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Visit the North Carolina island where Blackbeard roamed. Date published: 7/28/2001
THE DAY HE DIED in a bloody battle off the coast of Ocracoke Island, the pirate Blackbeard bade his 13th wife a final farewell.
"Look for me in the afternoon," he told his bride. "You will hear the cannons firing. And the creatures of the sea will dance at your feet when I return." Today, villagers swear they can still hear the volley of gunfire booming off Pamlico Sound. And as the sun rises over the misty inlet Blackbeard called home, they sometimes catch a glimpse of his masted ghost ship gliding through the silver water. The pirate Blackbeard favored the mists of Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina's Outer Banks so much he lost his head there. A triumphant British Royal Navy impaled the bloody trophy on the bowsprit of its sloop after the pirate's fiercest battle in November 1718. The sea-worn face and flowing, black-as-night beard rotted there for weeks as an example to other bandits of the sea. Blackbeard was the boldest pirate to infest the waters of Colonial America. His Jolly Roger flag displayed an eerie, horned skeleton holding fish bones in one hand and a spear in the other. A blood red heart dripped below its deadly blade. The isolated barrier island was Blackbeard's most beloved hideout. Anchored close to shore, his crew could spot merchant ships cruising the coast without being spotted in return. The pirate would braid his long, salty beard with brightly-colored ribbons and tuck slow-burning matches in the tangles, letting wisps of smoke curl around his face. He wore pistols, daggers and a cutlass in a belt about his waist. Across his chest he carried a sling that held six pistols primed, cocked and ready to fire. He would rally his men and sail out on his ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, to plunder cargoes and slay crews. But in 1718, Lt. Robert Maynard of the British Royal Navy took a fleet of sloops to Ocracoke and attacked the band of pirates off shore. The legendary Blackbeard was shot 20 times--then beheaded. But many say his spirit remains in the silvery waters of his inlet anchorage and today his name graces many shops and restaurants in the historic village of Ocracoke.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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