Albert W. Hicks
Encyclopedia
Albert W. Hicks also known as William Johnson, John Hicks and 'Pirate Hicks', was the name of the last person executed for piracy
in the United States (though the execution of the slaver Nathaniel Gordon
in 1862 was under the terms of the Piracy Law of 1820).
The knife marks found on the gunwale of the sloop were not made by me. I had no occasion to make them, as the men had all been dead an hour, and could not have clung to the rail, as was supposed. I should think we were about fifty miles at sea at the time, so that it was improbable that any of the bodies will ever be recovered. While I was on board the sloop the devil was always by my side and sustained me, but while I have been locked up here he has deserted me, and I feel bad."
onto the oyster sloop
A.E. Johnson. Hicks confessed to murdering the skipper Captain George H. Burr and the two other crew members, Smith and Oliver Watts, throwing the bodies overboard. During his escape, he collided with the schooner
J. R. Mather. He then took all the money on board (about $500) and abandoned ship in a yawl
, landing on Staten Island
. He also claimed to have killed 97 others in California
gold camps
, as well as having committed a similar piracy in South America. He was found to be in possession of the watch of Captain Burr, several money bags and a coat of Watts’s containing a daguerreotype
belonging to Oliver Watts. He gave his reason as "...the devil
took possession of me."
He was executed by hanging, on Bedloe's Island, now known as Liberty Island
. An estimated ten thousand people viewed the event from boats anchored in New York Bay
. His last wish was to see the steamship Great Eastern
, the world's largest passenger ship
at the time, which was docked in New York. Soon after his burial, grave robbers stole his body. Some thought that he had survived, but his body was actually sold to medical students.
Most notably, Ashbury gives Hicks's name as "Albert E. Hicks" (not "Albert W. Hicks") and says that he commonly went by the nickname of "Hicksey".
Furthermore, Ashbury say that the name of the sloop was the "E.A. Johnson" (and not the "A.E. Johnson").
He also says that "four human fingers and a thumb" were found on the deck of the sloop. And that in his confession Hicks said that after "decapitating" the second Watts brother and driving his axe "deep into the side of the captain's head", that he "went on the deck were he found the Watts boy he had first assaulted struggling to his knees. The gangster [i.e., Hicks] knocked him down and then carried his body to the rail, where he hoisted the lad over the side of the sloop. But young Watts clutched the rail, whereupon Hicks raised his axe and calmly cut off his thumb and fingers, and Watts fell into the sea. Hicks then threw the other bodies overboard..."
And regarding P.T. Barnum's role, Ashbury writes that "Among the first [visitors to Hicks while he was held in "the Tombs"] was Phineas T. Barnum, the great showman ... Barnum asked for a private conference with the prisoner, which Hicks granted ... Barnum informed the pirate that he wished to obtain a plaster cast of his head and bust for exhibition in [Barnum's] Museum ... and after an entire day of haggling an was reached whereby Hicks agreed to pose in return for $25 in cash and two boxes of five-cent cigars. Early next morning the cast was made, and that afternoon Barnum returned to the Tombs with a new set of clothes, which he traded to Hicks for the one the pirate was then wearing. Later Hicks complained to the Warden that Barnum had cheated him, for the new garments were shoddy and not nearly so good a his old ones."
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
in the United States (though the execution of the slaver Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon
Nathaniel Gordon was the only American slave trader to be tried, convicted, and executed "for being engaged in the Slave Trade" in accordance with the Piracy Law of 1820.Gordon was born in Portland, Maine...
in 1862 was under the terms of the Piracy Law of 1820).
