"The Search for Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge"

Guest: David Moore
Thursday, February 25, 1999
Students Session 1: Transcript
Students Session 2: Transcript

Join nautical archaeologist David Moore as he brings to life Edward Teach (or Blackbeard), perhaps the most notorious privateer in history. Moore has been studying the man, the myth, and the shipwreck since 1982. A wreck diver, he’s ready to share his first-hand knowledge of the recent discovery of the ship thought to be Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge.

Questions for students and teachers to consider:

• Did Blackbeard really light slow burning fuses in his beard and hair? Did he really have fourteen wives?
• Where is the wreckage of the Queen Anne’s Revenge? Could it be in the waters near Beaufort, NC?
• What is the general depth and visibility of the waters surrounding the shipwreck that is thought to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge?
• How do the number and size of cannons located at the wreck site strongly suggest an association with Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge?
• How do the deposition of Henry Bostock (an eight-hour captive of Blackbeard’s) and the finding of gold dust at the site suggest an association with the Queen Anne’s Revenge?

Internet and Text Treasures

Black Beard's Treasure Video
http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/specials.html#Blackbeard

Maritime Museum
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime/

Blackbeard
http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/maritime/blackbrd.htm

Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge
The educational site for information concerning the shipwreck believed to be Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge containing lesson plans tied to the NC Standard Course of Study.
http://blackbeard.eastnet.ecu.edu/index2.html

Book - Robert E. Lee's Blackbeard the Pirate:  A Re-appraisal of History

 
David D. Moore, Nautical Archaeologist/Maritime Historian, North Carolina Maritime Museum

David Moore has been involved in maritime history and shipwreck research for over nineteen years, including stints as an underwater archaeologist for the states of North Carolina and Florida. He has conducted field research on over 100 shipwrecks dating from the 16^th to 19^th centuries. An alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a B.A. in Environmental Marine Science (May 1980), Moore traveled to Florida in 1983 as an archaeological consultant soon after completing course work for a Master's degree in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology at East Carolina University. His work in Florida included the structural investigation of the 17^th century Spanish galleons Nuestra Senora de Atocha, Santa Margarita, and the San Martin. He directed the first deep-water shipwreck excavation utilizing robotic technology.

As Principle Investigator on the Henrietta Marie Project, his efforts led to the completion of a Master's thesis in 1989 on the historical and archaeological investigations of this significant slave ship site which was instrumental in the development of a major traveling exhibition currently touring the country. Born, raised, and educated in North Carolina, Moore returned to his home state in February 1996 when hired by the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

He began researching the potential for locating Blackbeard’s shipwrecks in 1982 and is helping to direct the excavation of what is thought to be the pirate’s flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge. His research efforts into the historical background of North Carolina’s most infamous pirate are also the focal point of a Ph.D. dissertation through King’s College London.

Blackbeard graphic used by permission - http://www.blackbeardsquarters.com/legend/bbqleg.html

Last updated: 11/18/05