The schooner Amistad is coming to PortSide NewYork, at Pier 11 in the Atlantic Basin, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Amistad will tie up alongside the historic tanker, Mary A. Whalen, and will be available for free public tours on Tuesday, July 24th and Saturday, August 11th. The visit by the Amistad is part of the African American Maritime Heritage program of PortSide NewYork

The Amistad, known as the “Freedom Schooner”, is a replica of the original Baltimore clipper of the same name which, in 1839, was seized by captive Africans from Sierra Leone, who had been sold as slaves. The schooner was ultimately intercepted off New London, CT where the Africans were jailed and charged with murder. Abolitionists from Connecticut and surrounding states supported the captives in their case which was ultimately brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1841, the court agreed with the lower court decisions, ruling that “…it was the ultimate right of all human beings in extreme cases to resist oppression, and to apply force against ruinous injustice.”  The captives were freed and returned to their homes.

Amistad is Connecticut’s flagship and tall ship ambassador.

The Amistad will be alongside the Mary A. Whalen, and open for free public tours on:

Tues,  7/24, 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm
Sat,    8/11, 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm

For directions to Portside NewYork and the Mary A. Whalen, click here.