Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 216

Museum Catalog Note This issue contains "The Corsair Planter; or, Driven to Doom," a sea adventure by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, serialized across multiple chapters. The story follows Percy Wyndham, a plantation master on the Mexican Gulf coast, who witnesses a naval battle between the American cruiser-like vessel of Captain Bess (seeking revenge against the pirate Forrester) and a pirate ship. Wyndham launches his yacht, the Jack-o'-Lantern, crewed by enslaved Black men, to aid Captain Bess. During combat, Wyndham discovers Mark Mortimer—a former lieutenant now turned pirate and the murderer of Bess's father—serving on the pirate vessel. Rather than reveal Mortimer's presence, Wyndham secretly saves him. The battle concludes with Forrester killed and Bess's officer Raoul Langdon wounded defending her. The narrative emphasizes shipboard action, gunnery exchanges, and sword combat across multiple vessel decks.