Born: 1760 (Carlisle, Province of Pennsylvania)
Died: 1789
Biography:
Rachel Wall (c. 1760 – October 8, 1789) was an American female pirate, and the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts. She may also have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate.
Early Life:
Wall was born Rachel Schmidt in Carlisle, in the Province of Pennsylvania, to a family of devout Presbyterians. Growing up on a farm, she found little joy in the rural lifestyle and instead gravitated towards the waterfront. It was there that she faced a traumatic incident when a group of girls attacked her. Luckily, George Wall came to her rescue and the two eventually married.
Career as a Pirate:
Wall and her husband relocated to Boston, where he found work on a fishing schooner. Upon his return, he brought back five sailors and their lovers and convinced Rachel Wall to join their crew. Desperate for money, they quickly squandered what they had and decided to embark on a career as pirates. Borrowing a schooner from a friend, they set sail.
Operating around the Isle of Shoals, just off the coast of New Hampshire, Wall and her crew would lure passers-by who responded to their pleas for help after storms. Once the unsuspecting victims approached, they were mercilessly killed and their belongings plundered. Over the course of the next year, the crew successfully captured 12 boats, stealing $6,000 in cash and countless valuables, while claiming the lives of 24 sailors.
Arrest and Execution:
Tragedy struck when Rachel Wall’s husband and the rest of the crew were washed out to sea by accident. Wall made her way back to Boston and resumed her role as a servant. However, she could not resist the lure of the docks and would often sneak into harbored boats to steal. Her downfall came when she spotted a young woman named Margaret Bender wearing a bonnet that she admired. In a moment of desperation, Wall attempted to steal the bonnet and even attacked Margaret, but she was caught and subsequently arrested.
Wall stood trial for robbery on September 10, 1789, but she boldly declared herself a pirate and insisted that she had never taken a life. Despite her plea, she was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to be hanged on October 8, 1789. Her final words were, …into the hands of the Almighty God I commit my soul, relying on his mercy…and die an unworthy member of the Presbyterian Church, in the 29th year of my age. With her execution, Rachel Wall became the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts.