War Zone—World War Two Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks

In 1942, the United States suffered one of its worst defeats of WW II, not in Europe or the Pacific, but along the nation’s eastern seaboard. Three hundred ninety-seven ships were sunk or damaged and 5,000 people were killed. For six months, 65 U-boats hunted merchant vessels practically unopposed within view of coastal communities. The greatest concentration of these attacks occurred off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. For the production of his 3-hour TV documentary, filmmaker Kevin Duffus has compiled a stunning collection of eyewitness stories of merchant sailors, Coast Guard recruits and coastal residents who survived the events that made the first six months of 1942 one of the most heart-rending periods of North Carolina’s history. Duffus describes how life was altered when war was waged on Outer Bankers’ doorsteps and their beaches were covered with oil, debris and bodies. He discusses the facts behind decades-old urban legends of German spies, sympathizers and saboteurs. Duffus shares a first-hand account of the almost calamitous first engagement between a U-boat and an U.S. Navy destroyer near Nags Head, and the story of the sinking of the U-701, soon to become North Carolina’s first diving preserve. Most remarkable is the story of faith, courage and determination when a young mother delivered her newborn son in a wave-tossed lifeboat off Cape Hatteras, marking a turning point in the war of Torpedo Junction. War Zone is a story of infamy, irony and innocence lost.

Length: 50 minutes

Requirements: LCD projector and screen preferred

How Shipwrecks Shaped the Destiny of the Outer Banks

For more than four and a half centuries, shipwrecks shaped the destiny of North Carolina's Outer Banks, creating one of the most intriguing histories and cultures in America. Kevin Duffus, author of the new book, “Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks--An Illustrated Guide,” presents a wide-ranging discussion of shipwrecks and their legacy--lifesaving, salvage, rumors of wreckers, and the hundreds of forgotten shipwreck victims buried among the dunes. Duffus explains the various causes of shipwrecks and why there is a Graveyard of the Atlantic in the first place, what it was like for passengers and crew when ships crashed into the breakers along the banks, and the true stories of some of the most incredible rescues. Duffus shares the memories of the last living lighthouse keeper on the Outer Banks, the descendants of lifesavers, residents who played on shipwrecks as children, and one well known historian who used to dance on the deck of a wrecked vessel. Precise locations of famous and deadly wrecks, as well as places to still see remains of shipwrecks today are also featured in the presentation.

Length: 50 minutes

Requirements: LCD projector and screen preferred

Musings of a History Detective—Solving The Mystery Of The Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens

In 2002, filmmaker and author, Kevin Duffus, solved the long-standing mystery of the missing, first-order Fresnel lens from the 1803 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, lost for 140 years. Confederate officials secretly removed and hid the 6,000-pound, 12-foot tall, bronze and crystal optic from the historic Hatteras tower in 1861 to prevent it from aiding the enemy. In its wake, the lens left a trail of destruction, defiance and recrimination—careers were lost, towns were threatened, and the steamboat that transported the apparatus was captured and sunk. The French-manufactured lens was one of the first commissioned for an U.S. lighthouse. “A good storehouse,” in Granville County, NC, was the last known location of the lens and according to Lighthouse Digest, its fate remained “one of the great-unsolved mysteries of American lighthouse history.” Duffus discovered more than the storied Hatteras lens—he compiled a staggering volume of research that for the first time accurately portrays the fate of the South’s lighthouses during the Civil War. He tells an inspiring tale of perseverance, passion, imagination and luck and weaves a fascinating story that reaches back into his own family history when his great-great grandfather participated in the defense of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse against Confederate saboteurs. Duffus illustrates his story with copies of documents and research methods that helped to solve the mystery.

Length: 50 minutes

Requirements: LCD projector and screen preferred

The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate

    What happened during Black Beard’s last days that precipitated his demise? Who, truly, was Edward Teach, and from whence did he come? What was his true name? And where may he have hidden his treasure? 

    With his newest lecture, author Kevin Duffus invites audiences to enter the dimly-lit passageway of time and learn surprising contradictions to previously-published historical accounts of the last days of Black Beard the pirate. He discloses new information about how Black Beard was cornered and attacked at Ocracoke in 1718, why he tried to escape rather than to fight back, and how his life might have been spared had he lived for three more weeks.  He reveals the true meaning of a mysterious letter found in Black Beard’s possessions, and explores the possibilities of government conspiracies and coverups. New research finds that many of the 25 pirates who remained with Black Beard after the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge were sons of North Carolina families. And for the first time, Duffus proves that most of Black Beard’s captured crew members were not hanged in Virginia, and that one of them—10 years after purportedly being executed—became a respected and wealthy landowner and the grandfather of heroes of the American Revolution and a Tennessee governor.

     For the first time, Duffus exposes the truth behind many of the enduring Blackbeard myths—his Bristol, England, birthplace; his 14 wives, including Mary Ormond; the burning of fuses in his hair to frighten his victims; and the countless tall tales of buried treasure, secret tunnels, and the shocking origins of the legend of his silver-plated skull used as a drinking cup by a secret society.

     In addition to dozens of new discoveries one revelation promises to stand-out as the most amazing. With the help of groundbreaking research by three courageous genealogists, Kevin Duffus shares long-forgotten clues to the potential identity of Black Beard, beginning with a long-held myth about his sister, Susannah—and the conclusions are staggering and certain to be controversial.

Length: 50 minutes

Requirements: LCD projector and screen preferred