Pea Island Lifesavers

Background: Pea Island lifesaver surfman Lonnie Gray (rowing), Captain Richard Etheridge and crew

There are times I often think of this painting in terms of Playboy - the images may draw you in, but it's the articles that keep you engrossed - ;-)  In other words - to hell with the art, this painting is all about the stories. And this story of the Pea Island lifesavers is definitely one for the books. For those that are unaware of these legendary fella's, here's a brief synopsis of why the SOG wanted them included in the painting.

The Pea Island Life-Saving Station was a life-saving station on Pea Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was the first life-saving station in the country to have an all-black crew, and it was the first in the nation to have a black man, Richard Etheridge, as commanding officer.

Richard Etheridge was born a slave on January 16, 1842, and like most Outer Bankers, learned to work the sea, fishing, piloting boats and combing the beach for the refuse of wrecks. Even though it was illegal to do so, his master also taught him to read and write.

During the Civil War, Richard Etheridge enlisted on August 28 and was assigned to the 36th United States Colored Troop. The 36th distinguished itself during the September, 1864 Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia when Union forces overran Lee's strong position and won an important victory on the road to taking the Confederate capital at Richmond. Etheridge was promoted to sergeant two days after the battle. At the War's close, Etheridge, now a Regimental Commissary Sergeant, and the black troops of the Army of the James were regrouped into the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and sent to Texas. These units would become known as the “Buffalo Soldiers.”