The Journal of F. Drake Allen
Thirty-first March, 1794
I keep this journal sothat future generationsmayknow of those in our trade andtime. Sadly, there were few professions open to those from Africa, as I am, thus upon this day, Iembark with a pirate crew aboard the HMSAvenger.They are rough men,and I am the sole man of letters on board. I will sendmy spoils to my sister, Leanne. I worry for her so, forin our youth, trouble seemed to find her.
Twenty-ninthApril, 1794
Today we looted a merchant ship, the HMS Salt of the Earth. Though brutal, we managed to plunder a measure of their profits, my share of which I’ll send to my family. I have been writing my sisterbut recently she hasn’t responded. Could something havehappened to her?
Seventh May, 1794
As we bedded down tonight, I heard strange noises coming from the ship’s hold, which is off limits to the crew. I questioned Captain Johnson,who dismissed it as timbers being buffeted by the wind. Plausible enough, but his tone left me unconvinced. Tomorrow night I venture into the hold.
EighthMay, 1794
I cannot keep what I have seen to myself, for it was unspeakably horrifying. Everywhere were cages filled to the brim, with my countrymen—half-starved, suffering men, women, and children. The skin of some bore the unmistakable marks of a nine-tailed whip. I was consumed by righteous rage and shock, which turned to terror as I spotted a head of black braided hair that looked frighteningly familiar. When a guard came around the corner, I ducked away. I laughed silently, for it was impossible that the hair was of my sister. Right?
Ninth May, 1794
I was wrong. It was my sister. I returned to the hold where she told me of the horrors she and the others had endured. Captain Johnson was a savage, marauding slave trader and I realized no one in my homeland was safe—even my own family.
Tenth May, 1794
I purloined the keys to the cages from a sleeping guard and devised my plan. I told the crew of Johnson’s evil. Rough as they were, they were still human—and as enraged and shocked as I. We prepare, even now, to mutiny on the morrow. May God be with us.
These entries, from a journal recovered from the wreck of the Avengeralong with the captain’s log, suggest Allen was betrayed by Captain Johnson’s aides. Johnson was ready for the mutiny and fought back but was overwhelmed. However, both his body and that of F. Drake Allen were found in the wreckage, eachholding a rusted knife, suggesting they killed each other in combat. Allen was buried in the Arlington Resting Place of Heroes.
When I heard this tale as a boy, it inspired me to keep fighting my ancestor’s battle. Sadly, that fight continues to this day.
-Dr. Curtis Drake Allen II, May 15th, 2019