''Huntress'' of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

was a topsail hermaphrodite schooner that transported slaves. ''Huntress'' was the last

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

to leave the Congo region. In March 1865, ''Huntress'' left with a capacity of 200 slaves headed for Louisiana. When the Slave Trade was made illegal in 1808, traders turned to fast ships, largely topsail schooners or brigs, to outrun the vessels of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

and the U.S. Navy's

African Slave Trade Patrol African Slave Trade Patrol was part of the Blockade of Africa suppressing the Atlantic 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 U.S. Navy ...

, whose role was to intercept slave ships and take them into custody. "Negro Island" in the

Mermentau River The Mermentau River (french: Rivière Mermentau) is a river in southern Louisiana in the United States. It enters the Gulf of Mexico between Calcasieu Lake and Vermilion Bay on the Chenier Coastal Plain. The Mermentau River supplies freshwater ...

is rumored to have been the location where the slaves died. However, records show a ''Huntress'' type vessel landed a cargo of enslaved men and women in Cuba in 1864.

References

History of slavery in Louisiana Congolese-American history Slave ships {{Ship-stub