Captain William Death was an 18th-century privateer from

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

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who died in battle in December 1756, in the first year of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Captain Death was in command of the ''Terrible'', a ship equipped with twenty-six carriage guns, and manned with 200 sailors.Smollett, 201 On 23 December 1756, the ''Terrible'' engaged the ''Alexandre le Grande'', a large French ship sailing from

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

. The ''Alexandre le Grande'' was captured, but 4th Lieutenant John Death, Captain Death's brother, died in battle, and 16 other men were lost. Captain Death assigned 40 men to secure the French ship, and they made for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, England.Long, 44 As the ships entered the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

on 27 December, they met the French '' Vengeance'', a privateer from

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

, with 36 large cannon and 360 men. The ''Vengeance'' sailed towards the ''Terrible'' under an English ensign, but hoisted the French colours when she came near, sailing between the faster ''Terrible'' and the slower ''Alexandre le Grande''. The French retook the ''Alexandre'' and doubled up on the ''Terrible,'' which lost her main-mast in the first broadside. When the battle ended, the French commander, his second in command, and 2/3 of his company were lost. The French boarded the ''Terrible'' and found only 26 men alive, 16 of whom were severely wounded. John Withy, the 3rd Lieutenant of the ''Terrible'' and a survivor of the battle, claimed that Captain Death initially survived the battle, but was shot after he had struck the colours. His body was tossed into the sea. The badly damaged ''Terrible'' was towed to Saint-Malo.Smollett, 202 When word of the battle reached England, funds were raised for William Death's widow, as well as the survivors. Captain Death's battles against the French were cited as examples of English courage against superior odds. A young Thomas Paine had intended to join Captain Death's crew, but was dissuaded by his father. In his 1776 pamphlet

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

, Paine cited Captain Death's battles in his argument that the American colonies should raise a naval fleet. An English folk ballad titled "Captain Death" was printed as early as 1783, and laments the loss of the "brave Captain Death." It is said that the ''Terrible'' was equipped at Execution Dock, commanded by Captain Death, Lieutenant Devil, and had a surgeon named Ghost.

In popular culture

Perhaps coincidentally, recurring a

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

Captain Marvel

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

is also named Captain Death. The character, a captain of a gigantic

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, engaged in

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

, smuggling and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

.The Shazam Archives, vol. 1 (1999)

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Death, William British people of the Seven Years' War English privateers Sailors from London 18th-century births 1756 deaths Year of birth unknown