Battle of Cape Fear River
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cape Fear River, or the Battle of the Sandbars, was fought in September of 1718 between a British
naval expedition
from South Carolina
against the pirate ships of Stede Bonnet
. British forces defeated the pirates in the Cape Fear River
estuary
which led to Bonnet's death by hanging in Charleston
.
the Royal Navy
was constantly in campaign against pirates in the Caribbean
and off North America
. Stede Bonnet was one of the outlaws, very successful, he captured several merchant ships and assembled his own squadron of pirate ships. In August of 1718 Bonnet was sailing from the Delaware Bay
to the Cape Fear River. He commanded his sloop-of-war
flagship
Royal James and two other armed sloops, Francis and Fortune. Royal James was a former flagship of Blackbeard
which was armed with eight cannon, the other two sloops were similarly armed and all together forty-six pirates crewed them. Royal James was in need of careening and the hurricane season
was soon to come so Bonnet chose the Cape Fear estuary as a reliable shelter against storms. For the next few weeks Bonnet's crew repaired the Royal James with material salvaged from a captured shallop.
In late August, reports of Bonnet's sloops in Cape Fear River reached Governor
Robert Johnson
of South Carolina. Johnson ordered the British Army
Colonel
William Rhett
to command an operation to destroy the pirate threat. At the Colonel's disposal were two eight gun sloops with a combined 130 men.
s and headed for the unrecognized South Carolinian expedition. It was at this time Rhett's flagship Henry ran aground on a sandbar. This allowed the pirate canoes to approach close enough to discover the identity of the grounded vessel and once they did they turned about and paddled back to their ships unharmed. Instead of fleeing up the small river in darkness, Bonnet decided that he would fight his way back into the sea, so the next morning at daylight, the pirates prepared to pass the two British sloops which were now free of the sandbar. They dispersed amongst the Royal James, Fortune and the Francis and loaded their arms. At daylight the following morning on September 27, 1718, Bonnet raised his flag and attacked. After starting out they sailed for a few minutes until within range of the enemy ships, they then opened fire with cannon and musketry. The British sloops opened fire and split up but Henry ran aground again along with the other ship.
To avoid enemy fire Stede Bonnet steered his vessels close to the western shore of the river and they ran aground on sand. At this point only Henry and the Royal James were within range of each other and for five to six hours the two sides dueled at this position, incapable of movement. Rhett's flagship Henry was grounded in a position which left her crew with minimal cover from incoming fire. The opposite was true for the Royal James whose crew exploited valuable cover. During the fighting Bonnet stayed on deck with his pistol in hand and warned that he would shoot any man who showed cowardice, the pirates morale was good though, they cheered each other on and dared the South Carolinians to board. The British sloops were down stream and when the water began to rise in the early afternoon, Rhett's sloops were freed while Bonnet's remained stranded. The British repaired their rigging and raised their sails, soon after they set out for the capture of the pirates. After another few moments of conflict the pirate ships were boarded and captured in a bloody hand-to-hand combat. Bonnet ordered his gunner George Ross
to light the powder magazine
and scuttle
the Royal James but he persuaded not to by his surving crewmen who had already surrendered.
. With him was his boatswain
Ignatius Pell
and Sailing Master David Herriott, all of whom escaped captivity with the help of two slaves and a native American
and possibly the local merchant Richard Tookerman. Governor Robert Johnson immediately ordered a £700 bounty to be awarded to any man who could kill or capture the pirates. The gentleman pirate was soon captured again after a skirmish on Sullivan's Island and Bonnet was hanged on December 10, 1718.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
naval expedition
Expedition
An expedition typically refers to a long journey or voyage undertaken for a specific purpose, often exploratory, scientific, geographic, military or political in nature...
from South Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
against the pirate ships of Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet was an early 18th-century Barbadian pirate, sometimes called "the gentleman pirate" because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his...
