Source: Tomb of Otway Burns, Beaufort
Tomb of Otway Burns, Beaufort
Rectangular prism-shaped tomb mounted on a thick base, and topped by a cannon from Burns’s ship Snap Dragon.
CAPT. OTWAY BURNS. / Son of Francis Burns. / Commander United States Privateer. / SNAP DRAGON / War 1812 - 15. / Born in Onslow County N.C. / 1775. / Died at Portsmouth N.C. / 1850. / BURNS
Ann Street United Methodist Church
July 24, 1901
34.718110 , -76.663790 View in Geobrowse
Bishop, RoAnn. "Otway Burns: the Ups and Downs of a Seafaring Man," NCpedia.org (accessed May 14, 2015) Link
Duppstadt, Andrew. "Otway Burns (1775-1850)," North Carolina History Project, northcarolinahistory.org, (accessed May 25, 2023) Link
Mcculloh Lemmon, Sarah and Tucker Reed Littleton, 1979. "Burns, Otway, Jr.," NCpedia.org, (accessed June 15, 2014) Link
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. “Marker: C-26,” North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, http://www.ncmarkers.com, (accessed May 14, 2023) Link
North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. “Marker: C-54,” North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, http://www.ncmarkers.com, (accessed May 14, 2023) Link
“Beaufort, NC. : Louis T. Moore Collection,” New Hanover County Public Library, (accessed May 14, 2015) Link
“Grave of Otway Burns.” Swansboro, North Carolina History, (accessed May 14, 2015) Link
Yes
Descendents and others gathered in Beaufort to unveil the monument. There were patriotic songs, a prayer delivered by Reverend Noe, an address by Chief Justice Judge Walter Clark, a benediction by Reverend Hornaday, and the unveiling itself, an honor performed by Miss Theodora Waltona Wilkens.
Captain Otway Burns, Jr. was one of North Carolina’s most lauded naval heroes in the War of 1812, and later a state legislator (in both the house and senate). When the war broke out, Burns and business partners bought a ship and renamed it the Snap Dragon. The ship operated privately throughout the war, authorized by the government to attack enemy shipping. The privateer had a crew of up to 100 sailors and eight cannons. Burns commanded the ship on three wartime missions, sailing it from Newfoundland to South America. Between 1812 and 1814, the ship and its crew captured more than forty British ships and their cargoes.
After the war, Burns moved to Swansboro with his profits and built the Prometheus, one of the state’s first steam-powered boats. He became a shipbuilder and, later, a state senator. He lost all of his money and was destitute until appointed by President Jackson as the Keeper of the Brant Island Shoals Light Boat near Portsmouth, N.C., where he lived out his life. He died there on October 25, 1850, and was known for wearing his naval uniform, drinking whiskey, and quarreling.
Burnsville in Yancey County and Otway in Carteret County are named for Burns. There are also two statues of him, one in Burnsville and one in Swansboro, N.C.
[Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: This person enslaved and owned other people. Many Black and African people, their descendants, and some others were enslaved in the United States until the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. It was common for wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and others to enslave people and use enslaved labor during this period. To read more about the enslavement and transportation of African people to North Carolina, visit https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0. To read more about slavery and its history in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery. - Government and Heritage Library, 2023.]
Old Burying Grounds, Ann St United Methodist Church, Beaufort, N.C.
The tomb is located under Burns’s favorite live oak trees.
Yes