British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Apollo (master William Forsyth)....

HCA 32/272/5

1777 May 25

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Apollo (master William Forsyth).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (schooner, 80 tons, formerly an English ship (master Tobias Collins), bound from Whitehaven, Cumberland, via Cork, Ireland to Barbados, taken in [April] 1777 by the American privateer [of the Pennsylvania State Navy] Oliver Cromwell (Harmon Courter commanding) and brought into Martinique), now bound from St Pierre, Martinique to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, laden with dry goods and cordage; retaken in May 1777 by HMS Haerlem (John Knight commanding), in sight of HMS Merlin (Samuel Reeve commanding), HMS Roebuck (Andrew Snape Hamond commanding) and HMS Preston (Samuel Uppleby commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the Caribbean Islands to the United States.

Court papers numbered CP 1-5:-

• [CP 1]: libel in Reeve v The schooner Apollo and her cargo, 17 October 1777;
• [CP 2]: affidavit of papers, numbered 1-22, brought in by the prize master John Jurd, master of HMS Haerlem, 24 October 1777, with a list of the 22 ships papers on the reverse;
• [CP 3]: deposition of James Marshall boatswain of the prize;
• [CP 4]: answer and claim of William Lowther, merchant of New York, on behalf of John Hartley of Whitehaven, 24 November 1777;
• [CP 5]: replication, 24 November 1777.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-22 [the listing is based on Jurd's numeration, which mingles the original English ship's papers, the American ship's papers, and letters sent by Harmon Courter: it is rare to find English papers still on a re-captured English ship]:-

• SP 1: lists of costs at Martinique, 3 May 1777, by Patrick Moore;
• SP 2: manifest of the Whitehaven and Cork cargo, with a record of the delivery of certain items to the Oliver Cromwell, for Messrs John Pringle & Co of Philadelphia, 3 May 1777;
• SP 3: bill of lading for part of the goods taken out of the Mercury [prize] by Patrick Moore, consigned to the Apollo for delivery to John Pringle & Co, undated; the bill of lading was printed by John Dunlap;
• SP 4a-SP 4b: Tobias Collins's invoices and accounts for goods taken on at Cork [butter, tallow, provisions];
• SP 5a-SP 5d: Tobias Collins's invoices and accounts for goods taken on at Whitehaven;
• SP 6: order to Forsyth, the prize master, from Harmon Courter, 28 April 1777;
• SP 7: letter to Blair & McClenachen at Philadelphia [wanting];
• SP 8: cocket from Whitehaven for the export of dried salmon to Barbados, 18 December 1776;
• SP 9: copy of Harmon Courter's privateer commission for the Oliver Cromwell, belonging to John Bayard and James Caldwell of Philadelphia, annotated 'Capt Forsyth's Commission';
• SP 10: two letters to John Pringle & Co of Philadelphia [wanting];
• SP 11: letter to Andrew Caldwell, Philadelphia signed by Harmon Courter and six others, about the ill behaviour of Captain Dilworth, attributed to cowardice, Martinique, 28 April 1777;
• SP 12: letter to John Bayard and James Caldwell of Philadelphia from Harmon Courter, about the transfer of goods from the Mercury to the Apollo, and the fitting out of the Apollo, Martinique, 28 April 1777;
• SP 13-SP 14: French ship's papers, Martinique;
• SP 15-SP 16: cargo manifests for the ship Mercury and the brig Mercury [wanting];
• SP 17: Tobias Collins's accounts for table ware supplied at Whitehaven, 19 November 1776 (e.g. pudding dishes, punch strainers, pickle pots etc);
• SP 18: Tobias Collins's accounts for dry goods supplied at Whitehaven, 18 December 1776 (e.g. horn combs, nutmeg graters, watch chains etc);
• SP 19-SP 20: cocket from Whitehaven with inserted receipt (through V-slashes in the cocket) for lighthouse dues (Skerries lighthouse), December 1776- 2 January 1777;
• SP 21: register [wanting];
• SP 22: log book covering 21 April 1777 to 25 May 1777;
• SP 23: a torn fragment of a letter, in English.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-5; Ship's papers: 6-24 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2024].

HCA 32/272/5/1-24

Public Record(s)

English

Open Document, Open Description

Topics

International

Litigation

Trade and commerce

Caribbean

Conflict

Piracy and privateering

Ireland

Navy

Crime

Americas

Armed Forces (General Administration)

Operations, battles and campaigns