Queen Anne's Revenge Found!?

The French Guinea sailing vessel that was to become Blackbeard's flagship had been captured somewhere off the Bahamas in 1717. Blackbeard mounted forty guns called blunderbusses on her decks and renamed her the Queen Anne's Revenge. In addition to this vessel, his fleet eventually consisted of three other ships as well - the Adventure, the Revenge and a tender which served the three fighting ships.

With thoughts of disbanding his pirate fleet, which at this point consisted of over 300 men and the four ships, he devised a plan. He purposely ran the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure aground near Fishtown, North Carolina (now Beaufort), and relinquished ownership of the Revenge. Loading the tender with as much treasure she could hold and he sailed away, only to maroon more of his crew on an island a few miles away. Down to 23 men, he sailed to Bath and surrendered to Governor Eden. Before his pardon from King George I was to arrive, Blackbeard perished in battle off Ocracoke Island.

Footnote: In November 1996, a private research company discovered what it believes to be the Queen Anne's Revenge in about 20 feet of water off Beaufort Inlet, in Carteret County (map), North Carolina. A bronze bell dated 1709, a 24-pound cannonball, a blunderbuss barrel, along with other items were recovered in March 1997.

An area 300 yards around the site has been declared off limits to boats and divers to protect the its archaeological integrity. All artifacts will be kept by the state of North Carolina. The research company hopes to recoup its $300,000.00 investment through book and film rights.