The Death of Diabolito
200th ANNIVERSARY
11 JULY 1823
THE DEATH OF DIABOLITO
Frank piracy reemerged in the Caribbean in the early 1800s with the sanctioning of privateering by newly independent former Spanish colonies. One of the more notorious of such pirate cut-throats was Diabolito (“Little Devil”), a Spaniard by birth. Diabolito operated from the coast of Spanish Cuba, often murdering the crews of plundered ships by lashing them to their masts, then setting the ship ablaze. The sight of his schooner, Catalina, struck fear in all.
In early summer of 1823, the US Navy 3-gun paddlewheel steamer SEA GULL was cruising the coast of Cuba under the capable command of LT William H. Watson. To investigate smaller coves and shallow bays Watson would launch two 20-oared barges, GALLINIPPER and MOSQUITO. Such was the case this day when LT Watson embarked GALLINIPPER in Siguampa Bay (near Cardenas) and LT William T. Inman in MOSQUITO with about 30 men.
Upon entering the bay, a large topsail schooner of lines similar to that of Catalina and a launch were sighted moving toward an anchorage of several merchant vessels. Watson closed to within a musket shot and noted the schooner to be well armed and filled with about 75 men. He ran up American colors, to which the schooner briefly hauled up Spanish colors before opening fire. The suspect vessel surged ahead off the nearby village of Siguampa with the Americans in hot pursuit. Both GALLINIPPER and MOSQUITO watched as the schooner anchored and her crew was seen to jump into a skiff. A Yankee musket volley drove many into the water. The escape of about 40 of these suspected pirates was cut-off by the barges, who laid about port and starboard of the swimmers. Even in the water those fleeing resisted. Watson’s sailors fought fiercely–at times difficult for their officers to restrain. Fifteen escapees reached the beach, only five others dodged the musketry long enough to be taken captive, all wounded themselves. Now the Americans pulled for shore. A storming party rushed after the escaping suspects. In a fierce running battle eleven more alleged pirates were killed. The four remaining were captured by Spanish authorities.
The suspicious schooner indeed proved to be Catalina, and her crew wanted buccaneers. Aboard was found a long 9-pounder pivot gun, four 4-pounders, with cutlasses, muskets, and pistols in numbers that clearly suggested a nefarious intent. Among the dead in the water was found the body of Diabolito. Watson was praised by West India Squadron Commodore CAPT David Porter and recommended for promotion. However, Watson’s promising career was cut short later that fall in a yellow fever outbreak.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 16 JUL 23
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Allen, Gardner W., Our Navy and the West Indian Pirates. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1929, pp. 51-52.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 3 “G-K”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1977, p. 10.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 6 “R-S”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1976, p. 402.
Sweetman, Jack. American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, 3rd ed. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 2002, p. 37, 38.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: SEA GULL was a former Hudson River paddlewheel ferry, armed and pressed into service with our Navy as Commodore Porter’s flagship. In fact, SEA GULL was the first steam powered vessel of any Navy to see combat. The remainder of the newly formulated squadron consisted of the oared barges GNAT, MIDGE, and SANDFLY (to investigate shallow bays and ascend rivers);the 3-gun Chesapeake Bay schooners BEAGLE, FERRET, FOX, GREYHOUND, JACKAL, TERRIER, WEASEL, and WILDCAT (for littoral operations);and the 6-gun schooner DECOY. The last operated as her name implies to attract pirate attention.
The exact date of this event is in question, however Watson’s letter to Commodore Porter reporting the incident is dated 11 July 1823.
A gallinipperR is a large, aggressive mosquito, Psorophora ciliata, about the size of a quarter and infamous for its painful bite. It is native to North America from Texas and Nebraska eastward to southern Maine. Of late it has become a particularly noxious pest in Florida and the Caribbean.
