In a Savannah tavern, a pirate in a tricorne hat regales patrons with tales of his adventures at sea, including how he boldly plundered riches from unsuspecting ships and survived a storm that nearly shipwrecked his crew.
All that storytelling works up a thirst, and he invites everyone to have a swig o’ grog and sing along to a 19th century sea shanty. Before long, the boisterous crowd is belting out “What Will We Do with a Drunken Sailor?” as the rum flows.
That’s the scene in the Tavern gallery at the new Savannah Pirates and Treasure Museum devoted to the Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1730) and beyond. The attraction itself is a buried treasure on the lower level of the Prohibition Museum in City Market. The dimly lit space provides the illusion of sailing in the hold of a pirate ship.
Tales of pirates in Savannah are almost as old as the port city founded in 1733.
“There’s this long-standing idea that pirates were in Savannah,” said Kayla Black, director of attractions with Old Town Trolley Tours of Savannah Inc., “but there was no verifiable proof of it.”
Until now.
When Old Town Trolley hired a company to research the rumors, “they found clear evidence of piracy in Savannah,” Black said, citing National Archives records and Savannah city council minutes dating to the 1700s.
Credit: Travis Spagenhurg
Credit: Travis Spagenhurg
The museum is an entertaining mix of historical facts and folklore. Accounts of plundering escapades unfold in exhibits featuring wax figures of real and fictional pirates, ship models, weaponry of the era and, of course, treasure.
Blackbeard, one of the most notorious pirates in history, is depicted peering into a glass case containing a model of the ship he captured and renamed Queen Anne’s Revenge.
According to legend, he used Savannah as a base for his raids and buried a chest filled with gold somewhere in the city. There’s little evidence to support the claim, but don’t tell the museum’s little treasure hunters who sometimes come outfitted in their swashbuckling best.
Credit: Travis Spagenhurg
Credit: Travis Spagenhurg
On the factual side, another exhibit illustrates the 1716 bloodless mutiny aboard the sloop Marianne with lifelike figures of British Capt. Benjamin Hornigold and Samuel Bellamy, aka “Black Sam.” Hornigold refused to attack British ships, a bone of contention with his crew. In a surprisingly civilized manner, they voted to replace Hornigold with Bellamy.
Piracy was mostly a man’s game, but there were some notable exceptions.
Irish pirate Anne Bonny and her English counterpart Mary Read served under Capt. “Calico Jack” Rackham in 1720, challenging the sailors’ adage that women were bad luck onboard a ship. Wax figures of the fearless pair depict Bonny wearing a fierce expression and brandishing a pistol. Read, who dressed as a man most of her life, manages the ropes behind her.
Parents, be aware there are two exits — one through a torture chamber that would give Blackbeard himself nightmares, and another that is kid-friendly with pirate-themed toys. A likeness of fictional movie pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow provides a fun photo op at the end of the self-guided tour.
Credit: Tracey Teo
Credit: Tracey Teo
Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
For an authentic look at Savannah’s seafaring past without the eyepatch-wearing storybook buccaneers, peruse the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.
Nine galleries of ship models and artifacts chronicle the city’s role in maritime trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection is in the 1819 Scarbrough House, a Regency-Greek Revival mansion that was the home of William Scarbrough, president of the Savannah Steamship Company.
A highlight is a model of Scarbrough’s steamship, the S.S. Savannah, which was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. It set out on its historic voyage from Savannah in 1819 and arrived in Liverpool, England, 29 days later.
On the second level, visitors are introduced to scrimshaw, a 19th century folk art that occupied whalers on long voyages. Scenes were carved into whale teeth or ivory walrus tusks, then filled with a dark pigment to make them pop against the white background. Some depict everyday images, like ships at sea, while others portray family and friends that were left behind.
Other artifacts include farewell rolling pins, mementos that sailors gave to loved ones before going to sea. Made of hollow glass, these decorative tokens of affection were filled with salt or sand and placed on the fireplace mantel. If it rolled off and broke, it was considered bad luck.
Don’t miss the Viewing the Heavens exhibit. Before the advent of modern technology, mariners depended on the sun, moon and stars to determine their position. On view are instruments of celestial navigation, including a marine chronometer and a reproduction of an astrolabe.
Credit: Tracey Teo
Credit: Tracey Teo
Georgia Queen Riverboat
Hop aboard the Georgia Queen riverboat to learn how Savannah evolved from a Colonial port to a modern commercial waterway — one of the busiest in the world. A narrated tour on a 19th century-style paddle wheeler invites passengers to see the Savannah River through the dual lens of early settlers and modern navigators.
The cruise boards at a spot once called Yamacraw Bluff. It’s where Gen. James Oglethorpe arrived on the double-mast ship the Anne in 1733 with 114 souls to establish Savannah and the new colony of Georgia.
Less than a century later, Savannah had become one of the world’s foremost cotton-shipping ports, and Factor’s Walk was built on the bluff as a cotton processing hub. A sophisticated network of elevated walkways allowed “factors,” or cotton brokers, to easily move between their upper-level offices at the Cotton Exchange and the warehouses below. Catch a glimpse of it from the top deck.
Another point of interest is Old Fort Jackson, a National Historic Landmark. Built between 1808 and 1812, it was a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War.
After passing beneath the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge, the Plant Riverside District comes into view. The bones of a crumbling 1912 power plant were repurposed and turned into a booming entertainment district anchored by the JW Marriott. The twin smokestacks were preserved and are illuminated in ever-changing neon colors.
Not everything that’s noteworthy is onshore, though.
Part of the thrill of the cruise is being part of the bustling waterway traffic floating among container ships and tankers.
Ro-ro ships, short for roll-on roll-off, are among the most common vessels on the water today. Designed to carry thousands of vehicles that range in size from small cars to behemoth bulldozers, the cargo can easily be unloaded from these highly efficient floating parking garages.
The Port of Savannah is the fastest-growing port on the East Coast, with several expansion projects planned over the coming years.
Those visiting Savannah with an eye to its maritime heritage will find that the city not only has a storied past but a promising future.
If you go
Savannah is 249 miles southeast of Atlanta via I-75 and I-16.
Attractions
Savannah Pirates and Treasure Museum. $12.99. 209 W. Saint Julian St. Upper, Savannah. 912-210-5752, savannahpiratesmuseum.com
Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. $17.50. 41 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Savannah. 912-232-1511, shipsofthesea.org
Savannah Riverboat Cruises. $37.95. 9 E. River St., Savannah. 912-232-6404, savannahriverboat.com
Dining
Little James. Entrees $12 and up. Casual Mediterranean eatery named after Savannah’s founder, James Oglethorpe. Located inside the Ann Savannah. 110 Ann St., Savannah. 912-446-1055. theannsavannah.com
The Pirate’s House. Entrees $29.95 and up. Pirate-themed restaurant that serves Southern fare and more. 20 E. Broad St., Savannah. 912-233-5757, thepirateshouse.com
Accommodations
The Ann Savannah. $206 and up. This new all-suite hotel by Marriott has generous, modern spaces that feel more like an apartment than a traditional hotel. It’s a five-minute walk to City Market. 110 Ann St., Savannah. 912-446-1002, theannsavannah.com
The Alida Savannah. $200 and up. This former warehouse is now a riverfront hotel with a rooftop pool. 412 Williamson St., Savannah. 912-715-7000, thealidahotel.com
Tourist info
Savannah Visitor Information. 301 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Savannah. 912-944-0455, visitsavannah.com
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