Beverly privateers in the American revolution

Front matter

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BEVERLY PRIVATEERS IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

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As early as November 1, 1775, an act was passed by the Massachusetts Legislature empowering the Council to commission with letters of marque and reprisal any person or persons within the colony, to fit out and equip at their own expense, for the defence of America, any vessel, and general authority to take all vessels of the enemy. The master of the private armed vessel was required to give bonds as principal with two good names as securities in order to satisfy any claim that might be made for illegal capture. The bond was $5,000 for vessels under 100 tons and S10,000 for vessels of 100 tons and over. Later it was found that deserters from the Continental army often enlisted on private armed vessels, and such vessels were put under bond not to take on board any soldier from the Continental army or any man not a citizen of Massachusetts. Bonds were also required that the crews of any vessel captured should be brought as prisoners into the State and not, as was often done, set free on some worthless prize to avoid expense. This was really in the interest of the privateersmen themselves and if faithfully carried out would have saved many of them long confinement in English prisons, but prisoners were a dangerous freight to carry and the bond was often evaded, although English prisoners were needed in Massachusetts as material for exchange. It is from these bonds, necessarily signed by some of the owners, that much of our information about the vessels is obtained.

The first private armed vessels commissioned under the authority of the State were privateers as distinguished from letters of marque. That is, they were empowered and used to cruize against the enemies of America, and not merely merchant vessels armed to resist aggression and authorized to take prizes. A privateer was in most respects, except ownership, a close imitation of our state and national vessels, and its officers received the same titles as in the regular service. A letter of marque was a merchant vessel cleared for some port with a cargo, though she might sail in ballast, but armed to resist aggression and authorized to take any of the enemy's vessels that came in her way. The officers received the same titles as were used in the merchant service. With the letter of marque the capture of prizes was incidental, with the privateer it was the business of the cruize. The letter of marque was usually lighter armed and carried a much smaller crew than a privateer of the same tonnage.

The first private armed vessels sailing from Massachusetts in 1776 were small craft taken from the merchant service and not especially adapted to the w^ork in which they w^ere engaged. Many were sloops, some were schooners, but the favorite rig was the brigantine. These carried a large spanker with a square, instead of a gaff, topsail on the main mast. They were armed with light cannon, old fashioned swivel guns, blunderbusses, and a few muskets and pikes. The cannon used were long guns, as distinguished from carronades, and so far as the writer can ascertain, with one exception, no carronades^ were used on American private armed vessels during the war. The uniform of the officers and men on IMassachusetts privateers was white and green, and the flag first carried was a green pine on a white ground.

The rations allowed a privateer's crew were what the owner pleased, but as private armed vessels were obliged to compete for seamen with the State vessels, it is probable that the fare on the two did not materially differ. The allow^ance of provisions for each ofiicer and mariner as prescribed by the State October 12, 1776, was as follows : one pound of bread, one pound of beef or pork, one gill of rice and one gill of rum daily. Peas or beans to the amount of half a pint or a pound of potatoes or turnips might be substituted for the rice. Three-quarters of a pound of butter and one-half a pint of vinegar was allowed weekly. Division of prize money was usually made in the proportion of two parts to the owners and one to the officers and crew of the vessel, but there was no arbitrary rule. It is a disputed question whether the officers and crew of a privateer received wages in addition to their share of the prize money; they undoubtedly did receive wages on a letter of marque.

1 In the New York Gazette of April 22, 17S0, is an advertisement offering 12 and 13 pound carronades, imported direct from the Carron foundry, for use in privateers. "They can be discharged," says the advertisement, " every three minutes, which doubles the strength against an enemy of equal force. The carronade weighs one third as much as a long gun of the same cahbre and the powder charge is only one twelfth the weight of the ball." The long gun could be discharged once in six minutes.

No privateer sailing from Beverly received a commission from the Massachusetts Council prior to September 4, 1776, but several were so commissioned in which Beverly capital was interested. The earliest of these was the Revenge, owned by Joseph Lee of Beverly and Miles Greenwood of Salem and commissioned May 14, 1776.

