Blackbeard the Pirate

Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, was one of history's most famous pirates, if the stories about Blackbeard are to be believed, he was as much a freak show as a swashbuckler.

He's said to have gone into battle after these preparations: braiding his long black beard, tying the tails of it around his ears and putting lighted candles in his hair.

It's hard to imagine anyone running across decks or swinging from sail hausers with burning candles on his head--without the candles falling over and setting his hair ablaze.

Another version has him wearing lighted fuses , not candles. Now, that would have been an interesting sight, indeed: the sputtering ends looking like snakes gone wild.

I don't know about you but I prefer to picture the feared pirate as a demonic Medusa and not as a rum-belching Christmas tree.

Blackbeard's Pirate Career

Blackbeard in North Carolina

More Blackbeard History

Go To Charlotte Amalie History

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