Each of the men listed below were Black Confederates, free men of color, who voluntarily enlisted in the Confederate States Marines or the Confederate States Navy.  They saw combat and many drew pensions after the war.  Their service, like that of those serving in the Confederate States Army is largely ignored or dismissed as trivial.

Confederate Marine Corps

W.S. Lewis, of Charleston County, South Carolina served aboard the CSS Atlanta and later, the famous raider, CSS Alabama. Lewis was granted a soldiers pension from the South Carolina government on April 14, 1923.

Lawrence Graves was a body servant of Lieutenant Henry Graves, C.S. Marine Corps. He used a rifle in the trenches of Savannah in December 1864. Iverson Graves, brother of the Marine Lieutenant, wrote home "L.(awrence) was much elated with the idea of having shot at some Yankees before evacuation, and thinks he hit one."

Following the evacuation of Charleston navy and marine personnel withdrew to Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia. Charles Cleaper, James Hicks and Joe Johnson were free before the war, enlisted and had served aboard the CSS Chicora. At Drewry’s Bluff, the men of the Charleston Squadron joined with remnants of the Wilmington (NC) Squadron and Virginia based personnel to form "Tucker’s Marine Brigade" that was named after its commander, Commodore John R. Tucker.

Tucker’s Brigade was the only Confederate unit that didn’t break under the first Federal charge at the Battle of Saylor’s Creek. After repulsing the charge, the Brigade – numbering 300 to 400 men, was surrounded by six Union divisions. Tucker would not surrender and counterattacked, smashing the 37th Massachusetts Infantry into fragments and tearing into the 2nd Rhode Island in hand to hand combat.

Withdrawing to a wooded area, these Confederate marines repulsed multiple Federal attacks. Tucker’s Brigade was resilient and did so much damage that the Federal generals estimated the "Marine Brigade" to number some 2,000 men. Tucker was ultimately talked into surrendering towards the end of the day.

Many of his men escaped to rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia.  Cleaper, Hicks and Johnson were among those who managed to escape and were with the remnants of Tucker’s Brigade when Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. The surrender roll lists their ranks as "Private." Sailors captured during land-based operations were often listed as "private." In 1998, Charles Cleaper, James Hicks and Joe Johnson names finally were added to the exhibit on Black Confederates at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.

Confederate Navy

Savannah Squadron

Skilled pilots on Confederate gunboats were well paid ($80 to $100 per month) and held an officers rank, albeit without the authority. One such pilot was Moses Dallas, who served with the Savannah Squadron from 1862 to 1864. A letter from the Savannah Squadron Commander to the Secretary of the Navy gives us a small glimpse:

I have also been compelled to increase the pay of Moses Dallas from $80 to $100 per month in order to retain him. He is a colored pilot and is considered the best inland pilot on the coast.

Moses Dallas was on the expedition that captured the Federal gunboat USS Water Witch on the rainy night of June 3-4, 1864. He was among six Confederates killed in action during the firefight that erupted as they boarded the ship. Another black man identified as "Ben" Newell piloted the captured vessel.

• Edward W. Walden was enlisted and served as a Landsman aboard the CSS Savannah.

• William "Billy" Bugg was a pilot and served aboard both the CSS Isondiga and CSS Sampson.

• Randall Polk was a Landsman aboard the CSS Georgia and served from September, 1861 until December 21, 1864, when she was destroyed to avoid capture by Sherman’s army.

• James Duncan Moore enlisted on September 1, 1864 and served with Randall Polk aboard the floating battery, CSS Georgia.

• Charles B. Stiles served as a Landsman aboard the CSS Macon

• George Snowden served as a 1st Class Cabin Boy on the CSS Macon.

The James River Squadron

• Robert Cole, a slave owned by Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, was assigned to the CSS Patrick Henry.

• James Price

• David Green and Henry Leonard were transferred from Drewry’s Bluff to the ironclad, CSS Virginia II at Richmond as Landsmen

The Wilmington Squadron

• Benjamin H. Gray, a twelve-year-old youth, enlisted at Wilmington, North Carolina and saw combat as a Powder Boy on the CSS Albermarle.

• Gray applied for a Confederate Pension from North Carolina in 1917 that was granted to his widow after his death in 1924.

Confederate Raiders

• Edward Weeks was one of at least two black seamen who served on the CSS Shenandoah.

• David White served on the CSS Alabama and went down with his ship after a battle with the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Cherbourg, France on June 19, 1864.