The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 372
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
The fact that the Texas Constitution of 1845 and subsequent
acts of the legislature made it a "penal offense for any shipmaster
to bring a free Negro into Texas" presented the captains of
British vessels with the serious handicap of not being able to grant
shore leave to "British seamen of color" during a call at Galves-
ton. The law required that colored sailors be kept on ship board,
or if brought ashore, they must be lodged in the county jail for
the duration of their period in the city.13 Lynn urged the Foreign
Office to protest against this mistreatment of Her Majesty's sea-
men on the grounds that such oppressive laws were a violation of
the general commerce treaties.14 The Foreign Office, however, see-
ing little merit in this suggestion, warned Lynn to "act with
caution in such cases." No clear remedy appeared in sight.15
The kidnaping of the young British mulatto boy, Charles H.
Thomas, in Galveston during the year 1857, revealed some of the
devices employed to acquire "likely" colored property. In Novem-
ber, 1856, Henry Johnson, master of the American schooner
Velasco which was then lying in the harbor of Port of Spain in
the island of Trinidad, engaged Thomas to help unload a cargo.
When the young Negro happened to express a desire to go to
New York City, Captain Johnson told the boy that he could do no
better than sign on as a member of the Velasco crew, since New
York would be her next port of call.16 Contrary to the captain's
assertion, however, the vessel sailed directly to Galveston, arriv-
ing there on December 12.17 Thomas was kept on board the
Velasco while she lay in the harbor. A few days later, the vessel
sailed to Pensacola. At that port, Johnson endeavored to sell
Thomas as a slave, but was prevented from doing so by the mate.
In February, the schooner returned to Galveston where the vessel
was sold. The members of the crew, other than Thomas and an-
other colored boy, were sent north to Baltimore."s Captain John-
son attempted to "clear Thomas and another at the customs-
house" in Galveston "as slaves" for shipment to New Orleans,
1sLynn to Clarendon, September 20, 1856, F.O.
14Ibid.
1 Lynn to Hammond, March 14, 1857, ibid.
o1Lynn to Clarendon, July 18, 1857, ibid.
17Galveston News, June 23, 1857.
1SLynn to Clarendon, July 18, 1857, F.O.372
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/401/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.