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The History of Sea and Pirate Surgeons, Page 9

Pirate Surgeons of Interest and Note

Some information is known about a number of men who wound up serving as surgeons on pirate ships. Let's look at what what is said about them.

Pirate Surgeon John Devin (Henry Every)

In September of 1695, Henry Every's fleet of ships took Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's ship Ganj-I-Sawai and Abdul Ghafur's ship Fateh Muhammed. Because the Ganj-I-Sawai contained members of the holy family and was ship was heading for Mecca, the Mughal considered this attack a sacrilege. "When the tattered ship arrived in Surat, riots erupted throughout the city. The most obvious victim of their ire was the offices of the East India Company. The mob did not distinguish between English pirates and English traders."¹ Ed Fox explains that "it was only through the great efforts of diplomacy by [Head of the East India Company's Surat
Pirate Henry Every, The Fancy & the Ganj-I-Sawai Engaging (18th c.)
factory Samuel] Annesley and [East India Company General Sir John] Gayer that the worst of their consequences were avoided."² The Privy Council issued a proclamation on July 18, 1696 "declaring Henry Every and his crew pirates, [and] ordering colonial governors to seize them, and offering a reward of £500, which the East India Company agreed to pay, for their apprehension"³. Gayer noted that "the East India Company had undertaken to hunt down Every itself, but in all probability the pirate had sailed for the American colonies, where he was assured to find a more hospitable climate."⁴

Gayer was correct; Every decided to sail to Providence in the Bahamas with the hope of finding a governor whom he could bribe to look the other way and ignore the group of sailors who showed up with large sums of money. Nassau governor Nicholas Trott proved to be the man they wanted, meeting with his colony's council and agreeing to let the pirates land.

Some of the crew chose to remain on the island, which is where surgeon Devin became important. "Amongst those who stayed at Providence was John Devin, the surgeon of the Fancy."⁵ Jamaican Governor William Beeston told the Board of trade that Every and his men had gone to Providence, also sending a letter to Trott asking if he knew he that the notorious Henry Every and his men were there. As a result, "Trott hurriedly issued a warrant for the arrest of Every and his men, and then he quietly tipped them off and allowed all but a handful to escape."⁶ Devin was one of the men captured and sent to trial.
Artists: Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin
Trial at the Old Bailey, Microcosm of London, Plate 058 (1808-9)
"Devin was acquitted on all counts and even presented by the court with a certificate" stating this fact.⁷

Shortly after his trial in Nassau, Devin went to New England where he was again arrested and tried for piracy at Boston in October of 1698. Fortunately, he still had his certificate of innocence, which stated, "The Petty Jury returning to the Court found the within mentioned John Devin not Guilty, upon which the s[ai]d John Devin was cleared by Proclamation"⁸. As a result, the Boston court ruled

The s[ai]d Jno. Devin, being called, appeared and produced a Certificate und'r the hand of Ellis Lightwood Esq., chief Judge of the Island of Providence… and found not guilty by the Jury, and clear'd by Proclamation, which afore cited Certificate being read and other the proceedings in the case in the sd Court at Providence, Proclamation was made, and nothing of further charge or Evidence appearing against the sd Jno. Devin, he was openly acquitted.⁹

It is worth noting that surgeons on pirate ships were frequently cleared of charges because they were believed to be forced into the service of pirates. Whether this had anything to do with Devin being pronounced innocent or not is impossible to say without the actual trial notes from Providence. Whatever the case, it seems likely that Devin was given a share of the plunder and a willing participant in the piracies of Henry Every. If he was cleared by Trott as a symbolic gesture, he is one of the minority of pirates (and the only known pirate surgeon) who got away with his part of the plunder during the golden age of piracy. Suffolk Court Files from Boston note that "John Devine settled as a chirurgeon in Boston in 1704."¹⁰

¹ Douglas R. Burgess, Jr., The Politics of Piracy: Crime and Civil Disobedience in Colonial America, 2014, p. 54; ² Ed Fox, King of the Pirates, 2008, p. 92; ³ John Franklin Jameson, "58. Petition of the East India Company. July 1696", Footnote 2, Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period – Illustrative Documents, 1923, p. 153; ⁴ Burgess, p. 58; ⁵ Fox, p. 109; ^6,7 Burgess, p. 62; ⁸ Jameson, "66. Certificate for John Devin (Bahamas). September (?) 20, 1698", p. 179; ⁹ Jameson, "67. Certificate for John Devin (Massachusetts). October 25, 1698", Privateering and Piracy, p. 180; ¹⁰ Jameson, "66. Certificate for John Devin (Bahamas). September (?) 20, 1698", Footnote 2, Privateering and Piracy, p. 178

