1718 –Piracy  

Col. Rhett and Stede Bonnet

Some local merchants were nervous about the recently captured pirate, Stede Bonnet. They were afraid his testimony at his trial may link them to the buccaneer’s trade. Due to the lax security (and most likely a bribery of gold by merchant Richard Tookerman) at Capt. Partridge’s home, Stede Bonnet and David Herriot escaped. Bonnet disguised himself as a woman to escape undetected.

Accompanied by a slave and an Indian, they stole a small boat and planned to leave the harbor under cover of night and rendezvous with Moody’s ship, Cape Fear.  However, foul winds and lack of supplies forced the four of them onto Sullivan’s Island., where they cowered. Gov. Johnson at once placed a £700 bounty on Bonnet’s head and dispatched search teams to track him down, led by Col. William Rhett.

1757-Births

Charles Pinckney, son of Charles Pinckney, Junior and Francis Brewton Pickney, and cousin to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was born in Charlestown. He would later sign the U.S. Constitution with his cousin.

Charles Pinckney