Significance of Insignificance: Quasi-War

Norman Crandell – 1997 Consortium on Revolutionary Europe – Baton Rouge, LA

The Significance of Insignificance,
the Quasi-War Between France and the United States, 1798-1801.

Philadelphia,
The Captain of the French privateer, taken a few days ago, seemed
astonished when taken on board of Capt. Decatur’s sloop of war, at his
being taken by an American vessel, and said he knew of no war
between the two republics. Decatur observed that the French had been
making war upon us for a long time, and it was now necessary for us to
take care of ourselves. The Frenchman seemed to be vastly mortified at
seeing his Colours hauled down, and wished he had been sunk. Decatur
told him he should have been gratified if he had stood on board his
vessel and fought her!
The Columbian Centinel (Boston), July 14, 1798.1

The capture of the French privateer La Croyable by the U.S.S. Delaware,

established the commencement of a Quasi-War between France and the United States.

The Quasi-War, extending for nearly three years from 1798 to 1801, originated from the

continued attacks and harassment made upon American shipping by the French

government. Although this depredation was not exclusive to republican France, the

French national Directory openly promoted the legality of such attacks in the hopes of

achieving an easy victory. Responding to these attacks however, the United States

established a navy and quashed the low risk-high return possibility for the French. This

battle offers an illustration of the entire war. There were no great ship-of-the-lines, there

were no Trafalgers, or even a Jutland, the conflicts consisted of limited engagements

usually between American warships and armed merchant vessels against French

privateers, however the Quasi-War proved to be significant in the histories of the United

States, revolutionary France and Britain.

1
Newspaper account of the first battle of an American warship, the U. S. Ship Delaware, and a French
vessel, La Croyable, on July 7, 1798. Department of the Navy. Office of Naval Records and Library. Naval
Documents Related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France. Washington D. C., 1935, I,
176. Hereafter cited as Quasi-War.

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The United States Navy’s history reflects a story of evolution. The origins of the

American Navy began in the adoption of colonial navies wishing to protect individual

coastlines.2 Later, when the colonies began to cry for independence, the Continental

Congress acted upon the Rhode Island naval resolution to establish a Marine Committee

to oversee American naval affairs.3 The proposition for the Continental Congress to

create a navy required careful and prudent debate on what would be its goals. The

geographic configuration of the eastern seaboard with all of its’ accessible rivers and bays

necessitated the importance of retaining the possession of these marine highways. This

would prevent division and isolation by British naval forces. The delegates agreed that the

purpose of the Continental Navy could never be to match the superiority of the British

Navy,4 but to seize the British merchant and military shipping as a legitimate source of

military supplies.5 Throughout the Revolutionary War the Continental Navy served as a

minor support mechanism and relied heavily on the state navies and the armed

merchants.6 After the American victory, the newly created United States

presented an ineffectual and weak government.7 The British retained control of the

western frontier forts and the government of Spain forbid the use of the Mississippi River

as a water highway. These foreign restrictions created a western barrier that constricted

2
Charles O. Paullin. The Navy of the American Revolution. Chicago, 1906, Chapters 11-17.
3
In the diary of John Adams, the topic is first broached on 7 October 1775, with delegate Chase calling the
idea of an American navy as “the maddest Idea in the World,” and stressing the necessity of defending
Hudson River instead, while Gadsden, against the grandness of the Rhode Island proposal, believed that it
was “absolutely necessary that some Plan of Defense by Sea be adopted.” Smith, Paul. ed. Letters of the
Delegates to Congress. Washington D. C., 1977, II, 130-131.
4
Paullin, 153-8.
5
Paullin, 147-53.
6
Robert Wilden Neeser. ed. Statistical and Chronological History of the United States Navy, 1775-1907. 2.
New York, 1909, II, 1; and Edgar Stanton Maclay, A History of American Privateers, Freeport, Reprint,
New York, 1970, 206-7.

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American growth. Another threat to American sovereignty and growth came from the

Barbary Powers. These Mediterranean city-states began to attack American naval

commerce shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. The maritime

commerce of the United States no longer enjoyed the protection of the either the British

Navy or a navy of it’s own and America had dismantled and sold off the Continental

navy.8

These threats assisted in the drive for a Federal Constitution. The supporters of

the Constitution in 1788, used the idea of a navy as a rallying point. In the Federalist

Papers, six specifically dealt with the advantages of a permanent navy. Alexander

Hamilton promoted a Federal Navy as a source of international respect.9 David Ramsey,

seeking support in Charleston, South Carolina told southerners that the new Constitution

would protect their coasts from invasion and promote favorable commercial treaties. He

suggested that a Federal navy would open the West Indies to American trade and, “Give

life to your expiring commerce.”10 In the North the Constitution’s advocates illustrated

the commercial benefits to those who stayed home. A Federalist article entitled, On the

Economic advantages of Union: Providence will be another Antwerp, Newport another

Brest, suggested to New Englanders that an established navy would bring commerce to

those ports stationing the navy.11

7
In the Confederation a navy was treated as a militia unit. The naval force would be called up and then
disbanded when the threat passed. Articles of Confederation, Article 6. Charles Tansill, Documents
Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States. Washington D. C., 29-30.
8
William Malloy, Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreements Between the United
States of America and other Powers, 1776-1909. I, 586-589; and Marshall Smelser, Congress Founds the
Navy. Notre Dame, Indiana, 1959, 5; and Neeser, II, 3.
9
The papers which refer to the establishment of a navy are numbered III,V,XI,XX,XII, and XL. Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. Washington, 1901, XI, 71.
10
David Ramsay, Columbian Herald, February 4 1788.
11
“Phocion”, United States Chronicle, July 17 1788.

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The placement of the subsection that allowed for the establishment of the navy

created much of the debate against the navy and the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists

used the structure of the Constitution with its placement of subsections establishing the

navy and granting Congress the right to levy taxes in their arguments.12 Patrick Henry

argued that the creation of a navy and the taxation which would support it contradicts the

goals of freedom, for ‘“If you be in constant preparation for war, on such airy and

imaginary grounds, as the mere possibility of danger, your government must be military,
13
which will be inconsistent with the enjoyment of liberty.” Another Anti-Federalist,

Luther Martin, also believed that the military established by the Constitution would pose

a threat to liberty. He wrote that the military could be used to establish the office of an

American king.14

These arguments reflected a fear of over taxation and military subservience. A

precedent for their argument can be found approximately one hundred and fifty years

earlier in England. King Charles I in 1635, denied more income by Parliament, reinstated

a naval charge dating back to the reign of Alfred the Great in the ninth century. The

regularity of these writs of shipmonies caused them to be seen as a royal tax issued

without the consent of Parliament and was finally found unlawful.15 This type of power

to use vague laws supported the argument of Luther Martin and the Anti-Federalists that

the military established by the Constitution could pose a threat to liberty.

12
U. S. Constitution, article 1, section 8.
13
Bernard Bailyn, The Debater on the Constitution. Washington D. C., 1977, 623-636.
14
Luther Martin, “The Genuine Information”, Maryland Gazette, January 29,1788.
15
Four writs of shipmonies were issued from 1635 to 1639. F.C. Montague, The Political History of
England, London, 1907, VII, 178-242; and Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English Speaking
Peoples. New York, 1956, II, 197.

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Although the Federalist succeeded with the adoption of the Constitution and the

election of their candidate, George Washington, in the first presidential election, they

could not pass the legislation to create the navy.

Washington and the new Federal government faced several international crises

during his two terms as President. The constriction of American growth and trade beyond

the Appalachians was solved by treaties with Britain and Spain. The Treaty of Amity and

Commerce or Jay’s Treaty attempted to resolve the occupation of the western territories

by the British and the compensation of American shipowners for seized vessels in the

West Indies. The Treaty’s unpopular interpretation by the American public deprived Jay

from the credit he earned. America entered the negotiation with poor standings and

though not all Federalist goals were achieved, Jay negotiated a special commission, made

up of five members, to handle appeals of condemnations of American vessels. Through

this commission American merchants were able to recover over ten million dollars for

their seized vessels.16 The Treaty of Friendship, Boundaries, Commerce and Navigation

with Spain or the Pinckney’s Treaty resolved the southwestern boundaries and allowed

Americans navigation rights on the Mississippi.17 Together these treaties solidified the

western frontier for Washington’s government.

