Captain Christopher Byrd Downey has authored, "Stede Bonnet: Charleston's Gentleman Pirate."
Bonnet was a wealthy plantation owner from Barbados. According to this new book, Bonnet abandoned his wife and children to become a pirate, setting sail on the pirate ship Revenge. Bonnet then met the infamous Blackbeard and traveled the Atlantic Ocean during America's colonial period.
Downey writes that Bonnet and Blackbeard took Charleston hostage. Ultimately, according to Downey, Bonnet was captured in North Carolina, tried and hanged at Charleston's White Point (now known as the Battery.)
Downey has worked in the maritime industry for 15 years and is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain. He lives in Charleston. You may learn more about him at www.captainbyrds.com.
