|
One might have thought that the Amrricans would be totally swept away by the powerful Royal Navy. The Americans actually made a good show for themselves. Today only developed countries can build ships of any consequence. They are built of steel and require modern design and engineering. This was not the case in the 18th century, especially the late-18th century. Ships were built from wood and here the Americans had a real advantage--vast swaths of virgin Forrest. The British on the other had were running out of forrest and the wood needed to build ships and this was before the showdown with France leading to Trafalgar (1805). The Americans were building a substantial merchant marine of small, rough hewn, but sturdy ships that were competing with British merchantmen. The American merchant men were an unwelcome and serious competitor to the British merchant fleet. The British throughout the War held the initiative and largely controlled the conduct of the fighting, taking advantage of the mobility afforded by the powerful Royal Navy and command of the sea. The British launched most of the offensives and the Colonists were left to defend as best they could. The one time the British lost control was only for a short period, but it was disastrous. A French naval force after the Battle of the Capes (1881) allowed the Colonists and the French to destroy Cornwallis' army at Yorktown. The hard-pressed Colonists could not afford to properly equip the Continental Army, let alone a navy. So the only possibility was a navy on the cheap--privateering. Essentially this was legalized piracy. This was a natural progression from the pervasive smuggling that developed in the Colonies to avoid British trade restrictions, especially the Navigation Acts. Privateers usually had to share their plunder with the Government issuing the letters of marque. Congress decided to allow the privateers to keep all of their prize. The genius of the free market essentially created piracy on a grand scale. Actual pirates tended to live short, unhappy lives. Few managed to keep any of their ill-gotten gains. Many American privateers came out of the enterprise with substantial gains. And there were plenty of targets. The privateers proved costly to British trade, even if they were not touched by the privateers. the cost of insuring maritime trade sky rocketed. This hugely raised the cost of the War for the British. About half of the British merchant fleet at the time of the Revolution was involved in the Atlantic trade between Britain and the Colonies. The most famous American naval officer was John Paul Jones. Less well known is his rival, John Manley. The Americans were not capable of fleet actions, but they could take on individual Royal Navy ships. And Jones even engaged the British in the Channel. Besides the prizes taken, American naval operations not only disrupted the trade between Britain and the colonies, but drove up insurance rates. The Continental Navy waged a campaign that was a mixture of asymmetrical warfare and thinly disguised piracy. Wealthy Colonists financed privateers, both as a patriotic action and to profit financially. 【Patton】
One might have thought that the Americans would be totally swept away by Britain's powerful Royal Navy. The Royal Navy consisted of some 250 ships of all sizes. Given the disparity in size, the Americans actually made a good show for themselves. Today only developed countries can build ships of any consequence. They are built of steel and require modern design and engineering. This was not the case in the 18th century, especially the late-18th century. Ships were built from wood and here the Americans had a real advantage--vast swaths of virgin forest. The British on the other had were running out of forest and the wood needed to build ships. A ship of the line took a huge amount of timber to construct. And this situarion was decades before the showdown with France leading to Trafalgar (1805).The British throughout the War held the initiative and largely controlled the conduct of the fighting, taking advantage of the mobility afforded by the powerful Royal Navy and the resulting command of the sea. Only the Royal Navy did not totally control the sea lnes. The Royal Navy did give the British the ability to launch most of the offensives and the Colonists were left to defend as best they could. The one time that the British lost control was only for a short period, but it was disastrous. A French naval force after the Battle of the Capes (1781) enabled the Colonists and the French to destroy Cornwallis' army at Yorktown. It was rare for the French fleet to win a naval battle against the Royal Navy, but this was the wrong one to lose. Few battles have had such huge consequencies as the Battle of the Capes. War is one of the few campaigns the Royal Navy lost. The was unable to protect British maritime commerce. Merchanbts lost vast sums which eventuAlly undercut British support for the War. The Royal Navy did find and arrest privateers, but the more than 2,000 American privateers was just beyond the power of a 250 shuip nasvy, especially in the age of sail, to curtail.
