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The Pirate Fleet was the fleet of pirate ships that escaped Nassau and rebelled against British rule under the new Governor of New Providence Island, Woodes Rogers. After the Battle of the Maroon Island, they worked with the Pirate Resistance on New Providence Island in preparing to retake the island from Rogers’ forces. 

History[]

Background[]

After Jack Rackham claims the Urca de Lima gold and returns it to Nassau, he, Charles Vane and James Flint work out a deal. Jack is responsible for the gold and rebuilding Fort Nassau. In the event of invasion, Flint is to lead the pirates’ naval forces while Vane would lead the militia to defend the beach. The Spanish Man O’ War remains in Nassau’s bay to serve as a floating battery, and Flint reclaims the Walrus, which had been repaired and refitted by Rackham’s men to carry the Spanish gold to Nassau. 

Season Three[]

After the events of Charles Town, Flint decrees that any magistrate in the New World who hangs men for piracy will be visited by him. He and his crew sack BridgetownSt. KittsNevis and Martinique after their magistrates hang men for piracy. He and his crew sack the colony of a magistrate named Hazzard for the same reason. While they return to Nassau, a ship is then spotted in the distance, with her sails up, flying the colors of Captain Hallendale. Silver gives the order to move in and investigate. Flint tells Silver that he feels that they shouldn't go investigate because it will cause unnecessary delay, but goes along with it anyways. When they board the Straight Arrow, they find it completely empty, save for the corpse of Captain Hallendale, chained to his chair inside the Captain's cabin. He had apparently been marooned by his crew and went mad from drinking sea water. Billy Bones and Flint can't figure out why would he be marooned on a ship rather than being left on an island to be marooned. It soon dawns on both of them that it is a trap. At the same time as their realization, Silver spots sails in the distance; it is a large and powerful Royal Navy hunter heading right for them. Flint states the approaching ship has them in a terrible spot.

As the ship approaches, it is revealed to be Captain Hornigold and his crew who have now become pirate hunters, sanctioned by the Royal Navy. Hornigold tells the Walrus crew that if they surrender peacefully, he has the power to grant all of them pardons, as he had previously done with Captain Hallendale's men. Flint then gives an impassioned speech to his men, stating that he will never surrender to that thing, England, that has done so much harm to him. He then convinces his crew that they should never surrender either, stating that they are winning the war. Since he cannot outrun and cannot outgun Hornigold's ship, he sails the Walrus directly into a massive storm, knowing that Hornigold will not pursue.

Meanwhile, Captain Vane's ship tracks a Dutch merchant ship. As his ship approaches the merchantman, the Dutch captain begins to throw his cargo overboard. His cargo are slaves. Vane puts out longboats to retrieve the slaves thrown overboard. Vane then boards the merchantman and murders the Dutch captain by throwing him overboard with weights tied to his legs[1].

The Walrus sails further into the storm to shake off Hornigold. After finally doing so, Flint orders the t'gallants be taken down but they are stuck. The ship nearly capsizes as a result, until Flint cuts away the tops of the main and foremasts. After survivng the storm, the Walrus is becalmed in the Doldrums with very little food or fresh water[2]

After hearing that Woodes Rogers is coming to Nassau with a fleet of eight shipsJack Rackham assembles the pirate captains of Nassau. His idea is to have them all commit to a massive show of force by assembling all the pirate ships at hand to guard the bay, using the six guns from Fort Nassau and assembling a militia on the beach. The captains, particularly Throckmorton, are uneasy about this plan, especialy given that Flint, who was supposed to lead their fleet, hasn't been seen in weeks. Edward Teach enters the meeting and declares that Flint is dead, but offers to lead the fleet in his stead, and the pirate captains agree.  When Rogers arrives, he finds the mouth of the harbor defended by the fleet assembled in a firing line. He and his councilors argue over the best course of action. Chamberlain argues they withdraw, seeing as there is no way to take Nassau Town without causing significant damage to assets to His Majesty's Navy. 

