Captured ship: La Fraternité of Nantes, formerly La Valeur privateer, (master Michel...

Captured ship: La Fraternité of Nantes, formerly La Valeur privateer, (master Michel de Kuenny).

History: a French merchant ship with a letter of marque (80 or 100 tons, 6 guns, 13 men on setting out from Noirmoutier, 9 when first taken, 8 the second time - one hostage having been given, and a prize crew put on a prize they took), bound from Nantes to Dunkirk via Noirmoutier, laden with brandy and salt; taken on 1/12 April 1748 near the Casketts [Casquets, Alderney] by the privateer Duke of Beaufort of London (Thomas Lewis commanding) and ransomed for £500; sheltered from a storm in Morlaix, and was then taken again on 19/30 April 1748 6 leagues from the Seven Islands [Sept Iles] on the coast of Brittany by the Guernsey privateer Hanover (Thomas Le Page Junior commanding) within sight of HMS Surprise (James Webb commanding), who subsequently boarded both the Hanover (to remove her prisoners) and her prize, and brought La Fraternité into Weymouth.

(After ransoming La Fraternité, the Duke of Beaufort was taken on 26 April / 7 May 1748 by a French man-of-war La Mutine (Chevalier de la Roche commanding), taken into Port Louis and condemned in a French prize court).

Documents:-

Court Papers:

• [CP 1-CP 4]: standing interrogatories, two examinations taken at Weymouth, commissioners' affidavit;
• [CP 5]: three examinations taken in Guernsey, commissioners' affidavit;
• [CP 6]: allegation (that HMS Surprise was the captor);
• [CP 7-CP 9]: appraisement and sale;
• [CP 10-CP 12]: three attestations by the Duke of Bedford's people;
• [CP 13-CP 14]: final interlocutory decree of the judge, awarding salvage to the Hanover and HMS Surprise, and the rest of the proceeds of sale to the Duke of Beaufort;
• [CP 15-CP 16]: attestation as to papers, and abstract and translation of the 6 ship's papers now numbered SP A1-SP A6;
• [CP 17-CP 18]: attestation as to papers, and abstract and translation of the 12 ship's papers subsequently found concealed in the rudder trunk and now numbered SP B2-SP B13.

Ship's Papers:

• [SP A1-SP A6];
• [SP B2-SP B13].

[Decision: condemned as prize, 28 June 1748]