Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period / Illustrative Documents

THE DAGEROED .

197. Bill of Health. November 9, 1757.[1]

Omnibus hasce literas inspecturis significamus nos, Consules et Rectores Civitatis Roterodamensis Comitatus Hollandiae, declaramusque veritatis certi Petrum Lagerboom, Civem Amstellodamensem magistrum hujusce navis nominatae Dageroed, certi oneris, vulgÒ lasten, circiter Centum et quinquaginta capacis, merces suas, quibus onerata navis est, ei in hoc oppido imposuisse, uti easdem vento secundo In Indos occidentales deveheret, quemadmodum idem magister, nec non praedictae navis exercitores nobis indicÂrunt, petentes À nobis libellum dimissionis et literas assertorias, quibus exteri certi reddantur, hanc Civitatem nec Peste, nec ullo alio morbo contagioso, infestari. EnimverÒ cum officii nostri sit civium nostrorum commodis non deesse, et veritati testimonium perhibere, praescertim iis id expetentibus, omnes, ad quorum curam haec res pertinebit, certos facimus, nec Peste, nec ullo alio morbo venenoso, Dei Opt: Max: beneficio, hanc Civitatem infectum esse: proindeque rogatos volumus, uti magistro huic una cum navi, sociis navalibus, et mercibus liberum concedant commeatum et facultatem largiantur, mercaturam liberÈ terra marique exercendi, prohibeantque ne ulla ei in eo remora objiciatur; quin potius uti adjumento sint, commodo ejus id flagitante; quo nos ad reddenda eadem officia devincent arctÈ obstringentque: In quorum fidem hasce literas sigillo nostro, quÒ publice ad causas utimur, muniri, et manu ejus, qui nobis est À Secretis, signari voluimus nono die mensis Novembris anni partae Salutis millesimi septingentesimi quinquagesimi Septimi stylo novo.

J. Bjelle.

Translation.

To all who shall examine these letters, we, the burgomasters and schepens of the city of Rotterdam in the county of Holland, signify and declare, of certain truth, that Peter Lagerboom, citizen of Amsterdam, master of this ship called the Dageroed, of about 150 lasts burden,[2] has loaded his wares, with which the ship is freighted, upon her in this town, in order to transport them, with a favorable wind, to the West Indies, as the said master and the officers of the said ship have declared to us, asking from us a let-pass and clearance, by which foreigners may be assured that this city is not infested by a plague or any other contagious disease. Since certainly it is a part of our official duty to meet the needs of our citizens and to offer testimony to the truth, especially for those who ask it of us, we assure all those to whose care this matter belongs, that through the goodness of God Almighty this city is not infected with the plague or any other deadly disease; and accordingly we desire that those who are requested should accord to this master, together with his ship, his shipmates and goods, free transit and the opportunity to carry on traffic freely by land and sea, and should prohibit that any hindrance should be offered to him in this matter, nay rather that they should aid him, when his needs require it; whereby they will lay us under strict obligations to render to them the same good offices. In testimony whereof we have caused these letters to be provided with our seal which we use publicly for business,[3] and signed by the hand of our secretary, on the ninth day of November in the Year of Salvation 1757, new style.

J. Bjelle.

[1] From the files of the New York vice-admiralty court, in custody of the United States district court, in the federal building.

[2] The last was about two tons.

[3] In Continental practice, a municipal corporation usually had, besides its great seal used for the more solemn public documents, a lesser seal, called the sigillum ad causas, used for minor public documents or for private papers authenticated by public authority. This paper bears a seal having the legend "Sigillum ad causas oppidi Rotterodami", encircling an impression of a castle with portcullis, standing on a shore, with a swan swimming in front of the gate.

