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Friday, October 31, 2014

Fanny Campbell - Revolutionary War Pirate or Privateer!

When I came across the story of Fanny Campbell, I thought to myself, now this is the stuff of great romantic fiction!  Trouble is, the story is not fiction, it's true,! And I guarantee you'll find it as fascinating and romantic as I did.

Fanny Campbell was a young woman who lived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1776.  She was just an ordinary colonial woman like any of us would have been. But she had a huge problem. Her childhood sweetheart and betrothed, William Lovell, was rotting in a jail in Cuba on charges of piracy.  His merchant ship had been captured by pirates and the crew forced into piracy against their will. Fanny couldn't stand the thought of never seeing her one true love again and especially the thought of him dying alone in a Spanish prison.

So what does she do? She dresses like a man and signed on to serve as second officer on a British Merchant Brig, the Constance!  (Yea.. just what I would have done) However, she had no idea how to get the captain to go rescue William from Cuba. But it would seem God was on her side because both the Captain and the first mate had secret intentions to sail the Constance to England and impress the entire crew into the Royal Navy!  When Fanny got word of this, she encouraged the captain to do just that while alternatively, she informed the crew of his plans and incited a mutiny!   

Fanny became the new commander of the Constance and headed for Cuba. Along the way they encountered a British bark, the George, the captain of which sensed something was not quite right on the Constance and open fired. Though the Constance was undergunned, they (under the leadership of Fanny) won the battle and took the George as prize. Now, they were officially pirates!

Fanny immediately sailed for Cuba, and with the help of her crew, rescued her betrothed and several other Americans!  Finally the happy couple was united, but they kept Fanny's gender a secret from the crew. (Can you imagine the look on William's face when he first saw his fiancee, dressed like a man, leading a charge of men to rescue him from prison?)

On the way home, the Constance and George, still under the command of "Captain Channing"  took another prize, a British merchant ship that had news that war had broken out between the colonies and Britain. Declaring both her ships privateers and no longer pirates, Fanny sailed back to Massachusettes where she obtained the proper papers commissioning the two ships as privateers.

Fanny and William went home to Lynn and were soon married. While William went off to privateer during the war, Fanny remained home and eventually became the mother of several children.
And they lived happily ever after!!!!

See what I mean? Wouldn't this make a GREAT book?  I just love that it's a true story!

Leave a comment to win a FREE ebook of my novel, The Red Siren, a tale about another colonial woman pirate!

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19 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness this is such an awesome story! Why didn't they teach us this in school!? Talk about EPIC! I would definitely love to win the book as it sounds fascinating!

    I'm not sure if I need to leave my email, but just in case it's sylversternator at yahoo dot com!

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  2. Love it! I certainly want to read this book. Would love to win a copy!
    bettimace at gmail dot com

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  3. What an amazing story, even more amazing since it is true!!
    I would love to win a copy of The Red Siren.
    Blessings, Tina

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  4. Awesome true story! I love hearing these!

    Can't wait to read The Red Siren!

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  5. Wonderful story! I never believed a woman could pull off pretending to be a man, but this convinces me. Not only can it be done, but it WAS done! Amazing!

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  6. Wow the perfect story line for you The Queen Of Life on the High Seas. And to think this was in my back yard Or should I say --Harbor. Go for it and put your special spin on this remarkable bit of History

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  7. How interesting! A fantastic story.
    campbellamyd at gmail dot com

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  8. Thank you, ladies! I knew you'd love this story!!! My jaw was dropping while I was reading it... Fanny was one brave woman, especially for her time!

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  9. Wow! What a fabulous (and true) story! That is amazing, and what a special woman. She definitely wasn't ordinary.

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  10. Wow, that sounds exactly like a novel summery. You should write it!

    lotsofbooks1@live.com

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  11. That sounds like a book I would really enjoy reading! ;)

    Thanks for the giveaway! :)

    crazybooklover7 [at] yahoo [dot] com

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  12. Thank you for the amazing story! It sounds like a great story for a movie, too. :)

    av4jc@live.com

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  13. What an exciting story, MaryLu, and what a courageous woman!! I loved it and think it would definitely make a wonderful book story line, as well as a movie!! What a treasure William must have been for Fanny to risk her life in this way - to save him - and what a treasure he had in a wife who was so devoted to him!!

    Thank you for that wonderful post!! Love the new cover on "The Red Siren"!! Shared post!!

    bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  14. Truth is always stranger than fiction. It really is. You'd be surprised what nuggets you can find in a family history. Anyone's family history.

    Would love to win a copy of The Red Siren.

    jrlight620 at yahoo dot com.

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  15. What a great story. Anyone who reads history has learned that truth is truly stranger than fiction.

    Also - love the cover of The Red Siren - it really grabs you.

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  16. Love the story! I'd definitely read this book!

    ecriggs1990(at)aol(dot)com

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  17. I'd love to read a book about Fanny. Sounds like an AWESOME story to read!
    The cover of Red Siren draws me in and shouts "Read me!"

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