Charles Harris (pirate)

Last updated

Charles Harris (c. 1698-1723) was an English pirate active in the 1720s. He is best known for his association with George Lowther and Edward Low.

Contents

History

Harris was ship's mate and navigator aboard the logwood hauler Greyhound [1] in January 1722 when it was seized by pirate George Lowther aboard the Happy Delivery between Honduras and Boston. [2] The Greyhound’s captain Benjamin Edward fought Lowther for a time but eventually surrendered. In retaliation for their resistance the pirates killed many of the Greyhound’s crew; the remainder were forced aboard the Happy Delivery. [2] Unlike most of the crew, Charles Harris willingly signed Lowther's Articles to join his pirates. [2]

Lowther soon gave Harris command of a small prize ship, while granting another captaincy (the brigantine Rebecca) to Lowther's own lieutenant Edward Low. Harris and Low sailed in concert with Lowther for a time; Harris's ship was lost at sea and he came aboard Low's ship. When Low deserted Lowther in May 1722, [1] Harris left with him, along with Lowther's quartermaster Francis Spriggs. Harris was with Low and Low's new quartermaster John Russell in June 1722 when they forced Philip Ashton into service; Ashton would become a famous castaway when he escaped from Low a year later. [3] In July 1722 near Nova Scotia Low captured an 80-ton schooner which he renamed Fancy. Low took command of the Fancy and scuttled the Rebecca. [4]

Soon afterward they sailed for the Azores, where they captured a pink which Low took command of and renamed Rose Pink. While Low had the Rose Pink he gave command of the Fancy to Harris. Inexperience in careening led to the loss of the Rose Pink. [5] Low took back the Fancy, sailing to Grenada and capturing a small ship named Squirrel, then a French sloop renamed Ranger. Low gave the Squirrel to Francis Spriggs, who soon quarreled with Low and left the group. Low then gave the Ranger to Harris and they sailed for the Carolinas and up the American coast. [6]

Off Delaware Bay on June 10, 1723, Low and Harris pursued a fleeing merchantman. The vessel turned out to be the British 20-gun Man-of-War Greyhound under Captain Peter Solgard. Low's 70-man, 10-gun Fancy and Harris’ 50-man, 8-gun Ranger [7] [6] fought a lengthy running battle (the “Action of 10 June 1723”) against the man-of-war, which chased them down via sail and oar. [8] When the Ranger became crippled, Low abandoned Harris and escaped. [8] One desperate pirate tried to blow up the Ranger rather than risk capture but was stopped and committed suicide instead. [9]

Harris and the survivors from Ranger were taken to stand trial in Newport, Rhode Island. Most were found guilty; amid a public spectacle, [10] Harris and over 25 others were hanged July 19, 1723 after a lengthy sermon from Cotton Mather. [7] To this day it remains the largest mass execution in Rhode Island history. [2] Low, already notorious for his cruelty, was said to have become even more so after Harris' capture. [1]

Flag

Pirate Flag of Low, Spriggs, Harris, and others Charles Harris Pirate Flag.svg
Pirate Flag of Low, Spriggs, Harris, and others

Harris flew the same “Jolly Roger” flag as Low and Spriggs. [1] According to Captain Charles Johnson:

“A Day or two after they parted, Spriggs was chosen Captain by the rest, and a black Ensign was made, which they called Jolly Roger, with the same Device that Captain Low carried, viz. a white Skeliton in the Middle of it, with a Dart in one Hand striking a bleeding Heart, and in the other, an Hour-Glass; when this was finished and hoisted, they fired all their Guns to salute their Captain and themselves, and then looked out for Prey.”

And from a local newspaper article on execution day: [11]

"Their Black Flag, with the Pourtrature of Death having an Hour-Glass in one Hand, and a Dart in the other, at the end of which was the Form of a Heart with three Drops of Blood, falling from it, was affix’d at one Corner of the Gallows. This Flag they call’d Old Roger, and often used to say they would live and die under it."
A blue version of Harris' flag. Charles Harris Pirate Flag (Blue).svg
A blue version of Harris' flag.

Yet another source claims Harris's flag used the same design, but on a blue field instead of black: [12]

"...under their own deep Blew Flagg which was hoisted up on their Gallows, and had pourtraied on the middle of it, an Anatomy with an Hour-Glass in one hand, and a dart in the Heart with 3 drops of blood proceeding from it, in the other."

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jolly Roger</span> Pirate flag

Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the naval ensign flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century. The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or “Death's Head”, often accompanied by other elements, on a black field, sometimes called the “Death's Head flag” or just the “black flag”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartholomew Roberts</span> Welsh pirate (1682–1722)

Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate who was, measured by vessels captured, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. During his piratical career, he took over 400 prize ships, although most mere fishing boats. Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 and 1722; he is also noted for creating his own pirate code, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Tew</span> 17th-century English pirate

Thomas Tew, also known as the Rhode Island Pirate, was a 17th-century English privateer-turned-pirate. He embarked on two major pirate voyages and met a bloody death on the second, and he pioneered the route which became known as the Pirate Round. Other infamous pirates in his path included Henry Avery and William Kidd.

James Plaintain was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean. He is best known for using his pirate wealth to found a short-lived kingdom on Madagascar.