198. News of Privateers. May 19, 1757.[1]

By a Master of a Vessel lately arrived from Hispaniola, we are inform'd, that on the 13th of April there lay at Port of Prince[2] a Brig of about 120 Tons, mounting 14 Carriage Guns, and 200 Men, also a Sloop about 70 Tons, 8 Carriage Guns and 100 Men, both intended in Consort (as it was there said) for the Coast of New-York and thereabouts. The Brig is Rhode-Island built, black sides, with a white Bottom, the Sloop is painted very gay, as with red, yellow, black and green. He heard likewise that at another Port in the said Island, there was fitting out a Snow (which had been lately a Packet taken from the English) to mount 16 Carriage Guns, and to be commanded by one Palanqui (a very noted Commander) to come on the same Coast.

We hear from Bristol, in Rhode-Island Government, that Capt. Mark-Anthony De Wolfe[3] in a Privateer Sloop of 50 Tuns, with 40 Hands and 6 Guns, belonging to Warren, sail'd from thence the 24th of April, and put into Newport, from whence she sail'd three Days after; and on the 4th of this Instant May, to the Northward of Bermudas, took a French Snow of 150 Tons, with 18 Men, who made but little Resistance, having but 2 Guns, and no one killed or wounded on either side: The Privateer return'd with her Prize to Bristol the 15th, having finished this Cruize in 3 Weeks to an Hour. The Cargo of the Snow consists of 200 Hogsheads of Sugar, a Quantity of Coffee, Indigo, Elephants-Teeth, Logwood, etc. and was bound from St. Domingo for Old-France.

Yesterday the Privateer Ship Hertford, commanded by Capt. Thomas Lewis, lately fitted out from this Place, brought into our Harbour a valuable French Prize, a Ship of about 240 Tuns, which he took about three Weeks ago, to the Southward of Bermudas in Lat. 29: She was bound from Porto Prince in Hispaniola to old France; her Cargo is said to consist of 400 Hogsheads of Sugar, and a considerable Quantity of Indigo, Cotton-Wool, Hides, etc. valued at about 9000£ Sterling. She sail'd out with 4 other Vessels bound also to France, and had parted from her a Day or Two before she was taken: One of which is the Prize carried into Bristol as beforementioned; and another of them is said to be the trading Sloop that was seized at Rhode-Island last Week. Two other Vessels, they say, sail'd the Day before them for Cape-Breton.

Several French Letters found on board this Prize confirm the Arrival of the Squadron mentioned in our last, commanded by Monsieur Beaufremont;[4] and that he had sent out two Frigates to clear the Coast of our Privateers; but that the English Squadron approaching, they ran into Porto Paix,[5] and informed the French Admiral thereof; who thereupon put to Sea, and a great Number of Cannon were heard for several Hours; so that we may expect to hear of some smart Engagement.

[1] From the Boston News-Letter of May 19, 1757.

[2] Port au Prince, on the west coast, the present capital of Haiti.

[3] He was brother-in-law of Captain Simeon Potter, and sailed with him, as clerk, on the Prince Charles of Lorraine (see docs. nos. 176, 177) in 1745. His son, James De Wolf, United States senator 1821-1825, was one of the most successful of owners of privateers; one of his vessels, the Yankee, captured or destroyed five million dollars' worth of British property during the war of 1812. Munro, Tales of an Old Sea Port, pp. 214-223.

[4] The Chevalier de Bauffremont, prince de Listenois, chef d'escadre in the French navy and later vice-admiral, had sailed from Brest at the end of January, with a squadron of six vessels, for St. Domingo, capturing the Greenwich, 50, on his way. From the West Indies he sailed for Louisbourg, where he arrived May 23. Lacour-Gayet, La Marine Militaire de la France sous Louis XV., pp. 383, 495.

[5] Port au Paix, on the north coast of Haiti.

199. Letter of William Smith, jr. April 8, 1757.[1]

New York 8 April 1757.

Sir,

On the 6th Instant, a French Snow[2] laden with Sugar[3] and Indigo, to a very considerable Value, was brought into this Port, by two English Merchant men, who captivated her on the High Seas in March last, tho they had neither Letters of Marque nor other Commission.

