Amistad Trail (16 Sites)

Give us, us free. Give us, us free. Give us, us free. Give us, us free. Trail.
The Amistad Trail (part of the Freedom Trail)
4 Towns: Farmington, Hartford, Mystic, New Haven

I’ve spent a good deal of time figuring out what is on the Amistad trail and what’s on the Freedom Trail and vice-versa and how they fit in with the Underground Railroad sites and … you get the point. Basically, the Freedom Trail encompasses ALL sites in Connecticut associated with the heritage and movement towards freedom of its African American citizens – and the Amistad Trail is a very important part of that.

In 1839, 53 Mendi Africans who were bound for slavery in Cuba aboard the ship Amistad took over the vessel under the leadership of Joseph Cinque. Although Cinque insisted that the ship be returned to Africa and he and his compatriots to their homes, the crew instead sailed into Long Island Sound, where the boat was taken into New Haven by the United States Navy.

What followed was a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully argued by former American President John Quincy Adams. Adams argued, and the court agreed, that all human beings were naturally free people and entitled to that freedom under American law. Subsequently, the Africans were freed and they chose to return to Sierra Leone.

What follows is a list of sites throughout the state that are important to this story. Each has a description of its importance to the Amistad story, as well as any other general historical information of interest. I will visit each site, take a picture, and note anything I feel should be noted.

* Historical text is from the Farmington Historical Society Freedom Trail brochure, the state’s Freedom Trail brochure, the Visit Connecticut website, and the wonderful Farmington Historical Society website.

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My visits:

Farmington (8 sites)
Hartford (2 sites)
Mystic (1 site)
New Haven (5 sites)