Sea Surgeon Walter Kier and Pirate Walter Kennedy's Wife

Far more extraordinary (even unbelievably so) is the story of a supercargo and his second (a surgeon by training) who fell under
Photo: Mission
Tia Dalma as the Witch the spell of a bewitching piratess. Walter Kennedy's wife "gave the first Supercargo [Walter Kier] a Philtre [love potion] that made him dote on her almost to Distraction."¹ Claiming to need money, she convinced the supercargo to 'borrow' a chest of a thousand pounds from the Scot's Company for whom he worked. The Supercargo "could deny her nothing she asked for, and promised that if he could bring his Second [surgeon Robert Innes] to consent, she should have it, but that Consent could be got on no Terms."²

So Mrs. Kennedy treated Innes to dinner and poisoned him with a potion given her by a local witch. Captain Alexander Hamilton (no, not that one) explains what happened. "The same Night it began to operate by Grippings [pain in the stomach or intestines] and Sweating, and he being bred a Surgeon, took some Medicines to correct the Grippings, which in some Measure the Medicine did, but he lost his Appetite, and his Excrements came from him as black as Ink."³ Since his surgical cures failed, the second supercargo surgeon sent for Malaysian doctor who "felt his Pulse, and immediately told [him] that he was poisoned, and that if he could not tell what Poison he had taken, his Cure was very desperate and uncertain."⁴

Artist: Cappella Brancacci
Hamilton then suggested Innes consult a witch doctor whom he called "old Beelzebub (for he was a Man, or walking Shadow, of a dismal Aspect, near an hundred Years old)".⁵ We'll let Hamilton continue this bizarre story from here.

"The Doctor called for a Tea Cup, and some fresh Limes, which were brought to him. He turned all out of the Room but my self and his Patient, and cut some Limes, and squeezed their Juice into the Tea-cup till it was full. He then mutter'd some unintelligible Words, keeping his right Hand moving over the Cup for the Space of three or four Minutes, and finding his Conjuration was not satisfactory, he shak'd his old Head, and lookt dejected. He then mutter'd some other Words with an higher Voice keeping his Hand in Motion as before, and in two Minutes the Juice in the Cup seemed to boil as if a Fire had been under it. Then he began to smile. I had the Curiosity to put my Finger into the Juice, but it retained its ordinary Coldness…

At Ten [PM], my Friend [the surgeon] sent a Servant according to Direction [of the Witch Doctor], and he and I sat discoursing about what we had observed in the Doctor's Actions towards effecting the Cure. About
Artist: Sullivan Carlyle
Mrs. Kennedy and the Monster Eleven the Spy came and told us that Mrs Kennedy had run stark mad, making an hideous Noise, and said, She had seen the Devil in the little House in the Garden, in a monstrous Shape and terrible Aspect. She soon after grew furiously mad, scratching and biting every Body she could come at, and so the Family was forced to threw on a Bed, and tie her down to it.

In that Fit she continued till about eight in the Morning, that the old Conjurer came to Town, who, upon the Advice given him, went directly to visit her. Upon Sight of him she became calm and sensible. He ordered every Body out of the Room, and askt her what Poison she had given to his Patient. She was very loth to tell, and proferred him 500 Dollars to forsake his Patient, and let the Poison operate; but he honestly refused, and assured her that the same Devil that she saw in the Garden, should be her continual Companion all her Days, and would often make her feel the Effects of his Power, if she did not instantly declare what the Poison was, and from whom she had it. She seeing no other Remedy, confest where she had the Poison, but could not tell what it was. The Doctor sent for the old Schoolmistress of Wickedness, and when she came, he threatned to torment her also, by his humble Servant the Devil, if she did not forthwith declare what Poison had been given, which she did, and he took away Mrs Kennedy's Companion the Devil, and the Patient was well enough in eight or ten Days, to follow his Affairs, but Mrs Kennedy lookt ever after disturb'd, as if continually frightned.⁶

