In April 1692, the people of Charles Towne spotted a mysterious ship in the distance. \u00a0\u00a0It approached with a bare mast, giving no sign of its origin or intentions.\u00a0 This put the townsfolk on edge.<\/p>\n
Across the ocean, England and France were in the midst of The Nine Years War.\u00a0 Though a distant conflict, this had major implications for the isolated colonists. \u00a0French privateers, known as corsairs, frequently attacked coastal settlements.\u00a0 There would have been concern that this unrecognized ship might be the first of a French fleet, there to pillage the city.<\/p>\n
As the wind filled its sails, the unidentified vessel continued its ominous approach.\u00a0 Once it was within firing range the colonists would have to decide if they would engage and risk firing on a friendly crew or wait and possibly jeopardize the city.\u00a0 Perhaps a warning shot would be sufficient to remind them to raise their banner or force them to disembark.<\/p>\n
Before the menacing ship was within reach of the town\u2019s defenses, however, it dropped anchor and came to a halt.\u00a0 It stopped, with obvious intent, at a place known as \u201cRebellion Road.\u201d\u00a0 Despite the title, this was not a road, but an area of deep water so named because it was at a safe range for \u201crebel\u201d ships who did not have proper papers to anchor without approaching the town.\u00a0 Rebellion Road was just outside the range of Charles Town\u2019s cannons.\u00a0 There the ship sat silently with her guns displayed.\u00a0 The town was deeply concerned but no one dared approach.<\/p>\n
Days passed.\u00a0 The ship did not move.\u00a0 After a long nervous wait, the town council sent a message to the captain ordering him to either enter their port legally or depart within 48 hours. \u00a0The message was received and, without incident, the ominous ship raised anchor and put out to sea without firing a shot. \u00a0Though it showed no signs of aggression, local sailors now recognized it for what it was.\u00a0 It was most certainly a dreaded pirate ship. \u00a0Whatever business these buccaneers had at Charles Towne remained a mystery as they put out to sea.<\/p>\n
Not long after the pirate vessel vanished, an English ship known as the Treple Crowne<\/em> under the command of Captain William Pettit came sailing into the harbor. \u00a0This was a friendly merchant vessel carrying trade goods.\u00a0 It sailed in properly under an English flag.\u00a0 Much to the dismay of Captain Pettit, the Treple Crowne<\/em> was accidentally run aground in the harbor. \u00a0The hull was broken and the ship was found to be unrepairable.\u00a0 It was deemed to be a total loss.<\/p>\n William Pettit was now a captain without a ship and was soon to be a captain without a crew.\u00a0 Total mutiny ensued when he refused to pay his men their wages.\u00a0 Apparently, he did not believe he owed them anything since they had wrecked his boat.<\/p>\n In early May of 1692, as Pettit\u2019s crew made their petition against their destitute captain before the local counsel, a ghost ship was spotted mysteriously abandoned in an uninhabited bay without a soul on board.\u00a0 The guns and powder were still intact and it looked like the crew had fled quickly. \u00a0Upon investigation it was identified as the pirate ship that had recently departed Rebellion Road.\u00a0 There were no other settlements in the area.\u00a0 The only place nearby they could have gone on land was Charles Towne.\u00a0 The city trembled as they realized that the pirate crew had silently infiltrated their town.\u00a0 The news spread like wildfire.\u00a0 There were rumors they had made it ashore with silver, gold, jewels, valuable artwork and other prizes from their escapades half a world away in the Red Sea.\u00a0 Some locals were suspected of being sympathetic to the pirates and were believed to be giving them safe refuge within the town.\u00a0 A proclamation was issued by the local government prohibiting anyone from harboring or concealing the pirates and ordering them to come forward.<\/p>\n Amidst this turbulence, William Pettit\u2019s misfortune would take an astonishing turn.\u00a0 A few days after the Treple Crowne<\/em> was wrecked and he was ordered to pay his angry crew, Captain William Pettit would step forward to claim ownership of the very pirate vessel the city had fearfully eyed.\u00a0 As these events converged in front of the counsel, William Pettit\u2019s friendly association with the wealthy pirate captain, George Raynor, and his legendary crew would be purposefully disclosed.\u00a0 These daring buccaneers stepped out of the shadows, revealing themselves to those in charge of the colonial government.\u00a0 And when they spoke, they did so on behalf of Captain Pettit.