Privateers, letters of marque, and recapture

After leaving convoy duty, Amazon shifted to anti-privateer work. The French letter of marque La Julie initially used a Danish flag as a ruse, then discarded guns and surrendered once Amazon's overwhelming firepower made resistance hopeless. Riou immediately removed the prisoners, installed a prize crew, and searched for the vessel's consorts. The next chase recovered the British merchantman Amelie with her cargo of cotton, rice, and deerskins. Frigates could capture raiders, restore merchant property, remove enemy seamen from the campaign, and reduce losses and insurance costs.