Discover legend of Blackbeard

Lovable rogue or murderous criminal of the high seas? A new exhibit at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum will take a look at the legacy of Blackbeard, one of the most notorious pirates to sail the Caribbean Sea and Western Atlantic Ocean in the early 18th century.

The display includes actual artifacts from a shipwreck in North Carolina believed to be the long-lost Blackbeard flagship, the “Queen Anne’s Revenge.”

“The way we set it up, we ask questions at the beginning to get people to think about what pirates are all about,” said David Muller, executive director of the Nautical Museum.

“We describe him as a lovable rogue or a Jesse James-type character — he was also like Robin Hood in some respects.”

The Search for Queen Anne’s Revenge — Blackbeard’s Flagship is on display at the museum until Aug. 1. The traveling exhibit, which includes multimedia displays and a children’s pirate-themed play area, is on loan from North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, N.C.

Believed to be about 6 feet 4, Blackbeard cut an intimidating figure that towered above his enemies during battle, Muller said. He would sometimes put slow-burning cannon fuses in his beard and hat to frighten rivals.

“He was a master psychological warfare in that respect,” Muller said.

The pirate captain’s best-known ship was the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” which Blackbeard used during his famed harbor blockade in Charleston, N.C., in May 1718. The ship is believed to be somewhere at the bottom of Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina. Artifacts now on display at the Nautical Museum, including a pewter plate, a stone for sharpening knives and swords and a brass blunderbuss, or old rifle barrel, are believed to be from the remains of the “Queen Anne’s Revenge.”

Dave Moore, curator of nautical archaeology at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, found the remains of a ship in the right spot in Beaufort’s Inlet in 1996.

The wreck dates back to 1718, the earliest found in the United States, Moore said, making it a likely candidate as the real “Queen Anne’s Revenge.” Moore visited Newport Beach this month to help set up the traveling exhibit at the Nautical Museum. Centuries later, pirates, especially Blackbeard, still inspire the imaginations of both children and adults, Moore said.

“These artifacts show how pirates lived and what types of tools and weapons they were using and basically how people were living, the association with Blackbeard is an added bonus,” he said.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.