The Revenge was a sloop of 90 tons burden, armed with twelve four- and six-pounders, and carrying a crew of 60 men. She was commanded in rapid succession by Joseph White, Benjamin Warren, Edward Gibaut, and Benjamin Dean, all of Salem. Her first two prizes, the ships Anna Maria and Polly, were among the first cases tried in our prize courts. On April 29, 1776, at the same term of court, Bartholemew Putnam and Andrew Cabot libelled the ship Lord Dartmore of 300 tons, seized and taken in Danvers between high and low water mark. A little later, August 9th, John Gardiner of Salem commissioned two schooners, the Gen. Gates and the Harlequin in which Andrew Cabot of Beverly was interested. One of them, the Harlequin, under the name Sally, had been employed by Mr. Cabot in the Spanish trade.

The first privateer owned in and sailing from Beverly was the brigantine Retaliation owned by Josiah Batchelder, Jr., and others of Beverly. She was of 70 tons burden, carried ten two- and four-pound guns, nine swivels, and 70 men. Her commander, Eleazer Giles of Beverly,-^ was commissioned September 4, 1776. The petition for the commission, dated September 2, 1776, states that the Retaliation has on board 50 barrels of beef and pork, 4000 pounds of bread, 500 pounds of powder, 25 muskets, 30 cutlasses, and 10 lances. While the Retaliation was fitting out in Beverly, Josiah Batchelder, Jr., had petitioned the General Court for an order on Samuel Phillips at his mill in Andover for 500 pounds of powder at five shillings a pound. A lack of powder was one of the perplexities of the new Republic and on January 6, 1776, the Massachusetts Council, in order to encourage its manufacture in the Colony, agreed to furnish Samuel Phillips at his m.ill in Andover sulphur and salt-

^ Eleazar Giles was born in Danvers, but renaoved to Beverly; commanded several privateers during the war and lost his leg in action on board the (Saratoga; died in Liverpool, England.

As a rule the names of only the commanders or captains of vessels are mentioned in the text. For the names of other officers, see section viii, pp. 405-424, below.

petre at cost and give him a bonus of eight pence a pound on all powder manufactured. In order to obtain powder it was necessary to petition the General Court, which fixed the price and did not always allow the quantity asked for.

Captain Giles on his first cruize headed for the West Indies and was lucky enough to fall in with the Jamaica fleet and take four rich prizes, the brigantine Hiram and the ships Success, St. Lucie, and Alfred} The largest ship, the St. Lucie of 350 tons, carried 500 hogsheads of sugar and 20 puncheons of rum, and the wharves of the Beverly merchants once more presented a busy spectacle.

Other privateers were equally successful, and so much sugar was brought into the State that on January 3, 1777, the General Court granted permission for vessels to export sugar to the amount of twelve hogsheads for every 100 tons the vessel registered. The people began to feel need of food rather than sugar and rum.

The Retaliation, as a letter of marque, sailed for Charleston with a full cargo of sugar, bringing back rice and naval stores. Some time in the autumn of 1777 the Retaliation was taken by an English vessel and carried into Halifax. Eleazer Giles was the first Beverly captain taken prisoner, but he did not remain long in confinement, and in April or May of the following year returned to Beverly in the cartel Industry. We shall hear of him again in connection with other vessels.

In the history of Beverly privateers no name occurs so frequently as that of Andrew Cabot, but in 1776 he seemed to confine his investments to vessels sailing from other ports. Besides those already mentioned he was part owner in the Sturdy Beggar, Rover and Rep-isal.

The Sturdy Beggar was a schooner of 90 tons, carrying 6 guns and 20 men, owned by Mr. Cabot's friend, Elias H. Derby of Salem. Her first captain was Peter Landen of Salem, followed in a few weeks by the celebrated Allen Hallet, later by Edward Rowland. On February 24, 1777, the Sturdy Beggar, Captain Rowland, is reported taken by an English vessel, and in June the crew were committed to Mill Prison. A few years later another Sturdy Beggar, this time a brigantine, under Philip Lefavour of Marblehead, was sailing from Salem in which there is reason to suppose Mr, Cabot

^ George Child, an Englishman, on the St. Lucie, from Jamaica for Bristol, had a private adventure on board which Capt. Giles generously restored to him.

was also interested. The second Sturdy Beggar was reported wrecked on the coast of France.

