Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach was one of the most famous pirates history has ever known, yet his origin is obscure. According to all accounts his name was originally Edward Drummond, and he began his career as an honest seaman, sailing out of his home port of Bristol, England. Soon after becoming a Pirate he changed his name to Edward Teach and acquired the nickname of 'Blackbeard.' His visage was indeed terrifying. Brandishing a cutlass and backed up with a brace of pistols, his look was completed by burning slow match ties into his hair and beard. All this contributed to an appearance that suggested an origin in Hell. On November 22, 1718, Governor Alexander Spottswood of Virginia, knowing that Blackbeard and his men had continued taking ships long after the period that an amnesty agreement had expired, sent a Royal Navy contingent to North Carolina, where Blackbeard was killed in a bloody battle at Ocracoke Inlet. During the action, 'Blackbeard' received a reported five musketball wounds and more than 20 sword lacerations before dying. His death was the death knell for the golden age of piracy.