Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Part 74

Proclamation made a fourth Time, and none appearing to Claim, the Court ordered the Proctor to Proceed to Prove the lawfull Caption of the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ and Snow _St. Ann_ and their Ladings,[3]

[Footnote 3: The story of the capture is also related in Benjamin Franklin's paper, the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, Jan. 22, 1745: "On Friday [Jan. 18, arrived] a Ship and Snow, from the _Warren_ Privateer, Alexander Kattur, and the Old _George_ Schooner, William Dougall, Commanders, who sailed from this Port about six Weeks ago in Consort. Seven Days after they left the Capes, in the Lat.i.tude of 31, they met with the Ship.... She is a Frigate built Ship, of 18 Carriage Guns, belongs to St. Malo's, and was thither bound. She is called the _Lewis Joseph_. The Captain's Name was Piedsnoirs.... She maintained an obstinate Fight for Five Hours, and did not surrender, till she had received near Fifty Shot in her Hull, and was at last boarded, and the Captain, his second Lieutenant, and four Men killed, and several of the Gentlemen Pa.s.sengers wounded. The Captain had the Character of a Gallant Man, and, as the Prisoners say, always declared, that he would never part with the Ship but with his Life.... The Snow is called the _St. Anne_, Pierre Dalheu Master, bound to Bourdeaux, and was taken two Days after the Ship. [The rich cargoes are described.] We are daily expecting the two Privateers in."]

Whereupon the following Depositions being Produced and Read, viz.

Jacques Piegnon of St. Malo in France Mariner being Sworn

Deposeth and Sayeth

To the first Interrogatory

That he this Deponent Knows the Ship called the _Lewis Joseph_ now riding at Anchor in this Port of Philadelphia; That in the Month of August 1743 this Deponent contracted and Agreed with Francis Pienoir late Captain of the said Ship and the owners thereof at St. Malo aforesaid to enter and go as Second Captain on Board the said Ship on a Voyage from St. Malo to Cadiz and from thence to proceed to some port of French or Spanish America as should be agreed and resolved on at Cadiz aforesaid; That agreeable to his said Contract this Deponent sailed in the said Ship in quality of Second Captain to Cadiz and from thence to Port Orient[4] in France and thence returned to Cadiz and from thence proceeded to Cape Francois[5] in the Island of Hispaniola; That the said Francis Pienoir was Captain and Commander of the said Ship during the said Voyage; That from Cape Francois aforesaid this Deponent sailed in the said Ship on an Intended Voyage for Nantz in France and on the 26th day of Decr. last, New Stile, the said Ship [was] attacked upon the High Seas in or near the Lat.i.tude of 31 deg.

North by two English Privateer Vessels, of one of which Captain Alexander Kattur was Commander[6] and Captain John Dougal was Commander of the other, but does not Know the Names of the said Privateers but has heard that one of them was Called the _Warren_ and the other the _George_; That the Engagement between the said Two Privateers and the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ continued for about five or Six Hours; That at the Beginning of the said Engagement there were fifty two Men in and belonging to the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ but four of them were Killed in the said Engagement vizt. the said Captain Pienoir, another Captain who was a Pa.s.senger and two common Sailors, and three of the Men belonging to the said Privateers were also Killed in the said Engagement as this Deponent afterward heard and believes; That at the time of the said Engagement the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ was mounted with Eighteen Guns; That the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ was then taken by the said two English Privateers; That the said Captain Pienoir and all the Mariners and Comp'y belonging to the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ at the Time of her said Caption were Subjects of the French King; That the same Ship _Lewis Joseph_ was then Laden with divers Goods Wares and Merchandizes.

[Footnote 4: Now called Lorient.]

[Footnote 5: Now Cap Hatien.]

[Footnote 6: The _Warren_; see note 3, above, and _Pa. Mag. Hist._, XXIV. 350.]

To the Second Interrogatory;

That the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ at the time of her said Caption wholly belonged to Monrs. John Petel a Merchant then residing at St.

Malo and a Subject of the French King; That part of the Goods Wares and Merchandizes wherewith the said Ship was laden at the time of her said Caption belonged to the said Captain and the officers of the said Ship and the residue thereof to divers Merchts. and others at St.

Malo's, Nantz and other Ports and Places in France and that such Owners of the said Cargo were all then Subjects of the French King.

