Essex

"So tell me, what's become of my ship?" Warning! This page contains MAJOR spoilers from Dead Men Tell No Tales. Caution is advised.

Essex
Career information
Port of registry	Saint Martin
Owner(s)	British Royal Navy
Captain(s)	John Scarfield
Notable crew members	Crew of the Essex
Fate	Crushed by the Silent Mary and burned into flames from gunpowder
Technical information
Type	Ship of the line Warship
Weapons	90 cannons (estimated)
Battles	Race to the Black rock island
Affiliation	British Royal Navy
Behind the scenes
First appearance	Dead Men Tell No Tales
Last appearance	Dead Men Tell No Tales
Cause	Destroyed

"She comes starboard."

―Hector Barbossa

The Essex was a warship captained by the villainous Lieutenant John Scarfield of the British Royal Navy. She was crushed into pieces by the Silent Mary during a failed attempt at destroying the Black Pearl, taking her crew to the depths.

History

It's unknown when or where the Essex was built, but by 1751 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Scarfield, the commanding officer of the British forces on the island of Saint Martin in the Lesser Antilles.

Following the escape of the infamous pirate Jack Sparrow, the alleged witch Carina Smyth, and the Royal Navy deserter Henry Turner, from Saint Martin, Scarfield and his crew set sail on the Essex to find the outlaws and bring them to justice. However, the ultimate goal of Scarfield's pursuit was the legendary Trident of Poseidon, with which he intended to conquer the seas for the British Empire.

After a few days, the Essex caught up with the Dying Gull, an old pirate sloop in which the pirates escaped from Saint Martin. However, when Scarfield's men captured the Gull, the three fugitives were not onboard anymore. The imprisoned pirates were locked in the ship's brig but they managed to escape the same day when the night fell.

The Silent Mary slices through the Essex.

That night the Essex managed to intercept the Black Pearl, a pirate ship whose crew was trying to find the Trident. The crew of the Essex quickly took their battle stations, preparing to annihilate the pirate vessel with their superior firepower. However, as their attention was focused on the Pearl, the British didn't notice another threat behind them. The Silent Mary, the ghost ship of the undead Spanish pirate hunter Armando Salazar, emerged from the darkness, shocking Scarfield when he saw the Spanish vessel bending its bow high in the air. Controlled by Salazar's supernatural powers, the Mary came crashing down on the Essex, causing an explosion that cut the British vessel in half, sending her to the bottom of the sea with her entire crew.

Behind the scenes

• In Dead Men Tell No Tales, the Essex was portrayed by the same prop vessel that portrayed the Monarch and the uncursed version of the Silent Mary. The filming took place at Helensvale, Australia.
• The ship was identified as Essex in the film's novelization and the prequel novel The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth and named by the conceptual artist Jeremy Love. However, the ship's name was never mentioned in the film.
• The portrayal of the Essex and her crew contains several historical inaccuracies.

• As a warship of the British Royal Navy, the Essex should be called the HMS Essex. However, the prefix HMS (His Majesty's Ship) was never mentioned in Dead Men Tell No Tales or any related material.
• The Essex is commanded by John Scarfield, an officer with the rank of lieutenant. In real-world history, the biggest ships the Royal Navy lieutenants could command were smaller vessels like sloops and brigs. A lieutenant could command a warship like the Essex only if the ship's captain was absent, indisposed or was killed in action. However, given this fact, it may be possible that the captain of the Essex could have been killed prior the events of the film, allowing Scarfield to take command of the warship.
• The Essex flies a large Union Jack from the stern flagstaff. In real-world history, in 1751, the time in which the film is set, the Royal Navy vessels were required to fly the Union Jack from the jackstaff at the head of the bowsprit.
• Gunlocks are visible on the cannons on the Essexs main deck as an officer cocked them during a scene in the film. In real-world history, gunlocks were rare since they only could be adapted to new guns, and only became a standard issue in the British Royal Navy around the 1800s, almost fifty years after the events of Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Appearances

• The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth (First appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel

Notes and references

British Royal Navy ships in Pirates of the Caribbean
Royal Navy ships Albion – HMS Achilles – HMS Adventure – Arabella – Battle-Royale – Bastion – Belette – HMS Blazer – British galleon – British warship – Bulwark – Centurion – HMS Century – Colossus – HMS Comet – HMS Dauntless – HMS Diamond – Dreadnought – Elite – HMS Endeavour – En-Garde – Essex – Ferret – Goliath – Greyhound – HMS Hound – HMS Hyena – HMS Interceptor – HMS Invincible – Jack Sparrow's corvette – Kingfisher – Lawrence Norrington's ship – Man O' War – Monarch – HMS Newcastle – Panther – HMS Peregrine – Perseverance – HMS Phoenix – Predator – Pride of London – HMS Providence – HMS Raven – HMS Resistance – HMS Rose – HMS Success – Tally-ho – HMS Trepassey – Vanguard – HMS Victor – HMS Victory
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