"How a Rogue Navy of Private Ships Helped Win the American" Topic

…Revolution

"When it came to waging war at sea during the American Revolution, the mighty British Navy had a vast advantage over its small and inexperienced colonial counterpart. But while the Continental fleet had little impact on the outcome of the war, tens of thousands of citizen sailors seeking both freedom and fortune played a critical, yet underappreciated, role in the quest for independence. An armada of more than 2,000 so-called privateers commissioned by both the Continental Congress and individual states preyed on enemy shipping on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, severely disrupting the British economy and turning British public opinion against the war.

In a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, international law permitted countries at war to license private seamen to seize and plunder enemy vessels. While privateers differed from pirates in that they received legal authorization to operate through an official "letter of marque and reprisal," the distinction meant little to those who encountered the marauders on the high seas…"
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Armand

Evidently the Second Amendment DOES protect the right to own a cannon! (I know the BofR was ratified after the war, but the Va Declaration of Rights, on which it is based, was written in 1776. And of course privateers were used long after, e.g. in 1812.)

Up until the Article of Confederation the states as a body didn't do much, they certainly didn't make and enforce laws. That was left to the states. So you didn't need protection from them. The states could individually have protection for the right to bear arms or not, but they mostly didn't because they wanted their people armed. As a state official if one of your citizens wants to buy a cannon, you cheer. They're saving you money. The only customer for the famous Puckle gun, the repeating small cannon from 1717, was a private individual trying to protect his expeditions in the new world.

Thanks!

Armand