The incident involving The Pearl was the largest recorded non-violent escape attempt by enslaved people. On April 15, 1848, seventy-seven enslaved people boarded the schooner The Pearl in Washington, DC, intending to sail down the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay and freedom. They were delayed by foul winds near Point Lookout and were captured by an armed posse. Most of the recaptured freedom seekers were sold to traders in the Deep South. As a result of this incident, Congress ended the slave trade in Washington, DC.