War of 1812 Privateer?s Commission Issued for a Great Ship Captained by Salem Merchant, Future Navy Secretary and Original Privateer Benjamin Crowninshield, Signed by President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe (Along with the original letter of instruction from the owners of the ship Alexander to Crowninshield, filled with details about prizes, prisoners, ports and prize courts, and practices allowed and disallowed). Cet article n’est pas disponible.War of 1812 Privateer?s Commission Issued for a Great Ship Captained by Salem Merchant, Future Navy Secretary and Original Privateer Benjamin Crowninshield, Signed by President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe (Along with the original letter of instruction from the owners of the ship Alexander to Crowninshield, filled with details about prizes, prisoners, ports and prize courts, and practices allowed and disallowed)

Acquired from the Crowninshield heirs and never before offered for sale; it was considered "the fastest sailing privateer out of the United States."?Crowninshield is authorized to ?subdue, seize and take any armed or unarmed British vessel, public or private, which shall be found within the jurisdictional limits of the United States or elsewhere on the high seas??We have never before seen a privateer?s commission made out to a cabinet member, nor seen a commission with a surviving letter of instructionThe Commission:During the Napoleonic Wars, the British practices of impressment (boarding American vessels, taking American sailors and forcing them into the Royal Navy), restrictions on American trade, and British support for Native Americans, were major grievances for the U.S. On June 1, 1812, President James Madison sent a message to Congress outlining these grievances and asking for a declaration of war. The House of Representatives voted 79-49 in favor of the declaration, and the Senate voted 19-13. Thus, unlike in World War II where there was unity in Congress, the vote showed divisions in the nation. Still, on June 18, 1812, Madison signed the Declaration of War, marking the beginning of the War of 1812.During the War of 1812, American privateers played a significant role in disrupting British maritime commerce and bolstering the American economy. Privateers often used fast-sailing schooners and sloops, well-suited for raiding and capturing merchant vessels. They captured a substantial number of British merchant vessels, far exceeding the U.S. Navy's captures, and brought home valuable prizes. Privateers were privately owned and operated, commissioned by the U.S. government to attack enemy ships during wartime.The Crowninshield family was historically prominent in shipbuilding and merchant shipping, political and military leadership, and the literary world. The family is one of those known as Boston Brahmins, a reference to old wealthy New England families that became influential in the development of American institutions and culture. George Crowninshield was a captain and merchant, and he had a son Benjamin, who was a captain, merchant, ship builder, and Secretary of the Navy between 1815 and 1818, during the administrations of Presidents James Madison and James Monroe.During the war, the Crowninshields were prominent figures in privateering and offered three vessels to the U.S. government for service as privateers. These were the ship John, the sloop Jefferson, and the ship America. They were also involved with other privateers where they had an ownership interest, such as the Alexander, where there were 19 owners, including George Crowninshield.Document signed by Madison as President and Monroe as Secretary of State, Washington, March 1, 1813, being the privateers commission for the Ship Alexander, specifically mentioning the ship and Captain Benjamin Crowninshield, soon to be Secretary of the Navy, who ?is further authorized to detain, seize and take all vessels and effects.? According to the postwar book, ?Royal Navy Biographies?, "The Alexander is a remarkably fine ship?and was considered the fastest sailing privateer out of the United States."?That in pursuance of an Act of Congress, passed on the 26th day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, I have commissioned, and by these presents do commission, the private armed Ship called the Alexander, of the burthen of three hundred and eight tons or thereabouts, owned by Joseph Winn, William Manning, William Rice, George Crowninshield & Co., Josiah Orne, John Dodge, Joseph White, Jr., Gilbert Chadwick, Stephen White, Timothy Wellman, Samuel Webb, Jr., John Hathorne, Nathan Blood, Penn Townsend, Joseph J. Knap, William Fabens, all of Salem, William Fettyplace of Marblehead, William Marston of Boston, all in the State of Massachusetts, and Joseph Despaux of Baltimore in the State of Maryland, mounting sixteen carriage guns, and navigated by one hundred twenty men.…