Captain Veale
{{Short description|Name of two unrelated American pirates}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
File:Hiram Marble's excavation at Dungeon Rock (Lynn, MA).jpg
“Captain Veale” was the name shared by two unrelated Massachusetts pirates active in the 17th century. The first, Thomas Veale, was known for legends of his buried treasure. The second Veale attacked ships along New England from Virginia to Boston with pirate John Graham.
Thomas Veale’s Buried Treasure
Thomas Veale (or Veal) and three other pirates sailed up the Saugus River in the middle of the 17th century. They were seen carrying a chest but disappeared after purchasing digging tools and other supplies from the locals.{{cite book|last1=Skinner|first1=Charles|title=Myths and Legends of Our Own Land — Complete by Charles M. Skinner|date=1896|publisher=J. B. Lippincott|location=New York|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6615/6615-h/6615-h.htm|accessdate=24 August 2017}} They built a shelter and brought a woman with them, supposedly a bride to one of the pirates, but she took ill and died soon after. The authorities raided the pirate camp and arrested three of them, sending them back to England to be hanged. The fourth, Veale, hid in a nearby cave where he lived for a time, occasionally working as a cordwainer.{{cite book|last1=Gosse|first1=Philip|title=The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse|date=1924|publisher=Burt Franklin|location=New York|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19564/19564-h/19564-h.htm|accessdate=23 June 2017}} When a large earthquake struck the area in 1658{{cite book|last1=Barber|first1=John Warner|title=The History and Antiquities of New England, New York, and New Jersey: Embracing the Following Subjects, Viz.: Discoveries and Settlements, Indian History, Indian, French, and Revolutionary Wars, Religious History, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, Traditions, Remarkable and Unaccountable Occurrences, with a Great Variety of Curious and Interesting Relics of Antiquity : Illustrated by Numerous Engravings|date=1841|publisher=Dorr, Howland & Company|location=Worcester MA|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyandantiq00barbgoog/page/n480 473]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyandantiq00barbgoog|accessdate=24 August 2017|language=en}} the cave collapsed, killing Veale and burying his treasure with him.
The area (near Lynn, Massachusetts) was known as Pirates’ Rock and later Dungeon Rock. Hiram Marble and his son purchased the land in 1852 and spent decades trying to find Veale’s treasure. They began charging for cave tours to help finance their dig but eventually gave up, unsuccessful.{{cite web|title=The Legend of Dungeon Rock and the Pirate Treasure It Holds - New England Historical Society|url=http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/legend-dungeon-rock/|website=New England Historical Society|accessdate=24 August 2017|date=8 September 2014}} The area has been restored and is now accessible to tourists.{{cite book|last1=Ocker|first1=J. W.|title=The New England Grimpendium|date=2010|publisher=The Countryman Press|location=Woodstock VT|isbn=9781581578621|pages=261–262|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3gH63N7sXrQC&q=veale|accessdate=24 August 2017|language=en}}
Graham and Veale off New England
Merchant Captain John Prentice sailed into the harbor at New London, Connecticut in 1685, anchoring alongside a sloop commanded by Captain Veale. In town Veale and his cargo master were seen attempting to buy cannons, offering enormous sums for them.{{cite book|last1=Radune|first1=Richard A.|title=Pequot Plantation: The Story of an Early Colonial Settlement|date=2005|publisher=Research in Time Publications|location=Branford CT|isbn=9780976434108|pages=245–247|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8l1ebdXYh3EC|accessdate=24 August 2017|language=en}} A merchant captain from Pennsylvania who'd been attacked by Veale near Virginia recognized him and contacted officials. Veale and his crew quickly put to sea and fled.{{cite book|last1=Dow|first1=George Francis|last2=Edmonds|first2=John Henry|title=The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730|date=2012|publisher=Courier Corporation|location=New York|isbn=9780486138145|pages=27–29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr_IV8Yq78wC|accessdate=24 August 2017|language=en}} Prentice left for Boston soon after, spotting a small boat shuttling between Veale’s sloop and a nearby 14-man shallop. Prentice recognized the shallop's commander as John Graham. Veale chased Prentice, engaging in an hour-long running battle. Prentice escaped when a thunderstorm allowed him to put distance between his ship and Veale's. Prentice docked in Boston and alerted town officials that Veale and Greham were in the area. Boston magistrates commissioned Samson Waters as a privateer, authorizing him to raise a militia and take a barque to capture the pirates.{{cite book|last1=Savage|first1=James|last2=Farmer|first2=John|last3=Dexter|first3=Orrando Perry|title=A Genealogical Dictionary|date=1862|publisher=Little, Brown|location=Boston|pages=[https://archive.org/details/agenealogicaldi02dextgoog/page/n352 345]|edition=S-Z|url=https://archive.org/details/agenealogicaldi02dextgoog|language=en}} Few locals signed up until magistrates offered a share of plunder if the pirates were captured, and revealed that a sailor had seen silver, furs, and other treasures aboard Veale's sloop. Waters sailed but Graham and Veale had already departed the area. He was sent out again in 1686 when Veale and Graham were reported in the area but was once more unsuccessful.
See also
- Thomas Pound, another pirate out of Boston who was active around New England just a few years after Graham and Veale.