Africa Squadron: the U.S. Navy and the slave trade, 1842-1861

Presents the history of the US Navy’s Africa Squadron. Established in 1842 to enforce the ban on importing slaves to the United States, in twenty years’ time the squadron proved ineffective. This book investigates how this unit earned a poor reputation and whether it is deserved, and traces the Navy’s role in interdicting the slave trade.

DONALD L. CANNEY, a naval historian, is a prolific author whose books include Lincoln’s Navy: The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1861-1865. He lives in Bowie, Maryland.