Good deal. In Iraq, these rewards for justice bounties sometimes pay off. Both Uday and Qusay were located because of a tipster seeking the $30 million dollar bounty. We will see and hopefully someone turns him in. Maybe even a contractor? lol -Matt
U.S. offers $10-million reward for Al Qaeda in Iraq leader
October 7, 2011
As the U.S. military heads for the exits in Iraq, the State Department is providing a sobering reminder of the dangers still there.
It has offered a $10-million reward for information that helps authorities capture or kill Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali Badri, also known as Abu Dua, the leader of the group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
If the bounty is any measure, finding Abu Dua is now a top priority. Only the chief of the global Al Qaeda organization, Ayman Zawahiri, merits a larger reward: $25 million. That’s also what the State Department offered for Osama bin Laden, who was killed in Pakistan in May.
The department long has offered $10 million for Mullah Omar, the Taliban commander who sheltered Bin Laden in Afghanistan before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. also has posted a $5-million bounty for Sirajuddin Haqqani, a leader of a network of Pakistan-based militants that U.S. officials say has attacked American forces in Afghanistan.
Three days after Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden, Abu Dua claimed responsibility for an attack in Hillah, Iraq, that killed 24 police officers and wounded 72 others. His group also claimed responsibility for 23 attacks south of Baghdad in March and April, the State Department said.
I like it. Anything that gets the companies to do the right thing is a good thing. So if the Corporate Whistle Blower Center can help contractors that have identified waste, fraud, and abuse in their companies, then I dig that. Especially if they can help those contractors get the reward that comes with reporting such abuse.
What I believe this organization is referring to when talking about a reward is the provisions within the False Claims Act. I mentioned this law as a primary driver on why AGNA settled in the case with James Gordon. Here is a quick summary of the Lincoln Law.
The False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733, also called the “Lincoln Law”) is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. The law includes a “qui tam” provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file actions on behalf of the government (informally called “whistleblowing”). Persons filing under the Act stand to receive a portion (usually about 15–25 percent) of any recovered damages. Claims under the law have typically involved health care, military, or other government spending programs. The government has recovered nearly $22 billion under the False Claims Act between 1987 (after the significant 1986 amendments) and 2008.
The other reason why there is more interest in these kinds of cases is that companies will be hurt in any bidding process for government contracts, if they are charged with False Claims or in litigation. It is the primary reason why AGNA settled, so that it would not stop them from pursuing contracts. Here is a link to the FAR 52.207-1 that details what I am talking about. I also put that section up below this article.
Now just for clarification, I am not affiliated with this group, nor can I vouch for their effectiveness. They are just another option for contractors to use, and of course do your own research and put together a good strategy before getting into this stuff. -Matt
Corporate Whistle Blower Center Urges U.S. Contractor Employees in Afghanistan and Iraq to Step Forward for Huge Rewards if They Can Prove Massive Fraud
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Corporate Whistle Blower Center is urging employees of major U.S. federal contractors, or subcontractors, that have been defrauding the US taxpayer in Afghanistan, or Iraq to step forward, for what could be enormous rewards, provided they can prove it. An independent panel investigating wartime spending estimates that as much as $60 billion has been lost to waste and fraud over the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan. In its final report to Congress, the Commission on Wartime Contracting said the figure could grow larger as U.S. support for reconstruction projects and programs wanes and Iraq and Afghanistan are unable to sustain the schools, medical clinics, roads and power plants already built with American tax dollars. The Corporate Whistle Blower Center says, “In actuality we are pretty sure in many cases the schools, power plants, or medical clinics were never completed, and in other instances we know federal subcontractors gouged the U.S. government, and the taxpayers on everything from over inflated fuel, or food prices, to pretty much you name it. As long as you can prove it, and the amount exceeds two million dollars, there can be huge rewards for this type of information, as long as its substantial proof, and credible. If you possess this type of information please call us at 866-714-6466, because we would welcome the chance to explain the federal whistleblower reward programs to you.”