Confession
"The affair occurred," said Hicks, "about half past nine or ten o'clock at night, while Captain Burr and one of the Watts boys were asleep in the cabin. I was steering at the time, and the other Watts was on the lookout at the bow. Suddenly the devil took possession of me, and I determined to murder the captain and crew that very night. Creeping forward softly I stole upon the boy at the bow, and with one blow knocked him senseless. I believe he died in a few minutes after I struck him. The noise attracted the attention of the other Watts, who jumped out of bed, and came up the companion way to see what was the matter. Just at that moment I struck him a heavy blow on the head with the axe and soon he was dead. Then I went down in search of the captain, and upon going into the cabin we immediately came in contact. Captain Burr, who was a strong, able bodied man fought hard with me for several minutes; but at last I brought him down, and he, too, was soon dead. After rifling the captain's money bags, I commenced to throw, the bodies over board. They had been dead about an hour at this time, and sank into the sea the minute I threw them over the rail.The knife marks found on the gunwale of the sloop were not made by me. I had no occasion to make them, as the men had all been dead an hour, and could not have clung to the rail, as was supposed. I should think we were about fifty miles at sea at the time, so that it was improbable that any of the bodies will ever be recovered. While I was on board the sloop the devil was always by my side and sustained me, but while I have been locked up here he has deserted me, and I feel bad."
Evidence
In March 1860, Hicks was drugged and shanghaiedShanghaiing
Shanghaiing refers to the practice of conscripting men as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps. Until 1915, unfree labor was widely used aboard American merchant ships...
onto the oyster sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
A.E. Johnson. Hicks confessed to murdering the skipper Captain George H. Burr and the two other crew members, Smith and Oliver Watts, throwing the bodies overboard. During his escape, he collided with the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
J. R. Mather. He then took all the money on board (about $500) and abandoned ship in a yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
, landing on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. He also claimed to have killed 97 others in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
gold camps
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, as well as having committed a similar piracy in South America. He was found to be in possession of the watch of Captain Burr, several money bags and a coat of Watts’s containing a daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
belonging to Oliver Watts. He gave his reason as "...the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
took possession of me."
He was executed by hanging, on Bedloe's Island, now known as Liberty Island
Liberty Island
Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
. An estimated ten thousand people viewed the event from boats anchored in New York Bay
New York Bay
New York Bay is the collective term for the marine areas surrounding the entrance of the Hudson River into the Atlantic Ocean. Its two largest components are Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay, which are connected by The Narrows...
. His last wish was to see the steamship Great Eastern
SS Great Eastern
SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steam ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers around the...
, the world's largest passenger ship
Passenger ship
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
at the time, which was docked in New York. Soon after his burial, grave robbers stole his body. Some thought that he had survived, but his body was actually sold to medical students.
Discrepancies
There are several discrepancies between this account and that found in Herbert Ashbury's classic crime history The Gangs of New York - an Informal History of the Underworld (1927, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.)Most notably, Ashbury gives Hicks's name as "Albert E. Hicks" (not "Albert W. Hicks") and says that he commonly went by the nickname of "Hicksey".
Furthermore, Ashbury say that the name of the sloop was the "E.A. Johnson" (and not the "A.E. Johnson").
He also says that "four human fingers and a thumb" were found on the deck of the sloop. And that in his confession Hicks said that after "decapitating" the second Watts brother and driving his axe "deep into the side of the captain's head", that he "went on the deck were he found the Watts boy he had first assaulted struggling to his knees. The gangster [i.e., Hicks] knocked him down and then carried his body to the rail, where he hoisted the lad over the side of the sloop. But young Watts clutched the rail, whereupon Hicks raised his axe and calmly cut off his thumb and fingers, and Watts fell into the sea. Hicks then threw the other bodies overboard..."
And regarding P.T. Barnum's role, Ashbury writes that "Among the first [visitors to Hicks while he was held in "the Tombs"] was Phineas T. Barnum, the great showman ... Barnum asked for a private conference with the prisoner, which Hicks granted ... Barnum informed the pirate that he wished to obtain a plaster cast of his head and bust for exhibition in [Barnum's] Museum ... and after an entire day of haggling an was reached whereby Hicks agreed to pose in return for $25 in cash and two boxes of five-cent cigars. Early next morning the cast was made, and that afternoon Barnum returned to the Tombs with a new set of clothes, which he traded to Hicks for the one the pirate was then wearing. Later Hicks complained to the Warden that Barnum had cheated him, for the new garments were shoddy and not nearly so good a his old ones."