British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Little Hope of St Kitts (master...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Little Hope of St Kitts (master unknown).

Capture history: a British merchant ship (schooner, 70 tons) bound from the Bay of Honduras to Bristol, laden with log wood, and mahogany; taken by the American privateer Polly (Martin Parkison commanding) in September 1777 off the Banks of Newfoundland, retaken on 6 October 1777 off the Capes of Philadelphia near Egg Harbor, New Jersey by the loyalist privateer Favourite Betsey (Daniel Squier commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the Caribbean Islands to England.

Court papers numbered CP 1-4:-

• [CP 1]: affidavit of papers brought in by Daniel Squier, 13 October 1777;
• [CP 2]: libel in Squier v The schooner Little Hope and her cargo, 13 October 1777;
• [CP 3]: two depositions of Daniel Burgess mariner of Manchester, England and Richard Brown, cabin boy, of Lincolnshire, England, 21 October 1777;
• [CP 4]: answer and claim of Charles Smith of Bristol, England, owner, 5 December 1777.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-3:-

• SP 1: manuscript copy of the privateer commission of the Polly, 6 March 1777, made by Robert Long, clerk;
• SP 2: manuscript copy of the instructions of Congress for privateers, 3 April 1776, made by Robert Long, clerk, 29 July 1777;
• SP 3: orders of Captain Parkison to the American prize master, to stay in convoy, and if separated to write to Andrew Caldwell & Co, Philadelphia [September 1777].

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-5; Ship's papers: 6-8 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025].