George Farragut, the father of the future admiral in the Civil War, served as a Lieutenant aboard the South Carolina Privateer Sloop Vixen (Commander DOWNHAM NEWTON) when she was commissioned on 16 February 1777. Farragut had arrived in Charleston in 1776. [ Coker, Charleston’s Maritime Heritage, 101;  NDAR, IX, 113 and note] The cruise was very successful [see Vixen].

Nicholas Fautrel, supposedly a resident of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was commissioned to the alleged New Hampshire Privateer Ship Amphitrite on 13 June 1777. [NRAR, 226]

John Fenno was a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. He was associated with the following vessels:

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

12/21/82

MA

Ship Charming Sally (10/30)

Samuel Dunn, Jr.

John Coffin Jones et al

Samuel Dunn, Jr., John Coffin Jones, John Fenno

John Cutler, John Barrere [NRAR, 252]

1/8/83

MA

Ship Tartar (14/60)

John Cathcart

John Coffin Jones et al

John Cathcart, John Coffin Jones, John Fenno

Green Pearson, Samuel Sumner [NRAR, 473]

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

7/31/81

MA

Ship Hercules (20/120)

Thomas Dissmore

John Coffin Jones et al

Thomas Dissmore, John Coffin Jones, Tristram Coffin

John Fenno [NRAR, 333]

7/31/81

MA

Schooner Reprisal (4/30)

John Curtis

John Coffin Jones et al

John Curtis, John Coffin Jones, Tristram Coffn

John Fenno [NRAR, 436]

8/24/81

MA

Brigantine Spanish Fame (10/25)

James Rob

John Larraqua et al

James Rob, John Coffin Jones, Tristram Coffin

John Fenno [NRAR, 460]

10/3/82

MA

Brig Dragon (6/20)

John Adams

John Coffin Jones wt al

John Adams, John Coffin Jones, Thomas Lee

Joseph Coffin Boyd, John Fenno [NRAR, 277]

Mark Fernald (Firnald, Furnell) was a resident of Kittery, Massachusetts [Maine]. He served as a Lieutenant aboard the New Hampshire Privateer Brigantine Aurora, Commander SAMUEL GERRISH). Aurora was captured by HM Frigate Cerberus on 25 July 1780. [see Aurora] Fernald was committed to Mill Prison, near Plymouth, England, in July 1780. [NOAR, 107]

Edward Fettyplace, [NRAR, 228] probably the same as Edward Fettyplace, Jr. of Marblehead,  [NOAR, 108] was a resident of Newburyport, Massachusetts. [NRAR, 228] As "Jr.," he was commissioned to the Massachusetts Privateer Schooner Dolphin on 26 May 1777. [NOAR, 108] He was commissioned to the Massachusetts Privateer Ship Antelope on 6 February 1782. [NRAR, 228]

Wilfred Fisher was aboard the Massachusetts Privateer Schooner America (Commander DANIEL McNEILL) as Master on 16 April 1777. [see America]

Theophilus Fitch was a resident of Norwich, Connecticut. He was commissioned to the Connecticut Privateer Schooner Tartar on 11 August 1777. [NRAR, 472; NDAR, X, 589-590] Tartar was intended as an armed West India trading vessel. [Middlebrook, MCR, II, 231]

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

11/8/79

PA

Brig Active (14/40)

Thomas Misnard

Thomas Fitzsimons; George Meade & Co.

Thomas Misnard, Thomas Fitzsimons, George Meade

[NRAR, 218]

James Fletcher was at Fort George on 26 June 1777, assigned to the vessel commanded or to be commanded by Captain GILBERT SHERER. [NDAR, 9, 174]

Patrick Fletcher was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Continental Navy on 20 November 1776. He served aboard the Continental Navy Ship Alliance (Captain JOHN BARRY). [NOAR, 111] Fletcher was aboard the Alliance when she sailed from New London on 4 August 1782 and captured nine prizes, including four rich ones, during her cruise. She put into L'Orient, France on 18 October 1782. A dispute over prize money arose there, during which six or eight officers refused to do duty and were arrested, including Fletcher. He was left in France until he could be tried in the United States. [Smith, Marines in the Revolution, 286-287, 339] Captain of Marines Matthew Parke was tried on these charges on 16 May 1783 at Philadelphia on the Continental Navy Ship George Washington. He was charged with disobedience of orders and with "detaining the Ship in Port causing an additional Expence." He was convicted only of the first charge and sentenced to "forfeit his Commission Provided however that this sentence shall not affect any wages or Monies due" before 24 November 1782. It may be presumed that Fletcher was tried about the same time with a similar result. [Smith, Marines, 463] His trial may have been on 12 May. [Gurn, Commodore John Barry, 186]

