Captured ships: St Philippe (master Jean Meur otherwise John Muir), La Reine de France...

Captured ships: St Philippe (master Jean Meur otherwise John Muir), La Reine de France (master Pierre Lasserre), La Toison d'Or (master Jean Dufourcq), L'Union of Bordeaux (master Élie Fardie), and Le Vigilant (master Robert Godefroy).

History: five French merchant ships proceeding in company from Bordeaux to Saint Domingue and Martinique, taken in fight on 12 April 1745 off Cape Finisterre, by the privateers Shoreham (Robert Milligen commanding), Lowestoft (Charles Fielding commanding), and Townshend (Nicholas Lewis commanding), and brought into Lisbon. A sixth ship, a brigantine, escaped capture.

Documents: mail in transit. Except for a few that were missed, those letters identified on the envelope as being consigned to the St Philippe, La Reine de France and L'Union were removed in 1955 and place in HCA 32 with the court records and ships papers of each ship. It is not now possible to determine which letters in this piece were carried in which of the ships of the convoy, although there may be further internal evidence in the letters.

The mail comprises approximately 300 personal and business letters for onward delivery from Bordeaux and other parts of France to Saint Domingue, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Grenada and other islands in the West Indies, including:-

• purser's book (in French) for an unnamed vessel recording consumption of barrels of beef, cod and other supplies (no. 1);
• small notebook containing indistinct entries in French and English, bearing the name Edmond Power (no. 2);
• seven issues of the Gazette de Bordeaux, (Jan-Feb 1745) (nos. 3B to 9), almost certainly the seven gazettes referred to in a letter to Monsieur Heriot (no. 3, 3A);
• several letters and papers in Spanish, most addressed to Father Diego Rendon Sarmiento, Santo Domingo, enclosing copies of official letters relating to his religious order, the Order of Mercy (nos. 10 to 31);
• three commissions of an infantry officer dated 1738-42, issued by the Governor of Grenada (nos. 32 to 34);
• (no. 35 not used);
• bill of exchange with multiple endorsements (no. 52);
• tailor's bill (no. 57);
• two letters of exchange dated January 1737, both endorsed (nos. 58A and 58B);
• account of expenses incurred in connection with La Concorde of Cherbourg (incomplete) (no. 145);
• letter to Pierre Lasserre, master of La Reine de France (not for onward delivery) (no. 146);
• list of ships in D'Epinay's convoy (no. 165E);
• packet of letters to le Frere Allemand de la Compagnie de Jesus, enclosing copy of papal bull of 24 April 1584 (no. 200);
• letter to Michel Tual, second officer of L'Union, addressed to him at Blaye, 16 Mar 1745 (no. 209).

See HCA 30/237, HCA 30/238, HCA 30/239, and HCA 30/241/1 for more papers and mail; and HCA 32/147/10, HCA 32/148/4, HCA 32/155/15, HCA 32/156/5 and HCA 32/156/13 for more letters and the main collection of ship's papers and court process etc

Topics

Shipping

Trade and commerce

Caribbean

Europe and Russia

Piracy and privateering

Food and drink

Armed Forces (General Administration)