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b'Privateers were a cross between an enlisted sailor and an outright pirate. But they were crucial in winning the Revolutionary War. As John Lehman, former secretary of the navy under President Ronald Reagan, observed, \\u201cFrom the beginning of the American Revolution until the end of the War of 1812, America\\u2019s real naval advantage lay in its privateers. It has been said that the battles of the American Revolution were fought on land, and independence was won at sea. For this we have the enormous success of American privateers to thank even more than the Continental Navy.\\u201d
Yet even in the face of plenty of readily available evidence, the official canon of naval history in both Britain and the United States virtually ignores privateers.

Privateers were privately owned vessels granted permission by the new government to seize British merchantmen and men of war \\u2013 filled in the gaps. Nearly 2,000 of these private ships set sail over the course of the war, with tens of thousands of Americans capturing more than 1,800 British ships. A truly ragtag fleet ranging from twenty-five-foot-long whaleboats to full-rigged ships more than 100 ft long, privateersmen were not just pirates after a good loot \\u2013 as too often assumed \\u2013 but were, instead, crucial instruments in the war. They diverted critical British resources to protecting their shipping, played a key role in bringing France in as an ally, replenished much-needed supplies back home, and bolstered morale.

Today\\u2019s guest is Eric Jay Dolin, author of \\u201cRebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.\\u201d The story of the founding of the U.S. Navy during the Revolution has been told many times \\u2013 yet often missing from maritime histories of the period is the ragtag fleet of private vessels that were, in fact, critical to American victory.

Privateering provided a source of strength that helped the rebels persevere. Although privateering was not the single, decisive factor in beating the
British\\u2014there was no one cause\\u2014it was extremely important nonetheless.'