Pirates of Savannah: The Complete Trilogy - Colonial Historical Fiction Action Adventure (Pirates of Savannah (Adult Version))
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Many sailors are still killed today by being blown overboard in a storm. Sailing in stormy waters is never safe.
All the cannon firing procedures are accurate.
“Shiver me timbers” meant a mast was blown to splinters. It was also a term used if the ship ran aground and the mast vibrated because of the impact.
A “jolly mast” was an emergency mast made from a broken one.
A sloop was a very popular vessel during that time period.
Chapter 4: Passage to a New World
Fiction
Mr. Michael and Mr. James
The high stakes dice game
The Keelhauling incident
Real
Heavy salting preserved most of the food onboard but also made it very hard to eat.
Having enough fresh clean water was usually the biggest concern of a voyage.
Sailing luck rituals included: a horseshoe on the mast, cats – black cats were considered the most magical, pouring rum on the deck and in the ocean, protective tattoos and earrings. Despite the believe that a woman on a ship was bad luck, a naked female figurehead was believed to calm story waters and also gave a sort of “life” to a ship, so that it can see its way. Often figureheads also reflected the name of the ship, so that illiterate sailors could identify them.
Seeing dolphins following your ship was also considered good luck.
“Liar’s dice” was the gambling game of choice. Dice were usually made from bones, hence terms like ‘throwing or rolling bones’.
Paper monies of the world were not trusted and very few people would take them as a form of payment. Gold, silver and copper were preferred for transactions.
Savannah only had four laws when it was settled:
No hard spirits, including rum.
No lawyers were allowed to practice.
Owning slaves was illegal.
No Papists, Roman Catholics and Spanish Catholics were allowed to practice their religion.
No Jews was an unofficial rule, but this was ignored because the town liked Dr. Nunis.*
Homosexuality has always existed in navies and militaries.
Punishments aboard a ship included flogging by the cat-o-nine tails, tying someone to the mast for days without food and water. The most extreme punishment was keelhauling.
Indentured servants were bought and sold in a way very similar to slaves. The advertisement for Patrick was based on an actual sales flyer I discovered from that time period.
Chapter 5: Savannah
Fiction
The auction
Archibald Freeman
Real
The description of Savannah is based on the map from 1734 at the front of the chapter.
Savannah did have a dock, bluff, and palisades. It also had a ratcheting crane to pull cargo up the bluff and houses that were all built the same style.
The Thunder Mug cannon was real and was initially used to test gunpowder as it was being manufactured; however, it was adapted for many uses, such as signaling.
It was not uncommon for a ship’s crew to be inspected for disease before being allowed to port.
Savannah was this country’s 1st planned city.
The town was under a heavy military presence the first few years.
Auctions and most commerce went through Market Square.
The Carolina’s were famous for their tobacco and it was a highly sought after commodity.
The Indentured servant contract in the book is based on a true contract I discovered from the time period.
*Dr. Nunis (also seen spelled Nunes) was an actual Jewish doctor that the residents loved.
Whaling was the most dangerous profession of the time. The death rate for just two years of service was over 50%. The profession was also known to have many black whale hunters because it was one of the only jobs that ignored skin color.
Chapter 6: A New Life
Fiction
Marian Freeman
Heather Freeman
Maximilian Freeman
Amos Freeman
Mari Anna Dandridge and family
Prudence Quinn and family
In Percival Ward it was extrapolated that this was where the whorehouses would have been. For some reason no official records exist on Savannah’s whorehouse locations. (Hmmmmm, I wonder why?) Most of the first Jewish settlers are rumored to have lived in that ward but this could also not be confirmed.
The Red Lady whorehouse, sadly, never existed.
April Sky
The bard, Wes Loper
Real
Savannah’s community helped George Whitefield found the famous Bethesda Home for Boys orphanage in 1740. It is still in operation today.
The Military would restrict and seize firearms from commoners if they suspected the use would be for other purposes besides hunting. Also the government would want the guns for themselves or for their troops.
Cornbread was all the rage in the early colonies. New uses for corn were always being found such as corncob pipes, hats made of husks and using cobs for cattle feed.
The heat in the south forced many heavy labor activities to be done at night.
Most cultures in the world split the night into first and second sleep until after electric light became prominent.
Bugs and snakes were everywhere; Savannah was basically carved out of a swamp.
Savannah was nicknamed the “Scoundrel’s Haven”
The layouts of wards, squares, trust lots and tything lots are all accurate.
Settlers were also given up to five acres on the edge of town to farm.
There are two legends surrounding the naming of the area known as Thunderbolt. One is that a bolt of lightning split a tree. The second is that a bolt of lightning created a freshwater spring on the Wilmington bluff. Both legends were found in my research, but I chose the tree because I found it fit the story better.
“The Strand” is now called Bay Street and “Thomas Broughton’s street” is now simply called Broughton Street.
Decker Ward and Market Square, which is now called Ellis Square, are still there today. This was the center of activity for trade. White business owners used the square while black owners used carts in the surrounding streets.
