Upon this, the Lieutenant sailed from James’s River in Virginia, the 17th of November, 1718, and the 21st in the evening came to Okere-cock Inlet, where he had fight of the Pirate: And altho’ this Expedition was made with all the Secrecy imaginable, yet Blackbeard had notice of it from the Governor of North Carolina and his Secretary: But having heard several false reports before, he gave the less credit to this, till he saw the Sloops; and then he put himself in a Posture of defence, with his 25 Men.
Lieutenant Maynard came to an anchor that night, because the Channel was so intricate that there was no getting in, in the dark. In the Morning, coming within gun-shot of the Pirate, he received his fire: whereupon the Maynard stood directly towards him, endeavouring to make a running fight. Maynard’s men being most expos’d, he lost twenty at one broadside; upon which he ordered his men under deck, and bid them get ready for close fighting upon the first signal. Then Blackbeard’s men pour’d in grenadoes; after which, seeing no Hands aboard, he told his men they were all kill’d; Let’s jump in, and fall to Plunder: Which they had no sooner done, but the Lieutenant and his men gave them as unwelcome a reception as ever they met with before. The Lieutenant and Blackbeard fired first at each other, and then they went to it sword in hand, whilst the men on each side were as warmly engaged as their Captains, until the vessel was all over blood. Blackbeard stood it till he had received above twenty wounds, five of them being shots, before he fell down dead. Eight of his fourteen men being kill’d, and the other six being much wounded, they call’d for quarters; which was granted, and then the Lieutenant attacked with equal bravery the men that remained in the Sloop and took them.
The Lieutenant caused Blackbeard’s head to be cut off, and hung at the bowsprit end; with which he sailed to Bath Town to get his wounded men cured, and then began to rummage the Pirate Sloop, aboard which they found several Letters of Correspondence betwixt the Governor of North Carolina, his Secretary, and some Traders of New York and Blackbeard. Thereupon going to Bath Town in North Carolina, he seized in the Governors Store-house, the Sixty Hogsheads of Sugar, and Mr. Knight his Secretary’s 20, which was their dividend of the plunder taken in the French Ship before-mentioned.
After his Men were a little recovered, he returned to the Men-of-War in James’s River in Virginia, with Blackbeard’s head hanging at his bowsprit, and 15 prisoners, 13 of whom were hanged, one of them being taken but the night before out of a trading Sloop: The other, not being in the fight, was taken at Bath Town, being just before disabled by Blackbeard in one of his drunken humours.
The night before he was killed, being ask’d if he should chance to be killed, whether his wife knew where his money was; he answered, That no-body but himself and the Devil, knew where it was, and the longest Liver should take all.
The Names of the Pirates killed in the engagement were Edward Blackbeard, Commander; Philip Morton, Gunner; Garnet Gibbons, Boatswain; Owen Roberts, Carpenter; Thomas Miller, Quarter-Master; John Husk, Joseph Curtice, Joseph Brooks, Nath. Jackson.
The following, except the two last, were hanged, viz.: John Carnes, Jo. Brookes, jun., James Blake, John Gibbs, Thomas Gates, James White, Richard Styles, Cesar, Joseph Philip, James Robbins, John Martyn, Edward Salter, Stephen Daniel, Richard Greensarl, Israel Hands, and Samuel Odel.
