The Clipper Schooner Lynx, a tall ship built to recreate a ship from the War of 1812, will arrive in St. Augustine on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and will stay in St. Augustine until February.

The ship is 122 feet high and weighs 114 tons. It is an interpretation of a privateer or naval schooner from the War of 1812, the war that led way to America's "Era of Good Feeling" and gave the country its national anthem.

The ship features flags and pennants from the 1812 era, a crew dressed in period costumes and operating the ship as sailors would in the 19th century, and six carronades -- short, cast-iron cannons.

The ship and its crew will offer educational dockside and sailing tours beginning on Nov. 13. The Lynx will sail during the Pirate Festival Weekend, and tickets are available for children and adults to join the crew on the sea.

Lynx is an interpretation of an actual privateer named Lynx built by Thomas Kemp in 1812 in Fell's Point, Md. The original Lynx was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships - eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels including a few schooners that saw service in the Barbary Wars, according to its website.

When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called "letters of marque," to prey upon the enemy's shipping, thus they were called "privateers." While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers.

The new Lynx, built in 2001, is a square tops'l schooner classed as "sharp-built" schooners based on the Baltimore pilot vessels of the early 19th century. They are considered by many to be the American thoroughbred of the fore and aft rigged vessels of the period. They are known for their inherent speed, sea-worthiness, and ease of handling.

As early as the navies of the world engaged in combat, privateers crossed oceans in search of prey. This practice became widely accepted during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. These were not "pirate" ships, but armed and sanctioned vessels authorized to attack the enemy ships of whichever country their own nation fought. They were owned and operated by civilian -- private -- individuals, hence, "privateer."

The Lynx Educational Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization, dedicated to hands-on educational programs that teach the history of America's struggle to preserve its independence, according to its website.

For more information, go to www.privateerlynx.org.