Dawn of America series
The American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
These were the heroes whose courage gave birth to America’s independence, beginning with the privateers.
The Privateers
They were the daring American seamen who seized British merchant ships during the Revolutionary War. Initially operating in the shadows as a pirate militia of the sea, they successfully disrupted British supply lines to aid the Continental Army. General George Washington encouraged them and American Patriots embraced them. Eventually they were armed with letters of marque, transforming them from outlaws to official heroes, allowing them to seize enemy vessels as prizes of war. Individual colonies (states after 1776) commissioned privateers, and in March 1776 the Continental Congress began issuing commissions. America’s fledgling navy never had enough ships to do all they did without the help of the Patriot privateers. While the ports of Boston, New York and others were blockaded by squadrons of British warships, the privateers managed to slip to sea and spread destruction. Their success was so profound it led the British merchants to protest the continuation of “the American war.”
