Blackbeard – The Fiercest Pirate of Them All
The annals of piracy are rife with tales of daring rogues and ruthless buccaneers, but few names evoke as much fear and fascination as that of Blackbeard. More than just a pirate, Blackbeard became an icon, a symbol of lawlessness and terror on the high seas. While he sailed across the Atlantic, plundering ships from the Caribbean to the coasts of North America, he is inextricably linked to North Carolina, a region where he established a stronghold and left an indelible mark on its history and folklore. Although not a native son and certainly no credit to the state, Blackbeard remains North Carolina’s most notorious pirate.
The origins of Edward Teach, the man who would become Blackbeard, are shrouded in mystery, a common trait among pirates. While some accounts suggest his original name was Edward Drummond, he is believed to have hailed from Bristol, England, a port city known for producing a disproportionate number of pirates during the 17th and 18th centuries. He began his seafaring career as an honest seaman, but the lure of adventure and the promise of riches proved too strong to resist. After turning to piracy, he adopted the name Edward Teach, but it was under the moniker "Blackbeard" that he achieved infamy.
The seeds of Edward Teach’s piratical future may have been sown in his youth. Bristol, his hometown, was a hotbed for piracy, and the allure of the sea was ever-present. His early experiences as a merchant seaman exposed him to the world of maritime trade and the potential for profit, both legal and illegal. The catalyst for his transformation into a pirate came during Queen Anne’s War (1701-1713), when he served as a privateer, a private ship authorized by the government to attack enemy vessels. Sailing out of Kingston, Jamaica, he preyed on French shipping, gaining valuable experience in naval combat and a taste for the spoils of war.
The transition from privateer to pirate was a natural one for Edward Teach. With the end of Queen Anne’s War, the thrill and rewards of battle ceased. Restless and eager for continued adventure, he joined the pirate crew of Captain Benjamin Hornigold, operating out of New Providence in the Bahamas, a notorious haven for pirates. Teach quickly distinguished himself with his strength, courage, and reckless abandon. He sailed with Hornigold on numerous plundering expeditions along the North American coast, reaping rich rewards. After careening their ship in Virginia, the pirates returned to the islands laden with loot.
A pivotal moment in Edward Teach’s rise to power occurred during a voyage when the pirates captured a French merchantman. Impressed by the ship’s speed and construction, Teach saw it as the perfect vessel to realize his ambitions. He requested that Captain Hornigold grant him command of the prize, arguing that he had demonstrated the leadership and skills necessary to captain his own ship. Hornigold, recognizing Teach’s potential, agreed, and with that decision, Edward Teach embarked on the path to becoming the legendary Blackbeard.
Teach wasted no time in transforming his new command into a formidable pirate vessel. He christened her the Queen Anne’s Revenge and armed her with 40 cannons, turning her into a floating fortress capable of taking on even the largest and best-defended merchant ships. Soon, the Queen Anne’s Revenge lived up to its name when Blackbeard captured the Great Allan, a large merchantman carrying a valuable cargo, near the Island of St. Vincent. After transferring the valuables and putting the prisoners ashore, Blackbeard ordered the Great Allan to be burned, signaling the beginning of his reign of terror as a pirate captain.
The fate of the Great Allan sent shockwaves throughout the maritime world, and the British Royal Navy responded by dispatching the Scarborough, a 30-gun warship, to hunt down the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The two vessels engaged in a fierce battle, exchanging broadside after broadside. Despite being outgunned, Blackbeard’s skill and the ferocity of his crew proved too much for the Scarborough, which was forced to retreat to Barbados. This victory against a warship cemented Blackbeard’s reputation as a formidable pirate and struck fear into the hearts of sailors everywhere. The name of Blackbeard became synonymous with terror.
It was around this time that Edward Teach fully embraced the persona of Blackbeard. Recognizing the power of reputation, he cultivated an image designed to intimidate and terrify his victims into surrendering without a fight. He was a tall, imposing man with a long, thick, black beard that he would plait into pigtails and tie with colored ribbons. Before battle, he would tuck slow-burning matches under his hat, allowing the smoke to curl around his face, creating a demonic visage. Armed with pistols, daggers, and a cutlass, and with a bandoleer holding multiple primed pistols across his chest, Blackbeard was a truly terrifying sight. To the sailors of the day, he was feared as much as the Devil himself.
With his fearsome reputation growing, Blackbeard sailed to the Bay of Honduras, where he encountered Stede Bonnet, an aristocratic pirate known as the "Gentleman Pirate." The two pirates joined forces, but Blackbeard soon took command of Bonnet’s ship, the Revenge, effectively making Bonnet his prisoner. Together, the two ships sailed north to Turniffe Island, where they captured a sloop named Adventure and forced her captain, David Herriot, to join their ranks. Blackbeard placed Israel Hands, his second-in-command, in charge of the Adventure, further expanding his pirate fleet.
