Excerpt from HistoryExtra article, “Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate: how a mid-life crisis created the ‘worst pirate of all time’” available here.
After receiving his certificate of pardon, Bonnet was absolved of his piratical crimes and looked, at least temporarily, for legal means of continuing his adventure. England, allied with France and the Netherlands, was now at war with Spain, and Bonnet saw the opportunity to secure a letter of marque permitting him and the crew of the Revenge to go privateering against the Spaniards – if only he could reach the Danish-controlled island of St Thomas to acquire it.
It was not to be: Bonnet lapsed into a piratical career, adopting the alias Captain Thomas and renaming the Revenge the Royal James in a bid to keep his pardon intact. By July 1718, he was reaving with as much impunity as before.
In August, Bonnet entered the Cape Fear River of North Carolina, where he had decided to ride out the hurricane season. His presence did not go unmarked, however, and the reports of pirates in the river prompted the governor of neighbouring South Carolina to send two ships to capture them.
In late September 1718, two ships under the command of Colonel William Rhett had arrived at the river mouth, prompting Bonnet to challenge him head-on in a running fight. Comically, all three ships involved in the battle ran aground, and those aboard instead shot at each other for hours with small arms. It was only with the coming of high tide that the battle ended; it freed Rhett’s ship first, allowing them to close on Bonnet and threaten him with boarding. Outnumbered, all he could do was surrender.
Rhett returned Bonnet and his crew to Charleston for trial, though Bonnet would not remain incarcerated for long: three weeks later, he effected a brazen escape by dressing as a woman. He was able to obtain a small boat, but strong winds forced him back onto a nearby island, where he was recaptured by Rhett once more. Brought to trial on 10 November 1718, he was found guilty of piracy and sentenced to death by hanging.
While in custody, Bonnet did all he could to avoid execution. He feverishly wrote letters to the judge, the governor and to Rhett himself asking for mercy. There were additional pleas for mercy by the citizens of Charleston, many of whom saw Bonnet more as gentleman and peer than a criminal. It was all to no avail, and Bonnet was executed on 10 December 1718. Approaching the gallows, Bonnet clutched a wilted bouquet of flowers, in many ways symbolic of his own life, in his shackled hands.
For the full Stede Bonnet story, The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet is available on Amazon and through all major booksellers.
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