The Pirate Invasion of Gardiner’s Island

Piracy had been enough of a problem in the East End of Long Island that as early as 1654 plantations out east were trying to ban together to fight them. The problem grew mainly because the governor of New York, Benjamin Fletcher, encouraged doing business with pirates. In fact he was so pirate friendly that being a pirate was THE business to be in.

The unfortunate Gardiner’s Island was, as we saw, visited by Captain Kidd and Captain Bradish, but they were gentlemen compared to the pirates that raided the island in 1728. In her article Some Pirates in Long Island Waters, 1966-1933(Journal of Long Island History, Volume 5, 1964) Jeannette Edwards Rattray details the pirate invasion of Gardiner’s Island. The pirates sailed in a Spanish schooner and were 80 in number. The crew was composed of French, Spanish and Mulattoe crew members

The story goes that John Gardiner was warned by two Montauk Native American woman that a schooner was just off the coast. Gardiner ignored the warning.

At 10 pm that night the pirates came to the Manor house and cut open feather beds and destroyed furniture looking for plunder. They found little because most the Gardiner money was in East Hampton. They did take the family silver and killed the farm animals. They even cut John’s hand with their cutlasses.

The pirates stayed on the island for several days. When they left they tied John to a mulberry tree.

When word spread of the attack, volunteers was sought to chase the pirates. Two sloops with 70 men each were sent out and was able to engage the pirates. Unfortunately the seas were rough and shots that were fired missed the ship. The pirates escaped.