The Mooncussers of Cape Cod

Noun      mooncusser (plural mooncussers) 1. (uncommon, historical,humorous) A land-based pirate who, on dark nights along dangerous coasts, would demolish any legitimate lighthouses or beacons, erect a decoy signal fire in a different, deliberately misleading location, and then, after having induced a shipwreck, subdue any survivors and plunder the wreckage for valuables. Wikionary

 Mooncussers are a part of the mystique of Cape Cod history. Today there are several restaurants and bars with this name. According to local travel guide, Cape Cod Travel, mooncussers were a lazy version of a sea pirate, and are described as scoundrels whose acts were despicable (2010).

In his 1937 book, Mooncussers of Cape Cod, Henry Kittredge recounts stories from old time Cape Cod residents about the colorful characters and the shipwrecks of historic Cape Cod. He quotes “a Boston newspaper,” c. 1760:

“There is a tradition that a band of robbers anciently

infested the shores of Cape Cod. These robbers, mounted on

horses, are said to have decoyed vessels on to the rocks in

the darkest nights by means of large lanterns, and,

plundering them of everything, put the sailors to death, etc.

They are now usually known by the name of moon-cussers.”

Kittredge is skeptical about the truth of this telling, especially since there are not rocks on the sandy shores of Cape Cod. However, there were many documented shipwrecks on the outer shoals of Cape Cod, so it is entirely likely that people scavenged materials from wrecks. The question is how cut throat were these folks? Angela Macdonald, who wrote her masters thesis on the myth of the mooncussers, states that there was recognition of the fact that mooncussers were sometimes legitimate salvagers and that they often saved shipwrecked sailors before they robbed them. A case in federal court sided with the mooncussers after an 1859 case where a “salvage crew” out of Chatham, Massachusetts was accused of piloting a ship in distress without its owner. The salvage crew claimed to see the ship in distress, so they saved it from impending doom. Ultimately, the crew was awarded $259 plus court costs (2010).\ Whatever the truth is about mooncussers, the legend lives on.