DECOY, in naval affairs, a stratagem employed by a ship of war to betray a vessel of inferior force into
an uncautious pursuit, till she has drawn her within the range of her cannon, or what is called within gunshot. It is usually performed by painting the stern and sides in such a manner as to disguise the ship, and represent her either much smaller and of inferior force, or as a friend to the hostile vessel, which she endeavours to ensnare, by assuming the emblems and ornaments of the nation to which the stranger is supposed to belong. When she has thus provoked the adversary to chase, in hopes of acquiring a prize, she continues the decoy, by spreading a great sail, as endeavouring to escape; at the same time that her course is considerably retarded by an artful alteration of her trim till the enemy approaches. Decoying is also performed to elude the chase of a ship of a superior force in a dark night, by throwing out a lighted cask of pitch into the sea, which will burn for a considerable time and misguide the enemy. Immediately after the cask is thrown out, the ship changes her course, and may easily escape, if at any tolerable distance from the foe.