America’s Forgotten War with France,During the American Revolution the French were close allie

America’s Forgotten War with France,During the American Revolution the French were close allies with the early United States, supplying the country with weapons, gunpowder, cash, while harassing British forces around the world.  However by 1797, relations between the United States and France had soured.  The French Monarchy had been toppled and replaced with the French Republic.  Many Federalists in the US government were wary of the French due to the bloodshed and chaos that had occurred during the French Revolution. Then the US signed the Jay Treaty in 1794, which opened the US up to trade with its former enemy Great Britain.  This further angered the French, who was then at blows with Britain.  Finally in 1797 the French recalled all their loans owed by the United States.  The US refused to pay however, citing that they owed the money to the French Monarchy, not to the new French Republic.The refusal of the US to pay off its loans was the last straw.  While France never formally declared war, the French Government began issuing letters of marque to French privateers giving them permission to raid American ships.  By then the United States had developed a far reaching network of merchant contacts and shipping routes, with a large merchant fleet that numbered in the thousands.  However, the US had no navy, selling off its last warship in 1785.  Thus American merchant ships were easy prey for French privateers, many of whom became wealthy due to their raiding enterprises.Helpless against the French privateers, at the end of 1797 Secretary of State Thomas Pickering had the misfortune of announcing to Congress that 316 merchant ships had been captured by the French in the past 11 months.  Shocked by the losses, Congress authorized a rebuilding of the US Navy.  Overnight a navy consisting of 18 frigates each was built on a shoestring budget.  Most of the frigates were former transports and merchant ships that were purchased by Congress and converted into warships.  By 1798, the Americans were fighting back, and several pitched naval battles occurred between American warships and French privateers.  By 1799, the US Navy had managed to capture or damage a number of French privateers.  The only loss that occurred was USS Retaliation, which was captured by the French, but quickly recaptured several months later.  In response to American resistance against the raids, the French Government issued more letters or marque against American ships, and French raids intensified in number.The Quasi War ended in 1800, when France’s new First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, ended French raids against the United States.  Bonaparte had a number of reasons for doing so, first and foremost, France was too busy with events in Europe to devote resources to a war against the United States.  By then the US Navy and Revenue Cutter Fleet  had captured 85 French vessels.  It was no victory, however, as the French had captured or destroyed over 2,000 American merchant ships. The war devastated the American shipping industry, allowing Britain to dominate the waves for decades to come.   -- source link
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