13. American privateers raided British settlements in Nova Scotia
Besides attacking British flagged ships at sea, American privateers launched raids on coastal towns and ports in British Canada. These raids began in 1775 and continued throughout the war, despite strenuous efforts by the Royal Navy and Canadian militia to contain them. One such raid was the attack on the British town of Lunenburg, which took place late in the war. Five American privateers, led by Massachusetts seaman Noah Stoddard, landed near the town, captured the blockhouses defending it, burned the homes of the local militia commanders, and looted the town.
The raid took place at a site less than 75 miles from the main British Naval Base in North America at Halifax. The British responded by sending three warships carrying Hessian troops but the Americans escaped to Boston, where they released hostages taken during the attack. The brazen nature of the attack so late in the war and so near the main British naval base is an indication of the relative inefficiency demonstrated by the Royal Navy defending British ships and possessions in North American waters throughout the course of the war.