. British forces defeated the pirates in the Cape Fear River
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The overall water quality of the river is continuously measured and monitored by and conducted by the , , and the...
estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
which led to Bonnet's death by hanging in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Background
During the end of the Golden Age of PiracyGolden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in maritime history of the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy:the buccaneering...
the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
was constantly in campaign against pirates in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and off North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Stede Bonnet was one of the outlaws, very successful, he captured several merchant ships and assembled his own squadron of pirate ships. In August of 1718 Bonnet was sailing from the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
to the Cape Fear River. He commanded his sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Royal James and two other armed sloops, Francis and Fortune. Royal James was a former flagship of Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
which was armed with eight cannon, the other two sloops were similarly armed and all together forty-six pirates crewed them. Royal James was in need of careening and the hurricane season
Hurricane season
Hurricane season refers to a period in a year when hurricanes usually form. For more information see: Tropical cyclone#Times.* The Atlantic hurricane seasonFor a lists of past seasons, see:...
was soon to come so Bonnet chose the Cape Fear estuary as a reliable shelter against storms. For the next few weeks Bonnet's crew repaired the Royal James with material salvaged from a captured shallop.
In late August, reports of Bonnet's sloops in Cape Fear River reached Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson (governor)
Robert Johnson was the British colonial Governor of the Province of South Carolina in 1717-1719, and again from 1729-1735. Governor Johnson ordered Colonel William Rhett to engage the notorious pirate Stede Bonnet's sloops in the Battle of Cape Fear River near Charleston in 1718...
of South Carolina. Johnson ordered the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
William Rhett
William Rhett
Colonel William Rhett moved to the Province of Carolina in 1698. He soon became successful and gained a high rank and social status as a colonial leader. In 1706 it was Rhett who commanded a flotilla that fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town...
to command an operation to destroy the pirate threat. At the Colonel's disposal were two eight gun sloops with a combined 130 men.
Battle
Colonel Rhett reached the Cape Fear River estuary at night on September 26, 1718 and were sighted by Bonnet and his men. Believing the sloops to be that of merchants, the pirates boarded three canoeCanoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s and headed for the unrecognized South Carolinian expedition. It was at this time Rhett's flagship Henry ran aground on a sandbar. This allowed the pirate canoes to approach close enough to discover the identity of the grounded vessel and once they did they turned about and paddled back to their ships unharmed. Instead of fleeing up the small river in darkness, Bonnet decided that he would fight his way back into the sea, so the next morning at daylight, the pirates prepared to pass the two British sloops which were now free of the sandbar. They dispersed amongst the Royal James, Fortune and the Francis and loaded their arms. At daylight the following morning on September 27, 1718, Bonnet raised his flag and attacked. After starting out they sailed for a few minutes until within range of the enemy ships, they then opened fire with cannon and musketry. The British sloops opened fire and split up but Henry ran aground again along with the other ship.
George Ross
George Ross may refer to:*George Ross , signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence*George Ross , Lt...
to light the powder magazine
Powder Magazine
Powder Magazine, Powder House, or Powderworks may refer to:* Gunpowder magazine*Magazine , the general term-in the United States:* Powder Magazine , listed on the NRHP in Alabama...
and scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
the Royal James but he persuaded not to by his surving crewmen who had already surrendered.
Aftermath
The South Carolinians suffered ten killed and fourteen wounded, the pirates sustained twelve casualties and all the survivors were captured. Bonnet was taken prisoner and transferred to Charleston where he arrived on October 3 to await trial for charges of piracy. Bonnet was separated from the majority of his crew and held for almost a month at the home of a Charleston provost marshalProvost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
. With him was his boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
Ignatius Pell
Ignatius Pell
Ignatius Pell was a pirate who served as the boatswain to Captain Stede Bonnet aboard the Royal James, a ship previously named Revenge. He was arrested in October, 1718 and testified against his crew and captain.-Battle of Cape Fear River:...
and Sailing Master David Herriott, all of whom escaped captivity with the help of two slaves and a native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and possibly the local merchant Richard Tookerman. Governor Robert Johnson immediately ordered a £700 bounty to be awarded to any man who could kill or capture the pirates. The gentleman pirate was soon captured again after a skirmish on Sullivan's Island and Bonnet was hanged on December 10, 1718.