Art in the Wake:
Maine-built and -captained Vessels in the Slave Trade
Abbott Devereux / Deveroux
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1857 | 221 | 213 |
The schooner known alternately as the Abbott Devereux or Deveroux was confirmed to have participated in two transatlantic slave trading voyages to West Africa. The vessel was owned by Frederick Drinkwater and captained by Thomas Myers. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Drinkwater rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most notorious slave ship captains of the 1850s and early 1860s. He owned and/or captained a dozen slave ships and transported at least 5,000 enslaved people. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Augusta
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1861 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Augusta was a bark registered in Maine confirmed to have attempted to engage in one transatlantic slave trading voyage to West Africa in 1861. It was owned by Appleton Oakes Smith (sometimes written Oaksmith). Oakes Smith and his crew were seized in Long Island, New York before the journey commenced in 1861, and Oakes Smith was held in prison and convicted in June 1862. He escaped from jail on September 11, 1862 and fled to England.
Of the Augusta incident, the New York Times stated:
“…that one Appleton Oaksmith, of New-York, was interest in purchasing the bark, and acted in procuring her outfit and crew for the pretended whaling voyage; that after the bark was discharged, as aforesaid, Oaksmith enlisted men for another voyage, two of whom had been to the coast of Africa on the bark Welles, and assited in taking a cargo of negroes from there and landing them on the island of Cuba; and that that fact was well known to Oaksmith; and that afterward he told those sailors he wanted they should go on a similar voyage to the one they took on the Welles.”
-March 11, 1865 [insert details]
Oaksmith was the son of Seba Smith, author and editor of the Eastern Argus newspaper (now the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram) and poet Elizabeth Oakes Smith. His mother was his biggest champion and long advocated for his freedom and a presidential pardon.
Benguela
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1849 | Stockton Springs | 1861 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Benguela was a brig built in 1849 in Stockton Springs, Maine and registered in Maine. In 1858, it was quarantined in New York City after having returned from Havana, Cuba with yellow fever on board. It was cited in 1861 as a suspected slaving vessel engaged in transatlantic trade. It was sunk, possibly intentionally, off of Bermuda after this likely slave trading journey.
Betsey
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1762 | Unspecified Maine Port | 1767 | 3 | 3 |
The Betsey was a 40-ton schooner built in 1762 in Maine in an unspecified port–likely in the Kittery/Eliot area–and registered that same year in what was then known as Piscataqua. The vessel owner was Captain Titus Salter (1722–1798), a prominent merchant who during the American Revolution commanded militia forces in what is now Southern Maine and the Seacoast area of New Hampshire. The Betsey was engaged in at least one intra-American slave trading voyage in 1767 with Captain John Mace at the helm. Little is known about the three individuals who were taken captive in Maine except that they were embarked in Piscataqua on February 20, 1767.
Were they members of Wabanaki tribes captured in battle or during scalping expeditions? Were they enslaved people of African descent being sent south as punishment for insubordination? These three captives were landed and sold into slavery in North Carolina. Other cargo included fish, sugar, molasses, furniture, salt, and clove water.
Betty
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brigantine | Unknown | Unknown | 1763; 1765 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Betty was a brigantine of 60 tons built in Arundel, Maine in 1760. It engaged in at least two transatlantic slaving voyages, the first in 1763 and the second in 1765.
In 1763, vessel owners Thomas Case, William Boats, and Thomas Staniforth registered the Betty in Liverpool. The Betty set off from that port on November 21, 1763 for West Africa, where the crew boarded 176 captives at various locations along the Gold Coast as well as in Lagos, Onim. Ten captives perished during the Middle Passage. The surviving 156 captives were disembarked in Kingston, Jamaica on March 16, 1765. By the time the brigantine made its way back to Liverpool, the voyage had lasted 481 days. At various times, the Betty was under the command of Captain Timothy Anyon and Captain Joseph Saxon.
In 1765, vessel owners Thomas Case, Thomas Staniforth, and Thomas Ryan registered the brigantine Betty in Liverpool; this time it measured 100 tons and had four guns mounted. The Betty set sail for West Africa on September 11, 1765 under the command of Captain William Chapman with a 30-member crew. The captain arranged to purchase captives in Ouidah, located in present-day Benin, and touched at the island of São Tomé prior to setting a course for the West Indies. A total of 109 Africans were embarked but eight of them perished during the voyage. On October 13, 1766, the 101 surviving captives were landed in Barbados. The vessel’s voyage ended on March 18, 1767 when it returned to Liverpool.
Bogota / Wm. C. Lewis / William G. Lewis
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Prospect | 1857 | 429 | 411 |
The Bogota was a bark built in Prospect, Maine confirmed to have engaged in at least one transatlantic slave trade. In 1857, under the ownership of John Fredell, the vessel embarked 429 African captives but disembarked only 411 in the Americas. Eighteen captives died during the Middle Passage. The vessel’s name was changed at various times to Wm. C. Lewis and to William G. Lewis, likely as part of a ruse to escape capture.
Bonito / Bonita / Benita
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1849; 1860 | 750 | 734 |
The Bonito–alternatively known as the Bonita and the Benita–was a brig that made two known transatlantic slaving voyages, in 1849 and again in 1860. While it was not constructed or registered in Maine, its captain and crew were from the state. The vessel was owned by J. S. Raymond & Bro. Captain John Scott was responsible for one journey to the Convo River during which 750 captives were embarked. Only 734 of those men, women, and children survived the Middle Passage to be sold into slavery in the Americas. One of the ways captains escaped legal action was by renaming vessels used in contraband slave trading.
Broome
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | Unknown | Robbinston | ca. 1858 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Broome was a hermaphrodite brig (a two-masted vessel that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast) built in Robbinston, Maine. It made at least two confirmed transatlantic slaving voyages around the year 1858.
Brownsville
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | 1851 | Bath | 1859 | 965 | 800 |
The Brownsville was a 147-ton hermaphrodite brig (a two-masted vessel that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast) built in 1851 in Bath, Maine. It made at least one confirmed transatlantic slaving voyage in 1859 under the command of Captain Marsh and is suspected to have made more. During a disastrous voyage that departed New Orleans on February 13, 1859, 965 captives were embarked at the Congo River. Only 800 of them survived the Middle Passage to disembark in Canasí, Cuba in August 1859, where they were sold into slavery. One hundred sixty-five men, women, and children perished during the brutal Atlantic crossing.
Camargo
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1852 | 550 | 500 |
The brig Camargo is confirmed to have been engaged in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage in 1852. It was commanded at the time by Captain Nathaniel Gordon of Portland, Maine, the only person in the United States to be tried, convicted, and executed for having “engaged in the slave trade” under the Piracy Law of 1820 after a later slaving voyage aboard the Erie was thwarted. Captain Gordon embarked 550 captives on the Camargo in Mozambique. Only 500 of those men, women, and children survived the Middle Passage and were landed in Brazil.
As authorities closed in, Gordon burned his ship to destroy evidence. The captive Africans were seized and some of Gordon’s men were arrested and charged. Gordon himself escaped capture by dressing in women’s clothing. This was the last known foreign slave ship to reach Brazil.
Chieftain
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1849 | Freeport | 1853 | Unknown | Unknown |
The bark Chieftain was built in 1849 in Freeport, Maine by Rufus Soule (July 16, 1785 – September 22, 1867), a prominent ship builder said to have constructed eighty-five vessels at his shipyard in Porter’s Landing during his career. Soule served as a representative in the Maine Legislature from 1832 until 1838.
The Chieftain is suspected of having been engaged in two or more transatlantic slaving voyages under the command of Captain Frederick Drinkwater. Hired to carry freed African Americans to Liberia, Drinkwater suspiciously touched at Havana before returning to New York Harbor with thousands of gold and silver coins but no cargo. The evidence suggests that, after disembarking the free African Americans in Liberia, Drinkwater sailed down the coast of Africa, purchased enslaved people, and sold them in Havana before returning to New York. This voyage launched Drinkwater’s career in the illegal slave trade, during the course of which he owned or captained a dozen slave ships and was responsible for the transportation of at least 5,000 enslaved people.
Commerce
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1792 | Portland | 1796 | 12 | 12 |
The 228-ton brig Commerce was built in Portland, Maine in 1792 and later owned by prominent Portland merchant and politician Asa Clapp (March 15, 1762 – April 17, 1848). This vessel is confirmed to have been engaged in at least one intra-American slave trading voyage under the command of Captain John Dicks. Twelve captives were purchased in Kingston, Jamaica on March 15, 1796 and were subsequently landed in Havana, Cuba.
Asa Clapp was a supporter of Maine statehood and was appointed delegate to the October 1819 Maine statehood convention. A staunch Democrat, he served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1820–1823. By the time of his death in 1848, he was one of Portland’s most influential merchants. His sons Charles Q. Clapp and Asa W. H. Clapp were also major merchants who held political offices. The Charles Q. Clapp House is now part of the Portland Museum of Art. The Charles Q. Clapp Block and A.W.H. Clapp House in Portland still stand today. Asa W. H. Clapp represented Maine’s 2nd congressional district in the 30th United States Congress (1847–1849).
Corinthian
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Harpswell | ca. 1857 | Unknown | Unknown |
The bark Corinthian was built in Harpswell, Maine. It was involved in one known transatlantic slaving voyage that occurred around 1857. The United States had banned the import of enslaved people in 1808. In 1820, Congress declared slave trading to be piracy, a crime punishable by death. But enforcement was lax and the authorities largely turned a blind eye. The Civil War finally brought an end to the illicit network.
Cosmopolite
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | 1851 | Blue Hill | 1860 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Cosmopolite was a hermaphrodite brig (a two-masted vessel that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast) built in 1851 in Blue Hill, Maine and owned by Charles M. Davis. It was registered in Maine when it made an 1860 transatlantic slaving voyage with Captain Frederick Drinkwater at the helm. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Drinkwater rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most notorious slave ship captains of the 1850s and early 1860s. He owned and/or captained a dozen slave ships and transported at least 5,000 enslaved people. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Crimea
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Bath | 1857; 1858 | 1321 | 1214 |
The Crimea was a brig built in Bath. It is confirmed to have made at least two transatlantic slaving voyages. The first, in 1857, carried 700 captives to the Americas. The second, in 1858, landed 621 captives. The Crimea’s owner was Joseph Badger (1791-1863), a shipbuilder and merchant born in New Hampshire who lived in Brunswick, Maine.
Cuba
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Boothbay | ca. 1857 | 719 | 651 |
The Cuba was a bark built in Boothbay. It was involved in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage circa 1858. In the vessel’s hold, 719 enslaved Africans were made to endure a torturous Middle Passage. Only 651 men, women, and children survived to voyage. Conditions onboard vessels engaged in the illegal trade were horrific. Sixty-eight people succumbed.
Cygnet
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | Unknown | Calais | 1859 | 600 | Unknown |
The Cygnet was a 199-ton hermaphrodite brig (a two-masted vessel that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast) built in Calais, Maine in 1856. It was employed in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage and is suspected to have made more. In 1859, a captain by the name of Cottell departed from Cuba for West Africa, embarking captives in Keta, Ghana. The vessel arrived in Sagua, Cuba on November 18, 1859 and the 600 African captives were disembarked. It was only then that the Cygnet was captured by the United States authorities.
