July 6, 1699 - Capt William Kidd Arrested in Boston
Captain Kidd Confined and Awaiting Trial
Richard Coote, Earl of Bellmont, Governor of New York., was the man who commissioned Captain Kidd as a privateer. He sent Kidd out to hunt down pirates. It was he that betrayed Kidd to British authorities for piracy. Authorities apprehended Kidd in Boston and incarcerated him in Stone Prison.
Adrift, Abandoned and Hunted
Captain Kidd's crew had deserted him, throwing over their loyalty to his rival and enemy, Robert Culliford. With two ships, one of them leaky, and a remnant of only thirteen men under his command, Kidd decided to return to New York City. One ship, the Adventure Galley, was riddled with wormholes and not seaworthy. He ordered his crew to salvage every bit of metal on the ship. After salvaging the ship, the crew burned it. During his encounter with Culliford, he learned that instead of being a privateer, the British Navy was now hunting him. They wanted him to face piracy charges. The Adventure Prize had become a liability for it was this ship for which the British searched. He abandoned it and acquired a sloop. He left a part of his treasure on Gardiners Island.
Gardiners Island
The island is located off the coast of New York between the twin peninsulas of Manhattan Island. Gardener's Island is the oldest tract of real estate still existing under a Royal Grant in the United States. The Gardiner family has owned the island for four hundred years. It consists of over 3300 acres. Of those 3000 acres, 1000 are old growth forest with the largest stand of white oak in the United States. Another 1000 acres are meadows. The island has New York's largest collection of ospreys. The birds have no natural enemies on the island and can thrive.In June 1699, Captain Kidd landed on the island and requested permission from the Island's owner to bury some treasure. The owner agreed and Kidd buried a chest and a box each of gold and silver. He gave Gardiner a piece of gold cloth and a bag of sugar. According to Gardener's testimony in the later trial, Kidd acted civil towards him. Gardiner surrendered this treasure after Kidd's trial. He retained a single diamond from the horde, giving it to his daughter. There is a plaque on the site, but it is still the private property of the Gardiner family.
Bound to Boston
Kidd's crew had gathered in New York. The situation worried the Earl of Belmont. Since he had recommended and commissioned Kidd, he feared facing piracy charges himself. To escape this fate he decided to abandon Kidd and turn him in to the British. Using a false promise of clemency, he lured Kidd to Boston where he had him arrested. He also arrested Kidd's wife, Sarah Bradley Cox Oort Kidd and confiscated their house. He later freed her and she married a fourth time. Lord Belmont had Kidd incarcerated in Boston's Stone Prison.
Stone Prison
Stone Prison opened in 1635 in Boston's center. The exterior walls were stone, three foot thick. Wooden planking separated the cells and the windowless passageways dark and forbidding. Each cell had an unglazed window with iron bars. The prisoners depended upon charitable citizens for blankets and fuel for fire to keep warm. It was in this dark, inhospitable place that Captain Kidd would spend over a year. He spent most of that time in solitary confinement awaiting transfer to London to face piracy charges.
From the book
Colonial American History Journal – Book 1
Undertake your own journey into Colonial American history with the Colonial American History Journal - Book 1. Written in a "this day in history," format, the volume includes 366 stories about the historical events and people that made up the building blocks of the United States. The stories included in the Colonial American History Journal is a great beginners introduction to the United States' past.