Mr.Maclay estimates from this that "our amateur man-of-war's men averaged more than four prizes each," while some took twenty and one ship twenty-eight in a single cruise.

Nearly eleven hundred prisoners were taken with the captured ships.

While there are no complete figures for the whole period of the war obtainable, it is not to be believed that quite so high a record was maintained, for dread of privateers soon drove British shipping into their harbors, whence they put forth, if at all, under the protection of naval convoys.

Nevertheless, the number of captures must have continued great for some years; for, as is shown by the foregoing figures, the spoils were sufficiently attractive to cause a steady increase in the number of privateers until the last year of the war.
There followed dull times for the privateersmen.

Most of them returned to their ordinary avocations of sea or shore--became peaceful sailors, or fishermen, or ship-builders, or farmers once again.