IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1159 
Recognizing the historical significance of the United States sloop-of-war Con-
stellation as a surviving witness to the horrors of the Transatlantic 
Slave Trade and a leading participant in America’s effort to end the 
practice. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2008 
Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. 
BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. BURTON of In-
diana, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 
FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORTUN˜O, Ms. LEE, 
Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. 
RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SARBANES, 
Mr. SNYDER, Mr. STARK, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WYNN, Ms. 
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the historical significance of the United States 
sloop-of-war Constellation as a surviving witness to the 
horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and a leading 
participant in America’s effort to end the practice. 
Whereas on September 17, 1787, the United States Constitu-
tion was adopted and article I, section 9 of the document 
declared that Congress could prohibit the importation of 
slaves into the United States in the year 1808; 
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•HRES 1159 IH 
Whereas on March 22, 1794, the United States Congress 
passed ‘‘An Act to prohibit the carrying on the Slave 
Trade from the United States to any foreign place or 
country’’, thus beginning American efforts to halt the 
slave trade; 
Whereas on May 10, 1800, Congress enacted legislation that 
outlawed all American participation in the international 
trafficking of slaves and authorized the United States 
Navy to seize American vessels engaged in the slave 
trade; 
Whereas on March 2, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson 
signed a bill that declared the importation of slaves into 
the United States illegal; 
Whereas on January 1, 1808, the act ‘‘to prohibit the impor-
tation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdic-
tion of the United States’’ took effect; 
Whereas on March 3, 1819, Congress authorized the Navy to 
cruise the African coast to suppress the slave trade. The 
Act declared that Africans on captured ships be placed 
under Federal jurisdiction and authorized the President 
to appoint an agent in Africa to facilitate their return to 
the continent; 
Whereas in 1819, the Royal Navy of Great Britain estab-
lished the West Coast of Africa as a separate naval sta-
tion and actively plied the waters in pursuit of slave 
ships. Great Britain negotiated with many other nations 
to obtain the right to search their vessels if suspected of 
engaging in the slave trade; 
Whereas on May 15, 1820, Congress declared the trading of 
slaves to be an act of piracy and those convicted subject 
to the death penalty; 
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•HRES 1159 IH 
Whereas in 1842, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty between 
Great Britain and the United States provided that both 
nations would maintain separate naval squadrons on the 
coast of Africa to enforce their respective laws against 
the slave trade. The newly formed United States African 
Squadron sailed for Africa in 1843 and remained in oper-
ation until the Civil War erupted in 1861; 
Whereas in 1859, USS Constellation, the last all-sail vessel 
designed and built by the U.S. Navy, sailed to West Afri-
ca as the flagship of the United States African Squadron, 
consisting of eight ships, including four steam-powered 
vessels suitable for chasing down and capturing slavers; 
Whereas on December 21, 1859, USS Constellation captured 
the brig Delicia after a 10-hour chase. Although Delicia 
had no human cargo on board upon capture, her crew 
was preparing the ship to take on slaves; 
Whereas on the night of September 25, 1860, USS Constella-
tion sighted the barque Cora near the mouth of the 
Congo River and, after a dramatic moonlit chase, cap-
tured the slave ship with 705 Africans crammed into her 
‘‘slave deck’’. A detachment of the Constellation’s crew 
sailed the surviving Africans to Monrovia, Liberia, a col-
ony founded for the settlement of free African-Americans 
that became the destination for all Africans freed on 
slave ships captured by the Navy; 
Whereas on May 21, 1861, USS Constellation captured the 
brig Triton. Though the ship did not have Africans cap-
tured for slavery on board when intercepted by the Con-
stellation, a search confirmed its preparation to take on 
slaves. Triton, registered in Charleston, South Carolina, 
was one of the first Union naval captures of the Amer-
ican Civil War; 
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•HRES 1159 IH 
Whereas from 1859 to 1861, USS Constellation and the Afri-
can Squadron captured 14 slave ships and liberated near-
ly 4,000 Africans destined for a life of servitude in the 
Americas, a record unsurpassed by the United States Af-
rican squadron under previous commanders; and 
Whereas on September 25, 2008, the USS Constellation Mu-
seum will hold a ceremony to commemorate the bicenten-
nial of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade 
aboard the same ship that, 149 years before, forced the 
capitulation of the slave ship Cora and freed the 705 Af-
ricans confined within: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the historical and educational 
significance of USS Constellation, a 153-year-old 
American warship, berthed in Baltimore, Maryland, 
as a reminder of both American participation in the 
slave trade and the efforts of the United States Gov-
ernment to suppress this inhumane practice; 
(2) applauds the preservation of this historic 
vessel and the efforts of the USS Constellation Mu-
seum to engage people from all over the world with 
this vital part of our history; and 
(3) supports USS Constellation as an appro-
priate site for the Nation to commemorate the bicen-
tennial of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave 
Trade. 
Æ 
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