Letter of Marque Topsail Schooner <I>Lynx</I>
date: label: Date made
content: 1964
label: Associated Date
content: 19th century
name: label: shipbuilder
content: Kemp, Peter
notes: label: Description
content: Peter Kemp, Baltimore’s best known 19th-century shipbuilder, worked in the Fells Point area. He built the square topsail schooner <I>Lynx</I> in 1812 for just under $10,000. It measured 97 feet long and 25 tons, a bit larger than the swift pilot boats after which it was modeled. Pilot boats had to be fast, for the first one that reached a vessel offshore won the job to lead it through local waters into the port facilities.
label: Description
content: The <I>Lynx</I> was a letter of marque—a merchant vessel authorized to take prizes—rather than a privateer designed and built only to raid enemy shipping. Letters of marque were armed merchant vessels which were granted the authority to chase enemy merchantmen during the normal course of business, if an opportunity arose. Unlike privateers, letter of marque vessels paid their crews a regular wage, and their income did not depend on income from enemy ships. As a result, the <I>Lynx</I> carried only six guns and a 40-man crew instead of the many guns and big crews of privateers.
label: Description
content: <I>Lynx</I> served less than a year before it was captured by a British fleet of 17 vessels while trying to run a blockade off the Rappahannock River, Virginia. Renamed the <I>Mosquidobit</I>, it served in the British naval squadron blockading Chesapeake Bay. At the end of the War of 1812, it served against France. In recognition of its superior sailing characteristics, its hull shape was recorded by the Royal Navy. In 1820, it resumed service as a private merchant vessel.
place: label: where ship was built
content: United States: Maryland, Baltimore
topic: label: related event
content: War of 1812
label: related event
content: Expansion and Reform
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Military
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content: Transportation
label: See more items in
content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.323263
label: catalog number
content: 323263
label: accession number
content: 249753
objectType: label: Object Name
content: ship
label: Object Name
content: ship model
label: Object Name
content: model, rigged
label: Other Terms
content: ship; Maritime; Schooner, Square Topsail
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metals (fittings material)
label: Physical Description
content: textile (lines material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 31 1/4 in x 45 1/2 in x 13 1/2 in; 79.375 cm x 115.57 cm x 34.29 cm