E. A. Kinsman
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1847 | Portland | 1859 | Unknown | Unknown |
The E. A. Kinsman was a bark built in 1847 in Portland, Maine. It was registered in Maine prior to making its transatlantic voyage in 1859 with Captain Downs at the helm. The vessel was owned by Samuel Trask, Wm. Kinsman, Henry Thurston, and other investors. The Samuel Trask Block at 393-395 Spring Street in Portland won a 2014 award from Greater Portland Landmarks.
Eagle
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Fragata | Unknown | Portland | 1791 | 13 | 13 |
The fragata Eagle was registered in Portland, Maine (Massachusetts) and its illicit transatlantic slaving voyage departed from Portland on October 15, 1790 with Captain Henry Skinner at the helm. The vessel owners were Thomas Robison and Arthur McLellan, with Thomas Hodges serving as agent. The Eagle purchased 13 captives at Iles de Los off the coast of West Africa and landed them in Havana, Cuba on September 24, 1791. Slave trading had been banned in Massachusetts in 1788.
Endeavour
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Sloop | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1758 | 1 | 1 |
The 30-ton sloop Endeavour was built in Maine at an unspecified port in 1749. It was engaged in an intra-American slave trading voyage that departed from Boston on January 21, 1758 with rum, European goods, and one human being as cargo. The captive was landed in North Carolina. Edward Bacon was the owner of this vessel. It was commanded by Captain Andrew Garret.
Enterprise
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1845 | Bowdoinham | ca. 1859 | Unknown | Unknown |
The schooner Enterprise was built in 1845 in Bowdoinham, Maine. It participated in at least two transatlantic slaving voyages, one in 1858 under Captain J. W. Disney and another in 1859 under the command of Captain Morantes.
It was allowed to proceed to sea under Disney in 1858 by the American consul at Havana, Thomas Savage, despite the vessel having been consigned by notorious Portuguese slave trader Gregorio Tejedor, who paid $1,500 cash for the vessel plus $2,000 in stock to an American mining company to the owners.
After the success of the 1858 journey, they proceeded to make another journey in 1859. This journey was also successful in landing an unknown number of captive Africans in Cuba, so much so that the vessel was run ashore and Morantes was murdered by the slave traders in Cuba.
Erie
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | Unknown | Eliot | 1860 | 897 | 867 |
The 458-ton ship Erie was built in Eliot, Maine. It was registered in this state when it made a transatlantic slaving voyage in April 1860 under the command of Captain Nathaniel Gordon, departing from Havana, Cuba. The vessel embarked 897 captives in the Congo River and set off for its return voyage across the Atlantic on August 8, 1860. It was captured by United States authorities with captives onboard but not before 30 captives had died during the crossing. The 867 survivors were disembarked in Liberia.
Flora
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Newcastle | 1856 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Flora was a brig built in Newcastle, Maine. It made a transatlantic slaving voyage in 1856 while under the ownership of Yates & Porterfield. Its captain, Joseph W. Yates, was from Maine. It embarked captives in Dixcove, which is in present-day Ghana.
Florina
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1845 | Lincolnville | 1852 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Florina was a brig built in 1845 in Lincolnville, Maine. It was involved in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage in 1852 under the command of Captain Frederick Drinkwater. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Drinkwater owned or captained a dozen slave ships over the course of his nefarious career in the illicit trade and was responsible for the transportation of at least 5,000 enslaved people. He was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Frances Ellen
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | Unknown | Rockland | ca. 1858 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Frances Ellen was a hermaphrodite brig (a two-masted vessel that has square sails on the foremast combined with a schooner rig on the mainmast) built in Rockland, Maine. It participated in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage ca. 1858 under the command of Captain Headland that embarked captives in Elmina, in present-day Ghana. The Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 and became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade. The castle still stands today and is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Gambia
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1854 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Gambia was a bark commanded by Captain Frederick Drinkwater of Portland, Maine. It served in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage that took place in 1854. The vessel takes its name from the Gambia River and its surrounding territory, which was long under British colonial rule and attained independence in 1965. Over the course of the 365-year period during which the transatlantic slave trade took place, European and American vessels transported a documented 755,513 men, women, and children from the Senegambia and Cape Verde region. The actual number of captives stolen from this land is certainly much higher.
Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Frederick Drinkwater rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most notorious slave ship captains of the 1850s and early 1860s. He owned and/or captained a dozen slave ships and transported at least 5,000 enslaved people. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Grey Eagle
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Robbinston | 1854 | 600 | 584 |
The Grey Eagle was a 185-ton brigantine built in Robbinston, Maine. It served in at least one illicit transatlantic slaving voyage that departed New York in 1854 under the command of Captain Darnaud. The vessel, which likely took part in other slaving voyages, was owned by Juan Aguirre and J. A. Machado. The Grey Eagle embarked 600 captives in Whydah (Ouidah), a major port in present-day Benin before being captured by Spanish authorities. Sixteen captives died during the 38-day voyage. The 584 survivors were landed on June 25, 1854 in Bahia Honda, an island in the lower Florida Keys.
Haidee
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1843 | Freeport | 1858 | 1100 | 903 |
The Haidee was a ship built in 1843 in Freeport, Maine. It was implicated in at least one transatlantic slave trading voyage in 1858 under the command of Captain Whitney. At that time, the vessel was owned by a consortium that included Botella, Miranda, Zulueta, Don Julian. In Louango, 1,100 men, women, and children were forced to board the Haidee. Only 903 of them survived the brutal Middle Passage to face enslavement in the Americas. An astonishing 197 captives died during this voyage.
