A piratical vessel, and her crew of thirty-eight men were captured off
Matanzas on the 16th May, 1825, by a British cutter and a steamboat
fitted out at that place. Several of the pirates were killed, and the
rest sent to Havana for trial. It was ascertained that some of them had
assisted in capturing more than twenty American vessels, whose crews
were MURDERED!!
An additional gang of pirates was hung at the same period, at Porto
Rico.—Eleven at once.
[Illustration: Mutiny on board the Vineyard. Page 284.]
CHARLES GIBBS, _otherwise_ JAMES D. JEFFERS, AND THOMAS I. WANSLEY.
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.