The Rover, owned by John Derby, Andrew Cabot and others, was a sloop of 60 tons, armed with eight carriage and ten swivel guns and two cohorns. Her first captain was Simon Forrester, also a part owner, and her early cruizes were very successful. The New York Mercury of October 22, 1776, reports that the sloop Rover, Captain Forrester, during a calm, by the aid of sweeps overtook and captured the English ship Mary and James from Falmouth, England. She was a rich prize and her captain on his arrival at New York complained bitterly of the treatment he had received on board the Rover. "Worse than pirates" he calls his captors. The Mary and James, 129 tons, the brigantine Good Intent, 100 tons, and the Sarah Ann, 100 tons, prizes to the Rover, were all libelled October 24, 1776.i

On September 20, 1776, Job Prince and Samuel White of Boston, agents for themselves and Jacob Fowler, Andrew Cabot, John Coffin Jones and Benjamin Hichbourne, owners of the brigantine Reprisal of 70 tons and 8 guns, petition that John Wheelwright be appointed commander of said vessel. How large an interest Mr. Cabot had in the Reprisal is not stated.

The second privateer owned in and sailing from Beverly was the brigantine Washington of 90 tons, carrying 12 six and four-pound cannon and a crew of 80 men.^ She was owned by John Dyson,^ Thomas Davis and others of Beverly, and commanded by Elias Smith. Elias Smith, though a resident of Beverly, was a native of Virginia, possessing all that courtesy of manner, carelessness of dress and fiery pugnacity which characterized the men of the Old Dominion. "Are you the Captain of this vessel?" was the rather contemptuous inquiry of the commander of a conquered ship, come aboard to surrender his sword. "In default of a better," replied Captain Smith, drawing himself up to his full height — he was only five feet tall —

1 The Rover, Capt. Adam Wellman of Beverly, was captured in 1780.

2 The Beverly Historical Society owns a printed handbill reading: "Now fitting for a Privateer, In the harbor of Beverly, the Brigantine Washington. A strong, good vessel for that purpose and a prime sailer. Any Seaman or Landsman that has an inclination to make their Fortunes in a few months may have an opportunity by applying to John Dyson. Beverly, Sept. 7, 1776."

» John Dyson (1742-1828) was born in England.

and bowing low. The story is told that after the war a relation of his who felt himself insulted asked his advice as to fighting a duel. "Fight him!" said the old veteran, "Fight him! Fight him!"

Captain Smith sailed from Beverly soon after he was commissioned, to join the fleet under Captain Manly. These cruizes with Captain INIanly were quite a feature during the first two years of the war, and were not very popular with the owners and officers of private armed vessels. The idea was that five or six vessels could cover a large extent of water and still be within supporting distance of each other and take more prizes proportionally than when cruizing singly. Under the articles of agreement, however, the privateer became a sort of contract vessel and for a specified time passed out of the control of her owner. The officers, too, of these privateers by no means relished being under the orders of a man whom they refused to consider as their superior, and much complaint and bickering ensued. The articles of agreement between the State and the owners of the WasJiington are a t}^e of all these contracts:

Articles of Agreement between the Council of the Great and General Court and Thomas Davis and John Dyson of Beverly, Merchants, owners of the Washiiigton brigantine, a privateer vessel of war bound for cruise of 25 days in company with a fleet of Continental vessels and other ships under Capt. Manly's command. That in case of accident the State agrees to insure the vessel to the full amount of her cost against all dangers of sea and English ships while under Capt. Manly's command. All ammunition expended to be made good by the State. Any prize taken by the fleet to be divided equally among the whole fleet even if one by accident be absent. O^vaiers of the Washington to give bonds to the amount of 6000 pounds that they will keep this agreement and obey Capt. Manly's orders.^

After his cruize with Captain Manly, Captain Smith returned to Beverly and then cruized on his own account, sending in eight prizes. The Washington was reported taken by the Levant in 1777.

The only other privateer sailing from Beverly in 1776 was the schooner Warren. She was owned by Josiah Batchelder, Eleazer Giles and others of Beverly and commanded by Israel Thorndike, who remained in command until the next spring, when he was

^ Massachusetts Archives, ccxv. 442.

succeeded by Nicholas Ogleeby. Captain Ogleeby made two cruizes in the Warren, and was succeeded by John Ravell of Salem.