Hereford
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | Unknown | Sheepscutt River | 1770 | 1422 | 1230 |
The Hereford was a 110-ton ship with six guns mounted that was built on the Sheepscot River in what is now called Maine. It sailed under the British flag when serving in four successive transatlantic slaving voyages. In 1773, it was registered in Liverpool, England by vessel owners William Ormandy, John Tarleton, Daniel Backhouse, Thomas Hereford, and William Harrison.
On September 21, 1773, the Hereford departed Liverpool with Captain William Harrison at the helm. He commanded a crew of 21 and set a course for the Sierra Leone estuary, where he purchased 352 captives. Sixty-five of these men, women, and children perished during the voyage. Of the 287 surviving Africans, some were landed in Grenada, others in Charleston, South Carolina. The Maine-built vessel then returned to Liverpool.
On April 1, 1775, Captain Thomas Walker sailed the Hereford from Liverpool to Iles de Los, an island group lying off Conakry in present-day Guinea on the west coast of Africa. There, his crew of 30 men assisted in embarking 352 captive Africans. By the time the vessel docked at Saint John in Antigua, only 287 of them remained. These men, women, and children who had witnessed the death of 65 of their peers were then sold into slavery.
Once again under the command of Captain Thomas Walker, yet another Hereford voyage began in the British Caribbean and ended in Liverpool after embarking at least 359 captives in Anomabu, a town on the coast of what is now Ghana, on April 6, 1776. Of these, Walker delivered 328 survivors into torturous slavery in Grenada.
On June 27, 1778, Captain William Harrison was back at the helm of the Hereford when it departed Liverpool for Sierra Leone, commanding a crew of 20. Harrison oversaw the purchase and embarkation of 359 captive Africans. The vessel was captured and commandeered by the French, who landed the enslaved cargo in the French Caribbean. Thirty-one Africans died during the Middle Passage. The remaining 328 were worked to death.
Horatio
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1849 | Cherryfield / Robbinston | 1854; 1855 | 561 (1855) | 465 (1855) |
The Horatio was a brigantine built between Robbinston and Cherryfield in 1849. This vessel was involved in at least two transatlantic slaving voyages, the first under the command of Captain Kempton in 1854 and the second with Captain William F. Martin at the helm in 1855 under the orders of owners Rudolph E. Lasala, Estevan Velasquez, William F. Martin, Theodore A. Meyers, and A. T. Reynolds. In early 1855, 561 captives were embarked at an unspecified port in Africa.
By the time these captives were landed in Cabanas, Cuba only 465 remained. Ninety-six people perished during the Middle Passage. Following this murderous voyage the Horatio was wrecked or destroyed.
Hungarian
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1852 | Portland | 1860 | 800* | 800 |
The Hungarian was a bark built in 1852 in Portland, Maine. It was involved in a transatlantic slave trading voyage in 1860 under the command of Captain Dickie. *While it is unknown how many captives were embarked, 800 of them survived to be sold into slavery in the Americas. Mortality rates during the Middle Passage ran 15% on average and could reach 30% due to unhygienic conditions, dehydration, yellow fever, dysentery, suicide, and other factors.
J Harris
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1853 | Prospect | 1859 | 517 | 464 |
The J Harris was a 183-ton brigantine built in 1853 in Prospect, Maine. It served as a floating prison in 1859 with Captain J. W. Steele at the helm, carrying out the instructions of vessel owners Domingo Martinez and José de Santos. While authorities suspected the vessel made more than one transatlantic slaving voyage, it was only caught in the act once. After departing New York, the vessel made port in Whydah (Ouidah), located in present-day Benin. It was here that 517 captives were loaded into the vessel’s hold. The British navy seized the J Harris, landing 464 captives in Freetown on November 1, 1859, and trying its owners, captain, and crew in the Vice-Admiralty Court established in that port city of Sierra Leone. Among the freed captives, 61.6% were men, 22.4% were women, and 15.9% were children.
J J Cobb
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1850 | Robbinston | 1859 | 944 | 762 |
The J J Cobb was a 308-ton bark built in 1850 in Robbinston, Maine. It made at least two illicit transatlantic slaving voyages, one in 1859 at the behest of owner José A. Mora. Departing from Havana, Cuba on December 20, 1858, Captain Vent set a course for Loango, in the present-day Republic of Congo. It was here that 944 captives were embarked. Only 762 of those men, women, and children survived the 160-day voyage. One hundred eighty-two Africans died during the Middle Passage. The survivors were sold into slavery in Canasí, Cuba in May 1859.
Joseph H. Record
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1858 | Unspecified Maine Port | 1858 | 193 | 193 |
The Joseph H. Record was a schooner built in 1858. On its maiden voyage the vessel sailed to Benin under the command of the prolific Portland-based slave trader Frederick Drinkwater. Much about this voyage remains shrouded in mystery. At least 193 captives were embarked.
Juana
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1859 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Juana was a schooner built and owned in Maine by H. J. Libby and his partners. It served in a transatlantic slaving voyage in late 1858 through early 1859. It was captained by William Paxton and first mate Andrew Hunter Savage on this journey, and at the time of its slave trading was registered in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It left New York and headed to Africa, and brought a cargo of enslaved people to St. Jago, Cuba, in early 1859. The crew purchased 185 hogsheads of sugar before striking a reef near Long Cay, Bahamas and was abandoned by Paxton and Savage, who were charged for conspiracy, but were found not guilty.
Julia Moulton
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1846 | Damariscotta | ca. 1857 | 660* | 660 |
The Julia Moulton was a brig built in 1846 in Damariscotta, Maine. Circa 1857, the vessel was implicated in at least one illicit slaving voyage while it was under the ownership of William C. Valentine. Captain James Smith sailed this brig to the Congo River, where he and his crew embarked at least 660 captives, and likely many more.