During the first few years of Savannah, the government did distribute most of the food.
Derby Ward and Johnson Square had the Christ Church, the first Anglican (Episcopal) church in Georgia.
The story of Pastor John Wesley, who went back to England and started a Methodist movement, was accurate.
Henry Herbert and Pastor Quincy were real residents of Savannah. The Sophia Hopkey scandal was an actual event.
Heathcoat Ward and St. James Square, which is now called Telfair Square, are still there today. This ward and square contained the most fashionable and expensive residential areas. It was also the center of art and music culture in Savannah.
Percival Ward and Percival Square, which is now Wright Square, are still there today.
Tomochichi’s burial ceremony and tomb takes place in Percival Square.
Deer skin was the prominent choice in leathers in the south.
The drawing and forging procedures for blacksmithing nails are accurate.
The Upper New Squares mentioned in this chapter became Reynolds Ward and Square, Anson Ward and Oglethorpe Square.
The Trustee’s Garden and garden tender, Francis Moore, were real, as well as a Yamacraw pyramid burial mound located in the garden.
The soldiers’ red coats were made by a company out of Charles Towne, the South Carolina Independent Company.
Courting a woman was usually a long complicated procedure which could involve the giving of many gifts.
Chapter 7: Angry Lobsterbacks and Tomochichi
Fiction
Byron Kingsley
Sergeant Luthor
William McIntosh
Real
Queen Anne’s dueling pistols were a popular style the century before.
; Traditional Scottish weapons were claymores, targs, dirks and large axes.
In exchange for their military service, the Trustees set up the Scottish town of Darien. The Scots in Darien mainly made their fortunes in timber and cattle.
Fort Argyle was set up as a defense against the Spanish and Indian raiders from the south. It was built in 1733 along with a string of other small forts circling Savannah. It was abandoned by the 1750s but would be used off and on again.
Captain James McPherson, a Scot from South Carolina, garrisoned Fort Argyle with a small force of Rangers.
Oglethorpe did try and make silk in the Trustees’ garden until the winder was stolen.
Certain Jewish sects would only eat unleavened bread.
Savannah was a huge melting pot. It was made of British, Irish, Scottish, African, Redskins, German, Polish, Portuguese and a collection of stragglers from all over Europe.
Tomochichi’s burial ceremony surprisingly had very little written about it, some parts are embellished but most of it is accurate.
Oglethorpe, Tomochichi, his wife and nephew all traveled to London together in 1734.
The Yamacraw and Coweta, Senauki and Toonahowi are actual Indian tribes. Edward Griffin, Brims, and Mary Musgrove were real people.
Mary Musgrove was later arrested for being a woman who dared interrupt a conference of men. She was so mad about not being chosen as a translator for the meeting that she got drunk and barged into the meeting claiming she was the Empress of the Creek Indians and she would command them to rise up against the council. Later in life she received the Yamacraw land of St. Catherine’s Island as compensation for her translating work.
John Wesley, Benjamin Ingram, Peter Rose and the Salzburger community founded the Indian school at Irene.
Oglethorpe swore to the Yamacraw that Tomochichi’s pyramid would never be touched. Of course it was moved and the actual location of his grave is unknown. Currently there is a large rock randomly placed in Wright Square to remember him.
Tomochichi claimed to be the proud age of 97 but eyewitness accounts say he lied about his age and was not over 60.
The murder triangle of John Musgrove’s servant Justice, Skee and Essteeche was scandalous news of that time.
Chapter 8: Fort Mose, Liberty and Honor
Fiction
Alick
Gloria
Duncan McIntosh aka Archibald Freeman
Mr. Edgeington
Real
During The Stono River Slave Uprising 60 slaves and 20 whites were murdered.
Francisco Menendez helped establish Fort Mose in Florida, the first free black establishment in the New World.
Fort Mose was a beacon to run-away slaves and is considered the start of the Underground Railroad movement by some historians.
England did forbid Scots to own weapons and even have traditional burial services. The English wanted Scotland to assimilate and become British so they outlawed most Scottish traditions.
The Flintlock loading and firing procedures are all accurate.
Worm removal was big business back then, in fact modern day Caduceus symbol (the snakes wrapped around a staff) derived from old advertising signs for worm removal. The worm winding stick became the staff and the worms became the snakes.
Chapter 9: Dueling at Noon
Fiction
The duel
Real
Oglethorpe had mixed feelings about dueling. He was losing soldiers and doctors in town over petty duels so he forbade it. Personally he supported the right to duel even into his old age.
Fascinating facts about dueling: up until 1800 many duels were fought with the first and seconds all attacking at each other at the same time. It was not till near the turn of the century that single combat became stylish.
Oglethorpe had a huge tent on the old maps of Savannah so I used it in the story.
With lawyers being illegal in Savannah, anyone accused had to make their own case.
Chapter 10: Jenkins’ Ear
Fiction
The Freeman Society
Real
Treaty of Utrecht did grant England a thirty-year Asiento to sell slaves to Spanish colonies.
