The Bent Page

As mentioned earlier, I’ve been researching a novel tentatively titled MacMillan Judge, Privateer. The course of this research has taken me through many volumes, a few trips, and into places that I normally wouldn’t go. It has been quite an education into a subject I knew very little about. I’ve examined the circumstances surrounding privateer activity during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Originally this story was going to be something akin to a swashbuckler. However, I came to believe that the people who performed heroically during these two wars deserved better. They are entitled to a representative character who upholds the ideals of the new nation as well as his own private convictions as to what it means to command a vessel of war. I say vessel of war as opposed to warship because the privateer typically used a converted merchant ship or one built for speed rather than brute force. Below is a photo courtesy of the United States Federal Government of the Pride of Baltimore, the type of Balitmore Clipper on which MacMillan, Judge will sail.

This is a tricky subject because privateers operate under a letter of marque granted by the government under which they sail. Their activities would normally be considered piracy, but the letter of marque gives them privileges normally reserved for standing navies. A privateer raids merchant ships, attacks other nations’ warships, and shells their land forces. However, in the course of these dangerous forays, any salable goods or vessels captured are subsequently sold and the proceeds go to the privateer. Therein lies the rub: the privateer is a money-making venture as much as it is a military affair.

Of course, when the United States declared independence (and later in the War of 1812), they didn’t have much in the way of a navy. They faced the most powerful naval forces the world had ever seen, those of the British Empire. The solution was to empower private individuals to take great risks in order to create some semblance of a marine force. According to some of the books I’ve read, this was a very effective method. Benjamin Franklin was an investor in a privateer ship during the revolution, as were many others of all walks of life. The privateers racked up a string of victories that would be amazing even by today’s standards. One particular ship captured six vessels in six days right under Britain’s nose in the English Channel. Another privateer sent a letter to Lloyd’s of London, bravely stating that the the British Isles were under his blockade. That’s a bold statement from a man aboard one ship. But the letter was posted at Lloyd’s and insurance rates skyrocketed.

But what about that sticky question of outright profit in the course of the war? Are these people really just pirates by another name? From what I’ve learned I would have to say, no, they are not pirates. Pirates, despite our Disney version of them today, were not the happy go lucky bunch looking for treasure and a cute place to drink rum. Pirates murdered their way around the world until allied forces hunted them down. The American privateers caused their share of casualties and made their profits, but they did not indiscriminately attack neutral ships. At the same time, when the war was over, they ceased their activities and resorted to non-combatant trading.

One way to look at the privateers is to think of their prizes as a method of payment. Instead of receiving a salary, they collected money from successfully attacking the enemies resources. It saved the United States Treasury a bundle and created a number of highly successful businessmen in the process. Many of these people invested their money in the growing economy of the United States, which only furthered progress in a place that was still a backwater when compared to Europe.

I’m looking forward to writing MacMillan Judge, Privateer. Our Mr. Judge is going to be the thinking man’s warrior, not a Disney-fied hero who dodges grapeshot and dances about the deck. First I have to finish Under A Blue Flag, which is the sequel to An Island Away, but that’s another story that I’ll be talking about soon.