African Slave Trade Patrol African Slave Trade Patrol was part of the Suppression of the Slave Trade between 1819 and the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861 . Due to the abolitionist movement in the United States , a squadron of American navy warships were assigned to catch slave trader s in and around Africa . The operations were largely ineffective and after forty - two years only about 100 suspected slave ship s were captured . Operations . Origin . The first American squadron was sent to Africa in 1819 and for several years after the ships were rotated out , there was not a constant American naval presence off Africa until the 1840s . In the two decades between , very few slave ships were captured as there were not enough United States Navy ships to patrol over 3 , 000 miles of African coastline , as well as the vast American coasts and the ocean in between . Also , the slavers knew that if they hoisted a Spanish or Portuguese flag than they could easily escape pursuit . Congress made it difficult for the navy to keep a small force in Africa until 1842 when the Webster – Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain was signed . Commodore Matthew C . Perry was sent to command the Africa Squadron again after serving as its commander in 1821 in the USS " Shark " . His arrival marked the beginning of America ' s growing effectiveness in the suppression though the overall victories were insignificant compared to Royal Navy operations in the same period . The British captured hundreds of slave ships and fought several naval battles , their success was largely due to the superior size of their navy and colonies located in Africa itself . The combined efforts of both the British and the United States successfully freed thousands of slaves but the trade continued on and the operation was expanded to the West Indies , Brazil and the Indian Ocean . The Brazil Squadron , the West Indies Squadron , the East India Squadron and the later Home Squadron were all responsible for capturing at least a few slavers each . Capture of the " Spitfire " . On 13 June 1844 , the brig USS " Truxtun " was placed back in commission with Commander Henry Bruce in charge . Two weeks later , she sailed down the Delaware River and passed between the capes and into the Atlantic . After visiting Funchal , Madeira , the ship joined the African Station off Tenerife in the Canary Islands . For the next sixteen months , " Truxtun " patrolled off West Africa , visiting Monrovia , Liberia and Sierra Leone , where slaves were freed . " Truxtun " also sailed to Maio islands of Santiago , and São Vicente . The Americans captured only one slaver on their cruise in 1845 , the New Orleans schooner named " Spitfire " . The vessel was caught on the Rio Pongo in Guinea and was taken without incident . Though she was only about 100 tons , she carried 346 slaves . The Americans also discovered that she had landed 339 slaves near Matanzas , in Cuba , the year before . Commander Bruce reported that " " between her decks , where the slaves were packed , there was not room enough for a man to sit , unless inclining his head forward ; their food was half a pint of rice per day , with one pint of water . No one can imagine the sufferings of slaves on their passage across , unless the conveyances in which they are taken are examined . A good hearty negroe costs but twenty dollars , or thereabouts , and brings from three to four hundred dollars in Cuba . " " The capture of the " Spitfire " gave the American navy the incentive to increase the strength of the Africa Squadron , the ship was also fitted out and used in anti - slavery operations . On October 30 , 1845 , the " Truxtun " weighed anchor at Monrovia , and she headed west towards Gosport Navy Yard which she reached on November 23 . She was then decommissioned on November 28 . Capture of the " Ann D . Richardson " and the " Independence " . The brig USS " Perry " served in the South Atlantic with the Brazil Squadron beginning in 1847 . " Perry " got under way from Philadelphia on May 16 , 1847 with specific orders to patrol between Rio de Janeiro , Brazil and Buenos Aires , Argentina . Lieutenant John A . Davis was informed that suspected slavers in the American bark " Ann D . Richardson " were bound for the coast of Africa under false papers . " Perry " then seized the ship off Rio de Janeiro on December 16 and two days later , she took the American brig " Independence " . Investigation proved that both ships had been engaged in the slave trade and were sent to , New York , New York as prizes . The captain of the " Independence " was outraged about his arrest and even petitioned Commodore George W . Storer but to no avail . The USS " Perry " returned to Norfolk on July 10 , 1849 and decommissioned there four days later . She later served in Africa again but only for a short while until she sailed back to New York . Capture of the " Martha " . One of the American ' s more significant victories in the operation was the capture of the slave ship " Martha " . On June 6 of 1850 , the USS " Perry " , under Lieutenant Davis , discovered the large ship rigged " Martha " of Ambriz while she was standing in to shore . Soon after , as the " Perry " came within gun range , Lieutenant Davis and his men witnessed some of " Martha " s crew throwing a desk over the side while raising the American flag . The slavers apparently did not realize that the brig was a United States Navy vessel until an officer and a few enlisted men were dispatched . At which time they lowered the American ensign and raised a Brazilian flag . When the officer reached the " Martha " s deck , the captain denied having any papers so a boat was sent after the desk , which was still floating , and all the necessary evidence was recovered . After that the slaver trader admitted to Davis that he was a United States citizen and his ship was equipped for blackbirding . A hidden deck was found below with a large amount of farina and beans , over 400 wooden spoons , and metal devices used to restrain the slaves . It was also learned that the captain of " Martha " was expecting a shipment of 1 , 800 Africans when the " Perry " appeared . The " Martha " was sent with a prize crew to New York where she was condemned and the slaver captain paid 3 , 000 dollars to escape prison . Capture of the " Nightingale of Boston " . The 1 , 066 ton clipper ship " Nightingale of Boston " , originally sailed as part of the American merchant fleet in China before trade in that region became unprofitable during the 1850s . She then became a known slave ship until being seized at St . Thomas on January 14 , 1861 by the sloop - of - war under a Captain Taylor . Taylor later described the slaver , " " For some time the American ship Nightingale of Boston , Francis Bowen , master , has been watched on this coast under the suspicion of being engaged in the slave trade . Several times we have fallen in with her and although fully assured that she was about to engage in this illicit trade she has had the benefit of the doubt . A few days ago observing her at Kabenda , I came in and boarded her and was then induced to believe she was then preparing to receive slaves . Under this impression the ship was got under way and went some distance away but with the intention of returning under cover of the night ; which was done and at 10 P . M . we anchored and sent two two boats under Lieut . Guthrie to surprise her and it was found that she had 961 slaves on board and was expecting more . Lieut . Guthrie took possession of her as a prize and I have directed him to take her to New York . She is a clipper of 1 , 000 tons and has Nightingale of Boston on her stern and flies American colors . " " The slaves were freed and landed at Monrovia in Liberia but not before 160 of them died from African fever aboard the " Saratoga " . The sickness also spread to the crew . Captain Bowen , who was called the " Prince of Slavers " , and his Spanish second mate Valentino Cortino escaped the " Nightingale " while she was anchored of St . Thomas . Because Lieutenant John J . Guthrie was from North Carolina he was suspected of letting the two go and so they escaped justice . The clipper eventually served in the American Civil War as the storeship USS " Nightingale " in the Gulf Blockading Squadron and was finally abandoned at sea in 1893 while under a Norwegian flag . End of Operations . The United States Navy operations against the slave trade quickly came to an end in 1861 with the outbreak of the American Civil War . Squadrons of vessels , from all over the world , were recalled and reassigned to new blockading forces for the Anaconda Plan . Over the course of several years very few slave ships were captured by American naval forces though they indirectly assisted the major British operation with the same goal . By the end of the Civil War , the African slave trade on the Atlantic diminished though trading overland continued into the next century , primarily in North and Central Africa . For officers who served in Africa between 1820 and 1861 , they received the African Slave Patrol campaign streamer .