BONNET, Major Stede, alias Captain Thomas, alias Edwards

The history of this pirate is both interesting and unique. He was not brought up to the seafaring life; in fact, before he took to piracy, he had already retired from the Army, with the rank of Major. He owned substantial landed property in Barbadoes, lived in a fine house, was married, and much respected by the quality and gentry of that island. His turning pirate naturally greatly scandalized his neighbours, and they found it difficult at first to imagine whatever had caused this sudden and extraordinary resolution, particularly in a man of his position in Society. But when the cause at last came to be known, he was more pitied than blamed, for it was understood that the Major's mind had become unbalanced owing to the unbridled nagging of Mrs. Bonnet.

Referring to this, the historian Captain Johnson writes as follows: "He was afterwards rather pitty'd than condemned, by those that were acquainted with him, believing that this Humour of going a-pyrating proceeded from a Disorder in his Mind, which had been but too visible in him, some Time before this wicked Undertaking; and which is said to have been occasioned by some Discomforts he found in a married State; be that as it will, the Major was but ill qualified for the Business, as not understanding maritime Affairs."

Whatever the cause of the Major's "disorder of mind," the fact remains that at his own expense he fitted out a sloop armed with ten guns and a crew of seventy men. The fact that he honestly paid in cash for this ship is highly suspicious of a deranged mind, since no other pirate, to the writer's knowledge, ever showed such a nicety of feeling, but always stole the ship in which to embark "on the account." The Major, to satisfy the curious, gave out that he intended to trade between the islands, but one night, without a word of farewell to Mrs. Bonnet, he sailed out of harbour in the Revenge, as he called his ship, and began to cruise off the coast of Virginia. For a rank amateur, Bonnet met with wonderful success, as is shown by a list of the prizes he took and plundered in this first period of his piracy:

The Anne, of Glasgow (Captain Montgomery).

The Turbet, of Barbadoes, which, after plundering, he burnt, as he did all prizes from Barbadoes.

The Endeavour (Captain Scott).

The Young, of Leith.

The plunder out of these ships he sold at Gardiner Island, near New York.

Cruising next off the coast of Carolina, Bonnet took a brace of prizes, but began to have trouble with his unruly crew, who, seeing that their captain knew nothing whatever of sea affairs, took advantage of the fact and commenced to get out of hand. Unluckily for Bonnet, he at this time met with the famous Captain Teach, or Blackbeard, and the latter, quickly appreciating how matters stood, ordered the Major to come aboard his own ship, while he put his lieutenant, Richards, to command Bonnet's vessel. The poor Major was most depressed by this undignified change in his affairs, until Blackbeard lost his ship in Topsail Inlet, and finding himself at a disadvantage, promptly surrendered to the King's proclamation and allowed Bonnet to reassume command of his own sloop. But Major Bonnet had been suffering from qualms of conscience latterly, so he sailed to Bath Town in North Carolina, where he, too, surrendered to the Governor and received his certificate of pardon.

Almost at once news came of war being declared between England and France with Spain, so Bonnet hurried 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 of that island. But in the meanwhile Teach had robbed everything of any value out of Bonnet's ship, and had marooned seventeen of the crew on a sandy island, but these were rescued by the Major before they died of starvation. Just as the ship was ready to sail, a bumboat came alongside to sell apples and cider to the sloop's crew, and from these they got an interesting piece of news. They learnt that Teach, with a crew of eighteen men, was at that moment lying at anchor in Ocricock Inlet. The Major, longing to revenge the insult he had suffered from Blackbeard, and his crew remembering how he had left them to die on a desert island, 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 evidently had benefited by his apprenticeship with Blackbeard, for he was now most successful, taking many prizes off the coast of Virginia, and later in Delaware Bay.

Bonnet now sailed in a larger ship, the Royal James, so named from feelings of loyalty to the Crown. But she proved to be very leaky, and the pirates had to take her to the mouth of Cape Fear River for repairs. News of this being carried to the Council of South Carolina, arrangements were made to attempt to capture the pirate, and a Colonel William Rhet, at his own expense, fitted out two armed sloops, the Henry (eight guns and seventy men) and the Sea Nymph (eight guns and sixty men), both sailing under the direct command of the gallant Colonel. On September 25th, 1718, the sloops arrived at Cape Fear River, and there sure enough was the Royal James, with three sloops lying at anchor behind the bar. The pirate tried to escape by sailing out, but was followed by the Colonel's two vessels until all three ran aground within gunshot of each other. A brisk fight took place for five hours, when the Major struck his colours and surrendered. There was great public rejoicing in Charleston when, on October 3rd, Colonel Rhet sailed victoriously into the harbour with his prisoners. But next day Bonnet managed to escape out of prison and sailed to Swillivant's Island. The indefatigable Colonel Rhet again set out after the Major, and again caught him and brought him back to Charleston.