Kate Ellen / Helen
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1848 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Kate Ellen, also known as the Helen, was a schooner built and registered in Maine. It was involved in at least one illicit transatlantic slaving voyage that took place in 1848. At the behest of vessel owner Johnson, Captain Anderson embarked captives at Quiloa, in present-day Tanzania.
Kentucky
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1833 | Searsport | 1844; 1845; 1846 | 1145 | 995 |
The Kentucky was a 272-ton brig built in 1833 in Searsport, Maine by J. Carver. While sailing under the American flag, this vessel was employed in three illegal transatlantic slaving voyages over three successive years, in 1844, 1845, and again in 1846. In the first of these, Captain Douglas departed from Rio de Janeiro on February 20, 1844 at the behest of owner Manoel Pinto da Fonseca and set a course for Inhambane, Mozambique. By April he had acquired 543 captives. Only 450 of these men, women, and children survived the Middle Passage to finish out their days enslaved in Brazil. A portrait of the Kentucky can be found at the Penobscot Marine Museum.
Knutsford
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Snauw | 1749 | Berwick | 1761 | 230 | 197 |
The Knutsford was a 60-ton snauw built in 1749 in what is now known as Berwick, Maine. It served as a floating prison in 1761 during a transatlantic slaving voyage at the behest of owners John Crosbie, Richard Trafford, and William Trafford. Captain Roger Williams set a course for Bonny, in what is now known as Nigeria, where he embarked 230 captives. Only 197 of them survived the Middle Passage.
Lewis McLane
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1853 | Rockland | 1857 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Lewis McLane was a schooner built in 1853 in Rockland, Maine. It was implicated in an illicit slaving voyage that departed from New Orleans on May 1, 1857 under the command of Captain W H Hinckley. It departed Sierra Leone on October 15, 1857 with captives in the vessel’s hold, but it was captured by the British navy off the coast and forced back to Freetown. The case of the Lewis McLane was heard at Sierra Leone’s Vice-Admiralty Court, where authorities condemned the vessel.
Lucy Penniman
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Machias | 1843; 1845 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Lucy Penniman was a bark built in Machias, Maine and registered in this state. It was confirmed to have served in two separate illicit slaving voyages–the first in 1843 and the second in 1845. The vessel owners were Maine merchants S. F. Keller and Alex Riddell while captains J. P. Keller and M. H. Cooper carried out their wishes by trading for captives in Mozambique.
Malaga
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1832 | Brunswick | 1843; 1845; 1846; 1847 | 830 (1847)* | 830 (1847) |
The Malaga was a brig built in 1832 in Brunswick, Maine. It served in at least four transatlantic slaving voyages, in 1843, 1845, 1846, and 1847. Captain Charles Lovett was at the helm during at least one of these journeys. In 1847, at least 830 captives and likely many more were embarked in Sierra Leone and forced to descend into the vessel’s dank and cramped hold.
Mary Carver
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | Unknown | Plymouth, MA | 1841 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Mary Carver was a schooner built in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was suspected of participating in an illegal transatlantic slave trading voyage to Liberia in 1841 under the command of Maine Captain Ebenezer Farwell of Vassalboro, whose father was considered one of the founding fathers of the town.
Minnetonka
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1857; 1858 | 970 (1857) | 610 (1857) |
The Minnetonka was a 332-ton bark confirmed to have made at least two transatlantic slaving voyages–the first in 1857 and the second in 1858. The first of these departed from Havana with Captain Frederick Drinkwater at the helm, executing the orders of owner Antonio Cabargas. In Mozambique, a total of 970 men, women, and children were boarded against their will. Only 610 of these people survived. Three hundred and sixty of them succumbed to the horrific conditions in the vessel’s hold. The mortality rate among the enslaved population on this voyage was 37%.
During its 1858 voyage, which began in Cardenas, Cuba, Frederick Drinkwater was the vessel’s owner. This time the Minnetonka was captured by the British soon after embarking captives and was forced back to Freetown, where the captain and his crew of 23 were tried at the Vice-Admiralty Court.
Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Frederick Drinkwater rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most notorious slave ship captains of the 1850s and early 1860s. He owned and/or captained a dozen slave ships and transported at least 5,000 enslaved people. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Molly
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Sloop | ca. 1752 | Kittery/Eliot | 1757 | 1 | 1 |
The Molly was a sloop built around 1752 in Piscataqua, likely the Kittery/Eliot area of what now constitutes Maine’s southern border. This sloop served in a 1757 intra-american slave trade when Captain William Moore and his fellow owners–William Pepperrell and Sparhawk–embarked a captive in Maine and sold that person into slavery in North Carolina.
Newsboy
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1854 | Owl’s Head | 1858 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Newsboy was a brig built in 1854 in Owl’s Head, Maine. It was also registered in Maine when it is suspected of having served in a transatlantic slaving voyage at the behest of Maine merchants Ryan & Davis McGilvery.
Niagara
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1857 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Niagara was a schooner that served in an illegal slaving voyage in 1857. Captain Frederick Drinkwater of Portland, Maine sailed the Niagara to Loango in the Republic of Congo, where he embarked captives for sale in the Americas. Born in Yarmouth, Maine, Drinkwater rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most notorious slave ship captains of the 1850s and early 1860s. He owned and/or captained a dozen slave ships and transported at least 5,000 enslaved people. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Nightingale
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | Unknown | Eliot | 1861 | 960 | 801 |
The 1,066-ton Nightingale was a clipper ship designed and built at the Hanscom Shipyard in Eliot, Maine. It was registered in Maine in 1861 when it made a transatlantic slaving voyage under the command of Captain Francis Bowen. After sailing to Cabinda at the mouth of the Congo River, the captain ordered 961 captives to descend into the ship’s hold, from which only 801 emerged alive. Following the vessel’s capture by the USS Saratoga, 160 captives died en route to Liberia. The Nightingale was suspected to have made several previous voyages between Angola and Cuba.
