The Fourth Arm · Episode 1 of 11 · 21 min
Before the Navy: The Privateers Who Fought the Revolution at Sea
Before the United States had a Navy, armed civilian privateers rather than a national fleet carried much of the Revolution's war at sea. The episode opens the two-century story of the "Fourth Arm of National Defense" with the 1776 letters of marque and a private fleet that vastly outnumbered the tiny Continental Navy.
Who's who
- Franklin D. Roosevelt+28 more episodesPresident often credited with the phrase "Fourth Arm of National Defense"
Where it happens
- Boston, Massachusetts+11 more episodesHome port of the privateer Caesar, the largest commonly cited
- Falmouth, MassachusettsHome of the Defense, an 8-ton privateer
Timeline
- October 1775Continental Congress votes to create a small naval force
- March 1776Congress formalizes privateering with commissioning rules and bonds
- 1776-1783Roughly 1,700 letters of marque issued; Continental Navy totals about 60 vessels
- 1783War ends; British shipping losses estimated at about $18 million
- July 1798Congress funds care for sick and disabled merchant seamen from their wages
Still debated
Privateer counts vary widely, from the National Park Service's conservative figures to higher estimates of 2,000-plus vessels. Historians disagree on how decisive privateering was, and the Roosevelt attribution of "Fourth Arm" cannot be pinned to a clean quotation.
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