Your search for treasure need go no further. National parks - your national treasures - are right here at your fingertips. They are a bounty shared by all Americans.
Listed below are units of the National Park Service boasting tales of piracy and privateering. From forts and seashores to ports of call, these national parks have it all.
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A Superhighway of Shipping TrafficBiscayne National ParkThe outer waters of Biscayne National Park have long been a superhighway for maritime trade including pirates and privateers.
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Home to a famous pirate shipwreckCape Cod National SeashoreThe slave merchant and pirate ship Whydah met its end just offshore of Cape Cod National Seashore's Marconi Beach.
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Walk in Blackbeard's FootstepsCape Hatteras National SeashoreOcracoke Island, part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, has a long history of pirates using its sheltered coves.
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The Beginning of Blackbeard's EndCape Lookout National SeashoreThere are many shipwrecks in the waters near Cape Lookout, including two of Blackbeard’s ships which ran aground in nearby Beaufort Inlet.
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Built because of piratesCastillo de San Marcos National MonumentConstructed to protect St. Augustine, this site, the oldest masonry fort in the US, defended against a 1668 attack by the pirate John Davis.
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Attacked by pirates, twice!Cumberland Island National SeashoreIn 1684, two separate attacks by French and English pirates destroyed Spanish missions and drove away Spanish inhabitants of the island.
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Privateering for a new colonyFort Raleigh National Historic SiteOne of Sir Walter Ralegh's main sources of income came from privateering enterprises. This site's history doesn't stop there.
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Pirate? Patriot? or Both?Jean Lafitte NHPPLafitte’s image changed from pirate to patriot during the War of 1812 when he aided American authorities during the Battle of New Orleans.
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A Port for the AgesSalem Maritime National Historic SiteExperience the story of the sailors, Revolutionary War privateers, and merchants who brought the riches of the world to a new America!
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Defender of San JuanSan Juan National Historic SiteDutch pirates attacked San Juan in 1625, capturing the city but not the fort.
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Pirates in the CaribbeanVirgin Islands National ParkOne only need look at the names of Privateer Bay and Rendezvous Bay, among others, to see the long history of piracy in the Virgin Islands.
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- Locations: Chesapeake Bay, Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
Step aboard Pride II, a reproduction Baltimore Clipper, and sail into the Chesapeake’s maritime past. Explore its history from privateering in the War of 1812 to life on the Bay today. Tour the deck or set sail for a hands-on adventure! As part of the NPS Chesapeake Gateways, Pride II offers a unique way to experience the Bay’s seafaring heritage.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Long Wharf, located at the foot of State Street in Boston, is significant for its association with the early mercantile history of the United States. From the construction of Long Wharf in 1710-21 until 1756, Boston served as the largest colonial American port and was surpassed by only New York and Philadelphia during the rest of the 1700s. It also played a role in early military history, as well as in Boston's abolition history.
- Cape Cod National Seashore
Marconi Beach
- Locations: Cape Cod National Seashore
The bluffs at Marconi Beach give one the feeling of standing at the edge of a continent.
Fort Frederik is a mid-eighteenth century Danish masonry fort located at the north end of Frederiksted, on the western end of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. The fort was to protect Danish colonial interests in the Caribbean and the western end of St. Croix against incursions by other colonial powers, prevent smuggling, protect shipping in the Frederiksted harbor from pirates and privateers, and maintain order among the colony’s enslaved people.
Last updated: August 23, 2018