The History of the Lives and Bloody Exploits of the Most Noted Pirates; Their Trials and Executions / Including a Correct Account of the Late Piracies Committed in the West-Indies, and the Expedition of Commodore Porter; also, Those Committed on the Brig Mexican, Who Were Tried and Executed at Boston, in 1835

This atrocious villain was a native of Providence in Rhode-Island. His true name was James D. Jeffers, but as he was more generally known as Charles Gibbs we shall give him that appellation. His adventures, excepting the crime for which he was finally hanged, are only known from his own admissions while under sentence of death, and our readers must judge for themselves how far they are to be credited.

It appears from evidence legally taken, that the brig Vineyard sailed from New-Orleans about the first of November, eighteen hundred and thirty, for Philadelphia. William Thornby was the master of the vessel, and William Roberts the mate. The crew consisted of seven persons, viz. Charles Gibbs, John Brownrigg, Robert Dawes, Henry Atwell, James Talbot, A. Church, and Thomas I. Wansley, a young negro native of Delaware, who acted as cook.

When the Vineyard had been five days at sea, Wansley made it known to the crew that there were fifty thousand dollars in specie on board. This information excited their cupidity, and induced them to consult on the means of getting the money into their own hands. Many conversations took place on the subject, and while these were going on, Dawes, who was a mere boy, was sent to converse with the officers, in order to divert their attention from what was passing. Finally it was resolved, that as the master and mate were old men, it was time they should die and make room for the rising generation. Moreover, they were of opinion that as the mate was of a peevish disposition, he deserved death. Yet, to do no man injustice, it does not appear that Brownrigg or Talbot had any part in these deliberations, or in the foul deed that resulted from them.

The conspirators agreed to commit the greatest earthly crimes, murder and piracy, on the night of the twenty-third. The murder of the master was assigned to Gibbs and Wansley; that of the mate to Atwell and Church.

The vessel was off Cape Hatteras, when the time fixed for the murder arrived. The master was standing on the quarter-deck, Dawes had the helm, and Brownrigg was aloft. Dawes called Wansley aft to trim the light in the binacle. The black moved as if to obey, but coming behind Mr. Thornby, struck him on the back of the neck with the pump brake, so that he fell forward, crying “murder!” Wansley repeated his blows till the master was dead, and then, with the assistance of Gibbs, threw the body overboard. While this deed of darkness was being done, the mate, aroused by the noise, came up the companion ladder from the cabin. Atwell and Church were waiting for him at the top of the ladder, and one of them struck him down with a club; but the blow did not kill him. Gibbs followed to complete the work, but not being able to find the mate in the dark, returned to the deck for the binacle light. With this he descended and laid hands on the victim, but was not able to overcome him, even with the aid of Atwell; but finally, with the assistance of Church, he was dragged on deck, beaten and thrown overboard. He was not yet dead, and swam after the vessel four or five minutes, crying for help, before he sank. All these transactions were witnessed by the boy Dawes, who had a passive, if not an active part in them.

The pirates then took possession of the vessel, and Wansley busied himself in wiping up the blood that had been spilled on deck, declaring, with an oath, that though he had heard that the stains of the blood of a murdered person could not be effaced, he would wipe away these. Then, after drinking all round, they got up the money. It was distributed in equal portions to all on board; Brownrigg and Talbot being assured that if they would keep the secret, and share the plunder, they should receive no injury.

They then steered a northeasterly course toward Long-Island, till they came within fifteen or twenty miles of South-Hampton Light, where they resolved to leave the vessel, in the boats, though the wind was blowing hard. Atwell scuttled the brig and got into the jolly boat with Church and Talbot, while Gibbs, Wansley, Dawes and Brownrigg, put off in the long boat. The jolly boat swamped on a bar two miles from the shore, and all on board were drowned. The long-boat was in great danger also, and was only saved from a like fate by throwing over several bags of specie. Nevertheless, the crew at last got on shore on Pelican Island, where they buried their money, and found a sportsman who told them where they were. They then crossed to Great Barn Island, and went to the house of a Mr. Johnson, to whom Brownrigg gave the proper information. Thence they went to the house of a Mr. Leonard, where they procured a wagon to carry them farther. As they were about to get in, Brownrigg cried aloud that they might go whither they pleased, but he would not accompany them, for they were murderers. On hearing this Mr. Leonard sent for a magistrate, and Gibbs and Dawes were apprehended. Wansley escaped into the woods, but was followed and soon taken.

The evidence of the guilt of the prisoners was full and conclusive. Their own confessions of the crime gratuitously made to Messrs. Meritt and Stevenson, who had the custody of them from Flatbush to New-York, could have left not the shadow of a doubt on the mind of any person who heard the testimony of those officers. Wansley told the whole story, occasionally prompted by Gibbs, and both admitted that Brownrigg was innocent of any participation in their crimes. Their confession was not, however, so favorable to Dawes.

Gibbs was arraigned for the murder of William Roberts, and Wansley for that of William Thornby. They were both found guilty, and the district attorney moved for judgment on the verdict. There was nothing peculiar in their deportment during the trial. The iron visage of Gibbs was occasionally darkened with a transient emotion, but he had evidently abandoned all hope of escape, and sat the greater part of the time with his hands between his knees, calmly surveying the scene before him. Wansley was more agitated, and trembled visibly when he rose to hear the verdict of the jury.

The judge proceeded to pass sentence on them severally, that each should be taken from the place where they then were, and thence to the place of confinement, and should be hanged by the neck till dead; and that the marshal of the Southern District of New-York should see this sentence carried into execution on the twenty-second day of April following, between the hours of ten and four o’clock.

The first account which Gibbs gave of himself is, that his father obtained a situation for him in the United States sloop of war Hornet, Captain Lawrence, during the last war with England, in which vessel he made two cruises; in the last of which she captured and sunk the enemy’s sloop of war Peacock off the coast of Pernambuco, after an engagement of twenty minutes. On the arrival of the Hornet in the United States, Captain Lawrence was assigned by the government to the command of the frigate Chesapeake, then lying in Boston harbor, and Gibbs accompanied him to that ill-fated vessel in the month of April, eighteen hundred and thirteen.

This statement of his services was proved to be false, and acknowledged as such by himself. His motive for the falsehood was, to conceal his real adventures about this time, that his proper name might not be discovered. There is much to corroborate and nothing to disprove what follows.

After his exchange, he abandoned all idea of following the sea for a subsistence, went home to Rhode Island, and remained there a few months, but being unable to conquer his propensity to roving, he entered on board a ship bound to New-Orleans, and thence to Stockholm. On the homeward passage they were compelled to put into Bristol, England, in distress, where the ship was condemned, and he proceeded to Liverpool. He returned to the United States in the ship Amity, Captain Maxwell.

After its arrival, he left the ship, and entered on board the Colombian privateer Maria, Captain Bell. They cruised for about two months in the Gulf of Mexico, around Cuba, but the crew becoming dissatisfied in consequence of the non-payment of their prize-money, a mutiny arose, the crew took possession of the schooner, and landed the officers near Pensacola. A number of days elapsed before it was finally decided by them what course to pursue. Some advised that they should cruise as before, under the Colombian commission; others proposed to hoist the black flag. They cruised for a short time without success, and it was then unanimously determined to hoist the black flag and declare war against all nations. At last one of the crew, named Antonio, suggested that an arrangement could be made with a man in Havana, that would be mutually beneficial; that he would receive all their goods, sell them, and divide the proceeds. This suggestion being favorably received, they ran up within two miles of Moro Castle, and sent Antonio on shore to see the merchant and make a contract with him, which was done.

The Maria now put to sea, with a crew of about fifty men. The first vessel she fell in with was the Indispensable, an English ship, bound to Havana, which was taken and carried to Cape Antonio. The crew were immediately destroyed: those who resisted were hewed to pieces: those who offered no resistance, were reserved to be shot and thrown overboard. Such was the manner in which they proceeded in all their subsequent captures. The unhappy being that cried for mercy, in the hope that something like humanity was to be found in the breasts even of the worst of men, shared the same fate with him who resolved to sell his life at the highest price. A French brig, with a valuable cargo of wine and silk, was taken shortly after: the vessel was burnt and the crew murdered.

The sanguinary scenes through which Gibbs had passed, now effectually wrought up his desperation to the highest pitch, and being as remarkable for his coolness and intrepidity as he was for his skill in navigation, he was unanimously chosen to be their leader in all future enterprises. To reap a golden harvest without the hazard of encountering living witnesses of their crimes, it was unanimously resolved to spare no lives, and to burn and plunder without mercy. They knew that the principle inculcated by the old maxim that “dead men tell no tales,” was the safe one for them, and they scrupulously followed it. Gibbs states that he never had occasion to give orders to begin the work of death.

He now directed his course towards the Bahama Banks, where they captured a brig, believed to be the William of New-York, from some port in Mexico, with a cargo of furniture, destroyed the crew, took her to Cape Antonio, and sent the furniture and other articles to their friend in Havana. Sometime during this cruise, the pirate was chased for nearly a whole day by a United States ship, supposed to be the John Adams; he hoisted Patriot colors, and finally escaped. In the early part of the summer of eighteen hundred and seventeen, they took the Earl of Moira, an English ship from London, with a cargo of dry goods. The crew were destroyed, the vessel burnt, and the goods carried to the Cape. There they had a settlement with their Havana friend, and the proceeds were divided according to agreement.

During the cruise which was made in the latter part of eighteen hundred and seventeen, and the beginning of eighteen hundred and eighteen, a Dutch ship from Curacoa was captured, with a cargo of West-India goods, and a quantity of silver plate. The passengers and crew, to the number of thirty, were all destroyed, with the exception of a young female about seventeen, who fell upon her knees and implored Gibbs to save her life. The appeal was successful, and he promised to save her, though he knew it would lead to dangerous consequences among his crew. She was carried to Cape Antonio, and kept there about two months; but the dissatisfaction increased until it broke out at last into open mutiny, and one of the pirates was shot by Gibbs for daring to lay hold of her with a view of beating out her brains. Gibbs was compelled in the end to submit her fate to a council of war, at which it was decided that the preservation of their own lives made her sacrifice indispensable. He therefore acquiesced in the decision, and gave orders to have her destroyed by poison, which was immediately done.

The piratical schooner was shortly after driven ashore near the Cape, and so much damaged that it was found necessary to destroy her. A new sharp-built schooner was in consequence provided by their faithful friend in Havana, called the Picciana, and despatched to their rendezvous. In this vessel they cruised successfully for more than four years. Among the vessels taken and destroyed with their crews, were the Belvidere, Dido, a Dutch brig, the British barque Larch, the other vessels enumerated in the list furnished to Justice Hopson, and many others whose names are not recollected. They had a very narrow escape, at one time, from the English man-of-war brig Coronation. In the early part of October, eighteen hundred and twenty one, they captured a ship from Charleston, took her to Cape Antonio, and were busily engaged in landing her cargo, when the United States brig Enterprise, Captain Kearney, hove in sight, and discovering their vessels at anchor, sent in her barges to attack them. A serious engagement followed; they defended themselves for some time behind a four gun battery, but in the end were defeated with considerable loss, and compelled to abandon their vessels and booty, and fly to the mountains for safety.

They left hot poisoned coffee on the cabin table, in hopes that some of the American officers would drink it. This statement is confirmed by Captain Kearney.

On Friday, April twenty-second, 1831, Gibbs and Wansley paid the penalty of their crimes. Both prisoners arrived at the gallows about twelve o’clock, accompanied by the marshal, his aids, and some twenty or thirty United States marines. Two clergymen attended them to the fatal spot, where every thing being in readiness, and the ropes adjusted about their necks, the throne of mercy was fervently addressed in their behalf. Wansley then prayed earnestly himself, and afterwards joined in singing a hymn.

The boy Dawes was not prosecuted, having been received as State’s evidence against Gibbs and Wansley.

PIRACIES ON THE BRIG MEXICAN.

On the 26th day of August, 1834, His Britannic Majesty’s brig of war Savage, from Portsmouth, England, arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, having on board sixteen of the crew of the piratical schooner Panda, which robbed the brig Mexican, of Salem, on the high seas, nearly two years since.

The robbery committed upon the Mexican was one of the most audacious and cruel acts of piracy ever recorded. She was bound to Rio Janeiro from Salem; and was boarded by a piratical schooner under Brazilian colors, on the 20th of September, 1832, lat. 33, long. 34, 30, and robbed of twenty thousand dollars in specie, the officers and crew stripped of every thing valuable, and fastened below, and the vessel set on fire with the horrid intention of destroying her with all on board. Captain Butman and his men succeeded in getting on deck through the scuttle which the pirates had left unsecured, and extinguished the flames, and returned home. Our government ordered a vessel to cruise in pursuit, but she gave up the chase as hopeless. The piratical vessel was afterwards taken on the coast of Africa, by His Britannic Majesty’s brig Curlew, and destroyed, under the following circumstances:

