Pirates & Privateers: Timothy S. Good's Books

Anyone who studies the War of 1812 soon discovers there are many books that cover the land battles or the naval battles; less than a handful actually focus just on privateers. Those can often be found in books detailing the naval war, but the information in such volumes places the privateers in second place. American Privateers in the War of 1812 focuses only on them and the gentleman who reports on them.

During the war, more than 200 privateers set sail from the United States – a number far greater than the several dozen vessels the American Navy has – and they capture more than five times as many enemy ships as their naval counterparts. These privateers also have a significant effect on British shipping and the British economy. Hezekiah Niles, an avid supporter of the war, diligently publishes information on the war and the privateers in his newspaper The Weekly Register (often referred to as Niles’ Weekly Register). He gathers the information that he prints from whatever contemporary documents he can access. This allows him to provide readers with weekly updates and to compile a comprehensive list of British ships that fall to American privateers.

What Good has done is to organize all that information in such a way that readers can easily find it. His introduction summarizes what a privateer is and how Niles decides what constitutes a successful capture. Good also explains the difference between a privateer and letters of marque. The former are ships whose sole purpose is to attack the enemy, whereas the latter refers to merchant vessels that primarily conduct trade but are also authorized to attack enemy shipping should the opportunity arise. The introduction discusses the ten most most successful privateers, beginning with Scourge (26.5 prizes) and ending with Surprize (37 prizes). These ten vessels capture 301.5 prizes or 23% of all successful prizes seized during the war.

The first part of the book provides an alphabetical listing of the 248 privateers that appear in the newspaper. Each listing contains all the information Niles includes, as well as any additional information with which he supplements his report. This section is further divided into “Captures by Privateers,” a list which comprises nearly 100 pages, and “Captures by Non-Privateer Forces.” The name of the privateer vessel is provided along with the number of successful captures. Beneath this, additional data about the ship (if known) is provided: type of vessel, number of guns, number of crew, size, and home port. This is followed by a chronological listing of the prizes. The more successful the privateer, the longer the entry.

Sometimes there is more than one vessel with the same name. For example, there are two America (one from Baltimore, the other from Salem) or four Revenge (Baltimore, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Salem). Some entries include supplemental details, such as in the listing for Chasseur, which has 24 successful captures and is captained by the audacious Thomas Boyle. This entry contains the daring proclamation he makes to the British informing them of his blockade of all their ports, several letters, and some logbook entries. Another privateer that gains notoriety, but is often forgotten in history books, is General Armstrong, which the British sink in a neutral port. The vessels listed under the non-privateer segment are subdivided into Civilians, Custom House Barge, Fishing Smack, Gunboats, Letters of Marque, Militia, Revenue Cutters, US Army, US Navy, and Whaleboats.

Part two is a “comprehensive list of all captures made by American forces” and is presented chronologically. The first listing of privateers appears within three months of the United States’ declaration of war, beginning on 5 September 1812 and ending on 12 August 1815. Each capture is numbered and corresponds to a listing in the first part of the book.

The book also contains the following appendices:

A. Captures by Type
B. Number of Captures by Each Privateer
C. Captures by Home Port of Privateer

In addition to these, it has a detailed notes section, bibliography, and index.

While this isn’t your typical reference work, American Privateers in the War of 1812 is a fascinating goldmine. The way in which the book has been formatted makes it an invaluable resource in which the material it contains can be easily accessed. The price may be steep, but for historians of this period, aficionados of privateering history, and libraries in search of excellent maritime resources, this is a must-purchase title.