as told to Veronica G. Burnish
Back in the late fifties, we went to Southport High when the school was where the post office sits today. There was a gang of us that hung around together. Not anything like the gangs you hear about today, but a group of pals. On one partiular night it was just Can Head and me. My name is Jack.
About where the Charthouse restaurant was in Southport in the late 1950s was a little grill called Mae and Ike’s. The place was a drive-in offering curb service.
The building was long and narrow from left to right and had a back wall grill where you could get a hamburger, a hot dog or the blue plate special. Seamen from Sunny Point came to sit at the counter and have a beer after work. The only other place you could get a beer with a meal was Ed Oliver’s. This was back when Brunswick County was dry.
You could go to Mae and Ike’s and pull up in front in the summer time. No one had air conditioning in those days so you could sit there with the car windows down and see and hear everything that was going on.
Boys didn’t have a lot of choices for entertainment so we would go to Mae and Ike’s to hang out. I was sitting out front with Can Head when Louis Herbert Fullwood came over. We all had a hamburger each with a beer. You see, 18 was the legal age then.
There was a fellow inside Mae and Ike’s who had been dropped off by his wife. The couple was on vacation from Fayetteville and she and their little girl wanted to go to the movie at the Amuzu Theatre, Southport’s movie house. The two must have had a few words since they had gone their separate ways for the evening’s entertainment.
The gentleman sat in Mae and Ike’s and had a few beers and got louder and louder. He proceeded to talk to no one in particular about his disagreement with his wife and allowed as how he wanted to go back to Fayetteville. The louder he got, the more he talked about going home and stated that he would pay someone one hundred dollars to take him back to Fayetteville. The fellow began to flash money around which caused some eyes to pop a bit.
Next to the three of us was a car loaded with unseemly charcters we had never seen before. The loafers began to discuss offering our loud friend a ride. The ride they had in mind had nothing to do with getting the old boy home as they planned their scheme for taking the fellow up the road, throwing him out and taking his money.
Growing up where we did and how we did, the three of us began to grow alarmed for the old boy’s safety. We did not want to see the man get hurt and the one hundred dollars did not offend us either. So we decided… we’d take the man to Fayetteville.
Can Head was elected to make the deal and went inside before the ne’r-do-wells in the car next to us could get in.
“You want a ride to Fayetteville, mister?” Can Head asked. The fellow tried to focus on my friend and nodded. “What’s the pay?” Can Head wanted to know. The fellow was in a cloud and agreed to pay one hundred dollars. Can Head was known to negotiate like a pro and stated that if the man would throw in a case of beer he had a deal. Our new friend agreed. Without missing a beat, Can Head raised one finger in the air and said, “A case of tall ones, Mae”.
The three of us let our families know that we were off to Fayetteville with a caution from the folks to take care. The night was growing late as we headed for the Green Swamp and drove and drove and drove.
Our paying passenger was in the backseat between Can Head and Louis Herbert. Now both these boys were of a good size, each tall and meaty. Can Head weighed about 245 pounds with Louis Herbert not that heavy, but that boy could pick up the end of a car if he wanted to. I remind the reader again that entertainment was scarce around Southport in those days.
We had received our money in advance with the promise of getting our friend home and continued our long drive. With the droning of the motor, the warm, humid night and a little too much to drink, our passenger’s conversation drifted off and his head began to nod. Every once in a while the old boy’s head would bounce and he’d look up and mutter, “Son of a gun” or words along that line. Then he’d look up and see these two big boys on either side of him and look from one to the other and say, “Nothing personal. Nothing personal”. The he’d take a swallow of beer since he had brought his own supply along.
Well, we drove on to Fayetteville and our passenger drank and slept and swore and swore and drank all the way there. Fortunately, he had given us his address as we set out on our trip. because by the time we got to his hometown, he was sound asleep.
We arrived at the location our old friend had indicated and found no one to be home. He managed to give Can Head a key to the place and the two big boys took the fellow into the house. They put the man to bed, placced the key where he could find it and safely locked the door.
Now we don’t know if his wife spent much time looking for him, or if he remembered how he got home. Or if she ever even spoke to him again. But those things did not cross our minds. We knew we had done the right thing by taking the old boy home and placing him out of harm’s way. And that’s the truth as I remember it about young fellows being noble back in the summer of ‘58.
Originally published in The Pelican Post in April 1996.
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by Capt’n Jack
Someone once said that the only heroines at sea are the ships. Well, not by my reckoning, for the history of seafaring is full of stories of women at sea both heroines and rogues. Certainly it is true that sailors from the beginning of time have mostly been men and that strong traditions have developed which have discouraged women from working on ships at sea. Some of these traditions turned into superstitions and others into laws.
But the pirates were different. They had scant respect for superstition and none at all for the law. Women were free to serve on pirate ships if that suited the rest of the crew, whatever their reasons might be, and many women did.
Often, the pirate captain brought his wife, or sometimes wives, aboard to live with him and keep him company. Some ships allowed the crew, as well, to bring wives and sweethearts along and other ships allowed tavern girls aboard to entertain the men on long voyages. But the women we are interested in are the woman that served aboard the ships and did the same jobs as men. They climbed the rigging, served the mess, fired the guns, swabbed the decks and fought the enemy. These were the real petticoat pirates even though you would be hard pressed to ever see one of them in any kind of frilly things.
We don’t remember any of the names of these common seawomen, except perhaps Ruth who served aboard the fictional pirate ship in the lighthearted operetta The Pirates of Penzance. But we do know the names of some of the women who were captains of their own ships and commanded their own crews. Anne Bonney, Mary Reade and Fanny Campbell were names that struck terror in hearts of 16th century mariners along with Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. In the 19th century, Madam Chang was the scourge of the China seas and as late as the 1920’s, Lai Choi San ruled the approaches to Hong Kong. There were many others like the Danish vixen, Alvilda or the French noble woman, Jeanne de Belleville or the English girl, Pretty Peg, who wasn’t, or Charlotte de Berry who was reputed to be beautiful and deadly. All lovely ladies I’m sure.
Certainly, the most famous of the lady pirates in western culture was our very own Anne Bonney. Born in about 1701, she was the daughter of William Cormac, a fairly prosperous North Carolina planter and lawyer. Anne, it seems, was a restless girl with a violent temper; traits which caused her considerable trouble most of her life. By the time she was fifteen, her hot blood and lust had pretty much alienated her from family and community. Anne yearned for adventure and faraway places so when a young sailor named James Bonney came along, she took up with him to the final disgust of her father. She married Bonney, or at least took his name, and the couple signed on a merchantman out of Bath on the Pamlico and sailed to the Bahamas.
By virtually all accounts, Anne was as beautiful as she was tough. She found it easy on one hand to seduce men with her feminine charms and wild beauty and on the other hand to whip them in a fight. Once in New Providence, she quickly rid herself of Bonney and took to the waterfront bars where she courted the pirates. Eventually, she took up with Calico Jack Rackham with whom she fulfilled a lifelong dream. Anne Bonney, as she was always known, went “a-pyratin”.
Her ship, The Vanity, was reputed to be the fastest sloop in the islands and was acquired in typical pirate fashion. Anne decided that she would have The Vanity, so she befriended the owner, one John Hamen, and she spent her nights in his cabin. Once she knew the routine of the watch it was simple to have her buddy Calico Jack and a crew of scum slip aboard and take over the ship. Now with ship and crew, she and Calico Jack went about the business of being pirates for the next several years.
Aboard ship Anne regularly wore trousers and shirts with a cutlass at her side and two pistols in her belt. Ashore, she usually put on dresses and makeup to tantalize the sailors in the bars she frequented. Anne and Calico Jack were partners in The Vanity and sometimes lovers. In about 1718, she bore him a son in Cuba. Strangely, Calico Jack never seemed to be jealous of her trysts and bar room antics with other men. Not until a tall rugged sailor named James Morris signed aboard The Vanity. Anne and Morris beame instant friends and soon were inseparable. Calico Jack was evicted from the Captain’s cabin and sailor Morris installed.
But James Morris wasn’t quite the man he seemed to be. He was, in fact, Mary Reade. Now Mary was definitely one tough cookie as she had served in the army, the calvalry and in the navy for more than twenty years masquerading as a man. My kind of girl? Probably not! But, she certainly was Anne Bonney’s kind of girl for the two women became lifelong companions and soul mates. They even took to dressing in identical costumes. Where Anne was loud, boastful and temperamental, Mary was quiet, introspective and possessed a certain dignity. Even though Anne was clearly the captain of The Vanity, Mary greatly influenced her in virtually every decision. At their first meeting, Mary was about thirty-five while Anne was mearly eighteen. It was a profitable, comfortable and satisying relationship for the two women.
But all good things come to an end and by late 1720, The Vanity had been captured by Captain Jonathan Barnet sailing in the man-of-war HMS Albion. Even though much of the world knew better, Calico Jack Rackham was charged with being the pirate captain of The Vanity and was hanged very shortly after they reached Jamaica.
On November 20, 1720, Mary Reade and Anne Bonney went on trial for piracy on the high seas and were almost certain to have a date with the hangman. But in a surprise move, they were both spared from the gallows on a technicality. It seems under English law you can’t hang a pregnant woman. Somehow during their imprisonment awaiting trial, they managed to get themselves in just that condition. They were sentenced to prison terms which were suspended through the influence of Anne Bonney’s father from North Carolina.
Like any good story, there are several possible endings so I will choose the one that I like best. After many months of waiting in Jamaica to clear up the final legalities during which time their babies were born, the two women moved to the island of St. Kitts where they raised their children and led productive, law abiding lives. We know for sure that today thousands of people scattered across the Caribbean can trace their roots directly to Anne Bonney and her two sons.
So what happened to the petticoat pirates? Certainly, there aren’t still gals around who would rob, cheat and leave a poor guy for dead? Not, at least, anybody that I know.
Originally printed in the August 1996 issue of The Pelican Post.
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September 19, 2009 - 3:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Behind Smithville Commons 807 N. Howe Street Southport, NC 28461
910/363-4274
Brought to you by Stage II Productions.
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August 14 - 15, 2009 - 7:30 PM
Brunswick Community College Odell Williamson Auditorium Hwy. 17, Supply
Contact: Katie Deese
910/352-0510
Admission/Fees: $15 adults, $6 12 & under, $10 Students over 12
Call for Tickets - 800-754-1050 ext. 416
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August 14, 2009 - 4:30 PM
Cheerleading Showcase-5pm.
Football Scrimmages-6pm.
Ashley vs. Wallace Rose Hill.
Hoggard vs. South Brunswick.
Jacksonville vs. West Brunswick.
New Hanover vs. South Columbus.
Laney vs. Whiteville.
Legion Stadium Wilmington, NC
Admission/Fees: $4. Advance. $6. Gate Donation
No coolers, bags and umbrellas are not permitted in Legion Stadium.
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by Brenda Marshburn
One hundred and thirty years ago, America’s Civil War came to an end. North Carolina played an important role in this conflict that pitted brother against brother. The Lower Cape Fear was vital to the defense of North Carolina and to the Confederacy. The “Lifeline of the Confederacy” had to remain open. To ensure the safety of the port of Wilmington and the Wilmington to Weldon Railroad, the Lower Cape Fear River was heavily fortified. Six major forts and several lesser fortifications guarded the entrances to the river. The last of these forts to fall to Union troops was Fort Anderson.
Under orders from Major W.H.C. Whiting, commander of Confederate troops in the area, construction of the fort began under the supervision of Major Thomas Rowland. The fort was built over the colonial town of Brunswick and named Fort St. Phillips since the walls of the church were inside the fort. The name later changed to Fort Anderson. The mammoth earthen fort had two heavily armed batteries that overlooked the river. Both batteries were armed with large guns that were protected by high mounds on both sides of each gun. Lesser earthen works zigzagged almost a mile west from the massive river front to Orton Pond. The fort was armed with nine 32 pounder guns, three 24 pounder guns and at least one Whitworth gun. Wooden barracks were built inside the fort using bricks and stones for the chimneys from the ruins of the colonial port town of Brunswick. The only other structure inside the fort was the remains of the church.
When Fort Fisher fell in January 1865, General Braxton Bragg ordered all troops from the four forts along the mouth of the Cape Fear River to be evacuated and the forts destroyed. Soldiers from these forts went to Fort Anderson. General Johnson Hagood was in command of Anderson. General Jacob Cox and Admiral David Porter planned a joint attack on Fort Anderson. Porter was to resume the bombardment he had begun earlier with twenty ships while the land forces advanced. Five thousand Union troops landed in Smithville. Two brigades marched an extra fifteen miles around Orton Pond up the rear flank of Fort Anderson. These troops were briefly delayed by the Confederate Cavalry. When Hagood learned of this second advance, he led his troops out of the fort in the early morning hours of February 19, 1865. Federal troops arrived to find a fairly deserted fort still being shelled by the Union navy. The only way to stop the bombardent was for Union forces to raise a white flag of surrender, thus the Union army surrendered Fort Anderson to the Union navy.
With the fall of Fort Anderson, the Federal troops easily marched into Wilmington. The closing of the port of Wilmington and the Wilmington to Weldon Railroad proved to be a fatal blow to the Confederacy. Two months after the fall of Fort Anderson and Wilmington, the Civil War came to an end.
Originally published in The Pelican Post Winter 1996 issue.
Posted 7 months, 1 week ago at 1:00 am by admin. Add a comment
Southport, NC
