H.M.S. Observer versus the American Privateer Jack, 29 May 1782.
During the Revolutionary War rebel vessels prowled Nova Scotian waters in search of booty. Halifax remained secure behind its fortifications but virtually every other coastal settlement suffered attack. Provincial authorities retaliated by authorizing the outfitting of private vessels of war by Nova Scotians for the purpose of raiding American shipping. Those who ventured into privateering were motivated more by desire for profit than for glory. They concentrated on attacking valuable merchantmen and counted more on bluff than battle to affect captures. Loyalist and rebel privateers tried to avoid one another since neither carried valuable cargo.
Responsibility for searching out and destroying hostile privateers largely fell to the Royal Navy. If cornered, the rebels frequently resisted capture with fierce determination. One clash which occurred during the Revolutionary War is shown here and it illustrates the savagery of eighteenth-century naval warfare. "The Observer [12 guns]. . . brought the Jack [16 guns]. . . to action at nine o'clock in the evening . . . off the Harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The engagement continued warm on both sides till near midnight when the Jack struck her colours, having her captain and fourteen men killed with nine wounded; the Observer had three killed, her commander and seven wounded."
