Canadian Privateers
One of unluckiest privateers was the Frances Mary. Rather than capturing an enemy ship during her maiden voyage, she herself was captured in August 1800. When her crew was exchanged, many found themselves pressed into the Royal Navy instead of being able to return home. The schooner Lord Spencer captured two prizes and then had the misfortune of striking a reef on her first voyage. Another privateer from Nova Scotia rescued her crew of fifty-eight. Her captain, Joseph Barss, Jr., survived the ignominy of losing his ship and went on to become one of Canada's most successful privateers.
Resolution was perhaps the fiercest of the privateers. In July 1780, she engaged the Viper off Sampo Light. When the Resolution struck her colors, both ships were badly damaged. Thirty-three of Viper's crew lay dead or wounded compared to the 18 lost on board the Resolution.
The most famous of the Canadian privateers was the Rover. The small brig sailed from 1800 to 1804 mostly under the captainship of Alexander Godfrey, who had refused a commission in the Royal Navy. All alone, she attacked a convoy of seven ships and captured three of them. Against overwhelming odds, her gunners engaged three Spanish warships off the Venezuelan coast and won the day. Her success garnered attention in The Navy Chronicle, but in 1803 under a new captain, she lost her commission as a privateer for illegally seizing several ships.
War of 1812
The Liverpool Packet was the most successful privateer during this war. A former slaver captured by the Royal Navy, she sailed from 1812 to 1814 under four different captains: Thomas Freeman, Joseph Barss Jr., Caleb Seely, and Lewis Knaut. The sixty-seven ton topsail schooner carried a crew of forty men and five carriage guns. She soon earned a reputation for speed and prowling. Her successes, which were reported in New England newspapers, caused panic among Americans because the reports of her deeds were exaggerated. When she completed her first voyage, she entered Liverpool with two prizes in tow. Her earlier 21 captures were already moored there. Her owners bought the schooner for £420. Her prizes were valued at between $264,000 and $1,000,000.
The largest and fastest privateer was a 278-ton brig. Although the Sir John Sherbrooke only sailed for one year, she captured 18 prizes, destroyed two American raiders, and captured a schooner while destroying another. When HMS Shannon engaged
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