a man among the men with whom he 

 has associated during his life." 



The other inspector, Charles 

 Shoemaker, added: "I am aware that 

 no colored man holds the position of 

 keeper in the Lifesaving Service ... 

 and yet such as are surfmen .... I am 

 fully convinced that the interests of 

 the Lifesaving Service here, in point 

 of efficiency, will be greatly advanced 

 by the appointment of this man to the 

 Keepership of Station No. 17." 



Etheridge was a proven leader. 

 Born on the beaches near Oregon 

 Inlet, he had grown up by the water, 

 learning the secrets of the sea and the 

 tides along the Outer Banks. 



When the Union Army opened its 

 ranks to blacks during the Civil War 

 in 1863, Etheridge enlisted. He served 

 in the 36th U.S. Colored Troops, 

 fought at the Battle of New Market 



Heights and was eventually promoted 

 to regimental commissary sergeant. 



Etheridge was a man committed to 

 justice. While fighting for the emanci- 

 pation of slaves, he also engaged in the 

 struggle behind Union lines to end 

 mistreatment 

 of blacks. In 

 1865, he drafted 

 a letter to the 

 commissioner of 

 the Freedmen's 

 Bureau on behalf 

 of his fellow 

 black soldiers of 

 the 36th to 

 protest Union 



injustices at home on the Outer Banks. 



"... [T]he white soldiers break into 

 our houses, act as they please, steal our 

 chickens, rob our gardens, and if any 



Continued 



Black watermen along the Outer 

 Banks enlisted in the Lifesaving 

 Service. Integrated rosters, 

 called "checkerboard" crews, 

 were common along the coast 

 with as many as 19 blacks 

 serving in North Carolina 

 stations from 1874 to 1879. 



The all-black crew of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station pose with keeper Richard Etheridge (on far left) in 1896. 



COASTWATCH 5 



