2 RICHARD MAITLAND of Shadwell

AM09/01

   Richard Maitland, a mariner who lived in Shadwell in the East end of London on the banks of the Thames, was born about 1718. There is no indication of his origins other than his widow Sarah describing him as a native of Ireland; DNA indicates he may have been from East Scotland, west of Aberdeen. He was the father of John who started the Jamaican branch. He died 15 November 1778 in New York[4].

     Richard was an educated man, his statements papers about the Georgia affair seem to be written in his own hand and the language is certainly not that of a lawyer, unlike the crew’s statements. His signatures both on these papers and his marriage licence are similar:
1740: 1777:

     His wife was named Sarah, from the loyalist compensation records, she was over 60 at time of claim and very infirm (1784): she was quoted in the 1787 paper as being 66, so born 1721.

Sarah Maitland, aged 90, buried Tower Hamlets, St Dunstan & All Saints Stepney, 31/1/1810^ACi, looks right for her. Another image has at St Dunstan, Stepney, of Poplar at Poplar.

Patrick Wallis M Sara Tomson, Married 20/2/1738-39 B&S both OTP Shadwell,
Sara Tomson of Richard & Sara bap Westminster, 8/3/1718-9.

Also Sarah Wallis bur Shadwell of Foxes lane, widow 22/7/1739

Richard Maitland appears in the Land tax returns for Shadwell[5]

Marriage License

16 June 1740[i]: Which day appeared personally Richard Maitland of the parish of St Paul, Shadwell in the county of Middx, bachelor, aged twenty two years and alleged that he intends to marry with Sarah Wallis(?) of the same parish, widow.
Not knowing or believing any by reason of any pre-contract consanguinity or any other lawful means whatsoever to hinder the said intended marriage of the truth of which he made oath and prayed licence for them to be married in the parish of St Leonards Bromley in the county aforesaid. Signed by Richard Maitland.
'Bromley St Leonard's' was split from the parish of Stepney in 1536 – under Tower Hamlets.[6] (Vicar Gen Lic, Canterbury Sarah Wallis ^FMP)

NB he made his will 29 June, so was married about 20 June 1740.

No cost mentioned, but £200 in son(?) Richard 1772.

For more see Lethington Maitland etc

Recorded family of Richard Maitland:

Issue of Richard and Sarah, mariner, ch at St Paul, Shadwell[7]
1/1. Richard Mateland, 13/5/1744, of King James Stairs, 18 days old.

Probably married Sarah Fenton, spinster, Shadwell, 1772/3, a bachelor & mariner of Shadwell[8], Licence 23/12/1772^ACi, cost £200 = £35K in 2023!
Both over 21 and OTP.

1/2. Jno Francis Maitland, 16/10/1745, of King James Stairs, 18 days old.

This probably our John Maitland, although on the lower age limit to have sailed on the Hungerford as surgeon. That may have been a sinecure by Barford for Richard Maitland.

1/3. Mary Elizabeth Maitland, 28/6/1747, of King James Stairs.
1/4. Sarah Maitland, 26/12/1751, of Shakespeare Walk.
1/5. Sarah Maitland, 24/1/1757, of Shakespeare Walk, bur 23/6/1765 dau of RM.
1/6. Charles Maitland, 19/6/1758, of Shakespeare Walk, 1 day old, bur 22/6.

Captain Richard Maitland’s Life

   Richard Maitland, a mariner who lived in Shadwell in the East end of London on the banks of the Thames, was born about 1718. There is no indication of his origins other than his widow Sarah describing him as a native of Ireland. London was his home port in England, with many voyages finishing at Gravesend.
   The only clue of his paternal family was the will of Charles Maitland, also of Shadwell, master of HMS Aurora dated 1759, proved May 1772, naming his wife Rebecca as sole heir and executor, and witnessed by Richard Maitland. The ship was lost without trace presumably from fire or storm, in the Indian Ocean in January 1770. Charles Maitland married Rebecca Rooke(?) 18/4/1759^ACi, Shadwell, B&S OTP. Both signed, Charles’s an educated signature.
   Richard made a will in 1740[9] naming his wife Sarah, not proved until 27/2/1779, with administration going to wife Sarah. In the preamble, he mentions the “...fortunes and dangers of the seas...”, so it is probable that he made this will early in his seagoing career and soon after his marriage as there is no mention of any children; slightly surprisingly, he never altered this will or made any codicils naming subsequent children.
   As the will was proved at Canterbury, Richard must have owned property in more than one diocese, quite possibly abroad. Subsequent examination of his widow’s Loyalist Claim give a good indication of the financial state at his death. Sarah was born about 1721, so a will of 1740 was probably made on their marriage, implying that he then had something to leave.
    There have never been many Maitland’s in Ireland, but if he really was from Ireland, he may have been related to the Maitland/Lauderdale branch who are said to have moved from South West Scotland (Auchinbreck in Dumfries) via Ireland to the US[10]. That family may have arrived with the plantations of Ulster in the 17thC, perhaps during Cromwellian times. Planters were theoretically required to staff their plantations with workers from the mainland estates, so the immigrants were not only the owners, but other families as well.
    It is also possible that he could have been one of the mercantile Maitlands in London at the time; none of the documented Maitland branches has a suitable Richard, so this looks unlikely. It is quite possible that he was of the of the Dundrennan & Eccles branch (from South West Scotland) who were in London at the same time as Richard, and were trading in the West Indies.
    My DNA relates me to a Maitland in Australia who has traced his ancestry to a Maitland family in Insch parish near Aberdeen. Richard Maitland then could have been born in Fyvie, a nearby parish to Insch, baptised 30 March 1706, son of Richard Maitland[11] of Woodhead (a chapel near Fyvie Castle). There was a Richard Maitland of Mariedykes as a yeoman tenant of Fyvie Castle in 1696[12], but the Fyvie records of this period are in poor condition. 1706 looks a bit early, but if he was a “poor Old Greyheaded Ratling Captain” in 1774 as Laurens described him, it could be him. The fact of his 1740 will makes him likely to have been a reasonable age by then, maybe he just married rather late (no trace of his marriage has been found); his wife Sarah was only “upwards of sixty years of age” in about 1784 when she made her Loyalist Claim, so maybe he married a much younger woman, aged maybe 20 in 1740 (a later paper has her aged 66 in 1787, and a probable burial in 1810 aged 90).
      The style of his correspondence in the Philippa case indicates he was an educated man. An unidentified Richard Maitland was on the West India Committee in 1769; but this was probably Richard Maitland of Maitland & Boddington. There is an entry for an arrival in Charleston in 1767 of the Little Carpenter having an Edward Maitland as an owner as well as Richard. Could this have been a brother, as might have been Charles Maitland, Capt RN, of Shadwell.
   Much of the detail of his life and times come from 2 major sources, the correspondence of the Charleston merchant, Henry Laurens and the Loyalist Claim lodged by his widow after the War of Independence. This latter set of papers, preserved in the National Archives, gives a detailed description of his finances at the time of his death. His losses net out at about £3300 (£500,000/£1.8M price/wage inflation to 2020). Newspaper extracts and Lloyds Shipping Lists also have a lot of entries for his shipping.
    There are several children baptised in Shadwell to Richard & Sarah, including a son Jno Francis, our ancestor. However there are some long gaps with no children appearing. None were found in Wapping or Limehouse for the periods of the gaps. It would appear that Richard was settled in Shadwell as the addresses in Shadwell on the baptismal entries were all close to one another, firstly at King James Stairs and latterly at Shakespeare Walk; he also appears in the local tax records from 1754-1772.
    Richard Maitland’s abode in St James Stairs is interesting as there was a sugar baker’s at there at least between 1749-62, and slightly later in Shakespeare Walk.
    Richard Maitland appears extensively in the maritime records over a period from 1745 to 1778, commanding a series of merchant vessels, and from 1757 onwards on voyages to the Americas; the assumption that these are all the same Richard Maitland is reasonable in the way they all fit together chronologically. He carried general cargo and the occasional passenger on his voyages: there is no record of has having been near Africa, and so was not involved in slaving, indeed we know enough of him and son John to say that they were not slavers: the voyages are well enough documented to see that there was never enough time to go to Africa (although the Ann Snow was probably an ex-slaver). His first appearance was in connection with the sale of a prize ship, the Ann Snow, advertised for sale in April 1745 in Wapping; there is nothing found to show what he might have done in this ship.. A number of newspaper advertisements and many entries in Henry Laurens’s papers, shown later, list cargoes he carried.
    He sailed through the Seven Years War, which had some effect on him, the Duke was convoyed to the Americas; later, in the Sharp, he carried stores to Louisburg about the time of the battle there (he was taken as a prize in the Sharp in about late 1760, although the Court gave him back the ship); his next ship, the Philippa (1) was granted a Letter of Marque, allowing her to be armed. The American Revolution had a greater effect.
   He died in New York, 15 November 1778[13], said to have been of a broken heart resulting from the Gunpowder affair (Sarah Maitland’s Loyalist claim in 1783).
   He is last reported arriving in New York from Cadiz about November 1777, and there is no further mention of the ship Philippa in the newspapers, although Lloyds List for 1778 is not available: she was eventually taken in 1781 by an American Privateer and subsequently lost.
    The letters of Marque granted to Richard Maitland in May 1777 quoted the forthcoming voyage as being London to New York, the West Indies and back to London. For whatever reason, it seems likely that Richard remained in New York after his arrival in autumn 1777, sailing in government service and died there a year later, although he could perhaps have been trading between New York and the West Indies.
    Whilst there are no direct descriptions of Richard, he seems to have been a man of charm and optimism: the disaster in Charleston did not stop him from trying another risky venture the next year into Savanna, which also failed. The collection of papers on his gunpowder cargo and its loss show him to be a well written man, his hand writing is good and his language clear. He was clearly very annoyed about the action.
     He would have been a persuasive, and maybe charming, salesman, but probably rather optimistic, judging from some early mentions of him by Henry Laurens relating to the commissioning to the Magna Charta, and the quality and decoration of that ship. Laurens, a partner in the ship, soon after started building another ship, rather cheaper and more utilitarian. The newspaper description of the launching ceremony of Magna Charter makes one think that Richard was a bit of a showman!

     The Laurens[14] correspondence has two references to Richard’s character, in 1774[15], Henry wrote to James saying: ....The Magna Charta is to be dispatched for Charles Town immediately, as Mr. Grubb assures me. If I could depend upon her Sailing hence even in all this Month I would give my sentiments concerning proper provision to be made for Loading your part & mine. But our friend & the Captain are good natured people who propose, or accede to, a Plan, with designs of Executing it, but their good Nature, unaided by proper diligence & fortitude, leads them to accept new proposals from Day to Day, which militate against their first Resolutions & their "Immediate," becomes Time Uncertain. This I fear will be the Case in the present attempt....
    Later in 1774, James, writing to his brother about the tea party said: “If Every Man thinks himself at liberty to abuse King, Lords, & Commons, & all who dissent from our System, why should a poor Old Greyheaded Ratling Captain be persecuted with such uncommon Severity for a few unguarded Expressions, if he has dropt such.”[16]
     In another letter of 1777[17] to Henry, James Laurens expressed considerable chagrin at Richard sailing under Letters of Marque, obtained without James’s knowledge. At this time, James still had a minority share (1/8^th) in the vessel, which he could only sell at a very low price such that there would be a net loss. The majority owners had assured him that the Letters of Marque were obtained in order to reduce the insurance premium. He had some cause to be annoyed as by then Britain was at war with her revolutionary colonies.
     The 2 letters of marquee list the armaments carried by the vessels and show in the earlier case, that they were not heavily armed, carrying what is evidently self defence weapons. The later Letters show 14 guns (albeit only relatively light weight 4 pounders) and 35 men: this looks more like an offensive ship, bearing in mind that the normal merchant voyages had perhaps 10 crew. The letters prevented them being accused of piracy if taken.
    Following the customary practice of the era, some of the cargo carried was on his own behalf (an “adventure”), some for other shippers, including Henry & James Laurens, of Charleston: Henry Laurens papers make many references to Capt Richard. The Masters’ Adventures involved a chain of credit: the cargo from London was taken on credit, sold on credit in Charleston to a merchant who very probably took the last cargo for sale, the proceeds of which were used to buy a return cargo, which then settled the debt owed in London, with a small margin at either end. Richard had a couple of mis-adventures in the Colonies, described in detail later, but in both cases, he lost his share of the cargo, and certainly in Charleston, the money owed him for the previous cargo. The Loyalist Claim made by Sarah gave details of these.
     It is difficult to compare sums quoted in the 18^thC with modern values: I have made up 2 systems, one based on price inflation, the other on a comparison of wages rates for roughly comparable jobs. The total sum of Debtors in Sarah’s Memorial was £3267 sterling, and creditors was 1913/9/0, net debtors of £1354 equates to between 2016 £180,000 (price inflation) and £670,000 (wage inflation).
    A Richard Maitland, merchant, & others petitioned in 24/1/1765 the provincial Council of West Florida for confirmation of the validity of his purchase of Estate Santiago el Grande from the Spanish: he was probably one of the King’s Arms yard Maitlands. Richard Maitland was granted an estate with partners called Santiago el Grande, in West Florida, in the area of modern day Pensacola. The problems arose when Florida was exchanged for Cuba by the British, who were difficult about confirming any grants.
    There are references to Florida property in his wife, Sarah’s Loyalist Claim: this was a relatively small area which our Richard bought from James Noble, Thomas Horsefall and Joseph Page. Ths purchase probably failed when the British Government decided not to ratify the original very large land purchase from the Yamasee tribe, made before the Spanish had actually left Pensacola.
   Henry Laurens makes reference to property in Florida in his papers.

    In the heyday of his trading in South Carolina, he was involved with an important merchant, Henry Laurens whose papers contain many references to Richard and other business associates. A prominent associate was Richard Grubb, who was a London merchant, whose dealings for Henry Laurens were not always satisfactory: Grubb went bust in 1774, and finally died by suicide in August 1774.

2.1 Richard Maitland Maritime Career

    Richard & John Maitland’s marine lives have been assembled from a mixture of Lloyd’s Lists & Registers, newspaper archives and the Papers of Henry Laurens. The latter was an important merchant in South Carolina in the mid to late 18thC. His papers contain many letters with reference to Richard Maitland and his ships, one of which, the Magna Charta was locally built in partnership with Richard Maitland, Henry Laurens and Richard Grubb of London.
    Lloyd’s Lists contain shipping intelligence collated by Lloyds of London. Ships names with the master (usually by surname only) and details of arrivals and departures are given for a wide variety of ports, particularly the southern channel ports; it appears that arrivals were better documented than sailings. A varying amount of intelligence was included for foreign ports, with Scandinavia and the Americas being prominent. Understandably, arrivals in America & the West Indies were reported long after the event. There was usually a part column of general notes, reports of ships sighted around the world and of losses. During time of war, there were often prizes being brought into port by naval vessels or privateers. The lists contain a lot of information, but they must only show a proportion of the ship movements.
    Many of the vessels from the Americas arrived at the Downes (off Deal) & Gravesend. Of these, many must have gone on up river to the London docks. The Downs is described in the Maitland Extracts volume.
    “The Downes”, the bay on the east coast of Kent, was a popular anchorage where ships gathered to form convoys or awaiting winds to carry them down the Channel having used the prevailing westerlies to sail out of the Thames. They often waited many days or weeks for the wind to appear. Likewise, on return, they waited there for winds to re-enter the Thames to Gravesend and other ports. There could be over 100 ships moored there at times.

    Lloyd’s Registers were published from 1764 onwards. They contain details of ships known to the organisation and were amended between issues.
Lloyds Reg for 1764 – printed list starts with Albemarle & none in handwritten section. 1768 starts at “M”. More detail of these records is in the Maitland Extracts volume.

Richard Maitland as Master, Summary

From Lloyds Lists & Register, and newspaper extracts, there is a plausible sequence of ships of which Richard Maitland was Master. From 1746 to 1777, he is named in several sources as Richard Maitland. John is also mentioned in the later period. A slightly rash assumption is that there was only one Richard Maitland sailing merchant vessels in this period. Richard remained employed for effectively the whole period from 1746 to his death in 1778; he must have been a well regarded master to have been able to get commissions as regularly as he did.

Ann Snow, 130 tons, April 1746. Master on sale advertisement at Wapping.
Lichfield, 180 tons, 1747. - From the Caribbean.
Katherine June 1748-November 1751. - Montserrat & Turkey.
Clapham, 180 tons, June 1752-August 1756. - Middle East.
Duke, 360 tons, 1757. - Virginia.
Sharp, January 1758-1760. - Louisburg & Caribbean.
Philippa, 300 tons, May 1761-July 1766 – Caribbean
Achilles, 260 tons, July 1765-July 1766 – Charleston.
Little Carpenter, 180 tons, December 1766-December 1769 - Charleston
(son John takes over).
Magna Charta, 305 tons, November 1770-Autumn 1774 - Charleston
Philippa (Magna Charta renamed), Autumn 1774 – Late 1778.

Richard Maitland as Master

Ann Snow

Richard Maitland’s first professional appearance was in April 1746, as “late Commander” at the sale (by the candle, in effect a time limited auction) of the “Ann Snow” in Wapping; the sale must have failed as in May she was still for sale with a different Commander, and continued to be so for a while. There is no record of Richard having made any voyages in her, but he may have taken over command on her release by the Prize Court. “A French prize” of about 130 tons, this vessel had seemed to have been owned by one Kender Mason, a London trader with the Americas who went bust in 1745; the Ann Snow was specifically mentioned in the notice.
This Bristol based ship had been making voyages around the colonies from the later 1720’s as a slaver. From 1730 to 1738, Protheroe captained the Ann Snow on six trading voyages between Bristol and Africa, carrying slaves onwards to Jamaica, Virginia, and Barbados. She was taken as a prize by the French in March 1744, and then retaken by the Royal Navy in December of that year, during the War of the Austrian Succession against the French. Bristol Port records show her in 1739 sailing from Bristol for Africa & St Kitts with a crew of 28, David Barclay as master, 90 tons & 4 guns. She was reported in Lloyds (24 Feb), 30 January 1740/1, arriving in Madeira from Boston, Vernon.
A later report of Bristol shipping had the Ann Snow, master William New, as a Bristol based vessel, which reported a capacity of 200 slaves and to have been taken by the French[18]. (Wiki: Richardson, David. Bristol, Africa and the eighteenth-century slave trade to America. Bristol: Bristol Record Society, 1987).
An earlier record in Richardsons book shows her as 90 tons, master Joseph Stretton and departed Bristol 6 October 1729, ad returned from Jamaica 1 October 1730.
The vessel's imports into Bristol included Indian textiles and beads returned for lack of sale. These had been loaded originally on 6 October 1729, and in the absence of outward Port Books for 1729 this date is assumed to have been the approximate date of the vessel's departure from Bristol.

Sources: E190/1204/1; SMV Wharfage books

A Naval Snow by Charles Brooking 1759

General Advertiser April 22, 1746:

The taking by the French and retaking by the Royal Navy of the Ann Snow is documented in the National Archives which has all the records of the Prize Courts[19]. Prizes were required to sail to the nearest French port and surrender there. The French documents give the names of 3 of the crew (of 21), including the Commander from Bristol, and 2 from Shadwell, where Richard Maitland was resident. In this case, the “Ann Snow” had the good fortune to be retaken by an English squadron before reaching France. The English papers show a general cargo destined for Africa and America (presumably as a slaver), but she does not appear have got very far before being taken by the French, for more detail see later. She was probably a slaver.
“Ann Snow” was one of over 5000 prizes taken by the British: the French took about 3500 from the British! The prize papers value her & her cargo at £1674-6-4 (about £500,000 2016). The prize papers are shown in greater detail in additional notes.

This painting is of Wapping, the next parish upstream of Shadwell and is probably what Shadwell looked like at the time of Richard & John Maitland. Shadwell is only a few hundred yards off to the right of this position.

A Dockyard at Wapping, Francis Holman, 1780-4[20]
The scene is a small private dockyard on the Thames at Wapping, with h.m.s. ‘William and Elizabeth’ and h.m.s. ‘John’ in dry dock. The un-named ship on the left is probably a government vessel since she wears the Royal Naval jack. Lloyd’s Lists for 1770–90 include a ship called ‘William and Elizabeth’ built by Maitland & Co. on the Thames.

The building on the extreme left bears the inscription ‘Morley sail-maker’.

The sailmakers’ firm of John Morley and Son is listed in contemporary directories as being established at 225 Wapping in 1783–84, and at 60 Lower Shadwell from 1785 onwards. As earlier directories are more selective, it is possible that the firm was at Wapping already in the 1770’s without being listed.

Lichfield

Richard next appears when he sailed into Dover in the Lichfield in November 1747 as commander^LL, said to be from Antigua, although she was reported as arriving in Oporto shortly before from Newfoundland with Wakefield commanding, the end of a voyage which had left in the spring for Antigua under Wakefield. She was then put up for sale in December (general Gazette several inserts) with Richard as commander at Wapping Dock, and about 180 tons. A possible scenario would be for Wakefield leaving the ship in Oporto about October 1747, and Richard Maitland bringing the ship back to Dover. She resumes sailing the Atlantic under Wakefield the next year.

A ship, the Katherine or Catherine, with master Maitland, appears between 30/6/1748-1/11/1751. Whilst the master is not specifically named “Richard” Maitland, the dates coincide well with the Litchfield & Clapham, both definitely Richard, with voyages to Spain, Madeira & Montserrat.
Catherine came down for Madeira and the West Indies, at the Downes 1 July 1748, finally reaching Torbay by the 26^th, reported at Madeira in September, Antigua (rep 19/11/1748) and reappeared from Montserrat in the River on the 13h April, 1749.
The next recorded voyage was to Turkey, passing Cape St Vincent on the 3^rd May 1750 on the return, arriving from Scanderoon, the port of Aleppo, in Gravesend on the 27^th.. She then sailed 28 June, 1750 for Cadiz, arriving back in Portsmouth about the 17^th September, 1750, moving over to Southampton early October. She sailed from Southampton to the Streights (Gibraltar) on the 19^th October 1750; the next recorded arrival was in the Downes from Cadiz 6^th August 1751 – as there are not records of anything between, he may have spent 12 months trading in the Mediterranean. There is a record of a C/Katherine, Maitland, arriving in Gravesend 1^st November, 1751 from North Bergen: it is possible that this was in New Jersey, although it looks an unlikely place for an 18^th Century port, additionally, the elapsed time would have been short for an Atlantic voyage. A more probable place would be Bergen in Norway, which is a better fit both in time and region.

Scanderoon[21]

Clapham

A ship called the Clapham was taken by the Spaniards 12/4/1742 en-route South Carolina to London, master Ogier, taken into Galicia, retaken. Gent Mag 1742.
    Richard Maitland then appears commanding the Clapham in which he made 2 recorded voyages to the Middle East, and was named as Richard Maitland of Shadwell, commander, in a sale advertisement for the vessel in August 1756. Lloyds Register of 1764 does not list this ship; There were 2 Clapham’s sailing in 1753, Maitland’s and one commander by Nastal plying between the Channel Islands and the mainland.
     The first voyage for Turkey, Scanderoon (the port for Aleppo) & Smyrna, left the Downes 2^nd June 1752, via Falmouth (14^th), Cartagena and Scanderoon (arriving there Richly laden London Read Weekly Journal Or British Gazetteer November 11, 1752), arriving back at Dover & Gravesend 1 May 1753 from Smyrna with Harlequin.

     The cargo was put up for sale in the newspaper: “16 May 1753: Turkey Carpet Warehouse, Bred Street. Just imported by the Clapham, Maitland, from Smyrna, several Bales of Turkey consisting of a variety of sizes and lively colours, warranted free from Damage, with the lowest Price fixed on each, for ready Money. N.B. All Sorts of Wilton and Kidderminster Carpeting, with Bedside of different Patterns.”
      The second voyage, similar to the first, left the Downes 4^th September 1753 for the middle east again, via Falmouth, Naples, Constantinople (reaching there in early 1754) and Leghorn and back to Smyrna^LL: there are no shipping records, which are sparse in this period, of him the until February 1756 when he was seen off Sardinia and then at Gibraltar (the “Chaplain”) on his way back to London from Smyrna: a newspaper report[22] of March 9^th 1756 of his return to London “The Clapham, Capt Maitland, from Smyrna, that has been out upwards of two years, arrived on Sunday last in the River”. There are no recorded baptisms of his children between 1751 and January 1757, a date which looks right for a return in March 1756!
     As with the previous voyage, an advertisement appears for his cargo: “April 1756: Just imported by the Clapham, Maitland, from Smyrna, and are now opened at the Turkey Carpet Warehouse in Bread Street several Bales of Turkey and Musketta carpets, 28 feet long by 24 feet wide, so down to most sizes under the above, all warranted free from Damage, with the lowest Price fixed on each, for ready Money. N.B. Some fine Segeadya Carpets of curious Patterns, also Wilton and Kidderminster, Grain Colours, with Bedside, and all Sorts of Worsted Carpets ditto..”
She was then sold:

The Duke

     Richard’s next ship was the Duke, a London based ship with 20 men and 10 guns of 360 tons, in which he made one voyage, which ended up with the vessel’s loss in a storm off Virginia.
     After some delays, Duke finally sailed in ballast 17th March 1757 as part of a convoy of over 100 ships, commanded by Admiral Coates, from Spithead, via Torbay for Madeira and on to the Caribbean; the weather was bad, especially in the Bay of Biscay. Admiral Coates dispatches give a picture of the frustrations of trying to get underway in a sailing ship with uncooperative winds[23]! (a fuller transcription is in the Maitland extracts volume, and later in the volume).
     It is not clear if “Duke” went on to Port Royal with Admiral Coates, who arrived there in April, or direct to Virginia; she was “spoken with” 4 leagues off Cape Henry, Virginia (with 12 sail in company) on the 6^th of June from London^{^[24]}, on the way into Chesapeake Bay for the Patuxent River, where she loaded before her fateful return voyage to London. The arrival into Chesapeake Bay implies routing with the convoy to the Caribbean. In any event, she loaded cargo and left the Pawtuxet River. She sailed from Hampton Roads on the 22^nd September, 1757, in a convoy of over 50 ships under the escort of HMS Garland. Duke became too leaky, making signals of distress and was abandoned in the evening of the 26^th September, the crew being taken on board Garland. The weather was fresh gales and squally, bad enough for Garland to stove in her longboat trying to launch it. They were 68 leagues ENE of Cape Henry[25]. The Maryland Gazette, 23 February 1758 wrote: “...the Duke, Capt. Maitland, who loaded in Patuxent River last year, being foundered at sea on her voyage to London, in a violent gale of wind; but the Captain and Ship’s Company, with the Letters, were saved; and every shipper on board said vessel will receive their insurances ordered, of which Mr Perkins informs me he shall, by the first opportunity, render them an account.”

Arr back England early Nov.

The Sharp

Details are in a later section.

In 1758, RM moved onto the Sharp, in the Downes 25^th January, but not sailing until late February as a transport with 5 warships for an unnamed destination, but probably Halifax, carrying troops or supplies as part of Admiral Boscawen’s fleet carrying General Amherst’s army in the beginning of the 7 years war. British forces assembled at Halifax, Nova Scotia where army and navy units spent most of May training together as the massive invasion fleet came together. After a large gathering at the Great Pontack, on 29 May the Royal Navy fleet departed from Halifax for Louisburg. The fleet consisted of 150 transport ships and 40 men-of-war. Housed in these ships were almost 14,000 soldiers, almost all of whom were regulars (with the exception of four companies of American rangers). The force was divided into three divisions: Red, commanded by James Wolfe, Blue, commanded by Charles Lawrence and White commanded by Edward Whitmore. On 2 June the British force anchored in Gabarus Bay, 3 miles west of Louisburg. The siege started on the 8^th June, and the town fell on the 27^th July.

Louisburg at the time of the siege.

     RM arrived in Boston about August/September from Louisburg, probably having remained there during the battle and subsequent actions. When in port in Boston, he lost a negro slave who was probably a member of his crew:

Boston Weekly News-Letter, 09-28-1758 P106[26].
Ran away from the Ship Sharp, Richard Maitland Master, on Sunday Night, between the 24th and 25th Instant, a Negro Servant Man named Thomas Morro, (was this an Italian corruption of Thomas More?) about 27 or 28 Years of Age, and about 5 Feet 5 Inches high. He had on Sailor's Cloathing when he left the Ship: He was born at Barbadoes, and liv'd long at Venice in Italy.
Whoever apprehends the said Negro Servant, so he may be delivered to Mr. Nathaniel Taylor, shall receive of him FIVE DOLLARS Reward, and all necessary Charges. Richard Maitland.
N.B. All Persons are forbid harbouring, concealing or carrying off said Servant, as they may depend upon being Prosecuted as the Law directs.
He robb'd said Ship of her Boat.

    He probably then sailed back to Louisburg and arrived in the Downes 9^th December 1758 from Louisburg in company with HMS Port Mahon, a 24 gun frigate.

    The second voyage of Sharp with RM master was a more normal trading venture, leaving the Downes 12^th July 1759 for Philadelphia landing there probably about the end of August. An advertisement gives a flavour of the sort of goods carried:
Pen Gaz, 13 Sept 1759:
Shown as cleared in from London and advert:
Just imported in the Sharp, Capt. Maitland, from London, and left in the last vessels from Bristol, and to be sold by
SYMONDS and BAYARD
At their store in Front Street, two doors from the corner of Chestnut street, between that and Market Street, in the house which Jacob Dutche esq lately lived.
A large assortment of European and India goods, suitable for the season, amongst which as spotted and green rugs, rose and Indian blankets, Beaver and knapt coating, red and blue duffirs, broad cloths, drab colour and blue herseys, half-thicks, striped linseys, embossed serges, red and white flannels, black and crimson hair shag, green, blue yellow and crimson hair harrateens(?), womens cloth coloured and scarlett short cloaks, bewver and felt hats, window glass, powder, lead and shot, a great assortment of worsted stockings, broad and narrow calimancoes, broad cross-barred camblets, and plain Do. Black Velvet, new fashioned stuffs, for women’s gowns, etc.
Another advertisement for RM’s cargo appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette, but must have referred back to the September cargo as there was not enough time from mid October to sail to Antigua and the London and return:

3 Jan 1760, Advert, Penn Gazette:
Just imported in the ship Sharp, Captain Maitland, from London, and to sold by
HENRY and WOODHAM

At their store in Water Street, near Market Street, next door to Mr Samuel McCall’s senior,
A large assortment of goods suitable for the season; amongst which are, fine and superfine 6 and 7 qr broad cloths, blue green and red beaver frizes, beaver coatings, 7 8,9 and 10 qr green and mottled rugs, 7 8 9 and 10 qr rose blankets, Indian blankets, red, blue green, white and copper coloured halfthicks, striped and spotted linceys, white and spotted swatkins, 6 qr spotted ermines, kersey and nap plains, fine Devonshore kerseys, red and blue fearnothings, white and red flannels, blue red and yellow embossed serges, mixed and cloth coloured duroys and faggathies, Kendal cottons, black, blue and scarlet everlastings, black, blue and brown druggets, women’s cloth coloured and scarlet cloaks, mens and womens blue, black, and whote worsted stockings, muffatees, silk, cotton and worsted caps, black velvet and set in, striped and plain camblets, striped and plain callimancoes, cross barred stuffs, black, blue, green, red and cloth coloured London shaloons, tammies, durants and worsted demasks, dorseteens, raffia and Irish sheeting, raffia and Irish dowles, hemp, flaxen and Irish ozenbrigs, a great variety of yd. wd. And 7 8 Irish linens, long lawns, pistol lawns, 3 qr and 7 8 garlix, tandems and sliefias, 6 qr and yd. wd. Muslins, cambricks and lawns in pieces and patches, flowered and spotted lawns, white and brown pomerania linen, brown Holland, clouting diaper and table cloths, 3 qr 7 8 yd. and quarter linen and cotton checks, cotton hollands, cotton gowns, thicksets and fustians, flowered and corded demities, bed bunts, 3 and 9 qr Flanders bed ticks, chintz and calicoes, printed linen and cottons, bordered and plain bandanoe handkerchiefs, printed lawn ditto, Cumberland ditto, chilloes and niccanees, fecterfoy romals, sewing silk, silk and cotton laces, men’s and women’s gloves, castor and felt hats, pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, cloves and mace, silver and metal watches, London steel A.C. No. 3 gunpowder and shot, gun flints, nails, anvils and vizes, an assortment of pewter, cutlery, sadlery and ironmongery, with a great variety of other articles, too tedious to mention.

11/10/1759 advertisement, Pennsylvania Gazette:

    She was then cleared from Philadelphia for Antigua 11^th October, 1759^PenGaz, although she stopped at Guadeloupe en-route to Antigua from Philadelphia[27], so would have been there about the turn of the year.
    After Antigua in early 1760, there is no mention of RM or Sharp’s movements during 1760/61, but he is in a list of letters remaining at the post office Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Gazette 31 July 1760, but did not appear there before the end of the year. At some stage, he appears to have been taken by an over enthusiastic Naval captain as a prize. The Maryland Gazette[28] reported on a decision by the Court of Appeal on the 27^th June, 1761, reversing the decision of the Prize Court in Gibraltar to award Sharp as a prize to Capt Edwards of the Valeur. Judging from the time such affairs take, Sharp was probably taken late 1760 or early 1761, probably when she was sailing back from Antigua and Valeur was returning from the Caribbean.
    The Valeur was taken by Frederick Lewis Maitland in a well documented battle from the French on the 17/10/1760 in the Caribbean and bought in to be commanded by Capt Edwards. There are a few references to in the Captain Edwards logs[29] of Valeur taking prizes in the next year or two, but Sharp is not mentioned, although a slightly mysterious report of Edwards demanding reparation in Algiers for money taken from an un-named English Ship. She was cruising from that area in early 1761, mainly from Gibraltar, arriving in Lisbon Feb 1761. She was valued at £60000 according to a Jamaica report. Sharpe is not mentioned in the prize court records[30].

The Philippa

     More detail in a later section

     This was Richard Maitland’s next ship (I have used a standard spelling, but it actually varied between publications!) and was a larger vessel, about 300 tons with 10 guns and 18 men, supposedly French built in 1758^LR. She was a French prize[31] taken in May 1757, early in the 7 years war, off Belle Isle, Brittany, on her way back from St Domingo on her passage back to Bordeaux, with sugar, indigo and cotton coffee tanned hides and copper by a British Privateer, the Defiance; full transcripts of the prize award papers are included later in this volume.
    Lloyds Register of 1764, after RM had moved on, listed her as French built in 1758, master Addis (agrees with Lloyds list after RM).
    He took her over in April 1761 with Letters of Marque HCA 26/12/87 17/4/1761 to allow the carriage of armament. The documents describe the vessel in a standardised format:
.... That she is a Square Sterned Ship Painted Black and Yellow, a Syon Head Painted all Yellow
and is of the burthen of about Three Hundred tons
That the said Richard Maitland goeth Commander of her That she Carrys Sixteen Carriage Guns
Each Carrying shot of Six and Four pounds weight and
Swivel Guns and belonging to the port of London
Forty Men Thirty Six small arms Twenty four Cutlasses Twelve Barrels of Powder Twelve Rounds of great Shot and about Three hundred weight of small shot
That the said Ship is victualled for Six months
hath two suits of sails Five Anchors Five Cables and about Thirty hundred weight of spare cordage
That John Dudley goes Lieutenant John Thomas Gunner William Jones Boatswain Thomas Lee Carpenter Henry Atkins Cook James Long Surgeon of the said Ship and that
Mr Henry Loubert and his Partners Mesrs Leavie and Schweighauzen together with Mr James Bouverieu of London Merchants
are the Principal Owners and Setters out of the said Ship

    The voyage under Letters of Marque started in the Downes waiting for a wind, a ENE’er appeared 5 May 1761, when she sailed for Santona, N Spain, between Bilbao & Santander, arriving there about the end May[32]. From Santona, she went to St Eustacius, probably arriving there about mid July (arrival report in Lloyds List of 25 September), and then on to Monte Christi, (N coast of Dominica) by 5 December, 1761 and was due to sail from there 16 December, though the due & actual sailing dates often were very different! She finally arrived back in Portsmouth 23 March, and the Downes 2 April 1762. Monte Christi is an interesting port at the time as it had only been rebuilt about 5 years before having been demolished 1606 as a pirate haven. St Eustacius was then a very busy Dutch trading Island with a mixed reputation of doing business with all comers, jus to the NW of St Kitts!
     Philippa’s next voyage, RM’s last in her, left London back to the Caribbean about November 1762, arriving in Cork 10 December to join a small convoy of 6 other merchantmen for Gibraltar; they sailed on the 18^th December escorted by HMS Aldborough^NA. From there they would have taken the southern route to stay out of the winter westerly winds, leaving Gibraltar mid to late winter[33] for Havana[34]. From Havana, Philippa went on to Jamaica, arriving there about September 1763[35]. She arrived back in Cowes^NA and Dover from Jamaica, 20^th March 1764^LL, a report was published in Lloyds List 24^th February 1764 from “Capt Read of the Vulture Transport, which is arrived at Portsmouth from Pensacola, after a passage of 51 days, spoke on the 8th Ult off the Havanna, with the Philippa, Maitland for London, ... All well” another report confirms she was bound for Havanna. The Caledonian Mercury, 11 July 1763^{^[36]}

The next reported voyage by the Philippa arrived at Cowes from South Carolina 30^th July 1765, master Addis^LL. As these voyages took at least 6 months, she must have sailed about January 1765 or earlier.

Achilles

    RM made one voyage as master of the Achilles, a 260 ton (burthen?) ship with 20 men, Virginia built in 1761[37]. She came down and sailed from the Downes 23^rd July 1765 for Madeira and South Carolina. This was RM’s first of many recorded visits to Charleston until his tea party 9 years later, but not yet involved with the Laurens’s.
     A report in Lloyds List of 14 March of her arrival in South Carolina indicates a landing about the end of 1765, so a newspaper report of her arriving 4 January from Havana and leaving again for Havana 14 March may be correct, although being cleared inwards at Charleston 19^th February from Havana with sundry British Goods seems a bit late (owners Thomas Beswick & John Richardson of London). From a newspaper report, she was in Havana in April 1766: “Charles-Town, South Carolina, April 22. By Captain Maitland, from Havana, we are informed, that a new Governor, and several other officers, were arrived there from Old Spain; and that all the British Merchants were ordered to quit that Place by the 16th past - He could not obtain Leave to land his Cargo of Bricks which he carried from hence, although he was under Contract.”^NPIt is about 1000 miles from Havana to Charleston, so a round trip by sail of 4-6 weeks is probable, especially as he could not have spent much time, if any at the port. This was due to the exchange of Florida for Cuba between Spain & Britain.
     She was finally cleared out from Charleston, 7 June 1766[38], with 124 barrels of rice, 527 puncheons of rum, 26 hogshead of Skins?, 43098 lbs of Indigo, 150 tons of logwood, a Chariotte, 346 logs of mahogany. She sailed for London 20 June, From Charlestown, S Carolina (Lloyds List reported on 29/7/66 that she left for London 20 June sailed from within the bar of that place the 20th June, where he had rode out a very hard Gale of wind, at 4 am, his best bower cable parted in the clinch, and she luckily cast the right way, and the pulled her over the bar; she struck twice, but very gently^LL) arriving in Portsmouth 25 July and on to Gravesend 3 days later.
     The same ship was still afloat in 1776, Lloyds register (that for 1764 had lost the earlier letters) showing:
(page torn): Achilles Ss 75 16 Guns, H. Wylie (then R Purvis), 250, River tip75 len, 53 61, Durrard & Co, 14, Lo Jamai, E1 5, E1 9

1764, Lloyds Register:
Present, Master, Port, to, Tons, Guns, M, Built &Yr, Owner, 64,65,66.
Edgar, C. Maitland, London, New York, 200,B, 8, Berm.57r64, C. Maitland, EM,EM.

Little Carpenter

More details of this ship are in a later section.

12/1766-6/67
8/67-12/67
4/68-7/68
11/68-5/69
10/69-5/70 – returned with new Captain

     RM’s mastership of the Little Carpenter, a somewhat smaller ship than the previous vessels, was the beginning of his well documented activities in South Carolina and his association with Henry Laurens and lasted from late 1766 to March 1772; it was also the first ship in which he is known to have a share. The local South Carolina papers carry reports of his movements and there are numerous references to RM and his ships in Henry Laurens’s papers, first of all as a shipper for goods and correspondence and later as a full partner in the ownership of vessels. The correspondence was often sent in duplicate on different ships: both copies did not always arrive!
    RM’s son, John, also makes his appearance as master at the end of Little Carpenter’s life. Richard Grubb, a London trader, also appears at this point, as owner of the Little Carpenter and later a trading partner with Henry Laurens and associate of RM; Grubb’s association with the Little Carpenter dated from Muir’s mastership.
    Her name is intriguing: was she named after the Indian Chief Attacullaculla[39] - Supreme Chief of the Cherokee, 1760-1775, Little Carpenter, Peace Chief of the Cherokee, 1730-1797, Cherokee Chief?

From The Frontiersman, Lucy Noalles Murfee, Google books:
.. translated the name of Atta-Kulla-Kulla as the “Little Carpenter”.
“Hegh! They hae named a ship for his honor!” exclaimed the Highlander. “I hae seen the Little Carpenter in the harbour in Charlestoun, swingin’ an bobbin’ at her cables, just out frae the mither country! Her captain’s name wull be Maitland”.

    Lloyd’s Register of 1764-66 shows “Little Carpenter, master – John Muir, From London-Carolina, 180 tons, no guns, 13 crew, Plantation built 1759, Owner Grub & Co. EG & EG. The South Carolina shipping records show her built in Virginia 1759. The owner, Grub, is significant as Richard Grub was a trading contact of Henry Laurens and Richard Maitland until his death in 1773. The previous master, John Muir, appears in the shipping reports between London & S Carolina for some time before Richard Maitland, his last voyage arriving at Gravesend, 11 August 1766. A Customs outbound clearance from Charleston showed the cargo John Muir carried on 24 January 1764 included 30746 lbs Indigo, 714 barrels of rice, and sundry other goods, some of which was consigned to Grub. Another early reference to her was:
“.....The steeple clock was made by Aynsworth Thwaites and is considered the oldest functioning colonial church clock in the United States. St. Michael’s clock cost £120, a vast sum in those days. The clock and bells came over on a ship called The Little Carpenter (in 1764) and were shipped gratis by the company that made them, probably because they were for a church[40]”.

     RM’s first voyage left the Thames and passed the Downes 25 December 1766 for South Carolina^NP. She arrived in Charleston, 13/2/1767 [Thurs]: “On Saturday [8 Feb] arrives here from London, the ship Little Carpenter, Richard Maitland, master, with whom came Captain Bolton of the 9th Regt, Henry Gray esq, Mr Walter Mantell and others”^SCAG, also carrying a letter for HL dated 24 November 1766^HL215. When cleared into Charleston from London 10 February 1767[41], it appears that she had been re-registered in London 23 Oct 1766 with owners Edward Payne, Richard Grubb, James Bordieu, James Chollet, & said master of London, and was carrying Sundry Goods, 20 Cocketts. The latter 2 names, Bordieu & Chollet figure in Henry Laurens’s papers.
      The local South Carolina newspapers, like the other Home newspapers, carried advertisements of imported goods being sold by merchants, often quoting the ship on which they arrived and also for cargo to be shipped out. It can be seen from the length of time the ship was advertised as being ready to sail and the actual sailing date, how much time was spent in port awaiting a cargo, a convoy and season to leave for an Atlantic crossing. The Charlestown press carried reports of ships loading, which could appear for weeks on end!
      Little Carpenter was preparing to sail by March 1767 when she was advertised: “For London, the Ship Little Carpenter, Richard Maitland, master, Now lying at Mr Motte's wharf, and must certainly sail by the 12th day of April next ensuing, otherwise forfeit freight. For Freight, apply to Motte, Laurens, Motte & Co or said master”. Later advertisements appear by Laurens & Motte offering for sale Linene, silks etc. Some idea of the passengers carried also appears, both in the press and HL’s papers:
“Charles Town, March 27. On Wednesday last the Right Hon Lord Hope, accompanied by several gentlemen, set out on a tour to Georgetown and the northern parts of this province. We hear his Lordship supposes to sail for Great Britain about the middle of next month, in the ship Little Carpenter, Richard Maitland, master. (Public Advertiser, 2 June 1767, plantation news)”.
     She was officially cleared outwards 14 April 1767[42] with 497 & 25 ½ barrels of rice, 9 bundles of deer skins, 25 tons logwood, 1 barrel of rum. HL’s papers have other cargo, carried on his behalf: “with 35329 lbs of indigo^HLP146 but remained windbound until sailing on the 22^nd, with an extra passenger, Dr Dundas”. The London papers reported her arrival in Portsmouth about 1 June with “The Rt Hon Lord Hope as passenger”^NA and Gravesend 7 June^LL 1767.

Aug 1767 - Dec 1767
     The next voyage started as usual in the Downes, sailing on 1^st August 1767 for South Carolina^NA, Cleared in Charleston 27 September 1767[43] from London, owners Richard & Edward Maitland & Richard Grubb of London, sundry British Goods, 7 Cocketts. She also carried a passenger Alexander Grey & letters to HL^HL317 with letters from Charles Garth to HL.
     She was advertised to sail: “For London (to sail by 5th October) the Ship Little Carpenter Richard Maitland, master, For Freight or Indigo, deer skins etc or for passage, apply to Capt Maitland or Laurens, Motte & Co. Advert”^SCAG, a relatively quick turn round, perhaps influenced by a cargo ready for shipment from Henry Laurens. She was cleared out on the 27^th September[44], with sundry British Goods (7 cocketts), the owners being Edward Maitland & Richard Grubb of London (she was registered London, 23^rd October, 1760) with 12 men & no guns; she actually sailed 12 October 1767^HL370 and arrived at Falmouth 4^th, and Gravesend 14^th December, 1767^LL after an eventful first few days which Richard Maitland was lucky/skilful to survive: HL letters were usually sent in duplicate; in this case, the other copy with Whitlock was lost in a storm 16 October.
30/10/1767, SCAG:
...The storm began early in the morning of Oct. 16 and lasted until the 18th with strong winds from the northeast and high tides along the coast. A number of vessels were damaged at sea. Gazette, Oct. 19, 26, Nov. 2, 1767. The brigantine Hope, Robert Whitlock (with HL letter), was lost at sea...^HL
Storm - PHOTO 1st 26 Sept "The storm mentioned in our last, reports? To have extended from Philadelphia to Georgia, and perhaps further. The Snow Aurora, James Patterson, master, outward bound for London, lying in Rebellion road, was driven on shore, but got off again he... it is said, has received no damage. The ship Hawke, John Lightenstons master, for London from Georgia, having received much hurt in the Storm, was driven ashore endeavouring to get into Sapelo inlet, the vessel and cargo entirely lost; the Honourable Daniel Moore, esq, collector of his Majesty's customs for this port, Mr Nathaniel Hall of ???, merchant, who were passengers, were providentially saved and got ashore on Black Beard's Island about three miles from where the vessel struck. The Ferret & Diligence, Men of War for Jamaica, the Little Carpenter, Maitland and Hope, Whitlock, for London, with several other vessels from this port, it is thought, must have met with the gale. Many pieces of wrecks have been ?? along the shore, The force of the storm does not seem from what intelligence we have, as yet, received, to have extended further to the eastwards than the gulf stream.
From HL papers, Hope was lost.

11/12/1767: HL refers to letter 10/10/67, also to “Indian King” owned by Edward Brice (the ship that later rescued John Maitland from Antigua).

     The next voyage started with Little Carpenter clearing out of London 21^st March, sailing 1 April 1768 from the Downes for S. Carolina where she arrived 15 May 1768^HLV5P681 with letters for HL and goods as advertised: “George Thomson: Has just imported in the Little Carpenter, Capt Maitland, from London, A complete sortment of European and India Goods fit for the season, which he will dispose of on the most reasonable terms at his store in Tradd Street”[45].
    On a relatively quick turn round, she was advertised as loading from 25 May 1768, and: “For London to sail the 10th June, The Ship Little Carpenter, Richard Maitland, master, Having very good accommodation for passengers. For freight of Indigo and Deer skins, or for passage apply to said master or James Laurens”. She sailed with letters from HL and on 20 June the paper reported: “Yesterday morning embarked for London in the ship Little Carpenter, Capt Maitland, Mrs Mary Harvey, wife of Mr William Harvey”, and another report showed she carried “...besides the usual commodities shipped for that market, 48 barrels containing 371 bushels of Indian Corn, and 29 barrels containing 144 bushels of rough Rice”[46]; these latter goods probably were for Henry Laurens. She was entered inward at London from S Carolina 30^th July 1768^NP.
     From Henry Laurens letters it appears that the ‘Ann’ with a similar cargo attempted to clear the day after the Little Carpenter, but became embroiled in a long legal dispute about the Ann, impounded by the authorities: Little Carpenter was often mentioned as an example. Under the Navigation Acts, a bond was required to be put up to cover goods before they were loaded for shipping from any Plantation port destined to Britain or another plantation. This was an attempt to stop the illegal trade in goods such as sugar from outside the Empire being sold untaxed. It was a general practice for these bonds to be made after loading, but: “... Captain Maitland’s behaviour to the Custom House Officers had been so extreemly gross, and he had so Publickly stigmatized them all under the Exchange in Charlestown.....Captain Maitland had "Publickly stigmatized all the Custom House Officers...”. This resulted in the Customs “working to rule” the following day.
    The bonds were often given by guarantors: “....by Fenwick Bull, Esquire who being duly sworn declareth that he became Security for Capt. Maitland in a Nonenumerated Bond at the Custom-House after that Mr. Hatley the Deputy Collector had agreed to clear his Vessel... altho' the Nonenumerated Goods were then all on Board the Vessel...” “... Captain Maitland gave a Nonenumerated Bond after Mr. Hatley had agreed to clear out his vessel, the Non-Enumerated Goods being all on board,...”. So RM had a temper!
      During Richard Maitland’s next stay in Charleston he seems to have progressed his association with Henry Laurens and commissioned a new ship, to be the Magna Charta. To quote a letter from HL to Richard Grubb, 30 March 1769: “Capt. Maitland has talked me into a further concern in Shipping by which you & I shall probably become Partners again (Grubb would be one of the partners). If he keeps close to his original plan the intended Vessel will be a very fine thing & cheap”. After the usual few months on port, Little Carpenter with Richard Maitland, master sailed from Deal for South Carolina 8 November 1768^NA arriving in Charleston 23 January 1769 with freight and passengers: “The same day (Monday) arrived here from London, in the Little Carpenter, Capt RM, the lady of the Right Hon. Lord William Campbell, governor in chief etc of Nova Scotia, the lady of the Hon John Drayton, esq, Colin Campbell esq, and his lady, (sister to Lady William), Mr Hawkins and other passengers”^SCG.
     The freight was advertised until the end of March: “WILLIAM SIMPSON, Has imported in the Little Carpenter, Captain Maitland, from London, the Betty, from Glasgow, and the Avon from Leith: A Neat assortment of silk breeches, ribbed and plain silk hose, worsted breeches in patterns and web, men and women's cotton hose, ofaaburgs thread, stiching thread from the lowest to the highest numbers, spotted and sprigged knitted lawe, striped and bordered needle work, lawn aprons, a great variety of white blue and green silk and thread pavillion gauze; a large quantity of check handkerchiefs, checks, and croffbar? 3/4 & 7/8 wide, red and blue striped holland, Irish and Scots Heens of all kinds, single and double wool and baked hair matresses, women's callomanco shoes and pumps of different colours, men's stiched and bound shoes and pumps, pigtail tobacco, rappee and plain snuff, 16 and 20 inch pipes tipped and fluted, Bell's beer by the dozen, with an assortment of cutlery. As he has imported a large quantity of each, any merchant wanting to apply may be served on the most moderate terms at his store on Tradd Street”;
     She finally sailed from Charleston 28 March 1769^SCAG, having been windbound for a week or so, and entered inward in London 31 May from South Carolina^NA Via Dover on the 26^th.
      Next comes Richard Maitland’s last voyage as master of Little Carpenter; he left the Downes for South Carolina 1 October 1769^LL and arrived 12 December^SCAG, Richard Maitland as master^HL257. Richard remained in Charleston to supervise the building of the new ship, the Magna Charta in which he was in partnership with the Laurens brothers, Richard Grubb and others[47].
    This voyage was referred to in correspondence by Henry Laurens in August 1772 as not having been paid by Grub, who was by then becoming more unreliable.

An advertisement^SCAG shows some of the cargo:
“PHILIP HAWKINS & Co. At their Store in Tradd Streets, lately occupied by Mr John Edwards, & Co, have just opened their GOODs received by the Little Carpenter, Maitland, which with those in Hand, make a large STOCK that will be sold very cheap, with great allowance to those who purchase a Quantity to seel again; A large and compleat Assoortment of LINEN DRAPERY, part of which are a great variety of printed linens, cottons and callicoes; blue, red and chintz furniture cottons; India chinz, printed and whit India callicoes, India ginghams of as extra fine quality. - A great choice of extremely well bought IRISH LINENS and SHEETINGS, Irish tickings, picol lawns, quarter lawns, long lawns, 7-8, 8-8, and 6-4 clear lawns, 7-8 and 8-8 cambricks, flowered lawns; flowered lawns suits of aprons, ruffles and handkerchiefs; plain, striped and flowered muslins; 8-8 and 6-4 hook muslins, spotted ditto, very beautiful tambour worked muslins in suits - very elegant sets of Damask Tabling; 8-4, 10-4 and 12-4 diapers and damasks in pieces 1/2 diaper and damask table cloths, tea napkins, napkining diapers and damasks, garlic, dowlas, britanoirs, sitasias?, seven duck, Russle sheetings, dimothles, frans, checks, and other Manchester Goods etc - A quantity of plain and flowered silk gauzes, ribbons, blond and thread laces - A few peices of handsome plain and striped trffatle? at 45s and 50s the yard - 7-8 India satins, damasks and g(s?)oigaroons at 60, and 70, the yard; flowered India silks and India Persians; two compleat set of nenkeen table chies - A few handsom fine grates and furniture compleat - Also a large assortment of nails, locks, hinges, and every other necessary for Building; carpenters, smiths and workmens tools in general; very best broad hoes and other Plantation utensils.
NB to be sold for ready money, very best Bohea Tea at 20 the lb, very best green Tea at 50 the lb, very best and much approved Hyson Tea at 5l 10s the lb and black pepper at 24s the lb - 4-peny nails at 15s the thousand; 6-peny ditto at 22s 6d. 10-peny ditto at 35s and 10 peny ditto at 52s 6d the thousand. A few anchors and grapnels at 15 the 100lb - a quantity of very fine whalebone at 47s6d the lb, taking 20lb.”
     An odd note in the paper of 21 Dec 1769 “We are assured that several packages of British Cloths, imported in the Little Carpenter, Capt Maitland are actually re-shipped for London in the London, Capt Carling”.

Little Carpenter was advertised to sail 31 Jan 1770 by, inter alia, James Laurens, although did not actually leave until 22 March with David Kinloch as master, carrying inter alia: “HL 17^th March 1770: To Isaac King, London - …200 barrels of Pitch which I have Ship'd on board the Little Carpenter, David Kinloch, Master who is bearer hereof for London consign'd to you.” She arrived Weymouth, 3^rd May^NP, Gravesend 8^th May 1770 & port of London 9^th May^NP. From a letter by Henry Laurens, on this voyage she carried inter alia 200 barrels of Pitch which was sold for 6/- per cwt[48]. Richard Maitland had remained in South Carolina to build the new ship; See HL to Richard Grubb, May 8, 1770^HLV7P288. She arrived in Weymouth, 3^rd May^NP, Gravesend 8/5/1770 & port of London 9^th May^NP, from S. Carolina^LL, David Kinloch master^HL257. This voyage was referred to in correspondence in August 1772 as not having been paid by Grub.

Little Carpenter made 2 further Charleston voyages under the mastership of Richard’s son, John Maitland, the last one ending up as in Antigua where she was condemned. These voyages are described later in John’s section.

Charleston 1773: (Library of Congress)

s7a Charleston 1780

Magna Charta, later Philippa (2^nd).

More details in Section 3.1.6

This was Richard Maitland’s last ship of which he was master; he commander her from her launching in November 1770, at least until April 1778, and probably his death in November of that year. When built, she was named Magna Charta (1770-1774) and renamed Phillipa after the 1774 Charleston Tea Party.
It was in this ship that Richard had his 2 most notable events, the Tea Party in Charleston in 1774 and his Gun Powder plot in 1775.

Lloyds List 1778 is missing from the online collection (Southampton, Hull & Grimsby list this volume in their Library collections). Some later reports of the fate of the ship under Wallace as master, arriving in New York from Oporto, reported LL 20 June 1780.
The Philippa, Wallace, from Oporto to New York, was taken by a Rebel Privateer and afterwards lost. LL 23 February 1781.

Messrs Wallace (2 brothers??) signed a letter to RM in New York, 1778.

Nothing is mentioned in the contemporary newspapers from 1777 until Richard’s death in November 1778.

Lloyds Registers:
1776: Phillippa, similar to 1778, except London-Georgia, A1 2, E1.
1778: Philippa Ss Magna Charter 72, Maitland, 305, S. Carolina, 70, Bourdieu 14-4 P, 15, Lo Jamai, EI 77 (77 probably survey date).
1780: Philippa Ss 72, R Maitland, 305, S. Carolina, 70, Bourdieu 14-6 P, 15, Lo Jamai, EI 77.

This image was purported to be the Magna Charter, but looks too small.

A ship, the Philippa Harbin was also granted Letter of Marque 24^th January 1778, but this was not the same vessel[49]. She appears in Lloyd’s list between England and Barbados.

Richard Maitland was involved in an incident at the start of the American War of Independence when his ship, The Phillipa, carrying munitions was taken by a rebel armed schooner off Savannah, Georgia in June 1775, following which Ebeneezer Smith Platt was arraigned for High Treason. See full description later in this paper. The collection of papers held at the National Archives have been copied and make interesting reading.
There are several letters written by Richard Maitland, showing him to be an educated man, and one who held strong opinions.
Richard Maitland was also involved in an incident with tea in Charles Town (SC) in 1774.

In early 1769, Richard Maitland was probably the lead in putting together a group of Charleston and London merchants to build a new ship: Henry Laurens in a letter[50] to Richard Grub said: “Capt. Maitland has talked me into a further concern in Shipping by which you & I shall probably become Partners again. If he keeps close to his original plan the intended Vessel will be a very fine thing & cheap. Rice slack Sale at 60/, but so great a proportion of the whole Crop is exported there can be no well founded hopes of bringing the price down this Year”.
The ship Magna Charta was commissioned in 1769 to be built by a group of owners, Henry Laurens, James Laurens, Thomas Loughton Smith, and Roger Smith of Charleston and James Bourdeaux, Richard Grubb, and Richard Maitland of London. Of these, the brothers Henry & James Laurens and Richard Grubb were certainly known to RM in London; James Bourdeaux appears in Henry Laurens’ papers. RM was probably the originator of the deal[51], using the contacts he had built up over the previous 5 or 6 years of sailing into Charleston; he was certainly in charge of the build as the owners’ representative. HL refers several times to his 1/8th share: only seven owners are listed, but it is not known if this was the full list, or if someone had a ¼ share, maybe RM as the promoter of the vessel, described by HL as a fine ship and a cheap one, the 8^th owner may, from later correspondence have been Chollet.

HL however, in a later letter to RG, implies that he took a share in MC rather against his better judgement, partly because he could have no influence in generating return (westbound) cargoes[52].

Building was started at Begbie & Manson’s yard at Hobcaw^SCAG in December 1769 when she was put on the stocks. RM arrived in the Little Carpenter in Charleston in March 1770, and stayed there to supervise the building (Little Carpenter returned to London with another master, Kinloch, and after that was commanded by John Maitland). She was launched on the 23rd November, 1770, but her maiden voyage was delayed until the following March by the late arrival of stores from London; HL later wrote disparagingly about Richard Grubb’s tardy behaviour, and estimated that the delay cost the owners £150 sterling. Interestingly, for this first voyage, HL instructed RG not to insure his share of these stores, unless there was a War Risk, but later asked RG to insure his 1/8th part of the bottom for £300 Sterling[53].

HL288-9, 8/5/1770 HL to Richard Grubb.

My Brother informs me that Capt. Maitland has wrote to you for sundry necessary Articles for our intended new Ship, 1/8th part of which, I mean the Amount of which 1/8th is to be charged to my Account. But don't Insure my said Part, unless you are involved in or are upon the Brink of a War in either Case insure half of all my Interest in the Ship including the Value of the bottom.5

I hear that we shall have a fine Ship and a cheap one and I have the same Confidence in Captain Maitland's Abilities which you express in your Favor of 5th July, a Favor which I ought to have acknowledged and replied to long ago, but I have been much absent from the Counting House, by Tours in the Country, Attendance in the House of Assembly, and often from downright Laziness, I believe, or something very near akin to it, but I know you are too good to take Exceptions.

A footnote[54] in HL’s papers shows his 1/8th share cost £1413/8/-, which he paid in 3 instalments, later selling his 1/8th share to RM 30 March 1771 for ; this does not agree with later papers still referring to his share. According to HL papers, “...The Owners of the Magna Charta, built last year at Hobcaw at £6 sterling per ton, subject to some after bills and many great expenses, which our new Ship will escape, paid £400 Sterling at signing the Contract, £400 more when the Beams were fastened in, and £700 lastly when the Ship was launched...A dilatory Step in sending out the Stores for the Magna Charta cost the Owners £150 Sterling....[55]. These numbers do not seem to add up. A letter in June 1771 from HL mentions his later ship which he was building at a cost of £5 per ton, without the extra costs that appeared on MC. The costs of £5-6 agree with other sources for the era.
On the basis of a burthen of 1200 barrels or rice at 500 lbs each, this gives the burthen of 300 tons. Therefore the cost is expressed per ton burthen. The “builders old measurement” of burthen was based on the length and beam by a formula which varied slightly over time, but gave a (taxable) measure of the capacity of the ship, with no reference to the absolute weight of the ship. Another source (South Carolina Shipyards: Labour, Logistics, Lumber and Ladies, http://www.academia.edu/6602808/South_Carolina_Shipyards_Labour_Logistics_Lumber_and_Ladies) has a building cost of £23 per ton in 1788, but also refers to HL’s £6 per ton, however another source has the cost as about $24, which was about £5-6 at the then current rate. It seems that the £1500 cost of the whole ship is correct.

The launching was reported in the South Carolina Gazette:

“On Friday, Nov. 23, a fine new ship for the London trade, Magna Charta, Richard Maitland, was launched at Begbie and Manson's yard at Hobcaw (who went under after the Revolutionary War[56]), burthen 1,200 barrels of rice, " Gazette, Nov. 29, 1770. The General Gazette, Nov. 27, 1770, said that it was "...for this Trade, to be commander by Capt. Richard Maitland, built by Messrs Begbie & Manson, will carry 1100 barrels of Rice, esteemed as complete a Vessel, and as elegantly decorated, as any that has been built in this Province, and compleatly finished with all her carved Work and Decorations in the most elegant Taste. There was a very numerous company of Ladies and Gentlemen, who partook of a cold Entertainment, and afterwards had a Ball.”^SCAG

She was evidently a well found and decorated ship, as an extract (slightly damaged) from the SCG describes: ... “CHARLES-TOWN, JANUARY 17 (1771) .....Sunday a new Ship called the Magna Charta, Burthen about 300 Tons, built by Messrs. Begbie and Manson, for .. Richard Maitland in the London Trade, and launched .. 23rd November, at Hobcaw, and neatly decorated with carved Work; and is allowed, by good Judges, to be as well...and likely a Ship as ever came off the Stocks in this Province - The Head, is a Bust of Britannia upheld by two Americans; one on the Right, armed for her Defence; the one on the Left, offering her the Horn of Plenty, filled with ...ous Productions of America. The Decorations on the ....e, in the Center a Scroll representing Magna Charta, ...d by Liberty and Justice; on the Right, is FAME, ... a Label with the Word Unanimity, as recommending ... Americans; on the Left, Mercury, as Messenger, ... another Label, with the Word Repealed. Under ... Mars, with his sword in one Hand and a burning ... in the other; and under Mercury, Neptune with his ... in one and a Dolphin in the other Hand. News^SCG.

Richard Maitland (mariner of London) registered the Magna Charta in Charleston on 29 December, 1770[57] when she was described as: “a square sterned ship of 200 tons built in South Carolina in 1770. Maitland, who was master and part owner, listed the other owners as HL, James Laurens, Thomas Loughton Smith, and Roger Smith of Charleston, James Bourdeaux and Richard Grubb of London. The registry was made before Lt. Gov. William Bull and Thomas Macdonogh, the deputy collector of customs”. Elsewhere, her burthen was quoted as 300 tons, which is probably correct – this registration entry is probably a transcription error. Other newspapers show her burthen as 1200 barrels of rice.

Some notes on South Carolina Shipping are included in the Maitland Extracts Volume.

Hobcaw Shipbuilding 1

James Laurens’s “Heart of Oak”, built 1770, probably similar to Magna Charta:

Maiden Voyage, March 1771 – Sept 1771.

On her maiden voyage, she was cleared out of Charleston, 3rd January, ready to sail 14th February, but remained windbound until 11th March 1771[58]. “The same day sailed for London, Capt Richard Maitland's new ship, the Magna Charta, having on board 948 Tierces of Rice, 110 Casks containing 41,744 lb of best Indico, besides deer skins and sundry other Articles”. News^SCG

      Her departure was delayed by the late arrival of stores sent out from London from Richard Grubb in London, leaving London in the Little Carpenter, 15th September, 1770 and arriving in Charleston 29th December (master John Maitland); HL was concerned about the effect of the long delay in sailing on the quality of his rice, which had probably been loaded early (about 9th January) while the ship lay at Charleston awaiting final fitting out. Other shippers with cargo on her also blamed Richard Grubb; the delay was compounded by Little Carpenter making a slow passage from London, taking about 9 weeks; the delay cost the owners about £150^HLV7519. That being said, HL seemed satisfied with the ship. To quote HL: “...Their Evidence is strong and pretty clear, but I wont judge until I hear both Sides. But be the Cause what it may, the Consequence I may say already is what they insinuate and alledge. However, that must be mended by more diligence and Attention for the future. She is really a fine Ship, and I believe the Captain will do every Thing in his Power to promote the general Interest.....”
Rice was a major export from the Carolinas and was valuable: HL’s share of this shipment was 142 barrels, valued at £1867/5/3. Compare this with the value of HL’s 1/8th share of the MC at about £1400.
   She arrived in Gravesend from S Carolina 29/4/1771^LL.
Laurens’s letters contain some instructions to Grubb about insurance: he firstly elected not to insure his 1/8^th share on Magna Charta, but in March 1770 wrote to Grubb to take out insurance if Britain looked likely to be going to was with any other state.
    Henry Laurens, even then, had doubts about the partnership in Magna Charta as he said in a letter to Richard Grubb: “...You would not advise me of the Fate of my Rice in Maitland, and you wish that an Importing House had held the Share which I hold in the Magna Charta. Permit me to assure you, my good Sir! that I have often wished the same for your Sake, that I was so far from seeking a Concern in that Ship, that it was with great Reluctance I consented to hold a Share in her after much Solicitation, because I knew it was not in my Power to aid her in Freights outward from London. Nevertheless, I am certain that my Behaviour towards her in her first outset is an earnest of my Intention to do her no harm, and I shall and will at any Time for the Benefit of my Partners, readily transfer that 1/8th which I have paid for, whenever they shall desire it, and point out to whom, upon being reimbursed the Sum which I advanced 26/6/1771 V7P541”.
     As this letter was dated 26 June 1771, Laurens was probably being a bit impatient: there was hardly time to get a letter back to him after the ship’s arrival in London. This letter also revealed that Laurens was building a new, larger, ship: “by one of the best Builders in this Province, and am under no doubt of putting her to Sea for £300 Sterling less (decorations, if any, included) than She cost us. I am to pay £5 per Ton, no after Bill on any Consideration; shall escape many Charges which attended the M.C., and have some other Advantages.[59]”

She left Gravesend to return to S Carolina with a SW wind 11^th July 1771^LL, but the wind kept her at Deal with HMS Endeavour & several others^NA, sailing on the 14^th, one report has her passing Falmouth. Magna Charta arrived in Charleston, 20^th September, 1771^SCAG with goods, some of which were advertised at the time by “Benjamin Mathews has just imported in the Magna Charta, Captain Maitland, A large and complete assortment of Goods; amongst which are a large assortment of Workman's tools, coffin furniture, etc”^{SCAG 24/9}; a fuller list appeared in the paper a couple of months later. The voyage was not without incident as the newspapers reported:
“26 September 1771^SCG: On Friday last...returned, in the ship Magna Charta, Captain Richard Maitland, from London, Sir Edmund Head and Lady, and Mr---Wakefield. On the 6th instant, in latitude 24 Long 80 Capt Maitland met with a Hurricane, which continued all the next day, and was the most violent he had ever been in. It began with him at four in the Afternoon, the wind then East, encreased till Nine the next Morning, continuing at its height til six in the Afternoon, the Gale shifting to the northwards at three, and to the North West at six, when it abated. He supposed it to have been very severe in the West Indies”. There is record of a hurricane hitting St Eustatius in August, 1771.

A fuller advertisement in November^SCAG listed her cargo from London: “PHILIP HAWKINS, & CO: At their Warehouse in Tradd Street, Have received in the Magna Charta, Capt. Maitland. A Large Supply of Goods, among which are a great Variety of Printed Callicoes and Cottons, red and blue Furniture Cottons at 23s 6d the Yard, very fine and handsome light and dark ground Chients Furoirbie, ditto with Trimmings to suit, low priced and fine printed Handkerchiefs, plain, striped and flowered Jackonet Muslins; Suits of worked Muslins very low, and some very fine and rich; Suits of worked Lawns, 8-8 and 6-4 plain and flowered Lawns, loom Quiltings, Irish Linens and Sheetings, Counterpaines, Checks, common and Flanders Bed Ticks, Bed Bunts and Linen Drapery in general. A Large Assortment of yarn, worsted, cotton thread and silk Hose, some of each very larges Sizes; very fine worsted and silk Breeckes Pieces, Men's and Boy's ready-made Drab, Fustian, Bearskin and Cloth Suits; Sourtouts, Cloaks, Cardinals, and other Slops; Camblets, Calimencoes, Whitnies, Bath Coating and Petticoating; Bed Blankets, some of an extra Quality, a few Pieces of fashionable Broad Cloths, figured Silks, Taffeties and Georgeoons. All bought on the best trems, and will be sold at their usual very low Prices, especially when a Quantity is taken, and for Cash. Also a great Choice of Fire-Grates and Dogs, Fenders, Sets of Shovel, Tongs and Poker. One elegant Brass Hearth, and Surveyors Instruments, some of the very best Sort ever Imported; Ravens Duck, Bridport, East-Coker, London and Russia Sail Suck, with Sail and best three strand Seine Twine. N.B. A few Bales of Bristol and London DUFFILS to be sold at Nine for One”

Jan 1772-Jan 1773 (voyage 2)

Magna Charter appears in the Charleston press as intending to depart for London from early October and an advertisement in November shows: “For London (to sail with the first of the Crop) the Ship, Magna Charta, Richard Maitland, master, For freight or passage (having excellent accommodation) apply to the master or James Laurens.” She left Charleston 8^th January 1772 for Cowes, carrying 110 barrels and ten half barrels of rice which had been drawn from the crop at Mepkin and which was shipped on HL's own account and risk[60]. Richard sold 2 cables for Laurens new ship, Friendship just before sailing[61], which sailed in March with a large crop of Laurens’s rice. Magna Charta arrived in Cowes/Gosport from S. Carolina 9^th March 1772^LL, and departed for Amsterdam from Portsmouth 5 April, and returning to Gravesend 3^rd June; Henry Laurens letters mention trade with Stettin, so the Dutch diversion was probably on his behalf.

What was the Polly & Nancy, Maitland, from S. Carolina at Gravesend, 3/3/1772?? Was this Richard’s son Charles??

Cargo would seem to have been Deer skins & Rice, market not good![62]

For the return voyage to Charleston HL describes[63] a “Garden Engine” which he buys for brother James, and decides on one made by John Bristow[64] in Ratcliffe Highway “& at last have agreed for one with Mr. Bristow for 18 Guineas on Wheels & 3 Guineas for Pipes to discount 2/2 per Cent & have desired Capt. Maitland to take it on board with as little formality of expence as possible. The smaller size are 12 Guineas but the difference of execution is worth twice the difference of the cost. This will answer all the purposes of a Garden Engine. It is very little heavier, may be carried into a House in case of Fire as well as the smaller, the difference in width being but a few Inches. It discharges 50 Gallons Water in a Minute at full 90 feet.”...

TO JOHN BRISTOW[65]

“Mr. Laurens presents his compliments to Mr. Bristow & desires him to make one of the very best second Garden Engines to go upon Wheels & to add to it the necessary Leather hose besides the ordinary Suction Pipe, to be ready for putting on board the Ship Magna Charta, Richard Maitland, Master for South Carolina about the 20th or 25 of September, to be painted on some convenient part James Laurens, 1772, in neat small capitals & Figures. As this Engine is to go into a Climate where all Wood Work is severely tried by the heat of the Sun & where Iron rusts & Leather dries & perishes very fast, Mr. Laurens recommends that every Article should be of the best particularly the Wood well seasoned & he hopes that Mr. Bristow will hereafter find a benefit from complying with his request.

    Capt. Maitland will call for the Engine when he can receive it on board. A covering of Matts to keep out the dust will be sufficient. If Mr. Laurens is in Town he will pay the amount of the Engine, & upon delivery thereof. If he is not, Mr. Bristow will be pleased to call on Mr. Richard Grub, Merchant in George Yard, & he will pay such amount on Account of Mr. James Laurens, Charles Town, So. Carolina. In either case the usual discount for ready Money will be expected.”
    In addition to the Engine, Magna Charta was carrying negro cloth and blankets, another letter refers to some seeds and rhubarb brought over (in January 1773) from England. HL was expecting her to leave late September 1772, but he then found she was not due out until 15 October – Richard Maitland’s time keeping again?
    Magna Charta finally left Gravesend for S. Carolina 4^th November 1772, remained in the Downs (a SW wind blows hard), and departed from Cowes 14^th November^LL&NA. She was arriving in Charleston 10 January 1773 with Charles Ogilvie,.

“Last Sunday landed from on board the Ship Magna Charta, Captain Maitland, from London, the following passengers: vz. Mr Charles Ogilvie, of London, Mr Nathaniel Hall, of Georgia, Mr Andrew Robertson, Mr Edward Rutledge (from the Temple), Mr James McCall, Mr Peter le Poole, Mr Henry Michie, and Master Jacob Shubrick, of this Place.”[66] Edward Rutledge, a barrister was to become a judge, Peter LePoole^HL536 left ship some leagues from the Barr, also some seeds for HL.
The report of her arrival was in Lloyds List for the 19^th February, giving a clue about the Atlantic winds that season: it was taking roughly twice as long westbound as eastbound!

While in port in England, HL was in communication with RM over a couple of matters:

A further letter[67] from HL to RG which, inter alia, passes a message to RM to sell a Brigantine for £500-700. Presumably this to be done while RM was in port in London. HL then writes direct to RM about selling “the unfortunate Brigantine has been intented for my Interest, but I have been so cruelly & ungratefully requited for acts of kindness in that particular concern from first to last, that I am desirous of putting her out of my sight & out of my mind, & would rather sell her for £500 & give something more for another Vessel than to keep her. Therefore I entreat you continue your endeavours to sell her for this ensuing Week, & in the mean time you may look round you & see for a proper Master & be further able to determine if such a freight as you talk of may be expected, as a dernier resort in case you should be disappointed in a Sale & you shall hear from me on Wednesday where to direct for me[68].”

March 1773-Oct 1773 Voyage 3

Richard’s next round trip from Charleston to London was advertised in the press from 28th January 1773^SCG: “For London the Ship, Magna Charta, Richard Maitland, master, who will clear out on or before the 20th of February next. For freight or passage apply to the Captain or Hawkins Petrie & Co. Who request those that intend to favour the above vessel with Freight, to ship as early as possible.”

15th February 1773^SCG: “The Ship Magna Charta, Captain Richard Maitland, for London, is near loaded, and will be cleared out on Thursday or Friday next at farthest, which those who have INDICO to ship, will please to notice.”

P586 Charles Town, 15 February 1773 – James Laurens wrote “ The Magna Charta will be Loaded & Cleared this Week & I hope will carry near 200 Casks Indigo. As Le Pool declin'd Shipping any Rice on your Account you have no other risk but your part the Vessel, & Mr. Appleby's hogshead Rum”. From another letter, she had about 120 barrels of Laurens rice HLV8P536.

8th March 1773^SCG: “Price of Indico best sort 25/- to 27/6 per lb... 92,817 lbs on board the Magna Charta, Captain Richard Maitland, for London, who also carries a Box of RAW SILK, the Produce of this Province.”
A letter from Henry Laurens gives the value of the rum: 108 gals as £124/13 with shipping £6/12.

She sailed from Charleston 14^th March 1773^SCG for London in company with the Live Oak, Lunberry, the latter for Bristol^LL16/4, and arrived in Gravesend 19/4/1773^LL&NA. Some 4 months later, she again sailed from Gravesend for S. Carolina 7^th August 1773, passing the Downs on the 12^th, carrying letters from HL to brother James Laurens[69]. She returned to Charleston after the usual 8 weeks or so:
11th Oct 1773^SCG: “Last Friday arrived off this Bar, the Ship Magna Charta, Capt Maitland, from London, having on board the following passengers, Vz. Robert H. Halliday, esq, appointed Collector of the Port, and his Son, Mr McCulloch, Deputy Collector, - Valentine, Lt Hayter, and Ensign Woolls, both to the 145h Regiment, now at St Augustine.”[70]

18th October 1773^SCG: The Easterly Winds that have prevailed for more than a week, and still continue, have prevented the Magna Charta, Capt Maitland, from London, coming in, although two Passengers came to Town in a Pilot boat. News

25th October 1773^SCG: “Robert H. Halliday esq, and the rest of the passengers that came in Capt. Maitland's ship from London, landed her last Friday evening. The ship came in the next day” News

The value of the merchandise for Samuel Chollet was £342/9/1 sterling (SM claim).

27th December, 1773^SCG Hawkins, Petrie & Co. Advertised the cargos for sale:

Have imported in the Liberty, Capt Lasley, and the Magna Charta, Capt Maitland,

A large Assortment of Goods,

Amongst which are...Cloth, Teas, household goods – see below for full copy.

"Hawkins Petrie cargo - Adverts ; Hawkins, Petrie & Co. - Have imported in the Liberty, Capt Lasley, and the Magna Charta, Capt Maitland, - A large Assortment of Goods, - Amongst which are Flannels, Duffils, coloured Plains, Pennissones and long Ells for House Negroes, Worsted Webs and Breeches Pieces of the very best sort; Yarn, Worked, Cotton, and Silk Hose, some of the latter of the Newest Fashion; Scarlet Cloaks and cardinals, from the lowest to the highest Prices; Camblet Cloaks, Cloth Cloaks and great Coats. Surtouts, and low priced Suits of Cloaths of all Sizes, Jackets, Trowsers, and Slops of all Sorts; Stuff and Silk Petticats, List, Scotch, and Wilton Carpeting, rich Table and Bed-side ditto; printed Goods for Winter Wear, Furniture Callicoes and Cottons, with Trimmings; Suits of worked Muslins, and Muslins of every Kind; Suits of worked Lawn, Lawns, Cambricks, and Irish Linens in general; a few Pieces of English and India Damask. - A fresh Supply of mourning Articles; complete Sets of Table and Tea China, Jars and Breakers, and most other Articles of China Ware. - Loaf Sugar; Hyson, Green and Bohea TEAS, a Quantity of the latter, and also black pepper, to sell very low by Wholesale, for ready Money; Brass Hearths, Brass and Princes Metal Grates and Fire Dogs, with Furniture to suit; some of these are the most elegant they have yet imported, and the greatest Variety they have ever had; Brass-Head Dogs, Fenders of all Sorts, Sets of Shovel Tongs and Pokers, Bellows, Footmen, Copper and Iron Tea Kettles, of the best sort; a complete set of pewter Dishes and Plates, of an extra Quality, and the Make of the newest Fashion, with the Article of Pewter in general; Brodport and East Coker Sail Duck, with best Sail and Seine Twine, Window Glass, Paints, Nails, Hinges and Bolts of all sorts, with every building Article, all Sorts of Carpenters Tools of the best Make, Smiths Bellows, anvils, Vises, &c. Hoes, Spades, axes, and all Plantation Tools, Saddlers Tools and Saddlery, among which are some very neat Saddles, a few plated and polished Belts and Stirrups, of the newest Make, with a variety of Whips of the best Sort. - These, with the Goods received by several of the late Vessels, make their Assortment very large, especially of capital Articles, which they will sell on very low Terms, with a much greater Allowance, for ready Money, and to those who sell again, than is commonly made, or than they have hitherto allowed. - Besides the Articles above-mentioned, they have in the Magna Charta, a large values in French and India Goods, viz. Silks, Lawes, Cambricks, Chintz, Ginghams, Counterpains, &c. which have been bought, and will be sold much under their value, for ready money."

The Tea Party - Jan 1774-June 1774

This voyage was Richard Maitland’s last to Charleston, and his arrival was marked by his own “Tea Party” when he had to flee for his life onto a British war ship – see later in this paper. There was talk of pamphlets with the tea, but some confusion if they were ever on the ship (HL 25 May). Several SCG entries refer to this arrival and subsequent problems.
Magna Charta was Entered out for London, 22nd November, 1773^SCG, remained windbound 27th December, finally sailing 7 January 1774 for London[71]. She arrived in the Downs from S. Carolina 13^th February, 1774, moving up to Gravesend on the 18^thLL.

After some delays which frustrated Henry Laurens, Magna Charta finally left London, passing Gravesend for S. Carolina 20^th April, 1774. Westerly winds meant that she took 2 attempts to leave Deal, finally leaving the anchorage about the 26th. On board she had passengers Janet Belton, 20, spinster, London & Tobiah Blackett, 25, Spinster, London[72].

HL letters refer^HLV9P279: 15/2/1774: … Rice Sunk to 55/. I think it must go down a good deal lower. Maitland is arrived with 700 Barrels for carriage of which we Sha'n't receive a penny.… (written from London); in this letter he also comments on the numbers of Revenue Officers in the Colonies. Other letters continue the worry about the price of rice and freight this period. Implication that the “freight” was the value of the landed rice.

3rd March 1774, letter re character of RM & RG:”...The Magna Charta is to be dispatched for Charles Town immediately, as Mr. Grubb assures me. If I could depend upon her Sailing hence even in all this Month I would give my sentiments concerning proper provision to be made for Loading your part & mine. But our friend & the Captain are good natured people who propose, or accede to, a Plan, with designs of Executing it, but their good Nature, unaided by proper diligence & fortitude, leads them to accept new proposals from Day to Day, which militate against their first Resolutions & their "Immediate," becomes Time Uncertain. This I fear will be the Case in the present attempt. Therefore I shall proceed no farther than barely saying, I am still of opinion that 50/ per hundred for Rice is as high as we ought to give for Shipping on our own Account, which according to present appearances will not leave a Freight sufficient to keep a Vessel out of debt.....”

HL writes in other letters of the same date about cargo etc to Hawkins Petrie, mostly concerning cloths.

A letter by Henry Laurens of 13 April 1774, to his brother James shows that Henry Laurens was becoming increasingly frustrated about RM & RG’s performance: “...According to my apprehensions early in March So it has happened the Magna Charta is still in the Thames, & as I am informed will not leave the River these three or four days. I have done with her as an Owner. Messrs. Bourdieu & Chollet having expressed a desire to put her upon another Trade & made an offer to buy or Sell at the Rate of £1,800 for the whole Vessel. I have accepted of £225 for my 1/8th part. If you have laid in Store any Rice for loading that part on my Account, Sell it to the best advantage...[73]” Bordieu was one of the registered owners, & Chollet may have been the 8^th member.

     A letter from Henry from Westminster to his brother James Laurens mentions part of the cargo “...I have put on board the Magna Charta four Casks of the very finest bottled porter (as Parker & Son assure me) containing 24 dozen included in H., P. & Cos Bill of Loading. Please to accept two Casks & order two to Mr. Gervais, & let me know if tis really good that I may be governed in my next purchase. Two Cheshere Cheeses I likewise Send marked J Laurens & JLGervais”.
     Magna Charta arrived in Charleston from London 26 June 1774 with a few chests of tea, of which Richard Maitland claimed he was unaware, but the Gazette, June 27, 1774, did not mention that Captain Maitland had brought any pamphlets[74], (Considerations on certain Political Transactions in So. Carolina & the Answer to it. HLV9P453) also carried were 2 bales of white plain[75]. The tea caused major problems, following the tea parties in Boston & Philadelphia. It was unfortunate that neither James nor Henry Laurens (James’s letter the following day showed some sympathy for Richard) were present at the time, and one would suspect the other merchants with whom Richard had traded for a number of years failed to back him up.
    This incident contributed towards Richard’s losses incurred by the war in that he appears to have been unable to collect the profits from the previous voyage, and had some trouble landing the cargo from this one.

According to Sarah Maitland’s memorial to the Loyalist Claims, she had “One whole and two half chests of tea, valued at £70 sterling, were on board, having been shipped by Neufville & Rolleston and Messrs. Robert Steel & Co. of Tokenhouse Yard, London, to James Wakefield and William Donaldson, Charleston merchants”. The merchandise for Chollet was valued at £334/18/6

A press reports summarises the event:
“Captain Maitland of the Magna Charta, of Charles Town, South Carolina, who so narrowly escaped tarring and feathering, had but eight chests of tea on board, and when he found how disagreeable the landing of it would be to the leading men of the town, and that be should be in danger of going home empty, though a cargo was ready to be put on board him directly, be agreed not to land it, and they contented he should be allowed to take the homeward cargo on board. Thus far matters appeared amicably ruled, but the unfortunate captain found that he was still just where he was; neither his friends advice, nor his own concessions, contributed any way to his advantage, nor could he even take the goods on board that were promised him in consequence of them, as the Customhouse could neither clear his ship inwards nor enter her outwards, while any goods remained on board. In this dilemma, the captain again had recourse to his friends, when various advices were given him, but nothing decisive resolved on; the consequence was that the tea was landed, and put into the King's warehouse, as uncleared goods. This was not discovered till the ship was near laden, and ready to proceed on her voyage home; when the mob arose, and went on board with their tar, feathers, &c. to execute vengeance on the captain, but he having information of it, got on board the man of war, (HMS Glasgow, Capt Maltby) where he was safe; and the captain of the man of war sent hands on board Captain Maitland's ship to bring her under the stern of the man of war, where she might remain safe till she proceeded on her voyage.” (an unknown newspaper extract). Another source has him seeking refuge on HMS Britannia, although this is probably incorrect[76].

James Laurens described the incident to Henry in a letter of 22^nd July, 1774, referring to the incident the day before: HLV9P524
“...We have just had a disagreeable Instance of a rash & Violent attempt in this town of a great body of People or Mob, to take Capt. Maitland out of his Ship with Intent to tar & feather him & tis generally thought had he fallen into their hands it would have cost his Life. The Populace had been in great agitation for several day on account of three half Chests of Tea Imported per the Magna Charta for two houses here who refus'd to receive or have anything to do with it. After laying 20 days on hand, the tea was seiz'd by the Collector of his Majesty's Customs & Convey'd to the King's Warehouse. Maitland was charg'd with a breach of Promise made to the Committee (General Committee of Ninety-nine, appointed on July 8, 1774) at his first arrival that the Tea should never be landed, that he would destroy it with his own hands & so forth, & of having on various occasions spoken disrespectfully of this Place & its inhabitants especially of the folks call'd Patriots & their Measures. Whether these charges are just I really cannot tell, tho' I am apt to fear he has been rather Imprudent in letting his tongue run. Be that as it will, the whole Committee as well as the Populace were greatly incens'd against him, & five of the Members were requested to go to every Merchant in town & require a Promise that they would never Export any Goods from hence, & give orders to their Correspondents in England to ship no goods from thence, in any Vessel commanded by Capt. Maitland. I was call'd upon in course (Mr. Hawkins being absent from the Province) by the Gentlemen, to whom I answer'd that H.P. & Co. had already wrote to their Correspondents forbidding them to ship them any more goods upon any account whatever, as I had determined to withdraw from business. Therefore there was no Probability of their giving offence by Importing per Maitland. But if I was requir'd to write particularly against Capt. Maitland, I could not in honour & Conscience do it, as It did not appear to me that he offended wilfully & premeditately but rather by accident & Inadvertency, because he had declar'd to me that he knew not of the tea being on board his Ship till he came to Examine his Cocket after clearing at Gravesend, the truth of which I could not doubt because No Man in his Senses would risk the displeasure of a Whole Community where he had receiv'd much Civility without some View of Emolument wherein the present Case he could receive no benefit to himself or his Owners, save the poor trifle of a few Shillings freight. That I was confirm'd further of his Ignorance of the tea being shipp'd by his having brought none on his own Account, as he had heretofore usually done, for fear of giving offence, & for these reasons I could not think him Criminal nor could I think it consistent with my honour to proscribe a Man who had serv'd me with fidelity. The Gentlemen were pleas'd to say my reasons were good, but I know they are very unpopular & as every Merchant as I am Inform'd, save one or two acquiesc'd in their request I expect to meet with Censure from the Unthinking Part. Indeed I am more & more Convinc'd that the Man who will live godly in Christ Jesus, or in other terms, who is obstinately resolv'd never to wound his Conscience to procure the favour or escape the frowns of Men, especially in such times as these, must expect often to meet with unjust reproach, if not severe persecution. I am clear in Opinion that Maitland was not justly blameable for bringing the tea. If he made rash promises & broke them, or rattled disrespectfully of some folks, I blame him greatly for his Imprudence & despise such behaviour, but I cannot approve of such Inhumane resentment for a Crime (if it is one) that we are the most subject to of any people in the World. If Every Man thinks himself at liberty to abuse King, Lords, & Commons, & all who dissent from our System, why should a poor Old Greyheaded Ratling Captain be persecuted with such uncommon Severity for a few unguarded Expressions, if he has dropt such. I love Liberty, Liberty of sentiment. Liberty of Speech, but not so as to Covet it all to myself. I would have others Enjoy it as freely as I do, & by Suppressing it they may make Hypocrites but not Converts. After all, I have just reason to hope & believe that the most judicious & Moderate part of our Community disapprove of these outrageous measures, tho’ I can say nothing with certainty of the humors of the People as my poor state of health confines me at home.”
Footnote in original:
As Maitland had been in port during the previous December, he was aware of the attitudes of the local inhabitants with reference to the importation of tea. Thus the Charlestonians were surprised that he had brought three chests of tea with him on this voyage. When Wakefield and Donaldson were summoned before the General Committee, they appeared and promised not to receive the tea, explaining that the arrival of the tea was unexpected, the result of filling an old order of eighteen months standing. Captain Maitland himself explained that he did not know the tea was aboard until after he had sailed and was looking over his cockets. He promised neither to land the tea nor to pay the duty. If there was no other way to solve the problem, he himself would throw the tea overboard. Yet on the morning of July 19 the chairman (Charles Pinckney) of the "new General Committee" was informed that the tea had not been destroyed and in fact had been seized by the collector of customs and stored with the East India Co. tea. Maitland, summoned again before the General Committee, explained that at the time of his first statement he had expected to sail for New York, but those plans had been altered. He now promised to burn the tea on the wharf in the presence of the General Committee. On the 19th when the members of the General Committee assembled to see the tea destroyed, it was discovered that the tea could not be obtained from the collector except by violence or by paying the duty. Therefore a sub-committee of five persons was appointed to go among the merchants and make sure no one shipped any goods on Maitland's vessel. The people were incensed. A movement against Maitland was soon "confirmed by the bells of the Great Church being muffled and the Dead peal being rung to assemble the Mob." They ran from all quarters of the town to the Exchange, which was the place of rendezvous, but Maitland escaped to HMS Glasgow in the harbor. Captain Maltby of the Glasgow sent sailors to cut Magna Charta from her wharf and brought the bells of the Great Church being muffled and the Dead peal being rung to assemble the Mob." They ran from all quarters of the town to the Exchange, which was the place of rendezvous, but Maitland escaped to HMS Glasgow in the harbor. Captain Maltby of the Glasgow sent sailors to cut Magna Charta from her wharf and brought her out into Rebellion Road where she remained until she sailed for London on Aug. 4. The account in the Memorial of Sarah Maitland which contains a sworn statement, dated Oct. 12, 1774, at Guildhall, by the chief mate and the second mate, agrees in broad outlines with the account which appeared in the Gazette, July 25, 1774. Memorial of Sarah Maitland, March 25, 1784, AO 13/133, Public Record Office, London. The episode was fully reported in the London Chronicle, Sept. 1-3, 1774, and the Public Advertiser, Sept. 3, 1774.

A number of Laurens letters were carried on this voyage, some making confirmatory remarks about departure and arrivals.

TO JOHN PETRIE

Westminster, 7th September 1774
Henry Laurens, writing in September to Petrie, sad “Poor Man, I am Sorry he has offended a Town which has been very friendly to him for many Years.” Indicating that all feelings between Henry & Richard had not died.

16/9/1774: V9/P554 : ref Maitland expected daily UK 16/9/1774 from Charleston.
HL felt very deeply for his brother James caught between the two extremes in the affair of Captain Maitland and the tea.
P571 Refers to Captain Maitland sending book 22/9/1774

Aug 1774 – Sept 1774

At all events, Richard Maitland escaped unharmed and prepared to sail for England as advertised on 8th July, 1774: “For London The Ship Magna Charta Richard Maitland Master, Her cargo of Rice is already engaged, and she will sail on or before the 15th July instant; For Freight of Indigo or for passage, apply Captain Maitland, Hawkins Petrie & Co General”. Lady Leigh (wife of Egerton Leigh, Attorney General for S Carolina) and the eldest daughter sailed for London in the Magna Charta, Richard Maitland. Rather unusually for Richard, he sailed pretty much on time, probably as he was prevented from taking any cargo: he was windbound from 15th July, finally sailing on 4^th August 1774[77] with letters from HL, arriving at Gravesend 18^th September, 1774^LL.

This was Richard Maitland’s last voyage to Charleston.

20 September, 1774, HL wrote that he felt very deeply for his brother James caught between the two extremes in the affair of Captain Maitland and the tea [78].

Henry Laurens papers Vol 9 finish here 12/12/1774, and the direct commercial connection with the Laurens’s and Richard Maitland, although James held onto his share for a little longer.

A long set of correspondence in the HL papers about the problems between Maitland & Laurens appears later.

2.1.1 Philippa, formerly Magna Charta

The various press and Lloyds entries have varying spelling, but I have standardised on the modern (spell checker) Philippa. The last entry in Lloyds

At some stage after returning from Charleston in September 1774, Magna Charta was renamed Philippa, probably as she was moved to London as her port of registry with the loss of the American partners. There is no record of this, but she was referred to be “of London” in the papers relating to the incident.

Tybee Island & Gunpowder

    The Gunpowder Incident papers are in Section 5
    Under her new name, she cleared out from London 20/4/1775 for Georgia^NA and left Gravesend to Georgia 28/4/1775, remaining in the Downes on the 1^st with NW winds, but sailed on the 2^nd as the wind went round to the East^LL. She was “loaded with sundry goods in the River Thames for different persons in the provinces of Georgia and East Florida, amongst which goods were gunpowder, arms, and lead, shipped by licence from His Majesty or the officers acting under his authority.”
  On arrival off Tybee Island, Georgia, Philippa was subject to action by the rebels who took the gunpowder in her cargo. This incident is recounted more fully in a later section. The rebels would have known Richard as one of them was James Black, a shipbuilder of Beaufort, South Carolina, who had recently built the Atlantic for the Maitlands. His descendant, Charles still lives in the Charleston area. The rebels were led by Ebenezer Smith Platt: he was later arrested in Port Royal by the navy and identified by Richard Maitland. Platt was transported in chains to London where he was accused of High Treason, although it never came to trial. However, there is a set of papers to do with the case, including witness statements in the National Archives. Some of this material is repeated in Richard’s wife Sarah’s Loyalist Claim made in 1784 after the end of the War.
     A letter from Charlestown, South Carolina, dated July 22, says, "The Georgia post this day informs us, our people have extorted from the ship Magna Charta, Maitland, all her gunpowder, arms ammunition, etc, which is no small quantity, I assure you; they were sent to Georgia for the use of our domestic enemies"^NA; a Philadelphia paper, July 20: “Capt Maitland, from London, arrived lately at Georgia, and had on board 13000 weight of powder; the inhabitants boarded her, and took all the powder into their possession”^NA.

     These events in Savanna, and the earlier one in Charleston, left Richard Maitland very much out of pocket. He found himself in Georgia with little idea what to do next; he was apparently still in contact with the Laurens’s, and wrote to Henry while in Savanna, (bearing in mind he was effectively banned from Charleston):
Savannah, July 28,1775, From RM to HL, (HLV10 P250)

I cannt- help letting my friends Know in What part of the world I am, and in particular, you, who I Still flatter my Self that I have not Intirely forfitted all yr- Esteem, I am given to understand by Some gentlemen from yr place that I have Seen here, that prejudice Still Subsists in the breasts of some of yr- people, but I freely forgive them and can with a Clear Conciance Say that I never Intentionalv nor meaningly Transacted any one artickle to the prejudice of yr province, if matters has been MissConstrued or aplyd-to my prejudice its my misfortune but as I have Said before I have have not the least Refflection_ in my mind that I ever meant Prejudice to the province of So Carolina,— I would beg Sr- that you Would for a moment Consider what I Sufferd Last year at Charlestown,¹ and the treatment I have met with here, a great part of my Cargo Taken from me by force and my Bills Ladeing Still laying out against me and in a part where I Cannt- Seek redress, my and my Bussiness at a Stand, and then Consider whether I have not Sufferd Equaly with the Americans, however whether they bear me Mallice or not, I freely forgive them, and the only Shagrine I have is that I am Deprivd of Seeing many Respectable aquaint that I honnr & Esteem, for there, a Liveing to be got every where, I am glad that I Shall have the pleasure of Seeing yr good family on my Return to England, as also yr good Brother & Mrs- Laurens I would taken the liberty of presenting you with an Artickle or two that, I am Sure you must be in want of in the table way, but Could not Tell how to Convey it if the traid is open from this province to yre- please Let me Know & Shall forward them, I am at a great Loss What to do with my Ship, am afraid I Shall be too late at N° Carolina and if I take lumbar to the W^t- Ind^s- their Crops are Short also that I Cannt have any Chance of a freight from thence, and to Return here Again for a Cargo of Rice, if the Continental Congrase Should Stop the Exportation of Rice this Season I then Shall Still be at a greater Loss, what I would Beg of yu Sr is a few lines by way of advice for the future Destination of my Ship yr-opinion I Should Greatly Depend on, as I am an Intire Stranger here, if I Load Lumbar here and had my wish, it would be to See my freinds i[n] Charlestown— Excuse this Trouble and Accept of the good wishes of Dr Sr

yr- Greatfull & most obd^t H^le- Servt Rich^d Maitland

    An affidavit by Richard Maitland of 21^st September 1775[79] indicates him to have been still in Savanna, but Lloyd’s Lists and the Newspapers make no mention of Philippa until her arrival in England in November 1776. It may be that she remained in the Americas for this time, trading up and down the coast. There is some indication that she was operating on military duties in this period, probably transporting troops and stores during the build up of the War in America.
    Reading one account of the capture of Ebenezer Smith Platt shows that Richard Maitland was in Jamaica for about 8 weeks, where Platt was also, between January & March 1776[80], so he probably went direct from Savanna to Port Royal. Another note in Sarah Maitland’s claim puts him in Kingston, December 1775. He was reported loading with sugar in Port Royal by Admiral Gayton in Port Royal, 30^th March 1776, when he was able to identify Platt, by then a captive on HMS Antelope. As the first report of him in England again was not until Philippa arrived at Gravesend from Jamaica, 21^st November 1776^LL, Richard Maitland may have made several trips up to the Americas.
     The papers relating to Platt, the gunpowder and his treason show that “The Philippa, Maitland in the River, 25/12/1776” and “Philippa in the Thames 10/1/1777, Richard Scriven, master & commander (re ESP 928-933)”. Richard Scriven must have been a temporary master & commander while she was in port: Richard Maitland was evidently in London at the time, but may well have been ill at the time, as he wrote on the 30^th January 1777: “I now Inform you that I Now am, thank god, able to go out about Business, and if I am to appear Against that wretch Platt, please to signify to me the Time. But would wish for reasons you may guess that I Could be served with an other Summons, if it can be done with Propriety; Scriven is not yet Come out of the County, Burnett is out on an other Ship to which I Can Direct your So that you’l please to give me a days notice that I may not be other wise Engaged-
I am Sir your most obdt humble Servant
Richd Maitland, (998)”
His address in this letter, Broad Street St Georges in the East, was in the Shadwell area; for business contacts, “he could be found in the Carolina Coffee House”.

2.1.2 The Last Years

Richard Maitland’s last recorded voyage in the Philippa left the Downs via Portsmouth to Cadiz, under a Letter of Marque, 28^th May 1777, passing Portsmouth 30 May[81]. She would have been at Cadiz about the 3^rd week in June (the report in Lloyd’s List was dated 11^th July); she probably then went on to Jamaica, perhaps arriving there late July[82]. The last press mention of her with Richard Maitland in command was in Lloyds arriving in New York from Cadiz about mid to late October 1777[83]. Sarah Maitland’s Loyalist Claim says he went to Jamaica in 1777 and then back to England before going on to New York, although there is no press mention of this. In any event, he was back in New York by spring 1778 as a transport.

The following letter reveals what Richard Maitland was up to:

New York 10th April 1778[84]

Captain Richard Maitland

of the Ship Philippa.

The Ship Philippa, being in Government Service, you will follow such Orders as you may receive from the pro per Agents. Inclosed is a Letter to my Friend at Philadelphia[85] which deliver as soon as you can, make my respects to Mr Gallway, His Majesty’s Superintendent at the Custom House, let him know that the little Salt[86] you have in, was allowed by the Commissary, who took you into the Service to remain on board as Ballast, as you had a Licence for it. He will tell you if you can land it, if you find it can be sold, if it cannot be landed or sold, get leave still to keep it as Ballast. Shew your Licence and let Mr Galloway know you are an Armed Ship. I hope you’l get leave to land it and sell it. You know it will not sell here. And no getting stores to put it in.

We expect you’l be continued in the Service of the Ordinance, or taken into the Transport Service, for which we have wrote to several Friends We wish you safe here.

Your most humble servants
Hugh & Alen Wallace
(was one of these the master in 1781?).

    The last mention of Philippa in Richard Maitland’s time was in a book, “Fusiliers: The Saga of a British Redcoat Regiment in the American Revolution.By Mark Urban”.[87] This probably from the Isis muster records.
    Here, there is a reference in a description of the battle of Rhode Island to the Philippa. It seems as though she left New York about 1 August, 1778 with Lord Howe’s fleet for Newport Rhode Island. Philippa would have been a support ship, maybe with stores and extra troops: she is mentioned as being the source of extra crew for the Isis, a large Frigate, on or around 9 August, 1778.

    The newspapers and Lloyds List have no more entries of Philippa’s sailings under Richard Maitland’s command. It seems likely that he remained in the New World. There is a note on Lloyds List that Philippa was taken by an American privateer in 1781 but was subsequently lost. She was on a voyage from Oporto, Portugal to New York, LL 23/2/1781 with Wallace as master. On a previous voyage, she arrived in New York, reported LL 30/6/1780, Wallace, from Oporto.

     The May 1777 voyage was made under a Letter of Marque, allowing carriage of weapons, which upset James Laurens who it would appear still had an interest in the vessel. At this time, there was a real danger from American Privateers preying on merchant ships. There is no indication that Maitland and the Philippa was equipped with offensive guns, although 14 guns and 35 men was considerably more than earlier Letters seemed to carry. It may be that he was expecting to be able to take some offensive action against the rebels in the northern states. Letters from James Laurens in England June 1777 refer to Richard Maitland & letters of marquee: he was upset about this!

Letter of Marque (extract):
She is .....Gally built with a Figure Head has three masts, that the ship is employed in Trade, and she goes in Ballast to Cadiz and there takes in a Cargo of Wines – Salt and other Goods for the use of his Majesty’s Army and Navy at New York – ..., that she carries fourteen carriage guns carrying shot of four pounds weight no cahorns and six swivel guns thirty five men, twenty stands of small arms, twenty cutlasses, fifteen barrels of powder – thirty rounds of shot and about two hundred weight of small shot, that ..she.. is victualled for eight months, has two shuits of sails five anchors three cables and about one thousand Weight of Spare cordage, .... belonging to the Port of London and that she is bound on a voyage to Cadiz and thence to New York and the West Indies and back to London....and that James Bourdieu and Samuel Chollet, David Chollet John Nutt merchants of London and Richard Maitland are the owners.

2.2 Richard Maitland’s Tea Party - 1774

Some press reports of this event:

NB Phillipa previously called the Magna Carta.
http://www.merchantnetworks.com.au/ships/shipstimeline1.htm
The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies By David Lee Russell Page 46:

When tea arrived in Charles Town harbour aboard the British ship “Magna Carta” in late June (1774), Captain Richard Maitland told local officials that he would return the tea to England. But on rumours that Maitland planned to sell the tea anyway, angry and unemployed men in the port boarded the ship as Captain Maitland quickly exited to take refuge aboard the British man-of-war Britannia. In November the Britannia, which carried consigned tea, landed. The Charles Town General Committee ordered the merchants to dump the tea in the Cooper River to avoid mob violence, which they accomplished. Henry Laurens of Charles Town said these new acts were simply the first of perhaps many laws to “mandate which Ministers Shall think proper for keeping us in Subjection to the task master who Shall be put over is.”

Laboratory for Liberty: The South Carolina Legislative Committee System, 1719-1776
Book by George Edward Frakes; University Press of Kentucky, 1970. 201 pgs.
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98510546

CHAPTER VIII

Revolutionary Committee Activity, 1774-1776
Extract from p118 (119 not available)

In December, 1773, South Carolinians' concern over British policy shifted from New England to Charles Town Harbor. The problem was the arrival of the ship London carrying a load of East Indian tea. The tea ship docked at Charles Town at a time when South Carolinians and their fellow colonists were protesting against the Tea Act taxes. The radicals in South Carolina politics, led by Christopher Gadsden, took advantage of the hostile climate of public opinion toward royal officials. Four days after the London arrived, the South Carolina radical leaders called a general meeting of all citizens at the Great Hall of the Exchange Building to discuss the constitutional issues.

A meeting at the Exchange Building was called on December 3 because 257 chests of East India Company tea had arrived in Charles Town two days before in Captain Alexander Curling’s ship, the London. George Gabriel Powell was elected chairman of the meeting, and it became apparent in the ensuing debate that most of the citizens present favored absolute non-importation of teas subject to tax. The East India Company consignees, who were present at the meeting, received the thanks and applause of the assembly when they promised not to accept the tea.

General Evening Post September 15, 1774

(Much of the following was also in Saturday 10 September 1774, The Ipswich Journal)
Charles-Town, July 25. Last Tuesday morning the general committee met, in consequence of their adjournment the day before, to see Captain Maitland destroy some tea that had been landed the preceding day: when, upon reconsidering the matter, and that it could not be got out of the collector's custody, without violence or paying the duty, both which the committee were equally disposed to prevent, it was agreed, that the said tea should remain as a seizure, not to be sold in this colony, unless the duty thereon should be repealed. The populace being much enraged in not seeing Capt. Maitland burn the tea, it was impossible to prevent their going in quest of him. He, however, eluded their search, by slipping away, and taking refuge on board HMS the Glasgow, in Rebellion road, whither his ship soon followed him. Capt. Urquart, having brought five chests of tea, upon being informed of what had happened to Capt. Maitland, declared, that he knew nothing of having any on board, til he examined his papers, and saw to whom it was consigned, and promised to bring no more till the act was repealed. In like manner, as at Charles-Town, a provincial meeting of the Pennsylvanians was held at Philadelphia, on the 15th July, which was adjourned from day to day till the following Resolutions were framed and passed: (Several resolutions listed)
Capt Maitland, of the Magna Charta, of Charles Town, South Carolina, who narrowly escaped tarring and feathering, had but eight chests of tea on board, and when he found how disagreeable the landing of it would be to the leading men of the town, and that he should be in danger of going home empty, though a cargo was ready, he agreed not to land it, and they consented he should be allowed to take the homeward cargo on board. Thus far matters appeared amicably settled, but the unfortunate Captain found that he was still just where he was; neither his friends nor his own consciences contributed any way to his advantage, nor could he even take the goods on board that were promised him in consequence of them, as the Custom house could neither clear his ship inwards nor enter her outwards while any gods remained on board. In this dilemma, the poor Captain again had to recourse to his friends, when various advices were given him, but nothing decisive resolved on; the consequence was that the Tea was landed, and put in the King's warehouse as uncleared goods. This was not discovered til the ship was near laden, and ready to proceed on her passage home, when mob arose and went on board with their tar feathers etc to execute vengeance on the poor Captain, but he having information of it, got on board the man of war, where he was safe; the Captain of the man of war sent hands on board Capt. Maitland's ship to bring her under the stern of the man of war, where she might remain safe til she proceeded on her voyage.
Charles-Town, July 25. Last Tuesday morning the general committee met, in consequence of their adjournment the day before, to see Captain Maitland destroy some tea that had been landed the preceding day: when, upon reconsidering the matter, and that it could not be got out of the collector's custody, without violence or paying the duty, both which the committee were equally disposed to prevent, it was agreed, that the said tea should remain as a seizure, not to be sold in this colony, unless the duty thereon should be repealed. But Capt. Maitland being looked upon as a man who, by his conduct, had grossly imposed on and deceived the Committee, and insulted the people, it was resolved to appoint a Sub-Committee to wait on all importers, and request that they would not hereafter ship or receive any goods whatever in any bottom wherein he was or should be concerned; and a Committee was accordingly appointed. The people in general being much disappointed in their expectations of seeing Capt. Maitland burn the tea that day, they were so much inflamed at his conduct, that it was impossible to prevent a considerable number of them going in quest of him that evening. What they might have done had they met with him, it is impossible to tell, but they seemed inclined rather to make a public exhibition of him. Then to do him a bodily injury; however, he eluded their search, by slipping away, and remaining on board HMS the Glasgow, in Rebellion road, whither his ship soon followed him, and now lies windbound, since which he has not thought proper to appear on shore. Capt. Urquart, having bought five chests of tea, one for Mr Tonno, and four for Mess Johnston and Simpson (for Mr Penman at St Augustine) those gentlemen attending the meeting of the General Committee last Wednesday evening, when Capt Urquart declared, that he knew not of his having any on board, til he examined his cockets (dockets??) on the day of his arrival, before he brought his ship up to town, upon being informed of what had happened to Capt. Maitland. He was required to bring none in future, unless the duty should be repealed, and very readily answered he would not. Messrs Johnston and Simpson, and Mr Tonnu, respectively behaved, upon this occasion, as worthy citizens, and declared, that they would not receive and tea, not having ordered any. As the 20 days within which the duty is required to be paid, will expire the 7th of next month, tis presumed the tea will be seized by the Collector, on the 8th, and stored with the rest.

“Tea Party photo - Charlestown July 25. Last Tuesday Morning, 11 O'Clock, the General Committee met, in Consequence of their Adjournment the Day before, to see Capt Maitland destroy the Tea that had been landed the preceding Day: When upon re-considering the Matter, and that it could not be got out of the Collector's Custody, without Violence or paying the Duty, both wich the Committee were equally disposed to prevent, it was agreed, that the said Tea should remain as a Seizure, under the same Circumstances as the India Company's, not to be sold in this Colony, unless the Duty thereon should be repealed. But Capt. Maitland being looked upon as a Man who, by his Conduct, had grossly imposed on and deceived the Committee, and unsulted the People, it was resolved to appoint a Sub-Committee to wait on all Importers, and request that they would not hereafter ship or receive any Goods whatsoever in an Bottom wherein he was or should be concerned; and a Committee was accordingly appointed. The People in general being much disappointed in their Expectations of seeing Capt. Maitland burn the Tea that Day, they were much enflamed at his Conduct, that it was impossible to prevent a considerable Number of them going in Quest of him that Evening. What they might have done, had they met with him, it is impossible to tell; but they seemed inclined rather to make a public Exhibition of him, than do him a bodily injury; However, he eluded their Search, by slipping away, and remaining on board His Majesty's Ship the Glasgow, in Rebellion-Road, whither his Ship soon followed him, and now lies Windbound, since which he has not thought proper to appear on Shore”[88].

² As Maitland had been in port during the previous December, he was aware of the attitudes of the local inhabitants with reference to the importation of tea. Thus the Charlestonians were surprised that he had brought three chests of tea with him on this voyage. When Wakefield and Donaldson were summoned before the General Committee, they appeared and promised not to receive the tea, explaining that the arrival of the tea was unexpected, the result of filling an old order of eighteen months standing. Captain Maitland himself explained that he did not know the tea was aboard until after he had sailed and was looking over his cockets. He promised neither to land the tea nor to pay the duty. If there was no other way to solve the problem, he himself would throw the tea overboard. Yet on the morning of July 19 the chairman (Charles Pinckney) of the "new General Committee" was informed that the tea had not been destroyed and in fact had been seized by the collector of customs and stored with the East India Co. tea. Maitland, summoned again before the General Committee, explained that at the time of his first statement he had expected to sail for New York, but those plans had been altered. He now promised to burn the tea on the wharf in the presence of the General Committee. On the 19th when the members of the General Committee assembled to see the tea destroyed, it was discovered that the tea could not be obtained from the collector except by violence or by paying the duty. Therefore a sub-committee of five persons was appointed to go among the merchants and make sure no one shipped any goods on Maitland's vessel. The people were incensed. A movement against Maitland was soon "confirmed by the bells of the Great Church being muffled and the Dead peal being rung to assemble the Mob." They ran from all quarters of the town to the Exchange, which was the place of rendezvous, but Maitland escaped to HMS Glasgow in the harbor. Captain Maltby of the Glasgow sent sailors to cut Magna Charta from her wharf and brought the bells of the Great Church being muffled and the Dead peal being rung to assemble the Mob." They ran from all quarters of the town to the Exchange, which was the place of rendezvous, but Maitland escaped to HMS Glasgow in the harbor. Captain Maltby of the Glasgow sent sailors to cut Magna Charta from her wharf and brought her out into Rebellion Road where she remained until she sailed for London on Aug. 4.

One source shows Richard taking refuge on HMS Britannia:
HMS Britannia was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was ordered on 25 April 1751 from Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified in the 1745 Establishment. Her keel was laid down on 1 July 1751 and she was launched on 19 October 1762. The cost of building and fitting totalled £45,844/2s/8d. Her main gundeck armament of twenty-eight 42-pounder guns was later replaced by 32-pounders. In the 1790s ten of her quarterdeck guns and two of her forecastle guns were replaced by the same number of 32-pounder carronades.
Britannia was first commissioned in September 1778 (probably not correct – AM), and saw service during the War of American Independence. From 1793–1795 she was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Hotham. She fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent and at the Battle of Trafalgar, where she carried the flag of Rear-Admiral of the White William Carnegie, Earl of Northesk. She lost 10 men killed and 42 wounded at Trafalgar, and following that battle she was laid up in Ordinary in the Hamoaze at Plymouth in 1806.
The ship was renamed on 6 January 1810 as HMS Princess Royal, then on 18 January 1812 as HMS St George and once more on 2 June 1819 as HMS Barfleur.[1]
She was third of seven ships to bear the name Britannia, and was broken up at Plymouth in February 1825.

She was known as 'Old Ironsides' long before USS Constitution.

2.2.1 Philadelphia Tea Party

On December 25 (1773), the British tea ship Polly sailed up the Delaware River and reached Chester, Pennsylvania. Commanded by one Captain Ayres, the ship carried 697 chests of tea consigned to the Philadelphia Quaker firm of James & Drinker. Several Philadelphia gentlemen proceeded to intercept the Polly and escorted Ayres to the city. Two days later, there was a mass meeting of 8,000 Philadelphians in the State House yard to address the situation. This was the largest crowd assembled in the American colonies up to that point. A number of resolutions were adopted, the first one being "that the tea... shall not be landed." It was further determined that the tea should be refused and that the vessel should make its way down the Delaware River and out of the Delaware Bay as soon as possible.

Captain Ayres was probably influenced by a broadside issued by the self-constituted "Committee for Tarring and Feathering" that plainly warned him of his fate should he attempt to unload his ship's cargo. Dated November 27, the handbill read, in part...[89]

2.3 Richard Maitland in Florida

This land was mentioned in Sarah Maitland’s 1784 Claim.

At the end of the 7 years war in 1763, The British gained Havana, Cuba, but swapped Havana for Florida, which had been confirmed to Spain. Before the transfer had been officially signed, a group of English merchants bought a very large area of the Florida panhandle from the local Yamasee Indians, a deal confirmed by the Spanish Governor during the period after the treaty, but before the Spanish had left. The incoming British government refused to ratify this purchase, probably to avoid the whole territory being owned by one or two holding companies.
Amongst the leaders of these merchants were Thomas Horsefall, James Noble and Joseph Page. They sold Our Richard Maitland a lot of land in Pensacola for $770. This was recorded on a deed 10 September 1764 in Havana, just as the Spanish were moving from Florida to Havana. By January 1765, Noble was petitioning, unsuccessfully, for the land purchase to be confirmed by the British.
So Richard Maitland lost his $770.

