British New York Vice-Admiralty Court. Captured ship: Porcupine (master Hill, Amerian...

British New York Vice-Admiralty Court.

Captured ship: Porcupine (master Hill, Amerian prize master John Sanderson).

Capture history: a American merchant ship (sloop, 60 or 80 tons, 10 men) bound from St Thomas, Danish West Indies to Charleston, South Carolina, laden with salt, sugar, dry goods; first taken by HMS Actaeon, retaken by the American privateer Hartford; now retaken on 30 March 1782 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina by HMS Warwick (George Keith Elphinstone commanding), HMS Santa Margaretta (Elliott Salter commanding), HMS Adamant (David Graves commanding), HMS Perseverance (Skeffington Lutwidge commanding),and other vessels, and brought into New York.

Intended voyage: from the Caribbean Islands to the United States.

Court papers numbered CP 1-5:-

• [CP 1]: affidavit of papers brought in by the prize master William Elphinstone midshipman of HMS Warwick, 27 March 1782;
• [CP 2]: libel in Advocate General at the relation of Lutwidge v The sloop Porcupine and her cargo, 27 March 1782;
• [CP 3]: monition, 27 March 1782 ;
• [CP 4]: depositions of William Ash, part owner of the Porcupine, 23 April 1782;
• [CP 5]: envelope, marked Prize Papers, addressed to Robert Kemble, Warwick's Agent, New York; G K Elphinstone.

[Decision: condemned, if no response to the monition by 17 April 1782].

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-2:-

• SP 1: appoint of John Anderson as prize master by James Gould, commander of the American privateer Hartford, 4 March 1782;
• SP 2: manuscript copy of the Hartford's privateer commission, owner James Jeffrey of Baltimore, 9 October 1781.

[Papers previously wrongly identified as Court papers: 1-4; Ship's papers: 5-7 (large pencil numbers): sorted and renumbered in 2026].