Africa and the American Flag

by Andrew H. Foote

Several empty slavers were captured by the squadron about this period; they are thus noticed by the National Intelligencer:—“It is remarkable that within the same week, should have arrived in our ports as prizes to the American squadron, for having been engaged in the slave-trade—the Pons, above mentioned, captured by the Yorktown; the Panther, a prize of the same vessel, which arrived at Charleston on Monday; and the Robert Wilson, a prize to the sloop-of-war Jamestown, which reached Charleston on Thursday.”

In 1846, the sloop-of-war Marion, brigs Dolphin and Boxer, with the flag-ship United States, Commodore Read, constituted the squadron.

Sixty miles of additional sea-coast territory had been purchased by Governor Roberts, from the natives. The influence of traders, of the slave-trade, and even of England being thrown in the way of obtaining possession of the purchased territory, Governor Roberts made application to the commodore, that one of the vessels of the squadron might cruise for several weeks within the limited territory, for the purpose of facilitating negotiation. The Dolphin was assigned this service; her commander offered General Lewis, the agent, a passage to such points as he wished to visit, and otherwise rendered service as circumstances required.

The Dolphin was lying at Cape Mount, watching the suspicious American bark “Chancellor,” which was trading with a slave-dealer named Canot. The British cruiser “Favorite” was stationed off the Cape, and suggested to the chiefs, that as they were in treaty with his government for the suppression of the slave-trade, and as Canot was on their territory making preparations for slaving, they were bound to destroy his establishment. The chiefs accordingly burnt his premises, containing a large amount of goods he had shipped at New York. Canot having been by no means secure in conscience, had left with his family and taken up his residence in Monrovia.

The Dolphin proceeded to Porto Praya for stores, and the Chancellor was watched in the mean time by the British cruisers at the Cape and at the Gallinas. Among the traverses worked by the slave-traders, the practice had been adopted, to fill canoes with slaves and send them off the coast, to be picked up by vessels in search of a cargo, which, from the blockade, could not reach the shore. In one instance, fifty of these were found in a single canoe, and taken by a British cruiser. On the return of the Dolphin, the Chancellor was seized by Commander Pope as a prize, on the ground of having a slave-deck laid, and water-casks with rice on board sufficient for a slave cargo, and sent to the United States for adjudication.

The commodore, after having cruised along the entire extent of the slave-coast, rendering such service as American interests required, was relieved, in 1847, by the sloop-of-war Jamestown, Commodore Bolton. The frigate United States then proceeded to the Mediterranean station, to complete her cruise.

The commander of the Jamestown writes, in relation to Monrovia, “It was indeed to me a novel and interesting sight, although a southern man, to look upon these emancipated slaves legislating for themselves, and discussing freely, if not ably, the principles of human rights, on the very continent, and perhaps the very spot, where some of their ancestors were sold into slavery.... Liberia, I think, is now safe, and may be left after a while to stand alone. Would it not be advisable, then, for the Colonization Society to turn its attention to some other portion of the coast, and extend the area of Christian and philanthropic efforts to bettering the condition of the colored people of our country, by sowing on other parts of the coast some of the good seed which has produced so bountifully on the free soil of Liberia.... In no part of the world have I met with a more orderly, sober, religious and moral community than is to be found at Monrovia. On the Sabbath, it is truly a joyful sound to hear hymns of praise offered up to Him who doth promise, ‘where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them;’ and a pleasure to observe how very general the attendance upon divine worship is among these people. I believe every man and woman in Monrovia, of any respectability, is a member of the church. If you take a family dinner with the President (and his hospitable door is always open to strangers), a blessing is asked upon the good things before you set to. Take a dinner at Colonel Hicks’s (who, by the way, keeps one of the very nicest tables), and ‘mine host,’ with his shiny, black, intelligent face, will ask a blessing on the tempting viands set before you.”

This may be considered a fair type of the views of persons generally who visit Liberia, judging the people comparatively. Our estimate of them ought not to be conformed to the standard of an American population.

The squadron confined mostly to the north coast, rendered such services as the commerce of the United States and the interest of its citizens required, and checked the perversion of the flag to the continuance of the slave-trade. The year following, the commodore was relieved by the Yorktown, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Cooper, and with the flag-ship proceeded to the Mediterranean.

Commodore Cooper soon after assuming the command, suffering from ill-health, returned to the United States, and the African squadron was assigned to Commodore Gregory, who sailed in the summer of 1849, in the U. S. sloop-of-war Portsmouth. It consisted of the sloops-of-war John Adams, Dale, Yorktown, and the brigs Bainbridge, Porpoise and Perry. Three or four slavers were captured, the entire slave-coast closely examined, and such services rendered to our commercial interests as were required.