The *St. Michel* of Nantes Plundered and Captured by Pirates

 The *St. Michel* of Nantes Plundered and Captured by Pirates:

(Rapports des capitaines à l'Amirauté de Nantes, B4578, p. 32-34, Archives départementales de Loire-Atlantique)

Dated this 3rd of January

Appeared Jean Dubois, Sieur du Toucheray, Captain of the *St. Michel*—a vessel of 150 tons, armed with twelve cannons and manned by a crew of 40 men—belonging to Mr. René Montaudouin, in whose service the said Captain is currently engaged. Having promised and sworn to tell the truth, he declared that his said ship, having been loaded with authorized merchandise and being fully equipped with all necessary clearances for the coast of Saint-Domingue, departed from the lower reaches of this river on the 18th of August last. He sighted the island of Madeira on the 3rd of September following. On the 26th of the said month, they encountered a ship from Bordeaux—Captain Darboy—which, like his own, was bound for Saint-Domingue; they sailed in company with this vessel until the following day, proceeding at a much faster pace than the other ship. On the 18th of October, around 8 o'clock in the morning, he sighted Cape Samaná on the coast of Saint-Domingue. At that very moment, he perceived a ship offshore that was tacking toward the land—and consequently, toward his own vessel. Expecting it to be a pirate ship, he waited for it and prepared for battle; however, upon hailing the vessel, he discovered that it was a ship from this very river—Captain Guilland—returning from Guinea, whence it had departed nearly five months earlier. Observing that this encounter was causing him a significant delay in his voyage, he parted company with the vessel toward evening, but not before offering it anything it might require, given its long transatlantic crossing. He continued his course the following day toward the Cape and the Môle. On the 20th of the said month, around 10 o'clock in the morning—while positioned five or six leagues to the north of La Grange—his lookout alerted him that two vessels were visible offshore, which... They gave chase to him, and shortly thereafter he recognized them as pirates; he therefore had his crew—and his passengers, who numbered twenty-eight—prepare to defend themselves, as it appeared evident that the two approaching vessels were pirate ships. When the said two boats came within cannon range—specifically, the one that appeared to be the larger of the two—it hoisted an English flag and fired a shot with live ammunition. This compelled the deponent to hoist his own French flag. Immediately, the said boat—and its companion pirate vessel—struck their English flags and each hoisted a black flag featuring a skull holding a dart in one hand and a hourglass in the other; 

The purported flag of Blackbeard, a variant of the "Old Roger design", consisting of a horned skeleton holding an hourglass and using a spear to pierce a bleeding heart, is typically attributed to the pirate Edward Thache, better known as Blackbeard. This pirate may be but likely not Blackbeard, however, as he was engaged elsewhere (though nearby) and the vessels vaguely match, except for the smaller pirate of 4 guns. If it is Blackbeard, then these French depositions alone verify the use of this flag for Edward Thache.

However, contrary to popular belief, there is no accurate description of any specific flag used by Blackbeard during his piracy beyond using "bloody flags" or black flags with "deaths heads". Records from as early as 1723 report a flag of the same or very similar design to have been used by pirates, but not by Blackbeard in particular. A pirate named "Nicholas [prob. Thomas Nichols]" who used a similar design was reported near Hispaniola at about the time the St. Michael was taken in consort with a smaller vessel. This may be them.

... furthermore, at the top of their mainmasts, they flew another flag of the same color depicting a man standing upon another figure, with a weapon piercing the latter's throat [previously unknown flag]. As the large pirate vessel continued to approach, it sent volley after volley—some seven or eight rounds—at him. Upon finding himself within effective range, the deponent attempted to fire two shots from the stern of his ship in order to swing his vessel around and present his broadside to the enemy; to this end, he began to trim his topgallant sails and haul up his mainsail. At this juncture, the majority of his passengers—led by a certain Sieur de l'Isle Ribauld—intervened, telling him that he must not engage in battle with such dangerous men. They argued that if the deponent were to fire even a single cannon shot, his entire crew would be massacred, whereas the pirates were likely interested only in plundering some provisions and other supplies of that nature. The said Sieur de l'Isle had already wagered five crowns—and offered further incentives—on the proposition that if half the crew were to side with the passengers, the deponent would be rendered incapable of offering any defense; consequently, they advised the deponent to strike his flag and allow the pirate captain to come aboard his vessel—which he did, some seven minutes later. ...one pirate, named Daniel Bertrand, a native of Maijorine. Subsequently, the said Lamotte came aboard the declarant's ship with ten to twelve Englishmen, who ordered him to proceed to the said pirate vessel; he did so and observed that it was an English ship of ten or twelve guns, with Lamotte and thirteen other crew members aboard. The second pirate vessel was armed with four cannons and a crew of thirty-five men; they dispatched forty men to the declarant's ship and removed an equal number—both sailors and passengers—transferring them to the said pirate vessel. The pirates had already learned that the declarant had encountered a slave ship at Samaná; consequently, they blockaded the passage for the remainder of that day and the two following days in order to intercept it. On the 22nd, they proceeded to anchor near La Grange, where they detained two English vessels engaged in trade along the coast of Saint-Domingue. On the morning of Saturday, the 23rd of the said month of October, they were preparing to put him ashore; however, at that very moment, the said pirates sighted two sails out at sea. Deciding to give chase, they hastily loaded several sailors and passengers into the declarant's ship's canoe, which they then towed behind them, accompanied by twelve of their own men. During the chase, the declarant observed that one of the pirate vessels engaged the two sails they had sighted; upon closing with them, the pirates fired two cannon shots, compelling the vessels to strike their colors—specifically, a ship from Bordeaux named *Le Saint-Jacques*, Captain Bergero.

