The Private Revolution of Geoffrey Frost: Being an Account of the Life and Times of Geoffrey Frost, Mariner, of Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, As ... from the Ming Tsun (Hardscrabble Books)

At twenty-six, Geoffrey Frost is already an experienced mariner and a veteran of the China trade, but he sets aside his lucrative commercial interests to assist the American colonies in their war with Great Britain. Unfortunately, his first mission for the colony of New Hampshire - to transport some badly needed cannons captured in the Bahamas - runs afoul of British naval vessels patrolling the American coast. Commanding a ship built for cargo rather than warfare, and a crew more accustomed to fending off pirates than engaging a well-trained British naval crew, Frost reveals a flair for tactics and a coolness under fire that bodes well for his wartime career.
His own ship all but destroyed in the desperate battle off the Isles of Shoals, Frost nevertheless returns to Portsmouth with a valuable prize - the newly built, copper-bottomed, well-equipped sloop o' war Jaguar, which he call "the cat." Taking command of this vessel, Frost embarks on his new career as a licensed privateer, sailing out of Portsmouth to harass British merchant ships and help fund the American cause. But first, he launches a daring rescue mission into the heart of British Canada.