Posted on 05/09/2019 2:27:39 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
1860 - While off the Isle of Pines near the south coast of Cuba, the screw gunboat Wyandotte captures the slaver William, which carries 570 Africans.
Screw gunboat? First I’ve heard of that designation.
As opposed to a side wheeler.
Steam powered through hull shaft with propeller.
Screw gunboat?
= = = = = = = =
Pirates—”WHat kind of vessel is that?”
USNavy Gunboat
Pirates—”Gunboat? We’re SCREWED”
ship designations in the 1850s-60s was evolving with the change from sail to side wheel, to propeller propulsion systems.
“On 9 May 1860, Wyandotte captured the barque William – a slave ship carrying 570 Africans at the time of her capture – off the Isle of Pines near the south coast of Cuba. She took her prize to Florida and arrived at Key West, Florida, on 12 May 1860. The ship landed the slaves on 16 May, turned the prize over to a United States Marshall on 22 May, and soon resumed her cruising.”
I spent 5 minutes on Goggle and can't find any more details.
Was the slave ship heading for the USA? The Isle of Pines would be Cuban or international waters. Was the USA part of Great Britain's naval quarantine on slave shipping?
What did the Navy do with the slaves when they got to Key West?
I feel a screen play is in order.
Right.
Because America needs a new anti-slavery or Black Power film at least once a year.
Otherwise, the Academy Awards would have no purpose.
William was one of three American owned slave ships captured at that time. They were taken to The nearest US port for processing. Within three months the slaves were returned to Africa.
Most of these slave ships were owned and operated by interests in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
Don’t know what would have happened to the Africans, maybe they were sent to Liberia at some later date.
Our Navy participated in anti slave patrols from 1819 to 1861. We times kept a squadron off the coast of Africa, one off the Brazilian coast, and one operating in the Caribbean sea. Over those years, our Navy captured 100 slave ships.
Is your screen name - Pea Ridge - a reference to the Civil War battle?
Two of my great-great grandfathers were Peoria, Illinois farmers, and they fought at Pea Ridge. One them was wounded in the neck and shoulder by shrapnel.
My Dad and my uncle marched with their wounded great-grandfather in a 1925 Civil War memorial parade in Chicago.
My Dad had a beautiful framed photograph of that parade - dozens of very old men marching with their families - but the photograph disappeared after my Dad died.
And did the Navy bring them on to our shores, give them comfort and release them to roam at will?
Very interesting and respectable heritage, of which you are surely proud.
My use of the name comes from my ancestors large farm in central South Carolina. Sherman’s outriders and “bummers” visited the farm and robbed, stole, and killed.
They were eventually sent back to Africa, according to an earlier response.
I used to know Georgia, South Carolina and western North Carolina very well in the 1960s and 70s.
LOL - I'm a Furman graduate (but not a Southern boy)!
How did Hollyweird miss this one?
The American Bark William was built in 1847 at Damariscotta, Maine. The William was owned by the shipping company of Galwey, Casado & Teller. On June 2, 1859, William was sold to Baltimore resident Thomas W. Williams, and she sailed from NY for Mobile on July 4th. On September 25th, it left there for Havana, and in October plans were made for a voyage to Africa. She sailed for the Congo River, and there took onboard 744 Africans. She set sail for Cuba on March 10th, 1860.
Near the Isle of Pines, on May 9th, William was captured by the US Navy Steamer Wyandotte off the south side of Cuba. There, 570 Africans were found on board. Most of these people were children, and had been treated very poorly while on the William. Many were very sick, or dying. Despite the drastic and horrible conditions, four out of five Africans on average survived the voyages.
Thanks for the information.
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