Plan du Mouillage de la Grange au Nord de St Domingue. A. La Grange ; B. Islet a l'abri duquel on mouille, C. Mouillage ; D. Riviere de Mont-Christ qui vient de la Ville Espagnole de St Yago et traine de l'Or dans son Sable, 1700

 

Another vessel captured at this time by the same pirates:

La Gratieuse de Nantes captured and taken by pirates:

(Rapports des capitaines à l'Amirauté de Nantes, B4578, p. 35-37, Archives départementales de Loire-Atlantique)

Dated this 4th of January 1718

Appearing before Messrs. the Lieutenant General and Vergs??

Appeared Mr. François Le Barbier, formerly Captain of the vessel named *La Gracieuse de Nantes*, of a burthen of approximately 140 tons, armed with six cannons, and manned by 26 men and five indentured servants—the said vessel belonging to Mr. Robin the Younger and his associates—regarding which Le Barbier, having sworn an oath to tell the truth, did state and declare the following: that his said vessel, having been laden with authorized merchandise bound for Léogâne on the coast of Saint-Domingue, and being furnished with all the necessary papers and clearances for such a voyage, departed from the lower reaches of this river on the 23rd of last August to carry out his intended voyage to Léogâne and conduct his trade; that en route, at a latitude of 19 degrees 50 minutes North and 318 degrees Longitude, he encountered a ship from Bordeaux commanded by Mr. Dubois—whom the deponent left behind, being a faster sailer—and continued his course until Thursday, the 21st day of October, when, at approximately 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he sighted land... ...[he reached] Cape Samaná and subsequently followed the coastline until Saturday, the 23rd of the said month. At approximately 3:00 AM, having rounded the Cape and headed out to sea in a northeasterly direction—setting a course for the aforementioned Léogâne—he sighted two ships and five boats to leeward. He stated that, upon observing their maneuvers, it became apparent to him that they were all converging on his vessel and that they were, in fact, hostile ships. This prompted him to hold his wind in order to track them until approximately 9:00 PM, at which point two of the largest boats overtook him. They fired some five cannon shots at him—without inflicting any damage—and hailed him repeatedly, in both French and English, ordering him to strike his colors and launch his longboat to come aboard their vessel. He was compelled to comply, as he was in no position to offer resistance to the said pirates. He proceeded aboard the largest of the pirate boats, which was armed with twelve cannons and crewed by approximately 70 men—almost all of whom were English. The smaller boat was armed with four cannons and manned by a crew of 30 to 35 men. While the said deponent was aboard the large pirate boat, the captain asked him—speaking in French—how many cannons he carried, the size of his crew, the nature of his cargo, and his port of origin. To this, the deponent replied that his vessel was laden with hides from Taïfa and Brazilwood.

...[they] seized from the said vessel four hundred planks, small barrels of flour, and other goods of considerable value. The said pirates detained the deponent and his crew aboard their own ship—the pirate sloop that had succeeded in boarding and capturing the said vessel *La Gratieuse*. Aboard the said pirate ship, the deponent encountered Mr. Duboys, commander of the vessel *St. Michel* of Nantes (owned by Mr. Montaudouian), who told him that he had been captured by the said pirates on the 20th of the said month, and that the ship he now saw—the largest and most prominent of the group—was his own vessel. Also aboard the said pirate ship were Mr. Bergexon, commander of the *St. Jacques* of La Rochelle (fitted out in Bordeaux), and Mr. Boanardel, the ship's owner; they pointed out their vessel to him in the dim light, stating that they had been captured by the said pirates around eleven o'clock or noon on that same day. Furthermore, he encountered Captain Arceberg of La Rochelle, who told him that he, too, had been captured that same day aboard the vessel *Charles* of La Rochelle, which he commanded. He explained that their captured fleet consisted of two pirate vessels, Captain Arceberg's ship, two small English vessels captured prior to their own, and the three aforementioned ships—including the deponent's own vessel—a fact which, by daylight, the deponent confirmed to be true. Finally, the pirates took them all together to the island of Inagua—a deserted and uninhabited island—where they anchored on the night of Sunday into Monday, the 2?th of the said month, around two o'clock in the afternoon. There, the deponent did his utmost to negotiate the purchase of his own vessel, but the said pirates informed him that they would not return any of the ships, save for Captain Arceberg's vessel—and even that one, they added, they would have kept as well, had it not been so heavily laden.

...but [the pirates] sent them ashore to land the captured friends with whom they were charged; and around 2:00 p.m., the said pirates ordered them to board the said boat; and around 4:00 p.m., they were brought there—the said pirates having stripped them of all their clothes and belongings—having entirely retained the said three ships with their full cargoes of merchandise, both bulk goods and personal effects, and having also pillaged various goods from the said boat, *Le Chaillet*. The deponent further states that they forcibly detained several men from the crew—specifically a man named Jullien Rondiemeau of Nantes, a sloop master—despite the supplications and entreaties the poor unfortunates made to them to avoid remaining with them; [the pirates] merely stated that they were 4,500 strong, all of one accord. Having then set sail in the said boat *Le Chaillet*, they charted a course for the roadstead, where they anchored on October 30th to take on fresh water; from there, they set sail for Cap-Français to seek passage back to Europe. He further states that he learned from the captain of the said pirates that they had a correspondent [Jean Martel at Petit Goave?] on the coast of Saint-Domingue who supplied them with all their necessities, and that they lacked for nothing. Upon having this declaration read back to him, he swore that it was sincere and true, and requested that the present declaration be verified by the officers and witnesses present.

Le Barbier