To the third Interrogatory,

That before the said Ship _Lewis Josephs_ Departure on the said Voyage from St. Malo, the said Captain Pienoir applyed for and obtained from the proper Officer at the Court of France a Commission which gave Authority to the said Captain with the Marriners and Company belonging to the said Ship as a private Ship of War to Seize and take any Person with their Goods and Effects who then were or should happen to be the Enemies of the French King during the Course of the said Voyage; That it is Customary in France for such Ships when there happens to be an Expectation of War being Declared before their Return from such Voyages to apply for and take out such Commissions before their Departure, And this Deponent with the said Captain Pienoir and the rest of the said Ships Company hearing at Cadiz upon their Return thither from Port Orient that War was declared by the French King against Great Britain,[7] they the said Officers and Company belonging to the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ looked upon themselves well warranted and authorized by the said Commission to Act with the said Ship as a private Ship of War against the Subjects of the King of Great Britain and to Seize and take their Persons and Effects; That the said Ship did not touch in any Port or Place in France after the time of this Deponents hearing of War being Declared against Great Britain as aforesaid; That after the said Ships Departure from St. Malo and during the said Voyage, the said Captain Pienoir produced and read the said Commission to this Deponent and the Rest of the said Ships company, and that the purport thereof was to authorise the said Captain Pienoir with his said Ships Company to Seize and take any Pirates, Interlopers and any future Enemys of the French King with their Ships, Goods and Effects or to that Effect, and was to Continue in force only for the said Voyage, and that the said Commission had a large Seal affixt to it; but what or whose such Seal was this Deponent knows not.

[Footnote 7: The king of France (Louis XV.) declared war on Great Britain on Mar. 15, 1744, N.S.]

To the fourth and fifth Interrogatorys,

That he, this Deponent, knows the Vessel or Snow called the _St. Anne_ in the Interrogatory mentioned and now riding in the Port of Philadelphia; That the said Snow being laden with Divers Wares and Merchandizes at Cape Francois Sailed from thence in Company with the said Ship _Louis Joseph_ and was afterwards taken by the said two English Privateers who took the said Ship _Lewis Joseph_ or one of them as this Deponent hath heard and believes, and was brought into the Port of Philadelphia along with the said Ship, as the Prize of and belonging to the said Privateers but when or where the said Snow was Attacked or taken, or who was the Captain and Commander of her this Deponent knows not, but hath heard and believes that the Captain, Mariners and Owners of the said Snow were all Subjects of the French King; and to the Rest of these Interrogatories cannot Depose.

JACQUE PIEGNON.

THE _APOLLO_.

_174. Deposition of John Brown. August 2, 1745._[1]

[Footnote 1: From the same ma.n.u.script volume as the preceding, pp.

262-264. The capture is thus recorded in the _Pennsylvania Gazette_ of Aug. 1, 1745: "Yesterday arrived the Privateer _Trembleur_, belonging to this Port, and brought in the Scotch Ship taken some Weeks since by the Spanish Privateer Snow off the Capes of Virginia. Captain Bowne met with [her] East of Bermudas, bound to Laguira".]

John Brown of Holywood near Belfast[2] in the Kingdom of Ireland being Sworn,

[Footnote 2: Holywood is four or five miles northeast of Belfast, on the east sh.o.r.e of Belfast Lough.]

_1st._ To the first Interrogatory saith that he Knows the Ship called the _Apollo_ now rideing at Anchor in this Port of Philadelphia; That he first Knew the said Ship At the aforesaid Port about Seven Years ago, but the Particular Time does not now remember; That he was hired by Alexander McMullen the Commander of the said Ship on or about the Nineteenth Day of March last past at Larn[3] in the Kingdom of Ireland aforesaid to proceed with the said Ship as Chief Mate thereof from thence to Virginia; That the said Ship at her Departure from Larn aforesaid was not Laden with any Goods, Wares or Merchandizes but in her Ballast; That the said Ship _Apollo_ in the prosecution of the said Intended Voyage was taken as a Prize on the Sixteenth day of June last past upon the High Seas near the Capes of Virginia by a Spanish Privateer Snow; That the Commander of the said Privateer after he had taken Possession of the Ship _Apollo_ brought over board her into his own Vessel the Master and all the Men belonging to the said Ship except this Deponent and one Boy, and at the same time put on Board her Sixteen Mariners belonging to the said Spanish Privateer Snow; That on or about the twentieth Day of the said Month of June the Commander of the said Spanish Privateer caused to be laden on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ several Goods, Wares and Merchandizes the Cargo of a Certain British Snow which the said Privateer had taken a few Days before; That soon after the said Goods, Wares and Merchandizes were put on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ she was seperated from the said Spanish Privateer; That he this Deponant was on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ at the Time of such her seperation and saith that she remained under the Conduct of the said Sixteen Spanish Mariners who were put on Board her on her being first taken as aforesaid (in order to carry her to Laguira[4] as they informed this Deponant) untill the twelfth day of July last past when the said Ship _Apollo_ was attacked and Retaken as a Prize on the High Seas by an English Privateer Sloop called the _Trembluer_[5] whereof Captain Obadiah Bowne was Commander;[6] That upon the Recaption of the said Ship _Apollo_ by the said Sloop the said Captain Obadiah Bowne put on Board her twelve or Thirteen Mariners in order to navigate and carry her to this Port of Philadelphia where she arrived the first day of this Instant Month of August and till which Time the said Deponent Continued on Board her from the Time of her being Retaken as aforesaid.

[Footnote 3: Larne lies on the northeast coast of Ireland, some twenty miles north of Belfast.]

[Footnote 4: La Guayra on the Venezuelan coast, the port of Caracas.]

