To Catch a Thief: Constellation Fights the Slave Trade
Constellation's proudest service may have occurred during the three years immediately before the Civil War when, as flagship of the navy's African Squadron, she led this nation's fight against the trans-Atlantic trafficking of slaves. Today, little is said or written about those times, and even less is known, but they and this ship were important parts of the struggle against slavery that would eventually overwhelm the nation and, ultimately, free a people.