Pirates, Privateers, and the U.S. Navy

The primary problem of the American Colonies in their quest to win independence from Great Britain was not the British Army, though it was formidable. Instead, it was how to deal with the overwhelming might of the British Navy. The Continental Congress had no ships and no taxing authority to fund the creation of nay in 1775. The first U.S Navy was a combination of the few merchants ships Congress was able to acquire and a large number of privateers who joined the cause of independence. The privateers were privately owned and operated by individuals and business. By the end of the war there were more than 2000 of them. The British called them pirates. From the Boston Tea Party to the battle of the U.S.S Bonhomme Richard with the British man-of-war, the H.M.S Serapis, this is their story.