American Privateers of the Revolutionary War

Name: American Privateers of the Revolutionary War
Brand: Bloomsbury USA
SKU: 9781472836342-G
Price: 12.49 EUR
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By Angus Konstam

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Description

This title explores the ships and history of the enterprising American patriots who fought the Royal Navy as privateers, and played a major part in winning the Revolutionary War at sea. During the American War of Independence (1775-83), Congress issued almost 800 letters of marque as a way of combating Britain's overwhelming naval and mercantile superiority. At first, it was only fishermen and the skippers of small merchant ships who turned to privateering, with mixed results. Eventually though, American shipyards began to turn out specially-converted ships, while later still, the first purpose-built privateers entered the fray. These American privateers seized more than 600 British merchant ships over the course of the war, capturing thousands of British seamen. Indeed, Jeremiah O'Brien's privateer Unity successfully fought the first sea engagement of the Revolutionary War in the Battle of Machias of 1775. With just 40 men, their guns, axes, and pitchforks and the words "Surrender to America", he managed to capture a British armed schooner. By the end of the war, some of the largest American privateers could venture as far as the British Isles, and were more powerful than most contemporary warships in the fledgling US Navy. A small number of Loyalist privateers also put to sea during the war, and preyed on the shipping of their rebel countrymen. Packed with fascinating insights into the age of privateers, this book traces the development of these remarkable ships, and explains how they made such a significant contribution to the American Revolutionary War.

Product details

Binding:: Paperback
Edition:: illustrated
Number of Pages:: 48
Release Date:: 2020-02-20
Publication Date:: 2020-02-18
Publisher:: Bloomsbury USA
Languages:: Original: English
ISBN10:: 1472836340
ISBN13:: 9781472836342
Weight:: 166 g
Height:: 187 cm
Width:: 241 cm
Thickness:: 7 cm

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