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October 28-30, 1863

Wednesday, October 28, 1863.

we had a happy time after meeting i went down to aunt Janes poor mary is very ill to day Alfred went on the ship to day i felt so badly about it to think he has to go away

Thursday 29

Just as this time when mary is so ill Alfred was home to day Mr gibbs was to see mary this afternoon he said she expressed a hope that her sins had bin forgiven Nell and

Friday 30

i spent part of the evening with her then we called to see mrs palmer then went to see aunt Jane Charlie was buried this morning he had a

 


Annotation 1

Originally from Baltimore, George William Commodore joined the Navy when he was 39 years old.


Alfred enlisted in the U.S. Navy on October 27, 1863, mustering out on the USS Mount Vernon on December 31, 1864. Although the federal Militia Act of 1792 excluded black men from service in the U.S. Army, the Navy never barred black men from service. When the Civil War began, several hundred black men were already in service. At least 18,000 African American men served in the Navy during the war. They made up approximately 20% of the Navy’s total force, double the proportion of black soldiers in the Army. “Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System,” http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-sailors-detail.htm?sailors_id=Dav0008; Reidy, “Black Men in Navy Blue,” http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/fall/black-sailors-1.html.

1 Comments ↓

One Response to “October 28-30, 1863”

  1. February 28, 2013 at 2:16 PM #

    Charlie buried October 30, 1863 is Charles Stewart enumerated with Jane on the 1850 census Philadelphia north Mulberry ward.

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