On the Trail of Blackbeard’s Treasures
Contrary to traditional images of diving to another UNC alumnus, Caroline “Julep” Gill- nels. However, Butler
the ocean floor and opening a chest of man-Bryan ’ 70, equipment manager and dive points out that credit for
gold, digging for pirate treasure is a complex, safety officer for the underwater archeology the discovery of the ship- profile
scientific business. Lindley Smith Butler ’ 61 branch of the N.C. Department of Cultural wreck near Beaufort Inlet
has witnessed this as the official historian for Resources. The flat deck of the boat, which belongs to Phil Masters. In 1988, Masters was
one of the most exciting current underwater recycles shells back out to sea during most of given rights to look for shipwrecks in Beaufort
archeological excavations, that of the Queen the year, was filled with diving tanks; a sluice Harbor and formed Intersal Inc. He spent
Anne’s Revenge, the largest ship in the flotilla created by the team to catch lead shot, gold months in the archives of London researching
led by the infamous pirate Blackbeard. dust and other small artifacts; plastic boxes the history of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. In
Butler became interested in the proprietary and piles of foam for cushioning and transport- 1996, on the last day of the 10th year of the
period while studying North Carolina history at ing the artifacts; and a small set-up for pan- project, the director of Masters’ team, Mike
UNC with Professor Hugh Lefler. Butler, who ning gold. The equipment also included a clip- Daniels, and his divers found a group of can-
also earned his master’s from UNC in 1964 board with waterproof paper and a plain old nons in the sand off Fort Macon. Masters’ theory
and his doctorate in ’ 71, went on to spend 30 pencil used by Moore underwater to draw the became an official dig.
years as a historian-in-residence at Rocking- artifacts on the ocean floor. Masters died in 2007, but his son John con-
ham Community College, dividing his time tinues to work daily on the ship. Masters con-
between teaching and developing outreach veyed rights to the artifacts to the N.C. Depart-
programs. “In a democracy,” Butler insists, “if ment of Cultural Resources. Butler and his
you don’t reach the public, you are not doing fellow researchers all agree that the discovery
your job as a historian.” is Masters’ legacy and their role is to bring the
Butler is known for his knowledge of the artifacts and the story to the public. Moore will
beginnings of North Carolina history. “The Car- be responsible for exhibiting the artifacts,
olinas were a proprietary of England,” Butler while Butler pulls together the history, setting
explains. “They were not a royal colony until piracy in the social and political context of the
1729. This meant that England was setting up 1700s. When this is all done, Butler hopes his
the colony by outsourcing the project to private former student will spill out his wealth of
entities,” a practice that gets a lot of attention knowledge in his own book about Blackbeard.
today. Butler’s commitment to history does not
Butler says those same practices applied to stop with the sea or in the past. He is also
the conduct of war. During Queen Anne’s War Lindley Smith Butler ’ 61 shows a plate brought up from an using history as a tool to embrace and sustain
underwater archeological excavation believed to be the site of
SUSAN SIMONE
(1701-14) the Royal Navy engaged privateers Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. the world around him. With his wife, Lelia Cli-to assist its limited forces. After the war, strong nard Butler ’ 66, Butler led the drive to create
in seamanship but otherwise unskilled, these the Dan River Basin Association. “Historically
men and their ships turned on the commercial the Dan River, the Smith and the Banister were
vessels they had been hired to protect. Butler’s all part of the Roanoke Navigation Co., char-
2000 UNC Press book, Pirates, Privateers, and tered in 1815 to improve them for bateau navi-
Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast, includes a gation,” Butler recounts, placing his environ-chapter on one of the most infamous of these mental activism squarely on the side of
captains, Edward Teach, or Blackbeard. historical preservation. “The river is still a
In 1996, Butler took a scuba diving course wilderness, with steep banks and a flood plain
at Rockingham Community College. He called that keeps people from building close to the
up Richard Lawrence, the deputy state archeol- water. There is natural protection; but with the
ogist, and volunteered to work as a diver on pace of development and the desire for water-the Olive Thurlow at Cape Lookout. When front property, we need to start protecting the
Lawrence was asked to take up the work on river with parks and easements.”
the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Butler went with This year, the Dan River Basin Association
him. It was a serendipitous choice. The mar- hired a full-time director. The association suc-itime archaeologist for the project was David ceeded in pressing for the opening of the Mayo
Moore, another Eden native and Butler’s for- River State Park, and its Web site offers a year-mer student. In fact, Moore had written a round collection of volunteer and recreational
paper on Fort Macon in one of Butler’s classes ideas. The association will even guide visitors
and, many years later, showed up in Butler’s to the rental of a replica of the flat-bottomed
office to get his opinion on a briefcase full of bateau so they can experience the Dan River
information about Blackbeard. as living history. Butler says the winter can be
In fall 2007, Butler and Moore stood an optimal time for exploring the river. The
together on the deck of the N.C. Maritime Fish- water may be a bit cold but the air is clear,
eries research vessel R/V Shell Point with a bug-free and quiet.
crew of divers and researchers including
“We are accumulating a critical mass of
information,” Butler says. “We may not find one
definitive thing, but there is nothing that says
this is not the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and
there’s lots of evidence indicating that this is it.”
His eyes light up and his voice lifts as he
points to a plate that has just come up from
the ocean floor and a spoon embedded in the
lumps of concretion that have formed around
most of the artifacts. Small lead shot shows up
in the sluice and some lead lumps that might
have been used on the rigging or in nets. The
archeological booty even includes a wine bottle
and a keg spigot with a fleur-de-lis pattern.
Nobody will know what is inside the rest of the
concretions until they are taken to the laboratory by Wendy Welsh, conservation laboratory
manager, and her team. On board, Welsh
makes sure that each concrete lump is treated
like a potential treasure, cradled in foam and
damped with water.
Together Butler and Moore can tell the tale
of Blackbeard’s ascent, his capture of a flotilla,
including the French slave ship La Concorde,
which he renamed Queen Anne’s Revenge, and
his move north following the shipping chan-
