Action of 20 October 1720

Capture of the William

An 18th century woodcut of Calico Jack.

Date	October 20, 1720
Location	Dry Harbor Bay, Jamaica, Caribbean Sea
Result	British victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of Great Britain

Calico Jack's Pirates

Commanders and leaders

Jonathan Barnet

Jack Rackham

Strength

1 sloop-of-war

Casualties and losses

~3 wounded
1 sloop-of-war damaged

1 killed
13 captured
1 sloop-of-war captured

The Capture of the William refers to a small single ship action fought between Calico Jack's pirate ship and a British sloop-of-war from Port Royal, Jamaica. The battle was fought in Dry Harbor Bay, and ended with the capture of the famed pirate and his small crew of which several were hanged later on as a warning to other brigands.

Calico Jack commanded the William, a small but fast twelve ton sloop during the action. Her armament was light, consisting of at least four cannons and at the time of battle carried a crew of fourteen including Jack and the pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Calico Jack was originally a pirate under Captain Charles Vane but soon after turned to piracy. In 1719, he sailed to New Providence to receive a pardon and a letter of marque from Governor of New Providence Captain Woodes Rogers. The War of the Quadruple Alliance had begun and England hoped to make privateers of Caribbean brigands to fight the Spanish. Captain Jack was capable of receiving a pardon, but he did not receive a commission to attack the Spanish fleet.

Calico settled in New Providence, where he met Anne Bonny, but when his money was gone he returned to his life of crime. On August 22, 1719, Jack and eight men others captured the William from Nassau harbor.

Governor of Jamaica, Nicholas Lawes, directed Captain Jonathan Barnet to take two privateer sloops on a mission to hunt him down. One, the Snow-Tyger, was heavily armed with several guns and carried about twenty Royal Navy sailors and some British Army troops; the other also carried about twenty men, but did not participate in the battle. The encounter is remembered more for its participants than the actual combat.

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Wikipedia