Captain Lightfoot

The Last of the New England Highwaymen

Nonfiction, History, Americas
Cover of the book Captain Lightfoot by Frederick W. Waldo, Dover Publications
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Frederick W. Waldo ISBN: 9780486814162
Publisher: Dover Publications Publication: July 19, 2016
Imprint: Dover Publications Language: English
Author: Frederick W. Waldo
ISBN: 9780486814162
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication: July 19, 2016
Imprint: Dover Publications
Language: English

A desperado in the shadow of the gallows recounts his life of crime in this rollicking seventeenth-century memoir. Michael Martin, better known as Captain Lightfoot, confessed his history of highway robbery to a Boston reporter shortly before his execution. Martin had cut a dashing figure as Captain Lightfoot, renowned for his courtly manners and his Robin Hood-like predilection for stealing only from well-to-do men. His tale of adventure and intrigue, punctuated by daring escapes and desperate shootouts, created a sensation upon its 1821 publication.
Born into a respectable Irish family, Martin exhibited "bad habits and vicious propensities" from an early age. His preference for low company and debauchery soon led to an acquaintance with John Doherty, alias Captain Thunderbolt. The latter provided Martin with his nom de guerre and indoctrinated him into the business of burglaries, hold-ups, and gunfights. Pursued by sheriffs and king's men throughout Ireland and Scotland, the pair parted company, and Martin emigrated to New England, where he terrorized travelers from 1819 until his arrest and hanging in 1821. This colorful account of his misdeeds, flavored by the condemned man's remorse, is enlivened by more than a dozen vintage illustrations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A desperado in the shadow of the gallows recounts his life of crime in this rollicking seventeenth-century memoir. Michael Martin, better known as Captain Lightfoot, confessed his history of highway robbery to a Boston reporter shortly before his execution. Martin had cut a dashing figure as Captain Lightfoot, renowned for his courtly manners and his Robin Hood-like predilection for stealing only from well-to-do men. His tale of adventure and intrigue, punctuated by daring escapes and desperate shootouts, created a sensation upon its 1821 publication.
Born into a respectable Irish family, Martin exhibited "bad habits and vicious propensities" from an early age. His preference for low company and debauchery soon led to an acquaintance with John Doherty, alias Captain Thunderbolt. The latter provided Martin with his nom de guerre and indoctrinated him into the business of burglaries, hold-ups, and gunfights. Pursued by sheriffs and king's men throughout Ireland and Scotland, the pair parted company, and Martin emigrated to New England, where he terrorized travelers from 1819 until his arrest and hanging in 1821. This colorful account of his misdeeds, flavored by the condemned man's remorse, is enlivened by more than a dozen vintage illustrations.

More books from Dover Publications

Cover of the book Rockets by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The History of Freemasonry by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Graph Theory by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The Buccaneers of America by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The Consolation of Philosophy by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Ornamental Borders, Scrolls and Cartouches in Historic Decorative Styles by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book "To His Coy Mistress" and Other Poems by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The Confederate Reader by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The Metamorphosis Thrift Study Edition by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Ole Miss Juvenilia by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Victorian Ornamental Plasterwork Designs by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Historic Ornament: A Pictorial Archive by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book The Specificity of Serological Reactions by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Lectures on Fluid Mechanics by Frederick W. Waldo
Cover of the book Demonolatry by Frederick W. Waldo
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy