available at Galveston Bookshop

This exciting adventure, written for teens and older, centers around Tilton,who was born in New Hampton, New Hampshire in 1799. He was 14 and on his first whaling voyage in the Atlantic, when kidnapped amd brought in chains to Lafitte’s thousand-man, Galveston encampment in late 1814 as a ransom prize. The French buccaneer was enraged that his men would attack an American vessel and whalers and ordered the men hung.

Lafitte was known for his soft heart toward children and took pity on the boy, ordered that no harm come to him under penalty of death, and offered him a job on his ship. Liking Lafitte, the audacious teenager eagerly accepted and ended up staying with his new friends for six years of adventures, many of which are chronicled in this book.

After the government expelled Lafitte and his band from Galveston Island, the men scattered and Lafitte sailed off toward Mexico. Charles, now 20, owned a schooner, called The Black Jack, which he and some friends sailed up the Trinity River and scuttled to prevent the government from finding them. He never saw Lafitte again, but went on to apply for a land grant from the Spanish government and settle an area called The Cove, near what is known as present-day Baytown, Texas.

  Kidnapped By Pirates can be purchased at the Galveston Bookshop located at 317 23rd Street. For more information call 409-750-8200 or visit them online at www.galvestonbookshop.com.