Research: Wreck of last US slave ship mostly intact on coast

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Researchers studying the wreckage of the last U.S. slave ship on the Alabama coast have made a surprising discovery. A recently released report shows that most of the wooden schooner remains intact, including the pen that was used to imprison African captives during the journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1860. Remains of the Clotilda have been under study near Mobile, Alabama, since they were discovered a few years ago. Researcher Jim Delgado says the fact that so much of the ship remains in one piece enhances its historical value. The wooden schooner illegally brought 110 African captives to the South before the American Civil War.