Blackbeard had heard several reports, which happened not to be true, and so gave the less credit to this, nor was he convinced till he saw the sloops: whereupon he put his vessel in a posture of defence; he had no more than twenty-five men on board, though he gave out to all the vessels he spoke with, that he had 40. When he had prepared for battle, he set down and spent the night in drinking with the master of a trading sloop, who, ’twas thought, had more business with Teach, than he should have had.
Lieutenant Maynard came to an anchor, for the place being shoal, and the channel intricate, there was no getting in, where Teach lay, that night; but in the morning he weighed, and sent his boat ahead of the sloops to sound; and coming within gunshot of the pirate, received his fire; whereupon Maynard hoisted the King’s colours, and stood directly towards him, with the best way that his sails and oars could made. Blackbeard cut his cable, and endeavoured to make a running fight, keeping a continual fire at his enemies, with his guns; Mr. Maynard not having any, kept a constant fire with small arms, while some of his men laboured at their oars. In a little time Teach’s sloop ran aground, and Mr. Maynard’s drawing more water than that of the pirate, he could not come near him; so he anchored within half gunshot of the enemy, and, in order to lighten his vessel, that he might run him aboard, the lieutenant ordered all his ballast to be thrown overboard, and all the water to be staved, and then weigh’d and stood for him; upon which Blackbeard hail’d him in this rude manner: Damn you for villains, who are you? And, from whence came you? The lieutenant made him answer, You may see by our colours we are no pirates. Blackbeard bid him send his boat on board, that he might see who he was; but Mr. Maynard reply’d thus; I cannot spare my boat, but I will come aboard of you as soon as I can, with my sloop. Upon this, Blackbeard took a glass of liquor, and drank to him with these words: Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarters, or take any from you. In answer to which, Mr. Maynard told him, that he expected no quarters from him, nor should he give him any.
By this time Blackbeard’s sloop fleeted, as Mr. Maynard’s sloops were rowing towards him, which being not above a foot high in the waist, and consequently the men all exposed, as they came near together, (there being hitherto little or no execution done, on either side,) the pirate fired a broadside, charged with all manner of small shot—a fatal stroke to them! The sloop the lieutenant was in, having twenty men killed and wounded, and the other sloop nine. This could not be help’d, for there being no wind, they were oblig’d to keep to their oars, otherwise the pirate would have got away from him, which, it seems, the lieutenant was resolute to prevent.
After this unlucky blow, Blackbeard’s sloop fell broadside to the shore; Mr. Maynard’s other sloop, which was called the Ranger, fell astern, being, for the present, disabled; so the lieutenant finding his own sloop had way, and would soon be on board of Teach, he ordered all his men down, for fear of another broadside, which must have been their destruction, and the loss of their expedition. Mr. Maynard was the only person that kept the deck, except the man at the helm, whom he directed to lie down snug, and the men in the hold were ordered to get their pistols and their swords ready for close fighting, and to come up at his command; in order to which, two ladders were placed in the hatchway for the more expedition. When the lieutenant’s sloop boarded the other, Captain Teach’s men threw in several new fashioned sort of grenades, viz. case bottles fill’d with powder, and small shot, slugs, and pieces of lead or iron, with a quick match in the mouth of it, which being lighted without side, presently runs into the bottle to the powder, and as it is instantly thrown on board, generally does great execution, besides putting all the crew into a confusion; but by good providence, they had not that effect here; the men being in the hold, and Blackbeard seeing few or no hands aboard, told his men, that they were all knock’d on the head, except three or four; and therefore, says he, let’s jump on board, and cut them to pieces.
Whereupon, under the smoke of one of the bottles just mentioned, Blackbeard enters with fourteen men, over the bows of Maynard’s sloop, and were not seen by him till the air cleared; however, he just then gave a signal to his men, who all rose in an instant, and attack’d the pirates with as much bravery as ever was done upon such an occasion: Blackbeard and the lieutenant fired the first pistol at each other, by which the pirate received a wound, and then engaged with swords, till the lieutenant’s unluckily broke, and stepping back to cock a pistol, Blackbeard, with his cutlash, was striking at that instant, that one of Maynard’s men gave him a terrible wound in the neck and throat, by which the lieutenant came off with a small cut over his fingers.
They were
