Qualla: Capture of the Sloop Anne

Capture of the Sloop Anne: Introduction

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

They called the channel Boca del Infierno -- the Mouth of Hell. On a March morning in 1825, the pirate Roberto Cofresi was threading his sloop Anne through this narrow passage between Cayo Caribes and Cayos de Barca, heading into the sheltered waters of Jobos Bay on Puerto Rico's southern coast. He did not know that behind him, an unlikely coalition was closing in: an American warship, two Danish sloops, and a Colombian brigantine, all hunting the same man. The age of Caribbean piracy was gasping its last breath, and Cofresi -- charming, elusive, and increasingly desperate -- was about to become its final casualty.

Capture of the Sloop Anne: An Unlikely Alliance

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The hunt for Cofresi had frustrated navies for years. The pirate operated from shifting hideouts along Puerto Rico's coast, preying on French, Danish, Dominican, and American vessels alike. His reach was democratic in its targets and infuriating in its success. By early 1825, bot...

Capture of the Sloop Anne: Forty-Five Minutes at the Mouth of Hell

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Cofresi was not at Caja de Muerto. He was already moving, navigating Boca del Infierno with the Anne when the allied ships spotted him. The engagement that followed lasted forty-five minutes -- a running battle through shallow, reef-strewn waters where a wrong turn could ground a...

Capture of the Sloop Anne: Caught by Midnight

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At Guayama, local troops fanned out across the municipality. The search continued through the day and into the night. According to a later account in the Boston Traveller, Cofresi employed cunning tactics ashore -- stealing a herdsman's clothes and animals, driving the herd towar...

Capture of the Sloop Anne: Trial and a Tangled Aftermath

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At the Guayama jail, doctor Francisco Roso examined Cofresi's wounds and declared he would survive -- long enough for justice. Governor Miguel de la Torre noted that Cofresi and his crew had never denied being pirates, making them guilty by their own admission. When Sloat visited...

Capture of the Sloop Anne: Stories That Outlive Their Subjects

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The capture of the Anne generated competing narratives almost immediately. Sloat's American report and Colonel Renovales' Spanish account disagreed on key details: who commanded which vessel, who initiated the pursuit, and who deserved credit. The Gaceta de Madrid published Gover...