September 06, 2011
The Corporate Whistle Blower Center is strongly encouraging employees of federal contractors, or their subcontractors, that were providing any type of service in Afghanistan, or Iraq to step forward, if they possess significant proof of overbilling, or defrauding the U.S. federal government, because the rewards can be enormous. The group says, “If a government type panel says the fraud is sixty billion dollars in Iraq, or Afghanistan, its probably more like a hundred billions dollars plus, and provided you have substantial proof, and the proof is easy to understand, and black, and white, the rewards can be huge.” The Corporate Whistle Blower Center says, “When it comes U.S. contractors, or subcontractors defrauding the U.S. taxpayer we think in some instances it could be in the tens, or hundreds of millions of dollars, and it runs the gamete from construction, or infrastructure projects, that were not properly done, or not done at all, to food, fuel, engineering services, to you name it. And, we are pretty sure there are hundreds, or thousands of individuals, who possess the proof it happened. To us this type of solid proof is like having a winning lotto ticket, and we’d like to explain how the U.S. Federal Whistleblower programs work.” For more information please contact the Corporate Whistle Blower Center anytime at 866-714-6466, or contact the group via its web site at http://CorporateWhistleBlowerCenter.Com
Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistle Blower Center:
• Do not go to the government first, if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistle Blower Center says, “Major whistleblowers frequently go to the federal government thinking they will help. Its a huge mistake. Frequently government officials could care less, or they are incompetent.”
• Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower’s information could destroy any prospect for a reward.
• Do not try to force a government contractor, or corporation to come clean to the government about their wrong doing. The Corporate Whistle Blower Center says, “Fraud is so rampant among federal contractors, that any suggestion of exposure might result in an instant job termination, or harassment of the whistleblower. We say, come to us first, tell us what type of information you have, and if we think its sufficient, we will help find the right law firms, to assist in advancing your information.”
Any type of insider, or employee, who possesses significant proof of their employer, or a government contractor fleecing the federal government is encouraged to contact to Corporate Whistle Blower Center anytime at 866-714-6466, or they can contact the group via their web site here.
Now this is one of those deals where I am sure anyone with a gun that is on the ground in Libya could participate in this bounty? But it sounds like the rebels are really trying to reach out to his inner circle folks by offering amnesty and money. We will see and it just might produce. In Iraq, a bounty certainly helped to find Uday and Qusay. Although that bounty was worth $30 million. Maybe some more donors will add to the Gaddafi bounty?
I must add that there have been prior reports of bounties on Gaddafi. This report stated 10 million pounds. So maybe this could be added if true? Either way, the bounty I just reported has proof via a press release. -Matt
Libya: Rebels put £1m bounty on Gaddafi’s head
Libya’s rebel council has offered a £1m reward for the capture, dead or alive, of deposed ruler Colonel Gaddafi.
By Matthew Holehouse
24 Aug 2011
The rebels will also give amnesty to members of Gaddafi’s close circle who kill or capture him, Abdel Jalil, the chairman of the Transitional National Council said today.
The bounty of two million Libyan dinars (£1m, $1.67m) was offered by two businessmen from Benghazi.
“The National Transitional Council announces that any of his inner circle who kill Gaddafi or capture him, society will give amnesty or pardon for any crime he has committed,” chairman Jalil said.
Today there was heavy fighting in the south of Tripoli as rebels hunted the dictator.
“We think Gaddafi is hiding somewhere in Tripoli. He is likely to be in the al-Hadhba al-Khandra area,” an official said.
Link to story here.
Link to video of Abdel Jalil stating the terms of the bounty.
I found out about this travesty of justice down in Mexico recently while watching this Dateline series. It is heart wrenching, and I am angry at the Mexican government and legal system there for letting down this mother and daughter. The system is also tainted by cartel influence and money, and this cowardly murderer named Sergio Bocanegra literally got away with murder. And the Mexican legal system helped him get away with it!
