Military Order of Foreign Wars

The Medal The African Slave Trade Patrol Commemorative Medal was licensed by the Military Order of Foreign Wars to recognize the contribution of the United States Navy in combatting the slave trade to this country.

Period of Service

This medal recognizes efforts by the naval service between 1820 and 1861 to combat slave trade to the United States.

Designer

The African Slave Trade Patrol Commemorative Medal was designed by Nadine Russell, the Chief of Creative Heraldry at the Army’s Institute of Heraldry, and the designer of many of this Nation’s campaign and service medals. This medal was privately commissioned by the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Symbolism

Obverse

In the center of a bronze medallion, a representation of the USS Constitution is superimposed over an outline of the continent of Africa, enclosed within a broken chain. Between the chain and the edge of the medal is the inscription AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE PATROL^.1820 – 1861 ^. in raised letters. The USS Constitution was one of the principal participating vessels in the African Slave Trade Patrol and thereby represents the ships engaged in this service. The silhouette of Africa alludes to the place from which the slaves were taken, and the broken chain stands for the Navy’s mission of breaking the infamous and outlawed slave trade.

Reverse

The reverse bears the seal of the Military Order of Foreign Wars: In the center of a bronze medallion, a shield bearing four swords pointing downward, two at an angle from the left, and two at an angle from the right. Above the swords is an American eagle with its wings spread, shown behind a battlement. Behind the shield is a field of thirteen stars amid a cloud formation, and above the shield is a mural circlet from which arises an arm in armor holding four thunderbolts. Beneath the shield is a banner bearing the motto, DEUS ET LIBERTAS, and beneath the banner appears the date 1894 (the date being separated, right and left). Surrounding the entire central theme is another banner, this one bearing the inscription, MILITARY ORDER OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES, and surrounding this banner is a circle of bullets.

Ribbon

The ribbon is adapted from the Navy streamer for the American Slave Trade Patrol and consists of a field of white with a center stripe of blue and edged in blue. To either side of the central blue stripe are pinstripes of red, white and blue. The center stripes and blue edging represents the seas, the arena in which the naval action occurred, and the red, white and blue pinstripes are the national colors. The white field stands for the high ideals of the African Slave Trade Patrol in attempting to end this great human tragedy.

Background

The first slaves brought to the America arrived in Virginia in 1619. Ultimately, the institution of slavery became an important part of Southern economy. The business of trading in slaves soon became an important industry in its own right. In 1672 Charles II of Great Britain chartered the Royal African Company which dominated the English slave trade for nearly half a century. Most of the slaves brought to America were taken from West and Central Africa, and the route they took was known as the “middle passage” (the first passage was from Europe to Africa, where the slaves were taken; the middle passage was to the West Indies and the Americas, and the final passage was the return to Europe). The slave trade was a hellish experience in which men, women, and children were packed into the ship’s hold with no room and minimal subsistence. Not surprisingly, the death rate was high during the journey of at least two months.

In 1819 Congress declared the slave trade to be an act of piracy, punishable by death. Shortly thereafter England followed suit when, on June 24, 1824, Parliament banned slave trading. Even though the slave trade was banned, individual private ships continued to bring slaves to the United States. To combat this horrible practice, the Navy established its African Slave Trade Patrol, the mission of which was to locate slaver traders and to bring them to justice. The African Slave Trade Patrol sailed the waters off West Africa, South America, and the Cuban coast, which were the principal areas of disembarkation for slave ships. During its history over one hundred slave ships were captured. Some of the more notable Navy vessels used in the African Slave Trade Patrol included the USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Saratoga, and the USS Yorktown. Other ships included five 12-gun schooners, including the USS Alligator. The Alligator not only engaged in the African Slave Trade Patrol, but it was also sent to find land for the American Colonization Society, which was formed for the purpose of returning former slaves to Africa. In its first voyage to Africa it established a colony of former slaves in what later became the State of Liberia. The Alligator ran aground on Caryford Reef, near Islamorada, Florida, on November 18, 1822, and was destroyed by its crew when they were unable to refloat the ship.