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 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE 
 

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HISTOR Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS 
 
 AND 
 
 LETTERS OF MARQUE 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE 
 
 BY 
 
 GOMER WILLIAMS 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON 
 WILLIAM HEINEMANN 
 
 LIVERPOOL 
 EDWARD HOWELL CHURCH STREET 
 
 1897 
 

 aa 
 
 A 
 
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
 
 TO 
 
 HALL CAINE 
 
 BY HIS FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. 
 
 252395 
 
PRE FA CE. 
 
 In tracings the history of Liverpool privateering' and 
 slave trading — upon which the greatness of "the 
 good old town " was suckled — the author has had 
 access to original sources of information never before 
 tapped, and gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness 
 to Sir Thomas Brocklebank, Bart., the Messrs. 
 Maclver, Mr. C. K. Lace, Mr. Thomas Hampson 
 (Ruabon), and Mr. T. H. Dixon (Gresford), for 
 permission to inspect and copy rare documents 
 in their possession, which greatly enhance the value 
 of the book, and to his friend, Mr. J. S. Arthur, for 
 his good offices in this direction. The other and 
 principal sources drawn upon are the files of old 
 newspapers, magazines, and other contemporary 
 records requiring no little patience and enthusiasm 
 to ransack. In a few instances, where informa- 
 tion on special points has been derived from other 
 authors, as in Professor Laughton's admirable 
 account of Captain Fortunatus Wright, it is acknow- 
 ledged either in the text or in a foot-note. To quote 
 the prospectus, "this work is not a mere compilation, 
 but the fruit of laborious and exhaustive original re- 
 search." The utmost pains have been taken to ensure 
 accuracy, and the reader will find the statements of 
 more than one authority corrected. To this cause, and 
 the sifting of much curious original matter so kindly 
 
X. PREFACE, 
 
 placed at the author's disposal, is to be attributed the 
 delay in publication, by which the reader, and es- 
 pecially the original subscribers, gain considerably, the 
 promised 600 pages being largely extended, with illus- 
 trations thrown in. 
 
 In dealing with the delicate subject of the Liverpool 
 Slave Trade — a subject which, for reasons that may 
 be guessed, has been lightly touched upon by most 
 local writers — the author has endeavoured to confine 
 himself to a plain statement of facts — facts which 
 need no comment or exposition. He has directed his 
 indignation against the system, or national sin, 
 rather than against individuals, for many of the slave- 
 merchants and slave-captains of old Liverpool claim 
 our regard as patriots and worthies of no common 
 order. 
 
 Though we are on the threshold of the Twentieth 
 Century, with its tremendous possibilities, there are 
 indications that white men still exist who would gladly 
 revert to the iniquitous system of a bygone age, and 
 enslave the African in his own land. If anything in 
 this book should help to awaken the public conscience 
 to jealously watch that under no specious pretext 
 shall the bodies and souls of "African labourers" be 
 again handed over to the tender mercies of greedy 
 and unscrupulous adventurers, the author will rejoice. 
 
 Liverpool, 
 
 Novembei', i897. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Dedication 
 Preface - 
 
 Page. 
 
 PART I. —PRIVATEERING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A Peep Behind the Scenes — The Ancient Mariner 
 
 AND THE Ancient Merchant _ _ . _ i 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The Story of Captain Fortunatus Wright and 
 
 Selim, the Armenian Captive _ _ - _ 32 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 Privateers of the Seven Years' War . _ _ yg 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Privateers of the American War of Independence - 179 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Liverpool Privateers and Letters of Marque 
 Ships during the Wars of the French 
 Revolution -------- 303 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Liverpool Privateers during the Second War with 
 
 America- ----.-__ ^^30 
 
XII. CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II. —THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE 
 TRADE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page. 
 The Liverpool Slave Trade, how it Originated and 
 
 Thrived -/ 465 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 Captain John Newton ------- 496 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 The Massacre at Old Calabar ----- 529 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Abolition Movement - 567 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Horrors of the Middle Passage _ _ - - ^82 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Emoluments of the Traffic — A Millionaire's 
 
 Ventures -----.-- 594 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Corporation and the Slave Trade _ - - 609 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Captain Hugh Crow ------- 626 
 
CONTENTS. 
 APPENDIX TO PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Page. 
 No. I. — List of Vessels trading to and from Liverpool, 
 
 captured by the Spaniards and French, in the War 
 
 of 1739-1748 659 
 
 No. n. — The Enterprise Privateer, Cost of Outfit, List of 
 
 Owners, Officers, etc. ------ 661 
 
 No. in. — List of Vessels trading- to and from Liverpool, 
 captured by the Enemy during the Seven Years' 
 War, 1756-1763 665 
 
 No. IV. — List of the principal Liverpool Privateers and 
 Letters of Marque, in the War with America, 
 France, Spain and Holland, 1775- 1783 - - - 667 
 
 No. V. — Copy of the Letter of Marque against the 
 French, granted in 1796 to Captain John Maciver, 
 commander of the S7t}allow, private ship of war, of 
 Liverpool -------- 670 
 
 APPENDIX TO SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 No. VI. — List of the Company of Merchants trading 
 
 to Africa, belonging to Liverpool, in the year 1752 - 674 
 
 No. VII. — List of Guineamen belonging to Liverpool, 
 in the year 1752, with Owners' and Commanders' 
 Names, and the number of Slaves carried by each - 67 
 
 No. VIII. — The number of Ships which cleared out from 
 the port of Liverpool, to the coast of Africa, from 
 the earliest date to the time of the trade being 
 abolished in May, 1807 ------ 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 No. IX. — List of Houses that annually imported upwards 
 of looo Slaves, the Number of Ships employed, and 
 Slaves by them imported, from 1783 to 1793, showing- 
 the proportion they held to all the slave-vessels that 
 annually sailed from the port of Liverpool during- that 
 period __------- 678 
 
 No. X. — List of the Company of Merchants trading- to 
 
 Africa, belong-ing- to Liverpool, in the year 1807 - 679 
 
 No. XL — -Comparative Statement of Ships cleared out 
 from the ports of London, Liverpool, and Bristol, 
 to the coast of Africa, from 1795 to 1804 - - 680 
 
 No. XIL — Paid for a Negro man at Bonny, in 1801 - 680 
 
 No. XIII. — List of Guineamen belong-ing- to the port of 
 Liverpool which sailed for Africa, from the 5th of 
 January, 1798, to the 5th of January, 1799, with 
 Owners' and Commanders' Names and the comple- 
 ment of Slaves allowed to each - - - - 681 
 
 No. XIV. — Summary of the aggregate number of Liver- 
 pool ships employed in the Guinea trade, together 
 with the number and value of the Slaves imported 
 to the West Indies from 1783 to 1793 - - - 685 
 
 No. XV. — Extract from "A Log of the proceedings on 
 board the Brigg Mampookata, on a voyage to 
 Ambrize, on the coast of Angola," in the year 1787- 686 
 
 No. XVI. — Character of the Seamen in the Slave Trade 688 
 
 No. XVII.— Food of the Slaves 689 
 
 Index to Names of Persons mentioned in this Work - 691 
 Index to Subjects -------_ yoo 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Facsimile from the original Letter of Marque, ( in the possession 
 of Sir Thomas Brocklebank, Bart., Liverpool) g-ranted in 
 1779 to Captain Daniel Brocklebank, commander of the 
 Castor, private ship of war belonging- to Whitehaven. 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 
 Facsimile of an original sketch by Captain William Lace, of the 
 Palace and Stockade of an African king, who dealt in slaves. 
 
 Facsimile of list of Crew of a Privateer, from the original MS. in 
 possession of Mr. C. K. Lace. 
 
 Facsimile of the Private Signal Code of a Slave-ship, from the 
 original MS. in possession of Mr C. K. Lace. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS 
 
 AND 
 
 LETTERS OF MAROUE, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A Peep Behind the Scenes — the Ancient Mariner 
 AND THE Ancient Merchant. 
 
 We assume, for the sake of illustration, that the reader 
 wishes to become practically acquainted with the method of 
 fitting out, arming, manning, and manoeuvring privateers 
 and letter-of-marque ships in ancient Liverpool. We 
 cannot do better than follow the advice of Captain William 
 Hutchinson, an experienced privateer commander, origin- 
 ally trained in that finest of all nurseries for seamen, the 
 Newcastle colliers, who afterwards became dockmaster at 
 Liverpool. " Safety as well as success, in my opinion," 
 he says, "depends greatly on the manner these ships are 
 fitted out. Trading ships, designed more for defence than 
 offence, I would recommend to be made to look as big, 
 powerful, and warlike as possible, in order to intimidate ; 
 but privateers the contrary, to look as little and defenceless 
 and conceal their power as much as possible, till there is a 
 
 A 
 
2 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 real occasion for it, and then as suddenly ,as possible to 
 make it known to give the greater surprise, which I can 
 say from experience may often give great advantages. As 
 to the size and number of great guns, the dimensions, 
 strength, and properties of the ship should point out what 
 she will be able to bear without being too crank for a sailing 
 and fighting ship ; and though it must be allowed that the 
 advantages in a sea fight are greatly in favour of the 
 heaviest shot, yet the many storms a ship may have to 
 contend with in a winter's passage, or a cruise in a turbu- 
 lent ocean, where the great guns may be often rendered a 
 useless and dangerous incumbrance by the waves running 
 so high, that nothing but small arms can be used against 
 the enemy, so a ship should not be overcrowded or over- 
 burdened with too heavy cannon." With regard to shot, 
 "the first and principal," he observes, "both for quantity 
 and quality, is the round iron cannon ball, because it will 
 ^o and penetrate farther and with greater velocity than any 
 other to do execution when engaging with a superior force ; 
 but when come to a close fight with a ship of inferior force, 
 expecting to make her a prize, then the endeavours should 
 be not to destroy the ship if it can possibly be avoided, but 
 to distress them to make submission ; therefore, some suitable 
 shot that will answer that purpose best should be provided. 
 And I would recommend round tin cases, to fit the bore of 
 the guns, filled with musket ball ; and square bar iron, cut 
 about fourteen inches long, tied in bundles with rope yarns 
 just to fit the guns; or cast iron bars about the same length, 
 a square one about an inch diameter in the middle and four 
 others quartering, rounded on the outside, to fit the bore of 
 the guns, when tied with rope yarns." These rude missiles 
 will doubtless make the naval heroes of the present day 
 laugh scornfully, but the persons upon whom Captain 
 Hutchinson experimented with similar preparations appear 
 to have been perfectly satisfied with their efficacy. 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 3 
 
 The following is a Quarter Bill for a privateer of twenty 
 guns, 9-pounders, and four 3-pounders on the quarter-deck 
 and forecastle : — 
 
 On the Ouarter-Deck. 
 
 The Captain to command the whole - - i 
 
 The Master to assist and work the ship accord- 
 ing to orders ------ i 
 
 A Midshipman to pass the word of command 
 
 fore and aft ------ i 
 
 A Quarter-master at the gun and another at the 
 
 helm -------2 
 
 The First Marine Officer with 24 musketeers - 25 
 
 Three men for the two 3-pounders and a boy to 
 
 fetch powder ------ 4 
 
 On the Main Deck. 
 
 The First Lieutenant to command the ten fore- 
 most guns ------ I 
 
 The Second Lieutenant to command the ten 
 
 aftermost guns _ _ - - _ i 
 
 The Gunner to assist and attend all the great 
 
 guns fore and aft ----- i 
 
 The two Master's Mates to attend the fore-top- 
 sail braces, and work the ship forward, 
 according to orders ----- 2 
 
 The Boatswain's Mate, with two seamen, to 
 assist in working the ship and to repair 
 the main rigging ----- 3 
 
 The Carpenter and his crew to attend the pumps 
 and the wings about the water's edge, fore 
 and aft, with shot plugs, &c. - - - 4 
 
 Six men to each of the ten guns on a side and 
 
 its opposite, and a boy to fetch powder - 70 
 On the Forecastle. 
 The Boatswain to command, with two seamen 
 
 to w^ork the ship and repair the fore rigging 3 
 
THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 Three men and a boy to fetch powder for the 
 
 two 3-pounders ------ 4 
 
 The Second Marine Officer with nine musketeers 10 
 
 In the barge upon the booms, the Third Marine 
 
 Officer with eight musketeers - - - 9 
 
 In the maintop, five men with a Midshipman at 
 small arms, and to observe the conduct 
 and condition of the enemy _ _ _ 6 
 
 In the foretop, five men at small arms, and to 
 
 repair the rigging ----- 5 
 
 In the mizentop, three men at srriall arms, and 
 
 to repair the rigging ~ - - - 3 
 
 In the powder room, the Gunner's Mate with 
 an assistant to fill and hand powder to the 
 boys, carriers ------ 2 
 
 In the cockpit, the Doctor and his mate - - 2 
 
 160 
 
 "The people," observes Captain Hutchinson, "should be 
 quartered to fight nearest to where they are stationed to 
 work the ship, that is, the afterguard on the quarter deck, 
 the waisters in the waist, forecastlemen that are necessary 
 on the forecastle, &c. The quarter bill and discipline of the 
 crew should be kept from disorder as long as possible, 
 and when occasional duty requires people to be let ^o from 
 their quarters, it should not be done at random, but with 
 judgment, such as will suit the occasion, from the mus- 
 keteers, or a man from each great gun, &c., where they 
 can be best spared to continue in, or be brought to action in 
 the most regular order that is possible." 
 
 But what of the men who formed the crews of these 
 vessels? "An Old Stager," speaking of privateers from 
 personal observation, as a genuine "Dicky Sam" says: 
 "Liverpool was famous for this kind of craft. The fastest 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 5 
 
 sailing vessels were, of course, selected for this service, and 
 as the men shipped on board of them were safe, in virtue of 
 the letter of marque, from impressment, the most dashing 
 and daring of the sailors came out of their hiding holes to 
 take service in them. On the day when such a vessel left 
 the dock, the captain or owner generally gave a grand 
 dinner to his friends, and it was a great treat to be of the 
 party. While the good things were being discussed in the 
 cabin, toasts given, speeches made, and all the rest of it, 
 she continued to cruise in the river, with music playing, 
 colours flying, the centre of attraction and admiration, 'the 
 observed of all observers ' as she dashed like a flying fish 
 through the water. And then the crew ! The captain was 
 always some brave, daring man, who had fought his way 
 to his position. The officers were selected for the same 
 qualities ; and the men — what a reckless, dreadnought, 
 dare-devil collection of human beings, half-disciplined, but 
 vet ready to obey every order, the more desperate the 
 better. Your true privateersman was a sort of half-horse, 
 half-alligator, with a streak of lightning in his composi- 
 tion — something like a man-of-war's man, but much more 
 like a pirate — generally with a super-abundance of whisker, 
 as if he held with Sampson that his strength was in the 
 quantity of his hair. And how they would cheer, and be 
 cheered, as we passed any other vessel in the river ; and 
 when the eating and drinking and speaking and toasting 
 were over, and the boat was lowered, and the guests were in 
 it, how they would cheer again, more lustily than ever, as 
 the rope was cast off", and, as the landsmen were got rid of, 
 put about their own vessel, with fortune and the world 
 before them, and French West Indiamen and Spanish 
 galleons in hope and prospect. Those were jolly days to 
 some people, but we trust we may never see the like of them 
 again. The dashing man-of-war and the daring privateer 
 dazzled the eyes of the understanding, and kindled wild and 
 
6 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 fierce enthusiasm on all sides. The Park and Tower guns 
 and the extraordinary Gazette confirmed the madness, and 
 kept up a constant fever of excitement. But count the cost. 
 Lift up the veil, and peep at the hideous features of 
 the demon of war. Look at the mouldering corruption 
 beneath the whited sepulchre of glory ! But no sermons, if 
 you please." 
 
 Having got our ship, and her crew of dare-devils on 
 board, let us consult Captain Hutchinson as to the best way 
 of managing both ship and men. "As soon as the ship 
 has got to sea," he tells us, "take the first opportunity to 
 have all hands called to quarters ; the officers in their stations 
 to have everything made properly ready and fit for action ; 
 to have a general exercise, not only of the great guns and 
 small arms, but the method of working and managing the 
 ship, to take the advantage of the openings that often occur 
 in attacking and being attacked by another single ship ; and 
 the designed manoeuvres should be taught the people in 
 their general exercise that they may know how to act with- 
 out confusion. When a ship of nearly equal force brought 
 to with a design to fight us, my intention was not to run 
 directly alongside and lie to like a log, and depend upon 
 mere battering with one side only, nor upon the stern chase 
 guns. When it is found that there is no choice of running 
 from a ship of much superior force chasing us, and when 
 their best sailing is upon a wind, it is a common practice for 
 them to run up and bring to under the lee in a triumphant 
 manner, depending on their superior power, and commonly 
 demanding immediate submission without expecting any 
 resistance. The designed manner of resisting or attacking 
 I always endeavoured to conceal as long as possible, 
 and these two cases give all the advantages desired by my 
 method. 
 
 " Begin the attack upon the weather quarter, shooting 
 the ship upon the wind with the helm a-lee, till the after- 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 7 
 
 lee gun, with which we begin, can be pointed upon the 
 enemy's stern ; then fire the lee broadside, as it may be 
 called. The ship begins the attack upon the enemy when the 
 topsails are thrown aback, with the helm a-lee, boxing the 
 ship round on her heels, so as to bring the wind so far aft 
 that the ship may immediately be steered close under the 
 enemy's stern, with particular orders to begin with the 
 foremost gun, to rake them right fore and aft with the great 
 guns, as they pass in that line of direction, all aiming and 
 firing to break the neck or cheeks of the rudder head, the 
 tiller ropes, blocks, &c., so as, if possible, to destroy the 
 steerage tackle, which design, if it proves successful, takes 
 the management of their ship from them, so that she must 
 lie helpless for a time,. in spite of their endeayours. When 
 the aftermost gun is fired, put the helm hard-a-weather to 
 bring the ship by the wind ; and then stand oft' on the 
 other tack, to keep clear of their lee broadside and act 
 according to their motions, and the experience of the effect 
 your attack has had upon them. If they continue to lie-to, 
 either renew the attack again in the same manner as soon 
 as the ship will fetch the weather quarter again, or make sail 
 off to escape, if it is found that the great inequality of their 
 superior force admits of no possible chance of conquering 
 them. And although this manoeuvre may not have given 
 this advantage (which in my opinion ought always to be 
 attempted, and not to submit tamely, though a ship is 
 above double the force), yet the power of their broadsides 
 may be chiefly avoided by it. 
 
 " But when the inequality of force is not so great, but 
 there is a possibility of conquering, and if the success of 
 the first attack is perceived to oblige the enemy to continue 
 lying-to, in order to repair the damage done their rudder 
 or tiller, &c., then the blow should be followed by renewing 
 the attack again with all possible expedition, in the same 
 manner which gives the opening, not only to fire the whole 
 
8 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 round of great guns to advantage, but also to the marines 
 and topmen to fire their small arms at the same time to 
 great advantage, so as to do the most execution possible by- 
 firing and raking them fore and aft through their most open 
 and tender part, the stern, with the least risk possible from 
 the enemy's guns, and, therefore, gives the greatest possible 
 chance that I know of to make an easy conquest, especially 
 if so lucky as to destroy and prevent the recovery of their 
 steerage. A ship of much superior force may be brought 
 to such a distressed condition as to be obliged to make a 
 submission for want of the helm to command her. 
 
 " But suppose the enemy, laid to as above mentioned, 
 find themselves not much hurt by this manoeuvre, and that 
 you had not succeeded in destroying their steerage, and 
 therefore you may expect that they will immediately tack, 
 or ware ship, and stand after you, depending on their 
 advantages of sailing faster and superior force, shall run 
 up along your lee side, expecting by making a general 
 discharge of their small arms and great guns (charged with 
 suitable shot) on your deck, which lies open to them by 
 the ship's heeling, to destroy your people and to make you 
 submit? When this is likely to be their design, orders 
 should be given to your people to keep themselves as snug 
 under shelter as possible from their small shot, till their 
 general discharge is over ; then if the ship is found not so 
 disabled, but that the topsails can be thrown aback, make 
 a general discharge from the lee side, and the great guns, 
 loaded with round shot only, pointed to the weather-side of 
 the enemy's bottom, amidships to one point, at the water- 
 edge, and box-haul the ship to run close under their stern, 
 aiming at raking and destroying their steerage with the 
 other broadside ; then stand off on the other tack, as 
 before mentioned, and act according to the circumstance 
 and the condition you find yourselves in. Compare with 
 the appearance of that of the enemy and their motions, 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 9 
 
 who may be obliged to continue on the other tack to repair 
 damages about their rudder, or to stop their leaks in the 
 weather-side of their bottom, if your aim has proved 
 successful. 
 
 "But when an enemy's ship of force makes only a run- 
 ning fight, if there is no necessity to cut them off from the 
 shore or from the shelter of other ships, etc., and you have 
 the advantage of sailing faster, the most sure and likely 
 method to make an easy conquest with the least hurt to 
 yourselves or their ship (your expected prize) is to run close 
 up and shoot or sheer your ship across their stern each way, 
 making a general discharge of all your force, first with one 
 broadside, then the other, always aiming with the great 
 guns at the rudder-head and steerage tackling, for the 
 reasons given — that if the shots miss the rudder, etc., by 
 raking the ship fore and aft through the stern, they may do 
 the greatest execution possible to distress them so as to 
 make a submission. On this occasion, when it blows fresh 
 and obliges to carry a pressing sail large, or before the 
 wind, to make the great gvms as ready as possible, and pre- 
 vent their being fired too low, all their breeches should be 
 laid quite down in the carriage, and if your ship is crank, 
 the yards should be braced so as to shiver the sails at the 
 time each broadside is fired. In all these manoeuvres, when 
 the whole round of great guns are designed to be fired, care 
 should be always taken to leave two or more men, as it may 
 require, to charge each gun again when fired on one side, 
 whilst the others move over to fire the guns on the opposite 
 side, that neither side may be left unguarded ; all which, with 
 every other advantageous manoeuvre that may be designed 
 to be put in practice in action, should be taught the people 
 along with the general exercise of great guns and small 
 arms, by throwing a light, empty beef-cask overboard, 
 making it the object of attack, for all the guns to be pointed 
 at, when performing the above-described or other intended 
 
10 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 manoeuvres about it ; first, by running a little way large 
 from it, then haul the wind, tack ship, and stand towards 
 it, keeping it about three points on the lee bow till within 
 a half-cable's length or musket shot of it ; then put the 
 helm a-lee and shoot the ship up in the wind with the top- 
 sails aback, till the after gun can be pointed to the cask; 
 then give the word of command to fire when there is a fair 
 opening to make a general discharge, both below and aloft 
 on that side. When you have box-hauled your ship, and 
 run close past the cask to make a general discharge from 
 the other side, then bear round away from it, ware, and haul 
 the wind on the other tack till you can tack and fetch up to 
 it again to repeat this, or perform any other manoeuvres 
 that may give an advantage to attack or defend a ship laid 
 to or sailing upon a wind, as above mentioned. 
 
 " To perform the manoeuvres of attacking an enemy to 
 make a running fight large, or before the wind, you have 
 only to turn far enough to windward of the cask to give 
 room in sailing down to it to bring the ship's broadside to 
 point to it each way. But to perform this manoeuvre to the 
 greatest advantage, with the least loss of time, and the ship's 
 way through the water (which may be of great importance 
 on this occasion to keep close up with the enemy), all the 
 great guns should be run out close to the after part of 
 the ports, that they may be pointed as far forward as the 
 sides of the ports will admit, and elevated as the heeling of 
 the ship, when brought to, to fire, may require, as above 
 mentioned ; and particular orders should be given for the 
 aftermost guns on each side to be fired first, as soon as they 
 can be brought to bear upon the enemy, because then the 
 ship need not be brought any more to, but steered in that 
 direction till the other guns are fired ; then shift the helm to 
 ware, to bring the other broadside to bear, etc. 
 
 "After the people have been thus disciplined, it is neces- 
 sary to let them smell powder, as it is termed, and a little 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 11 
 
 ammunition spent in exercise, it is allowed, may be the 
 means to save a great deal expended to little or no purpose 
 in action ; therefore, I used to allow a small charge of 
 powder for the round of great guns, with stone ballast for 
 shot, and the musketeers two charges with balls each, and 
 give them a fair chance by these manoeuvres to fire both 
 broadsides and small arms at the cask. If they sunk it, 
 all hands to have an allowance of grog, as it is called, 
 but if they did not sink it, to have the trouble and morti- 
 fication to hoist out the boat and fetch it on board to ser\'e 
 another time." 
 
 In his observ^ations on preparing for exercise or action, 
 Captain Hutchinson says : "When all hands are called to 
 quarters, every man should bring his hammock, well lashed 
 up, and stow it to the greatest advantage, to give shelter from 
 small arms, nearest to his own quarters; or to give them to 
 some of his messmates where they are the most wanted, that 
 they may know readily where to find them when exercise or 
 action is over. When the hammocks are properly stowed, 
 the officers, according to their stations and duties, are to see 
 the ship effectually cleared of all incumbrances, and every- 
 thing prepared, so that nothing may be wanting that is 
 necessary for exercise or action. The lieutenants or mates, 
 with the gunner on the gun deck, are to get all the hatches 
 laid, except that where the powder is to be handed up. A 
 match-tub, half filled with water, and four matches in the 
 notches, placed as near midship as possible, to serve two guns 
 and their opposites ; also swabs to wet the decks, to pre- 
 vent the fatal consequences that may attend the scattered and 
 blown powder from the priming of the guns making a train 
 fore and aft, which I have known take fire from the firing 
 of the guns and do great damage, and which, in my opinion, 
 has often been the cause of blowing ships up ; and they 
 should see that the captain of each gun has his men, 
 pow^der-horn, rope, sponge, rammer, crows, handspikes. 
 
12 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 and train tackles all ready in their proper places. The 
 boatswain must get the yards slung, the topsail sheets 
 stoppered, and marline-spikes ready to repair the standing 
 and running rigging that may be damaged. The carpenters 
 are to get the pumps rigged, and shot plugs with all that is 
 necessary ready in their proper places to stop leaks and 
 repair damages. The gunner, when preparing for action, 
 is to see that the charges in the guns are dry, and that there 
 is a sufficient quantity of wads and shot of all sorts and 
 cartridges ready filled. The marine officers are to see all 
 the musketeers at their quarters, with their arms and ammu- 
 nition in good order for exercise or action." 
 
 The reader, doubtless, feels that Captain Hutchinson was 
 a thorough master of his profession, and observant of the 
 minutest details. He was in truth a man of a very practical 
 and scientific turn of mind, claiming our respect on many 
 grounds, and that of sailors in particular, as the father of 
 the Liverpool Marine Society. But we have not finished 
 our lessons yet in the School of Privateering. Speaking 
 of fortifying the quarter deck. Captain Hutchinson says : 
 " Whatever may contribute to shelter and save the people 
 must be allowed to deserve notice. Various methods and 
 things have been tried for this purpose. I was in a ship 
 that had bags of ox-hair that were said to resist even 
 cannon shot ; but in fighting with a French frigate I 
 saw one of her shot go through eighteen inches of hair, 
 through the middle of an eighteen-inch mast, and a 
 long way over our ship afterwards ; which proves no 
 fence can be made about a ship against cannon shot ; 
 but against small and musket shots a fence may be 
 made many ways. However, this fence or breastwork 
 mav be made to shelter the people from small shot ; in 
 common they are no more than breast-high, so that the 
 musketeers can fire fairly over them upon the enemy. But 
 from experience in fighting I have observed among new 
 
THE A NCIENT MA RINER. 1 3 
 
 fighting men there will always be something to show that 
 natural instinct of self-preservation ; and in order to keep 
 their heads under shelter of the breastwork from the 
 enemy's shot, they fire their muskets at random up into the 
 air. Seeing this, and to prevent the bad effect of such 
 examples in fighting, I have made a feigned lunge at a 
 man's breast with my drawn sword, and have been 
 obliged to threaten death to any man that should show 
 such a bad example ; though it must be allowed to 
 be only a failing and not a fault among new undis- 
 ciplined landsmen first coming into action, who, at 
 seeing a man shot through the head above the breast- 
 work, may show a little fear, but by practice may 
 prove brave afterwards. Therefore, to remedy this defect 
 which I perceived in fighting the small arms, in fitting out 
 a privateer afterwards, we had a rail, as in common, breast- 
 high on each side the quarter deck, and on the rails were 
 fixed light iron crutches, with the arms about a foot square, 
 and a shoulder to keep the bottom of the crutches about six 
 inches above the rails, and thin boards about six inches 
 broad, laid upon the bottom of the crutches ; and netting 
 with large square meshes were formed just to hold a 
 hammock with its bedding longways; and from the gunnel 
 to the rail was boarded up on each side of the stanchions, 
 and filled up with rope shakings, cork shavings, etc., which 
 are found sufficient proof against musket ball, which made 
 so ready and good a fence for the quarter-deck musketeers 
 that the most timorous could point his piece with the utmost 
 confidence between the rail and the netting, and fire right 
 upon the enemy, by having his head, as well as his body, 
 under such secure shelter. For the same reasons, in clearing 
 and preparing the ship for fighting, I used to make the 
 forecastle and top-men lash the hammocks, to shelter them, 
 horizontally on the outside of the fore and topmast shrouds, 
 close to one another, breast high, and then a single 
 
14 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 hammock above, leaving a little vacancy to point and fire 
 their muskets through, which guards that tender and most 
 important seat of knowledge, the head, as well as the other 
 parts of the body which it governs, from the enemy's small 
 shot." 
 
 The commander of a privateer was not free to roam the 
 wide ocean at his own sweet will in search of prey. He 
 usually had his station allotted to him by his owners, and 
 in any case his self-interest would lead him to select a 
 "beat" frequented by passing vessels. Discoursing on a 
 ship cruising on her station. Captain Hutchinson reveals 
 the tactics pursued by himself and Captain Fortunatus 
 Wright in the War with Spain and France (i 739-1 748). 
 *' Cruising," he says, " the war before last, in the employ of 
 that great but unfortunate hero, Fortunatus Wright, in the 
 Mediterranean Sea, where the wind blows generally either 
 easterly or westerly — that is, either up or down the Straits — ■ 
 it was planned, with either of these winds that blew, to steer 
 up or down the common channels, the common course, 
 large or before the wind in the day-time without any sail set, 
 that the enemy's trading ships astern, crowding sail with 
 this fair wind, might come up in sight, or we come in sight 
 of those ships ahead that might be turning to windward ; 
 and at sunset, if nothing appeared to an officer at the mast- 
 head, we continued to run five or six leagues as far as 
 could then be seen before we laid the ship to for the night, 
 to prevent the ships astern coming up and passing out of 
 sight before the morning, or our passing those ships that 
 might be turning to windward ; and if nothing appeared to 
 an officer at the mast-head at sunrise, we bore awav and 
 steered as before. And when the wind blew across the 
 channels that ships could sail their course either up or 
 down, then to keep the ship in a fair way ; in the day-time 
 to steer the common course under the courses and lower stay- 
 sails ; and in the night, under topsails with the courses in 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 15 
 
 the brails, with all things as ready as possible for action, 
 and to take or leave what we might fall in with in the night. 
 " Many other advantages attend cruising without any, or 
 but with low sails set. As above mentioned, in the day-time 
 and fine weather, when other ships are crowding with all 
 their lofty sails set, they may be seen at twice the distance 
 that you can, which gives you the opportunity to see them 
 a long time before they can see you, and to take their 
 bearing by the compass, and observe how they alter, by 
 which it may be perceivable how they are steering, and you 
 may consult what is best to be done, if it is too late in the 
 day to give chase, which should always be considered. 
 For, three-mast ships, in fine weather, with all their lofty 
 sails set, may be seen from each other's mast-heads seven 
 leagues distance, which must make a seven-hours chase, at 
 three miles an hour difference in the ships' sailing, which is 
 a great deal with a leading wind ; and if the chase happens 
 to be to windward, must make it still longer in proportion 
 of time to come up with her ; and when they perceive they 
 are chased, and think themselves in danger of being taken, 
 they will naturally use all possible means to escape out of 
 sight by altering their course in the dark, if they cannot be 
 got near enough for you to keep sight of them in the night. 
 For these reasons, without the time, situations, circum- 
 stances and appearance require you immediately to give 
 chase with all your sail at the first sight of a vessel, it often 
 happens that you may stand a much better chance to speak 
 with the vessel by endeavouring to waylay and conceal 
 your design and ship from them ; which may be done 
 even in the day-time, with all the sails furled as before 
 mentioned, till within four leagues' distance, when it is 
 computed a ship's hull, in a clear horizon, begins to appear 
 above it. When this concealment can be made, and all is 
 ready prepared to take or leave, and you can fall in with 
 the expected enemy in the night or early next morning, if 
 
16 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 they are found unprepared for action it must give you a 
 great advantage over them. But when you cannot be 
 concealed from the enemy's vessels in sight that may be 
 coming with a fair wind towards you, then it should be 
 considered whether, instead of giving chase with all your 
 sail set in fine weather, it may not be better to disguise 
 your ship, to appear as an inoffensive neutral ship, by 
 getting your fore and mizen-top-gallant yards down, and 
 the masts struck with only their heads above the caps, and 
 either stand upon the wind with the main-top-gallant sail 
 set, if not noticed, till by tacking you can fetch near the 
 intended chase, or to steer near the same course with them, 
 with stop-waters towed in the water, which I have seen 
 done with success to make the ship sail so comparatively 
 slow as to induce an enemy to come faster up with you, 
 than you could with them, by chasing." 
 
 The reader has now been primed with sufficient nautical 
 information to enable him to assume command — in imagina- 
 tion, at least — of the largest privateer afloat. The subject of 
 cartridges was an important one to all engaged in warfare. 
 The old-fashioned cartridges were almost as dangerous 
 to friends as to foes, and at the commencement of the 
 Seven Years War in 1756 we find Mr. Robert Williamson, 
 the printer, publisher, and editor of Williamson^s Adver- 
 tiser, announcing in his paper that he sold " prepared 
 cartridges of all sizes for the use of privateers and other 
 ships of war. This preparation," says the advertisement, 
 "prevents any spark from remaining in the gun after its 
 discharge, and thereby not only secures the life of the 
 person who re-loads the gun, but increases its execution, by 
 saving much time ; for it may be instantly re-charged with- 
 out sponging — advantages always experienced in the use 
 of these cartridges, and too important in time of action to 
 be neglected by any sea commander. The great demand 
 for these cartridges in the late war was a sufficient proof of 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 17 
 
 their utility ; and no other recommendation of them is 
 necessary than appeal to those commanders who then used 
 them." Some very sad and horrible accidents resulted from 
 the use of the old-fashioned cartridges, and many a fine 
 fellow was blown to eternity, or maimed for life, while in 
 the act of re-loading a gun in which the remains of an old 
 cartridge still smouldered. Mr. Williamson, whose por- 
 trait hangs in the Liverpool Free Public Library, William 
 Brown Street, was a most enterprising man, combining 
 with his printing and bookselling business, that of a broker 
 and keeper of an employment registry. He also sold 
 "ransom bills (French and English), and an abridgment 
 of the Articles of War, designed for the use of privateers 
 and vessels that carry letters of marque." 
 
 The first newspaper ever published in Liverpool was the 
 Leverpoole Courant, printed in 1711-12 by S. Terry, in Dale 
 Street ; but to Robert Williamson belongs the credit of 
 publishing the first Liverpool newspaper that attained a 
 venerable age. Started on the 28th of May, 1756, as 
 Williamson' s Liverpool Advertiser and Mercantile Register., 
 its title was changed on January 6, 1794, to Billinge's 
 Liverpool Advertiser, Mr. Billinge being then editor. Its 
 name was again changed to that of the Liverpool Times., 
 which it retained until 1856, when it ceased to appear. A 
 second Liverpool newspaper, called the Clironicle* was 
 started in 1756-7, but was discontinued in less than three 
 years. In December, 1765, Mr. John Gore published the 
 first number of the Liverpool General Advertiser, or the 
 Commercial Register, the title of which was afterwards 
 chang"ed to the General Advertiser. 
 
 *' IVii'/iamson's Advertiser o( ISiovemhev 25, 1757, says: "Mr. Robert Fleetwood, 
 bookseller, and Mr. Sadler, printer, have declined being any longer concerned in 
 publishing the Chronicle, or any other newspaper." The Chronicle, jealous of the 
 advertisements in Williamson's paper, charged him with- inserting too many putts 
 of quack medicines. 
 
 B 
 
IS THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The reader will pardon this digression, for it is to the 
 enterprise of these two men, Robert Williamson and John 
 Gore, every historian of Liverpool is indebted for much 
 valuable matter. The name of Gore suggests an employ- 
 ment in connection with privateering which we have not 
 yet noticed, that of linguist or " linguister." In 1780 the 
 following advertisement appeared in the papers: — "Wanted 
 a person who understands perfectly the Dutch language, to 
 ^o linguist in a good stout privateer. Such a person (if 
 sober and well recommended) will meet with good encour- 
 agement by applying to John Gore." In the slave ships 
 the position of linguist was often held by "ladies of 
 colour." 
 
 Let us now enquire into the cost of fitting out a privateer. 
 Fortunately, we are not obliged to resort to mere estimates 
 or guess-work, having before us the original accounts of 
 the Enterprise privateer, of Liverpool ; Captain James 
 Haslam, commander. She sailed on her first cruise in 
 September, 1779, with a crew of 106, composed as follows : — 
 Captain, first, second, and third lieutenants, sailing master, 
 2 master's mates, 2 prize-masters, surgeon, captain of 
 marines and his mate, carpenter and his mate, boatswain 
 and his 2 mates, gunner and 3 mates (the fourth absconded), 
 cook, cooper and his mate, 4 quartermasters, armourer, 
 captain's clerk, ship's steward, 2 cabin stewards, sail- 
 maker, 20 seamen, 6 " three-quarter " seamen, 13 "half" 
 seamen, 9 "quarter" seamen, 18 landsmen, 3 boys, and 3 
 apprentices. The amount of wages advanced to the sea- 
 men was ^645 8s. 5^d., each officer and man receiving 
 two months' pay in advance. The disbursements made 
 to tradesmen and others in connection with the outfit 
 amounted to ;^i,388 5s. 3d. ; making a total expenditure 
 of ^2,033 13s. 8^;^d. This sum was debited to the 
 owners of the privateer in the following proportions, 
 according to the amount of their shares : — 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 
 
 19 
 
 Thomas Earle 
 
 ■■"L. 
 
 Edgar Corrie 
 
 7io 
 
 Francis Ingram 
 
 7io 
 
 William Earle 
 
 7l6 
 
 Dillon and Leyland- 
 
 Vi. 
 
 Peter Freeland 
 
 Vic 
 
 Thomas Eagles 
 
 VlO 
 
 Edward Chaffers 
 
 VlO 
 
 James Carruthers 
 
 Vic 
 
 William Denison 
 
 VlG 
 
 ^381 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 254 
 
 4 
 
 2>^ 
 
 254 
 
 4 
 
 2-)< 
 
 254 
 
 4 
 
 2>^ 
 
 254 
 
 4 
 
 2>^ 
 
 127 
 
 2 
 
 I^ 
 
 127 
 
 2 
 
 I^ 
 
 127 
 
 2 
 
 I^ 
 
 127 
 
 2 
 
 I^ 
 
 127 
 
 2 
 
 IX 
 
 ^2033 
 
 13 
 
 8>^ 
 
 For the rate of wages paid to the commander, officers, 
 and crew; the names of the tradesmen supplying the outfit, 
 together with the amount of their respective accounts, and 
 other curious matter connected with the first, second, and 
 third cruise of the Enterprise, the reader is referred to the 
 appendix. It is worth noting here, however, that the 
 French and Spanish commissions or letters of marque cost 
 jQ\\ 17s. 4d., and that a considerable expenditure appears 
 to have been incurred in bringing seamen from Whitehaven 
 and Chester to Liverpool, due probably to the extraordinary 
 number of privateers despatched from Liverpool about this 
 period, and the consequent difficulty of procuring crews. 
 The amounts which are set down for clothes, etc., for the 
 French prisoners, and the present of ;^2i to the. dispensary, 
 prove that the owners of this privateer were generous and 
 humane men. The name of Mr. Egerton Smith, father of 
 the founder of the Liverpool Mercury, appears as supplying 
 stationery to the privateer for each cruise. He was a 
 schoolmaster and printer, at one time in Redcross Street, 
 and afterwards in Pool Lane (now South Castle Street), 
 where the future editor of the Mercury was born in 1774. 
 
 The total amount expended on the Enterprise in her 
 
20 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 three cruises, together with the value of the ship, was as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 Outfit for first cruise - - - jQio^iZ ^3 8^ 
 
 Outfit for second cruise - - 568 17 2 
 
 Outfit for third cruise - - - 2413 4 2 
 
 5015 15 o^z 
 Value of the ship - - - 2050 o o 
 
 ^7065 i5__o>^ 
 The Enterprise captured several prizes, the proceeds of 
 one or two of which, probably, more than covered the 
 above outlay. When it is borne in mind that in the year 
 1779 there belonged to the port of Liverpool a fleet of 
 120 privateers, whose aggregate tonnage was 31,385, 
 carrying 1,986 guns, and 8,754 men ; some idea of the 
 benefits accruing to the tradesmen of the town, as well 
 as to the merchants and the ship owners, may be 
 formed. The value of the prizes taken by these privateers 
 has been put down at upwards of one million sterling. 
 Judging by the amount expended upon the Enterprise, 
 the fitting out of the 120 privateers must have imparted 
 a wonderful activity to all branches of trade. But the 
 mere fitting-out of private ships of war carrying no cargo, 
 could not compensate for the sad falling away of the 
 lucrative slave traffic, owing to the war ; and it is 
 extremely doubtful whether the patriotism of the town 
 would have borne the strain of so many privateers, if more 
 ships could have been profitably employed in the African 
 slave trade. The testimony of the Rev. Gilbert Wakefield 
 is pretty clear on this head : " The principal cause of the 
 multitude of privateers from Liverpool during the French 
 and American War," he says, "was the impediment 
 which this event had put in the way of the African slave 
 trade, whose head-quarters, as I have observed, are fixed 
 at this place." 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 21 
 
 The following are copies of the instructions given to 
 Captain Haslam by Messrs. Francis Ingram & Co.: — 
 
 "Liverpool, i6th September, 1779. 
 " Captain James Haslam, 
 
 " Sir, — You being appointed commander of our ship 
 Enterprize, and being compleatly fitted for a cruise of six 
 months, are by the first oppertunity to sail from hence and 
 make the best of your way to sea by the North or South 
 Channel, as the wind may offer most favourable, but we prefer 
 the former if to be effected without any extraordinary Risque, 
 as being a path less liable to meet with any of the enemy's 
 Cruizers, and having a chance to meet with American 
 vessels bound to Sweden, etc. In this case don't keep too 
 near the coast of Ireland, and be sure to gain the longitude 
 of 20 West from London before you go to the southward of 
 the latitude of 53, but shoud you go through the South 
 Channel, a true W.S.W. course, 180 or 200 leagues from 
 Tusker, would be the most likely to lead you clear and 
 obtain the longitude of 20, as aforesaid, by the time you 
 would get into latitude of 48 ; in either case, when the 
 westing is gain'd you are to cross the latitudes under an 
 easy sail to the Island of St. Mary's, then to cruise about 
 five degrees to the westward of it, now and then stretching 
 half a degree to the southward, as vessels may run in that 
 path to see it and yet avoid coming too near for fear of 
 being captured. 
 
 " If in the course of three weeks you meet with no success, 
 you are to proceed to the westward of the longitude of 
 Corvo, and stand across north and south from half a degree 
 to the northward of Corvo to half a degree to the southward 
 of St. Mary's. The whole of your cruize in these stations 
 we remit to three months from the time of your being the 
 length of St. Mary's, unless some extraordinary intelligence 
 may be had, in which case it is left to your discretion, 
 hoping that you will at all times weigh every circumstance 
 
22 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 maturely for and against, aided by the sentiments of such 
 of your officers as may be depended upon. 
 
 " Shoud you be so fortunate as to take any prize 
 or prizes in those stations of the value of ;^io,ooo or 
 upwards, you are to see them safe into some good port in 
 Ireland, running down in the latitude 52, gaining that 
 paralell in longitude of 15 west from London at least, then 
 taking the North or South Channel as wind and weather 
 may offer ; but if not of that value, dispatch them with a 
 trusty officer, taking care not to put too many of the enemy 
 in proportion to your own men on board, giving the 
 directions for his proceeding as aforesaid, with caution not 
 to trust many of his own people aloft at a time on any 
 account whatever, as many prizes have been retaken by the 
 prisoners for want of such Precaution. 
 
 "Shoud you meet with no success, you are then to 
 proceed to the latitude of Ushant, coming no farther to the 
 eastward than 16 west from London, and cruize between 
 that station and Corvo, and shoud you have no success in a 
 reasonable time, finish your cruize between the latitude 
 37 and 48^4, taking care as you increase your latitude to 
 make easting in proportion, and on the contrary as you 
 make southing, to increase your westing, either to the 
 eastward or westward of the Western Islands, likewise as 
 may be thought most eligible ; and should you take any 
 prize or prizes of the aforesaid value, you are to act accord- 
 ingly, and take or send them for the North or South 
 Channel as circumstances may offer, and shoud you loose 
 company with any prize or prizes when conducting them, you 
 are then to regain your station with all convenient speed, and 
 let them take their chance, and for fear such an accident may 
 happen, be sure to give such orders to the prize-master, and 
 put people and necessarys on board as may best insure safety. 
 " You are strictly order'd not to meddle with any neutral 
 vessel whatever unless you are certain by her papers or 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 23 
 
 other indisputable information (freely given without bribery, 
 promised gratuities, or Force) that she has taken in her 
 loading in North America, therefore you are not to pay any 
 regard to the Giddy solicitations of your Crew, so as to be 
 misled by them, but act upon your own Reason, and for 
 that purpose we desire you will read your printed Instruc- 
 tions from the Admiralty, given with your Commissions, 
 with the utmost attention, and you cannot err. 
 
 " In case of your taking a prize, let every Paper, Letter, 
 etc., be immediately secured and sent home with her, all 
 Money and Valuables that can be easily removed to be 
 taken on board your ship, and on you or your prize 
 arrival at any port in Ireland, let an express be sent imme- 
 diately with a Letter to Mr. Fras. Ingram to the first post 
 Town, by a carefull hand, and repeated a post or two after 
 for fear of Miscarriage, and the greatest care taken not to 
 break Bulk, as the lower class of people in Ireland make 
 use of every scheme to mislead and defraud. 
 
 " We order that upon any capture being made that your 
 Lieutenant, with two trusty officers, do, as soon as possible, 
 examine the Trunks, Chests, etc., of the officers, passengers, 
 and crew, and that they take from them all Letters, Invoices, 
 Papers, etc., and other valuables, delivering them to you, 
 with a particular account of the same, signed by them in 
 order to obviate any jealousy or misunderstandings. You 
 will likewise examine the prisoners separately with great 
 attention touching the destination of any ship or ships they 
 may have been in company with, or of the destination of 
 any vessel within their knowledge, and likewise gain all 
 the information as to the Destination of Fleets, etc., and if 
 anything of consequence as to national matters be obtained, 
 communicate it to the first King's ship you meet, taking 
 care at all times to compare the different Informations, so 
 that you may not be deceived, to do which you may be 
 assured every artifice will be used. 
 
•24 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 " We particularly recommend that the prisoners be not 
 plundered of their Cloths and Bedding, but that they may 
 be used with all tenderness and Humanity consistent with 
 your own safety, which must be strictly attended to ; and 
 as true Courage and Humanity are held to be inseparable, 
 we hope your crew will not be wanting in doing that 
 Honour to their Country, the contrary of which is disgrace- 
 full to a civilized nation. 
 
 *' You will take particular care that your crew be treated 
 humanely, that every one be made to do their duty with 
 Good Temper ; as Harmony, a good look-out, and steady 
 attention to the main point are all absolutely necessary to 
 be attended to, the success of the Cruise greatly Depending 
 upon it. 
 
 " Herewith you have sundry letters of credit, and shoud 
 you have occasion to draw upon London, you must draw 
 upon Messrs. Jos. Denison & Co. 
 
 "In case of your Death, which God forbid, your first 
 Lieutenant is to succeed you in the command, and so in 
 succession, and to follow these orders. Wishing you a 
 successfull cruise, 
 
 " We remain, 
 
 " Your assured Friends, 
 
 "F. INGRAM & CO. 
 
 " Messrs. Horn & Sill, Lisbon. 
 
 " Messrs. Peddak & Co., Cork. 
 
 "Messrs. Scott, Pringle & Scott, Madeira." 
 
 " Liverpool, 13//; Scptr, 1779. 
 
 " Messrs, Scott, Pringle and Scott, 
 
 " Gentlemen, — In case Captain Haslam of the Enterprize 
 Privateer shoud put into Madeira, you will please to supply 
 him with what necessaries he may want, and for the amount 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 25 
 
 of which you are to value upon Messrs. Joseph Denison & Co., 
 London. — I am Gent" 
 
 " Your most obd. Servt. 
 
 " FRA. INGRAM, for Self & Co." 
 
 " Copys of the above wrote to 
 "Messrs. Jno. Pedder & Co.,' 
 
 Cork. 
 " Messrs. Horn & Sill, 
 
 Lisbon. 
 
 "Copied the above 12 
 June, 1780, and given 
 to Captn. Haslam." 
 
 On the 22nd of October, 1779, the Enterprise returned to 
 Liverpool, bringing in with her a vakiable prize called 
 L' Aventurier, of 22 guns and 50 men, bound from Martinico 
 to Bordeaux with a cargo of cotton, tobacco, sugar, coffee, 
 cocoa, and cassia fistula. There appears to have been some 
 insubordination on board the privateer, and from the tenor 
 of the following letter, we gather that the owners were not 
 altogether satisfied with the commander. 
 
 "Liverpool, I'j Nov. , 1779. 
 " Cap: Haslam, 
 
 " Sir, — It is our positive orders that in case of your taking- 
 another prize, that you do not return to Liverpool on any account 
 or pretence, but that on your taking a capital prize of not [less] 
 than ten thousand pounds, you are to convoy her into the first 
 port in Great Britain or Ireland. And further, you are 
 expressly ordered to continue your cruise for five months from 
 your departure now from the Rock, as by the Custom of the 
 Port the detention in the River is not included in the time 
 allowed for the cruize. We depend on the conduct of you and 
 your officers to carry a proper command on board the vessel 
 and to prevent any Disobedience or further attempts to Mutiny. 
 
 "We remain, &c., 
 
 "FRA^ INGRAM & COMY." 
 
