""Born in Boston, Halsey became a privateer in the service of the Kingdom of Great Britain commanding the 10-gun brigantine "Charles" during the War of the Spanish Succession, or Queen Anne's War as it was known in the American colonies, and raided French fishing fleets in the Newfoundland and later sailed to Fayal in the Azores and then to the Canary Islands where he attacked Spanish ships en route to Barcelona during 1704.During the voyage, several of his men deserted as he put his lieutenant ashore at Cape Verde.