North Star affair
North Star affair | |||||||
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Part of Piracy in Asia | |||||||
Chinese pirates attacking a merchant ship. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom |
Pirates | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Voight | unknown | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 brig | 1 junk | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
8 killed 1 wounded | none |
The North Star affair occurred in May 1861 when
Affair
The affair began on 13 May 1861, when the British
Twenty to thirty pirates then boarded the vessel with spears and swords and went after the remaining crewmen and any of the passengers who resisted. Captain Voight was overpowered and wounded by six of the pirates in his cabin before he could load his guns. One seaman fought the Chinese with a handspike before being wounded; he later died on 16 May along with the captain. The chief officer also died on 14 May of his stab wounds and a passenger was stabbed and thrown overboard where he apparently drowned. In all eight men were killed and one other was wounded. Marks late wrote that the Chinese boy helped the pirates find the 4,000 dollars on board and after they removed the two treasure chests they reboarded their junk and sailed away with the boy and the steward. Of the crew there were only three survivors; two young British men survived the encounter by hiding in the ship and when the pirates were gone they steered her back for Hong Kong. Henry Marks survived as well, having swum for several hours, with the help of some floating spears, from the scene of the crime until being thrown onto a group of large rocks 400 yards (370 m) off the coast. Marks was able to see the activities of the pirates after the attack; they anchored in a small bay nearby and didn't leave right away.[3]
On the next morning, the mate sighted a
See also
References
- ^ "NEWS AND NOTES by a Sydney Man CLXIV". The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1861–1864). 23 July 1861. p. 3 – via trove.nla.gov.au.
- ^ Sellick, p. 155
- ^ Sellick, pg. 156–157
- ^ Sellick, pp. 158–160
- Sellick, Douglas R. G. (2010). Pirate Outrages: True Stories of Terror on the China Seas. Fremantle Press. ISBN 978-1-921696-07-7.