High Court of Admiralty. Captured ship: Active (master John Craig). Capture history:...

High Court of Admiralty.

Captured ship: Active (master John Craig).

Capture history: an American merchant ship with a letter of marque (brigantine, 60 tons, 9 men, 5 English prisoners and 3 American passengers, formerly an English ship taken as prize in 1779 and condemned in Philadelphia), now bound from Philadelphia to Lorient, laden with Maryland tobacco and logwood; taken on 25 January 1781 in the chops of the English Channel by the privateer Stag of Jersey (Nicholas Chevalier commanding), and brought into Southampton.

Intended voyage: from the United States to France.

Court papers numbered CP 1-3:-

• [CP 1]: attestation as to papers (numbered 1-52) brought in by the prize master Thomas Fall, 5 February 1781;
• [CP 2-CP 3]: standing interrogatories; three depositions taken at Portsmouth, of Barnet Laversuyler, Michael Bright and John Clark, commissioners' affidavit, and letter that the ship's papers were sent to the court after the taking of preparatory depositions [at Southampton], 16 February 1781;
• [CP 4]: label.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-65 [Pennsylvania papers; envelopes 3, 8-10, 15-16, 18-20, 22-27, 29, 37, 44 and 45 not found, but SP 53-SP 65 are letters from Philadelphia, August-Dec 1780, perhaps on this ship in the missing envelopes]:-

• SP 1-SP 2: official ship's papers;
• SP 4: John Pringle to James Cuming merchant at Lorient, 13 Dec, enclosing SP 4A the same and SP 4B bill of lading;
• SP 5: John Hillborn to James Cumming merchant at Lorient, 14 Dec, enclosing SP 5A bill of lading and SP 5B bill of exchange;
• SP 6: Francis Gurney to William M McCarty on board the Active, Philadelphia, 13 Dec, enclosing SP 6A bill of lading and SP 6B invoice;
• SP 7: Peter Whiteside to William M McCarty at Lorient, 20 Dec, enclosing SP 7A Lacaze & Mallet to William M McCarty, 14 Dec and SP 7B bill of lading;
• SP 11: the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, no 1370, 13 Dec 1780;
• SP 12: envelope and SP 12A, letter from [Anne-César], Chevalier de La Luzerne [French ambassador to the US] to M Necker, Directeur General des Finance, Versailles, 1 Dec, in support of William McCarty, setting up a business house in France;
• SP 13: envelope only, [the same] to Necker;
• SP 14: Benjamin Dean to Mr McCarty on board the Active, 23 Dec, enclosing SP 14A and SP 14B, two bills of exchange in case McCarty falls into enemy hands;
• SP 17: Reed & Forde to Joshua Johnson at Nantes, 15 Nov, enclosing SP 17A, small note;
• SP 21: James Dunlap to James Cuminges merchant at Lorient, 14 Nov, originally enclosing bills;
• SP 28: C P Raguet to Nicholas Raguet at Paris, 12 Dec;
• SP 30:R Moore to Jacob van Bunscroten at Amsterdam, 12 Dec;
• SP 31: Oster to M Le Ray de Chaumont, Intendant Honoraire, L'Hotel Royal des Invalides at Passy, 19 Dec, in support of William McCarty;
• SP 32: M De Marbois to M Gourlac merchant at Lorient, 5 Dec;
• SP 33: Samuel Penny to M De Katner at Bordeaux, 20 Dec; send my son to William Jackson in June or July next, if he is then complete in the French language;
• SP 34: personal letter from [Martin] Oster [in the vice-consulate of France] to his wife, with the French fleet, 17 July, entrusted to McCarty;
• SP 35: personal letter from Oster to Mme Oster at Montmartre, 20 Dec;
• SP 36: Stewart & Potter to James Cumming, 29 Oct, enclosing SP 36A-C, three bills of exchange;
• SP 38: personal letter from his mother with family news to William Duncan on board a ship, Captain Knox, 14 Dec;
• SP 39: Philip Moore & Co (owners of the Active) to Messrs William McCarty & Co at Nantes, 18 Dec, to sell the Active and buy a larger ship;
• SP 40: Philip Moore to Jonathan William at Nantes, 12 Dec; my son George is to join McCarty's counting house; enclosing SP 40A-C, three bills of exchange;
• SP 41: Isaac Wikoff to John Bondfield at Bordeaux, 20 Dec;
• SP 42: [Pierre] Audrain to Messrs Guyot & Cavillon merchants at Paris, 14 Dec;
• SP 43: Stewart & Potter to James Cuming at Lorient, 11 Nov, enclosing SP 43A- B, two bills of exchange;
• SP 46: James Price to William Haywood merchant at Bordeaux; disapproves of him entering a partnership with Bondfield; writes on 14 Dec by Colonel Palfrey, appointed Consul-General for the US in all ports in France, who intends to set up a commercial house with McCarty, with note of 19 Dec that this is a copy by McCarty [William Palfrey was lost at sea on his way to France];
• SP 47: Philip Moore to George Moore his son at Nantes, 18 Dec;
• SP 48: Rumford & Robinson to James Cummings at Lorient, Wilmington, 25 Dec, once enclosing bills of exchange;
• SP 49: James Dunlap to James Cumings at Lorient, 4 Dec, with complaints;
• SP 50: the same, 23 Nov, once enclosing bills of exchange;
• SP 51: Robert R Randall to James Cuming at Lorient, 15 Dec, enclosing SP 51A, bill of exchange;
• SP 52: Cox Lawrence & Co to Jonathan Nesbitt & Co at Lorient, 20 Dec, enclosing SP 52A, bill of exchange;
• SP 53: P A [Audrain] to Messrs Guyot & Cavillon merchants at Paris, 9 Dec, enclosing SP 53A-B, personal letters to Joseph Cavillon and to 'ma bourgeoise', 12 Dec;
• SP 54- SP 54A: envelope and letter from Noel, surgeon major in the service of France, to his cousin M La Faye at Paris, 16 Dec, with instructions about sending letters under double cover;
• SP 55: Noel to M Bailleux, Procureur du Chatelet at Paris;
• SP 56: letter from Noel to his sister Madame Rousseau Noel at Reims, 15 Dec;
• SP 57: fragment mentioning John Brain, 28 Oct;
• SP 58: envelope, enclosing SP 58A, letter from [Benjamin] Dean to Jonathan Nisbet, merchant at Lorient, Wilmington, 22 Dec, and SP 58B one of the four bills once enclosed;
• SP 59: Archibald McCall to Messrs George Clifford & Tyssett at Amsterdam, 25 September;
• SP 60: Gerrard William Beekman to Messrs George Clifford at Amsterdam, 4 August, enclosing SP 60A-F, six bills of lading, four of Winefred Davenport to Benjamin Bryant for small sums;
• SP 61: Leonard Jacoby to Carl William Hoeman, Amsterdam, 25 Oct;
• SP 62: Leonard Jacoby to Johan Frederick Motte, Amsterdam, 16 Dec, enclosing SP 62A, the same, 22 Oct;
• SP 63: Leonard Jacoby to Wilhelm Hassenclever, Remscheid, 18 Dec;
• SP 64: Leonard Jacoby to Johan Peter Hassenclever, Remscheid, 25 Oct;
• SP 65: letter from Leonard Jacoby to Johan Herbergs, Rensdorf, 25 Oct.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-10; Ship's papers: 11 (large numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2024. Mail added from the HCA 30 sort in 2024].

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