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was doing, he replied "Went down to the rocks to hide my face, but the rocks said there is no hiding place here. So here I am, Sir." The
Confederates eventually abandoned their position, leaving a gun behind. For his actions during the firefight, Blake was awarded the Medal of Honor four months later, on April 16, 1864.
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manning one of the guns. Blake had no assigned combat role and could have retreated to relative safety below decks, but he instead chose to take over the powder boy's duties. He stripped to the waist and began running powder boxes to the gun loaders. When
Lieutenant Commander Mead asked him what he
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off
Legareville, Stono River, 25 December 1863, in an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Serving the rifle gun, Blake, an escaped slave, carried out his duties bravely throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy's abandonment of positions, leaving a
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a Medal of Honor - his was presented to him in 1864, while Carney did not receive his until 1900. But, because Carney's Medal of Honor action occurred first, Carney, not Blake, is usually credited with being the first
African American Medal of Honor recipient.
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to give the order to return fire, Blake followed behind him, handed him his uniform, and urged him to change out of his night clothes.
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Rank and organization: Contraband, U.S. Navy. Entered service at: Virginia. G.O. No.: 32, April 16, 1864. Accredited to: Virginia.
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African
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and re-enlisted for another term in the Navy. During his second enlistment, he served again on the USS
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232:. While on North Island, Robert Blake answered a call for twenty single men to serve on the
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497:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 17–19.
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Blake's Medal of Honor citation incorrectly gives his place of enlistment as
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By
December 25, 1863, Blake had been transferred to the gunboat
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was the first. Blake was the first
African American to actually
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and a recipient of
America's highest military decoration, the
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and was immediately knocked down by an exploding
Confederate
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List of
American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
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and was serving as a steward to Lieutenant Commander
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American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
35:U.S. Navy poster featuring Contraband Robert Blake
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583:African-American United States Navy personnel
558:People from Orangeburg County, South Carolina
523:United States Army Center of Military History
485:United States Army Center of Military History
441:United States Army Center of Military History
228:onto Union ships and sent to North Island in
548:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
568:African Americans in the American Civil War
515:"Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L)"
433:"Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A-L)"
16:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
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191:to perform a Medal of Honor action;
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479: This article incorporates
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320:On board the U.S. Steam Gunboat
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279:Blake then went to the ship's
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287:. The explosion had killed a
253:. Early that morning, in the
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212:. In June 1862, his owner's
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588:People enslaved in Virginia
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493:Hanna, Charles W. (2002).
362:American Civil War portal
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519:Medal of Honor citations
437:Medal of Honor citations
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220:naval expedition up the
74:United States of America
307:Medal of Honor citation
261:came under fire from a
187:. Blake was the second
481:public domain material
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193:William Harvey Carney
153:Battle of Legareville
251:Richard Worsam Meade
216:was burned during a
573:19th-century births
329:and one gun behind.
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179:sailor during the
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23:Robert Blake
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255:Stono River
542:Categories
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289:powder-boy
259:Marblehead
246:Marblehead
230:Winyah Bay
226:contraband
214:plantation
177:Union Navy
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62:Allegiance
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128:USS
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334:See also
281:gun deck
266:howitzer
210:Virginia
87:Service/
57:Unknown
47:Virginia
44:Unknown
447:July 1,
327:caisson
301:Vermont
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197:receive
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161:Awards
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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