So if the legal system and the Mexican government is controlled and influenced by the money and killing power of the Los Zetas and other cartels, then what is the point of this bounty? Why would I even care to post this? Well actually, I want to help shame the Mexican legal system into doing what is right and to seek justice for the murder of these two women. To capture Sergio and execute him would be a fantastic symbolic gesture.
That, and to actually uphold the law and revamp the legal system so that the good people of Mexico can actually look up to their police and government as not corrupt. That they actually care to uphold the law. So if the government is serious now, after the mother and daughter were killed, and these two have basically become martyrs, then I will gladly help promote the capture of these guys and the story of what happened.
Like with a insurgency, the government must prove to the local population that is a good idea. So not only must they aggressively pursue these cartels, but they must also focus on the basic rule of law in the towns and cities. To actually use the military for war-like functions, and assign your police to do actual police work. Or at the least, make sure that you have enough police actually enforcing the basic rule of law in the cities and towns.
The other component is the corruption. Boy, if I was the government and I really wanted to clean up all the corruption, I would be checking bank accounts of all government employees and heavily using moles or mystery shoppers to find these despicable humans that have sold their souls to the cartels. Your justice system is broken, and it is time for serious and extreme measures.
Another idea is to actually take the weapons that you have captured from the cartels, and issue them to town and city defense forces that are being terrorized by the cartels. I look at Mexico much like any other counter-insurgency operation, and if there are local populations who want to fight the cartels, then the government needs to recognize how much of a gift that is, and support them. Get the population involved in this fight. But the government will not get anyone to join that fight, if they are as bad as the cartels or they are as heavily intertwined with the cartels. So eradicate cartel influence, and co-opt with the population-become the better idea.
To finish up here and get back to the main topic, I sincerely hope that these individuals are caught and correctly prosecuted and justice is served. Sergio actually confessed to the murder! The other guy was caught on tape, with several witnesses–to include the brother/son of these two murdered women. And with any luck, if Sergio and this other bastard made it up to the US somehow, that one of my readers potentially spots one of these guys and calls it in to collect the bounty. Or one of you might see Sergio down in Mexico and you never know? Let’s help catch these guys and hopefully the Mexican government will be serious this time. Oh, and here is my latest Letter of Marque catch phrase when referring to the rich cartel clowns.’Dish out the plomo, and take their plata! Arrrrrgh! -Matt
Mexican Federal PGR Raised Rewards For Suspects In Mother And Daughter Escobedo Homicides In Chihuahua
Rewards for murder suspect in sketch has been raised to $3 million pesos ($230,770 U.S.) and Bocanegra has been raised to $5 million pesos ($384,616 U.S.), the Mexican government announced.
By H. Nelson Goodson?June 23, 2011
Mexico City, Mexico – On Thursday, the Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) announced that it had raised the rewards for several suspects connected to the homicides of a mother and daughter. The PGR had released the sketch of the alleged 30-year-old suspect who shot Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, 52, several times including a fatal shot to the head.?The PGR is now offering $3 million pesos ($230,770 U.S.) from $200,000 pesos ($16,000 U.S.) it had previously offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. The suspect is believed to have been working with Sergio Rafael Barraza Bocanegra, 24, the alleged boyfriend and confessed killer of Ortiz’ daughter Rubi Marisol Frayre Escobedo, 16, from Ciudad Juarez.?Bocanegra is accused of taking part in the planned killing of Ortiz on December 16 and the September 2008 murder of Rubi Marisol. He had confessed to killing Rubi Marisol and even led police to a hog farm where her dismembered body was found. Mexican authorities are now offering $5 million pesos ($384,616 U.S.) from $500,000 pesos ($41,000 U.S.) it had previously offered for information leading to the arrest of Bocanegra. They issued an international warrant because Bocanegra could have left the country, but family members of the Escobedo’s believe he is leaving with his girlfriend and several kids in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico.?Bocanegra is an alleged member of Los Zetas and the Cartel de Sinaloa has also joined in the manhunt for Bocanegra, according to several large hand written poster signs discovered around Ciudad Juarez and the Chihuahua Capitol city.?Ortiz had struggled for two years to bring Bocanegra to justice for the murder of her daughter Rubi Marisol in 2008. The day Ortiz was killed, she was outside the Chihuahua state government building in the city of Chihuahua for nine days staging a protest and demanding justice from Governor César Duarte and the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office.
