Event revisits Bath’s ties to Blackbeard

Published 5:05 pm Saturday, July 25, 2015

KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER | DAILY NEWS MESSENGER: A messenger in a canoe arrives in Bath with the news that Lt. Maynard and his crew are coming into Bath Creek.

KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER | DAILY NEWS
MESSENGER: A messenger in a canoe arrives in Bath with the news that Lt. Maynard and his crew are coming into Bath Creek.

SHADY SPOT: Karen Snyder, in the role of cook's wife, enjoys a brief respite from the midday sun during the festivities.

SHADY SPOT: Karen Snyder, in the role of cook’s wife, enjoys a brief respite from the midday sun during the festivities.

BATH — Nearly three centuries after killing Blackbeard in a bloody battle in Ocracoke Inlet, British Royal Navy seamen were back in Bath on July 18 to bask in their glory.

Lt. Robert Maynard and his crew, portrayed by historical re-enactors from the New Bern-based Devilmen of Cape Feare and the Arch Angel Crew of Virginia, visited Blackbeard’s old stomping grounds for this year’s Pirates in the Port event hosted by Historic Bath Site. Bath, the oldest town in North Carolina, was incorporated in 1705 and was at one time home port for Edward Teach, who became infamous as the pirate Blackbeard.

Activities included a reenactment of Maynard’s 1718 arrival in Bath, lectures and a series of living history programs focusing on life in the early 18th century.

More on the Pirates in the Port festivities was featured in the July 21 edition of the Daily News.

For more information about upcoming events at Historic Bath Site, call 252-923-3971 or visit www.bath.nchistoricsites.org.

NARRATOR: Noted historian and author Kevin Duffus, pictured with re-enactors  portraying Gov. Charles Eden and Capt. Ellis Brand, shares the story of Maynard's 1718 visit to Bath.

NARRATOR: Noted historian and author Kevin Duffus, pictured with re-enactors
portraying Gov. Charles Eden and Capt. Ellis Brand, shares the story of Maynard’s 1718 visit to Bath.

EAGER CROWD: Spectators eagerly await the arrival of Lt. Robert Maynard and his crew.

EAGER CROWD: Spectators eagerly await the arrival of Lt. Robert Maynard and his crew.

HEADS UP: Brett Bondurant, in the role of a British sailor, displays Blackbeard's head in the wake of the bloody battle at Ocracoke.

HEADS UP: Brett Bondurant, in the role of a British sailor, displays Blackbeard’s head in the wake of the bloody battle at Ocracoke.