In the Mediterranean the lack of a navy resurfaced when the Dey of Algiers and

the Bey of Tripoli declared war on American shipping in 1794. Americans began to

rethink the policy of 1785 to pay tribute rather than establishing a navy. The third

Congress passed an act requesting the building of six frigates to defend American

16
Malloy, I, 586-589; and Bemis, 103; and Timothy Pitkin’s statistical tables regarding the special appeal
court. Cited in, Anna Clauder, American Commerce as Affected by the Wars of the French Revolution and
Napoleon. Philadelphia, 32-38.

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interests. This act stipulated that in the case of a peace settlement the building program

would be canceled.18 The vote proved difficult despite the continued loss of American

merchant ships and the imprisonment of American sailors. In 1796, the United States

halted the building of the six frigates and resumed the tribute.19

The Franco-American relationship deteriorated after the Revolutionary War. The

alliance against Britain no longer suited the independent United States. America had

deserted her Revolutionary War ally and benefactor to reestablish her trade with Britain.

France’s own revolution caused a strong desire for neutrality in the United States and

created confusion on where the Franco-American treaties stood. This left France, at odds

with Britain and suffering from poor harvests, to view the actions of America as hostile.20

In the Spring of 1793, the new French Minister Edmond Genet deliberately

arrived in Charleston, South Carolina with its French influence rather than the national

capitol in Philadelphia. Jefferson and the other Republicans supported him and the

French cause to the President. Genet soon alienated the Americans sympathetic to the

French Revolution however, by his deliberate use of America’s neutrality. Genet initiated

a privateer shipbuilding program in the United States and enlisted American crews to

serve under the French flag. He also schemed against Spanish influence in North

America. He issued several commissions to American frontier leaders to organize attacks

on Spanish territories in Florida and Mississippi. 21

17
Malloy, II, 1640-1649; and Bemis, 104-106.
18
Annals of Congress, IV, 1426.
19
Treaty with Algiers. Mallory, I, 1; and Treaty with Tripoli. Mallory, II, 1785-1786.
20
Clauder, 28; and Bemis, 106-109.
21
Gardner Allen, Our Naval War with France. Boston, 1909, 3-15; and George White. Statistics of the
State of Georgia. Savannah. 1849, 187; and Bemis, 96-97.

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Angered by the misuse of American neutrality and his involvement into domestic

affairs, Washington sought to expel Genet as French Minister. The French government

solved the dilemma by recalling Genet. Future French Ministers to the United States

continued this type of intrigue however and within two years, Adet suggested to Paris that

with French ownership of Louisiana, pressure could be applied to the American

government.22

Although the situation in Europe provided a market for American goods, the trade

routes were blocked by French degrees. The Jay Treaty had increased the tension between

the two nations. The treaty between the United States and Britain appeared to violate the

previous Franco-American treaties of friendship and commerce. In reaction to the treaty,

France and the West Indies French colonial departments issued several degrees from 1794

to 1797 that allowed neutral vessels to be searched and confiscated. These legalized

confiscation of American vessels and cargoes retarded the growth of American

commerce. By the end of Washington’s second term over 300 cases of attacks upon

American shipping occurred. 23 (See figure 1)

Toward the end of his second term, Washington warned Congress of the

deteriorating relations with France and that American trade, “Was suffering extensive

injuries in the West Indies from the cruisers and agents of the French republic.”24 In his

farewell address he stressed the unifying cause of liberty that bound all Americans and

22
Bruce French. Banking and Insurance in New Jersey: A History. New York, 1965, 16.
23
Quasi-War, I, 1-4 and 219; and Clauder, 42-44.
24
James D. Richardson. ed. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. New York,
1895, I, 210; and Augusta, The Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State, 11 February, 1797.

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the importance of national sovereignty, identity and of the combined interest of one

nation.25

In his inaugural address on 2 March 1797, John Adams reaffirmed Washington’s

vision of independent sovereignty. He said, “If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by

foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, terror, intrigue, or venality,

the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations.”26

The implication of avoiding European alliances struck both the pro-French Republicans

and the pro-English Federalists. The Republicans, desiring a peaceful resolution, and the

Federalists, desiring a quick resolution, welcomed the address. Both parties found a

solution that would fit their goals.27

In May of 1797, Adams called a special session of Congress to deal with the

French crisis. He asked for a three man diplomatic mission to be sent to France to

improve relations. The Congress approved the mission and agreed to limited military

preparations. The American envoys, Gerry, Marshall, and Pinckney were instructed to

seek compensation for the American losses in commerce.28

The delegation arrived in Paris in October but found that they could not perform

their duties. French Foreign Minister Tallyrand refused to receive them. While the

delegation waited, agents of the French government represented themselves as friends of

Tallyrand. They demanded a bribe of $250,000 and a loan to France as a condition for

the talks to begin. The reply of Pinckney, “No! No! Not a sixpence!” later inspired the

25
Richardson, I, 214-218.
26
Richardson, I, 220.
27
Smelser, 103.
28
Quasi-War, I, 1-4 and 6.

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popular Quasi-War rallying cry, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.”29

The delegation remained in France until the following March.

In March of 1798, Marshall and Pinckney left Paris blocked and frustrated from

negotiation. Gerry remained behind in the hope that his presence might avert a war. In

Philadelphia the delegation’s correspondence finally arrived and informed the President

of the affair. On the nineteenth, Adams informed the Congress the terms given to the

American envoys. The news of the XYZ affair brought joy to the Federalists and a sense

of political crisis for the pro-French Republicans.30

The French government actions resulted in a flurry of naval bills from the

indignant Congress. The United States was careful not to declare war. The Federalist

Congress passed legislation which severed the commercial trade with France, established

the Department of the Navy, created the Marine Corps, increased the size of the Army,

licensed private ships to serve as armed merchant vessels, completed the frigates of 1794,

and financed new ships to be purchased, leased, or built. Each of these acts was carefully

worded to prevent the inference of a declaration of war.31

The details of the first battle of the Quasi-War with France would illustrate the

scope of the half-war itself. Captain Stephen Decatur assumed command of the

Delaware, on the fifteenth of June 1798, with orders to quickly prepare the ship for a

three-month cruise.32 On the seventh of July, the Delaware encountered the merchant

ship Alexander Hamilton, making a run from New York to Baltimore. Her captain

29
Bemis 116-117.
30
Smelser, 117; and Alexander DeConde. The Quasi-War; the Politics and Diplomacy of the Undeclared
War with France, 1797-1801. New York, 1966, 95.
31
These Acts are located in the index of volume 1 under Congress. Quasi-War, 1; and Smelser, 134.
32
.Quasi-War, I, 116.

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informed Decatur of the presence of a French privateer in the area and the course the

French vessel steered after she plundered the Alexander Hamilton.33 The Delaware made

sail to the estimated area and sighted four schooners. Decatur, not knowing which vessel

to follow, mimicked a merchant ship and feigned to flee before armed vessels. This ruse

succeeded to draw the French privateer, La Croyable, toward the fleeing Delaware. As

La Croyable approached the Delaware, the French captain mistook her to be an armed

British sloop-of-war and sought refuge in the “neutral” coastal waters of the United

States. The spider had become the fly. As the captain of the French vessel fled from the

Delaware, Decatur narrowed his distance between the ships and the coast and fired one

gun, which prompted La Croyable to surrender.34

The capture of the French privateer by the Delaware caused celebrations

throughout Philadelphia. Editor William Cobbet of Philadelphia’s Porcupine’s Gazette

proclaimed that the bells of the city were rung not for La Croyable, with its small number
35
of men and guns, but for the “Beginning of the good work.” The Republican editor

Benjamin Franklin Bache, of the Philadelphia Aurora, questioned the national

celebrations of this capture with his characterization of the event as, “The taking of a

French schooner after a desperate action of one gun.”36

The Quasi-War, up to early February 1799, depended on American warships

either catching small French privateers or escorting lumbering merchant ships on the

convoy runs. This changed on the ninth of February. That day the U. S. Frigate

33
Letter from John Hollins, owner of the Alexander Hamilton, to the Secretary of the Navy requesting
guidance in order to recover property taken by La Croyable. Quasi-War, I, 177.
34
The “Columbian Centinel (Boston)” newspaper account of the event, cited in, Quasi-War, I, 175-6; and
Extract from letter to Rufus King, London, from Secretary of State, 9 July 1798, Quasi-War, I, 175.
35
Philadelphia Porcupine’s Gazette, 9 July, 1798.