 At the commencement of the second cruise the muster 
 roll had dwindled to SS, notwithstanding the introduction of 
 
26 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 new blood, and the amount advanced for wages was only 
 
 On the 15th of June, 1780, Messrs. Francis Ingram and 
 Co. handed to Captain Haslam the following orders, which, 
 in point of dignity, clearness, and shrewdness, are surely 
 not unworthy of a fine old British merchant, one of the 
 olden time : — 
 
 ''Captain Haslam, 
 
 " SiK, — Our ship Eiiterprize, of which you are at 
 present commander, being compleatly equipped and 
 Manned for a six-months cruise, you are by the first favour- 
 able oppertunity to sail from hence and make the best of 
 your way for the latitude of Belleisle, and run down that 
 paralel until you make it, as it is the place where all 
 vessels bound for Nantz and Bordeaux take in their Pilots. 
 You are to remain in that station one or two weeks, stand- 
 ing off and on in such direction and at such distance as you 
 may think proper. If no success in that time, you are to 
 stand across the Bay under an easy sail, making free with 
 the land (if the wind and weather will permit), so as to fall 
 in with the Spanish coast about Bilboa, and from thence 
 coast it up by slow movements to Cape Finisterre, and when 
 there stand off N.N.W. by the Compas about 40 or 50 
 Leagues Distance, and so in again S.S.E., spending two or 
 three weeks in that manner, as it seems to be an Eligible 
 track to catch both outward and homeward-bound French 
 and Spaniards. 
 
 "If no success, range back again towards Bilboa, and from 
 thence cross over for the mouth of the River of Bordeaux, 
 taking all prudent libertys with the French and Spanish 
 coasts and so on to the Island of Belleisle. This method we 
 woud have you to pursue for the first three months, and if 
 no material success in that time we suppose your water will 
 be nearly expended, and in that case you are to proceed to 
 the Western Islands and do the needfull there with all 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 27 
 
 Expedition, and as no profit accrues to a vessel lying long- 
 in Harbour, you are to proceed from thence to Cape 
 Finisterre and finish your cruise between that and the 
 latitude of Ushant, as far to the westward as you may think 
 prudent, ajid no more, as the odds is considerably against 
 rambling in the wide ocean, whereas Headlands and Islands 
 usually run down by vessels are the surest places to find 
 prizes, 
 
 "Notwithstanding the particular directions we have given 
 above, we woud have it perfectly understood that the 
 Execution of them as to Winds and Weather is left entirely 
 to the good conduct of yourself and the officers (you are 
 desired to consult). Upon all matters of consequence we 
 wish you to consult with Mr. Cotter and him only, and to 
 follow your joint opinions, and as your ship is a prime 
 sailer you may make free with the enemy's coast without 
 danger, shewing at all times a true british spirit to your 
 Crew, with whom we hope you will cultivate the greatest 
 Harmony and treat them with the greatest tenderness and 
 Humanity, at the same time preserving the most strict 
 discipline and command. 
 
 " You must by no means detain any Dutch or neutral 
 ship unless bound from an Enemy's port to an Enemy's port 
 with French, Spanish, or America property on board, and 
 that to appear by their regular papers and not from any 
 hearsay Information from the crews, as great Expences 
 have been incurred by such imprudence. But shoud it 
 appear by a clear examination of the Papers as aforesaid 
 that the Goods on board are the property of an Enemy, you 
 are to make a prize of them, in which momentous business 
 take every precaution not to be misled or overawed by the 
 Impropriety [importunity?] of your crew. You are particu- 
 larly to observe that by an Act of Parliament passed lately 
 the cargoes of any neutral ships bound from the Islands of 
 Grenada, St. Vincents, and Dominica to a neutral port, 
 
28 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 having certificates on board signed by two English 
 merchants or planters residing there, signifying that the 
 entire cargoe is the produce of that island and was taken on 
 board there, are exempted from capture and therefore are 
 not to be molested. 
 
 " If you take a prize or prizes to the value of ten thousand 
 pounds or upwards, put Mr, Cotter in command and see her 
 safe into Milford, Cork, or Kinsale, as the winds and 
 weather may be, and when there put some other trusty 
 officer on board instead of Mr. Cotter, who is then to return 
 to his station in the Enterpj'ize. Give notice to us of the 
 arrival of such prize immediately by Post, and order that 
 letter may be repeated three or four times afterwards the 
 following days, adding any new matter that may occur in 
 the intervals. On such return into port keep a strict 
 command over your people, and proceed again with all 
 possible dispatch upon your cruise, as heavy Wages, 
 Provisions, and Premiums of Insurances are constantly 
 going on. 
 
 " Shoud you take a vessel belonging to a scattered Fleet, 
 we direct you to pursue them or continue your Cruize for 
 the stragling ships so long as you have a man to board 
 with. If the prizes you may take are of less value than 
 ten thousand pounds, dispatch them with a trusty officer, 
 taking care not to put too many of the enemy in proportion 
 to your own men on board, giving directions for his pro- 
 ceeding as aforesaid, with caution not to trust many of his 
 people aloft at a time on any account whatever. 
 
 " Upon taking a prize, secure all the papers immediately 
 and remove all valuables, as money, etc., into your own 
 ship, or let them remain on board the prize as you may 
 think proper. Mr. Cotter and two other officers to examine 
 the Trunks of the Officers, Passengers, etc., and direct them 
 to deliver all papers found therein to you with a particular 
 acct. signed by them of any Money or valuables which must 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 29 
 
 be delivered to you for safety. Examine the prisoners 
 separately, with great attention as to the destination of any 
 ship, ships or Fleets they may have been in company with, 
 or of which they have knowledge, and compare their informa- 
 tions to prevent you from being deceived by false intelligence. 
 
 " We desire you to be carefull to prevent the prisoners 
 from being plunder'd of any article whatever, to prevent 
 any insult to the meanest of them, that you treat them with 
 Humanity and all the Tenderness that is consistent with the 
 Security of your ship, or your prizes, which must be strictly 
 attended to. 
 
 " Keep a good look-out on all occasions, and make short 
 work of any action you have by runing close alongside 
 before you open your fire, for depend upon this that by 
 engageing them very close the officers opposed to you will 
 be unable to keep their Men to their Guns. Improve this 
 advantage therefore to the utmost, which the Discipline on 
 board your ship, and the courage of your people, will 
 indisputably give you. 
 
 " If you fall in with any British man-of-war and the 
 Captain attempts to impress any of your people, represent 
 to them respectfully the injury you and We sustained by 
 Cap. Phipps interrupting you last cruise, and produce the 
 Memorial to the Admiralty and Mr. Gascoyn's letter upon 
 that subject, which will certainly prevent any worthy british 
 officer from Empressing any of your people a second time at 
 sea. 
 
 " Herewith you have Sundry Letters of Credit, and in case 
 of your death (which God forbid) your first Lieutenant is to 
 succeed you in Command, and so on in succession, and to 
 follow these orders. 
 
 " To Conclude, this is the last cruize the ship is to make 
 as a privateer, and our motives for fitting her on this cruise 
 have been a dependance on her sailing, with a Confidance 
 in your making the most of that advantage, and of the 
 
30 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 stations we have pointed out for your cruise, in which you 
 will be well supported by Mr. Cotter. As it is the last 
 cruise, make the most of it, and be assured of this, that you 
 and Mr. Cotter in Consequence of such Conduct, will meet 
 with every degree of regard, favor, and attention to your 
 future Interests from us, Who are very truly 
 
 " Your assur'd friends, 
 
 " FRA^ INGRAM & C°" 
 
 "To Hoist a White Flag" at the main top Gallant mast 
 Head — w'^'' Rich'^' Wilding- will answer on his own Pole to 
 the southward of the Lig-hthouse. 
 
 " Capt. Haslam. 
 
 " On your coming in (or a prize) you are to make the 
 above sig^nal, w*^'' will be answered by Rich''- Willding-. Success 
 attend you. 
 
 "FRA^ INGRAM." 
 
 The p-allant commander would doubtless read the follow- 
 ing considerate note with mixed feelings : — 
 
 "Liverpool, ^tli June, 1780. 
 " Capt. Haslam. 
 
 " Sir, — In case you shoud be so unfortunate as to be 
 
 taken, the owners have agreed to allow you six pounds a 
 
 month during your captivity. 
 
 " I am sir your most Hum^ Serv' 
 
 "FRA^ INGRAM & C°" 
 
 Owing to their manner of life and reckless habits, 
 captivity, and especially captivity in a French prison, 
 meant certain death to hundreds of seamen. Perhaps 
 none fought more desperately during the war than those 
 men who had once experienced the horrors of a French 
 eraol. The next and last document with which we shall 
 trouble the reader, in connection with this ship, runs as 
 follows : — 
 
THE ANCIENT MARINER. 31 
 
 "Liverpool, \2tli June, 1780. 
 
 "To ANY OF His Majesty's Consuls, 
 
 "Sir, — In case the Enterprize Privateer, Capt. Haslam, 
 shoud put into Port for Provisions, &c., &c., must beg" the 
 favor you woud supply him with what he may want to the 
 amount of Five Hundred pounds and your Bill shall be 
 punctually honored for the amount. We are, &c. , 
 
 " FRA. INGRAM & C«"* 
 
 On her third cruise the Enterprise carried 105 men. 
 Her surgeon on the first cruise was Henry Barr ; on the 
 third cruise, Edward Lowndes. It is worthy of note that 
 after the lapse of more than a century the names of Barr and 
 Lowndes are honourably represented in the medical pro- 
 fession in Liverpool ; but we are not aware that there is any 
 connection between the surgeons of old Liverpool and those 
 of greater Liverpool. In this final cruise the commander, 
 officers, and men appear to have been shareholders, Captain 
 Haslam having 16 shares, first lieutenant 8, second lieu- 
 tenant, sailing master, surgeon, and carpenter 6 each, petty 
 officers in proportion, seamen 2 shares each, "three-quarter" 
 seamen 1 3/^ shares each, and so on down to the boys, each 
 of whom had half a share. The total number of shares thus 
 allotted was 212. The second lieutenant, sailing master, 
 surgeon, gunner, and boatswain received ^4 los. per month 
 wages; the carpenter, ^5 per month ; four sailing mates, 
 £\ 5s. each ; boatswain's mates, ;£\ each ; quartermasters 
 and the gunner's mate, 75s.; surgeon's mate, cooper, cook, 
 steward, armourer, and full seamen, 70s. per month; "three- 
 quarter" and "half" seamen from 40s. to 65s. ; landsmen 
 from 20s. to 46s. per month. 
 
 *From the original account books i.' the possession of T. H. Dixon, Esq., The 
 Clappers, Gresford, and kindly lent by him to the author. The penmanship of 
 the above instructions, and of the accounts, is remarkably neat, hut the ortho- 
 paphy, as the reader sees, is conceived on a free and easy scale in keeping vi ith 
 the subject and the times. 
 
32 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Story of Captain Fortunatus Wright and 
 Selim the Armenian Captive. 
 
 The " Spacious days of great Elizabeth " were the golden 
 age of privateering, in the sense that the profession was 
 carried on by men cast in the heroic mould, who disdained 
 to draw too nice a distinction between privateering and 
 piracy. Elizabeth was the sailor's friend, ** the restorer of 
 the glory of shipping, and the Queen of the North Sea." 
 Camden tells us that "the wealthier inhabitants of the sea- 
 coast, in imitation of their princess, built ships of war, 
 striving who should exceed, insomuch that the Queen's 
 navy, joined with her subjects' shipping, was, in short time, 
 so puissant that it was able to bring forth 20,000 fighting 
 men for sea service." The ships so benevolently provided 
 by the wealthier inhabitants of the sea coast were, of course, 
 privateers, but Liverpool was at that time too insignificant 
 and poor a place to indulge in the romantic and fashionable 
 patriotism of the age. 
 
 It is in this reign we find privateering first mentioned in 
 connection with Liverpool. In 1563 a privateer, fitted 
 out by Sir Thomas Stanley, of Hooton, son of the Earl 
 of Derby, brought a prize into the river Mersey "with 
 great rejoicings." Another privateer, fitted out by the 
 licensed victuallers of Chester, brought in a French prize, 
 whereupon the " shipping shot off so noble a peal of guns, 
 so quick and fast one upon another, that the like was never 
 heard in these parts of England and Wales." In the year 
 1566 two prizes arrived, one of which was subsequently 
 ransomed. It is now impossible to say when the first 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 33 
 
 private armed ship left the port of Liverpool, but as the 
 Tower in Water Street was for many ages the seaside 
 residence and place of embarkation of the Derby family, it 
 is probable that their ships, armed, of course, against 
 corsairs, or for naval warfare, were among the earliest that 
 set out. The ships of the Stanleys, in fact, are mentioned 
 in our old poetry. In the ballad of "Lady Bessie" Lord 
 Stanley promises Elizabeth of York to send her messenger 
 Humphrey Brereton, to Henry VIL 
 
 " I have a gude shippe of mine owne 
 Shall carry Humfrey ; 
 If any man aske whoes is the shippe? 
 
 Saye it is the Earle's of Derbye. 
 Without all doubt at Liverpoole 
 He tooke shipping upon the sea." 
 
 Nearly five hundred years have flown since Isabel of 
 Lathom gave her hand — and, let us hope, her heart — to the 
 gallant Sir John Stanley, who received from his father- 
 in-law the site upon which he erected the Tower in 
 Water Street. The close connection thus begun between 
 the Stanleys and the citizens of Liverpool has grown and 
 strengthened with the years, and while these lines are being 
 penned, the sixteenth Earl of Derby sits in his official 
 residence as Lord Mayor of Greater Liverpool, within 
 bow-shot of the site of the ancient fortress and town house of 
 his ancestors. Though he may not possess "a gude shippe" 
 of his own to carry Humfrey, he has but to telephone down 
 the street to the neighbourhood of the Tower, and floating 
 palaces, surpassing in splendour the happiest dreams of 
 "Lady Bessie," will be placed at his disposal — for a 
 consideration — to take shipping upon the sea. 
 
 About the time of the sailing of the Spanish Armada, the 
 Town Council providentially laid in 300 pounds of gun- 
 powder, and ordered "a gun" to be set up at Nabbe 
 c 
 
34 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS 
 
 (afterwards Pluckington) Point, above the pool. It was 
 the good fortune of a Liverpool captain and shipowner, how- 
 ever, to render a more important service to his Queen and 
 country at that exciting time. Worthy Master Humfraye 
 Brooke brought to England the first intelligence of the 
 Armada being at sea. He was outward bound from 
 Liverpool to the Canaries when he espied the Biscayan 
 division of the Spanish fleet in the distance, sailing north. 
 Suspecting its errand, he put ship about and made all haste 
 to Plymouth, whence he despatched couriers, or perhaps 
 went himself, to London. He received substantial marks 
 of favour from the Government for his foresight, prudence, 
 and activity. Liverpool was not then able to add much to 
 the fleet of upwards of a hundred merchantmen, which 
 joined the twenty ships of the Royal Navy and took so 
 distinguished a part in baflling, defeating, and dispersing 
 the "invincible" Armada. 
 
 In 1634 th^ memorable levy of ship money took place. 
 The whole county was assessed at the sum of ;^475, of 
 which Liverpool was required to pay ;^i5, raised in the 
 following year to £2.^^. During the Civil War, the Tower 
 in Water Street was garrisoned by the retainers of Lord 
 Derby, the castle being held by Lord Molyneux. We 
 cannot linger over this period of Liverpool history in which 
 the fiery Prince Rupert found that the men of Liverpool 
 were foemen worthy of his steel, for the "crow's nest" 
 which he despised was not taken without an incessant 
 cannonade carried on for eighteen days, and numerous 
 assaults, in which he lost 1,500 men. It is sufficient for 
 our present purpose to observe that the capture of the town 
 by the Parliamentary forces was a serious blow to the royal 
 cause, as it gave Parliament and its partisans the power of 
 fitting out vessels of war in the Mersey, and of thus 
 interrupting the communications with Ireland, whence the 
 Lord-lieutenant of the King, the Marquis of Ormonde, was 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 35 
 
 preparing to send supplies and reinforcements to the Royal 
 party. Several frigates, or small vessels, were fitted out 
 at Liverpool — one of them by Colonel John Moore. A 
 number of Liverpool frigates, under the command of 
 Captain Danks, cruised in the Irish Channel, sometimes 
 blockading Dublin, and cutting off the supplies of provi- 
 sions, coal, and other necessaries, which that city previously 
 obtained from England. The cruisers also added much to 
 the difficulty of sending over reinforcements to England. 
 So great was the inconvenience produced by the Liverpool 
 Squadron that the Marquis of Ormonde strongly urged the 
 royalists in Chester to attack Liverpool by sea. 
 
 The Marquis, writing to Lord Byron, January i6, 1643, 
 says : " When they (the Royal fleet) are gone, it is too 
 probable the Liverpool ships will look out again, if that town 
 be not in the meantime reduced, which I most earnestly 
 recommend your lordship to think of and attempt as 
 soon as you possibly can, there being no service that, to my 
 apprehension, can at once so much advantage this place 
 (Dublin) and Chester, and make them so useful to each 
 other." 
 
 The merchants of Liverpool have always been a shrewd, 
 far-seeing race, and an instance of their readiness to make 
 the most of their opportunities turns up in an unexpected 
 quarter. In the recently published Kenyon MSS. we 
 find, under date 1702, "Reasons humbly offered by Henry 
 Jones, Esquire, for building a mould or harbour in Whit- 
 sand Bay, at the Land's End, in Cornwall." The tenth 
 reason adduced is as follows : 
 
 " By all the above it is likewise further manifest that 
 even in times of peace there hath not nor can be secure 
 trading 'twixt St. George's and the British Channels, or 
 anywhere to the westward of the Land's End, without this 
 proposed mould, and that for want of it there hath been 
 and may be more ships lost (yearly, besides the men's lives) 
 
36 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 than three times the value of what would erect the same. 
 Hence, the Leverpoole merchants, during- all the last war, 
 possessed those who trade from London that their ships 
 might come safer north about Ireland, unload their effects at 
 Leverpoole, and be at charge of land-carriage from thence 
 to London, rather than run the hazard of having their ships 
 taken by the enemy, or wreckt, by reason of the great 
 dangers of Scilly, the Land's End, Mount's Bay, Lizzard, 
 and all the South Channell to London, which hath proved 
 an unspeakable detriment to all the trading seaport towns 
 that border upon the British Channell ; which evills would 
 effectually be prevented were there an harbour and light- 
 house at the Land's End of England." 
 
 In the reign of George 11. Liverpool ships, in common 
 with those belonging to other British seaports, were plun- 
 dered, and their crews maltreated by the Spanish Guarda 
 Costas, whose depredations, carried on with impunity for 
 several years, aroused at length the indignation of the 
 whole country. In 1728, while the fate of Europe continued 
 in suspense, while the English fleet lay inactive and rotting- 
 in the West Indies, the sailors perishing miserably without 
 daring to avenge their country's wrongs, the merchants of 
 Liverpool, London, Bristol, and other places petitioned the 
 House of Commons for redress. The House instituted 
 inquiries, and passed resolutions accusing the Spaniards 
 of violating the treaty between the two crowns, and with 
 having treated with inhumanity the masters and crews of 
 British ships. The King, in reply to the address of the 
 Commons, promised to procure satisfaction. The outrages 
 went on and grew in number and daring until, in 1737, 
 the whole nation cried for vengeance, and petitions from 
 merchants in all parts of the country poured into the House 
 of Commons, which, at length, in Grand Committee, pro- 
 ceeded to hear counsel for the merchants, and examine 
 evidence, by which it appeared that amazing acts of wanton 
 
CA PTA IN FOR Tl NA TUS 1 J 'RIGHT. 3 7 
 
 cruelty and injustice had been perpetrated by Spaniards on 
 the subjects of Great Britain. In the following year the 
 King informed Parliament that a Convention with Spain 
 had been ratified. When the terms of the Convention 
 became known, many merchants, planters, and others 
 trading to America, the cities of London and Bristol, the 
 merchants of Liverpool, and the owners of ships which 
 had been seized by the Spaniards presented petitions 
 against it. In a great debate in the Commons, Mr. Pitt 
 denounced the Convention as dishonourable to Great 
 Britain, but, in spite of strong opposition, the Convention 
 received the approval of both houses. In 1739, Spain, 
 having failed to pay the money stipulated in the Convention 
 as compensation to those who had suffered by the depreda- 
 tions, letters of marque and reprisal were granted against 
 the Spaniards. The British Minister at Madrid politely 
 explained to the Court of Spain that his master, although 
 he had permitted his subjects to make reprisals, would not 
 be understood to have broken the peace, and that this per- 
 mission would be recalled as soon as his Catholic Majesty 
 should be disposed to make satisfaction. The King of 
 Spain failed to appreciate the nicety of the distinction per- 
 ceived by the British monarch, and proceeded to defend 
 himself by vigorous words and actions. A declaration of 
 war on both sides soon followed, and in 1744 France 
 declared war against England. Referring to this period, 
 the author of " Williamson's Liverpool Memorandum 
 Book," published in 1753, advanced the remarkable theory 
 that the town flourished more in war than in peace. 
 
 "In the last war, 1739 to 1748," he says, "trade flourished 
 and spread her g^olden wing^s so extensively that, if they had 
 possessed it seven years longer, it would have enlarged the size 
 and riches of the town to a prodigious degree. The harbour 
 being situated so near the mouth of the North Channel, 
 between Ireland and Scotland (a passage very little known to 
 
38 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 or frequented by the enemy) afforded many conveniences to 
 the merchants here, untasted by those of other ports, which 
 invited numbers of strangers from different parts to begin 
 trade and settle here, finding it so advantageous a mart. 
 Trade since the late peace has not been so brisk as formerly, 
 but it appears by the Custom House books to be much 
 revived. The chief manufactures carried on here are blue and 
 white earthenware, which at present almost vie with China 
 (large quantities are exported for the Colonies abroad), and 
 watches, which are not to be excelled in Europe. All the 
 different branches are manufactured in and about the town, to 
 supply the London and foreign markets." 
 It is true that in this war the commerce of Liverpool 
 suffered much less than that of London, Bristol, and Hull 
 from the privateers of the enemy, but the prosperity had prob- 
 ably more to do with black than golden wings, the number 
 of slave ships having grown from one vessel of 30 tons in 
 1709, to 72 ships of 7547 tons in 1753. The progress made 
 during the first half of the eighteenth century, long before 
 cotton had been added to tobacco, sugar, rum, and slaves, 
 as the commercial deities of Liverpool, will be seen from 
 the following tables : 
 
 A comparative statement of the number of ships that 
 arrived at, or sailed from the Port of Liverpool for six years 
 preceding the year 1751 : 
 
 The number of ships that arrived at, or sailed 
 from the Port of Liverpool for six years. 
 
 Inwards. 
 
 Outwards. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1709 
 
 374 
 
 14,574 
 
 1716 
 
 370 
 
 17,870 
 
 1723 
 
 433 
 
 18,840 
 
 1730 
 
 412 
 
 18,070 
 
 1737 
 
 402 
 
 17:493 
 
 1744 
 
 403 
 
 22,072 
 
 Ships. 
 
 334 
 409 
 
 390 
 440 
 
 435 
 425 
 
 Tons. 
 
 12.636 
 
 18,872 
 
 18,373 
 19,058 
 22,350 
 20,937 
 
 Ships belonging to the Port 
 for the same time. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 84 
 113 
 131 
 166 
 
 171 
 
 188 
 
 Tons. 
 
 5,789 
 8,386 
 8,070 
 9,766 
 12,016 
 13,772 
 
 Men. 
 
 936 
 1-376 
 1. 1 14 
 1,710 
 1,981 
 2,621 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 39 
 
 In 1749 the total tonnage of vessels that entered the port 
 was 28,250 tons. In 1751 the number of ships that entered 
 was 543, with a tonnage of 31,731. For the next hundred 
 years Liverpool went on steadily, doubling her trade about 
 every sixteen years. 
 
 In the year 1744, Liverpool appears to have possessed 
 four privateers, namely, the Old Noll, of 22 guns and 180 
 men, Captain Powell ; the Terrible, of 22 guns and 180 
 men. Captain Cole ; the Tlitirloe, of 12 guns and 100 men. 
 Captain Dugdale ; and the Admiral Blake, whose arma- 
 ment is not stated, commanded by Captain Edmondson. 
 The Terrible recaptured, and sent into Waterford, the 
 Joseph, of Bristol, laden with logwood, tar, etc., which had 
 been taken on the homeward passage from Boston by a 
 Bilbao privateer. The Terrible also recaptured the Brom- 
 field, of Bristol, Captain Sharp, which had been taken by 
 the French on the passage from St. Kitts to Bristol. The 
 L' Amiable Martha, from St. Domingo for Bordeaux, was 
 taken and carried into Cork by the Terrible. The prize 
 cargo consisted of 370 hogsheads and 44 barrels of sugar, 
 57 casks of coffee, 1 1 hogsheads of indigo, one hogshead 
 white sugar, 1,270 pieces of eight, and five cobs of gold. 
 In 1746 the Terrible captured a Martinico ship and sent her 
 into Liverpool. In July, 1744, we read that the Thiirloe 
 had captured a vessel with wine ; and about the same time 
 that the Vulture privateer, of Bayonne, 14 carriage guns 
 and 118 men, had been taken and carried into Cork by 
 the Thurloe and the Blake privateers of Liverpool. The 
 Admiral Blake took a Martinico ship, and, in company 
 with the Thurloe, carried into Cork the Admiral, a rich 
 French ship from Martinico for Bordeaux. In the capture 
 list of August, 1744, we read that the Thurloe privateer of 
 Liverpool, and her prize, a Martinicoman, were taken by a 
 French privateer, but afterwards retaken by the Thurloe's 
 consort, the Old Noll, with the Frenchmen on board, and 
 
40 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 carried into Cork. After a smart engagement, the French 
 privateer, of 36 guns and 300 men, sheered off. The Old 
 Noll took the Providence.^ from Bordeaux for Marti nico, and 
 carried her into Kinsale ; and recaptured the Hannah^ 
 Captain Fowler, from Jamaica, which she sent into Cork. 
 The Old iVoll also took a prize off the Start, and a fishing 
 vessel with 30 men, "three of them Irish," and the Ci'lv 0/ 
 Nantz^ a very large ship from St. Domingo for Nantz, 
 which she convoyed to Liverpool. Finally, the Old Noll 
 recaptured and carried to Liverpool the Sarah, from 
 Carolina for London, which had been taken by a French 
 privateer called the Count de Maurepas, who had captured 
 five prizes. In November, 1745, the sad intelligence 
 reached Liverpool that the Old Noll had been sunk, with 
 all her crew, by the Brest squadron. In June, 1748, the 
 capture lists recorded that "a Dutch ship, from Bordeaux 
 to Dunkirk, with bale goods and spices, and a French 
 sloop from Cape Francois, coming express with the account 
 of the English taking Port Louis," had been captured by 
 the Warren privateer, of Liverpool. Early in the same 
 year a vessel called L'Amitie, bound for St. Domingo, was 
 taken and carried to Antigua by a Captain Johnson, of 
 Liverpool. Liverpool commerce suffered heavily from the 
 privateers of the enemy, and the few captures recorded 
 above offer a sad contrast to the long list of Liverpool 
 vessels taken during the war.* 
 
 Captain F^ortunatus Wright was undoubtedly the most 
 famous British privateer commander of his time, and 
 Liverpool's favourite hero during the first half of the 
 eighteenth century. In the few memorials of his life and 
 character which we have gathered together he strikes the 
 imagination as the ideal and ever-victorious captain, 
 around whose name and fate clings the halo of mystery 
 
 * See Appendix No. i. 
 
CA PTA IN FOR TUNA TUS J J BRIGHT. 4 1 
 
 and romance. Smollett, the historian, has paid the follow- 
 ing tribute to his memory : " Sir Edward Hawke, being 
 disappointed in his hope of encountering la Galissoniere, 
 and relieving the English garrison of St. Philip's, at least 
 asserted the empire of Great Britain in the Mediterranean, 
 by annoying the commerce of the enemy and blocking up 
 their squadron in the harbour of Toulon. Understanding 
 that the Austrian government at Leghorn had detained an 
 English privateer and imprisoned the captain on pretence 
 that he had violated the neutrality of the port, he detached 
 two ships of war to insist in a peremptory manner on the 
 release of the ship, effects, crew, and captain ; and they 
 thought proper to comply with his demand, even without 
 waiting for orders from the Court of Vienna. The person 
 in whose behalf the Admiral thus interposed was one 
 Fortunatus Wright, a native of Liverpool, who though a 
 stranger to a sea-life, had in the last war* equipped a 
 privateer, and distinguished himself in such a manner b}' 
 his uncommon vigilance and valour, that if he had been 
 indulged with a command suitable to his genius, he would 
 have deserved as honourable a place in the annals of the 
 navy as that which the French have bestowed upon their 
 boasted Que Trouin, Du Bart, and Thurot. An uncommon 
 exertion of spirit was the occasion of his being detained at 
 this juncture. While he lay at anchor in the harbour 
 of Leghorn, commander of the St. George Privateer of 
 Liverpool, a small ship of 12 guns and 80 men, a large 
 French xebeque, mounted with 16 cannon and nearly three 
 times the number of his complement, chose her station in view 
 of the harbour, in order to interrupt the British commerce. 
 The gallant Wright could not endure this insult ; notwith- 
 standing the enemy's superiority in metal and number of 
 men, he weighed anchor, hoisted his sails, engaged him 
 
 *\Var of the Austrian Succession. 
 
42 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 within sight of the shore, and after a very obstinate dispute, 
 in which the Captain, lieutenant, and above three score of 
 the men belonging to the xebeque were killed on the spot, 
 he obliged them to sheer off, and returned to the harbour 
 in triumph. This brave corsair would, no doubt, have 
 signalised himself by many other exploits, had not he, in 
 the sequel, been overtaken in the midst of his career by a 
 dreadful storm, in which the ship foundering, he and all his 
 crew perished."* 
 
 Professor Laughton, in his "Studies in Naval History," 
 very properly doubts whether Smollett is entirely correct in 
 his statements regarding Wright's early life. " His father," 
 he says, " who was of Cheshire origin, was a master mariner 
 and shipowner, and I have little doubt that Wright himself 
 followed the sea in his youth probably as his father's appren- 
 tice, or afterwards in command of one of his father's ships. 
 The evidence is indeed very strong that he was far from a 
 stranger to a sea life. William Hutchinson, for many years 
 dockmaster at Liverpool, and who, on the title-page of his 
 'Treatise on Practical Seamanship,' styles himself as dis- 
 tinctively 'Mariner' — thesortof man who, in the last century, 
 would have divided the human race into seamen and land- 
 lubbers — speaks with evident pride of having served under 
 Fortunatus Wright, and frequently refers to the practice of 
 'that great,' 'that worthy hero,' as illustrating different 
 points of seamanship. He had, however, retired from the 
 sea, and settled down as a merchant and shipowner. Beyond 
 that, little is known, but it is believed that he became 
 involved in a tedious and costly lawsuit on account of one 
 of his ships with letters of marque detaining a vessel in 
 which the Turkey Company had an interest. In this there 
 is possibly some confusion with a later incident, the circum- 
 stances of which are before us ; but at any rate we may 
 
 *Smollett's "History of England," vol. i, page 337. 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 43 
 
 accept the statement that, consequent on this lawsuit, and 
 not caring to abide another with which he was threatened, 
 he reaHsed his property and left Liverpool." For these 
 personal details. Professor Laughton was indebted to the 
 kindness of Mr. Fortunatus Evelyn Wright, Consul for 
 Sweden and Norway at Christchurch, New Zealand. Mr. 
 F. E. Wright, or rather his elder brother, Mr. Sydney 
 Evelyn Wright, formerly a paymaster in the navy, is the 
 lineal representative of our privateer captain, as well as of 
 John Evelyn, the author of " Sylva," and the first treasurer 
 of Greenwich Hospital.* 
 
 According to Smithers' History of Liverpool, Fortunatus 
 Wright was the son of Captain John Wright, mariner, who 
 died in April, 171 7, and who gallantly defended his ship for 
 several hours against two vessels of superior force, as is 
 recorded on a plain tombstone in St. Peter's churchyard ; 
 which records also that " Fortunatus Wright, his son, was 
 always victorious, and humane to the vanquished. He 
 was a constant terror to the enemies of his king and 
 country." After giving the substance of Smollett's 
 account, Mr. Smithers adds, "but tradition tells that he 
 became a victim to political interests. The tombstone is 
 silent as to the cause of his death." It is to be regretted 
 that so little is known of the early life of a brave man, of 
 whom Liverpool has reason to be proud. 
 
 In June, 1742, Captain Fortunatus Wright was travel- 
 ling in Italy, where he met with an adventure which is 
 thus related in a letter from Horace Mann, the British 
 Resident, to his friend Horace Walpole : — 
 
 'Captain Wright's daughter, Philippa, married Charles, the grandson of John 
 Evelyn, of Wottun, whose daughter, Susanna, married her first cousin once 
 removed, John Ellworthy Fortunatus Wright, who served as a lieutenant in the 
 navy during the war of American Independence, and retired after the peace of 
 1783. He was subsequently appointed master of the George's Dock, Liverpool, 
 where he was accidentalh' killed in the year 1798. Some of his descendants, 
 doubtless, still reside in Liverpool, though the elder brancli of the hero's family 
 emigrated many years ago to New Zealand. 
 
44 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 "For this last week I have had Complaints made to me 
 which were brought by an Express, of an Englishman, one 
 Wright's design to storm the Town and Republick of 
 Lucca, which horrid design was manifested by his obstinate 
 refusal to deliver a couple of Pistols to the Guards at the 
 Gate, and his presenting one of them cocked at the 
 Corporal, and twenty soldiers that demanded them of him, 
 threatening to kill them if they persisted. Much mischief 
 might have ensued had not a Colonel with thirty more 
 soldiers taken this valiant Squire Prisoner. He was con- 
 ducted with the above attendants to his Inn, where he 
 found another Guard, and two were placed in his bed- 
 chamber, till one of the Lucchese noblemen to whom our 
 Countryman had recommendations, found means to persuade 
 the Republick that no mischief should ensue. He was 
 kept three days prisoner, when at four o'clock in the 
 morning, just as his Servant was setting out post to tell me, 
 he received a message from the Gonfaloniere, by an officer 
 who speaks English, 'that since he had been so daring as 
 to endeavour to enter the Town by force of Arms, it was 
 therefore ordered that he should forthwith leave the State — 
 never presume to enter it again without leave from the 
 Republick ; and that there were post horses at the door of 
 his house, as well as a Guard of Soldiers, to see him out of 
 the Territories of the Republick ! ' He answered a great 
 deal not much to the purpose. However, his compliance 
 with the orders put an end to what had made a great 
 noise, and for three days had put their Excellencies in an 
 uproar."* 
 
 It is supposed that after this remarkable adventure 
 Captain Wright lived with his wife and family either at 
 Leghorn or Florence for about four years. His connection 
 with John Evelyn, and his letters of introduction to the 
 
 * " Mann and Manners at the Court of Florence," vol. I, pp 72-73. 
 
CA PTA IX FOR Tl \\A TL \S J J BRIGHT. 45 
 
 Lucchese nobleman, show that he was a man of good 
 social position. Professor Laui^hton, who has seen speci- 
 mens of his handwriting, pronounces it to be that of a 
 man of culture and education. "The hand," he says, 
 " is not of a commercial character, still less is it the 
 hand of a rude seaman, more familiar with the marling"- 
 spike than the pen." 
 
 Soon after the outbreak of war with France in 1744, 
 Wright conjointly, probably, with the English merchants 
 in Leghorn, fitted out the brigantine Fame "to cruise 
 against the enemies of Great Britain." In the "Gentleman's 
 Magazine" for January, 1744, it is recorded that the 
 S2va//ow, Captain Wright, from Lisbon for London, had 
 been taken by the Begonia and ransomed at sea, her former 
 captain, Mr. Hutchinson, being detained as security. We 
 have no means of knowing whether the Sivallow belonged 
 to our Captain Wright or not, but it is scarcely conceivable 
 that with Fortunatus Wright and William Hutchinson on 
 board either the Sivallow or any other vessel would have 
 struck. We know, however, that it is to this period of 
 Wright's romantic career that Captain Hutchinson refers in 
 his observations on a ship cruising on her station, which we 
 have quoted in a previous chapter as illustrating the tactics 
 of these two daring and successful commanders. 
 
 In the "Gentleman's Magazine" for November, 1746, 
 we read that two French ships from Smyrna for Marseilles 
 were taken "by the Fame privateer, Captain Wright, 
 fitted out by the merchants at Leghorn, and carried into 
 Messina ; " and a month later the same publication stated 
 that the Fame had captured 16 French ships in the Levant, 
 worth ;^'400,ooo sterling; also that 18 of our West India and 
 other ships were carried into French ports. The " London 
 Gazette" reported the captures as follows: — "Sixteen 
 French ships, taken by the Fame Privateer, Captain 
 Fortunatus Wright, in the Mediterranean ; two of them 
 
46 777^ LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 about 200 tons each, brought into Messina on October 13, 
 and the others sent into Leghorn. The largest of the two 
 ships was fitted out by the French factories on the coast of 
 Caramania with 20 guns and 150 men ; but after a smart 
 engagement of three hours with the Fame off the isle of 
 Cyprus, the Frenchmen ran their ship ashore and escaped, 
 while the English took possession of the ship, and got her 
 afloat again." 
 
 On the 19th of December, 1746, the Fame captured a 
 French ship, bound from Marseilles for Naples, with the 
 Prince of Campo Florida's baggage on board, and carried 
 her into Leghorn, notwithstanding that the French vessel 
 had a pass from his " Sacred majesty, King George the 
 Second." This was a most irregular, not to say irreverent, 
 action, the only excuse offered being the omission of the 
 vessel's name in the pass. She was sent into Leghorn to 
 be condemned in the usual way; and, no doubt, the Prince 
 of Campo Florida used very sulphurous language when he 
 heard the fate of his equipage and baggage ; so did Mr. 
 Goldsworthy, the English Consul at Leghorn, who was 
 aghast at the "insult" offered to his Majesty's pass. We 
 are not sure that Wright himself was in command of the 
 Fame when this "outrage" on majesty was committed, but 
 he speedily received a very strongly-worded exhortation 
 from the consul to set the prize at liberty. The captain 
 would not give way to the consul, but afterwards, on the 
 representation of the British Minister, he agreed to refer the 
 affair to the naval commander-in-chief on the station, who 
 decided against him, and the prize was released. 
 
 A far more serious international dispute next claimed his 
 attention. Early in 1747 the Ottoman Porte complained 
 that Turkish property on board French ships had been 
 seized by English privateers, and especially by Captain 
 Fortunatus Wright, in the Fame. Mr. Goldsworthy, the 
 English Consul at Leghorn, who had been instructed to 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 47 
 
 enquire into the matter, wrote to Captain Wright for an 
 explanation, and received a reply which was the reverse of 
 satisfactory to the Turkish merchants whose property had 
 been confiscated. " The two ships named," wrote Captain 
 Wright, "had each of them a French pass, and both of them 
 belonged to Marseilles. They also hoisted French colours 
 and struck them to me ; nay, the latter engaged me for a 
 considerable time under these colours. For these reasons 
 I brought them to Leghorn, and have had them legally 
 condemned in the Admiralty Court, by virtue of which 
 sentence I have disposed of them and distributed the 
 money."* 
 
 The fact that the prize money had been realized, distri- 
 buted, and probably spent by the captors, though grievous 
 to the Turkish mind, was not permitted to end the matter. 
 The influence of the Turkey Company was strong enough 
 to procure from the British Government fresh instructions 
 dated March 30, 1747, for the Privateers and Admiralty 
 Courts in the Mediterranean, to the effect that Turkish 
 property on board even French vessels was not prize. 
 Captain Wright naturally refused to allow the order in his 
 case to be retrospective, and as he positively declined to 
 disgorge, an order was sent from England to have him 
 arrested and sent home. On December iith, 1747, the 
 Tuscan authorities obligingly clapped him into prison, but 
 refused to deliver him up to Consul Goldsworthy, who 
 vainly argued that as commander of an English private 
 ship he was subject to consular jurisdiction. Captain 
 Wright remained a prisoner in the fortress of Leghorn for 
 about six months ; then an order came from Vienna to 
 hand him over to the English Consul. Whilst Goldsworthy 
 was waiting for an opportunity to send the stubborn hero to 
 England, a new command bade him set him at liberty on 
 
 ■'Goldsvvorihy to the Deputy-Governor of the Turkey Company, Feb. 20th, 1747. 
 
48 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS 
 
 the orroLind that Wright had " given bail in the High 
 Court of AdmiraUy to answer the action commenced 
 against him." This was done on or about June loth, 1748. 
 
 The special ground of this action, which ran on in a 
 manner highly pleasing to the legal mind and profitable to 
 the legal pocket, was the seizure of Turkish property on 
 board the Hermione^ a French ship taken by the Fame on 
 February 26th, 1747, the proceeds from which Captain 
 Wright refused to give up. The suit was still pending in 
 June, 1749, a year after the captain's release, for on the 4th 
 of June he sent a long statement of his case to Consul 
 Goldsworthy, concluding in these characteristic words : — 
 
 " The cargo was all sold at public auction, for which I 
 have proper vouchers ; therefore, I am surprised at the 
 manner the Turkey Company have represented this affair, 
 or that they should trouble his Grace, after they have 
 prosecuted me, after they had caused me to be confined near 
 six months at their instance, and have since found their 
 libel totally rejected, and that I am acquitted from the 
 charge. They attacked me at law ; to that law I must 
 appeal ; if I have acted contrary to it, to it I must be 
 responsible ; for I do not apprehend I am so to any agent 
 of the Grand Signior, to the Grand Signior himself, or to 
 any other powder, seeing I am an Englishman and acted 
 under a commission from my prince." 
 
 The correspondence about the Hermione was still going 
 on in 1750, when Wright entered into partnership with 
 Captain William Hutchinson. It seems that Wright did 
 not disgorge after all, but how the lawsuit ended — whether 
 it was nursed to death by the lawyers, or merged in some 
 diplomatic settlement with the " Grand Signior," is not 
 known. It might be supposed that Wright having in 1746 
 taken 16 ships, valued at ^400,000, was in a position to 
 recoup the losses of the Turkish litigants. Professor 
 Laughton thinks the value of those prizes was a gross 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNA TUS WRIGHT. 49 
 
 exaggeration. " Wright," he says, "was owner as well as 
 captain of the brigantine, and her ship's company must 
 hav^e been small ; his share of such a sum would have 
 rendered him wealthy ; but he does not come before us in 
 the after years as a wealthy man." It is, however, expressly 
 stated in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1746, that the 
 Fame was fitted out by the merchants of Leghorn, therefore 
 Wright was not the owner, though he may have had a 
 share in the venture. To capture so many important 
 prizes, and make himself the terror of the French in the 
 Mediterranean, required not only a daring commander, but 
 a considerable crew, both for fighting the enemy and 
 manning the prizes. In a list of British privateers in 
 1745 we find the Fame, fitted out in London, carrying 50 
 guns and 380 men, and commanded by Captain Comyn. 
 She surpassed all the other privateers — numbering 98 — in 
 the number of her men and guns, and yet we can trace 
 none of her exploits. It is very probable that Captain 
 Comyn was succeeded by Fortunatus Wright, who immedi- 
 ately made the vessel justify her name and superior 
 armament. This, however, is purely conjecture. 
 
 The Fame was not idle while Captain Wright was 
 cooling his heels in the fortress of Leghorn ; for in the 
 "Gentleman's Magazine" for January, 1748, it is recorded 
 that a French ship from Alexandria to Marseilles had been 
 carried into Leghorn by the Fame privateer. 
 
 In 1750 Captain Wright joined with Captain William 
 Hutchinson in purchasing and fitting out as a merchant 
 ship the old 20-gun frigate of war, Leostqff, which made 
 several trading voyages to the West Indies, under the 
 command, probably, of Hutchinson, while Wright settled 
 down with his wife and family at Leghorn. 
 
 When the speedy renewal of the war between England 
 and France became apparent in 1755 and early in 1756, 
 Captain Fortunatus Wright set about building a small 
 
 D 
 
50 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 vessel at Leghorn, to cruise against the "hereditary 
 enemy " of Great Britain. This was the St. George 
 privateer, destined to be as famous, but not so fortunate 
 for its gallant commander, as the Fame. On the declaration 
 of war, the Tuscan government, whose interests were 
 closely bound up with those of France, and whose neutrality 
 was in practice only a thinly-veiled partiality, took measures 
 to prevent the English ships in port from increasing their 
 crews or armament, either for defence as merchant ships or 
 for privateering purposes. Captain Wright was too well- 
 known for the destination of his vessel to be a matter of 
 doubt to the government officials, and he was compelled to 
 resort to stratagem in order to have her properly equipped 
 for her intended cruise. It was with an air "childlike and 
 bland " that he applied to the authorities to know what 
 force they would permit him to carry out of the port as a 
 merchant ship. This was ultimately fixed at four small 
 guns and 25 men, every precaution being taken by the 
 officials to ensure that the limit was not exceeded. Wright 
 gravely urged them to have guard boats rowing round him 
 to make more certain, and so conducted the whole affair 
 that in taking leave of the governor, he obtained from him 
 a written certificate that he had complied with the limitation. 
 He sailed out of the port of Leghorn on the 25th of July, 
 1756, in company with three or four merchant vessels 
 homeward bound to England, which, amongst other things, 
 carried an efficient armament and ship's company for the 
 St. George. The enemies of England at Leghorn secretly 
 rejoiced, no doubt, thinking that Wright and his convoy 
 were sailing into the lion's mouth, for they must have known 
 that a French privateer had been cruising for the past month 
 off the harbour, expecting to make a rich but easy capture 
 of the poorly armed little St. George and her convoy. The 
 captain of the French privateer had asked in Leghorn, 
 "Pray when does Wright intend to come out? He has 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 51 
 
 already made me lose too much time." The French 
 commander had indeed very substantial reasons for desiring 
 a meeting. His vessel, a xebec (carrying lateen sails on 
 three masts) had 280 men on board, and mounted 16 
 carriage guns, besides swivels and a great number of small 
 arms. She "had been fitted out with a particular view to 
 take Captain Wright, who, having done the French much 
 damage during the last war, had been marked out by the 
 French King, who promised the honour of knighthood, a 
 pension of 3,000 livres per annum for life, and the com- 
 mand of a ship of war, to whoever should bring him into 
 France alive or dead. The merchants of Marseilles had 
 also promised a reward, double the value of Wright's 
 vessel, in a writing pasted up on their Exchange."* 
 
 The subsequent proceedings of Wright and the French 
 candidate for knighthood at his expense are given in a 
 letter from Leghorn to a merchant in Liverpool, dated 
 July 30, 1756 :— 
 
 " Your brave townsman Capt. Fortunatus Wright's late 
 gallant action is at present the topic of conversation here ; 
 the heads of which are as follow : Capt. Wright sailed the 
 25th inst. with three other small vessels under convoy of 
 Capt. Wright, who engaged to see them safe as low as 
 Gibraltar. The Government here would not allow him to 
 carry more than four guns and 25 men, not intending to 
 infringe on the privileges of this neutral port. When he 
 got clear of the harbour, he bought eight guns more from 
 some commanders of vessels and prevailed on 55 of their 
 men to enter on board his ship; so that he had 12 guns and 
 80 men with him. About 8 o'clock next morning, a French 
 privateer of 16 guns, with above 200 men on board, who 
 had been cruising a month off of our harbour, in order to 
 intercept the English ships, bore down upon them. Capt. 
 
 *" Gentleman's Magazine,' August, 1756. 
 
52 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Wright made a signal for his convoy to run and save 
 themselves, whilst he boldly lay by for the enemy ; about 
 twelve the engagement began in sight of above ten thousand 
 of the well-wishers to the French, but in three-quarters- 
 of-an-hour he silenced the xebeck, who made off, (ill 
 shattered) with her oars ; had there been any wind, Capt. 
 Wright would easily have taken her. Two other priva- 
 teers appearing in sight and attempting to cut off his 
 convoy, hindered his continuing the chase, he choosing 
 rather to protect them than to run the risque of their 
 being taken. Next morning he brought them safe back 
 into this port. He lost his lieutenant and four men, and 
 had 8 others wounded ; but the xebeck suffered very much, 
 a lucky shot having carried away her prow, on which were 
 30 men attempting to board him ; he so maltreated her, that 
 it is generally believed they lost above 80 men, besides 
 their captain and lieutenant. 
 
 " There has been an edict published at Marseilles by the 
 French King's order, offering a reward of double the value 
 of Captain Wright's ship, a pension of 3,000 livres per 
 annum, besides being honoured with the Order of St. Lewis 
 and having the command of a king's ship, for any person 
 who will take him. 
 
 " Capt. Wright, for his gallant behaviour and protection 
 of the merchantmen agreeable to his promise has had a 
 present given him of £\20 sterling, collected by the 
 English Factory ; the foreigners are going to make a purse 
 for him, and it is to be hoped his townsmen will not be 
 backward with you, for his gallant behaviour in disabling a 
 French privateer, and to enable him to support himself 
 under some difficulties. This State having (though very 
 imprudent) thought proper to stop him since his return, 
 alledging that his ship was armed out of this place ; but the 
 whole Factory can prove to the contrary, he having suffered 
 his ship to be searched by the first and second captains of 
 
CA PTA IN FOR TUNA TUS U BRIGHT. 5 3 
 
 this port, who went on board by the Governor's order, and 
 two guard-boats attended him to hinder any arms or 
 ammunition coming off shore. The French here daily ship 
 off ammunition for Marseilles, and our States say 'tis no 
 more than common merchandise ; though they will not 
 permit any Englishman the same privilege. 
 
 " Our Consul here has sent an account of the affair to 
 Sir Horace Mann, the Resident at Florence,* and we are 
 in hopes, through his means and the whole Factory's, who 
 are all hearty in the cause, that the British Government 
 will take notice of him ; especially as the French have set 
 so high a price on his head, and think him so dangerous 
 an enemy to them ; they having not yet forgot his brave 
 actions last war."-|- 
 
 This was an astonishing victory, gained over an enemy 
 of double his force, who had had ample time to put his 
 crew in efficient order, while Wright's hastily-gathered 
 reinforcement of 55 men, composed of Slavonians, Vene- 
 tians, Italians, Swiss, and a few English, were called uf)on 
 to fight at a moment's notice. In the " Gentleman's 
 Magazine" the xebeck is said to have "received much 
 damage, and lost her captain, lieutenant, the lieutenant of 
 marines, and 88 men, 70 more being wounded ; she bore 
 away and left Capt. Wright the honour of having preserved 
 four vessels, some richly laden, which had put themselves 
 under his protection for convoy, after having in vain 
 waited for a ship of war." 
 
 * 175^' — " ^^y Ijy tlay, meanwhile, our Minister at Florence was in extreme 
 agony at the dark hour which had fallen upon old England. His Florentine friends 
 told him that Minorca would be given to Spain, and probably Gibraltar would be 
 restored to her. When he heard that the Genoese had joined France, Mann 
 recognised the old saying of them as people Senza fede. ' What an opportunity 
 has been lost ' (July 20th) ; ' at present two privateers of 16 guns and of 24, that are 
 between Corsica and Leghorn, prevent any of our Merchantmen leaving that 
 port.' The partiality of the Florentine Regency for the French enraged him. It 
 is so great, he writes, in August, that there is no bearing it." — Mann and Manners, 
 vol. I, p. 389. 
 
 t Williamson s Advertiser, August 20th, 1756. 
 