Frederick Folger was a resident of Annapolis, Maryland. [NRAR, 228] He was commissioned to the Maryland Privateer Schooner Felicity on 17 August 1780. [NRAR, 292] His next command was the  Maryland Privateer Schooner Antelope, commissioned on 20 January 1781. [NRAR, 228] Sailing in company with the Felicity [NOAR, 111] (Commander Thomas Cole) [NRAR, 292] for the West Indies, the pair encountered and captured the British ship Resolution. On the return voyage from Guadeloupe they captured the British privateer [NOAR, 111] Jack-o'-Lantern off the Patuxent River. [NOAR, 112]

Samuel Foote was, possibly, a resident of Beverly, Massachusetts. He served aboard the Massachusetts Privateer Schooner Warren (Commander JOHN RAVEL) on 3 December 1777 as First Lieutenant. [Howe, Beverly Privateers in the Revolution, 420; Allen, MPR, 321] Warren sailed on 27 December 1777 [Howe, Beverly Privateers in the Revolution, 340, 420] from Beverly. On 28 December, at 48°48'N, 37°35'W she met the 200-ton British letter-of-marque ship Tom (John Lee). Overmatched, Warren fought for three hours (the British referred to it as a “short Engagement”) before surrendering with one dead and two-three wounded. Warren lost her foremast or mainmast. Lee “took the Guns and every other necessary out of the Privateer, and then left them to shift for themselves.” [Howe, Beverly Privateers in the Revolution, 340, 420; NDAR, “The New-York Gazette: and the Weekly Mercury, Monday February 2, 1778, XI, 265-266] For nine days they worked on the wreck. On 6 February [6 January?] 1778 the British ship Fanny, bound from New York to Liverpool, happened by. Fanny took the Warren again and delivered the crew as prisoners in England. They were sent to Mill Prison. [Howe, Beverly Privateers in the Revolution, 340, 420]

William Forsyth was presumably a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was aboard the Pennsylvania Privateer Ship Oliver Cromwell (Commander HARMAN COURTER), commissioned on 7 February 1777. Forsyth was probably aboard during the inconclusive fight with the British Transport Lady’s Adventure on 13 April 1777. Later in April the the schooner Apollo (Tobias Collins), from Whitehaven, Scotland, with cordage valued at £800 was captured. After being taken to Martinique in the French West Indies, Apollo was dispatched to Philadelphia under Forsyth as prize master. She next turns up on 26 May 1777, in Sinepuxent Inlet, Virginia, when she was captured by HM Armed Sloop Haerlem and sent into New York, New York. Apollo was probably the “Schooner from Liverpool for this Port, that had been taken by a Rebel Privateer and sent into Virginia,” as reported in the New York newspapers. She was said to have been “cut out of a Harbour by the Merlin.” From this we can deduce that the British sent in boats to Sinepuxent Inlet to re-capture the prize. She arrived in New York on 14 June 1777. Apollo was tried and condemned in the Vice Admiralty court as a re-capture. Forsyth was presumptively imprisoned. [see Oliver Cromwell]

Nicoll Fosdick was a resident of New London, Connecticut. He was commissioned to the Connecticut Privateer Brigantine Defiance on 27 November 1779. [Middlebrook, MCR, II, 68] By September 1780 Fosdick was commanding the Connecticut Privateer Sloop Randolph. He helped capture the British Privateer Sloop Hibernia and took the sloop Venus in September. [NOAR, 113] On 2 May 1781, while on another vessel, he took the ship Hunter and, later, the brig Pontus. Back on the Randolph, Fosdick captured the British Privateer Schooner Fox on 5 April 1782. He took a total of sixteen prizes during the war. [NOAR, 113]

