Shiver Me Timbers

So apparently pirates weren't just limited to sailing the seven seas. We had them on the Hudson River as well. It may not be much of a surprise to some of you but it is to me. I must not have been paying attention when I was learning history.

Dundee, Scotland is a long way from Sleepy Hollow, New York. Even so, William Kidd, born in Dundee in January, 1654, managed to make his way up the Hudson River, or so legend has it. William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, is one of the most famous, or infamous, pirates in history, although there is some debate as to the extent of his guilt.

Regardless, he was hung in Wapping (East London, the Docklands), on May 23, 1701, on Execution Dock. He wasn't found guilty of piracy, but of the murder of his gunner, William Moore, in October, 1697. His execution was botched when the first rope broke. After his execution his body was gibbeted and left to hang over the River Thames for three years as a warning to other would-be pirates. This may explain why he is said to haunt various locations, including some in Tarrytown (see 14, 15 & 16).

On a side note, the Docklands were the target of an IRA bombing in 1996. Canary Wharf suffered extensive damage and two people were killed. I was in London that fall and the sight of the damage is still imprinted in my mind. 

Back to Captain Kidd.

In the same park that we traipsed through to find the lighthouse is a large rock known as Kidd's Rock.

The sign, erected by the Parks department, says this:

In legend, this rock was where Frederick Philipse I conspired with Captain William Kidd, the notorious pirate. Legend has it that Philipse would light a fire on this rock to beckon Kidd's ship. Philipse owned significant shipping interests and was known to be engaged in smuggling as were many other Americans of the colonial period. Lord Bellomont, the British colonial governor suspected that Philipse had obtained and hidden Kidd's contraband "treasures". Kidd was captured, transported to England and executed in 1701.

Frederick Philipse I was a Dutchman who left a big mark on the downstate New York area. The previously mentioned Philipsburg Manor and Philipse Manor Hall (Yonkers) were both constructed by his family and were part of his 52,000 acre property that stretched along the Hudson River.

The rock is still pretty impressive, although I imagine it was much more prominent in Captain  Kidd's era before sediment enclosed it.

And in the spirit of it's all connected, Captain Kidd has a connection to 9/11.

More on that soon ...