By Paul Carrier
Robert Patton's Patriot Pirates explores a sadly overlooked chapter in the history of the Revolutionary War - the role that privateers played in securing American independence.
Popular accounts of the revolution often give short shrift to the war at sea. And when they do take notice of it at all, they tend to focus on the deservedly famous role of John Paul Jones and the fledgling Continental Navy, rather than on the private vessels that carried government commissions to prey on enemy shipping.
Both the Continental Congress and individual states issued so-called letters of marque to privateersmen, effectively licensing them as independent government agents. But when privateering is discussed at all in histories of the revolution, it normally gets such cursory treatment that it seems to be nothing more than a sideshow to the main event - the land war.
The strength of Patriot Pirates is that this well-researched and fascinating account puts a very human face on the practice. Patton introduces us to alternately inspiring and inept examples of the breed, proving that their exploits deserve far more recognition than they receive in conventional overviews of the war.
Patton notes, for example, that privateer Nicholas Broughton "beached his boat in panic and damaged the keel" when chased by HMS Nautilus. The far luckier John Manley, in command of a four-gun schooner, captured a British supply ship laden with ammunition, muskets, uniforms and a 3,000-pound mortar.
Privateering was, as the title of Patriot Pirates suggests, a legalized form of piracy in which privately owned and operated rebel vessels took to the sea in search of enemy supply ships. In some cases, they took on Royal Navy warships as well.
Some loyalist privateers tried to cripple rebel forces, but privateering was primarily a patriot affair that took aim at British and Tory shipping. Many, if not most, privateers harbored their ships in New England ports, with Massachusetts playing an especially prominent role.
Fueled by a mix of patriotism and greed, privateers not only weakened British shipping during the war, but also competed with the fledgling American Navy for seamen, and for glory.
It's a story that deserves to be told, and more fully appreciated. Patton has done his part to pull it from the fog.
Popular accounts of the revolution often give short shrift to the war at sea. And when they do take notice of it at all, they tend to focus on the deservedly famous role of John Paul Jones and the fledgling Continental Navy, rather than on the private vessels that carried government commissions to prey on enemy shipping.
Both the Continental Congress and individual states issued so-called letters of marque to privateersmen, effectively licensing them as independent government agents. But when privateering is discussed at all in histories of the revolution, it normally gets such cursory treatment that it seems to be nothing more than a sideshow to the main event - the land war.
The strength of Patriot Pirates is that this well-researched and fascinating account puts a very human face on the practice. Patton introduces us to alternately inspiring and inept examples of the breed, proving that their exploits deserve far more recognition than they receive in conventional overviews of the war.
Patton notes, for example, that privateer Nicholas Broughton "beached his boat in panic and damaged the keel" when chased by HMS Nautilus. The far luckier John Manley, in command of a four-gun schooner, captured a British supply ship laden with ammunition, muskets, uniforms and a 3,000-pound mortar.
Privateering was, as the title of Patriot Pirates suggests, a legalized form of piracy in which privately owned and operated rebel vessels took to the sea in search of enemy supply ships. In some cases, they took on Royal Navy warships as well.
Some loyalist privateers tried to cripple rebel forces, but privateering was primarily a patriot affair that took aim at British and Tory shipping. Many, if not most, privateers harbored their ships in New England ports, with Massachusetts playing an especially prominent role.
Fueled by a mix of patriotism and greed, privateers not only weakened British shipping during the war, but also competed with the fledgling American Navy for seamen, and for glory.
It's a story that deserves to be told, and more fully appreciated. Patton has done his part to pull it from the fog.
