Battle of Cape Fear River (1718)

Battle of Cape Fear River
Part of the Golden Age of Piracy

An 18th-century map of the Cape Fear River
DateSeptember 26–27, 1718
Location33°53′8″N 78°0′46″W / 33.88556°N 78.01278°W / 33.88556; -78.01278
Result British victory
Belligerents
South Carolina Pirates
Commanders and leaders
William Rhett Stede Bonnet Surrendered
Strength
2 sloops 3 sloops
3 canoes
Casualties and losses
30 killed and wounded 12 killed and wounded
41 captured
3 sloops captured
3 canoes captured

The Battle of Cape Fear River, also known as the Battle of the Sandbars, was fought in September 1718 between two sloops from the Province of South Carolina led by William Rhett and a group of pirate ships under the command of Stede Bonnet. Rhett's sloops defeated the pirates in the Cape Fear River estuary which led to Bonnet's eventual execution by hanging in Charleston, South Carolina.