Órion
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1846 | Sheepscutt River | 1859; 1859; 1860 | 1546 | 1288 |
The Órion was a 453-ton bark built in 1846 in the Sheepscot River in Maine. It is a confirmed slaver, having made at least three illegal transatlantic voyages between 1859 and 1860. The vessel was owned by merchants Miranda, Vining, and others. Thomas Mayen, James Morgan, John E. Hanna, and Ybañez all served as captain at various points.
In 1859, the Órion was seized by American authorities on suspicion of preparing to embark captives with the intent of engaging in the illegal slave trade. Captain Morgan had commanded the vessel from New York to West Africa, where captives were embarked on April 21, 1859 before they could be freed.
A second voyage that year also departed from New York harbor. The captain commanded his crew of 22 to sail to Cabinda where 874 captives were embarked before the vessel departed on November 30, 1859. The Órion was seized by British authorities and ordered condemned by authorities at the Vice-Admiralty Court of St.Helena, which is where the 728 surviving captives were landed. Even though the Atlantic crossing was prevented thanks to British naval intervention, 146 people died below decks before the survivors could disembark on an island far from their homelands.
Despite the prior two voyages having been thwarted by British and American authorities, in 1860 the Órion was once again plying the waters off the coast of West Africa. On May 7 of that year, Captain Ybañez landed 560 captive Africans at Cardenas, Cuba. There had been 672 onboard at the outset of the journey. One hundred twelve enslaved men, women, and children died during the Atlantic crossing.
Orrington (Harrington)
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1795 | Orrington | 1796 | 17 | 15 |
The Orrington (sometimes referred to in archival records as Harrington) was a 127-ton schooner built in 1795 in what is now Orrington, Maine. It was under the ownership of T. Avery, who registered the schooner in Penobscot before ordering it to embark on an illegal intra-american slaving voyage. The captain, John Pratt (sometimes written Prast) was also of this place. Pratt arranged for 17 captives to be purchased in Kingston, Jamaica and landed them in Havana, Cuba. Despite the short voyage between the two Caribbean islands, two captives died onboard.
Ottawa
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | ca. 1852 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Ottawa was a bark that engaged in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage around 1852 under the command of Captain Nathaniel Gordon of Portland, loading captives at the mouth of the Congo River for sale in the Americas. Gordon was the only person in the United States to be tried, convicted, and executed for having “engaged in the slave trade” under the Piracy Law of 1820 after a later slaving voyage aboard the Erie was thwarted.
Petrel
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | 1851 | Prospect | 1857 | 600 | 537 |
The Petrel was a schooner built in 1851 in what is now Prospect, Maine. It was engaged in at least one illegal transatlantic slaving voyage in 1857 and is suspected of having served in others. The owners–N.C.A. Jenks, John P. Weeks and others–were Maine merchants operating out of Cuba. The captain and crew embarked 600 captives in Cabinda, Angola and disembarked 537. It was a swift vessel and the Atlantic crossing was made in 25 days. During that short time, 63 enslaved men, women, and children died in the torturous conditions below deck. After landing the survivors in October of 1857, the vessel was captured by Spanish authorities.
Porpoise
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1839 | Brunswick | 1841; 1843; 1844-45 | 109* | 109 |
The Porpoise was a brig built in 1839 in Brunswick, Maine. It was registered in the state when it engaged in at least four transatlantic and intra-american slaving voyages, first in 1841, then in 1843, and again in 1844-45. The vessel’s owner, George F. Richardson, was a Mainer, as was Captain Cyrus Libby. On these various voyages, captives were embarked in Baltimore, São Tomé, Angola, and Mozambique.
President
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1796 | Wiscasset | 1798 | 166 | 142 |
The President was a 323-ton ship built in 1796 in Wiscasset, Maine. The vessel served in at least one illegal transatlantic slaving voyage in 1798 under the ownership of Wiscasset resident Abiel Wood, Jr. While the U.S. federal ban on slave trading would not take effect until 1808, Massachusetts (of which Maine was then part) had prohibited the trade as of 1788. Captain John Boyington sailed from Liverpool to the coast of Africa, embarking 166 captives at unspecified ports. The President was captured before disembarking its human cargo but appears to have been subsequently released. Only 142 of the captive men, women, and children survived the Middle Passage.
R. B. Lawton
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1857 | 543 | 450 |
The R. B. Lawton was a brig that may have been built and registered in Maine. It served in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage in 1857 under the command of Captain Frederick Drinkwater of Portland, Maine’s most prolific contraband slave trader. Drinkwater embarked 543 captives at the mouth of the Congo River. Only 450 of them survived the torturous Middle Passage, only to be enslaved in the Americas. Ninety-three men, women, and children perished during the voyage. Drinkwater was able to avoid all legal and social penalties for his crimes against humanity. Learn more here.
Rebecca
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1849 | Brunswick | 1859 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Rebecca was a ship built in 1849 in Brunswick, Maine. It was involved in at least one transatlantic slaving voyage in 1859 but is suspected of having served in more. The owner was Joseph Badger of Brunswick, who also owned the ship Malaga. Captain William Carter embarked captives in Liberia.
Richard
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Schooner | ca. 1754 | Kittery/Eliot | 1757 | 1 | 1 |
The Richard was a schooner built around 1754 in Piscataqua, or present-day Kittery/Eliot. It was registered in Maine when Captain John Brown made an intra-american slaving voyage in 1757 at the behest of vessel owner Samuel Cutt. One captive was embarked in Piscataqua and sold south into slavery.
