During the Golden Age of Piracy, Blackbeard was known as one of the most famous pirates, especially at self promotion. Having a terrifying reputation was important for a pirate. The more fear he struck into the crew of a ship, the more likely they would surrender without a fight. Blackbeard was a big man, with a naturally scowling face, long, thick black hair and beard, and wild, deep-set eyes. To further heighten his terrifying presence, Blackbeard would go into battle with lighted tapers in his hair. These belched black smoke, making Blackbeard appear to his enemies as some kind of demon.

Blackbeard, whose real name is thought to be Edward Teach, began his career as a privateer, but soon joined the crew of a pirate ship. He quickly had his own ship called Queen Anne's Revenge. In May of 1718, Blackbeard was bold enough to blockade the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, using the Queen Anne's Revenge and two smaller vessels, and demand ransom. He got it. He also got a pardon from the North Carolina governor, Charles Eden, in return for a cut of his booty. The pardon didn't prevent Blackbeard from harassing plantation owners along the Pamlico River, though. The plantation owners appealed for help from Governor Spotwood of Virginia. Spotwood, a pirate foe, spent his own money to finance an expedition to put an end to Blackbeard. Lieutenant Robert Maynard, of the British Navy, with sixty-two men attacked the pirates at North Carolina using two small ships. Despite only having eighteen men with him, Blackbeard nearly won the engagement. But there were just too many British Soldiers for Blackbeard to fight. Instead, the British Navy Lieutenant, Robert Maynard, convinced Blackbeard to surrender! Blackbeard handed over all treasures on board his ship to the Lieutenant in exchange for his freedom.

But Blackbeard's freedom would be short lived. During the night, he boarded the British Navy vessel, and sought to gain back his pirate's treasure by thievery! Unknown to Blackbeard, Lieutenant Maynard knew of his boarding, and confronted Blackbeard. Thus began a classic sword fight. The two battled back and forth long into the night. When morning broke, Blackbeard managed to snag only one container of treasure and flee off the Naval vessel onto his own ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge!

But the British Navy was not to be out maneuvered by a mere pirate! So they began to chase Blackbeard and his pirates. Instead of putting out to sea and risk being surrounded by a whole fleet of British Naval Ships, Blackbeard chose to stay near the shore and travel up the coast of North America! After two weeks of sailing, the British Naval Vessels began to close in on Blackbeard and his crew of pirates. To gain more ground and escape the British Navy, Blackbeard veered his ship into the interior of North America near the small town of Philadelphia.. Thus began an incredible feat of sailing never equaled to this day! Through a series of tributaries, rivers, and large creeks, Blackbeard was able to finally free himself of his pursuers by sailing through waters that the heavier naval vessel was unable to sail.

Unable to turn back towards sea for fear of being captured, Blackbeard and his gang of pirates continued into the interior. Their ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was found grounded in a sand bank along the Youghioghany River. No sign of the pirates has ever been found. The only remaining item aboard the ship was a small treasure map. This map is believed to contain the whereabouts of Blackbeard's treasure that Blackbeard stole off the British Naval Vessel, but to this day the map remains unsolved.

The British Navy continued to hunt down pirates along North American coasts. Harsh laws were enacted to punish those who bought or sold to pirates. These measures, along with rules forbidding cruel punishments on Navy vessels, brought the Golden Age of Piracy to an end.