privateers

The Sailor's Word-Book

, or men-of-war equipped by individuals for cruising against the enemy; their commission (see letters of marque) is given by the admiralty, and revocable by the same authority. They have no property in any prize until it is legally condemned by a competent court. The admiral on the station is entitled to a tenth of their booty. This infamous species of warfare is unhappily not yet abolished among civilized nations.