The Outlaw Middy

Catalog Note *The Young Patriot Sea-Ranger: A Romance of the First American Navy* by Col. Prentiss Ingraham presents a serial adventure set prior to the Revolutionary War. The narrative centers on Mark Montague, a young skipper of the packet sloop *Sea-Cat*, who earns the title "Royal Middy" after saving a British cruiser and securing a naval commission. His antagonist is Caspar the Corsair, a pirate-smuggler commanding an unarmed schooner who repeatedly attempts to capture Montague's vessel but is consistently repulsed. Caspar kidnaps Mark's sister Allene after her horse stumbles near his position during a raid on the Kennebec River, carrying her aboard a captured brig. Despite his lawlessness, Caspar expresses remorse and pledges her safety. When Mark's armed schooner *Shark* appears on the horizon, Caspar races to mount guns salvaged from a shipwreck onto his brig for the impending battle. The narrative emphasizes naval combat, personal honor, and the conflict between piracy and nascent colonial authority.