1798-Jun.: Military officials in Philadelphia reported a “dangerous mutiny” brewing among nearly 300 black sailors aboard French ships from Saint-Domingue an…

1798-Jun.: Military officials in Philadelphia reported a “dangerous mutiny” brewing among nearly 300 black sailors aboard French ships from Saint-Domingue anchored in the Delaware River. The crew of a black-manned sloop of war was observed plying around other vessels with black passengers in an apparent attempt to facilitate an unauthorized landing. This incident occurred just as the United States Congress was debating the Alien and Sedition Acts to exclude rebellious foreigners. The presence of these mobile revolutionary veterans so close to the nation’s capital heightened the sense of urgency regarding internal security. It demonstrated that the physical mobility of the “black republicans” remained a primary concern for North American policymakers.