Napoleon Comments on the Quasi War with France

Bartonline.org HIST 1416 American Military History
Quasi War between France and The USA

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[WynnButler]

The privateers are not paid by the government. They actually are just legal pirates. The government gave them a commission to operate as privateers. This means they could legally attack the ships of the country covered by the privateer commission document.

[joseph4501]

well if you think about the french won the war becuse privateers arent a navy but hired privateers

[WynnButler]

@joseph4501 The privateers are not paid by the government. They actually are just legal pirates. The government gave them a commission to operate as privateers. This means they could legally attack the ships of the country covered by the privateer commission document.

[boosra]

Americans always skillfully avoid mentioning the fact that the French took several thousand American vessels during this period.

[WynnButler]

Accurate records may be a bit hard to find, but it appears that around 300 American Merchant ships were taken by the French prior to the XYZ Affair. During the war only one US Navy warship was lost to enemy action. During the course of the fighting, the new US Navy captured 85 French privateers, while losing approximately 2,000 merchant vessels. The ship to ship fighting was a victory for the US Navy over the French Navy. But the French got the better of the economic or merchant war.

[boosra]

@TwistedComplex

Well no, not 300, well over 3,000. Many of whom were armed letter of marques.

Though for the life of me, I can't see why it was apparently so important to me 4 months ago. :P

[TwistedComplex]

@boosra more like 300

and they were trade vessels. so congratulations i guess

[boosra]

Oops, I've just noticed that you didn't insinuate at any stage that the U.S. "defeated" the French navy, lol, but simply made the true statement that they usually prevailed in the engagements that did occur. My apologies. :)

Probably you are aware of your fellow countrymen often insinuating just that though, so when you mentioned captured opponents, and not the extraordinary mauling suffered by American shipping, or the disinterest of the French navy, it just set me off on a rant. :P

Cheers

[boosra]

Oh, and yes, the U.S. Navy, as usual, performed spectacularly well in single combat, but it was essentially a hopeless policing operation rather than a war, where the U.S. navy rambled around snapping up random French ships, while the French privateers savaged U.S. shipping.

The U.S. Navy at this time was a quality little fleet, but an irrelevance as a naval force. It could effortlessly have been crushed by say, Denmark or Sardinia. The French could, quite literally, not be bothered with it.

[boosra]

Ah, good to see you know your stuff. Yes that's all accurate enough, though Greg H. Williams total ( over a longer period, admittedly) of documented captures adds up to many more thousands.

Also many of those "merchant vessels" were privateers themselves, or at least armed letter-of marques.