With 2 pistols and a ton of bravado, pirate seizes wartime freighter
“A man whose name is said to be Ernest Schiller,” the Milford Chronicle reported on April 7, 1917, “was landed in the local (Lewes) jail on Thursday night charged with one of the most nervy attempts ever made to seize a ship at sea.”
Tall, slender, and young, Ernest Schiller did not look like a pirate. Born in Germany toward the end of the 19th century, he moved first to Great Britain and then to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he and some of his friends vowed to be outlaw buccaneers. Schiller, however, was the only one in the group who buckled on enough swash to arm himself with a brace of pistols.
After World War I began in Europe in 1914, the United States attempted to remain neutral, but America continued to trade with Great Britain, France, Russia and other nations who were fighting against Germany.
In March 1916, the German-born Schiller and several friends decided to strike a blow for the Fatherland by pirating a British ship. After Schiller’s timid collaborators backed out, he packed a lunch, armed himself with a couple of pistols, and stowed aboard the Matoppa.
On March 29, the British freighter Matoppa steamed out of New York. The 400-foot ship carried a crew of 43 men, a cargo of agricultural equipment, and Earnest Schiller. The Matoppa was bound for Vladivostok. Hidden in one of the ship’s small boats, Schiller, the budding buccaneer, quietly ate his lunch.
After the British freighter steamed into the Atlantic, Schiller slipped out of his hiding place somewhere off the New Jersey coast. He had not bothered to learn the layout of the ship, and he calmly asked one of the crewmen to direct him to the captain’s cabin.
The sailor cheerfully obliged; and a few minutes later, Schiller, with his two pistols drawn, entered the captain’s quarters.
According to the Milford Chronicle, Schiller, “confronted Captain Richarg Bergner, the steamer’s commander, in his cabin with a revolver in each band, and threatened to shoot him if he made a noise.” With the captain as a hostage, Schiller was able to convince the rest of the crew to follow his orders. He immediately did a quick search of the ship, and Schiller was disappointed with the results.
According to the Milford Chronicle, “He expected to find some £2000 of English money, but there was no money aboard except £20 which he took from the captain and £10, which he later took from the first officer.”
Having single-handedly pirated the Matoppa, Schiller directed the helmsmen to enter Delaware Bay, where he boarded one of the ship’s small boats and made a dash for the Delaware beach.
Schiller continue to brandish his pistols as the crew of the small boat began to row toward the beach, when the pilot boat Philadelphia arrived on the scene. Ignoring Schiller and his pistols, the pilot boat intercepted the would-be pirate’s small boat, took it in tow and continued on to Lewes, where Schiller was arrested and charged with piracy.
According to the New York Times, “When questioned, he told his story with no trace of bravado. Occasionally, he would pause, exhale a great cloud of cigarette smoke, while between puffs and punctuating the recital would be little burst of pleased laughter.”
After he was examined by a doctor, Schiller was declared mentally unbalanced. Some wondered aloud how a single man could commandeer a ship with a crew of several dozen men and sailing under wartime conditions.
The New York Times declared “Mr. Schiller, it seems, is suspected of insanity. Of what is the Motoppa’s company (captain and crew) suspected?”
Principal sources
Milford Chronicle, April 7, 1917.
New York Times, March 31, 1916, April 1, April 2, April 7, 1916.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: With 2 pistols and a ton of bravado, pirate seizes wartime freighter
