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Murrells Inlet, Blackbeard and Drunken Jack
By Teresa Greer
P irates and buccaneers have become romantic Blackbeard and Drunken Jack
figures in the lore around Murrells Inlet and
Some say it was Murrell, others say it was Blackbeard
for good reason. Their exploits have long
captured the imagination, and the winding channels who orchestrated the events that led to the Murrells Inlet
legend of the pirate “Drunken Jack.” The most popular
around the inlet served as the perfect hiding places for telling of the tale is that Blackbeard anchored his ship off
these freebooters and, later, Civil War smugglers and a small island near Murrells Inlet to unload and bury a
Prohibition-era rum runners. surplus of hijacked rum. The crew buried all but a few
As coastal plantations became prosperous in the early dozen casks, cracked open the remaining casks, and
1700s, their shipments of rice and indigo became valuable enjoyed a wild night of boozing on rum and feasting on
cargo, targets that attracted fearsome pirates such as Stede oysters and shrimp.
Bonnet and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach. Murrells Inlet is Sometime during the night, a crewman named Jack
thought to be one of the places where Blackbeard, Bonnet stumbled away from the bonfires on the beach, drunk, and
and others landed in search of fresh water and a place to fell asleep among scrub oaks, palmettos and myrtle on the
careen their ships to remove barnacles. island. The next morning the crew sailed, forgetting about
Jack, who was still sleeping off his massive hangover.
Captain Murrell When Jack finally awoke, the ship and crew were gone and
Legend says Murrells Inlet got its name from Captain he was alone.
John Murrell, who may have been a pirate who used the With nothing on the island to eat or drink, Jack dug up
inlet as his headquarters while he preyed on ships at sea. 32 of the casks and drank the rum. When the ship finally
As one story goes, Murrell attacked a ship carrying inlet returned to the island two years later, the crew found
residents, but returned them safely home. The grateful empty casks of rum scattered along the beach and the
victims then rewarded Murrell with gifts of rice and bleaching bones of old Jack, who had finally succumbed to
named the settlement for him, according to the tale. hunger and exposure.
The island, now within the boundaries of Huntington
Beach State Park, today is known as “Drunken Jack’s
Island.” Over the years, archaeological digs on the island
have not resulted in any treasure finds or rum. If there is
any such pirate’s booty, it is still hidden in Murrells Inlet.

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