Soon after sailing, December 27, 1777, Captain Ravell fell in with the English letter of marque Tom, Captain John Lee, mounting 26 six-pounders, and after a spirited defence of three hours was obliged to surrender. As the Warren carried only five guns and ten swivels she was, of course, no match for her powerful adversary. The Tom received little damage, but the Warren had lost her mainmast and was so much cut up that Captain Lee did not consider her worth taking in but threw her guns and ammunition overboard and left her to her own crew. The Warren lost one man killed and two wounded. For nine days Captain Ravell and his men worked hard to repair damages and had made some progress, but on February 6th were again captured by the English ship Fanny, from New York for Liverpool, and were carried to that city and confined in ]\Iill Prison.

Some time in the spring of 1776 Robert Haskell^ of Beverly obtained permission from the Council to sail from Nova Scotia in his fishing schooner, the Dove, wdth a crew of four men, taking with him as cargo one barrel of pork, 200 pounds of bread, sixteen gallons of molasses, tw^o bushels of salt, and a half bushel of beans. The trade wdth Nova Scotia which went on throughout the war will be considered at length in another section, but this permission, like others, was really a blind to cover a secret expedition in search of information. Haskell had removed with his family to Nova Scotia in 1762, but returned to Beverly in 1774 to resume his fishing business. He easily obtained information without exciting suspicion and returned home having fully accomplished his purpose.

On July 2, 1776 the Council requested Josiah Batchelder, Jr., of Beverly to obtain for them a small vessel to be used as a spy vessel and a suitable man to command it. Captain Batchelder once more sought out Robert Haskell, and on July 13th sent him with the following letter to the Council:

To the Hon. Council of the Colony of Mass. Bay.

These to acquaint you that I have hired and fitted out a small vessel for the purpose of obtaining information of the motions of the fleet and armies of our enemies.

^ Robert Haskell, son of William and Mary (Lovett) Haskell, was born April 2, 1736, and died June 17, 1789.

Capt. Haskell who will remit you this letter is to be intrusted with the business. It is needless to recommend him as he has made one voyage already in your employ and he now awaits your orders.

N.B. I have found it very difficult to find a suitable vessel.

Captain Batchelder finally found two vessels in Beverly, one of them the Dove, which answered his purpose, and for some months Captain Haskell remained in the secret service of the State.

On October 15, 1776, the General Court resolved that a Naval Officer be appointed for each port, to take manifests under oath of all cargoes imported and exported, give bills of health, and sign permissions to go to sea. On November 21, 1776, Warwick Palfrey of Salem was appointed Naval Officer of the port of Salem, which of course included Beverly.

in

The year 1777 opened gloomily for the young Republic. "Food is getting scarce and money scarcer/' writes George Williams to Colonel Pickering. The fishing industry, the basis of all exports from New England, was ruined and the sole hope of the seaport towns lay in privateering. The first vessel, owned in Beverly, commissioned in 1777, was the True American of 90 tons, carrying 10 four-pound guns and a crew of 70 men. She was owned by Andrew Cabot and on April 29, 1777, John Buffinton of Salem was commissioned commander. It may seem strange that a Beverly merchant should go outside his own town to officer his vessel, but Captain Buffinton and Andrew Cabot had long been associated in the Spanish trade and the captain of a privateer was usually allow^ed to pick his own officers. IMoreover this was not the True Americanos first cruize. She had sailed from Salem the previous year under Captain Daniel Hathorne, later under Captain William Carleton, on petition of Benjamin Goodhue and others, though it is probable that Andrew Cabot held an interest in her from the first. On her first cruize under Captain Hathorne, the True American sent in two prizes, the brigantine Anny and the Unity, but in an attack on an English packet was roughh" handled and beaten off with the loss of three men killed and ten wounded. Captain Hathorne was wounded and gave up the vessel to Captain Carleton.

