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Charles Gibbs (November 5, 1798 – April 25, 1831) was the pseudonym of an American pirate, born James D. Jeffers. Jeffers was one of the last active pirates in the Caribbean during the early 19th century, and was among the last persons to be
Born in 
Charles Gibbs Treasure
at ''Rob Ossian's'
Pirate Cove!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Charles 1798 births 1831 deaths 19th-century American people 19th-century executions of American people 19th-century pirates American pirates Executed American mass murderers Executed people from Rhode Island People convicted of murder by the United States federal government People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People executed for piracy People from Newport, Rhode Island Caribbean pirates Piracy in the Atlantic Ocean Piracy in the Caribbean
Charles Gibbs (November 5, 1798 – April 25, 1831) was the pseudonym of an American pirate, born James D. Jeffers. Jeffers was one of the last active pirates in the Caribbean during the early 19th century, and was among the last persons to be executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
for piracy by the United States.
His career, like many others during this time, was marked by violence and brutality. Shortly before his execution, Jeffers admitted to have been involved in the killing of as many as 400 victims. His confessions during his imprisonment and trial, detailing his career, were recorded and published following his death and remained popular reading throughout the mid-19th century. However, given the sensationalistic nature of these accounts, historians have questioned the veracity of Jeffers's confessions.
Career
Born in Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
Europe
Ireland
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, Rhode Island on November 5, 1798, he was the son of a Newport sea captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...
who had served as an American privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
during the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. Jeffers would later claim to have enlisted in the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
and to have served under James Lawrence
James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, ...
on and before being captured following a battle with in Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
in 1813. Later investigations into these claims proved this to be untrue. (Before his hanging, he admitted to having first gone to sea aboard a Newport-based brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
called ''Brutus'' in 1816, aged 17).
By his own account, he was involved in privateering starting in 1816 aboard a Margarita Island
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island.
History
...
-based schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
called ''Maria''. During a cruise Jeffers took part in a mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
after which the crew abandoned their letter of marque from Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...
and began engaging in piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. Jeffers told his biographers that he was named navigator of ''Maria'', and claimed to have eventually assumed the captain's role. Stories later circulated as to how, during his time in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
and the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, he became known for his cruel treatment of prisoners. He was said to have once had the arms and legs chopped off of a captured captain and, in another incident, ordered an entire merchantman's crew to be burned alive after setting fire to the ship. (No contemporary accounts mention these episodes, which appear to have been invented by later writers.)
On October 21, 1821, Jeffers encountered the brig under Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Kearny
Commodore Lawrence Kearny (30 November 1789 – 29 November 1868) was an officer in the United States Navy during the early nineteenth century. In the early 1840s he began negotiations with China which opened that country to U.S. trade and poin ...
while his fleet of four ships were attacking three merchantmen off Cape San Antonio, Cuba
Cape San Antonio ( es, Cabo San Antonio), is a cape which forms the western extremity of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula and the western extremity of Cuba. It extends into the Yucatán Channel, and is part of the municipality of Sandino, in Pinar de ...
. Despite outnumbering USS ''Enterprise'', Jeffers's fleet was destroyed after a short battle and he was forced to flee into the jungle with his men.
Little is known about his life immediately following his escape. He claimed to have resided in the United States by 1825, and to have served Argentina in the Cisplatine War
The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
as both a regular naval officer and as commander of a privateer. Following a reputed voyage to North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
to join the Barbary Corsairs
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
, Jeffers was eventually forced to find work as a sailor again. After signing with the brig ''Vineyard'' (using the Charles Gibbs alias), he and an accomplice, Thomas J. Wansley (born Milford, Delaware
Milford is a city in Kent and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 11,190 people and 4,356 households in the city.
The Kent County portion of Milford is part of the Dover, DE ...
, December 8, 1807 ), led a mutiny with several others, killing the captain and his first mate
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...
on the night of November 23, 1830 in an attempt to seize its cargo of silver.
The mutineers headed for Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
where they scuttled
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
the vessel and came ashore, several mutineers losing their lives in rough waters which also claimed much of their loot. After only a few days ashore, Jeffers, Wansley, and two others were captured and taken to prison in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
In New York, Jeffers and Wansley were convicted of mutiny and murder in 1831. The prosecuting United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
s who tried the case, James Alexander Hamilton
James Alexander Hamilton (April 14, 1788 – September 24, 1878) was an American soldier, acting Secretary of State, and the third son of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He entered politics as a Democrat ...
and his assistant Philip Hamilton
Philip Hamilton (January 22, 1782 – November 24, 1801) was the eldest child of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. He died at age 19, fatally s ...
, were both sons of statesman Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
.
Incarcerated at Bridewell Prison
Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...
and then moved to Bellevue Prison, Jeffers was ultimately hanged with Wansley at Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...
on April 22, 1831.
His skull was placed on display in the museum of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in New York City.
Further reading
*Gibbs, Joseph (2007). ''Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Lives and Legends of the Pirate Charles Gibbs''.University of South Carolina Press
The University of South Carolina Press is an academic publisher associated with the University of South Carolina. It was founded in 1944.
By the early 1990s, the press had published several surveys of women's writing in the southern United States ...
.
*Cordingly, David (1997). ''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates''. Harvest Books.
*Ellms, Charles. ''The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers''. Salem, Massachusetts: Marine Research Society, 1924.
*Gosse, Philip. ''The History of Piracy''. New York: Tudor Publishing, 1934.
*Lindsay, Philip. ''A Mirror for Ruffians''. Ayer Publishing, 1939.
*Foster, Chris "Charles Gibbs" song written about the pirate on the audio CD titled ''Cayo Hueso''
References
External links
*Charles Gibbs Treasure
at ''Rob Ossian's'
Pirate Cove!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Charles 1798 births 1831 deaths 19th-century American people 19th-century executions of American people 19th-century pirates American pirates Executed American mass murderers Executed people from Rhode Island People convicted of murder by the United States federal government People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People executed for piracy People from Newport, Rhode Island Caribbean pirates Piracy in the Atlantic Ocean Piracy in the Caribbean