Pirates & Privateers: Nelson Cole Haley's Books

In 1864, Nelson Cole Haley wrote about his life as a whaler aboard Charles W. Morgan. In 1951, the Travel Book Club published an abridged version of his manuscript, which Seaforth now publishes as part of its Seafarers’ Voices series. The importance of Haley’s account is the door it opens into the heyday of American whaling ships, when seamen sail as far as the South Pacific to hunt these mammals to bring back their baleen (whale bone) and sperm and whale oil, which are in great demand during the Industrial Age. The voyage recounted here begins in 1849 and lasts four years.

This New Englander provides a complete record of what his life is like, from the time he signs aboard at the age of seventeen to the time he receives his pay when the ship finally returns home. His unique perspective as a “boat-steerer,” permits him to interact with and have the confidence of both officers and seamen, a rare happenstance on board ships. Among the experiences he shares are the “Crossing the Line” festivities, the chase and kill of the crew’s first whale, visits to exotic shores, encounters with native peoples, and having a whale stove in his boat. While Haley doesn’t provide an account of his later years, Vincent McInerney, the series’ editor, discusses the rest of the whaler’s life in the introduction. He also writes about Charles W. Morgan, which first sets sail in 1841. This National Historic Landmark, berthed at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, is currently undergoing renovations that will make the only surviving wooden whaler seaworthy once again.

Haley’s account brings to life a whaler’s life and the dangers and hardships such men face. Of particular interest for me is the story his encounter with someone whose shipmate includes a woman disguised as a seaman and how her secret is discovered. Haley also writes of an encounter with a pirate, natives who attempt to attack the ship with the intention of “beating out our brains,” and the discovery of stowaways.

This wonderful and engrossing narration opens the door to a past way of life, one in which the reader can literally step through afterwards with a visit aboard Haley’s ship and a tour through a 19th-century whaling community in Connecticut.