coal stokers down in the engine room. i'm sure they had cannoneers when they went to battle stations. but the primary job were coal stokers in the confederate navy and if they were from an area where the navy was stationed or situated, they were familiar with the area and the waterways. they would have the guides, they could navigate certain areas that weren't known to the federal navy. that happened on both sides. and the real irony of it is is the federal navy wasn't segregated. the army was. the federal navy was integrated because of the type of duty, the conditions. truth of the matter is, there were a lot of african-american men in the navy that had prior sailing experience. they could have been freedmen from up north, massachusetts, new york, whatever. they could have been working on whalers and some kind of ocean-going vessel. or they could have lived in canada or somewhere free. and took their experience applying the waterways of st. lawrence or up in michigan or anything like that and joining the navy. the condit

stoker's down in the engine room, and i am sure they had canon ears -- cannoneers, but they were probably coal stoakers in the navy, and if they were from an area where the navy was situated, they were more likely familiar with the area, the waterways. they were probably used as guides and what have you guides, quartermaster is. they could navigate certain areas that weren't known to the federal navy. of course, that happened on both sides, and the real irony of it is the federal navy wasn't segregated. the army was. the federal navy was integrated, because of the type of duty, the conditions. the truth of the matter is there were a lot of african-american men in the navy that had prior sailing experience. they could have been freed man from up north massachusetts new york, wherever, and they could have been working on whalers or some kind of oceangoing vessel, or they could have lived in canada or somewhere free and took their experience lying be waterways of the st. lawrence or up in michigan or anywhere like that and joined the navy. the conditions were not that great on board ship. yo