privateering, which was more remunerative, and not so very much
more dangerous, than their ordinary pursuits. By the end of the,
war of 1812, in particular, the American privateers had won for
themselves a formidable position on the ocean. The schooners,
brigs, and brigantines in which the privateersmen sailed were
beautifully modeled, and were among the fastest craft afloat.
They were usually armed with one heavy gun, the "long Tom," as it
was called, arranged on a pivot forward or amidships, and with a
few lighter pieces of cannon. They carried strong crews of
well-armed men, and their commanders were veteran seamen, used to
brave every danger from the elements or from man. So boldly did
they prey on the British commerce, that they infested even the
Irish Sea and the British Channel, and increased many times the
rate of insurance on vessels passing across those waters. They
also often did battle with the regular men-of-war of the British,
being favorite objects for attack by cutting-out parties from the
British frigates and ships of the line, and also frequently
encountering in fight the smaller sloops-of-war. Usually, in
these contests, the privateersmen were worsted, for they had not
the training which is obtained only in a regular service, and
they were in no way to be compared to the little fleet of regular
vessels which in this same war so gloriously upheld the honor of
the American flag. Nevertheless, here and there a privateer
commanded by an exceptionally brave and able captain, and manned
by an unusually well-trained crew, performed some feat of arms
which deserves to rank with anything ever performed by the
regular navy. Such a feat was the defense of the brig General
Armstrong, in the Portuguese port of Fayal, of the Azores,
against an overwhelming British force.