rize for privateers who could often outmaneuver the larger military ships. A common tactic was to load their cannons with grape shot and aim high for the British sails. If a privateer could disable the man- o-war's maneuvering capability, he would gain a great advantage. Positioning himself perpendicular to the British stern, the British would be forced to surrender, being unable to return fire or quickly reposition to do so. Britain's loss of maritime and naval supremacy had a tremendous impact on the war. In the beginning of the revolution, most Britons believed that the war would have little or no effect on them personally. Granted, it would be expensive to ship redcoats and Hessians across the Atlantic Ocean, but this cost would be more than covered by the profits British merchants were making from colonial trade. The provisions of the Navigation Acts ensured profits for British merchants as long as the system was in place, and putting down a rebellion made good economic sense. Furthermore, British merchants believed that the war would be fought entirely across the ocean, perhaps destroying some infrastructure in the colonies, but having no effect on British trade. The American privateers were quick to prove them wrong. The assaults of the privateers on British merchant ships cost English business eighteen million dollars throughout the course of the war. The estimated value of the ships that were captured totaled almost twenty four million dollars. Combined, this makes approximately forty two million dollars lost to the privateers, a fortune in the late eighteenth century. Added to this were the sixteen thousand prisoners taken by the privateers, the vast majority of whom where seamen. The sheer audacity of the American privateers is evident in the bold raids against British ships carried on just off the coast of England. Bold captains would sail for the English coast, capture ships, and escort them to F...
