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Anniversary of Blackbeard's death falls on Thanksgiving

Published On: Nov 22 2012 04:28:19 PM CST

Eastern Carolina is known for its rich maritime history. It just so happens that Thursday is the 294th anniversary of Blackbeard's death.

The infamous pirate was killed on Nov. 22, 1718 at Ocracoke Inlet, when he and his men battled against ships sent by the governor of Virginia, led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.

Maynard was able to return to Virginia, with Blackbeard's severed head.

Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, lived in the Beaufort County town of Bath, the oldest town in North Carolina, during the summer of 1718.

The year before, he and his men captured a French slave ship, and renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge. That vessel became his flagship as he raided for bounty in the Caribbean.

The Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck was discovered in 1996 in the Atlantic Ocean, near Fort Macon State Park in Atlantic Beach. Several of the ship's cannons and more than 16,000 artifacts have been recovered. The artifacts are being displayed at the north carolina maritime museum in Beaufort.