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Blackbeard Lives -
By the Guns of Hampton - Pirate T-Shirt
The
300-ton vessel, Concord, was a
frigate
built in England in 1710. She was captured by the
French
one year later and modified to hold more cargo, including
slaves, and renamed La Concorde de Nantes. Sailing as
a
slave ship,
she was captured by the pirate
Captain
Benjamin Hornigold
on November 28, 1717, near the island of
Martinique.
Hornigold turned her over to one of his men —Edward
Teach, later known as
Blackbeard.
Blackbeard
renamed the ship Queen Ann's Revenge
and added more
cannons.
The name may come from the
War of the Spanish Succession,
known in the
Americas
as
Queen Anne's War,
in which Blackbeard had served in the
Royal Navy,
or possibly from sympathy for
Queen Anne,
the last
Stuart
monarch.
Queen Ann's
Revenge had 24 main long guns which were given names by the
gun captains and crew. Our T-Shirt commemorates this
passage of history.
The T-Shirt speaks to Master Blackbeard, the present day
gunners and captains of Hampton, Virginia who maintain that
history with their guns. The names of the guns are
listed on the back of the T-Shirt taken from historical
records.
The
Brigand's Band has
written and recorded a song entitled "The Guns of Hampton" which also speaks to this
colorful period of history. The song is on their new
CD entitled "Ship Happens". The Brigands are one of the most
talented period and pirate bands on the East Coast.
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