¹Alexander Hamilton, British sea-captain Alexander Hamilton's A new account of the East Indies, 17th-18th century, p. 383; ²Ibid., p. 384; ³Ibid.; ⁴Ibid.; ⁵Ibid.; ⁶Ibid., p. 384-6

Pirate Surgeon Richard Moor (Thomas Cocklyn & John (Richard) Taylor)

Richard Moor was a surgeon's mate aboard the Comrade Galley which was taken in June of 1718 near Anamaboo (located in modern day Ghana, Africa)
Artist: Ferdinand Victor Perrot
A Russian Galley, From The Battle of Grengam in 1720 (19th c.)
by Captains Jeremiah Cocklyn in the Speedwell and Oliver Levasseur in the Duke of Ormond.⁴ He served aboard the Speedwell until the pirates abandoned her in favor of the French prize Victory. Moor appears to have been put on board the Victory continuing under the command of Cocklyn until he died. Moor then served under Cocklyn's replacement, Captain John (Richard) Taylor. His tenure with the pirates encompassed almost six years, making him one of the longest-serving pirate surgeons in this article.

What is known of Moor's time among the pirates comes from his own testimony. While this provides a great deal of information on the activities of the pirates, it unfortunately does not mention much of interest about Moor's duties as surgeon.

His testimony was able to be used against the pirates because he was acquitted. As Moor attests, "he the Inform[an]t being by force and Compultion a Surgeon on board of a pirate Ship called the Victory (whereof Richard Taylor was Comander) at a French Island called Don Maskareen [referring to one of the Mascarene Islands off Madagascar] in the East Indias"⁵. As explained previously, Moor's testimony tells us that there were two other surgeons among these crews - Thomas Arrett and Mr Snear - and the three of them appear to have obtained their release when pirate Captain John (Richard) Taylor (who took over command from Cocklyn) and his crew chose to accept the King's pardon in Panama in 1723.

⁴ “44. Richard Moor, from The Examination of Richard Moor, 31 October, 1724. HCA 1/55, ff. 94-97”, Pirates in Their Own Words, Ed Fox, ed., 2014, p. 207; ⁵ “44. Richard Moor...", p. 213

Pirate Surgeon Archibald Murray (Howell Davis/Bartholomew Roberts/Walter Kennedy)

Although he didn't serve the pirates quite as long as Richard Moor, Archibald Murray spent an estimable two years as surgeon under the command of three pirate captains. He was aboard Bahamas governor Woodes Rogers' privateer Buck when Howell Davis and the crew mutinied and turned pirate in the summer of 1718.¹ The twenty one year old Murray "was rudely awakened one morning by a blow from the flat of a cutlass."² Murray ran to the captain's cabin to report that "he suspected that the crew had mutified and they designed to have him in their power."³ Murray then picked up a pair of pistols lying on the captain's bed. The pistols weren't loaded, however, so the captain and his surgeon were forced to surrender.
Surgeon Operating on a Leg Below Deck (1820)
Murray was kept on as surgeon when Bartholomew Roberts was elected captain upon Davis' death in June of 1719. He was aboard the Royal Rover when Captain Walter Kennedy decided to break ties with Roberts and sail to Ireland.

Unlike some of the other pirate surgeons discussed, some information is recorded regarding Murray's role as surgeon among the pirates. Richard Jones was captured by Howell Davis's gunner who "maliciously slashed across his leg with a cutlass before tying a rope round his middle and dragging him into the long-boat. The wound was so deep that it took six weeks of dressing in bandages by Dr. Murray to heal."³

Roger Hughes, in attempt to defend himself at trial noted "that he was still sick with ‘Guinea distemper’ and below decks under Dr. Murray’s care, when Howell Davis led the pirates that took over the sloop at Hispaniola."⁴

And when forced sail maker William Green refused to hold a pistol during an attack, Davis forced one on him which "went off, shooting a hole through Dr. Murray’s valuable medicine chest and breaking a number of bottles inside. For that he was brought to the mast and flogged to within an inch of his life."⁵

After the capture and plunder of the vessel Sea Nymph (a snow) off Barbados in late 1719, Kennedy decided to give it back to the rightful captain along with 16 of his forced crew members, which included Murray. The ship sailed to Barbados, arriving on Christmas day in 1719. Murray was a key witness in the trials against Kennedy's crew in Edinburgh, Scotland eleven months later.⁶

