Combat· West Africa Anti-Slavery Patrol
USS Cyane vs 2 slave schooners off West Africa
A continuation of the Cyane's productive cruise.
In the days after taking five slavers, Trenchard's ship captured two more schooners off Cape Mount and the Gallinas River, the Marines again providing the boarding parties. The combined operation brought the Cyane's tally to seven slave vessels in a single week, a remarkable early result for the American anti-slavery patrol and a clear signal of intent under the 1820 law that made the trade a capital crime. The captures were bloodless. The concentration of slavers in this small stretch of coast reflected how the trade had organized itself around a few key loading points fed by the inland rivers, which is exactly why a single warship working the area could take so many prizes so quickly. The Cyane's week off the Gallinas was one of the most successful single efforts of the early patrol.
Record no. 287