Wednesday, May 02, 2001

On May 9, 2001 the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources in cooperation with Maritime Research Institute (MRI) will recover a large concretion containing cannon C22 from the shipwrecked flagship of Blackbeard, the notorious pirate. Mike Daniel, president of MRI working for Phil Masters and Intersal, Inc., located the shipwreck site in November 1996. C22 was unearthed last fall during an emergency excavation, however, its recovery was delayed until a preservation tank could be prepared for its conservation. A temporary cessation of major recovery expeditions to the site will then allow the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project to focus on the conservation of ten of thousands of artifacts awaiting conservation accumulated in its laboratories since the wreck’s discovery. The site will continue to be closely monitored for potential threats from storms and unauthorized human impacts.

Through the dedication, expertise and hard work of the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch/ Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project (QAR) staff an archaeological data center and conservation laboratory has been established in Morehead City. This facility is housed within the UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences and is part of a larger complex consisting of NC Marine Fisheries, Carteret Community College, the NC State CMAST building, and is a short distance from NC Maritime Museum and the Duke Marine Lab. This prime location enables neighboring staff and facilities, as well as those throughout the state, such as UNC Wilmington, East Carolina University and Appalachian University, to participate in a wide range of cooperative studies, site security, student training and education projects focusing on the shipwreck. To date 24 scientists from 21 research and academic institutions have already contributed investigations to the shipwreck and its artifacts. Through Internet technology remote access will allow both public access and scholarly research to take place as archaeologists at the shipwreck and in the conservation laboratory reveal the secrets of the shipwreck and its pirate crew.

The historic significance of the artifact collection, which consists of large cannons, 20-foot long wooden ship timbers, brass implements, cordage, food remains and a wide assortment of early eighteenth century materials, cannot be overemphasized. The collection is of national and international significance because:

1. It is associated with the western world’s most infamous pirate whose name is still instantly recognizable.

2. It is one of the oldest shipwrecks on the Atlantic coast of North America available for study, and artifacts associated with it include what will eventually become a world-class cannon collection, the greatest number and most diverse array of cannon yet to be recovered from a single vessel.

3. Its story, the history of Queen Anne’s Revenge, originally the French slaver,

Concorde, can shed light on French slaving activities in the New World and piracy as an escape route for enslaved Africans and other cultural outsiders.

Blackbeard terrorized the shipping lanes from the Caribbean to the seacoast of the American colonies for only two years, 1717 and 1718. His ferocity has remained legendary; yet very little is known about the historic Blackbeard. According to nearly contemporary accounts, Edward Thatch, alias Blackbeard “frightened America more than any Comet that has appeared there in a long Time.” Like Jesse James and other notorious bandits, he has entered into the American canon of anti-authoritarian folk heroes, and coastal communities along the entire Atlantic seaboard point to a house, tree, or geographic landmark with links to the Blackbeard legend. The shipwreck’s association with the Blackbeard mystique has captured the imagination of a national and international audience. (A BBC documentary about the shipwreck project, Blackbeard’s Treasures, broadcast to near-record audiences in the United Kingdom). This widespread public interest makes Queen Anne’s Revenge an excellent vehicle to educate about the early Atlantic coast maritime history, conservation, and the importance of historic preservation. The rich and varied artifact collection recovered from his flagship will be one of a few physical links between the historic Blackbeard and his legend.

Queen Anne’s Revenge, was captured, renamed, and re-outfitted for piracy by Blackbeard and is the oldest shipwreck ever to be discovered in North Carolina waters and one of the oldest discovered in United States’ waters. Of the nearly 100 vessels lost off the coast of North Carolina during that period, it is the only site located and available for study by underwater archaeologists. And to date, it is the only pirate vessel to be excavated using precise archaeological standards and methods. As an archaeological time capsule representing early maritime activities in the New World, the shipwrecked Queen Anne’s Revenge and its artifacts can shed light on the period's naval armament, ship construction and repair, colonial provisioning, shipboard life, pirate culture (said to be democratic and multi-ethnic) and the French transatlantic slave trade.

To date, five cannons have been recovered from Queen Anne’s Revenge, an additional 17 have been located at the shipwreck site, and recent magnetometer surveys indicate there may be several more buried beneath the sand. Unlike a naval vessel, outfitted with a uniform array, cannon recovered from Queen Anne’s Revenge are pirate loot stripped from captured vessels. Their origins include France, England, and Sweden. These cannon, as well as those still to be recovered, present a unique opportunity for conservation research on previously submerged cast iron artifacts that will be of enormous benefit to the global conservation community as well of high public interest.

Public response to educational programming about Queen Anne’s Revenge verges on the overwhelming. The shipwreck has already been the subject of documentaries filmed by University of North Carolina/Public Television, BBC, and the Discovery Channel as well as live feature segments on CNN, the History Channel, and Good Morning America. In short, the discovery of Blackbeard’s flagship has created a unique educational opportunity for public and classroom programming on the very early maritime history the Atlantic perimeter, the slave trade, one of the earliest of our outsider cultures, and on the science of artifact conservation. The QAR staff is exploring the educational potential of this project with many agencies and institutions, including NC Maritime Museum, Duke University, Carteret Community College, ECU, NC Department of Public Instruction and NC State. These initiatives involve distance education programs, a conservation field school, conference presentations, and the beginnings of a 21st century archive designed to allow future public researching via the World Wide Web eventually to include a web-based museum, and virtual reality shipwreck site.

Members of the media and project supporters, including Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Lisbeth C. Evans and guests, are being invited to view the recovery aboard the LCU Brandywine from the 842 TCHA U.S. Army Reserve Unit, Morehead City. The lift will be executed from aboard the R/V Dan Moore, provided by Cape Fear Community College and supported by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington's R/V Seahawk and NC Marine Fisheries Shellpoint. The Carteret County Economic Development is helping sponsor the event by providing refreshments during the cannon viewing at the NC Marine Fisheries facility in Morehead City. The North Carolina Maritime History Council provides non-profit backing on the state level. The Save the Queen Committee, in conjunction with the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce and the Carteret County Tourism Development Bureau, provide local support for the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project.



Cannon Raising Event Schedule, May 9, 2001

9:00 - 9:30 am: Assemble at the North Carolina Marine Fisheries dock at the foot of 35th Street, Morehead City and board vessel.

9:30 am: Recovery vessel R/V Dan Moore and guest and media carrier LCU 1677 USAV Brandywine depart.

9:30 - 10:30 am: Travel to the shipwreck site off Fort Macon.

10:30 - 11:30 am: Arrive at the site and observed cannon recovery.

11:30 - 12:30 pm: Return to Marine Fisheries.

12:30 - 1:30 pm: Observe cannon offloading and initial inspection. During cannon viewing refreshments will be provided by Carteret County Economic Development. Participants also will be directed to the N.C. Maritime Museum to view fully conserved artifacts from this shipwreck.

Space is limited on the guest vessel. Please register with the NC Department of Cultural Resources at email Hhorton@dcrmail.dcr.state.nc.us, or fax that office at 919/733-1620 by Monday May 7th. The trip to the site is weather dependent. In the case of inclement weather, guests may stay ashore at the Marine Fisheries dock, and view the artifact when it is brought in around noon.