A’vast ye mateys! Step aboard our latest exhibit to learn all about the wonderful world of pirates and the story behind why USS KIDD (DD-661) and her descendant ships are the only US Navy warships permitted to fly the Jolly Roger!
Learn the difference between a pirate and a privateer while reading all about the notorious Captain William Kidd. Explore the details of his life and seperate fact from myth. Decide for yourself, was he a pirate or a misunderstood privateer?
Explore a fully immersive exhibit designed to look like the gun deck of a man-o’-war of the Age of Sail, including replica black powder long guns. Make sure to duck, though! The overhead is just as low as the real thing would have been!
Why would the US Navy allow one of its ships to fly the Jolly Roger? As you walk the gun deck, take a moment to pause and learn about USS KIDD (DD-661) and her namesake, Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd. Understand how the Rear Admiral’s nickname at the Naval Academy led the crew of USS KIDD to adopt the pirate moniker and how, at the behest of a greiving widow who understood the benefits it could do for morale, the US Navy approved USS KIDD to be dubbed “The Pirate of the Pacific”.
Finally, learn the history of Louisiana’s very own pirate, the infamous Jean Lafitte, who terrorized the Gulf Coast during the early 1800s and is regarded as one of history’s last great pirates.
As you leave the exhibit, take a moment to decide for yourself- would you have been an honest sailor?
Or would you have sailed under the black flag?
