The Privateer — Mercenary of the Sea
A look at the life of the privateer including Joshua Barney and Francis Drake
Imagine this scenario: You are the captain of a sailing vessel in the early 1800s. The ship’s holds are loaded with valuable cargo — South American textiles and raw silver on their way to Spain. Of course, you have a mandate to ensure safe delivery and there will be a great reward for your service. Your mission is simply to run the cargo across the Atlantic and deliver it to the merchants of the Spanish Empire.
Off the horizon, you see another ship approach. You expect to see a flotilla returning to South America. Suddenly, you realize, this ship is not of that group, it’s not even Spanish. As you look through your telescope, you realize they are hostile— a powerful band with a reputation for viciousness and hatred of the Spanish. You know they intend to steal your cargo, all of it. They will distribute most of the spoils among the crew.
They draw closer, as you order your crew to be ready for battle and to arm the cannons. You hear yourself scream out orders for sailing maneuvers to outrun the approaching enemy combatant. Sailors adjust the sails and the helmsman turns the rudder to make a hard turn to starboard in the open sea as an evasive move. Still, the approaching ship seems to have a greater skill at seamanship. They fire their first shot as smoke billows out of a cannon on the port side. Your men return volley, both shots miss. Still, the approaching ship’s crew are stronger than you are and eventually overtake your ship and men.
Boarding your ship, they tell you to prepare to die as they open all your holds. They will steal all your cargo and take some of your men as hostages. Others actually give up and join these robbers to be part of their successful crew. You are left stranded possibly looking at your imminent death. You demand to know who sent them. They appear to be pirates, they look like pirates and they act like pirates but tell you they are all agents of the mortal enemy of Spain — The King of England. They are privateers.
Privateer — seagoing mercenary
So was the world of the privateer — seagoing mercenaries. Private sailors and their ships that legally attacked cargo and war vessels under the authority of another nation.
Many nations around the world employed them, including the United States. Moreover, long after international maritime treaties declared them outlaws, they continued under the United States flag. The Americans never signed the Declaration of Paris in 1856 prohibiting privateering especially among European nations.
Where did the United States get the authority to hire privateers? It was and still is in the United States Constitution. Privateers received their authorization from what is known as a Letter of Marque which is a document giving them the authority to act on behalf of the United States (or issuing nation’s) government, making them seagoing mercenaries.
Article 1 of the United States Constitution states that Congress has the power to:
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; (emphasis mine).
Like a mercenary on land, the privateer served as agent of a country that needed resources its own Navy, if one existed, could not provide. They could interrupt shipping to an enemy nation while the home country’s own naval forces fought traditional battles.
Heroes or villains?
Even though the attacked nation may look upon them as anything from enemy combatants to pirates, the home country used them as agents of their mission. Many citizens saw them as heroes and of course, they were immune to piracy laws because they were not pirates. They could not be tried in any criminal court in the home country even though they appeared to act like pirates. Some of their names are actually brands today: We remember the names of Captain Harry Morgan and James Cook more due to their similarly named liquor brands than their actual work as privateers.
Privateers and even pirates often lived by a more communal standard and would share the “profits” from their work which never happened among those in naval assignments. Some of which were actually even kidnapped to serve in those commands.
No loyalty in impressment
The British called the practice impressment which literally was a form of kidnapping men into service for their Navy. According to History Detectives from PBS, they even stole grooms from their weddings onto their ships. Therefore, it was not unusual for the privateer to receive some voluntary defectors from the defeated ship for whom the sailors may have no loyalty.
One of the most famous privateers was Sir Francis Drake. Working under the British flag, he developed almost a hunger for attacking Spanish ships and according to the website Way of the Pirates he was so good at it, the Spanish labeled him the Dragon — El Draque. Drake always served under the British flag and never made the transition to pirate. He stopped attacking the Spanish after the two nations declared a truce. Later, when he could legally war against the Spanish again under the British flag, he happily returned during his voyage across the globe.
You can contrast him to Blackbeard the notorious pirate who terrorized the waters of the Caribbean right up the Eastern seaboard of North America. He never was a privateer and committed all his vicious dealings as a pirate short-lived though it was.
Joshua Barney
One of the most famous US privateers was Joshua Barney. A hero of the Continental Navy who rose to the rank of Commodore when he retired from government service to both the United States and post-Revolutionary war, France. He began his seagoing life at a young age — 11.
During the War of 1812, he served as privateer and is famous for capturing 18 British ships between July and November of that year. The website for the now decommissioned USS Joshua Barney DDG-6 explains that one of those ships was the Princess Amelia — the King’s packet ship used to transport mail, cargo and passengers. The United States sailed it under the American Flag as the USS Georgia and then the USS Troup.
Joshua Barry may highlight the two sides of how people viewed the privateer. Commodore Joshua Barry received a commission of a flotilla to defend the Chesapeake Bay after his service in the War of 1812. In a column published in the Virginia Argus on September 16, 1813, a Lemuel Taylor described Barry in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy William Jones as “a rascal both as to morals and politics despised by nine-tenths of those who have taken part in the defence (sic) of Baltimore.”
The Secretary of the Navy, William Jones’ response in defense of Barry included:
“In Commodore Barney, I recognize in intrepid distinguished officer of the revolutionary Navy whose achievements have been the theme of public admiration in the subject of the pencil who’s visited representation of one of those scenes has long been a prominent ornament in the Chamber of the Navy Department.”
Today, many folk tunes, sea shanties, books and movies romanticize the privateer. Many mistake them for pirates. They were not. Pirates were not authorized in the United States Constitution. Privateers still are.
Sources:
warships, submarines, uboats, passenger liners, sailing ships, fishing vessels, cargo ships…
This biography of Joshua Barney was collected by USS Barney DDG-6 Association founder, John Van Dusen. Joshua Barney…www.maritimequest.com
Virginia Argus Newspaper Archives, Sep 16, 1813, p. 3
Virginia Argus (Newspaper) - September 16, 1813, Richmond, VirginiaTO THIS PUBLIC. IN whatever situation 1 may he…newspaperarchive.com
Privateers Legally Raided Enemy Ships During War of 1812
Privateers were captains of merchant ships legally sanctioned to attack and capture ships of enemy nations. American…www.thoughtco.com
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/
Sir Francis Drake - Famous Privateer - The Way of the Pirates
Sir Francis Drake is probably the most famous privateer and one of the most notable sailors and naval commanders of the…www.thewayofthepirates.com
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under…en.wikipedia.org
Blackbeard's Story and Facts | Queen Anne's Revenge Project
He and other pirates plagued shipping lanes off North America and throughout the Caribbean in the early-eighteenth…www.qaronline.org