With the sighting of the British fleet, Teach and his men go to their ships, Vane, Rackham and Anne Bonny man the fort with their men and Throckmorton and Jacob Garrett lead the assembled militia on the beach. Rogers sends Benjamin Hornigold, now a privateer in the service of the Crown, to read his address. Teach allows Hornigold to pass, knowing that if he fires on one of the founders of the Pirate Republic under a flag of surrender, it will lead to infighting on the pirates. Hornigold arrives on the beach and reads Rogers' address. He promises full pardons for every pirate who surrenders, and a 10,000 pound bounty on the head of Charles Vane. Led by Throckmorton, the pirates surrender en masse. Teach and his fleet remain resolute, but they are beseiged from both land and sea with no means to resupply, leading Rogers and his men to feel confident that they will surrender. 

After starving for over three weeks in the Doldrums with dwindling supplies, Flint and Silver harpoon several sharks that were feeding on a whale carcass. Shortly therafter, the wind returns, and they sail to a seemingly uninhabited island[3]

After Charles Vane escapes to the fleet, he sails his schooner at Woodes Rogers' fleet. When he gets close, his men jump overboard, and Vane ignites the combustibles that the ship has been loaded with before jumping overboard himself. Rogers orders his fleet to scatter to avoid being hit by the fireship. The Willing Mind is hit by the fireship, causing significant damage. The Pirate Fleet is able to escape, and sails for Ocracoke Island

On the island, Flint and his men are captured by a large party of Maroons, who bring the pirates to their  Camp deep in the jungle. The Maroon Queen learns how the pirates arrived on their shores by questioning Flint and Silver. She orders them imprisoned and tortures four of the pirates to ascertain the truth of their story[4]

Pirate Fleet sailing

On the way to Ocracoke, they come across aSpanish Merchant Ship, which they decide to board. After putting down fierce resistance from her crew, Teach and Vane find a trove of Spanish intelligence. 

Once Mr. Scott, the Queen's husband, returns to the island wounded, Flint is able to negotiate an alliance with the Maroons. They have a home with no means to supply it now that Nassau has fallen, the pirates the other way around. Flint says he will reclaim leadership of the Pirate Fleet and harass Rogers' shipping and begin a war to reclaim Nassau, and then lead a massive slave rebellion across the New World[5]

Shortly after arriving at Ocracoke, Flint arrives to reclaim the fleet. He and Teach duel over it, and Teach is about to finish Flint when Vane intervenes. Teach orders Flint to take Vane and leave Ocracoke. As they return to the Maroon Island, Vane tells Flint about the intelligence he came across. Spain is furious over the existence of Rackham's cache of gems and is willing to burn Nassau to the ground if it is not returned to them[6]

At the Maroon Island, Flint and Vane brief the Queen on the new plan. They will go to Nassau, recover the cache and then bring it to the island to lure Rogers' forces there, where the pirates and Maroons will have the home field advantage. The Queen intially objects, but comes around after Flint persuades her. She adds that their is a stockpile of weapons in Nassau that Scott maintained in preparation for a day such as this. Madi will have to go with them to retrieve it from Scott's agents. The Walrus returns to Nassau, Silver leads the vanguard to the Tavern to proclaim Flint's return and that he is accepting recruits from the ranks of the former pirates. Madi finds Eme and has the weapons stockpile brought to the Walrus. The next day, Flint and Rogers meet on the beach where Flint said he'd wait for recruits, and Rogers revokes the pardon[7]

The Walrus pretends to sail away but in truth just anchors under bare poles below the horizon, ensuring that they can see the island but the island cannot see them. They wait for Flint and Vane to return with Jack and the cache. While waiting, the Orion finds them. They sail to the pickup location and find Flint, Billy, Jack and Anne. Vane had been captured by Rogers and the Militia. Billy Bones, Ben Gunn and Wayne stay behind to work to free him, while the Walrus retreats to the Maroon Island[8].

The Orion chases after the Walrus. Once at the island, they execute a daring maneuver that turns their broadsides on the Orion in shallow water. Hornigold retreats after seeing a small army of Maroons emerge from the jungle on to the beach[9]

Pirate Fleet firing line

The Pirate Fleet at the Battle of the Maroon Island.

