British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: La Baronne D'Auzerie or Baron...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: La Baronne D'Auzerie or Baron D'Ozelle (master Bertrand Lecouture, prize master Peters).

Capture history: a French merchant ship (snow, 200 tons, 14 men), bound from Bordeaux via the Isle de Ré to Charleston, South Carolina (but formally to St Pierre et Miquelon), laden with salt, brandy, wine, and window glass; taken in early May 1778 in latitude 33°N longitude 64°W by the privateer Richard of Liverpool (Thomas Lyon commanding) and sent in for New York, retaken by the American privateer Hornet (Edward Peters commanding), and sent for [New] Bedford, Massachusetts, retaken on 12 June 1778 near Martha's Vineyard by HMS Pigot (Henry Edwin Stanhope commanding), and brought into Newport, Rhode Island.

Intended voyage: from France to the United States.

Court papers numbered CP 1-4:-

• [CP 1]: libel in Advocate General at the relation of Stanhope v The snow Baronne D'Auzerie and her cargo, 26 June 1778;
• [CP 2]: affidavit of papers (no papers) brought in by the prize master John Brown of HMS Pigot, 2 October 1778;
• [CP 3]: deposition of Edward Peters, American prize master from the Hornet; all the dry goods and brandy were transferred to the Hornet; he has lodged the papers found on the prize with the court (now SP A-SP C), 2 December 1778;
• [CP 4]: affidavit of papers by Thomas Lyon (now SP 4 onwards), 17 December 1778.

Ship's Papers numbered SP A-C, SP 1-31:-

• SP A-SP B: certified copy of the privateer commission of the Richard (Thomas Lyon commanding) issued 29 October 1777, with certificate of inspection in Liverpool, 17 December 1777;
• SP C: letter of instruction from Lyon to Neil McNeil, prize master of the Baronne D'Auzerie, 8 May 1778;
• SP 1-SP 8: official ship's papers, for a voyage from Bordeaux (leaving c 10 January 1778) and the Isle de Ré (leaving c 25 February 1778), to St Pierre et Miquelon;
• SP 9 : muster roll;
• SP 10: facture or tabular invoice of the cargo;
• SP 11-SP 17: ship's business papers;
• SP 18-SP 21: bills of lading;
• SP 22-SP 31: five issues of the Leiden Gazette (Nouvelles Extraordinaires de Divers Endroits each with the supplement, for 19, 23, 30 December 1777 and 23, 27 January 1778 [perhaps in a letter from John Bondfield, but the last date is too late];

Mail-in Transit: John Bondfield [JB] letters numbered MT 1-11, containing commercial and political intelligence [Bondfield was Commercial Agent at Bordeaux etc for the Secret Commitee of Congress]:-

• MT 1: a large and long envelope addressed to 'Mr Roulhac au Continent or Monsieur Acklam R Bondfield at Philadelphia or the Hon Charles Carol esq at Baltimore or Charles Bondfield at Edenton', enclosing a letter from John Bondfield, Bordeaux, 17 Dec 1777, asking anyone who receives it to forward the letters enclosed [MT 2-MT 7, full of war, business and personal news] as addressed;
• MT 2: a long envelope to Acklam R Bondfield, late of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which probably contained MT 2A, a 12-page letter from JB, Bordeaux to his brother Acklam Bondfield, covering 1 Dec 1777-12 Jan 1778, and MT 2B a separate letter to Acklam, 10 Dec 1777;
• MT 3: JB to Charles Carol junior, member of Congress for the State of Maryland, at York Town, Philadelphia, 7 Dec 1777 and 10 Jan 1778;
• MT 4: JB to George Clymer, member of Congress for the State of Pennsylvania, at York Town, Philadelphia, 17 Dec 1777 and 10 Jan 1778;
• MT 5: JB to Robert Morris, member of Congress for the State of Pennsylvania, at York Town, Philadelphia, 1, 10, 18 Dec 1777 and 10 Jan 1778;
• MT 6: a cumulative business letter from JB to Charles Bondfield, Edenton, North Carolina, on the last page recommending Messrs Reculès de Basmarein, Raimbaux & Cie, laders of the Baronne D'Auzerie, and Mr Roulhac their partner at Edenton, 1 Dec 1777-12 Jan 1778;
• MT 7: JB to Ncholas Low esq, care of John Wilcox late of Philadelphia, 17 Dec 1777-10 Jan 1778;
• MT 8: a long envelope addressed to Major General Philip Schuyler, Albany, probably containing MT 9: JB to Schuyler, 1 Dec 1777 and 10 Jan 1778; and MT 10: JB using up the inside of the envelope enclosing MT 11, both letters to his friend John Welles, Auditor General of Accompts for the Northern Department, Albany, 4 Dec 1777-10 Jan 1778.

Mail-in Transit: Reculès de Basmarein, Raimbaux & Cie [RBR] letters numbered MT 12- [RBR were major shippers of armaments etc to America]:-

• MT 12: envelope addressed to Mr Roulhac in America or Mr Acklam R Bondfield at Philadelphia or the Hon Charles Carol Esq at Baltimore or Charles Bondfield at Edenton; endorsed Recommandé a Monsieur Dechezaux, containing MT 12A-C;
  • MT 12A: RBR to Acklam Bondfield, Philadelphia, 8 January 1778;
  • MT 12B: RBR to Charles Bondfield, Edenton, 8 January 1778;
  • MT 12C: RBR to Charles Carrol, near Baltimore, 10 January 1778;
• MT 13: envelope addressed to Monsieur Roulhac, négociant de Bordeaux, A Charlestown, which may have contained MT 13A-MT 13E, five letters from RBR to Roulhac (monsieur et cher ami), dated 10, 12, 16 and 16 December 1777 and 12 January 1778;
• MT 14: envelope addressed to Monsieur Roulhac, négociant de Bordeaux, chez m[ess]rs John Cripps et Mey negociants a Charlestown, containing MT 14A , a letter from [RBR] to Roulhac, dated 26 February 1778;
• MT 15-MT 17: three letters from RBR to Messrs John Cripps & Mey, at Charleston, dated 30 November and 12 December 1778, and undated, with no envelope;
• MT 18: business letter from Cabesse, merchant at Bordeaux to Lafite merchant at Salem, 7 January 1778.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-5; Ship's papers: 6-70 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025].

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