CO 5/601 contains 9 town lots in Pensacola granted to James Noble in 1767. It may well be that one of these was that land mentioned in Sarah Maitland’s deposition in 1783. The grants were for town lots of about 100 ft frontage and about 150 foot depth, each with garden lots of about 100 ft by 200ft. The grants were subject to the plot being fenced and a house built within 2 years of the date of grant. The grants registered 6 April 1768.
Lots 9, 11,12,62-67.

Henry Laurens also had interests in East Florida, ref HLV5P334, 7/10/1767.

Alleged Spanish Grants in British West Florida (Clinton N. Howard)[90]
P 81:
     One of the most interesting records of the former Spanish occupation appears in the Minutes of the provincial Council of West Florida under the date January 24th, 1765. On that day 16 petitions were presented to the Council asking confirmation of title in purchases made from departing Spaniards. An elaboration of detail in this matter is well worth the labor. John Kinnion. Esquire, of London, petitioned for an estate called Sanado Mayor which was said to be at the mouth of the river Escambe.
    The estate was described as being one league square, and the house and outhouses and possibly the entire estate, were said to be in the present possession of Messrs. Bruce and Mease.¹⁰ Zachary Bayly, a merchant of Jamaica, petitioned for an estate called Punta de Silio or, alternatively, Arroyo de La Garzona. William Bond, a merchant of London, petitioned for an estate called Jamas Vicjos. Thomas Hossfall (Thomas Horsefall) petitioned for an estate called Punta del Ingles. The Honorable Augustus Keppel (later Viscount Keppel) of England petitioned for an estate called Nostra Senora de La Luz. Marriott Arbuthnot, Esquire, of Weymouth. England, petitioned for an estate called St. Antonio. Samuel Touchet. a merchant of London, petitioned for an estate called El Estero de La Luz. William Michie of Charleston, South Carolina, petitioned for an estate called St. Joseph. George Rogers, Esquire, of London, and John Peddar, Esquire, of Lancaster, England, petitioned for an estate called Chicasa de St. Martin. Sir John Lindsay of England petitioned for an estate called El Paso de Arroyo Ingles. William Lance, Esquire, and James Noble of Sandwich in Kent, England, petitioned for an estate called El Estero de la Vighia. Barnard Noble petitioned for an estate called Sta. Clara. George Stothart of Stockton, in the county of Durham, England, together with two other merchants, Richard Maitland and John Elliot, of London, petitioned for an estate called Santiago el Grande. Messrs. Bolton and Horslar (or Horselor) petitioned for an estate called Pensacola le Vieja. Colonel Augustine Prevost petitioned for an estate, which was unnamed in the record of the Council, and also in company with some others, he petitioned for a second estate, which was likewise unnamed in the records of the Council.
     All of these petitions were refused by the governor and Council. The Council was, however, not as arbitrary in its actions as it may appear to have been at a first glance. The undoubted object of the Council was to prevent the buying up of huge tracts of land from the departing Spaniards, for purposes of speculation. To have allowed large tracts of land in the province to fall into the hands of speculators would, perhaps, have been to deter settlement in the province. One of the aims most consistently followed by the provincial government and the imperial government seems to have been the settlement of small farmers and artisans in the province as speedily as possible. For this and other reasons the Council on instructions from the home government held that titles granted under Spanish or French jurisdiction did not automatically become valid under British dominion. At Mobile, Major Farmar, commandant of the occupying forces, issued a proclamation requiring that all sales or transfers of land be registered with him. 11 One of the principle objections of the Council to these sales of Spanish land, aside from the fact that they clearly regarded all of the transactions as an altogether unjustified speculative venture, was that these sales had taken place before the arrival of the British troops of occupation. After the establishment of the civil government in November of 1764 the governor and Council clearly tried to make what adjustments they could for the convenience of individuals. They insisted, however, on the crown ownership of the land on the policy that grants of land made under Spanish and French jurisdictions were not ipso facto valid under British dominion, that new British titles must be granted, and that any adjustment that might be made was made by the grace of the Council and not by the right of the individual.

¹⁰. From the description of Pensacola on the arrival of the British in 1763 as but a stockade and village of thatched huts, it is apparent that these estates were little more than a medium for acquiring land for speculation. Ed.

Florida: Possession by Britain

Wikipedia.

The expanded West Florida territory in 1767.

In 1763, Spain traded Florida to Great Britain in exchange for control of Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by the British during the Seven Years' War. As Britain had defeated France in the war, it took over all of French Louisiana east of the Mississippi River except for New Orleans. Finding this new territory too vast to govern as a single unit, Britain divided it into two territories separated by the Apalachicola River: East Florida (the peninsula) and West Florida (the panhandle).

The British soon began aggressive recruiting to attract colonists to the area, offering free land and backing for export-oriented businesses. In 1764, the British moved the northern boundary of West Florida to a line extending from the mouth of the Yazoo River east to the Chattahoochee River (32° 22′ north latitude), consisting of approximately the lower third of the present states of Mississippi and Alabama, including the valuable Natchez District.

During this time, Creek Indians began to migrate into Florida, leading to the formation of the Seminole tribe. The aboriginal peoples of Florida had been devastated by war and disease, and it is thought most of the survivors accompanied the Spanish settlers when they left for other colonies (mostly French) in 1763. This left wide expanses of territory open to the Lower Creeks, who had been in conflict with the Upper Creeks of Alabama for years. The Seminole originally occupied the wooded areas of northern Florida. Under pressure from colonists and the United States Army in the Seminole Wars, they migrated into central and southern Florida, to the Everglades. Many of their descendants live in this area today as one of the two federally recognized Seminole tribes in the state.

Britain retained control over East Florida during the American Revolutionary War, but the Spanish, by that time allied with the French who were at war with Britain, recaptured most of West Florida. At the end of the war, the Peace of Paris (1783) between the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Spain ceded all of East and West Florida to Spanish control, but without specifying the boundaries.

Second Spanish period:
Spain regained possession of the Floridas from Britain in the Peace of Paris of 1783, and continued the British practice of governing the Floridas as separate territories: West Florida and East Florida.

After American independence, the lack of specified boundaries led to a border dispute with the newly formed United States, known as the West Florida Controversy. The two 1783 treaties that ended the American Revolutionary War had differences in boundaries. The Treaty of Paris between Britain and the United States specified the boundary between West Florida and the newly independent U.S. at 31°.[26] However, in the companion Peace of Paris between Britain and Spain, West Florida was ceded to Spain without its boundaries being specified. The Spanish government assumed that the boundary was the same as in the 1763 agreement by which they had first given their territory in Florida to Britain, claiming that the northern boundary of West Florida was at the 32° 22′ boundary established by Britain in 1764 after the Seven Years' War. The British line at 32° 22′ was close to Spain's old claim of 32° 30′, which dated to the 1670 Treaty of Madrid.[27] The now independent United States insisted that the boundary was at 31°, as specified in its Treaty of Paris with Britain.

After American independence, Spain claimed far more land than the old British West Florida, including the east side of the Mississippi River north to the Ohio and Tennessee rivers.[28] This expanded claim was based on Spain's successful military operations against the British in the region during the war. Spain occupied or built several forts north of the old British West Florida border, including Fort Confederación, Fort Nogales (at present-day Vicksburg), and Fort San Fernando (at present-day Memphis).[29][30] Spain tried to settle the dispute quickly, but the U.S. delayed, knowing that time was on its side.[28] By Pinckney's Treaty of 1795 with the United States, Spain recognized the 31st parallel as the border, ending the first West Florida Controversy.

Extract from Internet Site (unknown, 2008)
Arbuthnot, Esquire, of Weymouth, England, petitioned for an estate called St. Antonio. Samuel Touchet, a merchant of London, petitioned for an estate called El Estero de La Luz.
William Michie of Charleston, South Carolina,

2.4 Other Matters

Parish & other Records

The parish records on film at the London Metropolitan Archives have been searched for any children in the period 1732-1760 in St Paul’s, Shadwell and in St John, Wapping and St Anne, Limehouse for intervals in that period, all 3 of which parishes are not on the IGI. Marriages were searched for 1736-40 for St George in the East, Shadwell and Limehouse with no success. Marriages for the relevant period do not appear for Wapping. See below for Shadwell and Waterman’s Stairs.

No sign of a suitable Richard Maitland 1690-1717 in the Scottish OPR’s.

IGI: Richard Maitland son of Richard Maitland, ch 30/3/1706 Fyvie, Aberdeen, in Woodhead.
Also: Peter 11/3/1700, George 13/4/1702, Jean 20/5/1704, Mary 5/6/1708, Agnes 14/10/1716. Probably not relevant, may be Richard Maitland of Mark Lane & Boddington, looks too early for a death in 1778 and 1^st child born 1744.
Also:
1712-1715:
John son of Richard & Ann Madland, ch St Paul Shadwell, 30/5/1714 & 8/3/1715 of Spring St, Mariner.

London Land Tax Records, 1692-1932

Richard Maitland

Shadwell, RM as tenant:

Capt:

1751 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-5-6d, Personal £0-3-9. SW

1751 Rent £8-10, Tax £0-17-0d, Personal £0-2-6. SW

1760 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-12-7d. SW

1761 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-14-0d, Personal £0-5-0. SW

1762 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-11-10½d, Personal £0-5-0. SW

Not Capt, but still Shadwell!

1763 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-11-2d, Personal £0-5-0d. SW

1764 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-14-0d, Personal £0-5-0d. SW

1765 Rent £9, Tax £1-14-6d Personal Est 0-5, Shakespear’s Walk

1766 Rent £9, tax £1-13-9d Shakespear’s Walk

1768 Rent £9, Tax £1-6-3d SW

1769 Rent £9, Tax £1-6-3d SW

1770 Rent £9, Tax £1-4-0d SW

1771 Rent £9, Tax £1-12-3d SW

1772 Rent £9, Tax £1-4-9d SW

Shakespear’s Walk was the site of a Rope Walk established by one John Shakespear in 1642.

Other Possible connections:

Additionally, Richard Maitland, Col Life Guards will of 23/8/1745 – who was he?

A Charles Maitland, a mariner with the Navy, left a will dated 22 June, 1759 and proved in 4 May 1772[91]. Like our Richard, he mentions the perils of the sea.
He made his wife, Rebecca, his heir & executor.
He was a mariner of Shadwell in 1759, and still of Shadwell and master of His Majesty’s Ship Aurora in when his will was proved.
Witnesses were Richard Maitland & John Smith.
HMS Aurora, a fifth rate, was lost in the Indian Ocean in January 1770 (Wiki)
This Charles Maitland was resident in Shadwell 1760-1771 from tax records.

A C. Maitland was master of the ship Edgar regularly between 1764 & 1769 with a one more entry in Lloyds List in 1776.
There was a single entry of an Edward Maitland as part owner of Little Carpenter in 1767.

No sign of him in the London directories of the 1770’s.

One other possibility alternative, based on a John Maitland’s baptism in Banf in 1735 with a witness Coln John Maitland, who probably was the brother of the 6^th Earl of Lauderdale, is that Richard was an unrecorded son of one of the Earls uncles.

Cargoes as Advertised

11th November, 1771 (and other entries)SCAG

PHILIP HAWKINS, & CO

At their Warehouse in Tradd Street, Have received in the Magna Charta, Capt. Maitland

A Large Supply of Goods, among which are a great Variety of Printed Callicoes and Cottons, red and blue Furniture Cottons at 23s 6d the Yard, very fine and handsome light and dark ground Chients Furoirbie, ditto with Trimmings to suit, low priced and fine printed Handkerchiefs, plain, striped and flowered Jackonet Muslins; Suits of worked Muslins very low, and some very fine and rich; Suits of worked Lawns, 8-8 and 6-4 plain and flowered Lawns, loom Quiltings, Irish Linens and Sheetings, Counterpanes, Checks, common and Flanders Bed Ticks, Bed Bunts and Linen Drapery in general.
A Large Assortment of yarn, worsted, cotton thread and silk Hose, some of each very larges Sizes; very fine worsted and silk Breeckes Pieces, Men’s and Boy’s ready-made Drab, Fustian, Bearskin and Cloth Suits; Sourtouts, Cloaks, Cardinals, and other Slops; Camblets, Calimencoes, Whitnies, Bath Coating and Petticoating; Bed Blankets, some of an extra Quality, a few Pieces of fashionable Broad Cloths, figured Silks, Taffeties and Georgeoons. All bought on the best trems, and will be sold at their usual very low Prices, especially when a Quantity is taken, and for Cash.
Also a great Choice of Fire-Grates and Dogs, Fenders, Sets of Shovel, Tongs and Poker. One elegant Brass Hearth, and Surveyors Instruments, some of the very best Sort ever Imported; Ravens Duck, Bridport, East-Coker, London and Russia Sail Suck, with Sail and best three strand Seine Twine.
N.B. A few Bales of Bristol and London DUFFILS to be sold at Nine for One?

Jackonet was a cotton fabric of light weight, usually finished as cambric, lawn, organdy, voile, etc., used in the manufacture of clothing and bandages. 2. a cotton fabric with one glazed surface, used as a lining for the spines of books.

27th December, 1773^SCG Advert:

Hawkins, Petrie & Co.

Have imported in the Liberty, Capt Lasley, and the Magna Charta, Capt Maitland,

A large Assortment of Goods,

Amongst which are

Flannels, Duffils, coloured Plains, Pennissones and long Ells for House Negroes, Worsted Webs and Breeches Pieces of the very best sort; Yarn, Worked, Cotton, and Silk Hose, some of the latter of the Newest Fashion; Scarlet Cloaks and cardinals, from the lowest to the highest Prices; Camblet Cloaks, Cloth Cloaks and great Coats. Surtouts, and low priced Suits of Cloaths of all Sizes, Jackets, Trowsers, and Slops of all Sorts; Stuff and Silk Petticats, List, Scotch, and Wilton Carpeting, rich Table and Bed-side ditto; printed Goods for Winter Wear, Furniture Callicoes and Cottons, with Trimmings; Suits of worked Muslins, and Muslins of every Kind; Suits of worked Lawn, Lawns, Cambricks, and Irish Linens in general; a few Pieces of English and India Damask.

A fresh Supply of mourning Articles; complete Sets of Table and Tea China, Jars and Breakers, and most other Articles of China Ware.

Loaf Sugar; Hyson, Green and Bohea TEAS, a Quantity of the latter, and also black pepper, to sell very low by Wholesale, for ready Money; Brass Hearths, Brass and Princes Metal Grates and Fire Dogs, with Furniture to suit; some of these are the most elegant they have yet imported, and the greatest Variety they have ever had; Brass-Head Dogs, Fenders of all Sorts, Sets of Shovel Tongs and Pokers, Bellows, Footmen, Copper and Iron Tea Kettles, of the best sort; a complete set of pewter Dishes and Plates, of an extra Quality, and the Make of the newest Fashion, with the Article of Pewter in general; Bridport and East Coker Sail Duck, with best Sail and Seine Twine, Window Glass, Paints, Nails, Hinges and Bolts of all sorts, with every building Article, all Sorts of Carpenters Tools of the best Make, Smiths Bellows, anvils, Vises, &c. Hoes, Spades, axes, and all Plantation Tools, Saddlers Tools and Saddlery, among which are some very neat Saddles, a few plated and polished Belts and Stirrups, of the newest Make, with a variety of Whips of the best Sort.

These, with the Goods received by several of the late Vessels, make their Assortment very large, especially of capital Articles, which they will sell on very low Terms, with a much greater Allowance, for ready Money, and to those who sell again, than is commonly made, or than they have hitherto allowed.

Besides the Articles above-mentioned, they have in the Magna Charta, a large values in French and India Goods, viz. Silks, Lawes, Cambricks, Chintz, Ginghams, COunterpains, &c. which have been bought, and will be sold much under their value, for ready money.

The South Carolina Gazette, 28 January 1773

JONATHAN SARRAZIN
HAS JUST IMPORTED,
In The Magna Charta, Captain Richard Maitland
A large and complete Assortment
Of
Silver Plate and Jewellery

Consisting of te following Articles viz:

Epergens, Tea kitchens and urns, Coffee Pots, Sugar Dishes, Slop and Punch Bowls, Mahogany Tea Chests with Silver Canisters, Silver Tea Chests, Waiters of all Patterns, from six to eighteen inches Diameter, Cups and Covers, Tankards, Pint and Half pint Mugs, Rummers, Bread Baskets, Tureen Sauce Boats and Butter Cups, Fish Trowels, Dish Stands, Salt Cellars of a new Pattern very elegant, Bottle Stands, Punch Ladles and Strainers, Wine Cranes and decanting funnels, Candlesticks and Snuffers with stands and branches, Soop Table and Tea Spoons, Tureen Ladles, Casters in Silver and wood Frames, Silver and green handle Knives and Forks in Shagreen and Mahogany Cases, Swords and Cuteaues, Gold and gilt headed Canes with and without Swords in them, best London Blade Penknives, scissars and Razors with Straps, Essence Bottles from 15/- to 30£. Pocket Books with Instruments in them, Tooth-pick and Pencil Cases, Silver and Paper Snuff Boxes, Patch Boxes, Silver Spurs of all Kinds; a large Assortment of Paste and Diamond Work, such as Ear and Finger Rings, Necklaces and Bows, Stay Hooks, Breast Buckles, Shoe and Knee Buckles with real and mock Pearl Bows and Earrings, Ladies and Gentlemen’s beft Gold Watches capt and jewelled, with Chains, Seals and Keys; Silver and Gold Prussian, Brocade and Spangle Hat Bands, loops an Buttons, and every Article in the Jewellery and Silversmiths Way may be had at his Shop on as reasonable Terms as has ever been sold in the Province, and as large a Discount allowed for Cash.

Early Colonial Fabrics

Fustian
A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax.
Any of several thick twilled cotton fabrics, such as corduroy, having a short nap.

Kersey
A kind of coarse woollen cloth. It derives its name from the village of Kersey, Suffolk, having presumably originated in that region. However the cloth was made in many places. Kersey was a lighter weight cloth than broadcloth. English kerseys were widely exported to central Europe.

Sagathy

A mixed woven fabric of silk and cotton, or silk and wool; sayette; also, a light woolen fabric.

Shalloon
A lightweight wool or worsted twill fabric, used chiefly for coat linings.

Duffel
A blanket fabric made of low-grade woolen cloth with a nap on both sides.

Drugget
A heavy felted fabric of wool or wool and cotton.

Serge
A twilled cloth of worsted or worsted and wool, often used for suits.

Trade Finance

Credit arrangements.
Meeting to pay RM at Carolina Coffee House, 14 March 1772.

Insurance

Rice Prices

4 Richard & John Maitland – Additional Notes

4.1 Richard Maitlands Ships, Additional Notes

4.1.1 Ann Snow:

Lloyd’s List coverage is patchy for this period. She appeared in LL in 1740 with Fortesque Vernon as master from Jamaica in one entry, but in Madeira from Boston in another.

Ann Snow 3/1/1741 came in Bristol 7 weeks from St Kitts. Also Lloyd List.

Reference to a storm 9 Jan 1734 in which “The Ann Snow, Kitchenham, for Jamaica, was on shore, but got off again.” In a letter from Portsmouth, so probably in the Channel around Southsea[119].

Notice is hereby given to the Officers and Companies of his Majesty's Ships under-mentioned, who were at the taking of the following Prizes, viz...Ann Snow, retaken ship...31/12/1744 the same. From The London Magazine, and Monthly Chronologer, Volume 15 (1746): Persons declared Bankrupt...Kender Mason, Bread street, Merchant... KM appears in various sources as a trader in the Americas.

25 September 1745:
The Creditors of Kender Mason, late of Bread Street, London, Merchant (as well those who were present at the Meeting on Friday Night last, as all others his Creditors) are desired to meet on Friday next, the 27th instant, at Five o'Clock in the Afternoon, at the Crown Tavern behind the Royal Exchange, on special ??, and of Capt. Stewart, late Commander of the Ann Snow, bound to Athens? be in Town, he is desired to attend the said Meeting.[120]

PRO HCA 32/94: Ann snow, of Bristol, master Charles Finlay; English merchant ship, captured with others by French warships, and sent with English prisoners of war to a French or neutral port, but retaken from France: two examinations, allegation, claim, appraisement. 1745.

In these papers, the ship is quoted as a burthen of 50 tons, whereas the advertised ship was 130 tons. In one place, the prize papers refer to the ship as “the snow called the Ann of Bristol of burthen of fifty tons or thereabouts, although many other entries are for the “Anne Snow”. The papers are all dated about May 1745 or later. It seems that HCA 32/94/6 probably relates this ship, but there is no real proof.

HCA 32/94/6 Prize papers for the Anne Snow:

Translation of a French Paper taken on board the Anne Snow of Bristol
We the undersigned Edward Lee of London living in Shad Thames, Hugh Moorcroft of London living in Shadwell Ratcliff Highway Char: Finlay of Bristol living in Lower Cottage Green having been made prisoners of War yesterday by a Squadron of the King of France commander by Mr Desherbiers de L’Estendnors Head of this squadron of the fleet of his most Christian Majesty which Commander was the Ship Anne Snow with her Cargoe in order to take on board our three Ships and made oath punchially to execute what follows, to go with the said Ship to the first part of France we can make or to the first nonhal Port either Lisbon or elsewhere and being arrived there to put the said vessel and her cargos into the hand of the Intendants or Comissary of the Marines in the Port of France or of the French Consul in the nonhal Ports & shall not in the least meddle with the said Cargoes and that upon these Conditions We shall be set at Liberty with all our Crews, And Desherbiers de L’Estendnors request all who are to be requested to let the said vessel the Anne Snow freely pass with all the prisoners whom we send away and to give no Impediment to their navigation provided they shape their course for one the ports of France or a nonhal Port which they oblige themselves to do for want of which and for the greater Serenity? Prize has been retained for hostage eight persons of the Crews of the said three Ships who are not to be set at Liberty till the obligations mentioned in the present Act and extended and this present Obligation taking place as a ransom Done on board the King’s Ship Le Inste at Sea the seventh of April One thousand seven hundred and forty five.
Faithfully translated from the French at London this thirty first of May 1745.

Devon (to Witt) Burrough
Plymouth
Be it known to all whom these presents shall concern that the before named Charles Finlay and Thomas Sanders are were by virtue of a Commission herein before mentioned in my presence produced and brought before and severally and separately examined and interrogated by Robert Hicks Gentleman one of the Commissioners in the said Commission named upon several Interrogatorys hereinbefore mentioned being a copy of the Interrogatorys which are annexed to the said commission and both their sayings and depositions were faithfully reduced into writing by me John Elford Notary Publick substituted and appointed for that purpose by the Deputy Register of the high Court of Admiralty of England in the said commission named and such the sayings and depositions before named persons so reduced into writing are to these presents annexed in order to be transmitted to the Judge of the said high Court of Admiralty on England or his Surrogate as the said commission requires all which do hereby certify under my hand and Notarial Seal at Plymouth aforesaid this four and twenty fifth day of May in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty five.

Standing Interrogatorys on behalf of our Sovereign Lord George the second by the grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith to be administered to what so ever witness shall be produced to be examined touching or concerning the capture or seizure of any ship vessel or goods and merchandise as therein seized and taken or which hereafter shall be seized and taken by any of the ships of the fleet of our said Sovereign Lord the King and particularly to the masters pilots and some of the mariners of all and singular the said ships and vessels seized and taken by any of the said ships of the fleet of our said sovereign lord the King and such other person or persons by whom the truth may properly be discovered and brought to Plymouth.
Appears to be a standard list of questions, paraphrased below:
1. place of birth, residence, how long there, where have you lived in the last 7 years, nationality.
2. Where, when and by whom was the ship and lading goods taken, and where was it taken, was there any resistance made or guns fired against the ship who took them & how many shots.
3. was the witness present to the time of the taking, or how and when were they first told. Was the ship taken by a man of war or privateer and what commission did the ship have. Was the ship taken a man of war or merchantman.
4. What pretence was the ship taken, to what port was she carried whether she was condemned and by whom and what authority.
5. Name of master of the ship, how long has the witness known him, who appointed him, where did he take over, who delivered the ship to him, where does the master live with wife and family, and how long and nationality.
6 How many marines on the ship when taken, what nationality, where did they board, had the witness or the marines any part in the ship or goods taken
7. Did the witness belong to the ship, how long known the ship, where first seen, what burthen, how many guns carried, how many men, where built, name, how long under that name, what previous names.
8 Where was the ship from and to.
9. Who was the owner of the ship and goods, how did the witness know this, and what nationality.
10. Was there any bill of sale made to the owners, date, where made, when did the witness see it, and where is the bill of sale.
11. Where was she laden and when, what were the goods, who were they owned by and who consigned to.
12. How many bills of lading were signed for the goods, were they collectable? And what became of them
13. Any bills of lading etc to prove the witness’s own property or any one else’s property and how owned
14. Time and degree of latitude taken.
15. Any Charterparty signed for the voyage. What were the contents.
16. What papers were on board the ship when taken, and where are they
17. What loss or damage has the witness sustained by the seizing etc, and what value, and have you received any satisfaction for such loss and from whom.

Deposition of witnesses taken 28 May 1745 at the house of Elizabeth Mason? Widow, known by the sign of the Fountain...
Charles Finlay now Master of the Ann Snow of Bristol the burthen of fifty tons or thereabouts
Charles Finlay master of the Ann Snow of Bristol burthen of fifty tons or thereabouts aged twenty five years. Born in Fyfe but lived in Bristol
2. on board .. qty of Bale Goods, Iron Barrs Copper Rods, Musquetts Gun Powder and sundry merchandise at Bristol. Departed 11^th February last for Africa and America and on 26^th March at about 6 or 7 o’clock in the evening... about 46 latitude and about 11 west of London, taken as prize by 6 French men of war and took deponent and the mate and carpenter hostage, and put on board about 115 English prisoners from English ships called ... and told Deponent as prisoners of war to some part of France .. proceeding there, good fortune to fall in with six English men of War which retook the said snow and ordered to Plymouth.
21 mariners taken from the Snow.
Refers to the said Snow called Ann. & was bound to Africa and America (ie slaver). Daniel Saunders of Bristol was owner. Master had about £100 of wearing apparel as a private adventure. Retaken by squadron of ships of war under the command of Vice Admiral William Martin esquire, about March 1745.
Ship & her Stores etc £252-16-0
Total value of ship & merchandise etc £1674-6-4.

4.1.2 Ship The Duke

Pre dates Lloyd’s Register (1764).

LL 8/11/1757: The Duke, Maitland, and the Lydia, Teague, from Virginia for London are lost; the former foundered 4 days after she left the Capes, and the latter three days after she sailed, but the crew were saved.
The Duke, Maitland and Lydia, Jackson, from Virginia for London, are lost in a Gale of Wind, but the Crews taken up by the Garland Man of War, who was Convoy to the Fleet (NA).
This date of this entry implies that the loss of the Duke to have been before about mid-late September, quite possibly in a hurricane coming up the US East Coast.

A hurricane is listed between Florida & Boston 11 August 1757 “Rain for 3 days; great SW-NW-N gusts” (Wikipedia). An NOAA report mentions October 1757 – HMS Duke of Cumberland lost off Cape Henry about this time.

ref Louis Currie: There is an admiralty record of the Duke just having left Jamaica.

PRO ADM 51/385, HMS Garland Captain’s Logs

Thurs 22^nd (September 1757) NWbW Anchored in Hampton Rd:

...5 am fired a gun and made signal to weigh att 9 Weigd and came to sail as did the convoy sailing thro the narrows Cape Henry EbS 1 mile.

Friday 23^rd SWbW, W, N, NNE, 41m 36º31 N long made: 0.39 E Cape Henry N 60 W 14 leagues

Light Airs and variable 50 Sl in sight under our course att 12 pm fresh gales and squally winf on 3^rd reef foretop sl reefing in the Mn tops it split unbent it and bent another reefd and sett it in 3^rd reef mzx top sl do hand’d it foreward and mand topsails and ? down top galland yad ½ past pam fired gun and made signal for the weathermost ships to bear down.

Saturday 24^th N, NbW, EbS, 53m, 36º38N 1º44E, Cape Henry N71W 28 Leagues

Fresh Gales and squally at 5 pm brought too and made a signal for the convoy to come under my stern fired a shott at a snow that went a head of the convoy 45 sail in sight att ½ past 9 one of the convoy made a signal of distress wore and bore down to her and found she had sprung a leak the ship Lydia of London brought too and fired a gun a signal for the convoy to bring too.

Sunday 25^th NNW, EbS,WNW, 32m, 36º42N 2º30E, ditto 82:34W 39 Leagues

Bore down to the Duke merhct Ship who made a signal of distress found she had sprung a leak laying to by Ditto. Modt and cloudy wnd. Spoke with the Jamaica sloop att pm brought too stove our longboat in hoisting out to send on board a ship in distress. Sent the Pinnace who brought on board the people the ship being sinking.

Monday 26^th, Calm, SE, EbN, 106, 37º30N, 4º22”, ditto W3/4S 68 Leagues

Modt and cloudy Wn. The Duke made a signal of distress but not before she was desirted fired two guns made signals to bring too and to all masters mercht ships. Att 7 brought the Dukes people on board they quitted her being leaky

Tuesday 27^th, NW, 104m, 38º03N, 6º31E, Ditto N78W, 106 Leagues

Moderate and fair Wr Saw a sail in the SE quarter fired a gun and made a signal for the Jamaica to chace ½ past made the signal to give over the chace saw a sail in the NE quarter made a signal for the convoy to come under my stern fired a shott to bring too one of the convoy

Wednesday 28^th, WNW, WbN, NNW, 93m, 37º53N, 8º23E, ditto S23.82:24W 134 Leagues

Strong gales and cloudy Wr Shortened sail for the convoy att 5 m hove to and made the signal for the convly to come under our stern att ½ past bore away at 11 am made the signal for the John & Ann to bear down 42 sail in sight.

PRO ADM 1/235, Admiral's despatches, Jamaica 1713-1789 (re Duke),

1757-1760 Lists and Indexes, Admiralty XVIII p3.
(copied 17 May 2008)
Marlborough at Spithead, 7th March 1757.

Sir,

I received their Lordships orders of the 5th Instant this morning, too late to answer by the Post. The two Assistant Surgeons I have ordered on board the Lynn.
Mr Jones Agent for the Hospital at Haslar applied to me this afternoon to take on board the Medicines and Stores for the Hospital at Jamaica and at the same time acquainted me they filled four wagons, it being impossible for me to receive such a Quantity either in my own Ship or Lynn with the Provisions ordered by their Lordships. I advised him to ship them on board some Merchant Ship bound to Jamaica. The Wind is now Eastward of the N and the Convoy from the Downs all at an anchor, though few of the Masters have yet been on board to take orders. I propose sailing tomorrow morning, and give them orders at Sea rather than lose an Opportunity of this Wind.
Inclosed is a List of the Ships under my Convoy, a more exact account of them will be sent you by the first Opportunity.
I am Sir
Your most Obedient Servant
Thos Cotes

Ships listed with:
Ships Name, Master’s Name, What Built, Were Belonging, Number of Men, Guns, Tons, From Whence, Whither Bound lading, When Received Order.
An example:
Duke, Rich’d Maitland, Ship, London, 20, 10, 360, London, Virginia, Ballast, 7th March 1757.

Marlborough at Spithead 10th March 1757.

Sir,

The 8th Instant in the morning I made the Signall to unmoor, and intended sailing but before I could get my Best Bower Anchor up, the Wind veered to the Southward and from thence to the Westward, which obliged to moor again in the Evening, it has since been variable with Calms, but I hope is now fixed Easterly. I made the Signal to unmoor this morning by break of day and I hope to get the Convoy out to Sea before Night.
Inclosed is a List of Ships who have taken my orders since my Letter of the 7th Instant.
I am, Sir,
Your most Obdt Servant,
Thos Cotes
The Wind at NNE with Snow.

Marlborough in Torbay 15th March 1757.

Since my Letter of the 12th Instant from this Place His Majesty’s Ships Newcastle, Lynn and Hornett have joined me and brought in with them the merchant ships that were in the rear of the Fleet. The 13th in the Evening the Wind came to the Northward and I was in hopes of its coming to the Eastward, I immediately made the Signal for getting ready to sail but before we could get a Peak on our anchor, it backed to the Westward and began to blow, and all yesterday it blew very hard at NW and WNW. Last night it was moderate Weather, and this morning it blows very hard at West.
I have wrote to Rear Admiral Harrison at Plymouth to desire a Supply of Beer only to be sent here, if the Wind should continue Westerly and keep us here.
I shall sail as soon as the Wind shifts so that I can get down Channell. Inclosed is the State of His Majesty’s Ships under my Command.
I am Sir,
Your most Obedient Servant,
Thos Cotes.

Marlborough in Torbay 16th March 1757 at 1,0’clock pm

Sir,
The hard gale from the West to NNW that has blown for two days past, ceased this morning, and at 8 the Wind shifted to No when I made the Signal to prepare to sail, that the merchant ships might get up their Yards and Topmasts, and take up one anchor, most of them being obliged to let go two anchors, when it blew so hard; the Wind now appears to me settled at NNE and I am getting under sail, that the Fleet may have time to get one before Night,

I am, Sir,
etc.

Marlborough at Sea 8th April 1757.
Latt in 41d 05m N Long 13:35 Wt
Start (Point?) No 38:45 E Dist 230Lg
Finister N54.15E Dist 73 Lgs.

The 17th of March we sailed from Torbay the Wind then blowing fresh at NNE; by night all the Fleet were got clear; and at 8 we took our Departure from the Start, the Wind continued Easterly till the 18th, when it veered to the Westward, and the 20th it blew so hard we could carry no Sail, and were obliged to bring too under a Mainsail; the Merchant Ships who did not take care to bear down lost Company, as we drove much faster than them; The 24th in the Latitude of 48˚22’ Longitude 5˚ 4’ from the Start (Point?). A Merchant Ship acquainted me, that His Majesty’s Sloop Stork had in the late bad Weather in the Night carried away all her Masts, but had got up Jury Masts and was bore away for the Channell, and as the Wind was then at WSW I hope she soon got into some port. We had very bad weather for fifteen Days together in the Bay of Biscay, but have now a good Prospect of making our Passage soon. Very few of the Convoy have lost Company there being now 97 sail in sight.

Inclosed is the State of His Majesty’s Ship Marlborough, the Lynn and Hornett bring up the Rear of the Convoy, which prevents my getting their accounts.
I shall this morning part Company with Commodore Stevens and the India Ships as they must Steer more to the Southward than our Convoy lays.

etc, Thos Cotes.

Marlborough in Passage
8th May 1757.
In my last letter of the 8th of April by way of Madeira I acquainted you of my parting Company with Commodore Stevens and the East India Ships. The 10th of April I made the Signal for all Masters of Merchant Ships, and finding only six light Ships bound to Barbados, and sixty to the other Islands, I ordered the Lynn to see them safe to Barbados, and with the remaining Sixty steered for Antigua, where I arrived the 5th Instant, with all the Convoy. The Store ships went into English harbour and the Merchant Ships to their different Ports. I delivered Rear Admiral Frankland his Commission after he had taken the Oaths, and Subscribed the Test, a Certificate of which is Inclosed, I also told him he must direct his agent in London to pay the Fees of the Office.
The 6th I ran? The Ships bound to Montserrat, Nevis and St Christopher to their several Ports, and anchored in this Road to get a Supply of Water and Rum for the Ship’s Company, all the Wine we brought out of England being expended by the Length of our Passage, I have been obliged to hire a Sloop to fetch my Water, as old Road is by no means a proper Place for so large a Ship to lay and there is no Water here, the Moment she returns I shall proceed with the Trade bound to Jamaica. The Storeships that stopped at Antigua have some of His Majesty’s Stores on board for Jamaica. I have ordered Capt Kirke to call at Antigua to convoy them to Jamaica, and I have desired Adml Frankland to assist in unloading them that the Lynnn may not be detained there.
The Recruits of Colonel Ross’s Regiment I sent to the Head Quarters in a Schooner W Frankland lent me, four of them dyed in the Passage of Fevers. The Packetts for Barbados I sent by Capt Kirke, and those for Antigua I delivered to Admiral Frankland.
Inclosed is an Affidavit, that was yesterday made before the Lieutenant Governor of this Island, the Person who made it seemed to me to be very positive as to the facts. I therefore thought it my duty to get an Original to lay before their Lordships.
Inclosed it the State of His Makesty’s Ship the Marlborough and Hornett Sloop.

I am etc.

Edinburgh Port Royal Jamaica
7 May 1757 659

Recd 22 June,
Read ditto

Sir,
Since my last to you of the 24th March, by his Majesty's Ship the Biddeford, I beg leave to Acquaint you, for the Information of the Rt Honourable the Lords, Commissioners of the Admiralty, that his Majesty's Ships Augusta, Princess Mary and Humber, Arrived here on the 7th of last month, from the North sides of Hispaniola, Captain Craven Acquaints me in his Letter of the same day, of his looking into Cape Francois, a Copy of which Letter I have hereby enclosed. His Majesty's Dreadnought, and Shoreham are likewise Arrived, from the South sides of Hispaniola.
I have here inclosed you a Deposition of one Joseph Thurston, Master of the Snow Defiance, giving an Account of his falling in with a Fleet of Ships, Off the Island of Mona, and one of the Ships carrying a White Flagg at the Foretopmast head. As in my former Letter to you, Sir, of the 24th of March, I acquainted you, the French Prisoners, that were taken by one of our Privateers, gave an account of fourteen Sail of French Men of War, Sailing from Brest, And as this Master says he saw these ships off St. Domingo, I immediately dispatched a small schooner up to Port Louis, to look into that harbour, for if they were the French Squadron, they might have put in there, but upon her return, the Officer I sent in the Schooner, Informed me, he saw nothing in the Harbour, but two small Vessells; I therefore Imagine the Fleet was the Spanish Flota, which is expected every day but as I shall endeavour to gain the best intelligence I can. I have ordered his Majesty's Ship Lively, who arrived here woth the Roebuck and Assistance, with the Trade from ?? on the 25th of last month to prepare for the Seas, and propose as she goes well, to send her up to look into Cape Francois, that I may know if there are any other French Squadron there, except that of Monsieur Beaufremond, and especially as there is some reason to think that the French Squadron that was upon the Coast of Guinea is Arrived there as their Lordships will please to Observe by Captains Wyatts letter to me of this 25th April.
I have ordered his Majesty's Ship Assistance to Carreen, without loss of time, and I am ordering to put the Squadron in the best condition I can, having Stores of any kind, and hope to have some further ?? with the Trade from England, by the time the Squadron is ready for the Sea.
The several Rumours We have had, both from the Dutch and Spaniards, of the French intending an attack on this Island, has occasioned the Lieutenant Governor to declare Martial Law, and they are now putting the Fortifications of this Island into the best postures of Defence they can; I have given them all the Assistance in my power, by mounting their Cannon and repairing such of their Carriages as were gone to decay, and shall continue my Assistances to them, to this Utmost, and hope in a little time to see their Forts in a suitable situation to repulse any Attack that may be made on this Island.
I would further Acquaint you; for their Lordships Information, that Monsieur Bart, the new Governor of Hispaniola, has sent a Flagg of Truce, which Arrived here the 30th of March, to Mr Moore, the Lieutenant Governor, to prepare an Exchange of Prisoners, by which Opportunity I received a Letter from Captain Roddan, with an Account of the taking of His Majesty's Ship Greenwich, a Copy of which I herewith Inclose.
His Majesty's Ship the Wager[121] is likewise returned to this Port, but am very sorry to Acquaint you of the Death of Captain Preston, and the Surgeon and Purser of that Ship, I have appointed Mr Shurmer, first Lieutenant of the Edinburgh, Captain of the Wager, and Mr Burnett, Midshipman on board His Majesty's Ship Dreadnought, to be third Lieutenant of the Humber, having moved Mr Dumaresque, first Lieutenant of that Ship, to be fourth Lieutenant of the Edinburgh, Whom I hope their Lordships will favour me so far as to Confirm.
I have Inclosed you, Sir, a certain Account of the eight ?? ships that are Arrived at Cape Francois, under the Command of Monsieur Beaufremond, And likewise Captain Moore's Account of the Spanish Ships now laying at the Havanna.
I beg leave to Acknowledge this Receipt of their Lordships Orders of the 3rd January 1757, relating to ?? the time of the Departure of the first and second Convoy, for proceeding to England with the Trade if this Island, which I shall punctually Confirm to, and give the proper Notice thereof.
Captain Weller having Acquainting me, he had appointed Mr John Henry third Lieutenant of His Majesty's Ship Assistance on the Coast of Guinea, in the room of one of the Lieutenants who dyed there, And Mr Henry not having passed for a Lieutenant, Applies to me for an Order of that purpose, which I Granted, and I Inclose you a Copy of the Certificate of his having passed, together with the State and Condition of his Majesty's Squadron under my Command.

I am Sir, Your Most Humble Servant,

Geo Townshend

Sir, since writing the above, Captain Wickham of His Majesty's Ship Augusta, & Captain Forest of His Majesty's Ship Rye having acquainted me they are desirous of Exchanging their Commissions, I have consented to it.

4.1.3 The Sharp.

January –December 1758
Downes (25 Jan, a transport, Naval??, no destination; the manner in which it is listed associates her with some men of war^LL The Newspapers show 24 transports waiting wind in the Downes until some sailed, probably including Sharp, about 20^th February – the destination may have been Jamaica, Sharp is not named again: 5 transports remained until early March, but Sharp was not in the list); Boston (arr from Louisbug mid September, rep 13/11/58^LL) arr the Downs from Louisburg with Portmahon, man of war, 9/12/58^LL.

Boston Weekly News-Letter, September 1758 re slave.
26/1/1759: arr in the River from Lousiburg

Mid 1759-mid 1760
Arrived the Downes, 12 July 1759 for Philadelphia.
London-Philadelphia (arr rep 8/11/59),

7/2/1760, Penn Gazette, reported arrived Antigua.
February 1760, Guadeloupe from Philadelphia^LL.
This would put Richard Maitland back in England not before about early summer 1760.

31/7/1760: Penn Gazette, letters awaiting Captain Richard Maitland at the receiving office^NP.COM. There were no entries for Sharp arriving in Philly between July & December 1760

A Sharp commander by Dunlop arrived Glasgow from Maryland about 1 May 1760; another Sharp was in the North Sea in February – it seems likely that these are not the same ship.

Newspapers:
The Maryland Gazette (Annapolis) Thurs 8/10/1761: RD/Sharp, Prize.

Copy of a decree extracted from the Registry of the Court of Appeal for Prizes
“Saturday the 27^th Day of June, 1761, Before the Right Hon...(list of judges)...
The Sharp, Richard Maitland.
A business of appeal, and complaint of nullity, promoted by Richard Maitland, a subject of our Sovereign lord the King, the Master and Claimant of the said Ship Sharp, and Goods therein, against Timothy Edwards esq, Commander of His Majesty’s Ship of Frigate the Valeur, the Captor of the said Ship and Goods.
Gosling, Altham.
For Sentence on the second assignation and information; which day the Lords having heard the proofs and council on both sides, by their final decree or sentence, reversed the sentence of the Vice Admiralty Court of Gibraltar, from whom the cause was appealed, condemning ship and cargo; and pronounced the said ship and cargo to belong as claimed, and decreed the same to be restored, or its full value thereof to be paid to the claimants. Godflee Farrant, Register of HM’s high court of Appeal for Prizes.

4.1.4 Ship Phillippa (1)

Lloyds Register, 1764: John Addis, master, to Oport. & Car. (Oporto & Caribbean?), 300tons, 6&4 Guns, 18 men, Built - French 1758, Owner - Greg Olive. Addis took over from RM in LL. The tonnage may have been the net tons, ie payload.

It may be that Philippa was a Prize, taken sometime before April 1761. HCA 32/230/6 on:

Le Philippe.
John Dyer Commander of the Private Ship of War called the Defiance by virtue of a Commission or Letter of Marque granted to him under the Great Seal of the High Court of Admiralty of England by virtue of a warrant from the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners for the Executing the office of High Admiral of Great Britain against the said Ship called Le Philippe, her Tackle Apparel and Furniture and the Goods therein taken and seized by the said Private Ship of War called the Defiance, whereof the said John Dyer is Commander and brought to Spithead and against all persons in general.

On which day Gostling as lawful Proctor for the said John Dyer by all lawful ways and means and to all effects of law and whatsoever alledged pleaded and articulately propounded as follows, to wit:

War declared 17^th May 1756....
That the said ship called Le Philippe whereof the said Francois Le Tellier was master or commander belonging to the French King his vassals or subjects having divers goods Wares and Merchandise of the French King or his subjects on board was on or about the thirtieth day of the month of May last past by the said Private Ship called the Defiance whereof the said John Dyer then was and now is commander who had a Letter of Marque or a commission for a private ship of war granted to him.... and seized as a lawful prize and afterwards brought to Spithead.. lawful prize.

Depositions taken on 23^rd June 1757 at Southampton Town Hall.

Francois Letellier about 34 years old, of Bordeaux...
...Ship taken on 30^th May last about 40 leagues SW of Bellisle (southern Brittany), brought to Portsmouth..
Burthen about 330 tons
From Bordeaux to Port au Prince in St Domingo and back, taken on her passage back to Bordeaux, with sugar, indigo and cotton coffee tanned hides and copper.

Phillippa Privateer Letter of Marque – Richard as Commander

HCA 26/12/87
17 April 1761 89
Appeared personally Captain Richard Maitland of the Parish of St Pauls Shadwell in the County of Middlesex mariner
and produced a warrant from the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners for Executing the Offices of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland for the granting of a Commission or Letter of Marque to him the said Richard Maitland
and in pursuance of his Majesty’s Instruction to Privateer made the following Declaration to with that his the said Richard Maitland
his ship is Called the Phillippa
That she is a Square Sterned Ship Painted Black and Yellow, a Syon Head Painted all Yellow
and is of the burthen of about Three Hundred tons
That the said Richard Maitland goeth Commander of her That she Carrys Sixteen Carriage Guns
Each Carrying shot of Six and Four pounds weight and
Swivel Guns and belonging to the port of London
Forty Men Thirty Six small arms Twenty four Cutlasses Twelve Barrels of Powder Twelve Rounds of great Shot and about Three hundred weight of small shot
That the said Ship is victualled for Six months
hath two suits of sails Five Anchors Five Cables and about Thirty hundred weight of spare cordage
That John Dudley goes Lieutenant John Thomas Gunner William Jones Boatswain Thomas Lee Carpenter Henry Atkins Cook James Long Surgeon of the said Ship and that
Mr Henry Loubert and his Partners Mesrs Leavie and Schweighauzen together with Mr James Bouverieu of London Merchants

are the Principal Owners and Setters out of the said Ship
Richd Maitland
(His signature)
This declaration was made before me
And: Colbeee Ducarel
Surrogate Farrant?

1022
Phillippa
The like Commission is entered on Irof:2 was granted to Richard Maitland to set forth the Phillippa of the Burthen of about three hundred tons and belonging to the Port of London whereof he the said Richard Maitland goeth Commander Dated the Seventeenth Day of April 1761 and in the first year of his Majesty’s Reign.

After the granting of Letters of Marque:

PRO CO/510 checked, but too early.

4.1.5 Little Carpenter

1764, Lloyds Register:
Present, Master, Port, to, Tons, Guns, M, Built &Yr, Owner, 64,65,66.
Edgar, C. Maitland, London, New York, 200,B, 8, Berm.57r64, C. Maitland, EM,EM.

March 1768 – July 1768:

About this period, Henry Laurens was involved in a long legal dispute about a ship, the Ann, impounded by the authorities: Little Carpenter was often mentioned as an example.
1ST AUGUST 1768 -- Captain Maitland’s behaviour to the Custom House Officers had been so extreemly gross, and he had so Publickly stigmatized them all under the Exchange in Charlestown.....Captain Maitland had "Publickly stigmatized all the Custom House Officers
1st August 1768 - Re Ann -- .....That this Deponent was informed by Capt. Maitland who clear'd out at the Custom-House the day before Capt. Forten attended to clear out the Ship Ann, That he gave Bond for such Nonenumerated Goods as he had on board the very day on which he Cleared out and not before.

"1st August 1768 - Re Ann -- ....by Fenwick Bull, Esquire who being duly sworn declareth that he became Security for Capt. Maitland in a Nonenumerated Bond at the Custom-House after that Mr. Hatley the Deputy Collector had agreed to clear his Vessel (being the day before his Vessel was finally cleared out) altho' the Nonenumerated Goods were then all on Board the Vessel & further to this Interrogatory the Deponent saith not.

Remark.4

Mr. Bull deposes possitively that Captain Maitland gave a Nonenumerated Bond after Mr. Hatley had agreed to clear out his vessel, the Non-Enumerated Goods being all on board, & that only on the very day before the Ship Ann was seized. Let this be_Hatley evasively deposes above that Captain Maitland more guarded executed the nonenumerated Bond some time before his Vessel cleared out, and then Concludes with another Evasion, "

4.1.6 Ship Magna Charta & Phillippa (2)

Maiden Voyage: March-Sept 1771

What was the Polly & Nancy, Maitland, from S. Carolina at Gravesend, 3/3/1772?? Was this Richard’s son Charles??

P490 Westminster, 5th October 1772 -- I should have told you Mr. Hawkins will Ship your several articles per Magna Charta & I hope the bounty on Leather will nearly pay Charges; Insurance excepted, on which you are silent. Mr. Grubb moved often for that employment but I did not think it would be pleasing to you nor would it have been generous.

also some seeds for HL.

Jan 1774-June 1774

Several letters about price of rice and freight this period. Implication that the “freight” was the value of the landed rice.

A number of Laurens letters were carried on this voyage, some making confirmatory remarks about departure and arrivals.

Aug 1774 – Sept 1774

Late 1774: A long set of letters about Richard Grubb in HL, including his death.

20th September 1774, letter from HL to JL and the Tea Party.

Henry Laurens papers Vol 9 finish here 12/12/1774, and the direct commercial connection with the Laurens’s and Richard Maitland, although James held onto his share for a little longer.

A long set of correspondence in the HL papers about the problems between Maitland & Laurens appears here.

Phillippa, formerly Magna Charta:

Letters from James Laurens in England June 1777 refer to Richard Maitland & letters of marquee. This requires more reading!

HCA 26/60 (P112): Letters of Marque
2^nd May 1777
Appeared personally Richard Maitland of Broad Street in the parish of St George in the county of Middlesex mariner
and produced a Warrant from the right hon’ble the Lords Comm’r for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland &c for the granting of a Commission to him the said Rich’d Maitland and in pursuance of his Majesty’s Instruction mage the following Declaration to wit that his the said Rich’d Maitland’s Ship called the Philippa being Gally built with a Figure Head has three masts, that the said ship in employed is Trade, that she goes in Ballast to Cadiz and there takes in a Cargo of Wines – Salt and other Goods for the use of his Majesty’s Army and Navy at New York – that the said ship is of the burthen of two hundred and sixty tons, that the said Rich’d Maitland goeth Commander of her, that she carries fourteen carriage guns carrying shot of four pounds weight no cahorns and six swivel guns thirty five men, twenty stands of small arms, twenty cutlasses, fifteen barrels of powder – thirty rounds of shot and about two hundred weight of small shot, that the said ship is victualled for eight months, has two shuits of sails five anchors three cables and about one thousand Weight of Spare cordage, that George Beverage goes Mate or Lieutenant John Knox Gunner James Thompson Boatswain James Atchison Carpenter John Thompson Cook and Andrew Johnson Surgeon of the said Ship, that the said ship is belonging to the Port of London and that she is bound on a voyage to Cadiz and thence to New York and the West Indies and back to London.
and that James Bourdieu and Samuel Chollet, David Chollet John Nutt merchants of London and the said Richard Maitland are the owners and setters out of the said ship.
Richd Maitland

On the same day This decl was made before me And Collee Ducaret Surrogate

The like Commission as is enterd for 18 was granted to Richard Maitland to set forth the Philippa, of the Burthen 260 Tons, belonging to the Port of London, & whereof he the said Richard Maitland goeth Commr
Dated 2^nd May 1777 and in the 17^th Year of his Majesty’s Reign.

A ship, the Philippa Harbin was also granted Letter of Marque 24^th January 1778, but this was not the same vessel[122]. She appears in Lloyd’s list between England and Barbados.

The (Tagus) “Atlantic”

This ship “Atlantic” cannot have been the Maitland version: John Maitland was in Jamaica at this time from Lloyd’s Lists.
She is probably the Atlantic listed in the Register as being of 200 tons owned by J Mather.
LL: Atlantic, Borg, arrived Dover from Lisbon, 23/4/1776.

PRO:
Item details SP 89/81: Sir John Hort to Viscount Weymouth. Manslaughter of a sailor by the mate of the British ship Atlantic in the Tagus, and steps he has taken in this case. The complaints against the Portuguese brokers, and British seamen imprisoned for seven years without trial, are still unresolved. Spanish naval and military preparations at Cadiz; Ferrol, and elsewhere.
dates 1776 Mar. 9 Lisbon

                       St James 2 April 1776
Sir John Hort
Sir,
Your letter to No 1 of this year have been received and laid before the King.
Proper attention shall be paid to the account you have given of the unfortunate Scuffle on board the British Ship Atlantic, Thoms Borg, Master, between Alex Kidd, the Chief Mate, and Robert Jackson, one of the sailors, in which Jackson, by a Blow, or a Jostle of the other was thrown into the Tagus, and was drowned. Notice will be given at the different Ports, that, on the arrival of the Vessel the person of Kidd may be secured, that he may be tried for this offence.
You will please to acquaint me, for his Majesty's Information, what circumstances prevent the Affair of this British Seaman, who has been seven years in Prison, from being concluded in order that such steps may be taken as may procure their trial or their release.

PRO:
Item details SP 89/82: Affidavit of Thos. Boog and others of the British ship Atlantic, relative to death of Robert Jackson after a scuffle with the mate, Alexander Kidd. 1776 Mar. 2 Lisbon.

No5                               Lisbon the 23 May 1776
My Lord,
     I acknowledged by the last packet the honour of your Lordships letters of the 23 & 26^th past.
     We since learn by the Clementine Cat Brown from Philadelphia, that they left in Delaware bay two French armed ships frigate built and three merchant ships of the same nation, all laden with military stores: As this vessel has had a long passage and is several days arrived here, the news she brings will probably have been received in London before this reaches your Lordship; I mention it however, because the armed ships are talked of here as frigates, but thought they are indeed said to be very stout vessels, I am assured they are absolutely private property: I know not with what propriety I signify to your Lordship, that having
Lord Viscount Weymouth
P2:
in private conversation on this news, with the French ambassador at this court, hinted my wonder at the impolicy of his masters furnishing succours to the Americas, he assured me very solemnly, that though he would not answer for the boldness of private adventurers, tempted by most advantageous offers of barter, yet he was perfectly persuaded that the present French administration were honestly and thoroughly sensible, that France was interested against the success of the Rebels, and would neither directly nor indirectly give them any assistance.
     Within these two days I have seen two English gentlemen just arrived after a short passage from Philadelphia. They ventured to assert, that the Southern colonies as far as New York inclusively, are generally disposed to return to their duty, on what the stile reasonable terms: that the Northern settlements are generally enough understood to mean independence: but would assuredly be abandoned by the others, if equitable conditions were held out by Great Britain; Entering into particulars, these gentlemen said they had been over the greater part of Pennsylvania and discoursed repeatedly and freely with eight of ten particular members of the congress, whose uniform capital article was redress in the matter of taxation, but on my inquiry whether these particular member had annexed any explicit sense to their idea of redress, on that head: the answer was, what your Lordship has doubtless heard a thousand times, that they agreed on the fitness of their contributions to the supplies of the state, but tat unless each colony were permitted to ascertain its own quota, they were not constitutionally Englishmen: In the mean time they say that hardly a boy of sixteen years old is unarmed, through all that province.
    Having signified to Mr Walpole your Lordships mention to one of the dispositions in the affair of Alexander Kidd; he has put into my hands and I have the honour of forwarding them to your Lordship with this letter.
    I also enclose and affidavit made before the British vice consul in this city, by William Darby and George Jay, two gentlemen on board the merchant ship Turkey frigate, George Jenkins master: these men, not as I understand any others of the crew, were ever upon by their captain to sign their contract for wages; this neglect has been the occasion of many vexatious contests both in the present occasion and in many other cases, I have therefore thought it necessary to lay before your Lordship, in order to prosecution for the penalty of £5 per seaman; which by the Statute 2: George 2, C 36; is forfeited to the use of Greenwich hospital.
          I have the honour to be
                 My Lord
                    your Lordships most humble
                       & obedient servant,
                                John Nort.

Excise Men

This part is included as part of the research into who Richard Maitland might have been; a John Maitland was born of a Richard Maitland in Aberdeenshire, and Richard being quoted as an excise man. It looks, however very unlikely that this family had any close relationship with ours.
National Archives:
The Excise Board Minute Books in CUST 47, covering 1695 to 1867, can be used to find appointments and postings of Excise men. There are also Excise Entry Papers in CUST 116, covering 1820 to 1870; these have an alphabetical card index in the Open Reading Room. The Entry Papers contain pairs of letters folded together. One letter is a recommendation for appointment, giving details of name, age, place of birth, marital status and a character reference. The other letter is from the excise officer responsible for training of the new recruit, giving details of their abilities. Irish Excise records can be found in CUST 110 and CUST 119.

Pay lists for Excise men in England and Wales can be found in T 44, covering 1705 to 1835. Lists for Scotland are in T 45, covering 1708 to 1832.

Cust 47 Index between 9/1/1721 (vol 100) and 16/4/1739 (vol 170), contained no references to any Richard Maitland – judging from the number of officers, this probably covers England rather than Scotland. Some names reoccurred a number of times, showing that the individuals were moved around not infrequently.

T45/1:
North Britain. Ann Account of the Officers and Employments under the Commissioners of Excise in Scotland existing on 24 June 1708, being the Termination of the first year of their management with the Number of Officers employed at that time and their respective salaries as ordered by the Votes of the Honble House of Commons of 15^th February 1779.
Officers within the Office (inter alia):
John Maitland, examiner of the Country Officers Excise Books (one of 4)
Original Salary £40 pa, Present salary £40, joined 25 March 1709.
Richard Maitland does not appear in the lists at £35 pa, but they appear to be as at 1708, probably before his time.

The original establishment had 260 gaugers.

T45/3, “establishment of officers for North Britain for salt duty” had no relevance.

T45/4: 1733 piece 9B
Richard Maitland, gauger, 335, Aberdeen collection, 24 February 1732-3

Richard & John Maitland, other Parish Records

Scottish OPR’s:

This is a christening that would have fitted John & Richard’s death dates:

1. Banff Nov 7 (1735):
John lawful son of Richard Maitland Excise Officer was baptized Nov 9^th Wit: John Ogilvie, Colln John Maitland, Ogilvie Sheriff John Ru??, John Gordon, John Nobb?, John Cruikshank, John Monro and John Duffus Mort?

