High Court of Admiralty. Captured ship: Bolton (master William Stevens, prize master...

High Court of Admiralty.

Captured ship: Bolton (master William Stevens, prize master James Wallace).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (110 tons, 6 men), bound from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Curacao, laden with flour, tobacco; taken on 5 April 1777 in latitude 49°N, at Cape Henlopen, Delaware by HMS Daphne (St John Chinnery commanding), and HMS Thames (Tyringham Howe commanding) , and brought first into New York and then into London.

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

Court papers numbered CP 1-4:-

• [CP 1]: two depositions, taken in New York, of Joseph Eldin and Thomas Moores of the Bolton, certified by David Mathews, mayor of New York, 14 May 1777 (and numbered as ship's paper 11 by John Wallace);
• [CP 2]: three depositions, taken in New York, of Benjamin Runwa, first lieutenant, and John Mortimer, gunner, of HMS Thames, and of William Stevens, late master of the Bolton, certified by David Mathews, mayor of New York, 3 September 1777;
• [CP 3]: attestation as to papers brought in by John Blackburn of Scotch Yard, London, to whom the ship and cargo were consigned from New York, the Bolton having arrived in the River Thames under the prize master John Wallace, appointed by Chinnery, with papers numbered 1-11 and a packet of letters addressed to Edward and Rene Payne merchants, London [which are not here], 17 October 1777;
• [CP 4]: depositions taken at Doctors Commons of John Wallace of New York, prize master, and John Warneck of Belfast, hired as mate by Wallace, 18 and 22 October 1777;
• [CP 5]: allegation, 22 November 1777.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-10 (Pennsylvania papers):-

• SP 1: clearance from Philadelphia;
• SP 2: crew list and agreement;
• SP 3: invoice of cargo;
• SP 4: bill of lading;
• SP 5-SP 7: bill of lading, instructions to Stevens and invoice, for flour, from John Wilcocks of Philadelphia;
• SP 8: letter to Isaac Gouverneur from J W [John Wilcocks]; no envelope;
• SP 9: bill of payment to Wilcocks for pilotage down the river and bay of Philadelphia;
• SP 10: ship's register, 1775.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-6; Ship's papers: 7-18 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2024].

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