Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/358

 was expressly adopted that each ship plying between the mother country and the Colony should not only be furnished with mounted cannons, but should also keep on board men who had been trained in their use. At the time of the passage of this law, there was danger of pirates making an attack upon the vessels entering or leaving the mouth of the Chesapeake. In 1681, a ketch was furnished by the English Government for the protection of the Virginian coast as well as for the arrest of illegal traders. Occasions arose when its assistance was very much needed; thus in 1699, the Maryland Merchant, while lying in the waters of Virginia, was seized and plundered by an unknown ship carrying thirty guns and manned by a large crew. The Governor took immediate steps to warn the people of Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Princess Anne, Accomac, and Northampton Counties of the presence of these dangerous outlaws. The commander of the militia in each of the counties named was instructed to appoint persons to keep watch along the shore, each one having a certain distance to patrol. As soon as there was reason to suspect the presence of pirates, information was to be given to the nearest commissioned officer, who in turn was at once to communicate with the commander of his district. As late as 1692, Fitzhugh, considering the