Trouble On the High Seas-- Part 3: Seizing and Sinking American Ships

THE TROUBLE AT SEA

This sort of trouble wasn't new.  Ships of the British Royal Navy had been stopping American merchant ships ever since 1793, when England went to war with France.  It was England's war policy to stop all ships from trading in French seaports.  To make sure that American ships were not taking war supplies to France, British warships stopped them on the ocean and British sailors went on board to search the cargo.

French warships did the same.  If the French or British found enemy cargo on board, the ship might be sunk or captured.  Dozens of American ships were lost that way, and thousands of dollars' worth of goods were lost with every ship.

--Brock-Perry