OCRACOKE, N.C. — When it comes to pirates, it’s often tough to teach the truth.
When state coastal ferries recently hoisted Blackbeard’s purported “devilish” black flag, officials said they were marking the 300th anniversary of his death.
“He maimed, killed, plundered,” a Charlotte Observer headline thundered, scorning “the creepy black flag,” while accurately reporting that “pirate lore charms tourists.
“Avast!” defenders cried.
In fact, “He didn’t plunder, he didn’t torture,” said Kevin P. Duffus, a respected historian, researcher and author.
And, citing various sources, even Wikipedia agrees.
Duffus said the pirate didn’t kill “indiscriminately … there’s no evidence,” except for French crewmen killed during a battle that ended with Blackbeard’s crew capturing his future flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Local Blackbeard souvenirs — widely available along the fabulous 320-km Outer Banks coast — include skull-and-crossbones Jolly Roger flags, plus the devil-and-heart version.
But the banner flown by the pirate, who wrapped lit fuse coils into his long black hair to scare enemies, “was plain black,” Duffus told several travel writers during a recent visit.
Wry chuckles reflect his often unappreciated attempts to present evidence contradicting “popular, repetitive legends” that started in books and movies.
For instance, was Blackbeard from England or Jamaica? Was his name Teach? Or Thatch, or …?
In historic Bath, N.C., an “Edward Teach” plaque states he settled there in June of 1718 and received a governor’s pardon.
While studying U.S. and British documents, Duffus — author of The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate — became convinced the buccaneer was a North Carolinian.
Duffus said many of the men, and occasional women, privateers were considered part of semi-official reserve navies.
On Nov. 22, 1718, three months after resuming his pirating ways, Blackbeard died during a bloody clash with the Royal Navy at Ocracoke Inlet.
About one-third of the 60 sailors pursuing Blackbeard died amid broadside cannon fire. Ten pirates aboard Blackbeard’s sloop, the Adventure, were also killed. Of the 15 men who surrendered, six were hanged.
Their captain’s body was dumped overboard, but Duffus said his head was taken to the governor of Virginia before being hung from the bowsprit of the navy ship.
Stories persist about Blackbeard’s skull becoming a silver-coated tankard, which even a judge in the 1930s claimed to have sipped from in the pirate’s memory.
Tall tales and searches notwithstanding, the only recovered Blackbeard “treasure” are the 400,000 artifacts salvaged from a disintegrated Queen Anne’s Revenge. The pirate chief ran it aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718.
An expedition company discovered its remains in 1996. Cannons, cannonballs, lead shot, fuse-lit hand grenades, shoe buckles, nails, buttons, sewing pins, glass beads, gold dust, clay pipes, jewelry and a 907-kilo anchor were salvaged, along with part of the hull, keel and stern post.
One of the most unusual finds, this January, were 16 paper fragments inside a cannon. Researchers matched the scraps to an early 1700s sailing book.
Amazingly, many of the cannons were still loaded, said Kim Kenyon and Erik Farrell, marine conservators with the East Carolina University, West Research Campus. They described how the rusted relics are undergoing preservation in large water tanks at the site.
Some artifacts, plus stories of Blackbeard and the archeological expedition, are available at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in the picturesque town of Beaufort.
There is also a seabed diorama showing what is left of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was depicted in two recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
DEAD MEN FLOATING
For lovers of spirited legends, local tales include unexplained ocean lights and stories of Blackbeard’s wraith seeking his head.
More down-to-earth disturbing stories are told on Ocracoke Island.
At its highest level, Ocracoke is 1.5-metres above sea level, Ghost Walk host Amy Howard said during an after-dark stroll with no streetlights to shoo away shadows.
“Burying people on an island is a bit of a challenge,” Howard explained at a grave-yard. “You can only dig down about two feet before hitting water.”
Fences keep coffins from drifting away, but after floods, some float “out of the ground” — and even modern protective concrete grave liners aren’t foolproof.
After a 1985 hurricane, a resident “had to find her late husband, who had washed away. The woman said she regretted burying him with his wedding ring on, so she removed it before reburying him.”
Beside her family’s cemetery, Howard says when her father was a boy, her grandfather warned him not to walk on graves.
“Dad had dreams of boney fingers reaching up and grabbing hold,” she said.
Or so the story goes.
OCRACOKE PIRATE FEST
The annual Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree takes place Oct. 25-28 at Ocracoke Island. Pirate-themed fun includes sword-fights, music, magic shows, displays on Blackbeard’s last battle, and an appearance by historian Kevin Duffus.
Visitors are encouraged to find “their inner pirate” and wear their best buccaneer gear. The event is on the Smithsonian’s top-10 list of world anniversaries worth attending in 2018.
Other attractions: Beautiful sand dunes and beaches, the 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse and the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum.
For travel info, see visitocracokenc.com.
I enjoyed my stay at the family run Blackbeard’s Lodge. The island’s oldest operating inn combines old-world atmosphere with roomy quarters. When opened in 1936, it had a skating rink that is now a billiards room with historic photos. See blackbeardslodge.com.
My broiled flounder dinner at the Back Porch Restaurant was well-worth crossing the street for.
Car ferries reach Ocracoke from Hatteras Island, Swan Quarter and Cedar Island. See ncferry.org.
elsewhere in n.c.
* Queen Anne’s Revenge open house, Nov. 17 at East Carolina University, West Research Campus in Greenville. Other tours are available. Register at qaronline.org/visit.
* North Carolina’s Natural and Cultural Resources department has a wealth of Blackbeard information at ncdcr.gov.