American Privateers: an Introduction

American privateers played an equally important role during the War of 1812. Two months after war was declared, 150 privateers put to sea. The United States Navy owned twenty-three ships with 556 guns. During the war, they captured 254 British ships. In contrast the 517 privateers with their 2,893 guns took 1,345 prizes and cost the British an estimated $45.5 million in damage. As a result insurance rates for British merchants sailing the Irish Sea rose thirteen percent. The privateers also captured 30,000 prisoners.

Napoleon's surrender, however, brought the full wrath of the British navy to bear on America. Their blockade of American ports brought commerce to a virtual standstill and privateering dwindled.

One of the last privateers was a gentleman named Jean Laffite. To this day, he remains steeped in mystery, but no one disputes the fact that he was a hero. Without his armament and men, the Americans might have lost the Battle of New Orleans. Although Laffite sailed with letters of marque from Cartagena, which was fighting for its independence from Spain, many considered him a pirate.

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