Yankee privateering, shewing how a little whale-boat, belonging to Portland, took a large British vessel, and being too proud to come home on the water, jumped on the deck of her prize and rode into port

Commander Martin describes “privateering” as a form of maritime warfare conducted by licensed, private men-of-war. A way to augment a naval force at little cost was to license interested merchant traders to wage war primarily against the merchant ships of the enemy of the moment. By the time of the American Revolution, the practice had become well established and followed internationally accepted rules. One aspiring to become a privateer went to his government and sought a “letter of marque,” a license. The letter authorized its designee to operate as a warship a specific ship of specific armament against the shipping of a specific enemy or enemies. Captures (“prizes”) taken were to be brought into designated ports where their documentation (registration, bills of lading, etc.) were to be reviewed by a court of admiralty which determined the validity of the capture. If it was a valid prize, the captor could then auction off the ship and contents to the highest bidders. Monies gained thereby were shared by the privateer’s owners and her crew on a system of shares. The owners usually received one-half of the proceeds; the officers and crew divided the rest, with the captain getting the largest share and the junior seamen the smallest.

The story of the amusing Yankee Privateering, in which a conquering “whale-boat” rides on the deck of its British prize back into Portland, was reported in the Boston Independent Chronicle on October 1, 1812. The song tells the story as it appears in the paper but in ballad meter instead of prose.

The prize was the brig Maria out of Tinmouth, England, commanded by Samuel Saunders. When she was auctioned in Portland, she was described as “134 tons, built of best White Oak, double decked, several new spare Sails 3 Cables and Hawser, and 4 anchors, and otherwise sound” (Portland Eastern Argus, October 1, 1812; Boston Independent Chronicle, October 5, 1812; Portland Eastern Argus, November 19, 1812; Portland Gazette, December 14, 1812). For size contrast, in August 1813 William Bentley noted the launch in Salem of a whaleboat privateer “about 60 feet long. Her Hatches are half her length upon deck, & the men can stand in them” (4:190).