Port Royal BR002 - Stede’s Last Bargain

PORT ROYAL - Battle Report 002

(June 26th, 2026)

Stede’s Last Bargain

Clash on the Sandbar of Cape Fear

English Forces

• Captain William Rhett

• Lieutenant Edward Markham

• Able Seaman Thomas Hargreaves

• Seaman John Cutter

• Seaman Samuel Briggs

• Soldier Richard Hale — trained musketeer; fired first, died first

Scenario Overview

From the deck of the Henry, the island looked deceptively peaceful — a tropical haven of palm trees, wooden bridges, small huts, and scattered barrels. Blue water shimmered around the sandbar, broken only by floating crates and the occasional canoe. Smoke curled from a small fire near a dock. The Royal James sat crooked in the shallows, trapped on the sandbar like a wounded beast.

The English believed they had the advantage.

They were wrong.

Round 1 — The Shot That Should Have Won the Day

The English advanced across wooden walkways and palm‑covered ground, muskets raised. The Pirates moved through the vegetation with unsettling confidence, slipping between trees and crates as if they knew the island better than any map could show.

Soldier Richard Hale spotted movement near a cluster of palms and fired the first shot of the battle. Smoke burst from his musket, drifting over the bridge. The ball missed its mark — a pirate with a musket who ducked behind a barrel at the last moment.

Hale should have taken cover.

Instead, he reloaded in the open.

A pirate pistol cracked from the shadows.

Hale fell instantly.

The English line stiffened.

The Pirates pressed forward.

Round 2 — The Duel in the Palm Grove

The tide slowly began to rise, water creeping over the sandbar and licking at the wooden docks.

Near a small hut and a pile of crates, a pirate sea‑dog charged straight at Stede Bonnet. The English watched the duel unfold from behind palm trunks and barrels. Steel flashed. Sand sprayed. Stede moved with a strange, almost gentlemanly calm — and struck the attacker down.

Across the island, chaos erupted:

• A pirate in a red coat fired from a dock.

• A blue‑coated militiaman returned fire from behind a palm tree.

• Smoke drifted across the water from musket volleys.

• A pirate hurled an explosive that sent driftwood flying.

• An old buccaneer laughed as he fired from behind a barrel.

Captain Rhett realized the danger:

The English had pushed too aggressively.

The Henry stood unguarded.

Then the tide surged again, swallowing more of the sandbar and pushing both ships inward. Rhett’s men were scattered, some dead, others locked in hopeless fights among the palms and bridges.

The Pirates surged toward the Henry.

Round 3 — The Fall of the Henry

The English saw them coming — Pirates crossing the sandbar, slipping between palm trees, climbing over wooden planks, and leaping onto the Henry’s deck.

A young pirate scrambled up first, pistol raised.

Another followed, climbing the rail with reckless speed.

On the shore, a canoe of red‑coated sailors rowed desperately toward the fight, passing floating barrels and crates — but they were too far away.

Lieutenant Edward Markham arrived with reinforcements, crossing a wooden bridge under the palms — but the Henry was already lost.

Captain Rhett stood surrounded.

The battle was over.

Aftermath

The tide settled. Smoke drifted across the water. The Royal James sat crooked but victorious. The Henry was captured. The English lay beaten — undone by overconfidence, the rising tide, and the relentless pressure of Stede Bonnet’s crew.

The island grew quiet again, palm trees swaying gently over the aftermath.