Queen Anne's Revenge - The Flagship of Blackbeard the Pirate

Before she ran aground in 1817,  Queen Anne's Revenge haunted the waters off the Eastern United States during the early 1800s, sending fear into her victims at the mere sight of her.  The ship had the ability to intimidate visually just as her Captain, William Teach did.  He was more commonly known as Blackbeard the Pirate.  Blackbeard himself is said to haunt the waters where he met his demise off the coast of North Carolina to this day.

Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of Blackbeard the pirate

Built in 1710, the British cargo ship Concord, was captured by the French shortly afterward and rechristened La Concorde.  The French enlarged the ship to carry more cargo as it was used to ferry slaves to market.  In 1716, La Concorde had an encounter with the pirate Benjamin Hornigold who then converted it to do battle, fitting it with 20 cannons.  Hornigold terrorized the Guinea coast before setting said for the Bahamas and the Americas.  It is thought that Blackbeard derived the name of the ship from Queen Anne's War in which he participated in.

Pirate Benjamin Hornigold, captain of La Concorde

In late 1717, Horgnigold turned his ship over to one of his crew members, Edward Teach.  Captain Teach renamed the ship Queen Anne's Revenge and fitted her with twice the number of cannon, making her one of most intimidating warships of the day, a devastating weapon to be used in the name of piracy.  Teach amassed a flotilla of ships, using Queen Anne's Revenge as his flagship.  His menacing appearance with a long braided beard with black bows and his reputation earned him the nickname Blackbeard.  He would destroy any ship or person who resisted his attacks.

The notorious pirate Blackbeard

The pirate ship Queen Anne's Revenge reigned havoc on ships during the early 1800s captained by Edward Teach aka Blackbeard

At one point in his notorious pirating run, Blackbeard and his devilish flotilla blockaded the city of Charleston, South Carolina and held it for ransom.  Upon his departure from the city while fleeing pursuing ships, he hastily ran the Queen Anne's Revenge aground while trying to enter Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.  He transferred his flag to another of his ships named Adventure, thus ending the Queen Anne's Revenge reign of terror.

Artist's rendition of the pirate ship Queen Anne's Revenge after she ran aground

 

There have been no consistent reported sightings of Queen Anne's Revenge as a phantom ship, although some claim that one of the ghostly vessels of Whites Creek off the coast of Virginia, is that of Blackbeard and his men.  There are those that believe that Blackbeard hid some of his treasure there in the coastal forests and that he returns in his ship on occasion to make sure that his treasure is safe.

In 1996, a team of researchers discovered what they believe to be the remains of Queen Anne's Revenge off the coast of North Carolina, retrieving one of the cannons, anchor, and other artifacts from the ill fated vessel.  Many of the artifacts are on display at the North Carolina Maritime Museums.  For more info visit http://www.ncmaritimemuseums.com/beaufort/exhibits/beaufort-qar-exhibit.html   

An anchor raised from wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge, flagship of Blackbeard the pirate

Cannon raised from wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge, flagship of Blackbeard the pirate

 
Not so far away from the wreck of Queen Anne's Revenge, just off of Ocracoke Island, is one of the supposed haunts of the ghost of Blackbeard himself, never resting while his hidden treasures remain undiscovered.

Queen Anne's Revenge mockup used in the 2011 Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides

Phantom Ships of Whites Creek, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA

There are stories of long lost hidden treasure along the U.S. coast on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay.  A narrow band of water separating the mainland from the bay known as Whites Creek is allegedly the landing place of pirates from days of old as well the accidental stash of an exiled King.  What is known today as Old House Woods served as the hiding spot for these treasures of kings and pirates.  However, many believe that the waters of Whites Creek are revisited by these phantoms from the past in search of their lost treasure.

Legend tells of phantom ships that appear in Whites Creek off of the Chesapeake Bay and float into the woods of Virginia

The first treasure that was lost according to legend, was that of pirates who were attracted by the allure of the marshy expanse of woodland off of Whites Creek, decided that it would be an excellent place to bury some of their treasure.  So they tied up along the banks of the creek and buried their booty there in the woods.  It is said that unfortunately for the pirates, they perished at sea in a terrible storm and were never able to retrieve their treasure. However, they return on occasion searching for their lost loot.  It is believed that one of these pirates was Blackbeard piloting his ill fated Queen Anne's Revenge.

In 1651 after the Battle of Worcester in England, King Charles II fled Europe and headed for Jamestown in the new found territories in America to hide.  After a fierce storm, his treasure ship mistakenly ended up in the Whites Creek.  Deciding to hide his treasures there for safe keeping in that remote stretch of forest, they began unloading the chests from the ship when suddenly they were ambushed and robbed.  The perpetrators buried both the chests and the bodies of some of the crew in the woods.  However, they were captured and put to death. It is said that the treasure chests of King Charles II are still buried somewhere in the woods to this day, guarded by the phantom crew that was buried with it.  Many claim that sometimes at night the lanterns and sounds of the phantom robbers who returned for their plunder can be seen and heard in the night digging away in the darkness.

Sometime afterward during the time when steam ships were taking over in the late 19th century, a man reported that he was fishing just off of the entrance of Whites Creek when a full masted sailing ship appeared coming in from the Chesapeake Bay. Making no sound at all, it moved into the creek.  It passed by him and sailed right up onto the beach... and across the shore road into the Old House Woods and it appeared to be floating above the ground!

There have also been reports of a phantom Spanish galleon in full sail floating partially above the trees tops as if they were water.  Apparently, the phantom vessel rises out of the Whites Creek and sails into the trees. The ship would stop and ghostly pirates would pour over the side of the ship and down onto the ground.  The phantom pirates have been seen roaming around as if searching for something and some have been spotted digging in certain spots in the Old House Woods.  Many witnesses on shore have claimed to hear the sounds of digging coming from these old woodlands at night.