The USS Constellation?s hunt for slave-smugglers is the focus of a documentary airing on the History Channel this month.
The ship?s crew freed 705 African men, women and children in 1860 when they seized the Cora, a ship headed for U.S. auction blocks.
“The Constellation represents a little-known aspect of U.S. history that the Navy actively tried to halt the trans-Atlantic slave trade before the Civil War,” said John Pentangelo, curator of the Constellation Museum in Baltimore.
As the flagship of an African Squadron, the Constellation patrolled over 2,500 miles of African coastline, including the mouth of the Congo River.
The squadron seized 14 slave-ships and released nearly 4,000 Africans when the Constellation led the fleet from 1859 to the Civil War, Pentangelo said.
While researching the Constellation for the documentary, executive producer David Frank found Naval officers noted “the stench that came from the horrific confinement trailed slave ships.”
The USS Constellation is the only Civil War era vessel still afloat. In 1955, Baltimore residents successfully fought for the ship to be docked at the Inner Harbor.
The Constellation Museum can show visitors how the ship pursued slave ships during their program “Constellation Fights the Slave Trade.”
“USS Constellation: Battling Freedom” airs Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. on the History Channel.
USS Constellation Museum
When: 10 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.
Where: Pier One
301 E. Pratt St. , Baltimore
Admission: $8.75 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and active military, $4.50 for 16-to-14 year olds and free for age 5 and under
Information: 410-539-1797, constellation.org
