JAY, John (1745-1829), Signer, co-author of The Federalist Papers, Chief Justice. Broadside signed ("John Jay") AS PRESIDENT OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: In Congress, Wednesday, April 3, 1776. Instructions to the Commanders of Private Ships or Vessels of War, which shall have Commissions of Marque and Reprisal, authorizing them to Make Captures of British Vessels and Cargoes " n.p., [Philadelphia: John Dunlap 1776]. Folio, bold heading "In Congress," containing eleven articles, two small marginal tears, but in very fine condition, with margins untrimmed. Evans 15137. CONGRESS' INSTRUCTIONS TO AMERICAN PRIVATEERS. Three months before Independence, Congress resolved that "blank commissions for private ships of war and letters of marque and reprisal, signed by the president, be sent to the general assemblies, conventions, and councils or committees of safety of the United Colonies, to be by them filled up and delivered to the persons intending to fit out such private ships of war, for making captures of British vessels and cargoes." The broadside was no doubt signed by Jay at a later date (he was President of Congress from December 1778 to September 1779). Congress' determined effort to oppose, or rather, harrass the world's most powerful maritime power proved a mixed blessing, for although the privateers destroyed far more British vessels than than the puny American Navy, they drained critical resources of manpower and materiel desperately needed by the embryonic navy. According to one authority, some 1,115 American privateers set sail during the Revolution; Boatner calculates that, by that estimate, some 11,000 seamen were engaged in privateering. In all, American privateers captured some 600 British vessels during the war, yielding prize monies totalling some $18 million. It is widely conceded that privateers were engaged in little more than licensed piracy.
JAY, John (1745-1829), Signer, co-author of The Federalist Papers, Chief Justice. Broadside signed ("John Jay") AS PRESIDENT OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: In Congress, Wednesday, April 3, 1776. Instructions to the Commanders of Private Ships or Vessels of War, which shall have Commissions of Marque and Reprisal, authorizing them to Make Captures of British Vessels and Cargoes " n.p., [Philadelphia: John Dunlap 1776]. Folio, bold heading "In Congress," containing eleven articles, two small marginal tears, but in very fine condition, with margins untrimmed. Evans 15137. CONGRESS' INSTRUCTIONS TO AMERICAN PRIVATEERS. Three months before Independence, Congress resolved that "blank commissions for private ships of war and letters of marque and reprisal, signed by the president, be sent to the general assemblies, conventions, and councils or committees of safety of the United Colonies, to be by them filled up and delivered to the persons intending to fit out such private ships of war, for making captures of British vessels and cargoes." The broadside was no doubt signed by Jay at a later date (he was President of Congress from December 1778 to September 1779). Congress' determined effort to oppose, or rather, harrass the world's most powerful maritime power proved a mixed blessing, for although the privateers destroyed far more British vessels than than the puny American Navy, they drained critical resources of manpower and materiel desperately needed by the embryonic navy. According to one authority, some 1,115 American privateers set sail during the Revolution; Boatner calculates that, by that estimate, some 11,000 seamen were engaged in privateering. In all, American privateers captured some 600 British vessels during the war, yielding prize monies totalling some $18 million. It is widely conceded that privateers were engaged in little more than licensed piracy.
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