Pirate Blackbeard was killed in 1718 during a battle on Ocracoke Island.
Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach or Thatch, was attacked by Royal Navy lieutenant Robert Maynard in November 1718. Maynard’s expedition had been sent by Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood to end Blackbeard’s activities in the coastal waters of North Carolina.
The fighting took place aboard Blackbeard’s ship near Ocracoke Island. Contemporary accounts say Blackbeard suffered numerous wounds before Maynard’s men killed him. His head was later displayed from Maynard’s vessel as proof of his death.
Blackbeard’s death is often confused with the loss of his flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, which had been abandoned earlier in 1718. Ocracoke Island is part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, an area closely associated with several Golden Age pirates.