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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 executed 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.
Born in Newport, Rhode Island on November 5, 1798, he was the son of a Newport sea captain who had served as an American 
Charles Gibbs Treasure
at ''Rob Ossian's'
Pirate Cove!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Charles 1798 births 1831 deaths 18th-century American people 19th-century American people 19th-century pirates American pirates Executed people from Rhode Island People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People executed for piracy People from Newport, Rhode Island 19th-century executions of American people
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 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, Rhode Island on November 5, 1798, he was the son of a Newport sea captain 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 be ...
and to have served under James Lawrence on and before being captured following a battle with in Boston Harbor 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 called ''Brutus'' in 1816, aged 17).
By his own account, he was involved in privateering starting in 1816 aboard a Margarita Island-based schooner called ''Maria''. During a cruise Jeffers took part in a mutiny after which the crew abandoned their letter of marque from Cartagena, Colombia 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 Mexic ...
and the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an 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 the United ...
, 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 d ...
. 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 as both a regular naval officer and as commander of a privateer. Following a reputed voyage to North Africa to join the Barbary Corsairs, 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, December 8, 1807 ), led a mutiny with several others, killing the captain and his first mate 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, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
where they scuttled 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 Attorneys 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, were both sons of statesman Alexander Hamilton.
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 cor ...
and then moved to Bellevue Prison, Jeffers was ultimately hanged with Wansley at Ellis Island 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. *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 18th-century American people 19th-century American people 19th-century pirates American pirates Executed people from Rhode Island People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People executed for piracy People from Newport, Rhode Island 19th-century executions of American people