Wreck Detectives

Page 3 of 6

• 1. The mystery of the M1
• 2. Pandora's bounty
• 3. Blackbeard's revenge
• 4. The lost fleet
• 5. Cromwell's ship
• 6. Find out more
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Blackbeard's revenge

Blackbeard the pirate is a figure who seems to belong more to legend than to fact. It is believed that he was English who may have come from Bristol. In order to frighten his enemies and crew, he was known for stuffing smoking fuses in his hair for dramatic effect. In one famous incident, he shot Isreal Hands, one of his most trusted men, in the knee. His excuse was that if he didn't kill one of his crew now and then, they would forget who he was. His ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was the most powerful warship and allowed him to rule the waves from the Caribbean to the North Carolina coast. However, this power was short-lived for he had the ship for less than a year before it sank.

'The Royal Navy was helpless because they had just ten ships to police the entire American coastline.'

According to an eyewitness, this was on the 10th of June 1718 at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. The ship had ran aground on a sandbar at the mouth of the inlet. It was obvious from the position of a ship anchor that Blackbeard had made strenuous efforts to pull the ship off but to no avail. It was then left to the elements. Blackbeard, promptly, abandoned some unwanted crewmembers on a barren island. They would have died if a ship hadn't passed by a few days later.

The 'Queen Anne's Revenge' was originally a French vessel called The Concorde. She was transporting African slaves to the Caribbean, when in 1717, Blackbeard had captured her off the island of Martinique. The pirate was fortunate because the Concorde crew were weakened with dysentery and the remaining healthy crewmembers were in no position to defeat the pirates after a long and tiring voyage.

Through the Queen Anne's Revenge and his three other ships, Blackbeard captured some 23 ships and stripped them of anything of value. Just the sight of his flag, which shows a skeleton of the devil carrying a spear and an hourglass, made many ships surrender without a fight. The Royal Navy was helpless because they had just ten ships to police the entire American coastline. Later in 1718, Blackbeard sought shelter on the island of Ocracoke which is a hundred miles away to the north. On November 21st the pirates came ashore at Springer's Point. It is believed that they met up with other pirates and celebrated the night away. However, two vessels of the Royal Navy were lying in wait and attacked early the next day. Blackbeard fought furiously as he was determined never to surrender. He died after being shot five times and had 20 sword cuts.

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Published: 2001-01-01