At the battle of the Maroon Island, the plan is for the Walrus to engage Rogers' fleet and get their vanguard aboard one of their ships to disrupt the British fleet's line. However, another fleet approaches, flying British colors. Rackham realizes it is the Pirate Fleet. He meets Teach aboard the Spanish Man O' War, and convinces him to join him and Flint in waging war on Rogers. The Fleet approaches Rogers', under the command of Commodore Chamberlain, flying British colors. When signalled, Jack has them raise the Black, convincing Chamberlain that they are tactically beneath him. The two fleets assemble in firing lines and exchange broadsides. Anne Bonny leads the vanguard aboard the Orion, killing her crew and turning her guns on the HMS Milford. With his crew incapacitated and Teach bearing down on him in the Revenge, Chamberlain orders his fleet to retreat. 

The combined force of the Pirate Fleet and the Walrus crew and Maroons plan their invasion of Nassau to reclaim it from Woodes Rogers, working with the newborn Pirate Resistance on New Providence Island led by Billy Bones[10]

Season Four[]

Four ships of the fleet, the RevengeWalrusEagle and Defiant sail to Nassau to go forward with the invasion of Nassau. As they sail into the bay, they notice Fort Nassau is unarmed and only Woodes Rogers' Second Fleet of five two-masted vessels is there to defend the harbor. Edward Teach and Jack Rackham command the Revenge, which moves into position to open fire on the fort, with Rackham giving a stirring speech to his crew about avenging the death of Charles Vane.

Walrus Defiant Eagle grounded

The Walrus, Defiant and the Eagle grounded on scuttled hulks.

Flint grows uneasy as they sail further into the harbor and orders the Eagle to be signaled to open fire with her larboard batteries on the sloops to keep them at bay. However, the Walrus, Eagle and Defiant all run aground on hulks sunk by Rogers in the bay to prevent their access. The Redcoats in the fort then remove covers off the cannons and begin firing on the nearly defenseless pirates. After briefly offering resistance, Flint orders they abandon ship. 

The pirates attempt to retreat in longboats, but their withdrawal is hampered by the fort's continued barrage of cannon fire. While attempting to leave, John Silver's prosthetic leg becomes tangled in a rope ladder. While he attempts to free himself, the ladder he is standing on is shot off the ship and is dragged to the depths by a swivel gun. Flint prepares to leap in after him, but is forced to flee when one of Rogers' ships begins firing on them. 

Teach and Rackham attempt to offer resistance to the fort's guns but the ship receives damage in the process. They retreat, trying to draw as much of Rogers' fleet away from the fleeing pirates as possible. Rogers sends Three Sloops to pursue them. Due to the damage their rigging sustained during the battle, the pirates cannot maneuver a broadside or outrun the sloops. Teach elects to allow the Redcoats to board them and after a fierce battle, the pirates prevail, taking many prisoners. Flint, Madi and their surviving men reach the fallback position on the eastern shore. Over 200 of their men are unaccounted for, 121 of which were taken prisoner by Rogers and his men. There, they rendezvous with Billy and the Resistance, and retreat to their base at the Barlow Estate.  Meanwhile, Silver cuts himself free and swims into the hold of the Defiant. However, the ship begins sinking further underwater and he has to make his way to the unflooded parts of the vessel. Eventually, he swims ashore, making it there past nightfall[11]

The Revenge returns to the harbor, blockading it. Teach kills many of the prisoners and sends one of Rogers' ships festooned with the corpses of the Redcoats, demanding Eleanor Guthrie be delivered to him in exchange for his departure and the release of the prisoners. Rogers sails away aboard the Lion to draw Teach out and succeeds, as Rackham is able to convince Teach to pursue Rogers[12].

After a lengthy chase, the Revenge catches up to the Lion. After hammering her with their great guns, Teach and Anne Bonny lead the vanguard aboard in longboats. However, a trap is sprung and the vanguard is surprised by dozens of Redcoats hidden belowdecks. Teach and Bonny are captured, and Rackham surrenders the Revenge. Rogers and his men take over the ship, and keelhaul Teach before imprisoning the surviving pirates in the hold of the Lion[13]

When Rogers learns of the fall of Nassau, he orders his subordinate, Lieutenant Kendrick, to take the Lion to Port Royal and have the pirates hanged, while he makes haste to Nassau aboard the Revenge. En route to Port Royal, Kendrick and his men force the pirates to fight Mr. Milton, a hulking Redcoat. The pirates eventually rebel and take over the ship from the Redcoats[14]

As Havana's Fleet arrives in Nassau, Featherstone escapes aboard the Walruswhile Rackham arrives on the southern coast of the island and quickly leaves when Max informs him of what is happening. They wait out the Sack of Nassau offshore, waiting for survivors. Eventually, Flint and Silver lead their remaining men, as well as Julius and the slaves of New Providence. The two ships then head towards the Maroon Island, however Max persuades Jack to sail north to Philadelphia. The Walrus then arrives at the Maroon Island, thinking that Jack abandoned them, and the crew is surprised to see at least half a dozen ships anchored off the coast. In the Maroon Camp, they find it filled with pirates and Maroons from other camps, who the Maroon Queen tells them that they came to the Camp after hearing Nassau fell in order to participate in the war, which is why she didn't send Kofi back to Nassau with the cache[15].

