Otway Burns, 1812 Privateer and so much more

I just finished an encyclopedia entry on Otway Burns for the NC History Project's online encyclopedia of North Carolina. Be on the lookout for it sometime this week. Anyway, Otways Burns was a privateer during the War of 1812, working out of the port of Beaufort (though he was originally from Swansboro). You can find a story about Burns at the Beaufort Blog. The story of his life is much larger than just his privateering exploits, but the privateering is what made him famous. Read the blog entry linked here, and look for my encyclopedia entry for more info. Our living history group portrays Burns' crew at many of our War of 1812 events, and will be doing so again this fall for the New Bern Historical Society's annual Ghost Walk event. More info on that as it approaches. In the meantime here is a photo of Burns' grave in Beaufort, complete with a cannon from his ship, the Snap Dragon, and you'll see a photo of his statue in Swansboro on my blog's main page.