—News item from the March 27, 1824, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
PIRACY — Captain Davie, of the schooner William, of Plymouth, reports that on the 4th of February at 8 o’clock, p.m., while lying in the port of Baltimore, he was boarded by a piratical boat with a crew of ten men, armed with knives and pistols.
The crew made all the resistance in their power, but were forced to surrender. The pirates then cruelly stabbed and beat two of the crew, and enquired for money and threatened to murder all hands if it was not given up. Captain D. informed them that the money was on shore and that there was none on board.
The pirates threw some of the men into the river, and fastened the others in the forecastle, and then set about robbing the vessel. After searching for some time they succeeded in finding only $19. They took the captain’s trunk and all his and the mate’s clothing. When they had taken what they wanted from the schooner they tore up her charts and books, and trampled them under foot — they likewise took the medicine chest.
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Comments
I read this in the magazine, but it’s nice to put comments here. Not surprisingly, piracy is still a problem out on the high seas today, for many of the same reasons. The vessels and weapons otherwise modern, but it’s just as dangerous and deadly.