British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Morning Star (master James...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Morning Star (master James Club).

Capture history: an American merchant ship (schooner, 15 tons, 3 men [master and 2 boys]) bound from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to St Thomas, Danish West Indies or (as claimed) to New York, laden with flour, bread, onions; taken on 10 or 15 October 1776 near Barnegat Shoals, New Jersey by HMS Falcon (John Linzee commanding), HMS Active (Anthony Hunt commanding), and HMS Scorpion (John Tollemache commanding), and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the United States to British America.

Court papers numbered CP 1-10:-

• [CP 1]: libel in Advocate General at the relation of Linzee v The schooner Morning Star and her cargo, 19 November 1777 [over a year later];
• [CP 2]: answer and claim of James Club of Scotland, late of the Royal Navy, that he was a loyal subject and intended to sail to New York (which he did after clearing the Capes of Delaware) rather than go to St Thomas, having been threatened by Congress; he took only two boys as crew, as being less likely to betray him, having been advised by John Foxcroft (a loyalist prisoner of war of the rebels confined on parole in Philadelphia) to load the boat with provisions and escape to the British in New York, 1 December 1777 [some of this information comes from the depositions];
• [CP 3]: replication;
• [CP 4]: rejoinder
• [CP 5]: interrogatories;
• [CP 6]: additional interrogatories on the part of the claimant;
• [CP 7]: deposition of James Club, 11 December 1777;
• [CP 8]: deposition of John Foxcroft, 13 December 1777;
• [CP 9-CP 10]: two depositions of James Porter a loyalist of Springfield, Pennsylvania, common hand on the Morning Star, 17 December 1777.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-8:-

• SP 1: manuscript clearance bond, Philadelphia, 7 October 1776;
• SP 2: bill of lading, for Lisle & Robinson;
• SP 3: owners instructions, of Messrs Lisle & Robinson of Philadelphia, 7 October 1776;
• SP 4: memondandum of goods and ownership, 7 October 1776;
• SP 5: manuscript certificate of ownership, of Henry Lisle, Daniel Robinson, Thomas Comstom and Luke Thomas, 7 October 1776;
• SP 6: letter of instructions, from Henry Lisle to his brother Maurice Lisle, St Thomas, 8 October 1776;
• SP 7: business letter from L&R to friend Maurice Lisle, St Thomas, 7 October 1776;
• SP 8: business letter (originally enclosing SP 2) from Lisle & Robinson to Maurice Lisle, St Thomas, 7 October 1776.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-10; Ship's papers: 11-18 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2025].

Topics

Internment

International

Litigation

Trade and commerce

Caribbean

Conflict

Food and drink

Navy

Crime

Americas

Armed Forces (General Administration)

Operations, battles and campaigns