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Greyhound

Royal Navy sixth-rate of twenty guns and 120 men, station ship of the province of New York, which engaged Edward Low's Fancy and Charles Harris's Ranger on 10 June 1723 and took the Ranger.

LaunchedDate not establishedToDate not establishedAlso writtenHis Majesty's Ship the Greyhound (New York Common Council resolution, 25 July 1723, as printed by Johnson)

On the morning of 10 June 1723, off southern New England, two pirate sloops gave chase to a ship and found they had chased a man of war. She was the Greyhound, a Royal Navy sixth-rate under Captain Peter Solgard. Greyhound was a common name, and more than one merchant vessel of it runs through this story; the ship here is the one that fought Edward Low and Charles Harris, and no other hull.1,2

How many Greyhounds

The name trouble is not imaginary: one book carries three of them. In Charles Johnson's Martel chapter a "Greyhound Galley of London, Captain Evans" is emptied of "all her Gold Dust, Elephant's Teeth, and 40 Slaves" and sent on her way. In his Lowther chapter the pirates fire a gun for "a Ship of 200 Tun, called the Greyhound, Benjamin Edwards Commander, belonging to Boston" to bring to, and are refused. The second mate of that Boston ship, forced out of her by Lowther, was Charles Harris, who afterwards had the brigantine in Low's company.3,4,5

Twenty guns, and how many men

Twenty guns and 120 men: "a Ship of 20 Guns, and 120 Men" in Johnson, a sixth-rate of twenty guns and 120 men in Solgard's own report. That is the establishment, and how many stood on her deck that afternoon nobody wrote down. She was, in Johnson's phrase, "rather inferiour in Force to the two Pyrate Vessels". New York's Common Council, minuting its thanks the following month, called her "the Station Ship of the Province".6,7,8,9,10

An older surprise, and a galley

An older surprise attaches to a ship of the name. "About March 1722", in Johnson's telling, "one of our Men of War trading upon the Coast, viz. the Greyhound Galley, Captain Walron" asked sixteen or eighteen merchants aboard to dinner, and the guests in the cabin "pulled out their Pistols and shot the Captain, Surgeon and another dead". She was got back before she could be carried off, and the Spaniards left in their launch with "about 10000 l. in Specie, as I am informed". Whether that galley is this ship is not known.11,12,13

The tenth of June

Solgard let himself be chased. Finding the sloops "so eager", the Greyhound "tack'd and stood from them", which gave them two hours of pursuit and her two hours to clear for action. The sloops were the Fancy, Low commanding, and the Ranger under Harris. Where the day began is reported three ways, off Long Island, off the mouth of Delaware Bay, off Rhode Island; only its close is firmly placed, near Block Island. Coming up, the pirates hoisted a black flag, then hauled it down and hoisted a red one; the Boston account has them "put up a Bloody Flag". At musket shot the Greyhound "halled up her Main-sail, and clapp'd close upon a Wind, to keep the Pyrates from running to Leeward, and then engaged".14,15,16,17

Then the wind went. The sloops drew away on their oars, the Greyhound left off firing and turned all hands to her own, and at three in the afternoon came up with them again. That second engagement finished it. The Ranger's main yard was shot down, and Low bore away in the Fancy and left his consort where she lay. Harris's people, having "ten or twelve Men killed and wounded, and that there was no possibility of escaping", "called out for Quarters, and surrendered themselves to Justice". One modern account has the Fancy dismasted and escaping in that state; the newspaper and Johnson both make the Ranger the cripple.18,19,20,21

The prize, and the counting

The prize was a Bermuda-built sloop of eight guns. Out of her the Greyhound took forty-two white men and six black men, eight of them wounded and four killed, and carried her in to Rhode Island, "to the great Joy of the whole Province, tho' it had been more compleat, if the great LOW himself had grac'd the Triumph". Her own loss was two men wounded. A later article gives thirty-seven white men instead of forty-two.22,23,24

A Court of Admiralty sat at Newport on 10, 11 and 12 July 1723. Thirty-six persons were tried and twenty-eight found guilty; two were reprieved, eight acquitted, and twenty-six hanged on the nineteenth, Harris among them. Johnson's own list of the prisoners ends "These 25 were found guilty, and executed the 19th of July, 1723, near Newport in Rhode-Island", and the New York minute he prints a few pages further on says twenty-six. The book disagrees with itself inside one chapter.25,26,27

New York paid for the day in gold. On 25 July, nobody dissenting, the Common Council voted Solgard the freedom of the corporation, the seal "enclosed in a Gold Box", the arms of the city engraved on one side and "a Representation of the Engagement on the other", under a motto carrying the date 10 Junii, 1723. The men who got away "vented a Million of Oaths and Curses upon the Captain of the Greyhound", vowing vengeance on everything they met with afterwards.28,29

Not one paper of this ship's own has been read for this page. No log, no muster, no letter in Solgard's hand: his report is known here only through a modern writer quoting it, the Boston News-Letter only through one transcribing it. The Newport trial print, which would give the evidence and the sentences at first hand, was refused by its host at every attempt, so its title page does the work of its body. Her build, her scantlings, her cost and what became of her after 1723 are not established here from any document, and nothing on them is set down on this page.30

What the evidence does not settle

Construction and service

  • Greyhound's builder, launch date, dimensions and career outside 1723

Namesake

  • Whether Johnson's Greyhound galley was the same ship

Action totals

  • Twenty-five or twenty-six hanged, and forty-eight or thirty-seven men taken

Each line is one question with its own grade, taken from the register where a claim carries it. Nothing here is graded as a whole.

Sources for this record

Every statement above that rests on a checked claim carries a small number; the numbers lead here. Each entry gives what is claimed, how far the record supports it, and where it comes from.

