Blackbeard’s Skull, a Pirate in Pajamas & the Gallows
A pirate captain in his dressing gown, Blackbeard's mysterious skull, and a Halloween pirate invasion! Issue #77 Oct 16th 2026This week, Blackbeard takes command while the Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet, wanders about in his dressing gown reading books. Aye, piracy wasn't always what the recruiting posters promised! |
Then we're off to Boston, where Black Sam Bellamy's surviving crew faces the hangman's noose. |
And for our October Haunted Seas tale, we've got a particularly gruesome mystery: Whatever happened to Blackbeard's severed head? There's even a story about his skull becoming a drinking cup! |
So pour yerself a grog, settle in, and let's set sail! |
Welcome to Episode 77 of The Pirate Republic. |
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📜 THIS WEEK IN PIRATE HISTORY |
☠️ October 12, 1717 — Blackbeard Takes Command, and the Gentleman Pirate Takes to His Books |
In October 1717, a merchant captain named Codd was sailing toward Philadelphia from Dublin when he encountered a pirate sloop off the Delaware Capes. |
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The pirate vessel was the Revenge, armed with 12 guns and carrying an astonishing 150 men. |
Her commander? |
Edward Thatch. Better known as Blackbeard. |
But the Revenge hadn't always belonged to Blackbeard. |
She was the ship purchased by Stede Bonnet, the wealthy Barbados gentleman who had abandoned his comfortable life to become a pirate. |
Bonnet's early adventures hadn't gone particularly well. After being wounded during an encounter with a Spanish warship, he had surrendered command to the far more experienced Blackbeard as we learned in issue 75 of the Pirate Republic. |
And Captain Codd's account gives us an extraordinary glimpse of what life aboard the Revenge looked like. |
While Blackbeard commanded the pirates, Bonnet apparently spent his days wandering about in his morning gown, reading books from his personal library. |
Yes, mates. Blackbeard was terrorizing merchant ships while the Gentleman Pirate was essentially enjoying a floating retirement home. |
Codd wasn't so fortunate. |
The pirates threw much of his cargo overboard, keeping only a few items that interested them. One merchant reportedly begged for enough cloth to make himself a suit, but the pirates refused. |
Blackbeard's men also seized other vessels in the area, including the Sea Nymph, expanding their growing collection of prizes. |
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⚖️ October 18, 1717 — Black Sam Bellamy's Pirates Face the Gallows |
Six months earlier, one of the richest pirate ships in history had vanished beneath the waves. |
On April 26, 1717, Black Sam Bellamy's Whydah Gally was driven onto the shoals of Cape Cod during a violent storm. |
Bellamy and nearly everyone aboard perished. |
Only two men survived the wreck of the Whydah itself, while seven members of Bellamy's pirate company survived aboard another vessel, the Mary Anne. |
But surviving the storm didn't mean they were safe. |
The survivors were arrested and taken to Boston, where they faced trial for piracy. |
On October 18, 1717, proceedings began before a Vice-Admiralty Court. |
The pirates faced accusations of robbing merchant vessels, stealing cargo, and terrorizing sailors along the American coast. |
Six men were ultimately convicted and sentenced to death. |
Two others successfully argued that they had been forced into piracy rather than joining willingly. |
And one survivor, a young Indigenous Miskito sailor named John Julian, faced a particularly cruel fate: he was reportedly sold into slavery. |
On November 15, 1717, the six condemned pirates were hanged near Charlestown Ferry. |
The notorious Boston minister Cotton Mather attended to the prisoners in their final days and recorded their confessions and warnings against piracy. |
🏴☠️ THE PIRATE REPUBLIC TAKE |
Black Sam Bellamy was dead. |
His treasure lay scattered beneath the sands of Cape Cod. |
And the handful of pirates who escaped drowning discovered that the authorities were waiting for them on shore. |
They had survived one of the deadliest pirate shipwrecks in history—only to face the hangman's rope. |
Sometimes, mates, the sea was more merciful than the law. |
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☠️ HAUNTED SEAS — Who Drank From Blackbeard's Skull? |
On November 22, 1718, Blackbeard was killed in a bloody battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard's Royal Navy expedition near Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. |
After the fighting, Maynard ordered Blackbeard's head cut off and displayed from the bowsprit of his vessel as proof that the notorious pirate was dead. |
The head was subsequently taken to Virginia, where tradition holds that it was displayed near the entrance to Hampton Roads as a warning to other pirates. |
But that's where the legend takes a decidedly gruesome turn. |
According to a much later tale, Blackbeard's skull eventually passed into private hands, where someone supposedly had it fashioned into a silver-mounted drinking vessel. |