The Curlew arrived at St. Thomas, west coast of Africa, from India, with orders to cruise on that coast; and her commander having obtained information that a schooner, suspected to be a pirate, was lying in the river Nazareth, on the southern extremity of the coast, immediately sailed in pursuit, and found the schooner as described. The boats of the Curlew were manned to take possession of her, when the crew of the schooner fled to the shore, with the exception of four who were taken prisoners. They had kindled a fire to destroy the schooner, and she had been stripped of every thing valuable. The fire was extinguished without damage. She had no cargo on board, but her water casks were all filled, and she was apparently ready for another cruise. In her cabin were found a compass, marked Boston, the flags and ensigns of different nations, and custom-house papers made out at Havana. In taking her down the river, she accidentally blew up, and the Curlew’s purser and one man were killed. The four men taken were shipped at St. Thomas after the robbery of the Mexican. The Curlew’s crew pursued the fugitives in various directions, and succeeded in capturing an additional number of the pirates; and several natives’ towns were burned by the Curlew’s men. The pirates had an examination in England before the proper authorities, when five of them offered to turn king’s evidence, two of whom were admitted to testify. They were fully committed, and the British government ordered them to this country for trial, and the affidavits and documents relative to their capture and subsequent confinement and examination were delivered to the authorities in this country.

The pirates were tried before the United States court at Boston, November 11th, 1834, which continued for fourteen days, and resulted in the conviction of seven of their number, five of whom were executed agreeably to their sentence, the other two received a reprieve from the President of the United States.

Execution of the Spanish Pirates.—[Thursday, June 11, 1835.]—Pursuant to previous arrangement, Captain Don Pedro Gibert, and Juan Montenegro, Manuel Castillo, Angel Garcia, and Manuel Boyga, were yesterday morning summoned to prepare for their immediate execution, agreeably to their sentence, for having, while belonging to the schooner Panda, committed piracy, by robbing the brig Mexican, of Salem, of twenty thousand dollars, and afterwards attempting to destroy the crew and all evidence of their crime, by setting fire to the vessel. It is understood, that, when the prisoners became thoroughly convinced that there was no longer any grounds to hope for a further respite, they entered into a mutual agreement to commit suicide on Wednesday night. Angel Garcia made the first attempt, in the evening, by trying to open the veins in each arm, with a fragment of a bottle, but was discovered before he could effect his purpose, and a stricter guard was afterwards maintained upon all of them during the remainder of the night, and every thing removed with which they might be supposed to renew any attempt upon their own lives. Yesterday morning, however, about nine o’clock, while the avenues of the jail resounded with the heavy steps of a host of acting marshals, and the “busy note of preparation” struck solemnly upon the ears of the spectators within reach of its echo, Boyga succeeded in inflicting a deep gash on the left side of his neck with a piece of tin. The officer’s eye had been withdrawn from him scarcely a minute, before he was discovered lying on his pallet, with a peculiar trembling of his knees, which induced the officers to examine if any thing had suddenly happened to him. They found him covered with blood, and nearly insensible; medical aid was at hand, and the wound was immediately sewed up, but Boyga, who had fainted from loss of blood, never revived again. Two Catholic clergymen, the Rev. Mr. Varella, a Spanish gentleman, and pastor of the Spanish congregation at New-York, and the Rev. Mr. Curtin, of this city, were in close attendance upon the prisoners during the whole morning; and at a quarter past ten, under the escort of the Marshal and his deputies, accompanied them to the gallows, erected on an insulated angle of land in the rear of the jail.

When the procession arrived at the foot of the ladder leading up to the platform of the gallows, the Rev. Mr. Varella, looking directly at Captain Gibert, said—“Spaniards, ascend to heaven.” Gibert mounted with a quick step, and was followed by his comrades at a more moderate pace, but without the least perceptible indication of hesitancy. Boyga, unconscious of his situation and destiny, was carried up in a chair, and seated beneath the rope prepared for him. Gibert, Montenegro, Garcia, and Castillo all smiled subduedly as they took their appointed stations on the platform. Judging only from Gibert’s air, carriage, and unembarrassed eye, as he glanced at the surrounding multitude, and surveyed the mechanism of his shameful death, he might have well been mistaken for an officer in attendance, instead of one of the doomed. With the exception of repeating his prayers, after the clergyman, he spoke but little. Soon after he ascertained his position on the stage, he left it, and passing over to the spot where the apparently lifeless Boyga was seated on the chair, he bent over his shoulder and kissed him very affectionately. He then resumed his station, but occasionally turned round to Mr. Peyton the interpreter, and the clergymen. Addressing his followers, he said—“Boys, we are going to die; but let us be firm, for we are innocent.” To Mr. Peyton, removing his linen collar, and handing it to him, he said—“This is all I have to part with—take it as a keepsake. I die innocent, but I’ll die like a noble Spaniard. Good bye, brother, we die in the hope of meeting you in heaven.” Montenegro and Garcia, though exhibiting no terror, vociferated their innocence, exclaiming—“Americans, we are not culpable—we are innocent; but we forgive all who have injured us.” Castillo addressed himself to an individual, whom he recognised in the front rank of the officers below the stage, and said—“Adieu, my friend—I shall see you in heaven—I do not care so much about dying, as to have the Americans think I am guilty,” [culpable.] All of them expressed great satisfaction at the intelligence of De Soto’s reprieve.