  1. The Greyhound of this record is His Majesty's Ship Greyhound, the Royal Navy sixth-rate commanded by Captain Peter Solgard that engaged Edward Low's Fancy and Charles Harris's Ranger on 10 June 1723 and took the Ranger, and not a merchant vessel of the same name. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Newspaper report: The Boston News-Letter, account of the Greyhound action, as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723 (issue not read in the original)
  2. More than one vessel named Greyhound is relevant to the piracy of this period, including merchant vessels, and the identification of this record rests on the cross-reference to the Solgard, Low and Harris action. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  3. Johnson's Martel chapter records a separate vessel of the name, the Greyhound galley of London, Captain Evans, bound from Guinea to Jamaica, from which the pirates took her gold dust, elephants' teeth and forty slaves before sending her on her voyage. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. II, Of Captain Martel, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  4. Johnson's Lowther chapter records a further vessel of the name, a ship of 200 tons called the Greyhound, Benjamin Edwards commander, belonging to Boston, which refused the pirates' gun to bring to on the tenth of January. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XII, Of Capt. George Lowther, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  5. Johnson states that Charles Harris, made captain of the brigantine, had been forced into the pirates' service by Lowther out of the Greyhound of Boston, in which ship he was second mate. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  6. The Greyhound mounted twenty guns, Johnson calling her a ship of 20 guns and Solgard's report describing a sixth-rate of twenty guns. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Naval report: Captain Peter Solgard's report of the Greyhound action, as quoted in 'A Greater Monster Never Infested the Seas': Edward Low
  7. The Greyhound's complement was about 120 men, given as 120 Men by Johnson and as 120 men in Solgard's report, and the number actually aboard during the action of 10 June 1723 is not separately recorded. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Naval report: Captain Peter Solgard's report of the Greyhound action, as quoted in 'A Greater Monster Never Infested the Seas': Edward Low
  8. Johnson states that the pirates gave chase to the Greyhound and calls her rather inferior in force to the two pirate vessels. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  9. The resolution of the Mayor and Common Council of the City of New York of 25 July 1723 calls the Greyhound the station ship of the province. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Council minute: Resolution of the Mayor and Common-Council of the City of New-York, 25 July 1723, printed in A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  10. Captain Peter Solgard commanded the Greyhound in the action of 10 June 1723. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Naval report: Captain Peter Solgard's report of the Greyhound action
  11. Johnson states that about March 1722 a man of war trading on the coast, the Greyhound galley, Captain Walron, had her captain invite merchants to dinner aboard, sixteen or eighteen of them coming on board with their attendants and friends. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), introductory matter on proceedings between the English and the Spaniards in the West Indies (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  12. Johnson states that the guests in the cabin drew pistols and shot the captain, the surgeon and another man dead. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), introductory matter on proceedings between the English and the Spaniards in the West Indies (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  13. Johnson states that the ship was recovered before she could be carried off, the Spaniards taking about 10,000 pounds in specie and going off in their launch unmolested. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), introductory matter on proceedings between the English and the Spaniards in the West Indies (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  14. On 10 June 1723 the Greyhound engaged two pirate sloops, the Fancy under Edward Low and the Ranger under Charles Harris, in a running fight off the coast of southern New England whose starting point is reported variously as off Long Island, off the mouth of Delaware Bay and off Rhode Island, and whose close is placed near Block Island. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Newspaper report: The Boston News-Letter, account of the Greyhound action, as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723 (issue not read in the original)
  15. Johnson states that the Greyhound tacked and stood away from the two sloops, letting them chase her for two hours while she made ready to engage. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  16. Johnson states that on coming within musket shot the Greyhound hauled up her mainsail and clapped close upon a wind to keep the pirates from running to leeward, and then engaged. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  17. During the approach the pirates hoisted a black flag and then hauled it down and hoisted a red or bloody flag, Solgard's report reading that they hauled it down and hoisted a red one and the newspaper saying that they put up a Bloody Flag. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Naval report: Captain Peter Solgard's report of the Greyhound action, as quoted in 'A Greater Monster Never Infested the Seas': Edward Low
  18. Johnson states that the wind fell, that the sloops gained on the Greyhound by the help of their oars, and that she left off firing, turned all hands to her own oars and came up with them at three in the afternoon. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  19. After the Ranger was disabled by the loss of her main yard, Low bore away in the Fancy and abandoned Harris, and the Fancy escaped, against a later account which has the Fancy dismasted but escaping. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580), with the Boston News-Letter as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723
  20. The Ranger's company called for quarters and surrendered to the Greyhound, Johnson writing that they called out for Quarters, and surrendered themselves to Justice. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580), with the Boston News-Letter as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723
  21. Johnson states that the Ranger's company had ten or twelve men killed and wounded and no possibility of escaping when they surrendered. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  22. The prize was a Bermuda-built sloop of eight guns, out of which the Greyhound took forty-two white men and six black men, eight of them wounded and four killed, a later article giving thirty-seven white men instead of forty-two. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Newspaper report: The Boston News-Letter, account of the Greyhound action, as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723 (issue not read in the original)
  23. The Greyhound's own loss in the action was light, the man of war having but two men wounded. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Newspaper report: The Boston News-Letter, account of the Greyhound action, as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723 (issue not read in the original)
  24. Johnson states that the Greyhound carried her prize in to Rhode Island, to the great joy of the whole province. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  25. The prisoners taken out of the Ranger were carried to Newport and tried at a Court of Admiralty on the tenth, eleventh and twelfth days of July 1723, thirty-six persons being tried and twenty-eight found guilty. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Trial print: Tryals of thirty-six persons for piracy, twenty-eight of them upon full evidence were found guilty, and the rest acquitted. At a Court of Admiralty for tryal of pirates, held at Newport... on the tenth, eleventh and twelfth days of July, anno Dom. 1723, Evans N29929 (title page; the body of the print not read)
  26. Twenty-six of the convicted pirates, Charles Harris among them, were executed at Newport on 19 July 1723, two being reprieved and eight acquitted. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Newspaper report: The Boston News-Letter, account of the Greyhound action, as transcribed in Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723 (issue not read in the original)
  27. Johnson's printed list of the prisoners states that twenty-five of them were found guilty and executed on 19 July 1723 near Newport in Rhode Island, against the twenty-six of the New York resolution printed in the same chapter. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  28. On 25 July 1723 the New York Common Council resolved, nobody dissenting, to present Captain Peter Solgard with the freedom of the corporation, the seal to be enclosed in a gold box bearing the arms of the corporation on one side and a representation of the engagement on the other, under a motto carrying the date 10 June 1723. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Council minute: Resolution of the Mayor and Common-Council of the City of New-York, 25 July 1723, printed in A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  29. Johnson states that after their escape Low's company swore oaths and curses upon the captain of the Greyhound and vowed to execute vengeance upon all they should meet with afterwards. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), Chap. XIII, Of Captain Edward Low, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  30. The body of the Newport trial print could not be reached for this record, and both the Boston News-Letter account and Solgard's report were read only through modern carriers rather than from the originals. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Note on the sources: the Newport trial print of 1723, Evans N29929, whose host refused access at every attempt; the Boston News-Letter account and Captain Peter Solgard's report, both read only as quoted in modern writers