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Constellation, one of the original ships of the act of 1794, sighted sails and headed

straight for the unknown ship. On approaching the ship, American colors appeared and

Captain Thomas Truxton made the private signal of that day which the unknown ship

failed to answer. He then attempted the British private signal, which brought no

immediate response. Shortly the ship raised the French flag and fired a gun toward the

Constellation. Truxton maneuvered the ship into a position to use all of his batteries to

their utmost and within an hour of the commencement of the battle the French warship

L’Insurgente struck her colors with her main topmast gone, with twenty-nine killed, and

forty-one wounded. The Constellation positioned herself, as a result of this battle, as

the first American naval warship to capture another warship in the established navy.37

The Constellation’s crew suffered only one fatality and three wounded.38

The American reaction proved quick. Balls and fetes were thrown in the honor of

Captain Truxton and the Constellation. Poems were rapidly written which were more

patriotic than poetic. They covered the bravery of the sailors and made jeers at the

Republicans who voted against the naval programs. These poems strengthened the

national pride and image toward the Quasi-War and later were republished during the

War of 1812 to rebuild national pride and confidence.39

36
Philadelphia Aurora, 10 July, 1798.
37
Letter to the Secretary of the Navy from Captain Thomas Truxton. Quasi-War. II, 326-7; and Extracts
from Captain Thomas Truxton’s journal, Sunday 10 February 1799. Quasi-War. II, 328.
38
Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett, of the Constellation, wrote his brother that he caused the fatality by killing a
coward sailor. Quasi-War, I, 326-7; and Extract of Captain Truxton’s journal which only reported that a
fatality had occurred during the battle. Quasi-War. II, 326-7.
39
The poem entitled Truxton’s Victory or Brave Yankee Boys, originally written in 1799, was reprinted
during the War of 1812. Robert Wilden Neeser. American Naval Songs and Ballads. New Haven, 1938, 56;
and The Launch, written around 1798. Neeser. 54; and Ye Sons of Columbia, written around 1798. Burton
Egbert Stevenson. Poems of American History. Boston, 1908, 278; and Adams and Liberty, written in the
summer of 1798. Augusta Chronicle and Gazette of the State, 14 July, 1798. (see appendix)

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As the half-war advanced, the United States Navy steadily increased in size and

strength as ships were completed or purchased. The goal of the captain and crew of the

warship and the armed merchant was to sweep the Caribbean for signs of privateers and

prize money. Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Stoddart suggested to the President in

June of 1799, the general views of his captains. They believed that the Navy should move

away from the convoy service and sail in European waters.40 Although the President

liked the idea of striking in European water, he believed the solution would be found in

the control and protection of the waters off the West Indies. Adams suggested that quick

small draft vessels be purchased and employed to work with the frigates to pursue the

“French pirates in among their rocks and shoals to their utter destruction.”41 The war

soon proved to be an offensive commercial war. The number of captured French vessels

by American warships and armed merchant vessels doubled from 1798 to 1799. (See

figure 2)

Before Decatur’s action, the confiscation of cargoes and condemnation of ships

had increased the premium percentage for American registered vessels. These losses

caused marine insurance companies and their stockholders to suffer. The rate of

dividends to the stockholders of the North American Insurance Company dropped after

1797. In June of 1798 the dividends were forced to be suspended due to increased loss.42

Lloyd’s of London viewed the actions of the French against the Americans, as much a

problem to Lloyd’s itself as well as the American merchants. The company’s

40
Letter to Adams from Benjamin Stoddart, Secretary of the Navy, Quasi-War, III, 399-400.
41
Adams, IX, 9.
42
Marquis James. Biography of a Business, 1792-1942: Insurance Company of North America. New York,
1942, 65.

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correspondence records the high amount of capture and condemnation of American

vessels on the island of Guadeloupe, in the West Indies.43

The presence of the new American frigates and the routine and protection of the

convoy both gave confidence to the shippers and companies who insured them. Stephen

Girard, who insured his own vessels first and then began a small insurance business in

Philadelphia, insured the ship Good Friends with a discounted rate on the condition that

she sail in the new convoy system to Havana.44 After the organization of convoys and the

presence of American warships the insurance premiums decreased. (See figure 3)

An intriguing revelation came to the attention of the United States Attorney in

Rhode Island, concerning one of the French Island officials and marine insurance. The

unnamed official participated in the condemnations of ships on Guadeloupe and had

connections in the profitable privateering business. It was rumored that he was

attempting to establish an insurance firm in Baltimore that would insure American

shipping with a promise that these ships would not be condemned.45

The government realized the futility of attempting to stop the legally sanctioned

actions taken on the island. Instead, the focus was directed to collect evidence of

captured American vessels to build a political argument for the envoys responsible to

negotiate a treaty with France. Secretary of State Pickering acknowledged to a ship owner

that there was little the government could do for the condemnation of his schooner. He

43
The court proceedings citations for the eighty American vessels can be found in Lloyd’s List number 28,
dated March of 1797. Charles Wright, A History of Lloyd’s: from the Founding of Lloyd’s Coffee House to
the Present Day, London, 1928, 181-2; and Extract of letter from St. Martin’s. Quasi-War, I, 106.
44
Harold Edgar Gillingham. Marine Insurance in Philadelphia, 1721 - 1800. Philadelphia, 1933, 101-2;
and Quasi-War, I, 77 and 220.
45
Letter from U. S. Attorney David Barnes to the Secretary of State, Quasi-War, I, 274-5.

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wrote that his lost will serve the government to prove the number of the “piracies” of the

French Government.46

The negotiations for peace continued to advance, now under the First Consul

Napoleon Bonaparte, who participated in the successful revolution of the 18th Brumaire,

rewarding him with this position. He appointed three commissioners to negotiate with

the Americans. This collection of American and French negotiators found no easy

solution to the other’s expectations. The French desired to retain the language of the

established treaties and convention and their interpretations of them, especially as related

to the Jay Treaty. The Americans argued that the French violated these acts and required

a new treaty and compensation for the damage inflicted on American commerce. France

however could not agree to this financial arrangement because of the inability to pay the

indemnities and the United States did not want to commit to the previous treaties. This

difficulty of non agreement lead to the Convention of Peace, Commerce and Navigation,

concluded 30 September 1800, with the solution of suspending the former treaties and

any claims made to them.47

The acceptance of the treaty by the American and French commissions did not

immediately end the Quasi-War. President Adams submitted to the United States Senate

the treaty for ratification on 15 December 1800. The divided and pouting Federalists

rallied enough support to reject the treaty and delayed the ratification for a year.48

Although America prepared for the relaxation that peace brings, the result differed from

46
Letter from the Secretary of State to John Norris, Quasi-War, I, 333.
47
Malloy, I, 497; and Bemis, 125.
48
Message from President Adams to the Senate of the United States, 15 December 1800. Quasi-War. VII,
33; and Notes concerning the ratification of the treaty. Quasi-War. VII, 33; and This convention,
proclaimed 21 December 1801, ceased the hostilities.; Malloy, I, 497; and Bemis, 125.

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the past conflicts of America. The Secretary of the Navy began the slow process of

recalling the vessels and Navy Agents in the West Indies to make provisions for a smaller

permanent peacetime navy. 49

In conclusion, the Quasi-War, which consisted of insignificant combatants

meeting in insignificant battles, resulted in significant changes in the governments of the

United States, France, and Great Britain. Although the Federalist Party would fade away,

due to their overbearing style and internal division, their long desire for a Federal Navy

materialized. Once established, the United States Navy achieved their successes through

limited engagements and the establishment of a convoy system which reopened the seas

to American commerce, reduced the loss of American commerce and reduced the high

insurance rates given to American vessels.50 The Directory of revolutionary France fell in

the second year of what had become an undeclared war. The Quasi-War failed to support

their policies with goods and propaganda. The absence of high returns from the Quasi-

War, the emergence of the Second Coalition, and the string of failed expeditions to Egypt

and Ireland assisted in their overthrow. The future British naval forces of the War of 1812

were forced to face an inferior but an established and popular United States Navy. This

new and victorious United States Navy of the Quasi-War gave its people, from Georgia to

upstate Massachusetts and inland to Tennessee and Kentucky, a source of national pride

and added to the growing myth of American invincibility.

49
Letter of the Secretary of the Navy. Quasi-War, VII, 111; and An Act Making Appropriations for the
Navy of the United States for the Year 1801. Quasi-War, VII, 138 and 313; and Letters to Naval Agents.
Quasi-War, VII, 153 and 156.
50
Data from charts. Seybert. 318-319; and Clauder. 25-6.

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Figure 1
Waterborne Merchandise Exports, Waterborne Merchandise Imports,
1790-1801 1790-1801
Foreign Vessels U.S. Vessels Total of Exports Foreign Vessels U.S. Vessels Total of Imports

100 120
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20 20
0
Millions 0
Millions
1790

1792

1794

1796

1798

1800

1790

1792

1794

1796

1798

1800
Years Years

51
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970

Figure 2

Captures By American Vessels
1801
Armed Man of Armed
1800 Merchant War Merchant
1799 1801 4 0
1798 Man of 1800 60 5
War 1799 28 5
0 20 40 60
1798 3 4
52
Quasi-War

51
U.S. Department of Commerce. Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, 2 vols.
Washington D.C., 1975, I,761. This source was deliberately chosen due to inaccuracies found in the charts
of Seybert and the limited information included in Samuel Blodget’s, Economica: A Statistical Manual for
the United States of America. These charts reflect the general trends of commerce and support the
information above.
52
James F. Cooper. The Naval History of the United States. Philadelphia, 1840, I, 285; and Quasi-War,
VII, 372 and 439.

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Figure 3

Insurance Premiums Percentage as Affected by the Appearance of U.S. Warships
Previous Percentage Post Percentage
Countries Outward Homeward Outward Homeward
Africa 20 20 12.5 12.5
China and East Indies 20 15 10 10
Denmark 17.5 17.5 10 10
Great Britain 17.5 17.5 10 10
Holland 20 17.5 15 12.5
Italy 27.5 27.5 17.5 17.5
Morocco 20 20 12.5 12.5
Portugal 15 15 10 10
Russia 22.5 22.5 12.5 12.5
Sweden 20 12.5 12.5 12.5
West Indies 17.5 17.5 12.5 12.5
“The Quasi-War with France”53

53
Sargent, 11.

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Appendix A
Ye Sons of Columbia

1 5
Ye sons of Columbia, unite in the cause The EAGLES OF FREEDOM with rapture behold,
Of Liberty, justice, religion, and laws; Overshadowed our land with his plumage of gold
Should foes then invade us, to battle we’ll hie, The floodgates of glory are open on high,
For the GOD OF OUR FOREFATHERS will be our ally! And Warren and Mercer descend form the sky!
Let the Frenchmen advance, They came from above
And all Europe join France, With a message of love,
Designing our conquest and plunder; To bid us be firm and decided;
United and free, “At Liberty’s call,
Forever we’ll be, Unite one and all,
And our cannon shall tell them in thunder, For you conquer, unless you’re divided.
That foes to our freedom we’ll ever defy, Unite, and the foes to your freedom defy,
Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry. Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry.

2 6
When Britain assailed us, undaunted we stood, “Americans, seek no occasion for war;
Defended the land we had purchased with blood, The rude deeds of rapine still ever abhor:
Our liberty won, and it shall be our boast, But if in defense of your rights you should arm,
If the old world united should menace our coast:- Let toils ne’er discourage, nor danger alarm.
Should millions invade, For foes to your peace,
In terror arrayed, Will ever increase,
Our liberties bid us surrender, If freedom and fame you should barter,
Our country they’d find, Let those rights be yours,
With bayonets lin’d, While nature endures,
And Washington here to defend her, For OMNIPOTENCE gave you the charter!”
For foes to our freedom we’ll ever defy, Then foes to our freedom we’ll ever defy,
Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry. Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry.

3
Should Buonapart come with his sans culotte band,
And a new sort of freedom we don’t understand,
And make us an offer to give as much
As France has bestow’d on the Swiss and the Dutch,
His fraud and his force
Will be futile of course;
We wish for no Frenchified Freedom:
If folks beyond the sea
Are to bid us be free,
We’ll send for them when we shall need’em.
But sans culotte Frenchmen we’ll ever defy,
Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry.

4
We’re anxious that Peace may continue her reign,
We cherish the virtues which sport in her train;
Our hearts ever melt, when the fatherless sigh,
And we shiver at Horrour’s funereal cry!
But still, though we prize
That child of the skies,
We’ll never like slaves be accosted
In a war of defence
Our means are immense,
And we’ll fight till our all is exhausted:
For foes to our freedom we’ll ever defy,
Till the continent sinks, and the ocean is dry.

By Thomas Green Fessenden, (July, 1798)

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Appendix B Appendix C
The Launch Truxton’s Victory or Brave Yankee Boys

Ye sons of Columbia, your ardour display, Come all you Yankee sailors with swords and pikes advance,
With true Federal Spirit, on this joyful day; ‘Tis time to tag your courage and humble haughty France,
When the Merrimack, inspeed is bending her course, The sons of France our seas invade,
The Trade of Columbia, to protect by main force. Destroy our commerce and our trade,
‘Tis time the reck’ning should be paid,
Let the Federal mirth be seen in each face, To brave Yankee boys.
No Jacobin or Traitor your company disgrace;
But show your dislike to such characters as these, On board the Constellation from Baltimore we came,
And tell them they’re welcome to the Fraternal Squeeze. We had a bold commander and Truxton was his name,
Our ship she mounted forty guns,
See the Eagle assuming her right for to reign, And on the main so swiftly runs;
Her wings on a flutter, those rights to maintain; To prove to France Columbia’s,
While commerce denotes the pursuits we explore- Are brave Yankee boys.
The Seas of the World from America’s Shores.
We sailed to the West Indies in order to annoy,
See Justice, the guide by which we’ll maintain, The invaders of our commerce to burn, sink and destroy;
Our Rights on the land and our Claim on the Main- Our Constellation shone so bright,
By Justice we make all our actions to square, The Frenchmen could not beare the sight,
Whether Peace be our fortune, or destiny-War. An away they scampered away in fright,
From brave Yankee boys.
With Barry and Nicholson, and brave Captain Brown,
We’ve nothing to fear from Tallyrand’s frown; ‘Twas on the 9th of February at Montserat we lay,
His millions demanded-we’ll pay in scroll, And there we spy’d the L’Insurgente just at the break of day;
Well tinctur’d with Powder, and displayed by a Ball. We rais’d the orange and the blue,
To see if they our signal knew,
Let the French and the Dutch, their own contracts attend, The Constellation and the crew,
And Tallyrand with Rescriptions his associates befriend; Of our brave Yankees
boys.
While Adams and Washington stand at the helm,
We’ll mind our own business, and leave their’s to them. Then all hands were call’d to quarters while we pursu’d
the chase
With well prim’d guns, our tompions out and well splic’d
To confide in the wisdom of patriots thus try’d, the main brace,
(Tho the French and all Europe, their victories deride) Then soon to France we did draw nigh,
Is the duty of all, whose wish is to share, Compell’d to fight, they were or fly,
A right in the glory of Columbia so fair. These words were pass’d “Conquer of Die,”
My brave Yankee boys.
The Directory of France, with all their deceit,
May sound false alarms-our spirits to defeat; Loud our cannons thunder’d, with peals tremendous roar,
Still we’ve men at the helm, who with wisdom can sail; And death upon our bullit wings that drench’d their decks in gore.
And track them in Council, as well as in the field. The blood did from their scuppers run,
Their chief exclaimed, “We are undone,”
Our Constitution and Laws, by our fathers design’d, Their flag they struck, the battle we won,
To render us happy-and useful and kind; By brave Yankee boys.
We’ll freely support-with our lives estates,
Without hesitation or lengthy debates. Then to St. Kitts we steered, we briught her safe in port,
The grand salute was fired and answered from the Fort;
By three captur’d Frenchmen, safe lodg’d on our shores, Now sitting round the flowing bowl,
Dome pence is recover’d to replenish our store; With haughty glee each jovial soul,
Two million besides have been robbed from our land, Drink as you fought without control,
We’ll make them to tremble, and refund cash in hand. My brave Yankee boys.

No peace with such robbers, ‘till down on their knees, Now here’s health to Truxton who did not fear the sight,
They beg of our pardon-and pay for the Squeeze; And all these Yankee sailors who for their country fight,
‘Till all their proud hearts are melted as one, John Adams in full bumbers toast,
And promise us treble for mischief they’ve done. George Washington, Columbia’s boast,
And now to the girls that we love most,
And now my brave freinds, let’s each one unite, My brave Yankee boys.
In wishing the Merrimack a sure and quick flight;
From cradle to that element-design’d for her station,
To bravely oppse the proud foes of our Nation.

(1799 or later, this poem was reprinted
(1798 or later) in 1814 by Nathanial Coverly, a publisher in Boston)

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