Colonel William Rhett (4 September 1666 – 12 January 1723) was a British-born plantation owner in the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He arrived in America in 1694, accompanied by his wife Sarah. Rhett quickly became a prominent rice farmer and member of the South Carolina Assembly.

Career

Rhett was colonel of the Provincial

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, receiver-general of the

Lords Proprietors A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary". Origin In the beginning of the European ...

of Carolina, surveyor, and comptroller of customs for Carolina and the Bahama Islands. He was also an active merchant captain, sailing the vessel ''Providence'' between the Carolinas and the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. In April 1699 the ''Providence'' was attacked by Dutch pirate Hendrick van Hoven (alias Captain Hyne or Hind):

about the latter end of April last, one Capt. Hind, a notorious pirate and sea-rover, having lately got into a brigantine with a mixt company of Dutch, French and other people, came up with an English-built ship mounted with two and twenty guns called the Providence galley, under the command of Capt. William Rhett of Carolina, who made a very generous defence, but was outdone and taken by the said Pirate.

In 1706, Rhett commanded a flotilla which fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town. In 1718 he provided two vessels to be fitted out as pirate hunters - ''Henry'' and ''Sea Nymph'', each with eight guns and a crew of between 60 and 70 men. Rhett assumed the position of captain of this small flotilla and led it to victory in the 1718

Battle of Cape Fear River The Battle of Cape Fear River, or the Battle of the Sandbars, was fought in September 1718 between a United Kingdom, British naval :wikt:expedition, expedition from the Province of South Carolina against the pirate ships of Stede Bonnet. British ...

, capturing the infamous

Stede Bonnet Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was an early 18th-century English/Barbadian pirate, also known as the Gentleman Pirate for the reason that he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born in ...

, the so-called "gentleman pirate." Bonnet escaped from jail with the help of local merchant and fellow pirate Richard Tookerman; he made it as far as Sullivan's Island before Rhett again captured him. Rhett's house in Charleston, completed in 1716, still stands in its original location at 54 Hasell St., Charleston, South Carolina. It has been restored and is now privately owned. A Confederate politician born Robert Barnwell Smith changed his name to

Robert Rhett Robert Barnwell Rhett (born Robert Barnwell Smith; December 21, 1800September 14, 1876) was an American politician who served as a deputy from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate States Congress from 1861 to 1862, a member of the US H ...

, an ancestor.

Popular culture

*William Rhett is a minor character in

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels ''Last Call (novel), Last Call'' and ''Declare''. ...

' novel ''

On Stranger Tides ''On Stranger Tides'' is a 1987 historical fantasy supernatural novel by American writer Tim Powers. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and placed second in the annual Locus poll for best fantasy novel. ''On Stranger ...

''. *Lars Arentz-Hansen plays William Rhett in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

TV series '' Black Sails''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhett, William English army officers South Carolina colonial people British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession 1666 births 1722 deaths English emigrants People involved in anti-piracy efforts

Career

Popular culture

See also

References