Captain Charles Gibbs AKA James D. Jeffers (1798- 1831) is a historic 19th century pirate.
History[]
James D. Jeffers was the son of a privateer who fought on behalf of the American government during the American Revolutionary War. Later in his life, Jeffers was known to have highly fictionalized and fabricated his background resulting in much of Gibbs' early life and career being a mystery. By 1821, Jeffers had become a pirate active in the Caribbean Sea and used the moniker of, "Captain Charles Gibbs". However, Gibbs lost his pirate vessels to one Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Kearny, which resulted in Gibbs and his crew fleeing to the jungles of Cuba.
Jeffers later became a sailor again but lead a mutiny in 1830 which turned the crew to piracy. Gibbs took their vessel to Long Island, New York where they were captured by American forces. Gibbs was hanged for piracy and mutiny in 1831, being amongst the last people to have been executed for piracy in the USA. Before his death, Gibbs circulated sensationalizations of his exploits which became popular in pop-culture and depicted Gibbs as a highly capable and brutal mass-murderer with a death-count exceeding 400.
Appearances[]
Pirates of the Caribbean[]
In the interior queue for Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland is a mural of Charles Gibbs. The artwork for the mural was created by Marc Davis as Gibbs was once planned to appear in a version of the attraction centred around historic pirates.
Trivia[]
- It is likely that Charles Gibbs served as the namesake for fictitious pirate Joshamee Gibbs in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
- Charles Gibbs and Jean Lafitte are the only 19th century pirates referenced in the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
