Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023 
Location: Museum Campus, Annapolis Maritime Museum 723 Second Street Annapolis, MD 21403
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm

It has been over 150 years since the establishment of Maryland’s “Oyster Navy,” a forerunner of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police. It was a necessary establishment for dealing with a lucrative, competitive, and sometimes deadly industry.

In the early-19th century, Maryland and Virginia began passing a series of laws to regulate and limit oyster catching. Anyone who violated these oyster laws became known in the press and by the public as “oyster pirates.” Many dared to thwart the government’s attempts, like the women of the Dancing Molly, the crew of the Palo Alto, and the notorious Cannon Family led by patriarch H.P. “Pirate Chief” Cannon.

The Oyster Wars took a final deadly turn in April 1959 with the murder of Berkeley Muse, a well-respected community leader in Colonial Beach, Virginia (located on the border of Southern Maryland).

Presenter: Dr. Jamie L.H. Goodall | Historian & Author

Registration Suggested

• Upon registration, you will receive two emails: one confirmation email with your receipt and one e-ticket email.
• If you are registering as a member, please use the coupon code provided by AMM.

Cost: $10 General Admission; FREE for AMM Members First Mate and above ($150).

This lecture will be offered in person. If you do not receive your confirmation email after you register, please check your Spam folder.

About the Presenter: Dr. Jamie L.H. Goodall is a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History.* She has a Ph.D. in History from The Ohio State University with specializations in Atlantic World, Early American, and Military histories. She is also a first-generation college student. Her publications include a National Geographic bookazine on global piracy, Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars, and Pirate and Privateers from Long Island Sound to Delaware Bay. She lives in Northern Virginia with her spouse and two Boxer pups, Thomas Jefferson (TJ) and John Tyler (JT).

*The views expressed here are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the values or beliefs of the U.S. Army/TRADOC, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Army Center of Military History.