¹ Eric J. Graham, Seawolves: Pirates & the Scots, 2005, p. 49; ² Graham, p. 117; ³ Richard Sanders, If a Pirate I Must Be, 2013, not paginated; ⁴ Graham, p. 117; ⁶ Terry Breverton, Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All, 2004, p. 141

Pirate Surgeon Cole Wyeth (Edward Low/Francis Spriggs)

Forced to Eat Candles, Allen & Ginter Cigarette Card (c. 1888)
Cole Wyeth was surgeon on Captain Hunt's former man-of-war Delight, which was taken by pirate captain Edward Low off the coast of Africa in 1723.¹ Low kept the Delight, making Francis Spriggs her captain. Spriggs quietly left Low one night in the Delight following a disagreement over the need to follow the articles regarding discipline. Thus Wyeth became Francis Spriggs surgeon.

Nothing is said of Wyeth's turn or skill as surgeon of Spriggs crew. He is noted as being a witness to an unusual method of torture administered by Spriggs' men, however. Wyeth (referred to only as the doctor) in the cabin when Nicholas Simmons, a forced man, was forced to to eat candles after refusing to sign the pirates articles.²

Wyeth is perhaps most notable from period accounts for being one of the men to intervene on behalf of captain Richard Hawkins, who was captured twice by Spriggs' pirates. Upon being captured for the second time, Hawkins, like Nicholas Simmons, was forced to eat candles for no other purpose than the pirates' amusement. Following Hawkins waxy meal, the pirates decided to 'sweat' Taylor. This is best described in Taylor's account:

Spriggs' Crew Sweating a Prisoner (19th c.)

The Manner of a Sweat is thus: Between Decks they stick Candles round the Mizen-Mast, and about twenty five Men surround it with Points of Swords, Penknives, Compasses, Forks, etc. in each of their Hands: Culprit enters the Circle; the Violin plays a merry Jig; and he must run for about ten Minutes, while each Man runs his instrument into his Posteriors.³

Just as he was readying himself for this bit of entertainment, Taylor was spared the treatment thanks in part to the surgeon's intervention.

Mr Cole [Wyeth], the Surgeon, and a Prisoner on board [the Delight - James Stapleton], who had formerly been Gunner of her, these, with one Joseph Cooper, did intreat earnestly for me, alledging, That I never did any Man any ill; that I had done them no Injustice; and they had already ruin’d me; wherefore they begg’d I might be voted clear of any farther Punishment⁴

Based upon this, Taylor further commented "Mr Cole Wyeth is a great Mediator for kind Treatment; as are also Joseph Cooper and James Stapleton: To these Men was I indebted for being preserv’d from the Sweat."⁵

Wyeth escaped from Spriggs by helping to capture a Jamaican sloop taken by the pirates in August of 1725. This occurred when Spriggs and his men were busy careening their vessel near Roatán. The Boston Gazette reports that "while they [Sprigg's pirates] were at work upon their Ship the Doctor and Quartermaster confederated to leave his Crew, and in order thereto imparted their Design to the Master of the [recently taken] Jamaica sloop"⁶. When the pirates were distracted, the three men "overcame the Pyrates on board her [the Jamaican sloop], slipt the Cable [let the line run out without taking up the anchor] and made the best of their way. …The Doctor and Quarter-Master were afraid to go to Jamaica, but went a shore amongst the Musquero Islands."⁷

¹ “59. Richard Hawkins' account of his capture by Francis Spriggs, from The British Journal, 8 August, 1724 and 22 August, 1724", Pirates in Their Own Words, Ed Fox, ed., 2014, p. 299 & Captain Charles Johnson, A general history of the pirates, 3rd Edition, 1724, p. 390; ² “48. Nicholas Simmons, from The Memorandum of Nicholas Simmons", Pirates in Their Own Words, Ed Fox, ed., 2014, p. 237; ³ “59. Richard Hawkins' account...", p. 296; ⁴ “59. Richard Hawkins' account...", p. 297; ⁵ “59. Richard Hawkins' account...", p. 300-1; ^6,7 The Boston Gazette, not dated, British Piracy in the Golden Age, Joel Baer, ed., 2007, Volume 1, p. 347

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