On June 10, 1861, just two months into the Civil War, the U.S. Navy officially recorded the enlistment of William H. Brown, making him one of the first African Americans to join the Union’s naval forces during the conflict. Unlike the Army, which largely barred Black enlistment until 1863, the Navy had long accepted Black sailors in segregated but essential roles. Brown’s enlistment represented the beginning of broader African American military service in the Civil War, where nearly 180,000 Black soldiers and sailors would ultimately serve the Union cause. His record symbolized both the limits and the opportunities for Black Americans seeking freedom and citizenship through military service.
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