The witness Colonel John Maitland was probably a son of the 5^th earl of Lauderdale, and brother of Charles, 6^th Earl. This leads to the question of who this Richard was – he must have been closely connected to the Colonel’s family. According to Scots Peerage, this John, a Colonel in the Guards, had 2 uncles, Thomas & Alexander, both of whose succession is unclear in SP – could Richard Maitland have been one of these?? Maybe Richard was an illegitimate son of one of the sons of the 3^rd Earl; they seemed to have married rather late in life!

This church seems to have been of some social consequence at the time – the entry above had Lord Bracco as a witness – he became Earl of Fife.

There was a Richard Maitland, born Dundee, 1675, son of John Maitland, collector of Excise in Dundee, of the line of Sir ROBERT MAITLAND – Burd-Alane. The descendants of this Richard Maitland are probably not complete in the Clan Tree. They were of the Pittrichie branch as referred to by Boddington.

This second alternative looks unlikely as our Richard Maitland was in Shadwell by 1740, and does looks too humble for the sort of man Richard Maitland seems to have been.
2. Jan 8^th (1740) Richard Maitland in Cowbridgdale had a child baptized named John before witnesses Robert Maitland and FFr Sinclair both in Cowbridge
On same page:
Decr 18 (1739) John Maitland in Oyne had a daughter baptized Beatrix before witnesses John Harper and Jas Anderson both in Kirktown
Apr 1^st (1740) The said day Francis Sinclair in Cowbridge had a child baptized named Hugh witnesses Robert Maitland and Wm Milne in Cowbridgdale
Oyne to the North East of Aberdeen.
Also Agnes Maitland of Richard at Oyne, 10/2/1738. Richard Maitland of Parkbras
Also Robert Maitland in Milne of Woothace?? had Helen 10/9/1738

London Land Tax Records, 1692-1932

Richard Maitland
Shadwell, RM as tenant:
Capt:
1751 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-5-6d, Personal £0-3-9. SW
1751 Rent £8-10, Tax £0-17-0d, Personal £0-2-6. SW
1760 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-12-7d. SW
1761 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-14-0d, Personal £0-5-0. SW
1762 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-11-10½d, Personal £0-5-0. SW

Not Capt, but still Shadwell!
1763 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-11-2d, Personal £0-5-0d. SW
1764 Rent £8-10, Tax £1-14-0d, Personal £0-5-0d. SW
1765 Rent £9, Tax £1-14-6d Personal Est 0-5, Shakespear’s Walk
1766 Rent £9, tax £1-13-9d Shakespear’s Walk
1768 Rent £9, Tax £1-6-3d SW
1769 Rent £9, Tax £1-6-3d SW
1770 Rent £9, Tax £1-4-0d SW
1771 Rent £9, Tax £1-12-3d SW
1772 Rent £9, Tax £1-4-9d SW

Shakespear’s Walk was the site of a Rope Walk established by one John Shakespear in 1642.

6 RICHARD MAITLAND GUNPOWDER PLOT 1775

A letter from Charlestown, South Carolina, dated July 22, says, "The Georgia post this day informs us, our people have extorted from the ship Magna Charta, Maitland, all her gunpowder, arms ammunition, etc, which is no small quantity, I assure you; they were sent to Georgia for the use of our domestic enemies"^NA

Philadelphia, July 20. Capt Maitland, from London, arrived lately at Georgia, and had on board 13000 weight of powder; the inhabitants boarded her, and took all the powder into their possession^NA.

By the Charles Town mail there is advice, that the provincials had seized seven tons of gunpowder, that was landing from on board Capt Loftus's ship, at St Augustine. Capt. Loftus was freighted by the government to carry stores to the above place, and when at anchor off the Bar, where large vessels usually deliver part of their cargos, in order to lighten them that they may go over safe, she was attacked by some armed boats from Beaufort, Port Royal and other towns in Carolina, that seized 140 barrels out of 500 that the vessel had in all on board, and made the best of their way to Beaufort, before the assistance from St Augustine [Florida] could come up with them, The ship afterwards proceeded to deliver the remainder of her cargo, as the gunpowder was what the armed boats came after, This is the second ship that has been attacked, and had her powder taken by these armed boats, viz. Capt Maitland, bound for Georgia and this vessel^NA.

The following is a good summary of the affair; much of the references are ones I had seen (from Jstor, 5/2022):

6.1.1 The Philippa Affair

By Sheldon S. Cohen [ii]

THE hostilities of the American Revolution included many seemingly minor events which played key roles in later patriot triumphs. In July 1775, less than three months after the Lexington and Concord skirmishes, one of the earliest yet most influential of these events took place in Savannah, Georgia.

The roots of this incident lay in the shipyards of South Carolina, where over three hundred vessels were built during the colonial period. Before 1760 these ships were almost exclusively small schooners, averaging about twenty tons each. Between 1760 and 1774, however, several of the colony's prominent merchants began recruiting skilled European artisans to construct bigger ocean-going vessels[iii]. Seventeen of these ships were built, launched, and registered in South Carolina, many of them specifically intended for trade between Charleston and Great Britain[iv].

Construction of one of these ocean-going vessels was begun during the spring of 1770 at Manson and Begbie’s shipyard in Hobcaw, South Carolina. Her investors and owners included Henry Laurens and his brother James, who were among the province's most prestigious merchant-planters; Thomas Loughton Smith and Roger Smith, prominent Charleston traders; James Boudreaux and John Grubb, London merchants with long-standing commercial ties in the Carolinas; and Captain Richard Maitland, an experienced English mariner with considerable business ties on both sides of the Atlantic.[v] Captain Maitland was engaged to remain in the colony and supervise the construction of the ship, which was launched on November 23, 1770. She was a splendid two-hundred-ton square-rigged ship, “as complete a vessel, and as elegantly decorated, as any that has been built in this Province,” according to the South Carolina Gazette. With apparent contemporary political connotations, she was christened Magna Charta in a naming ceremony that reportedly took place “amidst a very numerous company of Ladies and Gentlemen, who pur took of a cold Entertainment, and afterwards had a Ball”[vi]

Captain Maitland registered Magna Charta in Charleston on December 29, 1770. Because of a delay in the arrival of ship’s stores from England, however, the new vessel did not sail on her maiden voyage to London until the following March. Her cargo reflected South Carolina’s varied produce: “948 tierces (casks) of rice, 110 casks of indigo, besides deerskins and sundry other articles." Captain Maitland also was entrusted with delivering documents to various Englishmen involved in mercantile trade or in governmental positions. The initial Atlantic voyage of Magna Charta apparently proceeded smoothly; the ship arrived in London by the summer of 1771 and, on September 20, 1771, sailed on her return voyage to the Carolinas[vii].

These largely routine and perhaps tedious Carolina to London trading voyages marked Magna Charta activities for three years after her initial cruise. She was one of several vessels owned jointly by English and colonial entrepreneurs that plied the Carolina trade route. Rice was the principal export from South Carolina, although indigo, deerskins, and some naval stores also were listed on the ships’ manifests. From England they brought a variety of products including clothing, shoes, agricultural equipment, alcohol, and household items.[viii] After one trip, Sarah Minor, a cousin of Henry Laurens, noted her pleasure in receiving via Magna Charta “Fashionable Millinery articles and a great variety of Toys.” In August 1772, Henry Laurens, then residing in England, wrote his brother James that he was sending “the very best second Garden Engine to go upon wheels.” The ships also carried letters, books, newspapers, and occasionally passengers. Often the vessels did not proceed directly to South Carolina, but stopped off at ports in the Azores, the West Indies, Florida, or Georgia.[ix]

Political developments, however, brought an end to the placid commercial cruises of Magna Charta. In 1773, Parliament enacted the notorious Tea Act in order to aid the ailing East India Company. Colonial reaction came in the form of boycotts, threats, and the Boston Tea Party. In Charleston, the Sons of Liberty in early 1774 established a General Committee of Ninety-Nine designed to prevent importation of the offensive British tea. Under such ominous circumstances, Captain Maitland and Magna Charta set sail on her regular voyage from England in April 1774, carrying a cargo of “divers Goods, Wares and Merchandize” such as White Plains cloth, several dozen Cheshire cheeses, and “four casks of the finest bottled porter.” But besides these innocuous items, Captain Maitland also had on board two or three chests of East India tea consigned to two Charleston merchants.[x]

Magna Charta arrived in Charleston on June 26, 1774. When the tea was discovered on board ship, the General Committee demanded that Captain Maitland make no attempt to land this consignment. Committee members insisted, in fact, that he destroy all of it in their presence. Maitland claimed to have had no knowledge that the tea was part of his cargo. He promised the Charleston Committee that he would make no attempt to land the tea and that he would throw it overboard if its status could not be resolved. However, on July 19 Charles Pinckney, chairman of the General Committee, learned that the tea had not been destroyed but had been sequestered by the local collector of customs.[xi]

Almost immediately the wrath of Charleston’s patriots turned on Captain Maitland, and he was summoned before the General Committee. There the mariner admitted that he had failed to keep his promise, but he swore to burn the objectionable tea in their sight that very day. However, when Maitland again failed to fulfill his promise, the committee denounced his duplicity and sought an immediate boycott of his vessel. Worse yet for Magna Charta s master, the growing patriot resentment was soon “confirmed by the bells of the Great Church and the Dead peal rung to assemble the Mob.” Maitland himself barely escaped this menacing assemblage and sought refuge on HMS Glasgow, anchored in Charleston harbor. Her captain very wisely had his sailors cut Magna Charta from her dockside mooring and bring her to a safer anchorage in the outer harbor. Maitland remained in his sanctuary for a fortnight and then sailed toward England’s more hospitable shores, arriving there on September 17, 1774.[xii]

By the first months of the next year, Magna Charta had undergone several changes. The first, involving the vessel’s ownership, had occurred even as Captain Maitland was preparing for his ill-fated voyage to Charleston in April 1774. Henry Laurens, writing to his brother James, had then noted that “Messrs. Boudrieu and Chollet” had made “an offer to buy or sell at the Rate of £ 1800” for the whole vessel, and “I have accepted at £ 225 for my 1/8 part.”[xiii] Other Magna Charta investors also sold their shares, so that by the time of Maitland’s return London’s Boudrieu and Chollet mercantile firm had acquired majority ownership of the vessel. The new masters, no doubt aware of Magna Charta’s recent notoriety, decided upon a new, more discreet ship’s name. Consequently, when the vessel began her next voyage to America, still under the command of Captain Maitland (who retained his shares), her registry title had become Philippa.[xiv]

The newly renamed Philippa was readied for her next voyage during March and April 1775. She sailed not only under new ownership but also with a different kind of cargo, as well as with a different initial destination. Instead of general merchandise, she carried six-and-a-half tons of gunpowder, plus assorted firearms, flintlocks, lead, and musket-balls. This cargo was destined not for Charleston but rather for British officials and merchants in the Floridas who were trading with the local Indian tribes. The Privy Council had banned the shipment of such arms and ammunition to regular colonial ports in October 1774, but the Floridas were excluded from this edict.[xv]

Philippa’s new voyage began inauspiciously as Captain Maitland guided his merchant craft past the Thames estuary at Deal in the first days of May 1775. But he was making for dangerous waters. Before reaching his ultimate destination in East Florida, Maitland sailed for Savannah. He arrived the first week in July, unaware either of the outbreak of fighting at Lexington and Concord in April or of the repercussions this fighting would have within the Georgia colony.[xvi]

Even before July 1775, Georgia residents had been cognizant of the fighting in New England, and the news had exacerbated old tensions within the province. The previous January, a Provincial Congress meeting in Savannah had voted to send to the Continental Congress three delegates who subsequently endorsed the economic sanctions in Congress’s Continental Association. Georgia’s royal governor, Sir James Wright, had responded by dissolving the colony’s legislature, but patriot defiance persisted. On May 1 1, following news of the northern fighting, a mob seized most of the gunpowder stored in Savannah’s public magazine.[xvii]

During the remaining days of May and June 1775, royal authority in Georgia continued to erode. On June 2, twenty- one cannons overlooking Savannah were spiked by rebels who then erected liberty poles and trees and openly “Paraded about Town.” On June 14, a meeting of Savannah’s Whigs recommended the appointment of delegates to a new provincial congress and voted to establish a local group to protect their rights and liberties. This body subsequently became known as Savannah’s Parochial Committee. On June 22, a sixteen-man Council of Safety was established in Savannah to maintain a correspondence with similar groups in other provinces as well as with further groups that might be established in any of Georgia’s parishes.[xviii]

Governor Wright was less and less able to prevent these moves and the increasing extralegal activities of patriot mobs. By the beginning of July 1775 Georgia was, in effect, under rebel rule. On July 4 delegates from all but two of the colony’s parishes gathered at Tondee’s Tavern in Savannah, constituted themselves the colony’s Second Provincial Congress, and unanimously elected prominent Whigs Archibald Bullock president and George Walton secretary. This Second Provincial Congress, like the first, supported the Continental Association; in addition, it elected five delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia and created a new, more broadly empowered Council of Safety to supervise executive functions during the periods of adjournment. Such was the situation as Georgians awaited further news and shipping arrivals.[xix]

Governor Wright was aware of the impending arrival and the nature of the cargo of certain ships. In a letter to Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of State for America, dated June 20, 1775, Wright had mentioned “3 Vessels being expected here from London and a Considerable quantity of Gun Powder being on board for the Indian Trade.” He added that “several boats of armed men from South Carolina,” whose purpose was either to seize these vessels or to capture John Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, had been seen in the vicinity. Wright claimed that many Georgia patriots had charged Stuart with promoting a plan to arm the Indians against them. The letter also intimated that the South Carolinians were still uncertain about an approximate time or place for the arrival of Maitland’s vessel and were awaiting more definite information.[xx]

The Georgia patriots evidently had furnished them the specifics of Philippa’s progress. According to the memoirs of William Drayton, leader of South Carolina’s Secret Committee of Correspondence, about the beginning of July “a certain patriot gentleman” in Georgia sent word of Maitland’s approach to Thomas Savage in Charleston. Savage, a prominent South Carolina merchant and slave trader, was a member of that colony’s Provincial Congress and was married to a Georgian. His information galvanized the Carolina patriots into immediate action. The Secret Committee commissioned Captains John Barnwell and John Joyner, two congressional delegates from St. Helena’s Parish, to intercept the vessel and if possible to confiscate her cargo.[xxi]

The two Carolina delegates immediately assembled a force of about forty men from their parish and appropriated two barges in order to transport the men down the coast to Bloody Point on the southern tip of Daufuskie Island. Here, opposite Tybee Island Lighthouse, the Carolinians had an excellent view of the entrance to the Savannah River.[xxii]

Throughout this operation, Georgia’s Provincial Congress was acting to provide the Carolinians joint support. Their main concern was an armed British schooner patrolling the waters near Tybee Island. Since this schooner could easily thwart any attempt by the Carolina barges to intercept Philippa, the need to commission and arm a countering vessel was quite evident. Consequently, Elizabeth, a trading schooner owned by Savannah merchants Samuel Price and Richard Wright, was appropriated by order of the Congress and fitted with ten cannon plus smaller armaments. In effect the first ship of the Georgia state navy, Elizabeth was commissioned under her new name, Liberty, and placed under the command of Joseph Habersham and Oliver Bowen, two delegates to the Provincial Congress. Under her new command, Liberty slipped with a crew of nearly fifty down the Savannah River prepared to challenge the British schooner. Her royalist commander, Captain Grant, realizing that he was both outmanned and outgunned, quickly and discreetly sailed away to safer waters.[xxiii]

Philippa, unadvised of this loss of an armed protector and of the hostile forces gathered to intercept her, reached sight of land off Tybee Bar on July 7, 1775. Governor Wright knew of the patriot forces, however, and mentioned their presence in a letter to Lord Dartmouth on July 8. Yet this same letter reveals that the governor was unaware of Philippa s presence at Tybee and consequently was unable to send a warning to the ship. So it was that an unsuspecting Captain Maitland was at anchor on Monday morning, July 8, awaiting a pilot from Tybee Island to guide his ship up the twisting Savannah River.[xxiv]

The events of that early summer day were subsequently recorded by several eyewitnesses, but the most accurate and complete were those transcribed by the crew of Philippa. Samuel Burnett, the ship’s chief mate, and Richard Scriven, her steward, later gave individual accounts to royal officials in England; the most detailed description, however, was offered by Captain Maitland and countersigned by some of his crew in a sworn deposition to a Georgia magistrate on September 21, 1775. This deposition, summarized here, gives the following account of the day’s events:

The crew of Philippa, at anchor off Tybee Bar and waiting for a pilot to guide them up the Savannah River, perceived a strange schooner watching them from three or four miles out to sea. The pilot came aboard at 10:00 A.M., and by 1:00 P.M. Philippa got underway. But as she sailed around Tybee Bar the schooner closed in on her; its guns and its heavily armed crew became clearer and clearer as it approached.

On Maitland’s inquiry, the schooner’s captain, Oliver Bowen, announced that Philippa "belonged to Savannah’’ and that he and his crew intended to pilot the craft themselves. This they did, giving the "official" pilot directions and raising a red-bordered white flag imprinted with the words "American Liberty." They guided Philippa not to Savannah, however, but to anchorage at Cockspur Island.

Once anchored, the ship was immediately surrounded by boatloads of armed men who appeared to have been encamped on the island and on nearby Tybee Point. Bowen, in company with several other men, boarded Philippa and demanded to see the dockets and bills of lading for her cargo. They announced that they would take all firearms, gunpowder, shot, and lead and produced an order from the Georgia Provincial Congress directing them to do so.

Maitland answered that he would deliver these goods only to their rightful buyers, unless the buyers themselves authorized him to do otherwise. But the insurgents took, by Maitland’s testimony, “about six tons and a half’ of gunpowder, “seven hundred weight of lead bullets,” and all the lead shot and guns aboard the ship.[xxv] The depositions made by junior officers Samuel Burnett and Richard Scriven, otherwise similar to Maitland's, differ at this point. Burnett and Scriven reported that not all of Philippa s cargo was removed by the patriots. All the gunpowder had been taken and transferred to Liberty, but this smaller ship had been unable to carry much of Philippa’s remaining manifest. Consequently, as Scriven and Burnett noted, most of the rnusket-balls, lead, and firearms were still on board Philippa when she was ordered to Cockspur Island, a small marshy location two miles upriver from Tybee Lighthouse. Maitland, meanwhile, left the ship while the gunpowder was being removed and travelled to nearby Savannah to seek Governor Wright’s assistance.[xxvi]

The governor, no doubt sympathetic to the plight of Philippa’s master, was powerless to help. On July 10, Wright relayed to Lord Dartmouth Maitland’s message that all the gunpowder “is now in the hands of the Liberty people here who forcibly hold it against the owners.” He added that Maitland intended “to make a protest against them [the Provincial Congress], which if done before the vessel (by which this is to go) sails, I shall send your Lordships a copy of it for your more particular information.”[xxvii] But this was all Philippa’s captain could expect from Georgia’s royal governor. As Wright noted in the same letter, his own incoming mail from England was regularly being opened and read by patriot committees, and his outgoing correspondence was likewise being scrutinized. Consequently, he again requested recall to England, since “I begin to think a King’s governor has little or no business here.” Captain Maitland had no other recourse but to take Governor Wright’s letter back to his ship and await the next patriot move.[xxviii]

The patriot response came quickly. Philippa still carried a considerable quantity of firearms, lead, and musket-balls. Aware of the worth of these items and concerned that Maitland might attempt an escape, Georgia’s patriot leaders ordered that the ship be brought forthwith to Savannah and placed under the control of the Parochial Committee.[xxix]

On July 12, 1775, Savannah’s Parochial Committee acted to comply with its orders. Although the deposition submitted by Maitland and some of his crewmen the following September did not cite this day’s events, they were specifically noted in the subsequent accounts of crewmen Burnett and Scriven. Chief mate Burnett’s account reads as follows:

And this deponent further saith that on the twelfth day of July aforesaid, Orders were received ... to bring the said ship up to Savanna [sic]... . And that on her arrival there three persons came on board the said Ship (whereas a person who calls himself Ebenezer Smith Platt was one) who then declared that they were sent by the said Committee at Savannah to see that the said Musket Balls and small Arms were not landed according to the Bills of Lading signed by the said Richard Maitland in England, but to take the same into their Possession. ... And this Deponent further saith that the said Richard Maitland and his Officers and Seamen were obliged quietly to submit to whatever the said Ebenezer Smith Platt and the other two persons ordered, and directed because . . . from the time the said Ship was so seized until the Time this Deponent left the said Colony of Georgia, the Course of Public Justice was totally obstructed and his Majesty’s Governor . . . deprived of all power and Authority which was usurped by the said Provincial Congress or Committee.[xxx]

Ebenezer Smith Platt, also mentioned in the testimonies of Captain Maitland and Richard Scriven, was the twenty-two- year-old secretary of Savannah’s Parochial Committee. He was not a native of Georgia and in fact had arrived in the colony from New York only the previous March. Soon after his arrival he had become active in mercantile and patriot activities. His popularity was such that by June 1775 he was elected to the Parochial Committee. Consequently, the following month he was selected as one of the group to confiscate the remainder of Philippa s cargo. Later, Platt claimed that his committee had acted under instructions from Georgia’s Provincial Congress to save the remaining cargo from the mob, that Captain Maitland had approved of the removal, but that in fact during Platt’s time on board Philippa “no part of her cargo was landed save five horses for Governor Campbell of South Carolina.” (The fact that Platt made these declarations in 1777 in London’s Newgate Prison while awaiting trial on treason charges lends little credence to the accuracy of his description.)[xxxi]

The truth was that musket-balls, firearms, and lead were all taken from Philippa on July 12, 1775 and stored in Savannah’s powder-house. Undoubtedly, these developments further frustrated Captain Maitland, who along with Boudrieu and Chollet had financial investments in the ship’s manifest. It was useless to appeal to the patriots to return the arms and ammunition to him; while his ship lay under guard at the town docks, Maitland’s only option was to return once more to Governor Wright’s residence. The governor was still unable to do more than commiserate with him.[xxxii]

Maitland did look elsewhere for help, however, as the summer wore on. On July 28, he wrote to his former employer Henry Laurens in Charleston: “I am at a great loss what to do with my ship.” Realizing Laurens’s prominence and influential

patriot status, he added “I would beg of You Sir, a few lines by way of advice for the future Destination of my Ship, Your opinion I should greatly depend on.” However, only Savannah’s Parochial Committee could grant permission for any ship to leave the port. As Governor Wright noted on August 17, “fresh insults continue to be offered every day by them” to local British officials, and there were no signs of a royal naval force coming to their rescue. Maitland, aware of all this, nonetheless on September 8 petitioned Anthony Stokes, Georgia’s chief justice, for relief without having to “issue any warrant in this case."[xxxiii]

By autumn, however, the patriots had little reason to restrain Philippa or its crew any further. The vessel’s valuable cargo had already been removed and there was little advantage in pressing the ship herself into colony service. Also Maitland, who submitted yet another judicial deposition for redress (on September 21), appeared to be gaining local sympathy. The day after this deposition was submitted, John Wood, James Douglass, and William McCredie, all of Savannah, lodged supporting affidavits on his behalf with the colony’s chief justice. The Parochial Committee thus relented, and during the autumn of 1775 permitted Philippa to sail from Savannah harbor.[xxxiv]

Captain Maitland evidently made first for St. Augustine, where his consignees were waiting in vain for their arms and ammunition. From there he sailed with a different and less controversial cargo for the West Indies.[xxxv]

Meanwhile, Philippa’s original cargo had been distributed among her captors. Of the two colonies involved, Georgia's patriots retained over eight thousand pounds of the gunpowder. Almost two thousand pounds were sent to the "Indian Country” by the Provincial Congress, with the stipulation that the powder be a present to the natives, “not from the King or from the [royal] Government or the Traders, but from the People

of the Province.” The remainder of the colony’s share was left under guard in Savannah’s powder house.[xxxvi]

South Carolinians were eager for their share of Philippa’s manifest, but they received only 5,212 pounds of the gunpowder, six kegs of lead, and a small share of the firearms. The Carolina portion was transported to Charleston by John Joyner, and on July 17 it was placed under the control of the province’s Council of Safety.[xxxvii]

Not all the cargo remained in the southern colonies, though. Since the Continental Congress had already informed patriot organizations throughout America of the Continental Army’s dire need for arms and ammunition, South Carolina’s Council of Safety had ordered members William Drayton and Miles Brewton to Georgia immediately following word of Philippa’s capture. The two representatives easily persuaded Georgia’s Provincial Congress to grant them five thousand pounds of the gunpowder, plus one small cannon. These items were forthwith loaded on Drayton and Brewton’s brigantine under the command of James Dogherty (Doherty) and transported to Charleston. On July 19, South Carolina’s Council of Safety noted her imminent arrival and ordered council member Joseph Verrie to meet her, taking care “to prevent Loss or Damage to the Gunpowder by Fire or Otherwise.” But the council also noted that its supervision was to last only for a short time. Upon her arrival in Charleston, Dogherty’s brigantine sailed south to Tucker’s Island where, under the supervision of Verrie and Dogherty, her cargo was transferred to Polly, a trading schooner from Philadelphia. Polly, captained by Joseph Campbell, sailed on July 21, 1775 to Pennsylvania with her new manifest.[xxxviii]

The two-and-a-half tons of gunpowder were trans-shipped to Philadelphia and then sent to the Continental Army—an immeasurable asset to General Washington’s underequipped forces. Supplies had posed a serious problem since Washington had assumed command of the army in mid-June 1775. By the beginning of August the general learned that his troops besieging Boston had only thirty-six barrels of gunpowder on hand, or nine rounds per soldier. Under such circumstances, a concerted British attack would overwhelm his inexperienced forces. Thus, it must have been with considerable relief that he wrote on August 4, “I am very glad to hear of the acquisition of Powder in So. Carolina.”[xxxix] Sixteen days later this “very seasonable supply” reached the Continental Army. Even though some shortage of guns and ammunition persisted, this gunpowder played a decisive role in the continued successful envelopment of Boston. Therefore, on March 17, 1776, when the British forces admitted defeat and evacuated Boston, the American triumph could be traced in considerable measure to Philippa’s confiscated cargo.[xl]

None of the principal protagonists during Philippa's seizure were present at the subsequent siege of Boston, though they all continued to play distinctive roles in the American Revolution. The wartime activities of patriots such as Henry Laurens, William Brayton, George Walton, and Joseph Habersham have been prominently recorded. As for some of the less publicized careers, Captains John Barnwell and John Joyner continued as members of South Carolina’s Provincial Congress (afterwards the state legislature) during the early part of the Revolution. Barnwell served as an officer at the fall of Charleston in May 1780 and, after his release from British internment, was appointed brigadier general in the South Carolina militia. Joyner’s active duty was as an officer and later commander on the frigate South Carolina until her capture in December 1782. Oliver Bowen in Georgia also participated in maritime service and became commodore and commander of his state’s infant naval forces. In November 1778, however. Commodore Bowen was removed from his position following his role in an unsuccessful campaign against British posts in East Florida.[xli]

As for British participants in the Philippa affair, Governor Wright’s later activities have been repeatedly recounted. But the subsequent career of Captain Richard Maitland has been conspicuously ignored. Maitland sailed for Jamaica after leaving Savannah, and from there he returned to England in 1776. According to an affidavit filed on March 25, 1784 by his wife Sarah to the Loyalist Claims Commission, her husband was so distraught from the treatment and the financial losses he sustained in Georgia that his “health declined daily.” Later, however, Maitland did return to America to command a ship involved in transporting British troops in New York. He died in New York City in 1779, one year before the last listing of Philippa in Lloyd's Register of Shipping, but there is no evidence to substantiate his wife’s claim that his death was from a “broken Heart because of the loss of his property in America.”[xlii]

The story of Philippa's seizure has been noted by historians contemporary to the Revolutionary period such as David Ramsay and Hugh McCall. It also has been cited by the nineteenth- century southern historians Charles Jones and William Stevens and by such twentieth-century historians as E. M. Coulter and Kenneth Coleman.[xliii] In all their accounts, however, the coverage of this affair has been limited. The seizure of Philippa did have a very influential effect on one American Revolutionary victory. The story of its seizure also reveals the role that chance plays in history—the ironic accident that Captain Maitland’s ship should sail from London at precisely the wrong time for her own safety, stop first at Savannah rather than at St. Augustine, and thus help to prevent the British forces in Boston from scattering the Continental Army in its infancy. For these two reasons alone, the Philippa episode deserves a detailed recounting.

See Henry Laurens papers for:

P856, Sir James Wright, Governor of Georgia to Lord Dartmouth¹

DOCUMENTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

1770-1783 (Colonial Office Series)

Volume XI TRANSCRIPTS

1775 July-December

Edited by K. G. DAVIES July 1775 P43

(Extract)

I wrote your lordship in my letter No. 51 that our inlet was guarded by boats with many armed men from Carolina; since which several have gone down there from Savannah, all waiting the arrival of a ship expected from London with gunpowder, it is said to seize upon the gunpowder, those from Carolina to take the gunpowder out belonging to the inhabitants of their province and those from hence to take out the powder belonging to the inhabitants of this province, at least this is what is given out. And Captain Grant in His Majesty's armed schooner having called in here, the Liberty gentlemen have fitted out a schooner, some say with 8 and some with 10 ]carriage-guns, many swivels and 50 men. Captain Grant is sailed and no vessel sent here yet by Admiral Graves. And when in Council, on the 4 inst., Mr Bailey the commissary (in whose charge the guns etc. belonging to His Majesty are) came there and informed me that a great many people were taking and carrying away some of the guns, carriages, shot, for the particulars of which I beg leave to refer to the enclosed copies of affidavits and to the enclosed extract of the minute of Council relative thereto.

And, my lord, I have just been informed that Sir Barnard Elliott (a captain in the troops raising by South Carolina) is in the back parts of this province enlisting men without having made the least application to me or taking any notice at all. Am also informed that the Committee in Charleston or Council of Safety (as they call themselves), it is not certain which, have appointed three persons as superintendents or managers of the Indian affairs in the Creek country and also three to manage the Indian affairs in the Cherokee country, which matters I also laid before the Council, and your lordship will see their opinions and advice by the enclosed extract of the minutes. And thus your lordship sees that the powers of government are wrested out of my hands, that law and government are nearly if not quite annihilated, and a mere nominal governor can be of little use and to me a most disagreeable situation, and it's not in my power to support either any longer. The principal reasons of this great and sudden change and falling off I gave your lordship in the above letters referred to. And your lordship will best judge what is necessary or proper to be done. My lord, pardon me but the more I think of the present state of affairs between Great Britain and the colonies, the more I am convinced of the propriety of what I mentioned in my letter of the 24 of August, No. 26 [Vol. VIII, No. XC).

The Provincial Congress is now sitting here and yesterday I received the enclosed application from them, to which your lordship will see my answer [Vol. X, No. 51 v], and had I not done so I presume they would (as in other provinces) have appointed one themselves. I am informed delegates are chosen to proceed immediately to Philadelphia and that our ports and courts are to be shut up, which I believe although I cannot positively assert it as nothing is yet published or made public. Signed. [C.O.5/664, fo. 146]

July 1775

XIV

Governor Sir James Wright to Earl of Dartmouth (No. 53) 10 July, Savannah

My Lord, since writing my last of the 8th inst, [above, No. XIII] Captain Maitland arrived. The warlike schooner fitted out as mentioned before went to sea and met with the ship about 4 leagues from the bar, conducted her in, and then took out all the gunpowder on board amounting to about six tons as the captain tells me and which is now in the hands of the Liberty people here who forcibly hold it against the owners. The captain is going to make a protest against them, which if done before the vessel (by which this is to go) sails I shall send your lordship a copy of it for your more particular information. I am also to acquaint your lordship that the Sandwich packet arrived at Charleston on the second inst. when your lordship's letters and those from Mr Pownall, and indeed every letter directed to me both public and private, were seized upon and opened in Charleston, and on the evening of the 8th inst. I received them sealed up again by the deputy postmaster-general in Charleston and endorsed thus “Opened by the Committee of Inspection at Charleston”: G. Roupell.

I must also acquaint your lordship that a committee from the Provincial Congress now sitting here was sent to the post office who ordered the deputy postmaster here not to send me any of my letters, but after the Congress had deliberated on the matter a message was sent to the postmaster that he might deliver them and I accordingly received them after about an hour's detention. So that your lordship sees there is an end of all correspondence and I cannot attempt to send any answers to your lordship's letters in future from hence by the post to Charleston in order to go by the packet, for were I to do it they would certainly be intercepted. The letters now received from your lordship are only the original and duplicate of your lordship's circular letter of the 15th of April [Vol. VII, No. 1089] last signifying His Majesty's pleasure that the orders of the commander-in-chief of the King's forces in North America, and under him of the major-generals and brigadier-generals, shall be supreme in all cases relative to the operation of the said troops and be obeyed accordingly, which will certainly be duly observed by me.

It being impossible, my lord, for me to submit to these daily insults I must again request His Majesty will be graciously pleased to give me leave to return to England.

My lord, I cannot write with freedom or [I should] have several things to say. God grant conciliatory measures may take place and I conceive there is not an hour to be lost. The state of affairs will not admit of the least delay.

I am this moment informed that the Congress intend to raise 300 men. Mr Habersham is gone to Philadelphia for the recovery of his health and I begin to think a King's governor has little or no business here. Signed. [C.O.5/664, fo. 157]

P49

On the ]8_instant at night two gentlemen came here from Charleston, sent as I was informed by the Council of Safety there, and they have prevailed on the Congress to let them have 5000 weight of the gunpowder and which they carried away with them, and I am informed that some of the Liberty people here assisted in putting on board the vessel they came in a brass field-piece and carriage belonging to His Majesty. This I did not hear of till afterwards but if I had I could not have prevented it.

I understand the Congress have agreed to send 2000 weight of gunpowder into the Indian country as a present from the people and it is particularly agreed that the Indians be acquainted that it is not from the King or from government or from the Superintendent or from the traders but from the people of the province, and I am much afraid this will raise strange ideas amongst the Indians and be attended with very bad consequences. They have appointed here what they call a Council of Safety and very nearly followed the example of the Carolinians except as to raising an army. It was proposed to raise 350 men but after great debates that was carried in the negative; and this province having now joined with the others, I am well informed that the gentlemen who came from Carolina assured the Congress here that if they should on any account want assistance they should

P52

By accounts received last night from Georgia that province has joined the general Association and appointed delegates to the Continental Congress. This apostasy will answer their purpose extremely well as they are amply stocked with all kinds of European goods of which we already feel the want very much. Three armed schooners from Savannah boarded the Philippa, Captain Maitland, bound from London for that port and seized 15,000 lbs of gunpowder; to such a helpless state are we reduced here. As Sir James Wright dare not attempt to write I transmit a Georgia paper which contains some of the late transactions in that province [Vol. X, No. 98x]. I had intended to finish this letter and dispatch the packet tomorrow morning but am just informed the Committee means to determine the fate of the Crown officers tomorrow. I have therefore resolved to detain her a day or two longer.

P125

Information of Richard Maitland and Others¹

21 September, Georgia

The information of Richard Maitland, master of the ship Philippa belonging to the port of London but now lying in the River Savannah, of John Fullerton, first mate of the ship Philippa, and of Samuel Burnett, second mate of the said ship, taken on oath the twenty-first day of September, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, before Anthony Stokes, barrister-at-law, chief justice of the said province of Georgia.

The said deponents, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, severally make oath and say that in the months of March and April last the said ship Philippa was loaded with sundry goods in the River Thames for different persons in the provinces of Georgia and East Florida, amongst which goods were gunpowder, arms, and lead, shipped by licence from His Majesty or the officers acting under his authority.

That the said ship sailed from the Downs on the second day of May last and came to an anchor off Tybee bar about nine miles without Tybee Point on the coast of Georgia on the seventh day of July last past, and there waited for a pilot to carry the said ship into Savannah River.

And these deponents further say that as the said ship was lying at anchor off Tybee bar as aforesaid they, these deponents, saw a schooner coming out of Savannah River on the eighth day of July with an ensign and pendant hoisted, which schooner went out to sea as far or farther than where the said ship lay, which schooner kept hovering round the said ship but did not come nearer to the said ship in the forenoon of the said eighth day of July than three or four miles.

And these deponents further say that at ten of the clock in the forenoon of the said eighth day of July a pilot came on board the said ship, but the said ship did not get under way until between one and two of the clock in the afternoon of the said eighth of July for want of wind.

And these deponents further say that when the said ship got under way they stood out to the eastward in order to open the channel of Tybee bar,

1 Enclosed to Governor Sir James Wright's letter to Dartmouth, 23 September 1775, below, No. LXXXII.

126 September 1775

and when the said ship was about four leagues distant from the bar the said schooner stood right athwart the said ship; and then the said deponents perceived that the said schooner was full of armed men and had ten carriage-guns mounted which these deponents took to be six-pounders, and the said schooner had also several pieces cut out of her second streak under the quarter-deck which were for smallarms in close quarters.

And these deponents further say that about half an hour after four of the clock in the afternoon of the said eighth day of July, when the said ship and schooner were at sea about four leagues without Tybee Point, the said schooner fired two muskets at the said ship with an intention, as these deponents believe, to bring the said ship to; and the said people on board the said schooner seemed as if they intended to board the said ship but the said ship veering up large prevented the said schooner from boarding her as they believe. That the said schooner then bore up after the said ship and hailed her, and being satisfied what ship it was and where she was bound to, the deponent Richard Maitland asked the people on board the said schooner where she belonged to and who commanded her, to which one Oliver Bowen, a person on board the said schooner, answered that the said schooner belonged to Savannah and that he commanded her.

And these deponents further say that before the said deponent Richard Maitland hailed the said schooner the said Oliver Bowen said they would pilot the said ship into Savannah River and would answer the consequences, but the said deponent Richard Maitland told the said Oliver Bowen that he had a pilot on board. Notwithstanding which the said Oliver Bowen and others on board the said schooner continued to give the pilot on board the said ship directions what course to steer.

And these deponents further say that after the people on board the said schooner had spoke to the people on board the said ship, they the people on board the said schooner hauled down their pendant and hoisted at the masthead a white flag with a red border, on the field of which flag was stamped or imprinted in large red letters the words 'American Liberty', and the people on board the said schooner said the schooner's name was the Liberty and that Oliver Bowen commanded her as before is mentioned.

And these deponents further say that at seven of the clock in the evening of the said eighth day of July a calm and an ebb tide obliged the said ship to anchor about four or five miles without Tybcc Point, and that when the said ship anchored the schooner anchored also and lay close by the said ship all night and the people on board the said schooner kept centinels all night and frequently passed the words 'All's well'.

And these deponents further say that about five of the clock in the morning of the ninth day of July last, when the said ship weighed anchor, the said schooner weighed also and the said schooner kept close to the said ship until the said ship ran in within Tybee Point, and then the people on board the said schooner ordered the pilot on board the said ship to run the said ship to Cockspur Island and anchor her there although the said ship was bound to Savannah and would have proceeded there immediately had she not been stopped by the said schooner, the wind being then at east and a flood tide corning on.

And these deponents further say that they saw an encampment of armed men on Tybee Point and also on Cockspur Island, the number of whom in the whole appeared to be about three hundred, besides what were in the schooner, and that immediately on the said ship being anchored the greatest part of the armed men that were on shore came off in boats and surrounded the said ship; and then Oliver Bowen, who appeared to be captain of said schooner and who is a resident in the town of Savannah and a lieutenant in the militia as these deponents have heard and believe, together with John , Joyner of Parris Island near Beaufort in the province of South Carolina and \ Seth John Cuthbert of Savannah, together with several other persons not known to the deponents, came on board the said ship.

And the said Richard Maitland for his part saith that when the several persons last abovementioned were in the ship-cabin with this deponent they demanded the ship-papers, and the said deponent Richard Maitland not being in a condition to dispute matters with them, he produced the dockets and bills of lading of the several goods on board the said ship. And when the said Bowen, Joiner and Cuthbert found that there were gunpowder and shot on board the ship, they told the deponent Richard Maitland that they would take all the gunpowder, shot, lead, and Indian trading arms, out of the said ship.

The said deponent Richard Maitland further saith that at that junction Joseph Habersham of Savannah, merchant, came on board the said ship and produced an order from the Provincial Congress of the province of Georgia signed on the left-hand side 'Geo. Walton Secretary', requiring them to take all the ammunition and arms out of the said ship wherever they found her or words to that effect. That the said Bowen and the other persons told the said deponent Richard Maitland that they had been looking out for the said ship three weeks. That the deponent Richard Maitland told them that the order from the Congress was nothing to him and that he could not deliver the goods until he had seen the proprietors and had their orders for so doing. That thereupon the said Bowen and the other persons said he might see whom he pleased; and immediately a great number of the said armed people out of the schooner and from on shore went to work and, against the will of the said Richard Maitland and his mariners, they the said armed men took out of the hold of the said ship about six tons and a half of gunpowder as nearly as this deponent can at present conjecture and about seven hundredweight of leaden bullets. And as the said ship was unloading her cargo several people by order of the Congress attended the unloading of the said ship and took away all the bar lead, sheet-lead, Indian trading arms, and shot, that were on board, but the particular quantity this deponent can't ascertain, not knowing the weight of the lead.

And the said deponent Richard Maitland further saith that he earnestly begged the said Oliver Bowen and the other persons who first came on board and took the gunpowder away by order of the Congress aforesaid to leave the gunpowder on board that was consigned to James Penman, merchant in Saint Augustine, but they answered 'If it was the King's they would take it.'

And the said Richard Maitland further saith that on their beginning to take the gunpowder away he immediately went to Savannah and acquainted his Excellency Sir James Wright therewith, who this deponent believes had it not in his power to take any measure or even enforce the laws.

And the said Richard Maitland further saith that he did not make any

application to the chief justice until the evening of the eighth of September instant from an apprehension that some injury might have been offered to his person or property, and also thinking from the circumstances of the times it is out of the power of the chief justice to bring the persons to justice; and the said deponent is rather confirmed in such his opinion from his having heard that when a man was lately remanded to the common gaol by the chief justice for enlisting men for the Carolina service, as it is called, a large number of people broke open the said gaol and released him, and for these reasons the said deponent Richard Maitland desires the chief justice will not issue any warrant in this case.

And the said deponent Richard Maitland further saith that in a conversation had with the said Joseph Habersham and others whom he knows not on the eleventh day of July last, the said persons who were in company with the said Joseph Habersham and this deponent at that time asked the said Joseph Habersham if he would surfer his name to be entered in a protest on the above occasion, to which the said Joseph Habersham replied *He wished he could see that man that dared to do it' or words to that effect; and from that and several other hints given to this deponent the protests are drawn in general terms and individuals are not mentioned in them, and the deponent is pretty sure that, had it not been with a view to get the powder bonds cancelled, it was more than his life was worth to have entered a protest or for a notary to have taken it from him, there being no civil or military power sufficient to protect him.

And the said Richard Maitland for his pan further saith that the schooner abovementioned belonged to one Samuel Price of Savannah (and one Richard Wright who was averse to the service she was on) but that the said Samuel Price was actually on board the said schooner and acted as pilot and master of her when she was on the above service; that the said schooner was originally called the Elizabeth and there were on board her at the time she was on the above service, besides the persons abovenamed, William Moore of Savannah, Charles Middleton of one of the southern parishes in the province, planter; and that the said deponents saw on Cockspur Island, among the armed men who were encamped as aforesaid, James Black of Beaufort in South Carolina, shipwright, and James Docharty, a lieutenant in John Barnwell's company of South Carolina provincials, and that the said John Barnwell, the captain, commanded at Tybee Point and the said Docharty at Cockspur Island, as this deponent has been informed and believes.

And lastly the said Richard Maitland for himself saith that some of the people that were on board the said schooner acknowledged to him that there were seventy men on board the said schooner besides the armed men on Tybee Point and Cockspur Island, but this deponent could not reckon more on board the said schooner than forty-five. Richard Maitland, John Fullerton, Samuel Burnett.

Sworn the day and year aforesaid before Anthony Stokes.

Georgia, Crown Office, 22 September 1775. We do hereby certify that this, together with the two annexed sheets of paper, do contain a true copy of the deposition of Richard Maitland, John Fullerton and Samuel Burnett, taken before the chief justice, the same being examined by Preston and Pryce. Copy. [C.O.5/664, fo. 228A]

Thursday 05 October 1775, Stamford Mercury reports:
London, Oct 2 (1775)
By the Charles Town Mail there is advice, that the Provincials had seized seven tons of gunpowder, which was landing from on board Captain Loftus’s ship, at St Augustine. Captain Loftus was freighted by Government to carry stores to the above place, and when at anchor off the bar, where large vessels usually deliver part of their cargo, in order to lighten them that they may go over safe, she was attacked by some armed boats from Beaufort, Port Royal and other towns in Carolina, they seized 140 barrels of powder out of 500 that the vessel had in all on board, and made the best of their way to Beaufort, before the assistance from St Augustine could come up with them. The ship afterwards proceeded to deliver the remainder of her cargo, as the gunpowder was only what the armed boats came after. This is the second ship that has been attacked, and had her powder taken out by these armed boats, viz. Captain Maitland bound for Georgia, and this vessel.

http://esr.lib.ttu.edu/bitstream/handle/2346/511/fulltext.pdf?sequence=1

University Libraries Faculty Research Texas Tech University Year 2007

Enough Gunpowder to Start a Revolution

Jon R. Huord
Texas Tech University, jon.hu_ord@ttu.edu
This paper is posted at eScholarship Repository.
http://esr.lib.ttu.edu/lib fac research/34

NB Phillipa previously called the Magna Carta.

ENOUGH GUNPOWDER TO START A REVOLUTION
Jon R Hufford
Middle Georgia College

On June 27, 1775, Governor Sir James Wright, expecting interference with British shipping at the entrance to the Savannah River, wrote to Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, commander of British naval forces in North America, entreating him to send a sloop-of-war to defend the approaches to the river.¹ His immediate concern was to assure the safe arrival of the merchant ship Phillipa, which had left London on the second of May with thirteen thousand pounds of gunpowder, small arms, and casks of musket balls, a cargo intended for the Indian trade and for British troops and loyalists in Georgia and eastern Florida, the Phillipa was due to arrive in Savannah shortly, so the tone of the governor's letter was urgent. It would have been frantic had the governor been able to foresee events of the next few weeks. The Phillipa's cargo, intercepted by rebels, was destined to play an important role in the initial campaigns of the American Revolution.
Fulfillment of the governor's desire to keep Georgia loyal to England during the rapidly expanding confrontation between mother country and colonies depended to an important extent on continuing the alliance with the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations.² Captain John Stuart, British agent to the Indians, possessed great influence over them. Wright speculated that, once Stuart's Indian charges had received their share of the gunpowder and shot. Stuart would be in a position to ensure their support of His Majesty's colonial government. Thus far, Georgians had been quiet, if not completely loyal, and Wright had not needed troops and ships-of-war to bring this about. However, Charleston, a hot-bed of rebellion in the southern provinces, was exerting significant influence on the small but growing number of colonial patriots in Savannah. Wright knew that some Georgia citizens were already preparing secretly to overthrow the colonial government and establish a committee of safety and provincial congress in its place.³ He was aware of the serious consequences for England if the cargo should fall into patriot hands and was determined to do all in his power to see that this could not happen.
One week earlier, on June 20th. Wright had written to his administrative superior, William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, who was Secretary of State for the Colonies, expressing his suspicion that Charleston patriots had plans to seize the Phillipa's shipment. He explained that some South Carolinians feared that when the munitions had been distributed Captain Stuart would incite the Cherokees to attack settlements.⁴ A few Charlestonians were using this fear to persuade men to enlist in the "Liberty Boys" and assist in an effort to seize the Phillipa. As the governor saw it, everything depended on Admiral Graves' cooperation. The Admiral might very well have sent a sloop-of-war as requested if Wright's letter of June 27th had reached him. However, agents of the Charleston Committee of Safety had intercepted that letter and substituted a forged one explaining that Georgia was peaceful and needed no military assistance.⁵ A few days earlier a party of about forty Beaufort "Liberty Boys" commanded by Captains John Barnwell and John Joyner had set out in two small barges for Bloody Point and Tybee Island, the landfall for all ships entering the Savannah River.⁶ Their purpose was to take the Phillipa.
Over Governor Wright's protests, the Georgia Provincial Congress met on the 4th of July at Tondee's Long Room in Savannah. One of its final acts was to offer assistance to Barnwell and Joyner in taking the Phillipa.⁷ It informed the South Carolinians that a small British armed schooner had unexpectedly arrived at Tybee from Saint Augustine, Florida, and it offered to help take that vessel also. This offer was accepted, and the Georgia Congress dispatched to Tybee its newly commissioned schooner, the Liberty, commanded by Oliver Bowen and Joseph Habersham.⁸ Thus began a cooperative venture which was to develop into one of the earliest naval operations of the Revolution. No fighting took place and consequently there were no casualties, but the result of this operation was acquisition of a much-needed supply of gunpowder and small arms for the Georgia and South Carolina militias and the fledgling American army then encamped outside Boston.
As soon as the Liberty was discovered approaching Tybee, the British schooner put to sea. Its captain had decided that a fight with this newly arrived opponent, assisted by the smaller vessels which he knew were present at nearby Bloody Point, would be too one-sided.⁹ Consequently, when on July seventh the Phillipa anchored off Tybee Bar to await its pilot, there was no British naval presence to afford protection. The Liberty was waiting out of sight not far from Tybee and on the morning of July eighth approached to within three or four miles before anchoring in a location the Phillipa would have to pass as it moved upriver.¹⁰ That move began in the early afternoon of the same day. Too late the Phillipa's captain, Richard Maitland, spotted the Liberty waiting, full of armed men and mounting ten six-pound cannon ready for action. Before he realized fully what was happening, two warning shots were fired at the Phillipa. After a futile attempt to escape, Maitland hove to and responded to the Liberty Boy's demand to identify his ship.
During a short discourse in which Maitland declined Bowen's offer to act as pilot, a flag with the words "American Liberty" stamped on it was hoisted to the schooner's masthead. There was no longer room for doubt; the rebels had revealed their identity.
Before anything could be resolved, sudden contrary winds followed by an ebb tide forced both vessels to anchor. They remained at anchor until the following morning. Then Maitland had little choice but to obey Bowen's order to accompany the Liberty up the Savannah to Cockspur Island, where there was an encampment of about three hundred armed men.¹¹ Shortly after both vessels anchored there, they were joined by the South Carolina barges. Bowen, Joyner, and Seth Cuthbert of Savannah led a boarding party which forced Maitland to hand over his ship's papers, including the cargo manifest. Then Joseph Habersham came aboard with a written order from the Georgia Provincial Congress which authorized him to seize all the arms, gunpowder, and whatever else was included in the cargo.¹² When the unloading had begun, Maitland was allowed to depart for Savannah in order to inform Governor Wright of what had happened. The rebels recognized that there was little else he could do.
An account of events following Maitland's departure can be constructed from the affidavits of Samuel Burnett, the Phillipa's chief mate, and Richard Scriven, her steward, who gave their stories to William Addington. Justice of the Peace for Middlesex, England, almost two years later. All the gunpowder, along with a few kegs of musket balls, was transferred to the Liberty. But there was no room aboard the Liberty for most of the kegs and the small arms, so the Phillipa's crew was instructed to keep her at anchor near Cockspur Island until further notice. A guard was left on board to make sure these instructions were carried out. On July twelfth the Phillipa received instructions from the Georgia Committee of Safety to proceed to Savannah.¹³ There a second boarding party, led by William Platt, a Savannah merchant, and under the overall direction of the Committee, unloaded the rest of the cargo into boats and transported it to the city magazine for storage. Both the mate and the steward took pains to explain that the entire crew was under duress and obliged to carry out the "Liberty Boys" demands.
Maitland had returned to his ship before July twelfth, aware that British civil and military power was no longer effective in Georgia.¹⁴ The Committee of Safety now governed the province. Governor Wright had urged Maitland to leave a deposition with Anthony Stokes, the King's Chief Justice, but he knew that any warrants Stokes might issue were unenforceable. For his part, Maitland prudently put off taking this action until September for fear of reprisal. The necessity of having the cargo's bonds cancelled finally forced him to follow the governor's advice.
Eventually the Phillipa's, cargo was divided. Georgia's share was substantial — nine thousand pounds of gunpowder and most of the small arms. The "Liberty Boys" of Beaufort got the rest. Following the urgent request of the Continental Congress sitting at Philadelphia, five thousand pounds of Georgia's share of the powder was sent to that city. The troops of Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold used some of it during their invasion of Canada in November. Much of the rest enabled George Washington's army to drive the British forces under General William Howe out of Boston in March of the following year.¹⁵ The Georgia militia found its portion useful later on, when fighting began in the southern provinces. One week after July fourth, 1775, Georgia had shed its loyalist stance and was moving toward active and significant participation in the rebellion.

Notes to Above:
1. In this letter the Governor mentioned another letter sent to him by the Earl of Dartmouth some time earlier which explained that an order had been sent from the Admiralty to the admiral directing him to send an armed ship to Georgia. John Drayton.
Memoirs of the American Revolution, 2 vols. (Charleston, 1821; repr. New York, 1969), 1: 348-50; and Ronald G. Killion and Charles T. Waller, Georgia and the Revolution (Atlanta, 1975), 140, 141.
2. The Indians of Georgia outnumbered white settlers in 1775. Allen D. Candler, comp., The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia, 3 vols. (Atlanta, 1908), 1: 300-1.
3. William Harden, A History of Savannah and South Georgia, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1913; repr. Atlanta, 1969), 1: 178, 1.
4. Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, comps., The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, 26 vols. (Atlanta. 1904-1937), vols. 27-39 manuscripts at Georgia's Department of Archives and History, 38, pi. I: 475-77.
5. This forged letter also commented on the earlier letter from Dartmouth but explained that there was no longer a need for an armed vessel. John Draylon. Memoirs of the American Revolution, 2 vols., supra.
6. William Bacon Stevens, A History of Georgia, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1847-1859), 2: 103.
7. Ibid.
8. The Liberty, formerly the Elizabeth, was owned by Samuel Price and Richard Wright of Savannah. Price cooperated with the Congress acting as ship's pilot following its commissioning. Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, comps.. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, 26 vols., vols. 27-39 manuscripts, 38, pt. I: 614, 615.
9. Ibid.
10. Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775. Allen D. Candler and Lucian La-mar Knight, comps., The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia. 26 vols., vol. 2 manuscript, 38, pt. 1; 606-614
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Affidavits of Richard Scriven and Samuel Burnett, 10 January 1777. Old Bailey Sessions Papers, Greater London Record Office, Middlesex Records. London, England. (Reference Number: o17770219-1, re Ebenezer Smith Platt, charged with High Treason on affidavits by RS & SB, AM 11/08).
14. Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, comps.. The Colonial Records of the Stale of Georgia. 26 Vols., Vols. 27-39 manuscripts. 38. pt. 1: 613, 614.
15. Hugh McCall, the History of Georgia, 2 vols. (Savannah: 1811-1816; repr. Atlanta, 1909). 291; and William Bacon Stevens, A History of Georgia, 2 Vols. 2: 104.

July 9, 1775 at Bloody Point, South Carolina - The South Carolina Council of Safety learned that a gunpowder shipment was on the way to Savannah. The gunpowder would be used to supply the Indians. The council sent 2 barges to Bloody Point to intercept the gunpowder shipment. Capts. John Joyner and John Barnwell, of the 1st South Carolina Regiment, commanded the barges. When they arrived at Bloody Point, they got a schooner, the Liberty, outfitted with 10 carriage guns, commanded by Capt. Oliver Bowen, to join the barges. The British shipment was escorted by the armed schooner, HMS Phillippa, which was commanded by Capt. Richard Maitland.

Note: no record in PRO of HMS Phillipa, probably not naval.

Robert S. Davis of Wallace State Community College, Hanceville, AL, has sent me an advance copy of an article he has written, to be published in the Georgia Historical Quarterly some time next year. It is about Ebenezer Smith Platt (#132-111, p. 93 in the 1963 Richard Platt Genealogy), b. Smithtown, NY 1753, no death info, m. Elizabeth Lovell Wright. A note in the Genealogy says, "Taken prisoner in Revolution and conveyed to London. His release obtained from George III through intercession of Mrs. Wright, well-known wax-works modeler, whose daughter he later married."

