Sailors
Because of manpower shortages at sea, both the Continental navy and Royal Navy signed African Americans into the navy. Even southern colonies, which worried about putting guns into the hands of slaves for the army, had no qualms about using blacks to pilot vessels and to handle the ammunition on ships. In state navies, some blacks served as pilots, South Carolina had significant numbers of black pilots.
Some African Americans had been captured from the Royal Navy and used by the Patriots on their vessels. Throughout the war, blacks served as seamen on British vessels – where they generally proved to be much more willing and able than their press-ganged British counterparts.
Read more about this topic: African Americans In The American Revolution
Famous quotes containing the words african american, african, american and/or sailors:
“I’ve never been afraid to step out and to reach out and to move out in order to make things happen.”
—Victoria Gray, African American civil rights activist. As quoted in This Little Light of Mine, ch. 3, by Hay Mills (1993)
“The fact that white people readily and proudly call themselves “white,” glorify all that is white, and whitewash all that is glorified, becomes unnatural and bigoted in its intent only when these same whites deny persons of African heritage who are Black the natural and inalienable right to readily—proudly—call themselves “black,” glorify all that is black, and blackwash all that is glorified.”
—Abbey Lincoln (b. 1930)
“Let those flatter, who fear: it is not an American art. To give praise where it is not due, might be well from the venal, but would ill beseem those who are asserting the rights of human nature.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“So far as inland discovery was concerned, the adventurous spirit of the English was that of sailors who land but for a day, and their enterprise the enterprise of traders.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)