The American Navy and Liberia

Delivered before the American Colonization Society in 1876, this address offers a rare naval perspective on the early United States effort to establish a settlement for freed African Americans on the West African coast. The speaker, a senior officer, recounts how the Navy, from the first ill‑fated 1819 expedition onward, provided both the ships and the moral resolve needed to carry the venture forward.

He spotlights Lieutenant Stockton’s 1821 voyage aboard the Alligator, where the young officer chose compassion over the brutal lash and secured a foothold at Cape Mesurado—later the site of Monrovia. The narrative also recalls Commodore Perry’s later patrols, illustrating how naval force was applied judiciously to protect the fledgling colony and help shape early Liberian governance.

The speech frames Liberia’s slow but steady expansion as a testament to perseverance and humanitarian ambition, while emphasizing the Navy’s lasting influence on the nation’s foundation. It invites listeners to consider how a handful of determined sailors helped light a beacon of freedom on a distant shore.