Tour the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck in Wilmington, North Carolina

The legend of the notorious scoundrel, Blackbeard is interwoven in the history of the Wilmington, North Carolina. Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck is also linked to the dastardly deeds of the pirate. In 1996 a group of divers from Intersal, Inc. discovered the remains of the ship while scouring the coastal area of Beaufort Inlet. The North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch (NCUAB) had sold their permit to search for Queen Anne's Revenge and a vessel called Adventure to the group eight years prior to the discovery.

The diving group poured over historical ship logs and conducted surveys around the inlet for years before the discovery. The group was able to pinpoint what they believed was the entrance to the channel during the early years of the eighteenth century. Divers unearthed the remnants of a blunderbuss rifle barrel made of brass and a bronze bell with the date 1705 engraved on the facade. After a review of the artifacts by the NCUAB both parties agreed that the artifacts were from the the flagship of Blackbeard's fleet, Queen Anne's Revenge.

The announcement of the discovery reached a fever pitch in 1997, when the world became aware of the centuries old vessel's unearthing. A massive recovery effort got underway later that same year, and is still regarded as the most ambitious such undertaking since the USS Monitor ironclad ship has been raised thirty years prior.

History

Blackbeard and his gaggle of merciless sailors captured a French ship called La Concorde in 1717. After dispensing of the French crew, Blackbeard changed the vessel's name to Queen Anne's Revenge and turned her into the pride of his fleet. After wintering in the balmy Caribbean climate searching for treasure, Blackbeard turned his fleet north to Charleston in 1718. While attempting to traverse the waters of Beaufort Inlet, Blackbeard sunk the gem of his fleet. The shipwreck should have served as an ominous warning to the pirate, who perished in a bloody skirmish on Ocracoke just five months later.

Two officers which were aboard La Concorde when Blackbeard boarded reported the incident to French officials once they safely reached the shores of their native land. Captain Pierre Dosset an Lieutenant Francois Ernaut stated in depositions that the ship housed sixteen canons and a crew of 75 sailors. Before the ship was attacked by pirates, the crew had stopped at the Port of Judas, an are a now known as Benin. When in port a "Cargo" of 516 Africans who had been captured and enchained, were loaded on the ship for sale as slaves. Also placed in the ship's coffers were twenty pounds of gold dust. Before the ship reached the shores of the American colonies, bad weather and disease had caused the deaths of both crew members and the slaves. According to the ship's officers, only 16 sailors and 61 slaves remained alive.

Within just 100 miles of Martinique, Blackbeard and his crew boarded the ship. Both the crew and slaves were set ashore. A cabin boy by the name of Louis Arot quickly told the pirates about the gold dust. A hasty search was made of all the officer's belonging and their person. Maddened by the desire to find the gold dust, Blackbeard and his crew forced the all but three of the crew, the cook, carpenters, and surgeon off the ship. Two of the sailors and the cabin boy willingly joined Blackbeard's crew. The French crew were permitted to keep two small sloops which had belonged to Blackbeard and headed by to France.

Blackbeard captured another ship, Adventure along the Bay of Honduras in April and sailed east toward the Cayman Islands. Once again the pirate crew captured a ship while off the coast of Cuba. Blackbeard's flotilla now a quartet, began to head to Charleston, South Carolina. The ambitious and egotistical Blackbeard blockaded the entire port of Charleston for seven days. His crew seized the cargo of ships attempting to exit the port. Blackbeard held the passengers and crew for ransom. Blackbeard demanded medicine for his crew be delivered to Queen Anne's Revenge or he would kill the hostages. Once the medical supplies were delivered and the hostages set free, the band of pirates set sail for Old Topsail Inlet. The waterway is now called Beaufort Inlet.

Shipwrecked on a Sand Bar

Blackbeard's crew ran both Adventure and Queen Anne's Revenge aground on an ocean bar. The pirate's abandoned the vessels. Historical documents from a deposition from Adventure's captain, David Harriott helped modern divers narrow down the search area for the wreckage of the lost ships. According to Harriott, Blackbeard ordered the ships to be run aground on the sand bar to divide the crew, which had grown to over 300 pirates. Whether the captain's accounting is true, or he was embarrassed to admit navigational error, or Blackbeard's fear that a large crew could mean eventual mutiny - the world will never know. Half of Blackbeard's crew was marooned on the sand bar left to fend for themselves and face authorities while he continued his quest of plundering along the North Carolina coast.

A Bloody End

The notorious pirate met a bloody end on Ocracoke Inlet five months later after running afoul of an armed flotilla. Alexander Sportswood, the governor of the colony of Virginia led a contingent of the Royal Navy to capture the pirate. Lieuten Robert Maynard coordinated the military effort which included hand to hand bout Maynard's vessel. After Lt. Maynard won the battle, he had Blackbeard decapitated and hung his head from the ship's bow as a trophy. He returned to Virginia, head swinging, with the pirates who survived the carnage.

Treasure

Divers have been bringing artifacts from the ship's wreckage since it was discovered in 1996. The "treasures" recovered from the ship number in the tens of thousands. The Queen Anne's Revenge Laboratory (QAR) houses artifacts and eighteenth century arms, medical instruments and maritime heritage information. The QAR staff carefully cleans, logs and cares for every items which enters the facility. To view the artifacts and discover more about Queen Anne's Revenge, visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum.