A gate-shaped tombstone in the Old Burying Qround 



rom the Grave 



Tombstones Tell Some Pretty Tall Tales 



By Jeannie Faris Norris • Photos by Scott D. Taylor 



.he ancient ritual of libating a 

 grave is a symbolic way of bringing to 

 life the person buried there. Memories 

 and drink are raised in honor of the 

 tomb's occupant. 



An old family friend keeps this 

 ritual at the Beaufort grave of Otway 

 Burns, one of North Carolina's 

 greatest naval heroes in the War of 

 1812. A retired professor of philosophy 

 and religion, he comes to Burns' grave 

 to pour a little drink into the touchhole 

 of its cannon. Then he and a compan- 

 ion take drinks and recall some of 

 Burns' legendary escapades, in effect 



bringing the privateer back from the 

 grave. 



As a legalized pirate. Burns 

 plundered 32 British merchant ships 

 on behalf of the United States. He 

 captured cargo and brought it back to 

 Beaufort for auction. This way, Burns 

 became wealthy and influential, 

 launching his career as a state legisla- 

 tor after the war. His fortunes, how- 

 ever, turned for the worse later in his 

 life. He died in 1850 a lighthouse 

 keeper at Portsmouth — a position the 

 state gave him out of appreciation for 

 his earlier service. 



Burns is one of the more colorful 

 and notable people buried in the old 

 graveyard. His tomb is decorated with 

 a cannon from the Snapdragon, his 

 speedy seafaring schooner. But the Old 

 Burying Ground is also full of wonder- 

 ful stories belonging to people who led 

 lives certainly less daring but every bit 

 as interesting as Burns'. 



Their tombstones tell tales of love, 

 tragedy and heroics. 



One tomb is reputed to contain 

 a British soldier who was buried 

 standing in the 1760s. The young 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 7 



