Skip to product information
1 of 1

Pipe Creek Press

The Oyster Navy

The Oyster Navy

Regular price $7.99 USD
Regular price Sale price $7.99 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Immediately following the Civil War, watermen around the Chesapeake Bay fought one another over access to rich beds of oysters, often termed “white gold”. During the same period, young men were shanghaied from Baltimore’s harbor and forced into this conflict. In 1868, the state of Maryland created a sea-going law enforcement agency to curtail the lawlessness on the state’s waters. The force, quickly dubbed “The Oyster Navy”, met stubborn and often violent resistance.

Haynie McKenna, the agency’s deputy commander, serves as captain of the Leila. With a crew of untested officers, the Leila sails to the Honga River in search of a rogue waterman, Marrok Blanchard and his three sons. Blanchard has terrorized the eastern bay for years and vows to oust the state intruders from his domain. His plan includes the assassination of Captain McKenna on board the Leila. For years, Blanchard’s two
oldest sons have squabbled over which will be the first to kill a tonger. Now, they quarrel about who should be awarded the honor of killing an officer of the Oyster Navy. Guy Blanchard, Marrok’s youngest son, is sickened by the notion of killing and, though terrified of his father and brothers, is determined to thwart their scheme.
View full details