Privateer has generally been a term of opprobrium. From the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, governments enlisted private citizens to man warships and plunder the shipping of unfriendly nations. Privateers operated outside the constraints of “civilized” warfare and were viewed as one step removed from pirates; governments that employed them preferred to look the other way when informed of some of their less-savory exploits. Still, their contributions to naval success in various wars were substantial, and the American War of Independence was no exception.

Patton has chronicled the achievements of these morally ambiguous men who helped to drain the British treasury with their depredations while enriching themselves as well as many American merchants. They operated with the tacit support of many prominent citizens, including Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Robert Livingston. Whatever their motives, the actions of many of the privateers were daring, and even heroic, as they navigated the gray area between profit and patriotism. This is a well-written examination of an obscure aspect of American military history.

Patriot Pirates: War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution