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A letter of marque and reprisal (French: lettre de marque; lettre de course) was a government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with the issuer, licensing international military operations against a specified enemy as reprisal for a previous attack or injury.
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. [1] Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as letters of marque, during wartime. The ...
Although not French Navy personnel, corsairs were considered legitimate combatants in France (and allied nations), provided the commanding officer of the vessel was in possession of a valid letter of marque (lettre de marque or lettre de course, the latter giving corsairs their name), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to ...
A privateer was a private person authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. Privateering was an accepted part of naval warfare from the 16th to the 19th centuries, authorised by all significant naval powers. Notable privateers included:
On 31 October she encountered an American privateer off Cape Maize while sailing the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti. [5] Sir John Sherbrooke was able to hold the privateer off for some five hours until Robson suffered a severe wound that almost killed him. The two vessels then accidentally ran into each other, and the Americans boarded ...
Privateer: 1 × 12-pounder gun + 8 × 12-pounder carronades [2] Hussar was an American privateer active during the War of 1812 . Hussar was launched in 1812 and made several cruises, first two as a letter of marque , and two as a privateer, but apparently without success.
HMS Dominica was the French letter of marque schooner Duc de Wagram, which the British captured in 1809 in the Leeward Islands and took into the Royal Navy in 1810. The American privateer Decatur captured her in 1813 in a notable single-ship action. However, Majestic recaptured her in 1814. She was wrecked in 1815
Resolution was a privateer lugger operating out of Guernsey in 1793. She made several captures, most notably of the French East Indiaman St.Jean de Lone.. On 7 (or 11) March 1793, shortly after the outbreak of war with France, Captain William Le Lacheur acquired a letter of marque for Resolution.