The story of Chesapeake pirates and patriots begins with a land dispute and ends with the untimely death of an oyster dredger at the hands of the Maryland Oyste

“An epic history of piracy . . . Goodall explores the role of these legendary rebels and describes the fine line between piracy and privateering.” —WYPR T

The story of Chesapeake pirates and patriots begins with a land dispute and ends with the untimely death of an oyster dredger at the hands of the Maryland Oyste

In the decades after the Civil War, Chesapeake Bay became the scene of a life and death struggle to harvest the oyster.

A dazzling array of swashbuckling pirates, picaroons, and sea rovers are pitted against the often feckless representatives of an outpost government authority in