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The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship and the Conspiracy that Set Its Sails
In this New Edition (2021) The Wanderer is supplemented with new content, maps, photographs, and an updated commentary by the author.
On July 3, 1858 a luxury yacht named the Wanderer left Charleston on a secret To sail across the ocean, load a cargo of over 400 slaves from the African coast, and bring them back to America. The Wanderer’s journey—taken fifty years after the African slave trade was made illegal—was the last documented shipment of African captives to American soil.
The story begins in Savannah, where a group of Southern radicals purchased the elegant 114 foot schooner, which was the pride of the New York Yacht Club, and within a year had converted it into a slave vessel—with the New York Yacht Club pennant still flying above.
As the story shifts from Charleston to Africa to Jekyll Island, Georgia; and from New York City to the White House and then back to Savannah, the Wanderer’s tale is played out in a final courtroom drama that powered headlines across the country and hurried the nation into civil war.Reviews“Rich in atmosphere, sprung with surprises, The Wanderer is my favorite kind of a voyage into the turbid waters of a past we thought we knew, a past we scarcely could have imagined.” ―Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers and Blood and Thunder
“Calonius brings to life this extraordinary story, from the luxurious yacht club salons and Southern courtrooms to the Congo, in an account that reveals the complicated legacy of slave trading, one that has yet to be sorted out in contemporary America.” —BOOKLIST
“Seldom is history presented in so exciting and informative a way as in The Wanderer … This is a book that even those weary of Civil War studies will find gripping and profound.”
—Betram Wyatt-Brown, Pulitzer finalist and former president of the Southern Historical Society“A spell-binding page turner, opening with a shipwreck and never letting up...Narrative history rarely rises to these heights.” ―Eileen Mackevich, Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
“A fast paced narrative... Calonius has a terrific eye for atmospheric details.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A compelling and heartrending record of a journey that helped push the nation to the brink of the Civil War.” ―The Washington Times
“Historical reporting at its best.” ―The Tuscon Citizen
“Written in a style more reminiscent of thrillers than history books, the highly accessible text digs deep into the motivations of the Civil War and illuminates some of the darkest corners of our nation's past.” ―School Library Journal
“A fascinating and revealing story, told with authority and literary grace.” ―John Boles, Professor of History, Rice University, and Editor of the Journal of Southern History
“This is a beautifully written book, full of imagery…I have reacted as positively and enthusiastically only one time before--that being to Nathaniel Philbrick's 'In the Heart of the Sea'.” ―Donald Thompson, author, "The Civil War Research Guide."
“The Wanderer is a must-read for anyone interested in the causes of the Civil War.” ―Eric Wittenberg, CivilWarCavalry.
On July 3, 1858 a luxury yacht named the Wanderer left Charleston on a secret To sail across the ocean, load a cargo of over 400 slaves from the African coast, and bring them back to America. The Wanderer’s journey—taken fifty years after the African slave trade was made illegal—was the last documented shipment of African captives to American soil.
The story begins in Savannah, where a group of Southern radicals purchased the elegant 114 foot schooner, which was the pride of the New York Yacht Club, and within a year had converted it into a slave vessel—with the New York Yacht Club pennant still flying above.
As the story shifts from Charleston to Africa to Jekyll Island, Georgia; and from New York City to the White House and then back to Savannah, the Wanderer’s tale is played out in a final courtroom drama that powered headlines across the country and hurried the nation into civil war.Reviews“Rich in atmosphere, sprung with surprises, The Wanderer is my favorite kind of a voyage into the turbid waters of a past we thought we knew, a past we scarcely could have imagined.” ―Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers and Blood and Thunder
“Calonius brings to life this extraordinary story, from the luxurious yacht club salons and Southern courtrooms to the Congo, in an account that reveals the complicated legacy of slave trading, one that has yet to be sorted out in contemporary America.” —BOOKLIST
“Seldom is history presented in so exciting and informative a way as in The Wanderer … This is a book that even those weary of Civil War studies will find gripping and profound.”
—Betram Wyatt-Brown, Pulitzer finalist and former president of the Southern Historical Society“A spell-binding page turner, opening with a shipwreck and never letting up...Narrative history rarely rises to these heights.” ―Eileen Mackevich, Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
“A fast paced narrative... Calonius has a terrific eye for atmospheric details.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A compelling and heartrending record of a journey that helped push the nation to the brink of the Civil War.” ―The Washington Times
“Historical reporting at its best.” ―The Tuscon Citizen
“Written in a style more reminiscent of thrillers than history books, the highly accessible text digs deep into the motivations of the Civil War and illuminates some of the darkest corners of our nation's past.” ―School Library Journal
“A fascinating and revealing story, told with authority and literary grace.” ―John Boles, Professor of History, Rice University, and Editor of the Journal of Southern History
“This is a beautifully written book, full of imagery…I have reacted as positively and enthusiastically only one time before--that being to Nathaniel Philbrick's 'In the Heart of the Sea'.” ―Donald Thompson, author, "The Civil War Research Guide."
“The Wanderer is a must-read for anyone interested in the causes of the Civil War.” ―Eric Wittenberg, CivilWarCavalry.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2021
11 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 9, 2024
Very much reads like a novel. An excellent nonfiction, that really helped me learn and understand the viewpoints of fire eaters (secession propagandists) in the decade leading to war. The Wanderer story itself is interesting, but I think just reading about the context of the 1850’s, different perspectives, etc was enlightening and very applicable to my work. Would suggest to anyone in the Civil War / slavery field.
Displaying 1 of 1 review