Piratical Doings By Joseph Bradish on the East End

While the story of Captain Kidd’s visit is well known, he was not the only pirate to visit Long Island. In March of 1699, Captain Joseph Bradish anchored his ship, Adventure off the coast of Sagaponack.

The Captain came in command of the Adventure the old fashioned way, he pirated it. He joined the Adventure as a mate on London. The ship was bound for Borneo. In September of 1698 the Adventure made port on the island of Polonais. While most of the crew and passengers were ashore, Bradish and his men cut the mooring lines and sailed away. The cargo of the Adventure was valued at $400,000 and consisted of cloth, opium, iron, lead, and Spanish gold and was split among the crew.

When the Adventure was anchored off Sagaponack on March 19, 1699, it was spotted by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pierson, who was an assembly member of the New York Colony. Pierson gather a couple of his neighbors and rowed out to check out the unfamiliar boat. Bradish told his visitors that he was coming from London and was enroute to Philadelphia but he was in need of fresh supplies. Our naïve well-wishers brought Bradish ashore, gave him a horse and treated him like an honored guests. They introduced him to Rev. Ebenezer White, a Bridgehampton minister and our group took Bradish to East Hampton to meet with the Rev. Nathanial Huntting and John Mulford.

Pierson took Bradish around to Southampton and Southold to hire sloops. Eventually a pilot was hired to take the Adventure around Montauk Point to Gardiner’s Island but the wind was unfavorable so they sailed to Block Island. There the Adventure met up with the sloops. The Adventure was unload and sank, the pirates then scattered.

Bradish entrusted Pierson with four sealed bags. In addition he gave Pierson two small guns, a cask of powder, a jewel and a small bag of pieces of eight for his help.

When it became known who Bradish was, Pierson turned over great quantities of jewels and gold to the authorities but had a hard time convincing them he was innocently involved with the pirate. References from some influential friends helped kept his neck out of the noose.

As for Bradish, he was captured and hanged in London at Hope Dock in 1700.