Blackbeard’s Death Ocracoke 1718/ My Elbow Day 34

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 At 11:14 pm

On November 17th 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard, of the Royal Navy,  set sail from the James River with a crew of 30 men on the hired sloop Ranger, to find the notorious pirate Blackbeard (AKA Edward Teach) somewhere off the coast of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Alongside another sloop named Jane with an additional 25 men, Maynard found the pirates anchored on the inner side of Ocracoke Island on November 21st 1718.

On that same night aboard the pirate ship Adventure, Blackbeard and his crew of only 19 were drinking in his cabin, anticipating what Maynard’s first move would be.  Reportedly, one of the crew asked Blackbeard, ” If ye die on the morrow, does your wife, Mary, know where ye buried the treasure?”  Blackbeard replied,” Damn ye, my friend, nobody but me and the Devil knows where it is hid and the longest liver will get it all.”

Maynard decided to attack on the morning of the 22nd in anticipation of a more favorable tide.  As the two sloops approached Blackbeard’s Adventure, Blackbeard’s superior knowledge of the waters and devastating attack disabled the Jane killing the Captain, midshipman Hyde, along with six others, and wounding 10.  Badly hit, but still in pursuit the Ranger, captained by Maynard, was able to disable the rigging of the Adventure forcing it ashore. Seeing only a few crew members standing on Deck alongside Maynard, Blackbeard decided to board the ship with ten men to end the battle, as he has done many times before.  To Blackbeard’s surprise, the crafty Maynard had ordered most of the crew below deck, and as they emerged, the pirate crew were engaged by a superior force.  The following account of the  ensuing battle was reported on the colonies only newspaper the “Boston News Letter”

“Maynard and Teach themselves begun the fight with their swords, Maynard making a thrust, the point of his sword against Teach’s cartridge box, and bent it to the hilt. Teach broke the guard of it, and wounded Maynard’s fingers but did not disable him, whereupon he jumped back and threw away his sword and fired his pistol which wounded Teach. Demelt struck in between them with his sword and cut Teach’s face pretty much; in the interim both companies engaged in Maynard’s sloop, one of Maynard’s men being a Highlander, engaged Teach with his broad sword, who gave Teach a cut on the neck, Teach saying well done lad; the Highlander replied, If it be not well done, I’ll do it better. With that he gave him a second stroke, which cut off his head, laying it flat on his shoulder”.

Blackbeard was killed, and the battle ended.  The most feared and respected Pirate, was reportedly shot five times and stabbed more than twenty before he was decapitated and died. Legends of Blackbeard spread after his death like wildfire.  There was even a report that after he was thrown overboard, his headless body swam 3 times around the ship.

This is part of the most accepted version of the death of Blackbeard.  There is some debate over who Blackbeard really was,  his relationship with the British government and Governors of Virginia and North Carolina, and his status as a pirate upon his death.  But all accounts confirm a formidable man and adversary. 

As I pondered this story on my recent trip to the outer banks of North Carolina and Ocracoke Island, a few things struck me.  First, it took them a full five days to sail down the James River and the coast of North Carolina to reach Ocracoke.  Perhaps it was due to the need for investigation along their quest to find the elusive Blackbeard, or they were in no rush to be killed and decided to stop for some of the amazing seafood along the Outer Banks.  But I will no longer complain about the beach traffic we have to deal with every time we head up route 12.  Instead I will imagine the fearful anticipation Maynard and his crew had to endure for those five days knowing they were about to face certain death.

Secondly, by most accounts, Blackbeard was shot 5 times and stabbed over 20 times, yet still fought Maynard to his death.  Now, maybe in the heat of battle I would find some inner strength to fight on for the greater good.  Just as in the case of the 120 lb mother who, with superhuman strength, was able to lift a 3500 lb car off of her trapped son,  I could put aside my pain and with the strength of Achilles in the Iliad of Homer, battle on.  But sitting around, as I watched my wife pack and unpack the RV as others looked on, made me feel a little inept and a little guilty.  If  Blackbeard can endure being mortally wounded, yet still swim around the ship in a defiant victory lap, I could chip in a little.  But due to my dedication to my patients, the need to heal my broken elbow so I could return to work, and following Doctors orders, I popped open a Stella and continued to read about the history of Ocracoke Island.

As far as my status, I am now 5 weeks into what will most likely be a 7 to 8 week healing process.  I have been a compliant patient, except for my 2-week hiatus from therapy learning the lore of Blackbeard the Pirate.  I now have a first hand appreciation for what it is that we do at Capitol Rehab, and the importance applying the correct therapy at the correct time.  The well-rounded, balanced approach is of paramount importance.  From acute care, to the final stages of healing (called the remodeling phase) there are things you must demand from your Doctor and Therapist.  On Monday, I will break down the importance of the following from my experince as a practitioner and now as a patient:

• Manual Therapy- What is it and why is it so important.
• Modalities such as IFC (estim), ultrasound, and the often unused Russian Stim- When they should be applied and why.
• Exercise- When is it bad and when is it good.

So, check back next Monday!