During the American Civil War, 15 Black men from Williamson County are known to have enlisted in the US Navy. They served on at least eleven different ships. Two men (Anderson Sharp and Peter Mason) enlisted prior to the Emancipation Proclamation going into effect and six enlisted within a month of the edict. The youngest was 13 and the oldest was 41 when they enlisted.

• Peter Mason, aka Peter Overstreet enlisted on December 12, 1862, in Cairo, Illinois. In a Navy pension application later in life, he described how: "I was a general plantation hand before I enlisted, such as raising and picking cotton and all kinds of plantation work." Mason was enslaved by Isaac H. Hilliard, the son of Isaac Hilliard and Mary Murfree from Williamson County. Isaac H. Hilliard died in 1868 and owned one of the largest plantations in Grand Lake, Chico County, Arkansas where Mason was enslaved for five years before the Civil War. Then he made his way to Cairo, Illinois where he enlisted in the Navy. "When I left the plantation, I got on the gunboat Cincinnati and ran up to Cairo and enlisted on the Clara Dolson." Mason served on the USS Clara Dolson briefly in December 1862 and then transferred to the USS Red Rover on which he served until he was discharged on June 25, 1865. Following the War, Peter Mason settled in Mound City, Illinois where he worked building the levy on the Mississippi River, married and raised a family. He died there in 1903. His remains are buried in the Mound City National Cemetery.

• Warren Cannon was born in Williamson County around 1829. He was 34 years old when he enlisted on March 26, 1863, aboard the USS Clara Dolson at Cairo, Illinois. The same day he enlisted, another man with the last name of Cannon - Jack Cannon - also enlisted on the same ship. They were both noted to be a "slave." Warren Cannon was then moved to the USS Key West where he was 1st Class Boy and then Landsman. On November 4, 1864 he transferred to the USS Great Western. He became sick with bronchitis and was sent to Hospital Pinkney (the Commercial Hotel), from where he deserted on March 10, 1865. Following the War he settled in Memphis.

• William Jones was born in Franklin, Tennessee around 1842. He enlisted on December 21, 1864, in Cairo, Illinois. It is not clear what ship he served aboard.

• Burton Bostick, Douglas "Dudley" Bostick, Hardin Bostick, Stephen Bostick. and William J. Bostick all enlisted on January 4, 1863, aboard the USS Gen. Bragg in Memphis, Tennessee. They were all born in Triune, Williamson County and enslaved by the Bostick family there. Around 1859, Mary Manoah Bostick and her husband Dr. Felix Grundy McGavock took some enslaved people from Triune to Mississippi County, Arkansas to clear a plantation and farm cotton for them. When the War broke out, the five men escaped and made their way to Memphis where they enlisted in the US Navy. Three of the Black Bosticks were brothers and one was their cousin. The fifth was related by common bondage. During the War, the Bostick men served as firemen aboard the USS Gen. Bragg. One of the men, Stephen Bostick was wounded and sent to the USS Pinckney, a hospital ship. He was discharged from there. Following the Civil War, all five men returned to Williamson County. The four related Bosticks reunited with family and then moved to southern Illinois where they established a community called the Bostick Settlement near Carbondale, Illinois. The fifth man, Burton Bostick remained in Tennessee. You can learn more about these men, their lives and their service in this blog post. Memorial pavers have been sponsored for Burton Bostick by Courtney Rogers, for Stephen Bostick by Geraldine White, for William Bostick and Hardin Bostick by Rogers Anderson, and for Dudley Bostick by Damon Rogers.

• Louis Brown was born in Spring Hill, Tennessee about 1850. Brown was just 13 years old when he enlisted on January 10, 1863, aboard the USS Black Hawk at the Arkansas River. He was a First Class Boy. Following the War, he went back to Williamson County and found his mother, Harriet Brown whom he had been separated from when still young. They moved to Mound City, Illinois where he worked in a sawmill. In 1870, Louis Brown married Annie Warfield, a Black woman from Kentucky who had been free before the War. The couple raised a family and farmed in Pulaski County, Illinois. On May 31, 1883, Annie Warfield Brown died, leaving Louis Brown to raise their six children - all under the age of 12. Tragically, just three years later, Louis Brown was murdered in Mound City, Illinois. His mother took the orphaned children in and successfully applied on their behalf for a pension for their father's service.

• Anthony Baugh was born around 1814 in Franklin, Tennessee where he was enslaved by Phillip Baugh. In November 1838 he married Jane Dotson, a woman enslaved by Presley Dodson's family near Franklin. The couple had a son William. In 1855, Presley Dodson's daughter Mary married Zack Drake and she inherited Anthony Baugh's wife Jane and their son William. They were moved about 8 miles away from Anthony, making it difficult to visit. Every other Saturday, Anthony Baugh would walk to see them and return the next morning. When the Civil War broke out, according to Jane Dodson Baugh, her husband Anthony Baugh "left her at the Drake place to save his own life and got into the Union line at Franklin, Tenn. The next I heard of him he had enlisted on the Reindeer." Anthony Baugh enlisted aboard the USS Reindeer on November 15, 1863, in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as a Landsman. Anthony was about 49 years old and Jane was 40 and expecting their son Elihu. According to Jane, "As soon as his service was over he came right to me - to Nashville, Tenn - where I had taken my children and gone." The couple lived in Nashville for several years while Anthony worked as a shoemaker and their family grew. By 1880, the family moved to Gibson County, Tennessee and then by 1893 they had moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma. Anthony Baugh died there in 1897.

