 In 1838 he joined the crew of , where he served under Captain Charles Fitzgerald.Covey arrived in New York City on board "Buzzard" in June 1839.Josiah Gibbs, a professor of linguistics at Yale University who was personally committed to the abolition of slavery, sought to assist the legal defense of the Africans who had come into the custody of the U.S. federal courts after their uprising on board "La Amistad".