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THE PRIVATEERS OF '76.
The wars of England with France and Spain spread turmoil upon the high seas during the greater part of the eighteenth century.

Yet with an immense tenacity of purpose, these briny forefathers increased their trade and multiplied their ships in the face of every manner of adversity.

The surprising fact is that most of them were not driven ashore to earn their bread.

What Daniel Webster said of them at a later day was true from the beginning: "It is not, sir, by protection and bounties, but by unwearied exertion, by extreme economy, by that manly and resolute spirit which relies on itself to protect itself.