Captain Midnight

Has anyone out there made a replica of the cartridge pouch found in the wreck of the Whydah? I have made a replica of it, but am still trying to figure out the wooden stiffeners for the inside. Have any of you made any photos of your replicas? If so, could you post them here so we could take a look?

Yeah, I see no problem with using a wooden ball as the body of your grenade, as long as it is made to look like cast iron. My original idea with the converted baseball grenade was to fill it with sand or sawdust, and glue the wooden fuse well (plug) in place. It would not have to be drilled all the way through, just deep enough to glue an inert piece of cotton cord (your "fuse") into, to give the correct appearance. The idea was to come up with a completely inert dummy that would have the right heft and appearance, and would sound like it was loaded with gunpowder if shaken, you know, if interested spectators wanted to examine one. However, I do agree, a wooden ball could be made in the same fashion that would do the same thing, and would be much easier to obtain without any ill suspicions from anyone. I think I will indeed craft mine from wood, and I'll post pics of my results here for you all to see when it's finished.

Aye, Ace, ye don't know me, lad, I am relatively new around these parts, but I was just following this thread and wish to pass along my well wishes to you and your wife. I hope she will soon be out of the hospital and doing much better, and you both will be in me prayers.

Aye, the figure of Blackbeard in the second link is awesome! Very realistic.

I'd have to say Wallace Beery as Long John Silver in the 1934 version of Treasure Island. Jackie Cooper played Jim Hawkins in that one.

I have a duplicate of the French schooner Le Mercure, if anyone might be interested in trading for one of your duplicate pirate vessels. I'll trade her for any pirate vessel except the Treasure, which I already have. Le Mercure is a two-masted schooner which cannot be pinned.

Blackbeard, aye!

Would anyone happen to have any duplicate pirate vessels that they don't want or need, and would be willing to part with? Being brand new to the game, I havn't amassed a large enough fleet to have any duplicates I could trade you, (I only have four vessels... ) but I would be willing to buy them from you, if desired. I am mainly wanting to collect all of the pirate ships. I currently have none of them, and it wouldn't matter to me which vessels they are, as long as I have one of each.

Wow! That game board is absolutely gorgeous! Great work! I have just become interested in this game as well. Heck, I had never even heard of it before this past weekend, I was in Wal-Mart in the check-out line, and lo and behold! There it was on one of the aisles. I picked it up thinking it was one of those cardboard card games, and was very pleasantly surprised upon opening it. I've played it once with my daughter, who also loved it. Currently, we still only have a small fleet. We have the Dauphin Royal, the Intrepide, the Repulsa, and El Dorado. No pirate vessels yet... I'll keep collecting until I have all of the pirate ships, though, and probably all of the English and Spanish ones. Great game!

Many thanks for your research, John. It looks as though the rosette cockade (which is what I truly favored first) is a safe addition to my hat. Rumba, that is an awesome hat, very nice work! :)

They appear to be cockades, to me, mate. Most especially the one in the second picture. Can't really make out the exact form of the first one, though.

And you say you made your coat from the Jack Sparrow Simplicity pattern, Mike? Damn! That's an awesome job you've done so far. My hat's off to ye, mate. I must admit that I went out and bought that pattern this evening, I'll just alter it to a more correct style like you did. Good work, mate!

Sure. I think pirates would most definitely have worn a motley conglomeration of outfits from many different places, looted from their prey. If a pirate's shirt or breeches (or whatever) were worn out, certainly he would have no qualms about lifting a new one from a victim...err, donor, no matter the nationality.

Ahoy Mike, Can you describe to me in detail exactly what it is that you altered on the Simplicity pattern to make a correct coat? If it is simple detail, I could buy the pattern and make the alterations too. Thanks!

Portagee, if'n ye don't mind me asking, where do ye hail from, lad? Ye seem to be a kindred spirit with a keen eye for historical detail... an admirable trait, indeed!

Aye, a nice one, indeed! I think this is what it will take to find what we are looking for: just keep searching through the period engravings and such that we do have. There's bound to be something. My problem is, many of them are rather blurry or fuzzy, and me eyes ain't what they used to be!

Will do, GoF, my friend. Let's you and I continue to search for the real thing, however, and when one that is absolutely correct and authenticated is found, I'll immediately replace mine with one like it. I will indeed post pics of me hat when it is made, as a matter of fact, I'll be glad to post pics of meself in garb, when I gather enough suitable things to wear for the photo. I won't put on farb clothes just to make a photo, though...if it ain't right, I don't want it... :)

Aye, 'tis true that cockades were used to show an alliance of some sort, however, in me own case, bein' a pirate an' all, I have no particular alliance with anyone or any country, although England is where me persona hails from. Bein' one of the Bretheren, however, has alienated me from any home but the sea...to me, my cockade is simply a fancy doo-dad to dress me hat up with... Portagee, that is some very good information ye've uncovered, mate, and gives much food for thought. Mad Mary Meg Anne, that sounds about like what I will do, lass, only with a pewter or brass button rather than glue, to be a wee trifle more authentic...I may gather me cockade in loops as shown in Blackbeard's engraving and the other, since those are the earliest representations of a cockade I've found so far. It'll probably take the vague form of a bow of sorts...

Aye, Portagee, mate, it is indeed an interesting style, and one that I too, have never truly noticed before. The problem might be, however, that Gentleman of Fortune is correct in his point that the engravings were actually done years after the period they represent, and although the difference in years is not that great, it is very true that styles can change much in that short of a span. So they may or may not be accurate. We don't know whether perhaps the artist was drawing the subject from the styles of the past (for him), or rendering it in the fashion of his own time, which was very common for artists to do in those days. But I will still agree that the cockade is very interesting, and not at all like the rosette or alliance type cockades used later in the Revolution years. It does indeed appear to be a bow, or at least "loops" of ribbon, as you pointed out previously. I wonder if it would be feasible to use one like it, until more evidence is found one way or the other? Or would that be "farby"? What say ye, GoF?

Me own favorite would have to be Newcastle Brown Ale, from England, aye. Makes me thirsty just thinkin' about it, it does!

Very true, gentlemen, the both of you. Point taken. So then, what form would a cockade have taken for this period, if any were worn at all? I would like to put something on my hat to make it less plain, other than the lacing used to "cock" it.

GoF, Here are two period depictions of men wearing a cocked hat with a cockade. The first is the famous engraving of Blackbeard from 1734, the second is an engraving showing Mr. John Beard in the character of the captain of a Man-of-War, 1736.

Mine would have to be Stede Bonnett. He was an ex-military man, a gentleman, and (I believe) driven from his unhappy life at home by a need for adventure. Not a great pirate, no, but (in my opinion anyway), a good man, and not altogether evil.

Many thanks, Petee, mate! I have dispatched an enquiry to them this eve!

Ahoy mates! Does anyone know of a place where I might buy a black rosette cockade to adorn my tricorn? I have seen several sites with hats for sale, such as Jarnigan, Jas. Townsend, etc., but I'm looking for somewhere that will sell me just the simple round cockade with a pewter button. I wonder if there is anyone out there who makes them? Heck, if I had a pattern or some instructions, I'd try making one myself! Anyway, if anyone can help, I'd be obligin' to ye!