Roberts was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age; he captured well over 400 vessels ranging from small fishing boats to large frigates.

Roberts and his men captured the two French warships off the Senegal River's mouth, the sixteen-gun sloop-of-war Comte de Toulouse and a ten-gun brig.

Black Bart's luck was soon to run out though, as two Royal Navy men-of-war began patrolling the waters of West Africa, at about the same time, Roberts anchored in Cape Lopez for careening.

By this time the pirates had spotted the Swallow so Roberts allowed Captain James Skyrme in the Ranger to capture what he thought was a fleeing merchant ship.

Sensing an opportunity, Captain Ogle chose to let the pirate chase him for several hours until they were far away from the cape and land was no longer in sight.

One of the pirates, a man named Armstrong who had absconded from the Swallow's sister ship Weymouth at Madeira, recognized the Royal Navy frigate and told Captain Roberts.

When the pirates left, Captain Hill's crew went aboard the Little Ranger and looted gold and other valuables, and sailed off for Prince's Island (São Tomé and Príncipe).

He settled down onto a gun, to initial observers that he was taking a rest but when the smoke had cleared away Black Bart was dead and Captain Ogle later allowed his crew to bury him at sea, which they did in all his finery, including a diamond studded six inch cross on a chain which he wore around his neck.

According to some accounts the action lasted for around three hours before cannon fire from the ship of the line dismasted the pirate frigate and allowed boarding.

Captain Chaloner Ogle benefitted from the battle significantly, besides being knighted and becoming an admiral he took off several ounces of gold dust from the Ranger and the Royal Fortune.