"In 228 years of Coast Guard history, African-Americans have been the first minority group to fight and the first to sacrifice. During the early years of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, many African-American cuttermen were slaves as well as free men of color. Regardless of their status, blacks served side-by-side with their white shipmates.
In the Quasi-War with France of the 1790s and the War of 1812, African-American cuttermen were among the first to fight against Royal Navy warships. A 15-year-old black cutterman captured off the cutter James Madison in the War of 1812 is considered the youngest prisoner-of-war in Coast Guard history. Moreover, in 1836, the service experienced its first African-American combat loss when assistant keeper and freedman Aaron Carter died defending the Cape Florida Lighthouse against an attack in the Seminole War.
War often serves as a catalyst for cultural change and it did for African-Americans serving in the Coast Guard's predecessor services. During the Civil War, blacks comprised 5 to 10 percent of the crew members aboard revenue cutters. Given the small size of cutter crews, this proved an early form of integration. As the status of countless African-Americans changed from slave to freedman, predecessor services such as the U.S. Lighthouse Service began hiring former slaves, or "contrabands." For example, in 1863, a contraband crew operated the Fishing Rip Lightship, near the captured city of Port Royal, South Carolina…"
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