Story here.
————————————————————— Mexican Mother who Sought Justice for Murdered Daughter is Herself Assassinated
Diego DiGhero
December 21st 2010
A chilling video, taken by CCTV camera, captured the assassination of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, a Mexican human rights activist who – for more than two years – has demanded justice for her murdered 16-year-old daughter, Rubí Marisol Frayre. Rubi was shot to death, allegedly by a lover, and her body later burned and left at a garbage dump.
Marisela was arranging on the evening of December 16 her protest signs in front of the government house in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, preparing for yet another demonstration, when a man emerged from a car and shot her in the head. Falling to the ground, she was soon taken by local police to hospital while she still showed signs of life. However, she was finally pronounced dead despite medical attention.
I love posting these types of deals. It is my way of supporting an offense industry designed to capture fugitives. Plus, I would love to see one of my readers out there get lucky and actually be responsible for the capture of these thugs.
Catherine has a $100,000 reward, and Whitey has a $2 million reward. So if you actually did find Catherine, you might want to hang tight for a little bit, just to watch who she hangs out with. Just saying….lol Good luck out there, and happy hunting. -Matt
Edit: 06/23/2011- Talk about quick? Someone turned both of these fugitives into authorities after watching the PSA. They were in California. See the comments section below for more details.
Rest in peace to the fallen, and my heart goes out to the friends and family of officer Kenneth Vann. This death is of particular concern because there is some speculation that this murder was committed by a sicario from one of the cartels…’in the US’. That is not confirmed yet, and we will see where it goes. It definitely has all of the elements of a cartel hit.
The other thing I wanted to bring up is that this bounty or reward has multiple funding sources. But if you go to Crime Stoppers, or call them at 244-STOP, that is how you can turn the guy in anonymously and collect the reward.(I noticed they are using Tip Submit, and that is a good move) Crime Stoppers is becoming quite the tool for crime fighting, and I certainly hope someone comes forward with some information about this. Let’s catch this bastard. -Matt
Reward For Info On Vann’s Death Raised To $127K
FBI Offering $50,000, In Addition To $77,000 Already Raised
May 31, 2011
With the addition of $25,000 from San Antonio lawyer Wayne Wright, and $50,000 from the FBI the reward for information on the shooting death of Bexar County sheriff’s Sgt. Kenneth Vann has reached $127,000.
A nearly 25-year law enforcement veteran with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Vann was ambushed and killed about 2 a.m. Saturday as he waited at a traffic light at Loop 410 and Rigsby Road on his way to a call.
The men fired multiple shots shattering the deputy’s passenger window and killing him, Deputy Chief Dale Bennett said.
The reward breakdown is: 300 of the tags are worth $50 each; 200 are worth $100; 50 are worth $200; 20 worth $500; and 5 are worth $1,000 each. The competitive aspect is that the tags are invisible to the eye and can’t be detected by a standard metal detector. In order to tell whether a fish is a winner it must be killed and brought into the Idaho Falls Fish and Game headquarters to be checked. Because the rainbow trout is a sport fish, it cannot be wasted. Anglers can keep the meat and turn in the head if they desire, or they can turn in the whole fish…….
Every lake trout of any size and rainbow trout more than 13 inches long harvested from Lake Pend Oreille pays $15.00!
Talk about cool? Fishing trout and collecting a bounty for your effort? lol It doesn’t get any better than that! Plus you get to enjoy the meat and you only have to turn in the head for verification.
