The residents of North Carolina complained to Governor Spotswood of Virginia. He sent a ship out from Hampton Roads, under the leadership of Lieutenant Robert Maynard, to capture or kill the pirate. On the morning of November 22, 1718,
Maynard spotted Blackbeard's ship in Ocracoke inlet. A terrific battle ensued between the two ships. A cannonball from
Blackbeard's boat caused the Virginia vessel to become stranded on a sandbar.