![Richard_Worley_Second_Flag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Richard_Worley_Second_Flag.svg)
Richard Worley (died 1718/19) was a
pirate
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 ...
who was active 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
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
of the
American Colonies during the early 18th century.
Piracy
He is first recorded leaving
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
with a small boat and a crew of eight men hoping to make their fortune in the so-called
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...
. However, their first prize resulted in the capture of household goods from a
shallop
Shallop is a name used for several types of boats and small ships (French ''chaloupe'') used for coastal navigation from the seventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on the chalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a l ...
in the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
near
New Castle in September 1718.
This attack was technically
burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
rather than piracy, as according to British maritime law at the time the attack did not take place in
international waters
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...
.
Local authorities mistakenly attributed the attack to Worley's better-known counterpart
Blackbeard
Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colon ...
, who had raided the same waterways earlier in the year.
Vessels were armed and sent to intercept the robbers but, after cruising for several days without setting sight on Worley, returned empty-handed.
Their second prize brought better luck as, upon capturing a
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
bound for
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Worley also gained four additional crew members. A few days later they requisitioned another sloop bound for
Hull which, as well as being in better condition, was fully provisioned which they had desperate need of.
They left the Delaware and set out to sea to the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
, however,
King George I issued a royal proclamation for the capture and execution of pirates who chose not to accept a
royal pardon
In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal preroga ...
from the British government. Although the 24-gun warship
HMS ''Phoenix'' was sent out after Worley, he and his crew were able to evade capture.
Sailing the Spanish Main
After six weeks off the Bahamas, he captured a
brigantine
A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.
Older ...
and a
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
, increased his crew to about twenty-five and gained six cannons and numerous small arms.
The brigantine was released, but the sloop sunk, to prevent it from returning to its home port of New York where it would raise alarm.
It was during this time that he began flying his official colors of a black flag with a white
Death's Head
Death's Head is the name of several fictional characters appearing in British comics and American comic books both published by Marvel Comics.
The original Death’s Head is a robotic bounty hunter (or rather, as he calls himself, a "freelance ...
in its centre and the crew agreed upon a set of articles, which included a vow to fight to the death rather than surrender to authorities.
Capture
Worley's ship ''New York's Revenge'' was sailing alongside a second larger ship under captain
John Cole called ''New York Revenge’s Revenge''. Cole's ship had been the prisoner transport ''Eagle'', captured by Worley off Virginia the previous month. South Carolina Governor
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
sent four ships after Worley and Cole; the pirate hunters split up and chased them down separately, capturing Cole some hours after Worley when Cole tried to flee the battle. Cole's ship was still carrying prisoners, including 36 women destined to be sold into
indentured servitude
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
.
Two separate accounts of Worley's demise exist; one in
Captain Charles Johnson
Captain Charles Johnson was the British author of the 1724 book ''A General History of the Pyrates, A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', whose identity remains a mystery. No record exists of a captain b ...
's original book and a subsequent one sent to Johnson by an eyewitness.
Johnson's original account
Worley soon prepared to make his return to the colonies, where others such as Blackbeard and
Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was an early 18th-century English/Barbadian pirate, also known as the Gentleman Pirate for the reason that he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born in ...
were enjoying success off
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
the Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nort ...
. When Worley pulled into an inlet near
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
to clean his ship, the Governor was informed of his presence and sent two provincial naval sloops against him, one fitted with eight guns and the other with six.
Worley set sail and the sloops followed him north to the coast of Virginia to
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...
. A later version of ''The General History'' corrected this location, and said the engagement that took Worley's life was in Charleston, S.C. (Charles Town at the time).
Upon seeing what he assumed were two merchant ships, he hoisted his black flag, causing much alarm amongst the Jamestown residents, who thought they were to be attacked by not one but three pirate ships, and beat to arms to defend themselves.
Worley fired a shot at the sloops, but as they drew near he realised his mistake and he and his crew prepared to follow their vow and to all fight to the death.
One sloop fired a broadside and drew up to his
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement ...
and the other to his
bow before boarding.
Worley and his crew, outnumbered by three to one, drew up on the
deck to fight a bloody last stand.
All were killed bar Worley and one other, who were both severely wounded, and brought ashore in irons.
They were hanged the next day (17 Feb 1719) in public to ensure they received a very visible punishment and didn't instead die of their wounds hidden in jail.
Eyewitness account
In October 1718 the Governor of Charles Town,
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
was informed that a pirate ship commanded by Capt.
William Moody (but actually commanded by Worley) had been sighted off the bar of Charles Town and carried fifty guns and two hundred men.
The Governor and his council decided to
commandeer
Commandeering is an act of appropriation by the military or police whereby they take possession of the property of a member of the public.
In the United States
In United States law, it also refers to federal government actions which would force ...
the 30-gun ''King William''
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
, the 24-gun ''Mediterranean'' galley, the eight-gun ''Revenge'' sloop (formerly belonging to
Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was an early 18th-century English/Barbadian pirate, also known as the Gentleman Pirate for the reason that he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born in ...
) and a six-gun sloop ''Sea Nymph'' to attack the pirate and offered a share of their cargo as incentive.
Canoes from South Carolina's
scout boat navy were sent out to track the pirate and to prevent him from entering Charles Town port.
Several weeks passed before a ship and a sloop approached the harbour, weighed anchor and signalled for a
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
.
None was sent as they suspected it to be Moody and several days elapsed during which time the pirates attempted to land on
Sullivan's Island to find fresh water, but were obstructed by the scout ships.
The Governor decided that his fleet of four ships and 300 men was a match for the pirate ship and sloop so sailed towards them with his soldiers and arms concealed.
As they neared the pirate sloop it raised its black flag, started to manoeuvre and was soon copied by the pirate ship.
When the Governor's fleet came within range he hoisted his colours and his men rushed upon the decks and gave the pirates a broadside who immediately tried to run.
The pirate sloop was pummelled with broadsides and most of its men fled into the
hold
Hold may refer to:
Physical spaces
* Hold (ship), interior cargo space
* Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane
* Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...
with the exception of Worley and a few others who died in the cross-fire upon deck.
The other pirate ship was boarded and found to be a
convict ship
A convict ship was any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.
Description
A convict ship, as used to convey convicts to the British coloni ...
formerly called the ''Eagle'' which had been sailing from London to Virginia with convicts but had been captured by Worley.
It carried a hundred or more men who had joined the pirate and were taken ashore and hanged.
Thirty convict women were also on board and it was decided to send them to
the Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
but they died through lack of provisions before this could be done.
As for Moody, according to ''
A General History of the Pyrates
''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'' is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates, '' he received word of the Governor's fleet and set sail for
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...
and was to later accept the 1718
King's pardon;
other sources have Moody active as a pirate as late as November 1718.
The Governor disbanded his fleet and shared out the booty between his men.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
AgeofPirates.com – Pirate Encyclopedia: Richard Worley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worley, Richard
British pirates
Deaths by hanging
18th-century pirates