John Sledge
Paddy Scott
Encounter Mobile Bay’s notorious piratical scoundrel.
The British Royal Navy Pays Mobile a Visit
A little more than 200 years ago, the world’s most frightening fleet anchored off our shores and stayed for months.
Jean Laffite’s Mobile
A reformed pirate struggles to make a respectable business deal in early 1800s Mobile.
A Mobile Classic Turns 70
“Remember Mobile” — a romantic, affectionate look at our past in prose and drawings — is a book still worth remembering.
The Pinecone War of 1815
Thousands of them splashed ashore on the Gulf side of Dauphin Island on February 6, 1815, resplendent in red coats, laced pelisses and highland plaid. They...
These Rugged Days: Alabama in the Civil War
The war became much more immediate on Dec. 9 , when what were likely Alabama’s first shots in anger rumbled over Mobile Bay. A young Confederate...
The Shipwrecks of Mobile Bay
From the upper Delta to the lower Bay and adjacent Gulf waters, shipwrecks crowd our shores. It’s little wonder, since people have been navigating these waters for...
Pirate Attack!
On September 9, 1710, a small brigantine hove into...
The Pirate Navigator
On the cusp of the 18th century, great changes were underway in the Gulf of Mexico. Spain’s almost two-centuries-long grip on the region was weakening, and rival...
The True Story of the 'Rachel'
Few things are as intriguing as a wooden shipwreck half-buried in white sand beside emerald waters. Thoughts turn to old salts and peg legs, tall tales and ratlines, ...