54 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Instead of a knighthood, a pension for Hfe, and a higher 
 command, the French captain met with defeat, death, and 
 the attendant disgrace of being vanquished by an "inferior 
 force." The Tuscan authorities, exasperated at the Tartar 
 caught by their French friend, soon showed their leaning. 
 Wright had no sooner anchored than the governor ordered 
 him to bring his vessel within the Mole under pain of 
 being brought in by force. As an officer holding his 
 Britannic Majesty's commission he refused to obey; where- 
 upon two snows anchored alongside the St. George and 
 took charge of him. This high-handed proceeding roused 
 the indignation of the captains of the English ships in the 
 Mole, who offered to haul out and make common cause 
 with him. Wright, however, chose in this instance a 
 peaceful course, placing himself in the hands of the British 
 Resident at Florence, who immediately demanded satisfac- 
 tion from the Regency. What likelihood there was of get- 
 ting it in the then state of public feeling may be gathered from 
 the following extract of a letter received in Liverpool from 
 a merchant residing at Leghorn, dated August 30th, 1756.* 
 
 " The loss of Mahon hath exposed us to the most 
 insulting sneers ; and it has been very mortifying to see a 
 rabble — though of boys — go about for several nights with 
 white cockades, crying ^Viva Frmichia ; burn the English; ' 
 which cry has again been renewed on occasion of the 
 holiday of St. Lewis, kept here with great rejoicing. We 
 were in hopes that Captain Wright's (late of Liverpool) 
 gallant behaviour — which we were all spectators of — in 
 defeating a strong French privateer off the port, would 
 have restored our credit a little ; but it has served only to 
 exasperate these Italians against us the more, because 
 disappointed of a fresh triumph over us, as they made full 
 account of seeing Captain Wright fall a sacrifice to the 
 
 ^'' ]Villiaiiisoiis Advertiser, September 24, 1756. 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 55 
 
 enemy, whom they encouraged to cruise off, on purpose, and 
 furnished with intelHgence of Captain Wright's motions, 
 which were watched narrowly." 
 
 The Regency, in fact, decHned to redress the wrong done, 
 and turned the tables by complaining that they were the 
 injured parties. Captain Wright having deceived them by 
 going out with a greater number of men and arms than 
 had been authorised, or seen by the examining officers, who 
 boarded the St. George by the governor's orders. They 
 further charged him with violating the neutrality of the 
 port, making improper use of the emperor's colours, and 
 repeatedly disobeying their orders to come within the Mole. 
 The British Resident replied, denying the alleged decep- 
 tion, and pointing out that the men and arms went out of 
 the port on board other vessels ; that the engagement had 
 taken place twelve miles off, the Frenchman being the 
 aggressor. As to their orders to Wright to come within the 
 Mole, they had no business to give them. Before sailing 
 he was within their jurisdiction, had complied with their 
 instructions, and received the governor's certificate to that 
 effect ; but since he had sailed under the English flag, and 
 now held the King's commission, he owed no obedience to 
 the authorities of Leghorn, whose action was a gross 
 injustice and a breach of neutrality. This polite inter- 
 change of views went on for two months, when the affair 
 was unexpectedly taken out of the hands of scribes and 
 diplomatists by a man of action — Sir Edward Hawke, who 
 had just superseded Admiral Byng as Naval Commander-in- 
 Chief in the Mediterranean. In the Liverpool Advertiser of 
 October 8th, 1756, we read the following significant extract 
 of a letter from Leghorn : — 
 
 " Admiral Hawke has sent they*?^^-^ of 60 guns, and the 
 Isis of 50 guns, to Legiiorn to demand from the Magistrates 
 Capt. Fortunatus Wright, of your port, whom they have 
 detained, and has only given them three days to consider of 
 
56 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS 
 
 it." A week later the editor published another letter from 
 Leghorn, dated September 28 : — - 
 
 "Agreeable to my last on the 23rd inst., the men of 
 war arrived from Sir Edward Hawke demanded Capt. 
 Fortunatus Wright. The express sent to the Regency of 
 Florence brought for answer, that they must suhinit and 
 deliver 2ip Capt. Wright^ for there was no repelling force ; 
 accordingly the guards delivered him. On the 25th the 
 men of war carried him off in triumph, in company with a 
 number of merchantmen that were lying here waiting for a 
 convoy ; Capt. Wright has got 150 brave fellows on board 
 his ship, with whom it's presumed, he \\\\\ revenge himself 
 if opportunity offers. The fort fired by way of disappro- 
 bation at parting with him, three guns, but not with any 
 design to do any damage." 
 
 Professor Laughton in his " Naval Studies," referring to 
 this affair, states that Sir Edward Hawke sent Sir William 
 Burnaby with the above-named ships "to convoy what 
 merchant ships were waiting, and to bring the St. George 
 away, maugre the captain of the port, the governor of 
 Leghorn, the regency, or the Emperor himself. The 
 Governor protested ; but Sir William put it, without undue 
 periphrasis, 'that his orders were to take Captain Wright 
 away under his protection ; and in case either the barks or 
 the forts fired, he would be sorry to see himself under the 
 indispensable necessity of returning shot for shot.' The 
 governor preferred dealing with the men of the pen, and 
 sought comfort from Mr. Dick, the consul, who, however, 
 had none to give him, and told him he had heard Sir 
 William Burnaby say he would take her away. ' Well 
 then,' said the governor piteously, ' there's an end of it ; 
 what can we do? the French will see it's not our fault.' 
 And so on 23 September the Jersey and Isis departed, 
 the St. George accompanying them, and sixteen rich 
 merchant ships, homeward bound." 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. bl 
 
 Our next information regarding this ever-victorious com- 
 mander is derived from the public prints for November 
 19th, 1756, which state : "There are letters in town by the 
 last mail, which mention Capt. Fortunatus Wright having 
 been engaged by tw^o French men-of-war, which he fought 
 for several hours, and at last got clear off." And again : 
 " Capt. Fortunatus Wright has taken and sent into Malta 
 two French prizes, viz., the Immaculate Conception, Kamp- 
 bell, from St. John D'Acre, and the Esperance, Richards, 
 from Salonica, both bound to Marseilles, reputed to be 
 worth ;^i5,ooo at least." 
 
 Ere the news of these captures had reached his native 
 town. Captain Wright had put into Malta, where he found 
 partiality for the French as strong as at Leghorn, the 
 English ships in the harbour being kept under close sur- 
 veillance. Writing from on board the ship Lark, at Malta, 
 to Consul Dick, at Leghorn, on November 3rd, Captain 
 Robert Miller feelingly complained that, " Our ships, 
 persons and colours are treated with the utmost scandal, 
 shame and indignity, even to the highest degree, and with 
 such cruel severity that it is almost impossible for anybody 
 to believe it that have not been eye-witnesses of it. . . . 
 Capt. Fortunatus Wright, of the St. George privateer, has 
 been used here in a most barbarous manner." 
 
 The authorities certainly treated Wright in a most 
 unfriendlv and arbitrary fashion, refusing to allow him to 
 buy the slops and bedding which his men sorely needed, 
 and ordering him to send ashore a number of English 
 sailors whom he had received on board the St. George. 
 These men had been put ashore there from prizes taken by 
 French privateers. As an officer holding the king's 
 commission, Wright scorned to deliver up British subjects 
 who had taken refuge under the British flag. His contu- 
 macy brought a galley royal alongside, whose captain told 
 him his orders were to sink him if he offered to stir an 
 
58 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 anchor, and if he made any resistance "to board him and 
 cut every soul to pieces." The seamen were accordingly 
 forcibly taken out of the privateer and landed, their visions 
 of rich captures under the famous and fortunate commander 
 shattered, for they could scarcely have gone aboard as 
 simple passengers and non-combatants. The St. George 
 put to sea on the 22nd of October without the stores she 
 needed, and twenty-four hours later she was followed by 
 an enemy who had been abiding his opportunity. In the 
 words of Captain Robert Miller, " the large French priva- 
 teer of thirty-eight guns and upwards of 300 men, 
 commanded by Captain Arnoux, was in this port at the 
 same time, and sailed just twenty-four hours after Wright, 
 to take him, as Wright was still in sight of the port. But 
 when the great beast of a French privateer came out, 
 Wright played with him, by sailing round him and viewing 
 him, &c., just to aggravate him, as Wright sailed twice as 
 fast as him ; and indeed she is a prodigious dull sailer for 
 a privateer, and very crank." 
 
 Williamson's Advertiser for December 3rd, 1756, stated : 
 " We have advice by the way of Marseilles that Capt. 
 Fortunatus Wright has taken and sent to Malta another 
 French ship bound from Sydon to Marseilles, esteemed 
 v^ery rich, being laden chiefly with silks, Burdetts, and 
 cottons. Great rewards and honours are promised to any of 
 the French privateers who shall take him. He is a brave, 
 prudent man, and the only scourge the French feel in those 
 seas." 
 
 On the loth December the same journal published the 
 following, dated Florence, November 20 : " On the loth 
 inst. anchored at Leghorn a French prize, laden with 
 cotton, wool, and other goods from the Levant, valued at 
 about 8,000 dollars, taken by Capt. Wright, of the St. 
 George privateer, being the fifth capture he has made since 
 his departure from Leghorn." The losses inflicted by this 
 
CAPTAIN FORT UNA TUS WRIGHT. 59 
 
 single privateer upon the commerce of France were so great 
 that the French King resolved to take extreme measures 
 for Wright's destruction. Williamsoti's Advertiser of 
 December 17, 1756, contained the following " extract of a 
 letter from a house at Leghorn to a gentleman concerned in 
 the St. George privateer, commanded by Capt. Fortunatus 
 Wright," dated November 22 : — 
 
 '* The news we have to communicate to you, relating to 
 Capt. Wrig-ht, is of his further success in the capture of another 
 prize which he has sent into Cagliari ; we got the notice the 
 day before yesterday, by a vessel from thence, particularising 
 her cargo to consist of 4,000 or 5,000 sacks of wheat, which 
 we compute to be worth ;^9,ooo. Pray God continue his 
 prosperity and preserve him from his cruel enemies ; may we 
 use this phrase, as we have advice from Marseilles that two 
 ships of 20 guns, and a settee of equal force, and all well- 
 manned, are there fitting out purposely for him, with orders 
 to give him no quarter, but burn him on board. We are 
 sorry to give you this alarm, but a French gentleman, a friend 
 of ours, is now in our house, and confirms every particular. 
 We have to add, the disgraceful situation we are all in, and 
 the miserable state of our trade, the French Privateers in 
 these seas being innumerable. P.S.- — -Since writing the above 
 our partner is returned from the Consul, who has acquainted 
 him of the equipment against Capt. Wright with this addition, 
 that the two ships are fitting out by the King of France, and 
 the Settee by the Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles ; and 
 that they have orders to set him on fire in any road where they 
 may find him." 
 
 Early in 1757 Wright seems to have had more than one 
 ship under his command. Among the captures mentioned 
 in the "Gentleman's Magazine " for February is a French 
 snow, taken by the King George, Wright, letter of marque, 
 and carried to Lisbon. In the Liverpool paper for March 
 25th, it is said that "a large privateer is fitting out for 
 Captain Fortunatus Wright, which is to be sent to him as 
 
60 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 soon as ready, and then he will be commodore of three 
 ships." 
 
 One of the French vessels, fitted out especially for 
 Wright's capture, or rather for his utter destruction, was 
 the Hirondelle, of Toulon. Mr. Tatem, the British Consul 
 at Messina, writing on the 19th of January, 1757, gives the 
 following account of her reception by Wright, then in the 
 King George : — 
 
 "The King George^ Captain Fortunatus Wright, has 
 lately had two smart engagements in the Channel of Malta, 
 of three hours each (one in the night, the other by day), 
 with the Le Hirondelle, a French polacca of 26 guns and 
 283 men ; but notwithstanding the great inequality in men, 
 o-uns, and weight of metal, yet Captain Wright obliged 
 nnn to sneer off, and they both put into Malta the 2nd of 
 January to refit. But poor Wright has met with worse 
 treatm?;nt there than he did before, for although he had 
 several shot under water, which made it absolutely necessary 
 to heave down, yet, by the interest of the French faction, 
 he was denied that liberty ; and afterwards, upon account 
 of two slaves having taken refuge on board him, he has 
 been sequestered in port, and cut off from all daily 
 provisions, and ev^en water, till he restores them. But as 
 the Jersey was hourly expected in Malta, we hope Sir 
 William Burnaby will obtain his release. The Hiroiidelle 
 is one of the vessels fitted out from Toulon expressly to 
 seek him." 
 
 On January 22nd Horace Mann, the British Minister at 
 Florence, wrote to Mr. Pitt that the Regency had been 
 lamenting the decay of the Leghorn trade ; that he had 
 pointed out that their gross partiality, and their violent 
 action in the matter of Fortunatus Wright, were two of the 
 causes of this decay ; that, yielding to these representa- 
 tions, they had assured him of their intention to observe a 
 strict neutrality ; and that, on the strength of this, he had 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. Gl 
 
 written to Captain Wright "that he might send all the 
 French prizes he had made to Leghorn, as, at my request, 
 he had kept them in deposit till he should hear from me 
 that he might do it with safety."* 
 
 Two months later he writes again, showing the kind of 
 welcome Wright would meet with if he attempted to enter 
 the port of Leghorn : — 
 
 "The Council sent a gfentleman belong'ing' to the secretary's 
 office to me, earnestly to desire that, in order to avoid any 
 further inconveniences with regard to him, I would order 
 Captain Wrig-ht to keep at such a distance from the Port as 
 would not oblige the Government to take any notice of his 
 being there. . . . Finding that they thought themselves 
 tied up by the orders they received lately from Vienna with 
 regard to Captain Wright, I thought it my duty, purely for the 
 sake of avoiding any new disputes, to write to the Consul in 
 the manner they desired. The estafette was immediately sent 
 back to Leghorn with my letter, in order that, as soon as 
 Captain Wright's vessel appears in sight of the port, a bark 
 may be sent off to him, with the Consul's directions not to 
 enter into the harbour." 
 
 In Williamson's Advertiser iox: K^n\ ist, 1757, we read 
 that " letters from Leghorn, brought by the Flanders mail 
 yesterday, advise that Capt. Fortunatus Wright, who, after 
 a hard engagement with a French ship of superior force 
 followed her to Malta, has been relieved by i\i^ Jersey man 
 of war, and were both sailed from thence, and were expected 
 daily to arrive in Leghorn. ^\\q, Jersey is to convoy from 
 thence to England, four rich ships that are armed, which 
 have been detained a considerable time on account of a 
 French man of war and a frigate hovering off that port." 
 There is a reference to the detention of these merchant- 
 men, and to Wright and his prizes in an interesting letter, 
 dated March 25th, 1757, from Sir Horace Mann, to Horace 
 
 * Naval Studies, p 222. 
 
62 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 Walpole. He alludes to the misery and misfortune of 
 Admiral Byng, but he looked on the sentence of death as 
 an act of vigorous justice. Without implying Voltaire's 
 phrase that the Admiral was shot ''^ pour encourages les 
 autreSy'^ Mann hoped that it ivoidd give courage to others. 
 He had seen much of our sea captains during his official 
 residence at Florence, and he says: — "Let us hope 
 that the sentence may produce for the future some refor- 
 mation in the conduct of our sea officers, which was so 
 publickly criticised in the last war. I wish we could see a 
 Fleet in these parts now. Something must be done to 
 recover our maritime reputation. The sea swarms with 
 French Privateers, who daily take all the merchant ships 
 that venture out. I have dissuaded the people at Leghorn 
 from sending many ships away that are laden for above a 
 Million sterling, which, we know, the French have stationed 
 several Privateers and Ships of War to wait for. They have 
 advice boats continually going backwards and forwards, 
 and others are at anchor at Porto (illegible), to be ready to 
 follow Captain Wright and his prizes that had taken refuge 
 at Port Ferrajo, from whence, if they can escape, we daily 
 expect them at Leghorn. A plan has been agreed upon to 
 indemnify the Captains of the Merchant Ships, who are 
 ruined by laying, at a vast expense, in port, by making 
 a small average on the goods they have on board, other- 
 wise they would have ventured out at all hazards."* 
 
 But Captain Wright was never more to enter the port of 
 Leghorn. Williamson's Advertiser, in its London corres- 
 pondence, dated May 19, 1757, contained the following 
 intelligence, which must have been received with universal 
 sorrow in the good old town in which the hero was born 
 and bred, and of whose brave and adventurous, yet prudent 
 spirit, he was the shining personification : — 
 
 *Mann and Manners, vol. 1, p. 402. 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 63 
 
 "A private letter from Leghorn brings advice that 
 Captain Fortunatus Wright, of the King George, a Letter 
 of Marque ship, having sailed from Malta with a French 
 prize for the said port, met with a great storm on the i6th 
 of March, during which the officer that had charge of the 
 prize went down into the cabin or under the hatches to 
 bring up certain colours to hoist as signals of distress or 
 danger, as there was then a French Privateer in sight ; but 
 when he came upon deck again the King George was no 
 longer to be seen ; so that there is room to fear this gallant 
 officer, with 60 stout fellows, are all gone to the bottom. 
 The prize made the port of Leghorn, and gave there this 
 account." 
 
 There was, however, just one ray of hope left. In 
 another corner of the paper was printed a letter from a 
 merchant in Leghorn to the owners of the Anson and 
 Blake?iey privateers, dated May 9th, stating "that five 
 English sailors, belonging to Capt. Fortunatus Wright, 
 who left Cagliari on the loth ult., and came up in a vessel 
 belonging to Genoa, inform me that the Blakeney, Capt. 
 Fowler, and Anson, Capt. Speers, were then in Cagliari." 
 Commenting on this, the editor remarks : "his mentioning 
 Capt. Wright's sailors gives us some hopes that the 
 account of the loss of that brave man, mentioned in the 
 first page of this paper, is premature." To cast further 
 doubt on the news of Wright's death on the i6th of March, 
 there came a letter from Leghorn to a merchant in 
 Liverpool, dated May i6th, which ran as follows : — 
 
 " I have the pleasure to acquaint you that I have just 
 received from our Consul at Messina an account dated the 26th 
 of April " — nearly a month after the supposed catastrophe — 
 " of Capt. Fortunatus Wrig^ht being very well, and has taken 
 another prize since his departure from Malta. And as this 
 so exactly tallies with the account I had from the master of a 
 Maltese vessel arrived here last week (whom I mentioned in my 
 
64 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 last to have seen him hi the Vere of Messuia), we have no room 
 to doubt of the truth of his safety, which has given inexpressible 
 pleasure to me, and a g"eneral satisfaction to all in this place. 
 A Danish ship, just now arrived here from Tunis in eight 
 days, was visited six days ago, between Sardinia and Sicily, 
 by the King of Prussia privateer, of your port, Capt. 
 Maccaffee, all well and in high spirits. We are in great hopes 
 that he and other vessels on the same station will meet with 
 great success, as the Smyrna French fleet, consisting of i6 or 
 1 8 ships, only convoyed by a polacca, who was dispatched 
 some time ago in pursuit of Capt. Fortunatus Wright, and 
 engaged him ofli" Malta, but was bravely repulsed, is soon 
 expected to sail for Marseilles, for which place is also bound a 
 French polacca from Alexandretta, valued at twenty-five 
 thousand pounds sterling." 
 
 Another Liverpool newspaper, the Chronicle and Marine 
 Gazetteer, of June 3rd, 1757, also published a letter almost 
 identical with the above in substance, and of the same date, 
 but apparently emanatmg from another correspondent at 
 Leghorn, which ran as follows : "I have just now received 
 a letter from the Consul at Messina, of the 26th ult., with 
 the agreeable news that Capt. Fortunatus Wright was 
 arrived in that port and had brought in with him a brig 
 richly laden. A Danish vessel this day arrived from Tunis, 
 was visited six days ago by the King of Prussia privateer 
 of your place, betwixt the Islands of Sicily and Sardinia ; 
 all well on board and in high spirits. The Ambuscade 
 man of war has taken six prizes bound from the Levant to 
 Marseilles, and sent them to Malta and Messina, from 
 whence they are daily expected here to be sold. She has 
 also taken a French ship, and carried her into Tunis, which 
 the captain sold for ;^i 2,000 sterling ; which being arrived 
 here in safety will sell for one third more than she cost. I 
 have letters from Smyrna of a fresh date, which mention 16 
 or 18 sail of French ships being ready to sail under convoy 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUXATUS WRIGHT. 65 
 
 of the polacca who some time ago attacked and was bravely 
 repulsed by Captain Fortunatus Wright off Malta. There is 
 likewise a polacca on her departure from Alexandretta for 
 Marseilles, deemed worth ;^30,ooo sterling; which I am 
 in hopes will fall into the hands of some of our cruisers in 
 these seas." 
 
 " Captain Fortunatus Wright," adds the editor of the 
 Chronicle^ "a gentleman of this town who in the last and 
 present war, in a small privateer, gained immortal honour, 
 and the universal esteem of his country, by distressing the 
 enemy, and defending himself in a surprising manner 
 against superior force, at sundry times set out on purpose to 
 take him, was lately reported to be lost in a hard gale of 
 wind ; but by this day's post we have certain accounts of 
 his being safe in the Bay of Messina with a prize. This 
 joyful news gives every true Briton a sensible pleasure, and 
 must certainly animate every heroic soul with a noble 
 spirit of emulation ; that should adverse fortune crush them 
 in the service of their country, their fall may be justly 
 lamented, as his supposed one was — which we are glad to 
 say was premature." 
 
 Then follow these lines, which we reproduce more as a 
 curiosity than as a model for future Dibdins and Bennetts : — 
 
 ** Ox THE UNIVERSALLY-ACCEPTED AND AGREEABLE NEWS OF THE 
 ARRIVAL OF THE BRAVE CaPTAIN FoRTUNATUS WrIGHT AT 
 
 Messina, in Sicily. 
 
 " He lives, he lives ! in spite of all his foes — 
 Celestial Pow'rs were pleas'd to interpose ; 
 He lives to conquer — lift the Flag- on hig-h, 
 And let the joyful cannon greet the sky. 
 
 " Through ev'ry part of Britain, let the joy 
 Touch ev'ry Briton — ev'ry Gaul annoy ; 
 To ev'ry heart, as on th' electric mass 
 The quick pervading joy shall sudden pass ; 
 E 
 
G6 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 All feel at once the permeating^ stroke, 
 
 The pleasing shock, for this their Heart of Oak. 
 
 " At the masthead, see ev'ry streamer flies, 
 To recompense the streamers of our eyes. 
 Britannia wept ! reverse of tears, she smiles ; 
 Her son is safe, the glory of her isles ! 
 
 " Her tears encreased old Ocean's briny tide ; 
 
 Her heaving sighs the tempest's breath supply'd ; 
 Her sighs and tears had rais'd the tempest high. 
 And raging winds had sung his elegy ; 
 When Neptune from the hoary billows rais'd 
 His awful head — the storm was all appeas'd ; 
 The rocking winds, in deep attention's form 
 Bend forward — and he thus harangues the storm : 
 
 *' Britannia is my bride — ye winds obey ; 
 Be still thou tempest — be at rest thou sea : 
 This is my son — convey him to yon coast 
 And let Britannia know. He is not lost. 
 Bid her suspend her tears — her darling Wright, 
 Her Fortunatus still survives to — Fight. 
 What, tho' a price on his devoted head 
 Was set by France, who wish'd, and thought him dead ; 
 For why ? His arm was equal to a Fleet ! 
 Tell her no wave shall be his winding-sheet ; 
 That-VW prevent — If war has doomed his fall, 
 It must be, shall be — from a Cannon Ball. " 
 
 Notwithstanding the above statements that Wright was 
 quite well and active, and had been actually seen in the 
 neighbourhood of Messina when he was supposed to be at 
 the bottom of the sea, and in spite of the fact that both 
 "Lloyd's List" and the "Gentleman's Magazine" for June, 
 1757, state that "the St. George Privateer, Capt. Fortunatus 
 Wright, has carried into Messina a French brig, richly 
 loaded," the fate of the hero remains a mystery to this day. 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 67 
 
 There may have been good grounds for the local tradition 
 mentioned by Smithers, that Wright fell a victim to 
 political interests. He had plenty of powerful enemies 
 ashore, and was always safer on the high seas, whatever 
 might be the odds against him. With British oak beneath 
 his foot, the British flag aloft, and a sprinkling of English 
 seamen among his crew, he was afraid of nothing afloat. 
 
 Sir Horace Mann, writing on the 2nd of July, 1757, says : 
 ^'The trade of Leghorn, upon which the wealth of this 
 whole state chiefly depends, is reduced to the lowest ebb, 
 insomuch that the arrival in the port of a single prize a few 
 days ago, was looked upon as an object of such importance, 
 and exaggerated by the Italians in terms that sufficiently 
 showed that they are now convinced how much their 
 welfare depends upon the navigation of the English 
 merchant ships not being interrupted. The French have 
 many tartans disguised, but well armed, that cruise between 
 Leghorn and Porto Ferrajo, ready on all occasions to 
 intercept such as are of no force, at the [same] time that 
 they can run near the shore when a ship of any strength 
 appears. A few stout privateers, as in the last war, would 
 totally prevent this, and they would enrich themselves by 
 the French vessels from Marseilles that would fall into 
 their hands. Captain Wright, of the St. George privateer, 
 did great service of this kind in the beginning of the war ; 
 but it is feared by some circumstances, and by his not 
 having been heard of for some months, that he foundered 
 at sea. Several prizes made by him have lain some months 
 at Cagliari in Sardinia, waiting for an opportunity to get 
 with safety to Leghorn." 
 
 The English prestige in the Mediterranean had been 
 reduced to a low ebb through the incompetence of the 
 Government at i home and the lethargy of the naval 
 commander-in-chief on the station, and the only English- 
 man whose name was a terror to the French had mysteriously 
 
68 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 disappeared from the seas. But the power of England was 
 going- to be felt in those quarters where it was most despised 
 and hated. A merchant in Leghorn, writing on the i8th 
 of July, 1757, to a house in Liverpool, said, "Last night 
 arrived here Admiral Osborne with seven sail of men of war, 
 who has instructions to demand satisfaction of the Maltese 
 for their cruel behaviour towards the brave Capt. Fortunatus 
 Wright, whom we have great reason to fear is no more, 
 and we are in hopes he will see justice done to the other 
 privateers who have had the misfortune to carry their prizes 
 into their ports." 
 
 Again, in Williamson's Advertiser of August 27th, we 
 read that '* there are letters from Leghorn which mention 
 that Admiral Osborne, who arrived there with seven men 
 of war on the 17th, Avas fitting for sea with all expedition, 
 having received advice that five French men of war were 
 preparing to sail from Malta for Toulon, whom he expected 
 to meet with in their passage ; after which he was going to 
 Malta, to demand satisfaction of the Maltese, for their 
 injurious behaviour to the captains of several of our priva- 
 teers, particularly to the brave Captain Fortunatus Wright." 
 
 We cannot close this account of one whose career has 
 been justly described as " more romantic than any 
 romance," and as "a succession of romances," in a more 
 appropriate manner than by quoting the following character- 
 istic stories, both relating to the period when Wright was 
 cruising in the neighbourhood of Malta. The first is 
 related by the author of " Naval Studies," " on the authority 
 of the first Earl of Charlemont,* who says it came to his 
 knowledge during his residence at Malta, about 1750, and 
 was told to him ' by the most credible eye-witnesses.' No 
 names are mentioned, but there is scarcely room for doubt 
 that the hero of it was Fortunatus Wright. He is described 
 
 * Memoirs of James Caulfield, Earl of Charlemont, by Francis Hardy, vol i, 
 p. 47, etc. Laughton's "Naval vStudies," p. 212. 
 
CAPTAIN FORTLLYATUS WRIGHT 69 
 
 by Lord Charlemont as a captain commanding an English 
 privateer of some force, and ' of such skill and bravery 
 that he reigned paramount in the Mediterranean, daily 
 sending into the port of Malta French prizes of considerable 
 value.' In a society such as then ruled in Valetta, this 
 stirred up much angry feeling, the Austrians and Pied- 
 montese jeering the French or Spaniards, and many duels 
 took place in consequence. At length the French knights, 
 irritated beyond measure by the taunts of their adversaries, 
 and the continued success of the English captain, deter- 
 mined to put a summary stop to both, and sent urgent 
 representations to Marseilles, in consequence of which an 
 armed vessel, of force almost double that of the Englishman, 
 was specially equipped and sent to Malta under the com- 
 mand of ' an officer of the highest character for courage and 
 naval knowledge.' After being duly feted by the French 
 party he sailed out of harbour to look for the Englishman, 
 as to a certain victory. Days passed by ; both parties were 
 aglow with expectation, and the ramparts on the sea front 
 were constantly thronged with anxious crowds. Two ships 
 at last appeared in sight. As they came nearer it was seen 
 that the one was towing the other ; that the one was the 
 French ship for which they were looking ; that the other 
 was much shattered. They hoisted French colours, and 
 who so jubilant as the French knights ! Amid exulting 
 cheers they turned into the harbour, between St. Elmo and 
 Ricasoli. All Valetta, Senglea, and II Borgo were called 
 to witness the triumph of the French ; when— O cruel 
 disappointment ! — the white flag suddenly disappeared, 
 giving place to the victorious flag of England. The 
 Marseilles ship was a prize to the English privateer." 
 
 The second story, entitled "The History of Selim, from 
 the Armenian's Letters," represents Captain Wright as 
 acting a very noble part. Though extremely romantic, the 
 incidents are neither impossible nor improbable. The 
 
70 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 French privateer mentioned in the story appears to fit in 
 very well with the Hirondelle, sent out from Toulon to 
 seek Wright, and whom he fought in the Channel of Malta. 
 
 The History of Selim, from the Armenian's 
 Letters.* 
 
 Against the inclination, yet not without consent of my 
 parents, I quitted Armenia, and embarked on board a 
 Genoese trading vessel, proposing to study the civil and 
 military discipline of Emanuel Victor, the great Prince of 
 Sardinia. While I was in daily expectation of seeing 
 Genoa, our ship was taken by a Spanish vessel navigated 
 by corsairs. We were soon loaded with irons; and though 
 I was treated more favourably than others on a religious 
 account, yet I was robbed of the money which I had 
 designed for the expenses of travelling, excepting a few 
 sequins that lay concealed in my clothes. As soon as we 
 arrived at Oran we were thrown into a loathsome dungeon, 
 guarded by Spaniards ; and the little lenity that appeared 
 was now shown to the Christians. Their clothes were 
 restored, while I was stripped of my outer garment ; their 
 allowance of victuals was usually greater, and I was often 
 compelled to labour, while my fellow prisoners were 
 indulged with ease. In this state I continued seven 
 months, and then I was, with five others, sold to a young 
 Moor, and conveyed with my companions to a spacious 
 house two miles distant from Oran, near a little village 
 called Arzew, where the uncle of this young Moor had laid 
 out a plan of spacious gardens, the labour of which was 
 reserved for me and my companions. As soon as we 
 arrived our fetters were removed, for our escape was 
 impossible, the house and intended garden being enclosed 
 
 * The "Gentleman's Magazine," for the year 1757, pp 367-9. 
 
CA PTA IN FOR TUNA TUS J VRIGHT. 7 1 
 
 in some places by a wall 20 feet high, and in others by a 
 broad trench, and keepers were constantly employed to 
 watch us. Here I continued labouring three months, 
 without any hopes of redemption, sometimes amusing 
 myself with the flowers and fruit trees, and at others 
 conversing in the Arabic tongue, of which, from the know- 
 ledge I had before my captivity, and my intercourse with 
 some captives in the prison, I had now attained an easy 
 pronunciation. My country dress being permitted to me, 
 the native slaves were kinder to me than to the Christians ; 
 and becoming an interpreter among them, I acquired a 
 sort of pre-eminence that gave me opportunities of doing 
 my fellow captives little offices, which society in distress 
 will extort from the most savage. But the severe labour to 
 which we were daily confined began to waste my strength. 
 Our keepers remitted nothing of their watchfulness over 
 us, nor the young Moor of his care over them. Not an 
 hour of the day passed wherein his eye was not upon our 
 labour. He delighted in seeing us faint beneath our loads; 
 and once when I tottered beneath a heavy burthen he 
 ordered fifty lashes to a Christian who ran to support me. 
 
 After three months' toil in the midst of an inclement 
 winter, the spring began to open, and brought with it a 
 sweetness and beauty that would have relieved any but 
 slaves, who had once been happy, and now, by no crime, 
 were condemned to misery. Sometimes I had thoughts of 
 telling the Moor who I was, and exciting his pity by a 
 recital of my misfortunes ; but he appeared so avaricious 
 that should he know that I was the son of a Turkish Aga 
 his demands would be greater than my friends could satisfy ; 
 wherefore, I resolved to bear my afflictions in silence, and 
 leave the event to God. As soon as the year began to 
 blossom, news was brought me by the native slaves that 
 the uncle of the young Moor and his family were arrived 
 at his country seat, and that in three days the young Moor 
 
72 THE UVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 would set out for Oran to inspect the affairs of his uncle in 
 that city. The joy which 1 felt for a few moments was 
 little short of what freedom would have ^iven ; hut the 
 natives soon informed me that the uncle was more avari- 
 cious, cruel, and perfidious than his nephew ; that having 
 no sons, he had preferred his nephew to the inheritance of 
 his large possessions, and that he had one favourite daughter 
 whom he designed for his wife. The hopes conceived 
 from a change of masters now vanished, and I considered 
 mvself as one of those unfortunate wretches destined to walk 
 through peril and toil, without any ray of comfort to cheer 
 them in their passage. Two days passed and the uncle 
 had not set his foot in the garden, being troubled with a 
 disorder common in that country- to many of his age and 
 sedentary- life ; yet he was carried to a window, where, as 
 our keeper said, he constantly observed us ; and indeed the 
 keeper often raised his voice, and exercised the lash, to 
 demonstrate his strict attendance of us. Four davs after, 
 the old man's disorder so increased, that being no longer 
 able to approach his window, he was confined to his bed. 
 During this time the severity of our keepers somewhat 
 abated; the daughter of the Moor also, who came at her 
 fathers request to oversee the garden, would often bring 
 fruits and other pleasing refreshments to the native slaves, 
 of whom she enquired concerning us, and frequently would 
 recommend to them to treat us tenderly. As the Moors 
 rise early, no morning passed whereon she did not visit the 
 house of the native slaves, and never went unprovided, so 
 that she became their idol. When she had visited the 
 natives, she was often seen to pass through a shady walk 
 into a greenhouse near the dwelling of the captives, where 
 some conjectured she paid her devotions, and others that 
 she watched the labourers. But whatever might be the 
 cause, it was observed that when the natives carried no 
 part of their extraordinar}' provisions to us unhappy 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUXATUS WRIGHT. 73 
 
 captives, the next dav she omitted her kindness to them ; 
 thus our captivity was hghtened. I once more indulged 
 hopes of escape, and laboured more cheerfully than ever. 
 On the 20th March, just as our labour was begun, our 
 \oung benefactress surveyed the whole garden, and having 
 passed the Moors, approached where the captives were 
 emploved; drawing her veil entirely down, and wrapping 
 herself in a hvke of blue satin, she spoke to them as she 
 passed, and coming near to me, who was last in the lot of 
 ground, and then had a heavy burthen on mv shoulders, she 
 turned her face, still covered, towards mine, and laving her 
 right hand on her breast — which is the Moorish salutation, — 
 said, in a gentle tone, ''Holy Alia relieve thee, stranger." 
 Many days passed, and some of my fellow captives became 
 so reconciled to captivity, that if the uncle and nephew had 
 been removed they would have been easily persuaded to 
 serve Zaida while thev lived. But the indulgence we 
 received only gave me more time to reflect on mv hard 
 fortune, and one night, while I was stretched on a grass 
 plot along the side of the Moor's palace, singing a 
 mournful history of my misfortunes, I was surprised by a 
 loud knocking at the gate and the neighing of horses ; 
 and instantly a soft, disordered voice from a window 
 above said trembling and hastilv : "To thy apartment, 
 stranger; Moral! Moral! Alia guard thee!' I fled, 
 blessing the voice that warned me, and spent a tedious 
 night in broken dreams and waking expectations of 
 cruelty from Morat, by whom such expectations were 
 never disappointed. In the morning, long before tiie 
 sun, he had surveyed the garden, and finding our labour 
 had not equalled his desire, with his first salutation he 
 struck me to the ground, and, before I recovered, three of 
 my companions were Iving speechless. While he was 
 proceeding in his cruelty, a slave came pale and breathless 
 from the house, and faltering could only pronounce : 
 
74 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 " Zaida, Zaida no more.'" Morat persevered, and having' 
 given each captive his blow, returned to the house. 
 Bruised and dejected we groaned through the day's fatigue; 
 but neither the bruises nor the toil preyed on my mind so 
 much as a fear and desire to know what had befallen our 
 young benefactress. Weariness brought with it no rest. 
 I lay all night sleepless, and before daybreak heard our 
 keepers relating that Zaida, having beheld the first mark 
 of her cousin's cruelty to the captives, had fainted and 
 continued some moments lifeless; that a cry that she was 
 dead had reached Zelebin's — her father's — ear, and so 
 afflicted him, that even her recovery added little to his, the 
 sudden joy rather oppressing him the more ; and, lastly, 
 that Morat was gone to Oran, being called thither by 
 sudden business. I rose overjoyed, and informed my fellow 
 prisoners that the storm was over. The next day Zaida 
 walked twice through the garden, carefully observing us 
 through her veil, and as she passed by me twice repeated 
 the Aslemash, pressing her hand more closely to her 
 breast, and saying, "Alia guard thee.^^ Zelebin's disorder 
 increased, and the fright had occasioned a fever, which was 
 likely to prove fatal. On the 28th of March it was my 
 lot to be employed under the greenhouse to which Zaida 
 usually paid her morning visit; nor did she fail that day ; 
 for I had scarce taken the spade in my hand when I saw 
 her veiled at the window. When the course of my spade 
 had brought me under the window, she dropped a tulip, 
 WMth which she had been playing, at my feet ; I took it up, 
 and ran round the building to present it to her, but before 
 I could reach the entrance she was gone. I returned, 
 admiring the largeness and colour of the flower, and was 
 struck by characters like letters in the inside. Examining 
 more attentively, I found the tulip lined with two folds of 
 fine paper, which I took out, and hardly had conveyed to 
 my pocket w^hen one of the keepers approached and took 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNA TUS WRIGHT. 75 
 
 the flower from me. With what impatience did I labour 
 through the day ! Evening came, and being alone in my 
 cell, I read the following letter : — 
 
 " Holy Alia protect thee, stranger ; I have enquired much 
 concerning thee, and feel a sharp pain when I see thee 
 treated cruelly. If thou seekest thy freedom, I will contrive 
 to give it, for I am loved by my father's servants, who will 
 not betray me. I have provided for thee a Moorish turban, 
 and a rich hyke, in which thou mayest pass concealed. 
 There is another present which I would give thee, but thou 
 shalt see it first, for it may be burthensome to thee. If 
 thou wilt be early with thy spade at the greenhouse, I will 
 shew thee what I would give thee. Be cheerful, stranger, 
 for if Alia will permit, I will do thee much good." 
 
 All the impatience of the day equalled not the restlessness 
 of the night. I was up before the birds, and at day-break 
 the spade was in the earth ; Zaida came with the sun, and 
 observing none near but me she threw back her veil, and 
 looking on me with a sweet confusion, dropped another 
 tulip and retired. It was the first time I had seen her face, 
 and some moments passed before I could take my eyes from 
 the window. I conveyed the flower to my pocket-book, and 
 worked through the day in a hurry of joy that was painful to 
 support. The burthen of the tulip was this : — ■ 
 
 " Stranger, thou hast now seen what I would give thee ; 
 but then I would have thee ask it. I will consent to be thy 
 wife if thou wilt take me with thee to thy own country. 
 There is a French ship now near Arzew, and the French 
 will carry us anywhere for money. But say not thou wilt 
 take me, if thou hatest me. Speak thy mind, for I will do 
 thee good in whatever way thou desirest. Holy Alia watch 
 over thee." 
 
 With my pencil I wrote the following answer at the back 
 of her letter : — 
 
 "Great Alia reward thee, gentle Moor ; I will not only 
 
76 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 ask what thou shewedst to me this morning ; but I call our 
 prophet to witness that I will have no other wife but thee. 
 Whatever thou desirest I will do ; but there is one captive 
 who hath been kind to me, and I would free him too." 
 
 This she received from the window, and retiring a few 
 minutes, returned and said in her native tongue : " Be thou 
 and thy captive friend at the garden door to-morrow at nine 
 of the night." 
 
 The wished-for evening came, and Zaida with her own 
 hands opened the door, attended by a faithful servant, and 
 informed me that her father could not live another night ; 
 that horses and dresses were ready, and she had sent bv her 
 servant to a hut on the waterside all the money with which 
 her father had entrusted her ; and that a French privateer 
 was preparing to sail in less than two hours. I urged her 
 immediate departure, and she gave me a turban and a satin 
 hyke, and my fellow^ captive the coarse dress of a slave, 
 covering herself in the like garment, that all might pass as 
 my servants. Thus prepared, we w'alked silently from the 
 house before ten, and at a small distance mounting our 
 horses, arrived in a short time at the hut. The captive 
 Swede, whom I had released, immediately went on board 
 the privateer to learn her destination, and was informed 
 that she had orders to cruise near Malta, in order to take a 
 bold Englishman, called Fortunatus Wright ; and if the 
 winds would permit, we should be landed in that island. 
 In a few minutes we sailed, and the next morning were 
 many miles distant from Africa. 
 
 Ten days were passed before we obtained a sight of Malta, 
 and Ave had scarce dreamed of landing there when a signal 
 was made for standing out to sea in pursuit of a ship, which 
 upon a nearer view was found to be the very privateer which 
 the French captain had orders to take. Instantly I ran 
 down, took Zaida in my arms, and supported her courage 
 with all the animatine: words I was master of. Once she 
 
CAPTAIN FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. 77 
 
 sunk upon my breast, and I had but just recovered her 
 when the signal was made for the engagement. The fire 
 became hot, and the conflict bloody. I continued com- 
 forting Zaida till the event became doubtful, when pretending 
 to her we w^ere victorious, I sprung upon the deck, and 
 observing that the English endeavoured to board us ahead, 
 I slew the first who attempted our deck, and beckoning to 
 the French to follow me, leapt on board the enemy's 
 ship, unseconded by any, excepting my Swedish fellow- 
 captive, who seeing me overpowered, leapt back and 
 regained his ship. Thus I was made a prisoner, and my 
 fair Moor left a prey to all the wretchedness of despair. 
 After several vain attempts to board each other, the two 
 ships parted, the French steered towards France, and I was 
 carried into Malta. Good heaven ! how soon was changed 
 the gladsome prospect of happiness to the darkest view of 
 miserv ! The good captain, whose prisoner I was, observing 
 my despondence, ordered me to be set free, though I had 
 killed one of his men ; and when I informed him, by a 
 Maltese interpreter, of my unhappy story, and my resolution 
 to ^o in quest of Zaida, he gave me one hundred guineas, 
 and advised me to sail for England ; " where, though I am 
 unhappily exiled from it," said he, " you will be generously 
 treated, and will hear the fate of the French privateer." He 
 then informed me of her name, and the port from which she 
 was sent; "when you find that she is landed, you will 
 then be at liberty," said he, " to visit France, and if the 
 French captain be generous as he seems brave, he will 
 restore his passenger with all her possessions." He recom- 
 mended me to an English captain then at Malta, and having 
 kindly wished me good fortune, we parted. 
 
 Two long months I was tossed at sea ; on the loth of 
 August we arrived at our destined port, where the first 
 object that struck my eyes was the French vessel in which I 
 left the lovely Zaida ; hope and fear almost deprived me of 
 
78 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 reason ; with difficulty I told the captain all my story, and 
 he, with the readiness of friendship, sent his boat to enquire 
 whether any woman were taken prisoner on board the French 
 prize ; but we received no information, for the sailors who 
 then manned the ship were strangers to her captain. We 
 landed at a fair town,* on the banks of a small river called 
 Avon ; and the captain, who had not drowned his humanity 
 in the rough element on which he traded, conveyed me to 
 the prison, where after searching various apartments, at 
 last I found my fair afiflicted Zaida lying on the ground 
 w^ith her head on the lap of her woman, and the Swede 
 sitting near to guard her. As soon as she saw me her voice 
 failed her ; I had almost lost her by an agony of astonish- 
 ment and joy as soon as I had recovered her. Hours were 
 counted ere she would believe her senses, and even days 
 passed over us, in which she sat with a silent admiration, 
 and even still doubts whether all is real. 
 
 Bristol. 
 
79 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Privateers of the Sp:ven Years' War. 
 
 In 1745, Captain Robinson, who had put into the Isle of 
 Skye during his passage from the Bahic, brought the news 
 to Liverpool that the Young Pretender had landed in 
 Scotland. An express was immediately despatched to the 
 Secretary of State with this important intelligence, and 
 vigorous preparations were made to defend the town in 
 case of attack. The sum of ^6,000 was quickly contributed 
 to defray expenses ; and a regiment called the "Liverpool 
 Blues," 900 strong, was raised from amongst the inhabi- 
 tants. The Jacobites passed within 16 miles of Liverpool, 
 but did not dare to risk an encounter with the local forces. 
 When the Duke of Cumberland pursued the retreating 
 insurgents, the Blues, thirsting for glory, joined his army 
 and assisted at the siege of Carlisle. 
 
 In 1746, one of the most gallant defences recorded in 
 naval annals was made by Captain Nehemiah Holland 
 and crew, of the Liverpool ship Ann Galley^ bound for 
 Antigua. Her crew consisted of 14 men, with four guns 
 of one-and-a-half inch bore, six muskets, six pistols, and 
 six cutlasses. When in sight of Antigua, she was attacked 
 by a French privateer, mounting 10 six-pounders, with 100 
 men. The action was fought in view of the people on the 
 island. The French boarded the Ann Galley three several 
 times, but were driven back each time with considerable 
 loss, leaving, ultimately, 18 of their crew dead on the 
 English ship, and 50 to 60 wounded on their own vessel. 
 The Ann Galley did not lose a single man. The defence 
 
80 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Avas conducted with considerable skill. Preparations had 
 been made by barricades to protect the crew against 
 boarding ; and trains of powder were laid to explode every 
 time the assault was made, which wrought havoc amongst 
 the boarders. The Ann Galley took fire twice during the 
 engagement. In a list of Liverpool ships, published in 
 1753, she appears as a Guineaman, owned by Messrs. Wm. 
 Whalley & Co., carrying 340 slaves, and still commanded 
 by the valiant Nehemiah. 
 
 On the ship's return to Liverpool, Captain Holland 
 was presented by his owners with a silver punch bowl, 
 containing two gallons, with the following inscription 
 engraved : — 
 
 "The gift of the owners, to Nehemiah Holland, Captain 
 of the Ann Galley, who, with inimitable bravery, preserved 
 and defended her against the infinitely superior force of a 
 French enemy, August 21, 1746."* 
 
 In 1749, a Liverpool privateer captured a French sloop 
 of war called Le Lion D'Or, which was subsequently con- 
 verted into a whaling vessel. As the Golden Lion, she 
 sailed from Liverpool in 1750 for the Greenland fishery, 
 being the first vessel from Liverpool to engage in the trade. 
 In the Mayer Collection in the Public Museum, William 
 Brown Street, is a noble punch bowl, seventeen and a-half 
 inches in diameter, presented in 1753 to Captain Metcalf, of 
 the ship Golden Lion, by his employers, on the completion 
 of her second successful voyage in the Greenland Whale 
 Fishery. It is painted in blue, with a representation of the 
 ship inside the bowl. The following is a copy of proposals, 
 in 1749, for the purchase of the vessel in shares, and for 
 fitting her out for the Greenland trade, with the names or 
 firms of the merchants who subscribed to them, and em- 
 barked in the concern, and of the shares which they 
 respectively took : — 
 
 *In Picton's Memorials of Liveqiool the ship is incorrectly called the Ann Galkey. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 81 
 
 " Proposals from Goore and Bulkeley to all such 
 persons as shall become Subscribers hereto, for the 
 sale of the ship Golden Lion^ now belonging to them, 
 and for fitting her out for the Greenland Whale 
 Fishing Trade for the next season. 
 
 " 1st. — That they, the said Goore and Bulkeley, do con- 
 sent and agree to take the sum of Two Thousand Pounds 
 sterling for the Vessel and her Materials (the Great Guns 
 with their Tackle and Firearms only excepted), the Persons 
 subscribing hereto do oblige themselves respectively to pay 
 his or their proportion according to the amount of the share 
 subscribed for towards the Payment of the said sum of two 
 thousand Pounds in two months from the Date of the Bill 
 of sale. 
 
 " 2nd.- — ^That the Joint Concern in the said Vessel shall 
 be divided into twenty or more equal shares, every Person 
 having the liberty of Subscribing one Share more or less, 
 so that none subscribe for less than half a share. 
 
 "3rd. — That twenty shares being subscribed for, the 
 Bargain shall be valid, otherwise void. 
 
 "4th. — That the Subscription being completed, every 
 Subscriber shall and is obliged to pay his or their Proportion 
 of the Outfit, Disbursements, Wages, or other Charges, 
 into the Hands of the Persons appointed Managers, when 
 and as often as by them the said Managers required. 
 
 "5th. — That the Subscribers, or a Majority of them, do 
 immediately after the Completion hereof, appoint two or 
 more of the said Subscribers to be Agents for the directing 
 of the whole Proceedings of the Voyage and equipping the 
 Vessel. 
 
 " Lastly, the said Goore and Bulkeley agree on their Part 
 to hold one whole share. — In witness whereof. We the 
 Persons willing to be concerned have Subscribed our 
 Names and Shares this eighteenth Day of December, 1749.' 
 
 F 
 
82 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 SHARES. 
 
 Thos, & John Backhouse. — half a Share 
 
 John Nicholson & Co. — half a Share. 
 
 David Edie. — half a Share. 
 
 Joseph Jackson. — half a Share. 
 
 Jo : Manesty. — half a Share. 
 
 Richd. Nicholas. — half a Share. 
 
 Jas. Gordon. — half a Share. 
 
 Thos. Shaw. — half a Share. 
 
 John Atherton. — half a Share. 
 
 Heywood Benson & Co. — half a Share. 
 
 John Parke. — half a Share. 
 
 Richd. Golightly. — half a Share. 
 
 Owen Prichard. — half a Share. 
 
 Tho. Mears for Self, & John Okill.— half a Share. 
 
