RedBeard
"The black ship appeared so suddenly beside us, it was as if the fog itself had given it form. Within
moments, our deck was swarming with men of the most ghastly countenance. All were gifted swordsmen,
impervious to our bullets. In the midst of this maelstrom came the largest man I have ever laid eyes on. I
personally saw him cut down three men with one swing of his sword, then reach down, rip the heart from
one man's chest and tear his fangs into it with a zeal I can only describe as religious."
So wrote Jacob Hensleigh, a sailor discovered by the British Navy clinging to a piece of driftwood in the
Mediterranean Sea. As the only survivor of one of the last attacks by the legendary vampire-pirate
Redbeard, Hensleigh was indeed a lucky man: between the years 1795 and 1797, Redbeard and his crew
killed an estimated 500 sailors and paralyzed shipping on the Mediterranean.
Redbeard was born James Wyatt around 1778 in London, England. As a boy, he would spend hours
hanging around the docks of east London and dreaming of the day when he would first set sail. That day
came for him at age 15, when he joined the crew of a merchant vessel. Always a quick study, Wyatt rose
swiftly through the ranks, and by age 25 he was the captain of his own ship, a beat-up sloop he
sardonically called the Carcass. When England declared war on France in 1793, Wyatt had the Carcass
retooled for battle and offered his services as a privateer for the Royal Navy. His job was to board and
plunder any ships carrying supplies between France and her ally, Spain. The barrel-chested,
six-foot-five-inch Wyatt proved to be a natural leader and his crew became such efficient plunderers that
Napoleon himself put a bounty on their head. But Wyatt's days of service to the English crown came to an
end in the summer of 1795, when he was bitten by a vampire outside a waterfront pub in Gibraltar. Wyatt
quickly spread the virus to his crew and soon the Carcass was sailing under the direction of about 50
bloodthirsty vampires.
Although the transition from sailor to vampire-pirate presented real difficulties for most, James Wyatt was
different. Besides possessing an unusually sharp learning curve, Wyatt knew the Mediterranean coast like
an old friend. By the fall of 1795, he had set himself up in a ruined castle in the shoulders of a protected
harbor along the Algerian coast in north Africa. It was there that he adopted the name Redbeard and set
about building an empire of piracy and vampirism.
Redbeard sailed under
a blood-red Jolly Roger
Each night, the Carcass would set sail from the castle flying a blood-red Jolly Roger from its mast.
Exploiting their night vision, Redbeard and his crew would identify a ship, slip up alongside it and board
while most of the sailors were still sleeping. The crew of a single ship could supply enough blood to feed
Redbeard's vampires for a month. Those unfortunate crew members who weren't bitten right away would
be taken back to the castle and imprisoned in the dungeon to await a grisly fate.
More than his skills as a sailor, it was Redbeard's appreciation for politics that explained his relative
longevity. In return for their protection, Redbeard paid off local Algerian caliphs with the booty from the
ships he raided. He gradually expanded his force, adding only the strongest, most capable sailors. Within a
year, Redbeard's pirate empire had grown to include about 250 vampire-sailors and a fleet of five ships.
Throughout 1796, his raids grew more and more devastating, and all of Europe started feeling the effects.
Shortages in food were reported as cargo failed to meet its destination, or else arrived late because so
many crews refused to sail at night.
In early 1797, Redbeard and his men scored their biggest coup yet when they took control of a 74-gun
frigate belonging to the British Navy. The firepower of the captured frigate made Redbeard even more
dangerous, and King George III of England was forced to take action. He decided to send a fleet of
warships to the Mediterranean under the direction of the young commodore Horatio Nelson with
instructions to bring back the head of Redbeard.
Nelson's ships besiege
the pirate hideout
In early June, a dozen warships under the command of Nelson sailed around the head of the Iberian
peninsula and into the Mediterranean. For six weeks, the fleet searched in vain for Redbeard along the
north African coast. Finally, on July 12, they plucked the terrified Jacob Hensleigh from the waters and
knew they were close. A day later, the fleet boarded a ship and found it littered with bloodless,
dismembered body parts. The next night, the fleet came across Redbeard's army in the midst of an attack
on a fishing boat. They surrounded the vampire ships and a brutal battle ensued, during which Nelson took
a bullet to the arm. The English lost three ships and scores of men in the battle, but they fought on,
knowing that time was on their side.
An ignominious journey
back to London
With dawn starting to lighten the eastern horizon, Redbeard was forced to pull back and make for safe
harbor. The English fleet followed him all the way to the castle and began several hours of relentless
bombardment. That afternoon, 500 troops went ashore to finish the job. Redbeard and a few of his closest
associates retreated to the dungeon, where, despite being vastly outnumbered, they put up a ferocious
fight. In all, it took three days to secure the castle. The troops then freed several dozen prisoners and
burned the vampire compound to the ground.
When Nelson's men returned with Redbeard's head, Nelson had them hang it from the bowsprit at the
front of the ship for the journey back to England. As they triumphantly made their way up the Thames to
London, huge crowds gathered along the riverbanks to watch. Nelson presented Redbeard's head to King
George III, who had it placed on a stake on London Bridge, not far from where a boy named James Wyatt
had first gazed west and dreamed of a life at sea
.© 2001-2008 Dango Productions, Inc.
moments, our deck was swarming with men of the most ghastly countenance. All were gifted swordsmen,
impervious to our bullets. In the midst of this maelstrom came the largest man I have ever laid eyes on. I
personally saw him cut down three men with one swing of his sword, then reach down, rip the heart from
one man's chest and tear his fangs into it with a zeal I can only describe as religious."
So wrote Jacob Hensleigh, a sailor discovered by the British Navy clinging to a piece of driftwood in the
Mediterranean Sea. As the only survivor of one of the last attacks by the legendary vampire-pirate
Redbeard, Hensleigh was indeed a lucky man: between the years 1795 and 1797, Redbeard and his crew
killed an estimated 500 sailors and paralyzed shipping on the Mediterranean.
Redbeard was born James Wyatt around 1778 in London, England. As a boy, he would spend hours
hanging around the docks of east London and dreaming of the day when he would first set sail. That day
came for him at age 15, when he joined the crew of a merchant vessel. Always a quick study, Wyatt rose
swiftly through the ranks, and by age 25 he was the captain of his own ship, a beat-up sloop he
sardonically called the Carcass. When England declared war on France in 1793, Wyatt had the Carcass
retooled for battle and offered his services as a privateer for the Royal Navy. His job was to board and
plunder any ships carrying supplies between France and her ally, Spain. The barrel-chested,
six-foot-five-inch Wyatt proved to be a natural leader and his crew became such efficient plunderers that
Napoleon himself put a bounty on their head. But Wyatt's days of service to the English crown came to an
end in the summer of 1795, when he was bitten by a vampire outside a waterfront pub in Gibraltar. Wyatt
quickly spread the virus to his crew and soon the Carcass was sailing under the direction of about 50
bloodthirsty vampires.
Although the transition from sailor to vampire-pirate presented real difficulties for most, James Wyatt was
different. Besides possessing an unusually sharp learning curve, Wyatt knew the Mediterranean coast like
an old friend. By the fall of 1795, he had set himself up in a ruined castle in the shoulders of a protected
harbor along the Algerian coast in north Africa. It was there that he adopted the name Redbeard and set
about building an empire of piracy and vampirism.
Redbeard sailed under
a blood-red Jolly Roger
Each night, the Carcass would set sail from the castle flying a blood-red Jolly Roger from its mast.
Exploiting their night vision, Redbeard and his crew would identify a ship, slip up alongside it and board
while most of the sailors were still sleeping. The crew of a single ship could supply enough blood to feed
Redbeard's vampires for a month. Those unfortunate crew members who weren't bitten right away would
be taken back to the castle and imprisoned in the dungeon to await a grisly fate.
More than his skills as a sailor, it was Redbeard's appreciation for politics that explained his relative
longevity. In return for their protection, Redbeard paid off local Algerian caliphs with the booty from the
ships he raided. He gradually expanded his force, adding only the strongest, most capable sailors. Within a
year, Redbeard's pirate empire had grown to include about 250 vampire-sailors and a fleet of five ships.
Throughout 1796, his raids grew more and more devastating, and all of Europe started feeling the effects.
Shortages in food were reported as cargo failed to meet its destination, or else arrived late because so
many crews refused to sail at night.
In early 1797, Redbeard and his men scored their biggest coup yet when they took control of a 74-gun
frigate belonging to the British Navy. The firepower of the captured frigate made Redbeard even more
dangerous, and King George III of England was forced to take action. He decided to send a fleet of
warships to the Mediterranean under the direction of the young commodore Horatio Nelson with
instructions to bring back the head of Redbeard.
Nelson's ships besiege
the pirate hideout
In early June, a dozen warships under the command of Nelson sailed around the head of the Iberian
peninsula and into the Mediterranean. For six weeks, the fleet searched in vain for Redbeard along the
north African coast. Finally, on July 12, they plucked the terrified Jacob Hensleigh from the waters and
knew they were close. A day later, the fleet boarded a ship and found it littered with bloodless,
dismembered body parts. The next night, the fleet came across Redbeard's army in the midst of an attack
on a fishing boat. They surrounded the vampire ships and a brutal battle ensued, during which Nelson took
a bullet to the arm. The English lost three ships and scores of men in the battle, but they fought on,
knowing that time was on their side.
An ignominious journey
back to London
With dawn starting to lighten the eastern horizon, Redbeard was forced to pull back and make for safe
harbor. The English fleet followed him all the way to the castle and began several hours of relentless
bombardment. That afternoon, 500 troops went ashore to finish the job. Redbeard and a few of his closest
associates retreated to the dungeon, where, despite being vastly outnumbered, they put up a ferocious
fight. In all, it took three days to secure the castle. The troops then freed several dozen prisoners and
burned the vampire compound to the ground.
When Nelson's men returned with Redbeard's head, Nelson had them hang it from the bowsprit at the
front of the ship for the journey back to England. As they triumphantly made their way up the Thames to
London, huge crowds gathered along the riverbanks to watch. Nelson presented Redbeard's head to King
George III, who had it placed on a stake on London Bridge, not far from where a boy named James Wyatt
had first gazed west and dreamed of a life at sea
.© 2001-2008 Dango Productions, Inc.
| "I personally saw him...rip the heart from one man's chest..." |
List of Famous Pirates Names - 1700 - 1800 The following list of names represent the most famous pirates who were associated with the 1700's: Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) - Welsh Pirate George Booth - English Pirate John Bowen - English Pirate Black Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy) - Famous English Pirate Edward Teach or Thatch, known as Blackbeard - English Pirate Anne Bonney (Anne Cormac) - Famous Irish Female Pirate Edward England - English Henry Every (Avery) - English Benjamin Hornigold - English Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) - English James Kelly - English Captain William Kidd - Scottish Mary Read - Famous English Female Pirate Bartholomew Roberts - English Thomas Tew - English Charles Vane - English Richard Worley - English John Morris - English |
| Blackbeard (Edward Teach) Grace O'Malley Black Bart Henry Every (Avery) Henry Morgan Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) Barbarossa (meaning Red Beard) the nickname of Khair ad Din Captain Kidd |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |