Sengbe Pieh
Enslaved in 1839, Pieh (later known as Joseph Cinqué) led a famous revolt on the slave ship Amistad. He and his fellow slaves were charged with mutiny and murder, but in March 1840 the U.S. Supreme Court found them innocent because they had been illegally captured and sold. They returned to their native Sierra Leone as free men. (Oil on canvas by Nathaniel Jocelyn, 1839/The Granger Collection, New York — All rights reserved.)