African Americans in the American Civil War
African Americans fought in every major campaign and naval battle of the Civil War. They served in the blockading squadrons on the South and Gulf Coasts and in the brown-water navy in the tributaries in the South. African American women served also, most as nurses aboard the USS Red Rover (1859), a hospital ship on the Mississippi River. African Americans served in the Navy with great distinction and eight were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor.