As the Cross-Island Expressway operation shifted into high gear, Islanders mourned the necessary destruction of acres of trees and plants. Principal among these were our magnificent Live Oaks.

This wood has been valued by shipbuilders for centuries because it is not affected by water. Over the years prime specimens of the tree have been sent North to Boston to repair the USS CONSTITUTION, affectionately known as "Old Ironsides".

These latest victims of progress will be used to build a replica of the infamous slave ship "AMISTAD" in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.

The original "AMISTAD" was built in Havana. In 1839 it carried a cargo of 53 Africans being illegally shipped as slaves between Havana and another Cuban port. The captives mutinied gaining control of the ship and murdering several crew members in the process. The surviving crew members were forced by the Africans to sail the ship east by day but at night the crew secretly headed west. After two month of casting about the Atlantic, the ship was discovered by a U.S. warship near Montauk Point, N.Y. It was towed into port at New London, Connecticut whereupon, a two year battle in the courts ensued. A federal court in Connecticut denied extradition claims and acquitted the Africans of murder. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court.

In the Amistad Case (1841) the Supreme Court ruled that people escaping illegal slavery had the right to fight to regain their freedom. Former President John Quincy Adams represented the Africans before the court.

Amistad project director, Quentin T. Snediker, estimated that the 85-foot schooner project will require more than 125 tons of wood. The three truckloads of live oak timber that left the Island the last week of July 1996, carried about 20 tons of lumber each.

In 1990, Hurricane Hugo downed massive amounts of trees. At that time Snediker organized the effort to salvage 200 tons of live oaks. That wood was sent to Mystic Seaport to be used for repairs to their large collection of historical ships.

Hilton Head Island, due to development, has become the major source of live oaks on the East Coast.