British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Diligent (master André Ribaud)....

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Diligent (master André Ribaud).

Capture history: a French merchant ship (brigantine, 160 tons, 15 men) bound from Charleston, South Carolina to Cadiz, laden with tobacco, indigo; taken on 15 May 1779 in latitude 35°N, longitude 60°W by the loyalist privateer Tartar (James Clarke commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the United States to Spain.

Court papers numbered CP 1-4:-

• [CP 1]: libel in Clarke v The brigantine Diligent and her cargo, 20 May 1779;
• [CP 2]: affidavit of papers brought in by the prize master William McCreight, lieutenant, 28 May 1779;
• [CP 3-CP 4]: two depositions of Ribaud and Louis Brun, 29 May 1779.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-32, including mail in transit:-

• SP 1-SP 3: clearances from Cadiz and Charleston;
• SP 4-SP 20: ship's business papers;
• SP 21-SP 26: bills of lading;
• SP 27: letter from Renaud to the authorities in Cadiz about a deserter, Francisco Moyse of Genoa, subsequently returned in chains, 17 June 1778.
• SP 28: business letter from James Atkinson, Charleston to Messrs Delabat & Co, Cadiz, 29 April 1779;
• SP 29: business letter from James Atkinson, Charleston to Messrs Le Coulteulx, Cadiz, 29 April-1 May 2779;
• SP 30: personal letter in French from Barrere Croze Magnan, Charleston, to his cousin Labadie, Cadiz, 25 January 1779, enclosing SP 31: a business letter to the same, 3 February 1779;
• SP 31: business letter from James Atkinson, Charleston to Messrs Lewis Butler & Co, Cadiz, 30 April 1779.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-6; Ship's papers: 7-36 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2024].

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