Captain Otway Burns

Written by Jack Robinson, Gysgt., US Marine Corps, Retired

Seems that everyone has become enthralled in the adventures of Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard, and Johnny Depp’s tale of Captain Jack Sparrow, but there is yet another lesser-known and equally intriguing Captain of the High Seas who once sailed the waters of North Carolina. The exploits of Captain Otway Burns, Privateer of the War of 1812, commander of the Snap Dragon, and a native son of our local area, are still being talked about and highly debated by the citizens of local communities in and around Beaufort, NC.

Information on Captain Burns’ early life is sketchy at best. Raised in Swansboro, he was sailing from the docks of Topsail Island by the age of 18. At the young age of 20, he had already gained fame as a skilled merchant sea captain. His first known ship was the Maria and he may have been on this vessel at the commencement of the War of 1812.

It was during the War of 1812 that Captain Otway Burns became one of the most successful Privateers who hailed from any southern American port. Privateers are sailors who operate privately owned vessels and, given commissions from the government during time of war to capture enemy vessels, confiscate their cargo.

This license, a "Letter of Marque," is what makes the distinction between Privateer and Pirate.

English officials, as the legend goes, placed a $50,000 bounty upon Captain Burns’ head because he was known to be an ambitious privateer. British seaman attempted on many occasions to earn this prize, but it was never awarded.

One of the popular known encounters Burns had against English vessels was when he escaped from three, some say five, attacking British War ships. They gave chase to the Snap Dragon after her crew had captured numerous English merchant ships.

To make his daring escape, Burns aimed the Snap Dragon, full sail to the wind, skillfully towards Sail Rock, an outcrop of a ragged piece of land no unskilled Captain dared to maneuver, in fear of being lost upon the rocky shore. Burns knew that unless the British Commanders wanted to sink their own larger vessels, they had to halt the pursuit. They ended their chase soon after, just as Captain Burns had anticipated.

Burns rendered notice of his departure when he boldly stood at the stern of the Snap Dragon and gave an order for one shot of his nine-pounder to be fired. He then gave the British spectators a defiant Yankee salute as the Snap Dragon triumphantly sailed away. During the war, Captain Burns and his crew captured not less than forty-two enemy merchant ships. The value of these vessels with cargo, along with bounties for their crewmembers, has been estimated to be nearly $4,000,000.

The British could never catch Captain Burns but, on more than one occasion, they came close.

Burns wrote in his ship log, in reference to his last escape and most deadliest encounter with his enemy, "We do not know her [the enemy vessel] loss, but suppose it to be considerable, as blood ran out of her lee scuppers*."

It was not until after Burns resigned his duties as a Privateer did the Snap Dragon and her crew fell prey to the English — which is yet another tall tale, for another time.

Captain Otway Burns shifted his energy following his last privateer cruise to various enterprises. He eventually built the first ship from North Carolina to be powered solely by a steam engine—the Prometheus. In 1819, while touring Wilmington and the Cape Fear River region, President James Monroe and the secretary of war, John C. Calhoun, requested the use of the Prometheus as their personal vessel.

Burns was also heavily involved in other businesses while he operated his shipyard. Canal building, Salt Works, and brick production companies that operated between Topsail Island and Beaufort, are only a few examples. He also played a vital role in the building of Fort Macon, a fortification that would later serve to protect Beaufort and Morehead City during the Civil War.

Captain Burns’ involvement with the fort, due to his steadfast defiant verbal and written comments toward many local businessmen and government officials of the time, are still being debated as having been beneficial, or instead, a negative impact in the fort’s construction.

In 1821, Burns was elected into the House of Commons as a Democrat, representing the citizens of Carteret County. During his political career he played a pivotal role in such issues as economic growth throughout the state, education opportunities for all citizens, and the increasing debate on slavery.