]
Britain at the time of the Revolutionary war was a nation of merchants/traders. It had just gained control of much of India and expnded trade with India required a huge expansion of the country's merchant marine. Britain would become the workshop of the world, but at this point, Britain was orimarily a trding nation. And the merchsnt marine trnsported the country's life blood. About half of the British merchant fleet at the time of the Revolution was involved in the Atlantic trade between Britain and the Colonies. The American privateers had an immediate impact on the Brutuishb economy. Besides the prizes taken, American naval operations not only disrupted the trade between Britain and the colonies in the North Atlantic, but also with the Caribbean ships involved with the India trade. Profits with exports declines and prices of imports increased. The American privateers also drove up insurance rates. s long as the American privateers operated, Britain could not afford to continue the War and wait out the Americans.
The Americans had a very subsyabntisl fleet od smal, but sea worthy ships. The Americans were building a substantial merchant marine of small, rough hewn, but sturdy ships that were competing with British merchantmen. The American merchant men were an unwelcome and serious competitor to the British merchant fleet. In asddition to merchant vessels, there were also whalers and fishing boats. The whalers were capble of distant operations. The fishermen primarily operated on the Grand Banks off New England and Canada. American merchant vessels were moving far afield and not just to Britain. There was a lof of asctivity into the Caribbran and even into the Mediterranean. The American merchant marine was already so developed that after the Revolution, the Congress would take the extroidarily expensive step of building cutting edge frigates and fighting a naval war first with France and then with the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean. The merchant marine would lead America into another war with Britain -- War of 1812. A major cause of the War was that the Royal Navy began impressing American sailors.
The hard-pressed Colonists could not afford to properly equip the Continental Army, let alone a navy. The Continental Navy never had more than 8 ships at any time to chalklenge the Royal Navy. The most famous American naval officer was John Paul Jones. Less well known is his rival, John Manley. The Americans were not capable of fleet actions, but they could take on individual Royal Navy ships. And Jones even engaged the British in the Channel. The Continental Navy waged a campaign that was a mixture of asymmetrical warfare and thinly disguised piracy. The Navy captured about 200 British ships as prizes, a small fraction of what the privateers accomplished.
So the only possibility the Americans had was a navy on the cheap--privateering. Essentially this was legalized piracy. For the Americans, this was a natural progression from the pervasive smuggling that developed in the Colonies to avoid British trade restrictions, especially the Navigation Acts. Privateers usually had to share their plunder with the Government issuing the letters of marque. Congress decided to allow the privateers to keep all of their prize. 【Stewart】 The genius of the free market essentially created piracy on a grand scale. The American merchant and other ships could not take on a Royal Navy ship, but with the addition of a few cannon could easily take on most British merchant ships and seize the valuable cargoes. . And the loot to be had vastly exceeded whay could be earned from merchant shipping, whaling, and fishing. John Adams wrote at the time, 'thousands of schems for privatering are afloat in American imaginations.' Men joined the militia and Continental Army out of patriotic fervor with very little if any pay. Privateering not only attracted the opatriotic, but the powerful additional incentive of getting rich. In short, capitalism in no small way decided the American war at sea just as it would prove to be the engine of growth for the American Republic being formed. Congress issued some 1,700 letters of marque. The various colonies to become states also issued letters of marque, hundreds more. Against this over 2,000 privzateers, the Riyal Navy had only abiout 250, many of which were committed to a range iof oyher tasks beyond hunting down privateers. The mat is unescapable. These privateers were able ho furiously and profitably raid British merchabt shipping on both sides of the Atlantic. Actual pirates tended to live short, unhappy lives. Few managed to keep any of their ill-gotten gains. Many American privateers came out of the enterprise with substantial