The Pirate-Maroon alliance plans their opening moves, particularly a first strike on St. Ann's Bay in Jamaica. The Jamaican Maroon Chief informs them that the town has relatively light defenses, only two ten pound guns on the beach and 80-100 men at arms, while the New England Pirate Captain informs them that taking St. Ann's will starve Bridgetown, and the Jamaican Maroon Chief adds that the rest of Barbados has fallen to a slave rebellion. Flint then hypothesizes that if they can recruit enough slaves from Barbados, they'll have enough men and ships to sack Boston. Julius speaks out against these plans, thinking them folly that will only lead to the former slaves ending up back in their chains. He and Silver begin arguing heatedly, until the Queen arrives and diffuses the situation. Shortly after, Rogers sends word that he has Madi alive and demands the cache of gems as ransom for her life. The Queen and Flint agree that to do so would jeopardize the war effort and it is therefore out of the question, much to Silver's dismay. However, they agree to return to Nassau to launch a rescue mission. They then depart the Maroon Island aboard the Walrus, however Silver has secretly ordered the cache dug up and brought with them[16].

The Walrus sails to Nassau, and they send Kofi and a small group of men ashore, under the cover of night, to find out where Madi is being held so they can launch a rescue mission. However, overnight the men are captured, and during the night Rogers sails the Eurydice around the Walrus. The next morning, Rogers displays Madi and the captured pirates on the Eurydice's deck, and begins executing Kofi and his men one by one. Flint orders his men to open fire, but Silver belays the order and has the Cache of Gems displayed on deck. After Rogers sees the cache in their possession for Skeleton Island. Once they arrive, Flint and Dooley kill the Pirate Treasure Guardian and abscond with the cache[17].

Silver and Hands lead five of their best men in hunting down Flint and Dooley on the island, having received a truce until sunrise from Governor Rogers to retrieve the cache. However, on Billy's advice, Rogers sends men under the cover of the mist to set fire to the stern of the Walrus. The fire spreads quickly, forcing De Groot to order the crew to abandon ship. As the crew attempts to swim to shore, Rogers leads his men in longboats in picking off the struggling pirates. The Walrus' powder magazine eventually explodes, sinking the ship. Ashore, Flint killed all of Silver and Hands' men, and even Dooley, when he tried to kill Silver. The three survivors stop fighting after hearing the gunfire, and rush to the shore in time to see the Walrus sink[18].

Flint, Silver and Hands help their surviving crew members ashore as Rogers and his men advance in longboats. However, Rogers calls his assault off when Jack Rackham arrives aboard the Lion, having secretly made a deal with Eleanor's grandmother to financially ruin Rogers if Rackham kills Flint and ends hostilities. Flint, Silver and their remaining men rendezvous with Rackham, and Flint takes command to lead them in battle against Rogers. Flint leads them to a victory, capturing Rogers and rescuing Madi. Afterwards, while Featherstone takes Madi back to the Maroon Camp aboard the Eurydice, Silver takes Flint to Savannah, where he is humanely interned, but reunited with Thomas Hamilton. When they return to the Maroon Island, Silver and Rackham offer a treaty to the pirates and Maroons, offering pardons for all. The treaty is ratified, and piracy is officially ended in the West Indies[19].

Ships[]

Commanders[]

Crews[]

The Walrus[]

The Revenge[]

Quotes[]

"Six ships, two sloops, man of war... It's a familiar combination. I once had a fleet of that makeup."

- Jack Rackham in XXVIII.

"In a few weeks time, I will lead a pirate fleet of unprecedented strength over that horizon into a battle of unprecedented importance."

- Flint to John Silver in XXXVII.

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

References[]

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