Author of Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy at Navy Memorial
Barbara Brooks Tomblin Will Discuss and Sign Her Book Followed by a Q&A
Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 12:00 NOON
Free and open to the public
Part of the Navy Memorial’s “Authors on Deck” Series of Navy-related Book Lectures. Barbara Brooks Tomblin will present her new book, Bluejackets and Contraband: African Americans and the Union Navy, followed by Q&A and book signing.
The Civil War provided a unique opportunity for African American refugees seeking avenues of escape to the North. Some were liberated by joint army-navy operations in the South, while others fled to Union Navy blockade vessels off the coast or to the Union lines. Regarded as spoils of war, former slaves became known as contrabands after the passage of the First Confiscation Act of 1861, which permitted the seizure of property used in the Confederate war effort, including slaves. The Union Navy employed them as river pilots, mechanics, laundresses, cooks, hospital attendants, and even spies.
Drawing from the official records and firsthand accounts such as slave narratives, diaries, and letters, Tomblin presents a vivid description of the events that redefined the Union Navy and the newly emancipated slaves. Bluejackets and Contrabands adds new depth to our understanding of the vital contributions of African-Americans to the Union war effort.
Barbara Brooks Tomblin is the author of With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945 and G.I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corps in World War II.