High Court of Admiralty. Captured ship: Dickinson or Dickenson of Philadelphia (master...

High Court of Admiralty.

Captured ship: Dickinson or Dickenson of Philadelphia (master William Meston).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (snow, 240 tons, 9 men) bound from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Nantes, laden with flour, spermaceti candles, beeswax, and barrel staves, with orders to buy arms and ammunition for Congress; taken on 30 March 1776 at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay in latitude 46°38'N by John Sands, the first mate, and her own crew (with no commission), who then sailed her into Bristol on 8 April 1776, where Sands surrendered the papers to the Collector of Customs, but during his absence the snow was seized by HMS Rose armed tender (Lieutenant Anthony Metherall commanding).

Intended voyage: from the United States to France.

Court papers numbered CP 1-29:-

• [CP 1]: a long and complex attestation as to papers (marked A-G by the court) by John Sands, taken at London, 31 May 1776; the ship left Philadelphia on 16 February 1776, on the ice breaking, bound for Nantes; the owners' orders were opened at sea and caused much concern to the loyal crew (details given); on 30 March Sands demanded the papers from Meston, took charge, and set a course for London; Meston tried to bribe the crew with extra pay to restore him; contrary winds took them to the Bristol Channel and delayed them there;
• [CP 2]: deposition of John Sands, late first mate, born at Tuam, Ireland, lodging in Philadelphia when not at sea, and for the last 8 weeks lodging at Wills Coffee House facing the Admiralty Office, Whitehall; the crew took over the ship in the name of the King once they knew it was going to load arms and ammunition in Nantes for the use of the Continental Congress; gives details of the owners and the regimentals they wore in the service of the Continental Congress; identifies the ships papers marked A-G taken before the court, and states that about half a dozen sealed letters were sent up express from Bristol by the Collector of Customs there to the Treasury, where he later saw them; taken in London, 4 June 1776;
• [CP 3]: deposition of George Davis late second mate, born at Sheen's Castle, Antrim, Ireland, lodging in Philadelphia when not at sea, and for the last 2 weeks lodging at the Black Horse on Tower Hill, London; taken in London, 6 June 1776;
• [CP 4]: deposition of Robert Martin late a mariner, born at Roscommon, Ireland, lodging in Philadelphia when not at sea, and for nearly 3 weeks lodging at the Black Horse on Tower Hill, London; taken before the court, 8 June 1776;
• [CP 5]: King's warrant appointing William Chamberlayne, the Treasury Solicitor, as agent for the sale of the snow and goods, when the same are condemned, 17 June 1776;
• [CP 6]: allegation of Lieutenant Anthony Metherall and HMS Rose, 22 June 1776, rejected 13 November 1776;
• [CP 7]: act of court on petition of all proctors, the vessel and cargo being condemned as droits of the crown, but Sands and the rest of the crew could not be held to have committed a revolt (as argued by Heseltine) as a revolt implies a departure from duty, but have instead committed a revolt from the enemy, 29 June 1776;
• [CP 7A]: certified copy of the Order in Council of 6 March 1665/6, which stated that any ship that voluntarily comes into port upon revolt from the enemy is subject to droits of the Crown, not droits of the Admiral, 4 September 1776;
• [CP 8]: commission of appraisement and sale, 29 June 1776, endorsed with details of activities in Bristol, 9 August-7 December 1776, bound with two paper volumes (CP 9 and 10);
• [CP 9]: inventory of the ship and cargo, valued at £3117 7s 4d (the ship being £552), 2 September 1776;
• [CP 10]: account of sales of the ship and cargo, 9 May 1777;
• [CP 11]: printed power of attorney of James Allen, William More, Andrew Mackay and Edward Barritt, four mariners belonging to HMS Apollo, granted to George Dempster esq, 28 February 1777;
• [CP 12]: authorisation from George Dempster to Nathaniel Bishop, Deputy Registrar of the High Court of Admiralty to pay to Stephen Lushington the respective shares of the net proceeds of the ship Dickinson, decreed by the HCA to be paid to James Allen, William More, Andrew Mackay and Edward Barritt, four of the seamen who brought the ship into Bristol, 28 February 1777;
• [CP 13]: complete and detailed bill of expenses of HM Procurator General, Gostling, for £282 16s 6d;
• [CP 14-CP 21 ]: receipts and vouchers for expenses at Bristol in unloading the ship etc, originally numbered 1A-1F2;
• [CP 22-CP 29]: receipts and vouchers for expenses at Bristol in the sale of the ship and cargo, originally number 1-8.

Ship's Papers marked SP A-G:-

• SP A: owners instructions from Bayard, Jackson & Co, Philadelphia, to bring back a cargo of arms and ammunition from Nantes, from Messrs Montaudouin Frères or that may be offered by any person whatsoever, for account of Congress; details of secret signal to give and receive on return; and envelope; 13 January 1776;
• SP B: letter from Bayard, Jackson & Co, Philadelphia to Messrs Montaudouin Frères, 18 January 1776; we wrote to you 28 April last [1775] about our adventure of tea and asked Captain James Johnston of our snow Dickinson to remit you the balance...; bill of lading enclosed, net proceeds of current cargo to be laid out in 15 tons of gunpowder, or saltpetre and sulphur, 1500 stands of arms fitted with bayonets and steel rams, and 1000 bolts of Russia duck or canvas;
• SP C: ship's register; owners Blair McClenachan, Andrew Hodge, Samuel Jackson and John Bayard of Philadelphia, master James Johnston, April 1770;
• SP D: bill of lading for the cargo, for account of the Continental Congress of thirteen United Provinces in North America, freight to be paid in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress, 12 February 1776; ;
• SP E: invoice of cargo, at the account and risk of the Continental Congress, consigned to Messrs Montaudouin Frères, total value £5125 16s 7d, 19 January 1776;
• SP F: the Resolutions of the Dickinson's Crew: 30 March 1776;
• SP G: large logbook bound in sailcloth, with 2 logs in 3 hands, one for 1775 (Johnstone?), one for 1776 (Meston?) and one from 30 March 1776 when the take-over of the ship was recorded to 7 April 1776.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-13; Ship's papers: 14-38 (large pencil numbers). Large logbook added from HCA 30/716. All sorted and renumbered in 2025].

There is a long report of this case, giving the arguments in court (not found here), in Decisions in the High Court of Admiralty, during the time of Sir George Hay, and of Sir James Marriott, late judges of that court, George Minot ed, Volume I. Michaelmas term, 1776, to Hilary term, 1779.

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