33 U.S.C. § 383 : US Code - Section 383: Resistance of pirates by merchant vessels

Search 33 U.S.C. § 383 : US Code - Section 383: Resistance of pirates by merchant vessels

The commander and crew of any merchant vessel of the United
States, owned wholly, or in part, by a citizen thereof, may oppose
and defend against any aggression, search, restraint, depredation,
or seizure, which shall be attempted upon such vessel, or upon any
other vessel so owned, by the commander or crew of any armed vessel
whatsoever, not being a public armed vessel of some nation in amity
with the United States, and may subdue and capture the same; and
may also retake any vessel so owned which may have been captured by
the commander or crew of any such armed vessel, and send the same
into any port of the United States.