 Richard Savage. — half a Share. 
 
 Charles Goore for William Hurst. — half a Share. 
 
 Charles Goore for Nathl. Bassnett. — One Share. 
 
 Thomas Seel. — One Share. 
 
 Foster Cunliffe & Sons. — One Share, 
 
 Saml. Ogden. — One Share. 
 
 Edwd. Trafford. — One Share. 
 John Knig-ht. — One Share. 
 John Brooks. — One Share. 
 John Hardman. — One Share. 
 
 Sam. Shaw. — half a Share. 
 
 Jam. Crosbie. — half a Share. 
 
 Chas. Lowndes. — half a Share. 
 
 Edwd. Cropper. — half a Share. 
 
 John Tarleton. — half a Share. 
 
 Law"- Spencer. — half a Share. 
 
 Edward Lowndes. — half a Share. 
 
 Edward Parr. — half a Share. 
 
 Edwd. Roug-hsedg-e. — half a Share. 
 
 Joseph Bird. — half a Share. 
 
 John Seddon. — half a Share. 
 
 James Pardee. — half a Share. 
 
 John Entwistle. — half a Share.* 
 
 *From the original in the possession of the late Mr. Samuel Staniforth, re- 
 printed in Brooke's History. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 83 
 
 So catholic was the spirit of enterprise displayed by most 
 of these gentlemen, that their commercial operations em- 
 braced not only whales but negroes, and for one whale's 
 blubber melted by their agency, they might have counted 
 thousands of human hea'rts either stilled for ever, or crushed 
 by lifelong slavery. Messrs. John Okill & Co., were the 
 only African Merchants not engaged in the slave trade. 
 
 The vessel, after being commanded for a long time by 
 Captain Metcalf, was lost, whilst a full ship, as it was termed, 
 in coming out of the ice during one of her voyages. She 
 was accustomed, when in Liverpool, to lie near the south 
 west corner of the Old Dock ; which, from that circumstance, 
 was called the Golden Lion berth. She ought not to be 
 confounded with another well-known but more modern 
 vessel, called after the former, also, the Golden Lion, which 
 was commanded by Captain Thompson. The latter was 
 employed in the same trade, and belonged to Messrs. 
 T. Staniforth & Sons. She was afterwards withdrawn from 
 the fishery, let out to the Government, and employed in 
 the victualling service, and whilst so employed, in coming 
 home from the Mediterranean, was captured by the French. 
 We shall have occasion to notice her later on. The first 
 ship built at Liverpool, and employed in the trade, was 
 launched in the year 1775, from Mr. Sutton's yard. 
 
 The Greenland Fishery was then of importance to 
 Liverpool, and one of the principal merchants concerned in 
 it was Mr. Thomas Staniforth, father of "Sulky Sam." 
 It fluctuated very much, but at one time there were 
 twenty-three ships from Liverpool employed in it. 
 The seamen engaged in it were, as an encouragement 
 to the Greenland trade, protected by Parliamentary 
 enactments against impressment. "Instances," says Brooke, 
 "were not unfrequent during the war, of a body of 
 seamen engaged in that trade, going to the Liverpool 
 Custom-house armed with harpoons and whaling knives to 
 
84 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 defend themselves against the press-gang, until they could 
 reach the Custom-house, where lists of their names being 
 furnished, on oath, by the owners, the seamen gave security 
 to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs, to 
 proceed in the vessels to which they belonged to the 
 Greenland Seas, or Davis' Straits, in the whale fishery, in 
 the following season ; and they then received a certificate of 
 protection, under the provisions of the Acts of Parliament, 
 13th George the Second, Chap. 28, Sec. 5; nth George 
 the Third, Chap. 38, Sec. 19 ; 26th George the Third, 
 Chap. 41, Sec. 17, and 31st George the Third, Chap. 43, 
 Sec. 5 ; and they were then privileged from impressment 
 until after the expiration of the season of the fishery, and 
 until the termination of the voyage. Every harpooner, line 
 manager, or boat-steerer who had given such security as 
 above-mentioned, was allowed to sail in the colliery or 
 coasting trade, without being liable to be impressed during 
 the time of the year that they were not employed in the 
 fishery." 
 
 A building for extracting the oil from the fat or blubber 
 of whales, and provided with boilers for that purpose, was 
 erected by Mr. Nathan Kershaw at the south end of the 
 Queen's Dock, near the bottom of Greenland Street ; and 
 since the enlargment of the dock, the site of the building 
 now forms a part of it. Mr. Kershaw also endeavoured to 
 establish the manufacture of glue there, from the skin of 
 whales' tails, butthe whole works werea failure, and the odour 
 from them was anything but agreeable to the neighbourhood. 
 The Liverpool branch of the Greenland trade gradually 
 declined, until it ceased to exist. One of the last vessels 
 remaining in that trade was the Lion^ Captain Hawkins, 
 belonging to Mr. Staniforth. He sold her to Mr. Hurry, 
 and she was afterwards lost in the ice in 18 17, but the crew 
 were saved. 
 
 When the press-gangs came on shore the utmost confusion 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 85 
 
 and dismay took place among the denizens of Bridge Street, 
 Wapping, Little Bird Street, and thereabout. On the 
 30th of June, 1755, upon the arrival of the ship Upton in 
 the river, from Maryland, the Winchelsea man-of-war, then 
 lying at anchor off the town, sent her barge, under the 
 command of a lieutenant, to board her. On the Upton's 
 men finding the barge's intention, they seized their 
 captain and chief officer and fastened them in the cabin. 
 As the Winchelsea^ s barge ran alongside, the Upton's men 
 swore that the man-of-war's men should not board them, 
 and if they did they would depress their guns and fire upon 
 them. At that time every merchantman was more or less 
 armed, and able to make a stout resistance in case of 
 attack. Seeing matters thus formidable, the Winchelsea^ s 
 barge sheered off to put back for a reinforcement. The 
 Upton's men, seeing this, lowered their yawl and pulled to 
 shore. They were, however, followed by the Winchelsea' s 
 men, when a fierce encounter took place, shots being fired 
 on both sides, the struggle ending by the yawl being 
 upset. Two of the crew swam ashore, 15 others were 
 captured, and two were drowned. The officer commanding 
 the barge was shot in the cheek, the ball passing clean 
 through his mouth. Several seamen on both sides were 
 mortally wounded.* 
 
 In 1750, six convicts who had been transported for 14 
 years and shipped at Liverpool, rose at sea, shot the 
 captain, overcame and confined the seamen, and kep 
 possession of the vessel nineteen days. Coming in sight of 
 Cape Hatteras, they hoisted out the boat to go on shore, 
 when a boy whom they had not confined hailed a passing 
 vessel and attempted to make known the position of affairs, 
 but was prevented. The wretches then drove a spike up 
 through his under and upper jaws, and wound spun yarn 
 
 *In Stonehouse's " Streets of Liverpool," the date of this incident is erroneously 
 given as .May 30th, 1775. 
 
86 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 round the end that came out near his nose, to prevent his 
 getting it out. They then cut away the sails from the 
 yards, left the ship and went on shore. " But," says the 
 Pennsylvania Gazette of August 1 1, "a New England sloop 
 coming by soon after, and seeing a ship driving in the sea 
 in that manner, boarded her, found things as described, 
 and carried her into North Carolina, from whence a hue and 
 cry went after the villains, who had strolled along to 
 Virginia. They were taken at Norfolk, and one of them 
 confessed the fact, upon which they were ordered up to 
 Williamsburg for trial as pirates." 
 
 In August, 1753, fourteen Danish ships, laden with 
 timber, were seized at Liverpool; "the reason whereof 
 was," says the paper, "because it was of the growth of 
 Livonia, and Danish ships act contrary to treaty when they 
 bring other wood into England than that of the product of 
 their own country." 
 
 In May, 1756, the peaceful pursuits of commerce received 
 a rude shock in Liverpool and other parts of the country by 
 the commencement of another war with France. In the 
 previous wars the trade of Liverpool had suffered much less 
 than that of London, Hull and Bristol from the privateers of 
 the enemy, but at the outset of the Seven Years' War — " the 
 most glorious war in which England had ever been 
 engaged," as Lord Macaulay calls it, — swift and well armed 
 French privateers found their way into the North passage 
 and the Irish sea, and kept Liverpool blockaded for many 
 weeks. Great damage was inflicted on the commerce of the 
 port, and the town itself was threatened with attack by the 
 gallant Thurot. This war continued during the whole of 
 the remainder of the reign of George the Second, and during 
 the first and second years of George the Third. The early 
 part of the contest was marked by very humiliating disasters, 
 both on sea and land, but the latter part of it, carried on 
 under the vip-orous administration of the first William 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 87 
 
 Pitt, was extremely successful, terminating gloriously for 
 England at the Peace of Paris, in 1763. Canada and all 
 the other French possessions in North America were 
 conquered by Wolfe and Amherst ; the rich province of 
 Bengal was captured by Clive ; and the French fleets, after 
 having been victorious over the unfortunate Byng, were in 
 their turn defeated by Hawke and Boscawen. 
 
 The spirited manner in which the French commenced 
 the war, and the superiority and activity of their privateers, 
 caused an immediate and enormous increase in the 
 premium for insurance against sea risks. The rates on 
 vessels from Liverpool to Jamaica rose to twelve guineas 
 per cent.; to North America to ten guineas ; from Carolina 
 to Cowes and a market to twenty guineas ; from North 
 America to Jamaica to twelve guineas ; from Liverpool to 
 Gibraltar to twenty guineas ; and from Newfoundland to 
 the Mediterranean twenty-five guineas ; rates almost 
 sufficient to put an end to commercial enterprise. 
 
 As trade no longer "flourished and spread her golden 
 wings so extensively," but had come almost to a standstill, 
 the Liverpool merchants took a leaf out of the enemy's 
 book, and forthwith began to fit out their ships as privateers 
 and, in some cases, to build new vessels for the specific 
 purpose of cruising against the enemies of Great Britain. 
 The Revenge, Mandrin, and Anson privateers sailed from 
 the port on the first of July, 1756, and the Brave Blakeney 
 followed in August. These vessels were very successful on 
 their first cruise, particularly the Anson, which returned in a 
 few weeks with a French West Indiaman worth ;^20,ooo ; 
 and the Brave Blakeney, which brought in two other prizes 
 of great value, named La Gloire and Le Juste. Then the 
 whole community became mad after privateering, and 
 shares in these ventures were eagerly taken up.* Other 
 
 * Soon after war had been declared, Messrs. Edmund Rigby and Sons, iron- 
 mongers, advertised that they had contracted with the proprietors of Birsham 
 Foundry for the delivery of a large quantity of good swivel and carriage guns. 
 
88 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 privateers were fitted out and sailed in the following order : 
 The Mercury, on November 20th ; the Isaac, on the 29th ; 
 the new Ansofi, on December 3rd ; and the Grand Buck, 
 on the 8th. In the following year two other privateers 
 sailed, i^cv^ King of Prussia on January 29th, and the Liverpool 
 on June loth, 1757. In 1758, the Resolution and the Spy 
 were sent out to prey on the enemy's commerce. The 
 French, however, played at the same game, with equal, if 
 not greater vigour. It was calculated that at the beginning 
 of March, 1757, the French had at sea no less than 200 
 privateers, while many more were being built. 
 
 On the ist of July, 1756, the Anson privateer, Captain 
 Edward Fryer, a brigantine of 150 tons burthen, 16 carriage 
 guns (four, six, and nine-pounders), 24 swivels, and 100 men, 
 belonging to Mr. George Campbell, a member of the 
 Common Council, sailed on a cruise. A captain who spoke 
 her off the Tuskar, reported that she sailed very fast, and 
 that '* the men were in great spirits, giving him three 
 cheers, with their cutlasses brandished over their heads," in 
 a very suggestive manner. Before the 19th of July, the 
 Anson had taken four prizes, one being a storeship, bound 
 to Canada with a number of French officers, 300 cannon, 
 and other warlike material, as well as important despatches 
 on board. In the Bay of Biscay, the Anson encountered 
 La Juno, a Bayonne privateer of 12 guns and 108 men, 
 which she captured and carried into Kinsale, after an 
 
 They also sold iron balls, cast in moulds, and "much preferable to those cast in 
 sand." The guns had been proved l)y the Woolwich proof, but }nu-chasers 
 were at liberty to prove them again. Would Messrs. Armstrong or Herr Krupp 
 have shown more enterprise, had they lived in 1756 ? Gunpowder was then 
 manufactured by Messrs. Cunliffe, Stanton and Craven, at their mills at Thelwall, 
 the powder being stored at the Black Rock Magazine, in Cheshire. Messrs. 
 Cunliffe & Co., advertised " damaged gunpowder wrought over again fit for service, 
 at 20s. per barrel. " Prior to this date there was a powder-house on Brownlow- Hill, 
 opposite the spot which is now the north end of Clarence Street. The building 
 was used for the confinement of prisoners of war, during the American Revolu- 
 tionary struggle. The records of the mock Corporation of Sephton mention Mr. 
 John Stanton as holding the office of "contractor for gunpowder," while a Mr. 
 Matthews was "hooper, cooper, and powder-keg maker" to the same convivial, 
 but really influential body. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 89 
 
 engagement of four hours and a half, in which the French 
 had four men killed and several wounded. The August 
 number of the ''Gentleman's Magazine" stated that the 
 Anson had already made "above 5,000 per cent, of what 
 Avas expended in fitting her out." 
 
 On the 20th of September, the Anson fell in with the frigate 
 Artabonetta, 320 tons burthen, 14 guns, from St. Domingo 
 for Nantz, and took her after an engagement of two hours, 
 in which the prize had three men killed and two wounded, 
 her rigging maltreated, and her sails shot to rags. " The 
 Anson's people," piously observes the editor of Williamson'' s 
 Advertiser^ " have had particular marks of Providence 
 conferred on them this cruise ; for though they have taken 
 the Alexander^ a prize of upwards of 400 tons, outward 
 bound, worth ;^5,ooo, and the JiinOy a privateer of equal 
 force with themselves (besides the forementioned prize), yet 
 not one of their hands has received the least damage." The 
 cargo of the Artabonetta, consisting of sugar, coffee, indigo, 
 and "superfine St. Domingo cotton," was valued at 
 ^20,000. Both the Artabonetta and the Young Alexander 
 were sold by the candle at R. Williamson's shop, near the 
 Exchange. Captain Fryer did not sail again in the Anso/i, 
 but took command of the Hope (Letter of Marque), 300 tons 
 and 18 guns, besides swivels, which was advertised to sail 
 for Barbadoes, touching at the Cape de Verd Islands, and 
 which offered " good encouragement for seamen and able- 
 bodied landmen wishing to try their fortunes." 
 
 The new commander of the Anson was Captain Gersham 
 Speers, and on the 28th of January, 1757, she sailed on 
 another cruise, in consort with the Blakeney^ Captain 
 George Fowler. On March nth, they passed through the 
 Straits of Gibraltar, and on May 28th boarded a French 
 polacca, freighted with Turks and their effects, from 
 Alexandria for Tripoli, whom they ransomed for 1,000 
 Barbary dollars. On June 3rd, they fell in with another 
 
90 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 French polacca, which they ransomed for 600 Barbary 
 zequins. A few days later they saw four sail, and gave 
 chase to a snow, which hoisted Turkish colours and ran on 
 shore on the Barbary coast. The privateers then stood off 
 and gave chase to a large ship in the offing, which gave 
 them the slip. They pursued two sail to leeward, and 
 captured a French brig from Smyrna for Marseilles. 
 The French captain informed them that the large ship was 
 one of the convoy, and that the snow was his consort. They 
 then stood in shore, sent their boats on board her, soon 
 after got her afloat, and made sail with their two prizes for 
 Cagliari. They appear to have made three other captures 
 on the way to that port, one of which was re-taken by a 
 Maltese man-of-war. From Cagliari, they sailed for 
 Gibraltar, where they arrived safe, after beating off a 5tout 
 French privateer. Having got two of their prizes con- 
 demned there, they convoyed them to Liverpool, but were 
 parted from them in a gale of wind, one of the prizes, the 
 brig Union^ going on shore on the coast of Ireland. Some 
 of the cargo was saved and sold by auction in Liverpool, as 
 also was the other prize, the "good snow St. Nicholas^'" 
 and in March, 1758, the two fortunate privateers were also 
 brought under the hammer. 
 
 The Brave Blakeney privateer. Captain William Day, a 
 brigantine of 14 carriage-guns and 20 swivels, also belong- 
 ing to Mr. George Campbell, sailed from the Mersey in 
 August, 1756, and falling in with the Haisoke privateer, of 
 Exeter, agreed to cruise in company. On the 6th of 
 October, Cape Finisterre bearing W.S.W. about 25 
 leagues, they chased and came up with two ships and two 
 snows from St. Domingo, which drew up in a line to 
 engage the privateers. The two ships were the Rohuste, a 
 French Guineaman of 14 guns and about 40 men, and the 
 Le Juste, 450 tons, 22 guns (10 of which proved to be wooden 
 ones), 4 swivels and 27 men. The Blakeney being the fore- 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 91 
 
 most of the two privateers, shot ahead of the Robiiste, and 
 attacked the Le Jtiste, who returned his fire very briskly, 
 aided by one of the snows that lay ahead of the privateer, and 
 the other upon his weather quarter. They all fought the 
 Blakeney two hours, the Haivke's metal not being heavy 
 enough to enable her to assist her consort, and then the Le 
 Juste struck. In the meantime the Ha-wke came up and 
 bravely boarded the Robtiste, which was astern, the French- 
 men running from their quarters immediately on the 
 appearance of the boarders. Their captain was shot in his 
 thigh. When Captain Day had secured the Le Juste, he gave 
 chase to the snow, La Gloire, which had crowded away 
 while he lay by fishing his wounded masts, which caused 
 a delay of nearly an hour. In endeavouring to escape, the 
 snow threw overboard four guns, a sheet anchor and best 
 bower cable ; but the Blakeney got alongside of her, fought 
 her, and took her. In the engagement, a crossbar shot 
 broke the shank of one of the Blakeney' s anchors, and a 
 piece of the bar passing between the thighs of one poor 
 fellow, took most part of the flesh away on each side. Two 
 other men were also wounded. The Hawke received con- 
 siderable damage, and had one man killed, while another 
 man had his arm shot off, and another a leg broken. As 
 soon as Captain Hewston, of the Harvke, had secured his 
 prize, he gave chase to the second snow, the Victoire, of lo 
 guns, which escaped under cover of night. When the 
 Blakeney engaged the four vessels, she had only 13 guns 
 (viz., 2 nine-pounders, i six-pounder, 2 four-pounders, 8 
 three-pounders), 20 swivels and 67 men and boys on board. 
 All the ships were much damaged in the action, and lay 
 some time to refit. After manning both his prizes. Captain 
 Day had only 45 men left on board his own ship, besides 
 Frenchmen, who were superior in number. The united 
 cargoes of the two prizes, which arrived safe in Liverpool, 
 consisted of the following : — 
 
92 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 232 hog"sheads 3 tierces 195 barrels White Sugar. 
 547 do. 28 do. 27 do. Muscovada Sugar. 
 
 288 do. — do. 218 do. Coffee. 
 15 do. — • do. 4 do. Indigo. 
 
 And some hundreds of hides. 
 
 In August, 1757, we find Captain Day in command of 
 the Prussian Hero (Letter of Marque), 400 tons burthen, 20 
 guns (six and nine-pounders) and 80 men, belonging to Mr. 
 Richard Savage, and engaged in the American and West 
 India trade. In March, 1758, on his outward vo3^age, he 
 fell in with five French privateers off Martinico, three of 
 whom engaged him at once, but after a smart fire he got 
 clear of them. Off the east end of Jamaica, he was attacked 
 by a privateer of 16 guns, full of men, who ran his jib- 
 boom into Captain Day's mizen shrouds, where it was 
 immediately lashed, and as fast as the Frenchmen boarded 
 the ship, they were as vigorously repulsed, the Captain 
 animating his men in a surprising manner, and killing ten 
 of the enemy with his own hand. The slaughter was so 
 great that the deck ran with blood. However, Captain 
 Day, finding there was no likelihood of overpowering them, 
 on account of the superiority of their number, cut the lash- 
 ings, and his mainsail filling, he soon left them. The 
 engagement lasted about two hours, and Captain Day had 
 only one man killed. 
 
 The names of two or three Liverpool estates are derived 
 from valuable prizes made by privateers belonging to the 
 port. The St. Domingo estate, in Everton, was so called 
 by Mr. George Campbell, who, in 1755, purchased the first 
 lot of land thereabouts from the Halsall family. In 1758, 
 he frequently added to it, and gave it the name it bears to 
 commemorate the capture of the rich St. Domingo ships 
 by his privateers. The mansion, erected by Mr. Campbell, 
 was a rather eccentric sort of place, resembling an ecclesi- 
 astical edifice. The history of this house is rather curious. 
 
THE SEVEX YEARS' WAR. 93 
 
 After Mr. Campbell's death, the property was purchased from 
 his executors by xMr. Crosbie for ^3,800. Mr. Crosbie 
 having paid down ^680 deposit, was unable to complete 
 his bargain, and became bankrupt. The estate was then 
 put up for sale at the Pontack, in Water Street, but no sale 
 was effected. Eventually Messrs. Gregson, Bridge and 
 Parke became the purchasers at the price Mr. Crosbie had 
 agreed to pay for it, in addition to his forfeit money. These 
 gentlemen, in 1773, resold the estate to Mr. John Sparling, 
 merchant, who was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1785, 
 and Mayor of Liverpool in 1790, for ;^3,470, thus entailing 
 on the three speculators a loss. Mr. Sparling took down the 
 old house and erected a handsome mansion, into which he 
 removed from a large house in Duke Street, the second 
 below York Street on the south side. Mr. Sparling was 
 one of the old school, appearing on 'Change in knee 
 breeches, broad-flapped coat, gold laced waistcoat, broad 
 shoes with gold buckles, and wearing a three-cornered hat. 
 He left a proviso in his will that the St. Domingo estate 
 should be occupied by no other than a "Sparling" by 
 name. Finding it impossible to get a tenant under this 
 condition, the will was set aside, in 1810, by an Act of 
 Parliament to nullify the clause and enable the executors to 
 sell the property. Mr. Sparling was interred in Walton 
 Churchyard, where he erected, in his lifetime, a handsome 
 tomb, which he could see from the windows of his mansion. 
 He was the projector of the Queen's Dock, which he dis- 
 posed of to the Dock Trustees in 1783. In 181 1, his 
 executors sold the St. Domingo estate for ;^20,295 to 
 Messrs. Ewart and Litt. Mr. Ewart next purchased Mr. 
 Litt's interest, and on the 13th September, 1812, re-sold the 
 estate to the Government, to be converted into barracks. 
 The price was ;^26,383, subject to 19s. 3d. lord's rent. 
 Prince William of Gloucester, resided at St. Domingo 
 House, when Commandant of the district, in 1803. The 
 
94 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 Prince was very affable, and made himself exceedingly- 
 popular in the neighbourhood. Scandal said that he was 
 often to be seen turning down Gloucester Place of an 
 evening, to visit a fair lady who dwelt therein. St. 
 Domingo estate was next sold in two lots, one lot, the 
 land, being bought by Mr. Atherton, and the other, the 
 mansion, by Mr. Macgregor. Soon after the purchase 
 had been completed, Mr. Atherton inquired of Mr. Mac- 
 gregor when he was going to take away his house. Mr. 
 Macgregor said he did not intend to do so. " What do you 
 mean to do with it?" "Why, I think I shall let it, or 
 perhaps live in it myself." "Well, but how will you get 
 to it, because I have bought all the land around it, and you 
 have no right of way?" Mr. Macgregor found that he 
 was at Mr. Atherton's mercy, and, it was said, sold him 
 the mansion at a great loss. After other mutations, St. 
 Domingo House became, as at present, St. Edward's 
 College. 
 
 But to return to Mr. Campbell. In 1745, he commanded 
 the "Liverpool Blues," about which a good story is told 
 by Stonehouse. The regiment started one November 
 morning, about three o'clock, to march to Warrington to 
 guard the bridge, and, if need be, destroy it, as the Earl 
 of Cholmondely, the commandant of the district, either 
 from scarcity of workmen or distrust of the many Jacobites 
 in the neighbourhood, felt himself in a position of difficulty. 
 On arriving near Penketh Common, the vanguard of the 
 "Blues" was seen hastily retreating, when the main body 
 came to a halt. The valorous vanguard reported that there 
 was a large body of the enemy ahead, occupying the road 
 and part of the common. A party of skirmishers was then 
 sent forward, when terrific screams and shouts were heard 
 through the darkness of the night. It was then proposed 
 at a council of war, called on the emergency, that the main 
 body should deploy into the fields, and endeavour to take 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 95 
 
 the enemy in flank ; however, before the movement could 
 be effected, the skirmishers had come in with each a 
 prisoner in the shape of a goose, whereupon the main body 
 of the gallant "Blues" charged en masse and completed 
 the victory their advance guard had commenced ; and it 
 was said in Warrington that so many geese were never 
 cooked in one night as there were on the occasion of the 
 arrival of the " Liverpool Blues" in the town.* 
 
 Messrs. Henry Hardwar & Co., merchants, fitted out a 
 privateer known as the new Anson, a ship of about 200 tons 
 burthen, 12 carriage guns (nine-pounders), 24 swivels, and 
 130 men. She was commanded by Captain Wm. Cuthbert, 
 who had been first lieutenant of the brig Aiison^ and all the 
 officers and most of the brig's crew sailed with him from the 
 Mersey, on December 3rd, 1756. Four days later they 
 recaptured the Rebecca, of Hull, which arrived safe in 
 Liverpool, but was again taken on her passage from 
 Liverpool to Hull, and carried into Boulogne. Mr. Robert 
 Williamson advertised that he had a letter in his hands from 
 part of the crew, then in a French gaol, containing informa- 
 tion advantageous to the insurers, but he adds — " no letters 
 answered unless post paid." In June, 1757, the new Anson 
 was taken by the French, and the affair is thus described by 
 Capt. Cuthbert in a letter to his owners, written from "St. 
 John the Angelick, 40 miles from Rochelle " : — 
 
 " On the 12th inst., I fell in with a large fleet, to which I 
 gave chase ; fell in about the middle of them, and as there 
 were three large ships to windward, which I took to be the 
 convoy, edged to leeward, attempting to cut some of them 
 out ; but there found the Amitie frigate, of 24 guns and 250 
 men, which we engaged from half-an-hour past four to three- 
 quarters past seven o'clock, and as my brave lads behaved like 
 Englishmen, I believe we should have carried her, had not the 
 Warwick of 60 guns, and two more frigates, bore down upon 
 
 * "The Streets of Liverpool," by James Stonehouse, p. 211. 
 
96 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 us. As soon as they steered along-side, they g-ave me their 
 broadsides both from tlieir lower and upper decks. I gave 
 them one in return, and struck, after receiving- three shot 
 between wind and water, and most of my rigg-ing cut to pieces. 
 They have stripped all my people, and only left me two shirts 
 and two pair of stockings. I have at last prevailed on them 
 to permit Mr. Robinson (the first lieutenant) to come out of the 
 common jail in Rochelle, where all the rest of my brave boys 
 are confined, a French merchant having become surety for us ; 
 and I hear they are to be marched backwards into the country 
 lOO miles, till a general cartel is settled. I am not permitted 
 to say more." The Captain died soon after. 
 The Revenge privateer, Captain John Gyles, and the 
 jMandriUy Commodore Mackaffee, two schooners or 
 wherries, about 35 tons burthen, prime sailers, mounting 
 2 two-pounders and 20 swivels, sailed on a cruise, in 
 company, on July ist, 1756. Though small of size and 
 armament, they were great in daring, and soon met with 
 success. In August, the Mandrin sent into Crookhaven a 
 brigantine laden with iron and cheese for Brest, and about 
 the same time the two privateers took two Dutch ships out 
 of the river at Bordeaux. On September ist, the Revenge 
 captured the dogger Maria Esther., from Rochelle for the 
 Mississippi, with flour, pork, lead shot, Spanish bar iron, 
 cotton, flannel, knives, velvet, linen, '* Ozenbriggs," wine, 
 brandy, medicines, beaver hats, silk stockings, candles, 
 linen handkerchiefs, ruflled shirts, shifts, black pepper, and 
 other merchandise, which, together with the vessel, were 
 sold by auction at the Pontacks' and Merchants' Coffee- 
 houses. The Revenge returned from her cruise in October, 
 and the privateersmen, when they came on shore, " made 
 a handsome appearance, each man having a clean French 
 ruflled shirt on, which they had taken overboad a bark 
 bound to Bayonne. When the privateers boarded her 
 they found twenty-four Frenchmen hid below, and none 
 but Spaniards upon deck ; ho^vever, they took care," says 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 97 
 
 the paper, ''to ease them of their dollars, silver buckles, 
 private adventures, &c., and have brought in 732 ounces 
 of silver, 13 ounces of gold, five chests of India goods, two 
 tons of coffee, &c." The Mandrin having been blown on 
 shore in Bootle Bay, was sold by the candle at the shop 
 of the versatile Williamson. 
 
 In an age when charges of cowardice in face of the 
 enemy were freely made against admirals and commanders 
 in the Royal Navy, and courts martial were as common as 
 blackberries, it was not strange that a privateer captain 
 should fall under suspicion. The Advertiser of Nov. 5, 
 1756, contains "a vindication of Captain John Gyles' 
 character." The owners of the Mandrm and Revenge 
 privateers having appointed a meeting between Captain 
 Mackaffee and Captain Gyles, to hear a true statement of 
 the quarrel between the said captains, and to examine into 
 the cause of the report spread in the town, which had 
 defamed Captain Gyles by branding him with cowardice, 
 the parties met at Pontack's Coffee-house, when Captain 
 Mackaffee voluntarily signed a declaration completely 
 exonerating Captain Gyles, who, far from showing the 
 white feather, had single-handed attacked a French ship 
 before the Mandrm could come up. 
 
 The method of financing the brave but improvident 
 crews of the privateers was a curious one. In the paper 
 of Nov. 1 2th, a victualler named Edward Walker gives 
 notice that, having been appointed agent to the majority of 
 the companies of the Revenge and Mandrin privateers, lately 
 arrived from a cruise against the French, in which cruise 
 they took " several valuable prizes and private plunders from 
 the enemy," and having not only furnished many of the said 
 companies with meat, drink and lodging, but likewise upon 
 proper assignments procured Savil Wilson, merchant, of 
 Liverpool, to furnish them with money and apparel, which 
 thev were in great need of, therefore he naturally desired 
 
98 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 all payments and settlements of the said prizes and private 
 plunders, which concerned his clients, to be made to him ; 
 and no doubt Messrs. Savil Wilson and Edward Walker 
 made their own little private plunder out of the necessities 
 and recklessness of "poor Jack." 
 
 Prior to the publication of the "vindication" of his 
 character, Captain Gyles had been appointed commander of 
 the Mercury privateer, of i6 guns (six and nine-pounders), 
 24 swivels, and 130 men, belonging to Messrs. John 
 Hulton and Co., which sailed on a cruise the end of 
 November. On December 21st, Captain Gyles wrote to his 
 owners, from Castlehaven, as follows : — 
 
 "On the i6th of December, we g'ave chase to a French 
 ship of 22 guns, in latitude 43° 40', long-itude 11° 10', which 
 we came up with about 12 o'clock at noon (after having' fired 
 10 rounds of our bow-chase guns, nine-pounders, which they 
 answered with their stern-chase), and engaged broadside and 
 broadside for five glasses.* They shot away all our standing 
 rigging, wounded both our lower masts, and carried away our 
 Troysail mast ; hulled us in several places between w4nd and 
 water, and an unlucky shot struck us four feet under water. 
 We very soon had seven feet water in the hold, and expected 
 to sink every minute, the water being level with our platform, 
 and all our water casks afloat in the hold, which hindered us 
 from plugging the hole in the inside ; upon which we struck, 
 and called out for quarter, but the enemy kept a continued 
 fire into us, which determined us to throw all our guns over- 
 board, whilst part of our people were baling the water out of 
 the hatchway. Soon after the Frenchmen hove out a signal of 
 distress, but we could not assist one another, and I believe 
 never two ships were in a more shattered condition, for they 
 appeared to be as much disabled as ourselves. If it had not 
 been for that unfortunate shot, I believe we should have taken 
 her. Four of my men are killed and thirteen wounded. I 
 have received a shot in both legs, and have not been able to turn 
 
 * Two hours and a-half. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 99 
 
 myself in my hammock since. I am more concerned for the 
 loss of my cruise than my own wounds ; and if it please God 
 to spare my life, and one leg", I will have the other knock at 
 the French. As soon as the ship is in condition I shall return 
 to Liverpool." 
 
 A merchant at Kinsale, writing' five days later, informs 
 the owners that the Mercury was in a very shattered con- 
 dition. The crew, in their distress, had thrown overboard 
 12 carriage guns and most of the swivels, two anchors and 
 cables, and other articles. Their powder, bread, and most 
 of their stores were "ill damaged," three more of the 
 wounded men were dead, and two, besides the captain, 
 W'Cre dangerously ill on shore. Captain Gyles had been 
 w^ounded in both legs, two of the four wounds he received 
 in his left leg being very dangerous. The gallant 
 behaviour of Captain Gyles and his ship's company had 
 recommended them to Colonel Townshend and the gentry 
 of the neighbourhood, who were extremely kind to them. 
 It was supposed that the ship which engaged the Mercury* 
 was the Bristol., of Bordeaux, 22 guns, which on her arrival 
 at Rochelle, reported having fought an English privateer 
 of 16 guns, and left her sinking. 
 
 Captain Gyles arrived in Liverpool on January 20th, 
 1757, and in February a notice was inserted in the papers 
 
 '^Some question of marine insurance appears to have arisen in connection with 
 this privateer, as the following letter on the subject was addressed to the publisher 
 oixhQ Advertiser: — "Some disputes that have lately happened between the owners 
 and insurers of the Mercmy privateer, if they have no other good effect, are at least 
 sufficient to show us that our present method of insurance upon privateers is 
 greatly defective ; and that though the insurers have, upon account of certain 
 exceptions, been induced to run the risk of the whole for a very small premium, 
 yet the property of the adventurers has not thereby been truly secured. It is 
 therefore submitted to the consideration both of the adventurers and insurers, 
 whether it would not be more eligible to fix some premium, which should be 
 sufficient to pay all averages and losses whatsoever, except powder and shot ex- 
 pended in attacking or defending ; and also to insure for the whole cruise, for such 
 time as the crew are engaged, without any exception as to their coming into or 
 going out of port during such time ; and also to make a clause in the policy, that 
 in case the ship shall not be certainly seen in safety after the expiration of the 
 limited time, she shall after the expiration of months, be esteemed a lost 
 
 ship within the limits of the insurance and paid for accordingly." 
 
100 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 calling upon the crew of the Mercury to repair on board to 
 finish her six months' cruise, on pain of forfeiting their 
 share of prizes, and of being prosecuted for the advance 
 money by them received. She sailed from the Mersey on 
 the nth of March, and on the 25th recaptured, off Cape 
 Peiias, the ship Liverpool, from Jamaica for London, laden 
 with 247 hogsheads of sugar, 26 puncheons of rum, 8 
 hogsheads of ginger, 18 casks and 32 bags of pimento, i 
 bag of cotton, and 38 logs of mahogany, all of which were 
 duly sold by auction at the famous Merchants' Coffee-house. 
 On May 12th, they took possession of the brigantine John^ 
 of Greenock, laden with pickled salmon and iron hoops, 
 which was lying troy in the sea, without a soul on board, 
 and which they sent to Liverpool. 
 
 Little occurred to the Mercury, except daily speaking 
 neutral bottoms, and now and then an English privateer, 
 until May 25th, when they gave chase to a sail, which, as 
 soon as they came up with him, saluted them with a broad- 
 side, which they "returned freely." During the skirmish 
 he carried away the Mercurys main top-sail yard, and 
 damaged her rigging. Night coming on, they parted, but 
 fell to it again at three in the morning. At five. Captain 
 Gyles determined to board, steered alongside, and received 
 the enemy's whole fire. The Mercury s top-men called out 
 that he was well provided with close quarters, and had 
 double their number at small arms, whereupon the experi- 
 ment of boarding was abandoned as too dangerous. " We 
 engaged him an hour-and-a-half close alongside," says 
 Captain Gyles, in his journal, "and they answered our fire 
 briskly, carrying away our stays, braces, topmast and 
 futlock shrouds, great part of our rigging, and riddled our 
 sails. At eight, set the men to work, to splice and knot our 
 rigging, etc. Finding them so well provided, and double 
 the number of our people on board, we agreed to leave him, 
 and I apprehend he is an outward bound Angolaman. None 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 101 
 
 of my people were hurt, except the gunner, who received a 
 musket ball in his right breast." 
 
 On Sunday, July loth, while the Mercury was lying in 
 Fayal harbour, they saw a large ship in the offing, and 
 immediately gave chase, only to find, however, that they 
 had "got the wrong sow by the ear," the ship being a 
 French privateer of i8 guns and 200 men. They stood 
 away from him, but he followed and soon gave them the 
 contents of his four bow chase guns. They then hove their 
 broadside to him, and at four o'clock an engagement began, 
 which was warmly maintained by both sides till half-past 
 eight. The Mercury received three shot between wind and 
 water, and was otherwise much damaged, but no one on 
 board was hurt. Night coming on, they lay till morning, 
 expecting a renewal of the engagement, but as soon as day- 
 light appeared, they saw the enemy six leagues off. They 
 were obliged to keep one pump going. At twelve o'clock, 
 they felt a great shock, like an earthquake, and returned to 
 Fayal harbour. On the 14th July, they left Fayal, and off 
 Port Pine, where the French privateer had put in, "gave 
 Monsieur three cheers, which he returned," but durst not 
 follow them. On the 7th of August, in company with the 
 Bellona privateer, of London, they captured a Spanish snow, 
 laden with French goods, and sent her to England. 
 
 The snow Mary, Captain Richmond, in her passage from 
 Liverpool to America, was taken by the Le Roche privateer, 
 of 22 guns, and, nine days later, retaken by His Majesty's 
 ship Torbay, the captain of which, having taken all the 
 Frenchmen but two out of the prize, put eight Englishmen 
 on board to carry her into port. On the second night, after 
 they parted with the man-of-war, the two Frenchmen broke 
 into the cabin, where the master was sleeping, and killed 
 him, wounded most of the men, and confined them below 
 in the steerage for eight hours. One of the Englishmen, 
 by the glimpse of daylight, finding loopholes in the after 
 
102 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 bulkhead, luckily met with a musket, knocked a plug out, 
 and shot one of the Frenchmen dead. The other Frenchman 
 immediately jumped overboard, and clung to the rudder 
 ring. The Englishmen, having got him on board again, 
 had the humanity to spare his life, and carried him prisoner 
 to Dale, near Mil ford haven. About the same time, the 
 Landovery , Captain Johnson, from Liverpool for Jamaica, in 
 company with two other ships, two days after leaving Cork, 
 fell in with a large French privateer, which chased the 
 Landovery, and took her after an engagement of an 
 hour-and-a-half. The John, Captain Peter Gibson, on her 
 passage to Virginia, was taken by a French frigate and 
 scuttled. The crew were carried to Dinan and close confined, 
 except the Captain and mate, who had liberty to walk the 
 town within the walls. 
 
 One Sunday afternoon in October, 1756, the impressed 
 men confined on board the Bolton tender at Hoylake 
 mutinied, and, after knocking down the sentinels and 
 securing their arms, took possession of the vessel. In 
 attempting to recover the ship, the mate was knocked down 
 with the butt end of a musket by one of the mutineers, and 
 while he was down, two others struck him with an iron bar 
 and a handspike, "though entreated to the contrary by 
 several who begged for his life." He was then forced into 
 a boat and put on shore, where he died of his wounds in 
 two hours. Several people were " ill hurt in the scuffle," 
 and about forty of the impressed men made their escape 
 to Liverpool. On the following Wednesday afternoon, as 
 Lieut. Siddal was taking one of the captured mutineers 
 down to a boat, the man was rescued by a mob. In the 
 evening, having doubtless partaken liberally of refresh- 
 ments, they assembled again, broke open the watch-house, 
 where another of the deserters was confined, "used ill the 
 master of the watch, broke several of his ribs, and took 
 off the man in triumph." 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 103 
 
 The brig Jenny, Captain Brown (Letter of Marque), 
 belonging to Messrs. John Tarleton & Co., on her 
 passage to the Leeward Islands, took the Legere, 300 tons 
 burthen, 10 guns and 30 men, from St. Domingo for 
 Bordeaux, laden with a valuable cargo of sugar, coffee, 
 and indigo, which was sold by the candle at the Bath 
 Coffee-house, in Liverpool. 
 
 On the gth of October, 1756, in the latitude of Tobago, 
 the Catherine (Letter of Marque), Captain Augustine Gwyn, 
 had a very close and sharp engagement for eight hours 
 with a large French snow, which struck to the Liverpool 
 vessel. Both ships had their rigging and sails shot to 
 pieces. The Catherine had only one man wounded, while 
 the enemy had three killed. The prize was subsequently 
 retaken, and run on shore, through the gross carelessness 
 of the prize-master. Soon after this affair, the Catherine 
 was chased by a French privateer of 10 guns, and full of 
 men, '*who came up with us," says Captain Gwyn, "and 
 fought us three glasses, but my people behaved gallantly 
 and beat them off. They made attempts to board ; we 
 raked them with our stern chase, which made them glad to 
 sheer off. In this engagement none of our people were 
 hurt, but almost every rope was shot away, and our sails, 
 &c., greatly damaged," In 1757, while in command of the 
 Fame frigate, 350 tons burthen, 20 carriage guns (twelve, 
 nine, and six-pounders), and 80 men, a Letter of Marque, 
 belonging to Messrs. John Tarleton & Co., Captain Gwyn, 
 carried into Kingston, Jamaica, a French privateer of 8 
 guns and 80 men, which he took off Antigua. He also 
 fell in with three other privateers, at one of which he fired 
 30 shot, and in all probability would have taken her, if 
 night had not prevented him. He likewise brought in a 
 Dutch sloop, laden with French sugars; "but," says the 
 correspondent, "as the Dutch are artful traders, probably 
 they may evade our laws and escape with impunity, which 
 
104 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 too many of them have done this war, notwithstanding 
 their being- notorious carriers of contraband goods to our 
 natural enemy." On August 31st, 1758, the Fame retook 
 the brig Tritelove, of Lancaster, and the brig Jane, of 
 SHgo, which had been taken by the famous Marshal 
 Belleisle privateer, of St. Malo, commanded by the 
 gallant Captain Thurot. 
 
 The paper of November 5th, 1756, contains the following 
 advertisement : — 
 
 " All g-entlemen seamen, and able-bodied landmen that are 
 willing to figfht the French and make their fortunes, may meet 
 with suitable encouragement by entering on board the The 
 Grand Buck Privateer, Captain John Coppell, Commander. A 
 ship of 300 tons burthen, frigate built, 6 feet between decks 
 fore and aft, mounting 20 carriage guns, twelve, nine and six- 
 pounders, 20 swivels, and 200 men. N.B. — The ship will be 
 ready for sea in a fortnight, and now lies in the South Dock. 
 Apply to the Captain ; or to Messrs. Robert Clay & Compy. , 
 Merchants." 
 
 Alas for the vanity of human intentions ! Notwithstanding 
 this brave invitation, there is nothing to record of the doings 
 of this privateer, except that she sailed on her cruise on 
 December 8th. The ship Cunlijfe, which arrived from 
 North Carolina, reported having passed a derelict rolling in 
 the Atlantic, which some of the Cunliffe's crew recognised 
 as the The Grand Buck. 
 
 The Isaac privateer, 16 guns, Captain David Clatworthy, 
 sailed from Liverpool on November 29th, 1756, and on the 
 8th of January, 1757, carried into Kinsale, the Ze Victoire, of 
 Havre, bound for St. Domingo, with bale goods, gunpowder, 
 etc., valued at ;^6,ooo. She had on board 9 carriage guns, 
 6 swivels, and 50 men, who fired two broadsides before they 
 struck. Having returned to Liverpool to refit, the Isaac 
 sailed on another cruise in the following June, and on 
 July 15th, Captain Clatworthy wrote to his owners, from 
 Plymouth, as follows : — 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 105 
 
 " On July 1st, in latitude 43°, longitude 10° 57' from London, 
 at six in the morning, we, in company with the Shark privateer, 
 Captain Abraham Harman, chased a ship and a snow, which 
 proved to be Spaniards from Cadiz ; one bound to Ferrol, the 
 other to the Groyne. As soon as we had discharged them we 
 discovered a smoke right ahead, and in a short time heard the 
 firing of cannon, upon which we both stretched that way and 
 soon saw a large French ship engaged with three English 
 privateers. At half-an-hour past ten we gave her a gun, and 
 hoisted our English colours, which she answered with her 
 broadside. We returned the compliment, wore ship and 
 berthed ourselves upon her quarter, where we lay for two hours 
 and a half. She then struck. During the engagement, we 
 fired our bow chase 43 times, and broadsides as fast as they 
 could be repeated. The last shot fired was one of our nine- 
 pounders, which went in at her larboard quarter, and killed a 
 relation of the Captain's ; upon which they instantly st*-uck, 
 and gave the victory to the Isaac, and have since declared that 
 had it not been for us, they would not have been taken. I 
 sent Mr. Valens (first lieutenant) and 20 men on board her. 
 She proved to be the Prince of Conti, from L'Orient in Old 
 France, bound to the East Indies, Capt. De La Motte, 
 Commander, her burthen 800 tons, mounts 50 guns, (18 
 twenty-four-pounders, the rest twelve and nine-pounders), and 
 had 195 men ; but as they threw their papers overboard, with 
 most of their small arms, we can give no other account of her 
 cargo, but that she has stores on board, and by all the 
 intelligence we can get, cash, and have reason to think it will 
 prove no inconsiderable sum. The privateers engaged with 
 her were the St. George, Robinson, Black Prince, Creighton, 
 and Boscawen, Harden, all of London ; the two first of 22 guns 
 each, the last of 16. After we had settled our aflfairs on board, 
 as \\q\\ as the hurry and confusion would admit, it was agreed 
 to make for the first port we could reach ; as I had it not in 
 my power, against so many voices, to bring her to Liverpool. 
 Could I have done it, nothing would have given me so much 
 pleasure as the shewing you one of the finest vessels you 
 
106 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 perhaps ever saw there. We had the misfortune to burst one of 
 our six-pounders, which killed one man, and wounded another, 
 who is since recovered. As soon as we get in, I shall enquire 
 out some gentleman of undoubted character to act for me in 
 case I should sail before I have the favour of your answer. I 
 make no doubt of your acting to our mutual interest. You 
 may depend on my using all diligence to serve my worthy 
 owners. Our vessel sails so incomparably well that they are 
 all courting me for a Consort ; nor would I have you think 1 
 compliment myself when I inform you we have had the thanks 
 of the whole fleet for our behaviour in the action. Our officers 
 all acted with courage and discretion, and our men with the 
 greatest bravery ; and I believe that had we, in company with 
 a vessel equal to us seen the prize first, we should have needed 
 no farther assistance. If I should sail before I hear from you, 
 I shall leave an exact inventory with a proper officer, but 
 should be glad if you were here to act for me and crew, as the 
 concern is too considerable for any but trusty hands. I am, 
 &c., David Clatworthy. P.S. — The first day I was on my 
 station, I fell in with 8 sail of French Martinico ships, and two 
 frigates, which we lost in the night." 
 
 The Prince de Conti was reported to be worth ;^ 100,000, 
 exclusive of the cash on board, which must have been a 
 very large amount, as she was bound to Bengal to purchase 
 English merchandise. 
 
 This capture of a rich prize was not effected without 
 some heat and jealousy arising between the gallant com- 
 manders. Capt. Harden, of the Boscawen^ felt aggrieved, 
 and wrote to one of his owners in these forcible terms : — 
 
 "Notwithstanding the many and villainous reports you 
 have heard of my being astern and out of gun shot when the 
 Frenchman struck, you yourself may judge of the truth of it, 
 as our boat was on board, brought off the captain and several 
 of his principal officers, and returned again on board long 
 before any of the other boats were there. It would have been 
 impossible for us to board her first had we been out of gunshot 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 107 
 
 or at a greater distance than the rest. All the men on board 
 our ship are ready to swear we were nearest when she struck, 
 and those that have spread this infamous report have not 
 souls to stand to it like men, for when they were charged witli 
 it by myself and challenged, they meanly denied it and begged 
 pardon, and in everything relinquish those great feats they 
 boasted of in the papers." 
 
 In 1758, \.\\^ Isaac, on her passage to Barbadoes, took 
 the L' Aimable Marie, from Nantz for St. Domingo, and 
 beat off a French privateer of 12 guns, after an engagement 
 of an hour and a half. Twenty years after, the Isaac 
 appeared in the Channel as the American privateer General 
 Mifflin, and played sad havoc with the commerce of her 
 former friends. 
 
 The following very remarkable letter, dated December 
 nth, 1756, was received from on board the Hibernia, Capt. 
 Watson, "off Rogipore, a little to the southward of 
 Bombay": — 
 
 "This day about noon, we saw several calevats, or 
 rather, g^allevats, or war-boats armed with swivel guns and 
 doubly manned. They were at a considerable distance, and 
 crowded about a ketch, which they seemed to tow along. The 
 captain and chief mate, who were both w^ell acquainted with 
 the Malabar coast, immediately declared it was the Meelwan 
 fleet, which had made a prize of this ketch, and was towing- 
 her in shore, to get out of our way. These Meelwans, or 
 Kemasants, as the Portuguese call them, are a nest of pirates, 
 a little to the southward of Gary, and formerly subjects to, or 
 allies of Ang-ria, the grand pirate, on the Malabar Coast. The 
 chief mate was positive that it was Capt. Scott, of Blay's 
 ketch, and that it would be a piece of good service to retake 
 her from the pirates, whose calevats were twelve in number. 
 Accordingly we bore away likewise in shore, and endeavoured 
 by all means to come up with them, but there being little 
 wind, and we having- a luggage boat of 70 or 80 tons to tow 
 after us, they lugged the ketch along, and kept at a consider- 
 
108 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 able distance from us all the afternoon. However, about 
 half an hour after eig'ht o'clock at night we came within gun- 
 shot of them, when firing only two nine-pounders among 
 them, the calevats abandoned their prey, and ran in shore into 
 shallow water, whither we could not follow them. Our chief 
 mate and twelve men went armed cap-a-pie, with their muskets 
 and cutlasses, and took possession of the ketch, which the 
 pirates had robbed of part of the cargo. It belonged to some 
 merchants of Calicut, and was bound for Muscat with Malabar 
 goods, as cassia, pepper, bottlenuts, cardamoms, sandal- 
 wood, &c. 
 