Captain Fandiño did slice off Captain Jenkin’s ear and the incident was used as propaganda to start a war.
Books and papers with anti-government themes were outlawed and very dangerous to own.
John Locke, Algernon Sidney, Trenchard and Gordon from Cato’s letters, were some of the first people to write about the ideas of individual liberty in colonial days. These writings were not perfect by any means but they would highly influence the colonial liberty movement.
Gunsmithing procedures were accurate for that time. Most colonial guns a blacksmith made would simply be copies and knock offs of existing guns.
The process of “Shutting in” every night was a centuries old tradition from Europe. Nighttime was very dangerous and folks avoided going out at all costs. They locked down their houses very tight and usually slept on different shifts so someone was always keeping watch.
Hugh MacKay was a well known Highlander warrior, chosen by Oglethorpe (along with John McIntosh Mohr) to found a military town and outpost closer to Florida. This was the town of Darien.
Chapter 11: Land Pirates and Battle Rats
Fiction
Li Go Che -but I did find the name in a list of actual Yamacraw warrior names.
Swamp Indian burial mounds, although they do exist, I could not determine if any were located close to St. Augustine.
Garland the Collie
Real
Fort San Diego, Fort Picolotta and Fort Mose were captured and recaptured.
Scavengers or battle rats made good money following skirmishes and picking bodies clean.
In the Yamasee war the combined Indian tribes came very close to wiping Charles Towne off the map until the Cherokee switched sides and saved the white man. I bet they now regret that move.
Hemp was smoked as much as tobacco in colonial days, a fact most history books completely erased. Hemp was extremely useful and the colonists used it for food, paper, clothes, ropes, and, of course, recreation. It was such an important plant to the colonists that some towns required residents to grow it.
Governor Montiano was so grateful for black soldiers repelling a British attack on St. Augustine in 1728 he abolished slavery in Florida.
Indians of the south routinely made their war clubs out of gunstocks.
Almost half of Oglethorpe’s troops died from swamp sickness and snake bites during the long campaign.
Although Collie dogs were not bred to a standard till the 1800’s, the dogs have been used to help with cattle in Scotland for hundreds of years.
Popcorn was very popular in southern Indian tribes and they are credited for introducing it to the colonists.
The invention of “Hush Puppies” to keep hunting dogs quiet was also credited to the southern Indian tribes. Since only oral Indian history exists on this topic, the origin of Hush Puppies is still debated in the food world today.
The free African warriors of Fort Mose did take back their fort with a sneak attack killing many Scottish highlanders from Darien and Yamacraw Indians.
A Spanish vessel did sneak past the blockade and resupply St. Augustine, ruining Oglethorpe’s siege. This caused Commodore Pearce to withdraw the British Navy because of Hurricane season and Oglethorpe had to quickly retreat leaving all his artillery behind.
Chapter 12: Road Agents and Flesh Palaces
Fiction
Deborah McIntosh
Lauren McIntosh
Lindsey McIntosh
Roderick McIntosh
The whores: Roxanne, Tiphanie, Carla and Rose.
Whoremaster Darden
Real
Old writings talk about the large populations of alligators, wolves, snakes and cougars. Also I found writings mentioning Georgia even had forest buffalo at that time.
Again, nighttime was extremely dangerous to
travel. There were no lights or paved roads, so it was very easy to twist an ankle or break a foot. Even light injuries were life threatening.
Another reason not to go out at night in the colonies was the growing problem of organized gangs of thieves. Remember, Georgia was a dumping ground for prisoners and they quickly returned to practicing their craft.
Different size shot was just starting to be used for different purposes in the colonies. The shotgun had not been officially invented yet but people filled their muskets with all sizes of shot, using them as makeshift shotguns.
Rowan wood crosses were a common protective charm in Scotland and all over Europe. Rowan trees were considered very magical.
Whorehouses in port towns had many ethnicities of women. Many women from around the world were forced into service and sold to whorehouses.
Towns did have town watchman to deter crime and watch for fires.
Chapter 13: Tattooed Women and Soulless Men
Fiction
The Mary Read
The Black Hound
Captain K.T. Brewer
Regan the Cat
Real
Jekyl Island is now spelled Jekyll Island and was the playground of the ultra rich. It is best known as the secret meeting place where the Federal Reserve was established. Establishing the Federal Reserve is considered the most damaging event to ever happen to the American economy. Since the U.S.A was forced off the gold standard by the Federal Reserve, the dollar has lost over 97% of its buying power.
William Horton set up the first English home on Jekyl Island.
Yarrow plants were used as an antiseptic and painkiller.
The stereotype that pirates had hooks and peg legs was well founded. Amputations were rampant in a sailor’s life. Hooks were very expensive and most sailors just made do with a stump.
Scrimshaw was a very popular art form back then, as well as using bones to build model ships.
The tale of the zombies on the Marialva is taken from real historical eyewitness accounts.
The tale of the first settlement in the New World on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, vanishing by zombie attack was passed down orally by the Croatian Indian nation.