After her Arrival in Port, she was seized first by a Privateer, and then by the Southerland Man of War, who both claim her as their Property respectively.

Colonel Morris, the Judge of the Vice-Admiralty, apprehending that the Lords of the Admiralty might be interested, issued a Warrant, by which the Snow was taken into the Custody of the Marshal of that Court; and as their Lordships have as yet appointed neither Proctor nor Advocate in this, and the Colonies of Connecticut and New Jersey, his Honour the Commissary was pleased on this Occasion to assign Council (as you will perceive by the inclosed) to examine into the Affair, and prosecute on their Lordships Behalf.

We have accordingly interposed a Libel for that Purpose, and let me beg the Favour of you, to wait upon their Lordships, for an authentic Copy of their Patent, and such Information, as may be thought proper to be transmitted.

Whether their Lordships, in Case of a Sentence in their Favour, will be pleased to consider the Captors, or chuse rather to reserve the Prize to themselves, I conceive it will be necessary, that a proper Power be sent over; of which you will be so good as to put their Lordships in Mind; and whatever Directions and Papers are given into your Hands, please to forward them with the utmost Dispatch to,

Sir,
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Wm. Smith Junior.

Captain Morris,

[Endorsed:] By the Leicester Packet: To Staats L. Morris, Esquire, London.[4]

[1] London, Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3882.

[2] Le Bon Rencontre. The case was a curious one (notes of Judge Hough, from the papers relating to it in the files of the New York vice-admiralty court). On March 22, 1757, this French snow of 160 tons, while on a trading voyage from Port Louis in Guadeloupe to Bordeaux, was captured off Bermuda by the English ship Maxwell, Etherington master, and the New York sloop St. Stephen, Thomas, who sent her with an English crew to New York; but neither of them had any letters of marque, or commission authorizing them to take prizes. The snow was brought to anchor inside Sandy Hook. Early in the morning of April 6, John Crew, captain of the New York privateer Fox, came aboard from a small boat with a few men, and took possession. Later, the snow was taken over by the Sutherland man-of-war. Thus, the Bon Rencontre was without doubt a captured enemy vessel, but the captors had not been authorized privateers, and the authorized privateer and the king's ship had not made the capture. Under these circumstances the admiralty judge, Lewis Morris, ordered the marshal to take custody of the snow, and appointed Benjamin Nicoll and William Smith, jr., the writer of this letter (see doc. no. 188, note 13), to be advocates for the Lords of the Admiralty, whose interests seemed to him to be involved. Thus there were four parties claiming—the original captors, Crew, the King, and the Admiralty. April 7 the snow was libelled on behalf of the Admiralty. Later, Etherington withdrew and Crew's claim was ruled out, but as between the King and the Admiralty Judge Lewis Morris gave no decision before his death in 1762. His successor, Judge Richard Morris, gave judgment Aug. 10, 1764, but it has not been preserved.

[3] 200 hogsheads, says the New York Gazette of Apr. 11; the Gazette of June 27, by the way, enumerates 23 privateers then in New York harbor.

[4] Staats Long Morris, son of the judge and brother of the "signer" Lewis Morris, was at this time a captain in the British army, later married the Dowager Duchess of Gordon, and died a British general.

200. Letter of Stephen Hopkins. January 15, 1757.[1]

Rhode Island January 15, 1759.

Sir,

You may remember that near a Year ago I wrote you by Order of the General Assembly to endeavor to procure a Judge of the Court of Vice Admiralty to be appointed within and for this Colony.[2] And as you very soon finished that Affair successfully, a Judge being appointed and commissioned, so he hath been accordingly sworn into his Office. Notwithstanding this being so far done, yet there appears to be a Deficiency of the Officers of that Court, as no Register or Marshal have been appointed. It is true there hath commonly been a Deputy Register in this Colony appointed by a Principal living in Boston at a great Distance from the Colony, and within another Jurisdiction, which seems incompatible, and it is solely at his Option, whether he will appoint a Deputy to attend in this Colony or not, the Inconvenience of which is obvious at the first View: And it doth not appear that any Commission hath been given for a Marshal of the Court of Vice Admiralty in this Colony since one Mr. Gibbs was appointed to that Office who hath been dead many years.[3]

