Rachel Wall
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| Rachel Wall | |
|---|---|
| c.1760 – October 8, 1789 | |
| Type: | Pirate |
| Place of birth: | Carlisle, Pennsylvania Colony |
| Place of death: | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Allegiance: | United States |
| Years of service: | 1781–1782 |
| Base of Operations: | New Hampshire |
Rachel Wall (c.1760 – October 8, 1789) was an American female pirate, and the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts. She may also have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Wall was born Rachel Schmidt in Carlisle, in the Province of Pennsylvania, to a family of devout Presbyterians.[1] She lived on a farm outside Carlisle as a child,[2] but was not happy there, preferring the waterfront. As a young woman, she was attacked by a group of girls on the docks,[2] but a man named George Wall came and rescued her. The two fell in love and, despite her mother's concerns,[2] they married.
[edit] Career as a pirate
When George went to sea on a fishing schooner after the newlyweds moved to Boston, Rachel took up a job as a servant. When George came back, he brought with him five sailors and their lovers,[2] and persuaded Rachel to join them. In one week, the party had spent all their money and the schooner set sail again, upon which George suggested they all become pirates.[2] He borrowed another schooner from a friend,[2] and the party set sail.
Rachel and her crew worked in the Isle of Shoals, just off the New Hampshire coast.[2] After storms Rachel would stand on the deck and scream for help. When passers-by came to give aid, they were killed and all their goods stolen. The crew was successful in capturing twelve boats, stealing $6,000 cash, an indeterminate amount of valuables, and killing twenty-four sailors, all between 1781 and 1782.[1]
[edit] Arrest and execution
Eventually, after her husband and crew washed out to sea by accident,[1][2] Rachel returned to Boston and resumed her role as a servant. However, she still enjoyed going to the docks and sneaking into harboured boats, stealing things from inside. Her final robbery occurred when she saw a young woman named Margaret Bender, wearing a bonnet which Rachel coveted. She attempted to steal the bonnet and rip Margaret's tongue out, but was caught and arrested. She was tried for robbery on September 10, 1789 but requested that she be tried as a pirate, while maintaining that she had never killed anyone.[2] However, she was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to be hanged on October 8, 1789.[3] Her death marked the last occasion a woman was hanged in Massachusetts.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Boston's Histories: Essays in Honor of Thomas H. O'Connor by Thomas H. O'Connor, James M. O'Toole, and David Quigley. ISBN 1555535828
- The Power of the Press: The Birth of American Political Reporting by Thomas C. Leonard. ISBN 0195037197