PRO 20/29/3/5 17
1039
Granville Papers
17

Provincial Georgia::
Sir James Wright in his letter of the 1^st Febry, acquaints Lord Dartmouth, that he had met the Assembly in January, expecting their being allowed to sit would have prevented their sending Deputies to the General Congress, in which he was disappointed. That the Carolinians had set every Engine to work to draw the Georgians into their Marines?, and threatened Blood and Devastation if they refused; which, had raised the Spirits of the factions, and those who were well disposed were born away by the Torrent of Party. That he had reason to think there was a Design to seize upon him as a Hostage for such of the Faction as might be taken up for their treasonable practices, but that
1040
at present the people behave towards him with decency, yet complains of a total want of Land and naval forces.
     In his Letter of the 24 Febry he gives and account of a Riot at Savannah, in consequence of the Collector having seized several Hogsheads of Sugar and Molasses, and set a watch to guard them; that a Number of armed people came to beat the Watch away, (one of whom, fell overboard and was drowned), and carried off the Hogsheads.
The Governor had issued a Proclamation upon the occasion which had no other effect than exposing the weakness of Gover’t.
Before these Advices were rec’d Lord Dartmouth had in his Dispatch of the 1^st Febry acquainted Sir James Wright, that orders were given to Admiral
1041
Graves to station a Sloop of War at Savannah, and to Gener’l Gage to send a Detachment of 100 Men from St Augustine.
    Sir James on the 24^th April write, that by his Management the departure of the three Deputies appointed by the Assembly to join the intended Congress at Philadelphia was delayed. That the Carolinians continue to threaten to cut the throats of the People of Georgia, if any Blood was spilt in New England, which extravagant Idea he thinks flows from the Congressional Resolve of making Reprisals. He speaks of a few Fanatics in the Parish of Saint John’s who had sent a Deputy to the Congress, and states the necessity of sending him some Soldiers, as well as Powder to supply the Indians.
                                                     525
1042
In his Letter of the 12^th May he says, that the night before the King’s Gunpowder Magazine was robbed of about 600 lbs of Powder, and that not more than 300 lbs remained of the King’s, and about the same amount of the Merchants.
   That he had issued a Proclamation with reward for discovering the Offenders, but had no hope of its success. That things wore a gloomy Aspect, and he has no prospect of a change for the better.
   On 25^th May he says the people were thrown into a great ferment by the account of the Skirmish near Boston of the 19^th April accompanied with copies of this Letter laid before Parliament which had been very
1043
prejudicial to himself and the King’s affairs. That now a few Soldiers would only serve to irritate the people, as there is an appearance throughout the Colonies of a Spirit of universal Rebellion, and therefore declines to make use of the order he had received from General Gage for the Detachment of the 100 men from St Augustine. That his only hope is in the Moderation of the Continental Congress.
   In his Letter of the 9^th June he thinks his Life is exposed to danger, and fears Georgia will be invaded by the People of Carolina, and therefore begs his Majesty’s permission to return home in the Spring. That several proscribed friends to Govern’t had been required to quit the Province in a few days and on the 17^th
                                              526
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he writes that 3 or 400 Liberty folkd had assembled to drive off the proscribed persons, some of whom had departed and others pacified the Mob. That it had been debated to shut up the Courts of Justice, but that Design was laid aside for some time. They had entered into an Association and adopted the Resolve of the continental Congress without Opposition from the Friends of Government, who finding no Support were afraid to be exposed to the insults of the Rabble, that the Council were of opinion that no public notice should be taken of their illegal practices, as it would only serve to expose the Weakness of Government, and exasperate the People. And he states in another Letter of the same date the
1045
necessity of having a Body of 500 Men to restore Government with a Fortress erected on the Common suitable to contain them. He says they pretended to have account of Mr Stuart endeavouring to bring down the Cherokees upon the Inhabitants, and under that colour they had resolved to raise 300 men. That Mr Stuart had been pursued by armes Boats from Carolina, but had effected his Escape, and that the Boat has pillaged a Ship coming into Savannah of a quantity of Gunpowder she had on board for the Indian Trade

(ie the Phillippa)

Lord Dartmouth having learned that Admiral Graves had not sent a Sloop to Georgia in his Letter of the 2^nd Aug’t acquaints Governor Wright that the Admiralty had
                                                    527
Orders to send one of His Majesty’s Ships of War hence to the Mouth of the Savannah River, and at the same time sends Him the King’s Leave to return to England
In his Letter of the 8^th July he says, that a number of people carried away some of the King’s Guns and Carriages from Savannah; that the Commer in Charlestown, or Council of Safety, had appointed 3 managers of Indian Affairs in the Creek Country and 3 in the Cherokee Country. That the party who had boarded the Ship had taken about 6 Tons of Gunpowder and opined the Letter returning such as they did not find for their purpose to keep.
     Upon receipt of these advices, Mr Pownell in the absence
1047
of Lord Dartmouth in a Letter of 4^th October gives the Governor to hope, that an Expedition in the open part of the Winter might possibly effect a Change in the State of Affairs in Georgia, and therefore that the friends of Government should not despair; and sends several Gazettes containing Addresses to the King from several Counties expressing the Resolution to support His Majesty in extinguishing the Rebellion in America. Mr Pownall likewise acquaints the Governor that the Packets are changed to Advice Boats, as occasion requires, and that Admiral Graves will give facility
                                           528
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to the Conveyance of public Dispatches.
The Provincial Congress having met, the Governor says, in his Letter of the 18^th July, that they had charged him with not allowing the Assembly to sit, and with having misrepresented the State of the Province, and that he had laid their Address before the Council, who had refuted their Charges; that the Assembly becoming refractory and proceeding without Order, the Governor by Advice of the Council, thought fit to prorogue them; that two Persons from Charles town and of the Council of Safety there, had prevailed on the Congress to
1049
let them have 5000~weight of the Gunpowder, when out of the Ship, which they carried away with them and a Brass field piece belonging to His Majesty; that he understands the Congress have agreed to send the Indians 2000 weight of Gunpowder as a present from the people, not from the King and Government, which he fears may have a bad tendency. That they had appointed a Council of Safety who had proposed to raise 350 Men, but, it was carried in the Negative. That Carolina offered to assist them with 1000 Men.
                                               529
He
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He says in his Letter of 29^th July, that the Council of Safety had forbid the Rector of the Parish, (who had disobliged them by not officiating on their fast day.) to preach in the Church; that the Mob had tarred and feathered Mr Hopkins a Pilot, for having spoken disrespectfully of the Congress: that the Delegates were gone to Philadelphia and that he Committee admitted Vessels, or made them depart, as they pleased: that issued £10000 in Paper bills for defraying the Charges of their Military and Committees. One McCarthy having been committed to Gaol by the Chief Justice for inlisting Men to
1051
serve against the King, he was released by the Mob, who, after taking possession of the public Magazine, set a guard of 20 Men over it. And by threat and menaces compelled many people to sign the Association; Under pretence of the Militia chusing their own Officers
they had attempted to wrest the Command of the Militia out of the hands of the Governor. In his Letter of the 27^th August, he gives a further detail of the rebellious proceed of the People. That they had appointed one Sheftall, a Jew, Chairman of the parochial Committee, who had taken upon
                                                530
him
1052
to issue Orders to the Captains of Vessels in the most despotic manner. And that the Rebels assuming uncontroulable Authority treat the few friends of Government they cannot force into their Association with great Barbarity.
1053
1. Précis of letters from lord Dartmouth to the Plantations General 7 feb- 4 Oct (1775)
2. 13 Feb-24 July (1775), Précis of correspondence between Lord Dartmouth and Mr Grey Johnson (Superintendent of Indian Affairs) and Mr John Stuart
3. 20 january – 16 October 1775 Minutes of Lord Dartmouth’s correspondence into other Officers and King’s servants.
4 1^st Feb-15 Oct 1775 Advices and communications to Lord Dartmouth from other offices.
5 18 Nov 1774-25 Sept 1775 Précis of correspondence between Governor Carleton and Lord Dartmouth on the affairs at Quebec.
6 30 Oct-20 Aug 1775 Précis of correspondence between General Gage and Lord Dartmouth (Massachusetts Bay)
7. Précis of correspondence between Governor Wentworth and Lord Dartmouth (New Hampshire)
8. 1^st March-7 Aug 1775 Précis of correspondence between Liet Governor Colden, Governor Tryon and Lord Dartmouth (New York)
9. 6 Dec (1774)-12 july (1775) Précis of correspondence between governor Franklin and Lord Dartmouth (New Jersey)
10 14 March-2 Aug (1775) Précis of correspondence between Lord Dumore and Lord Dartmouth (Virginia)
11 30 Dec 1774-5 July 1775 Précis of correspondence between Deputy Governor Eden and Lord Dartmouth (Maryland)
12 6 Dec 1774-5 Sept 1775 Précis of correspondence between Deputy Governor Perrin and Lord Dartmouth (Pennsylvania)
13 3 jan 1775-3 july (1775) Précis of correspondence between Governor Wonton and Lord Dartmouth (Rhode Island)
14 10 March 1775 Précis of correspondence between Governor Trimbull and Lord Dartmouth (Connecticut)
15 7 Apr-15 Spet (1775) Précis of correspondence between Governor Martin and Lord Dartmouth (N Carolina)
16 20 jan- 20 jul (1775) Précis of correspondence between Lieut Governor Bull and Lord Dartmouth (S Carolina)
17 1 feb – 29 July (1775) Précis of correspondence between Sir James Wright and Lord Dartmouth (Georgia)

Ebenezer Smith Platt:

From Rootsweb:

The article gives a lot more detail about Ebenezer's exciting life. He was sent to Savannah by his father, Jonas, with a cargo of merchandise and instructions to purchase a plantation. His father joined him and they prepared to enter the slave trade, which enterprise was interrupted by the Revolutionary War. Jonas died soon after. His mother then joined him in 1775, but also died suddenly. Ebenezer then became involved in trade and privateering on behalf of the Georgia rebels. After various adventures, he was captured and taken to London in chains.
The above quote summarizes what happened next. The article seems to be well-documented, and raises some difficulties for us. No death date is given for Jonas5 in the Genealogy, but it has him dying in Smithtown. The article has his death in Savannah about 1774. The death of Ebenezer's mother, Temperance Smith is given in the Genealogy as 21 March 1813, but, as mentioned above, the article tells of her sudden death in Savannah in November 1775. The Genealogy gives the death date of Ebenezer's wife, Elizabeth Lovell Wright, as 23 February 1786, but the article has her death occurring in Bordentown, NJ in 1792. The article also mentions that he had a second wife, name unknown. Also, his date and place of death are unknown, but the article traces him to Baltimore, where he was living in poverty in 1804.

To Benjamin Franklin from Elizabeth Wright, 13 February 1777

http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-23-02-0204
From Elizabeth Wright6

als: American Philosophical Society

Pall mall London Febuy. th 13 1777Honourd Sir

Your known Goodness of Heart and Generosity in Releiving and Suckouring the injured or oppres’d has Emboldned me to trouble you with the Case of Mr. Plat now a Prisoner in Newgate, On a charge of High Treason Comitted in America, that thro your Means or influence his Frinds may be made acquaintd with his Situation in order that they may take some Precautions for his being acquited, or at least, that he may Receive some Remittances for his Support in His Disagreable Unhappy Confinement, which I am apprehensive will be of some Continuence, as I fear this new Act that is now passing,⁷ is made allmost on Purpose to Detain Him with Several Others Nearly in the same Situation, Without Bail or Tryall as Prisoners of Warr, to be Confined in the Severeest Maner, in Goals, or Dungeons, as Criminals and God only knows where it may End, Perhaps Hang’d. Wee was intimately Acquainted with Mr. Plat in New York of Which Place He is A Native. His Father was A Merchant There a Man of Fortune and unspotted Reputation and He Himself is a very Amiable young Man, and A Credit to His Country. His Uncle of the same Name, no Doubt Sir, you are Acquainted with, As He is One of the Members of the Congress.⁸ About 3 years Ago Mr. Plats Father setled Him in Georgia at His own Request, where he Purchased 5000 Acres of Land, intending to turn Planter, but meeting with some Obstructions with Regard to Negros to Stock His Farm He Entred into Trade And became much known and Esteemed in Georgia as A Worthy Young Man. His Father Came from New York to see him and unfortunately Died whilest on the Vissit. His Mother A Brother and two Sisters are now on Long Island and have not heard from Him since He wrote them an Account of his Fathers Death. The 13th of Jully 1775 there Arived A Vessel in Savanah Harbour Commanded by A Captain Maitlord,⁹ Laden with Goods and some Powder and Arms from Merchants in England Consignd to their Correspondents, Merchants in Georgia. The People of Georgia at that Time had just formd a Congress amongst themselves and began as well as the Other Provinces to be Divided into Liberty and tory Partys. The Merchants to whom the Goods were Consigned were of these different Oppinions. A Stoppage of Trade then takeing Place and Goods being rather Scarce the Congress Previous to the Arival of the Vessel Purchased the Goods of the Merchants at An Advanced Price, but rather against the Will of those of them who were in the opposition to the Congress, in Consequence of which the others fearing there might be any obstruction to the Landing the Goods or that Possibly a Mob might be Rais’d to Destroy or Prevent the Congress from obtaining them, applied to Mr. Plat with two other Gentleman to go on board the Vessel which Lay some Miles off and see that She was safe brought up to the Town and that none of the Goods should be Landed till Her Arival There. They gave them an order to the Captn. and Mate to Receive and Entertain them in the best Maner on Board. But they seeing the Captn. aterwards in Town shew’d Him the order, and as He was not going on Board again just then He gave them an order to the Mate, much to the same Purpose as the other, viz., to Receive and treat them well, and was very Polite and Friendly. But by what hapned afterwards it appears that He was rather Averse to the Congress haveing the Cargo. They staid on Board 6 Days, saw the Vessel brought up to the Town and Nothing Landed Except some Horses for Governor Campbell at Charlestown south Carolina. They then went on shore thought no more of it and Another Commite was sent in their stead, who Landed the Cargo. After Captn. Maitland had Cleard his Vessel in Georgia he set sail with a Cargo from thence for Jamaica and soon after Mr. Plat went as Merchant in a Vessel of His own which He had fitted out for the same Port leaving his Partner to superintend his Business and Property in the Mean time. After his Arival in Jamaica He saw Captain Maitland There who was Exceeding Friendly to Him and invited Him to Make His home on Board His ship whilest He staid in Kingston. This offer He Declined but they frequently fell in Company with Each other and allways upon the footing of Friendship for about 8 weeks when they hapned one Evening to Meet in A Coffee House in a good deal of other Company amongst which was Captain Miller of New York, with several other Captains. Some of them had got a little heated with the Liquor and one Amongst the rest, gave as a Toast “Damnation to all Americans” to which Mr. Plat Reply’d, that No Gentlemen of Honour or Goodness could drink such a Toast as it was Repugnant to the Rules of Society, on which the other grew warm as well as some of the Company, and Mr. Plat fearing A Quarrel imediately Withdrew. Captain Maitland who by this time had grown warm with the Liquor and Conversation soon after His Departure, Cryd out “That Damnd fellow was one of them on Board my Ship at Georgia with an order from the Congress and Landed the Powder and Arms for them.” Most of the Company was Exceedingly Pleasd at the Discovery and the next Day Reported it all over the town, not omiting the Governor Sir Bassil Keith¹ who imediately sent word to Captain Maitland that He ought to come and Exhibit an information against Mr. Plat. The Captn. having grown sober again was Exceedingly Sorry for what he had said and sent word to Mr. Plat that He wish’d he would absent Himself or Leave the Place. Elce He must be obliged to Comply with the Governors Comands. Mr. Plat Amazed, tho’ indiffirent, at his information returnd Answer that His Business did not suit him to leave the Place at that Time, that He had nothing to dread from any information He Could make against Him, and that He was at liberty to act as he thought Proper in the Case. Mr. Plat was at that Time haveing Disposed of his Vessel and Cargo fitting out another for Turtling and fishing before His Return to Georgia. As He Lay off in the River Prepared to Sail the Admiral’s Boat Came allong Side and Askd for Mr. Plat the Captain Reply’d that He was on Board on which they imediately seiz’d the Vessel and Crew alledging it was on account of An information of Captain Maitlands against Mr. Plat, before the Governor. Mr. Plats Captain and Crew were set at Liberty about 3 weeks afterward, but Mr. Plat was Confind in Irons and for a fortnight Debard from Seeing or writeing to Any of His Friends, and treated with the greatest insolence and indignities by the Sailors. He was afterwards Permited to write to His Friends on shore who Procured for him a Habeas Corpus on which He was brought to Trial on the affadavit of Captn. Maitland His Mate and 3 of His Men who deposed that he had been on Board their Vessel in Georgia with an order from the Congress and Landed for them the Powder and Arms which the Governor Deem’d Rebelion and Treason but finding it rather Difficult to Prove He Deliverd Him intirely into the Admiral Gaytons Hands² who was both His Prosecuter and Goalor. Mr. Plat had a Negro Boy which with his own Cloaths they had when His Vessel was seiz’d Permitted Him to keep. Him He was oblidged to sell in order to defray the Expences of His tryal. Mr. Plats Council Pleaded that at the Time these goods Arived in Georgia that Province was not Declared in Rebelion, as this hapned in July and that Declaration was not made till in the fall and that as to Seizing His Vessel, the Act³ intitled them to Seize American Privateers and did not Extend to A Private Vessel which had been cleard out for Turtling and Fishing. The admirals Council made their Cheif Plea wich was addressing themselves to the Judge, Pleas your Honour if your Honour should set the Prisoner at Liberty it will cost the Admiral 6000 Pound Damages for falce imprisoment to which the Judge Reply’d “Well I acquit the Prisoner of the Charges laid to Him but Return Him on Board as an Able Bodied Seaman to do Duty in Consequence of a late Act that all Masters and Mariners so taken, should serve on Board His Majestys frigates in His Majesty’s Service. To this it was answerd that Mr. Plat was neither Master nor Mariner but Merchant on Board His own Vessel, that this the Captain and crew could Prove. But this Assertion was Evaded and he was again Caried on Board the Admirals Ship and from thence Remov’d to several others and after some time sent home by the Admiral under Pretence of tryal in England in order Chiefly to Secure Himself from Prosecution, which He fear’d had Mr. Plat been set at Liberty. He arived at Portsmouth after having been A Prisoner 10 Months and sent to London for A Habeas, obtain’d it but there was the greatest Precautions taken in order to Render it inefectual. He was Remov’d with the greatest Expedition into Another Vessel, but He still Persisting in desire to be Brought to Tryall, 2 of Sir Johnfeildin[g’s4 Men?] Was sent for Him to Portsmouth. He wa[s brought] to Town and Carry’d before Him but He not ch[oosing] to Medle with so intricate a Cause He was Carryd before another Majistrate and Comanded to Prison, with a charge of Treason tending to Piracy on the written affadavit of two of Captn. Maitlands Sailors Previously Prepared by Council and not appearing to Confront Him in a new, and diffirent Maner from that at Jamaica. A Copy of it Refused Him, and the Comitment wrote in such a Maner that his tryall Cannot be brought on till the Kings Pleasure wich no doubt according to this New Act will not be during the Warr unless He could be Exchanged for some English Prisoner. I could not help wishing you sir and his Uncle knew his situation, as it Distresses us Exceedingly tho he himself is Exceeding chearful under it and says that if it can in any respect conduce to the good of his country he shall bear it with Pleasure Even tho his Life was Required of him. If you Sir approve of it, I should Esteem it as a Favour if you would send this to his Uncle or whatever you think best. I Reman with the greatest Respect

Elizabeth Wright

My Mother Brother Sister and Self desire our best Love and duty to You.

Addressed in another hand: Doctor Franklin

[Note numbering follows the Franklin Papers source.]

⁶. The daughter of Patience Wright (above, xix, 93) joined her mother in London at some time before November, 1775, and became like her a modeler in wax. London Mag.…, xliv (1775), 555–6; Charles C. Sellers, Patience Wright, American Artist and Spy … (Middletown, Conn., [1976]), pp. 90, 225–6.

⁷. An act regarding arrest for treason or piracy, 17 Geo. III, c. 9, passed on Feb. 17: Public Advertiser, Feb. 19, 1777.

⁸. Young Platt was born on Long Island in 1753; Elizabeth presumably had a more than charitable interest in him, for after his release from prison in 1778 she married him: Sellers, op. cit., pp. 105–6, 118. A slim pamphlet, The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, Merchant of Georgia, Now Confined in Irons in Newgate, on a Charge of High Treason ([London, 1777?]), is now among bf’s papers in the APS; it must have been enclosed with this letter or with Patience Wright’s below of March 7, for in Platt’s letter of March 10 he assumes that it is in bf’s hands. The uncle, Zephaniah Platt, was at this time a member of the N.Y. provincial congress: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1744–1961 ([Washington, D.C., 1961]), p. 1464.

⁹. Capt. Richard Maitland, in the Philippa, had left Deal on May 1: London Chron., April 29–May 2, 1775.

¹. Sir Basil, the brother of Sir Robert Murray Keith, British Ambassador to Vienna, was governor from 1774 until his death in 1777; see George Metcalf, Royal Government and Political Conflict in Jamaica, 1729–1783 ([London], 1965), pp. 182–98.

². For Clark Gayton, commanding the Jamaica squadron, see the DNB.

³. The Prohibitory Act.

⁴. Fielding (1721–80) was the half-brother of Henry Fielding, and succeeded him as magistrate after his death: DNB; Ronald Leslie-Melville, The Life and Works of Sir John Fielding (London, [1934]).

Capture of the Philippa

10 July 1775[129]

In early June 1775 the South Carolina Council of Safety learned of a shipment of gunpowder due to arrive in Savannah, Georgia. The information was that this was the annual present of gunpowder for the Indians. Since gunpowder and ammunition were in critically short supply in all the colonies, the Council of Safety determined to intercept the shipment.¹

Two barges were sent from South Carolina, commanded by Captains John Joyner and John Barnwell of the 1^st South Carolina regiment,² with a total of about forty men each. These proceeded to Bloody Point to intercept the powder.³ Bloody Point, on Daufaskie Island, was the landfall for all vessels entering the Savannah River. From Bloody Point new arrivals were visible, as was the town of Savannah.⁴

Georgia Royal Governor Sir James Wright had anticipated trouble with the shipping in the river. Governor Wright had no military forces available in the colony and had written to General Gage and Admiral Graves for help.⁵ Help was coming, although not in response to Wright’s letter. On 27 June HM Schooner St. John (Lieutenant William Grant) sailed from St. Augustine, East Florida with dispatches for Wright, from Governor Patrick Tonyn.⁶

St. John arrived off Tybee Island lighthouse on 29 June. At 1400 she was nine to twelve miles south southeast of the lighthouse. Here she stopped a sloop from New Providence and searched her, and apparently kept her for the time being. At 1730 she anchored off the lighthouse, observing a tent on the beach and many men ashore and in boats, and the “liberty flag” flying from the top of the lighthouse. Grant sent a letter to Sir James Wright in the sloop, and went to quarters, where the crew stayed all night. ⁷ The men ashore were the South Carolinians and, probably, some assorted Georgia “Liberty Boys.”

The next day Grant observed boats passing and re-passing to Tybee Island. He sent his master and a boat to find a conveyance for a letter to Sir James Wright at St. Augustine. In the afternoon St. John fired a few shots at a Carolina pilot boat, which refused to stop. St. John stopped another schooner from South Carolina and searched her, but she only had passengers for Georgia aboard. Grant’s men then boarded and searched a schooner from St. Vincent. Finally, Grant sent a boat and officer to town with a letter for the governor.⁸

On 4 July 1775 the Second Georgia Provincial Congress convened, and joined the Continental Association on 6 July. This brought the colony squarely into the rebellion.⁹ The Georgians had been aware of the presence of the South Carolinians and now blessed the enterprise by co-operating. The Georgians informed Barnwell and Joyner of the presence of the St. John. The schooner Elizabeth, owned by Samuel Price and Richard Wright of Savannah, was taken up and commissioned as the Liberty. Price cooperated with the Provincial Congress acting as schooner’s pilot.¹⁰ The Provincial Congress authorized Captain Oliver Bowen and Captain Joseph Habersham as commanders of the newly outfitted ten gun schooner. They were ordered to assist Captains Joyner and Barnwell of South Carolina (whose troops were on Tybee Island) in the capture of the incoming powder vessel. A secondary purpose was to nullify the St. John.¹¹ Other reports list this vessel as having eight to ten guns, swivels, and a fifty-man crew.¹² The cannon were 6-pounders. [cite]

The merchant ship in question was the 270-ton Phillipa [Philipa, Philippa, formerly the Magna Carta] (Richard Maitland),¹³ which had sailed from London, England on 2 May 1775 with a cargo of 13000 pounds of gunpowder, as well as small arms, and casks of musket balls. The cargo was intended for the Indian trade and for British troops and loyalists in Georgia and eastern Florida.¹⁴

Grant was making every effort to find the powder vessel first. On 3 July he ran down a ship outside the bar, but she was from Barbados in ballast and was released.¹⁵ The presence of the Liberty and the two barges may have influenced Grant, and he moved further out to sea. On 9 July two more ships were stopped and searched for powder, but were released.¹⁶ Unknown to Grant, he had already missed his chance.

On 7 July ¹⁷ the Phillipa anchored nine miles from Tybee Point, to await a pilot to take her up to Savannah. The Liberty was anchored out of sight from Tybee, but Bowen and Habersham were no doubt informed of the arrival of a large ship. On 8 July Liberty moved up and anchored in the ship channel about three or four miles from the Phillipa. If the powder ship moved up river it would have to pass the schooner.¹⁸ At 1400 a pilot went aboard the Phillippa and she got underway.¹⁹

Map of the entrance to the Savannah River. The action seems to be usually known as “Bloody Point” for no good reason.

As Phillippa moved upriver, Maitland got a closer look at the schooner. “The schooner was full of armed men and had ten carriage-guns mounted.” Below her deck several boards had been removed “which were for small arms in close quarters.”²⁰ At 1600 the Liberty fired two muskets at the Phillipa as a signal to heave to, and ordered Maitland to identify himself.²¹ Maitland was suspicious, having had a previous experience in South Carolina, when he had violated the Continental Association and been exposed for it. [cite] Maitland made a futile effort to escape before he hove to.²² Maitland demanded to know who the schooner was.²³ Bowen offered to serve as a pilot for the ship, which Maitland declined.²⁴ Bowen then “hauled down their pendant and hoisted at the masthead a white flag with a red border, on the field of which flag was stamped or imprinted in large red letters the word ‘American Liberty’, and the people on board the schooner said the schooner’s name was the Liberty.”²⁵

Modern interpretation of the Georgia "Liberty" flag flown by the Georgia Navy Schooner Liberty.

A change in the wind and an ebb tide forced both vessels to anchor. They remained at anchor until the following morning. Then Maitland was ordered to sail up the Savannah to Cockspur Island, with Liberty following. About three hundred men were camped there. Maitland was ordered to anchor, and the two South Carolina barges came out and joined the schooner. Bowen, Joyner, and Seth Cuthbert of Savannah led a boarding party to the Phillipa. Maitland was forced to hand over his papers. Next Captain Joseph Habersham came aboard. He had a written order from the Provincial Congress which authorized him to seize the arms, gunpowder, and whatever else was included in the cargo.²⁶ Maitland was informed that the Americans would “take all the gunpowder, shot, lead, and Indian trading arms.”²⁷ When the unloading had begun, Maitland was allowed to depart for Savannah in order to inform Governor Wright of what had happened.²⁸

The Americans were able to take off 16,000 pounds of powder and “seven hundredweight of leaden bullets.” They also “took away all the bar-lead, sheet-lead, Indian trading arms, and shot, that were on board.” The Carolinians and the Georgians divided the cargo between them.²⁹

All the gunpowder, along with a few kegs of musket balls, was transferred to the Liberty. There was no room aboard the Liberty for many of the kegs of powder and the small arms, so the Phillipa’s crew was instructed to keep her at anchor near Cockspur Island. A “prize crew” was put aboard to insure that she stayed put. On 12 July the Phillipa received instructions from the Georgia Committee of Safety to proceed to Savannah.³⁰ There a second boarding party, led by William Platt, a Savannah merchant, and under the overall direction of the Committee, unloaded the rest of the cargo into boats and transported it to the city magazine for storage.³¹

Maitland met his ship at Savannah and was aboard by 12 July. Governor Wright urged Maitland to file a protest or affidavit with Anthony Stokes, the chief justice of the province. This would have had no effect but to draw more attention to Maitland. The necessity of having the cargo’s bonds cancelled finally forced Maitland to file an affidavit on 21 September 1775.³²

The very real risk these early rebels ran was exemplified by the case of Ebenezer Smith Platt. Platt moved to Savannah from New York in March 1775. At Savannah, Platt was in the mercantile business.³³ Platt became a member of the committee of Savannah, and was among those that boarded the Philippa at Savannah.³⁴ In January 1776 Platt was en route to Saint-Domingue to purchase arms for the Provincial Congress. The prize was taken in to Jamaica. Because the vessel was registered as English, Platt was ordered to sell his cargo, but escaped prison. On his return voyage, in another vessel, Platt was again captured.³⁵ This time he was recognized as a leader in the Philippa affair. Platt was confined aboard a ship of war from March 1776 to January 1777. He was then taken to England, where he was heavily ironed and imprisoned in Newgate, charged with high treason.³⁶ An unofficial British committee working for relief of American prisoners petitioned, in mid-March 1778,³⁷ that he be tried or admitted to bail.³⁸ Platt was released by 3 April 1778 and planned to go to France to return to America.³⁹
__________

¹ Patrick O’Kelley, “Nothing but Blood and Slaughter:” Military Operations and Order of Battle of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, Volume One 1771-1779, Booklocker.com: 2004, p. 32
² O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:32
³ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:32
⁴ Hufford, Jon R., “Enough Gunpowder to Start a Revolution,” paper. Texas Tech University. 2007, 315. http://esr.lib.ttu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=lib_fac_research Accessed 1/28/08
⁵ Hufford, 315
⁶ NDAR, “Journal of His Majesty’s Schooner St. John, Lieut. William Grant, Commanding,” I, 766-767
⁷ NDAR, “Journal of His Majesty’s Schooner St. John, Lieutenant William Grant, Commanding,” I, 783
⁸ NDAR, “Journal of His Majesty’s Schooner St. John, Lieut. William Grant, Commanding,” I, 794
⁹ http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/wars/Revolution/revolution06.html. 1/24/08
¹⁰ Hufford, 316n8. This is from Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, comps.. The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, 26 vols., vols. 27-39
anuscripts, 38, pt. I: 614, 615.
¹¹Paullin, Charles Oscar, The Navy of the American Revolution, The Burrows Brothers Company: Cleveland, 1906, 459; NDAR, “Sir James Wright, Governor of Georgia, to Lord Dartmouth,” I, 845
¹²Paullin, Navy of the American Revolution, 459; NDAR, “Sir James Wright, Governor of Georgia, to Lord Dartmouth,” I, 845
¹³Coleman, Georgia, 53; Paullin, Navy of the American Revolution, 460; NDAR, “Sir James Wright, Governor of Georgia, to Lord Dartmouth,” I, 856; “Henry Laurens to John Laurens, London,” I, 885
¹⁴ Hufford, 315
¹⁵NDAR, “Journal of His Majesty’s Schooner St. John, Leut. William Grant, Commanding,” I, 812
¹⁶NDAR, “Journal of His Majesty’s Schooner St. John, Leut. William Grant, Commanding,” I, 848
¹⁷ Hufford, 317
¹⁸ Hufford, 317. Hufford cites the Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775, from Allen D. Candler and Lucian Lamar Knight, comps., The Colonial Records of the Stale of Georgia. 26 vols., vol. 2 manuscript, 38, pt. 1; 606-614
¹⁹ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33. Not on 9 July, as stated, however.
²⁰ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33. Quotations from Maitland’s affidavit.
²¹ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33
²² Hufford, 317. Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775.
²³ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33
²⁴ Hufford, 317. Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775.
²⁵ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33. Quotations from Maitland’s affidavit.
²⁶ Hufford, 317. Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775.
²⁷ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33. Quotations from Maitland’s affidavit.
²⁸ Hufford, 317. Affidavit of Richard Maitland, 21 September 1775.
²⁹ O’Kelley, NBBAS, 1:33. Quotations from Maitland’s affidavit.
³⁰ Hufford, 318 and 318n13. Citing the Affidavits of First Mate Samuel Burnett and Steward Richard Scriven, on 10 January 1777. Old Baily
Sessions Papers, Greater London Record Office, Middlesex Records. London, England.
³¹ Ibid.
³² Hufford, 318
³³ Laurens, Henry. The Papers of Henry Laurens. University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, 1999, 413n18
³⁴ Andrews, Charles MacLean. Guide to the Materials for American History to 1783 in the Public Record Office of Great Britain, Volume II: Departmental and Miscellaneous Papers . Carnegie Institute of Washington: Washington. 1914, 268
³⁵ Laurens, Henry. The Papers of Henry Laurens. University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, 1999, 413n18
³⁶ Andrews, Charles MacLean. Guide to the Materials for American History to 1783 in the Public Record Office of Great Britain, Volume II: Departmental and Miscellaneous Papers . Carnegie Institute of Washington: Washington. 1914, 268
³⁷ Laurens, Henry. The Papers of Henry Laurens. University of South Carolina Press: Columbia, 1999, 413n18
³⁸ Andrews, Charles MacLean. Guide to the Materials for American History to 1783 in the Public Record Office of Great Britain, Volume II: Departmental and Miscellaneous Papers . Carnegie Institute of Washington: Washington. 1914, 268
³⁹ The Record of the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Benjamin Franklin Under the Auspices of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge April the Seventeenth to April the Twentieth A.D. Nineteen Hundred and Six. The American Philosophical Society: Philadelphia, 1908. Vol II, 388.

Ebeneezer Smith Platt

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/a/r/Richard-J-Harvey/GENE4-0007.html
3/2010

Child of JONAS PLATT and TEMPERANCE SMITH is:
i. EBENEZER SMITH8 PLATT, b. 1753, Smithtown L.I. N.Y.; m. ELIZABETH LOVELL WRIGHT.

The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 January 2009

Sheldon S. Cohen
Journal of American Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Aug., 1984), pp. 255-274 (20 pages) (JSTOR) Extract.
Following a merchanting voyage to Haiti, in January 1776
....Misfortunes plagued the next stage of Platt's adventures. A storm separated the two small trading ships after eight days at sea. Then (as he later recounted in a letter to the American Commissioners in Paris), Ebenezer’s ship “unfortunately was taken within a few leagues of her destined Port by Her Majs. (Majesty's] Ship Maidstone of (commanded by] Captain Gardner and carried into Kingston in Jamaica." In Kingston Platt was obliged to sell his cargo and discharge his ship. At first his political loyalties were not closely examined by local naval officials. In fact, the young colonial merchant had purchased and stocked another small ship and was preparing a return voyage to Georgia when his old adversary Captain Richard Maitland reappeared. Maitland, who had sailed Philippa to Jamaica following his Savannah humiliation, readily recognized his former antagonist. Initially, Maitland treated Platt in a surprisingly amicable and cordial manner, although after several weeks he apparently tired of toying with his patriot nemesis. His opportunity for revenge materialized during an evening's rowdy gathering in a Kingston tavern when Platt obstinately refused to drink the toast, “damnation to all Americans," proposed by a royal naval officer. Platt then left the tavern. Maitland, who was also present, disclosed the events surrounding Philippa’s detention in Savannah to the assembled naval officers. Word quickly reached royal magistrates in Kingston, and though Platt allegedly swore to them that “he was conscious to himself that he had done nothing criminal," his days at liberty were numbered.

On 28 March 1776, as Platt was departing from Port Royal near Kingston for his journey back to Georgia, his ship was stopped by H.M.S. Antelope, and a naval officer informed him of his arrest on affidavits of Captain Maitland and five of Philippa's crewmen. Vice Admiral Clark Gayton, commander of royal naval forces in Jamaica, who was then on board Antelope, had the accused colonist straightway confined in irons. The vessel that he had purchased in Kingston was later sold, and most of her crew were soon released. Shortly thereafter Gayton wrote to Admiralty officials of Platt’s incarceration, adding, “I presume he must be tryed on this Island for Roberry and Executed on this Island.”

Admiral Gayton’s presumptions, however, proved premature. The Admiral had informed Sir Basil Keith, Jamaica’s royal governor, about the case and transmitted the affidavits of Maitland and his crewmen to the governor, but Platt had somehow managed to apply for a writ of habeas corpus. Perplexed by the complicated legal issues, Governor Keith referred the matter to Thomas Harrison, the Island’s attorney general, since the American prisoner was to be arraigned before the Chief Justice in Kingston. Later it was claimed that the judge had “honourably acquitted” Ebenezer Platt of all charges and that he was rearrested only when he threatened a six-thousand-pound suit against Admiral Gayton for false return.²¹ More likely, the real cause of his continued detention was the written opinion of Attorney General Harrison (10 April 1776) that since Platt’s alleged “Robbery and High Treason” had occurred outside Jamaica and Gayton’s jurisdiction, the case could only be tried in England. Harrison added that the Admiral, “if he shall judge proper, may send him to England there to be dealt with according to law.” Whatever the actual causes, Platt, soon after his initial hearing, was again put in custody aboard Antelope to await his removal to England.

The voyage to England took far longer than the imprisoned Long Islander probably anticipated. He remained on Antelope for almost three months following his re-arrest in April 1776. He was then transferred to the frigate H.M.S. Boreas, but when this ship was ordered to transport troops to General Sir William Howe in New York, he was transferred to H.M.S. Pallas. On 28 July 1776 Admiral Gayton wrote to royal officials that Platt had sailed for England on board Pallas, and he enclosed a number of particulars concerning the case. Several weeks later Pallas finally docked in Portsmouth harbour with three of Philippa's crewmen as prosecution witnesses and the accused American prisoner still confined in irons. Earlier....

Journal of the American Revolution (re Savanna)

https://allthingsliberty.com/

November 28, 2017
A Georgian and a New Country:
Ebenezer Platt's Imprisonment in Newgate for Treason in "The Year of the Hangman," 1777

By Robert S. Davis Jr.

EBENEZER SMITH PLATT: AN AMERICAN IN NEWGATE PRISON IN 1777

by Robert Scott Davis
    In the early summer of 1775, South Carolinia patriots outfitted the schooner Liberty (formally the Elizabeth) as what historian Charles C. Jones called as the first privateer of the American Revolution. They gave command of the ship to Oliver Bowen and Joseph Habersham of Georgia for the mission of intercepting a cargo of munitions coming on an expected British gunpowder ship due in Savannah, Georgia.
     On July 9, while flying a white flag bordered in red that read “American Liberty,” the schooner’s crew mistook the Philippa, a merchant ship with several tons of munitions, for their prey.[1] Unaware that royal authority in these colonies had been supplanted by the American rebels, the ship arrived at Savannah, Georgia. The Liberty chased the Philippa out to sea before using the threat of ten cannons and numerous swivel guns to force it to nearby Cockspur Island.
      Three hundred rebels, flying their red and white flag, used two barges provided by South Carolina to board the ship. The Philippa‘s captain, Richard Maitland, protested, although the previous year he had nearly suffered tarring and feathering for trying to import banned British tea into South Carolina.
      The rebels presented their orders from George Walton, secretary of the Georgia Provincial Congress and later a signer of the Declaration of Independence. They seized the cargo of powder and a large quantity of small arms and shot. The Georgia Provincial Congress ordered the vessel brought up river to Savannah, where a committee of Mordecai Sheftall, Joseph Spencer, and Ebenezer Smith Platt took charge of the ship and its cargo.[2] Georgia and South Carolina eventually sent 10,212 pounds of the powder and six kegs of the lead to the Continental Congress. The munitions supplied the Americans at the siege of Boston and in the invasion of Canada.[3]
Ebenezer Smith Platt could not have known the ramifications of his presence on the ship. Born in 1753 in Smithtown, Long Island, New York, he came from a prominent family. His uncle, Judge Zephariah Platt, founded Plattsburg, New York and served in the Continental Congress. Ebenezer’s brother Richard served as an aide de camp to Gen. Richard Montgomery in the ill-fated American invasion of Canada in 1775. In his arms, Montgomery died.
     In March 1775, Ebenezer Smith Platt, by then a New York watch and clock maker, went south to Savannah on behalf of his father Jonas with a cargo of merchant goods and instructions to purchase a plantation. With the goods, he bought some 5,000 acres of land. His father soon joined him and they began a venture to import slaves from Africa when Georgia joined the Continental Association and closed trade with Britain. His father died shortly thereafter, as did his mother.[4]
     In November 1775, Ebenezer started the firm of Cuthbert & Platt and involved himself in local politics. Savannah’s rebels elected him to their newly created Parochial Committee that met at Tondee’s tavern. He actively worked to enforce, sometimes violently, the ban on trade with the British. Years later, Georgia’s restored Loyalist colonial government placed his name on its list of traitors.[5]
      The following January, Platt and his partner Mordecai Sheftall loaded two ships to take to St. Nicholas in Haiti to trade goods for more munitions. A storm separated the two vessels in a storm and just short of their destination. The British warship HMS Maidstone then captured Platt’s vessel. Taken to Jamaica, Platt obtained the release of his ship as English property but with the requirement that he sell his cargo there.
     Platt then encountered Captain Maitland He had captained the Philippa to there after leaving Georgia. They spent eight weeks together in Jamaica. During a drunken party, Platt left rather than drink to “damnation to all Americans.” In his absence, Maitland told of Ebenezer’s involvement in the Philippa affair. The governor ordered an interview with Platt but then had the Georgia merchant released.
      As Platt tried to sail away from Jamaica in March 1776, however, crewmen from a vessel of the Royal Navy boarded the ship upon which he had taken passage. The King’s men had Platt and his black servant seized. The prisoners found themselves confined on the British ship HMS Antelope for Platt having aided the rebels. British Vice-Admiral Clark Gayton had Platt’s vessel sold and predicted that the Georgian would be tried and hanged in Jamaica.
     The naval officers, however, had not arrested Platt; they had impressed as an able-bodied seaman as an excuse to seize him. A Jamaican court ordered him released but Admiral Gayton, supposedly fearing a lawsuit from Platt, kept him imprisoned. The local attorney general argued that, as Platt did not commit crimes in Jamaica, he had to answer to charges in England.
      Ebenezer Smith Platt stood in danger of becoming the American Revolution’s equivalent of the “man in the iron mask,” forgotten and unable to be released until he died. Still in chains, Platt found himself moved from ship to ship to prevent his release by an attorney using a writ of habeas corpus. He sold his servant to pay for his necessities. Platt even spent time in a British warship in New York harbour. Eventually arriving in England, he used a writ of habeas corpus to force his transfer ashore for trial on December 4, 1776. By then, he had spent eight months at sea in chains.[6]
      After spending two days in London’s Clerkenwell Prison, Platt found himself before Sir John Fielding and Sir William Addington, justices of the peace of Middlesex County, on January 23, 1777. Witnesses brought to England to testify against Platt fled custody but the authorities recaptured two and, with the newly arrived Captain Maitland and his officers, they made depositions in private against Platt. Addington ordered the prisoner held for treason in Newgate, the 500-year-old prison that served Middlesex, London, and all courts above local jurisdiction.
      Ebenezer did not realize the depth of his troubles as he passed beneath Newgate’s nude statutes of “Justice,” “Mercy,” and “Truth.” Newgate Prison’s reputation for brutal and unsanitary conditions still finds a place in the annals of the world’s worst prisons, especially for inmates without money and influence. Escapes from the prison frequently occurred but not by men held in chains. A committee that raised money to help Americans incarcerated there described it as a den of “thieves, highwaymen, housebreakers, and murderers” without any allowance for food or clothes. Prisoners had to pay to have chains removed and for food other than the standard inadequate fare. They survived by staying perpetually drunk on gin and some of them committed suicide. Platt “must have perished but for private benevolence.”[7]
      Ebenezer Smith Platt stood before the English judicial system as an English citizen guilty of treason or as a civilian prisoner of war. What would be the consequences in America for loyal British subjects and for Americans later taken as prisoners? Were his actions on the Philippa acts of piracy against a commercial vessel or of a bystander engaged in legal political descent? Did his seizure represent a legal arrest, impressment, or an act of piracy and kidnapping by the Royal Navy?[8]
      Platt petitioned the Lord Mayor of London for trial. The court in the adjoining Old Bailey courthouse, however, ruled that it had no authority to try, release, or grant bail to Platt. Platt’s attorney argued for trial before the appellate court of the King’s Bench. The judges of that court refused because if they had Platt hanged, the Americans would retaliate against British subjects. A trial of Platt threatened to expose that the Royal Navy had secretly received orders in Jamaica to prey upon American commercial shipping months before Parliament legalized such seizures.
      American rebels had already begun to torture and even execute other Americans for remaining loyal to the British government. The British military, in turn, only with great reluctance avoided treating American prisoners as common criminals and traitors. Parliament limited the power to grant habeas corpus only to the King’s Privy Council for persons held for treason. Platt’s attorney argued unsuccessfully that this act exceeded the authority of Parliament.[9]
      Without a legal means to force his trial or release, Platt risked staying an occupant of Newgate indefinitely. Growing economic and social unrest in England, made worse by the failing fortunes of the British military in America, did not offer him any hope of sympathy from His Majesty’s increasingly inflexible authorities. Had Platt remained long enough in Newgate, he might have found release with the other prisoners liberated when the Gordon Riots, in protest of the Papist Act of 1778, resulted in the destruction of Newgate on June 6, 1780.[10]
      Platt’s situation drew powerful allies to his aid, however. British and American gazettes described him as the first American civilian held for treason rather than as a prisoner of war. Hundreds of thousands of Americans had also provided aid to the rebellion and could theoretically suffer the same fate. The Georgia delegates to the Continental Congress petitioned to have Benjamin Franklin, the American representative in France, work for Platt’s release.[11]
    Patience Lovell Wright, American wax worker (an artist who made busts), spy for the rebels, and high-ranking socialite (she referred to the King and Queen by their first names) worked on behalf of Platt. With her help, Platt published a pamphlet calling for his release. She started a fund to help all American prisoners held by the British, although Platt appeared as the only named beneficiary. Wright wrote to her friend Benjamin Franklin with letters on Platt’s behalf. By Platt’s own admission, the governor of Newgate treated him well but even the powerful politician John Wilkes failed to have Platt’s chains removed.
     American papers that carried the news of Platt’s arrest also reported on British attempts to have Franklin arrested and extradited to England. Except for French intractability, Franklin might well have joined Platt at Newgate. Aiding Platt started Franklin’s efforts at obtaining the freedom of all American prisoners.[12]
     Under great pressure from Wilkes and the public, the King’s Privy Council allowed Platt a release on bail. He married Patience Wright’s daughter Elizabeth on March 26, 1778. She had regularly visited him in jail while accompanied by her mother, and she helped in winning Franklin’s help. The couple fled to France, where Franklin gave them thirty guineas with which to return to America. John Adams hosted a dinner in their honor. They left Bordeaux, France aboard the brig New Friends of Charlestown on June 6, 1778, a ship intended to take salt and dry goods to Edenton and Charlestown.
      A British privateer, however, captured that ship on June 14, 1778. The Platts spent several months in Scotland, where they were allowed to move about on liberty as prisoners on parole. By the end of the 1778, they finally reached Philadelphia, where Platt unsuccessfully petitioned the Continental Congress for 100 pounds he had heard that they had voted him as compensation for his troubles.[13]
      Platt’s story did not end well. In 1783, while the Platts lived in Philadelphia, his captain stole his ship and his money. Platt moved to New York for a time and signed a document witnessed by the famous Aaron Burr before, in 1785, his legal ward reported him as having “absconded.” Ebenezer returned to Georgia briefly before moving to Kentucky in the late 1780s where, by 1792, he worked as a clock and watchmaker in Lexington.[14]
      Elizabeth, who had been a prominent wax worker in New York since 1787, died in Bordentown, New Jersey in 1792 leaving a will that made no mention of her husband. Ebenezer Platt may have remarried, either to Lucy Jett in Madison County, Kentucky, on January 9, 1791, or to Ann Foulger in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1794. He served under George Rogers Clark in a campaign against the Indians and likely participated in Clark’s failed scheme to capture Natchez from Spain. By 1799, Platt disappeared, leaving the famous Daniel Boone holding a bond for the property he took.[15]
      By 1804, Ebenezer Smith Platt faced bankruptcy. Three years later, by then a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, he unsuccessfully petitioned Congress for a pension based upon his months of imprisonment.[16] He unsuccessfully filed another petition from Philadelphia in 1809.[17] His date and place of death remain a mystery.
      Historians published the tale of Platt’s imprisonment but he is largely forgotten in the present. Even a plaque in Savannah that commemorates the capture of the Philippa by the Liberty makes no mention of the man made to pay for that victory.
[1] For the history of the ship Philippa, see Sheldon S. Cohen, “The Philippa Affair,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 69 (fall, 1985): 338-54.
[2] Charles C. Jones, Jr., The History of Georgia, 2 vols. (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1883), 2: 181-82; John A. McManemin, Captains of the State Navies During the Revolutionary War (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ: Ho-Ho-Kus Publishing, 1984), 39; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, Petitions and Memorials, 9th Congress (1805-1809), HR 9A-F1.1, Records of the U. S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233, National Archives and Records Administration (hereafter NARA); depositions of Samuel Burnett and Richard Scriven, January 10, 1777, OB SP 1777 /4a-b, Greater London Record Office, Corporation of London; Richard Maitland to Henry Laurens, July 28, 1777, in Henry Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, ed. David Chesnutt et al. (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1964-), 10: 250-51; Sheldon S. Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” Journal of American Studies 18 (1984): 259; deposition of Richard Maitland, September 22, 1775, in Allen D. Candler, comp., “The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia,” (unpublished typescript, Georgia Archives, Morrow, 1902), 38, pt. 1-B, pp. 606-16.
[3] Georgia Gazette (Savannah), July 8, 1784, p. 3, c. 2-3; Lilla M. Hawes, ed., “The Papers of James Jackson, 1781-1798,” Collections of the Georgia Historical Society (Savannah, GA: Georgia Historical Society, 1995), 11: 14; Jones, History of Georgia, 2: 181; William Bell Clark, ed., Naval Documents of the American Revolution, (Washington, 1964) 1: 730-31, 856, 931-32; Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 221, 230; John Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution From Its Commencement to the Year 1776 (Charleston, 1821), 1: 268, 304.
[4] Rita Susswein Gottesman, comp., “The Arts and Crafts in New York 1726-1776,” in Collections of the New York Historical Society 49 (New York: New York Historical Society, 1938), 159; Charles Coleman Sellers, Patience Wright: American Artist and Spy in George III’s London (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan, 1976), 105; Ebenezer Smith Platt, The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, Merchant of Georgia (London, 1777), n. p.
[5] Genealogical Committee of the Georgia Historical Society, Early Deaths in Savannah, Georgia 1763-1803: Obituaries and Legal Notices (Savannah: Georgia Historical Society, 1993), 21; “Genealogy Department,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 12 (winter 1928): 195; Allen D. Candler, comp., The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta: The Franklin Turner Co., 1908), 1: 76; idem., “The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia,” vol. 38, pt. i, 464-65, pt. ii, 32, 34; Robert S. Davis, comp., Georgia Citizens and Soldiers of the American Revolution (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1979), 68.
[6] Laurens to William Maine, December 25, 1775, in Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 558; Ebenezer Smith Platt to Commissioners of the United States of America, April 21, 1778, Adams Trust Manuscript, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 262-64; Platt, The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, n. p.
[7] Francis Abell, Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815 (London: Oxford University Press, 1914), 11; Diana Preston, Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2017), 226.
[8] For a discussion of the problems between the British military and civilian prisoners, see Frederick B. Weiner, Civilians under Military Justice: the British Practice since 1689, especially in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967).
[9] King vs. Ebenezer Platt, Treasury Solicitor’s Papers, TS 11/4710, British Public Records Office, London; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; supplementary Material: Ebenezer Smith Platt, 19th February, 1777, Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: 017770219-1, oldbaileyonline.org. For treatment of civilians and soldiers in the American Revolution, see Holger Hoock, Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth (New York: Crown Publishers, 2017).
[10] Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 264-65 and J. H. Baker, “Criminal Courts and Procedure at Common Law, 1550-1880,” in J. S. Cockburn, Crime in England, 1550-1800 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), 26, 35; Frank McLynn, Crime and Punishment in Eighteenth Century England (London: Routledge, 1989), 234. For conditions at Newgate, see W. J. Sheehan, “Finding Solace in Eighteenth Century Newgate,” in Cockburn, Crime in England, 229-45.
[11] Virginia Gazette (Purdie), May 2, 1777; Virginia Gazette (Dixon & Hunter), May 9, 1777; Sellers, Patience Wright, 117.
[12] Sellers, Patience Wright, 117; Catherine M. Prelinger, “Benjamin Franklin and the American Prisoners of War in England during the American Revolution,” William and Mary Quarterly Series III, vol. 32 (1975): 265-66.
[13] William Cutter, ed., “A Yankee Privateersman in Prison in England, 1777-1779,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 31 (1877): 285; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 266-71; K. G. Davies, comp., Documents of the American Revolution 1770-1783 21 vols. (Shannon: Irish University Press, 1973-1979), 13: 321; Sellers, Patience Wright, 105-7, 111, 117-18; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; statements concerning the capture of the New Friends, July 3, 1778, Treasury 1/541/5818, National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, copy in 76.1969.1-3, North Carolina Archives, Raleigh.
[14] Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), July 23, 1783; Ebenezer S. Platt, indenture, October 7, 1784, Fuller Collection of Aaron Burr (1756-1836), Manuscripts Department, Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University, Princeton; Ebenezer Smith Platt to John Copp, October 7, 1787, Chatham County Deed Book F (1787-1789), 41-43, microfilm library, Georgia Archives, Morrow; Elizabeth Kilbourne, comp., Savannah Georgia Newspaper Clippings (Georgia Gazette) (Savannah: E. E. Kilbourne, 2000- ), 3: 146, 155; Kenneth Scott, ed., Records of the Chancery Court Province and State of New York Guardianships, 1691-1815 (New York: Holland Society of New York, 1971), 41, 45; John Montgomery et al, promissory note in favor of William Wells, December 4, 1786, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives microcopy M247, reel 85, i71, vol. 2, p. 514, NARA; Karen Mauer Green, The Kentucky Gazette 1787-1800 (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1983), 60, 74, 221, 224, 246; James Rood Robertson, Petitions of the Early Inhabitants of Kentucky to the General Assembly of Virginia 1769 to 1792 (Louisville, KY: John P. Morton & Co., 1914), 219.
[15] Karen Mauer Green, The Kentucky Gazette 1801-1820 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985), 38; Sellers, Patience Wright, 226; Kentucky Marriage Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), 477; Elmer T. Hutchinson, “Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, etc.,” Archives of the State of New Jersey Series I, vol. 37 (1942): 286; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 271-73.
[16] Petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; and Laurens, Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 220-21.
[17] House Journal, February 12, 1807 and March 1, 1807, Senate Journal, January 10, 1809, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, memory.loc.gov; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA. An E. Platt only appears in Philadelphia city directories as a grocerer in 1809. W. Platt, however, appears as a baker in the directories for 1808 and 1810 but not in 1809. Jack Gumbrecht, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, to author, February 1, 2006.

Hijacking Gunpowder for the Colonies

East Fork-Trinity Chapter Newsletter

Texas Section Sons of the American Revolution

Volume ?, Issue 3 March 22, 2012

As the Revolutionary War developed into being in 1775, a major problem facing patriots of the American Colonies was the critical shortage of gunpowder for the Continental Army and the state militia forces. This point was driven home to the South Carolina Provincial Congress when the South Carolina delegates attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia sent an urgent letter dated July 1, 1775, asking of that body: "...to procure from you a quantity of gun-powder for the use of the armies in the field for the service of America..." The need was made even more apparent as the delegates also re-quested that any damaged gunpowder be sent to Philadelphia for recovery along with any surplus saltpeter for the manufacture of gunpowder. This gunpowder shortage dilemma of the colonial patriots was not lost on British authorities as several groups of patriots had already raided British Army arsenals and spirited away precious gunpowder stores.

In June of 1775, Sir James Wright, Royal Governor of Georgia, learned through loyalist spies that certain citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, and in the patriot cause were laying plans to intercept and seize a British armed merchant ship, the Phillipa, destined for Savannah, and carrying gunpowder, muskets, and other military goods in its hold. Wright immediately sent a letter to Admiral Samuel Graves in New York, commander of all British Navy vessels and personnel in North America, requesting that armed vessels be posted to the Port of Savannah to protect British shipping coming in and out of the harbor. Wright feared, rightly so, that capture of this ship loaded with gunpowder would spell major difficulties in the governor's ef-forts in Georgia, as well as governors and the British military in the rest of the colonies in North America, in foiling a growing rebellion. Wright was also aware that patriots had intercepted information that the gunpowder and munitions on the Phillipa were destined for distribution to Creek and Cherokee Indian tribes, to be encouraged by British Army officers to mount attacks on patriot settlements along the western colonial border.

South Carolina's revolutionary governing body issued orders in early June to Captain John Barnwell of the 1ST South Carolina Regiment, and John Joyner, the Port Royal, South Carolina, harbor pilot to execute such a venture. Their orders were to take com-

mand of and equip two armed barges, recruit a crew of forty men, and await orders to sail to Bloody Point, on the southern tip of Daufuske Island, north of the mouth of the Savannah River. Once there, they were to lay in wait, and upon arrival of the Philippa, seize the ship and her cargo of gunpowder and arms.

Bloody Point, the north landfall for all ships entering or exiting the Savannah River, would give the South Carolinians an excellent vantage point to watch for the Philippa or any other ships of interest. Around mid-June, Barnwell and Joyner completed preparations including recruiting crews for both barges. Thus ready, they received orders to sail, departed from Beaufort with their armed barges manned by a contingent of sailors and militiamen, moved down the coast, and took up station at Bloody Point.

Reports from loyalist spies of the presence of the two barges at Bloody Point and patriot-fomented unrest in the Savannah River area weighed heavily on Governor Wright, waiting for much needed naval aid from Admiral Graves. Unfortunately for Wright, his letter to Graves requesting armed British naval vessels be sent to his aid was intercepted by agents of the South Carolina Committee of Safety. A forgery was produced and sent on to Graves assuring him that all was peaceful and that no naval or military assistance was currently needed.

Some fortune finally seemed to smile on Governor Wright in the form of the British naval schooner HMS St. John, Lieutenant William Grant, commanding. Grant had set out from St. Augustine, East Florida on June 27, 1775, with dispatches for Wright from Florida's Royal Governor Patrick Tonyn.

On June 29, when less than a dozen miles off Tybee Lighthouse, marking the southern side of the mouth of the Savannah River, Grant intercepted and temporarily detained a sloop from Providence, Rhode Island. Grant sailed the HMS St. John and the intercepted vessel to the southern entrance to the Savannah River and anchored near the Tybee Lighthouse. In plain view of Grant and his ship's crew was a tent erected next to the lighthouse, and several boats grounded along the shore. What he saw was a group of South Carolinian patriots sent by small boat from the two barges at Bloody Point along with a reinforcement of a few Georgia "Liberty Boys", all of whom had seized the light-house and encamped there to guard the southern side of the river. Not knowing who was at the lighthouse, and leaning towards the cautious side, Grant ordered his crew on alert and dispatched the detained sloop on to Savannah with a letter to inform Governor Wright of his arrival.

On his own initiative, Grant began sending his small boats to intercept and search vessels entering and leaving the bay, looking for illicit goods being smuggled in or out of Savannah. The results were disappointing and after a couple of days of fruitless activity and hearing nothing from Governor Wright, he sent another letter to Savannah via a ship's officer in one of HMS St. John's small boats.

As events on the river and in the sound were unfolding, the situation in Savannah turned worse for Governor Wright when, on July 4, the Second Provincial Congress of Georgia convened, and joined the American Association and the rebellion. Georgia patriots in Savannah, encouraged by letters from the South Carolina Committee on Safety urging them to assist the South Carolinians anchored off of Bloody Point, decided to participate in capturing the Phillipa.

Fig. 3. USS Wasp, 1775. Armed Schooner similar to the Liberty. US Navy Photo.

Georgia patriots quickly acquired the schooner Elizabeth, owned by Samuel Price and Richard Wright, both of Savannah, and commissioned her the Georgia Navy Ship Liberty. James Habersham, a leading member of the Georgia Provincial Con-gress, was assigned the task of outfitting and arm-ing the Liberty. Habersham had already participated, in the company of other prominent Georgians, in a raid relieving the British Army of 600 pounds of gunpowder at their magazines in Savan-nah. He quickly fitted the ship with ten eight-pound naval carriage guns and several swivel guns, and recruited a crew of fifty patriot sailors. Oliver Bowen, later to be appointed commodore of the Georgia Navy Department, was commissioned as captain of the Liberty, and Samuel Price as the ship's pilot. Bowen's orders were to join with and assist South Carolinian Captains Joyner and Barnwell in capturing the Phillipa and seizing its gunpowder and munitions cargo.

The British armed merchant ship Phillipa, Captain Richard Maitland commanding, had left London on May 2, and had on board a load of 16000 pounds of gunpowder, Indian trade muskets and other military materials. Enjoying favorable southern route trade winds, Maitland, with no inkling of a planned hijacking, was anticipating arrival at the Savannah River mouth around the end of the first week in July.