The General Assembly, sensible of the great Inconveniences and Mischiefs likely to attend the Want of those Officers, as you will see by their Vote accompanying this Letter, have directed me in their Behalf to desire you immediately to make proper Application to the Lords of the Admiralty, and use your utmost Endeavours to obtain a Register and Marshal of the Court of Vice Admiralty to be appointed and commissioned for this Colony.[4] You will also perceive by the aforesaid Vote of the General Assembly that they desire the Office of Register may be obtained for Mr. Thomas Vernon,[5] and that of Marshal for Mr. William Mumford,[6] who have been the acting Persons in those two Offices in this Colony for near Twenty Years past, and have each in their several Duties of Office conducted themselves unblameably, and in all other Respects maintained unblemished Characters.

I am certain it must be needless for me to say any Thing further of this Matter, since you will have the General Assembly's Order concerning it, which must have infinitely Greater Weight in urging you to prosecute this Affair, with Zeal and Dispatch, than any Thing I could say.

In Behalf of the Colony and for myself, with great Regards I subscribe

Your faithful Friend, and
the Colony's Obedient Servant
Step: Hopkins.

[1] Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3819. The writer, Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785), celebrated as a governor of Rhode Island (1755-1757, 1758-1762, 1763-1765, 1767-1768) and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was at this time governor. The letter is a duplicate bearing an original signature. It was addressed to Richard Partridge, agent in London for the colony from 1715 to 1759. He dying March 5, 1759, receipt of this letter is acknowledged by his executor, Joseph Sherwood, May 11; letter in Miss Kimball's Correspondence of the Colonial Governors of Rhode Island, II. 289. Sherwood, appointed agent as Partridge's successor, pursued the general assembly's request, but apparently without success, the Lords of the Admiralty thinking it unnecessary to appoint a register and marshal in Rhode Island, when there were already such officers in Massachusetts; ibid., II. 289, 293, 298, 304, 306.

[2] By vote of the assembly, R.I. Col. Rec., VI. 107, passed at the October session of 1757, Stephen Hopkins was instructed to write to London requesting the appointment of a vice-admiralty judge especially for Rhode Island, and recommending Col. John Andrews to be the person. He wrote to Partridge, who on May 13, 1758, acknowledges receipt of the letter, Kimball, Corr. Govs. R.I., II. 273, and on May 24 announces his success, ibid., II. 275, where also is printed the warrant of the Lords of the Admiralty to Sir Thomas Salusbury, judge of the High Court of Admiralty, to issue a commission to Andrews. Thus Rhode Island was taken out of the jurisdiction of Chambers Russell, vice-admiralty judge at Boston, who is commonly said to have been judge for all southern New England from 1750 to 1767. Andrews remained judge till the Revolution.

[3] George Gibbs, appointed marshal about 1743, ibid., I. 244.

[4] Vote in R.I. Col. Rec., VI. 174.

[5] Postmaster of Newport. His diary during his banishment thence as a Tory in 1776 has been printed in R.I. Hist. Tracts, XIII. (Providence, 1881).

[6] Captain of Fort George, Newport.

201. Notes on Commissions for Trying Pirates. March 10, 1762, August 26, 1772.[1]

Sir,

I take the Liberty to acquaint you, that in Obedience to the Directions of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, signified by your Letter of the 30th December last, I have solicited the passing of several Commissions through the proper Offices, for Trying Pirates at the following Places, Vizt.

By the Danae	bracket	At	Jamaica, Barbadoes, The Leeward Islands.

By the Gosport	bracket		The Bahama Islands, South Carolina and Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Pensilvania and Connecticut.

By the Launceston By the Gosport	bracket		Massachusets Bay, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Bermuda Islands.

