Trimming Yankee Sails: Pirates and Privateers of New Brunswick

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

When most people think of pirates, they think of peg legs, parrots, and
bearded buccaneers swashbuckling their way across the Caribbean in
search of Spanish galleons. This book sheds new light on a long-ignored
chapter in pirate folklore, the pirate/privateer wars between the
Maritimes and the New England states. The era began with the outbreak of
war in 1812 and ended with the Chesapeake Affair, which threatened to
drag Great Britain and New Brunswick into the American Civil War.

Author Faye Kert is considered one of the world’s top authorities on
the subject of East Coast privateer activity during the 19th century.
She begins the book with a brief overview of the difference between
pirates and privateers and how the distinction was often blurred as
money-hungry civilian sailors, adventurers, and common criminals often
used a state of war as an excuse to try to grab a few easy dollars. With
painstaking attention to detail, Kert follows the careers of several
privateer/pirate expeditions launched from New Brunswick ports. Often,
the amateurism of the crews and the makeshift nature of their vessels
led to a tragicomedy of errors where the would-be prize seekers returned
home empty-handed, wounded, or arrested because they did not have their
paperwork in order. But a few were successful, and Kert profiles those
New Brunswick privateers who managed to build substantial fortunes at
the expense of the Yankee merchant fleet.

The book includes numerous paintings, illustrations, maps, and vintage
photographs, and for landlubbers who do not know a dogbody from a
Chebacco boat, a small glossary of nautical terms. Although small in
size, Trimming Yankee Sails delivers an impressive amount of information
and is a pleasure to read.