New reports of two hostile barges at Bloody Point along with his previous observation of the unidentified group of men at Tybee Lighthouse, who were now flying a strange flag, gave Grant further cause for concern. The overly cautious lieutenant moved the HMS St. John further out to sea, in the process hampering his ability to observe all ships entering or leaving the mouth of the river. This move would prove disastrous for Grant and for Governor Wright as well, for on July 7, Maitland and the Phillipa sailed up on the Savannah River and anchored nine miles off of Tybee Point, out of sight of Grant.

Still more misfortune was in store for Governor Wright as, upon anchoring, Maitland sent a boat in to Savannah requesting a pilot, an act alerting the Georgia patriots of the arrival of the Phillipa. The next day Captain Bowen moved the Liberty to the river's mouth and anchored in the middle of the main stream, positioning his ship to block Maitland from passing on to Savannah. Unaware of the presence of the Liberty, Mait-land took on board a pilot, weighed anchor and proceeded towards the mouth of the Sa-vannah River. It would appear that the pilot was loyal to the patriot cause as he said nothing to Maitland about the presence of patriot barges, common knowledge to anyone in Savannah, or the Liberty, which he had to pass as it was anchored in plain sight in the entrance to the Savannah River.

As the Phillipa sailed down on the Liberty, Maitland observed that "...the schooner was full of armed men and had ten carriage guns mounted". As Maitland's ship neared the Liberty, Bowen fired two musket shots and hailed Maitland to identify himself and drop anchor. Maitland attempted evasive maneuvers, but his efforts were futile, and he was forced to haul in sail and drop anchor in compliance with Bowen's orders. There were a few tense moments as some hot words were exchanged between the two captains, though the patriots did not attempt boarding the Phillipa. Bowen raised a white flag bordered in red with the words "American Liberty" also in red, and identified his ship as being an armed vessel of the Georgia Navy. Seeing that the Phillipa was outgunned and outmanned, Maitland wisely chose to comply with Bowen's demands.

Contrary winds and an ebb tide convinced Bowen not to try the passage of the two ships up the river that night, and ordered the Phillipa to anchor in close to and under the watchful eye of the crew of the Liberty. Next morning Bowen ordered Maitland to move his ship up the Savannah River ahead of the Liberty to Cockspur Island and again anchor close by the Liberty. At the same time the two South Carolina barges were moving up river to join the Liberty, and upon arrival, Bowen, Joyner, and an armed party of patriots boarded the Phillipa. Maitland was forced to surrender his papers, at which point Joseph Habersham, acting on behalf of the Georgia Provincial Congress, handed Mait-land an order seizing his cargo.

On board the Phillipa were found the anticipated 16000 pounds of gunpowder, plus "seven hundredweight of leaden bullets" along with "bar-lead, sheet-lead, and shot." Also found were Indian trade muskets, confirming the suspicions of the colonists of the intent of the British to arm hostile Indians. Part of the gunpowder was immediately loaded aboard the Liberty along with several kegs of musket balls, and the rest was left on board the Phillipa to be unloaded at the docks in Savannah later that day.
At the Savannah docks the remaining gunpowder was divided between Georgia and South Carolina, with Georgia getting 9,000 pounds of powder and most of the small arms. The Georgian gunpowder and arms were transported to and stored in the Savannah city magazine for safe keeping, and later 5,000 pounds of Georgia's gunpowder share were sent to Philadelphia for use by the Continental Army.
The South Carolinian patriots took 7,000 pounds of seized gunpowder to Beaufort, South Carolina, to be placed in the care of Colonel Stephen Bull, commanding the patriot militia in the Beaufort District. In response to the request from their representatives in the Continental Congress, the South Carolina Provincial Congress sent 4,000 pounds of their share to Philadelphia.
Amazingly, it was a bloodless affair as no firefights occurred and no casualties were suffered on either side. The cooperation of Georgians with South Carolinians resulted in the capture of the Phillipa and the acquisition and distribution of much needed gunpowder for the two colonies as well as for use in the muskets and cannons of the Continental Army.

Author's Notes:

Fig 4. The term "barge" seems to be synonymous with the term "row galleys", which are small boats with no sail, and mounting one long gun facing over the bow, and two or more long guns facing starboard and port and located towards the stern. When fitted with a lateen sail, the term "gunboat" seems sometimes to be used.

Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 4 P588

Admiral Clark Gayton to Philip Stevens (1)
Antelope Port Royal March 30th 1776 at7PM
Sir In great haste as the Grantham Pacquet sails Early to Morrow Morning,
I beg leave to send the inclosed Express to you for their Lordships information; which I received Just now from Mr John Brown Chief Justice of His Majesty's Island of [New] Providence (2); I shall do all in my Power with what Force I have, to assist the Island when required. I shall write to the Commanding Officer at Boston and acquaint [him] with this Express to me.
I am farther to acquaint their Lordships that I have seized one Mr [Ebenezer Smith] Platt -he was a Committee Man at Georgia, and is the Man that Boarded the Phillips, one [Richard] Maitland Master of Georgia last Year & seized all the Government Gun Powder & carried it to the Rebels. I have had him some days in Irons, but could not get the iden[t]ity of his Persons sworn to until1 this afternoon, which was from the above Maitland, and his people that was with him when the Powder was seized and is now here loading with Sugar and as I have seized the above Platt at Port Royal, I presume he must be tried on this Island for the Robbery and Executed on this Island. I shall let his Excellency Sir Basil Keith know about him tomorrow morning and shall inform their Lordships by the next Pacquet what is done with the same Platt,(3) I am with great respect Sir [kc.]
Clark Gayton
1. PRO, Colonial Office, 51124, 71b.
2. See John Brown's letter to Gayton, March 22, 1776.
3. What Gayton summarized in a paragraph regarding Ebenezer Smith Platt was described in detail later by Elizabeth Wright, daughter of Patience Wright, the wax modeller, in a letter to Benjamin Franklin. It reads in part:
the 13th of July 1775 there Arrived A Vessel in Savannah Harbour Commanded by A Captain Maitland, Laden with Goods and some Powder & Arms from Merchants in England Consigned to their Correspondents - Merchants in Georgia - the People of Georgia at that Time had just formed a Congress amongst themselves and began as well as the Other Provinces to be Divided into Liberty & Tory Parties-The Merchants to whom the Goods were Consigned were of these different Opinions - A Stoppage of Trade then taking Place and Goods being rather Scarce- the Congress Previous to the Arrival of the Vessel Purchased the Goods of the Merchants at An Advanced Price- but rather against the Will of those of them who were in the opposition to the Congress- in Consequence of which the others fearing there might be any obstruction to the Landing the Goods or that Possibly A Mob might be Raised to Destroy or Prevent the Congress from obtaining them - applied to Mr Plat with two other Gentlemen to go on board the Vessel which Lay some Miles off and see that She was Safe brought up to the Town and that none of the Goods Should be Landed ti1 Her Arrival There - they gave them an order to the Captn & Mate to Receive and Entertain them in the best Manner on Board- but they seeing the Captn afterwards in Town showed Him the Order - and As He was not going on Board again just then He gave them an order to the Mate, much to the same Purpose as the other, viz, to Receive & treat them well -& was very Polite & Friendly - but by what happened afterwards it appears that He was rather Averse to the Congress having the Cargo- they staid on Board 6 Days - Saw the Vessel brought up to the Town and Nothing Landed Except some Horses for Governor Campbell at Charlestown south Carolina- they then went on Shore thought No more of it and Another Committee was sent in their stead, who Landed the Cargo- after Captn Maitland had Cleared His Vessel in Georgia he set sail with a Cargo from there for Jamaica-and soon after Mr Plat went as Merchant in a Vessel of His own which He had fitted out for the same Port leaving his Partner to superintend his Business & Property in the Mean time - After His Arrival in Jamaica He Saw Captain Maitland There who was Exceeding Friendly to Him & invited Him to Make His home on Board His ship whilst he Staid in Kingston - this offer He Declined - but they frequently fell in Company with Each other and always upon the footing of Friendship for about 8 weeks when they happened one Evening to Meet in a Coffee House in a good deal of other Company amongst which was Captain Miller of New York, with several other Captains some of them had got a little heated with the Liquor and one amongst the rest, gave as A Toast "Damnation to all Americans" to which Mr Plat, Replied, that No Gentleman of Honour or Goodness Could drink such a Toast as it was Repugnant to the Rules of Society -on which the other grew warm as well as some of the Company - and Mr Plat fearing A Quarrel immediately Withdrew-Captain Maitland who by this time had grown warm with the Liquor and Conversation soon after His Departure, Cryd out "That Damned fellow was one of them on Board my Ship at Georgia with an order from the Congress and Landed the Powder and Arms for them["] -most of the Company was Exceedingly Pleased at the Discovery and the next Day Reported it all over the town, not omitting the Governor Sir Bassi1 Keith- who immediately sent word to Captain Maitland that He ought to Come & Exhibit an information Against Mr Plat - the Captn having grown sober again was Exceedingly Sorry for what he had said and sent word to Mr. Plat that He wished he would Absent Himself or Leave the Place, Else He must be obliged to Comply with the Governors Commands Mr Plat Amazed, tho indifferent, at his information returned Answer that His business did not Suit him to leave the Place at that Time - that He had nothing to dread from any information He Could make against Him- and that He was at liberty to act as he thought proper in the Case - Mr Plat was at that Time having Disposed of his Vessel & Cargo fitting out another for Turtling & fishing before His Return to Georgia - as He Lay off in the River Prepared to Sail - the Admiral's Boat Came along Side and Asked for Mr Plat the Captain Replied that He was on Board -on which they immediately Seized the Vessel & Crew alleging it was on account of An information of Captain Maitlands against Mr Plat, before the Governor-Mr Plats Captain & .Crew were Set at Liberty about 3 weeks afterward - but Mr Plat was Confined in Irons and for a fortnight Debard from Seeing or writing to Any of His Friends - and treated with the greatest insolence and indignities by the Sailors.
Franklin Papers, V, 56, APS.

Thomas Harrison to Governor Sir Basil Keith[130]:
COPY

Sir In obedience to your Excellency's commands, signified to me by your Letter of yesterday I have perused the Admiral's Letter, and the affidavits therein inclosed. The affidavits I have submitted to the consideration of the Judge of the Admiralty, and we are both of opinion, that the Offence therein charged, being committed by a person coming from shore, while the Ship lay off Savannah, which is within the body of the Province of Georgia, arises out of the Admiralty jurisdiction, and is not cognizable thereby, or by any other criminal jurisdiction of this Island. The forcibly taking away Stores, belonging to, or intended for the use of the Kings Forts, with intent to assist, in carrying on hostile measures then on foot against His Majesty, raises the Offence from Robbery to High Treason, which being committed in Georgia, is cognizable there on the 25th Edward 3d, or in England by that Statute, and the jurisdiction given by the 33d or 35th of Henry 8th But the State of Georgia, wherein the administration of civil and criminal justice, is silenced by arms, makes in effect this offence triable, for the present in England only. Under these circumstances I am of opinion, that William Platt ' cannot be in such proper and safe custody, as tha[t] of the Admiral, who, if he shall judge proper, may send him to England, there to be dealt with according to Law - Had William Platt been apprehended by any civil Magistrate, I do suppose, the Admiral would have been applied to, through your Excellency, to take him under his charge and send him to England, for the purpose aforesaid. I am, with the greatest respect Sir [kc.]
April 10th 1776 Tho: Harrison
1. PRO, Admiralty 11240. Harrison was attorney general at Jamaica.
2. The prisoner was Ebenezer Smith Platt, not William Platt, a name which Admiral Gayton had mistakenly given him.

P762
Kieth to Vice Admiral Clark Gaydon.
Sir As your Letter of yesterday's date comprehends questions of Law, wherein it is my duty to be advised by His Majesty's Attorney General, I directly sent it, with the Depositions accompanying it, to Mr [Thomas] Harrison for his guidance; and at the same time desired him, to lose no time in furnishing me, with his written opinion on the matter, and advice what part I ought to take in it, as Governor of the Island - Inclosed I send you his answer, by which I conceive myself precluded from any interference, in this affair - This being the case, I return you the Depositions of the Evidences against [Ebenezer Smith] Platt - I am Sir [&c.]
Basil Keith

1. PRO, Admiralty 11240.
2. Ibid., Gayton, in his letter of June 13 to Philip Stephens, endorsed this letter: "April 10^th
1776 Letter from the Govr Inclosing the Attorney Generals opinion respecting William Platt who I apprehended on information of being concern'd in taking Amunition belonging to Governmt out of the Ship Philippa, Richd Maitland Master, at Georgia in July 1775."

P794:
copy [Spanish Town] April 12th 1776
Sir I cannot advise your Excellency, to receive William Platt, and the two Witnesses against him, from the Admiral, for the purpose of having them committed, to the Kingston goal; as well for the reasons contained in my former Letter, as because I am certain, that William Platt would be less secure there, than under the Admirals custody, in the Dock-Yard. - In regard to the Witnesses, nothing less than the most absolute necessity, can justify their being so strictly confined. From what I hear, of the character and disposition of Mr Maitland, the Master of the Philippa, I am satisfied means can be contrived, between the Admiral and him, to put their appearance past a question - I am with the highest respect Sir [kc.]
Tho: Harrison
1. PRO. Admiralty 1/240.
2. Ebenezer Smith Platt.

PRO Docs Ref Savannah

From the 1819 Horwood Map of London:
Broad St, St Georges in the East is probably Reardon St, E1.
Stair Street (leading up from King James Stair) becomes Monza Street.
Shakespeare Walk disappeared under Shadwell Dock Basin between Monza Street and the Churchyard.

PRO TS 11/1057 Pack 4710

ESP 952 Richard M letter – 5/1/1777:

Sir

I presume the bearer Mr Richd Scriven who is now Master of the Ship Philippa, and was on board when the transaction wherein Platt was concerned hapend Together with the Chief mate Samuel Burnett, will be sufficient Testimony, to go to Portsmouth on this occasion as their Evidence must be more particular than mine, they being Constantly onb(oar)d whilst Platt was there and I most frequently Onsh(o)r(e), if this will do Shall wait on you Early with them tomorrow morning which will be Saving time both to you and me not taking me from My Business, you pleased to Note yr approbation and bearer to me.

I am Sir your most obdt humble Servant
Richd Maitland,

N.B. your pleased remember Sufficient protection for them.

Broad Street St Georges in East
5 Jany 1777-11 AM.

ESP 998 Richard M to Wm Chamberlain 30/01/1777

Sir

I now Inform you that I Now am, thank god, able to go out about Business, and if I am to appear Against that wretch Platt, please to signify to me the Time. But would wish for reasons you may guess that I Could be served with an other Summons, if it can be done with Propriety; Scriven is not yet Come out of the County, Burnett is out on an other Ship to which I Can Direct your So that ??? to give me a days notice that I may not be other wise Engaged-

I am Sir your most obdt humble Servant
Richd Maitland,

Broad Street St Georges in the East
30 Jany 1777

To Wm Chamberlain Esq.

920 – Richard M to Chamberlain - 6/1/1777

Cover:
To Chamberlaine esq,
Garth (Gauth/Gorth) Square, Fleet Street

Captain Maitland’s letter recd 6^th Jany 1776 ¼ after 11 forenoon.

921

Sir,
I find its uncertain whether a Protection can be had for Samuel Burnet or not, upon the Business to Portsmouth. There were six Examinations Taken at Jamaica, I may Say Seven, for one was taken from me by the Clerks of the Peace, another by the same Officer at the request of Mr Harrison the Attorney General which no doubt has been sent to Administration.
Three of the six were sent home with the Prisoner two of which three I offered Admiral Gayton Security for, Barring Mortality. By what means they let them Slip I am no Judge of, but their friends who came to me with Power to Receive their Wages told me the first moment that had leave to go on Shore for Asking, The taking of these three men brought me under an Expence of Thirty Pounds Sterling to get men in their rooms to bring my Ship home.
Now Sir if Admiral Gayton has sent a Prisoner home without force enough to bring him to Tryal, or if he has made any mistake after having three Widenis in his Possesion why should I be made the dupe of to commence a New prosecution and I have to have been called upon momently since I have been at home, to have appeared against this man and am ready and willing to prosecute every rebel or Enemy that his Majesty know, and more so upon this occasion but why are not the Crown Officers who made their Escape from Georgia who I dare say must know this man Platt personally and can give a good Account of him and the opposition he made against the Crown in Georgia. Why are not the Proprietors of the Property that was pirated out of my Ship calld upon to prosecute, but all those People are to be Screen’d, and must I be exposed to the Prejudice of American Fools here, and the Property that have been laying in that Country may be for ever lost, and in Case of a Settlement with those Rebels, If I was to go there to look after my property, might be Sacrificed for being too Busy in this Affair, Altho’ it is well known in this Town that I have suffered a great deal in America for my Attachment to Government for I have every honourable Opinion of you that one Gentleman can have for another, but until I am more Clear in what I am doing, and Regularly Call’d upon by a Proper Summons I will take no hand in it ---- I am pretty Clear that my Second Examination at Jamaica, by the Request of the Attorny Genrl was to Strengthen Admiral Gayton’s hands for holding the Prisoner against some Mistakes that was made on the first Detention And am sorry the same thing is to be done over again, I say again Sir, I am very Ready and Willing to bring Platt to Justice, and will call Stronger Widines there myself, that know his Situation in Georgia, and I dare say can positively convince you whether he was a Member of the Provincial Congress or Committee. I have caught a very great Cold or would have waited you this morning according to Promise.

I am etc,

Rich’d Maitland

Broad Street, St Georges in the East,
Jany 6^th 9 AM.

924 – Platt to Capt Hughes, Cantaur - 4/12/1776

Cover:
4^th December 1776
Copy of a letter from Ebenezer S Platt to Capt Hughes of the Centaur
(No 10)
In the Lords of the Admly’s Decr 9 1776.

925
Copy
Sir,

I humbly beg your permission for leave to send for an attorney on board that I may lay before him a State of my Case, in order to have the benefit of the habeas Corpus Act, as I have been detained a Prisoner then eight months upon the accusation of one Captn Maitland and want nothing but to be tried by the Laws of my King and Country.

Ebenezer S Platt
4^th Decr 1776.

926: - Admiral Gaydon to M Stephens - 25/7/1776

Cover
25 July 1776.

Admiral Gayton to M Stephens
(No 61)
In the Lords of the Admly’s Decr 9 1776.

927
Copy of a Letter from Vice Adml Gayton Commr in Chief of His Majt Ships and Vessels at Jamaica, to Mr Stephens dated the 25^th July 1776.

Sir,
I be leave to inclose their Lordships the several affidavits relative to William Platt, who I have sent to England in the Pallas to take trial for the Crime he has committed, which I hope their Lordships will approve.

928-933
2 copies, slight changes between them (copied without all the “saids”:

The information of Richard Scriven late Ships Steward and mow Master and Commander of the ship Philippa now lying in the Thames whereof Richard Maitland was Master taken before me William Addington Esquire one of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in and for the said County this 10^th day of January 1777.

Who being upon Oath Saith that in the month of March or April in the year 1775 the Ship Phillippa Sailed from the River Thames under the Command of the Richard Maitland having on board among Sundry other Goods, Gunpowder, Arms and Lead and several Casks of Bullets Consigned to different persons in the provinces of Georgia and East Florida in North America
And this Deponent further Saith that the Ship on or about the Seventh day of July then next following arrived on the Coast of Georgia and came to Anchor off Tyhee bar where she was hailed by a Schooner full of Armed Men which had hoisted at the Mast Head a White Flag with a Red Border on the Field of which Flag was Stampt in large Red Letters the Words “American Liberty” and that some of the men on board the Ship gave orders that the Ship Phillippa should follow the said Schooner up the River Savanna and bring to in Cockspur Road which she accordingly doing.
Three persons from the Schooner attended by about forty armed men then came on board the Ship Phillippa and took by force all the Gun powder out of the Ship and a few kegs of the musket Balls and carried them on board the Schooner at the same time declaring they would then have carried with them all the musket balls and the Small Arms if they could have got at them but gave Orders to the Mates of the Ship Phillippa not to land any of the Small Arms or Musket Balls at their peril but to Remain in Cockspur Road until they should receive further orders from the Committee at Savannah
And this Dep’t further Saith that Orders were received on board

929

the Ship Phillippa on the twelfth day of July aforesaid from the Committee to bring the ship up to Savanna which was accordingly done and upon her Arrival Three persons (One of whom was named William Platt – otherwise Ebenezer Smith Platt and whom this Informant hath heard and Verily believes to be a prisoner on board one of his Majesty’s Ships at Portsmouth came on board the Ship and declared they were sent by the Committee to see that the Small Arms and Musket Balls were not landed according to the Bills of Lading Signed by Richard Maitland but to take the same into their possession as the same should come to hand in unloading the ship and to send them to the Committee and accordingly did take into their possession against the Will of Richard Maitland all the Small Arms and Musket Balls in the Ship as the same came to hand in unloading and caused the same to be put into two Boats and Ordered the people in the boats to carry the Small Arms and Musket Balls to Savanna and then Platt and the other two persons embarked themselves in another boat and followed
And this informant further Saith that Richard Maitland and his Officers and Mariners were afraid to make any resistance to Platt and his Company because from the Time the Ship Phillippa was so detained until the Time this Deponent left the Colony of Georgia there was a Rebellion in the Colony and the Course of public justice thereby totally Obstructed And his Majesty’s Governor in the Province deprived of all power and Authority which was usurped by an Assembly of Men at Savanna aforesaid Stiling themselves the provincial Congress or Committee under whose Authority divers people were in Arms to oppose his Majesty’s Government and to carry all the Orders of the Committee if opposed into Execution by force
And which armed force Platt and his Companions (who were willing actors in the sd Rebellion) this Deponent knew could command and therefore any Resistance made to their Orders might be attended with the utmost Danger to the lives of Richard Maitland his Officers and Mariners
Richd Scriven
Sworn before me
January 10 1777
W Addington.

934-5-6 – Bensted to Chamberlain - 13/1/1777

Cover:
Mr Bensted 13^th Jany 77
To
Wm Chamberlaine Esq,
Solicitor of the Treasury,
Gough Square,
LONDON.

Portsmouth 13^th Jany 1777

Sir,
Captn Milbank is in London, we have heard nothing of any Habeas Corpus, but Platt about two days ago writ a Letter to Sir James Douglas requesting that he might be discharged, to which the Admiral gave no answer.
Persons are not confined, in general, by a written order in a military Way. The fact was that Adm Gayton at Jamaica sent home in the Pallas a Lieutt and eight Seamen of an armed Schooner called the Independence besides Platt and the three witnesses, Sir James Douglas in his Hurry writes the Admlty of the arrival of a Lieut and 12 men of an Armed Schooner at Spithead, the Admlty by their Secretary acquaint Sir James that Lord Suffolk had directed that they should be detained till further Order. This is the true mode of their detention but the only way Capt Hughes of the Centaur can form a Return is as follows:
”That he detains Ebenezer Platt on Bd his majesty’s Ship Centaur under his Command by virtue of a (vessel) order from Vice Adml Sir Jas Douglas Knt Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Ships and vessels at Spithead and Portsmouth, who acquainted him Capt Hughes that the said Ebenezer Platt had been sent home from Jamaica in Irons by Vice Adm Gayton commanding there by sea, to Spithead in His Majesty’s Ship Pallas, on a Charge of having been guilty of High Treason at of near Georgia in America.
Capt Hughes proposes if he should be found with a Habeas Corpus to send a midshipman and another man in a Post Chaise to Town with Platt, but is anxious to know how he is to be repaid the Expense of the Chaise.

I am, Sir
Your most Obdt Servant,
Thos Bensted.

937/9
Mr Chamberlain esq, Colton

Mr Platt is now confined in double Irons. Its in your power at least to prevent this Extrutiating Torment – Humanity I hope will direct you to write to Mr Aikerman (how my uncle and men are not acquainted with) to alleviate this Torture – I shall proceed in the Petition for Tryal as expeditiously as possible – I’m Jo? For Whittaker and self,
Your most hble Lord,
G Colton,
Symonds Inn,
25 Jan 1777.

939/40:
Copy Ebenezer Smith Platt
Commitment.

Woldlesxto wit??
To the Keeper of His Majesty’s Gaol of Newgate or his Deputy.

These are in His Majesty’s Name to authorise and require you to receive into your Custody the Body of Ebenezer Smith Platt herewith sent You charged before me upon the Oaths of Richard Scriven and Samuel Burnett with High Treason at Savannah in the Colony of Georgia in North America and You are to keep him safe until he should be delivered by due course of Law and for so doing this shall be your warrant Given under my Hand and Seal this 23rd day of January 1777.

W Addington.

941/2:
To Wm Chamberlayne Esq
----
Ant Charmier?
------

St James’s 13^th Dec 1776
Sir,
I have just sent the Attorney General and am to desire You will take no steps respecting Platt Till you receive further Directions
I am
Sir
Your most Obed ...
Robt Charmier

943:
Document much crossed out – looks like a draft of a statement.

... The Town of Savannah and there moored and that after his arrival there One schooner and two other persons under the Authy of the Committee came on board the said Ship Phillippa and remained on board her during the time she was unloading which took up in all abt...

951
To ----- Chamberlain Esq
Gough Square
Fleet Street
FF Mr Scriven.

944
(Also contains some corrections)

Side note (partial image): Dec 1776 Copied this – and sent in by express – Mr Bistead Hon – Law Portsmouth.

Sir,
By some Depositions that were taken before the Judge of the Admiralty Court in Jamaica that the Ship Philippa whereof Richard Maitland was bound from the port of London to Savannah in the Colony of Georgia in New England and having on board a Considerable Quantity of Gun Powder and some Chests of Small Arms and several Kegs of Musket Balls to be delivered at Savannah “afd” for the Use of the Indians Friendly to the British Government and for the Use of his Majesty’s Forts and Fortifications there and elsewhere
about the Seventh day of July 1775 Arrived at the Mouth of the River Savannah in Georgia that soon after her arrival She was hailed by a Schooner full of Armed Men some of whom Gave Orders that the said Ship Philippa should follow the Schooner up the River Savannah and bring to in Cockspur Road that the said Ship Philippa did proceed to
946
Cockspur Road aforesaid and there came to an anchor during all which time the said Schooner kept Close to her Course to an Anchor near her Port
soon after three Persons (Supported by and Armed force which came off in Boats from Cockspur X

Side Note: X Island where there appeared to be an Incamp ???? Tybee.

came from the Schooner on board the said Ship Philippa and Demanded and took from the Master all the Ships Papers and Manifest of her Cargo

947 N/A (crossed out)
948
and that the Colony of Georgia were shown in Open Rebellion and that an Assembly of Men at Savannah Stiling themselves the Provincial Congress of the Province Georgia or Committee had illegally Userped the Government of the said Colony and had seized and inbodied? A great number of Men in Order to oppose his Majesty’s Government there and who were daily ??ined with Colonists that while
949
The said Ship lay at Cockspur Island and great number of Armed Men under the Authority of the same Congress or Committee came on board the said Ship Philippa and took out of her Hold and Carried away agst the Will of the Master and Mariners a great Quantity of Gunpowder and Lead and a few Kegs of Musket Balls and Declared they would have Carried away all the said Musket Balls and all the Fire Arms if they those could have got at them
950
and gave Orders to the Master of the Ship Philippa not to Land any of the said Musket Balls or Small Arms at their peril but to Remain in Cockspur Road until they should Receive further Order from the said Committee
that and Order afterwards came from the Committee that in Obedience thereto the said Ship Philippa was on an/or...

952:
I presume the bearer of Mr Richard Scriven who is now Master of the ship Philippa, and was on board when the transaction wherein Platt was concerned happened together with the Chief Mate Samuel Burnett will be sufficient testimony, to go to Portsmouth on this occasion as their evidence must be more particular then mine, they being constantly on bd whilst Platt was there, and I most frequently onshr(?), if this will do shall wait on you early with them tomorrow morning which will be saveing to me both to you and me and not taking me from my business, you pleased to not your approbation by bearer to me,
etc Broad St, St George in the East 5^th Jan 1777 11 am.

953
To
Wm Chamberlayne Esq
Solicitor of the Treasury
Gough Square
London

Sent Express to Portsmouth 10 Dec
Do 6^th January 1777
1-13-6

954
Sir,
I had the Favor of your letter this morning by Express relative to Ebenezer Platt, and have fixed with Adml Sir James Douglas to have the Witnesses brought on Shore to morrow morning at nine O’clock, when Your Directions shall be pursued, I am
Sir Your most Obedt Servant
Thos Binsteed.

955
Copy
Captain Cornwallis Sir

M Stephens
26 Dec 1776

956:
Pallas, Portsmouth Harbour, 25 Decr 1776
Sir,
In answer to your letter of the 23^rd Inst relative to the Evidences against Mr William Platt having made their Escape, I beg you will be pleased to acquaint their Ldps that I intended to send them on board a Guardship before we went into the Harbour, it was late in Evening when the Pilot came on board, and we had no Opportunity, the Men had been detained a long time and turned from Ship to Ship, I therefore thought it rather hard to put them in Irons as they had always behaved remarkably well, and I had not the least Reason to suppose they intended to get away, I believe they made their Escape in the night. The Philippa, Maitland, the merchant Ship they were taken out of is now in the River, I apprehend it would not be difficult for him to procure Evidence. I did not give them Leave to go on Shore, not do I think they had leave from any of the Officers.

I am etc
W Cornwallis.

Philip Stephens Esq

958
Mr Stephens to Sir Stanier Posten?
Admiralty Offices, 26^th Dec 1776.

959
Copy
Admiralty Office 26^th Dec 1776
Sir,
Lord Weymouth having in his Letter of the 21^st Inst, transmitted to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty a Copy of one from Mr Binsteed, giving an Account that the three witnesses against Platt, the Committee man of Georgia, who were sent to England with hime in His Majesty’s Ship Pallas, had made their Escape from her, their Lordships directed Capt Cornwallis late Commander of the said Ship, to let them know why he suffered them to go on Shore, and whether he can give them any Information where they are or may be heard fo, which he having done in his Letter of the 25^th Inst, I am commanded by their Lordships to send you the inclosed Copy these for Lord Weymouth’s Information, and am etc,
PW Stephen.

PS,

Their Lsps understand that Mr Maitland, who is mentioned in the inclosed Letter may be heard of at the Jamaica Coffee House.

960/1

Sir Stanier Posten villa??? Ld Weymouth to find out Captain Maitland.

St James’s 29^th Dec 1776.
Sir,
Lord Weymouth has directed me to transmit to you herewith copy of a Letter from Mr Stephens, and one to him from Captain Cornwallis late Commander of the Pallas Frigate, and his Lordship desires you would endeavour to find out Captain Maitland who may be heard of at the Jamaica Coffee House and as his ship Phillippa is said to be still in the River, it may be in his Power to get other Witnesses to supply the place of those escaped from the Pallas, and in case any Witnesses might be forthcoming, his Lordship desires You would direct without loss of time the examination to be taken in the manner at first intended, acquainting me for his Lordship’s Information, with the result of you Inquiries thereupon.
I am,

Sir,
your most obedient
humble Servant,
Stanier Posten,

William Chamberlayne Esq.

962:
Sir,
The ?? here of Mr Sam’l Burnett and he is accomponyed by W’m Scriven the former late Chief Mate of the Cutter late Ship Steward and now the Master & Commander of the Ship Philippa who I hope will arrive fine enough with you to Stop Mr Platt’s Journey, Mr Burnett I myself have Examined and have Di?? Out his Examination which accompany’s them whereby it fully appears the part he took in the Rebellion certainly amounts to High Treason I understand Mr Scriven’s Evidence will be as Strong and that he will Confirm Burnett in every particular but when you take his Examination you will know that, I myself have not been able to take it.
As it behoves him to ?? Captain Milbank of his Changes as soon as Possible I Submit to you whether it would not loosing time to get a Warrant from the Magistrate for Apprehending Plat and bringing him before him upon the Verbal Information (taken upon Oath) of the Witnesse and then you may at Your Leisure desire Mr Scriven’s Information and Copy Over Mr Burnett and make any alterations therein as you may think necessary, I formerly sent you the Form of a Warrant of Commitment
I flatter myself to hear Plat is Committed to Winchester Gaol instead of coming to London which I convince he would never have thought on if he had not if he had not read the Witnesses sworn ?? story,

I am, Sir (etc)
Wm Chamberlayne,
London, Sunday Night,
You will please not to forget to ?? Examination taken in W???

964/5:
7 January 1777,
Sir Stanyer Postern.

St James’s Tuesday 7 January 1777,
Sir,
On receipt this morning of your Letter of last night, I lost no time in laying it before Lord Weymouth by whose Directions I am to acquaint you, that although it appears necessary that the Informations should be taken here from Captain Maitland, the Mate Samuel Burnett and the young man returned from Northamptonshire, or from any two of them, his his Lordship wishes You would stake the whole to the Attorney General and receive his Sentiment thereupon.

I am (etc)
Stanier Posten,

W Chamberlayne.

966:
5 January 1776 (7??)
Sir Stanyer Postern
abt Protestation

St James’s Sunday 5 Janry 1776
Sir, I waited all yesterday in expectation of receiving from the Admiralty the Protection for Samuel Burnet, as Mr Seddon assured me it would be sent to me in the afternoon. As soon as I received your letter this morning, I lost no time in writing to Mr Stephens how essentially necessary it was that we should have the Protection this day, and as I know he has dispatched a Messenger to Lord Sandwich to get it signed, I make no doubt but you may depend on my sending it to you this evening, and Burnet should set off to morrow morning for Portsmouth.
I am Sir etc
Stanier Posten,

W Chamberlayne esq.

968/9,
7^th January 1777,
Mr Binstead

Portsmouth 7^th January 1777
Sir,
I had the favour of your Letter by Express, but we have heard nothing here of any Habeas Corpus, but from your Letters, Sir James Douglas removed Platt to the Centaur on Sunday last, where he now is, whenever the Habeas is Seinged you shall hear further from me by Express of the time that Plat will arrive, in the meantime as I may mistake the mode of a Return to the Habeas in print form, be so good as to Lend me one, and the Cause assigned for receiving and detaining him here shall be fully set forth in that Return,
I am etc,
Tho Binsteed.

970,
W’m Chamberlayne Esq,
Solicitor of the Treasury,
Gough Sq,
London,
10 January 77 Binsteed

Portsmouth 10^th January 1777
Sir,
your favor of last night was received, I have seen Sir James Douglas this morning, who as not heard any thing of Habeas Corpus. If any had been served he would have heard it, We know nothing of Platt or his friends, having no Communication with the Ships at Spithead, whenever the Habeas is served you Directions shall be pursued, in the mean time I think that the Removal again to the Barfleur would seem ????
I am etc,
Thos Binsteed.

972/3
Mr Eden with Plat in Petition.

Davies Street January 17^th
Sir,
I am directed by the Earl of Suffolk to transmit the inclosed paper to you and to desire that you will, as soon as you can, see the Att(orney) and Sol(icitor) General with regard to it – Here is a Disposition in his Majesty to set the Petitioner at Liberty in Consideration of all the Circumstance attending the Case and Confinement – but it should be previously ascertained that there is no Design to abuse this Clemency by bringing actions against the Justice etc, and on this point Mr Whitaker the Solc(itor) for the Petitioner can give Information and having an excellent Character in his possession may be relied on – The next point is as to the form of Release, We are without any precedent in our offices upon a Case exactly like this, but the Att’y and Sol’r G. will possibly think it legal and right that we ?? give the King’s Warrant reciting in General “Circumstances laving been represented and “therefore” “is pleased to order the said E.P. to be discharged”
It is much wished that this matter may not be delayed.
I am with Esteem and regard,
W. Eden,
W Chamberlayne.

974
County of Southampton
for the Information of Samuel Burnett Chief Mate of the Ship Philippa now lying in the River Thames taken upon Oath before me

Who being upon Oath Saith that in the month of March or April in the year of our Lord 1775 the Ship Philippa Sailed from the River Thames with Sundry other Goods on board Consigned to different persons residing in the provinces of Georgia and East Florida in North America and amongst the Goods were Gun Powder Arms and Lead Shipped by Licence of His Majesty or the
And this Deponent further Saith that on the Second day of May then next following the said Ship sailed from the Downs and Came to an Anchor off Tybee Bar on the Coast of Georgia on the Seventh day of July then next following and that two days after a Schooner which had hoisted at the Mast Head a White Flag with a Red Border on the Field of which Flag was Stampt or Imprinted in large Red Letters the Words “American Liberty” and Carrying Ten Guns kept Close to the said Ship until the said Ship ran within Tybee Point and that then the people on board the Schooner ordered the Pilot on board the Ship Phillippa to run the said Ship to Cockspur Island and Anchor her there And this Deponent further Saith that he saw an Incampment of Armed Men in Tybee Point and also on Cockspur Island the number of whom in the whole appeared to be about Three hundred besides what were in the Schooner and that immediately on the Ship Philippa being Anchored
The Greatest part of the Armed Men that were on Shore came off in Boats and Surrounded the said Ship and then three persons unknown to this Deponent on of whom appeared to be the Commander of the Schooner and several other Persons came on board the Ship Phillippa and Demanded and took from Richard Maitland all the Ship’s Papers and manifests & ??? and this Deponent being unable to resist delivered the same and this Deponent further Saith that just at that instant Joseph Habersham of Savannah Merchant came on board the said Ship and produced and Order of an Assembly of Men Styling themselves the Provincial Congress of the Province of Georgia Signed on the left hand side “George Walton Secretary” requiring them to take all the Arms and Ammunition out of the said Ship wherever they found her or Words to that effect and that in Pursuance of such Order the said Armed Men did take out of the Hold of the said Ship and against the Wish and Consent of Richard Maitland and his Mariners Six Ton and a half of Gun Powder as nearly as this Deponent can at present Conjecture and about Seven hundred Weight of Lead and Bullets and Declared they would have then Carryied away all the Musket Balls and Small Arms if they could have come at them but gave Orders to him this Deponent and the other master of the Ship (Richard Maitland having gone on Shore) not to land any of the Small Arms and Musket Balls on board the Ship at their peril and to remain in Cockspur Road until they should Receive further Orders from the Committee sitting at Savannah
And this Deponent Saith that Orders were received on board the Ship from the said Committee

977
Laws and Customs of England these follows the Commandant to the Sherriff to Summmon the ???

Commission of Gaol Director??

George &C

Know ye that We have Constituted you or any two of you our Justices to Deliver our Goal of Newgate of the Prisoners therein being And therefore We Command you that at certain Days and Places which you or any two of you shall appoint for their purpose You must at the ?? City or Sub?? Of the same to Deliver that Goal being therein what to Justice appertains according to the Laws and Customs of our Kingdom of England Saving to the American ?? and other things to the form there answering for the Command of Sherriff of London and Middlesex that at certain days and places which you or any two or more of you shall appoint they ??? all the Prisoners of the same Goal and therein Atte?? Before you or any two of more of you those to Come “In Witago??”

978
George etc
To our Trusty ?? Granting
Know you that We have assigned you or any two or more of you our Justices to inquire most fully the truth by the Oath of Good and lawfull men of our County of Middx and by other ways and Means and Methoda by which you shall or may better know (with in Liberty) without by whom the Truth of the Matter may be better known of all Treason Misprivion?? of S?? Insurrection Rebellion And of all matters Felony etc all other Evil Doings Affairs and Injuries whatsoever and also the A??? of them within the County afsd (or well within Liberty or without) by whomsoever and in what manner soever has committed perpetrated and by whom and to whom wheresoever and after what manner and of all other Articles and Circumstances concerning the ??? and every of them or any of them in any manner whatsoever ?? the viz Treason and other ?? to have and determine according to the Laws and Customs of England
And therefore ?? Command you that at certain days and places which you or any two or more of you shall appoint foir their purpose
You make Deligent Inquiry about the prosecutes and having Determined all and singular the personal day fulfil therein form afd doing therein what to Justice apportain according to the

979
27^th jan 1777
Copied for the Atty Genrl

980
Ebenezer Platts Case
On this 7^th of July 1775 The Ship Phillippa Capt Maitland Master Laden with Gun Powder Arms and Lead conveyed to different persons in the Province of Georgia in America came to an anchor off Tybee Bar on the Coast of Georgia.
On the 9^th of July a Schooner hoist a White Flagg with a Red border with the words American Liberty summounted – 10 guns came up with the Phillippa at Tybee Point and the Peoples on board this Schooner immediately orderes the Pilot on board the Phillippa to run her to Cockspur Island and Anchor there – At this time there was an Encampment of about 300 Armed Men on Tybee Point and on Cockspur Island who immediately after the Phillippa was

981/2
who charged him in his Majesty’s Ship Pallas to England where he arrived about the month of December 1776.
4^th December 1776 Platt applied to the Commander of the Ship where he was a Prisoner for leave to send for an attorney in order to advise about applying for a Habeas Corpus.
4^th January 1777 Lord Mansfield Allowed a Habeas Corpus but before the Writ was delivered to the Attorney who had him in Custody summoned Burnett and Richard Scriven two of the Officers of the Phillippa went before Sir John Field ? and charged the said Platt with the Several? Articles of High Treason before Stated and Sir John having granted his warrant through and Attorney???
Was sent to Portsmouth who having got the warrant backed by the Mayor of that place took Platt into his Custody and brought him before Mr Justice Addington who on the 7^th of Jan 1777 Examined Platt committed him to Newgate for High Treason at Savannah in Georgia.
At the Justices? At the Old Baily after Hil? Term 1777 Platt Petitioned the Court to be tried but upon this matter being solemnly argued the Court were of Opinion they had no Power either to Try Bail or Detain him.
On the 1^st day of Easter Term 1777 Platt petitioned this Court of King’s Bench paryd to be either Bailed or Discharged but this Act of Parliament having just passed the Court were of Opinion that they had no discretion in this matter.

983
10^th April 1776

Attorney General of Jamaica to Sir basil Keith

In Vice Admiral Gayton’s letter to Mr Stephens of the 13^th June 1776
(no 4.)
In the Lords of the Admiralty December 9 1776.

984/5
Sir
In obedience to your Excellency’s command signified to me by your letter of yesterday I have perused the Admiral’s Letter and the Affidavit therein inclosed. The Affidavits I have submitted to the consideration of the Judge of the Admiralty, and we are both of opinion, that the Offence therein charged being committed by a person coming from shore while the Ship lay off Savannah, which is within the body of the Province of Georgia arises out of the Admiralt jurisdiction and is not cognizable thereby, or by any other criminal jurisdiction of this Island. The forcibly taking away Stores, belonging to, or intended for the use of the King’s Forts, with intent to afrest?, carrying on hostile measures then on foot against His Majesty, raises the Offence from Robbery to High Treason, which being committed in Georgia, is cognizable there on the 25^th Edward the 3^rd or in England by that Statute and the Jurisdiction given by the 33^rd and 35^th of Henry 8^th. But the State of Georgia, wherein the Administration of civil and criminal Justice, is silenced by Arms, makes in Effect this Offence triable, for the present in England only. Under those circumstances I am of Opinion, that William Platt cannot be in such proper and safe custody, as that of the Admiral, who, if he shall judge proper may send him to England, there to be dealt with according to Law. Had William Platt been apprehended by any civil Magistrate, I do suppose the Admiral would have been applied to, through your Excellency to take him under his charge, and send him to England for the purpose aforesaid. I am with the greatest respect,
Sir etc
Tho Harrison
April 10^th 1776.

His Excellency the Governor.

986
To the right Honourable the Earl of Suffolk one of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State

My Lord,
Your Lordship having by His Majesty’s commands transmitted to us for our most immediate consideration, a Letter from the Lords of the Admiralty to Your Lordship, together with ten more enclosures, and informed us, that one Ebenezer Platt, late a Committee Man of the Province of Georgia, has been sent to England, as a rebel Prisoner, together with three Witnesses to support against hum the charge of his having forcibly taken some Gunpowder belonging to His Majesty, in order to carry it to a part of His Majesty’s subjects in actual Rebellion, and that he now desires to be allowed an Attorney, in order to claim the benefit of the Habeas Corpus Act; And your Lordship having been pleased to desire out opinion under the whole circumstances of the Case in what manner it may be advisable to proceed. We have taken the same into Our consideration accordingly.
it does not appear from the inclosures at what time Mr Gayton’s Letters were received respectively, but, as the notice of sending Platt over to England to be tried was dated so early as the thirteenth of June, We presume, It was His Majesty’s Pleasure, that He should be so sent to be tried, and not be detained in America, as other Rebel Prisoners have been, some of whom were even remanded for that purpose. Supposing this to be decided, nothing remains to be considered but the quality of their offence, and the method of proceeding upon it.
It does not appear to us, upon what ground Platt is charged, in your Lordships Letter, and also in that form (frfom?) the Lords of the Admiralty to your Lordship, and also in Mr Gayton’s Letter of the thirtieth of March 1776 to the Lords of the admiralty, with having seized His Majesty’s Gunpowder, and carried it to the Rebels; or as your
988
Lordship supposes, in order to carry it to the rebels. The Depositions don’t charge Him with being one of the number of these, who seized the Gunpowder, or even with being upon Cockspur Island, the place where that crime was committed. The charge upon him by the Deposition of Maitland (the Master of the Phillippa) is, that, returning to his Vessel, He found Platt, among other Inhabitants of Savannah (where the Vessel then lay) on board, and that Platt told him, He came there to secure and carry away the shot and small Arms, which they could find, as the same came to hand. The other Depostions, speaking of Platt, Levi and Shafto, add, They declared, that this was done by order of the Committee.

The violence imputed to Platt and the rest at the Town of Savannah will amount to High Treason, if the Committee, under whose orders they professed to Act, can be proved to conduct the rebellion in Georgia, is it is understood, by report, that in fact they do; or, if his violence can be referred in any other way, to a connection with the treasonable
989
force, which is in Arms within that province.

Supposing that to be the case, It will be proper to commit him for trial in the ordinary course; namely, by taking the Information of the witnesses, issuing a Warran thereupon to bring him to be examined, and, if the charge appears well founded commitment.
The temper of our Laws certainly required, that every Prisoner should be allowed the means of suing out a habeas Corpus. But it seems fitter to proceed to His examination, and to discharge Him, if nothing appears in proof against Him, or to commit Him regularly if a sufficient foundation be laid for that,
We are etc,
E Thurlow,
Al. Wedderburn,
10^th Dec 1776.

Dec 10^th 1776
Mr Attorney & Mr Solicitor General.

990 & 2 (2 copies)
Copy of a Letter from Clark Gayton Esq Vice Admiral of the White & Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Ships and Vessels at Jamaica dated Antelope, Port Royal, March the 30^th 1776.
Sir,
I am to acquaint their Lordships that I have seized one Mr Platt he was a Committee Man at Georgia and is the man that Boarded the Philippa, one Maitland, Master, of Georgia last year and seized all the Government Gun Powder and carried it to the Rebels
I have had him some days in Irons, but could not get the Identity if this Person sworn to until this afternoon, which was from the Above Maitland and his people that was with him when the Powder was seized and is now here loading with sugar and as I have seized the Above Platt at Port Royall, I presume he must be tried on this Island for the Robery and Executed on this Island, I shall let his Excellency Sir Basil Keith now about him tomorrow morning, and shall inform their Lordships by the next Packet what is done by the said Platt.

991
Copy of a Letter from Vice Admiral Gayton Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Ships and Vessels at Jamaica to Mr Stephens, dated 30^th March 1776.
(no 1)
In the Lords of the Admiralty December 9^th 1776.

993
10^th April 1776
Sir Basil Keith
To
Clark Gayton, Esq.

In Vice Admiral Gayton Letter for Mr Stephens of the 3 June 1776

(no 3)

994
Spanish Town, 10^th April 1776
Sir,

As your Letter of yesterday’s date comprehends Questions of Law wherein it is my duty to be advised by His Majesty’s Attorney General, I directly sent it with the Dispatches accompanying it to W. Harrison for his Guidance and at the same time desired him to lose no time in furnishing me with his written Opinion on the Matter and Advise what part I ought to take in its as Governor of this Island. Inclosed I send you his Answer by which I conceive myself precluded from any interference in this affair. This being the case I return to you the Depositions of the Evidence against Platt,
I am etc
Basil Keith
Copy Clark Gayton.

995
Mr Stephens Letter with Protection

996

D Sir,
I sending on herewith the Protection you desired and am very sorry it has ?? been in any person to forward it to you sooner, I am with the etc
W Stephen,
Admiralty
5^th January 1777

997
Wm Chamberlayne Esq,
Gough Sq,
Fleet Street

30^th January 77
Captain Maitland.

998 30/01/77
Sir

I now Inform you that I Now am, thank god, able to go out about Business, and if I am to appear Against that wretch Platt, please to signify to me the Time. But would wish for reasons you may guess that I Could be served with an other Summons, if it can be done with Propriety; Scriven is not yet Come out of the County, Burnett is out on an other Ship to which I Can Direct your So that you’l please to give me a days notice that I may not be other wise Engaged-

I am Sir your most obdt humble Servant
Richd Maitland,

Broad Street St Georges in the East
30 Jany 1777

To Wm Chamberlain Esq.

999
Severn days and collected and sent away all the Musket Balls and Small Arms as they came to hand in the Course of the Unloading of the said Ship and every other Article which they conceived to be for his Majesty. These ?? that Richard Maitland, the Master of the Vessel and her Officers or Mariners could not make any Resistance against these Boardings of the said William Platt and his Companions Bording??
Page 9

1000 - Notes?

Matyes Government House,

Was Totally Supported Public Justice Obstructed X

X and his Majesty’s Governor in the said Town of Savannah had no power to Inforce the Evacuation of the Law or to protect such Persons as were Obnoxious to the ? Armed People which Maitland and his men certainly would have been if they had made any Opposition to Plats Demands

Under whose Order the said William Plat and his Companions Acted and justified their actions in what they did and who in Case of any
Page 10

1001
resistance could and would have called forth a part of the Military force carried? By the said Assembly to their support which would have been to the Manifest Danger of the lives of the afd Mr Maitland his Officers and Mariners
Plat was afterwards apprehended and has been sent home by Admirl Gayton and is now a Prisoner aboard Captain Stephens Ship in Your Harbour, and there are I understand aboard the said Ship three Persons who have
P 11

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been likewise sent home to give Evidence against him. I would know of the Evidence now on board the Ship now Capable of Securing to the to the several facts before stated particularly that there was a Rebellion, that the King’s Governor had Enforce the Execution Of the Law that his Authority was ??? by an Assembly of Men Stiling themselves a Committee or Congress, that an Armed force was ?? and ??? under their Authority that the Ship was plundered in the manner before stated that Plat assisted that which the said men under the Authority of the ?? with this full and intense approbation thereof or if he in any support whatsoever I h?? his approbation of the three aforemnd? Authority by

1003
approbation thereof or if he in any ??part whatsoever I ?? his approbation of the three aforenamed
by Masing? Or associating himself with the armed force of the Committee or the Officers thereof it no doubt makes him a Principal in the rebellion and Guilty of High Treason. I beg the favour of you Sir therefore to send for the three witnesses and take their Examinations in writing separately as to all the several facts before stated or any other what ever to the Rebellious Proceedings at Savannah and particularly to Attend if the facts will warrant that the Examination
P13
Warrant? To se securing ???? and part?? Subation? To Plat ? is possible that should his Conversation within or with the Rebellious Assembly or with the Armed force acting under the Assembly’s Authority or his approbation thereof or his being an instrument in those hands with his own knowledge and approbation and of any Declarations he made relative therefore for from thence to Collected his guilt of High Treason You will please then to get the Examination or Informations Sworn by the men before the Mayor or Portsmouth or some other ??
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Magistrate that you may approve of and if after they are sworn the Magistrate and you shall be of the Opinion that there is sufficient Evidence of Rebellion and that Plat was privy thereto and approved thereof and in any Shape Ordered and Assisted therein You will get the Mayor;s Warrant for Plat and send for him from on board the Shi and take his Examination in Writing and Pray his Commitment to the County Goal for High Treason (the Form of the Warrant I send you herewith) but if after you have taken the Information of the Witnesses any doubt should remain with the Magistrate whether he can
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Commit Plat for High Treason, I must then beg of you not to send for Plat but to forward the Information to me by Express and you shall then hear further from me.
The Witnesses are on board the Pallas the Captain wereof has earned directions from the Admiralty to bring them in shore and Carry them back as you shall direct. I give you their Trouble on the Recommendation of Mr Wallace the King’s Counsel, I doubt not therefore of your case and your charges in the business shall be thankfully paid to your credit ,
I am etc Wm Chamberlayne
Gough Square,
London 18^th December 1776

Note at bottom of page:
A pacquet addressed to Mr Elliot Containing Mr R Maitland’s Charges to the Grand Jury delivered 15^th December 1775 with his Letter dated 20^th January 1776 and a Porsin? Affd.
P16.

1008
I A.B. in the written Writ named do humbly certify and return to our Sovn Ld the King that the within named C.d. is not nor at the time of the coming of the sd Writ to me was nor at any time since hath been in my custody or Power wherefore I cannot have the body of the sd C.d. before our Sd Ld the King at the time and place written ??? as by the said within commanded.

The answer of A.B. within named.

1009
In the King’s Bench
The King agst Ebenezer Smith Platt
Sir,
Take Notice that this honourable Court will on Monday next be moved that the said Ebenezer Smith Platt may be discharged out of the Goal of Newgate upon special Bail and that John Hurford of Thames Street in the City of London Coal Merchant Guy Bryant of Vine Court Spitalfields in the County of Middlesex Silk Dyer William Rogers of No 16 White Chappel in the County of Middlesex Builder James Hill of Tower Hill in the City of London Undertaker and Patience Wright of Cundall Court Pall Mall in the County of Middlesex Widow and Wax Modalor will at the same time attend the said Court and become Bail for the said Ebenzer Smith Platt
Yrs Whittaker and Colton,
Symonds Inn,
9^th May 1777
To Mr Chamberlaine.

1010
Saturday next after fifteen days from the feast Day of Easter in the seventeenth year of King George the third

England
It is ordered by the Court that the Petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt now a Prisoner in his Majesty’s Goal of Newgate committed on a charge of High Treason alleged to be Committed at Savannah in the Colony of Georgia in North America now presented to this Court be received and filed.
On the motion of Mr Alleyne
By the Court

1011
Monday next after the Morrow of the Ascension of our Lord in the Seventeen Year of King George the Third
England
The King
Ag.
Ebenezer Smith Plat
The Defendant Ebenezer Smith Plat brought here into Court in Custody of the Keeper of his Majesty’s Goal of Newgate by virtue of his said Majesty’s Writ of Habeas Corpus And it appearing by the Return to the said Writ that the said Defendant stood charged with high Treason at Savannah in the Colony of Georgia in North America and upon hearing of Council on both sides It is Ordered that he the said Defendant be now remanded to the Custody of the Keeper of the said Goal of Newgate to be by him kept in safe Custody until he shall be from thence discharged by due course of Law
On the Motion of Mr Attorney General
By the Court

1012
And these Deponents further Saith that from the time the said Vessel was so ?? as aforesaid until the time these Deponent left the said Colony the People there were in ?? to Oppose his Majesty’s Government and Carried Standards with the Words American Liberty Written thereon and were every day ?? ?? for ?? and the Course of Justice was totally Obstructed and the Rebellion got to ?? ?? that his Majesty’s Government had no power to inforce the Execution of the Law and that the afd E.S. Plat was Ordering and assisting in the said Rebellion and very active therein in Inforcing the Orders of the afd Committee ?? ?? the unloading that Ship and Carefully Serving all the Ammunition ? on board for the ?? to be at the Disposal of the afd Committee

1013
And this Dpt further saith that and believed the said E.S. Plat was one of the said Provincial Committee and He this Deponent the rather believes the same because the sd E.S. Plat justified his being on Board this Deponent’s Ship under the Orders of the said Congress and was frequently in Company with several of the persons in the said Town o Savannah who had assumed the Government thereof and was several times very active in carrying many Orders of the said Congress into Execution tending to the oppression of some of the Inhabitants of the said Town who were suspected of being friendly to his Majesty’s Government

1014
Cover:
For the Crown
Qu whether he may not be remanded on the late ? to the New Goal?

The King
Agst                      BRIEF
Platt

To oppose the Prisoner being bailed

Mr Atty Gen’l
A Consultation is desired with
Mr Solic’t Gen
Mr Wallace
Mr Mansfield
Mr Boarcroft
&
Mr Buller

??

1015
The King                   High Treason at Savannah
agst                       in Georgia
Ebenezer Smith Plat

The Prisoner was apprehended at Kingston in Jamaica and sent home in one of his Majesty’s Ships at Portsmouth from whence he was brought up to London and examined before William Addington Esqr one of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace on the 23^rd January last and by him committed to Newgate upon the following warrant of Committment

Middlesex to wit
To the Keeper of his Majesty’s Goal of Newgate or his Deputy
These are in his Majesty’s Name to authorise and Require you to receive into your Custody the Body of Ebenezer Smith Plat herewith sent you Charged before me upon the Oaths of Richard Scriven and Samuel Burnett with High Treason at Savannah in the Colony of Georgia in North America And you are to keep him safe until her shall be delivered by due course of Law And for so doing this shall be you Warrant. Given under my hand and seal this 23^rd day of January 1777
W Addington

All Hilary Term passed without the Prisoner making any application to the Court of King’s Bench under the Habeas Corpus Act to be Bailed Tried or Discharged (which he might have done) but at the subsequent sessions at the Old Bailey the prisoner having sent a sort of petition to the Lord Mayor which the Court was pleased to entertain as a petition under the Habeas Corpus Act, the matter was solemnly argued when the Court being of Opinion that it had no jurisdiction either to Try, Bail, or Discharge him, he remained in Custody.
Soon after an Act passed Intitled “An act to empower his Majesty to secure and detain persons charged with or suspected of the Crime of High Treason committed in any of his Majesty’s Colonies in America or on the high seas or the Crime of Piracy” Whereby after reciting that a Rebellion had been carried on in certain of His Majesty’s Colonies and Plantations in America and that many persons had been seized and taken who were expressly charged or strongly suspected of such Treason and that many more such persons might be
P 1

1016
then after so seized and taken and Reciting that such persons had been or might be brought into this Kingdom and that it might be inconvenient in many such cases to proceed forthwith to the Tryal of such Criminals and at the same time of evil examples to suffer them to go at large
It was therefore Enacted that all and every person or persons who had been or should be then after seized or taken in the act of High Treason committed in any of His Majesty’s Colonies or Plantations in America or who were or should be charged with or suspected of the Crime of High Treason committed in any of the said Colonies or on the high seas or who had been or should be Committed in any part of His Majesty’s Dominions for such Crime by any Magistrate having competent authority in that behalf to the Common Good should and might be thereupon detained in safe Custody, without Bail of Mainprize(?) intil the first day of January 1778 and that no Judge or Justice of Peace shall Bail or Try any such Person or persons without Order from his Majesty’s most honourable Privy Council Signed by six of the said privy Council until the said first day of January 1778 any Law Statute or Usage to the contrary un any wise notwithstanding the above Statute the Prisoner on the first day of this Term presented a petition to the Court of the King’s Bench praying that he might be either Tried Bailed or discharged, and the Court, on the motion of Mr Alleyne made a Rule for receiving and filing the same, but reserved for a future Day the taking the Prayer into consideration.
It would have been difficult to have found out upon what ground the Prisoner’s Council made the forgoing application considering the above Statute had he not informed the Court that he was aware thereof and meant to argue that the Words “No judge or Justice of Peace shall Bail or Try” could not control the Court of King’s Bench with which Court a discretionary power to Bail was still left and meant to be left, notwithstanding that statute.
In answer thereto We have procured the several Statutes passed in 1715 an 1745 for suspending the Habeas Corpus Act and find Words in the Enacting part of those Statutes exactly corresponded with the Words in the present Act and although the Court of the King’s Bench in nay one instance presumed to Bail a prisoner comprehended within the perview of those Statutes
P2

1017
In Sir William Wyndham’s Case it was objected against his being Bailed that he had lain still so long without making any application – as a Reason for that omission he say’d the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and though the suspension did not extend to his particular Case yet the Chief Justice in giving his Opinion on that Case say’s the Reason given was of some weight in determining the discretion of the Court for the Gentleman might think himself included and be mistaken, which speaks very clearly the Sentiments of the Chief Justice that is Sir William had not been mistaken there would have been no pretence for an application as his omission would have been justified.
But in Michaelmas Term 9^th Geo:1^st The very objection now taken was insisted on, and it was overruled and an Habeas Corpus denied in the Case of the King and the prisoners in the Tower and the rather because the Habeas Corpus was denyed in Layer’s Case for the Court would not try hum till they had an Order from the King oas the Act directs v.s Moder 98 Michas 9 Geo.

