On 24 October 1853 the British warship encountered
H.N. Gambrill off
Cabinda. The British were suspicious and inspected the ship but released it later on.
Crane later encountered and provided its commanding officer Commodore
Isaac Mayo with information about
H.N Gambrill. On 3 November
Constitution also encountered the schooner about south of the
Congo River and gave chase - eventually forcing
H.N. Gambrill to a stop with a warning shot and capturing the ship.
H.N. Gambrills
master tried to avoid the inspection by falsely raising the British flag and claimed that he was a legitimate trader working for Hatton and Cookson in
Liverpool.
Constitutions crew later found the ship to be outfitted for slave-transportation. Lieutenant DeCamp was ordered to take
H.N. Gambrill back to
New York, and to deliver the ship to the proper authorities. ==References==