Instructions to the commanders of warships to protect American trade
Item
Type
Draft Letter
Title
Instructions to the commanders of warships to protect American trade
Description
General instructions to commanders of armed vessels in the service of the United States in order to protect United States trade on the coast. Urges them to defend selves with all necessary force against attacks on the high seas, but orders that they not make prize of the ship that attacked, unless a pirate and not a regularly commissioned ship of war. Also warns that they may run across French armed vessels who had illegally seized American merchant vessels, ordering that they insist upon the delivery of any prisoners onboard.
year created
1798
month created
05
day created
19
author
sent from location
War Department
in collection
in image
notable person/group
James McHenry
James Adams
Congress
pirates
marines
privateer
French
merchants
prisoners
detainee
crew
Hawkesbury
Dutch
notable location
Sea
cape
coast
inlets
rivers
sounds
France
port
Paris
notable item/thing
Ship
vessel
trade
restrictions
treaty
property
prize
notable idea/issue
War
commerce
Quasi-War
aggression
invasion
search
neutrality
document number
1798051900201
page start
1
Item sets
Transcribe this document
Document instances
| In image | In source | Location in source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| [view document] (8 pages) | BRK02 (8 pages) | Collection: James McHenry Papers | B: 3, 2 |
Document names
| Type | Name | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | James McHenry | War Department | [n/a] |
| Recipient | Commanders of Armed Vessels of United States | [unknown] | [n/a] |