pirate headstone in cemetary, photos added.

[gunsil]

You make a nice point, Gunsil. Except for one thing..... the actual church where these gravestones are located state these were indeed identified Pirates and they were executed for their crimes for being Pirates.

If that is so let's see some documentation from the church!! I doubt they have any and I doubt they know what they're talking about if they say they were pirate graves without documentation. Just because they are a church doesn't mean they aren't just repeating a legend without proof. Does the church still have all the records of burials?? Let's see the proof!! Pastors and priests are not often scholars, and most are certainly not experts on pirates. There were very few actual sea pirates executed here in the U.S. The golden age of piracy was over before the American Revolution, and most pirates that were captured by the English were returned to England for punishment. Most executed pirates were interred in unmarked graves since nobody wanted to have then remembered. As you have seen from other posters there are many graves that are similar to those you posted and they have no relationship to pirates. It is more likely that someone in your area thought the headstones looked like the movie version of a pirate flag and assumed they were related. One person tells a child that those were pirate graves, and years later the rumor turns to legend. I think perhaps nothing will change your opinion, no amount of fact will sway your ideology. Like I said earlier conjecture is useless, facts are facts, and truth is truth. Some folks would rather believe in a legend than listen to facts and that is their prerogative, but it doesn't change the facts or truth.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[SilverForBrains]

That is one badA$# tombstone

 

[mical66]

just because the church says it , does not make it fact.
we have a church here locally that has a cannon ball in the brick right above the outside light to the right of the main entrance and there is 1 brick missing where this cannon ball is sitting buried inside the wall . they say it was from the civil war and was shot into the wall.
they swear it is the way it was found in 1860's.
i find that hard to believe that a cannon ball would lodge perfectly into the wall busting the 1 brick it hit and damaging no others .
again , i think it is a story to add character . do i believe the ball hit the church ? yes . do i believe it lodged then the way we see it now . no. its all for drama .
stories tend to change over time so id say its safe to say whoever knew what happend died hundreds of years ago , and shortly after that time some one said they " look " like pirate headstones and it stuck for lack of no one knowing.

 

[TerryC]

Beaufort, NC also has a cemetary that dates back to the 1700's I think. I was at the B. NC cemetary and one of the graves reportedly contains a British officer on horseback, I believe. (edit On the street to the west of the graveyard is one of those roadside plaques that call it The Burying Ground. TTC

 

[TerryC]

just because the church says it , does not make it fact.
we have a church here locally that has a cannon ball in the brick right above the outside light to the right of the main entrance and there is 1 brick missing where this cannon ball is sitting buried inside the wall . they say it was from the civil war and was shot into the wall.
they swear it is the way it was found in 1860's.
i find that hard to believe that a cannon ball would lodge perfectly into the wall busting the 1 brick it hit and damaging no others .
again , i think it is a story to add character . do i believe the ball hit the church ? yes . do i believe it lodged then the way we see it now . no. its all for drama .
stories tend to change over time so id say its safe to say whoever knew what happend died hundreds of years ago , and shortly after that time some one said they " look " like pirate headstones and it stuck for lack of no one knowing.

I believe the church story. Halifax, NC has a wall with a cannonball stuck in it. When Corwallis surrendered, the state of NC had not yet heard the latest news. Gen C had to fight his way through NC after already giving up. That's when the ball got stuck in the wall on the south end of town. TTC

 

[F2 Hunter 28146]

Personally I truly believe they are Werewolves or Vampires buried there.

 

[mical66]

Hi Terry, where i do not believe there version , i do believe the ball hit the wall. i just find it hard to believe it did not damage the wall except the 1 brick. the power it took to breakout the brick and lodge in the wall i think would have made a lot more damage.
but not being a civil war cannon ball expert i am not sure.
just think the repaired the wall and over time the story has changed to say it hit and stuck the way it is now.

I believe the church story. Halifax, NC has a wall with a cannonball stuck in it. When Corwallis surrendered, the state of NC had not yet heard the latest news. Gen C had to fight his way through NC after already giving up. That's when the ball got stuck in the wall on the south end of town. TTC

 

[TerryC]

Hi Terry, where i do not believe there version , i do believe the ball hit the wall. i just find it hard to believe it did not damage the wall except the 1 brick. the power it took to breakout the brick and lodge in the wall i think would have made a lot more damage.
but not being a civil war cannon ball expert i am not sure.
just think the repaired the wall and over time the story has changed to say it hit and stuck the way it is now.

I will not say nay or yea. The ball at Halifax is a 6 pounder I am told. I am not a relic or Civil War buff. The ball at Halifax is about the size of a softball. TTC

 

[TerryC]

Weldon, NC up the road from Halifax was a recruiting center for both the revolutionary and Civil Wars. The railroad gauge changed at Weldon. If your (railroad) boxcars were going further north... into VA, the box was picked up and the "cars" were changed to the required size. In the mid '90's, I believe, four CW muskets were found under the Rail station's platform. In the supporting wooden structure. There will be a news article about it. TTC

 

[F2 Hunter 28146]

If that is so let's see some documentation from the church!! I doubt they have any and I doubt they know what they're talking about if they say they were pirate graves without documentation. Just because they are a church doesn't mean they aren't just repeating a legend without proof.

Sigh..... Gunsil! I'm pretty sure now you'd still argue the fact even if the said pirates themselves rose from the graves and told you their stories. Only thing I can tell you is..... I know ATOM'S exist even though I have never seen or spoke to one.

As for the golden age... Strangely enough they were there before the Revolutionary War.

 

[F2 Hunter 28146]

. Most executed pirates were interred in unmarked graves since nobody wanted to have then remembered. As you have seen from other posters there are many graves that are similar to those you posted and they have no relationship to pirates.

As for those other posts on skull/bones. Some of which were random posted & a few in fact were 322 graves.



"Sometimes ignorance has no prejudice!"

 

[joe_dirt]

The cemetery/church in Colonial Williamsburg, VA has the same motif in places.

 

[Atomic Ed]

Wow, I never seen any tombstones that looked like those before.

I usually get really creeped out anytime I visit a graveyard and if I were to come across those, it would have really freaked me out.

I wonder what the odds are they really are pirates buried there?

 

[AKiwi]

Interesting reading.....