[Footnote 5: _Trembleur_, _i.e._, Quaker. Her first appearance is in the journal of William Black, under date of May 30, 1744: "a fine Bermudas Sloop bought the other day for 800 pounds Sterling, and is called the _le Trembleur_, to carry 14 Carriage and 20 Swivel Guns, and 100 Men". _Pa. Mag. Hist._, I. 247.]

[Footnote 6: After the war was over, Bowne settled down to the keeping of a public-house "at the sign of the _Trembleur_", at the corner of Market and Water streets, hence long called "Bowne's corner".

_Memorial Hist. Phila._, I. 263.]

_2d._ To the second Interrogatory this Deponent saith that the said Ship _apollo_ at the Time of his being Shipped as Chief Mate of her as aforesaid did belong to Richard Oswald[7] and Company Merchants residing in Glascow in Scotland and subjects of the King of Great Britain as this Deponent was informed by the said Alexander McMullen then Master of the said Ship _Apollo_. And this Deponent further says that he does no[t] Know to whom the Goods, Wares and Merchandizes taken from on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ did belong, but says that he Knew and was well acquainted with James Bowne the Commander of the said British Snow at the Time of her being Taken as aforesaid.

JOHN BROWN.

[Footnote 7: This was that Richard Oswald (1705-1784), Franklin's friend, who signed for Great Britain the preliminary articles of peace with the United States, Nov. 30, 1782.]

_175. Deposition of Diego de Prada y Nieto. August 2, 1745._[1]

[Footnote 1: From the same volume as the preceding, pp. 264-266.]

Diego De Prada y Nieto of Sevilla in the Kingdom of Spain being Sworn

3d. To the third Interrogatory Saith That he Knows the Ship called the _Apollo_ now riding at Anchor in this Port of Philadelphia; That he first saw the said Ship _Apollo_ on the High Seas on the Twenty seventh or Twenty eight day of June last, New stile,[2] about the distance of Twelve or thirteen leagues from the Capes of Virginia; That the Persons then on Board the said Ship were Subjects of the King of Great Britain; That the said Ship _Apollo_ at or about the place and Time aforesaid was Attacked and Taken Prize [by] a Spanish Privateer Snow called the _Neustra Senora De los Dellores y Animas_[3]

Commanded by Don Carlos Francisco de Bissava and Navigated by Eighty Mariners all Subjects of the King of Spain; That immediately upon the said Ship _Apollo_ being taken as aforesaid this Deponant with fifteen or Sixteen Spanish Mariners belonging to the Said Spanish Snow were sent by the said Capt. Don Carlos Francisco de Bissava on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ whereof they took possession; That the Command of the said Ship _Apollo_ was given to this Deponent with orders to carry her to Laguira on the Coast of Caraccas in new Spain;[4] That on or about the thirty first day of June last N.S.[5] the said Capt. De Bissava caused to be put on Board the said Ship _Apollo_ sundry Goods, Wares and Merchandizes being the Cargo of a Certain Snow taken by a Spainish Privateer about five days before, two legues from the Coast of Virginia, but the Names of the Owners or Commander of the said Snow this Deponent Knows not but has heard and believes tha[t] she belonged to the Subjects of the King of Great Britain; That the said Depont.

with the said fifteen or Sixteen other Spanish Mariners Continued in Possession and had the Care and Conduct of the said Ship _Apollo_ untill the 23d day of July last, New Stile,[6] when she was attacked and Retaken by an English Privateer Sloop called the _Trembleur_ whereof Capt. Obidiah Bowne was Commander; That the said Captain Bowne immediately upon his retaken the said Ship _Apollo_ put on Board her thirteen Men who Conducted and brought the said Ship to this Port of Philadelphia.

[Footnote 2: A Spanish sailor would date by new style; June 27, N.S., was June 16, O.S., the date given in the previous deposition.]

[Footnote 3: _Nuestra Senora de los Dolores y [de las] Animas_, "Our Lady of Sorrows and of Souls".]

[Footnote 4: Rather, in the viceroyalty of New Granada.]

[Footnote 5: June 20, O.S., according to John Brown's deposition.]

[Footnote 6: July 12, O.S. (Brown).]

4th. To the fourth Interrogatory This Deponent Saith That among the People who were put on board the said Ship _Apollo_ by the Spaniards there was one Mullato man who was called Limena whom this Deponent says is a free man, and that he, this Deponent had been informed by several and by the said Mullato himself that since the Commencement of the War between England and Spain he was Taken and Carred in to Jamaica and there sold as a Slave and that he run away from the English and got among the Spaniard And this Deponent further heard that he belonged to a Privateer Commanded by Don Pedro De Parieveck and that having quarreld with one of the Officers on board the same, the said Commander by a Letter desired the said Captain Don Carlos Francisco de Bissava Commander of the said Spanish Privateer Snow called the _Neustra Senora de los Dellores y Animas_ to receive the said Mullato on board the same and that he was received aboard accordingly and was to draw an equall share with the Whitemen and did receive ten pieces of Eight Advance money being the sum the Whitemen also receivd and the said Mullato was looked upon by the People on Board the said Privateer as a freeman and by some of them was well known.

DIEGO D PRADA LONE NIETO.

THE _PRINCE CHARLES OF LORRAINE_.