Sailing again for the Bay of Honduras, Blackbeard’s fleet encountered a group of ships, including the Protestant Caesar from Boston. The sight of the pirate flag sent the crews of these vessels fleeing ashore in terror. The pirates plundered the ships and, as a sign of retribution for the hanging of pirates in Boston, burned the Protestant Caesar and one of the sloops. From this point on, Blackbeard’s squadron began to terrorize the sea lanes between the mainland and the West Indies, using hideouts in North Carolina as their headquarters. Ocracoke Inlet was a favorite refuge, with legends claiming a house known as "Blackbeard’s Castle" once stood there.
Blackbeard‘s audacity reached its peak when he blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina, the busiest and most important port in the southern colonies. His flotilla captured eight or nine ships, disrupting trade and throwing the city into chaos. Among the prisoners was Samuel Wragg, a member of Governor Johnson’s Council. Blackbeard used Wragg as a hostage to demand a chest of medicines from the city, threatening to kill the hostages and burn the ships if his demands were not met. The terrified citizens of Charleston had no choice but to comply, providing the pirates with the supplies they requested.
After receiving the medicines and stripping the prisoners of their valuables, Blackbeard released them and sailed for North Carolina, leaving behind a city filled with anger and humiliation. These actions cemented his image as a ruthless and fearless pirate, one who could strike at will and defy the authorities. Blackbeard thrived on the fear he inspired, using it to maintain discipline among his crew and to deter any potential challenges to his authority.
Blackbeard‘s reign of terror was punctuated by acts of cruelty and violence, often inflicted on his own crew. On one occasion, while drinking with Israel Hands and another crew member, Blackbeard suddenly fired two pistols under the table, wounding Hands in the knee. When questioned about his actions, Blackbeard explained that he needed to remind his men who was in charge. In another instance, while becalmed at sea, Blackbeard challenged three of his crew members to a contest to see who could endure the longest in a hold filled with sulfur fumes. These acts demonstrated his brutality and his need to maintain control through fear.
Despite his savage reputation, Blackbeard eventually seemed to crave a more peaceful life ashore. However, his desire for tranquility was tainted by greed and treachery. After returning from Charleston, he ran two of his ships aground, ostensibly to careen them. He then placed Stede Bonnet in command of the Revenge again and revealed his plan to accept the king’s pardon, encouraging Bonnet to do the same. However, as soon as Bonnet left, Blackbeard loaded all the booty onto the Adventure and sailed away with 40 handpicked crew members, leaving the rest stranded.
Blackbeard then outmaneuvered Bonnet by hinting that he was sailing for Ocracoke Inlet, while secretly heading for Bath to surrender to Governor Charles Eden. Both Blackbeard and twenty of his men received the King’s pardon. It was widely suspected that Blackbeard had been paying the Governor for protection. Governor Eden seemed to be no stranger to the pirate.
Following his pardon, Blackbeard settled down in Bath, where he acquired a fine home and dazzled a 16-year-old girl with his wealth, marrying her soon after. However, his domestic life was short-lived, as he quickly grew restless and resumed his piratical activities. Using the pretense of a trading expedition to the West Indies, he returned to sea and began plundering ships once more.
Blackbeard‘s renewed piracy eventually caught the attention of the authorities in Virginia, who were already concerned about the threat posed by pirates to their trade. Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia received pleas for help from North Carolina and began gathering evidence of Blackbeard‘s continued piracy. He obtained testimony from William Howard, a former quartermaster under Blackbeard, who confirmed that the pirate had resumed his criminal activities after accepting the king’s pardon.
Determined to capture Blackbeard, Governor Spotswood hired two sloops and manned them with sailors from the British warships Pearl and Lyme. Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Pearl was placed in command of the expedition, which set sail for Ocracoke Inlet on November 17, 1718.
On November 21, Maynard’s sloops arrived at Ocracoke Inlet and found the Adventure anchored in the open water. Blackbeard, warned of the impending attack by Tobias Knight, Governor Eden’s secretary, spent the night carousing with the captain of a nearby merchant vessel.
The battle commenced at daybreak on November 22. Maynard’s sloops approached the Adventure, but the Ranger ran aground, leaving Maynard’s sloop to face Blackbeard alone. The two ships exchanged fire, and many of Maynard’s men were killed or wounded. Eventually, Maynard ordered his men below deck, hoping to lure the pirates onto his ship.
As the pirates boarded, Maynard and his men sprang from their hiding places, engaging in a fierce hand-to-hand combat. Blackbeard and Maynard faced each other in a duel. Both fired their pistols, but only Maynard’s shot hit its mark. Despite being wounded, Blackbeard continued to fight until he was finally killed by Maynard’s men.
With Blackbeard dead, the remaining pirates surrendered. Maynard had Blackbeard‘s head severed from his body and hung from the bowsprit of his sloop as a trophy. He then sailed back to Bath, where he presented the evidence of Blackbeard‘s crimes to Governor Eden.
The death of Blackbeard marked the end of an era of piracy in the region. His reign of terror had disrupted trade, instilled fear, and challenged the authority of the colonial governments. While his life was one of violence and lawlessness, it also captured the imagination of people then and now, turning him into a legendary figure whose name will forever be associated with piracy.