And I herewith send you the Said Commissions, being Eleven in Number, which have been passed under the Seal of the High Court of Admiralty, and are all dated the 14th day of January last.

I am

Sir
Your most humble and
most obedient Servant,
Sam'l Seddon.

Piccadilly
10th March 1762.
Honourable John Cleveland Esquire

Sir,

In Obedience to the Directions of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty signified to me in your Letters of the 24th instant, That I should let you know what Commissions for the Trials of Pirates in America, I have passed through the several Offices, in Consequence of Mr Cleveland's Letter of the 1st February 1762, and the Time when, and by what Conveyances I sent them to the respective Colonies: And also, whether any Commission has been passed in His present Majesty's Reign for Trying Pirates at Rhode Island; I take the Liberty to acquaint you for their Lordships Information, that in Obedience to an Admiralty Order signified to me in a Letter from the late Mr. Secretary Cleveland dated the 30th day of December 1761, I solicited the Passing of Eleven Commissions for trying of Pirates at Rhode Island, and other Places in America, all which were dated the 14th of January 1762 as appears by the enclosed Extract, taken from the Entries thereof made in the Register's Office at Doctors Commons; And I further take the Liberty to acquaint you, that on the 10th day of March 1762, I sent the said Eleven Commissions to Mr. Cleveland; as appears by the enclosed Copy of my Report to their Lordships of that Date

I am

Sir
Your most humble and
most obedient Servant,
Sam'l Seddon.

Piccadilly
26th August 1772.
Philip Stephens Esquire.

Extract of Commissions for Trying Pirates in America. 14th January 1762.[2]

North Carolina Maryland, and Virginia	bracket	Commission for trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carryed into His Majesty's Provinces of North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.	bracket	169

Bahama Islands	bracket	Commission for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Bahama Islands. Dated the same Day.	bracket	176

Bermuda Islands	bracket	Commission for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Bermuda Islands. Of the same Date.	bracket	180

Island of Newfoundland	bracket	Commission for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Island of Newfoundland. Of the same Date.	bracket	184

Province of Nova Scotia	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia.	bracket	187

Island of Barbadoes	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Island of Barbadoes.	bracket	191

New York New Jersey Pensylvania and Connecticut	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Provinces of New York, New Jersey, Pensylvania, and Colony of Connecticut.	bracket	195

Leeward Islands	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates, as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Leeward Islands.	bracket	200

Island of Jamaica	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates, as shall be taken and carried into His Majesty's Island of Jamaica.	bracket	205

Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates, as shall be taken, and carried into His Majesty's Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia.	bracket	209

Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire and Rhode Island	bracket	Commission of the same Date, for Trying such Pirates, as shall be taken, and carried into His Majesty's Provinces of the Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire, and Colony of Rhode Island.	bracket	214

Sir,

The	Danae	sailed	6th	May	1762	for	Jamaica and Leeward Islands.
	Gosport		7	April	1762	for	Virginia and Maryland.
	Launceston		7	April	1762		New England.

but cannot find out how the Pacquets to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were conveyed.

[1] Public Record Office, Admiralty, 1:3679. The note of March 10, 1762, and the list of commissions, were enclosures in the note of Aug. 26, 1772. The writer, Samuel Seddon, was solicitor to the Admiralty. John Clevland, to whom the earlier letter was addressed, was secretary to that body from 1751 to 1763; Philip Stephens, from 1763 to 1795. For these commissions to try pirates, see doc. no. 51, note 2, and doc. no. 106, note 1. The death of George II. and the accession of George III., 1760, made necessary the issue of new commissions. The persons included in the commission were, in each case, the governor, the vice-admiral, flag-officers, and commander-in-chief of any squadron within the admiralty jurisdiction of the colony, its lieutenant-governor and council, the chief civil judge, the judge of the vice-admiralty, the captains and commanders of royal ships within the jurisdiction, the secretary of the colony, the surveyor general of customs, and the collector of plantation duties. Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial, IV. 485-487; John Adams, Works, IX. 628.