<\/p>\n To understand why, we must look to the Caribbean and turn the clock back about two years to 1690.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By 1690, the English colonial stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica had gained the reputation of being the most wicked place in all the earth.\u00a0 It was often referred to as \u201cthe Sodom of the new world\u201d and was filled with every type of debauchery known to man.\u00a0 English privateers operated out of this city and it eventually became the de facto capital of a privateer and pirate republic.\u00a0 Pirates found safe haven amongst other pirates in Port Royal.\u00a0 Tucked into a cove on the south side of the island, Port Royal was a bustling commercial center and naval station where the English held a court of admiralty dealing with maritime issues.\u00a0 It was here that records were kept that established letters of marque as well as ownership of captured ships.\u00a0 It was also from this location that a bold and perilous privateer raid into French territory was launched.<\/p>\n About 300 miles to the northeast, on the island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti) was the French city known as Port-de-Paix.\u00a0 This name translates, somewhat ironically, to \u201cPort of Peace\u201d in English.\u00a0 Though not as scandalous as Port Royal, Jamaica, Port-de-Paix was also a safe harbor for privateers who operated under French colors.\u00a0 Port-de-Paix had a well fortified garrison and was teaming with privateer ships who were enemies of the English.<\/p>\n In March of 1690, two English privateer ships from Port Royal conducted a brazen mission in waters very near the French privateer stronghold at Port-de-Paix.\u00a0 The privateer sloop known as the Dyamond<\/em> under the command of Captain Thomas Harrison, and the ship known as the Mary<\/em> under the command of Captain George Auston came within sight of the \u201cfort or castle of Port Apee [Port-dePaix] on north side of the island of Hispaniola.\u201d\u00a0 There they encountered a 130-ton French ship known as La Constance<\/em>.\u00a0 The Dyamond<\/em> fired a shot her direction while the Mary<\/em> \u201cchased her, boarded and took her.\u201d \u00a0The story of La Constance\u2019s<\/em> capture comes from depositions of men who were among the English privateers who aided in her capture. \u00a0Some others involved in this action besides the captains already mentioned were Henry Perry, Edmund Medlicott, Thomas Pickney, and George Raynor \u2013the four men who would later testify in Charles Towne on behalf of William Pettit.<\/p>\n The Dymond<\/em> and Mary<\/em> escorted La Constance<\/em> back to Port Royal.\u00a0 There the ship was condemned as a “French Prize” in the Court of Admiralty.\u00a0 Appropriate taxes were paid and it was sold to John Bell & Company of England.\u00a0 The French ship was renamed the Loyal Jamaica, <\/em>outfitted with 14 cannons, and privateer Captain Thomas Harrison, formerly of the Dyamond<\/em>, was given command.\u00a0 She sailed away from Port Royal on May 31, 1690, as an English privateer vessel belonging to John Bell & Company, but that status would quickly change.<\/p>\n By October 15, 1690, Captain Thomas Harrison would find himself back on land in Jamaica while his ship, the Loyal Jamaica, <\/em>sailed on without him.\u00a0 A mutiny had occurred and the crew decided to forsake their commissions as English privateers in favor of outright piracy.\u00a0 The Loyal Jamaica<\/em>, was renamed the Bachelor\u2019s Delight <\/em>and a new captain, George Raynor, was elected by the crew. \u00a0\u00a0The Bachelor\u2019s Deligh<\/em>t set a course for thievery halfway across the globe and sailed east, leaving the turbulent Caribbean and the warring European countries far behind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over the next few months, Captain Raynor and his crew would navigate across the Atlantic Ocean and make their way to the western shore of Africa.\u00a0 From there they sailed south around the southern tip of the continent, then around to near Madagascar.\u00a0 Traversing the east coast of Africa, the Bachelor\u2019s Delight<\/em> finally reached its destination \u2013the Red Sea.\u00a0 Though amazingly distant, their route was intentional and their terminus specific.\u00a0 What information they operated under that caused them to make this astounding journey of approximately 6,000 nautical miles is a historical mystery.\u00a0 One thing is for certain, however.\u00a0 Their gamble would pay off.<\/p>\n It was August of 1691 when the buccaneers entered the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el Mandeb.\u00a0 Through this bottleneck heavy laden ships from the Mughal Empire carrying Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and massive fortunes from India to Yemen entered and exited the Red Sea.