• Joseph Dotson was born in Williamson County around 1832. He. enlisted on November 15, 1863, aboard the USS Reindeer in Nashville. Given that he enlisted the same day as Anthony Baugh on the same ship and shared a last name with Baugh's wife Jane Dotson, it is believed that they were connected in some way.

• Patrick Henry Southall was born in Williamson County on November 22, 1822. Thanks to Battle of Franklin Trust research, we know that he and his parents, Joe and Clara, were enslaved by the McGavock family of Carnton. In 1846, Patrick Henry was given to Mary McGavock Southall. Henry married and had two daughters, Clara and Maria. But, shortly before the war, his wife and daughters were sold south to Memphis. Though he located his daughters after the war, he never saw his wife again. When the Civil War began, Henry accompanied Mary McGavock Southall's son, Randal McGavock Southall, to the war as a body servant. Henry was an accomplished cook and was mentioned in the journal of cousin Randal W. McGavock, “…we enjoyed a meal prepared by Henry Southall (col’d).” Randal M. Southall was captured in February of 1862. On April 22, 1863, Patrick Henry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in St. Louis, MO aboard the USS Red Rover. After the war, he made his way north, settling in Wisconsin. There he worked as a cook in a hotel and on the railroad. He married Lizzie Partridge on May 15, 1874. They had four children together. On March 11, 1907, Henry applied for a pension for his service on the Red Rover. Late in his life, he moved to Minneapolis, MN, and he died there on May 4, 1911.

• Jerry Johnson was born in Franklin, Tennessee about 1827. He enlisted on February 22, 1864, aboard the USS Prairie Bird at French Bend, Missippi. He was discharged April 1, 1865.

• Isaac Hender (Hunter?) was born in Williamson County around 1844. He enlisted on June 16, 1864, at Bridgeport, Alabama. Later he served on the USS General Grant.

• Anderson Sharp was born in Franklin around 1831. He enlisted on March 18, 1862, on the USS Wamsutta in New York City, New York. At the time of his enlistment, he was 31 years old and a blacksmith. On January 8, 1863, he transferred to the USS Lackawanna. On February 23, 1863, he was sick in Pensacola, Florida, and was transferred to a hospital ship. By April 1, 1863 he was back on board the USS Lackawanna. The first local sailor to enlist, Sharp appears to have escaped from slavery to freedom in New York City before joining the US Navy.

Sold Away Before The Civil War

Just like their counterparts in the USCT, the enlistment locations for these men illustrate the cruel way that enslaved people were moved and separated. At least ten of the 15 men (who were all born in Williamson County) appear to have been sold or moved to other states prior to the Civil War.

Sent to Arkansas At least 7 of Williamson County's 15 sailors ( nearly half) were sent to Arkansas before the War:

1. Peter Mason, aka Peter Overstreet: sent to Chico County, Arkansas, enlisted in Cairo, Illinois

2. Burton Bostick: sent to Mississippi County, Arkansas, enlisted in Memphis, Tennessee

3. Douglas "Dudley" Bostick sent to Mississippi County, Arkansas, enlisted in Memphis, Tennessee

4. Hardin Bostick sent to Mississippi County, Arkansas, enlisted in Memphis, Tennessee

5. Stephen Bostick sent to Mississippi County, Arkansas, enlisted in Memphis, Tennessee

6. William J. Bostick sent to Mississippi County, Arkansas, enlisted in Memphis, Tennessee

7. Louis Brown sent to Arkansas as a child, enlisted on the Arkansas River when he was just 13 years old

Sent Away from Williamson County. Three other Williamson County sailors appear to have been sold away from home before the War, perhaps to Mississippi or Arkansas:

1. Warren Cannon enlisted at Cairo, Illinois.

2. William Jones enlisted in Cairo, Illinois.

3. Jerry Johnson enlisted at French Bend, Missippi.

"He left me at the Drake place to save his own life and got into the Union line at Franklin, Tenn. The next I heard of him he had enlisted on the Reindeer. ... As soon as his service was over he came right to me - to Nashville, Tenn - where I had taken my children and gone."

Jane Dotson Baugh, speaking about how her husband Anthony Baugh enlisted in the US Navy

Experiences After the War

Of the Williamson County Navy sailors who could be found in records after the Civil War, several exhibit common themes.

Reunited With Family in Williamson County After the War. Five of Williamson County's Navy sailors made their way back to Tennessee to find loved ones before settling in Illinois permanently after the War.

• Douglas "Dudley" Bostick, Hardin Bostick, Stephen Bostick. and William J. Bostick reunited with their parents, siblings, wives and children in Williamson County before moving as a large group to southern Illinois where they established a community called the Bostick Settlement near Carbondale, Illinois.

• Louis Brown went back to Williamson County after the War and found his mother, Harriet Brown whom he had been separated from when still young. They moved to Mound City, Illinois.

Moved to Illinois. It is interesting to note that six of Williamson County's 15 sailors ultimately resided in Southern Illinois.

• Peter Mason, aka Peter Overstreet settled in Mound City, Illinois where he worked building the levy on the Mississippi River, married and raised a family. He died there in 1903. His remains are buried in the Mound City National Cemetery.

• Douglas "Dudley" Bostick, Hardin Bostick, Stephen Bostick. and William J. Bostick all moved to southern Illinois where they established a community called the Bostick Settlement near Carbondale, Illinois.

• Louis Brown moved to Mound City, Illinois. He was murdered there in 1886.