In the 1830's, the US Navy created the African Squadron. Its' mission was to prevent Africans from being taken by slave ships to the United States where they would be traded into slavery. This slave trafficking was illegal in the United States and could be punishable by death. The USS Constellation was a part of the African Squadron in the late 1850's and early 1860's. The link below is to a History Channel video about the USS Constellation and its' fight against illegal slave trade in 1859-60. At times the treatment of the Africans can be difficult to watch, but the video does a very good job of showing both the brutality of slavery and the difficulties it presented.
USS Constellation: Battling for Freedom
