Africa Squadron

by Donald L. Canney

"Donald L. Canney's study is the first book-length history of the U.S. 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. For officers and enlisted men alike, duty in the squadron was unpopular. The equatorial climate, departmental neglect, and judicial indifference, which allowed intercepted slave vessels to return to the trade, all contributed to the sailors' frustration. Later, the most damaging charge was that the squadron had failed at its mission. Canney investigates how this unit earned its poor reputation and whether it is deserved."--BOOK JACKET.