Be pleased therefore to oppose the prisoner being bailed.

1018
To the Right Honourable Henry, Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, One of his Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, and one of the Lords of his Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council
The humble Petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, a Prisoner in Newgate
Most Respectfully sheweth
That your Lordships Petitioner was in the Month of March, 1776, made a Prisoner at Kingston in Jamaica on a charge of High Treason against the King and Government of Great Britain
That your Lordships Petitioner was from that period closely confined on board Several Ships of War until the Month of January 1777, at which time he was by virtue of an order, brought from Portsmouth to London
1019
and Committed to the Goal of Newgate where he noe remaine a Prisoner
That you Lordships Petitioner is totally void of every Family, Friend or Connection in this Kingdom, that he is Laden with iron and that he finds his health materially affected, by his long confinement.
Your Lordships Petitioner therefore most humbly solicits your Lordship, as in your Lordship’s judgement may seem proper that you will be pleased to direct that he may be either brought to his Trial to answer such charges as may be adducted against him, or that he may be Admitted on Bail, to make his Appearance on such charges at any future Period.

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=o17770219-1

Old Bailey Proceedings supplementary material, Ebenezer Smith Platt, 19th February 1777.
On the First or Second Day of the Sessions, a Petition was presented to the Court from Ebenezer Smith Platt, a Prisoner in Newgate, under the following Warrant, praying the Benefit of the Habeas Corpus Act.

Long text doc of arguments.

Ebenezer Smith Platt to the Commissioners

Docno: PJA06d038[131]
Author: Platt, Ebenezer Smith
Recipient: First Joint Commission at Paris
Recipient: JA
Date: 1778-04-21
Paris 21st. April 1778

To the Honourable Commissioners of the United States of America.

The humble Petition of Ebenezer S. Platt Most Respectfully Sheweth,

That your Petitioner is a Native of America, and was a resident in the Province of Georgia, in the year 1775, And was Chosen a Member of the Parochial Committee of Savannah,(1) in said Province.

That in the month of July 1775, A Certain Ship Called the Philippa, whereof one Richard Maitland, was Master, Arrived off Savannah Harbour (Laden with Dry Goods, together with Nine Tons of Gunpowder, Four Hundred Stand of Arms, and some Lead, and Musket Balls) Where she was met by an Armed schooner, fitted out by Congress for that Purpose, who Boarded said ship at Sea, and took out all the Gunpowder, and Deposited it safe in the Magazine at Savannah. The Arms, and Musket Balls still remaining onboard, and for fear they should fall into the hands of People who were Inimicable to the Liberty of America The Provintial Congress of said Place, (then sitting) thought Proper to send Persons Onboard to Protect the same, And accordingly your Petitioner, with two others of said Committee, {p. 45} were by them appointed and received a Written Order therefore Signed by the President.

That in the month of Jany. 1776 Your Petitioner Freighted two Vessels for Cape Nicholas Mole,(2) With Intent to Purchase War-like Stores, and by Permission of Congress, Embarked onboard one of them himself, which unfortunately was taken within a few Leagues of her Destined Port, by his Majesty’s Ship Maid-stone Capn. Gardner, and Carried into Kingston in Jamaica. Where she was restored to your Petitioner again on Account of her being English Property; tho' they obliged him to sell his Cargo.

That your Petitioner in Consequence thereof sold his Cargo, and Purchased a Vessel with Intent, to Proceed back to America, When on the 28 day of March as your Petitioner was Proceeding to Sea, his Vessel was Boarded, and Taken, by a Boat from Onboard the Antelope, Ship of War,—Your Petitioner Carried onboard said Ship, and Confined in Irons, upon an Information laid by Capn. Maitland, of his having been onboard his Ship at Savannah in Georgia by Order of Congress.

That your Petitioners Ship in Consequence thereof was Sold Without any Account being given thereof to your Petitioner. After which your Petitioner was removed by Habeas Corpus, before the Court at Kingston, Tryed, and Acquited, but for fear of his recovering Damages of the Admiral, was again remanded by the Cheif Justice onboard the Antelope as an Able Bodied Seaman.

That your Petitioner remained three months longer onboard the Antelope, in Irons, and then was Removed onboard the Boreas, Frigate, And from thence onboard the Palas, Frigate, in which he was Caried to England,(3) and sent onboard the Centaur, and from thence to the Barfleur, and from the Barfleur back again to the Centaur, And from onboard the Centaur sent onshore, and up to London, and Committed to Clerkenwell Bridewell, for two Days, When he was Caried before Sr. John Fielding, and One Justice Addington, and by them Committed on the 23 of Jany. 1777 to Newgate, where he remained fourteen Months in Irons—Destitute of every Family Friend or Connection, and Depending for his Daily support, upon the Charity of a few Humane People.

That at length through the Interposition of the Committee for the Support of American Prisoners(4) Your Petitioner was set at {p. 46} Liberty, in a Strange Country, Destitute of Money, and every Means of returning to his Native Country. And was by said Committee sent to Paris, Relying upon the Commissioners of America, for Assistance to Enable him to Return Home.

Your Petitioner therefore hopes you will be Pleased to take his hard Case into Consideration And allow him such Assistance as you in Your Wisdom shall think Fit.(5)

Ebenezer Smith Plat

RC Adams Papers ; docketed: “Mr Platt”; in another hand: “Ebenr platts petition Paris 21 Apl. 78.”

1. In 1775, with the breakdown of the royal government, the Parochial Committee of Savannah had assumed the powers and functions of local government for the town and surrounding parish. Among other things, it enforced the Association, embargoed locally needed merchandise, and appointed a lay preacher when the local Church of England minister was banned by the Provincial Congress (Kenneth Coleman, American Revolution in Georgia, 1763–1789, Athens, Ga., 1958, p. 63). Although Platt, as a shopkeeper and supporter of the Revolution, would have been a logical choice for membership on the Parochial Committee, no mention of him in that capacity has been found (Ronald G. Killion and Charles T. Waller, Georgia and the Revolution, Atlanta, 1975, p. 219).

2. Cape St. Nicholas Môle is at the northwest corner of St. Domingue (now Haiti).

3. For additional information about Platt's detention at Jamaica and subsequent transportation to England, see Naval Docs. Amer. Rev. , 4:588–589, 761, 794; 5:517–520; 7:807–808. The index of vol. 5 gives Platt's forename erroneously as William.

4. No specific reference to a committee of this name has been found. Functions like that described by Platt were, however, performed by such bodies as the relief committee headed by Rev. Thomas Wren and a London committee which, in December 1777 and January 1778, raised £3,700 for the support of American prisoners (Catherine M. Prelinger, “Benjamin Franklin and the American Prisoners of War in England during the American Revolution,” WMQ , 3d ser., 32:264, 268 [April 1975]; NEHGR , 30 [1876]:348, note 1).

5. On 26 Aug. 1777 the congress had, in response to a letter from Platt from Newgate Prison, voted to supply him with £100 and seek his exchange, and in Dec. 1777 Platt had apparently received money from Benjamin Franklin ( JCC , 8:676; Cal. Franklin Papers, A.P.S. , 1:326; Prelinger, “Franklin and the American Prisoners of War,” p. 265–266). Platt probably never received the former sum, but, as a result of this petition, the Commissioners gave him 30 guineas for his return to America. Platt's passage was not uneventful, for the New Friends of Charleston, on which he and his wife sailed from France, was captured by the British privateer Leveller. On 6 March 1780, after finally reaching his destination, Platt petitioned congress for the £100 voted him in 1777 as compensation for his “exertions and sufferings” (K. G. Davies, ed., Documents of the American Revolution, 1770–1783, Shannon and Dublin, 1972– , 13:321; London Chronicle, 30 July–1 Aug. 1778; JCC , 16:230; PCC, No. 41, VIII, f. 100).

Cite web page as: Founding Families: Digital Editions of the Papers of the Winthrops and the Adamses, ed.C. James Taylor. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2007.
http://www.masshist.org/ff/
http://www.masshist.org/publications/apde/portia.php?id=PJA06d038#PJA06d038n2

Matthew Ridley to the American Commissioners

http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp?vol=26&page=227a

ALS: American Philosophical Society
April the 3d: 1778
Honorable Sirs
The Bearer of this is Mr. Ebenezer Platt; with whose sufferings in the cause of America you are not unacquainted. He has lately got released from his confinement in consequence of a Petition from the Committee for American Prisoners. Mr. Platt is desirous of returning to his Country; and every mode but the one through France being stop’d I have taken the liberty of giving him a Letter to you; not doubting you will find him an Object of consideration and that you will do all in your Power, to further his design.

Mr. Platt since his release is married to a Daughter of Mrs. Wrights, who goes with him And who I believe is not unknown to Dr. Franklin.

I hope you will excuse the Freedom I have taken and believe me Honorable Sirs Your most Obedient and most humble Servant

Mattw: Ridley
Addressed: To / The Honorable Commissioners / of the United States of America / Paris

Tidecraft, WC Fleetwood,

extract: (in the SC Room, Charleston Library, supports the newspaper description).

In the Southeast the self-made planters and merchants chaffed under stringent enforcement of customs laws and the Stamp Acts. Tax collection was enforced by a growing presence of Royal Navy vessels and British troops and resulted in some unpleasant incidents. In May 1767, the 15-ton Carolina schooner Active was seized by the new collector of customs at Charlestown when a mob threatened marines inspecting her cargo. Daniel Moore, the Charlestown collector, next seized two sloops belonging to Henry Laurens (Laurens later won a court case regarding this). Various mob actions, ship burnings, and mistreatment of tax collectors occurred throughout the colonies, culminating in the widely publicized 1773 dumping of East India Company tea in Boston Harbour. In retaliation the port of Boston was closed until restitution was made. Other colonies supported the Bostonians; South Carolina sent rice for the relief of the city. Finally, open combat erupted at Lexington in 1775, and eight years of war faced the Southeast and its emergent shipbuilding industry.

Upon the outbreak of war, South Carolina had no armed vessels, and Georgia had only the provincial 10-oared scout boat Savannah, now nearly 30 years old. Since the last war had ended 11 years earlier and the colonies had been under the protection of the Royal Navy, there had been no need for armed craft. Now there was, and control of the intricate waterways of the region, so important in past conflicts, quickly became imperative for both sides.

Carolina and Georgia once again had a hostile territory to the south, as Florida remained loyal to Britain. Both states wasted little time in commissioning armed small craft to oppose the expected British privateers operating out of St. Augustine and Havana. In Georgia the schooner Elizabeth was commissioned as Liberty, under Oliver Bowen and Joseph Habersham, to intercept an expected cargo of gunpowder and arms destined for East Florida. In July 1775, Liberty, with 10 carriage guns and 10 swivel guns, rendezvoused with Captains John Barnwell and John Joyner of Beaufort, commanding 40 men, and together they captured the British ship Philippa near the mouth of the Savannah River.

The Philippa was none other than the former Magna Charta, built at Hobcaw by Manson and Begbie in 1770. She had been sold, re-named, and was now carrying a cargo of gunpowder consigned to private colonial interests. This was promptly distributed between Georgia and South Carolina by the captors. About six and a half tons of powder were confiscated, and two and a half tons of this was later shipped north to Washington's army, where it allowed Washington, who had been short of powder, to force the British to evacuate Boston. One wonders whether the Philippa retained the ornate figurehead that adorned her as the Magna Charta, "a bust of Britannia upheld by two Americans, one on the right, armed for her defence; the one on the left offering her the horn of plenty." The Royal Governor of Georgia, James Wright, in informing Lord Dartmouth of this action, observed, "I begin to think a King's Governor has little or no business here."

At Charlestown, the Council of Safety commissioned the sloop Commerce in July 1775, sending her south under Clement Lempriere to seize a cargo of powder expected off St. Augustine. Lempriere, a Charlestown shipwright and former Royal Navy officer, luckily found the brigantine Betsy at anchor off St. Augustine bar waiting to unload. He took 111 barrels, one half barrel, and 37 small kegs of powder from her hold. The war was still in its more chivalrous stage, for Lempriere gave Betsy's seamen each £100 currency and gave the captain a draft for £1,000 currency drawn on John Edwards of Charlestown. This seizure galvanized the East Florida loyalists. Governor Tonyn (who had replaced Grant in 1774) immediately sent the provincial sloop Florida, with eight guns and 30 infantrymen aboard, in pursuit, but in the race north Lempriere squeaked into....

7 SARAH MAITLAND’S CLAIM 1784

7.1 Sarah Maitland’s Loyalist Claim - Notes:

Agreed $1000 in settlement for Florida				400

William Pountny of Kingston				10	10	0
Samuel Chollet of Bourdieu & Chollet, to sell in C. 30/12/73 Sterling				342	9	1

Hawkins Petrie Net account	269	1	0
Samuel Chollet July 1774	334	18	6
Allen Horne Goods July 1774	72	8	0
Geo house to Georgia July 74?	428	18	5
				1105	5	11

Geo Houston 14/11/1775	333	0	1.5
	428	14	5.5
				761	14	7
Geo Houston 25/8/1775				808	0	5.75

Items sold at vendue				239	8	2

				3267	8	2.75

This amount equates to between £490,000 (price inflation) and £1.8M in wage inflation in 2020 sterling.

1. ...deceased formerly Master of the Ship Magna Charta and late of the Philippa in the Carolina Trade
2. .....had an Adventure of his own which he generally sold in the Country part for ready Money, but by far the largest part upon Credit until he should return thither again by which means there were very considerable Sums of Money due to Your Memorialist’s said late Husband at the time of his decease from diverse persons in the said respective Provinces.
3. (1774)....was obliged to leave the said Province without collecting any part of the Debts due to him in the said Province or settling with his Attornies there for what they might have received on his Account before during his Absence – nor was he ever permitted by himself or any other person to collect the same nor has any part hereof ever been recovered.
4. 1775...That owing to the violent Treatment the said Richard Maitland met with from the Rebells in Georgia he was likewise obliged to leave that province without obtaining and Settlement of his Affairs there to the very great detriment of his property as well as his Health which after that period declined daily so that he died of a broken heart.
5. That the whole of his Property to a mere trifle being in America at the time of his death and irrecoverable as before stated the Creditors at home have laid hold of what effects he had in England so that your Memorialist (who is now upwards of sixty Years of Age and very infirm) is reduced from a decent State of Affluence to mere want and is only Supported by the donations of some of her late Husbands Friends and Acquaintance.
That for want of her Husband’s papers and owing to her Son who is in the Island of Jamaica or on his way hither Your Memorialist is unable to present to subjoin an Estimate of her late Husband’s Losses, but verily believes his Loss of Property in America by the Illegal and cruel Treatment he met with far exceeds One Thousand (Sheet 3) Pounds Sterling to ascertain which she hopes to be able to produce Satisfactory Vouchers upon her Son’s arrival from Jamaica which she shortly expects. And in the mean time she begs leave to inform Your Honours that Samuel Chollet Esquire of Lime Street and Mr Robert Steell of Tokenhouse yard Merchant (as well as several other respectable Merchants in London) can prove her late Husband’s Trading and Circumstances in Life and in a great Measure corroborate the account of the Losses Your Memorialist has ventured to lay before Your Honour
6. Tea shipped by Messrs Neufville & Rolleston & Robert Steele, consigned to James Wakefield & William Donaldson in Charleston, who refused it, saying it was an old order. RM sent in Notary to make a claim. James Wakefield a partner of WD. ....he did not really know they had entered into any general resolutions for the non Importation of Teas, that he imagined they extended no further than the East India Company’s Teas because all the spring Ships which had Sail’d before him had carried some. He carried none of his own though he used to.
7. Oliver Bowen of Savannah commanded Schooner in Savannah, also John Joiner of Parris Island & Seth John Cuthbert of Savannah. Joseph Habersham of Savannah, merchant, with order from the Provincial Congress to seize the Powder etc. Powder consigned to James Perrman in Saint Augustine. Schooner belonged to Samuel Price of Savannah (& Richard Weight, not on board), called the “Elizabeth”.
8. RM bought in 1764, from Thomas Horsfall, James Noble & Joseph Page a parcel of land in Pensacola, West Florida (passed back to Spain in 1763 Treaty of Paris) for $770.
9. Letter in New York, April 1778: Philippa in Government Service, perhaps going to Philadelphia. Referred to as an Armed Ship.
10. JM in London addressed in letter dated Jan 1781, at Jamaica Coffee House.
11. JM in Jamaica or in transit to England March 1784.

7.2 Transcripts

National Archives, AO 13/133.

The Memorial of Sarah Maitland of Mile End Old Town in the County of Middlesex Widow of Richard Maitland late of London Mariner deceased formerly Master of the Ship Magna Charta and late of the Philippa in the Carolina Trade

Humbly Herewith

That your Memorialist’s said late husband Traded for many Years as Master Mariner from the Port of London to Charlestown and Savannah in Georgia.

That in every voyage the said Richard Maitland had an Adventure of his own which he generally sold in the Country part for ready Money, but by far the largest part upon Credit until he should return thither again by which means there were very considerable Sums of Money due to Your Memorialist’s said late Husband at the time of his decease from diverse persons in the said respective Provinces.

That in the Year 1774 the said Richard Maitland being then Master of the Ship Magna Charta he sailed from London with a Cargo of divers Goods Wares and Merchandise for Charlestown and having unfortunately a Chest and two half Chests of Tea on board Shipped here with Licence, the Committee of the Usurped Power at Charlestown to his Landing the said Tea and insisted that he should destroy the same in their presence which he promised to do; but could not accomplish because the Officers of His Majesty’s Customs at Charlestown seized the same as stated in he sworn narrative hereunder annexed.

That the same Committee finding the said Richard Maitland had not fulfilled his promise in regard of his destroying the said Tea as had been commanded they caused the Bells of the Great Church to be muffled and rung in that State by which means a Mob assembled who were proceeding to destroy the said Richard Maitland’s Ship and take his Life had he not made his escape on board his Majesty’s ship Glasgow as likewise mentioned in the said annexed narrative.

That owing those violent proceedings, the said Richard Maitland was obliged to leave the said Province without collecting any part of the Debts due to him in the said Province or settling with his Attornies there for what they might have received on his Account before during his Absence – nor was he ever permitted by himself or any other person to collect the same nor has any part hereof ever been recovered.

That in the Year 1775 the said Richard Maitland sailed as Master of a certain Ship or Vessel called the Philippa from the Port of London bound to Savannah in Georgia loaded with sundry Goods consigned to divers persons in that province amongst which Goods were Gunpowder, Arms and Lead Shipped by Licence at London. And information having been given to the Rebells of the destination of the said Ship Philippa and the Cargo she had on board an Armed Schooner lay in wait for her off Tybee point and carried her to Cockspur Island where they forcibly took out all the Gunpowder and Ammunition and absolutely refused to make any Compensation for the same – And used violent Threats to the said Richard Maitland for offering to set forth their unjustifiable proceedings in his protest as appears by the annexes document under the seal of the said province of Georgia.

That owing to the violent Treatment the said Richard Maitland met with from the Rebells in Georgia he was likewise obliged to leave that province without obtaining and Settlement of his Affairs there to the very great detriment of his property as well as his Health which after that period declined daily so that he died of a broken heart.

That the whole of his Property to a mere trifle being in America at the time of his death and irrecoverable as before stated the Creditors at home have laid hold of what effects he had in England so that your Memorialist (who is now upwards of sixty Years of Age and very infirm) is reduced from a decent State of Affluence to mere want and is only Supported by the donations of some of her late Husbands Friends and Acquaintance.

That for want of her Husband’s papers and owing to her Son who is in the Island of Jamaica or on his way hither Your Memorialist is unable to present to subjoin an Estimate of her late Husband’s Losses, but verily believes his Loss of Property in America by the Illegal and cruel Treatment he met with far exceeds One Thousand (Sheet 3) Pounds Sterling to ascertain which she hopes to be able to produce Satisfactory Vouchers upon her Son’s arrival from Jamaica which she shortly expects. And in the mean time she begs leave to inform Your Honours that Samuel Chollet Esquire of Lime Street and Mr Robert Steell of Tokenhouse yard Merchant (as well as several other respectable Merchants in London) can prove her late Husband’s Trading and Circumstances in Life and in a great Measure corroborate the account of the Losses Your Memorialist has ventured to lay before Your Honour

Your Memorialist therefore humbly prays Your Honours will be pleased to take her case and Distresses into Your Serious Consideration in order that Your Memorialist may be enabled under Your Report to receive such Aid or Relief as her Losses and her Situation may be found to deserve

And Your Memorialst as in duly bound will ever pray etc

Sarah Maitland
London the 25^th March 1784.

The foregoing memorial was repeated in a later document, with an extra commentary[132]
4 June 1787
Evidence on the foregoing Memorial of
Sarah Maitland
The Claimant sworn
Memorial read and confirmed
Says she is the widow of Capt Maitland he was a native of Ireland he died at New York in the year 1779
He had traded from London to South Carolina some years before the Rebellion in a vessel which partly belonged to himself.
He had ret’d from Georgia in the year 1775 after experienced much ill treatment from the Americans on acct of his having gunpowder on board his ship which was taken from him
afterwards in 1777 he went to Jamaica on a trading voyage and ret’d again to England
then went to New York in the vessel he commanded was employed in the Transport Service – has no Allowance from Govt.
Says her husband took out various goods and merchandise to America and left them in the hands of different people at Charles Town and Savannah to be sold for his account -
The goods were left in the year 1774 or 1775
Mrs Maitland says she don’t believe he ever received any money for the goods before his death.
Says the goods were worth upwards of £1000 sterling
She don’t know what part of the goods belonged to her husband there were several merchants in London .. concerned, who gave him goods to sell for their account.
She had been supported by her son who was a master of a vessel in the Jamaica Trade but he is since dead

She is 66 years of age and is a native of England. Mrs Maitland presents claim as for the goods before stated to have been sold by her late husband amounting to £1105/5/11 sterling.

I do hereby certify that Captain Richard Maitland named in the foregoing memorial in consequence of his Losses Disappointments and Ill Treatment in America was at the time of his decease indebted to me in the sum of £1200 and upwards from Goods sold and delivered by me to him, and which he carried with him to America and for which I verily believe he had no returns owing to the unhappy disturbances in that Country. Witness my hand this 25th day of March 1784.

£1200 John Hawkins, Friday ...

(Philip Hawkins, merchant in Charleston had sold goods imported by Richard Maitland, Mr Hawkins often referred to by Henry Laurens)

I do hereby certify that the late Captain Maitland named in the above Memorial was at the time of his decease and is still indebted to me in the sum of Three hundred Ninety Six Pounds Seventeen Shillings and two pence, Witness my hand this 25th day of March 1784

Samuel Chollet.

(also appears in Henry Laurens papers).

I do hereby certify that the late Captain Maitland named in the within Memorial was at the time of his decease and is still indebted to me in the sum of Seventy four pounds Ten shill and ten pence on our Bond

London March 25 1784

Jim Curtis

I do hereby certify that the late Captain Maitland named in the above Memorial was at the time of his decease and is still indebted to the Estate of William Wilton in the sum of Two hundred Pounds on a Bond from 5 May 1777 with all the Interest from that Time

London March 25 1784

John Spear,

?? to the Executors of the said Mr William Wilton, deceased.

I do hereby certify that the late Captain Maitland named in the above Memorial was at the time of his decease and is still indebted to me in the sum of forty two pounds one shilling on Note of hand for goods sold & delivered.

London, 25 March 1784

David Richard jun, No 72, Wapping, London.

By these Publick Instruments of Probate hereby known and manifest to all Persons when it doth shall or may concern; on this date being the fifth day of July 1774 and in the fourteen year of his Majesty’s Reign – at the request of Richard Maitland, master of the Ship Magna Charta from London, now riding at anchor within the Bar and Harbour of Charles Town, I Fenwick Bull one of his Majesty’s Justices assigned to keep the Peace, and a Notary Publick by lawful authority appointed, duly admitted and sworn, dwelling and ?? in Charles Town and Province aforesaid merchant, and for and in the name of the said Richard Maitland did inform the said William Donaldson, that there was some Tea brought in the said Ship Magna Charta for him the said Richard Maitland was ready to deliver it, the said Tea to him the said William Donaldson, or his order.

To which the said William Donaldson gave for an answer, that “he could not receive it, it was disagreeable to the sense of the People, and that he would have nothing to do with it”. Therefore I the said Notary at the special Instance and request of the said Richard Maitland do hereby and by these Presents make and enter his Probate against the said William Donaldson by whom the order the said Tea was shipped – and also the Shipper of the said Tea, and all other concerned, be whom they may, for all losses cash, charges donations, figures, and so forth, hitherto suffered and sustained or that may hereafter be sufferd and sustained, by reason or the premius – The same not happening through the said Richard Maitland or any of his People, but by the said William Donaldson refusing to take the said Tea – to be an allowed and received in time and plea convinced, and then presents to serve and ?? for the purpose as occasion may be or acquired. Thus was this .... Town aforesaid. In Testimony of the truth whereof said Richard Maitland hath hereunto set his hand and I the said Notary, have also set my Hand and affixed my seal of Office the Said Month and Year first and before written.

Richard Maitland

Fenwick Bull,

Notary Publick

Charles Town 1774.

Fenwick Bull of Charles Town, Notary Publick, doth hereby Certify, that at the request of Captain Richard Maitland, he did this day go to the Store of William Donaldson to acquaint him, that if he would give an order to the Collector for the Port of Charles Town, to deliver the (his) Tea (which was then seized and on the King’s Stores) to him Captain Maitland that he would then re deliver it to him the said Captain – and then and there meeting with him the said William Donaldson, the requisition was made, as above written – and to which he James Wakefield answered, He would make mo other reply than which he had before made on the 5th Instant.

Given under my hand this 19th Day of July 1774 and in the 14th Year of his Majesty’s Reign.

Fenwick Bull, JP.

Notary Publick

Charles Town 1774.

.... for taking one whole and two half chests of Tea at London of the value of about £70 that were shipped by Messrs Neufville and Rolleston & Messrs Robert Steele & Co to the address of Mt James Wakefield and Mr William Donaldson.

The day after Captain Maitland had reported his Ship at the Customs house the Committee of Resolutions sent for him and after a short prefatory address, they reprimanded him severely for carrying over Teas. The Captain excused himself by observing that he did not really know they had entered into any general resolutions for the non Importation of Teas, that he imagined they extended no further than the East India Company’s Teas because all the spring Ships which had Sail’d before him had carried some. He expressed his concern for having innocently given any offence to the province, and as a proof of his sincerity in that respect he observed that he had not ship’d any on his own account, tho’ he formerly used to make it the principal article of his private Adventures. The Committee asked him what he intended to do with the Teas. he referred them to the Proprietors of them for an answer to that question, as being more directly concerned than himself, who was only the Carrier, and of course not responsible for the Consignees. He was then told that they denied having any concern in the affair, because the Shippers had executed an old Order of 18 months standing, which they the Consignees had not expected and therefore would have nothing to do with the Teas nor did they care what became of them. for theses reasons the Committee look’d upon him as the principal owner, for the future disposal of the Teas, which they said should not be landed. Thus was Captain Maitland by an Act of powers made responsible for what he had no concern in directly or indirectly, to exculpate the Consignees who alone had been the cause of the Teas being Ship’d. He observed to the Committee if they would point out any means for his disposing of the Tea without incurring any penalty by a branch of the Revenue Act, he would comply with it. Captain Maitland will not mention the answer that made to him upon the occasion out of respect to the Province, and not to inflame matters between the Mother Country and America. He will only advert that one of the proprietors of the Teas was very nearly allied to a very sanguine member of the Committee, who at all events was determined to extricate his relation by sacrificing the Captain. The Committee pres’d for a promise, as he regarded the good will of the Province, not to land the Teas. He told them he was bound to New York, and should sail in a few days, that he could not fix upon any plans for the disposal of the Teas without exposing himself and his ship to future danger. They continued to insist he should not suffer the Teas to be landed, which left Captain Maitland no alternative and involved him in great difficulty’s, first to get rid of the Teas legally, in order that the ship might not by stopped from proceeding on her voyage to New York, 2ndly if the Inhabitants should destroy the Teas he would have been under the necessity of entering a formal Protest against the Province and mentioning names. It occurred to him that the Teas were of no great value and the duty small, for which reason he resolved to pay the duty privately to the Collector, and either destroy the Teas or on his departure for New York to have them deposited privately on board his Majesty’s ship Glasgow for the benefit of the Proprietors, or whomsoever they might concern. This was Maitland’s determination in order to keep peace with the Colony, who in consequence told the Committee he would not land the Teas; he added further that sooner than incur their displeasure, he would destroy the Teas, altho’ he should have to pay for them himself. Here it must be remarked that Timothy the Printer of the Carolina Gazette has published that Maitland had promised upon his honour he would (destroy) the Teas and pay no duty which is an absolute falsity, for the Committee never question’d? the circumstance of Duty in any shape nor could there be any occasion for it as they has tied him down not to land the Teas, there could be no duty demanded. Maitland confesses his pledging his honour they should never hear any more of the Tea from him, He begs leave to remark that he was left to himself singly, against the Committee without any advisor of assistance and although one of his Owners was upon the spot and a member of that Committee he was silent upon this occasion. This is the real matter of fact of what passed at the first conference when every thing seemed to be settled to the satisfaction of the Committee. Maitland went immediately and gave security to the Collector for the Duty as the sim did not exceed seventy Guineas, whatever might have been the fates of the Teas he thought t was not an object to involve his ship and himself into difficulties, he sent a Notary Publick to the Proprietors of the Teas to acquaint them whatever happened to the Teas he should proceed legally against them. some time afterwards Captain Maitland had an advantageous offer made to him to load his ship for London which he accepted and by that means the destination of the Ship was altered altho’ the destination of the Teas continued the same with respect to Maitland that is to say Captain Maitland meant to destroy the Tea after paying the Collector the Duty, or on his departure to deposit it on board the King’s Ships for the benefit of the Owner or whomsoever it might concern. One of the Owners (a member of the Committee) told him in a conversation upon the subject, that he had had occasion to converse with several of the Members about the Teas and named some of the provincials among them, who were of opinion that they ought to be ceuzed for the Duty and deposited with the East India Company Teas. This was repeated to him by the same Gentleman in several conversations; upon hearing this from one of his Owners a Member of the Committee, he thought it absolved him from any former engagements which he had entered into about the Teas. When the time came round for their being seized for the Duty, the Committee met and whilst they were debating about it, the King’s Officers went on board and seized the Teas, Maitland was immediately sent for by the Committee and escorted by six of their own members he met with a very severe reception from the whole body. He pleaded what his Owners at Carolina had often told him and called upon some other members with whom he had also conversed and who had been of the same opinion, but he could not be heard nor make any impression. They humanely observed to him that he ought to be hanged and ordered him to withdraw; he was soon called in and told by the Chairman, that the Committee had resolved that he should repossess himself of the Tea by the best means he could and destroy it publickly in the morning of the next day in the presence of the Committee which Maitland agreed to, but observed that it was but reasonable he should have his Bills of Loading delivered up if he destroyed the Tea, which occasioned an uproar in the House, and it passed nem. Con. that he should not have them. A motion was then made by a relation of the proprietor of the Tea that Maitland should pay him for it after it was destroyed, the motion was seconded by one or two but dropped and the business ended by appointing the Committee to meet to see the Tea destroyed the next morning. Captain Maitland begged leave to observe that there were but two ways to repossess himself of the Teas, the one was by paying

09 continues

The King’s duty, the other by breaking his lock and stealing it. The next morning, he tendered the duty to the Collector begging to be put in possession of them who told him he would very readily acquiesce, but as he knew the Tea was not Maitland’s property he must have an order for so doing from the proprietors. Maitland sent a Notary Publick to them to demand the order which they refused to give, he hen applied to the heads of the Committee who were then assembling and told them he was ready to destroy the Tea, provided he had an order from the Owners to the Collector to deliver up the Teas to him, he begs the assistance of the Chairman who presided the day before in getting that order, the Committee asked him by what means the Collector intended to put him in possession of the Teas, he answered by paying the Duty, they objected to that modes, insisted that no duty should be paid three and retired up stairs where Maitland expected to be sent for and waited many hours for that purpose without success. He endeavoured to persuade them before they withdrew that his paying the King’s Duty could be no reflection upon the Americans because he was considered as a European, a transient person, who did it to relieve himself and Ship from the penalties of the Law, plain and obvious as this reasoning was the Committee would not hearken to it, they at length came to a determination to prohibit all communication with Maitland and deputed a number of the Committee to go round the downs the next day to proscribe him, which they charitably undertook and succeeded in; he was afterwards warned by some of his Friends to withdraw from the Town for that something was mediated against him which was very soon confirmed by the bells of the Great Church being muffled and the Dead peal being rung to assemble the Mob, (it) ran from all quarters of the Town to the Exchange the place of rendezvous. Maitland was persuaded by many of his Friends to leave the Ship which might be the means of saving his life and his property. By that time their march to the attack, which out of delicacy to the province Captain Maitland will not publish, he had his Boat ready along side and as they advanced towards the Stage that led from the Warf to the Ship, he by persuasion of many of his Friends went into the Boat and rowed on board the ship Britons who had arrived that day from London where in about an hour afterwards he received the following Letter from his Mate.

Sir your life and mine are intended to be made a sacrifice and they are now consulting in what manner they shall destroy the Sip. I think it would be the best way to get the Ship down to the Road. There is no time to loose. I inte4nd to hawl her from the Warf, every body that wishes us well wishes we could get the Ship away down into the Road, pray send me some assistance. I dare not go on Shore myself.

Captain Maitland went immediately on board his Majesty’s Ship Glasgow and applied to Captain Maltby for assistance, who sent an officer and a men up just in time to cut the Ship from the Warf and save her from the destruction intended. For want of a Pilot she would be got but a short half Mile from the Town and obliged to remain there all that day and the next Night. During that time Captain Maitland had certain and repeated intelligence sent from many Friends that a Schooner was prepared with Men and Arms to attack him that night and that nothing would appease them but the destruction of the Mate and him .. injunction to remain on board the ....for their own lives. The Ship at that time not being got under the protection of the Man of War’s Guns by a Mile and a half, providence prevented the intended attack by the Schooner getting aground. The next day Captain Maitland procured a Pilot with difficulty and got the Ship under the protection of the man of War and fort.

John Fullerton, chief Mate, and Wm Agar, second Mate on board the Ship Magna Charta, Richard Maitland, master, in his late voyage from London to Charlestown South Carolina and back to London severally make Oath and say that in respect of the Teas carried in the same ship in her said voyage from London to Charlestown which consisted of one whole chests of Boher and two half chests of Hyson consigned to Wm Donaldson and Francis Wakefield, the said Richard Maitland never did either directly or indirectly give or cause to be given any order direction or hint or intimation to these Deponents or either of them to Land or of his Intention to Land the said Teas at Charlestown clandestinely to deceive the inhabitants of that place or by any means smuggle such Tea on Shoar on account of the Owners thereof of on any other account whatsoever, neither had these Deponents or either of them any order from the said Richard Maitland or others to be aiding or assisting to the Officers at Carolina in the seizure of the said Tea or in conveying the same on Shoar but on the contrary that the said Richard Maitland gave positive orders to both of these Deponents neither to aid such Officers relative to the said Tea or to permit or suffer any of the said Ship’s Company to give the said Officers any assistance whatever on respect thereof and that such the Orders of the said RM were ?? obeyed as not one person belonging to the said Ship so much as put a hand to the said Tea on the seizure thereof by the said Officers. And this Deponent John Fullerton for himself saith that he requested and endeavoured to persuade the said Officers to stop their removal of the said Tea for a few Minutes until this Deponent had sent a message on Shore to the said RM to acquaint him of their situation but that they the said Officers without paying any attention to such this Deponents request immediately untied the said Ships Hatches, went down below, seized said Tea and landed at Charlestown.

Sworn the 12th Day of October 1774 before me at Guildhall, London Chas Asgill

John Fullerstone & Wm Agars.

Georgia

By His Excellency Sir James Wright Baronet Captain General Governor and Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s said Province of Georgia Chancellor and Vice Admiral of the same

To all whom these presents shall come Greeting

Know ye that the Honorable Anthony Stokes esquire who hath Certified the Copy of the Record hereunder annexed is Chief Justice of this his Majesty’s said Province of Georgia

And Therefore all due faith and Credit is and Ought to be had an Given to such his Certificate

In Testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Caused the Great Seal of this his Majesty’s said Province to be put and affixed

Dated at Savannah the Thirteenth day of November in the year of Our Lord One thousand seven hundred and seventy five and in the sixteenth year of his Majesty King George the Third.

By His Excellency’s Command

Tho Moodie?

Georgia

By the Honourable Anthony Stokes Barrister at Law Chief Justice of His Majesty’s Province of Georgia

To all to whom these Presents shall come be seen made known Greeting

A Stokes (sig)

Know ye that Henry Preston and Charles Bryce the Younger who have Certified the annexed Shock of paper to contain a true Copy of the Deposition of RM John Fullerton and Samuel Burnett are Joint Clerks of the Crown and Peace in and for the Province aforesaid

Therefore all due faith and credit is and ought to be had and given to such their Certificate as well in Court as out of Court.

In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and caused the Seal of the Superior Court of the said Province to be affixed at Susannah this Thirteenth day of November in the year of our Lord One thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy five, and in the Sixteenth Year of his Majesty’s Reign.

The Information of Richard Maitland, master of the Ship Philippa, belonging to the Port of London, but now lying in the River Savannah, Of John Fullerton first mate of the Ship Philippa, and of Samuel Burnett, second mate, of the said Ship, taken on the twenty first day of September, One thousand seven hundred and seventy five, before Anthony Stokes, Barrister at Law, Chief Justice of the said Province of Georgia.

The said Deponents being duly sworn, on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God make Oath and say that in the month of March or April last the said Ship Philippa Sailed with Sundry other Goods in the River Thames for different persons in the provinces of Georgia and East Florida, amongst which Goods were Gun Powder Arms and Lead Shipped by Licence from His Majesty or the Officer acting under his authority.

that the said Ship sailed from the Downs on the Second day of May last and Came to an Anchor off Tybee Bar about nine miles without Tybee point, on the Coast of Georgia on the Seventh day of July last past and there waited for a pilot to carry the said ship into Savannah River.

And these Deponents further say, that as the said Ship was lying at anchor off Tybee Bar as aforesaid, they these Deponents saw a Schooner coming out of the Savannah River, on the eighth day of July, with an Ensign and Pendant hoisted, which Schooner went out to Sea as far as or further, than where the said Ship lay, which Schooner kept hovering round the said Ship but did not come nearer to the said Ship, on the said eighth day of July, than three or four Miles.

And these Deponents further say, that at ten of the Clock of the forenoon of the said eighth day of July a Pilot came on board the said ship, but the said Ship did not get under way, until between One and Two of the Clock in the afternoon of the said eighth of July for want of wind.

And these Deponents further say, that when the said Ship got under way, they stood out to the Eastwards in Order to open the Channel of Tybee Bar, and when the said Ship was about Four leagues distant from the Bar, the said Schooner stood right athwart the said Ship, and then the said Deponent was full of armed Men, and had ten carriage Guns mounted which these Deponents too to be six pounders, and the said schooner, had also several pieces cut out of her second Streak under the quarter deck, which were for small Arms in clos quarters,

And these Deponents further say, that about half and hour after four of the Clock, in the afternoon of the said eighth day of July, when the said Ship and schooner were at sea about Four Leagues without Tybee Point, the said Schooner fired two muskets at the said Ship with an intention as these Deponents believe, to bring the said Ship too, and the said People, on board the said Schooner, seemed as if they intended to board the said Ship, but the said Ship veering up large prevented the said Schooner from boarding her as they believe, that the said Schooner then bore up after the said Ship, and hailed her, and being satisfied what ship it was and where she was bound to, the Deponent Richard Maitland, asked the people on board the said Schooner, where she belonged to, and who Commanded her, to which one Oliver Bowen a person board the said Schooner, answered that he commanded her.

And these Deponents further say, that before the said Deponent Richard Maitland, hailed the said Schooner the said Oliver Bowen, said, they would pilot the said Ship into Savannah River and would answer the Consequences, but the said Deponent RM told the said Oliver Bowen, that he had a pilot on board. Notwithstanding which the said Oliver Bowen, and others on board the said Schooner, continued to give the Pilot, on the said Ship, what course to Steer.

And these Deponents further say, that after the people on board the said Schooner had spoke to the people on board the said Ship, they the people on board the said Schooner hauled down their pendant, and hoisted at the mast head, a white flag with a red border on the field of which flag was stamped or imprinted in large red letters, the words, “American Liberty” and the people on board the said Schooner said the Schooner’s name was the “Liberty” and that Oliver Bowen Commanded her as before mentioned.

And these Deponents further say, that seven of the clock in the evening of the said eighth day of July, a Calm and an Ebb tide, obliged the said Ship to anchor about four or five miles without Tybee point, and that when the said Ship anchored the said Schooner anchored also, and lay close by the said Ship all night, and the people on board the said Schooner kept Centinels all night and frequently passed the words “Alls Well”.

And these Deponents further say, that about five of the Clock in the morning of the ninth day of July last, when the said Ship weighed anchor also, and the said Schooner kept close to the said Ship, until the said Ship ran in, within Tybee Point, and then the people on board the Schooner ordered the Pilot on board the said Ship to run the said Ship to Cockspur Island and anchor her there, altho’ the said ship was bound to Savannah and have proceeded immediately, had she not been stopped by the said Schooner, the wind being then at East and a fold tide coming on.

And these Deponents further say, saw an Incampment of Armed Men in Tybee Point and also on Cockspur Island the number of whom in the whole appeared to be about Three hundred, besides what were in the Schooner and that immediately, on the said Ship being Anchored, The Greatest part of the Armed Men that were on Shore came off in Boats and Surrounded the said Ship and then Oliver Bowen who appeared to be Captain of the said Schooner, and who is a resident in the Town of Savannah and a Lieutenant in the Militia as these Deponents have Heard and believe, together with John Joiner of Parris Island near Beaufort, in the Province of South Carolina and Seth John Cuthbert of Savannah, together with several other persons not known to the Deponents, came on board the said Ship.

And the said Richard Maitland for his part saith, that when the several persons last above mentioned, were in the Ship’s Cabin with this Deponent, they Demanded the Ship’s Papers, and the said Deponent, not being in a Condition to dispute matters with them, he produced the Cockets and Bills of Lading of the several Goods on board the said Ship, and when the said Bowne, Joiner and Cuthbert found there were Gunpowder and Shot on board the Ship, they told the Deponent Richard Maitland, that they would take all the Gunpowder, Shot, Lead and Indian trading Arms out of the said Ship.

The said Deponent Richard Maitland further saith that at that Juncture Joseph Habersham of Savannah Merchant came on board the said Ship and produced an Order from the Provincial Congress of the Province of Georgia Signed on the left hand side “George Walton Secretary” requiring them to take all the Arms and Ammunition out of the said Ship wherever they found her, or Words to that effect, that the said Bowen and other persons, told the said Deponent Richard Maitland, that they had been looking out for the said Ship, three weeks, that the Deponent Richard Maitland told them that the Order from the Congress was nothing to him, and he could not deliver Goods until he had seen the Proprietors, and had their Orders for so doing, that thereupon the said Bowen and the other persons said, he might see whom he pleased, And immediately a great number of the said Armed people out of the Schooner and from on Shore, went to work and against the will of the said Richard Maitland and his mariners, they, the said Armed Men, took out of the Hold of the said Ship about Six Ton and a half of Gun Powder as nearly as this Deponent can at present Conjecture, and about Seven hundred Weight of ...

Lines missing, from other copy:

Lead and Bullets and Declared they would have then Carryied away all the Musket Balls and Small Arms

...the said Ship was unloading her Cargo, several people by order of the Congress attended the unloading of the said Ship and took away all the Bar Lead, Sheet Lead and Indian Trading Arms, and Shot that were on board, but eh particular quantity this Deponent cannot ascertain not knowing the Weight of the Lead.

And the said Deponent Richard Maitland further saith that he earnestly begged the said Oliver Bowen, and the other persons who first came on board, and took the Gunpowder away by order of the Congress aforesaid, to leave the Gunpowder on board that was consigned to James Perrman, merchant, in Saint Augustine, but they answered “If it was the King’s, they would take it!.

And the said Richard Maitland further saith, that on their beginning to take the Gunpowder away, he immediately went to Savannah, and acquainted his Excellency Sir James Wright therewith, who this Deponent believes, had it not in his power to take any measure, or even enforce the Laws.

And that the said Deponent Richard Maitland further saith, that he did not make any application to the Chief Justice until the Evening of the eighth of September Instant from an apprehension, that some injury might have been offered to his person or property, And also thinking from the Circumstances of the times, ...

Page Torn.

...Saith that, in conversation had with the said Joseph Habersham, and others whom he knows not, on the Eleventh day of July last, the said persons who were in Company with the said Joseph Habersham, and this Deponent at that time, asked the said Joseph Habersham if he would suffer his name to be entered in a protest, on the above occasion, to which the said Joseph Habersham, replied “He asked he could see the man that dared do it”, or words to that effect, and from and several other hints given to this Deponent, the protests are drawn in general terms and individuals are not mentioned in them, and the Deponent Do pretty sure that had it not been with a view to get the Powder Bonds cancelled, it more than his life was worth to have entered a protest of for a Notary to have taken it from him, there being no Civil Military power sufficient to protect him.

And the said Deponent, Richard Maitland, for his part further saith, that the Schooner above mentioned belonged to Samuel Price of Savannah (and one Richard Weight who was averse to the service she was on) but that the said Samuel Price was actually on board the said Schooner, and acted as Pilot and master of her...on the above Device that the said ... called the “Elizabeth”, and there ... she was on the above...

Page torn

...the said Docherty at Cockspur Island, as this Deponent has been informed and believes.

And lastly, the said Richard Maitland for himself saith, that some of the People that were on the said Schooner, acknowledged to him, that there seventy men on board the said Schooner, besides the armed men on Tybee Point, and Cockspur Island, but this Deponent could not reckon more on board the said Schooner, than forty five.

(Signed)

Richard Maitland, (he signed, the others not)

Jno Fullerton

Asml Burnett,

before Anthony Stokes.

Bond payable 25th March 1765 Hard Dollars 770

Interest on that to this day 25th march 1778 13 years at 5% 495-½

Power of attorney with the City Seal, postage at 5 Gns 24-3/8

1293-7/8

(note by AM: this does not add up! The £/hard dollar rate comes to 4-7/8 – later version does!)

On demand I promise to pay to Captain Richard Maitland or Order ten pounds ten shillings British Sterling Value Rec’d of him Kingston Jamaica, 20th Dec 1775.

£10-10 William Pountny.

Received 30 Decr 1773 from Captain Richard Maitland 3 packages Containing Sundry Chintz Pattern and Handkerchiefs Amounting to Invoice £342-9-1 Sterling which I promise to Sell to the best advantage and account with him on Messrs Bourdieu & Chollet of London for the Proceeds.

Samuel Chollet,

Charlestown, South Carolina.

Havanna Isl.

Know all men by these presents, that we Thomas Horsfall James Noble and Joseph Page, have received from Richard Maitland the sum of seven hundred and seventy Spanish Dollars in full for a parcel of land bought for him by his Order at Pensacola in West Florida and oblige ourselves by these presents, that on or before the twenty fifth day of March next ensuing to make him a just and lawful title to the said land, in failure of such just and lawful Title being made, and within the time limited aforesaid, we oblige ourselves or either of us, our Heirs or Assigns, to repay and return to the said Richard Maitland his Heirs or Assigns the above mentioned sum of seven hundred and seventy Spanish Dollars, or the full Value thereof in Sterling Money

Given under our Hands and Seals in the Havanna, this tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord, One thousand, seven hundred and sixty four.

(see above for Florida history – explains the dates etc of this)

New York 10th April 1778

Captain Richard Maitland

of the Ship Phillippa.

The Ship Phillippa, being in Government Service, you will follow such Orders as you may receive from the pro per Agents. Inclosed is a Letter to my Friend at Philadelphia which deliver as soon as you can, make my respects to Mr Gallway, His Majesty’s Superintendant at the Custom House, let him know that the little Salt you have in, was allowed by the Commissary, who took you into the Service to remain on board as Ballast, as you had a Licence for it. He will tell you if you can land it, if you find it can be sold, if it cannot be landed or sold, get leave still to keep it as Ballast. Shew your Licence and let Mr Galloway know you are an Armed Ship. I hope you’l get leave to land it and sell it. You know it will not sell here. And no getting stores to put it in.

We expect you’l be continued in the Service of the Ordinance, or taken into the Transport Service, for which we have wrote to several Friends We wish you safe here.

Your most humble servants

Hugh & Alen Wallace.

New York 23 Janry 1781

Mr John Maitland

We received your favr 6th of Septr and are sorry your Father has left his widow Distressed on his death. We got his affair and accompts all settled, and what effects he had here sold and remitted to Balance of his Accots to Messrs Bourdieu and Chollett as he desired. A copy of which Accomt you have inclosed. Capt Wallace who took the Command of the Phillippa, paid for the sundry articles he had and they were included in the Acct of Effects sold at Vandue. Captain Wallace had the misfortune to be taken in the Phillippa, on his voyage from Oporto to New York last Fall and carried into Boston.

As to the Demand on Mr Page, there was an Agreement made between Captain Maitland and him that Mr Page would pay 1000 Dollars, he was to have a free discharge of the Debt & Interest but we were never secured for the payment, we only had Captain Maitland’s Power of Attorney to receive it agreeable to an Accot. Copy of which is at Foot. Mr Page never received any Part of the money from Captain Maitland, it was his Partner’s Horsfall & Page who reminded him when Captain Maitland was here. Mr Page had employment in the Barracks Office and in a way of being able to pay the money, but he has since lost his Emplyment and disable at present, Perhaps he may again be employed and enabled to pay it.

After Captain Maitland’s Accnt were sent to Messrs Bourdieu & Chollett had received 20/- for a jar of Olives, he had sold Captain Road of the Navy which we credited Messrs B&C for in Accont

Yrs

Your most Hble Sevt

Hugh and Alen Wallace

Mr John Maitland,

Jamaica Coffee House, London.

------

Hard Dollars

Horsefall, Noble & Page Bond pay 25th March 1765 770

Interest to 25th march 1778 13 years at 5% 499-½

Power of attorney with the City Seal, postage at 5 Gns 24-3/8

1293-7/8

Captain Maitland agreed to take 1000 Dollars for the Full of the within Accot provided it is paid in 12 months from this 10 day of April 1778.

A True copy Present Hugh Wallace.

South Carolina 5th of July 1774

£ s d

A balance of my acct with Hawkins, Pettre & Co was 2731 6 1

Different Accompts Pd Mr Pettres which

they were to Receive

for me vizt:

John Lewis Geroay 98 4 0

Darby Prendergrass 431 1 9

John Gyles 600 6 0

William Glenn 514 10 6

Mansell & Corbett 87 13 6

Doctor Hayley 48 0 0

Rowland Rugely 139 16 9

Mrs Ramage 20 0 0

Jas Bolton 147 0 0

Edward oats & Co 168 6 7

Major Butler 50 0 0

2304 17 1

Carolina Currency 5036 3 2

Est at 7 for one Sterling 719 1 0

By Bills Recd 450 0 0

Ball due R M 269 1 0

London 4th May 1777 Richard Maitland.

South Carolina in July 1774:

Sundry Goods left in the Hands of Sam’s Chollett to sell for my Accompt:

One Case first cost Pauillion sauses? 60 9 2

One Trunk Pedurnpusses & two pr Ind Taffety 57 8 6

To my Bill remitted him from Georgia in his favr upon

Mess Oats & Russell for £1525 Carolina Currcy at 7 for one 217 0 10

£334 18 6

London 24 May 1777, Richard Maitland

Goods in the Hands of Allen Horn to Sell for my Account in July 1774 in South Carolina:

21 Hampers best old port wine 4 dozen in each at 14 64 8 0

2 Crates of Queens Ware at 80 each 8 0 0

Sterling 72 8 0

London 24 May 1777, Richard Maitland

Accompt due to Richard Maitland in South Carolina & Georgia

Saml Chollet 334 18 6

Hawkins Petrie & Co 269 1 0

Msrs Horn 72 8 0

Geo House to Georgia 428 18 5

1105 5 11

Captain Richard Maitland of the Ship Phillippa to George Houston Dr

1775

July 14

To ½ Quire of letter paper 0/0/7

To 4 pr of Men’s thread Hoes 6 1/4/0

To 4 lb of Sail Twine 2/3 0/9/0

To 2 lb Seine Twine 2/6 0/5/0

½ Bushel Salt 2/6 0/1/3

1/19/10

½ Bushel Salt 2/6 0/1/3

1 pair Gloves 0/2/0

2 Trips of Schooner Sapito Pkt from the Ship 9/0/0

2 pr Oznabrigs Trousers 4/- 0/8/0

1 Oznabrig Frock 0/4/0

1 Pair Gloves 0/6/0

18th

Cash pd fre’t of Schooner Rakes Delight 5/5/0

from 4 Mile Point

1 Curry Comb & Brush 3/6 19 & 1Pt Mug 2/6 0/6/0

2 pt tumblers 3/- 2 ½pt tumbers 2/- 0/5/0

1 Pr of Glasses salts 3/0 6 stone plates 3/3 0/6/9

1 doz wine glasses 4/- ½ Bush; salt 1/3 0/5/3

22nd

1 Penkniffe 0/1/0
2/5/3

23rd

Cash paid for 100 lb corn blades 0/14/9

Sep 1st

1 Check Shirt 6/6 1 pair Trousers 4/- 0/10/6

4 25 ln of Brimstone at 5. 5th 25 lb f Brimstone 5/- 1/0/10

7 ½ bushels salt 2/6 0/1/3

8 Cash paid yourself 25/0/0

14 1 Bushel salt 0/2/6

Jas Penman draft on you £14-1-3

Exchange on do 8 per Cent £1-2-6 15/3/9

30th 1 pair Men’s shoes 8/6 1 frock 4/6 0/13/0

½ Gross Corks 3/6 0/5/3

2/13/4

Oct 11th

Cash paid yourself 50/0/0

13 1 Bushel Salt 0/2/6

2 pr Trousers 8/1 Frocks 4/6 0/12/6

1 Pair Mens shoes (Jas Orchard) 0/8/6

1/3/6

Car’d Over 112/1/2

1785?? Amount Brought Over 1/3/6 112/1/2

Oct 13th

13 One Blanket 1/-, 1 Frock, } Saml Watts 0/14/6

4 ¾ lb of Leaf Tobacco } 6 0/2/4½

1 Blanket 10/- p pr Shoes 8/6 Geo Downtown 0/18/6

1 Pr Shoes Paul 0/7/6

1 Grid Iron 4 1 Funnel 2/6 0/6/6

3/12/10½

20 Cash pd Yourself 30/0/0

31 Cash Pd your order to Jas Mathews 5/5/0

Nov

2 1 Blanket 10/ 2 pr Trousers Wm Morgan 0/18/0

4 Cash Pd yourself 30/0/0

181/17/0½

8 Your order in favour of me Chas Hamilton 8/3/4

6Lb Brown Sugar } 0/3/0

1 Cutteau Knife } for Thos Davies 0/0/6

1 lb Tobacco } 0/0/6

0/4/0

6 ditto 0/3/0

1 Handkerchief } Geo Downtown 0/2/0

6 lb sugar } 6/ 0/3/0

0/8/0

6lb Sugar 6 0/3/0

1 Hat 2/9, ½ Twine /2 Jas Orchard 0/3/11

4 lb Tobacco 6 0/2/0

0/8/11

1 Pair Shoes for ye Carpenter 0/7/0

1 pr Shoes 0/7/0

1 pr Buckels 0/1/0

6 lb sugar 3 6lb tobacco 3/ Sam Watts 0/6/0

½ Lb Twine 0/1/2

0/15/2

6lb sugar } 6 0/3/0

1 Chest Lock } Paul Normanton 0/1/6

4/6/0

12 lb sugar for Allanda 6 0/6/0

2 Log Lines 4/ 1 deep sea line 10/ 0/14/0

1/0/0 11/10/11

Your order on me in favour of Jno Bowls 8/1/0

Your order on me in Dr Yonges favr 22/13/6

“ in Mr Tondees “ 3/6/0

“ in Jas Vanaes “ 5/0/0

30/19/6

carried over 232/8/5½

Brought Up 232/8/5½

1775 Nov

13 Your order in favour PJ Coker 7/13/4

Your Order in favour of Mrs Wylly 3/6/0

Your Assumption on Acct of the estate of Hes Sinclair 50/6/10

Your order in favour Jas Lusera 9/3/0

Your order in favour of Houston & ??