A “Lieutenant James” was paid £21.15.0 for himself for a half month’s pay, and to recruit Marines on 23 April 1776. [NDAR, IV, 1428-1429] This may be a reference to Lieutenant of Marines James Foster. On 6 May 1776 the Virginia Committee of Safety appointed James Foster Lieutenant of Marines in Captain [John] Marsden’s company, and gave him a warrant for £21.15.0 for recruiting and a month’s half pay for himself. [NDAR, IV, 1428] The money was recorded as paid to Lieutenant “James.” [NDAR, IV, 1428-1429] According to Stewart, 187, he was a lieutenant on 4 May 1776, in Marsden’s company. On 1 June 1776 he was Captain of Marines of a company lately commanded by Marsden. [Stewart, 187]

John Foster was a resident of East Haddam, Connecticut. Privateers associated with Foster were:

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

9/9/77

CT

Schooner Sampson (4/25)

Zebulon Cooper

John Foster

Zebulon Cooper, John Foster, Joseph Bulkley

Hezekiah Crane, Ezekiel Williams [NRAR, 453]

6/18/78

CT

Sloop Princess Mary (7/26)

Benjamin Pratt

Uriah Rogers and John Foster & Co.

Benjamin Pratt, Uriah Rogers, John Foster

Gurdon Saltonstall, Mary Saltonstall [NRAR, 421]

11/20/78

CT

Sloop Eagle (6/30)

Edward Conkling

John Wright, John Foster, Uriah Rogers and Joseph and Edward Conkling

Edward Conkling, Joseph Conkling

Gurdon Saltonstall, Ann Saltonstall [NRAR, 279]

5/21/82

CT

Galley Juno (1/24)

Oliver Norris

John Foster & Co.

Oliver Norris, John Foster, Amasa Jones

Ebenezer Barnard, Jr., Simeon Newell [NRAR, 364]

7/15/82

CT

Galley Shelally (2/35)

Elnathan Hatch

John Foster & Co.

Elnathan Hatch, John Foster, John Alden

Nathaniel Wales, Jabex Perkins [NRAR, 459]

7/31/82

CT

Galley Young Lion (4/25)

Peter Vail

John Foster & Co.

Peter Vail, Robert Usher, John Alden

Jonathan N. Havens, John Porter [NRAR, 495]

10/14/82

CT

Galley Lyon (2/30)

Robert Craig

John Foster & Co.

Robert Craig, John Foster, Amasa Jones

William Watson, Freman Vallerum [NRAR, 380]

11/1/82

CT

Galley Lion (2/28)

Aaron Meech

John Foster & Co.

Aaron Meech, John Foster, John Alden

John Porter, David Trumbull [NRAR, 374]

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

10/16/81

CT

Brigantine Dandy (12/30)

George House

Clerkson & Co.

George House, John Deshon, Nathaniel Shaw

Charles Caldwell, John Foster [NRAR, 262]

William Foster was a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. He was associated in privateering with CHARLES SIGOURNEY. Vessels associated with Foster were:

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

10/15/76

MA

Sloop Oliver Cromwell (10/60)

John Tiley

Charles Sigourney et al

Charles Sigourney, William Foster

[Allen, MPR, 229-230]

Yelverton Fowkes was in command of the South Carolina Privateer Schooner Priscilla in 1777. [Coker, 300]

James Forbes was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [NRAR, 226] He was aboard the Maryland Navy  Boat Rebecca and Sally (Captain Thomas Russell) on 24 June 1776 as a Second Lieutenant. On 8 January 1779 Forbes was commissioned to the Maryland Privateer Sloop Annapolis. [NRAR, 226] On 25 September 1779 he was commissioned to command the Maryland Privateer Brigantine Hercules. [NRAR, 333] He next commanded the Maryland Privateer Brig Nesbitt, commissioned 23 June 1780, to which he was recommissioned on 11 May 1781. [NRAR, 404] On 27 December 1781 Forbes was commissioned to the Pennsylvania Privateer Ship Dolphin, [NRAR, 273] and his final command of the war was the Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine Hamburg, commissioned 1 January 1783. [NOAR, 112]

Solomon Frazier was a resident of Dorchester County [NRAR, 276] and Talbot County, Maryland. [NRAR, 472] Frazier was commissioned to the Maryland Privateer Schooner Dorchester on 26 October 1778. [NRAR, 276] On 25 September 1779 he was commissioned to the Maryland Privateer Brigantine Talbot. [NRAR, 472] Talbot was captured by HM Frigate Cerberus. On 14 October 1780 Frazier was committed to Mill Prison. He escaped on 4 June 1781. [NOAR, 115]

