'Pirates' storm Charleston

Redcoats yield in Harbor Fest battle to free shipmates

Ashley Garner
The Post and Courier

Rhonda Baiocco (second from left) of Charleston shares a laugh with her friends Saturday as one of the pirates offers to take her aboard his ship after the pirates finished fighting the redcoats at the Powder Magazine building in Charleston.

Ashley Garner
The Post and Courier

Redcoats stand guard at the Powder Magazine building Saturday as they prepare for battle against the pirates.

A band of pirates marched through the streets of Charleston demanding that the government free their shipmates imprisoned in the Powder Magazine. The mob then battled British guards, freed their mates and skewered the provincial governor in the process. They were last seen leaving the battle site, singing "What do you do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning …"

Arrrrrr!

Pirates were making news in Charleston exactly 290 years ago, and they were again Saturday as they staged this mock battle to open the second day of Charleston Harbor Fest.

"We're here to support the harbor festival and also tell people about the real history of pirates, not the Hollywood version," said Gary Dow, head of the local pirate re-enactor group, the Charles Towne Few.

Pirates were part of Charleston's early evolution, Dow said. In the early 1700s, some pirates raided ships in the Northeast and brought their booty to the South to trade.

Charlestonians, in turn, felt somewhat protected from the French and Spanish when pirate ships were moored in the harbor. "Many of the pirates were British, so when push came to shove, the people in Charleston figured they would fight on their side," Dow said.

Charleston's uneasy relationship with its pirates changed in May 1718 when Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, entered Charleston Harbor with four ships and 300 men. Many of these seamen had social diseases acquired during various port visits. Blackbeard blockaded the port, plundered several vessels and seized a group of prominent citizens, including Samuel Wragg.

Blackbeard's demand: medicines, mainly mercury, which people then wrongly thought of as a cure. Charleston's leaders complied, and Blackbeard returned the hostages.

"This was the golden age of piracy," said Alan Stello, director of the Powder Magazine on Cumberland Street, circa 1713 and the oldest government building in the Carolinas.

The Powder Magazine was a fitting backdrop for Saturday's festival morning salvo, a fictional rendition of what might have happened had pirates come ashore.

As vendors at the City Market set up their wares, Dow and other pirate re-enactors from across the country stomped by, yelling "Give us our mates!" and "Arrrrrr!"

They stopped at the Powder Magazine's gates and made their demands for medicine and prisoners "and whatever else you've got in there." Soon, a pirate and "the provincial governor" were dueling, and the governor received a minor but very real nick on the arm before he went down.

After the battle, the pirates gathered for a group photo for onlookers. As people snapped pictures, the pirates suddenly rushed forward with another rousing "Arrrrrr!" A few small children appeared confused.

Dow then explained to the crowd that many pirates once had been enslaved or impressed into service by the British, and that some became pirates to gain their freedom.

Later, some of the modern-day pirates climbed into a sport-utility vehicle, and one was spotted in an yellow taxi. Others walked back to the Charleston Maritime Center and Ansonborough Field, where the pirates mixed with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people.

The Charleston Harbor Fest continues today at the maritime center and Patriots Point.

If you go

WHAT: Charleston Harbor Fest.

WHEN: Concludes today.

WHERE: Ansonborough Field, Liberty Square and The Charleston Maritime Center downtown; Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.

PARKING: Free at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. Downtown, parking is available at the S.C. Aquarium City Garage and the Gaillard Auditorium City Garage for $5 per day.

TRANSPORTATION: Buses from Charleston to Patriots Point and back (9 a.m.-6 p.m.) for all those with wristbands. Also, water taxi service (10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.) and water shuttle (9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) $3 for those with wristbands and $4 for those without.

COST: Most events are free, but wristbands ($15 for adults and $5 for children ages 6-11) are required to use the shuttles or board the tall ships.

MORE INFO: www.charlestonharborfest.org

Today's events

Downtown

10 a.m.: Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation. Education Village, Liberty Square.

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: The tall ships are open. Wristband is required to board. (NOTE: The Corwith Cramer will be closed today.)

11 a.m.: Spirit Knot Tiers rope-making demo. Education Village.

11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Live music. Ansonborough Field.

Noon: North Charleston Dance and Drum Company Djole accompanied by "Powerful" international performing artist from Ghana. Education Village.

Noon: Cannon firing demo. Pirate Camp, Ansonborough Field.

1 p.m.: Pirate costume contest/parade. Meet at Maritime Center, parade to Pirate Camp.

1 p.m.: Sea Shanties with Ray Haggerty. Education Village.

2 p.m.: Cannon firing demo. Pirate Camp, Ansonborough Field.

2 p.m.: Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation. Education Village.

2-5 p.m.: Live music. Ansonborough Field.

2:30 p.m.: Family boatbuilding parade/launch. Charleston Maritime Center Basin.

3 p.m.: Animal antics by the S.C. Aquarium. Education Village.

3 p.m.: Cannon firing demo. Pirate Camp, Ansonborough Field.

3:45 p.m.: Anita Singleton-Prather as Aunt Pearlie-Sue. Education Village.

At Patriots Point

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Live music.

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Helicopter harbor tours. $20 per person.

10:30 a.m.: Kayak tryout for kids.

11:15 a.m.-noon: Aerobatic flight demo.

Noon: "Rail Jam" extreme wakeboarding demo.

1 p.m.: "Rail Jam."

1:30 p.m.: Kayak gear demo.

2-2:45 p.m.: Aerobatic flight demo.

3 p.m.: "Rail Jam."

4 p.m.: "Rail Jam."

If you're boating

Waters roughly from the Ravenel Bridge to the tip of Shutes Folly will be closed 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-2:45 p.m. for an air show.

Recreational boaters will be allowed to anchor at the foot of Drum Island and at the left of Shutes Folly.

Traffic needing to pass through the safety zone can contact the representative for the captain of the port on VHF-FM Channel 16 or via phone at 724-7616.

Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554.