[2] The figures refer to pages in the appropriate volume of the registers of the High Court of Admiralty.

202. Articles of Agreement; the Mars. June 23, 1762.[1]

New-York, June 25, 1762. Articles of Agreement Made and Agreed upon, Between Capt. Dennis M'Gillycuddy,[2] Commander of the Privateer Brigantine, call'd, the Mars, and Company. (Printed by H. Gaine, in Hanover-Square.)[3]

Imprimis, That the said Dennis McGillycuddy, for himself, and in Behalf of the Owners of the Privateer, shall put on board the said Brigantine a sufficient Number of Great Guns, Small Arms, Powder, Shot, and all other necessary warlike Stores and Ammunition; as also, suitable Provisions sufficient for the said Brigantine, during the whole Cruize; which Cruize is to be understood to be from the time of the said Brigantine's sailing from the Port of New York, until the Time of her returning thither again, for which there shall be no Deduction made out of the said Company's Shares: And in Consideration thereof, the Owner of the said Brigantine or his substitutes, shall have and receive One Half of all Prizes, Goods, Wares, Merchandizes, Monies, Effects, etc. that shall be taken during this Cruize; the other Half shall be divided, and paid to the said Brigantine's Company, by the Captain aforesaid, according to the Rules hereafter stated.

II. That the Captain shall have and receive, for himself, Six Full Shares, and shall be granted all Privileges and Freedoms which have been granted any Captains of Privateers: That the Lieutenants and Master, shall each of them have Three Full Shares, That the Captain's Clerk, Mates, Steward, Prize-Master, Gunner, Boatswain, Carpenter, and Cooper, shall each of them have and receive, Two Full Shares. That the Gunner's Mate, Boatswain's Mate, Doctor's Mate, Carpenter's Mate, and Cooper's Mate, shall each of them have and receive One Share and a Half.

III. That the doctor of the said Privateer, or whoever is at the Expence of the Chest of Medicines, shall have and receive the Sum of —— Pounds, if well furnished. Also the doctor shall have and receive for himself Three Full Shares, as also all Medicines and Instruments belonging to any Doctor that shall be taken.

IV. That if any Person spies a Sail, and she proves to be a Prize worth One Hundred Pieces of Eight a Share, he shall receive Forty Pieces of Eight at Six Shillings. And the first Man who enters on boarding a Prize in an engagement, and strikes her Colours, shall receive Half a Share for his Bravery.

V. That all the rest of the said Brigantine's Company, such as shall be deemed able and sufficient Seamen, shall each of them have and receive One Full Share, out of the Effects, Plunder and Prizes, that shall or may be taken by the said Brigantine during the Cruize, Provided, They are not found guilty of the Faults or Crimes hereafter named.

VI. That as to the Proceedings of the Vessel, and undertaking any Enterprize at Sea, or on Shore, and into what Port any Prize shall be Carried that shall be taken during the Cruize, shall be left entirely to the Captain's Election.

VII. That whoever of the Company shall breed a Mutiny or Disturbance, or strike his Fellow, or shall Game with Cards or Dice for Money, or any Thing of Value, or shall sell any strong Liquors on board, during the Voyage, he or they shall be fined as the Captain and Officers shall direct. And if any of the Company be found pilfering or stealing any Money or Goods of what kind soever, belonging to the said Privateer or Company, he or they shall forfeit his or their Share or Shares of the Prize-Money or Effects then and afterwards taken by the said Brigantine, during the whole Cruize, to the Owner and Company.

VIII. That if any of the Company in an Engagement with the Enemy, or in the true Service of the Cruize, shall lose a Leg or an Arm, or be so disabled as to be deprived of the Use of either; every such Person shall be allowed out of the effects or Prize first taken, (before any Division be made) the Sum of Six Hundred Pieces of Eight, at Six Shillings; or the Value thereof in Goods, at the Price according to public Sale: But if there be not so much taken at that Time, the vessel and Company shall keep out till they have enough for that Purpose; Provided no extraordinary Accident happens.

