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MAJOR STEDE BONNET, alias CAPTAIN THOMAS, alias EDWARDS.
Before Stede Bonnet turn to piracy, he had already retired from the Army, with the rank of Major. He owned large land property in Barbados, lived in a fine house and was married. He was respected by the gentry of that island and his turning pirate exceedingly outraged his neighbors. However, he was more pitied than blamed, for it was understood that the Major�s mind had become unbalanced due to the uncontrolled harassing of Mrs. Bonnet. Supposedly at his own expense he fitted out a sloop armed with ten guns and a crew of seventy men and without a word of farewell to Mrs. Bonnet, he sailed out of harbor. He called his ship Revenge, and began to cruise off the coast of Virginia. As a maritime amateur, Bonnet was successful and in this first period of his piracy plundered ship �The Anne�, of Glasgow with Captain Montgomery, the ship �The Turbet�, of Barbados, the ship �The Endeavour� with Captain Scott and �The Young� of Leith. After plundering, he burnt all prizes from Barbados and the plunder he sold at Gardiner Island, near New York. Bonnet is the only case known making his prisoners walk the plank. During next sailing off the coast of Carolina, Bonnet took few prizes, but began to have trouble with his wild crew, who discovered that their captain knew nothing of sea affairs. Bonnet, at this time, met with the Captain Teach, or Blackbeard who quickly valued situation and ordered Major Bonnet to come aboard his own ship, while he put his lieutenant Richards to command Bonnet�s vessel. Bonnet felt very miserable during this change, until Blackbeard lost his ship and then allowed Bonnet to reassume command of his own sloop. But Major Bonnet had been suffering from worries and at the end he surrendered to the Governor and received his certificate of pardon. At the same time a war was declared between England and France with Spain, so Bonnet rushed back to Topsail, and was granted permission to take back his sloop and sail her to St. Thomas�s Island, to receive a commission as a privateer from the French Governor. But in the meanwhile Teach cleared Bonnet�s ship from everything of any value and had marooned seventeen of the crew on a sandy island. Fortunately Bonnet rescued the crew before they died of starvation. The Major and his crew remembering how Blackbeard had left them to die on a desert island, were longing for revenge and went off in search of Teach, but failed to find him. Stede Bonnet having received his pardon in his own name, now called himself Captain Thomas and again took to piracy and become most successful, taking many prizes off the coast of Virginia, and later in Delaware Bay. He sailed in a larger ship, the Royal James, which proved to be very leaky, and the pirates had to take her to the mouth of Cape Fear River for repairs. The Council of South Carolina learned about that and a Colonel William Rhet fitted out two armed sloops, the Henry with eight guns and seventy men and the Sea Nymph with eight guns and sixty men. On September 25th, 1718, the sloops arrived at Cape Fear River where they find the Royal James. The pirates tried to escape but were followed by the Colonel�s two vessels and after five hours battle the Major struck his colors and surrendered. On October 3rd, Colonel Rhet sailed triumphantly into the harbor with his prisoners. But next day Bonnet managed to escape out of prison and sailed to Swillivant�s Island. . soon followed by Colonel Rhet who again caught him and brought back to Charleston. The trial of Stede Bonnet and his crew began on October 28th, 1718, at Charleston, and continued till November 12th and Bonnet was found guilty and condemned to be hanged. In November 8th, 1718, the Major and his crew was hanged at White Point, Charleston, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.
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