African-Americans served in the U.S. Navy throughout the early decades of the 19th century, but their numbers increased during the Civil War. Unlike the army, where blacks served in specific “Colored” units, a ship’s crew had to be more integrated.
The first ironclad introduced during the war with two revolving turrets, mounting four guns instead of just two, was the USS Onondaga, launched in 1863. Historians still debate the origin of its name, but several ironclads commissioned in this era used the identity of Native American tribes for inspiration.
The USS Onondaga’s December 1864 muster role lists, at least, 18 African-Americans in its crew. Most were young, with no former experience at sea, so were officially ranked as a “landsman” — the lowest entry-level position. Others, as reflective of the era, were assigned as cooks or, if teenagers, usually as “cabin boys.” A Baltimore cabinet maker named Benjamin Jackson, however, was ranked as a “carpenter.”
The 2,592-ton, 226-foot long Onondaga saw action against Confederate naval forces on the James River in Virginia. It was declared surplus after the war and sold to France in 1867, where it was scrapped in 1904.
An exquisitely detailed scale model of the USS Onondaga is in the collection of the Onondaga Historical Association along with a copy of the original muster role.
This story, provided by Dennis Connors, curator of history at the Onondaga Historical Association, is part of The Post-Standard's 2012 observance of Black History Month. This year coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The Post-Standard observes the month with accounts of Central New York's African-Americans who lived in the Civil War era, especially those who risked their lives as abolitionists and those who fought for the Union.
You can explore Post-Standard reporting from previous years by searching for Black History. Or you can follow these links for a sampling of related stories:
» "Stops on the Road to Freedom," the sites and people in Central New York that played a significant role in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad.
» "On the Front Lines of History," the story of local blacks' military service.
» "Witnesses: Scars of a Southern Childhood," how Syracusans who grew up in the American South experienced legal segregation before the great changes brought about by the Civil Rights movement a century after the Civil War.