gains. Interestingly, the Continental Congress even before declaring independence, authorized private citizens 'to fit out armed vessels to cruise on the Enenies of these United States" (March 1776). And there were plenty of rich pickings targets to be had. The privateers proved veryb damaging to British trade, even if fior the merchants not touched by the privateers. The necessary cost of insuring maritime trade sky rocketed. Even scasttered losses cause substantial increases in insurace rates. The American privateers, however, took something like 2,000 prizes! This hugely raised the cost of the War for the British. Wealthy Colonists financed privateers, both as a patriotic duty, but to profit financially. 【Patton】 The American economy was devesrated by the War, the prvateer prizes provided badly needed money and good to the domestic econmy and some supplies to the Continental Army. 【Stewart】 What was perhaps even more important is that it turned British public thinking against the war effort. This should not be misunderstood. Britain was not a democracy at the time. Parliament was elected, but the sffrage was very limited and rotten boroughs existed. But among the people who could vote were merchants, esopecially the well-to-do merchants. And they might have supported the War if only a few ships were lost and the culprits quickly brought to justice, but when the losses mounted and continued, an increasing number of merchants wanted the war and the losses to end. In addition, all the American privateers forced the Royal Navy to divert forces to the enormous job of tracking down the American ships on the vast expanses of the Atlantic Ocean, offsetting to an extent the Royal Navy's advantage and adding to the expenses of the War. And the privateers provided a huge reservoir of trained man power when the fledgling new Republic began to build a navy. There was, however, a substantial cost the Royal Navy tracked down many privateers. They treated then brutally, but did not hang them outright as pirates. There were interned along with Continetakl Army captives in derelict old vessels converted to prison hulks. Conditions were terrible and many died of disease and malnitrution. Some 12,000 privateers are believed to have perished in British captivity. 【Stewart】
It soon became clear that American success would depend on obtaining Frenh support. Congress sent Adamsabd Bebjanin Franklkin to Parus uin order to obtain French support. The French ware impressed by he American successes. An early breakthrough was when Foreign Minister Comte de Vergennes agreed to allow the pruivateers ton use Frebch ports. And soon Franklin was commissioning American privateers. The British were not fooled by Frnch denials. Tensions between Britaun and France escated, just what Franklin wanted. Eventually after the stunning American victory in the Battle of Saratoga, forcing a British field army to surrender (October 1777), France signed a Treaty of Alliance with America which for the first time made American independence a realistic outcome (February 1778).
The economic cost of the War for Britain was enormous. Too often this is seen in the land armies, including hiring German mercenaries. War is an exopensive undertaking. Solduiers had to be paid and naintained and military equipment is expensive, not to mention the cost of transporting it. And after all that expense, Britain actually lost two fiekd armies--unheard of in Brutish military experience. Too often the war ar sea is ignored, but it hugely added to the most of the War and was amajor factor in turning the merchant class, who were not enthusiastic in the first place, against it. One modern American naval expert writes, "It has been said that the battles of thev American Revolution were fought on land, and independence was won at sea. For this we have the enormous sucess iof American privateers to thank, even more than the Continental Navy." 【Lehman】
Lehman, John. Secretary of the Navy in Thomas Stewart, "Citizen sailors and the Amercan Revolution," The Washington Times (July 4, 2023)p. B4.
Patton, Robert H. Patriot Pirates in Thomas Stewart. "Citizen sailors and the Amercan Revolution," The Washington Times (July 4, 2023)p. B4..
Stewart, Thomas C. "Citizen sailors and the Amercan Revolution," The Washington Times (July 4, 2023)p. B4.
Navigate the Children in History Website:
[Return to Main Revolutionary War page]
[Introduction]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Climatology]
[Clothing]
[Disease and Health]
[Economics]
[Geography]
[History]
[Human Nature]
[Law]
[Nationalism]
[Presidents]
[Religion]
[Royalty]
[Science]
[Social Class]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Children in History Home]
