III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 315 

Memorializing the discovery of the Clotilda. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 

Mr. JONES (for himself and Mr. SHELBY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

FEBRUARY 27, 2020 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Memorializing the discovery of the Clotilda. 

Whereas, from 1525 to 1866, the transatlantic slave trade resulted in more than 12,000,000 individuals being taken 

from their homes in Africa and made to endure the horrors of the Middle Passage to the Americas, where those 

individuals were forced into enslavement; 

Whereas, on March 2, 1807, Congress enacted legislation 

banning the importation of enslaved people, which went 

into effect on January 1, 1808; 

Whereas, in contravention of that ban, the last enslaved Africans forced to endure the voyage to the United States 

came aboard the Clotilda, which— 


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(1) left from Whydah, modern-day Benin, in May of 

1860; 

(2) arrived in Port of Pines in Grand Bay, Mississippi, on July 9, 1860; and 

(3) was ultimately brought to Mobile Bay, Alabama, 

on July 14, 1860, carrying 110 individuals, including 

men, women, and children; 

Whereas, shortly after arrival in Mobile Bay, Alabama, the 

Captain of the Clotilda scuttled and burned the ship to 

the waterline in order to conceal the evidence of his 

crime; 

Whereas, following the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved Africans, some of the captives brought 

to the United States aboard the Clotilda settled in the 

area now known as Africatown, Alabama; 

Whereas, on May 22, 2019, the Alabama Historical Commission and a team of scientists confirmed that a wreckage 

found in the Twelve Mile Island section of the Mobile 

River was the Clotilda; 

Whereas, in the 160 years since the Clotilda was brought to 

Mobile Bay, the residents of Africatown, Alabama, have 

played a critical role in preserving the unique and important heritage and traditions of their community; 

Whereas the Africatown Historic District was listed on the 

National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 

2012, and is home to a number of important historic 

sites, including— 

(1) the Mobile County Training School; 

(2) the Old Landmark Baptist Church, now known 

as the Union Baptist Church; and 


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(3) the Africatown Cemetery, where many of the individuals who survived the forced migration to the United 

States in 1860 are buried: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the recent confirmation of the wreckage of 

3 the Clotilda, the last slave ship to arrive in the 

4 United States, constitutes a monumental discovery 

5 of local, national, and international importance and 

6 educational value; 

7 (2) discovery of the Clotilda may serve as an in8 flection point for meaningful conversation about 

9 both past and present injustices; 

10 (3) the residents of Africatown, Alabama, em11 body a spirit of resilience and a determination to 

12 build a better community for their descendants; and 

13 (4) all efforts should be made— 

14 (A) to preserve and protect the Clotilda 

15 and associated historic sites in Africatown, Ala16 bama; and 

17 (B) to use the discovery of the Clotilda to 

18 provide education to local, national, and inter19 national audiences about— 

20 (i) the violent history of the trans21 atlantic slave trade; 

22 (ii) the stories of the last enslaved Af23 ricans to arrive in the United States; and 


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1 (iii) the rich and unique history of the 

2 community built by the descendants of 

3 those individuals. 

Æ 


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