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Panel backs study commission to document Maryland's African American Civil War sailors in HB 77
Summary
House Bill 77 would create a commission to research and recommend ways to recognize African American sailors from Maryland who served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Delegate Chris Boucher and advocates said more research and public education is needed to make their service visible, support memorials, and inform educational curricula.
Delegate Chris Boucher presented House Bill 77, which would establish a commission to study and develop recommendations to recognize African American sailors from Maryland who served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War.
Boucher and supporters said the study is a follow-up to last year's commission on African American Civil War soldiers and would address a gap in public knowledge about more than 2,300 Maryland men of African descent who served in the Navy during the war. Boucher cited Frederick Douglass's writings and urged the committee to "expose the truth and educate our children." He emphasized an educational component and said memorial recommendations would follow from the research.
Supporters included the Maryland Military Coalition, the city of Cambridge (via a state and local advisors representative), Preservation Maryland, and the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Preservation Maryland's president emphasized Maryland's maritime history and said the sailors' service is "a big part of Maryland's maritime story that has been overlooked." The Episcopal Diocese framed the bill as a "truth and reconciliation" measure.
Committee members asked about scope and potential overlap with last year's soldiers study; Boucher said archivists recommended a separate sailors study due to different branch records and assignment patterns and said he would welcome amendments to expand stakeholder representation, including black veterans groups. The committee will assign HB 77 to subcommittee to consider fiscal and scope questions.
