Blackbeard
Page 12
From looking at a maritime chart of the area dated 1738, the closest available to 1718, we can see that the deepest channels ranged from 3 and 5 fathoms (18 and 30 feet). The Queen Anne’s Revenge and any ship like it with a draught of around 10 to 12 feet should have been able to navigate through these deep channels in the Outer Banks to get into the harbour at Topsail Inlet. If Blackbeard intended to sail into the harbour he should have been able to do this.
To create enough damage to a ship so that it is impossible to use without a great deal of repair work, one would need to run the ship aground at some speed. Blackbeard would probably have been running at full sail as he would have for entering a harbour, waiting for the right moment to lower his sails and start to slow down upon entrance. Even if he had lookouts posted for sandbanks, the crew would probably not have realised what was happening until it was too late. Still, he had to have a selected group of the crew in on the plan; probably very few to make it work.
Imagine the scene. The ship moving at full sail; no order yet forthcoming for sail to be reduced. The lookouts in the bow and the rigging seeing the shadow of the submerged sand bar ahead cry out their warning, expecting the order to come to lower the sails to slow down but no order is forthcoming. The crew are wondering what is going on. Why are they still going at full sail? Little do they know their great voyage is about to come to a grinding halt.
Some might even look back anxiously at Blackbeard wondering if he can see what is happening but the tall, intimidating captain seems unaware. More shouts from the lookouts. Time is running out. Suddenly the ship veers to starboard. Then a grinding, tearing, ripping sound as the ship hits the sand bar. Anything not tied down tumbles, rolls and crashes onto the decks as it comes to a final juddering halt.
While the ship had grounded onto soft sand, it had done so at some speed for Blackbeard to ensure it could not be pulled off again. That would mean the damage to the hull would be enough to ensure her days sailing on the high seas were over. Three centuries of the sea’s tides and storms have taken their toll on what is thought to be the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, making it impossible to analyse the damage created by the crash. Significant structural damage would have been done to the fore sections, likely splintering the planks of the forward underside hull and bow sections which would already have been weakened from the continual pounding of the waves as she ploughed through them during her voyages. We can only speculate on whether the hull was breached in these forward sections, allowing sea water to come cascading into the ship. Nor can we say with any certainty how much of the hull was in water or how high she was riding because of the sandbank. If the hull was breached and water started gushing in, any barrels used for storing water, food and other stores would have been ripped from their moorings from the power of the water blasting in. The more water that came in, the more the ship would sink into the sand, ensuring it stayed fast.
Probably some of the fastened-down parts of the ship may have broken or moved. It seems likely that the main mast could have collapsed on impact. Indeed, Konstam tells us that it shattered on impact.151 The mast itself was heavy, made of solid wood and the sails fully rigged would have added significantly to the weight, and the jarring impact of the ship hitting the sand bar could well have split the mast, either bringing it down altogether or making it difficult to repair.
We can’t know if the ship could have been saved once it had been pulled off the sand bar. Dragging her off and trying to repair her was not part of the plan. The key for Blackbeard was to ensure the ship was firmly and completely beached. Even if the damage could be repaired he needed to be sure the ship was stuck fast and that it would sink further into the sand, unable to be towed off and left at the mercy of the tides and the waves.
From Johnson’s account above we can see that Blackbeard made a show of trying to get the Queen Anne’s Revenge off the sand bar and so summoned the sloop Adventure, formerly commanded by the captured David Herriot and now under the command of Israel Hands.
The sand bar was on the starboard side of Blackbeard’s ship so Hands brought the Adventure up the port side, sending a cable from his sloop to the larger flagship and the Adventure made a valiant attempt to haul the Queen Anne’s Revenge off the sand. However, instead of pulling the Queen Anne’s Revenge off the sandbank, Hands ended up hauling her further across the bank, driving the Adventure onto the shore, springing several of her hull planks so that she too ended up beyond repair. It seems almost certain that Israel Hands was one of those lucky few to know about the plan in advance and so he played his part in the betrayal.152
Because both vessels were in shallow water, their hulls completely fixed in the sandbank, they would not have sunk straight away. Indeed, it could have taken hours, days, weeks or months for the ships to completely sink, depending on the tides and the shifting sand. Because of this the pirate crews had enough time to shift what they needed from the ships onto the shore. It’s unlikely there would have been a mad dash to drag out as much as they could before the ships descended into a watery grave. The actions by Israel Hands had breached both hulls so both vessels were now wrecks, firmly stuck in the sand and taking on water.