So for you anglers out there that are looking for a good trout fishing vacation, try out the South Fork Snake River or Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. Read both ads for bounties below if you are interested and definitely check out the video they made about why they are doing this. -Matt
IDAHO FISH AND GAME UPPER SNAKE REGION NEWS RELEASE
Idaho Falls, ID
Fish And Game Offers Bounty On Rainbow Trout
Date:March 29, 2010
Contact:Gregg Losinski
(208) 525-7290
Since 1982 Idaho Fish and Game fisheries biologists have been monitoring the numbers of the different types of trout in the South Fork Snake River outside of Idaho Falls.
This monitoring has tracked the effects non-native rainbow trout are having on native Yellowstone cutthroat trout populations. Rainbow trout can interbreed with cutthroats and produce fertile offspring. The resulting generations of hybrids become more and more like rainbows, and less like cutthroats.
The original Geronimo campaign and the hunt for bin Laden share plenty of similarities. On May 3, 1886, more than a century before a $25 million reward was offered for information on bin Laden’s whereabouts, and almost 125 years to the day before the al-Qaeda leader’s death, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a joint resolution “Authorizing the President to offer a reward of twenty-five thousand dollars for the killing or capture of Geronimo.”
Excellent little article about the comparisons between these two manhunts. But what is really interesting to me is that back then the President was authorized by congress to issue a bounty for the killing or capturing of Geronimo. So does that mean that a bounty was paid to the members of Lt. Charles Gatewood’s small five man party that sealed the deal on Geronimo? Mind you that this party was composed of ‘two Apache scouts, an interpreter and a mule-packer’. Not bad for such a small team, and it reminds me of the effectiveness of the small teams required for the capture of UBL.(on a side note here, no one has been awarded the millions in bounties that UBL had on his head)
Which brings me to my next point. It is not the size of force or intelligence apparatus, but the quality and effectiveness of such a thing. In both cases, it was not a large army that was able to find these guys and put them away. It was small teams. And in both cases, these teams were tipped off to the location of their guy by a local or a detainee. So what does that say?
Could this indicate that small companies or units are more capable of finding people, than large cumbersome armies? I think so. I also think that bounties can work, if they actually support a vibrant ‘offense industry’. The bounty for Bin Laden did not support the kill or capture by companies or individuals, and only depended upon an individual to come forward with a tip. That’s if they would come forward. If a company was tasked with finding and capturing/killing UBL or any of the other leaders, then they too could use a bounty system to get their information locally. Or use whatever means, based on the guidelines and laws of a issued license.
The other point I wanted to make is how long and how costly this manhunt has been. According to this author in the Atlantic, the total time for the hunt of UBL was 15 years at a cost of 3 trillion dollars. I cannot even imagine what 3 trillion dollars looks like, but I do know what cost effective is. This hunt for UBL was not cost effective, and I definitely think that there is another way to go about this task. Not to mention the lives lost in this long war.
Finally, there is the question of violating a country’s sovereignty in order to go after an individual(s). We definitely crossed Pakistan’s border with military force, landed on their territory, killed UBL and several others, and took materials from this compound. All of these acts were done without the permission of Pakistan, and I am sure it will have it’s repercussions.(logistics for Afghanistan come to mind) But my point is that the US authorized this act at the highest levels. So the US has now set a precedence and has deemed this a necessary act for national security. I agree and applaud the President for making this move, but the US must also consider that Al Qaeda is still operating and still out there.
It will take many raids, and many small teams to reach all of these groups and violate the sovereignty of many countries out there in order to accomplish what we just did in Pakistan. If such acts are this important to the national security of the US, then I do not see how issuing Letters of Marque and Reprisal to private industry to help in this endeavor would be considered that much more of a stretch? Or we can continue to spend trillions of dollars on large scale military deployments in places like Iraq or Afghanistan, violate those country’s sovereignty with large scale occupation, all to find these people? Something to think about when talking about waging war efficiently and using the right tool/strategy for the job.
