Black people have always served in America's armed forces since the time of the Revolutionary War.
FROM:
http://www.portraitsinblack.com/Navy.htm
Picture from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2p51.html
"The small Continental navy was supplemented by individual state navies, privateers, and vessels sailing under letters of marquee. All carried blacks, although race was not always noted on the ship rosters. Naval vessels suffered from chronic manpower shortages. Many black seamen had naval experience from previous colonial wars or from serving on numerous coastal vessels prior to the war. Although no ship captains were black, many pilots were black. As early as 1775 a recruiting poster in Newport sought “ye able backed sailors, men white or black, to volunteer for naval service in ye interest of freedom.” The War of 1812 proved, for the most part , to be a naval war with fleets engaged at sea as well as on the Great Lakes. With their Revolutionary War experience and relatively unlimited access to shipping jobs, blacks proved to be a most valuable and eagerly sought source of manpower. Blacks constituted from 10 to 20% of most ship’s crews and performed heroic duty in many engagements. Oliver Hazard Perry spoke of his black crew members as “absolutely insensible to danger” after their efforts in freeing the Great Lakes from British control."
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