African Americans fought in every major campaign and naval battle of the Civil War. They served in the blockading squadrons on the South and Gulf Coasts and in the brown-water navy in the tributaries in the South. African American women served also, most as nurses aboard the "USS Red Rover (1859)", a hospital ship on the Mississippi River. African Americans served in the Navy with great distinction and eight were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest honor.