British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Charmont of Lorient (master...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Charmont of Lorient (master René Thomas Pelletier).

Capture history: a French merchant ship (brigantine, 170 tons, 16 men), bound from Edenton, North Carolina and Saint Domingue and to Bordeaux, laden with tobacco; taken on 4 April 1778 in latitude 34°6'N, longitude 70°28'W by HMS Andromeda (Henry Bryne commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the United States to France.

Court papers numbered CP 1-3:-

• [CP 1]: affidavit of papers brought in by the prize master Joseph Steers, mate, 6 May 1778;
• [CP 2]: libel in Advocate General at the relation of Bryne v The brig Charmant, 6 May 1778;
• [CP 3]: deposition of René Le Pettier, 14 May 1778.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-19:-

• SP 1-SP 2: official ship's papers, Oct 1777;
• SP 3-SP 4: muster rolls;
• SP 5-SP 7: owners instructions, of M Cagnet, 18 Feb 1778;
• SP 9-SP 19: ship's business papers

Mail in transit, numbered MT 14-48, [using the original numbers; in French, except for MT 22:-

• MT 14-MT 18: interesting personal and business letters from Duler, care of Mr James Arbuckle, Metompkin, Accomack County, Virginia, to merchants in Bordeaux, with MT 16 being to his wife, 16 Jan-16 Feb 1778;
• MT 19-MT 48: business and personal letters from Cap François, Saint Domingue, mostly to Bordeaux, 24 Feb-13 March 1778.
• [The personal letters are MT 20, MT 23, MT 28, MT 29, MT 34, MT 35, MT 37 and MT 42];
• MT 22: Rabacheu & Cie, Saint Domingue to Messrs Rabacheu, Bordeaux [possibly Catalan].

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-2a; Ship's papers: 3-58 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025].

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