Nathaniel Freeman was a resident of Sandwich, Massachusetts. He was associated with one privateer, being listed as owner of the Massachusetts Privateer Galley Anti Smuggler (Commander John Percival). She was commissioned on 7 August 1782. [NRAR, 228]

Cornelius French, possibly of Rhode Island or Massachusetts, was a Mate on the Continental Army Schooner General Putnam, in the New York area, on 10 May 1776. [NOAR, 116] He was next noticed as being in command of the Rhode Island Privateer Brig Black Snake on 15 April 1780. This was possibly the same vessel as the privateer schooner black Snake of Rhode Island. The brig was driven ashore and captured by HM Frigate Galatea on 15 April. Presumably French was taken prisoner. Whether he was aboard when the brig was re-captured on 18 April is unknown. [see Black Snake]

Robert French served on the Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine Schuylkill (Commander John Burrows) as First Mate from 20 September 1781. French listed his address as Philadelphia. [NRAR, 456] Robert French was commissioned to the Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine George, a vessel of six guns and sixteen men, on 27 February 1782. George's owners were James Craig, Jr., and Philip Moore and others of Philadelphia. [NRAR, 316]

Henry Fritze was appointed as Captain of Marines aboard the Massachusetts Privateer Brigantine Rising States (Commander James Thompson), commissioned 18 October 1777. Fritze had collected some recruits for the Rising States at Marblehead. On 28 January 1777, two officers from Continental Navy Ship Boston (Captain Hector McNeill) hauled Fritze before the local committee, thinking he had recruited deserters from that ship. Although Fritze refused to answer any questions, the committee took no action. [NDAR, VII, 1062-1063] Rising States sailed 29 January 1777 on her cruise, bound for European waters. Three prizes were captured before Rising States was captured by HMS Terrible on 15 April 1777. Along with the other prisoners, Fritze arrived in Portsmouth on 30 April and was committed to Forton prison on 14 June 1777. Fritze, Thompson and a number of others escaped on 20 June. Thompson and Fritze were in France by 2 July 1777. [see Rising States]

Benjamin Frost was a resident of Salem, Massachusetts. He is associated with the fillowing privateers:

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

31 March 1781

Comet

Schooner/9/29

Richard Elledge

Benjamin Frost et al

Eichard Elledge, Joseph Grafton, Benjamin Frost

Lewis Carnes, Benjamin S. Williams [NRAR, 255]

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

27 December 1781

Aurora

Brigantine/6/12

George Williams, Jr.

George Williams, Jr. et al

George Williams, Jr., Joshua Grafton, Benjamin Frost

Jonathan Waldo, Nathaniel Perry [NRAR, 231]

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

30 August 1780

Manete

John Daccaretta

Schooner/6/16

Joshua Grafton et al

John Daccaretta, Joshua Grafton, Joseph Grafton

Benjamin Frost, Nathaniel Perry [NRAR, 382]

30 August 1780

Commerce

Sloop/10/25

John Baptist Millet

Joshua Grafton et al

John Baptist Millet, Joshua Grafton, Joseph Grafton

Benjamin Frost, Nathaniel Perry [NRAR, 256]

7 December 1782

Experiment

Brig/6/12

George Williams, Jr.

William West et al

George Williams, Jr., William West, Jr., Nathan Goodale

Joseph Hiller, Benjamin Frost [NRAR, 286]

Zephan Fuller entered the Continental Army Lake Champlain Squadron Galley Trumbull on 23 September 1776 as Master. He remained aboard until 25 November 1776 when he was discharged back to his regiment. [NDAR, 7, 280-281]

Robert Furnis, possibly of Portsmouth, was associated with the following privateers:

Date

State

Rig/Name/Guns/Crew

Commander

Co-owners

Security

Witness

30 July 1777

La Maria

Brigantine/12/60

MARK DENNET

SIMON CARBOULEZ

Bonder; NEAL McINTYRE

Nahum Ward [NRAR, 368]

28 January 1778

McClarey

Brigantine/8/50

JOHN GREGORY

Owner

THOMAS MARTIN; JACOB TREADWELL

John Wheelwright; Henry Seaward [NRAR, 381]

Paris Fyler was a resident of Windsor, Connecticut. He was commissioned to the Connecticut Privateer Sloop Hero on 15 September 1778. [Middlebrook, MCR, II, 121; NRAR, 334]