Under Captain BufEnton, the True American made her first cruize with Captain Manly, and on her return, with a crew of 25 men sailed as a letter of marque for Bilbao. This port was the Mecca at which, sooner or later, all American privateers cruizing in European waters finally arrived. Captain Lee of the Hawk, on his arrival at Salem in the autumn of 1776, reported 18 American privateers in that port when he left. Business relations between the merchants of Massachusetts and Bilbao had been close before the war, and now it was the most convenient port in which to sell their prizes and refit. It was also a place where most owners had an agent from whom money could be obtained on account, and a visit to Bilbao meant a chance for a spree.

The Spaniards did not look with approval on the wild privateersmen as they marched singing thi'ough the narrow streets or caroused in the wine shops, but if they did not love the Americans, they liked their money and contented themselves with silent cursing.

The True American was consigned to Joseph Gardoqui & Sons, Bilbao, and Captain Ruffinton was directed to cruize awhile in the Bay of Biscay and take a prize or two if possible. While in Bilbao the rig of the True American was changed from that of a schooner to a brig. The next year the True American, still under Captain Buffinton, made another voyage to Bilbao, and on her return passed into other hands.

On April 26, 1777, some of the merchants of Boston, knowing the condition of the State treasury, started a fund to be lent to the State to build and fit out two cruizers to protect the coast, and to this fund Andrew Cabot of Beverly subscribed £1000.

One of the most successful privateers sailing from Beverly during the war was the Oliver Cromwell As first commissioned, she was a brigantine of 162 tons, carrying 16 guns and 120 men. Her owners were George, John and Andrew Cabot, Joseph Lee and others. On her first cruize she was commanded by Captain William Cole and was very successful, sending in eleven prizes. The following extracts from her log show how some of them were taken:

July 30th 1777, Fah, raw, cold, wind rough and sea. Sent our boat aboard the prize. Took out Mr. Dyer and one of the band and sent Mr. French to take command and carry her into Bilbao

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July 31st Fair, pleasant weather. At 3^ past 3, A.M. saw the sail again and gave chase. At 4 gave her a gun and brought her to. She was a small sloop called the Three Sisters, about 60 tons loaded with butter and sheep guts. Sent her into Bilboa.

Aug. 2nd, Fair, light breeze and smooth sea. Early A.M. saw a sail and judged her to be Capt. Lee of Marblehead, privateer brig,^ fired two guns to leeward in token of friendship. At 10 sent a small boat on board to bring him on board to dinner. He came on board us accordingly and informs us he has taken nine prizes, some of which were retaken, and some in ballast which he gave up to his prisoners and four he had sent home, laden with bale goods and provisions. Agreed to keep us company and cruise in concert several days.

Aug. 6th at 3 P.M. saw two brigs. Everything being prepared for battle we advanced. One of them began to fire but we took no notice until near when we gave her two broadsides. Finally she struck. We then bore up for the other brig and kept up an incessant fire for three glasses. She returned our fire for some time and then wore off. The other during engagement kept up a fire on us with her bow chasers. Now we began to think of the man of war which had been in chase of us all day, then we judged it best to give up the assault for the night. The engagement lasted three glasses in which Capt. Cole and all the officers behaved with great courage. The first Lieutenant was wounded in both thighs, one or two other men slightly wounded, none killed. Our brig received several shots in the hull and rigging.

The next year, 1778, Thomas Simmons of Salem was commissioned commander and she continued to send in prizes. While under Captain Simmons her rig was changed to that of a ship. On August 11, 1779, James Barr was commissioned commander and still she was successful. On her return to Salem September 30, 1780, however, she came in minus her main and mizzen mast which she had lost in a severe hurricane, and on January 15, 1781, her agent, Edward Allen, advertises the Oliver Cromwell for sale, " Stores, guns and provisions." She was purchased by J. & A. Cabot, William Bartlett, Nathan Leach and others of Beverly, refitted and placed

^ The privateer schooner Hawk of Marblehead. On her arrival at Bilbao she was complained of as an illegal privateer. The prime minister of Spain, the Marquis of Grimaldi, decided that the Hawk was within her rights and ordered that American vessels, privateer or merchant, should be treated like any neutrals.

