Captured ship: Grand Duke (master Joshua Mauger or as a French prize, Jacques de...

HCA 32/114/11

1745

Captured ship: Grand Duke (master Joshua Mauger or as a French prize, Jacques de Russy).

History: an English ship with a letter of marque (New England built, 250 tons, 20 guns, 29 [French] men besides 10 of the original 80 English men), bound from Leghorn [Livorno] to London, laden with many bales of Italian silk, coral, drugs, brimstone, camel hair, juniper berries, oil, and grass or straw hats; taken in fight on 16/27 January 1745 by the French privateer Jean et Joseph of St Malo (32 guns, 200 men, Lamotte Ruante commanding) in latitude 48º30, retaken on 21 January / 1 February 1745 in latitude 48º40 by the privateers Warren Galley (Christopher Huddy commanding) and Saltash (John Huddy commanding), and brought into Falmouth.

Court Papers:

• [CP 1-CP 5]: standing interrogatories, three examinations of the French prize crew, commissioners' affidavit;
• [CP 6]: attestation and claim of Roger Hog, a Scottish merchant of London, one of the owners;
• [CP 7]: allegation by the two captors;
• [CP 8]: atttestation by John Jamineau merchant of London that all the ship's papers had been taken by the French except the manifest, forwarded by John Huddy and now brought into court [now SP 1];
• [CP 9-CP 10]: attestation by Roger Hog as to a letter received from Christopher Thornton, boatswain of the Grand Duke; and the detailed letter from Thornton describing the capture, recapture, breaking of bulk (looting of wine) by the recaptors, quarantine at Falmouth, etc;
• [CP 11-CP 16]: attestations that the Grand Duke is fit to proceed to London after some small repairs; that there is no person capable of valuing the cargo in Falmouth; and four attestations of London merchants including Joseph Pouchon and Israel Jalabert that there is no good market at Falmouth for the cargo and that London is the best market for the Italian silk;
• [CP 17-CP 18]: attestation as to the general costs of transport by carrier from Falmouth to Exeter and Exeter to London; and further attestation that land carriage would take 12 months, appraisement at Falmouth by London appraisers would cost £756 plus expenses; and that insurance of sailing the Grand Duke would cost £420 on cargo of £20,000 value;
• [CP19-CP 20]: attestation by Roger Hog with his succesful petition to the Customs that the duty on the cargo be paid at Falmouth, March 1744;
• [CP 21]: attestation by Roger Hog that the Grand Duke and the English privateer Tuscany sailed in consort together on a joint cruise, and that a suit is now depending in the High Court of Admiralty [instance side] between the owners of the Grand Duke and Edward Nicholas, Samuel Jacob, James Day, James Laroche, Walter Hawksworth and Daniel Saunders owners of the Tuscany, February 1746.

Ship’s Papers, numbered SP 1: the detailed manifest of cargo from Leghorn, 19 December 1744.

[Decision: case discontinued. A related case was brought in Chancery by Hog, Mauger etc against the owners of the Tuscany in 1747: see C 11/1627/1 ]

Extra information from HCA 30/775/1

Public Record(s)

English

Open Document, Open Description

Topics

Clothing

International

Litigation

Trade and commerce

Piracy and privateering

Weapons

Food and drink

Navy

Middle East

Armed Forces (General Administration)