Otway Burns (c. 1775 – August 25, 1850) was an American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and later, a

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Early life

Burns was born at Queen's Creek, near Swansboro, North Carolina. He became a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

after learning the trade at the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

s in Swansboro and Beaufort, a nearby town situated in

Carteret County Carteret County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carol ...

. After acquiring the skills needed to become a merchant captain, Burns sailed along the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

, all the way north up to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. After his voyage, he married his cousin, Joanna Grant, on July 6, 1809. The next year, the couple moved to Swansboro. There, Joanna gave birth to Owen, the couple's only child. Burns received financial support for his trading activities from Edward Pasteur, a physician and local political leader from

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

. In the summer of 1812, just a month after the War of 1812 had commenced, Burns and Pasteur purchased a vessel in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for eight thousand

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, which Burns intended to use for

privateering A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since Piracy, robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sover ...

along the coast of

The Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

.Hunter, p. 76. The 147-ton vessel, named ''Zephyr'', had been constructed four years earlier on the West River in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. ''Zephyr'' measured from

bow (ship) The bow () is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the forward-most part ...

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

, had a beam of and a depth of almost . The vessel was armed with one

pivot gun A pivot gun was a type of cannon mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete aft ...

and between five and seven gun carriages. Also on board were a number of small arms:

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

es,

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

s, boarding pikes,

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

s and

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

es. After rechristening the vessel as ''Snap Dragon'', Burns and Pasteur obtained official

letters of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with the issuer, licensing internationa ...

for the vessel in New York on August 27, 1812. After sailing back to New Bern, the men sold their 50

shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...

in the ship at a price of US$260 per share to eight other

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

s from New Bern,

Tarboro Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. The town is o ...

and Edenton.

Privateering career

Pasteur and Burns, on ''Snap Dragon'', headed to New Bern to recruit men to join the vessel's crew. To their surprise, some of New Bern's political leaders treated privateering like piracy, and they tried to complicate matters for the two privateers. The leaders convinced new recruits to borrow money, upon which, they would be arrested for their debt. Burns twice retaliated against the politicians.Hunter, p. 77. In one incident, the crew of ''Snap Dragon'' sank a boat with

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

s who were planning on

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

the ship. Subsequently, a local attorney labeled the vessel as a "licensed robber". Burns responded by rowing to land and throwing the lawyer into a river. With a 25-man crew, Burns left New Bern for

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. On October 14, 1812, ''Snap Dragon'' and another vessel, ''Revenge'', sailed south. The vessels separated a week later. ''Snap Dragon'' encountered success early in the cruise. In one situation, she outran a British

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

and sloop. A few days later, ''Snap Dragon'' captured its first prize, a British merchant ship armed with 14 guns. Soon after, Burns and Pasteur led the vessel to St. Thomas in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

. To fool enemy British ships, they disguised ''Snap Dragon'' as a merchant ship by putting up old, ragged sails and moving the guns out of view. ''Snap Dragon'' ran into five British

men of war ''Men of War'' is a real-time tactics video game franchise, based mainly in World War II. Main series ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' is the original game of the ''Men of War'' series, and uses an ea ...

. One of the ships, the frigate , fired a warning shot and signaled the other ships to chase down ''Snap Dragon''.Hunter, p. 78. For over two hours, Burns led ''Snap Dragon'' away from danger, toward Ship Rock passage, which unknowingly, was blocked by two British brigs. immediately launched an attack on ''Snap Dragon''. Burns told his crew to lie down on the deck while the vessel was being fired upon. Burns was able to escape from the British ships unscathed. The next morning, Burns and his crew encountered , another British man of war, but again they successfully escaped. The crew of ''Snap Dragon'' made their way to St. Croix, where they made "several small captures" of coastal traders. Burns commanded ''Snap Dragon'' on her next two cruises, during which he had several encounters with British men-of-war and took numerous prizes.

Life after privateering

Months before he completed his third cruise in 1814, Burns's wife Joanna and son Owen left him to live with relatives in Jones County. In September, Joanna died, leaving her son in the custody of her family for five years before Burns obtained legal guardianship over Owen. Three months later, Burns married Jane Hall, a 20-year-old from

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, South Carolina) is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina ( ...

. In April 1815, Burns purchased a property in Beaufort, on which he built a house, that would be his family's residence for the next 20 years.

Business

From the wealth he gained from privateering, Burns became a

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

at Swansboro, North Carolina, and made investments in local businesses. In 1818, he built ''Prometheus'' at his shipyard in Swansboro near the mouth of the White Oak River (NC Historical Marker #54), the first

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

in North Carolina, which operated on the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

. In 1823, he built ''Warrior'' in Beaufort, followed by the brig ''Henry'', eight years later.Hunter, p. 90. During much of the 1820s, he managed a store and taproom on his Beaufort property, and also had a partnership in a Taylor's Creek salt distribution company. Burns possessed a number of vessels, such as a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

, seiner,

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

and a

mullet boat Mullet boats are small, basic fishing vessels often used by inshore fishers. The boats are often 20–25 ft in length and have flat bottoms allowing for shallow-water navigation. From the back of the boat, nets such as seines can be deploy ...

. Among other things, he also co-owned brick kilns used by the federal government to build

Fort Macon A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, in the largest

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

project in the history of the area, and enslaved 11 people, whose forced labor was used for his businesses and on his plantation in Carteret County.

Political career

Burns's political career started with his 1821 election to represent Carteret County in the North Carolina House of Commons and his appointment to serve as the commissioner of a local canal connecting Neuse and

Newport River The Newport River is a small river in North Carolina that runs approximately twelve miles (twenty kilometers) southeast through the town of Newport, North Carolina, Newport with its mouth opening into Bogue Sound, between Morehead City, North Ca ...

s. He served 11 terms in the legislature—seven in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and four in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

—over a course of 14 years.

Later life

In 1835 President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

appointed him keeper of the Brant Island Shoal Light, a position he held until his death. He is buried in the Old Burying Ground at Beaufort.

Honors

Two

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s have been named in his honor: and , in service during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and II, respectively. In 1834,

Burnsville, North Carolina Burnsville is a town that serves as the county seat of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, sits in the shadow of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the Eastern Continental U ...

was founded and named in his honor. A statue of him was placed in the town square in 1909. The town of Otway, in Carteret County, North Carolina, is also named for him. He has descendants living today in the areas of Beaufort, Swansboro and Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and in the immediate area of his birth near Queens Creek, North Carolina. Captain Burns's life is the basis of a historical novel by Ruth P. Barbour, ''The Cruise of the Snap Dragon.''

Notes

External links

*
Otway Burns
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

Otway Burns Monument
at the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Otway 1770s births 1850 deaths Privateers from the Thirteen Colonies North Carolina state senators Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives People from Carteret County, North Carolina People from North Carolina in the War of 1812 People from Onslow County, North Carolina 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly