Blackbeard

Edward Teach had a flamboyant personality and frequented the Carolina coast. As the pirate, Blackbeard, he indeed had a black beard into which he plaited hemp ropes and set them to smolder to intimidate foes. He also lit fuses under his hat for the same reason.

He was born in England around 1680 and sailed as a privateer during Queen Anne's War. For a while, beginning in 1716, he joined Captain Benjamin Hornigold for pirating around the 

Van Der Veer house in Bath, NC

Bahamas. He captured a French merchant vessel, refurbished her as a pirate ship, and renamed her the Queen Anne's Revenge. He joined with other pirates and blockaded Charleston harbor for a ransom. Sailing north, he ran his ship into a sandbar and settled in Bath, N.C., where he accepted a royal pardon. Before long, however, he went back to sea.

Pamlico River feeds into the Pamlico Sound near Bath

Blackbeard also loved women. While in Bath, he married Mary Ormond, and the governor himself performed the wedding. As it turned out, the pretty young woman was his fourteenth wife, and twelve of them were still alive.

Many legends developed about the pirate, but none of them have him being overly cruel, especially with his crew. He preferred to intimidate his opponents into submission by his fearful look rather than use excessive violence. After Blackbeard left Bath to go back to the pirate's life, Governor Spotswood sent Lieutenant Maynard and his men to capture him. In the ensuing battle, the pirate was killed.

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