Anyone who
studies the War
of
1812 soon discovers there are many books that cover the
land battles or
the
naval battles, but less than a handful actually focus just
on
privateers. Those
can often be found in books detailing the naval war, but
the
information in
such volumes places the privateers in second place. American
Privateers in the War of 1812 focuses only on them
and the
gentleman who reported on them.
During the War of 1812, more
than 200 privateers set sail from the United States – a
number far
greater than
the several dozen vessels the American navy had – and they
captured
more than
five times as many enemy ships as their naval
counterparts. These
privateers
also had a significant effect on British shipping and the
British
economy.
Hezekiah Niles, an avid supporter of the war, diligently
published
information
on the war and the privateers in his newspaper The Weekly
Register (which is often referred to as the Niles’
Weekly Register). He gathered the
information that he printed from whatever contemporary
documents he
could access.
This allowed him to provide readers with weekly updates
and to compile
a
comprehensive list of British ships that fell to American
privateers.
What Good has done in this
volume is to organize all that information in such a way
that readers
can
easily find it. His introduction summarizes what a
privateer was and
how Niles
decided what constituted a successful capture. Good also
explains the
difference
between a privateer and letters of marque. The former were
ships whose
sole
purpose was to attack the enemy, whereas the latter refers
to merchant
vessels that
primarily conducted trade but were also authorized to
attack enemy
shipping
should the opportunity arise. The introduction also
discusses the most
ten most
successful privateers, beginning with Scourge
(26.5
prizes) and ending with Surprize
(37 prizes). These ten vessels captured 301.5 prizes or
23% of all
successful
prizes seized during the war.
The first part of the book
provides an alphabetical listing of the 248 privateers
that appeared in
the
newspaper. Each listing contains all the information Niles
included, as
well as
any additional information with which he supplemented his
report. This
section
is further divided into “Captures by Privateers,” a list
which
comprises nearly
100 pages, and “Captures by Non-Privateer Forces.” The
name of the
privateer
vessel is provided along with the number of successful
captures.
Beneath this
additional data about the ship, if known, is provided:
type of vessel,
number
of guns, number of crew, size, and home port. This is
followed by a
chronological listing of the prizes. The more successful
the privateer,
the
longer the entry. Sometimes there is more than one vessel
with the same
name.
For example, there were 2 America (one
from Baltimore, the other from Salem) or 4 Revenge
(Baltimore,
Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Salem). Some entries
include supplemental
details, such as in the listing for Chasseur,
which had 24 successful captures and was captained by the
audacious
Thomas
Boyle. This entry contains the daring proclamation he made
to the
British
informing them of his blockade of all their ports, several
letters, and
some logbook
entries. Another privateer that gained notoriety, but is
often
forgotten in
history books, is the General Armstrong,
which the British sank in a neutral port. The vessels
listed under the
non-privateer segment are subdivided into Civilians,
Custom House
Barge,
Fishing Smack, Gunboats, Letters of Marque, Militia,
Revenue Cutters,
US Army,
US Navy, and Whaleboats.
Part two is a “comprehensive
list of all captures made by American forces” and is
presented
chronologically.
The first listing of privateers appeared within three
months of the
United
States’ declaration of war, beginning on 5 September 1812
and ending on
12
August 1815. Each capture is numbered and corresponds to a
listing in
the first
part of the book.
The book also contains the
following appendices:
A.
Captures by Type
B. Number of Captures by
Each
Privateer
C. Captures by Home Port of
Privateer
In addition to these, it has
a detailed notes section, bibliography, and index.
While this isn’t your typical
reference work, American Privateers in
the War of 1812 is a fascinating goldmine. The way
in which the
book has
been formatted makes it an invaluable resource in which
the material it
contains can be easily accessed. The price may be steep,
but for
historians of
this period, aficionados of privateering history, and
libraries in
search of
excellent maritime resources, this is a must-purchase
title.
Review Copyrighted ©2013
Cindy Vallar
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Pirates
and Privateers
