QUEEN ANNE's REVENGE

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

QUEEN ANNE's REVENGE

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:54 pm

You can find a chapter on Blackbeard in most pirate books, but of his vessel, the QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE is not much been published.

The pirate vessel QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE captained by the pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) was at that time one of the largest vessels to sail the Spanish Main.
And no ship played a more important role in the history of piracy in America.
There is little know of the vessel, but documents indicate that a vessel called CONCORD was captured by French privateers from the English during the Queen Anne’s War in 1711.
It appears she was built in Great Britain in or around 1710.
Did have a capacity of 300 tons (bm) with an armament of 20 to 26 guns.

After completion, was used as a merchantman, until she was captured by the French about a year later, she was then alternated, the configuration of her stern was altered, she was now looking more like a Dutch flute, and more suitable for use as an armed transport. These alternations gave her a silhouette similar to Dutch-built ships of that era, thus causing later confusion as to her origin.
She was renamed La CONCORDE (from Nantes).
While we are not certain that we are speaking of the same vessel, a CONCORDE of 300 tons and 20 guns were part of a French squadron that sailed from Brest in the summer of 1711 for South America.
There was still a war between French and Great Britain and Portugal had allied itself with Britain.
The French squadron sailed to the Portuguese colonial capital of Rio de Janeiro where the French laid siege to the city, occupied and ransacked it, and remained until receiving a considerable ransom in gold before sailing back to Brest where the squadron arrived in January 1712.
At war’s end in 1713, all privateers were ordered to revert to peacetime trade, and the CONCORDE became an armed merchantman.

The CONCORDE was sold to Spain, but a few years later sold back to the French and converted in a slave ship.
During her initial voyage from the West Africa coast in 1717 under command of Captain d’Ocier was she captured by the pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold on 28 November 1717 near the island of Martinique she was at that time sailing from Africa to Martinique and was loaded with gold dust, plate (silver), jewels and slaves.
After she was captured, the command was given to Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and appointed Christopher Blackwood as first mate.
Teach made the ship his flagship and renamed it in QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE. Her armament was increased to forty guns. Crew around 150 men.
According to French sources, the ship was about 31.69 meters long and had a tonnage or carrying capacity of over 300 tons.

Thereafter, she sailed with some smaller vessels. From April 1718 until she ran aground a couple of months later off North Carolina, she sailed with Stede Bonnet’s REVENGE armed with 10 guns, the Jamaican ship ADVENTURE and a small unidentified Spanish sloop, captured off Cuba.

One of her first battles was with HMS SCARBOROUGH which was repulsed after several hours of fighting.
22 May 1718 this fleet appeared off Charles Towne (Charleston) bar, after arrival they captured every vessel which passed by, these included a pilot boat and eight outward-bound vessels.
One of the prisoners taken, a Mr. Marks, was then sent to the city in an armed boat with a list of medicines needed by the pirates. If the medicines were not delivered, they would send the heads of the captured prisoners to the shore.
Due to the lack of money to arm a ship or to defend the city, Governor Johnson was obliged to concede to their demand and he collected the medicines, which were handed over to Mr. Marks for delivery to the pirate ships off the bar.
It took a few days and the delivery was delayed after the small boat capsized in a squall. After Mr. Marks delivered the medicines the prisoners were relieved of all their belongings. They were taken, half-naked to Charleston.
Blackbeard then returned to North Carolina, where he carried out his privateering activities in collusion with the local authorities. Some citizens of the state, who were fed up with the behaviour of the pirates, sought help from Governor Spotwood of Virginia. He dispatched two warships stationed at Hampton Roads and two other ships hired on his own expense.
This small fleet caught Blackbeard unawares off Ocracoke Inlet on 22 November 1718. During the battle which followed Blackbeard and several men were killed, many were captured and hanged. Blackbeard received more than 5 musketballs wounds and more than twenty sword lacerations before dying.

Before this battle, the QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE had already been lost. In June 1718, she grounded on a sandbar as she attempted to enter Topsail Inlet (now Beaufort Inlet). Another one of Blackbeard's vessels, most probably the ADVENTURE, attempted to come to the aid of the QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE but failed and also sank.
It is believed that Blackbeard with his loot came off the vessel with about 100 men in a small sloop and sailed to Bath, the capital of North Carolina at that time.
During his life as a pirate, he captured more as 40 ships.

The wreck of the QUEEN ANNE’s REVENGE was found in 20-feet of water in Beaufort Inlet on 21 November 1996.

Bahamas 1999 60c sg1170, Scott?
Grenada 1970 15c sg367, scott 345
Turks and Caicos Islands 2001 60c sg?, Scott?

For Blackbeard see below:
http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... 8189#p8189

Source: Info collected from the North Caroline Maritime Museum website. Charleston’s Maritime Heritage 1670-1865 by P.C.Coker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Anne’s_Revenge
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Last edited by john sefton on Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:54 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Reason: Improvement in wording

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