Admiral F.[rancis] H.[oyt] Gregory, Commander, US Africa Squadron. Autograph Letter Signed. U.S.Ship Portsmouth, Port Praya [Cape Verde Islands], Jan. 7, 1850. 2pp. To Lt. Commander A.[ndrew] H.]ull Foot[e]., who had just joined the Squadron as commander of the U.S. Brig Perry.

Gregory, a veteran officer of the Navy since the War of 1812, had no doubt of Foote’s “proper discharge of duty”, given the younger officer’s “well known zeal and experience”, but he stressed special measures “to preserve and ensure the health of the crew”. As it was “absolutely necessary for white persons to avoid exposure to the heat of the day” and the “deleterious” night air along the coast, the ship should anchor “at a sufficient distance from the shore”, officers and sailors not being permitted “to visit the shore…unnecessarily”, while “kroomen” – Black Africans – should man the small boats to “relieve your crew from all hazards of that duty.” Gregory had nothing to say about Foote’s duties in patrolling the coast to interdict slave traders, except that foreign vessels should be treated diplomatically, as it was “the disposition of the Government to cultivate and maintain the most friendly intercourse with all other nations or people…” Many American abolitionists believed the Navy made a deliberate attempt to avoid enforcing the international ban on slave trading, assigning too few ships to patrol work, and selecting Port Praya, 350 miles from the coast, as the Squadron’s only supply depot. The 44 year-old Foote would prove to be unusual among captains of the Squadron for his anti-slavery “zeal”; after four years at this onerous work, he would return to America to write a classic account of his service in African waters, and to become a frequent speaker for the anti-slavery movement. During the Civil War, Foote was promoted to Admiral and valiantly aided General Grant in battling Confederate warships until his premature death in mid-War. Included with this letter is a Cabinet-size photograph of Admiral Foote cut from a vintage Civil War history.