American Privateers in the War of 1812

During the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy numbered several dozen ships and captured fewer than 200 British vessels. American privateers, on the other hand, commanded more than 200 vessels and captured more than 1,000 British ships. The privateers proved the only American force that consistently threatened Britain throughout the Atlantic, especially along the coasts of the British Isles. Although privateers had a far greater impact on the British merchant marine and the economy of Great Britain than the U.S. Navy, they have received relatively little scholarly attention. This reference work addresses this shortcoming by providing an accounting of all 248 American privateers during the war and a comprehensive list of all captures made by American forces—including privateers, Navy, and others—during that conflict.

Timothy S. Good is a National Park Service employee who lives in Chatham, Illinois. His research interests lie in the history of the Lincoln presidency and in American maritime history.

Edited by Timothy S. Good
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 217
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6695-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8826-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Preface      1
Introduction: The American Privateers      3

Part I. The Captures
Captures by Privateers      13
Captures by Non-Privateer Forces      108

Part II. Niles’ Comprehensive List of American Prizes      119

Appendices
A: Captures by Type      177
B: Number of Captures by Each Privateer      177
C: Captures by Home Port of Privateer      179
Notes      181
Bibliography      189
Index      193

“filling a gap in historical literature, this book offers a complete list of the 248 American privateers active during the War of 1812 and the vessels they captured during the war”—SciTech Book News; “valuable. This work fill an obvious gap in the historiography concerning the War of 1812”—ARBA; “valuable”—The NYMAS Review; “this is one of the most useful books I have received in a long time…a wonderful research tool”—The Northern Mariner/Le Marin du Word; “a fascinating goldmine…invaluable…excellent…a must-purchase title”—Pirates and Privateers; “shed light on an aspect of the War of 1812 that has not received attention equal to its contribution during the war…a commendable job of getting all the information out to the reader in a format that they can use…an excellent reference…should be a welcome addition to the library of many historians”—Nautical Research Journal.