He was the most feared of captains during the Golden Age of Piracy, and in June 1718, four vessels under his command sailed into what was then Topsail Inlet (now Beaufort). Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), became stranded in the inlet’s shallow water. To commemorate the effective end of a piratical career, a North Carolina Highway History Marker will be dedicated Thursday, June 7, 1 p.m., near the entrance on the drive into Fort Macon at Atlantic Beach.
Blackbeard took command of the vessel La Concorde, a French vessel engaged in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Nov. 28, 1717, renaming her Queen Anne’s Revenge. He took half of the French frigate’s crew under his command, and increased the number of cannons onboard. He began taking prizes and became one of the most feared pirates in a short but notorious pirating career. His most storied feat was the blockade of Charleston harbor, where he held hostage the crew and passengers of the Crowley, and demanded and got a chest of medicine for his crew. Just a few weeks later QAR ran aground. During six months as a pirate captain he was the most dreaded force sailing the Atlantic.
In addition to a highway marker dedication, an expanded exhibit of artifacts recovered from the QAR will open Friday, June 8, at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, as part of the Blackbeard 300th Commemoration.
On Nov. 21, 1996, a search team from the private research firm Intersal, Inc., operating under a permit from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources found a cluster of cannon and anchors on the seabed near historic Beaufort Inlet. The department has led recovery efforts at the wreck site.
For additional information about the highway marker dedication, please call (252) 504-7744. For additional information about the N.C. Highway Historical Marker program, please call (919) 807-7290. The Highway Marker Program is within the Office of Archives and History and administered by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The program is collaboration between the N.C. Departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.