The Freedom Schooner Amistad sails off the coast of Freetown,
Sierra Leone, in December 2007. Photo from Premier News, Freetown.

Historical Society board member Peg Yung traveled to Sierra Leone in December 2007 with a delegation from the Amistad Committee to greet the Freedom Schooner Amistad on its arrival in Freetown. The voyage of the replica of the Amistad to Sierra Leone, as part of its transatlantic Freedom Tour, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the former British Empire. Peg, who had traveled twice before to Freetown, returned once again to strengthen the ties between the West African nation and the town of Farmington, where the Amistad Africans stayed after winning their freedom in 1841. Peg writes about her trip:

The Amistad Committee delegation and the New Haven Freetown Sister Cities Committee left JFK Airport at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, December 7, during an ice storm that caused some delays. We arrived in London Saturday morning. After a short layover, we boarded our plane for Freetown, a six-hour flight south over the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was beautiful – no clouds or sign of storms – and the ocean was calm and a deep purple. To our surprise and delight, as we approached Sierra Leone we saw the Amistad schooner in full sail moving in the distance toward the coast. We continued to glance out the windows, following the ship’s movement. What a magnificent sight! It was over in a matter of minutes, but the memory of this unexpected sight still lingers.

On Sunday, December 9, thousands of people gave the Amistad schooner a thunderous welcome as it approached Government Wharf in Freetown. The wharf was crowded with government officials, guests and students. The hillside overlooking the harbor and nearby buildings were filled with people eager to get a glimpse of the historic schooner. The mayor of Freetown, Winstanley Bankole Johnson, was joined by the U.S. ambassador to Sierra Leone, June Carter Perry, to welcome Capt. Bill Pinkney and the fourteen crew members of the Amistad. The mayor stated that the Amistad revolt in 1839, led by Senge Pieh, reflects the struggle for equality, dignity and human rights. He said it was the first human rights case in U.S. history to be argued in the highest court on behalf of Africans illegally kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade.

On Monday our delegation from the Amistad Committee met with President Ernest Bai Koroma and Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana of Sierra Leone. Also present were other government officials, distinguished guests and members of the Amistad crew. I was the last to make a presentation at the event, and I said:

“Your excellency President Koroma, my name is Peg Yung and I bring you greetings from Farmington, Connecticut. It was home to your brothers and sisters for eight months in 1841, after former U.S. President John Quincy Adams argued their case before the Supreme Court, which declared the Mendi captives free. Here in this small village they attended school, went to church, farmed in the meadows, visited townspeople in their homes, played with village children, swam in the river and helped raise money for their voyage home – all while living on Main Street, the men in a newly constructed dormitory and the girls with private families. The day they arrived at the Berlin train station from the New Haven jail, a dozen abolitionists and sons met them with sleighs, bear rugs and quilts to drive them to the Congregational Church, where the community had gathered to greet them.

“This book, The Village of Beautiful Homes, was first published in 1906 by Arthur Brandegee and Eddy H. Smith. Two articles, ‘Farmington and the Underground Railway’ and ‘Amistad,’ will help you further understand the story. The book is presented to you from the Farmington Historical Society, with congratulations to you on your election as president.”

The Amistad in Mystic, CT, 2007. Photo by Brooke E. Martin.