The French Assault on American Shipping, 1793-1813

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, France was plagued by war and massive crop failures and was desperately in need of supplies. Both legally and illegally, French privateers and cruisers took cargo from merchant vessels of every flag engaged in foreign trade, and perhaps no country was as affected as the United States. While it is impossible to know the true number of vessels, their value, or the value of cargoes confiscated or destroyed, 6,479 claims involving more than 2,300 vessels were filed under the French Spoliation Act of 1885. Filed by the descendants of vessel and cargo owners, insurance agents, and anyone else who had a financial interest in a voyage or lost property to French land forces, these claims give the closest possible approximation of American goods lost to the French. Section I presents a comprehensive index of losses as reported to the State Department, while Section II presents court cases detailing important questions of American and international law which relate to the French assault on American shipping. Section III presents the disposition of claims filed by insurance companies, administrators, executors, receivers, and trustees in the federal Court of Claims under the French Spoliation Act. Also included are a glossary, a list of important geographical locations, and an overview of relevant acts of Congress, proclamations, treaties, and foreign decrees.