Thomas Boyle Thomas Boyle ( 29 June 1775 – 12 October 1825 ) was one of the most successful Baltimore privateer captains during the War of 1812 . He also served briefly in the United States Navy during the war . Biography . Born in Marblehead , Massachusetts , Boyle went to sea at 10 or 11 years of age and assumed his first command at the age of 16 . In 1794 , he moved his base of operation to Baltimore , Maryland . Soon after the War of 1812 began , Boyle took command of the privateer " Comet " and during his first cruise — conducted in the West Indies between 11 July and 7 October 1812 — captured four vessels with an aggregate value of $ 400 , 000 . On his second cruise , he sailed along the Brazilian coast , departing Baltimore on 25 November 1812 . Though he made five captures , his second voyage was a financial disaster because British cruiser s retook all five prizes . On 17 March 1813 , Boyle slipped past the British blockade into Chesapeake Bay . During the spring of 1813 the Royal Navy tightened its grip on the Chesapeake and blocked escape by Baltimore privateers . " Comet " and two other privateers were contracted by the Navy to patrol and observe British movements , and Boyle accepted a warrant as sailing master in the United States Navy on 16 April 1813 . His brief Navy career lasted only until 8 September 1813 when he began to prepare " Comet " for her third voyage as a privateer . On 29 October 1813 , he and his ship slipped through the blockade in heavy weather . During that cruise to the West Indies , Boyle and his crew captured 20 prizes before returning to the United States at Beaufort , North Carolina , on 19 March 1814 . Boyle left " Comet " at Beaufort and headed north to Baltimore and thence to New York where he took command of the privateer " Chasseur " , of which he was part owner . The privateer tried to put to sea on 24 July , but British warships obliged her to wait four days off Staten Island . Once at sea , Boyle set a course for the British Isles via the Grand Banks . The cruise lasted three months , and he netted 18 prizes before returning to New York on 24 October . During his many exploits on the trip , Boyle had the bravado to proclaim a blockade on the entire United Kingdom . His proclamation was posted in Lloyd ' s Coffee House in London : " PROCLAMATION : Whereas , It has become customary with the admirals of Great Britain , commanding small forces on the coast of the United States , particularly with Sir John Borlaise Warren and Sir Alexander Cochrane , to declare all the coast of the said United States in a state of strict and rigorous blockade without possessing the power to justify such a declaration or stationing an adequate force to maintain said blockade ; I do therefore , by virtue of the power and authority in me vested ( possessing sufficient force ) , declare all the ports , harbors , bays , creeks , rivers , inlets , outlets , islands , and seacoast of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in a state of strict and rigorous blockade . And I do further declare that I consider the force under my command adequate to maintain strictly , rigorously , and effectually the said blockade . And I do hereby require the respective officers , whether captains , commanders , or commanding officers , under my command , employed or to be employed , on the coasts of England , Ireland , and Scotland , to pay strict attention to the execution of this my proclamation . And I do hereby caution and forbid the ships and vessels of all and every nation in amity and peace with the United States from entering or attempting to enter , or from coming or attempting to come out of , any of the said ports , harbors , bays , creeks , rivers , inlets , outlets , islands , or seacoast under any pretense whatsoever . And that no person may plead ignorance of this , my proclamation , I have ordered the same to be made public in England . Given under my hand on board the Chasseur . THOMAS BOYLE By command of the commanding officer . J . J . STANBURY , Secretary . " http : / / www . thetroubleshooters . com / comet / privateer01 . html " British merchants were alarmed , shipping and insurance rates soared and the Royal Navy diverted 14 sloops of war and three frigates to patrol the northern and western coasts of England . Upon her return to Baltimore " Chasseur " was hailed as " The Pride of Baltimore . " Boyle spent the next two months preparing for his fifth and final privateering voyage . On 24 December , " Chasseur " put to sea and shaped a course for the West Indies . There , she took a succession of prizes . On 25 February 1815 , she chased what appeared to be a weakly armed coaster but which turned out to be a Royal Navy cruiser . Undaunted , Boyle raced to the attack and , after a sharp 15 - minute fight , captured HBM schooner . He concluded his final cruise at Baltimore on 18 March 1815 . After the war Boyle returned to mercantile service between Baltimore and ports in the West Indies and South America . Boyle also was one of a number of 1812 captains who engaged in privateering under letters of marque during the Spanish American Wars of Independence . Boyle died at sea aboard the ' second ' " Chasseur " en route from Alvarado , Mexico to Philadelphia . Namesake and honors . " Boyle Street " in South Baltimore ( intersects Fort Avenue and Key Highway ) is named in honor of Thomas Boyle . The destroyer was named for him . The Pride of Baltimore was an authentic reproduction of a 19th - century Baltimore clipper topsail schooner commissioned by citizens of Baltimore , Maryland . It was lost at sea with four of its twelve crew on May 14 , 1986 . http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Pride _ of _ Baltimore Pride of Baltimore II was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor , the original Pride of Baltimore , which was tragically sunk by a white squall off Puerto Rico in 1986 , taking her captain and three crew members down with her . Both ships were built in the Baltimore Inner Harbor as reproductions of 1812 - era topsail schooners , the type of vessels , called Baltimore Clippers , that helped America in the War of 1812 . http : / / www . pride2 . org / history / index . php See also