\u00a0 Some Mughal Empire vessels were filled with trade goods including gold, silver, jewelry, coinage, and valuable textiles.\u00a0 They were also poorly outfitted for warfare and totally unprepared for what the seasoned English pirates had to offer.<\/p>\n What happened next is best summarized in the book Arabian Gold<\/em> by Adam Marrow:<\/p>\n In synopsis, gleaned from the reports, these English pirates assaulted a Mughal ship belonging to Abdul Ghafur on or around August 27, 1691, that had been traveling from the port of Mocah in the Red Sea bound for Surat, and crewed at least partially by Turks.\u00a0 The vessel had been laden with rich wares and treasure likely in excess of 100,000 rupees worth, or about 450,000 pieces of eight equivalent\u2026 The capture was no simple surrender; caving in to the pirates\u2019 demands was preceded by much bloodshed resulting in twelve of the Mughal crew being killed, and another twenty having been wounding in some way.\u00a0 After the riches of the vessel had been plundered and relocated to the Bachelor\u2019s Delight<\/em>, they allowed the ship and her surviving crew to limp on to Surat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Realizing they had just acquired the fortune of a lifetime, Captain Raynor decided it was time for an exodus from the Red Sea.\u00a0 The Bachelor\u2019s Delight<\/em> sailed to a safe harbor at Madagascar where the hull of the ship was careened and cleaned in preparation for its next long voyage.\u00a0 They would soon be headed back across the Atlantic with enough treasure for each man to retire in comfort, if they so desired.<\/p>\n Midway across the vast Atlantic Ocean, the crew spotted a signal in the distance.\u00a0 They changed course to investigate and stopped at a deserted isle known as Ascension Island.\u00a0 There they picked up two Danish castaways by the names of Peter Skroder and Cent Direckson.\u00a0 Departing this remote island, they continued on their way to South Carolina, stopping only occasionally to take on food and fresh water.<\/p>\n English privateers with proper papers would be allowed to approach Charles Towne. Pirates, on the other hand, were not welcome \u2013at least not officially.\u00a0 Complicating things even further, the men on the Bachelor\u2019s Delight<\/em> were pirates who had stolen an English ship. They owed John Bell and Company for the ship, lost revenue and the broken privateering contract. They would have been considered dangerous rebellious enemies of the crown and could be tried and hanged.\u00a0 Captain Raynor knew all this, but he also knew the corrupt Governor of South Carolina, Seth Sothel, could be bought.\u00a0 Unfortunately for the crew of the Batchelor\u2019s Delight<\/em>, Governor Sothel who ruled the colony at the time the crew began its voyage had been removed from office just days prior to their return.\u00a0 Without the certainty of a sympathetic and corrupt government to bribe, their plan of quietly integrating into the southern colony with their massive fortune was in serious jeopardy.\u00a0 A simple check of the Court of Admiralty records at Port Royal, Jamaica, would instantly reveal the mutiny that occurred and the fact that these men were criminals in possession of a stolen English ship.<\/p>\n The pirates approached Charles Towne and came to a stop at Rebellion Road.\u00a0 They tarried there for a couple of days, weighing the limited options before them. \u00a0Though no envoy was sent ashore, through communication with other ships, the town was informed that the captain of the ship was George Raynor. \u00a0On April 13, 1692, they sent a letter addressed to him, asking him to enter the port legally or depart within 48 hours.\u00a0 No response was given and the ship eventually left.<\/p>\n Reports came in that the ship was still nearby, \u201chovering\u201d around Sullivan Island.\u00a0 It was later found to be abandoned on April 23 at Sowee Bay near Bull\u2019s Island.\u00a0 The pirates had taken their loot ashore and made it into the town.\u00a0 This would have been no easy task.\u00a0 Evading the authorities would be achievable in modern Charleston with a population of hundreds of thousands.\u00a0 In 1692, however, the estimated population was just over 1,000.\u00a0 The arrival of 30 or more pirates carrying literal tons of loot would not have gone unnoticed.\u00a0 So how did they pull it off?\u00a0 The savvy pirates shared their wealth with the people in charge of the levers of power and essentially bribed their way into the community.\u00a0 Treasure, it seems, can cover a multitude of sins.<\/p>\n On May 6, 1692, the Council issued a proclamation prohibiting the residents from concealing the pirates.\u00a0 It was sometime between May 6 and 11 that William Pettit\u2019s crew ran the Treple Crowne<\/em> aground.\u00a0 On May 11 members of Pettit\u2019s crew sued him for eight-month wages.\u00a0 As this was taking place, the abandoned pirate ship was brought into the bay by orders of the Council.\u00a0 Two days later, on May 13, the Court of Admiralty met and condemned both the Treple Crowne<\/em> and the pirate ship as wrecks confiscating their guns and powder for the public defense.<\/p>\n The next day, May 14, Captain George Raynor and his crew were required to come forward to be examined by the Council on the 26th<\/sup> of May.\u00a0 They were put under house arrest, prohibited from leaving for one year and local prominent citizens were required to give security bonds to assure these pirates would be good citizens and not flee.\u00a0 Many local men of renown who were involved in the politics and business of the colony put down good money to vouch for the pirates.\u00a0 John Alexander and William Smith put down \u00a3200 on behalf of Captain George Raynor.\u00a0 One wonders if they were really risking their own money, or if they had been given this bond and perhaps a little more for their troubles, out of the pirates\u2019 treasure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Though the pirates had managed to successfully begin their integration into Charles Towne presenting themselves as legal privateers, there was still the matter of the stolen ship to deal with.\u00a0 The ship that was used in the Red Sea raid was the property of John Bell & Company.\u00a0 Should agents from John Bell discover the whereabouts of their ship and the location of the rebellious crew, they could demanded restitution and justice under English law.\u00a0 No doubt records of the mutiny and theft of this valuable vessel had been recorded by the Court of Admiralty in Port Royal, Jamaica.\u00a0 Though things were going smoothly for these wealthy pirates in South Carolina, there was simply no escaping the paper trail.\u00a0 It was only a matter of time until there would be a reckoning over the Loyal Jamaica<\/em> a.k.a. Bachelor\u2019s Delight<\/em>.\u00a0 This would be true except that the \u201cmost wicked place on earth\u201d was about to face a reckoning of its own.<\/p>\n At 11:43AM am on June 7, 1692, while George Raynor and his Red Sea pirates had been living peacefully for a month in Charles Towne, a cataclysmic disaster struck Port Royal.\u00a0 A massive earthquake rocked the entire island. \u00a0It was so powerful that 2\/3 of Port Royal sank into the ocean immediately.\u00a0 The entire town was flooded and the ships that were docked there were broken up and scattered throughout the remnants of the port.\u00a0 Buildings were crushed by waves, debris and vessels.\u00a0 Fortunately for the pirates living miles away in Charles Towne, the earthquake resulted in a massive record loss in Port Royal.\u00a0 Their history, as far as the stolen ship was concerned, was now a blank slate.<\/p>\n Though the exact sequence of events, and the obvious negotiations that took place outside of the court are not fully known, the pirates seized the opportunity to avail themselves of the remainder of their looming legal issues.\u00a0 From their collective Red Sea loot, the pirates paid off John Bell & Co for stealing and wrecking his ship.\u00a0 A generous sum of money, rumored to be about \u00a33,000 was enough to quiet any claims the company had against them.\u00a0 After making things right with the commercial powers, the only remaining problem was the matter of their serious criminal violation of English piracy laws.\u00a0 Though they presented themselves as legal privateers, the fact remained that they sailed into Charles Towne in a known pirate ship.\u00a0 This was hard to simply ignore.<\/p>\n Though it was common knowledge, the proof of this fact was lost along with the rest of the records in the Jamaica earthquake.\u00a0 News of this disaster reached Charles Towne and, on August 22, 1692, the buccaneers made their final move.\u00a0 This brings us to their documented business involving Captain William Pettit.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pettitresearch.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/shipwrecked-wooden-vessel-stockcake-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA French Prize<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pettitresearch.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/port-royal-and-port-de-paix.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nRed Sea Treasure<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBack to Charles Towne\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cInnocent\u201d Privateers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nContinued in Part II…<\/a><\/h3>\n