James Strang

“Wanted” Poster – Piracy on the Great Lakes

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The image of a poster we created as a companion to my book Piracy on the Great Lakes

Our Great Lakes Pirates poster

Earlier this month, my publisher, Modern History Press, published my newest book Piracy on the Great Lakes: True Tales of Freshwater Pirates. The book focuses on several known pirates of the Great Lakes. We were able to find pictures for some of them and used them in the book.

In the spirit of having a little fun with the subject, my publisher and I got together and came up with this “Wanted” poster for some of the Great Lakes Pirates. We decided to print a few and make them available to whoever thinks they’re cool. One is going into my office.

These will only be available here on the website or at my in-person events. I will be scheduling my events right after the new year.  The cost of the poster is $5.00. Obviously, we don’t intend to retire soon from this. Get this exclusive companion to the Piracy on the Great Lakes book while they last. To order this poster click here.

Piracy on the Great Lakes – New Book – True Tales of Freshwater Pirates

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My new book has just been released!

Just in time for Christmas!

The cover of my new book on Pirates in the Great Lakes and the mischief they caused.

The final cover for my new book, Piracy on the Great Lakes – True Tales of Freshwater Pirates.

I’ve been very anxious for this book to come out. This seems to be a subject very few people seem to know about. Ever since I discovered Dan Seavey, the Escanaba pirate, (some of his story is in True Tales) I’ve been working to discover more of these rogues that plagued the waters of the Great Lakes. I found several more and realized piracy was much more prevalent on the lakes than I thought.

Of course, much of the piracy, we don’t know since the very nature of piracy is to not be discovered. As I say in the book, “No witnesses are the best witnesses.” But the ones I found were amazing characters, rough and tumble, ruthless and cunning.  This is not a long book, 74 pages, but it is packed with historical tales of the freshwater pirates. I’m very pleased with this book and I hope everyone else will enjoy it as well. Aye, keep a weather eye out. There be pirates about.

Click here to purchase Piracy on the Great Lakes on Amazon

The link below is to a podcast I did with MLive on Great Lakes Piracy. It begins with a brief introduction at the Boyne City Pirate Festival. I’m interviewed following that. It was a fun talk.

https://www.mlive.com/news/2024/10/pirates-of-the-great-lakes-rebuilding-chicago-with-michigans-white-pine-treasure.html

 

Waiting in the night, hidden behind a remote island, no lights showing, pirates would lure unsuspecting ships into unknown waters. Then they would silently slide up to them and board the ship. The crew would be killed and the bodies thrown over the side, weighted down with chains. The pirates would take the cargo, sink or burn the ship, and then, just as quietly, sail away into the night. Dead men tell no tales, nor do they testify in court.

Forget everything you’ve learned about pirates from Johnny Depp films. Instead of chasing down ships laden with gold, the Great Lakes pirates were after commodities. There were fur pirates, timber pirates, religious pirates, and inept pirates. Just about anything that could be sold fell prey to pirates. Cargos could be stolen and then sold at the next port. On the Great Lakes, piracy was easy.

Reviews for Piracy on the Great Lakes, True Tales of Freshwater Pirates

“Loaded with rare period photos and engravings of the infamous pirates who wreaked havoc in Great Lakes waters and shore communities, Classen’s inviting narrative is fast-paced and filled with legends of treasures and daring exploits.” -Sue Harrison, international best-selling historical novelist

“Piracy on the Great Lakes is a swashbuckling treat and fascinating addition to Great Lakes lore. Historical vignettes filled with fur traders, religious extremists, and Civil War opponents bring it to life. You’ll be surprised, entertained, and enlightened by the tales of high adventure that await you in these pages.” – Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD, award-winning author of The Mysteries of Marquette

“Replete with hair-raising tales of black-sailed ships, desperate and bloody conquests, frontier politics, revenge, and retribution, Mikel Classen’s Piracy on the Great Lakes paints a vivid picture of piracy’s social and economic role in America’s adolescence. Classen contextualizes the broad strokes of the Civil War, the late stages of the fur trade, and the timber market with anecdotes of personal detail that are often far stranger than fiction.” – J.D. Austin, author of The Last Huck

“I learned a lot about the Great Lakes and was impressed by the extensive research Mikel B. Classen must have done. He has packed a lot of information into less than 100 pages. I would recommend it to anyone seeking a good read about our Great Lakes.” – Larry Jorgensen, author of Shipwrecked and Rescued

New Book Coming – Piracy on the Great Lakes

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True Tales of Freshwater Pirates.

The cover for Piracy on the Great Lakes, available soon.

Coming Soon! Piracy on the Great Lakes, True Tales of Freshwater Pirates

My newest book project is on the horizon and you probably should beware, it’s pirates! Lock up your ladies and hide your valuables. These pirates will loot anything that isn’t tied down and some that is. Piracy on the Great Lakes was quite prevalent. Though most think of Pirates in the Carribean, pirates also sailed the Great Lakes. William Johnson, James Strang, and Dan Seavey were all well documented freshwater pirates. Their exploits are well documented and often stranger than fiction. This is a book I really enjoyed putting together and I’m hoping others will enjoy reading. Publishing soon through Modern History Press, this is a must have for history fans.

An Excerpt from the Book

“Piracy is something that has always been with us. In the Great Lakes, piracy was different than the glorified, Hollywood, Pirates of the Caribbean. There was no Aztec gold heading back to Spain on armadas. But there were pirates just the same.

Instead of chasing down ships laden with gold, the Great Lakes pirates were after commodities. There were fur pirates, timber pirates, religious pirates and inept pirates. Just about anything that could be sold, fell prey to pirates. Though there was no Spanish gold, there was loot to be had. Payrolls were shipped and moneys for banks and treasuries were consigned. Cargos could be stolen and then sold at the next port.

Waiting in the night, hidden behind a remote island, no lights showing, pirates would lure unsuspecting ships into unknown waters. Then silently slide up to them and board the ship. The crew would be killed and the bodies thrown over the side, weighted down with chains. The pirates would take the cargo, sink or burn the ship, and then just as quietly, sail away into the night. Dead men tell no tales, nor do they testify in court.

Ships and crews disappeared into oblivion on the Great Lakes. Much of it was attributed to storms but pirates also roamed these waters and many of the ships were lost due to pirate raids. These weren’t the swashbucklers of film, but men who used guns, knives and were brawlers and drinkers roaming the fresh waters of a lawless frontier. Though specific incidents and stories are lost to time, others are not as is presented here. This is but the surface of a much larger world of piracy that lived throughout the Great Lakes.”