Back in January, Belle and I stopped by Blackbeard’s Point on our way home from Virginia. I’m not sure what I expected—maybe an open space, a park, or even a big monument by the river. But instead, all we found was a rinky-dink sign in a parking lot. Talk about a letdown.
Considering his infamy, you could easily argue that Blackbeard is the most famous North Carolinian of all time. It was a bit of a slap in the face to see that Virginia, after all these years, thinks so little of him.
If you don’t know much about Blackbeard, you’re probably wondering what in the world I’m talking about. Why is there a site in Virginia named after Blackbeard in the first place??
The Backstory
As we all know, Blackbeard was a pirate. But he didn’t start out as an outlaw. Before turning to piracy, Edward Teach was a privateer during Queen Anne’s War, legally raiding enemy ships on behalf of the British crown.
Like many of his shipmates, Teach turned to piracy after the war ended. He joined the crew of Benjamin Hornigold in 1716 and quickly rose through the ranks. By 1717, he had taken command, carving out his own terrifying legacy.
For a year, Teach was the most feared pirate on the East Coast. From the Caribbean to the Carolinas, he terrorized merchant ships, his demonic presence alone enough to send sailors into a panic.
By June 1718, Blackbeard claimed he was ready to leave piracy behind. He deliberately ran the Queen Anne’s Revenge aground off the North Carolina coast, salvaged the loot, and took a handful of his most trusted men—abandoning the rest. He then presented himself to NC Governor Charles Eden and secured a pardon, seemingly turning over a new leaf.
Of course, Blackbeard wasn’t exactly the “retiring” type.
He returned to raiding—but this time, he had a royal governor in his back pocket. Eden granted Blackbeard’s remaining ship, the Adventure, legal status as a war prize, allowing him to keep it. And when Blackbeard seized a French vessel laden with goods—everything from cocoa to fine linens—he simply claimed he’d found it drifting unmanned at sea. Eden, ever the helpful friend, awarded him full salvage rights. And, naturally, the Governor took a cut for himself.
For a while, Blackbeard had the best of both worlds—plundering with near impunity under the protection of the North Carolina government. But as you might imagine, that arrangement wasn’t built to last.
Enter Virginia
Virginia Royal Governor Alexander Spotswood looked down on North Carolina with disdain. He viewed his Southern neighbor as backward and believed Eden to be a weak governor. It didn’t help matters that he wished to expand his border into the Old North State.
So what did he do? He ignored the rule of law, secretly ordered the invasion of North Carolina territory, and hunted down Blackbeard in Ocracoke Island.
On November 22, 1718, Spotswood’s men took Blackbeard’s life. They threw Teach’s body overboard, mounted his head to the bow of the Adventure, and sailed it back to Virginia.
The head and several of Blackbeard’s men were brought back to Williamsburg. Thirteen were hanged.
Blackbeard’s head was then placed on a spike by the Hampton River – in a place now known as Blackbeard’s Point. But don’t go there looking for any Blackbeard love. You won’t find any.
Virginia’s claim to him is more about his end than his exploits. Still. You’d think they’d give the legendary pirate of North Carolina a better sendoff than a parking-lot plaque.
