his crew and have his first mate perform the wedding ceremony. He married fourteen times and when he sailed off, left at least some of his wives small fortunes. Of course he had numerous other female companions but the ones he married fared better financially than his more casual girlfriends. Perhaps his sense of chivalry, though undoubtedly jaded, was not entirely eradicated.”
Cynthia paused again and a tiny smile barely caught the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps a bit like yours, Langdon,” she teased.
“My generation’s chivalry has been jaded by outrageous divorce settlements,” Langdon replied a bit more harshly than he intended. He quickly tried to make amends. “I’m really enjoying your story. Please, continue.”
Cynthia took a sip of her drink and settled back in her deck chair.
“Blackbeard roamed the Caribbean from the Bahamas, to the Virgin Islands, and then northeast to Jamaica. In the spring of 1717 he left New Providence, in the Bahamas, bound for the Bay of Honduras where he met another pirate by the name of Stede Bonnet. Bonnet was an oddball, sailing under the traditional skull and crossbones. He was formerly a wealthy plantation owner from Barbados who claimed the dubious qualification of being the only pirate of the Caribbean ever known to have actually purchased his ship, instead of just stealing it. Some say he was driven to sea to escape his nagging wife. Nevertheless, in an age of classes, he was a gentleman, born and bred, and therefore commanded a certain amount of respect. Unfortunately he was a poor sailor with terrible navigational skills and a propensity for sea-sickness. He has gone down in history with the nickname, The Gentleman Pirate. Bonnet’s ship was named the Revenge and it was a name that appealed to our shaggy friend.
“Blackbeard met with Bonnet and proposed a partnership which Bonnet, obviously aware of his inadequacies, readily accepted. Under the guise of this partnership, Blackbeard installed his own first mate on Bonnet’s ship but soon the mate was running the whole show and Bonnet became little more than a prisoner on his own ship. Under Blackbeard’s command, the duo sailed to the Eastern Caribbean where they encountered a fourteen gun, one hundred and three foot, French ship named the Concorde. This was the kind of ship that Blackbeard had always dreamt of commanding. He planned his attack well and managed to capture her without inflicting serious damage.
“Following her capture, Blackbeard refitted her, increasing her armament from fourteen to forty guns and when she met his specifications, he took her as his flagship and renamed her Queen Anne’s Revenge.
“For the rest of the winter, Blackbeard cruised the Caribbean. In the spring, he headed north with his small fleet consisting of Queen Anne’s Revenge, Bonnet’s ship Revenge, a heavy trading vessel, another sloop, and two smaller ships. In May, 1718 they arrived at the mouth of the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina, where they set up a blockade and captured nine ships entering the harbor.
“Blackbeard sent word ashore that he would hold the ships for ransom, threatening to hang all the hostages if his demands were not met. Fortunately for him, one of the hostages was a member of the Council of the Governor of South Carolina, named Samuel Wragg. He was by far the most important of the captives and Blackbeard could have demanded a considerable ransom for his release but the ransom demand was quite small and very strange. Blackbeard asked for nothing more than a chest of medicine worth only about three hundred pounds. This was a pittance for nine ships and an important political hostage. Initially the Governor rejected his demand but cooler heads prevailed and shortly before the deadline, the Governor sent out the medicine chest in a small boat. Blackbeard then set the hostages free, having stripped them of all their possessions including their clothing.
“There appear to be only two possibilities to explain this modest ransom demand. Either Blackbeard had contracted a severe case of venereal disease and needed medicine … or, as a confirmed drug addict, he craved Laudanum for non-medical reasons. The main ingredient in Laudanum is opium.
“One week later, Blackbeard sailed into Beaufort Inlet but to clarify history a bit, Beaufort Inlet was known at the time as Topsail Inlet. Now, what is now known as Topsail Inlet is directly off Topsail Island.
“Regardless, as he entered Beaufort Inlet, whether he planned this in advance or it was just by accident, Blackbeard grounded both Queen Anne’s Revenge and one of his other ships. He then seized Bonnet’s ship and removed all of the booty and sailed away on a smaller ship, leaving half his crew marooned on a small island. Bonnet was left unharmed and resumed command of his ship. He managed to free her from the soft sand and sailed into the town of Bath where he approached the King’s delegate and was granted a King’s pardon for his previous acts of piracy. The pardon gave Bonnet enough time to re-supply his ship which he renamed the Royal James. Then, he immediately returned to the small island, rescued the marooned crew and set sail after Blackbeard. His plan was to win back his share of the treasure but Bonnet failed miserably at tracking down his adversary. Soon, probably following a vote by his crew, he reverted to piracy, despite the pardon he had just been granted. As captain of a pirate ship, he was as hopelessly inept and his ship was captured within months. His crew was hung on November 8th, 1718.
“Bonnet however, was still considered a gentleman and the courts and jailers were uncomfortable with the thought of putting a gentleman in a common prison. Instead, he was located in a more pleasant building with better accommodations and less security. This was probably the precursor to Club Fed,” said Cynthia with a modest giggle.
Langdon grinned at the small joke and urged Cynthia to continue.
“Naturally, he escaped but he wasn’t much good at that either and was soon caught.
“This time the courts were more severe and he too was hung for piracy on Dec 10th , 1718.
“Blackbeard’s raids stretched from the Caribbean, through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and as far north as Nova Scotia in Canada. It is quite certain that he anchored at Gardiners Island, a seven mile long private island estate just off New York City. From there, he smuggled his booty into New York and sold it. Some claim that he buried his treasure on Gardiners Island but those stories are probably confused with stories of Captain Kidd who did in fact bury treasure there. Regardless, there are many places along the coast that claim to be the location of Blackbeard’s treasure. Of course, the treasure has never been found.
“Blackbeard returned from his northern adventure up the Eastern seaboard to the waters of Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. He sailed into Bath, on the Pamlico River and like Bonnet, he too was granted a pardon under an edict of King George 1. Then, again like Bonnet, he established a base in Pamlico Sound and returned to piracy, plundering ships. But Blackbeard was more astute than his former partner. Before returning to his former career, he took on two partners; Charles Eden, Governor of North Carolina and Tobias Knight, the Secretary and customs collector.
“This political arrangement allowed Blackbeard to spend a good deal of time ashore. He set up house in Beaufort with his latest conquest, an eighteen year old French girl. Although he married her, she is said to have soon wished to leave. Legend has it that Blackbeard lost patience with her and hung her from an oak tree in the back yard.
“The local plantation owners and merchants were angered by the fact that their own Governor Eden was in league with a pirate. An angry group of merchants eventually travelled north where they explained their predicament to Governor Spotswood of Virginia. Spotswood was sympathetic and attempted to recruit two captains of British men-of-war to pursue Blackbeard. Someone realized the folly of this and advised him that that type of ship was too large to operate effectively in the confines of Pamlico Sound. His advisors recommended that he would have a greater chance of success if he chose smaller and more maneuverable ships. Spotswood accepted the recommendation