3i4 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Jan.

under the command of John Bray of Marblehead. On the back of the petition for Captain Bray's commission at the State Archives is v.fitten: "John Bray, Commander of the within named ship is 41 years of age, 5 feet, 8 inches in stature, and dark complexioned. Thomas Brown, 1st Lieutenant, 34 years of age, 5 feet, 2 inches in stature and dark complexioned." Under Captain Bray the wonderful luck of the Oliver Cromwell no longer continued, and in August, 1781, while "dogging" the Quebec fleet she was taken by an English frigate and carried into Newfoundland.

On petition of George Cabot and others, July 5, 1777, Benjamin Warren was commissioned commander of the brigantine Hami^den of 120 tons, 14 four-pound guns and 120 men. She was largely owned in Salem and was fairly successful.

The last privateer commissioned from Beverly in 1777 was the schooner Scorpion of 50 tons, carrying 14 swivel and 2 carriage guns and a crew of 40 men. On petition of Joseph White and IMiles Greenwood, Israel Thorndike was commissioned commander. The Scorpion was owned by Josiah Batchelder, Jr., Israel Thorndike and others, and was later commanded by Benjamin Niles, Perry Rowland, and Benjamin Ives.

The year 1777 had been a fairly good one for the owners of Beverly privateers and those having money were prepared to make further ventures. The private armed vessels in 1776-1777 were necessarily merchant craft, by no means fitted for the business in which they were engaged, but as these were either taken or discarded, a larger and faster type took their place. The first Beverly privateer commissioned in 1778 was the Terrible Creature, owned by George and Andrew Cabot and others. She was a heavily armed vessel of unknown tonnage, carrying 16 six-pounders and a crew of 100 men. She was not a new vessel and had probably sailed under another name. Some say she was the Oliver Cromwell rechristened, but this does not seem possible. Her first commission does not appear in the State Archives, but we know from other sources that she made at least one voyage to Bilbao before March 9, 1778, the date of her commission at the State House. Nathaniel West of Salem was at Bilbao when the Terrible Creature touched there and returned on her as a passenger to Salem. On April 4, 1778, forty-two of the officers and crew signed the following order: "The undersigned.

going on a cruize against the enemies of their State in the privateer Terrible Creature, Robert Richardson, Commander, do hereby appoint Simon Forrester and Isaac White jointly and severally our Agents." The names of the 43 are given, and the only ones indicating a Beverly origin are John Picket, Charles Corning, Isaac Trask and William Homans. As the crew numbered 100 men, however, it is probable that those from Beverly preferred an agent in their own town. On her second cruize, March 9, 1778, the commander of the Terrible Creature was Robert Richardson of Beverly. On her third cruize under Captain West she was fortunate enough to strike a fleet of English merchant vessels soon after leaving Salem and took so many that she was obliged to return immediately to Salem to ship new men.

On April 20th of the same year a still more formidable vessel, but with a more pacific name, was put in commission by Beverly owners. This was the brigantine Franklin of 200 tons, carrying 18 six-pounders, and. a crew of 100 men. She was owned by J. & A. Cabot of Beverly and Bartholomew Putnam of Salem. Her first captain was Thomas Connolly, followed the same autumn by John Leach, with Jacob Oliver, a Beverly man, as lieutenant. Captain Leach sailed from Salem November 4th and on the 17th took a snow with 300 quintals of fish. Four days later he engaged a brig mounting 16 guns, from England for Antigua, laden with dry goods, and captured her after a few broadsides. On the 25th he took another brig, and during the cruize sent in several other prizes.

In 1779 the Franklin was commanded by the famous Joseph Robinson of Salem, and while under his command her rig was changed from that of a brigantine to a ship. Lender Captain Robinson, the Franklin cruized with varying success in the West Indies, and when, on March 24, 1780, he was promoted to the Pilgrim, John Turner of Marblehead took his place. The next year Allen Hallet of Boston, a man who held more public and private naval positions during the war than any other mariner in Massachusetts, was commissioned commander. On the back of Allen Hallet's petition is indorsed, ''John Allen Hallet, master of the within ship, is 37 years of age, 6 feet, 6 inches tall and of dark complexion. Silas Devol, 1st Lieutenant, is 6 feet tall, 40 years of age and dark." On December 24, 1781, Captain Hallet for some reason left the Franklin, and Silas