Imagine sitting down for a glass of rum and discovering your host was serving it in Blackbeard's skull. |
And, of course, that raises a rather unsettling question: |
Whatever happened to it? |
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The skull that may still exist |
Here's what makes the story especially interesting: a skull claimed to be Blackbeard's actually ended up in a museum collection. |
Maritime historian Edward Rowe Snow acquired a purported Blackbeard skull in the twentieth century. His family later donated it to the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. |
It was even exhibited at the Mariners' Museum in Virginia in 1997. |
But there's a catch: nobody has established that the skull belonged to Blackbeard. Researchers have questioned its provenance, physical appearance, and whether it matches earlier descriptions of the legendary drinking vessel. |
Colonial Williamsburg also documents an account published in 1830 describing a skull made into a silver-mounted punch bowl supposedly used at the Raleigh Tavern. That's a fascinating historical claim, but it's not contemporary evidence from 1718. |
An even creepier detail |
A later legend tells of a secret gathering on Ocracoke Island where guests supposedly drank from Blackbeard's skull after uttering the password: |
“Death to Spotswood.” |
That was a reference to Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood, who ordered the expedition that killed Blackbeard. |
🎥 The Blackbeard Skull Mystery Comes to Comic-Con |
And here's where this tale gets personal, mates. |
This past summer, I had the pleasure of moderating a pirate panel at San Diego Comic-Con alongside historians Dr. Rebecca Simon and Dr. Mark Hanna, Black Sails actor Zach McGowan, and director Lukas Ettlin. |
During the final audience questions, Dr. Hanna shared an extraordinary story involving Blackbeard's skull—one that genuinely caught me by surprise. |
And rather than spoil his telling, I'm going to let you hear it straight from the historian himself. |
Was Blackbeard's skull really preserved as a drinking vessel? Or has the legend grown more elaborate with every passing century? |
Some pirate stories refuse to stay buried. |
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🎉🏴☠️ PIRATE EVENT OF THE WEEK |
October 31 – November 1, 2026 | Boynton Beach FL Pirate Festival |
Arrr, mateys! This Halloween, the pirates are taking over downtown Boynton Beach for two days of swashbuckling adventure—and admission is FREE! |
Enjoy live pirate performances, cannon demonstrations, sword fighting, mermaids, music, a pirate encampment, costume contests, and plenty of grog and grub. Little scallywags can explore the kids' activities, while braver souls can venture into the Haunted Trail after dark! |
Saturday, October 31: Noon–10 PMSunday, November 1: Noon–6 PMLocation: Centennial Park & Amphitheater, 120 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, FL |
Don yer finest pirate attire and prepare for a Halloween weekend on the high seas—without ever leaving dry land! |
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💰🏴☠️ PIRATE BOOTY OF THE WEEK |
After this week's chilling tale of Blackbeard's skull supposedly being turned into a drinking vessel, we've found the perfect Halloween plunder! |
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The Ossuary Skull Drinking Stein holds a generous 20 ounces of your favorite grog, with a hand-painted resin exterior and stainless steel liner. |
Standing 5.5 inches tall, it's perfect for Halloween parties, pirate gatherings, or simply terrifying your drinking companions. |
And unlike the legendary Blackbeard skull cup, no actual pirates were harmed in the making of this mug. 😂 |
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☠️ Captain’s Log |
And there ye have it, mates! |
One pirate loses his command, another crew faces the gallows, and Blackbeard may have lost his head only to become the life of the party. |
If ye enjoyed this week's tales, share The Pirate Republic with a fellow scallywag. And keep a weather eye on the horizon—our Haunted Seas stories only grow darker as Halloween approaches. |
Until next tide, may yer powder stay dry, yer grog stay plentiful, and yer skull remain firmly attached! |
Fair winds and following seas, |
Captain Blackquill 🏴☠️ |
🗣️ SHARE THE SPOILS, MATEY Know a landlubber who’d savor tales of treasure, ghost ships, and true pirate history? Don’t hoard the gold — recruit ’em to the crew. 📜 Join The Pirate Republic here →https://www.thepiraterepublic.com/weeklynewsletter-thepiraterepublic New voyages, bold stories, and rich plunder await those who sail with us. ⚓ SAIL WITH US ACROSS THE DIGITAL SEAS📜 TikTok: @thepiraterepublic▶️ YouTube: The Pirate Republic 🎖️ THANKS FOR SAILING WITH THE CREWWe set sail every Friday, storm or shine — delivering pirate history, legends, and lore from across the seas. Keep yer spyglass trained on the horizon,rest when the winds allow,and may your course be steady, your hold full, and your tales worth telling. If ye stumble upon treasure, tall tales, or pirate lore worth sharing, send word to:📧 captainblackquill@gmail.com |
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