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British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Betsey (unknown master). Capture...
Catalogue reference: HCA 32/280/17
What’s it about?
This record is about the British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Betsey (unknown master). Capture... dating from 1776 Jan 20 in the series High Court of Admiralty: Prize Court: Prize Papers. It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
Is it available online?
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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HCA 32/280/17
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Date (When the record was created)
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1776 Jan 20
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Description (What the record is about)
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British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.
Captured ship: Betsey (unknown master).
Capture history: an American merchant ship (brigantine, 160 tons, abandoned by her crew who took to their boats and fled to Virginia); taken on or about 20 January 1776 at Chesapeake Bay, Virginia by HMS Roebuck (Andrew Snape Hamond commanding). [Note: in January 1776, HMS Liverpool set fire to the town of Norfolk, Virginia after rebel Americans refused fresh provisions to the Navy and fired upon their boats. [This seizure of the Betsey was not brought before a court until 2 years later.]
Intended voyage: from the United States to [unknown].
Court papers numbered CP1-2:-
- CP 1: affidavit by James Gilchrist that sometime in January 1776 (he being then on board the sloop Fincastle, a tender to HMS Otter in Chesapeake Bay) a tender belonging to HMS Liverpool seized the brigantine Betsey there, but left her at large; she was then seized by HMS Roebuck; he does not believe any papers were found; 4 February 1778.
- CP 2: libel in Hamond v The brigantine Betsey, 6 February 1778.
[Papers previously wrongly identified as done (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2024].
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
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HCA 32/281/4/1-5
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
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English
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
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Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C13505037/
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- View this record page in our current catalogue
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Series information
HCA 32
High Court of Admiralty: Prize Court: Prize Papers
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
108,802 records
Within the department: HCA
Records of the High Court of Admiralty and colonial Vice-Admiralty courts
37,116 records
Within the series: HCA 32
High Court of Admiralty: Prize Court: Prize Papers
29 records
Within the piece: HCA 32/280
Captured ships with names beginning with B. (Described at item level)
You are currently looking at the item: HCA 32/280/17
British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Betsey (unknown master). Capture...
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