The Marshal having read the warrant for their execution, and stated that De Soto was respited for sixty days, and Ruiz for thirty, the ropes were adjusted round the necks of the prisoners, and a slight hectic flush spread over the countenance of each; but not an eye quailed, nor a limb trembled, nor a muscle quivered. As the cap was about to be drawn over Gibert’s face, the Spanish Priest fervently embraced him, and during the operation of covering the faces of the others, the Rev. Mr. Curtin advanced to the railing of the stage, and read a brief declaration on behalf of the prisoners, addressed to the citizens of America assembled, setting forth, that as at the trial they had declared their innocence, so did they now continue to do so. Boyga’s cap and rope were adjusted, as he sat, supported by an officer, in the chair, which was so placed as to fall with the drop. At a quarter before 11, after every preparation was completed, and while they were repeating to themselves, in scarcely audible tones, their prayers, Deputy Marshal Bass suddenly cut the small cord which restrained the spring, and the platform fell without even the creaking of a hinge. In falling, Boyga’s chair struck against the bodies of the Captain and Garcia. Boyga struggled slightly once after his descent, and Montenegro and Castillo but little; Capt. Gibert did not die quite so easily, the rope being placed behind his neck. Garcia struggled most and longest—about 3 minutes. After being suspended 30 minutes, the physicians in attendance pronounced them dead, and they were cut down, and placed in black coffins, in readiness in the yard.

It is stated in many of the papers, that Captain Gibert attempted to cut his throat on Wednesday night, but this is not the fact. It is true that he pursued a line of conduct on that night which induced the officers to suspect that he intended to commit suicide. Mr. Tavers, one of the guards, who understands the Spanish language, overheard the signal agreed upon, by the whole party. The Captain proposed to write till one o’clock, when he was to bid “Good bye” to the rest, and they were then to despatch themselves with pieces of glass. Accordingly, at the appointed hour, the Captain, having terminated his writing, destroyed a part of his papers, retired to a corner of his cell, and appeared to be arranging his person to “die with dignity;” but being closely watched at the window, the officers, Messrs. Shute and Pierce, entered his cell before he had completed his toilet. They asked him what he intended to do; but he was irritated by their undesired intrusion, and, showing temper, declined answering. Upon searching, they found a piece of glass in his pocket. They then ironed him, with his hands behind his back. He remained dogged in his disposition, and blew the light out four times, which the officer as often re-lighted, and threatened to put his legs in irons if he persisted in putting it out.

Montenegro, it was discovered, after his execution, had cut his throat in two places, and had bled very profusely, but had washed his shirt out in the morning to conceal the attempt. It was the irritation of the wounds, probably, that made him hold his head a little awry when the rope was first put round his neck. He was one of the most piratical looking of the crew, but one of the most innocent, and was always in pleasant humor. Garcia inflicted wounds upon his arms after he was ironed.

Dying Declaration of the Pirates.—The Catholic Sentinel of Saturday contains the following declaration of innocence, written in Spanish by Capt. Gibert, and signed by his companions. The substance of it was delivered from the platform, a few minutes before their execution, by the Rev. Mr. Curtin, one of the Catholic clergymen in attendance:—

“Americans! we, the undersigned, were reduced to this sad and ignominious fate by misfortune, not by guilt. In this world we have nothing to hope; but in the next, we confidently expect salvation from the benign mercy of our heavenly Redeemer. Then, Americans, we declare to you with our dying breath, that we are innocent; and we now aver so in the hearing of that God before whom we must in a few moments appear;—but our souls will not, at that sacred tribunal, be charged with debasing the last act of our lives by the utterance of falsehood. We speak the solemn truth;—we are not culpable,—and we reiterate here, under the gallows, what we declared on our trial, ‘that we die innocent men.’ May God forgive those who brought us to this fatal end, as we leave the world in peace with all men. Farewell, Americans.