Blackbeard and his fleet sail the Atlantic coast and Caribbean capturing many ships and enriching themselves. Andrew Morgan from Virginia, Blackbeard's gunner, invests his shares with a banker in Philadelphia. Andrew visits friends in Virginia and agrees to bring along young Benjamin Harrison on one of his spring voyages. Ben, raised as nephew to Sarah Harrison Blair, is eighteen, has just completed his studies, and has been promised in marriage to a daughter of King Carter of Virginia.
Ben witnesses Blackbeard's election as captain and impresses Blackbeard with his education and family background. Blackbeard allows him to become assistant navigator on his ship and Ben is included, along with the navigator, in meetings of the ship's officers. When they get to the Bahamas, Ben, who has made enemies, duels with the previous assistant navigator. He also meets the governor of Jamaica and becomes aware of the dangers awaiting Blackbeard and other privateers.
Upon their return to the mainland Andrew marries his banker's daughter and is present when Blackbeard blockades Charles Towne harbor. Ben, who has received a small ship from Blackbeard for his hard work at sea, returns to Virginia and is elected burgess.
Ben meets Governor Spotswood and participates in Spotswood's fall in Virginia politics. Ben also learns of Spotswood's plan to murder Blackbeard and travels to Ocracoke trying to warn the captain. There, from another ship, he witnesses Blackbeard's assassination at the hands of Spotswood's hired killers.
Andrew and Ben live through the aftermath: trials, executions, political recrimination from London and North Carolina, Spotswood's seizure of large tracts of property, and Spotswood's eventual replacement as governor. This is followed by marriages, new families, new businesses, the growth of trade and manufacturing, and fond memories of Blackbeard.
About the Author: Barbara McLennan has published eight books and numerous articles on various political, economic, and historical subjects. For two years she contributed columns and articles on local customs and local history to NorthernNeck.com, a local online newspaper serving the Rappahannock region of Virginia. Holding both Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and J.D. (Georgetown) degrees, Barbara McLennan is a former professor, association executive and high level official in the United States Departments of Commerce and Treasury. Over the last several years, she has served as docent at Jamestown Settlement, and at Historic Jamestown. She also has assisted the historian in preparation for exhibits at the new museum of the American Revolution at Yorktown. Dr. McLennan has taught in the Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy, The College of William and Mary. She also has been a Visiting Scholar at William & Mary's Raymond A. Mason School of Business, in the MBA program. She has held a commission as member of the Governor of Virginia's Asian Advisory Board on trade and investment and is a Board Member of the Chesapeake Bay Writers Organization.
