British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Charming Polly (master Joseph...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Charming Polly (master Joseph Millett, first prize master Thomas McKenny).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (schooner, 30 tons, 5 men) bound from Charleston, South Carolina to Cape Nicola Mole [Môle-Saint-Nicolas], Saint Domingue, laden with rice, Indian corn, peas, tar, pitch, turpentine and bacon; taken on 11 July 1777 by the British ship (with no commission) Gayton of Jamaica (William Chambers commanding), taken over on 27 July 1777 by HMS Thames (Tyringham Howe commanding) , and brought into New York.

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

Court papers numbered CP 1-5:-

• [CP 1]: affidavit of papers brought in by Howe, 16 September 1777;
• [CP 2]: affidavit of papers brought in by Thomas McKenny, 1 October 1777;
• [CP 3]: libel in Advocate General at the relation of the King v The schooner Charming Polly and her cargo [droits], 1 October 1777;
• [CP 4]: monition, 1 October 1777;
• [CP 5]: account of sale of the ship and cargo, net value £441 9s 9d, 3 January 1778.

[Decision: condemned, if no response to the monition by 23 October 1777].

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-4 by the court (South Carolina papers):-

• SP 1-SP 2: official ships papers;
• SP 3: order of Chambers to McKenny as prize master, 17 July 1777;
• SP 4: account of pineapples.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-4; Ship's papers: 5-7 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025. CP 5 added from HCA 49/91; SP 3 added from HCA 32/292/9].

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