On a side note, Benjamin Runkle has put together an excellent blog to coincide with the topic of his book called Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts from Geronimo to bid Laden. I have put his blog in my RSS reader, and this is an area of study that everyone should take a look at if they are interested in the method behind ‘finding’ bad guys.-Matt
The truth about Geronimo .. and Osama bin Laden
By Benjamin Runkle
May 6, 2011
“Geronimo!” That was the call that went over the command net on May 1, indicating that Navy SEALs had found their man. And that code name for Osama bin Laden has angered some Native Americans, who have demanded a formal apology from the Obama administration.
Their complaints are understandable, but misguided. The code name doesn’t denigrate the Apache war captain, a hero to some students of Native American history, through comparison to the Saudi terrorist leader. The similarities are not in the men themselves but in the military campaigns that targeted them.
In May 1885, Geronimo led the breakout of 120 Chiricahua Apache from the San Carlos Reservation in what is now Arizona, creating mass hysteria in the American Southwest. The Chiricahua had legitimate grievances: Civilian “Indian agents” were corrupt and consistently cheated the Apache on their rations, while the land the tribe had been given was almost worthless for farming but still encroached upon by miners. Read the rest of this entry »
In the past I have written about the effectiveness of offense industries, and specifically bounty hunting. The strength of the private bail industry comes from the profit motive of the act and from them having incentive to get their bail money back if their client runs, and that is a good thing. These men and women work hard in this industry and earn every penny they make doing a dangerous service that benefits us all.
What Colorado is trying to do here is to ruin private enterprise, and expand the size of government through another means of capturing revenue. Meanwhile, if the bail industry is destroyed by this greedy government program, who will run after the criminals that run? The police? Hell, they can’t even keep up with the current warrants in that state.
At the bottom of these articles I posted the contact information for all the state Senators in Colorado. Take your pick, or write them all, but either way, tell them to vote no on Senate Bill 11-186. -Matt
Dog The Bounty Hunter Fighting Bill That Would Free Criminals
Apr 26, 2011
Duane “Dog” Chapman isn’t just busy yanking criminals off the street — he’s fighting the politicians trying to put them back on the street!
Dog is leading the fight in Colorado against a state Senate bill he and the bill’s critics say will put bail bondsmen out of business — and flood society with criminals.
“This time I’m not barking. I’m here to take a real bite out of crime,” Dog told RadarOnline from Colorado. “I’m here to stop tax funded bonds ?and return bail bonds to the private sector where it belongs.”
Authorities in Colorado on Tuesday will convene to vote on the divisive Senate Bill 11-186, sponsored by Democratic Sen. John Morse and Republican Rep. Mark Waller, both of Colorado Springs.
The bill would put into play a deposit bond, which would grant pre-trial services to offer bonds to incarcerated defendants.
Here’s how it works:
If the accused cannot can’t get bonded out by a private bail company, the court will make one available to them. Once the judge sets bond, the defendant would be able to pay up to 15 percent of the amount.
Under this system, 50 percent of the revenue would go to the court fees for the service. If the defendant is found not guilty, the other 50 percent would be returned to them. If they are found guilty, whatever funds are left would be given back to them.
One former lawman who operates his bail bonds company out of Colorado Springs, told KRDO -TV that if the bill is passed into a law, hundreds of people in his industry will be out of work.
Not only that, but who is going to chase down the criminals who don’t show up to court. Dog the Bounty Hunter told RadarOnline.com: “This state has hundreds of thousands of warrants! no Bounty Hunters ? Ha, not,” he scoffed in a warning. Read the rest of this entry »
1814, March 19. The $25 for each prisoner captured by private armed vessels of the United States to be $100 hereafter. $200,000 appropriated. (What cost $100 in 1814 would cost $1025.20 in 2010.)