Rising Sun
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brigantine | 1772 | Biddeford | 1774 | 241 | 214 |
The Rising Sun was a brigantine built in 1772 in Biddeford, Maine. It was registered in Maine when Captain John Allanson made a transatlantic slaving voyage in 1774 at the behest of owner James William, embarking 241 captives at Anomabu in present-day Ghana. Twenty-seven captives died during the Middle Passage.
Rufus Soule
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1844 | Freeport | 1858 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Rufus Soule was a ship constructed in 1844 in Freeport, Maine. On July 6, 1858, the Rufus Soule (by that time, registered out of New Orleans) was consigned to a notorious slave dealer in Matanzas, Cuba by the name of Cristobal Valdes for about $5,000 (a huge fee, more than twice the amount a vessel of this size would have been consigned for during a normal merchant journey). C.J. Helm, U.S. Consul General in Cuba, noted that the brig’s captain and crew had taken all of the usual measures to conceal their illicit activities: “All the entries in the several record books, the ‘Ship’s Daily Journal,’ the ‘Fee Book,’ and the ‘Detailed list of seamen shipped, discharged, or deceased,’ show the forgoing facts.”
Apparently, the American consul in Matanzas was in fact aware that this was happening before the journey commenced. Helm noted that during this same time period, British cruisers were boarding American vessels in Matanzas, causing a great uproar in the U.S. about the right of search and seizure of American vessels at sea. He posited this as a reason for the inaction of the consul (we might interpret that differently today). During the week of October 10, the British cruiser Viper sighted the brig sitting in Cabenda Bay, Angola. It had already captured the Kate Ellen, a schooner from Plymouth, on September 15, outfitted as a slaver. The British commander ordered the ship boarded on the evening of October 11, 1858, and burned the vessel in the bay. By the next morning, it hadn’t sunk, so they blasted it with canon fire until it did.
Americans were very critical of the burning of the vessel, seeing it as an affront to American sovereignty at sea. The Bethel Courier reported the incident in early February 1859, noting the very aggressive way in which the vessel was seized by the British and the perceived indignities suffered by the crew (with very little defense for the very obvious evidence that they were in fact engaging in the slave trade).
Splendid / Velha Aunto / Annita
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1849 | Newcastle | 1857 | 760 | 569 |
The Splendid, also known as the Velha Aunto/Annita, was a 270-ton bark built in Newcastle in 1849. Like many other illicit slave ships, the crew of the Splendid did all they could to hide the true identity of the vessel. In early 1857, it was purchased by the notorious slave trade José Pedro da Cunha. According to the British Parliamentary Papers, the vessel “proceeded immediately direct to this coast, having laid the slave-deck during the voyage, and scraped off the true name of the barque, afterwards painting in black the place on the stern where the said name Splendid, of Boston, had been painted.”
The vessel embarked 760 captive Africans in Popo, Benin. Despite having been captured by a Portuguese schooner of war off the coast of Africa, 193 people perished on board the ship. Only 569 people survived.
Star of the East
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1853 | Portland | 1859 | Unknown | Unknown |
The Star of the East was a bark built in Portland in 1853, and registered in Boston in 1856. In 1859, the bark went to Loanda, Angola, under its captain, Hinckley. It had been cleared from New York City by P. L. Pearce on behalf of a Portuguese slave trading firm, and owned by Spaniards in Havana. After landing an unknown number of enslaved people in Cuba, the vessel was destroyed.
Susan Soule
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | 1846 | Freeport | 1848 | 7 | 7 |
The Susan Soule was a cotton packet that was owned by Rufus Soule of Freeport. It regularly transported cotton and other goods between northern New England and the southern states, as did countless other New England vessels. In 1848, under Captain J. Rodgers, the Susan Soule transported seven enslaved African Americans from Charleston, South Carolina, to New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of their enslavers to be sold.
Their names were:
- Porter, 32 years old
- Robert, 24 years old
- Pago, 49 years old
- Clark, 36 years old
- Caroline, 25, and her two children Harry, 6, and Godfrey, 1
Tahmaro / Tahmaroo
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1844 | Blue Hill | 1860 | N/A | N/A |
The Tahmaro, also known as the Tahmaroo, was built in Blue Hill in 1844 at the Tide Mill Shipyard. It first operated as a passenger ship for many years, but was sold in 1860 to Jabez Hathaway, who was a whaler from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Hathaway hired slave ship captain Zeno Kelley, who fitted out the ship for the slave trade. Kelley did not succeed, as he was arrested before embarking any captives. He was tried in Massachusetts in November 1863, by abolitionist District Attorney Richard Henry Dana, Jr., and was convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of $1000. Kelley, however, served little prison time.
Telegraph
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Unspecified Maine Port | 1857 | 654 | 500 |
The Telegraph was a 185-ton brig that was registered in Charleston, when in 1857 it was transferred to Joseph A. Ellis of New Orleans. It was ostensibly purchased by Frederick Drinkwater, a Portland ship captain who arranged or captained more than a dozen slave trading journeys. It departed under the command of A. L. Baptista of Baltimore, laden with rum, rice, and sugar. Baptista took it to the Congo River, where he purchased 654 captive Africans, of which 500 survived the passage to Sagua, Cuba. The vessel was captured after the captives were disembarked.
Toccoa (a) Cocoa
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Camden | 1861 | 757 | 627 |
The Toccoa (a) Cocoa was a 227-ton brigantine built in Camden, Maine in 1854. In December 1860, the vessel — captained by an unknown person — went to the Congo River and embarked 757 captive Africans. Only 627 people survived the middle passage to Cuba, where they were sold into slavery. Spanish war ships captured the vessel after they disembarked the captives and the crew escaped in September 1861.