The trial of Stede Bonnet and his crew began on October 28th, 1718, at Charleston, and continued till November 12th, the Judge being Nicholas Trot. Bonnet was found guilty and condemned to be hanged. Judge Trot made a speech of overwhelming length to the condemned, full of Biblical quotations, to each of which the learned magistrate gave chapter and verse. In November, 1718, the gallant, if unfortunate, Major was hanged at White Point, Charleston.

The prisoners were not defended by counsel, because the members of the South Carolina Bar still deemed it "a base and vile thing to plead for money or reward." We understand that the barristers of South Carolina have since persuaded themselves to overcome this prejudice. The result was that, with the famous Judge Trott, a veritable terror to pirates, being President of the Court of Vice-Admiralty, the prisoners had short and ready justice, and all but four of the thirty-five pirates tried were found guilty.

Apart from the unusual cause for his turning pirate, Bonnet is interesting as being almost the only case known, otherwise than in books of romance, of a pirate making his prisoners walk the plank.

Crew

AMAND or ANNAND, Alexander

Of Jamaica.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew in the Royal James. Hanged on November 8th, 1718, at White Point, Charleston, South Carolina, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

BAILY, Job, or Bayley

Of London.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at Charleston in 1718.

BOOTH, Samuel

Of Charleston, Carolina.

One of Major Bonnet's crew. Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1718.

BOYD, Robert

Of Bath Town, North Carolina.

Sailed with Major Stede Bonnet in the Royal James. Hanged on November 8th, 1718, at Charleston.

CARMAN, Thomas

Of Maidstone in Kent.

Hanged at Charleston in 1718 with the rest of Major Bonnet's crew.

DUNKIN, George

Of Glasgow.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, in November, 1718. Buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

EDDY, William

Of Aberdeen.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at White Point, Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

HERRIOTT, David

Master of the Adventure, from Jamaica, taken by Teach in 1718. He joined the pirates, and later, when Major Stede Bonnet separated from Teach, he took Herriott to be his sailing-master. Taken prisoner with Bonnet and his crew of the Royal James by Colonel Rhet, at Cape Fear, North Carolina, September 27th, 1718. Herriott and the boatswain, Ignatius Pell, turned King's evidence at the trial of the pirates held at Charleston. On October 25th, Bonnet and Herriott escaped from prison, in spite of the fact that the latter had turned King's evidence. Herriott was shot on Sullivan Island a few days later.

HEWETT, William, or Hewet, or Hewit

Of Jamaica.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Tried for piracy at Charleston in 1718, and hanged at White Point on November 8th, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

KING, Matthew

Of Jamaica.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Was hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

LEVIT, John

Of North Carolina.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at White Point, Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1723.

LIVER, William, alias Evis

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged for piracy at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1718.

LONG, Zachariah

Of the Province of Holland.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at White Point, Charleston, in 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

MORRISON, William

Of Jamaica.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged at White Point, Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

MULLET, James, alias Millet

Of London.

One of the crew of the Royal James, in which vessel Major Stede Bonnet played havoc with the shipping along the coasts of South Carolina and New England. Hanged at Charleston in 1718.

PATTERSON, Neal

Of Aberdeen.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew in the Royal James. Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh.

PRICE, Thomas

Of Bristol.

Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718. One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew.

RIDGE, John

Of London.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Hanged in 1718 at Charleston, South Carolina.

ROSS, George, or Rose

Of Glasgow.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew of the Royal James. Was hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

SCOTT, William

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew in the Royal James. Tried for piracy in 1718 at Charleston, South Carolina, and hanged at White Point on November 8th.

THOMAS, John

Of Jamaica.

This Welsh pirate was one of Major Stede Bonnet's crew of the Royal James. Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1718.

TUCKER, Robert

Of the Island of Jamaica.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Tried, condemned, and hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718.

VIRGIN, Henry

Of Bristol.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew of the Royal James. Hanged for piracy at White Point, Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

WILSON, James

Of Dublin.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew in the Royal James. Hanged at Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8th, 1718, and buried in the marsh below low-water mark.

Crew members who escaped hanging by turning King's evidence

KILLING, James

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew, who gave evidence against him at his trial at Charleston in 1718.

PELL, Ignatius

Boatswain of the Royal James, Major Stede Bonnet's ship. Turned King's evidence at trial of Bonnet and his crew at Charleston, Carolina, in 1718.

Crew members also escaped hanging

CLARKE, Jonathan

Of Charleston, South Carolina.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Tried for piracy at Charleston in 1718, and found to be "not guilty".

GERRARD, Thomas

Of the Island of Antigua.

One of Major Bonnet's crew of the Royal James. Tried for piracy at Charleston in 1718, but found "not guilty."

NICHOLLS, Thomas, alias Nicholas

Of London.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew in the Royal James. Tried for piracy at Charleston on November 8th, 1718, and found "not guilty."

SHARP, Rowland

Of Bath Town in North Carolina.

One of Major Stede Bonnet's crew. Tried for piracy at Charleston in 1718 and found "not guilty."