Graveyard of the Atlantic then drive his ship ashore following the false light. The first recorded shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina was in the early 16th century. This wreck was reported in 1526, off the mouth of Cape Fear River. The large numbers of explorers who came to the area in subsequent years had to travel through the rough waters to get to the coast of North Carolina. In June 1718, Edward Teach — better known as Blackbeard the pirate — ran his flagship, the "Queen Anne's Revenge", aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC. Thirty two years later, in August 1750, at
William Read (pirate) captured grab. Thomas White remained aboard until leaving to sail with Nathaniel North. William Read of the "Alexander" should not be confused with William Read of the "Ranger", a pirate who served under Captain Charles Harris until Harris was abandoned by Edward Low and captured by the "HMS Greyhound" in 1723. William Read (pirate) William Read (died 1701, last name occasionally Reed) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. He is best known for rescuing fellow pirate captains John Bowen and Thomas White. Read was captain of the "Alexander", a 60-ton brigantine based out of Madagascar. Around