Now this is interesting, and I found this nugget of information in the Spirit of 76, Volume 6 edition. Did you know that the US Congress authorized a bounty system for British Prisoners during the War of 1812? Apparently back then, the British had captured a ton of American prisoners during that war. The reason for that was because there were hundreds of American privateers involved in the war that went after the enemy, and many of these privateers were captured during operations. These privateers were not as experienced and as professionalized as the Royal Navy back then, and suffered the consequence of being ill prepared.
Another problem that popped up in the war was that many of these American privateers had no use for prisoners and often let them go. So in 1814, that is when Congress decided to appropriate money for bounties for privateers to hang on to prisoners and turn them in to US detention. My guess is that Congress wanted to do prisoner exchanges to get all of these Americans freed from British prisons. So naturally, Congress created an industry out of capturing prisoners to solve the problem. That is on top of the prize capture system implemented by Congress, which was an industry created to destroy enemy logistics and infuse money into the US Treasury.
With that said, privateers did some damage during that war and were a very important part of the overall strategy. Despite the risks and poor conditions, many guys were driven to join the privateer schooners in the hopes of capturing a prize (or enemy vessel). I compare it to today’s crab fishermen in Alaska, and a good visual representation of that ‘risk versus reward’ mindset is to watch a show like the ‘Deadliest Catch‘. It is the allure of the hunt and of striking it rich, that drove these men to do what they did back then. Plus it was the patriotic thing to do at the time, and privateering was very popular.
Another little nugget I found out recently, was the concept of Prize Tickets. What these were, were contracts between the sailors and the privateer company in which that sailor would get his share of the prize, after all the proceedings of the prize court and after everyone was paid. The interesting thing here is that guys didn’t know how much they would get for their efforts, and it required patience to wait for the final outcome. What happened with many privateers is that instead of waiting, they would instead sell their prize tickets to brokers who would pay a small fee. These brokers would stand to make a killing, just because they were rich enough and patient enough to wait for the final outcome of the prize.
The other thing that I thought was interesting is that privateer and letter of marque were two types of vessels/enterprises during that war. Not only was a Letter of Marque a commission/license issued to privateers, but the name Letter of Marque was given to a certain type of enterprise/vessel in this war. A Letter of Marque was a cargo vessel whom was issued a LoM for the possible chance that they might come across an enemy vessel and make a capture. But their primary task was shipping their cargo. A privateer was a vessel that was primarily a fighting vessel, and prize captures/commerce raiding was is it’s purpose.
For more information on the War of 1812, I highly suggest a new book that came out called the Perilous Fight: America’s Intrepid War With Great Britain On the High Sea’s 1812-1815, By Stephen Budiansky. And I really liked this quote from the product description of this book: “Never again would the great powers challenge the young republic’s sovereignty in the aftermath of the stunning performance of America’s navy and privateersmen in sea battles that ranged across half the globe. Their brilliant hit-and-run tactics against a far mightier foe would pioneer concepts of “asymmetric warfare” that would characterize the insurgency warfare of later centuries.” Pretty cool. -Matt
ACTION FOR THE BENEFIT OF REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS.
COMPILED FROM THE MINUTES OF CONGRESS
The Spirit of ’76, Volume 6
1812, Jan. 18. Act declaring war with Great Britain.
1812, June 26. Act concerning letters of marque, prizes and and prize goods. The 17th section says: “That two percentum on the net amount (after deducting all charges and expenditures) of the prize money arising from capture of vessels and cargoes, recaptured by the private armed vessels of the United States, shall be secured and paid over to the collector or other chief officer of the customs at the port or place in the United States at which such captured or recaptured vessels may arrive; or consul or other public agent of the United States residing at the port or place not within the United States, at which such captured or recaptured vessels may arrive. And the moneys arising therefrom shall be held, and is hereby pledged by the government of the United States as a fund for the support and maintenance of the widows and children of such persons as may be slain; and for the support and maintenance of such persons as may be wounded and disabled, on board of thte private armed vessels of the United States, in any engagement with the enemy, to be assigned and distributed in such manner as shall hereafter by law be provided.” ) Read the rest of this entry »