Salvage work in removing everything of value from the two ships would have begun as soon as the crews recovered from the shock. All the light weapons, powder and shot would certainly have been removed, possibly even some of the lighter cannon. Whether or not the locals had a hand in stripping the ships after the pirates had removed everything they could is debatable, but it is a tantalising thought that some of the locals could have plundered both ships. The plunderers of vessels had now become the plundered.153
To get a better idea of this event we turn to a deposition written by David Herriot, the former captain of the Adventure and who joined Blackbeard, though he later said he had been forced to throw in his lot with the pirate. His account became public information in 1719. It is reproduced in part below:
That about six days after they left the Bar of Charles-Town, they arrived at Topsail-Inlet in North Carolina, having then under their Command the said ship Queen Anne’ s Revenge, the sloop commanded by Richards, this Deponent’s Sloop, commanded by one Capt. Hands, one of the said Pirate Crew, and a small empty Sloop which they found near the Havana. That the next Morning after they had all got safe into Topsail-inlet, except Thatch, the said Thatch’s ship Queen Anne’s Revenge run a-ground off of the Bar of Topsail-Inlet, and the said Thatch sent his Quarter-Master to command this Deponent’s Sloop to come to his Assistance, but she run a-ground likewise about gun-shot from the said Thatch, before his said Sloop could come to their Assistance, and both the said Thatch’s Ship and this Deponent’s Sloop were wreck’d, and the said Thatch and all the other Sloop’s Companies went on board the Revenge, afterwards called the Royal James, and on board the other Sloop they found empty off the Havana.
Twas generally believed the said Thatch run his Vessel a-ground on purpose to break up the Companies, and to secure what Moneys and Effects he had got for himself and such other of them as he had most Value for. That after the said ship and this Deponent’s sloop were so cast away, the Deponent requested the said Thatch to let him have a Boat, and a few Hands, to go some inhabited Place in North Carolina, or to Virginia, there being very few and poor inhabitants in Topsail-Inlet, where they were, and desired the said Thatch to make this Deponent some Satisfaction for his said Sloop; Both which said Thatch promised to do. But instead thereof, ordered this Deponent, with about sixteen more, to be put on shore on a small Sandy Hill or Bank, a league distant from the Main, on which Place there was no Inhabitant, nor Provisions. Where this Deponent and the rest remained two Nights and one Day, and expected to perish, for that said Thatch took away their Boat. That said Thatch having taken what Number of Men he thought fit along with him, he set sail from Topsail-Inlet in the small Spanish Sloop, about eight Guns mounted, forty White Men, and sixty Negroes, and left the Revenge belonging to Bonnet there.154
In this account
, Herriot refers to Blackbeard as Thatch, one of the many versions of his real name, which adds to the mystery of who Blackbeard really was. In England, many surnames we are familiar with today are derived from the professions that people worked in and during this time period many houses were made with thatched roofs, so Thatch could have been a family name.
In Herriot’s deposition he refers to the pirates using the words ‘their’ and ‘they’ and so on, which gives us a clear indication that when he wrote this he didn’t consider himself a pirate. However, if this was written in his defence then it would make sense for him to distance himself from the pirates as much as possible to show that he was forced into their piratical ways.
Also he refers to three sloops: one commanded by Richards, the Revenge formerly Stede Bonnet’s sloop; another commanded by Hands, the Adventure his former ship; and a third, the sloop from Havana which he states was empty. The implication here is that this vessel was empty of both cargo and crew. Had they been stranded somewhere or tossed over the side?
He also tells us that after Blackbeard had stranded them on the sandbank he took their only means of transportation which was the unknown sloop from Havana, but then at the end of his deposition he claims the Revenge was left behind. So where then, was the Revenge and why couldn’t they get to it so they could reach civilisation? We do know from a wide variety of sources, including Johnson, that the Revenge was left behind and given back to Bonnet, who two days later came and rescued the stranded pirates.
The chart from 1738, referred to earlier, shows that there are sandbanks throughout the area, some below the water and some above. The larger ones above sea level would have been ideal for stranding someone, especially either of the two that form the outer rim of the inlet. However, Captain Johnson states in his account of Blackbeard that where the men were stranded ‘there was neither bird, beast nor herb for their subsistence’. He states they were stranded about a league from the mainland. That’s about 3 nautical miles away from Beaufort on the mainland. While there may not have been any animals or plant life on the sand bars there were bound to have been birds. Interestingly, Herriot does corroborate Johnson’s account by saying that there was ‘no Inhabitant, nor Provisions’.
Johnson tells us that the stranded pirates were taken off the island two days after Blackbeard had sailed away and when Bonnet was back in command of the Revenge which at some point had been renamed the Royal James (Herriot’s claim). By this time Blackbeard and the most trusted and closest men of his crew would have been long gone in the remaining Spanish sloop.155 This vessel Blackbeard renamed the Adventure, perhaps in an attempt to confuse the authorities.
Remember, during the blockade of Charles Town Blackbeard had his flagship and three other sloops and upwards of 300 men under his command. Johnson tells us that he stranded seventeen men on a ‘Sandy Island’, one of whom was David Herriot, and he took forty men into the Spanish sloop now renamed the Adventure (to avoid confusion we will call it New Adventure).
This incident marks a turning point in Blackbeard’s life and career, which is why we are devoting so many pages to it. However, it is difficult to provide an exact analysis of what happened during the beaching, how much damage was done to the ships and what happened afterwards. We don’t know how long it took for both wrecks to slide beneath the waves. Storms and tides could have shifted the wrecks over time. Woodworm attacking the wooden hulls would have had an effect, as well as weakening the structures to such an extent that chunks would have started to come away. If the wrecks had remained above the water for any length of time they would have been subject to heavy storms that could have shifted the vessels sufficiently to drag them below the surface.
The area is also not immune to hurricanes, so we can imagine what a 150 mph wind can do to a wreck over many years and decades, with torrential rain lashing through broken beams. Once the ships started to sink into the sea, with water flooding in through the holes and gaps between the smashed beams, both wrecks would have slowly submerged as they were pounded to pieces by rain, waves and wind. The tides too would have taken their toll over the years, clawing and dragging the wrecks and shifting the sand beneath them until they were claimed by the sea.
In addition to the punishment of nature there is also the effect of man on the area. The US Army Corps of Engineers have been making changes in the area which would have required some dredging, adding to the problem of identifying the wrecks.
It’s for these reasons that archaeologists are hesitant to claim with 100 per cent certainty that the site of the wreckage found in the area is that of the Queen Anne’ s Revenge and one other sloop – presumably Herriot’s original Adventure.
This is also the point where Blackbeard and Bonnet part company. It seems that Blackbeard betrayed Bonnet here by leaving him just the Revenge and nothing else of value. Most of the booty the pirates had taken while sailing with Blackbeard was now in the hold of the Spanish sloop in which Blackbeard and his trusted men had sailed away.
The betrayal of Bonnet began with Blackbeard convincing him that the best course of action for all of them was for Bonnet to head straight for Bath Town in North Carolina as quickly as he could, where he would gain an audience with Governor Eden and apply for a pardon. It seems that Blackbeard also convinced Bonnet that he needed the Revenge to continue the salvage work from the two wrecks, and so Bonnet took another ship which could either have been a small fishing vessel from the local community at Beaufort or the single-masted longboat from the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Bonnet sailed away as quickly as he could in search of Eden and a pardon which he got for himself and for the rest of the pirates. He also managed to get permission to take his ship down to St Thomas, a Danish settlement in the West Indies where he planned to obtain a commission to become a privateer. This voyage from Topsail Inlet to Bath Town and back again probably took about a week. Added to that time was an additional week before Bonnet set sail for the salvaging operation from the two wrecks, the fitting out of the small vessel for Bonnet to take on his journey and it appears as if Blackbeard had almost two weeks in the area which would give him enough time to strip the Revenge of anything useful.156
Indeed, when Bonnet returned he discovered to his horror that Blackbeard had gone, taken all the booty they’d accumulated over the voyage and stripped the Revenge of virtually everything – charts, powder, guns and stores – everything Bonnet would need.
Blackbeard would have had upwards of 300 men under his command when the two ships were wrecked. They set up a makeshift camp near Beaufort while the salvaging operations took place. Blackbeard stayed in the camp along with his men, so how was it possible for him to transfer all the loot to the Spanish sloop without the rest of the pirates becoming suspicious? If the men were drinking their way through all the liquor salvaged from the two wrecks, then they would have been drunk most of the time and sleeping it off. Also Blackbeard had a select group of men who were in on the plan and they would be transferring the loot under the auspices of the salvage operations.157
Blackbeard selected forty or so men to crew the Spanish sloop; however, some of these would not be sailing with the pirate captain. It is highly likely that David Herriot was one of these men.
Imagine the scene. The hundreds of pirates on shore, slowly coming out of a drunken haze looked out to sea and found that their beloved captain had raised the anchor and was now unfurling the sails of the sloop, catching the wind as the ship moved deftly around the sand bars towards open sea. They ran towards the water, shouting, screaming, bellowing. Nearby on the Revenge, the men who had been getting her ready to sail when Bonnet returned would have seen a similar sight and also began shouting and screaming. On board the New Adventure some of the crew, realising what Blackbeard was doing and that their mates were being stranded, also protested.
It is these men and some from the Revenge that Konstam suggests made up the seventeen pirates that Johnson claims were stranded on a ‘Sandy Island’ which may have been Shackleford Bank th
at lies on the other side of the inlet, far enough away for no-one from Beaufort to see it, and which is also as barren as Johnson describes.158
So when Bonnet returns, he finds Blackbeard has betrayed and double-crossed him.
Blackbeard had achieved what he had set out to achieve. He had disbanded his crew and kept only the more capable ones with him; he had discarded a ship that had by now become more of a liability than an asset; and he had rid himself of the other captain, Stede Bonnet, who by this time he no doubt viewed as a pointless addition to the passenger list, and there was no room for passengers on pirate ships. Now it was on to the next stage of the plan.
Blackbeard and his crew board a ship. From Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922 (Penn Publishing Co.).
Pirate Rovers, This Lean, Straight Rover Looked the Part of a Competent Soldier. From Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922.
Pirate boarding action. From the inner cover of Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922.
The pike is a match for the cutlass. From Releasing a Fearful Weapon in Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922.
Blackbeard fires his pistols under the table, maiming Israel Hands. This piece of art was commissioned for Paine’s serialised work on Blackbeard. From Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922.
The crews of Blackbeard and Vane’s vessels carousing on the coast of Carolina. From Marine Research Society, dated 1837, source Charles Ellms. Originally published in The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers (Dover Publications).
Blackbeard approaching. From ‘The Quest For Pirates’ Gold’ in Blackbeard, Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye, 1922.