IX. That all the small Plunder, shall be brought to publick Sale, and be delivered to the highest Bidder, for which their Shares shall be accountable, excepting the Captain's Perquisites, which are such as did belong to the Captains of Prizes, and such Clothing as the Captain shall think proper to allow the Prisoners.

X. That if any Person belonging to the said Brigantine, be killed in an Engagement, or die on board, his Share or Shares, of all Prizes taken in his Life-Time, shall be paid to his Executors, if so appointed by Will; but if no Will be made, then his Part of what was got as aforesaid shall go to his Widow, or Heirs at Law, if claim'd in Twelve Months, from the Time of the said Brigantine's Arrival into her commission'd Port; and on Failure thereof, said Share or Shares shall be and belong to the general Interest of the Whole.

XI. That if any of the Company do disannul any of the Officers Commands for the Good of the Cruize, or the general Interest, he or they shall be fined and punished as the Captain and Officers shall direct. And if any of the Company do Assault, Strike or Insult any Male Prisoner, or behave rudely or indecently to any Female Prisoner, he or they shall be punished as the Captain and Officers shall direct. And if any of the Company begin an Attack, either by firing a Gun, or using any Instrument of War, before Orders be given, by the proper Officers, he or they shall be punished; but if any of the said Company do refuse to make an Attack on the Enemy, either at Sea or Land, at the Command and in the Manner ordered by the Captain and proper Officers, or do behave with Cowardice in any Engagement, he or them shall forfeit his or their Share or Shares for such Refusal or Cowardice; and if any of the Company get drunk, or use blasphemous and prophane Words, they shall be punished as the Captain and Officers shall direct: And likewise if any of the Company do desert the said Schooner before her Return to New-York, he or they shall forfeit their whole Shares to the Owner and Company, first paying such Brigantine's Debts as are contracted by the Captain's Knowledge.

XII. That at the Division of any Money or Effects taken this Cruize, —— Dead Shares shall be deducted out of the Whole, which shall be divided by the —— amongst the most Deserving and them that does most for the benefit of the Cruize.

XIII. That any Prize or Prizes that shall be taken during the Cruize, shall be with all Speed sent into the Port of New-York, in order that the same may be libelled against in the Court of Admiralty for Condemnation, and to no other Place whatsoever, except said Prize shall be so disabled that she could not proceed to said Port: And any Person or Persons which shall be aiding or assisting, or shall give his or their Consent for sending any Prize or Prizes, into any other Port but the Harbour of New-York aforesaid, shall forfeit his or their Share to the Owner and Company; and that no Division shall be made till they return to the Port of New-York.

XIV. That in Case any neutral Property, or any Property whatever, be taken and sent into Port, and after Condemnation be had, an Appeal should be entered by the Claimants, then, and in such Case, it shall be Lawful with the full Consent of the Captain and Company of the said Privateer, for the Owner, or his Attorney, to compromise, compound, and settle, by giving up any Sum or Part of the Prize, as shall seem most advisable to him for the general Interest, that the Captain and Company may receive each and every one of them their just and lawful Right and Prize-Money, and not be kept out of their Money until the Appeal may be determined in England; and in Case no such Compromisation can be made, then a certain Sum, shall be lodged out of the Prizes before taken, to prosecute the said Appeal: And it shall likewise be lawful for the Owner or Agent of the said Privateer to discharge any Capture that may be made during his said Cruize, without the formality of a Prosecution, in order that all unnecessary Charges may as much as possible be avoided.

XV. That it shall not be lawful for the said Officers and Company, or either of them, to demand or sue for the Prize-Money so to become due to them, or any Part thereof, until fourteen Days after the Sale of such Prize or Prizes, the Settlement of the Accounts relating to the said Cruize, and the actual Receipt of the Money by the Agent appointed to manage the Affairs of the said Cruize.

XVI. That if it should happen, that the said Briganteen, by Means of any Fight, Attack, or Engagement, be lost, sunk or disabled, so as she may be thereby rendered unfit for any further Service as a private Vessel of War to cruize; that then, and in such Case, the owner of said Brigantine, shall be entitled to take to himself, and for his own sole Use and Property, any Ship or Vessel taken during the Cruize, with her Guns, Tackle, Furniture, Ammunition and Apparel, not exceeding the Value of the Brigantine at the Time of her Sailing; which Ship or Vessel so taken shall be to the Owner in Lieu of the said Brigantine.

XVII. That in Case of the Death of the Commander, the next in Place shall strictly observe and comply with the Rules, Orders, Restrictions and Agreements, between the owner of the said Brigantine and the said Commander.

God Save the King, and Success to the Mars, and all her brave Crew.

[1] Printed broadside, 20 by 16 inches, preserved among the papers of the New York vice-admiralty court, no. 85 in the "large book". It bears near the heading a picture of two vessels, with the legend, "Success to the Brigantine Mars." With these elaborate articles of agreement may be compared the articles of agreement, substantially similar, of the Rhode Island privateer Defiance, 1756, in the Newport Historical Magazine, II. 198-204, or those of the General Washington and the Belisarius, 1781, presented in facsimile in the N.Y. Geneal. and Biog. Record, LIII. 349-351.

[2] The Mars came in on Apr. 21 from a previous cruise, under the same captain. New York Mercury, Apr. 26, 1762. May 22, the vice-admiralty court pronounced a decree in a suit brought by her commander, as libellant, against the prize snow Johnson. July 2, we find him, as owner of the Mars, 16 guns, petitioning for a fresh commission as commander of her. Cal. Hist. MSS. N.Y., II. 732, 734. "On Monday last [July 5] sailed from the Hook, on a Cruize against his Majesty's Enemies, the Privateer Brig Mars, Capt. McGillycuddy"; Mercury, July 12. The issues of Oct. 18 and Nov. 29 show that she made many prizes, but lost her captain.

[3] Hugh Gaine, the celebrated printer of the New York Mercury, had his shop at the Bible and Crown in Hanover Square from 1757 to 1800. Journals of Hugh Gaine, ed. Paul L. Ford, I. 8, 9.

203. Certificate of a Negro’s Freedom. June 26, 1762.[1]

Je SoussignÉ Certifie que le negre apellÉ laville, qui se trouve actuellement prisonnier À la nouvelle York, Est Libre de naissance, Pour l'avoir veu et connu À St. Domingue travailliant de son metier de charpentier, Et si le petit negre qui a EtÉ pris avec luy est son neveu comme il l'atteste, il est aussy libre, D'autant plus que le pere et la mere dud. negre laville sont aussy affranchis, En foy de quoy jay signÉ le present certificat, que jatteste veritable a la nouvelle York le 26e juin 1762.

(Translation)

The undersigned certifies that the negro called Laville, now prisoner in New York, is free born, having seen him and known him at St. Domingo where he was working at his trade as carpenter, and if the little negro captured with him is his nephew as he declares, it is incontestable that he also is free, the more so that the father and mother of the said negro Laville are also freed people. In testimony whereof I have signed the present certificate, which I attest as authentic. New York June 26, 1762.

[1] From the papers of the New York vice-admiralty court, book III. The document is not signed, but a translation written on the back of it is signed Lagardien, to which is added a note: "Mons. Lagardien is a Gentleman of an Estate near the Cape [i.e., Cap FranÇois] in St. Domingo and came hither for his Health about the latter End of Octob. last". July 24, the provincial council gives a pass to "Mons. De Laugardiere" to proceed to Bristol, England, in the snow Belle Sauvage. Cal. Hist. MSS. N.Y., II. 734. Judge Hough informs me that, negroes found on captured vessels being often sold as prize, attempts to obtain their freedom, as in the present case, were often made, and that these attempts were usually unsuccessful in the earlier period of the court's existence, successful in the later.

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