IJ\IAGE REFERENCE CM I-SU RF, AS SHOWN ON WWW.SLl\VE RYIMAGES.ORG, SPONSORED BY Tl-IE VIRG IN IA l'OUNDATION FO R T HE HUMAN IT IES 1\ N D TH E UN IVERS ITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY
"Shipping slaves through the surf, West African coast. A cruiser is signalled in sight. From a sketch by a merchant on the coast. " Loando, overseeing the completion of a new storeho use. On 2 1 D ecember 185 9, while cruising offCabinda Bay, Constellation captured her first prize, the brig Delicia, after a ten-hour chase. Delicia, Inman reported to Secretary of rhe N avy Isaac Toucey, "was completely fitted in all respects fo r rhe immediate embarkation ofslaves." 31he boarding party discovered a slave deck and large coppers intended to feed a cargo ofAfricans. After questioning the m are, Captain Nicholas discovered that Delicia's m as ter was on shore purchasing a cargo of Africans when Constellation discovered the brig. A prize crew sailed Delicia to Charleston, South Carolina, for adjudication, bur with no Americans on board, no papers, logbook, nor colors, the US courts declared the brig beyond fed eral jurisdiction. Constellation sailed to M adeira for repairs and liberty in February of 1860. Intensely displeased with this action, Secretary Toucey ordered Inman to return to the cruising ground immediately and join the other ships in rhe Squadron. Inman set a course for the C ongo coast. Several months later, the African Squadron had its most successful day in its eighteen-year history: on 8 August 1861, USS Mohican captured the slave ship Erie with 897 slaves aboard and USS San Jacinto seized Storm King with over six hundred Africans crammed below 12
deck. The United Stares African Squadron was finally showing signs of life. O n 27 June 1860, the m erchant vessel Co ra departed New York bound fo r the West African coast on an ill-fared slaving voyage.Afrera decadeofuse inlegal commercial activity, rhe 43 1-ton Baltimo re clipper had rece nrly been sold by E. D . Mo rgan & Co. to John Latham fo r $ 14,000 . Latham promprly took his new vessel to Pier 52 on the East Rive r to refit her rigging and load cargo. The cargo-large quantities of! umber, fresh water, and provisions-raised suspicion among local authorities. A US district atto rney detained Cora fo r examination bur later cleared the barque for her voyage. The evidence of a slaving voyage was held deep within the ship. Cora's hold contain ed fifty cases of muskets (likely intended to exchange fo r slaves), seventeen cases of drugs (to treat a disease outbreak among Africans) , and for ty-seven rierces of rice (to feed a human cargo) . Other suspicious cargo indicative of a slaving voyage might include large copper boilers for cooking fo od, hundreds of wooden spoons, swords, firearms, shackles, and chains. The most incriminating evidence that a ship was engaged in the slave trade, other than the presence of Africans on board of course, was the presence of a slave deck or enough excess lumber to build one. When Cora sailed for Africa, she contained
over 10,000 feet of lumber. Because slave ships in this period were originally built fo r legal trade, they needed alterations to carry a human cargo. Thus the slave deck, a middle deck built between the hold and upper deck, became the smoking gun for a vessel that had nor ye t loaded slaves. O n 27 August Cora arrived at Punta da Len ha, a m ajo r slave-trading center thirty miles up the Congo River. Three weeks later, afrer having made the necessary arrangem ents, Latham sailed Cora to M anque Grande, where in the late hours of 24 September he supervised the hasty loading of Africans from the shore to the waiting ship. Once the Africans were loaded, Cora would put to sea and sail fo r Cuba to unload her cargo of slaves. On 25 September 1860, Constellation parted company with USS San Jacinto for a so utherly cruise back towards the Congo River. At seven bells in the las t dog watch (7: 30rM) , a lookouron the srarboard cathead spotted the barque Cora about two miles to windward . The fl ags hip changed course and began her pursuit. Midshipman W ilburn H all recalled, "The Constellation was simply superb in tacking, and round she came, raising her sharp bow from the sea like a racer ready for rhe signal ."4 Cora hauled up sharp on the wind, set all her canvas and began evasive maneuvers. SEA HISTORY 132, AUTUMN 2010