50 Ocam 0/15/0

2 Bush’l Salt 2/6 0/5/0

A bag for “ 0/2/0

1 Side Sole Leather 0/8/0

1/10/0

16¼ days Hire of Jemmy 2/ 1/12/6

10 days Hire of Frank 2/6 1/5/0

9 days Hire of “ 2/ 0/18/0

3/15/6

333/0/1½

Balance due by me to Richd Maitland 428/14/5½

761/14/7

By amount of Sundry Goods bo’t of you pr Bill 761/14/7

Errors Excepted

Savannah 14 Nov 1775

Geo Houston

Mr George Houston Savannah 20th Aug 1775

Bo’t from Richard Maitland

Sundry Articles on y’r Invoices to pay on or before 1st of January 1776

M.h.

no 1 d £/s/d £/s/d

1 pr ¾ Ticking 67Yd at 11½ 3/4/2

2 “ 7/8 “ 1 132 13 7/3/0

1 “ “ “ 2 66 14 3/17/0

1 “ “ “ 3 52 19 4/2/4

2 “ 4/4 Cotton Check 70 ½ ells 15/2 4/11/1

2 “ Brown Holland 80 ¼ Yd 9¾ 3/5/2

4 “ 5/4 Irish Sheeting 151 yds 12 7/11/0

2 “ ¾ Huccaback 16 36 3/12/0

1 “ “ 24 44 2/4/0

1 “ ¾ Diaper 41 35 15½. 2/5/3

2 “ 10/4 “ 42 12 5/3 3/3/0

2 “ 43 12 6/ 3/12/0

1 5/4 Irish Sheeting 1 49 16½ 3/7/4

1 “ 2 46 19 3/12/10

1 “ 6 41 2/6 5/2/6

10 7/8 Irish Cloth 110 245 13½ 13/15/7

3 “ 28 62 15 3/17/6

2 “ 23 45 2/- 4/10/0

2 “ 24 46 2/1 4/15/10

1 “ 25 24 2/2 2/12/0

1 “ 26 22 2/3 2/9/6

6 “ 5 171 15 10/13/9

1 doz 6/4 Cloths 28 1/8/0

1 11/4 “ 30 2/17/6

1 pr white Selicia 361 14½ 2/4/1

1 best linen wrapper 12 7 0/7/0

110/9/5

2nd

1 Case containing

4 pr 7/8 Irish Cloth 14 99 14½ 5/19/7

4 “ “ 15 95 15½ 6/2/7

4 “ “ 16 96 16½ 6/12/0

4 “ 17 90 18 6/15/0

4 “ “ 18 88 20½ 7/10/4

11 “ 4/4 “ 275 14½ 16/12/3

49/11/9

Car’d up £160/1/2

Bro’t Up 160/1/2

d £/s/d £/s/d

3 pr 4/4 Brown Linen 68 yds at 8 2/5/4

3 fine “ 72½ 10 3/0/5

5 Best Quadruples 30 7/10/0

4 5/4 Irish Sheeting 154 12 7/14/0

2 4/4 White Scotch 29 8½ 1/0/6

1 4/4 best linen Wrappers 12 7 0/7/0

case 0/4/0

22/1/3

No 3 1 case Containing

2 pr 4/4 Irish Cloth 295 50 19 3/19/2

2 pr “ 296 49 20 4/1/8

2 “ 297 50 21 4/7/6

2 “ 298 47 22 4/6/2

2 “ 67 49 2/7 6/6/7

2 “ 68 50 2/9 6/17/6

2 “ 69 50 3/- 7/10/0

2 “ 70 49 3/3 7/19/3

2 “ 71 46 3/6 8/1/0

3 Long Lawn 3 45/- 6/15/0

3 “ 4 50/- 7/10/0

4 Burdetts 83½ 3/3 13/11/4

2 ¾ Irish Cloth 47 9½ 1/17/2

6 7/8 “ 147 10½ 6/8/7

2 5/4 Irish Sheeting 75 12 3/15/0

1 7/8 Bro’d Holland 77 9 2/17/9

2 White Buckrams 30 9½ 1/3/9

5 Clear Lawns 1 50 10½ 2/3/9

5 “ 2 50 11½ 2/7/11

4 “ figur’d 3 51¼ 14 2/19/9

4 “ 4 40 14 2/6/8

4 Plain Gause 5 40 11½ 1/18/4

3 Ps Launette “ 27 20 2/5/0

1 Strip d’Laure 10 15½ 0/12/11

3 doz white border’d handfs 10/9 1/12/3

4 pr 4/4 white Scotch 71½ 14½ 4/6/4

1 4/4 white scotch wrsp 15 8½ 0/10/7

Case 0/4/0

123/3/9

Car Up 305/6/2

Bro’t Up 305/6/2

d £/s/d £/s/d

No4:

1 Bale containing

8 pr 7/8 best Linen 690 yds at 7 20/2/6

4 “ sheeting 385 8¾ 14/0/6

4 9/8 “ 270½ 11¼ 12/16/4

Wrapper 0/5/8

47/5/0

No5: 1 Bale containing

15 pr Brown Oznabrughs 1904 4½} 36/3/9

1 Wrapper inside 26}

Wrapper 0/1/8

36/5/5

No 6: A Bale Containing

12 pr Brown Oznabrughs 1584 4¾ 31/7/0

Wrapper 0/1/8

31/8/8

Charges

Entry & Shipping 1/16/0

Insur of £430 & policy 8/17/6

10/13/6

430/18/9

G.S.

No 1 I Cask containing

10 doz Mens fine Shoes at 50(/-) 25/0/0

8½ Mens Coarier 36 15/6/0

cash 0/3/0

40/0/0

Cart. Warf & Clearing 0/2/6

Ins of $40 at 2½ per Cent 0/16/0

0/18/6

No 2 A box containing

14½ doz shoes at 50 36/5/0

Box 0/5/0

36/10/0

Shipping Charges 0/3/0

Freight Primage etc 0/9/6

Premiums £40 an 2 per Cent 0/16/0

1/8/6

No1 2 Hogh’d Sugar Containing

176 Single lovet’d 2230 lb at 56 62/8/9½

3 Hds 0/12/0

cartage 0/4/6

63/5/3½

car’d Over 573/10/0½

Bro’t Up 573/10/0½

d £/s/d £/s/d

No1 1 Bale Containing

12 pr Flaxen Oznabrugh 1534 yds at 5¾ 36/15/0

1 pr Wrapper 23 4½ 0/8/7

Packing 0/7/0

37/10/7

In a Deal Box & Cord 0/1/3

6 mens brown Beaver Hats,

laced gold buttons & loops at 19/- 5/14/0

6 mens riding hats laced with Gold 17/- 5/2/0

10/17/3

621/17/10½

Advance at 30 per Cent 186/7/1½

809/5/0

Deducted for what 19 the Advance 5/8¼ 1/4/8¼

808/0/3¾

EE Susannah 25th Aug 1775.

Richard Maitland

Sundry Packages deliver’d Oats & Russel to be sold at Vandue

Richard Maitland

1 case of Girls and Boys dress’d Toys etc 5/9/3

No4 Mh

2 ditto of Irish Linen Sheeting etc 169/12/5

3 Bales of Brown & Pomerania Linnen 32/9/3

Richard Maitland

28 Bottles Linceed Oyl Barketts etc 16/2/0

3 Crates Queens Ware 15/15/3

Sterling 239/8/2

Notes:

1. ...deceased formerly Master of the Ship Magna Charta and late of the Philippa in the Carolina Trade

2. .....had an Adventure of his own which he generally sold in the Country part for ready Money, but by far the largest part upon Credit until he should return thither again by which means there were very considerable Sums of Money due to Your Memorialist’s said late Husband at the time of his decease from diverse persons in the said respective Provinces.

3. (1774)....was obliged to leave the said Province without collecting any part of the Debts due to him in the said Province or settling with his Attornies there for what they might have received on his Account before during his Absence – nor was he ever permitted by himself or any other person to collect the same nor has any part hereof ever been recovered.

4. 1775...That owing to the violent Treatment the said Richard Maitland met with from the Rebells in Georgia he was likewise obliged to leave that province without obtaining and Settlement of his Affairs there to the very great detriment of his property as well as his Health which after that period declined daily so that he died of a broken heart.

5. That the whole of his Property to a mere trifle being in America at the time of his death and irrecoverable as before stated the Creditors at home have laid hold of what effects he had in England so that your Memorialist (who is now upwards of sixty Years of Age and very infirm) is reduced from a decent State of Affluence to mere want and is only Supported by the donations of some of her late Husbands Friends and Acquaintance.

6. Tea shipped by Messrs Neufville & Rolleston & Robert Steele, consigned to James Wakefield & William Donaldson in Charleston, who refused it, saying it was an old order. RM sent in Notary ro make a claim. James Wakefield a partner of WD. ....he did not really know they had entered into any general resolutions for the non Importation of Teas, that he imagined they extended no further than the East India Company’s Teas because all the spring Ships which had Sail’d before him had carried some. He carried none of his own though he used to.

7. Oliver Bowen of Savannah commanded Schooner in Savannah, also John Joiner of Parris Island & Seth John Cuthbert of Savannah. Joseph Habersham of Savannah, merchant, with order from the Provincial Congress to seize the Powder etc. Powder consigned to James Perrman in Saint Augustine. Schooner belonged to Samuel Price of Savannah (& Richard Weight, not on board), called the “Elizabeth”.

8. RM bought in 1764, from Thomas Horsfall, James Noble & Joseph Page a parcel of land in Pensacola, West Florida (passed back to Spain in 1783 Treaty of Paris) for $770.

9. Letter in New York, April 1778: Philippa in Government Service, perhaps going to Philadelphia. Referred to as an Armed Ship.

10. JM in London addressed in letter dated Jan 1781, at Jamaica Coffee House.

11. JM in Jamaica or in transit to England March 1784.

16.2 More on Platt

https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/11/ebenezer-smith-platt-american-newgate-prison-1777/
Journal of the American Revolution Novemeber 28 2017 by Robert Scott Davis
In the early summer of 1775, South Carolinia patriots outfitted the schooner Liberty (formally the Elizabeth) as what historian Charles C. Jones called as the first privateer of the American Revolution. They gave command of the ship to Oliver Bowen and Joseph Habersham of Georgia for the mission of intercepting a cargo of munitions coming on an expected British gunpowder ship due in Savannah, Georgia.

On July 9, while flying a white flag bordered in red that read “American Liberty,” the schooner’s crew mistook the Philippa, a merchant ship with several tons of munitions, for their prey.[1] Unaware that royal authority in these colonies had been supplanted by the American rebels, the ship arrived at Savannah, Georgia. The Liberty chased the Philippa out to sea before using the threat of ten cannons and numerous swivel guns to force it to nearby Cockspur Island.

Three hundred rebels, flying their red and white flag, used two barges provided by South Carolina to board the ship. The Philippa‘s captain, Richard Maitland, protested, although the previous year he had nearly suffered tarring and feathering for trying to import banned British tea into South Carolina.

The rebels presented their orders from George Walton, secretary of the Georgia Provincial Congress and later a signer of the Declaration of Independence. They seized the cargo of powder and a large quantity of small arms and shot. The Georgia Provincial Congress ordered the vessel brought up river to Savannah, where a committee of Mordecai Sheftall, Joseph Spencer, and Ebenezer Smith Platt took charge of the ship and its cargo.[2] Georgia and South Carolina eventually sent 10,212 pounds of the powder and six kegs of the lead to the Continental Congress. The munitions supplied the Americans at the siege of Boston and in the invasion of Canada.[3]

Ebenezer Smith Platt could not have known the ramifications of his presence on the ship. Born in 1753 in Smithtown, Long Island, New York, he came from a prominent family. His uncle, Judge Zephariah Platt, founded Plattsburg, New York and served in the Continental Congress. Ebenezer’s brother Richard served as an aide de camp to Gen. Richard Montgomery in the ill-fated American invasion of Canada in 1775. In his arms, Montgomery died.

In March 1775, Ebenezer Smith Platt, by then a New York watch and clock maker, went south to Savannah on behalf of his father Jonas with a cargo of merchant goods and instructions to purchase a plantation. With the goods, he bought some 5,000 acres of land. His father soon joined him and they began a venture to import slaves from Africa when Georgia joined the Continental Association and closed trade with Britain. His father died shortly thereafter, as did his mother.[4]

In November 1775, Ebenezer started the firm of Cuthbert & Platt and involved himself in local politics. Savannah’s rebels elected him to their newly created Parochial Committee that met at Tondee’s tavern. He actively worked to enforce, sometimes violently, the ban on trade with the British. Years later, Georgia’s restored Loyalist colonial government placed his name on its list of traitors.[5]

The following January, Platt and his partner Mordecai Sheftall loaded two ships to take to St. Nicholas in Haiti to trade goods for more munitions. A storm separated the two vessles in a storm and just short of their destination. The British warship HMS Maidestone then captured Platt’s vessel. Taken to Jamaica, Platt obtained the release of his ship as English property but with the requirement that he sell his cargo there.

Platt then encountered Captain Maitland He had captained the Philippa to there after leaving Georgia. They spent eight weeks together in Jamaica. During a drunken party, Platt left rather than drink to “damnation to all Americans.” In his absence, Maitland told of Ebenezer’s involvement in the Philippa affair. The governor ordered an interview with Platt but then had the Georgia merchant released.

As Platt tried to sail away from Jamaica in March 1776, however, crewmen from a vessel of the Royal Navy boarded the ship upon which he had taken passage. The King’s men had Platt and his black servant seized. The prisoners found themselves confined on the British ship HMS Antelope for Platt having aided the rebels. British Vice-Admiral Clark Gayton had Platt’s vessel sold and predicted that the Georgian would be tried and hanged in Jamaica.

The naval officers, however, had not arrested Platt; they had impressed as an able-bodied seaman as an excuse to seize him. A Jamaican court ordered him released but Admiral Gayton, supposedly fearing a lawsuit from Platt, kept him imprisoned. The local attorney general argued that, as Platt did not commit crimes in Jamaica, he had to answer to charges in England.

Ebeenzer Smith Platt stood in danger of becoming the American Revolution’s equivalent of the “man in the iron mask,” forgotten and unable to be released until he died. Still in chains, Platt found himself moved from ship to ship to prevent his release by an attorney using a writ of habeas corpus. He sold his servant to pay for his necessities. Platt even spent time in a British warship in New York harbor. Eventually arriving in England, he used a writ of habeas corpus to force his transfer ashore for trial on December 4, 1776. By then, he had spent eight months at sea in chains.[6]

After spending two days in London’s Clerkenwell Prison, Platt found himself before Sir John Fielding and Sir William Addington, justices of the peace of Middlesex County, on January 23, 1777. Witnesses brought to England to testify against Platt fled custody but the authorities recaptured two and, with the newly arrived Captain Maitland and his officers, they made depositions in private against Platt. Addington ordered the prisoner held for treason in Newgate, the 500-year-old prison that served Middlesex, London, and all courts above local jurisdiction.

Ebenezer did not realize the depth of his troubles as he passed beneath Newgate’s nude statutes of “Justice,” “Mercy,” and “Truth.” Newgate Prison’s reputation for brutal and unsanitary conditions still finds a place in the annals of the world’s worst prisons, especially for inmates without money and influence. Escapes from the prison frequently occurred but not by men held in chains. A committee that raised money to help Americans incarcerated there described it as a den of “thieves, highwaymen, housebreakers, and murderers” without any allowance for food or clothes. Prisoners had to pay to have chains removed and for food other than the standard inadequate fare. They survived by staying perpetually drunk on gin and some of them committed suicide. Platt “must have perished but for private benevolence.”[7]

Ebenezer Smith Platt stood before the English judicial system as an English citizen guilty of treason or as a civilian prisoner of war. What would be the consequences in America for loyal British subjects and for Americans later taken as prisoners? Were his actions on the Philippa acts of piracy against a commercial vessel or of a bystander engaged in legal political descent? Did his seizure represent a legal arrest, impressment, or an act of piracy and kidnapping by the Royal Navy?[8]

Platt petitioned the Lord Mayor of London for trial. The court in the adjoining Old Bailey courthouse, however, ruled that it had no authority to try, release, or grant bail to Platt. Platt’s attorney argued for trial before the appellate court of the King’s Bench. The judges of that court refused because if they had Platt hanged, the Americans would retaliate against British subjects. A trial of Platt threatened to expose that the Royal Navy had secretly received orders in Jamaica to prey upon American commercial shipping months before Parliament legalized such seizures.

American rebels had already begun to torture and even execute other Americans for remaining loyal to the British government. The British military, in turn, only with great reluctance avoided treating American prisoners as common criminals and traitors. Parliament limited the power to grant habeas corpus only to the King’s Privy Council for persons held for treason. Platt’s attorney argued unsuccessfully that this act exceeded the authority of Parliament.[9]

Without a legal means to force his trial or release, Platt risked staying an occupant of Newgate indefinitely. Growing economic and social unrest in England, made worse by the failing fortunes of the British military in America, did not offer him any hope of sympathy from His Majesty’s increasingly inflexible authorities. Had Platt remained long enough in Newgate, he might have found release with the other prisoners liberated when the Gordon Riots, in protest of the Papist Act of 1778, resulted in the destruction of Newgate on June 6, 1780.[10]

Platt’s situation drew powerful allies to his aid, however. British and American gazettes described him as the first American civilian held for treason rather than as a prisoner of war. Hundreds of thousands of Americans had also provided aid to the rebellion and could theoretically suffer the same fate. The Georgia delegates to the Continental Congress petitioned to have Benjamin Franklin, the American representative in France, work for Platt’s release.[11]

Patience Lovell Wright, American wax worker (an artist who made busts), spy for the rebels, and high-ranking socialite (she referred to the King and Queen by their first names) worked on behalf of Platt. With her help, Platt published a pamphlet calling for his release. She started a fund to help all American prisoners held by the British, although Platt appeared as the only named beneficiary. Wright wrote to her friend Benjamin Franklin with letters on Platt’s behalf. By Platt’s own admission, the governor of Newgate treated him well but even the powerful politician John Wilkes failed to have Platt’s chains removed.

American papers that carried the news of Platt’s arrest also reported on British attempts to have Franklin arrested and extradited to England. Except for French intractability, Franklin might well have joined Platt at Newgate. Aiding Platt started Franklin’s efforts at obtaining the freedom of all American prisoners.[12]

Under great pressure from Wilkes and the public, the King’s Privy Council allowed Platt a release on bail. He married Patience Wright’s daughter Elizabeth on March 26, 1778. She had regularly visited him in jail while accompanied by her mother, and she helped in winning Franklin’s help. The couple fled to France, where Franklin gave them thirty guineas with which to return to America. John Adams hosted a dinner in their honor. They left Bordeaux, France aboard the brig New Friends of Charlestown on June 6, 1778, a ship intended to take salt and dry goods to Edenton and Charlestown.

A British privateer, however, captured that ship on June 14, 1778. The Platts spent several months in Scotland, where they were allowed to move about on liberty as prisoners on parole. By the end of the 1778, they finally reached Philadelphia, where Platt unsuccessfully petitioned the Continental Congress for 100 pounds he had heard that they had voted him as compensation for his troubles.[13]

Platt’s story did not end well. In 1783, while the Platts lived in Philadelphia, his captain stole his ship and his money. Platt moved to New York for a time and signed a document witnessed by the famous Aaron Burr before, in 1785, his legal ward reported him as having “absconded.” Ebenezer returned to Georgia briefly before moving to Kentucky in the late 1780s where, by 1792, he worked as a clock and watchmaker in Lexington.[14]

Elizabeth, who had been a prominent wax worker in New York since 1787, died in Bordentown, New Jersey in 1792 leaving a will that made no mention of her husband. Ebenezer Platt may have remarried, either to Lucy Jett in Madison County, Kentucky, on January 9, 1791, or to Ann Foulger in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1794. He served under George Rogers Clark in a campaign against the Indians and likely participated in Clark’s failed scheme to capture Natchez from Spain. By 1799, Platt disappeared, leaving the famous Daniel Boone holding a bond for the property he took.[15]

By 1804, Ebenezer Smith Platt faced bankruptcy. Three years later, by then a resident of Baltimore, Maryland, he unsuccessfully petitioned Congress for a pension based upon his months of imprisonment.[16] He unsuccessfully filed another petition from Philadelphia in 1809.[17] His date and place of death remain a mystery.

Historians published the tale of Platt’s imprisonment but he is largely forgotten in the present. Even a plaque in Savannah that commemorates the capture of the Philippa by the Liberty makes no mention of the man made to pay for that victory.

[1] For the history of the ship Philippa, see Sheldon S. Cohen, “The Philippa Affair,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 69 (fall, 1985): 338-54.

[2] Charles C. Jones, Jr., The History of Georgia, 2 vols. (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1883), 2: 181-82; John A. McManemin, Captains of the State Navies During the Revolutionary War (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ: Ho-Ho-Kus Publishing, 1984), 39; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, Petitions and Memorials, 9th Congress (1805-1809), HR 9A-F1.1, Records of the U. S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233, National Archives and Records Administration (hereafter NARA); depositions of Samuel Burnett and Richard Scriven, January 10, 1777, OB SP 1777 /4a-b, Greater London Record Office, Corporation of London; Richard Maitland to Henry Laurens, July 28, 1777, in Henry Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, ed. David Chesnutt et al. (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1964-), 10: 250-51; Sheldon S. Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” Journal of American Studies 18 (1984): 259; deposition of Richard Maitland, September 22, 1775, in Allen D. Candler, comp., “The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia,” (unpublished typescript, Georgia Archives, Morrow, 1902), 38, pt. 1-B, pp. 606-16.

[3] Georgia Gazette (Savannah), July 8, 1784, p. 3, c. 2-3; Lilla M. Hawes, ed., “The Papers of James Jackson, 1781-1798,” Collections of the Georgia Historical Society (Savannah, GA: Georgia Historical Society, 1995), 11: 14; Jones, History of Georgia, 2: 181; William Bell Clark, ed., Naval Documents of the American Revolution, (Washington, 1964) 1: 730-31, 856, 931-32; Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 221, 230; John Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution From Its Commencement to the Year 1776 (Charleston, 1821), 1: 268, 304.

[4] Rita Susswein Gottesman, comp., “The Arts and Crafts in New York 1726-1776,” in Collections of the New York Historical Society 49 (New York: New York Historical Society, 1938), 159; Charles Coleman Sellers, Patience Wright: American Artist and Spy in George III’s London (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan, 1976), 105; Ebenezer Smith Platt, The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, Merchant of Georgia (London, 1777), n. p.

[5] Genealogical Committee of the Georgia Historical Society, Early Deaths in Savannah, Georgia 1763-1803: Obituaries and Legal Notices (Savannah: Georgia Historical Society, 1993), 21; “Genealogy Department,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 12 (winter 1928): 195; Allen D. Candler, comp., The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta: The Franklin Turner Co., 1908), 1: 76; idem., “The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia,” vol. 38, pt. i, 464-65, pt. ii, 32, 34; Robert S. Davis, comp., Georgia Citizens and Soldiers of the American Revolution (Easley, SC: Southern Histrical Press, 1979), 68.

[6] Laurens to William Maine, December 25, 1775, in Laurens, The Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 558; Ebenezer Smith Platt to Commissioners of the United States of America, April 21, 1778, Adams Trust Manuscript, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 262-64; Platt, The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, n. p.

[7] Francis Abell, Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815 (London: Oxford University Press, 1914), 11; Diana Preston, Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2017), 226.

[8] For a discussion of the problems between the British military and civilian prisoners, see Frederick B. Weiner, Civilians under Military Justice: the British Practice since 1689, especially in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967).

[9] King vs. Ebenezer Platt, Treasury Solicitor’s Papers, TS 11/4710, British Public Records Office, London; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; supplementary Material: Ebenezer Smith Platt, 19th February, 1777, Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: 017770219-1, oldbaileyonline.org. For treatment of civilians and soldiers in the American Revolution, see Holger Hoock, Scars of Independence: America’s Violent Birth (New York: Crown Publishers, 2017).

[10] Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 264-65 and J. H. Baker, “Criminal Courts and Procedure at Common Law, 1550-1880,” in J. S. Cockburn, Crime in England, 1550-1800 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977), 26, 35; Frank McLynn, Crime and Punishment in Eighteenth Century England (London: Routledge, 1989), 234. For conditions at Newgate, see W. J. Sheehan, “Finding Solace in Eighteenth Century Newgate,” in Cockburn, Crime in England, 229-45.

[11] Virginia Gazette (Purdie), May 2, 1777; Virginia Gazette (Dixon & Hunter), May 9, 1777; Sellers, Patience Wright, 117.

[12] Sellers, Patience Wright, 117; Catherine M. Prelinger, “Benjamin Franklin and the American Prisoners of War in England during the American Revolution,” William and Mary Quarterly Series III, vol. 32 (1975): 265-66.

[13] William Cutter, ed., “A Yankee Privateersman in Prison in England, 1777-1779,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 31 (1877): 285; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 266-71; K. G. Davies, comp., Documents of the American Revolution 1770-1783 21 vols. (Shannon: Irish University Press, 1973-1979), 13: 321; Sellers, Patience Wright, 105-7, 111, 117-18; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; statements concerning the capture of the New Friends, July 3, 1778, Treasury 1/541/5818, National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, copy in 76.1969.1-3, North Carolina Archives, Raleigh.

[14] Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), July 23, 1783; Ebenezer S. Platt, indenture, October 7, 1784, Fuller Collection of Aaron Burr (1756-1836), Manuscripts Department, Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University, Princeton; Ebenezer Smith Platt to John Copp, October 7, 1787, Chatham County Deed Book F (1787-1789), 41-43, microfilm library, Georgia Archives, Morrow; Elizabeth Kilbourne, comp., Savannah Georgia Newspaper Clippings (Georgia Gazette) (Savannah: E. E. Kilbourne, 2000- ), 3: 146, 155; Kenneth Scott, ed., Records of the Chancery Court Province and State of New York Guardianships, 1691-1815 (New York: Holland Society of New York, 1971), 41, 45; John Montgomery et al, promissory note in favor of William Wells, December 4, 1786, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives microcopy M247, reel 85, i71, vol. 2, p. 514, NARA; Karen Mauer Green, The Kentucky Gazette 1787-1800 (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1983), 60, 74, 221, 224, 246; James Rood Robertson, Petitions of the Early Inhabitants of Kentucky to the General Assembly of Virginia 1769 to 1792 (Louisville, KY: John P. Morton & Co., 1914), 219.

[15] Karen Mauer Green, The Kentucky Gazette 1801-1820 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985), 38; Sellers, Patience Wright, 226; Kentucky Marriage Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), 477; Elmer T. Hutchinson, “Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, etc.,” Archives of the State of New Jersey Series I, vol. 37 (1942): 286; Cohen, “The Odyssey of Ebenezer Smith Platt,” 271-73.

[16] Petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA; and Laurens, Papers of Henry Laurens, 10: 220-21.

[17] House Journal, February 12, 1807 and March 1, 1807, Senate Journal, January 10, 1809, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, memory.loc.gov; petition of Ebenezer Smith Platt, NARA. An E. Platt only appears in Philadelphia city directories as a grocerer in 1809. W. Platt, however, appears as a baker in the directories for 1808 and 1810 but not in 1809. Jack Gumbrecht, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, to author, February 1, 2006.

16.3 ALLEGED SPANISH GRANTS IN BRITISH WEST FLORIDA

Charlestown S.C. to London, 1772, Discussing Florida. Folded letter datelined "Charlestown May 3rd 1772" on last page, from British army officer Richard Maitland to his brother, Alexander, in England, contents include (Mr. Gordon) "is to claim redress for vast tracts of land which was private property in East Florida under the Spanish Government and which they had a right to dispose of by the treaty of peace...he is therefore going to beg redress by receiving an adequate sum of money or something else in lieu of those vast tracts taken from him without his consent", endorsed "pr favor of Mr. John Gordon", vertical file fold, Very Fine and fascinating letter (Image)

by Clinton N. Howard

The Florida Historical Quarterly

Vol. 22, No. 2 (Oct., 1943), pp. 74-85 (12 pages)

Published by: Florida Historical Society

One of the lesser but puzzling questions in British policy following the Seven Years’ War has always been why Lord Bute’s ministry gave up the strategic citadel of Havana in return for what the opponents of the treaty in England called the barren swamp of Florida.[xlix] There are a number of reasonably logical explanations for the action, but thus far no certainty has emerged from the study of the maze of diplomatic correspondence which preceded the Treaty of Paris; and there still remains unproven the very important explanation that the action was more the result of internal politics in Britain than of consideration of British foreign policy.[l] In terms of control of the Caribbean, Jamaica may have been a possible counterpoise to Cuba; Florida undoubtedly could have been made into a base for the control of the straits through which the Spanish fleets passed on their way home—these are possible lines of reasoning.

With the cession of the peninsula of Florida naturally went the panhandle which extended westward to include the settlement of Pensacola. This small western territory could be of little use to Spain if it were isolated from the peninsula. Even had the administrators of Spain been more sea- minded than they were, an isolated Pensacola could have been but little use to them, for it lacked the natural fortifications which Gibraltar or Malta or Singapore possess. The town was built upon a sand bar, immediately surrounded by a swamp, and beyond were miles of sterile pine barrens.[li] To the British, however, the town was useful primarily because it gave them a port on the Gulf of Mexico which could be protected by the superior British sea-power; and it was proximate to Georgia and the other British colonies. It was the cession of the Ohio country and the eastern slope of the Mississippi valley which forced upon Britain the novel problems of land settlement which were more pertinent to a land power. Furthermore this western part of Florida could be joined to the French grant east of the Mississippi and give the British a frontage which covered almost half of the Gulf of Mexico. The concept, of the Caribbean as “an American Mediterranean” is by no means a false analogy.

The Spanish seem to have left little mark of their settlement in this western part of Florida which was incorporated in the British province of West Florida. For one thing the Spanish settlement there had been comparatively recent. The push had been made westward during the early part of the eighteenth century to meet the growth of the expanding French settlements along the Gulf coast. Pensacola and its neighbor, Mobile, were outpost towns of rival empires. Compared to Havana, Pensacola was of but little importance in the Spanish scheme of things, and its passing from the dominion of the Spanish crown probably provoked little notice in the mother country. The settlement had been little more than a border post to guard, as has been said, against French encroachments from New Orleans and Mobile; and more recently British incursions from Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. At one time it had been used by the Spanish government as a penal station for exiles from New Spain, and it appears that some sort of a penal settlement had been maintained on Santa Rosa island on the south side of the harbor. The order from the court of Spain for the surrender of the territory directed the governor of Pensacola to . . . deliver up the Province of Florida .... and the exile place of Ft. Miguel de Pensacola” to the British occupying forces.[lii]

A study of the early history of Pensacola, as it is probably recorded in the Spanish archives, would doubtless repay the labor.[liii] There is little of record in the British archives of what Pensacola and its people were like before the British occupation, but such references as there are tease the interest of the student. There seems to have been no mission at Pensacola, at least at the time of the British occupation, and, possibly because of this fact, little seems to have been accomplished in Europeanizing the Indians. A conclusion derived from a study of the record during the British period of control seems to be that the major Indian tribes of the south and the Gulf coast were virtually unacquainted with Christianity. At least this is true in the sense that Christianity was not practiced by any considerable number of them. This is, of course, not to deny that they had been subject to missionary endeavors by the Spaniards, French, and British. The Jesuits, Franciscans, and Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Wesleyan and other missionaries all attempted to strike into the heart of the southern country. One small group of Indians, the Yamasee, seem, however, to have been devotedly Catholic and loyal friends of the Spaniards. Their number is given as one hundred and two persons.[liv] Possibly this count enumerated only the braves and omitted the women and children. These Yamasee Indians are an interesting group;[lv]the romance of their career as a nation rivals that of the Natchez Indians, who were immortalized by Chateaubriand. In earlier times they had apparently lived in the Carolinas, and tlie English had made frequent and bloody slave raids upon them. One writer, William Gilmore Sims, has incorporated this material in a historical novel, bearing their name.

Apparently because of those raids and because of the encroaching white settlement, the Yamasee moved south into the peninsula of Florida and on to the Gulf coast. They seem to have lost their unity as a nation and to have broken into several groups. One of these groups appears to have been this one which the British record finding at Pensacola. They sold their lands, or so it was claimed, and retired with the Spanish troops to New Spain when the British troops occupied Pensacola.⁸ Presumably, their descendants live in Mexico today.

A petition presented to the British governor and Council on the twenty-fourth of January 1765, in the name of a group of English investors who were said to be forming a company, stated that this land had been sold to representatives of the English group by the Indians for “the said Sum of One Hundred Thousand Mexican Pesos of eight Ryals, and they thereupon making use of the faculty allowed them by the King of Spain Did by These of Sale .. . transfer the land. This transaction appears to have taken place before the arrival of the British troops of occupation. The petitioners stated that the sale had been confirmed by the Spanish governor. There appears to have been some confusion or chicanery in the transaction. Among the eminent investors in the English group, in whose name the purchase was made, were said to have been their royal highnesses Edward, Duke of York, and William, Duke of Cumberland; the Right Honorable John, Earl of Bute; William, Lord of Mansfield; the Honorable Augustus Keppel, John Kin- nion Esquire, Marriot Arbuthnot Esquire, Samuel Touchet Esquire, John Lindsay Esquire, Thomas Horsefall and James Noble. Noble’s petition to the Council stated that the said lands were purchased on account of the said John Kinnion, Samuel Touchet and of him, the said James Noble, Thomas Horsefall and Joseph Page and his partner; that one-half was to be the property of John Kinnion, and the other half the property of James Noble, Thomas Horsefall and Joseph Page; and that their royal highnesses and the other honorable personages were not interested in such purchases. The governor and Council disallowed the claim on the grounds that the “Plan exhibited did not carry the slightest representation of the actual face of the country which was pretended to be Described; That the Several Claims of Mr. James Noble were not sufficiently supported either by external or Internal Evidence. . . .”. This decision, however, left the party, or parties, at liberty to sustain their claim in England.

The emphasis of British policy in the new province was upon crown ownership of the land. In this case of the Yamasee Indians the governor and Council agreed that the sale was invalid, and as for the confirmation of the sale by the Spanish governor, that official had no authority to do any such thing. The Council, on the grounds that Spanish titles were invalid, disallowed practically all of the pretended Spanish sales around Pensacola to British land speculators. Most of the speculators declined to sustain their claims, but availed themselves of an adjustment of grace, granted them by the Council. In all such cases it was promised that they would be granted such of their lands as did not interfere with the laying out of the colony. Of the Yamasee sale Governor Johnston later wrote “Every means by proffers and threats have been used to induce me to be of opinion that Mr. James Noble actually purchased an Estate of ... . Nine naked Indians, for Edward Duke of York, William Duke of Cumberland & that for the said premises, to the said Naked Indians, he had paid 120,000 Mexican Dollars, of the money of Mr. Kinnion, Touchet and others; but even this is not the most absurd Article in his Transactions.”

In spite, however, of the opinion of the Council, it might be well that the description of the Yamasee purchase be published for its intrinsic interest. The lands were described as running “from the Entrance of the River Escambe, from the East, side and N: W: point called the Mehipasaqua, 15 leagues up the Course of the River to the Entrance of the River called Escape from which 15 Leagues North to the village named Nichilisuilgase from which 20 Leagues N: E: to the Village named Tatisalague. from where the Course is nearest E: N: E to the River called Suitujatse, by the Spaniards Rio Colorado, to the Village called Pachan Pacha & from thence the course of the River Downward to the Village known by the Name of Fachcatipacha & from thence by the Course of the River to the Bay of Sancta Rosa coasting to the Right Hand to the point called Chuliguide & from there coasting along to the point in the Bay of Panzacola called point Benado from there coasting along the Bay Side to the point of Saint Antonio de Punta Raza & from thence coasting along to the place of their Departure Mchapasacua which is the Lands that is expressed to belong to their Ancestors together with the Mountains Plains & other appurtenances possessed by them.”

Of the other inhabitants of Pensacola and the country thereabout under Spanish rule, we know practically nothing. The story of the Spanish evacuation of Pensacola has been told by W. H. Siebert.[lvi] He has drawn upon materials from the archives of the Indies. He records Prevost's departure from Havana as July the tenth; that he was supplied with three thousand livres; that he arrived on August fifth. There appear to be discrepancies between these records and the British records. The number of men under Prevost’s command is recorded as three hundred and fifty. The frigate ”Richmond” convoyed the fleet of four transports. The number of inhabitants under Spanish rule is given as seven hundred seventy-two, including one hundred and two Catholic Indians who left with the Spaniards. These are the Yamasee. Prevost recorded the population as one thousand two hundred, but Professor Siebert surmises that he was including his own forces in this count. All of the Spanish subjects left Pensacola upon its occupation by the British, save one, who was detained for a short time as custodian of the cargo of a wrecked fluke.

One of the most interesting records of the former Spanish occupation appears in the Minutes of the provincial Council of West Florida under the date January 24th, 1765. On that day 16 petitions were presented to the Council asking confirmation of title in purchases made from departing Spaniards. An elaboration of detail in this matter is well worth the labor. John Kinnion, Esquire, of London, petitioned for an estate called Sanado Mayor which was said to be at the mouth of the river Escambe. The estate was described as being one league square, and the house and outhouses and possibly the entire estate, were said to be in the present possession of Messrs. Bruce and Mease.[lvii] Zachary Bayly, a merchant of Jamaica, petitioned for an estate called Punta de Silio or, alternatively, Arroyo de La Garzona. William Bond, a merchant of London, petitioned for an estate called Jamas Vicjos. Thomas Hossfall (Thomas Horsefall) petitioned for an estate called Punta del Ingles. The Honorable Augustus Keppel (later Viscount Keppel) of England petitioned for an estate called Nostra Senora de La Luz. Marriott Arbuthnot, Esquire, of Weymouth, England, petitioned for an estate called St. Antonio. Samuel Touchet, a merchant of London, petitioned for an estate called El Estero de La Luz. William Michie of Charleston, South Carolina, petitioned for an estate called St. Joseph. George Rogers, Esquire, of London, and John Peddar, Esquire, of Lancaster, England, petitioned for an estate called Chicasa de St. Martin. Sir John Lindsay of England petitioned for an estate called El Paso de Arroyo Ingles. William Lance, Esquire, and James Noble of Sandwich in Kent, England, petitioned for an estate called El Estero de la Vighia. Barnard Noble petitioned for an estate called Sta. Clara. George Stothart of Stockton, in the county of Durham, England, together with two other merchants, Richard Maitland and John Elliot, of London, petitioned for an estate called Santiago el Grande. Messrs. Bolton and Horslar (or Horselor) petitioned for an estate called Pensacola le Vieja. Colonel Augustine Prevost petitioned for an estate, which was unnamed in the record of the Council, and also in company with some others, he petitioned for a second estate, which was likewise unnamed in the records of the Council.

All of these petitions were refused by the governor and Council. The Council was, however, not as arbitrary in its actions as it may appear to have been at a first glance. The undoubted object of the Council was to prevent the buying up of huge tracts of land from the departing Spaniards, for purposes of speculation. To have allowed large tracts of land in the province to fall into the hands of speculators would, perhaps, have been to deter settlement in the province. One of the aims most consistently followed by the provincial government and the imperial government seems to have been the settlement of small farmers and artisans in the province a8 speedily as possible. For this and other reasons the Council on instructions from the home government held that titles granted under Spanish or French jurisdiction did not automatically become valid under British dominion. At Mobile, Major Farmar, commandant of the occupying forces, issued a proclamation requiring that all sales or transfers of land be registered with him.[lviii] One of the principle objections of the Council to these sales of Spanish land, aside from the fact that they clearly regarded all of the transactions as an altogether unjustified speculative venture, was that these sales had taken place before the arrival of the British troops of occupation. After the establishment of the civil government in November of 1764 the governor and Council clearly tried to make what adjustments they could for the convenience of individuals. They insisted, however, on the crown ownership of the land on the policy that grants of land made under Spanish and French jurisdictions were not ipso facto valid under British dominion, that new British titles must be granted, and that any adjustment that might be made was made by the grace of the Council and not by the right of the individual.

The policy of the home and the provincial government seems to have been to put the quit-rent system upon a working and paying basis. They seem, wherever possible, to have avoided making large grants, apparently on the theory that the quit- rent system would operate more effectively and the welfare of the colony would be better served by the encouragement of numerous settlers of the small farmer and artisan class, who held their lands directly of the crown. It was the industrial revolution in Britain and the introduction of cotton growing on a large scale in response to demand from the factories in the north of England which produced almost a century later an agricultural revolution in the land of former West Florida, and it produced the plantation system and slavery on a large scale. From the government’s point of view' then it would be undesirable to create a class of large land owners who would be, in most cases, absentees. To have followed the latter policy would have been to create in the new colony a quasi-feudal class which might well have impeded the smooth working of the royal colonial system. Indeed, the whole policy of the imperial government appears to have been directed toward the destruction of any charters and immunities which remained in the colonies after the Seven Years’ War. To have set up a class of large landholders in the new colonies would have been to reproduce on the frontier of North America the economic conditions which existed in Ireland; and aside from considerations of government policy, it is extremely doubtful whether such a system could have been imposed even by force upon the often highly individualistic frontier population.

To return, however, to the Spaniards who sold these properties in West Florida and sailed with the Spanish troops for Vera Cruz, the student who is working in the English archives finds himself curious concerning them. Taking the estimate of seven hundred seventy-two persons who sailed from Pensacola for Vera Cruz and subtracting one hundred two Yamasee Indians, there are left six hundred seventy persons, presumably Spaniards, who were the inhabitants of the province under Spanish rule. Colonel Prevost, the English commandant of Pensacola, recorded the number as one thousand two hundred, but as had been said, Professor Siebert surmises that Prevost was including his own British forces in this count. There is, however, the possibility that Prevost was including not the English forces but the Spanish garrison force.

Without the aid of the Spanish archives little more can be done here than to surmise. There is obviously the possibility that there were three classes in the Spanish colony: the “inhabitants”, the garrison troop and prisoners in the penal colony. The more it is thought about, the more it becomes apparent that it would be interesting to know more about the life in this Spanish outpost. Who were the “inhabitants” of the colony? Were they prisoners who had served their time? Who were the owners of these plantations which were sold to the English speculators? Were they former prisoners, political exiles and officers of the garrison?

Altogether one concludes as he looks through the scanty references to the Spanish colony in the English records, that one has here another fragment of the story of the Spanish borderland, which is as fascinating in its story of those who lived and worked and fought there as is that of all frontier countries.

[ii] MR. COHEN is Professor of History at Loyola University of Chicago.

THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL QL AR IKRI.Y VOI.. LXIX. No. 3, FALL 1985

[iii] Joseph A. Goldenberg Shipbuilding in Colonial America (Charlottesville, Va., 1970), 03-07, 79. 130, 233-39; R. Nicholas Olsberg, “Ship Registers in the .South Carolina Archives. 1734-1780,“ South Carolina Historical Magazine 74 (October 1973); 189-90.

[iv] South Carolina Gazette (Charleston), October 23, 1773; Goldenberg, Shipbuilding in Colonial America. 121 -22,239-47, 25.5; Olsberg, “Ship Registers in South Carolina,' 197- 279.

[v] Sarah Maitland, Memorial to the American Loyalist Commissioners, March 25, 1784; Loyalist Commission, American Loyalists, Transcripts, microfilm reproduction New York Public Library, 56:260; Philip Hamer et al.. eds, The Papers of Henry Laurens (Columbia. S.C., 1968), i:6, 7, 19. 3:487, 5:215, 460, 6:42ln, 7:257n, 289, 289n; David I ). Wallace, The Life of Henry Laurens (New York, 1915), 1-539; Olsberg, “Ship Registers in South Carolina.” 243.

[vi] Hamer et al., eds., Papers of Henry Laurens 7:257n, 289, 289n, 407. 407n; South Carolina and American General Gazette (Charleston), November 27, 1770; South Carolina Gazette, November 29, 1770, October 25, 1773.

[vii] Hamer et al., eds.. Papers of Henry Laurens 7:419-20, 442, 449-53, 471-72, 500, 507. 521-22, 541, 583, 8:8n; Olsberg, “Ship Registers in South Carolina.” 243.

[viii] Leila Sellers. Charleston Business on the Eve of the Revolution (Chapel Hill, 1934). 25-78; Emory R. Johnson, History of Domestic and Foreign Commerce of the United Stales (Washington. D.C., 1915), 1:86-93; Wallace, Life of Henry Laurens, 20-26,44-56. (Listing of Magna Charta's voyages for this period can be found in Hamer ct al., eds.. Papers of Henry Laurens 7-9.)

[ix] Hamer et al., eds., Papers of Henry Laurens 8;63n. 406, 411,429. 437. 488-89. 494n, 553; Sellers, Charleston Business, 25-78.

[x] 'Benjamin W. Labaree, The Boston Tea Party (New York, 1964), 58-145, 260; Merrill Jensen, The Founding of a Nation; A History of the American Revolution (New York, 1968), 433. 435-52, 478-79. 516-17; Sarah Maitland, Memorial. March 25, 1784, 260-61; Hamer et al., eds.. Papers of Henry Laurens 9:258-59, 385-86, 393n, 406-10, 418, 525, 525n, 527, 527n.

[xi] Hamer et al., eds., Papers of Henry Laurens 9:525-27; South Carolina Gazette, June 27, 1774: Sellers. Charleston Business, 224-25.

[xii] London Chronicle, September 1-3. 1774; South Carolina Gazette, August 8, 1774; Hamer et al.. cds., Papers of Henry Laurens 9:525-27. 558n; Sarah Maitland, Memorial, 56:261-62.

[xiii] Hamer et al.. eds., Papers of Henry Laurens 8:674, 9:406.

[xiv] Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1776 (reprint, Ridgewood, N.J., 1964); London Directory 1774 fc? / 775, 25 (Guildhall Library, London, microfilm). Dr. C. J. Ware of the Historical Section, National Maritime Museum, London, England has confirmed the name change from Magna Char la to Philippa.

[xv] James Munro, ed., Acts of the Privy Council of England, 1613 1787 (1908-1912), 5:401; "Information of Richard Maitland and Others, September 21, 1775,” [C.O. 5/664, fol. 228 A] in K. G. Davies, ed.. Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783 (Colonial Office Series, Transcripts. 1775, July-December) (Dublin, 1976J, 9:125, hereafter cited as Docs, of the Amer. Rev.; William B. Stevens. History of Georgia (Philadelphia. 1859), 2:103-4; Charles C. Jones, Jr., The History of Georgia (Boston, 1883), 2:181- 82.

[xvi] Depositions of Richard Scriven and Samuel Burnett, January 10, 1777, Old Bailey S.P./I777, 4a, 4b. Sessions Papers of the Sessions Gaol of Delivery at Newgate (Middlesex Prisoners) Held at the Old Bailey, 1755-1796, Greater London Record Office; Davies, ed.. Docs, of the Amer. Rev. 11:125.

[xvii] Kenneth Coleman. Colonial Georgia; a History (New York. 1976). 266-68; Charles C. Jones, Jr.. History of Savannah. Georgia from Its Settlement to the Close of the Eighteenth Century (Syracuse. N.Y., 1890), 210-12; William Harden, A History of Savannah and South Georgia (Chicago. 1913), 1:167-78.

[xviii] Governor Sir James Wright to Secretary Lord Dartmouth. June 17, 1775, in “Letters from Sir James Wright,“ Georgia Historical Society, Collections (Savannah, 1873), 3:183-84; Ibid., June 7, 10, 1775; Jacob R. Marcus, ed., American Jeuny; Documents Eighteenth Century (Cincinnati. 1958), 232-33; Wright to Dartmouth, June 17, 1775, Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:183-84; Jones, History of Savannah, 212-13.

[xix] ”Letters from Sir James Wright,” Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:185-93; Wright to Dartmouth, July 8, 1775, Georgia Historical Society. Collections 3:192-93; Stevens, History of Georgia 2:103-5; Coleman, Colonial Georgia, 273-75; Jones, History oj Savannah, 213-15; Harden, History of Savannah 1:180-83.

[xx] Wright to Dartmouth, June 20, 1775, Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:189- 90. (According to Dr. C. James Taylor, an editor of the Papers of Henry Laurens, word had been received in Charleston that another ship Betsy had sailed from England at about the same time as Philippa.)

[xxi] John Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution . . . Relating to the State of South Carolina (Charleston, 1821), 1:268-71; “Journal of the Council <>f Safety for the Province of South Carolina,” South Carolina Historical Society. Collections 3 (Charleston, 1859):49-51; Hamer et al., eds., Papers of Henry Laurens 3:147n; Jones. History of Georgia 2:181; Stevens. History of Georgia 2:103.

[xxii] William Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution (New York. 1802), 1:81; Drayton, Memoirs of the American Revolution 1:269-70; Jones, History of Savannah, 213.

[xxiii] Docs. of the Amer. Rev. 11:128; Wright to Dartmouth, July 8, 1775. Georgia Historical Society. Collections 3:191; Moultrie. Memoirs of the American Revolution 1:81-82; Stevens, History of Georgia 2:103; Jones, History of Georgia 2:181; Jones, History of Savannah, 213-14. (Jones and Stevens declare that Liberty was the first provincial ship commissioned for naval warfare during the American Revolution.)

[xxiv] Wright to Dartmouth. July 8, 1775. Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:191- 93; Docs of the Amer. Rev. 11:125; Depositions of Richard Striven and Samuel Burnett, January 10, 1777, Sessions Papers of Old Bailey.

[xxv] Information of Richard Maitland and Others,” Docs, of the Amer. Rev. 11:125-27. (The M. H. and D. B. Floyd Manuscript Papers, Collection 1308. Georgia Historical Society, includes contents of documents signed by Maitland, Scriven. Burnett. Ebenezer Smith Platt, and others relating to this affair and its aftermath. The papers were copied principally from English sources.)

[xxvi] Depositions of Richard Scriven and Samuel Bui nett, January 10, 1777. Sessions Papers of Old Bailey; "Information of Richard Maitland and Others," Docs, of the Amer. Rev. 11:126-27.

[xxvii] Wright to Dartmouth. July 10, 1775, Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:194- 95; Docs, of the Amer. Rev. 11:44.

[xxix]. Ebenezer S. Plait to the Commissioners of the United Slates at Paris, April 21, 1778. John Adams Correspondence, reel 349, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston; Depositions of Richard Striven and Samuel Burnett. January 10, 1777, Sessions Papers of Old Bailey.

[xxx] 'Deposition of Samuel Burnett, Sessions Papers of Old Bailey

[xxxi] The Case of Mr. Ebenezer Smith Platt, Merchant of Georgia . . . (London. 1777), 1-3; George Plan, The Platt Lineage; a Genealogical Research and Record (New York, 1891), 47-48; Plan to U.S. Commissioners at Paris, April 21, 1778; Marcus, ed., American Jewry, 232-33; Copy ol Letter of William Chambeilayne, London, December 18, 1770, M. H. and D. B. Floyd Papers. 7-12.

[xxxii] Sarah Maitland. Memorial, March 25, 1784, 262-64; Depositions of Richard Scri- ven and Samuel Burnett, January 10, 1777, Sessions Papers of Old Bailey; "Letters from Sir James Wright," Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:187-211; Coleman. Colonial Georgia, 274-75.

[xxxiii] Richard Maitland to Henry Laurens, July 28, 1775, typescript copy. Papers of Henry Laurens; Wright to Dartmouth, August 17, 1775, Georgia Historical Society, Collections 3:207-8; “Information of Richard Maitland and Others." Does, of the Amer. Rev. 11:127-28

[xxxiv] William B. Clark, ed.. Naval Documents of the American Revolution (Washington. D.C.. 1964), 2:678, 686; Does. Of the Amer. Re v. 10:88.91, 11:125-28; The Case of Ebenezer Smith Platt, 2. (The seizure of Philippa was reported in the London Chronicle issues of August 15-17 and August 22-24. 1775.)

[xxxv] Elizabeth Wright to Benjamin Franklin. February 13, 1777, Benjamin Franklin Papers, Yale University, New Haven; The Case of Ebenezer Smith Platt, 2.

[xxxvi] Wright to Dartmouth. July 18. 1775. Georgia Historical Society. Collections 3:198- 99; Jones. History of Georgia 2:1HI. (One of Georgia's earliest historians cites the total amount of gunpowder taken from Philippa at 13,000 pounds. See Hugh McCall, ihe History oj Georgia Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events up to the Present Day (Savannah, 1816), 1:49.)

[xxxvii] Journal of the South Carolina Council of Safety,” South Carolina Historical Soci¬ety. Collections 2:49-51; Governor William Campbell to the Earl of Dartmouth, July 19-20, 1775, Does, of the Amer, Rev. 11:52; Clark, ed.. Alaw! Documents of the American Revolution 1:920, 931-32.

[xxxviii] Yates Snowden, ed.. History of South Carolina (Chicago, 1920), 1:317; “Journal of the South Carolina Council of Safety.” South Carolina Historical Society, Collections 3:49-54: Clark, ed., Na\*il Documents of the American Revolution 1:931-32, 949, 953.

[xxxix] Peter Force, American Archives, 4th series, 3 (Washington, D.C., 1833):28, 859, 956; John C. Fitzpatrick, ed.. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799 (Washington, D.C., 1931), 3:394-95, 401; Burke Davis, George Washington and the American Revolution (New York, 1975), 46-47; Stevens, History of Georgia 2:104; Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution 1:82.

[xl] Force, ed., American Archives, 4th series. 3 (1816); Davis, Washington and the American Revolution, 47-50: Mackesy. Piers., The War for America, 1775-1783 (Cambridge, Mass., 1964), 80; Stevens, History of Georgia 2:104; Jones, History of Georgia 2:181-82.

[xli] Waller B. Edgar, N. Louise Bailey, cds., Biographical Directory of the South Carolina Home of Representative* (Columbia. 1977. 1981). 2:55. 97. 207-8. 390-93, 3:389-90; Richard B. Slone. “The South Carolina We’ve Lost." The American Neptune 39, no. 3 (1979), 168-72; Alexander S. Salley. Jr., cd.. Journal of the General Assembly of South Carolina September 17, 1776-Oclober 20, 1776 (Columbia. 1909), 51, 75; Allen I). Candler, The Revolutionary Records of the State of Georgia (Atlanta. 1908), 1:191-92, 2:87, 119. 122, 587, 3:335; E. Merlon Coulter, Georgia: A Short History (Chapel Hill, N.C., I960). 127-28, 136.

[xlii] Sarah Maitland, Memorial, March 25, 1784. 263-65; Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1780. (Captain Maitland may have resumed command of Philippa prior to his death, since he was listed as its master from 1778-79 in Lloyd's Register.)

[xliii] David Ramsey, The History of the Revolution of South Carolina (Trenton, N.J., 1785), 1:43-44; McCall, History of Georgia 1:49; Stevens, History of Georgia 2:103-4; Jones, History of Georgia 2:181-82; Coulter, Georgia. 127-28; Coleman. Colonial Georgia, 268. (Ramsey mistakenly places Philippa's seizure at St. Augustine, Florida.)

[xlv] Denny Swaby dcswaby@candw.ky. I am a US citizen and currently reside in the Cayman Islands.

[xlix] The North Briton, No. 45. This publication. edited by John Wilkes, was a focal point of opposition to Lord Bute’s ministry.

[l] For an account of the Havana question see the writer’s forthcoming study of the British siege and capture of that city.

[li] All of the material discussed in this article, unless otherwise indicated, is drawn from the Minutes of the Council of West Florida or other documents in the colony’s archives. These are now deposited in the Public Record Office of Great Britain. Colonial Office Division. Class Five. Copies of most of these are In the Library of Congress. Manuscript Division.

[lii] Wilbur H. Siebert, “How the Spanish Evacuated Pensacola in 1763”, Florida Historical Quarterly, XI, 48-57. A contemporaneous map of the bay with the site of San Miguel de Pensacola is reproduced in XX. 165 (October 1941).

[liii] See. however, Richard L. Campbell, “Historical Sketches of Colonial Florida”. Cleveland. 1892.

[lv] Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Ed. Frederick Webb Hodge. Smithsonian Institution. “Bureau of American Ethnology ', Bulletin 30, Washington, Part II. 1910.

986-987.

[lvii] From the description of Pensacola on the arrival of the British in 1703 ns but a stockade und village of thatched huts. It Is apparent that these estates were little more than a medium for acquiring land for speculation E4.

[lviii] “The Military Papers of Major Robert Farmar.” P. R. O., W.O., I: 49: Mississippi Provincial Archives. English Dom¬inion, I. Ed. Dunbar Rowland. Nashville. 1911, 61. This volume also contains some of the documents cited above from the Colonial Office.

A Chart of Monetary Worth
Spanish Coin	Commonly called	Equivalent in Reales	Equivalent in Piece of Eight	Equivalent in Doubloons
1/4 Reale	cautorillo	1/4 Reale	1/32 P/E	1/512 Doubloon
1/2 Reale	1/2 reale	1/2 reale	1/16 P/E	1/256 Doubloon
1 Reale	"Bit"	1 Reale	1/8 P/E	1/128 Doubloon
2 Reale	2 Bits, (quarter)	2 reale	1/4 P/E	1/64 Doubloon
4 Reale	1/2 dollar	4 Reale	1/2 P/E	1/32 doubloon
8 Reale	Duro Peso Dollar	8 Reale	1 P/E	1/16 Doubloon
1/2 Escudo	Escudito	8 Reale	1 P/E	1/16 Doubloon
1 Escudo	Escudo	16 Reale	2 P/E	1/8 Doubloon
2 Escudos	Pistole (doubloon*)	32 Reale	4 P/E	1/4 Doubloon
4 Escudos	(doubloon*)	64 Reale	8 P/E	1/2 Doubloon
8 Escudos	Onza Doubloon	128 Reale	16 P/E	1 Doubloon

ANN SNOW		1739/3
(1)	90 tons; 4 guns	(8)
(2)	28 outwards	(9)
(3)	British	(10) St Kitts
(4)		01)
(5)	David Barclay	(12)
(6)	William Gordon & Co.	(13)
(7)	18 December (poss 5 December)	(14) 4 January (4 June) 1741

1 The Maitlands of the Caribbean

2 RICHARD MAITLAND of Shadwell

2.1 Richard Maitland Maritime Career

2.1.1 Philippa, formerly Magna Charta

2.1.2 The Last Years

2.2 Richard Maitland’s Tea Party - 1774

2.2.1 Philadelphia Tea Party

2.3 Richard Maitland in Florida

2.4 Other Matters

3 JOHN MAITLAND

4 Richard & John Maitland – Additional Notes

4.1 Richard Maitlands Ships, Additional Notes

4.1.1 Ann Snow:

4.1.2 Ship The Duke

4.1.3 The Sharp.

4.1.4 Ship Phillippa (1)

4.1.5 Little Carpenter

4.1.6 Ship Magna Charta & Phillippa (2)

5 Henry Laurens

5.1 Letters re Maitland & Laurens Parting

5.2 Maitland-Grubb-Laurens Affairs:

6 RICHARD MAITLAND GUNPOWDER PLOT 1775

6.1.1 The Philippa Affair

7 SARAH MAITLAND’S CLAIM 1784

7.1 Sarah Maitland’s Loyalist Claim - Notes:

7.2 Transcripts

8 Other Richard Maitlands

9 DUNDRENNAN & OTHER MAITLANDS IN LONDON:

10 ADMIRALTY RECORDS:

11 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

12 The PARCHMENTS of Southfield Penn

13 SOURCES ETC

14 Maitlands of Pittrichie, a possible origin:

15 Maitlands of Fyvie & Insch

15.1 LETHINGTON EASTMUIR Maitland of Australia

16 Other Images

16.1.1 HMS Aeolus

16.2 More on Platt

16.3 ALLEGED SPANISH GRANTS IN BRITISH WEST FLORIDA

17 CHANGES: