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Adam R.




Location: South New Jersey
Joined: 23 Sep 2012

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun 23 Sep, 2012 6:53 pm    Post subject: Hello         Reply with quote

My name is Adam and I have just joined today. I am 16, turning 17 in October and have several custom knives as well as a Solingen made civil war imported saber that was imported by Tiffany's jewelry company for the war for use by union troops.
This forum looks quite nice and I like the first name basis which makes things seem a bit more personable.



I figure I will attach a question since I'm not sure if I am allowed to post an introduction solely by itself.

We hear a lot about pirates but are there any well known pirate hunters? If so what kind of tactics did they use to hunt them (them being the pirates)? Also were any swords besides the cutlass very popular in naval combat?
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Jeremy V. Krause




Location: Buffalo, NY.
Joined: 20 Oct 2003
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PostPosted: Sun 23 Sep, 2012 9:14 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello Adam,

Just saying welcome to the site. myArmoury is a treasure trove in formation on the subject of Arms and Armour.

Now, I personally know squat about pirates and the 1600s so I'll leave your question to someone else!

Happy
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Martin Wallgren




Location: Bjästa, Sweden
Joined: 01 Mar 2004

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PostPosted: Sun 23 Sep, 2012 11:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Adam!

A twohanded sword has been known to be enployed in naval battles at least in the 15th century but people with more knowlage will sertanly chime in here.

Swordsman, Archer and Dad
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Marc Ridgeway




Location: Atlanta , Gawga
Joined: 24 May 2006
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PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 2:56 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello Adam,

You'll find the folks here quite knowledgable ... hope you enjoy your stay.

Marc Kaden Ridgeway
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Craig Peters




PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 3:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hey Adam,

There were indeed pirate hunters, although a lot of the time, they were part of the admiralty or naval officers of a particular nation. Typically, pirate hunters were not necessarily individuals whose profession it was to hunt pirates per se, but rather were people acting on behalf of their government to hunt down pirates. Keep in mind too that, in the era of the pirates of the Caribbean, there was an extremely thin line between privateering and piracy. The former is licensed predatory attacks against enemy nations which are sanctioned by one's government during war; the latter were acting without such official designation. So an act that was legally accepted during certain times could be considered illegal at other times, and for a long time, many nations were lax about hunting pirates, simply because it could be very lucrative to allow them to operate. It is only in the 18th century properly, especially in the second and third decades, when a fairly systematic and organized crack-down began.

As far as weapons go, rapiers, small swords and hangers were some of the other weapons one might find alongside cutlasses.
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Adam R.




Location: South New Jersey
Joined: 23 Sep 2012

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 9:49 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Craig Peters wrote:
Hey Adam,

There were indeed pirate hunters, although a lot of the time, they were part of the admiralty or naval officers of a particular nation. Typically, pirate hunters were not necessarily individuals whose profession it was to hunt pirates per se, but rather were people acting on behalf of their government to hunt down pirates. Keep in mind too that, in the era of the pirates of the Caribbean, there was an extremely thin line between privateering and piracy. The former is licensed predatory attacks against enemy nations which are sanctioned by one's government during war; the latter were acting without such official designation. So an act that was legally accepted during certain times could be considered illegal at other times, and for a long time, many nations were lax about hunting pirates, simply because it could be very lucrative to allow them to operate. It is only in the 18th century properly, especially in the second and third decades, when a fairly systematic and organized crack-down began.

As far as weapons go, rapiers, small swords and hangers were some of the other weapons one might find alongside cutlasses.


It's always interesting to see the myths that people get into when it comes to things that are in pop culture. A lot of what you mentioned was in the history channel documentary and you summarized it quite well. Another common misconception is that gold was always the biggest catch when in fact when they were in the ocean food and mundane supplies to sustain them were often more important and considering how harshly the Navy treated sailors (who were often forcibly recruited) many preferred being pirates. I'm still fascinated by naval captains who had to hunt them though, one ship in the ocean? Talk about a needle in a hay stack.

On the topic of weapons how would a rapier be employed against a cutlass? Was it shortened for ship fighting?
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Adam R.




Location: South New Jersey
Joined: 23 Sep 2012

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 9:50 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Martin Wallgren wrote:
Hi Adam!

A twohanded sword has been known to be enployed in naval battles at least in the 15th century but people with more knowlage will sertanly chime in here.


Two handed swords? You've caught my attention as I hadn't heard about this before? Do you know any more details on that?
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Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
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PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 11:13 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

boarding pikes, blunderbuss, hatchets, knives, cudgels
-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Lin Robinson




Location: NC
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 11:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy is a very famous pirate hunter. He is the man who caught up with and killed Blackbeard in Ocracoke Inlet in 1718. Governor Spotswood of Virginia, tired of Blackbeard's activities, sent Maynard, with two ships, south to the Outer Banks of NC in search of the pirate. Blackbeard had been hanging around the Pamlico River for some time, living in the area of Bath, NC, even marrying one of the local women although it is believed he was married to someone else at the time, adding bigamy to the other charges against him. He was not hard to find but taking him proved to be quite a job.

Maynard's two sloops were manned by a total of sixty men but lacked cannon so it would be necessary to board Blackbeard's ship, the Adventure, to seize the pirate. The Adventure had cannon so when Maynard's sloops got close enough to engage Blackbeard gave them a broadside, effectively knocking one of the government ships out of action. Apparently this gave Maynard an idea and he ordered the crew of the remaining sloop, excepting two men, to go below. Blackbeard, apparently believing his broadside had killed most of the crew then attempted to board the other government ship with ten members of his crew, whereupon the Royal Navy sailors jumped them. Blackbeard fought hard and wounded Maynard but he and his men were outnumbered. A Highlander in Maynard's crew - and here comes a comment about a different sort of weapon in use at the time - is said to have wounded Blackbeard with his broadsword and then cut off his head with the same weapon.

Thus ended the career of Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard. The NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC has an extensive and very interesting exhibit on the subject. Underwater archaeologists have discovered what is almost certainly the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, his former flagship, which Blackbeard scuttled some time prior to 1718. There are a lot of artifacts on display and it is well worth the trip.

Lin Robinson

"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Adam R.




Location: South New Jersey
Joined: 23 Sep 2012

Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon 24 Sep, 2012 3:52 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lin Robinson wrote:
Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy is a very famous pirate hunter. He is the man who caught up with and killed Blackbeard in Ocracoke Inlet in 1718. Governor Spotswood of Virginia, tired of Blackbeard's activities, sent Maynard, with two ships, south to the Outer Banks of NC in search of the pirate. Blackbeard had been hanging around the Pamlico River for some time, living in the area of Bath, NC, even marrying one of the local women although it is believed he was married to someone else at the time, adding bigamy to the other charges against him. He was not hard to find but taking him proved to be quite a job.

Maynard's two sloops were manned by a total of sixty men but lacked cannon so it would be necessary to board Blackbeard's ship, the Adventure, to seize the pirate. The Adventure had cannon so when Maynard's sloops got close enough to engage Blackbeard gave them a broadside, effectively knocking one of the government ships out of action. Apparently this gave Maynard an idea and he ordered the crew of the remaining sloop, excepting two men, to go below. Blackbeard, apparently believing his broadside had killed most of the crew then attempted to board the other government ship with ten members of his crew, whereupon the Royal Navy sailors jumped them. Blackbeard fought hard and wounded Maynard but he and his men were outnumbered. A Highlander in Maynard's crew - and here comes a comment about a different sort of weapon in use at the time - is said to have wounded Blackbeard with his broadsword and then cut off his head with the same weapon.

Thus ended the career of Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard. The NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC has an extensive and very interesting exhibit on the subject. Underwater archaeologists have discovered what is almost certainly the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, his former flagship, which Blackbeard scuttled some time prior to 1718. There are a lot of artifacts on display and it is well worth the trip.



That is an epic bit of trickery there. Quick thinking and adaptability seems to be one of the surest signs of a successful military leader. Like Alexander's siege of tyre, or his first battle against a military force with elephants. Thanks for that.
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