Concluding Operations 161 



were cruising as private ventures, and their object 

 was purely to capture merchantmen with as little 

 risk as possible to themselves. Another reason was 

 that they formed a kind of sea-militia, and, like their 

 compeers on land, some could fight as well as any 

 regulars, while most would not fight at all, espe 

 cially if there was need of concerted action between 

 two or three. The American papers of the day are 

 full of "glorious victories" gained by privateers over 

 packets and Indiamen; the British papers are al 

 most as full of instances where the packets and In 

 diamen "heroically repulsed" the privateers. As 

 neither side ever chronicles a defeat, and as the 

 narration is apt to be decidedly figurative in char 

 acter, there is very little hope of getting at the truth 

 of such meetings; so I have confined myself to the 

 mention of those cases where privateers, of either 

 side, came into armed collision with regular cruisers. 

 We are then sure to find some authentic account. 



The privateer brig Chasseur, of Baltimore, Cap 

 tain Thomas Boyle, carried 16 long I2's, and had, 

 when she left port, 115 men aboard. She made 18 

 prizes on her last voyage, and her crew was thus 

 reduced to less than 80 men; she was then chased 

 by the Barossa frigate, and threw overboard 10 of 

 her long i2*s. Afterward eight 9-pound carron- 

 ades were taken from a prize, to partially supply 

 the places of the lost guns; but as she had no shot 



