During the War of 1812 with the United States, Nova Scotia became an even larger military base for the British as the centre for the British Royal Navy's blockade and naval raids on the United States. The colony also contributed to the war effort by purchasing or building various privateer ships to seize 250 American vessels. The colony's privateers were led by the town of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, notably by the schooner Liverpool Packet which captured over fifty ships in the war – the most of any privateer in Canada. The Sir John Sherbrooke (Halifax), jointly owned between Liverpool and Halifax was also very successful during the war, being the largest privateer from British North America. Other communities also joined the privateer campaign, including Annapolis Royal, Windsor, and in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, three members of the town of purchased a privateer schooner and named it "Lunenburg" on August 8, 1814. The Nova Scotian privateer vessel captured seven American vessels.