paperback, 160 pages
Published Feb. 24, 2020 by The History Press.
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 Oyster Navy. From the golden age of piracy to Confederate privateers and oyster pirates, the maritime communities of the Chesapeake Bay are intimately tied to a fascinating history of intrigue, plunder and illicit commerce raiding. Author Jamie L.H. Goodall introduces infamous men like Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy, as well as lesser-known local figures like Gus Price and Berkeley Muse, whose tales of piracy are legendary from the harbor of Baltimore to the shores of Cape Charles.
Not really that great ha ha but worth a read if you're really into knowing everything about the Chesapeake Bay. I was hoping for a contextualized, history-from-below approach and it is more of a straight account of various pirate activities with detailed lists of the value of various booty and so on. The Oyster Wars part is pretty decent—perhaps being the most recent it has the most context.
