Eric Jay Dolan, author of several books on America and the sea, sets out to offer “a comprehensive history of the full extent of American privateering, and just how important it was to the American cause in Rebels at Sea. The author never loses sight of the big picture but still tells lively tales of high adventure.
Privateers, privately owned vessels commissioned by governments to raid enemy shipping, played a major role in the American Revolution. American raiders seized more than twice as many merchant vessels (1,600 to 1,800) than the Royal Navy and British privateers (600 to 700).
The colonies in rebellion and the new nation sent to sea “more than a thousand American privateers” and “tens of thousands of privateer men.” They became predators hiding in numerous inlets and rivers, waiting for their prey. Britain survived on trade, and these ships savaged the Empire’s merchant fleet.
