The Legacy of America’s Penultimate Illegal Slave Ship

The Wanderer: The Legacy of America’s Penultimate Illegal Slave Ship

​While many historical accounts focus on the Clotilda as the final vessel of the Atlantic slave trade, the story of the Wanderer represents one of the most brazen violations of American law in the mid-19th century. Arriving at Jekyll Island, Georgia, on November 28, 1858, the ship carried a massive cargo of human lives, sparking a national outcry that further divided a nation already on the brink of Civil War.

​From Luxury Schooner to Vessel of Human Trafficking

​The Wanderer was never intended for the slave trade. Originally constructed in New York as a high-speed pleasure schooner, its sleek design made it one of the fastest ships of its era. However, it was eventually purchased by Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar, a Southern businessman who, along with a group of investors, sought to defy federal law.

​By 1858, the Atlantic slave trade had been strictly prohibited under U.S. law for half a century. Despite this, Lamar and his associates retrofitted the ship for a clandestine and illegal voyage to the African coast.

​A Perilous Journey Across the Atlantic

​In late 1858, under the command of Captain Corrie, the Wanderer reached the region of Benguela (modern-day Angola) and the Congo. Ship logs indicate that approximately 487 individuals were forced onto the vessel.

​The return journey lasted six weeks. The harsh conditions of the Middle Passage took a heavy toll; by the time the ship reached the shores of Jekyll Island, only 409 survivors remained. To evade federal authorities, the survivors were quickly dispersed across markets in:

• ​Savannah and Augusta, Georgia

• ​South Carolina

• ​Florida

​Legal Defiance and National Outrage

​The arrival of the Wanderer was not a well-kept secret for long. Reports of the smuggling operation reached the North, fueling abolitionist movements and causing a political firestorm. The federal government eventually moved to prosecute Lamar and his co-conspirators for piracy a crime that theoretically carried the death penalty at the time.

​However, the legal proceedings highlighted the deep systemic divisions in the country. Despite three separate trials, the government failed to secure a conviction. In the South, some radical factions even used the case to lobby Congress to formally reopen the Atlantic slave trade, further escalating the tensions that led to the American Civil War.

​The Wanderer vs. The Clotilda: Historical Context

​For decades, the Wanderer was cited as the final slave ship to reach U.S. soil. However, modern scholarship has confirmed that the Clotilda arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in 1860, carrying 110 people.

​While the Clotilda holds the title of the last ship, the Wanderer remains significant for its scale. It was the last vessel to transport a large-scale cargo of hundreds of people, marking a dark final chapter in the illegal trans-Atlantic trafficking of human beings.