Check it out. It is a little old, but still a pretty cool little show about Robert Patton’s book. Probably the most interesting parts are the comparisons between today’s Somali pirates or security contractors in the war, and yesteryear’s privateers.
The one thing they did touch on that I thought was particularly interesting, and might be a future Building Snowmobiles topic, is the privateer versus privateer concept. I guess the British got so fed up with the American pirates, that they started issuing letters of marque to their own privateers to go after these American privateers. They even were able to get some Loyalist privateers out of New York to go after these guys, and according to Patton, these privateer vs. privateer battles were some of the most bloodiest and most desperate battles. The fear of being captured by one side or the other, plus the fight over hard gained loot, all contributed to a fierce desire to win the fight. Interesting stuff.-Matt
——————————————————————
The Pirates of ‘76
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Originally broadcast: May 11, 2009
When Americans think of the Revolutionary War, the War for Independence, they think fife and drum, Minute Men, tri-cornered hats, George Washington on horseback.
When the British of 1776 — and ‘77 and ‘78 — thought of the American Revolution, many thought “pirates.” Cannon and cutlass and brigands on the high seas.
Washington and the Continental Congress unleashed thousands of American vessels — patriots and fortune seekers — to go after British shipping. And they did it with a vengeance.
This hour, On Point: Privateers, private booty, and the American Revolution.
Listen to Podcast here.