John Taylor, born Richard Taylor, was an English pirate active in the Indian Ocean, best known for participating in two of the richest pirate captures of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Low</span> English pirate (1690–1724)

Edward "Ned" Low was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from an early age. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man. His wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two years later, he became a pirate, operating off the coasts of New England and the Azores, and in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lowther (pirate)</span> 18th-century English pirate

George Lowther was an English pirate who, although little is known of his life, was reportedly active in the Caribbean and Atlantic during the early 18th century. His first mate was Edward Low.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirate code</span> Code of conduct for governing pirates

A pirate code, pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a code of conduct for governing ships of pirates, notably between the 17th and 18th centuries, during the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy". The typical pirate crew was an unorthodox mixture of former sailors, escaped convicts, disillusioned men, and possibly escapee or former slaves, among others, looking for wealth at any cost; once aboard a seafaring vessel, the group would draw-up their own ship- and crew-specific code, which listed and described the crew's policies surrounding pirate behavior and the associated disciplinary action, should a code be violated. Failing to honor the code could get a pirate marooned, whipped, beaten, or even executed. For less serious violations, a pirate may have been temporarily denied equal food rations, or made to clean or maintain parts of the ship for a time. Primarily, these articles were designed to keep order aboard the ship, avoid dissension or mutinies, and ensure the crews' loyalty, all of which was crucial to the group's mutual survival.

Christopher Moody (1694-1722) was a pirate as a member of Bartholomew Roberts' crew but was never a captain in his own right. He is best known not for his own actions but for a popular Jolly Roger flag mis-attributed to him as well as for later authors confusing him with unrelated pirate William Moody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanuel Wynn</span> 17th-century French pirate

Emanuel Wynn was a French pirate of the 17th century who is often considered the first pirate to fly the Jolly Roger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Spriggs</span> British pirate

Francis Spriggs was a British pirate who, associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras during the early 1720s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Phillips (pirate)</span>

John Phillips was an English pirate captain. He started his piratical career in 1721 under Thomas Anstis, and stole his own pirate vessel in 1723. He died in a surprise attack by his own prisoners. He is noted for the articles of his ship, the Revenge, one of only a few complete sets of pirate articles to survive from the so-called Golden Age of Piracy.

Capture of the schooner <i>Fancy</i> 1723 naval battle off Block Island

The capture of the sloop Ranger was a naval battle which occurred on June 10, 1723 near Block Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Two pirate ships under the command of Englishmen Edward Low and Charles Harris attacked HMS Greyhound, a post ship of the British Royal Navy which they mistook for a civilian whaler. The resulting engagement lasted for several hours and ended with Harris' sloop Ranger being captured by Greyhound while Low's schooner Fancy escaped. All surviving crew of Ranger were captured and brought to Newport, Rhode Island, where they were placed on trial, sentenced to death and executed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cape Lopez</span> 1722 naval battle of Cape Lopez

The Battle of Cape Lopez was fought in early 1722 during the Golden Age of Piracy. A Royal Navy ship of the line under the command of Captain Chaloner Ogle defeated the pirate ship of Bartholomew Roberts off the coast of Gabon, West Africa.

Richard Shipton was a pirate active in the Caribbean, best known for sailing alongside Edward Low and Francis Spriggs. In 1723 Shipton was elected captain of Merry Christmas, and he subsequently captained ships such as Royal Fortune, York, and John and Mary. Forced to beach his vessel on western Cuba by pirate hunters, in early 1726, he was found ashore in his bed and presumed to have died shortly afterwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Lyne</span>

Philip Lyne was a pirate known for his cruelty and his association with Francis Spriggs.

William Mayes was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean. He was best known for taking over William Kidd’s ship Blessed William and sailing with Henry Avery. William Mayes is american, specifically from Rhode Island. Mayes was one of the original founders of Libertalia. A civil war came about and William was poisoned by Henry Avery and Thomas Tew.

William Read was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. He is best known for rescuing fellow pirate captains John Bowen and Thomas White.

Evan Jones was a Welsh-born pirate from New York active in the Indian Ocean, best known for his indirect connection to Robert Culliford and for capturing a future Mayor of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Russell (pirate)</span>

John Russell was a pirate active from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean to the African coast. He is best known for his association with Edward Low and Francis Spriggs, and for his involvement with two well-known and well-documented maroonings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fox, E. T. (2015). Jolly Rogers, the True History of Pirate Flags. New York: Lulu.com. p. 49. ISBN   9781326448172 . Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Humanity, History of. "Infamous Pirates | Charles Harris". www.goldenageofpiracy.org. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. Flemming, Gregory N. (2014). At the Point of a Cutlass: The Pirate Capture, Bold Escape, and Lonely Exile of Philip Ashton. Lebanon NH: ForeEdge. ISBN   9781611685626 . Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. "The Pirate's Realm" . Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. "twenty-six-pirates-hanged-at-newport". smallstatebighistory.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 Gosse, Philip (1924). The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. p. 198. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. 1 2 "The Day Rhode Island Hanged 24 Pirates - New England Historical Society". www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. 1 2 Little, Benerson (2010). Pirate Hunting: The Fight Against Pirates, Privateers, and Sea Raiders from Antiquity to the Present. Washington DC: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN   9781597975889 . Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. Reilly-McGreen, M. E. (2011). Revolutionaries, Rebels and Rogues of Rhode Island. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   9781614238430 . Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. "Quahog.org: The Gravelly Point Pirates". quahog.org. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  11. "CABINET // The Generation of the Jolly Roger". www.cabinetmagazine.org. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  12. Little, Benerson (2016). The Golden Age of Piracy: The Truth Behind Pirate Myths. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN   9781510713048 . Retrieved 28 September 2017.

[1]

  1. Duhamel, Gregory (2023). Capture of the Sloop Ranger. Lulu.com. ISBN   978-1-716-75330-5.