“The Gentleman’s Final Hour” Scenario

In this scenario, we recreate the pursuit and capture of the pirate Stede Bonnet in the Cape Fear River in 1718. After returning to piracy under the name Captain Thomas, Bonnet hauled his leaking sloop, the Royal James (Revenge), into a quiet waterway off the Cape Fear River to careen and repair her hull. When the crew of a captured vessel was released, they carried word south that a pirate ship lay careened and vulnerable. Acting on this report, Captain William Rhett sailed from Charleston with two armed sloops to trap Bonnet before he could escape. The result was a tense fight among shifting shoals, repeated groundings, and close musket fire as both sides struggled to free their ships. This scenario uses historically inspired forces and special rules to bring this confrontation to life in Oak & Iron.

“Battle of Cape Fear River” – Historical Background

The Gentleman Pirate

Stede Bonnet was a well‑educated former militia officer and prosperous Barbados planter regarded as a man of education and means. Accounts vary as to why, but in 1717 he opted to abandon his civil life and engage in a life of piracy. His sudden decision to abandon his plantation, family, and social standing for a life of piracy was widely viewed as strange and inexplicable. He began his career as a sea rover by purchasing his own sloop, the Revenge, and paying his crew from his own savings.

After raiding ships along the Atlantic coast, he joined forces with Blackbeard, who soon took control of Bonnet’s ship and kept Bonnet aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The two eventually separated at Topsail Inlet, where Bonnet sought a royal pardon before returning to find his ship abandoned and part of his crew marooned. He resumed piracy under the name Captain Thomas and renamed his ship (the Revenge) the Royal James.

August to September 1718

After several successful prize captures, Bonnet commanded three vessels: his flagship Royal James plus two captured armed sloops, Francis and Fortune. In mid to late summer, the Royal James began leaking badly, forcing Bonnet to careen her in a waterway off the Cape Fear River. Reports that Bonnet’s ship was hauled out for repairs in the lower Cape Fear spread quickly to South Carolina authorities. Governor Robert Johnson of South Carolina received reports in late August 1718 and ordered Captain William Rhett, receiver-general of South Carolina, to sail out and destroy them.

Captain William Rhett sailed into the Cape Fear River with two armed sloops, intent on trapping the pirate, Stede Bonnet, who had taken refuge upriver after a string of raids. The tides were low and both sides grounded repeatedly in the shifting shoals, turning the fight into a close, stubborn contest at musket range. For hours, the ships traded fire while crews struggled to free their vessels, each grounding giving the other an advantage. When Rhett finally worked his way off the shoals and brought his guns to bear, Bonnet’s men were exhausted and outmaneuvered. Surrounded and unable to escape the river, the pirates surrendered, ending one of the last major freebooting ventures on the Carolina coast.

Playing “The Gentleman’s Final Hour” as an Oak & Iron Scenario

This scenario was originally designed for use in the 2026 Summer of Plunder campaign during Week 4 to correspond with the “Stede’s Last Bargain” scenario for Port Royal provided by ThievesHarbor.com. For SoP reporting purposes, the Pirate player may submit an Unaligned entry for the Franco-Spanish alliance.

This is a “what if” scenario, allowing players to play out an alternate outcome of Stede Bonnet’s final adventure as the Gentlemen Pirate tries to escape capture from the British.

GAME SETUP:

Do not use the normal game cards to set up the game. Instead, use the following guidelines:

• Use a standard 3’x3’ board
• Players may select their Initiative Cards as per the normal rules or use the cards suggested below
• The East and West sides of the board are impassable riverbank terrain, and any ship colliding with the edge of the map will auto-run aground.  

Special Rules

• The battle begins at low tide. As such, the WHOLE board starts as one giant Shoal for rules purposes. This means that from the start of the game, all ships will have to test to run aground every time they move. In the End Phase of each turn, reduce the Shoal area by two Pistol lengths (c. 4″) from south (bottom) to north (top), returning the south side of the board back to “Open Water”. Ships in the “Open Water” no longer have to make checks to Run Aground. [If you’re doing it right, over half the board should be back to open water by the end of round 5]
• If a Ship has an aground token received from just the board (not a shoal terrain piece) and is now in Open Water, it gains +1 Die when making its Repair Skill Test to remove the Aground Token.
• Due to the low tide and steep listing angles of the hull while aground, ships that currently have an Aground token may not make Broadside attacks or use the Board action.

Optional Rules

• Sandbars: Before play begins, each player gets 2 Shoal terrain pieces. They may place them on the board before the game starts or during the Initiative or End Phase of any round (in initiative order). When placed, they must be at least Yard Arm distance from any ship.
• Optional: No Quarter – both players ignore Strike Points, and play continues until the time limit is reached, the scenario objectives are completed, or one force is completely Out of Action.

Initiative Cards

The following are the initiative cards recommended for the forces.

DEPLOYMENT:

• The Pirates deploy with the Weather Gauge card, and the English deploy with Lee Guage card.
• The English must deploy BOTH of their ships first.

GAME LENGTH:

14 Turns (longer due to the potential to run aground frequently and limit combat)

HISTORICAL FORCES:

The following represents a very loose attempt to recreate the spirit of the historical ships and forces using Oak & Ships and upgrade cards based on the available units in the game. Rhett was dispatched with 130 Charleston militia sailors on two sloops. At the time of the battle, Stede likely only had 45-50 men in his crew. Following the battle, historical record claims 34 of Bonnet’s remaining crew were captured and transported to Charleston. Of those, 29 were later tried and hanged. During the battle, Bonnet’s force suffered twelve casualties, while killing ten and wounding fourteen of Rhett’s men.

Suggested Forces:

The premade forces require the Blackbeard’s Revenge expansion pack for Oak & Iron and 4 Sloops. I realize there aren’t many folks that are as fantactical as our crew, and you probably don’t have 4 sloops. But let me tell you a little secret about this game… The only thing that matters is the base. The model on top is technically completely irrelevant for gameplay. You can use any ships in your collection to proxy as the actual models. (Don’t tell Mike Tuñez at Firelock Games I said this… I will deny it and claim this was written by AI. You should totally buy all the official ships you need to play this scenario)

OBJECTIVES AND VICTORY CONDITIONS:

• Players gain Strike Points as normal (pg 23) unless using the optional “No Quarter” rules.
• Pirates automatically win if Stede Bonnet escapes from the southern (bottom) board edge.
• The English win if the pirate flagship is captured or Out of Action.

Conclusion

This scenario captures the final moments of Stede Bonnet’s brief and troubled career, turning the shifting sands of the Cape Fear River into a tense race between desperate pirates and the militia crews sent to bring them in. As the shoals recede and the channel opens, both sides must balance bold maneuvering with the constant threat of grounding, musket fire, and collapsing morale. Whether the Royal James slips past Rhett’s line or is forced to strike her colors is up to you. Will history repeat itself, or will the Gentlemen Pirate escape and continue his harassment of the Carolina coast? We’d love to hear the results of your games, so be sure to tag us if you share your battle report with the community.

Product Recommendations

Additional Content Suggestions

If you enjoyed this historical Oak & Iron scenario based on Wager’s Action, you may enjoy these other scenarios:

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Fear_River_(1718)
2. http://www.burnpit.us/2010/09/battle-cape-fear-river-stede-bonnet-and-his-pirates-captured
3. https://goldenageofpiracy.org/history/post-spanish-succession-period/battle-of-cape-fear-river
4. Image Credit: “Stede Bonnet 1688-1718.” N.C. Highway Historical Marker D-110, N.C. Office of Archives & History. https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/11/stede-bonnet-1688-1718-d-110 (accessed April 25, 2013)