On this date in 1839, US Coast Guard officers boarded the Amistad, a ship anchored off Long Island, and found African slaves on the ship who had revolted against their captors, killed the ship's captain and cook, and taken control of the vessel. With ownership of the slaves disputed, and the slaves themselves facing charges of mutiny and murder, the case came to trial. Eventually, the judge ruled that the slaves had been illegally kidnapped in Africa, and freed them to return to their home. Abolitionists raised funds to help them return to what is now Sierra Leone.
