W/all due respect to a heavy student of the period, how can that be? Privateers wouldn't be used much if they didn't get good-sized cannon. Swivel guns would be useless against the Barbary pirates!
What happened - no guns before the letters of Marque, then stocked up thanks to gov permission, do their duty, then get disarmed and gov takes over the "ordnance"?
I'm talking ocean-going ships here, not local coastal militia.
Besides, you said "most" - not all - that means some had big cannon. So it seems moot to imply the 2ndA applied only to small arms.
Or did they just not care at the time if you bought your own real guns?
Check this out for details on privateers. http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/privateers.html
You would be correct. I believe it took several Frigates to conquer the Barbary Pirates.
I believe the 2A refers to "arms" as any means of defence for your personal protection and which could be used to overthrow a Tyranical government.
Am I wrong?