Transit
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Ship | 1829 | Bath | 1839 | Unknown | Unknown |
The 199-ton ship Transit was built in 1829 in Bath by Johnson Williams shipbuilder, and was launched in 1832. In 1838, it was captained by Ebenezer Farwell, of Vassalboro, whose father was considered one of the founding fathers of the town. In 1838, Farwell took the Transit to Liberia/Côte d’Ivoire on a supposed trading journey; however, upon its return to New York City in summer 1838, three enslaved Africans were found on board by Black abolitionists in the port, led by David Ruggles. It was discovered a fourth man, named Yazee, was left in Vassalboro as an “indentured servant” at Farwell’s father’s homestead.
Farwell was charged with being engaged in the slave trade, however he was ultimately found innocent on a technicality:
“…in order to disprove the allegation that he intended to sell these men as slaves, Capt Farwell produced two papers, one of which was an agreement he made with three of these Africans, and the other a separate agreement with Yazee, to pay them and him, so much per month for their services in assisting to navigate his ship from Africa to NY… An attempt was made to discredit these statements, and Mr. Ruggles and another colored man named Slosson, deposed that they were acquainted with the hand writing of a man named Hughes, now in Africa, whose name is subscribed as a witness to the agreement made with the Africans, and that they did not believe it to be his hand writing… Judge Betts decided that the law prohibiting the bringing of native Africans to the US did not prohibit the bringing of men free here, to do involuntary labor. The Court discharged the complaint on the ground that labor must be involuntarily, or what is tantamount to slavery, or it does not come within the provision of the law.”
-Daily Courant September 8, 1838
Tyrant / Triton / Titan
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Hermaphrodite Brig | Unknown | Rockland | 1859; 1860 | 743 | 650 |
The Tyrant, also at various times known as the Triton and the Titan, was a hermaphrodite brig built in Rockland. It participated in at least two transatlantic slaving voyages, one in 1859 and the other in 1860. Captains Lind, Buisson, and Esterez all commanded the vessel at various times. In 1859 the captain and crew embarked at least 200 captives at the mouth of the Congo River but likely many more. In 1860, they forced 543 into that same cramped space. Only 450 of these men, women, and children survived the Middle Passage.
Venus
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Brig | Unknown | Freeport | 1845 | 3 | 3 |
The 195-ton brig Venus was purchased by Rufus Soule of Freeport as a cotton packet to travel between New England and the South transporting various kinds of cargo. In 1845, Captain Francis Soule—Rufus’s cousin—transported at least two enslaved African Americans from Baltimore, Maryland to New Orleans, Louisiana who were sold by their enslavers. Their names were Mary, who was 15 years old, and Louisa Bailey, who was 35.
Vesta
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1847 | Richmond | 1857 | 221 | 169 |
The bark Vesta was built in 1847 in Richmond, Maine. In 1857 it was registered in Boston, and it went to Keta, Ghana, where the captain purchased 221 captive Africans, with 169 surviving the Middle Passage. It was captured by the Spanish after landing the captives in Cuba. It is likely that the vessel had been engaged in the slave trade for some time, as it was a source of a yellow fever epidemic in Charleston after having returned from Matanazas in 1854.
White Cloud (a) Constancia
| Type | Date Built | Place of Construction | Voyage Dates | Captives Embarked in Africa | Captives Disembarked in Americas |
| Bark | 1849 | Bristol (RI) | 1860; 1862 | 0 (1860); 759 (1862) | 0 (1860); 580 (1862) |
The White Cloud, which also appears in archival records as the Constantia, was a 284-ton bark built in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1849. One thwarted voyage began in 1860 in Havana, Cuba under the Argentine flag. It was seized by British authorities and condemned by the Court of Mixed Commission of Sierra Leone. A second attempt was made two years later, this time flying the American flag. The captain and crew boarded 759 captives at the mouth of the Congo River in early 1862. Only 580 of these men, women, and children survived the Atlantic crossing to be sold into slavery in the Americas. The vessel was then destroyed.
Credits
This interactive map is an ongoing research project facilitated by Atlantic Black Box that draws from the research of Dr. Kate McMahon, Historian of Global Slavery in the Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, as well as from the SlaveVoyages database (www.slavevoyages.org). The map and accompanying website were designed by Maine-based interdisciplinary artist Justin Levesque.
Kate McMahon, Ph.D. was born and raised in Maine. She attended the University of Southern Maine for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She completed her Ph.D. in History at Howard University in May 2017. Her dissertation, The Transnational Dimensions of Africans and African Americans in Northern New England, 1776–1865, explores the complexities of the shipbuilding economies of northern New England, their connections to the slave trade, and how Africans and African Americans resisted slavery and racism. Today Kate directs research at the Smithsonian’s Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Justin Levesque is an interdisciplinary artist who was born and raised in Maine. He earned his BFA in Photography from the University of Southern Maine in Portland. Justin has exhibited throughout New England, including at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland and the Portland Museum of Art. His work has been shown nationally and internationally, notably at Shape Arts in London; Reykjavík Art Museum in Reykjavík, and at the Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden. Levesque is the recipient of three Maine Arts Commission Artist Project grants and was named an Emerging New England Artist by Art New England in 2022. He was recently a fellow of The Arctic Circle artist residency in Svalbard.
Meadow Dibble, Ph.D. is Executive Director of Atlantic Black Box, the Portland-based nonprofit she founded in 2018 with the aim of empowering communities throughout the Northeast to take up the critical work of researching and reckoning with the region’s complicity in the slave trade and the global economy of enslavement. Originally from Cape Cod, Meadow lived for six years across the Atlantic on Senegal’s Cape Verde peninsula. She received her doctorate from Brown University’s Department of French Studies and taught at Colby College from 2005–08. Meadow serves as Project Lead on the Place Justice project, a collaboration with the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations.