Porter claimed millions of dollars in damage and diversion costs, but no captured vessel reached the United States as an intact American prize. Whalers were retaken, sold in Britain, seized by Chile, or burned, while Atlantic arrived only after the British converted her into the cartel Essex Junior. The Royal Navy committed a handful of ships already suited to South American duties and continued protecting the more valuable silver trade. A captured silver carrier would have created more financial and psychological effect than numerous whalers, but Essex's short-range battery made the protecting frigates exceptionally dangerous opponents. The cruise is therefore measured by usable results and strategic pressure rather than the number of merchant hulls stopped.
Chapter · 3:02:33-3:09:16
Porter's heroic memory exceeds the cruise's material results
Porter's claims of enormous damage and British diversion are measured against prizes that mostly failed to reach America and Royal Navy forces already suited to South American duties.