The buccaneers and marooners of America

by A. O. Exquemelin; Daniel Defoe

They were now closely and warmly engaged, the lieutenant and twelve men against Black-beard and fourteen, till the sea was tinctured with blood round the vessel. Black-beard received a shot into his body from the pistol that Lieutenant Maynard discharged, yet he stood his ground, and fought with great fury till he received five-and-twenty wounds, and five of them by shot. At length, as he was cocking another pistol, having fired several before, he fell down dead; by which time eight more out of the fourteen dropped, and all the rest, much wounded, jumped overboard and called out for quarter, which was granted, though it was only prolonging their lives a few days. The sloop Ranger came up and attacked the men that remained in Black-beard’s sloop with equal bravery, till they likewise cried for quarter.

Here was an end of that courageous brute, who might have passed in the world for a hero had he been employed in a good cause. His destruction, which was of such consequence to the plantations, was entirely owing to the conduct and bravery of Lieutenant Maynard and his men, who might have destroyed him with much less loss had they had a vessel with great guns; but they were obliged to use small vessels, because the holes and place she lurked in would not admit of others of greater draught. And it was no small difficulty for this gentleman to get to him, having grounded his vessel at least a hundred times in getting up the river, beside other discouragements, enough to have turned back any gentleman without dishonour had he been less resolute and bold than this lieutenant. The broadside that did so much mischief before they boarded in all probability saved the rest from destruction; for, before that, Teach had little or no hopes of escaping, and therefore had posted a resolute fellow, a negro, whom he had bred up, with a lighted match in the powder-room, with commands to blow up when he should give him orders, which was as soon as the lieutenant and his men could have entered, that so he might have destroyed his conquerors with himself. And when the negro found how it went with Black-beard, he could hardly be persuaded from the rash action by two prisoners that were then in the hold of the sloop.

What seems a little odd is that some of these men, who behaved so bravely against Black-beard, went afterwards a-pirating themselves, and one of them was taken along with Roberts; but I do not find that any of them were provided for, except one that was hanged. But this is a digression.

The lieutenant caused Black-beard’s head to be severed from his body, and hung up at the boltsprit end; then he sailed to Bath Town, to get relief for his wounded men.

It must be observed that, in rummaging the pirate’s sloop, they found several letters and written papers, which discovered the correspondence between Governor Eden, the secretary and collector, and also some traders at New York, and Black-beard. It is likely he had regard enough for his friends to have destroyed these papers before the action, in order to hinder them from falling into such hands, where the discovery would be of no use either to the interest or reputation of these fine gentlemen, if it had not been his fixed resolution to have blown up together, when he found no possibility of escaping.

When the lieutenant came to Bath Town, he made bold to seize in the governor’s storehouse the sixty hogsheads of sugar, and from honest Mr. Knight, twenty; which it seems was their dividend of the plunder taken in the French ship. The latter did not survive this shameful discovery, for, being apprehensive that he might be called to an account for these trifles, fell sick, it is thought, with the fright, and died in a few days.

After the wounded men were pretty well recovered, the lieutenant sailed back to the men-of-war in James River, in Virginia, with Black-beard’s head still hanging at the boltsprit end, and fifteen prisoners, thirteen of whom were hanged, it appearing, upon trial, that one of them, viz., Samuel Odell, was taken out of the trading sloop but the night before the engagement. This poor fellow was a little unlucky at his first entering upon his new trade, there appearing no less than seventy wounds upon him after the action; notwithstanding which he lived and was cured of them all. The other person that escaped the gallows was one Israel Hands, the master of Black-beard’s sloop, and formerly captain of the same, before the Queen Ann’s Revenge was lost in Topsail inlet.

The aforesaid Hands happened not to be in the fight, but was taken afterwards ashore at Bath Town, having been sometime before disabled by Black-beard, in one of his savage humours, after the following manner: One night, drinking in his cabin with Hands, the pilot, and another man, Black-beard, without any provocation, privately draws out a small pair of pistols, and cocks them under the table, which being perceived by the man, he withdrew and went upon deck, leaving Hands, the pilot, and the captain together. When the pistols were ready he blew out the candle, and, crossing his hands, discharged them at his company; Hands, the master, was shot through the knee and lamed for life, the other pistol did no execution. Being asked the meaning of this, he only answered by damning them, that “if he did not now and then kill one of them, they would forget who he was.”

Hands being taken, was tried and condemned, but just as he was about to be executed a ship arrived at Virginia with a proclamation for prolonging the time of his Majesty’s pardon to such of the pirates as should surrender by a limited time therein expressed. Notwithstanding the sentence, Hands pleaded the pardon, and was allowed the benefit of it, and was alive some time ago in London, begging his bread.

Now that we have given some account of Teach’s life and actions, it will not be amiss that we speak of his beard, since it did not a little contribute towards making his name so terrible in those parts.