Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing - Blackbeards Sunken Prize: The 300-Year Voyage of Queen Annes Revenge

The 300-year voyage of Queen Annes Revenge

Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing & Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton

The University of North Carolina Press [CHAPEL HILL]

2018 Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing and Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton

All rights reserved

Designed by Kimberly Bryant and set in Miller and IM Fell types by Rebecca Evans

Manufactured in the United States of America

The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.

Cover illustration: Under the Black Flag, by Jack Saylor (2007).

Courtesy of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wilde-Ramsing, Mark, author. | Carnes-McNaughton, Linda F. (Linda Flowers), author.

Title: Blackbeards sunken prize : the 300-year voyage of Queen Annes Revenge / by Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing and Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton.

Description: Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017048511| ISBN 9781469640525 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781469640532 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Excavations (Archaeology)North CarolinaAtlantic Coast. | Underwater archaeologyNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast. | Queen Annes Revenge (Sailing vessel) | ShipwrecksNorth CarolinaAtlantic Coast. | Teach, Edward, 1718. | North CarolinaAntiquities.

Classification: LCC CC77.U5 W55 2018 | DDC 930.102804dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017048511

TO

Dina & Kirk,

OUR FAVORITE PIRATES

Ocacock (Ocracoke) Island (1733),

Ghost Fleet of the Outer Banks,

Travels of Concorde,

Travels of Queen Annes Revenge through the Caribbean,

North Carolinas colonial settlement,

Sailing directions for Beaufort Inlet, Wimble map (1738),

Queen Annes Revenge site location map,

Beaufort Inlet channel orientations through three centuries,

Composite of eighteenth- and twentieth-century maps showing relative inlet alignments,

Coast & Geodetic Survey chart with Queen Annes Revenge site location (1927),

Physical changes at Beaufort Inlet during the twentieth century,

Beaufort Inlet prior to the establishment of a fixed channel shown on Coast & Geodetic Survey chart #420 (1900),

Map of Caribbean showing source of Queen Annes Revenge ballast,

Places of interest related to Blackbeard and Queen Annes Revenge,

Estimated Minimum Time of Conservation for Artifacts of Various Materials,

Period of Manufacture for Datable Artifacts,

National Affiliation of Queen Annes Revenge Artifacts,

2.1 A Quarter Bill for a Privateer of Twenty 9-Pounders and Four 3-Pounders for the Quarter Deck and Forecastle,

2.2 Goods Taken by Pirates, from the Boston News-Letter,

3.1 Queen Annes Revenge Artifact Material Types,

5.1 Specialists Who Have Contributed Analysis and Research to the Queen Annes Revenge Shipwreck Project,

A Dive to Remember,

RICHARD W. LAWRENCE

Queen Anne Appears aboard QAR,

DR. LINDA F. CARNES-McNAUGHTON

Sugar and Slavery,

DR. LYNN WOOD MOLLENAUER

Infestation of Pirates in the New World,

DR. LINDLEY S. BUTLER

North Carolina Invaded by Virginia,

DR. LINDLEY S. BUTLER

Sand and Sonar Provide Unique Protection,

DAVID J. BERNSTEIN

Tribute to the Late Phil Masters,

DR. MARK U. WILDE-RAMSING

Pirate Archaeology and the Archaeology of Pirates,

DR. CHARLES R. EWEN

The Sweet Sound of Blackbeards Bell,

DR. JOSEPH M. WILDE-RAMSING

Aprons of Lead,

LAURA KATE SCHNITZER

The Duties of a Ship Surgeon,

DR. LINDA F. CARNES-McNAUGHTON

Tales of Pirate Repasts,

DR. DAVID T. CLARK

The Pirates Stript Them Naked,

DR. MARK U. WILDE-RAMSING

Dive Down!,

LAUREN S. HERMLEY

Three centuries ago a wooden ship ran aground on a hidden sandbar about a mile off the North Carolina coastline. What transpired on that day changed the course of many peoples lives, then and now. For this was not just any ship that wrecked; it was Queen Annes Revenge (QAR), the flagship of the notorious pirate captain Blackbeard. The day of the ships grounding was on or near June 10, 1718. From that moment forward, the tale of the vessel and what it contained took on another life of its own, as the ship slowly rotted on the ocean floor, out of sight and out of mind. Indeed, it was mostly forgotten in history, though the infamous pirates life was subsequently embellished and frequently appeared in print and memory for years to come. Even today, the name Blackbeard conjures up a fierce scoundrel and his historic, outlandish actions. His life has been the major storyline of many books, poems, legends, and action movies. Blackbeard personifies the word pirate.

What went down with this shipwreck, notwithstanding the few useful or valuable things the crew could retrieve as they scrambled to get off alive, remained hidden for a very long time. The fact that so little was known surely contributed to the rise of the Blackbeard legend. But then, all that was lost was found, and much of it was brought to the surfaceto be examined and marveled at, to be cleaned and put on display, but mainly to tell us the story of that ship and its former occupants. Just as its sinking was serendipitous, so was its discovery. A licensed salver company, focused mainly on finding another shipwreck and its Spanish treasure, came across the cannons and anchors of an early eighteenth-century battleship. The leading candidate for its identity, actually the only shipwreck that it could possibly be, was Queen Annes Revenge. It didnt hold much treasure in strictly monetary terms but, rather, an immensely valuable, historic haul of artifacts that has since drawn popular interest and excitement that seem to be endless. Much to the amazement and delight of the Intersal discovery team and North Carolina state archaeologists, November 21, 1996, the day of discovery, was a dramatic moment that changed so much for them. It too was a dramatic moment for the pirates on that fateful June day in 1718 when their ship went down.