 "The vessel itself, with what is left of the cargo, I judge 
 will amount to 8,000 rupees, or ;^i,ooo sterling, which we 
 shall divide among us, according to the rates of the navy. 
 The affecting part, however, of this affair is what follows : — 
 Our chief mate had orders to send all the prisoners on board 
 the Hiberiiia, and to keep possession of the ketch with our 
 men. But, good God ! when they came on board, what a 
 moving sight ! Out of 25 men, hardly any could walk, or 
 even stand, without being supported. Thrice had they sus- 
 tained the attack of 12 calevats, and as many times repulsed 
 them, partly with their swivel guns, and partly with stones, 
 spears, and cutlasses. This hot action lasted about two hours, 
 during which the ketch's people behaved exceeding well, and 
 the captain or Nokedy, as the country people here call him, 
 killed five of the assailants with his own hand. However, as 
 the pirates were twelve times more numerous than the ketch's 
 people, they got on board her a fourth time; when the Nokedy 
 asking his men which of them would stand b}^ him, two of 
 them only offered themselves, and were in a manner cut to 
 pieces along with their Captain, who fell fighting heroically, 
 if I may be allowed such a term, for his liberty and property. 
 He was the only man that was killed outright, but almost all 
 the rest were wounded in a most frightful manner, particularly 
 the two men who stood by their Captain to the last. Some of 
 them must have been stabbed as they retired, the wounds 
 being in the hinder parts of the body ; but the two brave men 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. lOf) 
 
 already mentioned received all theirs in the fore parts. One 
 had a piece as large as the palm of the hand almost cut oft' 
 from the forehead, and a deep cut on the crown of his head, 
 which we imagine will prove mortal, as the skull is fractured. 
 Good God ! what a g-ash it is ! These two wounds, it seems, 
 laid him flat, sprawling upon the deck, and indeed any one oi 
 them, especially the last, was sufficient to stun the most stout- 
 hearted. The other was cut and slashed all over the body. 
 He had received a frightful wound on the right side of his 
 face, which had cut off" the lower half of his ear, and laid open 
 the jawbone quite to the chin, and even the integument of the 
 neck so deep, that the jugular vessels appeared. The patella, 
 or small bone of his left knee was divided in two by another 
 slash that reached four or five inches in length. Another gash 
 across the outside of the left thigh penetrated to the bone, 
 dividing asunder a large nerve as big as a man's finger. He 
 had received another wound between the elbow and wrist oi 
 his left hand, which had cut asunder the nerves which serve to 
 move the fingers, and penetrated quite to the bone. All this 
 time he stood fighting the enemy with his right hand, till at 
 last a wound received athwart the fingers of his right hand, 
 whereby one finger was cut off and two others deeply wounded, 
 proved a finishing stroke, so that, no longer able to hold his 
 cutlass, he fell down upon the deck, bleeding at numerous and 
 also very deep wounds. And, indeed, it is surprising he could 
 have stood so long, considering the vast discharge of blood 
 from his wounds. Capt. Watson, whose humanity on this 
 occasion deserves particular praise, acting as Surgeon's assis- 
 tant, preparing bandages, tents, plegets, plaisters. &c. He 
 took a great deal of pains in washing, cleaning, and dressing 
 their wounds; and, besides the plaisters put up in the medicine 
 chest, made use of Balm of Gilead,* which he poured plentiful! v 
 
 *The celebrated " Balm of Gilead " was prepared in Liverpool by two Hebrew 
 quacks, named Solomon, father and son. Dr. bolomon (the younger) made a large- 
 fortune out of the Balm ; and died about 1S19. He resided in his later years at 
 Gilead House, Kensington, and was a curious political and social character. In 
 1803, he started the first daily newspaper published out of London. — See "Historic 
 Notes on Medicine, Surgery and (Quackery''; by the present writer, in the Lancel , 
 ^pril-.NLay, 1897, or the "Streets of Liverpcol," by Stonehouse. 
 
110 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 in the wounds, securuiij all with tents and pleg-ets dipt in the 
 same balsam, which he had purchased at Judah the last 
 summer. And the better to see them taken care of, they were 
 all broug"ht on board the Hibernia till we should arrive at 
 Tillecherr)-, where the captain intends to put them all under 
 the care of Dr. Gill, the Company's Surg-eon." 
 Williamson^ s Advertiser of December 17th, 1756, con- 
 tained the following spirited description of another private 
 ship of war : — - 
 
 " Now fitting out for a cruise, and will be ready to sail 
 
 next week against the Enemy of Great Britain, the ship King 
 
 of Prussia privateer, under the command of William 
 
 MackaflFee. Burthen 250 tons, mounts 16 carriage guns (all 
 
 nine-pounders) 20 swivels, and 154 men. All gentlemen seamen 
 
 and ablebodied landmen, that are willing to imitate the brave 
 
 King whose name the ship bears, in curbing the insolence of 
 
 the French, and making their fortunes immediately, will meet 
 
 with suitable encouragement by applying to Messrs. Thomas 
 
 Parke & Stanhope Mason, Merchants, or the Commander. N. B. 
 
 This ship carried a commission the last war, met with great 
 
 success in taking many prizes, and is a remarkable prime sailor." 
 
 She sailed from Liverpool "to curb the insolence of the 
 
 French," by capturing their property at sea, on January 
 
 29th, 1757. Captain Mackaffee, writing from Gibraltar on 
 
 the 22nd of April, gives the following account of his 
 
 movements : — 
 
 " After a long and tedious cruise, we arrived at Gibraltar. 
 The day after our arrival there was an engagement between 
 five English and four French men-of-war. Our ships were 
 superior by one gun. On hearing their fire we slipped and 
 made for the Gut, where we fell in with the outward bound 
 fleet and engaged them. Five sail struck to us, but the four 
 French men-of-war, which were their convoy, bearing down 
 upon us, I was obliged to quit, but soon joined the fleet, and 
 it being dark they could not discover us. I came alongside 
 the French Commodore, and boarded one of the fleet, without 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. Ill 
 
 the loss of a man. When the prisoners came on board, we 
 gave chase and fell in with a French privateer and one 
 merchant ship. We drove them both into Cadiz, and then 
 returned to Gibraltar. I have lost three men. Our ship's 
 company is in great spirits, we being- extremely well manned. 
 The King of Prussia is a fine ship, and carries her metal well. 
 The prize, having the French King's Commission on board, 
 was easily condemned." 
 
 The prize so daringly captured was the snow La 
 Favourite^ whose cargo was invoiced at 30,000 livres. The 
 French prisoners reported that she had 20,000 dollars on 
 board, and was the richest vessel* in the fleet. Admiral 
 Saunders and his squadron, having heard the firing of the 
 privateer, were entitled to a share of the capture, " but the 
 noble spirited Admiral gave up his claim in favour of the 
 captors, and the rest of the captains followed his example." 
 Writing from Candia in July, 1757, Captain Mackaffee 
 tells his owners that after leaving Gibraltar he was obliged 
 to abandon his proposed cruising station, being pestered by 
 English privateers. He proceeded up the Straits as far as 
 the Channel of Malta, where he took a Swedish ship of 22 
 guns, laden with French property, from Smyrna. She had 
 370 bags of cotton, and her hold full of wheat. Captain 
 Mackaflee instructed his first lieutenant to proceed with her 
 to Gibraltar, but the heating of the wheat, the number of 
 enemies swarming around, and the unruly conduct of the 
 vSwedes on board, compelled the lieutenant to put into 
 Malta, where the cargo was condemned and the vessel dis- 
 charged. The captain then relates his own doings in the 
 King of Prussia, as follows : — 
 
 " I then proceeded farther up the Arches, having intelli- 
 
 *She was sold by auction in Liverpool on March 27th, 1758, with her entire 
 cargo, which consisted of the following curious assortment : Castile soap, tallow, 
 wax candles, sweetmeats, capers, bitter and sweet almonds, flour, cheese, cordial 
 <lrams, lavender and Hungary waters, caplier, shoes, " sallet oyl," kidney beans, 
 earthenware, nails, perfumed poma, etc., raisins, paving tiles, anchovies, writing 
 paper, claret (120 hogsheads), wood hoops and medicines. 
 
112 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 g"ence of many French vessels passing-, where we fell in with 
 three Engflish privateers. They informed me that the Anson 
 and Blakeney, of Liverpool, were not twelve leag^ues off us. 
 According- to orders, would not engag-e to keep company with 
 an}- of them. I put into Zinda in Candia, watered and victualled 
 the ship at easy expense, having- met with so much money 
 which belong-ed to the French merchants on board the Swedish 
 ship, which defrayed expenses. I stayed in there six days at 
 the first time, and put out, g-iving- out I was bound to Con- 
 stantinople, immediately went round Candia, where we had 
 the good fortune to meet with a French ship with Turkish 
 passengers, and cargo on board. I ransomed her for three 
 hundred Turkish chequins, which was paid by the said mer- 
 chants before we parted with her. Four days after, I had the 
 good fortune to fall in with a French ship called La Miirice, 
 mounting 12 guns, from Zinda, bound to Marseilles. After 
 seven hours' chase, she struck, without firing a gun. Her cargo 
 by the French Captain is valued at 225,000 French Livres. 
 Meeting with contrary winds, and having many prisoners on 
 board, was obliged to put in a second time into Candia. 
 During the time since I left this place, orders was sent from 
 the Grand Seignior, that all vessels, whether English or 
 French, that brought in any prizes, should not be condemned 
 until he was acquainted. I am very much afraid the condemna- 
 tion will be very expensive. The Governor of Candia this day 
 is to give me security for the prize, until he hears from the 
 Grand Seignior, for which reason have made him a very rich 
 present of a Turkish carpet, as there is nothing- to be done 
 here unless by presents. I put into Zinda in Candia, being the 
 best port, and was detained at Candia as prisoner at large, 
 until the prize came in, for fear I should put out with my 
 prize, by their fort, but as the prize is now in their possession, 
 hope things will be eas}". I have desired to ^o out on a cruise, 
 until the prize is condemned, and then call and bring her along 
 with me, having now remaining on board the brave King of 
 Prussia 100 men in perfect health, besides those with the prize 
 at Malta and Candia.'* 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 113 
 
 On the 30th of August, Captain Mackaffee writes again 
 to his owners, from Syracuse, in Sicily, in the following 
 pleasant vein : — 
 
 " I acquaint you with pleasure that we have taken another 
 large French ship, employed as a caravan to carry Turks and 
 their effects from one port to another, whom I ransomed for 
 1,000 chequins ; there were about 100 Turkish g-entlemen and 
 passengers on board, who immediately advanced the money. 
 We have a brave ship's company, and expect to eat a 
 Christmas dinner in Liverpool, having not less than 30 laced 
 hat gentry, and not one sick man on board. My expenses 
 have been so trifling that I expect to trouble the owners with 
 few bills ; and I shall do my endeavour to gain the respect of 
 my King, Country, and Owners. 
 
 "What we have had from neutral bottoms we have paid 
 
 for with French money ; and you will hear of no complaints, 
 
 except using the enemy too well, and not plundering their 
 
 clothes. I propose sailing on the remainder of our cruise the 
 
 first fair wind ; and as we met with six carriage guns and four 
 
 swivels, which the enemy was so civil to give us, I have lent 
 
 them to Capt. Benn, who mounts now 18 guns, &c. , &c." 
 
 In November, the King of Prussia carried into Syracuse 
 
 a French polacca, richly laden, which they had taken off 
 
 the island of Candia. In February, 1758, the privateer 
 
 arrived at Gibraltar with a prize from Malta, and on the 
 
 7th of August the successful cruiser was sold by auction 
 
 at the Golden Fleece, in Liverpool. In March, 1759, we 
 
 read that the Thames, laden with the valuable cargo of the 
 
 prize belonging to the King of Prussia had arrived in the 
 
 Downs from the Mediterranean. The reader may possibly 
 
 envy the owners of this gallant vessel, and wonder what 
 
 they did with all the plunder. One of them, at any rate, 
 
 did not prosper, for in the paper of December 8th, 1758, 
 
 we find the following : — 
 
 "On Tuesday night died Mrs. Dorothy Parke, widow of 
 the late Capt. Parke, formerly a commander in the West India 
 H 
 
114 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 trade. It is said that the misfortune of her sons, Messrs. John 
 Parke, of London, merchant, and Thomas Parke, ironmonger, 
 here, being- both bankrupts, affected her so much that she 
 immediately took to her bed, and appeared to be broken- 
 hearted." 
 
 In the year 1757, the activity of the French privateers was 
 phenomenal. It was computed from the number of 
 Carolina ships taken that the French had got the year's 
 whole produce of indigo from that colony, excepting about 
 60,000 lbs. brought in one or two ships that escaped the 
 enemy. "Much to the honour of a nation possessed of 
 above 200 men of war ! " observes the newspaper. " Happy 
 if the trade from Carolina had put into Ireland and waited 
 for convoy ; but though we have been unfortunate with 
 respect to several merchant ships, we have taken above 
 fifty French privateers, whereas we can't learn that they 
 have taken more than three of ours." This, of course, 
 refers to the whole kingdom. A month later, the number of 
 French privateers taken had risen to 78, but we read that 
 the account "of the increase of the French privateers upon 
 all our coasts are most shocking and alarming, and unless 
 timely dispersed must terminate in the ruin of our com- 
 merce." The French privateers swarmed in every sea, 
 many of them cruising from 100 to 180 leagues to the 
 westward of Cape Clear, in lat. 48' and 49.° They cruised 
 so thick round the island of Antigua that it was next to a 
 miracle for an English vessel to get in there, except under 
 convoy. It was stated that from August, 1756, to February, 
 1757, the French privateers had taken 70 English vessels, 
 chiefly owing to the small number of 20-gun ships and 
 sloops stationed in that quarter of the world for the pro- 
 tection of British commerce. A ransomer who came over 
 from Dunkirk stated that from January 27th, 1756, to 
 March 5th, 1758, the privateers belonging to that place 
 had taken 136 British ships, 78 of which they ransomed. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 115 
 
 From the commencement of the war up to July 12th, 1757, 
 the French had taken 637 British vessels ; the ships taken 
 from the French during the same period were 681 merchant- 
 men and 91 privateers, making a total of 772. It was 
 calculated that the English had profited by captures 
 upwards of two millions. But, in spite of Brown's 
 "Estimate," a book published at this time, in which the 
 author, as Macaulay observes, "fully convinced his readers 
 that they were a race of cowards and scoundrels ; that 
 nothing could save them ; that they were on the point of 
 being enslaved by their enemies, and that they richly 
 deserved their fate ;" — in spite of all this, the pluck of the 
 British race was not a bit cowed. In the paper of May 
 13th, 1757, we read that "the spirit of privateering had 
 diffused itself amongst all our colonies abroad in so exten- 
 sive a manner that even many of the Quakers breathed 
 revenge against our perfidious enemies. The Sprye a 
 privateer belonging to Philadelphia, of 22 nine-pounders, 
 and 208 men, commanded by the brave Obadiah Bold (a 
 Quaker), sailed for Tobago," on a cruise. It must have 
 been a rich treat to see the gentle Obadiah in action, 
 "thee"-ing and "thou"-ing his brave fellows, while 
 directing their fire to the vitals of the enemy. We picture 
 him to ourselves pacing the quarter deck, a harmless- 
 looking, little man, placid amongst the crashing of cannon- 
 balls, the rattle of small arms, the shrieks of the wounded, 
 and all the attendant horrors of a tough seafight when the 
 Bloody Flag is flying. He is the coolest, yet most deter- 
 mined, man on deck, and at his silvery voice, raised in com- 
 mand, men are hurled headlong into eternity. But let us 
 leave the realms of fancy, and stick, as we have hitherto 
 done, to strict matters of fact. The spirit of privateering had 
 diffused itself in Wales also, for the paper of April 7th, 1757, 
 tells us that " Last Saturday sailed out of Beaumaris Bay, 
 in Wales, the St. David privateer, of 20 carriage guns 
 
116 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 and i6 swivels, commanded by Captain Reeves Jones, 
 fitted out by a Society of Ancient Britons." After being- 
 out a few days, the St. David returned to Beaumaris bring- 
 ing in with her a new French privateer of 12 carriage and 
 16 swivel guns, which she had taken after a very smart 
 engagement of two hours and-a-half. The French had 
 29 men killed and the Welsh five, which argues that some 
 of the valour of Fluellen and Glendower still remained in 
 the land. 
 
 On the 5th of December, 1757, the ship Trafford, Captain 
 Marshall, in her passage from Virginia to Liverpool, fell 
 in with a privateer from Louisbourg, and engaged her 
 closely four hours and-a-half, but was obliged at last to 
 strike, having received considerable damage, and her 
 ammunition being nearly expended. 
 
 The commanders of the King's ships appear to have been 
 shamefully relax in the unpleasant duty of convoying mer- 
 chant vessels, and in pursuing the privateers of the enemy, 
 during the early part of this war. It was customary to 
 announce the date of sailing as follows : — 
 
 " The captain of his Majesty's sloop Otter gives this public 
 notice to the merchants, freighters, and owners of such trading 
 vessels now in this port, and the ports of Chester and White- 
 haven, bound up the English Channel as far as Plimouth, that 
 he proposes sailing by the 28th instant, when all vessels who 
 are ready may have the benefit of his convoy. — Dated in Hyle- 
 lake, July 20, 1757." 
 
 In March, 1757, the Lords of the Admiralty signified to 
 the merchants, that "on its being made to appear to them 
 that any commanders of men-of-war had been defective in 
 their duty of convoying or protecting their ships, or pursu- 
 ing privateers, on notice being 'given, they should be dealt 
 with according to their deserts." 
 
 That it was necessary to make an example of somebody, 
 is clear from a letter written by Captain Isaac Winn, of the 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 117 
 
 Dolly ^r' jYancy, who had been blamed by the underwriters 
 for sailing from Dartmouth to Liverpool without convoy, 
 which resulted in his ship being taken by a priv'ateer of St. 
 Malo, and his imprisonment at Dieppe. After describing 
 his efforts to join some men-of-war which were convoying a 
 fleet of merchant ships, and the commodore's conduct in 
 ignoring his signals of distress, etc., the captain relates 
 what befell him one morning, when a calm had succeeded 
 the gale : — 
 
 "At daylig-ht we saw several sail all around us, one of 
 which we took for a man-of-war, and not far from us, to wind- 
 ward, was a sloop, which we took for a tender. She was so 
 like a Folkstone cutter that the people I had for those that 
 were impressed at Dartmouth, took her for the tender belong- 
 ing- to their ship. It beings quite calm, she rowed up with us, 
 nor did we perceive our mistake till we heard them talk French 
 on board the privateer (as she proved), which was not till she 
 was within half a musket shot, for before they talked English. 
 They immediately boarded us, the consequence of which was 
 (as we had nothing- to defend ourselves) our being- taken, 
 being- the eleventh prize taken by the said privateer this 
 winter, or rather the last, by the shameful neg-lect of our 
 cruisers, which is so flagrant that the French themselves laug-h 
 at it. When I told the Captain I did not doubt of meeting- 
 some of them before he got me to France, " Well,'' says he, 
 " //' we do, they will not chase us if we don't hoist French 
 colours.'''' We were not above a league off Beachy Head when 
 taken, and it continued calm till midnight. Thus, gentlemen, 
 you have lost a good ship and a good freight, and we all that 
 we had on board, and our liberty. I am in the common 
 prison, without so much as a shirt to shift myself with, having 
 nothing but what I had on when taken. They allow me four- 
 pence per day to live upon, out of which I pay for a bed for 
 myself and mate, otherwise I must lie amongst straw and 
 filth, wath the rest of my poor fellows. This is hard usage. 
 Notwithstandinof I can sooner forgive the authors of it than 
 
118 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the villains who commanded the above-mentioned two men-of- 
 war, who, if they had suffered us to join them, might have 
 prevented our being- taken. Rage and vexation hinder me 
 from adding any more, than that I am, with the greatest respect, 
 and sorrow for your loss, gentlemen. Your friend and servant, 
 Isaac Winn. 
 
 P.S. All who have any relations at Liverpool are well, 
 
 and give their love to said relations. I write this with the 
 
 help of a wood pen, and soot and water. Are the French 
 
 prisoners so used in England? I hope not." 
 
 In April, 1757, Captain Walter Barber, in bringing his 
 
 ship the Resolution to Liverpool to be re-fitted as a privateer, 
 
 undertook to convoy '^2i sail from the Downs to Spithead. 
 
 " We were for forty hours visited by three French privateers, 
 
 till Captain Barber beat them off," Avrites one of the captains 
 
 to his owners. " He is the most honourable commander I 
 
 ever was under." After striking on a rock three times and 
 
 losing her rudder, the Resolution arrived in Liverpool. A 
 
 romantic affair in connection with this ship, is thus reported 
 
 in the paper of May 20th, 1757 : — • 
 
 " A young person, five feet high, aged about nineteen, who 
 entered in January last on board the Resolution privateer, 
 Capt. Barber, under the name of Arthur Douglas, proceeded 
 with the ship from London to this port, went aloft to furl the 
 sails, &c. , when called upon, was frequently mustered amongst 
 the marines at the time they exercised the small arms, and in 
 short executed the office of a landsman in all shapes with 
 alacrity, was on Saturday last discovered to be a woman by 
 one of her mess-mates. 'Tis said that he found out her sex on 
 the passage, and that she, to prevent a discovery, then 
 promised to permit him to keep her company when they 
 arrived here ; but as soon as they came into port refused his 
 addresses. The officers in general give her a very modest 
 character, and say by her behaviour that she must have had a 
 genteel education. She has changed her clothes, but will not 
 satisfy any of them with her name or quality ; only that she 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 110 
 
 left home on account of a breach of promise of her lover. 'Tis 
 
 remarkable that during- their passage down, on the appearance 
 
 of a sail, she was eager to be fighting, and no ways affected 
 
 with fear or sea sickness." 
 
 The genius of our novelists can expand this crude outline 
 into a stirring sea novel of the orthodox size, as expeditiously 
 as certain bacilli are said to transform barley meal into the 
 richest port wine. 
 
 The Resolution cruised in company with the Spy 
 privateer, Captain Pierce, of Liverpool, "a brave vessel 
 underfoot, which could either speak with or leave" any 
 cruiser on the sea, but beyond a smart brush with a French 
 frigate of 36 guns, which they engaged several hours and 
 ultimately beat off, the joint cruise does not seem to have 
 been eventful or profitable, both vessels being forced into 
 Cork by loss of masts, etc. Captain Barber afterw^ards 
 commanded the 6'/f«2y6? (Letter of Marque), 200 tons burthen, 
 12 guns, belonging to Mr. Edward Deane, which was 
 captured while employed in the Jamaica trade, by the 
 French frigate Gronyardy of 26 guns and 130 men. The 
 British frigate Favourite afterwards took the Gronyard, 
 which was said to be the richest prize taken during the war, 
 and the best sailer the French ever possessed. 
 
 On December 22nd, 1 757, about 30 leagues to the westward 
 of Vigo, the Spy, in company with the Mercury, took the 
 Mutiny privateer, of St. Jean de Luz, a brig of about 40 
 tons burthen, 2 carriage guns, 6 swivels, and 58 men, 
 commanded by Dominique Cannonier, who two days after 
 leaving port, in order to intercept English vessels in the 
 Portugal trade, had the mortification of voyaging to Liver- 
 pool a prisoner in the Spy.^ 
 
 * The following curious advertisement appeared in ]Viniauiso)i s Advertiser, 
 January, 1758: — '•Notice is hereby given to all gentlemen, seamen, and brave 
 landmen, that have courage to face ivlonsieur, that the ^)^_>' Privateer, Thomas 
 Pierce, Commander (who the last cruize took the Mutiny Privateer of Bayonne, 
 the Captain of which says he saw forty English Privateers before, and tho' chased, 
 was in no danger of being taken by them ; but depending still upon his Heels had 
 
120 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Muse of Poetry, in a rather distressed condition, 
 visited Liverpool in 1758, and produced the following lines, 
 wliich appeared in the Clironicle :— 
 
 ON THE RESOLUTION AND SPYE PRIVATEERS. 
 
 As poor Britannia pensive stood, deprest with grief and pain, 
 Her tears encreas'd the briny flood, and swell'd the curling- 
 main ; 
 "O where are now those hearts," she said, "those sons of 
 
 ancient praise, 
 Whose look would strike each foe with dread, and endless 
 
 trophies raise ! 
 But see ! distrest and drooping now, I can no longer hold ;" 
 She sigh'd and moan'd, then fainting bow'd, struck with a 
 
 death-like cold. 
 Then flew two lovers of the maid, rais'd up her failing arms ; 
 Offered their lives her cause to aid, .and guard her from alarms, 
 Britannia kind, as always wont, admir'd their noble mind, 
 And bade them think, in danger's front, that she would still be 
 
 kind. 
 Take you my spear, my shield take you, as proofs of my regard ; 
 And think each glorious deed you do, you've valour's just 
 
 reward. 
 Unarm'd I'm safe, protected so, on you I will rely ; 
 Command my Resolution you, and you my fav'rite Spye ; 
 Hence then, my heroes, scourge my foes ; acquire a glorious 
 
 name ; 
 Return with laurels on your brows — in death I'll sound your 
 
 fame. 
 
 From the journal of Captain Robert Grimshaw, of the 
 
 Spy privateer, we find that he sailed from Liverpool, on the 
 
 i6th of March, 1758, and on April loth, in company with 
 
 the Resolution privateer, Captain McKee, also of Liverpool, 
 
 made bold to look at the Spy, v\ ho after a long chase, shew'd him the Way to 
 Liverpool.) Mounting tweiT-'-two carriage guns, besides si^ivels, to carry about 
 one hundred and fifty men, 1 will be completely fitted and ready to sail in ten 
 days on a six months' cruize. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 121 
 
 took a Spaniard, from Marseilles for Nantz, laden with 
 Castile soap, Brazilletta dyers' wood, olive oil, etc. On the 
 17th, they recaptured the ship Marlborough, from Jamaica 
 for London, laden with 176 casks of sugar, 12 puncheons of 
 rum, 27 casks and 85 bags of pimento, 82 mahogany planks 
 and 152 hides ; the ship and cargo being ultimately sold by 
 auction, at the Merchants' Coffee-house. On May 14th, the 
 Spy sailed from Beaumaris to finish her cruise ; on the 19th, 
 anchored in seven fathom water, below the Spit, at the Cove 
 of Cork ; the 22nd, they got a boat down from Passage with 
 15 new candidates for fortune's favours, several of whom, 
 the Captain tells us, "wanted to go ashore, but not being 
 allowed, two or three came in a riotous manner upon the 
 gangway, with clubs, threatening to knock down the first 
 lieutenant ; upon which he fired a loaded pistol at them, 
 which dropped one ; then we put 16 others into irons, and 
 afterwards had a quiet ship." They left Cork on May 26th, 
 and on the 28th, gave chase and came up with the St. Philip 
 and St. /ago, from Dublin to Cadiz, laden with beef, butter, 
 hides, linen handkerchiefs, buckskin breeches, etc. They 
 detained her till next morning, and finding, on examination, 
 that her cargo and bills of lading differed from each other, 
 as likewise her clearances from the Custom-house, they felt 
 constrained to make a prize of her, and sent her to Liverpool 
 to be examined. On June i6th, they fell in with the Princess 
 Carolina, with 236 hogsheads of French sugar, 57 bags of 
 cotton, and 252 bags of coffee ; and the Eendracht, with 
 859,790 lbs. of French sugar, 25,030 lbs. of cotton, 256,036 
 lbs. of coffee, 2,058 lbs. of indigo, and 150 hides, both from 
 St. Eustatia, for Amsterdam. From the earnestness of the 
 commanders to secure their own goods, etc., Captain 
 Grimshaw and his officers suspected that the cargoes were 
 French property, therefore felt it their duty "to carry them 
 in," which they did in safety, after burying Henry Roberts, 
 "who had catched the smallpox." 
 
122 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Resolution^ Captain McKee, having assisted her 
 consort the Spy to recapture the Marlbormigh, gave chase 
 to the Machaidt privateer, of 24 guns and 230 men, which 
 had taken that vessel, but the Frenchman got clear in a 
 squall. On May 17th, they gave chase to three sail, which 
 they boarded the following day, and felt justified, on the 
 inspection of their papers, to deem two of them legal 
 prizes. One was the snow St. Jacob., from St. Eustatia 
 for Amsterdam, with indigo, sugar, etc., and the other the 
 Catherine Maria galley, from Curacoa for the same port, 
 with coffee, sugar, indigo, 10 chests and i cask of silver, 
 etc. On the 29th September, the Resolution., in company 
 with the Nelly's Resolution,^' of London, took the Smyrna 
 Galley, a Dutch ship from St. Eustatia, laden with coffee, 
 indigo, cotton, and 400 hogsheads of sugar, which they 
 despatched for Liverpool. \n November, the Christopher, 
 from St. Croix, another prize taken by the Resolution, was 
 lost on Spanish Island. The Spy, 160 tons burthen, and 
 the Resolution, 403 tons, were sold by auction, February 
 2nd, 1759. 
 
 The Tartar frigate. Captain Hugh MacQuoid, 320 tons 
 burthen, 22 guns and 70 men, belonging to Messrs. 
 Halliday and Dunbar, on her passage to New York, in 
 company with the Union, Captain Smith, took a Dutch 
 bottom, homeward bound with sugar, etc., but the prize 
 had to be released. The Tartar was afterwards stranded 
 on the coast of Scotland, and only ;^i,ooo worth of her 
 cargo saved. The Philadelphia, of 10 guns, owned by the 
 same firm, was "esteemed one of the fastest sailing ships 
 belonging to America." 
 
 The Johnson, Captain Gawith, on her passage to Vir- 
 ginia, took a French brig privateer, and the Betty (Letter 
 of Marque), Captain Rimmer, took a ship bound from 
 
 * Prolwbly the Ladies' Resolution, which was the name of a privateer fitted out 
 by the ladies of London. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 123 
 
 Martinico to Marseilles, which she carried into Barbadoes. 
 A large Dutch ship from St. Domingo was taken and 
 sent into Liverpool by the Getieral Blakeney, Captain Loy 
 (a Letter of Marque), bound for Jamaica. Captain Francis 
 Lowndes,* of the Baltimore, from Liverpool to Maryland, 
 fell in with three large French ships off the Island of St, 
 Mary, but could not bring them to an engagement. A little 
 later, however, he took the Resolute, a French vessel from 
 Curacoa for Amsterdam, "with a pretended bill of sale to 
 the Dutch," having on board the following goods : — 
 240 Casks of Sug-ar = 231,901 lbs. 1320 Hides. 
 
 209 ditto Coffee= 35,803 ,, 41 Packs Tobacco. 
 
 28 ditto Indig-o= 5,937 ,, 208 Sticks Wood. 
 
 26 ditto Cocoa = 6,229 ,, 
 
 On May 30th, 1757, Captain Salisbury, in the Ottway, on 
 his passage from Liverpool to Virginia, took, after a chase 
 of three hours, and without firing a gun, a brigantine from 
 St. Domingo for Bordeaux, laden with sugars, coffee, and 
 indigo, valued at ;^6ooo. 
 
 In the same month the Marlborough, Captain Ward, on 
 her passage from Liverpool to Virginia, met a large French 
 ship of 16 guns, which she fought two hours, when night 
 put an end to hostilities. About five in the morning 
 they fell to work again, and continued a warm engagement 
 till noon, and then parted by mutual consent. The Marl- 
 borouglis sails and rigging were much shattered, and she 
 had one man killed and four or five wounded. " My 
 people," writes Capt. Ward, " behaved well. The French 
 captain called out to us several times to strike, but we 
 answered him with three cheers." 
 
 On the morning of the 7th June, 1757, the Thistle, Captain 
 George Foster, a small ship of about 150 tons burthen, 
 
 * The paper of November lOth, 1794, clironicles the death of "Francis 
 Lowndes, aged 69, formerly master of a vessel, etc., and since many years Clerk 
 to the Pilots' Committee in this town." 
 
124 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 belonging" to Mr. John M'CuUough, merchant, of Liver- 
 pool, and carrying only 2 four-pounders, 12 three-pounders 
 (mostly for sale), 8 swivels, and 20 men, saw a sail edging 
 towards her, which afterwards proved to be the La Jeitne 
 Anna from Bordeaux to Martinico, burthen 350 tons, laden 
 with wine, provisions, iron and dry goods, mounting 8 
 nine-pounders, 2 four-pounders, and carrying 49 men. 
 The Thistle hauled up for her, and came within gunshot 
 about four that afternoon, when a smart engagement was 
 fought for about an hour, . " and then Monsieur took to his 
 heels." The Thistle crowded after him all night, and at 
 four in the morning gave him a few broadsides, upon which 
 he struck, having had three men killed and 14 wounded, 
 while the people on board the Thistle escaped scatheless. 
 A passenger named Blythe, from Manchester, distinguished 
 himself by his conduct and bravery in the action. The 
 French officers were almost distracted when they stepped 
 on board the Thistle, and informed the captain that their 
 adventures cost in France 400,000 livres. Captain Haffey, 
 of the Polly, who brought the news of the capture to Liver- 
 pool, reported that the Frenchmen were so enraged to find 
 themselves on board so small a vessel as the Thistle, that 
 they attempted three times to retake the prize after Captain 
 Foster had sent them off with the boats and provisions 
 sufficient to carry them into Dominica. 
 
 In a letter dated Antigua, July 24th, 1757, Captain Thomas 
 Onslow, of the snow Hesketh, describes his experiences on 
 the outward passage as follows : — 
 
 "On Monday the 13th of June, (being then in lat. 18.20 
 running for Anguilla, and bound for Jamaica) at break of day 
 we saw a sail oflf our starboard quarter, finding- her to stand 
 towards us, about half-past eight, being then very nigh, per- 
 ceived her to be a French Privateer, we prepared ourselves in 
 readiness for their reception, and at nine began to engage, 
 which lasted till half-past eleven, when they thought proper to 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 125 
 
 sheer without gunshot of us, but as they continued following", 
 and at a particular distance, I apprehended her consort was 
 not far off. My fears soon after proved too true, another 
 privateer appearing on our larboard bow, and in ten minutes 
 we had them both alongside us, which obliged me to strike. 
 The first was a sloop from Martinico, of six guns, all three- 
 pounders, lo swivels, and 70 men on board, of whom we killed 
 two, wounded five, broke down his gunnelHng on the larboard 
 bow, burst one of their guns, with one of our six-pound shot 
 taking the muzzle off it, and carried away his jibb stay. As 
 she was in such a shattered condition, I am surprised his men 
 escaped so well, they being obliged to keep both pumps work- 
 ing to keep her above water. We received no other damage 
 than that of a few blocks being split, and some rigging cut by 
 their small shot. The other was a sloop from Guadaloupe, 
 of 12 six-pounders, 18 swivels, and 135 men, called the 
 Invincible , Joseph Lizard, commander, on board of whom I 
 was ordered, and after leaving 22 Frenchmen in the vessel 
 with my people, they steered for Guadaloupe. At daylight 
 next morning we were close in with Antigua, and at eight 
 o'clock we fell in with the Duke of Cumherland privateer brig, 
 of 14 six-pounders, 20 swivels, and 135 men, Joseph Thomas, 
 commander, belonging to this island ; the small privateer 
 perceiving what she was, and being ill shattered, they made 
 the best of their way off. Whilst a bloody engagement ensued 
 between the large sloop and English brig, they ordered me 
 down into the hold, where I had not been long before there 
 were company enough, some without legs, and others wanting 
 arms, in all 19 wounded, the number killed unknown to me, 
 and after an hour-and-half engagement, the brig left the sloop, 
 and run up for our snow, received a few shot, the brig only 
 firing one gun loaded with langrell (which killed two, wounded 
 three, and in half-an-hour after, one of the three expired) and 
 immediately struck. My poor fellows were relieved whilst I 
 was carried to Guadaloupe. During my whole confinement ow 
 board, and whilst on shore, I was treated much better than 
 any prisoner could expect, and they kept me only five days 
 
126 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 before I was sent on board a flag- of truce, with 17 commanders 
 of vessels, and upwards of 100 sailors. 
 
 "They have taken uito this place since the commencement 
 of the war, 124 sail of English vessels, 73 of them square 
 rig-ged, and have 14 privateers out from this island, mounting- 
 from 12 to 6 carriage guns. On the 27th ult., I arrived at this 
 island, and on the 8th, the admonition days being expired, 
 my vessel was advertised for sale, and purchased by some 
 gentlemen here, who gave me the command of her, and in 
 three days I loaded her with rum, for Dublin, in order to 
 proceed from thence to Liverpool. I am now under way 
 with a convoy of four of his Majesty's ships, and upwards of 
 100 merchantmen, having the same ship's company I brought 
 out. Capt. Carruthers of the Elisabeth and Mary, belonging- 
 to our place, and Capt. Dan. Baines of the Black Prince, of 
 Whitehaven, who was taken by the French men of war on the 
 coast of Africa, are coming passengers home with me." 
 
 The following letter was written from St. Eustatia on 
 November 30th, 1757, by Captain Richard Venables of the 
 Ccesar (Letter of Marque), a frigate of 400 tons burthen, 22 
 guns (twelve, six, and four-pounders), 70 men, bound from 
 Liverpool to Cork and Jamaica :^ 
 
 " I am at last got safe here, and find that within these 
 10 days, the Dutch have brought in 14,000 barrels of beef in 
 their own vessels, which has entirely supplied this market. 
 Our vessel behaved extremely well, and sails fast. We had 
 not the good luck to meet with anything but neutral bottoms 
 till we got within 20 leagues of Antigua ; about daylight fell 
 in with a sloop. At half-past seven she began to fire at me ; 
 we reserved our fire till we came near, then gave him our bow 
 chase (twelve-pounders) and as many guns as we could bring to 
 bear on him. He fired nine shots only, hauled his wind for 
 about an hour, and then bore down upon us again, but finding 
 our metal heavy, left us. Our ship being deep laden could 
 not come up with him. He mounted 14 guns, and carried 140 
 men, I understand by a Dutch ship arrived since we came 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 127 
 
 here. The next night we fell in with a second, who only kept 
 us under arms all night, and as soon as daylight appeared 
 hauled oflf. Whilst I am writing, Mr. Thomas Eaton, mate of 
 Capt. Potter of the Qiiester, is come on board ; they were 
 taken last Sunday, about 20 leagues to the eastward of St 
 Bartholomew. He had 87 slaves on board, whom the 
 privateer took out of the Qiiester ; and as they could not get 
 the brig to windward, they bore away for this port. The mate, 
 the boatswain, and a boy came with her, and attempted to rise 
 upon the five Frenchmen, but were overcome. The mate is 
 now under our doctor's care, and is likely to do well. The 
 Cavendish, with 170 slaves, is carried into Guadaloupe. The 
 Pickering and two other Liverpool snows carried into the 
 same island. I can't see how a vessel of small force can well 
 escape, the privateers are so numerous. Capt. Jones, of 
 Liverpool, is taken on the coast of Guinea, and I am informed 
 by gentlemen who have been in the French islands, that on 
 some days 10 or 12 English ships are carried in there." 
 The owners of the CcBsar, Messrs. Greg"son and Bridge, 
 also owned the ship Alexander (Letter of Marque), 16 guns 
 and 50 men, commanded by Capt. John Ross. 
 
 One of the finest privateers belonging to this period was 
 the Liverpool, 22 guns (18 of them twelve-pounders) and 
 200 men, commanded by Captain William Hutchinson, the 
 companion of Fortunatus Wright in some of his cruises. 
 The privateer was fitted out by Mr. Henry Hardwar, and 
 others, including the captain. Mr. Hardwar, who at one 
 time was collector of customs at Liverpool, had the good 
 luck to win, in December, 1758, a prize of ^1,000 in the 
 lottery. In 1762 the land about the Everton Beacon was 
 let to him for 2s. 6d. per annum, and he afterwards bought 
 it for a few pounds. 
 
 The Liverpool ssaX^d from the Mersey on June loth, 1757, 
 and in going down Formby Channel lost one landsman, 
 who was drowned. "On Saturday, June i8th, 1757," 
 writes Captain Hutchinson in his journal, "in lat. 48-0 
 
128 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 i8 mins. long., from London, made a sail from the mast- 
 head bearing S. from us, called all hands to quarters, and 
 gave chase with all sails set. At 8, the ship hauled up her 
 courses, and by appearance seemed to prepare for action. 
 At lo, they threw out a French ensign and fired a gun. 
 We answered them only with French colours, but they, not 
 trusting us, began to fire their stern chase pretty briskly, 
 upon which we gave them two of our bow chase. The ship 
 yawed and gave us her larboard broadside. Several of 
 their shot went through our sails, and one of the crossbar 
 shots (a six-pounder) struck the fore topmast and fell upon 
 our deck. We immediately gave her both our broadsides, 
 upon which she struck. Sent our boats on board the prize 
 for the prisoners. On examination she appears to be the 
 Grand Marquis de Toiirnay^ Francis Dellmar, commander, 
 from St. Domingo for Bordeaux ; is pierced for 24 guns 
 (20 upon the upper deck and 4 upon the lower deck), but has 
 only 12 six-pounders mounted. She came out of St. 
 Domingo with 31 sail, under convoy of six men-of-war, 
 one of 80 guns, four of 74 guns, and a frigate of 36 guns, 
 who saw them through the windward passage and then left 
 them. Found on board the prize, Captain John Mackay, 
 and his crew, of the Sarah., brig, bound from Bristol for 
 Boston, whom they had taken on the 3rd ult. The English 
 prisoners report that the brig was retaken on the 15th by two 
 men-of-war, and that the Frenchmen had behaved extremely 
 civil to them." 
 
 The cargo of the Le Grand Marquis de Tournayy valued 
 at upwards of ;i^20,ooo, as advertised to be sold by the 
 candle at the Bath Coffee-house, consisted of 494 hogsheads, 
 13 tierces, and 4 barrels of sugar ; 19 butts, 35 hogsheads, 
 30 tierces, and 83 barrels of coffee ; 2 butts, 7 hogsheads, 
 24 tierces, 31 barrels, and 4 ankers of indigo ; 22 whole, and 
 117 half hides ; and 8)4 tons of logwood. The vessel, also 
 sold by auction, was described as '*a firm, good ship of 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 129 
 
 about 450 tons burthen, pierced for 22 guns, prime sailer 
 and very fit for a privateer or merchantman." Referring to 
 this capture, the Liv^erpool paper tells us that " all the officers 
 and the whole ship's company gave Captain Hutchinson 
 the best of characters, both as to conduct, courage and 
 humanity. He would not permit the least article to be taken 
 from any of the French prisoners, and to the honour 
 of the whole crew, each man behaved well in his station. 
 Some of the landsmen, who had not been at sea before, 
 could scarcely be kept within bounds, they were so eager 
 to come to action. Several who had entered themselves for 
 seamen, on trial proved to be incapable of their duty, and 
 have been since they came into this port discharged." 
 
 In a few days the Liverpool sailed on the remainder of 
 her cruise fully manned, and on the 26th July, gave chase 
 to a sail which she came up with a mile from Ushant. The 
 Frenchmen on board, guessing that the Liverpool was 
 an English cruiser, escaped from their vessel in the long 
 boat. The prize, which Captain Hutchinson took possession 
 of without firing a gun, for fear of alarming the fort, proved 
 to be the Sampson^ 200 tons burthen, from Antigua for 
 Bristol, laden with 248 hogsheads, 25 tierces, and 9 barrels 
 of sugar, 20 puncheons of rum, and ^-^ bags of ginger. She 
 had been taken six days before by a French privateer. ' ' The 
 people arrived here in the Sampson,'' says the Advertiser^ 
 '' give the ship Liverpool a. very great character, and say that 
 she sails remarkable fast. They fell in with six sail of 
 French men-of-war and wronged them, and had not seen 
 any vessel but they could either leave or speak with. All 
 hands were well and in great spirits." 
 
 Having despatched the Sampson to Liverpool, Captain 
 Hutchinson went in futile quest of a large French merchant- 
 man, of whom a vessel had given him intelligence, and 
 meeting with a 17-gun French privateer, chased her on shore 
 on the coast of France. He also destroyed a fishing schooner, 
 
130 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 after stripping her and taking off the crew prisoners. 
 Falling in about this time with the Fame privateer, of lo 
 guns and 70 men, belonging to Guernsey, the two privateers 
 made an agreement to cruise in consort, to share what they 
 should capture in proportion to their guns and men, until 
 they arrived at Kinsale, the place of rendezvous. The 
 Guernsey captain being "extremely well acquainted with 
 the French coast," a pretty little scheme Avas arranged 
 between him and Hutchinson. They cruised close in shore, 
 for the purpose of entering Bordeaux river and cutting out 
 some of the ships in that harbour, the little Guernsey man 
 appearing as a French privateer, with a prize — the Liver- 
 pool — in company, but as soon as they got into twenty fathom 
 water, they fell in with the ship Titrbot, and a brig and a 
 snow in company with her, all of which they captured, the 
 Guernsey privateer convoying the three prizes to Kinsale, 
 while the Liverpool gave chase to three other vessels in 
 sight. The Turhot was described as a ship of about 200 
 tons burthen, laden with 500 barrels of flour, 400 barrels of 
 wine, 200 barrels pork, 100 barrels beef, 100 ankers brandy, 
 4,000 gold and silver laced hats, 3,000 pairs shoes, slops, &c.* 
 One of the three prizes, the brig La Muette, laden with bale 
 goods, small arms, wines, stores, etc., was entirely lost in 
 St. Bride's Bay, near Milford Haven, where the natives 
 plundered all that was saved of the cargo. Another of the 
 prizes, the brig Six B?'others, about 100 tons burthen, 
 arrived safe in Liverpool, and was sold by auction with all 
 her cargof at the Merchants' Coffee-house, 
 
 * When the Tiirbot was advertised to he sold by auction with all her materials 
 and cargo, her Lurthen was giveni as about 220 tons, and her cargo as consisting of 
 no tuns of red and white wine, 7 cases of sweet wines, 15 tuns, 2 ankers and 20 
 casks of brandy, 2 casks of loaf sugar, 138 cases of soap (quantity aliout 50 pound 
 weight each), 4 barrels of prunes (quantity about 684 pounds weight), 28 casks of 
 vinegar, 6 tons of bay salt, 200 bairels and 34 ankers of pork, 104 cases of sweet 
 oil, 37 cheeses, 21 casks of shoes, 2 hales of coarse jackets, 10 bales of coarse cloth 
 containing 30 pieces each, I bale containing 9 quilts, 50 cases of drams, 4 barrels 
 of artichokes, 34 barrels of lice, 150 casks of flour. 
 
 t The cargo was described as follows : 57 tuns of red and white wine, 250 barrels 
 of flour, 73 casks of pork, 100 cases quantity about 40 lbs. of soap each, 120 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 131 
 
 The Liverpool arrived in the Mersey from her cruise on 
 the 24th of November, 1757. The following is an extract 
 from Captain Hutchinson's journal : — 
 
 "On September nth, left Kinsale ; little occurred, only 
 speaking- neutral bottoms and English privateers, till Thurs- 
 day, October 7th, gave chase to a snow ; little winds and 
 calm, obliged to ply our oars ; spoke a Spaniard, who informed 
 us that the chase was a privateer that had only been 13 days 
 from Dunkirk, and had met with no success. We continued 
 the chase till Wednesday, the 2nd inst., and then saw several 
 sail, particularly two vessels engage ; from the inequality of 
 the fire, we judged the larg^er to be a French ship privateer, 
 and the other a Bristol snow, whom the Duke of CornioaU 
 privateer had that day told us of. Night coming on, about 
 three quarters past seven, in lat. 47, long. 12.30, came up with 
 the ship, standing and stemming- for her quarter, and hailed 
 him in French by mistake. Without answering- he made us 
 feel the weight of his broadside, and carried away our fore- 
 top-g-allant mast, part of the head of our foremast, fired a shot 
 through the middle of our main-mast, carried away our lower 
 steering sail boom and fore chain plate, three of our lower 
 shrouds and bobstay, and gave us a shot which went through 
 our bends near the water's edge. He ill damaged our sails 
 and running rigging, and wounded 28 of our men. We soon 
 found our mistake, the vessel proving to be his Majesty's ship 
 the Antelope., in company with her prize, a French privateer, 
 taken in sigfht of us. We lay by all night repairing" our rig- 
 ging-, &c., and a fleet in the morning appearing- in sight, 
 immediately crowded after, and soon found them to be 
 Sir Edward Hawke and Admiral Boscawen's fleet, 14 in 
 
 firkins ot butter, 100 cases of candles, each about 30 lbs. weight, 200 cases of 
 sweet oy], 100 Dutch cheeses, and 2 casks of cheese, 1.500 lbs. weight of nails, 
 2 casks of twine, 10 anchors of lamp oyl, 5 chests containing lOO fuzees, 5 chests 
 containing bayonets for fuzees and other hardware, 2 casks of shoes, 50 bundles of 
 woodhoops, 6 pairs of boots, 2 bales of light canvas, and i bale of shirts for n( groes. 
 The flour was stored at Mr. Traft ird's warehouse in Trafford's Weint ; the pork 
 and butter at Mr. Earle's cellar in Strand street, and the soap, candles, and cheese 
 at Mr Earle's warehouse in Hanover Street. The Trafibrds have long since 
 vanished from Liverpool life, but the Earles still assist in making history at home 
 and abroad. 
 
132 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 number. The Royal ]ViUiuin broug-ht us to, and we kept 
 them company. On Thursday, the loth, nine more sail of 
 men-of-war joined us, in the whole 23, but several of the ships 
 parted company, owing- to thick, hazy weather. We continued 
 with them till Monday, the 21st, being- then in lat. 47, long-it. 
 12.30. Were oblig-ed to leave the fleet, consisting- of 18 sail, 
 on account of a fever and flux raging- amongst our ship's 
 company, owing-, it is presumed, to the unlucky accident of 
 wounding^ our men. We buried six, and had 103 sick when 
 we left the fleet, having- not quite finished our cruise." 
 
 "On Wednesday," says the Adver/iser, "w^ere committed 
 to the -waves, universally lamented, the remains of Mr. James 
 Holt,* a young volunteer on board the Liverpool privateer, 
 wliose personal merit and bravery gained him the general 
 respect of the commander, officers and whole crew. He 
 was son to an eminent manufacturer in Rochdale, 
 Lancashire." 
 
 The Liverpool having been new masted and completely 
 fitted for another cruise, was ready for sea at the end of 
 January, 1758, but we do not learn anything more of her 
 movements until April 30th, when she sailed into the Mole 
 of Leghorn with three prizes — the tartan St. Le7vis, laden 
 with hemp, sugar, marble, copper, etc., the tartan Jesus, 
 Mary and Joseph, laden with corn and linen rags, and the 
 ta.rta.n Joseph, Mary and Josvph, with timber for the King's 
 yard, all from Marseilles for Toulon. These vessels formed 
 
 * The Holts are numerous in the neighbourhood of Rochdale, and claim to be 
 off-shoots of the Holts of Grizlehurst. One of Liverpool's merchant princes, .Mr. 
 George Holt, the founder of the firm of George Holt & Co., cotton brokers, India 
 Buildings, Liverpool, was born on Midsummer Day, 1790, at Town Mill, Rochdale. 
 The event took place at six o'clock in the morning, and an old servant remarked — 
 knowing well the characteristics of the family — that he had "just been born in 
 time to l)egin a day's work." At the age of 17, and with a guinea, the parting gift 
 of his father, in his pocket, he came to Liverpool as an apprentice to Mr. Samuel 
 Hope, a cotton broker. In order to eke out his slender resources during the years 
 of apprenticeship he carried on upon his own account a small business in coarse 
 canvas for mending cotton bags. At the age of 22, when his a])prenticeship expired, 
 lie was offered a partnership by his employer, and this he accepted. He ma'ried 
 Miss Emma Durning, eldest daughter of Mr. Robert Burning, in 1822, and became 
 a "numerous father." His career was marked by unusual versatility and energy, 
 and of such are the makers of great seaports and large cities. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 133 
 
 part of a small fleet of coasting craft which Captain 
 Hutchinson had fallen in with, and had not M. de la Clue 
 in his return to Toulon appeared in sight, the Liverpool 
 probably would have taken the whole fleet. Captain 
 Hutchinson's plan was to capture a fishing boat, which he 
 sent close in shore to cut the enemy off from the land. He 
 had taken a fourth vessel, but being a heavy sailer he was 
 obliged to let her go as soon as de la Clue's squadron 
 appeared. He had a narrow escape from a French fleet off 
 the coast of Portugal, and was actually reported in Lloyd's 
 List as taken and carried to Toulon. The captured vessel, 
 however, proved to be the Enterprise^ of Bristol, Captain 
 Lewis. The safety and continued activity of the Liverpool, 
 was demonstrated by her sending into Cagliari a French 
 privateer of 24 guns and 200 men, which was said to be 
 "worth 50,000 dollars, exclusive of head and gun money 
 as a privateer." On the 23rd of August, the Liverpool 
 arrived in the Mersey, bringing in with her the ship Roy 
 Gaspard* a French privateer of 22 guns, burthen about 
 350 tons, bound from Messina to Marseilles, which she 
 had taken and carried to Gibraltar. The Liverpool had 
 previously sent home two Dutch vessels named the Sarah 
 and Margaretta and the Jong Barbara, laden with sugar, 
 coffee and indigo, which she had taken on their passage 
 from St. Eustatia. 
 
 Captain Hutchinson, being greatly interested in his 
 scheme for supplying the town with live fish, relinquished 
 the command of the Liverpool to his first lieutenant and 
 
 * The 7\oy Gaspard was sold by auction at the Merchants' Coffee-liouse, a 
 tavern at the south-west corner of St. Nicholas's Churchyard, wi:h a doorway 
 opening upon the churchyard. It was erected about the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, and was for many years the favourite resort of the commercial community. 
 The large room entering from the churchyard commanded a fine view of the river. 
 Mere, during the latter half of the eighteenth century were held the principal 
 auction sales of ships and property. It was the boisterous conduct of the sea 
 captains at this tavern that led to the erection of the Athena;um in Church Street, a 
 haven in which Mr. Roscoe, Dr. Currie, and other men of literary tastes could 
 rest undisturbed by slave captains and privateer commanders. 
 
134 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 relation, Captain Ward, and on September ist, the following 
 advertisement appeared in the newspapers : — 
 
 " For a third cruise against the Enemies of Great Britain, 
 the fortunate ship Liverpool privateer, under the command of 
 Capt. John Ward, and will be ready for sea as soon as she 
 comes out of the Graving" Dock. She carries 22 guns (18 of 
 which are twelve-pounders), and 160 men. All gentlemen 
 Seamen and others who are willing to try their fortunes, may 
 apply to the Commander, or Mr. Henry Hardware, Merchant." 
 
 Either the change of commanders, or some mysterious 
 underhand work, raised difficulties, which led to the inser- 
 tion of the following notice in the Advertiser of September 
 15th:— 
 
 "Whereas the seamen who have entered to ^o the cruise 
 in the ship Liverpool privateer, agreed and were warned by 
 the public cryer to go on board the said ship on Monday 
 Evening, and are not yet gone on board ; This is to give 
 Notice that the gentlemen who had subscribed for the outset of 
 the said ship, to send her in quest of the Marshal Belleisle, 
 think it now too late ; therefore, all seamen Avho are inclined 
 to go the six months' cruise, as was at first intended, may apply 
 to Capt. Ward, near the Old Dock Gates." 
 
 The editor, commenting on the above in the same issue 
 of the paper, says : — 
 
 "On Saturday last, Capt. Wm. Hutchinson, late com- 
 mander (and part-owner) of the Liverpool privateer (notwith- 
 standing he had appointed his lieutenant to the command of the 
 ship, intending to stay at home in order to forward his scheme 
 of supplying this market with live fish), proposed to undertake 
 the command of her once more, and attempt to curb the 
 insolence of Monsieur Thurot, of the Marshal Belleisle priva- 
 teer, cruising in the North Channel, to intercept the trade of this 
 neighbourhood. Upon which the principal Merchants gener- 
 ously opened a subscription, to indemnify the owners of the 
 privateer, and to advance each seaman five guineas in hand, for 
 one month's (31 days) cruise, exclusive of their right to the 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 135 
 
 customary shares of prize money. Notwithstandingf 207 sea- 
 men had signed the articles, yet as soon as the ship was ready 
 for sea, on Tuesday, only 28 appeared, which obliged the sub- 
 scribers to drop the cruise, knowing- that unless she got out 
 immediately, it would be impossible to execute the proposed 
 expedition in time. We can't avoid remarking that the intended 
 scheme was the most generous one ever offered in these parts, 
 and that probably no seamen ever had before such great 
 encouragement offered them for so short a cruise. Whoever 
 were the obstacles in preventing the scheme being put into 
 execution, will always be deemed enemies to the trade of this 
 port, especially when the public are acquainted that upwards of 
 700 pounds was generously subscribed to the outset, exclusive 
 of insuring the value of the vessel to the owners, and the gen- 
 tlemen had undertaken to procure several hundred pounds 
 more from their neighbouring friends." 
 
 The Liverpool sailed on another cruise on Sunday, 
 October 15th, 1758, and in the following January arrived at 
 Falmouth, having captured some Dutch ships and sent 
 them to Ireland. On March ist, she arrived in the Mersey, 
 though her cruise was not fully expired, and on April 12th, 
 1759, she was sold by auction at the Merchants' Coffee- 
 house, having in her capacity as a privateer proved herself 
 Avorthy of the name she bore.* 
 
 In February, 1759, Captain Hutchinson was appointed by 
 the magistrates and common council, principal water bailiff, 
 and dockmaster of Liverpool, a position he held for about 
 forty years. About three months later, a man named 
 Murphy, one of the Neia Anson privateersmen, presented a 
 
 loaded pistol at Captain Hutchinson, saying, " D -you, 
 
 you are a villain," an act and sentiment which the captain 
 promptly reciprocated by seizing the man by the collar and 
 
 *Ia the paper of Sept. 28th, she is advertised in a new character: — "For 
 New York, and will be clear to sail in three weeks, the ship Liverpool, burthen 
 250 tons, a remarkable fast sailing vessel, "ith good accommodations for 
 passengers. For freight, redemptioners, indented servants, or passengers, apply 
 to Messrs. Trallord & Bird, Merchants, or James Chambers, Commander." 
 
136 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 wrenching the pistol — which luckily missed fire — from his 
 grasp. Mr. Murphy was secured, tried at Lancaster, and 
 sentenced to serve in the navy for life. 
 
 Captain William Hutchinson was a remarkable man. His 
 work on seamanship and naval architecture, and the variety 
 of pursuits in which he was engaged during a long and busy 
 life, his charities and his hobbies, all go to prove that he was 
 of a higher type than the generality of men in his calling at 
 that period. Judging by Sir Horace Mann's description of 
 certain English admirals and sea captains with whom he had 
 dealings in his official capacity as English Resident at 
 Florence, the two Liverpool privateer commanders, 
 Fortunatus Wright and William Hutchinson, compare very 
 favourably in education, intelligence, professional skill and 
 daring, with many officers of rank in the King's navy. Mr. 
 Bryan Blundell, who was well acquainted with Hutchinson, 
 said "that his whole life was one unwearied scene of 
 industrious usefulness," and this is confirmed by the closing 
 words of the preface to the " Practical Seaman,"* where the 
 author says, "as my best endeavours have hitherto been 
 exerted for the public good, without any other motive, so 
 will they be continued by the public's humble servant, 
 William Hutchinson." In the same preface he refers to the 
 unexpected difficulties he found " in being a new writer, 
 venturing to lead the way on so important and extensive a 
 subject in this learned, criticising age ; " but, he says, 
 "for my imperfections as a scholar, I hope the critics 
 will make allowance for my having been early in life at sea 
 as cook of a small collier ; and having since then gone 
 through all the most active enterprising employments I 
 could meet with as a seaman, who has done his best, and 
 
 " Principal Dock Master of Liverpool, Captain William Hutchinson at No. i. 
 on the north side of the Old Dock Gates. One whose great knowledge and 
 ingenuity has proved of infinite service to this port, and to whom the British mariner 
 stands indebted for a Iqarned and curious Treatise on Practical Seamanship, &c." 
 — Prestwich's MS. History of Liverpool, p. 239. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 137 
 
 who, as an author, would be glad of any remarks candidly 
 pointing out how to improve his defects, if there should be 
 a demand for another edition." As a native of Newcastle- 
 on-Tyne, he was naturally proud of the seamanship of those 
 among whom his early life had been passed, and mentions 
 that " the best lessons for tacking and working to windward, 
 in a little room, are in the colliers bound to London, where 
 many great ships are constantly employed, and where 
 Avages are paid by the voyage, so that interest makes them 
 dexterous and industrious to manage their ships with few 
 men in a complete manner in narrow channels, more so 
 than, perhaps, in any other trade by sea in the world." He 
 tells us that the sight of a fleet of 200 or 300 colliers 
 sailing out of the harbour of Newcastle for London in 
 one tide, and their dexterous navigation in passing and 
 crossing each other in so little room, made a "travelling 
 French gentleman of rank to hold up his hands and 
 exclaim, that it was there France was conquered." While 
 expressing his belief, based on long experience in different 
 trades, that the seamen engaged in the coal and coasting 
 trade to London, "are the most perfect in working their 
 ships in narrow, intricate and difficult channels, and in tide 
 ways," he admits that "those in the East Lidia trade are 
 so on the open seas." He believed that the custom of 
 heaving the hand-lead and singing out the soundings, 
 "which is peculiar to our seamen," originated in the 
 coasting trade to London, where their success and safety 
 depended greatly upon it, and quotes a saying attributed 
 to Dr. Halley, that the system of navigation in his time 
 depended upon three L's, meaning. Lead, Latitude and 
 Look-out. There was some kind of Ship Club in Liverpool 
 in his time, for he says :— 
 
 " A late great mathematician at Liverpool, Mr. Richard 
 Holden, who found Theory from the Attractive Powers of 
 Nature to agree with my observations on the tides, and made 
 
138 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 a most excellent tide table from them, used often to say, at 
 what we called a Ship Club, that there was no hidden or 
 unknown principle concerned in the art of building, sailing-, 
 working, and managing of ships, but the laws of motion, the 
 pressure of fluids, and the properties of the lever, which are 
 all well known to British Philosophers, and that nothing was 
 more deserving their attention and pursuit, in order to bring 
 these arts to their utmost perfection." 
 
 It is much to be regretted that Captain Hutchinson did 
 not write a regular narrative of his own adventurous and 
 useful life. It is only by stray paragraphs scattered through 
 his voluminous printed work to illustrate various points in 
 the argument, that we are able to form an imperfect sketch 
 of his career, as a supplement to what has gone before. 
 Having risen from the position of cook's cabin boy and 
 beer drawer for the men in a small collier, to the dignity 
 of a forecastle man, he made his first voyage to Madras 
 and China in 1738, "when our East India ships had open 
 waists." " Not having water to ^o over the Flatts in turn- 
 ing to windward down the Swin, the common track for our 
 deep-loaded colliers, our vessel," he says, "shipped and 
 leaked so much water, that it took all the pumps to keep 
 her free, so that when we got into the Downs, the crew 
 protested against going the voyage, without her being 
 lightened, but a 50-gun ship of war being near, a signal 
 was made, and they came and took the principal ring- 
 leaders out, and we proceeded on the voyage." There was 
 no Mr. Plimsoll to fight for poor Jack's rights in those 
 days, and, indeed, had he miraculously turned up, they 
 would have bundled him on board a tender and made an 
 excellent man-of-war's man of him, as no doubt they did 
 of every "collier" they impressed. On this voyage to 
 the East Indies he was three months terribly ill of the 
 scurvy, and found himself benefited by the use of tea, a 
 habit confirmed by what he saw of the Chinese style of 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 130 
 
 living at Canton, and for the rest of his hfe he, Hke Dr. 
 Johnson, became a confirmed lover of tea. The doctor 
 is said to have taken forty cups a day, hence, probably, 
 his morbid fear of death ; but Hutchinson only took tea 
 twice a day, and his method of making it on board ship, 
 where there were no tea utensils, w^as by putting- the leaves 
 into a quart bottle filled with fresh water, corked up, and 
 boiled in the ship's kettle along with the salt beef. This 
 mode of brewing was a great success, especially in stormy 
 weather, when teapots, cups and saucers and such like 
 could not have kept their sea-legs. 
 
 He acted as mate of a bomb's tender in Hieres Bay with 
 the fleet under Matthews and Lestock, and shortly after 
 sailed in "a fine frigate-built ship for the Leghorn trade, 
 that carried 20 six-pounders on her main-deck, and went a- 
 cruising in the Mediterranean." It was probably at this time 
 he made the acquaintance of Fortunatus Wright. The fol- 
 lowing incident may have occurred on board Wright's ship, 
 when Hutchinson, as Professor Laughton suggests, was 
 officer of the watch, or he may have been in independent 
 command. He was at any rate cruising in the Mediter- 
 ranean during the war of 1747, with the prisoners of three 
 French prizes on board, at their entire liberty on deck. He 
 had just sent nearly all his own men aloft, to execute an 
 order, when he providentially noticed one of the French 
 captains about to give the alarm for the Frenchmen to rise 
 and take the ship. Hutchinson immediately ran up to the 
 Frenchman, pistol in hand, "and told him coolly that he 
 should be the first that should die by the attempt, which 
 stopped his proceeding." This affair taught him two 
 lessons — that prisoners for the future should be sent up 
 aloft to assist in the work ; and that ceremonious professions 
 are not to be depended on, for the French captain in 
 question, when first brought on board, was the pink of 
 politeness. He *' made many apologies and begged that he 
 
140 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 might not be ill-treated for the resistance he made in 
 defending his ship, and was answered that he should be 
 treated rather better than worse for doing his duty like a 
 brave and honest man." 
 
 In 1750, he was concerned with ''that worthy hero. 
 Captain Fortunatus Wright," in purchasing and fitting out 
 the Leostoff, 20 gun frigate of war, with lighter guns and 
 materials than she formerly carried, and loaded her with a 
 general cargo for the West Indies. During one of his 
 voyages, he slept on the bare ground in the Bay of Honduras, 
 fell very ill of the flux, and was suddenly cured in a more 
 surprising and original manner than if he had taken a 
 modern patent universal healer. He was then acting as 
 commodore of a fleet of ships in the Bay, and being told 
 that some strange vessels were entering without first send- 
 ing in their boats, as usual, to make known who they were, 
 he gave orders to fire at them. As the ships still came on, 
 heedless of the warning, he got alarmed, was roused to action, 
 and immediately recovered. 
 
 Captain Hutchinson, in conjunction with his partner, 
 Mr. Ward, made a plucky endeavour to perform for 
 Liverpool, in 1757, the service which Frank Buckland 
 rendered London in the nineteenth century. In the paper 
 of June loth, of that year, we read that Messrs. Hutchinson 
 and Ward had fixed a large store-well-vessel in the river, 
 near the Woodside-house, in which they fed their fish as 
 the codsmacks brought them in, and for the conveniency 
 of the Cheshire markets they sold fish on board. The 
 enterprise was not successful, and probably swallowed up 
 some of the money made by the Captain in privateering 
 and other "active enterprising employments," as well as a 
 subsidy granted by the corporation in aid of the scheme. 
 The curious reason given in the paper of February 15th, 
 1760, for disposing of the Resolution, a codsmack employed 
 in the industry, is "the prejudice that prevails here against 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. Ul 
 
 fish brought in smacks, though the best in kind, by which 
 its consumption is so hindered that the proprietors cannot 
 with prudence support the vessel longer, though they have 
 had handsome allowance from the Corporation for the 
 support thereof." 
 
 His zeal for the interests of Liverpool was conspicuous 
 on many occasions, and could not have been greater, had 
 he been born within sound of St. Nicholas' bells, and 
 entitled to call himself "a genuine Dicky Sam." When 
 Thurot and his squadron entered the Irish Sea, and threw 
 Liverpool into a state of wild excitement, Captain Hutchin- 
 son's daring spirit was shown. With one associate onlv, 
 he raised a number of volunteers to man a few armed 
 vessels then in the river, with which he determined to 
 attack and conquer the enemy, or perish in the attempt. 
 The news of the gallant Frenchman's defeat and death 
 arrived, and rendered the enterprise unnecessary. 
 
 He was the inventor of reflecting mirrors for light- 
 houses, and, in 1763, he erected at Bidston the first mirror 
 of that kind ever used, consisting of small reflectors of 
 tinned plates, soldered together; and he also made larger 
 ones, as far as 12 feet diameter, formed of wood and 
 lined with numerous plates of looking-glass. A ridge of 
 rock and gravel, lying between the Rock Perch and the 
 south point of the Brazile sandbank, was named after 
 him, because he removed some obstructions which had 
 been placed there by "designing villains," and opened a 
 passage by cutting away the rock and deepening the 
 channel. 
 
 From the ist of January, 1768, to the i8th of August, 
 1793, Capt. Hutchinson continued a series of observations 
 on the tides, barometer, the weather, and the winds, the 
 MSS. of which he presented to the Liverpool Library. 
 From these were obtained the data by which the Holdens, 
 father and son, calculated the tide-tables. 
 
142 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 On a blank leaf, at the commencement, the following 
 memoranda are written in his own hand :— 
 
 "These five years' observations from 1768 to 1773, upon 
 the tide were made from solar time, and the winds from the 
 true meridian, and their velocity judged according to Mr. 
 Smeaton's rule, our great storms going at the rate of sixty 
 miles an hour. The thermometer, kept indoors, at the head 
 of a staircase, four stories high, by Wm. Hutchinson, at the 
 Old Dock Gates, Liverpool. The first sheets were cut out to 
 give Mr. Richard Holden, and aided him to make out the 3000 
 observations mentioned in his preface of his Tide Table, 
 by which he founded a theory, from natural causes, to agree 
 therewith." 
 
 It is to be regretted that Mr. Hutchinson did not suffer 
 copies to be taken rather than break such an uniform series 
 of observations, made with a punctuality and accuracy that 
 do infinite credit to his perseverance and talent. They 
 form most invaluable documents for reference and com- 
 parison. 
 
 His meteorological tables were kept in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 MORNING. 
 
 1768 
 
 M's 
 
 Moon's 
 
 Moon's 
 
 Moon's 
 
 Time of 
 
 Height 
 
 Winds, 
 
 Weather. 
 
 January 
 
 age 
 
 dis- 
 
 declin. 
 
 South 
 
 High 
 
 Ft. in. 
 
 their 
 
 Hazy and 
 
 I Friday 
 
 11 
 
 tance in 
 
 N. 
 
 E. 
 
 Water 
 
 14 3 
 
 veliicity 
 
 a hard 
 
 
 
 miles 
 
 25 29 
 
 9 59 
 
 H. M. 
 
 
 in miles 
 
 frost 
 
 
 
 284,384 
 
 
 
 8 45 
 
 
 1-60 
 S.E. 35 
 
 
 EVENING. 
 
 Time of 
 
 Heicht 
 
 Winds 
 
 Weather. 
 
 Tide's 
 
 Barom. 
 
 Ther. 
 
 High 
 
 Ft. in. 
 
 and 
 
 Cloudy and a 
 
 daily 
 
 29.2 
 
 34 
 
 Water 
 
 14 2 
 
 velocity 
 
 keen frost. 
 
 difference. 
 
 
 
 H. M. 
 
 
 E. 30 
 
 
 One tide 
 
 
 
 9 TO 
 
 
 
 
 M. 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 In May, 1775, he added to these a rain gauge. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 143 
 
 On the 4th of June, 1777, it was resolved: "That the 
 Corporation do make a compliment of Ten Guineas to 
 Captain William Hutchinson for his late ingenious publica- 
 tion of a book entitled the ' Practical Seaman,' being deemed 
 a book of great utility to commercial places." This work 
 elicited the following tribute from a competent authority: — 
 
 "Sir Thomas Frankland presents his compliments to 
 Mr. Hutchinson, and hopes he will approve their Institution. 
 He makes their Superintendent read over, with the eldest of 
 the boys, his Treatise on Seamanship* ; which he thinks 
 seems as if written for the instruction of their Maritime 
 School at Chelsea. November 30th, 1781. N.B. He wishes 
 the officers of the Navy would study it also." 
 
 Scattered through Captain Hutchinson's work is a vast 
 amount of matter which enables us to realize the difficulties 
 of the old navigators, who, previous to its publication " were 
 left entirely to learn their duty by their own and other 
 people's misfortunes." The captain was the pioneer, not 
 only of scientific seamanship, but of scientific shipbuilding, 
 for the marine architects, as well as the mariners of those 
 days, were either too conservative to adopt new methods, or 
 attempted impossibilities in defiance of the laws of Nature. 
 The annals of the eighteenth century teem with terrible 
 catastrophes arising from the crass ignorance of shipbuilders. 
 Vessels, with hundreds of people on board, suddenly capsized 
 before a puff of wind, simply owing to a radical defect in the 
 
 * In 1791, a new and enlarged edition of the work was issued with the 
 following formidable sub-title : — 
 
 "A Treatise founded upon Philosophical and Rational Principles, towards 
 establishing fixed rules for the best form and proportional dimensions in length, 
 breadth, and depth of Merchant's Ships in general ; and also the Management of 
 them to the greatest Advantage, by Practical Seamanship ; with important hints 
 and remarks relating thereto ; from long approved experience. By William 
 Hutchinson, ISIariner, and Dock Master at Liverpool. Liverpool : Printed by 
 Thomas Billinge, Castle Street, 1791." 
 
 "This book is most humbly dedicated to His Royal Highness William 
 Henry Duke of Clarence, President of that most patriotic Society, instituted at 
 London, for the improvement of Navai Architecture, by His Royal Highness's 
 Most Humble Servant, William Hutchinson." 
 
144 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 principle of construction. Many Liverpool ships were lost 
 in this manner, the Pelican privateer, which overset 
 opposite Seacombe, w^ith the loss of about 70 lives, being 
 comparatively a minor catastrophe. Captain Hutchinson, 
 speaking of ships being built too high, gives the following 
 instance : — " We had a late fatal loss of a large new frigate 
 on her first voyage, which had overset with upwards of five- 
 hundred slaves, and her crew all drowned except two seamen 
 and three slaves ; which added to the many other such 
 instances, proves the necessity to endeavour to get such 
 general rules fixed to prevent as much as possible such 
 dreadful losses." Two or three Liverpool vessels were 
 built on lines suggested by Captain Hutchinson, notably 
 the Hall and the Elizabeth for the Jamaica trade, both 
 of which proved veritable ''greyhounds of the Atlantic." 
 
 He tells an anecdote of Mr. Bryan Blundell, the noble- 
 hearted founder of the Blue Coat Hospital: — 
 
 " Being- appointed from our Pilots' Committee with 
 
 Mr. Bryan Blundell, Merchant, who had been a gfreat and 
 
 successful shallop-racer in the West .Indies, to go with two 
 
 of our pilot sloops and pilots to survey our neighbouring- ports, 
 
 to fix rules to examine our pilots by, the sloop we happened to 
 
 be in was the worst sailer of the two. Mr. Blundell said he 
 
 would make it sail better than the other without meddling 
 
 with the mast, sails, or rigging, or trimming her more by the 
 
 head or stern ; which he did by g-etting the Pilots to move the 
 
 heaviest loose materials from fore and aft into the main body 
 
 amidships, which answered the designed purpose, and made 
 
 her beat the other sloop as much as they beat us before." 
 
 He was never happier than when making experiments 
 
 and observations, afloat or ashore. At one time he is an 
 
 eye witness of some curious experiments made in a close 
 
 room by the "ingenious Mr. Smeaton," for the purpose of 
 
 discovering the fixed standard of velocity for windmill sails, 
 
 prior to the framing of his table of winds ; at another time, 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 145 
 
 he stands in a boat's stern sheets, going to attack a ship, 
 and takes particular notice that cannon shot will rebound 
 and rise about a man's height out of the water. Having 
 had a narrow escape, he observes: *' I saw the shot first 
 graze the water right ahead of us, and then rise and go 
 directly over our heads, and make ducks and drakes right 
 astern of us." So keen was this scientific instinct and 
 habit of observation in him, that even in action he made 
 mental notes of such facts as this: " I have seen a bombshell 
 turn round in the air, by the centre of gravity being near 
 the middle," etc. Most philosophers in similar circum- 
 stances would doubtless feel more solicitous regarding their 
 own centre of gravity. He experimented with a model of a 
 ship in a cistern of water to test the statement of his friend 
 Mr. Henry Bird, "a great shipbuilder at the Greenland 
 Dock, London," that ■^^i^ degrees, or three points of the 
 compass was the best angle "for sailing vessels' rudders to 
 be fixed to traverse to"; and not content with the cistern he 
 " having the management of our three long graving docks 
 at Liverpool, where we have in common ten or twelve ships 
 at a time repairing and cleaning," with a bevel tried the 
 traverse of many ships' rudders, and found that Mr. Bird's 
 rule was right. It appears that the Parkgate method of 
 hanging the rudders was heterodox, and caused the loss of 
 ships. He gives a curious account of the elaborate experi- 
 ments he made with models of ships, to find out their centre 
 of gravity and motion. The spectacle of the "old sea dog," 
 who had peppered and been peppered by "the enemies of 
 Great Britain " (and even by Great Britain herself, as in the 
 unfortunate affair of the Antelope man-of-war), being 
 thus engaged with his miniature ships, reminds us of 
 Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim conducting imaginary 
 sieges and campaigns in the kitchen garden, with this 
 difference, that Captain Hutchinson's hobbies had the merit 
 of being useful. 
 
Ii6 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 In 1789, he founded the Liv^erpool Marine Society, for the 
 benefit of masters of vessels, their widows, and children, 
 the first president being Mr. Thomas Staniforth. Mr. 
 Hutchinson subscribed one hundred guineas to it, and other 
 benevolent institutions of the town were liberally supported 
 by him. This is the more remarkable, because his stipend 
 Avas never more than one hundred guineas per annum, 
 although his duties at one time comprised both those now 
 exercised by the harbour master and those of a dock master. 
 It is said that he was accustomed to observe a particular 
 day, in each year, as one of strict devotion, in commemora- 
 tion of his providential deliverance at one period of his life, 
 when, after the loss of the vessel in which he sailed, he, and 
 others of the crew being without food, had drawn lots 
 to ascertain which of them should be put to death, in 
 order to furnish a horrible and revolting meal to the sur- 
 vivors. The lot fell upon Mr. Hutchinson, but he and his 
 fellow sufferers were saved by another vessel which hove 
 in sight. 
 
 Captain Hutchinson died at a ripe old age, in February, 
 1801, and was interred in St. Thomas' Churchyard, close 
 to the Old Dock and the office in which a great portion of his 
 life was passed. Upon the site of that dock now stands a 
 vast and gloomy pile of buildings, in a wing of which the 
 rulers of our modern docks meet and deliberate; but to most 
 of them the name of Captain Hutchinson is scarcely known, 
 and his deeds and personality are to them vague and 
 shadowy as those of the heroes of the Iliad. 
 
 He was evidently a kindly though firm commander. " I 
 once," he says, " had the pleasure of taking up one of 
 my seamen from under water, and to all appearance 
 drowned, but by our exertions recovered him, and the first 
 words he was able to speak (perceiving me busy about him) 
 were, * my dear Captain, pray for me.' To which I replied, 
 that as he was now in a fair way of recovery, I hoped he 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 147 
 
 would be able to pray for himself, and be thankful to Provi- 
 dence for his narrow escape." 
 
 In February, 1798, when a voluntary subscription, which 
 produced over ^17,000, was entered into in Liverpool, to 
 assist the government to meet the enormous expenses of 
 the war, Captain Hutchinson pledged himself to contribute 
 ;^20 per annum as long as the war lasted. 
 
 Captain Hutchinson was a religious man, and held that, 
 " since many a fruitful and flourishing land has been made 
 barren for the wickedness of its inhabitants, every impious 
 and profane man ought to be treated as the greatest enemy 
 to his country." He quotes Archbishop Tillotson's saying 
 that " no man can plead that he was born with a swearing 
 constitution," and recommends all commanders of ships to 
 have a reasonable part of Divine worship publicly performed 
 on board every day, "which," he observes, "to our shame, 
 be it spoken, is often, even in our large East India ships, 
 scandalously neglected. This, I can say from profitable 
 experience, contributes greatly to produce good order, har- 
 mony, and piety on board, and check disorder, vice, and im- 
 morality of every kind, even amongst the most dissolute 
 and ignorant in privateers, as well as merchants' ships." 
 We are not accustomed to associate privateering with Divine 
 worship, but here we have a privateer commander as devout 
 in his way as John Newton, the slave captain. For the first 
 fifteen years of his sea life in different trades, he never saw 
 any religious duty publicly performed on board, except that 
 in an East India ship for two or three Sundays, when they 
 drew near the Cape of Good Hope, they had prayers, which 
 ceased when danger passed away. He blames the East 
 India Company for " shamefully rating their large ships only 
 at 499 tons, in order to evade the expense of a clergyman, 
 and the penalty of the law for not carrying one." 
 
 It would be impossible to form a true estimate of the 
 character of this fine old privateer captain without reading 
 
148 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the concluding words of his *' Practical Seamanship. " 
 Referring to the "grand atoning sacrifice," he characteris- 
 tically observes : — - 
 
 "And how devoutly should we implore the promised 
 assistance of his aiding- and sanctifying- grace to conduct us 
 safe through this transitory voyage of life to a blessed and 
 happy eternity. Let us then, under the direction and guidance 
 of this great Author and Captain of our Salvation, our all 
 g-lorious Redeemer, Christ Jesus, pursue our course with 
 steadiness and resolution, and fight manfully under his banner; 
 looking up to him for succour in all our distresses and dif- 
 ficulties, who is powerful in heaven and earth, and will never 
 forsake or reject those who sincerely love and trust in him. 
 To whom be glory for ever. Amen." 
 
 This was the spirit that animated Cromwell and his "Iron- 
 sides," and no wonder the Liverpool privateersmen fought 
 so well, when men like William Hutchinson commanded 
 them. 
 
 The Windsor, Captain Joseph Clarke (a Letter of Marque), 
 about 300 tons burthen, of 12 six-pounders and 40 men, 
 belonging to Messrs. Edward Trafford & Sons,* was taken 
 on her passage from Liverpool to Philadelphia by a French 
 privateer of 18 guns, after engaging some time, and carried 
 to Bayonne. One of the crew of the Windsor, writing home 
 from Bayonne prison, which was " very sickly," tells how 
 Captain Clarke, Captain Grubb, and a Mr. Berry of Liver- 
 pool, made their escape from a French country town, where 
 they were at large on their " parole of honour." They were 
 soon retaken on their way to St. Sebastian and re-secured. 
 
 * Mr. Henry Trafford, uho died in 1740, during his mayoralty, had expressed a 
 wish that his liody should lie in state, and that an oval glass plate should be inserted 
 in the lid of his coffin, so that the spectators who knew him might take "a last, 
 lingering look." The wish was carried out to the letter, and even children were 
 held up to see the show. The Trafford's were a notable fomilyin Liverpool during 
 the eighteenth century, and became connected with the Leiglis, of Oughtrington. 
 In 1 76 1, Mr. Edward Trafford (who had been mayor in 1742) and his sons. Mr. 
 Richard Trafford (bailiff in 1755), and Mr. Wm. Traflbrd, all lived in King Street, 
 and Trafford's Weint in that locality still commemorates the family. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 149 
 
 The three prisoners lay all in one bed. Captain Clarke in 
 the dead of night, observing the guards to be asleep, made 
 his escape through the window, got clear off, and ultimately 
 arrived safe in Spain. Captain Grubb and Mr. Berry, 
 when they awoke and found their friend missing, attempted 
 to follow his example, but were seized when in the window, 
 and sent to Bayonne Castle. Captain Clarke at one time 
 commanded the Trafford, 200 tons burthen, 10 guns (six 
 and four-pounders), belonging to the same owners. 
 
 On the 25th of February, 1758, about 25 leagues S.S.E. from 
 Cape Tiburon, tht Adventure, Captain George Washington, 
 a ship belonging to Mr. Joseph Manesty, merchant — the 
 friend and employer of John Newton— was attacked by the 
 French brigantine SL Louis, of 10 six-pounders, 18 swivels, 
 and 120 men, which she fought five hours, most of the time 
 yard-arm and yard-arm. Captain Washington, writing from 
 Kingston, Jamaica, gives the following details : — 
 
 "During- the eng-agement I had one man killed (got at 
 Cork) and one wounded. The brig- had two killed and 19 
 wounded. We received four shot between wind and water, 
 several in the upper works ; gaft shot away, mainyard, fore- 
 topmast, and top-gallantmast disabled, two guns dismounted, 
 topmast stays, shrouds, backstays, futtock shrouds, shot away, 
 and not a lift or brace standings, but one strand of the main- 
 topsail brace. We had scarce any running rigging- but what 
 was shot away, sails in such a shattered condition that they 
 will not be fit to bend any more. Our powder being all 
 expended, to my great mortification, we were obliged to haul 
 down the colours. They saw our powder chests out of their 
 tops, or they would have boarded us. We must inevitably 
 have been most paf-t of us killed had it not been for Matrosses 
 and Kendal cottons we got out of the hold, and put upon the 
 inside of the filling up plank in the waist, for they had 60 men 
 at small arms. They stripped us of our clothes and instru- 
 ments, and carried us into Port St. Louis. On the 23rd of 
 March our ship's company arrived here, and on the 5th inst. 
 
150 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 we buried Samuel Chatterton, apprentice. Capt. Boats was 
 
 pleased to make me an offer of the vessel this comes by, but I 
 
 chose rather to keep your servants together, and to go to 
 
 Savannah La Mar, and take in your interest there. Large 
 
 vessels sell high, as it begins to be late in the year, and willing 
 
 to get in your debts and sail first convoy. I have with 
 
 Mr. Richd. Watt bought a brigantine of about 80 tons, which 
 
 we have called the Mary. She is a good vessel, well found, and 
 
 hope may get money. I assure you. Sir, your outstanding 
 
 debts gives me no small concern, but hope to be more careful 
 
 for the future, as I see the many evils attending it. You may 
 
 depend that I'll do my utmost endeavours to bring matters to 
 
 a conclusion. I have ten tons of logwood from Mr. Roper, 
 
 and will sail for Savannah La Mar in two days with a vessel 
 
 of force. Your servants are all with me. We shall certainly 
 
 sail first convoy, which will be about the loth of June, and 
 
 am, with gratitude for all favours conferred on me, &c." 
 
 This letter throws some light on the affairs of Mr. Manesty, 
 
 by whose subsequent failure the Rev. John Newton lost all 
 
 his savings, which he had entrusted to the keeping of his 
 
 generous benefactor and former employer. Captain Boats 
 
 was the celebrated merchant, " Billy Boats," or Boates, of 
 
 whom, and Mr. Richard Watt, we shall have occasion to 
 
 speak later on. 
 
 On the 15th of April, 1758, in latitude 46.20 N., longitude 
 12, west from London, the ship Pemberton, Captain Walter 
 Kirkpatrick, having outsailed her consorts, had the mis- 
 fortune to fall in with the Machaidt privateer, of Bayonne, 26 
 guns, and 320 men, which she mistook for a homeward 
 merchantman. On discovering the Frenchman's force, the 
 Pemberton made sail, and kept up a running fight with her 
 stern chase guns two hours and-a-half. In a letter to his 
 owners, written from a French prison, Captain Kirkpatrick 
 thus describes what ensued : — 
 
 "She soon gained on us, and when within pistol shot, we 
 fired broadside for broadside an hour and an half, and had it 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 151 
 
 not been for the continual fire from her small arms, whose 
 balls were like showers of hail and oblig-ed my men to run 
 from their quarters, perhaps we might have got clear, not- 
 withstanding her superior force. Thus overpowered, we were 
 obliged to strike. Our rigging, masts, yards, and sails were 
 very ill shattered, though our people were tolerably well shel- 
 tered. Four of our people were wounded ; George Godsall 
 (since dead). Mr. Woolley Maisterson had his leg shot away 
 by a 12 pound ball, which dismounted the gun he was quartered 
 at, went through the dog's body, and split in two on the 
 capson. He is now in a fair way of recovery ; Edward 
 Langshaw was ill hurt, but since recovered. All the rest in 
 good health. The Captain and officers behaved very well to 
 us, the former complimented me with my hanger, saying I 
 deserved one for fighting so long, and ordered me all my 
 clothes, watch, books, and instruments, of which I got part, 
 the remainder being plundered during my being on board the 
 privateer, which I think is as near the model of the Liverpool 
 man of war (now in Liverpool) as possible. This day we are 
 ordered all into close confinement, and those who can find bail 
 for ;^i5o are allowed to ^q on parole about ten miles into the 
 country. Your letters of credit will be extremely acceptable, 
 &c." 
 
 On May 29th, 1758, XSxo. Ellen (Letter of Marque), Captain 
 Kirby, 14 carriage guns (8 four-pounders, 4 six-pounders, 
 and 2 two-pounders), in latitude 48"", 150 leagues W. by S. 
 from Cape Clear, met with a large French ship, mounting 
 18 guns (six-pounders) and full of men, " whom he engaged 
 very warmly for near three hours, till dark. Captain Kirby 
 received three shots in his hull, which went through him, 
 five through his mainsail, six through his fore top sail, and 
 one in the head of his foremast. In the morning, Captain 
 Kirby gave him a broadside ; Monsieur returned the com- 
 pliment and took to his heels, which surprised them, as she 
 appeared to be full of soldiers, and of so much superior 
 force." In June of the same year, Messrs. Joseph and 
 
152 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Jonathan Brooks, the owners of the Ellen, while searching 
 the snow Prince William, a Dutch bottom, captured by that 
 vessel, found concealed in a barrel of coffee, a large packet 
 of French letters, several of which were advices to merchants 
 in France, particularising great part of her cargo to be 
 French property, and shipped undercover. Other letters in 
 this important find mentioned large quantities of goods 
 shipped in different Dutch bottoms, etc. In the summer of 
 1759, on her passage from Liverpool to Jamaica, the Ellen 
 fell in with three French privateers, whom she engaged 
 several hours, but a fourth privateer joining the others, they 
 all boarded the Ellen, took her, and carried her into 
 Martinico. The gallant Captain Kirby and seven of his men 
 were wounded in the action. 
 
 Captain Spears, of the Gramrille, who arrived in Liverpool 
 from Edenton, North Carolina, with a cargo of tar and 
 tobacco, had the ill-fortune to meet with they^?///'/er privateer, 
 of Bayonne, 22 guns, and 250 men. Captain Jean Maubeaule, 
 and agreed to pay the said captain ;^5oo, as ransom money 
 for his ship and cargo on his arrival at Liverpool. The 
 French captain, a Frenchman of the old school, treated 
 Captain Spears very politely ; offered him bread, water, 
 and anything his ship afforded, but begged to carry off 
 Mr. Alexander Scott, the chief mate, as "ransomer," or 
 security for .the due payment of the ransom money. The 
 Jupiter also captured the Knutsford, Captain Sefton, from 
 Liverpool for St. Kitts, and ransomed her for fifteen hundred 
 guineas. 
 
 The practice of ransoming vessels for large sums of money 
 continued during the whole of this war and during part of 
 the American war, but it was then declared illegal. The 
 late Sir John Tobin, when a boy, on his first voyage narrowly 
 escaped being carried off as a "ransomer," along with the 
 mate and one of the able seamen of the ship. Fortunately 
 for him, the captain of the privateer, who was an Irish 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 153 
 
 Frenchman, Captain Kelly by name, had known his father 
 at Douglas, and on finding whose son he was, sent him 
 away rejoicing. 
 
 But a ransom, however desirable, could not always be 
 arranged, as will be seen from the following letter, written 
 by Captain Josiah Wilson, of the Aurora, to his owners in 
 Liverpool, from St. Andero in Spain, and dated June 12th, 
 
 1758:- 
 
 "We were unfortunately taken by the Jupiter Privateer, 
 belonging- to Bayonne, on the 24th of May last, in lat. 45 30 N. 
 and 33 40 W. Long, from London, which is farther to the west- 
 ward than anyone could imagine an European Privateer would 
 cruize. She has taken six prizes this cruize, exclusive of our 
 vessel, three of which belong to Glasgow. One of the prizes she 
 took was got as far to the westward as 40 degrees from London. 
 We fell in with her in the night, but never saw her till the 
 morning, when she was about a league to windward of us, and 
 steering the same course we did. I took her for some English 
 merchantman, as her guns were all housed. We were well 
 prepared for an engagement, but as soon as she came alongside, 
 they ran out their guns, and fired into us ; two of their shot 
 struck us but killed none of our men. There was no contend- 
 ing with a ship of her force, for she mounted 22 guns, 12 nine- 
 pounders, and 10 six-pounders, with 280 men, and frigate built. 
 I could not ransom her upon any account, for as the ship's 
 cruize was just out, they determined to return and convoy their 
 prize to Bayonne. We were busking in the Bay of Biscay ten 
 days, where I was in great hopes of being retaken by some 
 English cruizer, but am now out of all hopes, the prize as well 
 as the privateer being both at anchor in this port, which is about 
 35 leagues from Bayonne." 
 
 In November, 1758, Captain Wm. Part, formerly a com- 
 mander in the Virginia trade, died at Prescot, and his 
 remains were brought to Liverpool for interment. His 
 funeral was attended by ten of the oldest seamen's widows, 
 to whom he left each thirty shillings for a gown, handker- 
 
154 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 chief and hood ; and by the Blue Coat Hospital boys, to 
 whom he had been a great benefactor. He left ;i^5o to the 
 Infirmary ; ;^200 to a school which he built at Hale, and 
 loaves of bread to be given to the poor of that township 
 every Sunday. He had, it seems, intended ;^6oo more for 
 the school, but withdrew it on account of some disagree- 
 ment with the lord of the manor. To a number of his poor 
 relations he left legacies, but would not allow them to attend 
 his funeral. He also built four almshouses in Prescot, in 
 which parish this curious old "sea dog," who performed 
 other good deeds, had resided some time — probably to be 
 inaccessible to his poor relations !* 
 
 During the year 1758, the French had decidedly the best 
 of the privateering. In March, no ships of any sort sailed 
 from Liverpool, or arrived in the port, for some weeks, owing 
 to the boldness of the Frenchmen " which laid an effectual 
 embargo on the coast." Yet the paper of December ist, 
 was able to speak in the following comfortable strain : — " It 
 has been remarked by those who have access to know 
 the truth, that England never carried on a greater trade, not 
 only in any time of war, but even in any time of peace than 
 at this period, and this chiefly at the expense of our enemies' 
 commerce; so that the nation is thereby a double gainer. 
 And never in the memory perhaps of any now alive were 
 Great Britain's power and reputation abroad higher than at 
 present." 
 
 The reduction of Cape Breton was a fatal blow to the 
 French trade, and most beneficial to the British, for the 
 rates of insurance to America, etc., fell from 25 and even 30 
 per cent, to no more than 12, while the enemies' rates rose 
 in proportion to the falling of ours. 
 
 * Baines, in his " History of Lancashire," states that over the porch of the 
 Grammar School at Childvvall, founded and endowed by William Part, and afford- 
 ing instruction to about twelve boys, is this inscription : — " M. S. Hoc .-Tuliticium 
 Gulielmus Part a longa Majorum hujus Pagi Indigenarum oriundus sue solius 
 Impendio extruxit Censuque Donavit Anno S. H. IMDCCXXXIX." 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 
 
 155 
 
 On the 13th of February, 1759, forty-five merchants and 
 shipowners of Liverpool addressed a letter to Mr. Robert 
 Williamson, ^xmX.o.'c oixho. Liverpool Advertiser^ requesting- 
 him to suppress the list of vessels sailing from the port, as 
 they had "too much reason to apprehend" that it had 
 "been of very bad consequence this war." The signatures 
 attached to the document are those of the principal ship- 
 owners of Liverpool at that stirring period :— 
 
 Matthew Stronge 
 Robert Cheshire 
 John White 
 R. Armitage 
 George Campbell 
 James Clemens 
 John Stronge 
 William Gregson 
 James Brown 
 John Parr 
 Thomas Rumbo!d 
 John Stanton 
 John Hammer 
 William Fleetwood 
 William Trafford 
 
 Richard Savage 
 John Bridge 
 George Drinkwater 
 William Williamson 
 Robert Hesketh 
 John Maine 
 John Ashton 
 Thomas Mears 
 Henry Hardwar 
 John Hughes 
 Edward Parr 
 William Crosliy 
 John Ansdell 
 Samuel Woodward 
 William Reid 
 
 Robert Cunlifife 
 
 John Tarleton 
 
 James Gildart 
 
 John Backhouse 
 
 John Welch 
 
 Arthur and Benjamin Heywood 
 
 Halliday & Dunbar 
 
 John Gorell 
 
 George Campbell & Sons 
 
 Ralph Earle 
 
 John Crosbie 
 
 Scroop Colquitt 
 
 Charles Goore 
 
 William Earle 
 
 James Clegg 
 
 On the 22nd of February, 1759, the Catherine (Letter of 
 Marque), 12 guns and 35 men, Captain Seth Houghton, on 
 her passage from Liverpool to Montserrat, fell in with a 
 French privateer of 16 guns and 145 men, with whom, after 
 exchanging a few shot, about seven in the morning, they 
 came to a general and close engagement, which for the most 
 part was within pistol shot, till four in the afternoon, when 
 the Catherine, overpowered by numbers, was obliged to 
 strike. During the action, the privateer sheered off twice, 
 having seven of her men killed and seven wounded, and 
 mounted four more guns, which she had been obliged to 
 dismount a few days before when chased by an English 
 man-of-war. The crew of the Catherine had the mis- 
 fortune of killing one of their own men, and hurting the 
 
156 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 third mate and two others, when firing- their first broad- 
 side. The Captain was wounded by a musket ball, and 
 narrowly escaped a four-pound shot, which carried away 
 part of his waistcoat. After they had struck, the French 
 captain complimented Captain Houghton on his gallant 
 behaviour, and would not allow him to be plundered, 
 like the rest of the prisoners. While they were exchanging 
 prisoners, the second mate of the Catherine, and a boy from 
 Cheshire were drowned, through too many privateersmen 
 jumping- into the boat in their eagerness for plunder. The 
 shrouds, masts and hull of the Catherine suffered severely in 
 the action. The privateer had taken i8 prizes. 
 
 The Upton (Letter of Marque), Captain Birch, arrived at 
 Gambia, from Liverpool, on May 9th, 1759, with a prize, 
 taken off the Canary Islands, the cargo of which was valued 
 at ;^5,ooo. 
 
 The Prince Frederick., Captain Frierson, on her passage 
 from Liverpool to Guadaloupe, had a smart engagement of 
 three hours with a privateer of 10 guns, whom they obliged 
 to sheer off. 
 
 Captain William Lethwayte, of the Wheel of Fortune., 
 from Liverpool for Tortola, writing from Antigua, says : — 
 " In the evening of the 24th of May, 1759, in lat. 17°, and 
 about 25 leagues to the eastward of this island, we fell in with 
 a French privateer, and at half past six o'clock next morning 
 she attacked us, and continued till eight, when she sheered 
 oif to stop her leaks and repair other damages she had 
 received in the action, it being very smart and within half 
 pistol shot. At eleven she renewed the attack as brisk as 
 ever, till twelve, at which time, being little wind, she got her 
 oars and rowed from us, a second time to stop her leaks, &c. 
 This being done, she hauled to the northward out of gun shot, 
 but kept hovering in sight all afternoon and night. Next 
 morning, being the 26th, we saw another sloop of twelve 
 carriage guns, 22 swivels, and 120 men, who spoke with the 
 one we had engaged, then astern of us. Immediately they 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 157 
 
 bore down and both began to eng-ag-e us very warmly, but to 
 our greater surprise and mortification, before we had fired 
 above 30 shot, we perceived two other vessels bearing down, 
 which proved to be French privateers ; one a sloop of ten 
 carriage guns, 16 swivels, and 90 men, and the other a 
 schooner of the same force. At the same time we saw a fifth 
 privateer stretching for us from the S.E. so that we thought 
 it prudent to strike (though against all our inclinations if 
 could possibly be avoided) rather than to risk our lives and not 
 the least probability of getting clear. The Eward, Capt. Kevish, 
 the S7oa?i, Capt. Slazer, of Dumfries, both last from Liverpool, 
 and the Cork Packet, Capt. Champion, of Cork, were in com- 
 pany when taken, and being defenceless, shared the same 
 fate. We were all carried into Martinico, where I was taken 
 ill with the flux, but am now perfectly recovered, and expect 
 to sail in the first Antigua fleet." 
 
 In July, 1759, the Vengeance man-of-war, of 26 guns, 
 formerly the celebrated French privateer of that name, 
 arrived in the estuary of the Mersey, and about a week later, 
 the Golden Lyon^ Captain Thompson, returned from the 
 Greenland fishery. The whaler, in stretching in with the 
 buoys laid in the mouth of the Mersey, fell in with two 
 cutter tenders, one of which kept company with her till 
 within gunshot of the man-of-war, and then hoisted a signal 
 for four boats, which boarded the Golden Lyon. The 
 lieutenant in command of the man-of-war's men, hailing the 
 crew of the whaler, declared that he would impress all of 
 them except the officers, unless they entered as volunteers, 
 whereupon the men of the Golden Lyon, 60 strong, answered 
 that as they belonged to the Greenland Fishery, they would 
 not be impressed, and to enforce their words, brandished 
 their long knives and harpoons, vowing vengeance on the 
 man that attempted it. This demonstration terrified the 
 man-of-war's men, who jumped into their boats, while the 
 lieutenant got on the quarter deck of the Golden Lyon, and 
 ordered the Vengeance and her tenders to fire at the whaler^ 
 
158 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 which was within pistol shot of them. Part of the Green- 
 landman's crew then forced Captain Thompson and his 
 officers into the cabin, standing sentry over them, and 
 keeping the lieutenant of the Vengeance on deck, to run the 
 same chance of being shot with themselves ; whilst the 
 remainder filled the sails, and crowded away from the Ven- 
 geance., which slipped her cables, and fired her bow chase 
 into the Golden Lyon "as quick as possible." Several of 
 the nine-pound shot struck different parts of the town, but 
 luckily did no other damage than destroying a boat in a 
 builder's yard, though many hundred spectators were very 
 near it. Other shots carried away the rigging, sails, and 
 mizenstay of the Golden Lyon., whose crew, however, carried 
 her safe into the dock clear of the man-of-war's people. 
 
 On the following day, the whaler's crew proceeded to the 
 Custom-house, to give bond, and to renew their protections, 
 according to Act of Parliament. Immediately after they 
 had done, a large party of the press gang forced themselves 
 into the Custom-house, fired several pistols, and committed 
 other outrages, crowning the whole by impressing Captain 
 Thompson and five of his crew. The rest escaped by 
 various ways, some risking life and limb by jumping 
 through the windows ; others climbed on the house tops 
 and over the walls. Whilst the press gang were taking the 
 impressed men down to the water side, they were hooted by 
 some women, one of w^hom " was shot through the legs with 
 a brace of balls." The paper of August 3rd, announced 
 that Captain Thompson had been discharged from the Ven- 
 geance man-of-war ; that several bullets fired by the press 
 gangs in the Custom-house had been found, and that the 
 magistrates and merchants were determined to prosecute the 
 ruffians for their insolence, "one of the magistrates being 
 then in the Custom-house, and very ill-treated for com- 
 manding the peace, etc." This was bad enough, but the 
 commander of the Vengeance was capable of inflicting even 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 159 
 
 greater injustice on the wretched seamen who fell into his 
 hands. About the same time, the slave ship Ingram (Letter 
 of Marque), returned to port from one of her usually pleasant 
 and profitable little trips to Africa and Jamaica. The crew, 
 having secured the captain, attempted to get clear of the 
 man-of-war and four tenders, but, "the tide being spent," 
 says the paper, *' the ship's company and officers were all 
 impressed, except the chief mate and commander. On their 
 
 being brought on board the man-of-war, Captain ^, 
 
 ordered each man to be tied up, stripped, and whipped. 
 This needs no comment, for had the seamen committed any 
 offence against the laws of this realm, they were entitled to 
 an Englishman's right." It is no exaggeration to say that 
 in some respects, the British sailor at this time, and for long 
 afterwards, was worse off than the negroes he assisted to 
 oppress. His freedom was a sham, and the law which made 
 it so has never been repealed, though it may never be 
 enforced again. Unfortunately there is a probability that a 
 few years hence a genuine British seaman will be a greater 
 curiosity than that "animal exceedingly rare," whose fossil 
 bones puzzled '* the Society upon the Stanislaus." 
 
 The brig Providence^ Captain Parke, on her passage 
 from Liv^erpool to Tortola, was attacked by a French 
 privateer of 12 guns, 18 swivels and 80 men, which got 
 clear off, much shattered, by dint of superior sailing, after 
 a smart engagement of two hours, during which the French 
 had six killed and seven wounded, while only one man was 
 wounded on board the Providence. 
 
 Captain Quirk, of the Prussian Hero (Letter of Marque), 
 of 18 guns, and 60 men, writing from Guadaloupe in 
 December, 1759, says: — 
 
 " I arrived here the 8th inst. from Barbadoes. On my 
 
 passage from thence, I fell in with three French privateers, viz : 
 
 one a sloop of 10 g'uns, a sloop of eig'ht guns, and a schooner 
 
 • of 6 guns, all whom I engaged very briskly two hours. The 
 
IGO THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 two sloops rowed up in order to board us, having their bow- 
 sprits crowded with people, stink-pots, &c., on which I ordered 
 the guns to be double loaded with round and grape shot, and 
 gave them such a warm reception, as obliged them immediately 
 to sheer off, much damaged, and undoubtedly with the loss of 
 many men. They were no sooner got a little distance off than 
 joined by two other privateers (in all five) to whom I gave chase, 
 a breeze springing up, as fast as possible, till they ran close in 
 shore off Martinico. I then steered my course for this place. 
 Had wind favoured me at the beginning of the action, should 
 have taken at least one of the three." 
 
 Captain Quirk formerly commanded the snow Betty 
 (Letter of Marque), of lo guns, belonging to Mr. Peter 
 Holme, merchant. She was taken on her passage from 
 Jamaica, by the Count de St. Florentine privateer, and 
 retaken by the Royal Hunter privateer, of New York, and 
 sent into Rhode Island. The French privateer was taken 
 herself soon after. 
 
 Some of the privateersmen, having received their bounty 
 money in advance, decided to fight another day ; and from 
 the following advertisements offering rewards for the appre- 
 hension of such gentry, we are enabled to form some idea 
 of the personal appearance and dress of the very mixed 
 specimens of humanity who composed the fighting crews : — 
 
 " Ran away from the ship Liverpool privateer . . . John 
 Coulston, a middleaged man, about 5 foot 7 inches high, 
 wears his own hair, brown complexion, and very much marked 
 with the small pox. Had on, when he went away, a cheque 
 shirt and 2 waistcoats, one made of white flannel, trimmed 
 round with black tape and black buttons, and the other a blue 
 frize ; wore a brown pair of fustian breeches, dark blue stock- 
 ings, and round pewter buckles. Any person who will secure 
 the said Coulston, by applying to Charles Williams, at the sign 
 of the Whale Fishery, on Sea-Brow, shall receive a handsome 
 reward." 
 Two seamen, who had run away from the ship Pember- 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 161 
 
 ton^ after receiving four guineas each advance as their 
 bounty money for proceeding in the said vessel, were thus 
 described :— 
 
 "William Toutcher, seaman, agfed 22 years, served his 
 time out of Whitehaven in the coal trade, just arrived from a 
 French prison, (and has procured a pass from the Wor- 
 shipful William Goodwin Esq : Mayor of this town to proceed 
 to Dover, the place of his residence, being- born there) about 
 5 feet 8 inches high, wore a green jacket, a white flannel 
 waistcoat, a pair of trowsers, and a wig ; is of a middling fair 
 complexion, and a stout able young fellow. 
 
 "John Melody, seaman, born at Winchester, served his 
 time in the navy, and latel}' belonged to the Fame privateer of 
 Guernsey ; about 5 feet high, aged 30, wore a blue serge 
 waistcoat, with a row of white buttons down each side, an old 
 blue waistcoat, a wig, and sometimes trowsers. Whoever 
 • apprehends either of the above seamen, so that they may be 
 broug-ht to justice shall receive two guineas for each man, by 
 applying to Charles Mag^ee, Boatswain of the ship Pemberton , 
 Walter Kirkpatrick, commander, in Redcross-st. 
 
 "N.B. They came here in the ship Liverpool Privateer, 
 Captain Hutchinson." 
 
 Four men, who ran away from the Spy privateer, were 
 described as follows : — 
 
 " Daniel Lindsay, a full-faced man, about 20 years of age, 
 5 feet 4 inches high, had on when he went oft' a blue jacket, a 
 white waistcoat, a check pair of trousers, and wore a cap or 
 wig, Henry M'Cormick, of a fair complexion, about 19 years 
 old, 5 ft. 9 inches high, wore a black wig, a blue jacket, a 
 white waistcoat trimmed with black. John Smith had on a 
 blue rug great coat, a brown frize coat under it, a curled light 
 coloured wig, and a slouched hat. Robert Maxwell had on a 
 snuff coloured fustian coat. He was very much pitted with 
 the small pox, had a brown complexion and sometimes wore a 
 wig over his hair. Both very much addicted to gaming." 
 
162 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 The treatment of the English prisoners of war in France 
 during this war appears to have been excessively severe. 
 Captain James Settle, of the Annabella, a ship laden with 
 1400 barrels of tar, deerskins, reeds, etc., from Cape Fear, 
 was taken in November, 1756, by the Ltice privateer, of Brest, 
 who stripped him and his people almost naked. " We have 
 pleasure to inform our readers," says the Liverpool paper, 
 " that the French prisoners brought into this port have met 
 with more humanity from our privateers' brave crews." 
 But the Frenchmen in Liverpool were not happy, though 
 lodged in the ancient fortress of the Stanleys, for, on April 
 22nd, 1757, we read that one Monday night, between 11 and 
 12 o'clock, the prisoners took out a window, and by the help 
 of a rope, four of them got down into the street and made 
 their escape. The noise they made alarmed the neighbour- 
 hood, and the rest were immediately secured. A reward 
 was offered for their capture, but without success. In 1759, 
 several French prisoners got away at one time. Many of 
 these came back to the Tower of their own accord, while 
 others were captured in a state of starvation.* In December, 
 1756, the Lords of the Admiralty took the dancing room and 
 buildings adjacent, at the bottom of Water Street, and fitted 
 them up for the French prisoners " in a very commodious 
 manner, there being a handsome kitchen, with furnaces, &c., 
 for cooking their provisions, and good lodging rooms, both 
 above and below stairs." " Their lordships," says the paper 
 of December 31st, " have ordered a hammock and bedding 
 (same as used on board our men-of-war) for each prisoner, 
 which it's to be hoped will be a means of procuring our 
 countrymen, who have fallen into their hands, better usage 
 
 * In December, 1759. James Sealirook, silversmith, was committed to Lancaster 
 for assisting one Jacjues L'Uleur, a French prisoner of war, to make his escape from 
 prison, and " the honourable the Commissioners for prisoners of war " sent positive 
 orders to their agent in Liverpool, to prosecute with the utmost rigcnir all persons 
 that should " mediately or immediately" assist any prisoner of war to make his 
 •escape. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 163 
 
 than hitherto, many of them having been treated with great 
 inhumanity." 
 
 The Tower of Liverpool, in which the prisoners of war 
 were confined at this period, stood at the bottom of Water 
 Street, o\\ the north side, on the site of the present Tower 
 Buildings. Viewed from the river, the Tower was a 
 picturesque and venerable object. It was built of red sand- 
 stone, in the Norman style; at one time battlemented, but 
 afterwards crenelated. It would appear that the original 
 structure consisted of a large square, embattled tower, with 
 subordinate towers and buildings, forming three sides of an 
 interior quadrangle, which were altered from time to time. 
 Including its gardens, it occupied an area of 3,700 square 
 yards. Between the Tower and the river there was, at one 
 time, a passage leading into St. Nicholas' Churchyard, and 
 eventually this passage became the street called " Prison 
 W'eint." Two houses then skirted the river side, one of 
 them the "Ferry House" tavern. The inhabitants of the 
 town used to walk and show off their finery in the Tower 
 gardens. After being for centuries the town house of the 
 Earls of Derby — the theatre of stirring events, stately 
 functions, and feudal jollifications — the tower, in 1737, passed 
 out of the hands of the Stanleys, who sold it to the Clayton 
 family, by w^hom it was let to the Corporation for the 
 borough gaol. For years after this transformation and 
 lapse of dignity, the utmost disorder reigned within it, and 
 scenes of the grossest depravity were frequent. There was 
 a large, open space in the interior, in which the prisoners 
 took exercise, and here both debtors and criminals — men and 
 women — were allowed to meet promiscuously. The debtors' 
 room was made use of, amongst other purposes, as a chapel, 
 and also as a general assembly room. It is said that the 
 ladies went there from their houses in blue cloaks and 
 pattens, coaches not being then in general use. 0\\ these 
 occasions, the sounds of the music were so plainly heard 
 
1G4 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 throughout the building, that the prisoners used to "jig" it as 
 well as the free merry-makers. In 1775, John Howard, the 
 philanthropist, visited the tower gaol, of which he gives a 
 deplorable account. The place, which had just been pur- 
 chased by the Corporation for the sum of ;^i535 los., was 
 insufferably dirty, grimy and wretched. There were two 
 large yards, in one of which poultry was kept, and in the 
 middle of it was a great dunghill. The cells were seven in 
 number, 6 ft. 7 in. in length, 5 ft. 9 in. in breadth, and 6 ft. 
 high. In each cell three persons were locked up nightly. 
 There was a large dungeon, with an iron grated window 
 looking on the street, in which as many as twenty and 
 thirty prisoners were confined at a time. There was no 
 infirmary, nor accommodation for the sick. The women 
 debtors were lodged over the Pilot-office, in Water Street. 
 Mr. Howard made strong representations to the authorities 
 with regard to the disgraceful state of the prison, but 
 nothing seems to have been done in the way of improx^e- 
 ment, except some whitewashing and cleaning. The phil- 
 anthropist received the freedom of the borough, and was 
 lionised for his investigations. In 1803, when Mr. Neild, 
 another philanthropist, visited the gaol, its condition was 
 rather worse than better. The whole prison was then filthy 
 in the extreme, the dirt in some of the passages being three 
 to four inches thick, while the large dunghill, ducks, poul- 
 try, etc., shared the courtyard with the herd of male and 
 female felons and debtors. Spirits and malt liquors were 
 freely circulated through the prison, without restriction. A 
 low typhoid fever was constantly prevalent among the 
 prisoners, and the most shameless extortion and robbery 
 also prevailed, the strong over-coming and tyrannising over 
 the weak. The debtors, whose rooms overlooked Prison 
 Weint, used to hang out bags or gloves by a string, with a 
 label attached, " Pity the poor debtors." When any money 
 was placed in the bag, it was drawn up and spent in drink. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 165 
 
 On the 1 2th of March, 1796, died Mrs. Lyons, wife of the 
 keeper of the gaol, and on the following day Mr. Lyons 
 died. The two were conveyed to the churchyard of St. 
 Peter, in two hearses abreast; then followed one mourning 
 coach, next two coaches abreast, and then two more coaches 
 abreast. Thousands of persons gathered in the streets to 
 witness the unusual procession. The cause of death in both 
 cases was said to be gaol fever. 
 
 During the Seven Years' War, the celebrated surgeon, 
 Harry Parke, then a very young man, attended the French 
 prisoners in the Tower gaol, and in after years he per- 
 formed the first operation in conservative surgery, at the 
 Liverpool Infirmary, on a poor sailor, who was subseqently 
 able to follow his arduous calling, whereas, if he had fallen 
 into the hands of an ordinary "sawbones" of the period, 
 he would have lost a leg, and probably his life. That 
 pioneer operation conferred countless boons on humanity, 
 and the name of Harry Parke stands high in the annals of 
 surgery. In excavating the foundations of the first 
 Exchange, the remains of a secret subterranean passage 
 were discovered. It was explored for a considerable dis- 
 tance, and stated to be a communication between the Tower 
 and an old house near the White Cross, which stood at the 
 top of Chapel Street, opposite the end of Old Hall Street. 
 Although the discipline of the prison was so lax that some 
 of the French prisoners occasionally made their escape, 
 it does not appear that they ever discovered this passage, 
 which reminds us of the one described by G. P. R. James 
 in his romance of " Heidelberg." Several of the Jacobites 
 implicated in the Rebellion of 1715 were confined in the 
 Tower, and four of them were executed at Callow's Mill, 
 near London Road. In 1788, two men were hung on the 
 top of the Tower, for a desperate robbery at a house on 
 Rose-hill. The old Tower continued to be occupied both 
 by felons and debtors down to July, 181 1. It remained 
 
166 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 unoccupied until 1819, when the building was pulled down, 
 and the materials sold by auction for ;^200. In the Derby 
 Museum, William Brown Street, there is a remnant of one 
 of the old doors of the Tower. 
 
 Having- formed some idea of the kind of "hospitality" 
 extended to the French captives in Liverpool, we now turn 
 our attention to the English prisoners of war in France. On 
 November 30th, 1756, the master of a merchant vessel wrote 
 from Bayonne, as follows : — 
 
 " I am still close confined in this prison, as are all our 
 masters and men without distinction ; our visage differs nothing- 
 from that of the worst criminals in Engfland, irons only excepted. 
 No one is permitted to speak to us without the commandant's 
 leave ; our letters are all opened and read before they are 
 delivered to us, and we are not allowed to purchase any 
 provisions or necessaries from the town's people, but must 
 take every thing- from the commandant's mistress, who 
 charg-es us at the rate of two shilling-s for what she buys 
 in the town for sixpence. The French commanders, who 
 are prisoners in England, write to their friends in France 
 that they are close confined there, which is the reason of 
 our confinement here ; but you informed me in your last 
 that they were all at libert}' at Petersfield and other places 
 upon their parole of honour, and that two of them, with 
 a surg-eon, had been advertised in the papers for running- 
 away. It is evident that they have no honour at all, or 
 they would not have deserted, nor have propag-ated such a 
 palpable falsehood, which injures us here extremel}-, for we 
 humbly conceive we are entitled by the law of nations to 
 the same g-ood usag-e here as the French partake of in 
 Eng-land, and as this is a national concern, it oug-ht to be 
 truly represented. There have been built and fitted out in 
 this port within these three months, no less than ten pri- 
 vateers, carrying- from 16 to 24 g-uns upon one deck ; and 
 if there is not a cartel of exchang-e settled soon, I am afraid 
 that many of our common sailors, who are now about 200 
 prisoners in this castle, will be induced by threats or promises 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. K>7 
 
 to take on in the enemy's service, where they are offered 
 great encourag'ement." 
 
 In January, 1759, nine English captains, who had been 
 prisoners in France, arrived at Plymouth, and their treat- 
 ment by "the polite nation" was thus described in the 
 newspapers : — 
 
 " Monsieur's behaviour was most barbarous and cruel ; the 
 most brutal savage would have shown more compassion. On 
 their first entrance on board their ships they stript them of 
 everything-, even to their shirts ; as to the common people 
 M. Bompart insisted that they should do the same duty as on 
 board our ships of war ; upon refusal, to undergo the same 
 discipline and live on bread and water ; but as they did the 
 ship's duty, they were allowed per day four ounces of salt 
 meat, and what they call soup, made of horse beans with 
 common oil. The several captains before mentioned were 
 treated in the same manner. On their arrival at Brest, they 
 were all put down in a dungeon 40 feet under ground, and not 
 permitted fire or candle, though they often petitioned for it, 
 but to no purpose ; they had straw to lie upon, but were 
 obliged to pay dear for it. As to the provisions allowed them 
 per day, it was three ounces of poor beef, such if brought to 
 our markets would be burnt. Several of the gentlemen have 
 brought over the allowance with them of every species. They 
 were indulged with three half pints of sour white wine per day, 
 but debarred from water, which if sweet, was much better ; 
 but to do them some justice, they had bread sufficient. What 
 was most singular is that they were debarred of laying out 
 their own money, or drawing bills, no person being permitted 
 to come near them ; in short, by the report that several of the 
 gentlemen give, they were treated worse than we treat dogs, 
 of which they highly complained and telling them how the 
 French prisoners were used in England, they answered ' that 
 we were afraid to use them otherwise.' At their arrival at 
 Vannes they were put amongst common felons, who were 
 - condemned to die, in a most nauseous gaol. The case of poor 
 
168 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Capt. Gordon and his ship's company is a most deplorable 
 one ; the whole crew perished in the French ship they were 
 taken in, she being lost on some rocks near the shore ; the 
 crew, who were confined in irons, were by the French captain 
 called Eng-lish dog^s, and told they should perish as such, and 
 would not suffer a man to let them out. Their behaviour to 
 Capt. Turner was likewise very cruel, and to the English 
 prisoners in general, forcing them to enter into their service. 
 This can never ^o unnoticed by those in power." 
 
 A gentleman who arrived in Liverpool from Dinan, where 
 he had been confined prisoner of war several months, stated 
 that on the 7th of June, 1758, news arrived there that the 
 English had landed. All the English prisoners, numbering 
 1303, were immediately marched from thence up into the 
 country, in the night time, guarded by a troop of dragoons 
 and about 500 militiamen. In passing through the villages, 
 the officers and soldiers of the escort showed the prisoners 
 to the country people as a parcel of English vagabonds 
 caught at St. Malo, where they had attempted to land for 
 the purpose of plundering the country. The prisoners 
 were compelled to travel 22 hours without any refreshment, 
 save a little dry bread and small cider at one of the villages. 
 At the small town of Le Mene they were all driven into a 
 church, without distinction of rank, and given some hay to 
 lie on. "Then a strange thing happened," as the novelists 
 say. St. Vierge's image fixed up in the church, tumbled 
 down and broke its valuable neck, upon which some of the 
 English prisoners were clapped into a dungeon, "the priests 
 suspecting that' they had done the act ; how^ever, on farther 
 enquiry, and a full hearing, they were discharged, being 
 proved innocent." Here, they were joined by upwards of 
 100 more prisoners from Lorient, and four boys, taken 
 with some horses belonging to the English train of artillery. 
 After a rest of two days, they were marched farther — to 
 Ploermel, "a royal town or city," from whence, after a 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 169 
 
 day's stay, they were driven like sheep to Jossehn, where 
 they were all confined in an old palace belong-ing to the 
 Duke of Rohan, and it was some days before the officers 
 among the prisoners had the liberty of boarding in the 
 town. The usage of the governor who guarded them was 
 intolerable. Two of the English seamen were killed and 
 several others wounded during their march. The French, 
 believing the rumour that the town of St. Malo had been 
 ransomed for a sum of money, were in a state of consterna- 
 tion. 
 
 Advertisements like the following were common during 
 war time : — 
 
 " With or without convoy for Jamaica, and will sail in May 
 from Liverpool, the new ship Nancy, Benjamin Holland, com- 
 mander, burthen 500 tons ; carries 22 carriage g"uns of nine and 
 six-pounders, 10 swivels, and 70 men, and will carry a Letter of 
 Marque." 
 
 The Nancy was ultimately captured by the French on her 
 voyage to Jamaica. The name of Holland is still associated 
 with the commerce of Liverpool. Here is another advertise- 
 ment, which one would suppose, at first sight, reassuring 
 to poor Jack : — 
 
 " Merchants and Commanders of ships may be furnished 
 with commissions for private ships of war, and Letters of 
 Marque, on proper security given not to molest any vessel but 
 of the nation at war with us. Also protections for Seamen, 
 from being" imprest by any of His Majesty's ships, on the 
 shortest notice. By G. Parker, in Castle street." 
 
 But things were not what they seemed in the sailor's 
 " Psalm of Life," for we read in the paper of June 29th, 1759, 
 that there had been a very smart press that week, without 
 any regard either to outward or homeward bound protections. 
 It was said to be the hottest press throughout the nation 
 that had been known since the commencement of the war. 
 
170 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The consequences of taking the best seamen off the merchant- 
 ships were often most disastrous to the owners, who, how- 
 ever, had their remedy at law. In an action tried in London 
 this year, before Chief Justice Willes and a special jury, a 
 Mr. Nickelson, of Poole, was awarded ;^i,ooo damages and 
 costs, against Captain Fortescue, of the Prince Ed-ward 
 man-of-war, for impressing the men out of the Thomas 
 and Elizabeth, from Newfoundland to Poole, in consequence 
 of which the said ship was lost. 
 
 The Austin, Captain Holme, on her passage from Liver- 
 pool to Barbadoes, was taken and carried into Martinico, 
 after a running fight of eight hours, by a schooner privateer 
 of 6 carriage guns and lo swivels, and a sloop of the same 
 armament. The Austin was condemned at Martinico, and 
 her cargo, etc., sold. So great was the demand for guns at 
 that place, that the only carriage guns she carried (2 
 three-pounders) were sold for ;^ioo. The French had then 
 fitted out of Martinico, 74 privateers, the largest mounting 
 10 guns, and the smallest only two. Some of the owners of 
 the privateers had entered into an agreement to allow all 
 English captains taken by their ships two dollars per day 
 for the first three weeks after being brought into port, and 
 afterwards to consign them to the king's allowance, which 
 was very scanty, owing to the dearness of all provisions. 
 They drew their chief supply from St. Eustatia, from whence 
 several vessels arrived with Irish provisions, which sold for 
 20 dollars per barrel. Owing to the number of American 
 ships captured, Indian corn was so plentiful that the French 
 would scarcely hire people to land it. After a stay of eight 
 days at Martinico, Captain Holme was sent up to Barbadoes 
 in a cartel ship, and returned home passenger in the Merri- 
 mack. 
 
 The Tyger, Captain Burrowes, on the passage from Liver- 
 pool to Jamaica, re-captured the Speedivell, from Virginia 
 for London, which had been taken by a Bayonne privateer. 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 171 
 
 The prize had on board, 315 hogsheads of tobacco, 7 barrels 
 and 19 kegs of indigo, 15 tons of pig iron, and 4000 staves. 
 On January 8th, 1760, the George and Betty, Captain 
 Edward IMcGill, from Liverpool for Jamaica, was taken by a 
 French privateer of 10 guns and 90 men, after a chase of six 
 hours, and carried into St. Pierre, Martinico. 
 
 In the following advertisement we have a description of a 
 small armed merchantman of the period, the kind of ship 
 which, when manned by Liverpool seamen, was generally 
 found to be a very " ugly customer " if interfered with : — 
 
 *' For Sale by the Candle, at R. Williamson's shop near the 
 Exchange, in Liverpool. On Monday, March loth, 1760, the 
 sale to beg"in at i o'clock at noon precisely, the Ship Planter ; 
 burthen about 200 tons, square sterned, Lyon-head, takes the 
 g-round well, mounts two six-pounders on slides in the cabin, 
 three new four-pounders on deck, four swivels, and is pierced 
 for 16 carriage guns, being deep waisted with iron stanchions 
 and double netting- fore and aft, and suitable for the African or 
 American trade ; being 10 feet deep in the hold, 4 feet 9 inches 
 between decks, from the mainmast forward, and from the main- 
 mast aft 6 feet 2 inches, with all her materials, 2 new cables, 
 one new anchor, and all her stores as she arrived lately from 
 London, and now lies at the upper end of the South Dock. 
 Inventories to be had of Mr. David Kenyon, merchant, or 
 Robert Williamson, Broker." 
 
 In May, 1760, the old Eagle snow, the oldest ship belong- 
 ing to the port of Liverpool, was wrecked near the Point of 
 Ayre, Isle of Man, on her passage to Guadaloupe. 
 
 When George the Third ascended the throne in 1760, 
 Liverpool had surpassed Bristol in tonnage, and had, 
 therefore, become the second port in the kingdom. In 
 this year, Samuel Derrick, master of the ceremonies at 
 Bath, visited the town. Writing to his friend, the Earl of 
 Cork, he says : — 
 
 " When the famous Thurot was in the Channel, this town 
 expected that he would honour them with a visit, and they 
 
172 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 made g'ood preparation to receive him. The ear of a 
 bastion was run out at the main dock head ; the walls of the 
 Old Churchyard, under which he must have passed before he 
 came abreast of the town, were streng^thened with stone 
 buttresses and mounds of earth ; and the whole furnished 
 with some very fine eighteen pounders, which were so dis- 
 posed as fully to command the river. The merchants were 
 reg'imented under the command of the Mayor, as colonel, 
 divided into four independent companies,* uniformly clothed 
 and armed, each man at his own expense. Besides, Lord 
 Scarborough and Major Dashwood marched from Manchester, 
 at the head of the Lincolnshire militia, upon the first notice of 
 dang-er, without waiting- for orders from above ; so that had 
 this bold adventurer presented himself, there is no doubt but 
 he would have been opposed with a true British spirit of 
 resolution and g^allantry. " 
 
 In another letter, he says : — - 
 
 " I need not inform your lordship that the principal exports 
 of Liverpool are all kinds of woollen and worsted g^oods, with 
 other manufactures of Manchester and Sheffield and Birming-- 
 ham wares, &c. These they barter on the coast of Guinea for 
 slaves, g-old-dust, and elephants' teeth. The slaves they dis- 
 pose of at Jamaica, Barbadoes, and the other West India islands, 
 for rum and sug^ar, for which they are sure of a quick sale at 
 home. This port is admirably suited for trade, being- almost 
 central in the Channel, so that, in war time, by coming- north- 
 about, their ships have a g'ood chance of escaping- the many 
 privateers belonging to the enemy, which cruize to the south- 
 ward. Thus, their insurance being less, they are able to 
 
 * In the paper of March 14th, 1760, we read tliat : — " On Tuesday last Col. 
 Spencer's (the Vlayor,) Capt. William Ingram's, and Capt. John Tarleton's indepen- 
 dent companies of this tov\ii were reviewed by the Right Hon. the Earl of 
 Scarborough, in Price's (now Cleveland) Square, and went through the manual 
 exercise, platoon and street firing, etc. The companies were all clothed in their 
 new uniforms at their own private expense ; the Colonel's company in blue, 
 lapelleJ and faced with buff; Capt. Ingram's in scarlet coats and breeches, 
 lapelled and faced with green ; green waistcoats, gold laced hats and cjueue wigs ; 
 and Captain Tarleton's in blue, witli gold vellum button holes ; Capt Thomas 
 Johnson's company of the train of artillery wear the uniform of the navy, blue and 
 buff, with gold laced hats." 
 
THE SEVEX YEARS' WAR. 173 
 
 undersell their neiifhbours ; and since I have been here, 1 
 have seen enter the port, in one morning-, seven West India 
 ships, whereof five were not insured." 
 
 Whether Liverpool was M. Thurot's object is uncertain, 
 for on the 28th February, 1760, his "best laid schemes" 
 were put an end to for ever. On that day his squadron of 
 frigates was brought to action a few leagues south of the 
 Isle of Man, by a squadron of English frigates under the 
 command of Captain Elliott. After a sanguinary battle, in 
 which the French fought with desperate valour, the whole of 
 the French frigates were taken. Captain Thurot fell covered 
 with wounds on his own deck, and nearly 300 of his officers 
 and men were killed or wotmded. By this victory Liverpool 
 was again rendered perfectly safe, but the volunteers remained 
 embodied till the close of the war. The threatened attack was 
 doubtless beneficial to the community, as the emergency 
 brought out the true men, and aroused to action the finest 
 qualities of the Briton.* On the very day Thurot was 
 slain, f the French prisoners confined in the Tower of 
 Liverpool were marched under a guard of " Invalids" for 
 Chester Castle. They were brought back on March 6th. 
 
 The following interesting account of Thurot's descent 
 upon Islay was written on the spot, on February 19th, 1760, 
 by Mr. David Simpson, an eye-witness, and forwarded 
 
 * When Thurot"? expedition was expected, in 1760, it was sftid that Everton Hill 
 was alive with people from the town, waiting the free-booter's approach. A party 
 of soldiers was then encamped on the hill, and I have been told the men had orders, 
 on Thurot's appearance, to make signals if by day, an.l to light up the Beacon if at 
 night, to communicate the intelligence of the French fleet being off the coast to the 
 other iieacons at Ashurst and Billinge. Rivinoton Pike and elsewhere, and so spread 
 the news into the north; while signals would also be taken up at Ilalton, Beeston, 
 Wrekin, and thence to the southward. The most perfect arrangements for the 
 transmission of this intelligence are said to have been made, and I knew an old 
 man at Everton who told me that he had on that occasion carted several loads of 
 pitch-barrels and turpentine, and stored them in the upper chaml'er of the Beacon, 
 to be ready in case of emergency. He said that during the French war, at the 
 close of the reign of CStorge H., the Beacon was filled with combustibles, and that 
 there was a guard always kept therein. — " Recollections of a Nonagenarian." 
 
 t Sir James Picton gives the 4th of March as the date of Thurot's death — a curious 
 mistake, when even Gore's Directory sets forth the true date so conspicuously. 
 
174 rilE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 express to a Liverpool merchant, by the codsmack belonging 
 to Captain Hutchinson and his partner, Mr. Ward : — 
 
 " Saturday last Commodore Thurot, with three French 
 ships, viz., one of 54 guns, one of 36, and one of 20, came in 
 here from the westward, and betwixt this island and Cantyre 
 they were hovering- for five or six hours ; at length came close 
 to this land and hoisted an English ensign, which made us 
 imagine they wanted a pilot. Your friends Archibald and 
 Hugh Macdonald went out with a boat and five men, and 
 brought them to anchor at the entry of the Sound of Islay, in 
 Clagin Bay. I was there on Sunday last, where they landed 
 about 600 men in order to plunder the country, and surrounded 
 a parcel of cattle belonging to a gentleman of the place, which 
 they carried off, and they said would be paid for by bill on the 
 French Ambassador at the Hague. Our sloop lay in a 
 harbour close by them loaded with kelp bound to Liverpool, 
 and had 21 bags of flour on board, which Thurot likewise 
 took away, but did no other prejudice to the vessel. They 
 have about 1,500 land forces on board, with a great number 
 of officers, mostly gentlemen, with whom I was in com- 
 pany. They are almost starved for want of provisions, 
 being at allowance of four ounces of bread per day. The 
 land officers and Thurot have disagreed on account of his 
 coming into these channels, &c. , and they want him to proceed 
 immediately to France. Thurot's vessel the Bellisle is very 
 leaky. I send you now by the bearer one of the swords they 
 left on board my sloop, which I suppose is all the payment 
 Mr. MacDonald and I shall get for our flour. On the sword 
 is struck the words Vohnfaire de Bellisle. You'll please to 
 return it when the bearer comes back this way. Five days 
 before the French put in here they parted with one of their 
 comrades off Barrahead, which they imagine is foundered 
 at sea, or driven into some of the Highland islands. The 
 Bellisle broke her rudder, which he told me forced him into 
 these channels. I have been these two days last past ranging 
 the coast, in hopes of meeting with the cod-smack before, in 
 order to dispatch her express to England, and having now 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 175 
 
 met with her, immediately send her, and I hope 3011 and the 
 rest of the merchants of your place will satisfy the owners of 
 the cod-smack for their trouble. One of our 50 gun ships 
 would take Thurot's three vessels, the Bellisle, Blanqiie, and 
 Thurot, for they are crow^ded with men so much, that they are 
 scarce able to fig"ht their g"uns ; but Mons. Thurot says that if 
 he once g^ets half gunshot from the best ship in England, he 
 could clear himself by his fast sailing. The season here is 
 very rough ; but Thurot will go either through St. George's 
 Channel, or round Ireland, as best suits him, being determined 
 to execute his original scheme. There are a number of English 
 and Irish amongst his crew. We have sent an express to 
 Edinburgh ; however, hope the cod-smack will bring the first 
 intelligence to you. We are deprived of the use of arms here, 
 or should have been able to have defended our country from 
 being plundered. The ships lay close inshore between Mr. 
 Arthur's head and Ardmore point ; and you may depend on 
 this relation, as I was eyewitness to the facts here." 
 
 We have now arrived at the end of the Seven Years' War, 
 and naturally pause to ask ourselves if privateering paid? 
 On this point Sir James Picton observes : — 
 
 " It has been sometimes asserted that the merchants of 
 Liverpool greatly enriched themselves in the last century by 
 the practice of privateering. At a subsequent period there 
 were a few exceptional instances of this, but during the Seven 
 Years' War the results to the Liverpool merchants were most 
 disastrous. From a list published in July, 1760, it appears 
 that in four years from the commencement of the war there 
 had been taken by the French, of vessels belonging t) Liverpool 
 alone, the number of 143, or 36 in each 3ear. The tonnage is 
 not given ; but as they were all sea-going vessels, principally 
 in the West India and American trades, the losses must have 
 been enormous." 
 
 We have searched diligently for the list in question, but 
 failed to find it. Its discovery would have saved us the 
 great trouble of compiling an independent list, which 
 
176 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 will be found in the appendix, and which is incomplete, 
 owing to certain issues of the newspapers beings missing. 
 It tends to confirm the statement referred to by Sir James 
 Picton as to the number of vessels taken, but he might 
 have added that probably one-third of the captured ships 
 were slavers, a fact which added enormously to the losses, 
 each slave ship representing three distinct sources of profit 
 in a single round voyage. But we must bear in mind that 
 but for the activity of the Liverpool privateers, these 
 losses would have been greater. Every prize they made 
 rendered the enemy poorer, and reduced the aggregate loss 
 to the port. To put an extreme case : if all the merchant 
 vessels of Liverpool had been captured by the enemy, and a 
 single Liverpool privateer had been fitted out, sent to sea, 
 and returned with a single prize of more than her own 
 value, privateering in that case must have been held to pay, 
 for without that prize the port would have been the poorer. 
 Assuming the prize to be an enemy's privateer, the gain 
 would be even greater, for the destructive power of the 
 enemy was thereby reduced, and consequently a certain 
 number of British ships saved from capture by that privateer, 
 whose guns might at once be turned against the commerce 
 of the enemy. If the commerce of Liverpool suffered so 
 heavily during this war, while she had a gallant little fleet 
 of privateers scouring the seas, harassing the enemy, and 
 bringing in valuable prizes, how much greater would have 
 been the losses if the privateers had not been sent out at all ! 
 But those who concede that privateering benefited the town 
 materially, may contend that it damaged the people morally. 
 On this head, Sir James Picton, whose moral sentiments are 
 always admirable, says : — 
 
 "The pursuits of the Liverpool Merchants during a g-reat 
 part of the eighteenth century, will not bear ver}' severe scrutiny 
 in a moral point of view, taking- the standpoint of the present 
 day. The practice of privateering could not but blunt the 
 
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 177 
 
 feeling-s of humanity of those eng-ag'ed in it, combining-, as 
 it did the greed of the gambler with the ferocity of the 
 pirate. War is hateful in any form, but undertaken by 
 a nation with the discipline and courtesies of a regular 
 force, it assumes an amount of dig^nity which hides to 
 some extent its harsher features ; whilst marauding- expedi- 
 tions undertaken by private parties combine all the evils 
 without any of the heroism of war; greed is the motive 
 power, and robber}- and murder the means of its gratifica- 
 tion. Its influence on the community which encourages it 
 cannot but be deleterious." 
 
 With these sentiments theoretically considered, we must 
 coincide in the words of Artemus Ward, "too true, too true," 
 and President Kruger might even endorse the last clause as 
 a prophetic utterance, but the fact is, the moral condition 
 of Liverpool in the eighteenth centur}^ was such that 
 privateering, as carried on by Hutchinson and the other 
 commanders of whom we have spoken, was more likely to 
 elevate than lower the people. It is clear from the writings 
 of John Newton, Gilbert Wakefield, Goronwy Owen and 
 others, that the standard of morality was so low in Liverpool, 
 that even the introduction of piracy itself into the Mersey, 
 as a fine art, would not have perceptibly altered the 
 manners and morals of the masses during the first half of the 
 eighteenth century ; and Mr. Clarkson's experiences in the 
 town, at a much later period, prove that there was more 
 room for improvement than for deterioration. On the 
 other hand, there were sentiments and qualities evoked and 
 developed in connection with privateering, that tended to 
 raise those who had fallen to the lowest depths. To be fired 
 with enthusiasm, to cruise about the seas in " great spirits," 
 replying to the enemy's remarks with " three cheers " and 
 hot broadsides, to face death manfully "for the honour of 
 Liverpool," and even for pelf, if not for King and country, 
 must have done good to many a bankrupt soul and pocket, 
 
178 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 and could scarcely deteriorate the men who embarked upon 
 such work — 
 
 "As full of peril and adventurous spirit 
 As to o'er-walk a current roaring loud 
 On the unsteadfast footing- of a spear." 
 As to the moral effect of privateering upon the merchants 
 themselves, we fail to discern any signs of the greed of the 
 gambler, or the ferocity of the pirate, in the instructions 
 given by Mr. Francis Ingram to Captain Haslam — which 
 instructions, be it remembered, were private, and are now 
 first made public* Whatever atrocities may have been 
 committed by the privateers of other nations, or of other 
 ports, or by pirates in the name of privateers, we cannot 
 call to mind a single action committed by any Liverpool 
 privateer unworthy of its character as a private ship of war 
 carrying the King's commission. 
 
 See Chapter I., pp. 21-30. 
 
179 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Privateers of the American War of Independexce. 
 
 During the twelve years of peace which intervened between 
 the Seven Years' War and the first American war, the 
 commerce and wealth of Liverpool increased more rapidly 
 than they had ever done before. Liverpool had taken the 
 lead of all the seaports of the empire in the American and 
 the African trades, and also possessed a large share in the 
 trade of the West Indies ; the two latter branches of com- 
 merce being too frequently cemented with the blood of 
 slaves. As the pressure of the wars with France and the 
 continental powers fell with greater severity on the com- 
 merce of London, Hull, and even Bristol, than on that of 
 Liverpool, owing to their geographical position and their 
 greater commercial intercourse with Europe, so the com- 
 mercial ruin caused by the first and second war with 
 America fell more severely on Liverpool than on any other 
 port, owing to the extent of its American and West Indian 
 connections. 
 
 The American War of Independence opened a new 
 chapter in the world's history. The obstinacy and imbecility 
 of George III., and the despotic instigations of his consort. 
 Queen Charlotte, forced the descendants of the "Men of the 
 Mayflower'''' to teach tyrants for all time the lesson that the 
 subject as well as the king had a divine right. It was the 
 privilege of the freedom-loving British colonists in North 
 America, to fix the attention of the whole civilised world 
 
1 8 THE LI J -ERPO OL PR I J 'A TEERS. 
 
 upon a maxim which it had taken ages of social misery and 
 oppression to evolve — "Taxation without Representation is 
 Tyranny." The world has never ceased to wonder at the 
 crass stupidity which converted loyal colonists into rebels, 
 but it is not necessary here to review the causes that led up 
 to hostilities. Suffice it to say that the first blood in the 
 fratricidal conflict was spilt at Lexington, in April, 1775. 
 On the 4th of July, 1776, thirteen of the colonies declared 
 themselves independent of Great Britain. In 1778, France 
 acknowledged the independence of America, and declared 
 war against England. War with Spain commenced on the 
 17th of April, 1780, and with Holland on the 21st of 
 December, 1780. This desperate and wide spreading contest 
 with America, France, Spain and Holland, continued to the 
 year 1783, when Great Britain finding the attempt to subdue 
 her late colonies hopeless — the people at home being by 
 this time disgusted with the folly of their rulers — abandoned 
 the attempt, acknowledged their independence, and made 
 peace with their allies. 
 
 In January, 1775, prior to the affair at Lexington, an 
 influential meeting of merchants from all parts of the 
 kingdom trading with America, was held at the King's 
 Tavern, Cornhill, London, to protest against the violent 
 proceedings of the government towards the colonists, and 
 to petition for the repeal of all the acts which interfered 
 with their friendly relations towards the mother country. 
 The West India merchants from Liverpool and other towns, 
 also assembled at the London Tavern for the same purpose,, 
 when strong resolutions were carried by a large majority. 
 These remonstrances proved fruitless, and we search in 
 vain for one conciliatory sentence from the British Govern- 
 ment at this time. Within a month afterwards, 8000 tons 
 of shipping had to return from America without cargoes, 
 the blockade not allowing them to land. Whatever the 
 great body of merchants thought of the turn aftairs had 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 181 
 
 taken, the wiseacres of the Liverpool Common Council, on 
 the nth of September, 1775, presented a loyal address to 
 the King, expressing their "abhorrence of all traitorous and 
 rebellious disturbers of his Majesty's peace and gov^ernment, 
 and hoping that the rebellious Americans might soon be 
 sensible of their error, and return to an acknowledgment of 
 the power of the British Legislature" — a very pretty and 
 appropriate sentiment coming from such a quarter. Liver- 
 pool soon began to feel the effects of the war. A writer in 
 the Liverpool General Advertiser^ of the 29th September, 
 1775, says — "Our once extensive trade to Africa is at a 
 stand ; all commerce- with America is at an end. Peace, 
 harmony, and mutual confidence must constitute the balm 
 that can again restore to health the body politic. Survey 
 our docks ; count there the gallant ships laid up and useless. 
 When will they be again refitted? What become of the 
 sailor, the tradesman, the poor labourer, during the 
 approaching winter?" London also suffered heavily, for in 
 November, 1775, it was announced that 600 vessels formerly 
 employed in the trade with America, were lying idle in the 
 Thames. As early as February, 1776, only seven vessels 
 entered at the London Custom House in a whole week ; a 
 circumstance not known before for 40 years. 
 
 In the Autumn of 1775, the Americans began to fit out 
 privateers at Philadelphia and other ports. In January 1 776, 
 it was announced that there were American privateers in all 
 parts of the Atlantic, and very soon they swarmed round 
 every one of the West India islands. Meanwhile the King's 
 cruisers were not idle. In the first half of the year 1776, they 
 captured seventy-two American vessels. Thus the energies 
 of the two nations were turned to the destruction of commerce 
 with terrible efTect. The foreign trade of Liverpool rapidly 
 declined, until it sank to a small part of what it had been 
 before the war. There were at that time 170 American 
 cruisers at sea. Amongst other prizes, they took 23 valuable 
 
182 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 West Indiamen in the summer of 1776.* In the paper of 
 September 6th, 1776, we find the following remarkable state- 
 ment put forth with the evident intention of minimising the 
 importance of the American successes : — 
 
 " As we daily read of many rich vessels taken by the 
 American privateers, It may not be disag-reeable to acquaint the 
 friends of Old England with two essential circumstances ; first 
 that some of the rich vessels taken from us by the rebels have 
 no existence whatever but in the newspapers ; and secondly, 
 that the principal part of the rest go out with the professed 
 view of falling into the hands of the enemy. To elucidate this 
 point we must observe that the Saints are in great distress for 
 numberless articles which they cannot procure openly from 
 England, as all commerce with them is prohibited by Parliament, 
 and punishable as high treason. Under these circumstances, 
 therefore, directions are privately issued to their adherents in 
 such of the British ports as are most conveniently situated, to 
 fit out large ships with the commodities particularly wanted. 
 This is accordingly done, and the vessels sail to a given latitude 
 under the plausible pretext of bearing to some well affected part 
 of America. When they arrive at the given latitude, however, 
 provincial privateers are in readiness to seize them, and they 
 strike without a blow, well knowing that their owners are to be 
 amply indemnified for the utmost loss which they may seemingly 
 sustain in this imaginary capture." 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that during the early part of the 
 war, while hostilities were confined to the two principal 
 belligerents — the mother country and her rebellious children 
 — the merchants of Liverpool did not enter into privateering 
 with the spirit that had distinguished them in former wars. f 
 
 * The Virginia Gazette of June 2i&t, 1776, gives the following statement of the 
 carg es of certain West Indiamen taken by the American privateers, ^iz., 22,420 
 dollars, 187 oz. of plate, 1,052 hogsheads (f sugar, 213 puncheons of rum, 70 pipes 
 of old Madeira, 246 bags of pimento, 396 I ags of ginger, 568 hide=, 25 tons of 
 cocoa, 41 tons of fustic, one cai-k of tortoise shell. The owners of the piivateers 
 aie spid to have shaied /^5,OCO each, and each sailor ;^500. 
 
 t The British Government appears to have contributed to this remarkable for- 
 bearance ly its tardiness in issuing Letters of Marque. " In last Tuesday's Gazette,^^ 
 says the paper of April iith, 1777, "the Lords of the Admiralty give notice that they 
 are ready to issue commissions to private ships for cnusing against the Americans." 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 183 
 
 Perhaps they felt reluctant to fight and plunder their former 
 customers, men of their own race and speech, and in many 
 cases, most likely, their own personal friends and corre- 
 spondents ; or they may have considered the game not 
 worth the candle, the sea-borne commerce of the colonies 
 being too insignificant to supply remunerative prizes for the 
 King's cruisers and privateers combined. As soon as the 
 French and Spaniards joined the Americans, however, 
 Liverpool enterprise awoke like a giant from a dream, and 
 put forth its strength as the fathers had done, and on a much 
 vaster scale, as became the second seaport of the empire. 
 Once more visions of valuable French East Indiamen, and 
 treasure-laden argosies of Spain, dazzled the imagination of 
 those who coveted easily acquired fortunes. The slave 
 ships were lying idle in the docks, the war having almost 
 ruined the man traffic, to the great grief and pecuniary loss 
 of many excellent citizens of Liverpool and their friends — - 
 certain native chiefs on the coast of Africa. Those vessels 
 that could not be profitably employed in the slave trade were 
 easily converted into privateers, and so great was the energy 
 displayed in their equipment, that, between the end of 
 August, 1778, and April, 1779, no less than 120 private ships 
 of war were fitted out.* Their total tonnage was 30,787, 
 carrying 1986 guns, and 8754 men. The largest of these 
 ships was a frigate of ■^o nine-pounders ; that of the 
 heaviest metal carried 16 eighteen-pounders ; the other 
 vessels were mostly armed with six and nine-pounders. 
 The number of men forming the crews varied considerably 
 in the different vessels, a ship of 250 tons burthen carrying 
 140 men, while a ship of 1200 or 1400 tons carried only 100 
 men. "This formidable armament," says Troughton, 
 "proved a considerable annoyance to the hostile powers, 
 and captured several French ships from the East and West 
 
 * A list of the Liverpool privateers engaged in this war is supplied in tlie 
 appendix. 
 
184 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Indies, of such immense value, as enabled the merchants of 
 Liverpool not only to restore their credit and extend their 
 commerce, but to trade upon real capital." Dr. Aikin, in 
 his description of the country round Manchester, says, 
 " Liverpool has in different wars distinguished itself by the 
 spirit with which it has fitted out armed ships for the purpose 
 of annoying the trade of the enemy. How far this is a 
 useful spirit to a trading town, and in what degree the prizes 
 made have exceeded or fallen short of the expenses of the 
 outfits, we shall not inquire. Some of the prizes taken by 
 the Liverpool privateers were of very great value ; and their 
 effect in cutting off the resources of the hostile powers were 
 very considerable." "The undaunted courage and gallantry 
 of the crews of both the privateers and armed merchant 
 vessels of Liverpool," says Brooke, "command our applause, 
 and on numerous occasions excited the admiration of the 
 enemy." Sir James Picton, referring to this period, 
 observes, " there were two blots on the fair fame of Liver- 
 pool commerce which could not but have a demoralising 
 tendency on society generally. I allude to privateering and 
 the slave trade. . . Privateering, though practised to a 
 considerable extent, was in private hands, and did not come 
 within the purview of the Corporation, hence there is no 
 allusion to it in the records." Although it is generally held 
 that a corporation has neither a soul to be lost nor a 
 corporeal presence sufficiently tangible and "get-at-able" to 
 receive castigation, one feels that it would have been morally 
 to its advantage if the Corporation had had more to do with 
 privateering and less with slave trading. 
 
 The following description of the launching of the JMary 
 Ellen, a ship which played the double part of slaver and 
 privateer, is from the pen of " A Nonagenarian " : — 
 
 " My father was owner and commander of the Maiy Ellen. 
 She was launched on the 4th of Jvme, my birthday, and also 
 the anniversary of our revered sovereign, George III. We 
 
AMERICAy WAR OF INDEPENDEXCE. 1S5 
 
 used to keep his majesty's birthday in i;;reat style. The bells 
 were set ringing-, cannon fired, colours waved in the wind, and 
 all the schools had holiday. We don't love the Gracious 
 Ladv who presides over our destinies less than we did her 
 aug-ust g-randfather, but I am sure we do not keep her 
 birthday as we did his. The Mary Ellen was launched on 
 the 4th of June, 1775. She was named after and by my 
 mother. The launch of this ship is about the first thing- I can 
 remember. The day's proceeding's are indelibly fixed upon my 
 memory. We went down to the place where the ship was 
 built, accompanied by our friends. We made quite a little 
 procession, headed by a drum and fife. My father and mother 
 walked first, leadings me by the hand. I had new clothes on, 
 and I firmly believed that the joy bells were ring'ing- solely 
 because our ship was to be launched. The Mary Ellen was 
 launched from a piece of open g-round just beyond the present 
 Salthouse Dock, then called 'the South Dock.' I suppose 
 the exact place would be somewhere about the middle of the 
 present King-'s Dock. The bank on which the ship was built 
 sloped down to the river. There was a slig-ht boarding- round 
 her. There were several other ships and smaller vessels 
 building- near her ; amongst others, a frig-ate which afterwards 
 did g-reat damage to the enemy during the French war. The 
 government frequently gave orders for ships to be built at 
 Liverpool. The view up the river was very fine. There were 
 few houses to be seen southward. The mills on the Aigburth 
 road were the principal objects. 
 
 " It was a pretty sight to see the Mary Ellen launched. 
 There were crowds of people present, for my father was well- 
 known and very popular. When the ship moved off" there was 
 a great cheer raised. I was so excited at the great ' splash ' 
 which was made, that I cried, and was for a time inconsolable, 
 because they would not launch the ship again, so that I might 
 witness another great ' splash.' I can, in my mind's e}-e, see 
 the ' splash ' of the Mary Ellen even now. I really believe the 
 displacement of the water on that occasion opened the doors 
 oi observation in my mind. After the launch there was great 
 
186 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 festivity and hilarity. I believe I made myself very ill with the 
 quantity of fruit and ifood thing's I became possessed of. 
 While the Mary Ellen was fittings up for sea, I was often 
 taken on board. In her hold were long- shelves, with ring- 
 bolts in rows in several places. I used to run along- these 
 shelves little thinking- what dreadful scenes would be enacted 
 upon them. The fact is that the Mary Ellen was destined 
 for the African trade, in which she made many very suc- 
 cessful voyag-es. In 1779, however, she was converted 
 into a privateer. My father, at the present time, would 
 not perhaps be thought very respectable ; but I assure 
 you he was so considered in those days. So many people 
 in Liverpool were, to use an old and trite sea phrase, ' tarred 
 with the same brush,' that these occupations were scarcely, 
 indeed were not at all, reg-arded as derogatory to a man's 
 character. In fact, during the privateering time, there was 
 scarcely a man, woman, or child in Liverpool, of any standing, 
 that did not hold a share in one of these ships. Although a 
 slave captain, and afterwards a privateer, my father was a 
 kind and just man — a good father, husband, and friend. His 
 purse and advice were always ready to help and save, and he 
 was, consequently, much respected by the merchants with 
 whom he had intercourse. I have been told that he was quite 
 a different man at sea, that there he was harsh, unbending, 
 and stern, but still just. How he used to rule the turbulent 
 spirits of his crews I don't know, but certain it is that he 
 never wanted men when other Liverpool shipowners were short 
 of hands. Many of his seamen sailed voyage after voyage 
 with him. It was these old hands that were attached to him 
 who I suspect kept the others in subjection. The men used to 
 make much of me. They made me little sea toys, and always 
 brought my mother and myself presents from Africa, such as 
 parrots, monkeys, shells, and articles of the natives' work- 
 manship. I recollect very well, after the Mary Ellen had been 
 converted into a privateer, that, on her return from a successful 
 West Indian cruise, the mate of the ship, a great big fellow, 
 named Blake, and who was one of the roughest and most 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPEXDENCE. 187 
 
 ungainly men ever seen, would insist upon my mother acceptiniif 
 a beautiful chain, of Indian workmanship, to which was 
 attached the miniature of a very lovely woman. I doubt the 
 rascal did not come by it very honestly, neither was a costly 
 bracelet that one of my father's best hands (once a Northwich 
 salt-flatman) brought home for my baby sister. This man 
 would insist upon putting it on the baby somewhere, in spite 
 of all my mother and the nurse could say ; so, as its thigh was 
 the nearest approach to the bracelet in size of any of its little 
 limbs, there the bracelet was clasped. It fitted tightly and 
 baby evidently did not approve of the ornament. My mother 
 took it off when the man left. I have it now. This man used 
 to tell queer stories about the salt trade, and the fortunes 
 made therein, and how they used to land salt on stormy and 
 dark nights on the Cheshire or Lancashire borders, or into 
 boats alongside, substituting the same weight of water as the 
 salt taken out, so that the cargo should pass muster at the 
 Liverpool Custom House. The duty was payable at the works, 
 and the cargo was re-weighed in Liverpool. If found over- 
 weight the merchant had to pay extra duty ; and if short 
 weight, he had to make up the deficiency in salt. The trade 
 required a large capital and was therefore in few hands. One 
 house is known to have paid as much as ;^30,ooo for duty in 
 six weeks. . . . To return to the launch. After the 
 feasting was over, my father treated our friends to the White 
 House and Ranelagh Tea Gardens, which stood at the top of 
 Ranelagh-St. The gardens extended a long way back. 
 Warren-St. is formed out of them. 
 
 "As a young boy and an old man I have seen my native 
 town under two very diverse aspects. As a boy, I have 
 seen it ranked only as a third-rate seaport. Its streets 
 tortuous and narrow, with pavements in the middle, skirted 
 by mud or dirt as the season happened. The sidewalks 
 rough with sharp-pointed stones, that made it misery to walk 
 upon them. I have seen houses, with little low rooms, 
 suffice for the dwelling of the merchant or well-to-do trader 
 — the first being: content to live in Water-St. or Oldhall- 
 
188 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 St., wliile the latter had no idea of leaving- his little shop, 
 with its bay or square window, to take care of itself at nig-ht. 
 1 have seen Liverpool streets with scarcely a coach or vehicle 
 in them, save such as trade required, and the most enlightened 
 of its inhabitants, at that time, could not boast of much 
 intellig^ence, while those who constituted its lower orders were 
 pinniped in the deepest vice, ig-norance, and brutality. 
 
 " But we should not judg'e too harshly of those who have 
 g^one before us. Oi the sea savouring- greatly were the friends 
 and acquaintances of my youth. Scarcely a town h\ the 
 margin of the ocean could be more salt in its people than the 
 men of Liverpool of the last century ; so barbarous were they 
 in their amusements, bullbaitings, and cock and dog' fig"hting-s, 
 and pug-ilistic encounters. What could we expect when we 
 opened no book to the }'Oung-, and emploved no means oi 
 imparting" knowledg-e to the old ? — deriving- our prosperity 
 from two g-reat sources —the slave trade and privateering-. 
 What could we expect but the results we have witnessed ? 
 Swarming- with sailormen flushed with prize money, was it 
 not likely that the inhabitants g-enerally would take a tone 
 from what the}' daily beheld and quietly countenanced ? Have 
 we not seen the father investing- small sums in some g-allant 
 ship fitting- out for the West Indies or the Spanish Main in the 
 names of each of his children, g-irls and boys ? Was it not 
 natural that they should g-o down to the "Old Dock" or the 
 " Salthouse," or the " New Dock " and there be g-ratified with 
 a sig-ht of a ship of which they- little folks as they were — were 
 still part owners ? We took them on deck and showed them 
 where a bloody battle had been fought — on the \ery deck and 
 spot on which their little feet pattered about. And did we not 
 show them the very gfuns, and the muskets, the pistols and the 
 cutlasses, the shot-lockers and mag'azines, and tell them how 
 the lad, scrubbing- a brass kettle in the caboose, had been 
 occupied as a powder-monkey and seen blood shed in earnest ? 
 And did we not moreover tell them that if the forthcoming- 
 voyage was only successful, and if the ships of the enemy were 
 taken — no matter about the streams of blood that mitrht run 
 
AMERICAX ]VAR OF IXDEPEXDEXCK. ISO 
 
 through the scuppers — how their little ventures would be raised 
 in value many hundred-fold — would not young- imag-inations be 
 excited and the g^reed for g-ain be potent in their young- hearts ? 
 No matter what woman mig-ht be widowed — parent made 
 childless, or child left without protector — if the g-allant privateer 
 was successful that was all they were taug-ht to look for. And 
 must not such teaching- have had effect in after life ? I have 
 seen these thing-s, and know them to be true ; but I have seen 
 them, I am g:lad to say, fade away, while other and better 
 prospects have, step by step, presented themselves to view. 
 "As a man I have seen the old narrow streets wideniny- — 
 
 o 
 
 the old houses crumbling- — and the salty savouring^ of societv 
 evaporate and the sea influence recede before improvement, 
 education and enlig-htenment of all sorts. Step by step has 
 that sea element in my townsmen declined. The three-bottle 
 and punch-drinking- man is the exception now, and not the rule 
 oi the table.'"' 
 
 In November, 1776, the merchants of Liverpool gave 
 public notice that they would discourage the future em- 
 ployment of any persons, who, being masters of vessels, 
 should separate from their respective convoys, or otherwise 
 wilfully disobey the orders received from the commanders 
 thereof. In the same month, the Corporation, to avert the 
 inconveniences and hardships which the impress brought 
 on the freemen and other inhabitants of the town, and also 
 to the trade, business, and commerce thereof; and at the 
 same time to assist Government in manning his Majesty's 
 ships, offered a bounty of two guineas to every able seaman 
 volunteering to enter the navy, and to every vokmteer 
 ordinary seaman a boimty of one guinea, over and above 
 the King's bounty. A committee of the Town Council sat 
 in the Mayor's office, within the Exchange, to examine and 
 enter such volunteers. 
 
 Captain Wilson, of the Union, on his passage was 
 boarded by an American privateer, of 10 six-pounders, and 
 
 '' "■' Recollections of a Nonagenarian," hy the late Mr. James Stonehouse. 
 
190 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 103 men, called the Sally, Captain Munro, of Rhode Island, 
 who took ut his cargo of ivory, and Malageta pepper, 
 clearances, etc., and all the letters. The privateer had just 
 taken a ship from Bristol, and another from London, and 
 put on board the Union 24 prisoners, and some provisions. 
 Two days later, the Union was boarded by another priva- 
 teer of six guns and 34 men, commanded by Captain Field, 
 of Rhode Island, and again by a third privateer, called the 
 Cabot, belonging to the Congress, of 14 guns and 130 men, 
 commanded by Captain Hinman, who searched the Union 
 and ordered her to stand to the N.W., which they did until 
 a fleet of ships came in sight, when one of them gave chase 
 to the privateer. The Cabot subsequently captured the 
 brig Watson, Captain Brison, from Jamaica for Liverpool, 
 which had on board the owner, Mr. James Bier, a man of 
 resolution and resource. The following letter written by 
 him from Dundalk, on December 3rd, 1776, tells how he 
 got his own again : — 
 
 "On the 2nd of October, in lat. 41, long-. 45, I was taken 
 by an American man-of-war (as they call themselves) called 
 the Cabot, a brig- of 14 guns, commanded by Captain Elisha 
 Hinman, who had just before taken five large vessels. I was 
 carried on board the privateer, where I applied to the Captain 
 for leave to continue on board my own vessel, which he 
 positively refused ; however, after some conversation about 
 privateering, he consulted his officers, and then told me I 
 might go on board ; this g^ave me great pleasure. Had he 
 kept me, I should have taken their man-of-war, they having 
 only about 40 of their own people, and upwards of 80 
 prisoners. They took all my men, except the captain, one 
 boy, and a passenger, putting eight of their own people on 
 board. We were to proceed to New London or Rhode 
 Island. In about three weeks we g-ot into soundings off 
 Boston, but that night I had determined to re-take her, having 
 brought over to my party two of their people, by promising 
 them ;^ioo. Accordingly, at 8 o'clock, they sent me a pistol 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 191 
 
 by the boy, on which I immediately jumped upon deck, clap'd 
 it to the prize-master's breast, and demanded him to surrender 
 the vessel, which he instantly complied with, at the same time 
 the captain and boy secured the lieutenant of marines in the 
 cabin. We then secured the hatches, till I g-ot all the arms, 
 which compleated the business. I bore away for Halifax, but 
 the wind being- fair, stood on for Newfoundland. The wind 
 still continuing^ favourable, stood on for Ireland, where I struck 
 soundings in 27 days. We had but two barrels of beef and 
 three of bread when I bore away, but fortunatel}- had two 
 turtles about 600 lb. weight, which served us three weeks. We 
 ran in here in a hard gale of wind, where we lie in safety, 
 having (thank God) received no damage, except one boat 
 washed overboard, with studden-sails and some spare ropes. 
 Our fire and candles were intirely exhausted. I hope this will 
 be agreeable news, and remain &c., J. B." 
 
 The following are copies of the commission granted by 
 Admiral Hopkins, the American naval commander-in-chief, 
 to Captain Hinman, and of the latter's orders to the prize- 
 master put on board the Watson : — 
 
 "By the power given me by the Delegates of the United 
 Colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode Island, 
 Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pensylvania, the counties 
 of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, Maryland, 
 Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 
 "To Elisha Hinmax, Esquire, 
 
 I, reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriotism, 
 valour, conduct, and fidelity, do by these presents constitute 
 and appoint you to be first Lieutenant of the armed ships in 
 the service of the Thirteen United Colonies of North America, 
 fitted out for the defence of American Liberty, and for repelling- 
 every hostile invasion thereof. You are therefore, carefully 
 and diligently to discharge the duty of First Lieutenant, by 
 doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belong- 
 ing. And I do hereby strictly charge and require all officers, 
 mariners, and seamen, under your command, to be obedient to 
 
192 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 vour orders as First Lieutenant. And you are to observe and 
 follow such orders and directions, from time to time, as you 
 shall receive from the Conijress of the United Colonies, 
 or Committee of Congress for that purpose appointed, or 
 Commander in Chief, for the time being, of the navy of the 
 United Colonies, or any other your superior officer, according- 
 to the rules and discipline of war, the usage of the sea, and the 
 instructions herewith given you, in pursuance of the trust 
 reposed in you. This Commission to continue in force until 
 revoked by the Congress. 
 
 '"$>\\\^^ Alfred, Sept. 29, 1776. 
 
 "Signed Ezek. Hopkins, Commander in Chief. 
 "The above is a true copy of the commission given me, 
 from under my hand 2d Oct., 1776. 
 
 " Elisha Hinman. 
 " N.B. Since I received my commission, I received orders 
 from the Commander in Chief to take command of the Cabot. 
 
 "Sir, — You are to take charge or command of the brig 
 Watson, Francis Brison, master, from Jamaica, bound Liver- 
 pool, and proceed with her to New London, Rhode Island, or 
 any convenient port in North America. On your arrival apply 
 to the continental agent; at same time advise Admiral Hopkins 
 of your safe arrival. — On board the Cabot, in latitude 40.36 N. 
 longitude 43.30 W. Oct. 3rd, 1776. 
 
 "Elisha Hinman." 
 
 The ship, Leghorn Galley, Captain Alexander M'Daniel, 
 belonging- to Mr. Thomas Earle, was taken on her passage 
 from Liverpool to Jamaica, by an American privateer and 
 carried into Philadelphia. About the end of the year 1772, 
 Mr. Thomas Earle established a line of packets, sailing at 
 regular times from Liverpool to Leghorn, hence probably 
 the name of the vessel. This was the first line of foreign 
 packets established in Liverpool. Captain M'Daniel wrote 
 the following letter to Mr. Earle, from Nantz, on December 
 19th, 1776 :— 
 
 " I have nothing new to acquaint you with from Philadel- 
 
 \ 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 193 
 
 phia, since the taking- of New York, which you no doubt have 
 heard of, only that a decisive battle was expected to be foug-ht 
 when we left Philadelphia. Here is the Enterprize, Capt. 
 Weeks, at this place, belong-ing- to the Congress, mounting- 
 1 6 six-pounders, 24 swivels, and 130 men. She broug-ht over 
 Dr. Franklin, one of the Cong-ress, who is g-one to the court of 
 Versailles. She took a brig^ belonging- to Cork from Bordeaux, 
 one Cod master, and a brig from Rochelle bound to Hull, one 
 Fetchett master, about fifteen leagues from this place, and has 
 sold both vessels and cargoes to the French. Here is also a 
 privateer belonging to Charles Town, South Carolina, com- 
 manded by one Cockran, mounting 12 four-pounders, and 80 
 men, besides four other vessels belonging to the Congress, all 
 taking in naval and military stores, and are arming them all." 
 
 It is worth noting here, that Dr. Franklin has left upon 
 record some very severe and disrespectful remarks, regard- 
 ing the picturesque and patriotic profession of privateering, 
 in which we — and it is hoped the reader — are at present 
 highly interested, but we are, on the other hand, morally 
 fortified by the equally vigorous utterance of another dis- 
 tinguished American statesman — Jefferson, who held that 
 privateering is a national blessing, when a country like 
 America is at war with a commercial nation. 
 
 In November, 1776, the ship Sam, Captain Richardson, 
 on her passage from Barbadoes for Liverpool, with about 
 20,000 dollars, and 52 cwt. of ivory on board, was taken in 
 latitude 20", by the Independence privateer, of 10 guns and 
 45 men, John Young, commander, belonging to the Con- 
 gress. The ship was sent away to Philadelphia, with the 
 ivory and silver ; the captain and boatswain were landed at 
 St. Pierre's, Martinico ; the doctor, mate, and two servants, 
 and four of the crew were left on board the Sam, and all the 
 rest of the hands entered on board the privateer. *' If the 
 French Governors suffer prize cargoes, without condemna- 
 tion, to be landed in their islands," observes a Barbadoes 
 
194 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 correspondent, '*our trade must most certainly be quite 
 ruined very soon." 
 
 The manners of the lower orders in Liverpool at this 
 period, are exemplified in the following incident. "Tuesday 
 afternoon," says the paper of January 17th, 1777, "some 
 riotous people assembled before a house in Frederick Street, 
 and dragged from thence a poor woman, whom they stripped 
 and inhumanly ducked a number of times in the dock, and 
 otherwise ill-treated, so that she now lies very ill at the 
 Infirmary. Proper steps are taking to discover and punish 
 the offenders. Their resentment was owing to her having 
 given information to the press-gang against a sailor, who 
 had lately married her in the north, had brought her here, 
 where he had a former wife, and refused to give her two 
 shillings to carry her home again." A subscription was 
 raised on her behalf in the town. 
 
 During the scare caused by the incendiary, John the 
 Painter, in January, 1777, "at a very great and most 
 respectable meeting of the mayor, magistrates, merchants, 
 and traders," held in Liverpool, it was resolved that a strong 
 and efficient watch be set every night from five o'clock in 
 the evening, till seven o'clock in the morning, to patrol round 
 the docks and through the town. Owners, masters, and 
 others interested, were recommended to have their ships 
 carefully watched, the persons in charge not to be allowed 
 any candle-light or fires aboard during their watch. A 
 committee was appointed to enforce the recommendations, 
 and a great number of gentlemen voluntarily offered them- 
 selves to be upon guard, by rotation, each night. Many 
 special constables were sworn, and the magistrates ordered 
 all disorderly, idle and suspected persons having no visible 
 means of getting their livelihood, to be taken up. A strict 
 lookout was kept on all loitering persons being in or coming 
 into the town, and the inhabitants who had lodgers whom 
 they eyed with suspicion, were invited to impart those 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 195 
 
 suspicions to the authorities — an excellent opportunity to 
 settle old scores. The committee met daily in the Council 
 chamber to receive the report of the preceding night's 
 watch, and a justice of the peace was at hand to deal with 
 offenders. ''All riotous, disorderly, and idle persons," 
 says the official order, "are hereby cautioned to forbear 
 their wicked courses, and to be early in their houses or 
 places of abode at nights ; and all strangers are desired to 
 keep in their inns in due time, and not be strolling about 
 the town at unseasonable hours, to prevent the inconvenience 
 of being taken up by the constables on the watch, the mayor 
 and magistrates being determined rigorously to put the 
 laws in force against all offenders. And the gentlemen, 
 merchants, traders, and inhabitants in general of this great 
 commercial town and port will heartily concur, and dili- 
 gently assist in their guard, care, and watching for the 
 safety and preservation thereof." Circumstances over which 
 he had no control prevented John the Painter from visiting 
 Liverpool and firing its shipping, and in the paper of 
 March 28th, his ghost is made to sing a doleful warning to 
 other "poor, deluded, guilty souls," to behold their fate in 
 him. 
 
 "On the 20th instant," says a letter from Barbadoes, dated 
 the 25th January, 1777, "the Thomas^ Captain Collison, and 
 the Sarah, Captain Frith, both from Liverpool, fell in with 
 a 10 gun sloop, which soon boarded, and, sword in hand, 
 took the former; she and the prize then fired upon the latter 
 ship, which by having the heels of them, got off, but she 
 had the misfortune of being attacked again in the morning 
 of the 22nd inst, near the land, by a schooner of considerable 
 force, with which she had a long and smart action. The 
 enemy attempted sundry times to board her, but were 
 prevented by booms rigged out on each side of the Sarah, 
 whose mainmast has a six-pounder through it, the sails, 
 blocks, and rigging all cut to pieces, and his chief mate 
 
196 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 wounded in the arm. He, poor gentleman, received two 
 musquet balls in his body, and though all imaginable care 
 was taken of him, immediately on his arrival in Carlisle- 
 bay, last Wednesday evening, he died the night before last, 
 and was buried yesterday morning. The engagement was 
 seen from the shore, and it is allowed that poor Frith 
 behaved gallantly. At the bottom of the invitations to his 
 funeral were these words — 
 
 * " Dulce et Decorum pro Patria Mori. " 
 "The people on board the Sarah imagine they dropped 
 the Captain of the schooner, and several of the crew, who 
 appeared to them to be chiefly French, Mulattoes, and 
 Negroes. The privateer was a good deal shattered in her 
 sails and rigging, and received several shots in her hull. 
 Several of the Independent Gentry are cruising to the east- 
 ward of this island, and some of them well fortified and 
 manned. One Fish, a Salem man, in the brig Tyrantiicide, 
 of 14 guns and 120 men, has been very successful; the last 
 he took, that we know of, was a brig called the Three Friends, 
 one Helme, commander, from London, with a valuable 
 cargo of dry goods and provisions. Said capture was last 
 Saturday. The long boat was given to six of the hands, 
 who arrived here that afternoon, and reported that their 
 Captain and mate entered on board the privateer, carrying 
 with them a sum of money and upwards of 2000 letters for 
 this place. Such swarms of them are to the windward that 
 'tis to be feared they will do much mischief." 
 
 Mr. James Barton, second mate of the Thomas^ writing 
 to his owners in Liverpool, from Newport, Rhode Island, 
 on February 23rd, 1777, says : — 
 
 " I suppose by this time you may have heard of our being- 
 taken ; but as it Is uncertain, I shall just mention a few 
 particulars, and leave the rest to a superior officer. Suffice it, 
 therefore, to say, that on the 21st of January last, in lat. 14 N. 
 * It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 197 
 
 and longit. 56 W. from London, we were met with, engaged, 
 and took by an American Privateer, called the Revenge, whereof 
 Joseph Sheffield was the commander, after having two of our 
 people killed, and the Captain, Mr. Harper, and the Boatswain 
 wounded. 
 
 " Most of the crew, along with myself, were immediately 
 put on board the privateer ; but on the 23rd of January we fell 
 in with a French ship bound to Martinico, whom the privateer 
 obliged to take immediately on board her our Captain, Chief 
 Mate, and all the crew (excepting the Boatswain, who was 
 very ill wounded, a boy and myself, whom they detained and 
 would not suffer to quit the ship). We parted from the French 
 ship the same day, and stood for America with the privateer 
 in company. We had very bad weather after leaving the 
 privateer, and on the 14th of February made land, which 
 proved to be Rhode Island, and not having heard it was 
 taken, we stood in for the harbour, which we were very near, 
 when the privateer, our consort, ahead saw a sail and imme- 
 diately crowded all he could and stood from her ; we followed 
 his example, but it blowing very fresh at N.W. in about two 
 hours the sail came alongside of us, which proved to be his 
 Majesty's ship Unicorn, of 20 guns, commanded by John Ford, 
 Esq., who took all the prisoners on board his own ship, and 
 sent two officers and twelve of his men on board of us to take 
 charge of the vessel. We then stood for Newport with the 
 Unicorn in company with us till morning, when she left us and 
 went in chase of a sloop, and on the i6th of February we got 
 safely to anchor in the harbour. The privateer took all our 
 letters and papers from on board us. As soon as we arrived 
 here I put the Boatswain on shore, intending to get him into 
 the King's Hospital, which I was advised not to do by the 
 doctor, as he had no disorder but his wounds, and that if he 
 went there he might contract some distemper that would 
 retard his cure. I have since procured him private lodgings 
 and believe his leg will be amputated in a few days. 
 
 " Captain Wise and his boy, who were taken by the same 
 privateer in her last cruize, are on board, and I believe they 
 
198 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 will come home with us. When our ship was taken we had 
 very little water, and the privateer was in the same case ; they 
 therefore thoug^ht proper to unstow our hold, and take our 
 wine, upwards of i8o firkins of butter, two hogsheads of bread, 
 two barrels of flour, four barrels of pork, a few bags of barley, 
 pease, &c. , five or six barrels of gunpowder, some small arms 
 and sundry other articles on board of them, for fear of our 
 vessel being retaken." 
 
 In 1779, the Thomas, Captain Barton, and the Sarah, 
 Captain Hooton, took a prize on their passage to Grenada. 
 The Sarah was subsequently lost at Anguilla. The Thomas 
 also captured a schooner laden with tobacco, and sent her 
 into St. Kitts. 
 
 A letter from Waterford, dated May ist, says: "We 
 have a certain account of five rebel privateers off Cape 
 Clear and Kinsale, waiting, it is imagined, for the New- 
 foundland fleet from hence, and transports from Cork. 
 The convoy is only a sloop of 14 guns. They take our 
 ships in our channel. Two of this port are taken. Where 
 it will end I know not." In the same month it was cal- 
 culated that the value of the West India ships that had 
 fallen into the hands of the Americans was upwards of 
 ;i£"400,ooo sterling. The following was given as " a perfect 
 list of the naval force belonging to the Congress," exclusive 
 of which there were upwards of 100 sail of privateers : — 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 The Virginia 
 
 28 
 
 James Nicholson. 
 
 Hancock 
 
 32 
 
 John Manly. 
 
 Boston 
 
 24 
 
 Hector M'Neal. 
 
 Truvibnll 
 
 28 
 
 Dudley Saltonstall 
 
 Randolph 
 
 32 
 
 Nicholas Biddle. 
 
 Rawleigh 
 
 32 
 
 John Thompson. 
 
 Effingham 
 
 28 
 
 John Berry. 
 
 Washington 
 
 32 
 
 Thomas Reed. 
 
 Con press 
 
 28 
 
 Thomas Guinall. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 199 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Delaivayc 
 
 24 
 
 Charles Alexander 
 
 Reprisal 
 
 16 
 
 Lambert Weeks. 
 
 Providence 
 
 28 
 
 Abram Whipple. 
 
 Warren 
 
 32 
 
 John Hicks. 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 24 
 
 John Hodgfe. 
 
 Lexington 
 
 r6 
 
 John Hallock. 
 
 Hampden 
 
 24 
 
 Hoysted Hacker. 
 
 Andre Doria 
 
 14 
 
 Isaiah Robinson. 
 
 Providence 
 
 12 
 
 John Paul Jones. 
 
 Defence 
 
 20 
 
 James Josiah. 
 
 Alfred 
 
 28 
 
 Elisha Hinman. 
 
 Cabot 
 
 16 
 
 Joshua Olney. 
 
 Sachem 
 
 10 
 
 James Robinson. 
 
 Independence 
 
 10 
 
 John Young-. 
 
 Fly 
 
 lO 
 
 Elisha Warner. 
 
 Columbus 
 
 — 
 
 Cook. 
 
 Wasp 
 
 8 
 
 Lieut. Baldwin. 
 
 Musqueto 
 
 4 
 
 Lieut. Abberton. 
 
 In June, 1777, the Marlborough, Captain Dawson, on her 
 passage to New York, took the Three Brothers, Bentley, 
 from South Carolina, with rice, staves, and indigo, and sent 
 her to Liverpool. The night before they made Cape Clear, 
 Captain Bentley attempted to kill the prize-master, but was 
 prevented by the vigilance of the cabin boy. In 1778, 
 Captain Dawson brought into the Mersey a brig from 
 Boston, laden with boards, cider, etc., which he had taken 
 on his passage from Philadelphia. The Marlborough was 
 captured and carried into Bordeaux in August, 1780. 
 
 His Majesty's ship, Ariadne, took the Musquito '^x'wdXo.^r, 
 16 guns and 72 men, commanded by Captain Harris, and 
 fitted out in Virginia, by Captain Younghusband, formerly 
 of Liverpool. T\\q. Mary Ann, Captain Leigh, of Liverpool, 
 and her consort, a sloop, captured thirteen prizes, valued at 
 upwards of ^10,000, and carried them into Tortola. The 
 Mary Ann, on her homeward passage, was lost on the 
 
200 777^ LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 Tuskar, but all the crew were saved, as well as the indigo 
 portion of her cargo. The Hero, Captain Woodville, a 
 Letter of Marque, i6 guns, took a double-decked schooner, 
 150 tons, with boards, staves, etc., in the West Indies, and 
 the Valiant^ Captain Naylor, took an American sloop, with 
 lumber, etc., from Boston. The Laurel^ Captain White, 
 on her passage from Dominica, took a schooner bound from 
 Bilbao to Philadelphia, with bale goods. 
 
 Captain Wm. Buddecome, of Liverpool, was presented 
 with a silver cup, value ;^i8, by the merchants and masters 
 of 18 vessels belonging to New York, for his care in con- 
 voying their fleet between the West Indies and New York, 
 after the Falcon sloop of war had separated from them. 
 Captain George Ross, of London, was also presented with 
 a silver cup, value ;£i2, for assisting Captain Buddecome. 
 
 Letters from Dumfries mentioned that two American 
 privateers had anchored in the Solway Frith. One letter 
 says they had taken 14 prizes; another 9; another account 
 stated that two American vessels had appeared off Kintyre ; 
 that they had made 15 prizes, three of which they burnt, and 
 sent the rest to some port in France. A letter from Jersey 
 complained that the American privateers grew daily bolder, 
 having the effrontery to cruise even between Jersey and 
 Guernsey. The largest of them were only 10 gun vessels, 
 and on being pursued, they immediately made for St. Malo. 
 
 The following curious extract is from a letter received by 
 a Liverpool merchant from St. Vincent, and dated May 
 5th, 1777:— 
 
 " I had the pleasure of writing- to you a few days since by 
 the Bess, which ship we are in hopes is g-ot clear of the islands, 
 as we find she has not been carried into that infernal place 
 Martinique, the nest of damned piratical scoundrels. The 
 great frigate, Oliver Cromwell, took three prizes in last week, 
 one a Guineaman with 300 slaves, one a ship from London ; 
 have not yet heard what Guineaman she is, nor what the other 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 201 
 
 vessel is. The ship Cliaiupion, belonging- to Bristol, is taken 
 at Tobago ; she was going from one bay to another, and had 
 150 hogsheads sugar, and 22 bales of cotton on board. They 
 are now discharging her at St. Lucia. We do not find that 
 the Americans are so much protected any where as at Mar- 
 tinique and St. Lucia, which is under the same government. 
 Was their trade and communication cut off there, which two 
 frigates would in a measure do, no step the ministry could 
 take would distress them more ; it is from thence they are 
 supplied with ever}' thing they stand in need of, not only arms 
 and ammunition, but men. A great many experienced officers 
 are gone to the continent ; and we have numbers of privateers 
 that are manned with French ; some have only an American, 
 and that perhaps a landsman, just to cloak their piratical 
 proceedings. It is said (and I believe founded on truth) that 
 Mons. le Compte D'Argout, present governor of Martinique, is 
 concerned with Bingham, the agent to the Congress, in nine 
 privateers. There are now about 20 sail of English ships in 
 Martinique. Negroes are cheaper there than in Africa, and 
 provisions than in Ireland." 
 
 The Sisters, Captain Graham, a Liverpool slave ship, 
 was taken on her passage from Africa to the West Indies, 
 and carried into Martinico with 163 slaves on board. The 
 Lydia^ Captain Dean, from Jamaica to Liverpool, was 
 taken, and sold in Maryland, with the cargo, for ^20,400 
 currency. The Grace, Captain Wardley, taken by the 
 Lexington privateer in the Irish Channel, was ordered to 
 France, but was recaptured by the prize master and some of 
 the people on board, carried into Torbay, and thence to 
 Liverpool. On the 2nd of June, 1777, the Elizabeth, Captain 
 Byrne, on her passage from Liverpool to Jamaica, fell in 
 with the Fly, an American sloop privateer, of 14 guns and 
 104 men, whom she fought for an hour and-a-half, when 
 the American ran alongside and boarded the Elizabeth, 
 sword in hand. The captain and crew of the Elizabeth 
 were cut and mangled in a shocking manner; three of them 
 
202 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 Avere killed and thirteen wounded. The Johnson^ Captain 
 Jones, from Liverpool to New York, made a gallant fight 
 of three hours against three American vessels (a brig of 14 
 guns, and two schooners of 10 and 12 guns), but in the end 
 was forced to accompany his captors to Boston. The 
 Johnson, re-named the Marquis de la Fayette, was subse- 
 quently captured by Sir George Collier. 
 
 Although all is said to be fair in love and in war, we 
 cannot but feel that the inducements offered to American 
 sailors by the British government, for the treacherous 
 capture of American ships, were unworthy of the British 
 name. In Williamson's Advertiser, of July i8th, 1777, we 
 read as follows : — 
 
 " As his Majesty has declared that the sailors on board the 
 American ships, who shall take the same from the person or 
 persons having the command thereof, and bring; them into any 
 Eng-lish ports, shall have two-thirds of what such ships and 
 cargoes shall be sold for (and for three years be exempted 
 from being impressed), it is apprehended that when the same 
 shall be properly known among the sailors, it will be the means 
 of bringing many a valuable ship and cargo into England, 
 which would otherwise go to the French ports." 
 
 That this bait was intended for American sailors, as well 
 as for British seamen in the rebel service, is very clearly 
 seen from a case which happened in Liverpool earlier in 
 the same year. In January, there entered the Mersey, "in 
 the presence of thousands of rejoicing spectators," the ship 
 Oxford, from York River, in Virginia, laden with 412 
 hogsheads of tobacco and staves. She had been captured 
 on Sunday, the nth of January, on her passage to Nantz, 
 by four of the ship's company, who overcame the rest of 
 the crew, eight in number, besides the supercargo and a 
 passenger. It appears that these "four resolute, brave 
 men, two of whom were Liverpool and the other two 
 Lancashire lads," had, in conjunction with others of their 
 
AMERICAX JVAR OF INDEPEXDENCE. 203 
 
 comrades, who were put on board other vessels, combined 
 together in Virginia to attempt, on their passage, to take 
 the respective vessels they belonged to. "These brave 
 sailors," observes the paper of January 23rd, " say that a 
 brig loaded with tobacco, from the same place, with some 
 men, part of their association, may be daily expected to 
 arrive here. The Oxford originally belonged to Glasgow, 
 and was in the transport service when took by the Americans. 
 As this vessel was not taken by the officers and seamen of 
 his Majesty's ships of war, she becomes, by virtue of an 
 Act of the last session, and also the cargo, forfeited to his 
 Majesty, who will, no doubt, reward the brave captors with 
 the whole, or the greatest part of this valuable prize; which 
 it is hoped will encourage all seamen, that may be engaged 
 in the Rebel Service, to imitate these brave fellows." 
 
 Another ship called the Aurora, was captured under 
 similar circumstances. She had sailed from America for 
 Nantz, with about 416 hogsheads of tobacco from York 
 River, and was manned by Americans, Frenchmen, and 
 four or five Englishmen. On the passage the Englishmen 
 contrived to make prisoners the captain and the rest of the 
 crew, when, putting her head to the wind, they brought the 
 vessel safely into the Mersey. She was condemned as a 
 droit of Admiralty, and the tobacco was sold "duty free 
 and for inland consumption only " at Messrs. Backhouse's 
 warehouse in Church Street. 
 
 " The Lords of the Admiralty," says the paper of July 4th, 
 1777, "have rewarded the brave seamen who took and 
 brought in here the Aurora, loaded with tobacco, in January 
 last, with two-thirds of the cargo, which will be to each 
 of the eight English seamen, who made the seizure, 
 ;^i828 2s. gd., and to each of the five American seamen, 
 who assisted to bring the ship into this port, ;^9i4 is. 4}^d.* 
 
 * From this it would appear that Sir James Picton, in his "Memorials of Liver- 
 pool," and the compiler of the "Annals of Liverpool " in Gore's Directory, are 
 
204 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The names of the five Americans were Jesse Jenkinson, 
 Jesse Topping, Gilbert Welsh, Joseph Walker, and Hugh 
 Johnson. 0\\ their arrival here, they were impressed on 
 board his Majesty's tender; but, on their applying to the 
 Admiralty, they will, without doubt, each receive their 
 respective shares." 
 
 Something of a similar nature occurred in 1862, when a 
 ship called the Emilic St. Pierre arrived in the Mersey, 
 commanded by Captain Wilson, who had recaptured her 
 from a Federal American prize crew. Sir James Picton, 
 referring to a certain villa in Everton Terrace, built by Mr. 
 James Parke about the beginning of the present century, 
 and occupied by him for many years, says, "its last 
 occupant. Captain William Wilson, was rather a noticeable 
 man. In 1862, when in command of the Emilie St. Pierre^ 
 he endeavoured to run the blockade into Charleston, South 
 Carolina, but was intercepted and captured by the Federal 
 war steamer y^wz^j- Adger. A prize crew was put on board 
 to carry the vessel to Philadelphia, Captain Wilson, with 
 his steward and cook, being alone retained. By an amazing 
 combination of stratagem and daring, the whole crew were 
 made prisoners and put in irons by Wilson and his two 
 assistants, who, unaided, navigated the ship and brought 
 her in safety across the Atlantic into the Mersey, where she 
 arrived on April 21st. As might naturally be expected, 
 Wilson received quite an ovation.* By a subscription 
 
 incorrect in stating that " thirteen seamen received each ;^i,82S 2s. gd. as share of 
 prize money, being only one-third of the vaUie of the prizes taken." Stonehouse, in 
 his " Streets of Liverpool," states that the cargo of the Aurora sold for upwards of 
 ;/^30,000. The proportion received by the seamen was, therefore, two-thirds 
 (=;i^i9,i95 8s. lo^d.) as graciously ordained by that wise monarch, who lost us 
 thirteen colonies. We suspect that the Oxford was really the Aurora^ as the 
 latter name does not appear in the arrival lists, although her cargo was advertised 
 and sold, whereas there is no further mention of the Oxford and her cargo. (Jther 
 ships, however, captured in the same manner, arrived in Glasgow and other ports. 
 
 * The present writer, then a boy, had the pleasure of being in the company of 
 Captain Wilson a day or two after his arrival in Liverpool, and the romantic 
 impression made by seeing and hearing one's first live hero remains undimmed 
 after the lapse of 35 years 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 205 
 
 amongst the merchants, he was presented with a gold 
 chronometer, and a tea and coffee service. From the 
 Mercantile Marine Association he received a gold medal, 
 and from the owners the sum of ;i^2,ooo. The cook and 
 steward received ;^320 each. Captain Wilson died in 
 September, 1868, and the house has since been removed.* 
 
 The following is a copy of a letter from Captain Nehemiah 
 Holland, probably the same who so bravely defended the 
 Ann Galley., as already recorded : — 
 
 "At sea, ship Sarah Goiilbui'u, lat. 44.0 N. long-. 39.00 W., 
 19th July, 1777 : — 
 
 "Gentlemen, — I congratulate you upon a prize I have 
 taken this day, named the Sally, Thomas Tracy, master, from 
 Charles Town, South Carolina, bound to Nantz, loaded with 
 470 whole, and 120 half barrels rice, and betwixt twenty and 
 thirty casks of indigo. I have put in Mr. Smith as prize master, 
 who will acquaint you of every particular since our sailing-. Am 
 in a hurry to dispatch the prize, as I am informed there were 
 30 sail more to sail from Charles Town the day after them, and 
 am anxious to be amongst them. You'll please remember me 
 to my friends, as I have not time to write them. I remain, 
 Gentlemen, Your much obligeed humble Servant, N. Holland. 
 
 " P.S. Mr. Smith has behaved very well with me, and 
 executed his office as I could wish. Would be much oblished 
 to you to assist him In another birth." 
 
 Mr. Smith brought the valuable prize safe into port in 
 August. 
 
 "On Sunday last," says the Liverpool paper, of July 25th, 
 1777, "arrived here, the ship Pole, Captain Maddock, in 
 twenty-four days from New York. On the 12th inst at p.m., 
 in lat. 50 , long. 20", she fell in with the Tartar, a rebel 
 privateer, mounting 20 nine-pounders on the main-deck, 
 8 four-pounders on the quarter-deck, and 4 four-pounders 
 on the forecastle, full of men, supposed two hundred at 
 
 * " Memorials of Liverpool," vol 2, pp. 357-8. 
 
206 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 least ; had an image head, and quarter galleries. All her 
 guns on the main-deck were painted black ; those on the 
 quarter-deck and forecastle red. The ship was painted 
 black and yellow, with tarred sides, and short topgallant 
 mastheads. She bore down on the Pole under English 
 colours, enquired from whence she came, and whether she 
 was a King's ship. Being answered in the affirmative, the 
 captain gave orders to hoist the Thirteen Stripes, and fire 
 away, on which the engagement began, and continued from 
 five until about twenty minutes past eight, when the 
 privateer sheered off. Captain Maddock had two mates 
 and a passenger wounded, and supposes that near one-half 
 of the people belonging to the privateer must be killed or 
 wounded, he having cleared their forecastle of men three 
 different times, and says he heard dreadful cries among 
 them. The Pole had i6 six-pounders, and only forty people, 
 passengers included. Both officers and men behaved 
 gallantly, and to Captain Maddock's entire satisfaction. 
 One of the passengers, an elderly woman belonging to 
 Liverpool, but who had been twenty-seven years in America, 
 handed the cartridges to the men. The ships were within 
 hail of each other during the whole engagement. The 
 word '■'■Tartar" was observed on the privateer's stern, and by 
 a list handed about at New York, Captain Maddock finds 
 she was commanded by one Davies, a Welshman, and 
 mentioned there to have 32 guns." 
 
 On her passage from Liverpool to New York, in Sep- 
 tember, 1777, the Po/^ took ihQ Friendship, from Bordeaux 
 for Boston, but the prize was retaken by an American 
 privateer. In 1778, the Pole took the Hannah schooner, 
 and sent her to Jamaica, and the Prince and Liberty, an 
 American brig laden with wine, rum, molasses, and dry 
 goods, which she carried to New York. In 1779, she 
 captured the Salishitry, from Maryland for Nantz, with 140 
 hogsheads of tobacco, and the Hector from Martinico for 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 207 
 
 France with sugar, coffee, and cotton. The Pole was 
 herself taken the same year, on her passage to Jamaica, by 
 the Boston and Confederacy^ " Continental frigates," and 
 carried into the Delaware. 
 
 According to the London Gazette, of the i ith of July, 1777, 
 the English cruisers on the coast of America, captured 
 between the ist of January, 1777, and the 22nd of May 
 following, 203 American vessels, besides recapturing fifteen 
 British vessels taken by the Americans. Thus the work of 
 destruction and the ruin of commerce proceeded with equal 
 vigour on both sides, for the American privateers wTOught 
 havoc in the Channel. 
 
 The Gregson, Captain Wotherspoon, was attacked by two 
 privateers, but beat them both off. 
 
 The Fancy, Captain Allanson, on the passage from 
 Jamaica to Liverpool, had an engagement in the Gulf with 
 an American privateer of 10 guns and 50 men, killed three 
 of her men, and obliged the captain to produce his papers, 
 which were French, "and then let him go about his 
 business." 
 
 The /o/i/i, Captain Watkins, from Liverpool for Halifax, 
 was taken by an American privateer, and retaken by the 
 Ml/ford man-of-war, who put a midshipman and two seamen 
 on board to carry her to Halifax, but in her passage, she 
 was again taken by an American privateer. 
 
 The paper of July nth, 1777, contains an abstract of the 
 Act authorising the carrying of the captures therein men- 
 tioned into any part of his Majesty's dominions in North 
 America ; and for ascertaining the value of such parts of 
 ships and goods as belonged to the recaptors. After 
 reciting the Act of George IIL (for prohibiting all trade 
 and intercourse with the rebellious colonies ; and two other 
 Acts for restraining the trade and commerce of the said 
 colonies ; and to enable persons appointed by the King to 
 grant pardons, issue proclamations, etc.), it enacts : — 
 
208 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 " I. That any persons authorised by the King to grant 
 pardons, &c., may by licence or warrant authorise captors, or 
 other persons in their behalf, to carry their captures into any 
 port, &c. , in any of his Majesty's dominions in America : 
 
 " 2. That all captures already carried into New York, or 
 which, before August ist, 1777, shall be carried in there, or 
 into any of his Majesty's dominions, with such licence afore- 
 said, shall be deemed to have been lawfully carried into such 
 port ; and after condemnation, may be brought into this 
 kingdom, or any of his Majesty's dominions, upon payment 
 of the same duties, and subject to the same regulations as they 
 now are : 
 
 " 3. That when any ship, &c., taken by virtue of the above 
 Act, or any goods therein, shall be proved in any of the 
 Admiralty or Vice-Admiralty Courts in America or the West 
 Indies, to have belonged to the subjects of Great Britain or 
 Ireland, or any dominions in allegiance to the King, and to 
 have been taken by any of the inhabitants of the rebellious 
 colonies, and to be in the possession of such unlawful captors, 
 when retaken; such ship, &c. , shall be restored to the owners, 
 they paying one eighth of the value to the recaptors, or giving 
 sufficient security to do so, for salvage ; and the judge of the 
 court wherein such ship shall be decreed to be restored shall 
 cause the same to be appraised by persons named by the 
 claimant and recaptors, or they not agreeing, by the Court, 
 such persons being sworn truly to appraise the same ; and no 
 retaken ship, &c., shall be sold for payment of salvage, or on 
 any other account, unless with the owner's consent, except 
 where there shall be no claim for such retaken ships, &c. , in 
 which case, the said judge shall order as much of the cargo to 
 be sold as will pay the said ^'sth and the expenses of appraise- 
 ment, &c., and if the cargo be not sufficient, the ship, &c., to 
 be sold, and the remainder, after paying the salvag^e, to be 
 deposited in the registry of the Court, for the owners, who 
 may afterwards claim the same ; and except also any part of 
 the cargo appear in a perishing condition, when the same may 
 be sold for the benefit of the concerned." 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 209 
 
 The Famiy^ Captain Wignall, on her passage from Liver- 
 pool to Halifax, had an engagement with an American 
 privateer, of i6 or i8 guns, for two hours, when the 
 " rebel " sheered off. Captain Wignall believed that she 
 sunk, as he lost sight of her about two hours after she left 
 him, although the weather was clear and but little wind. 
 Captain Wignall expended in the engagement — "89 rounds 
 of shot, 18 lb. double-headed ditto, six canisters of copper 
 dross, 295 lb. of grape shot, in number 1295, making in all 
 1420 shot and about 250 lb. of gunpowder, beside musquet 
 shot, which was a great many." His officers and men, he 
 tells us, " behaved like true British tars." 
 
 In July, 1777, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 
 informed the merchants of Liverpool that they had stationed 
 his Majesty's ships the Albion^ Exeter, Arethusa, and Ceres 
 to cruise between the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland in 
 quest of American privateers, and for the protection of the 
 trade in those ports. The commanders were directed to 
 enquire for intelligence respecting such privateers, as 
 follows : — The Albion and Ceres at Dublin and at Campbel- 
 town ; the Exeter at Milford Haven and Cork alternately ; the 
 Arethiisa at Whitehaven, in her way up channel, and after- 
 wards at Campbeltown and Carrickfergus. Other cruisers 
 were stationed between Scilly, the coasts of Ireland, and 
 Milford Haven for the like purpose. It was certainly high 
 time for their Lordships at the Admiralty to bestir themselves, 
 for in this very month of July the American privateer, General 
 Mifflin, of 20 six-pounders, fitted out at Boston, and com- 
 manded by Walter Day, made her appearance in the Irish 
 Channel, and captured many prizes, including the James, 
 from Glasgow to Oporto, taken the day after she left 
 Glasgow ; the Rebecca, from Liverpool to Limerick ; the 
 Mary and Betty, from Liverpool to Ballyshannon ; and the 
 Priscilla, from Sligo to Liverpool, with linen yarn. Most 
 of these vessels, and of the other prizes taken by the 
 
210 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 American privateers, were sent to France to be sold. The 
 Mary and Betty was given back to the crew, after being 
 plundered of the most valuable part of her cargo. The 
 General Mifflin was originally a Liverpool vessel called the 
 Isaac, engaged in the West India trade, and commanded 
 by Captain Ashburner, and most likely the very ship com- 
 manded by Captain Clatworthy during the Seven Years' 
 War, both as a privateer and as a slaver. The Liverpool 
 paper gives the following account of the ill-treatment of 
 Captain Richard Cassedy, of the Priscilla, who was taken 
 by the General Mifflin : — 
 
 "These sons of freedom seized all the captain's clothes 
 that were worth anything-, and ;^88 in cash ; every one of his 
 men they took on board the privateer, plundered the vessel 
 of spare rig-ging-, stores, &c. , and one bale of linen, part of 
 the cargo, which chiefly consisted of yarn ; and after leaving 
 several of the crew on board, ordered the captain to be bound 
 hand and foot, and put into confinement. In this miserable 
 situation he remained until the 19th of July, when his vessel 
 was retook by the Union, letter of marque, of London, within 
 ten leagues of Bordeaux, and carried into Fowey. The 
 privateer's people split all the sails, except the foresail, by 
 carrying-, whenever they saw any vessel. Captain Cassedy 
 was in a very poor state of health when they arrived at Fowey, 
 and not able to stand, through the cruel treatment he received. 
 His remaining so long bound occasioned his flesh to swell to a 
 shocking degree. All his prayers and intreaties were in vain ; 
 the inhuman tyrants had no compassion. Surely the fear of a 
 single man retaking the vessel, could not induce them to this 
 barbarity. She was a constant Irish trader, had not a single 
 gun on board, nor ammunition, or warlike weapons of any 
 kind." 
 
 Captain Edward Forbes, of the ship Sparling, 300 tons 
 burthen (carrying 10 six-pounders, 4 four-pounders, and 8 
 swivels), belonging to Mr, John Sparling, writing from 
 Kingston, Jamaica, on July 23rd, 1777, says: — 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 211 
 
 " I arrived here safe, after a passage of six weeks. In 
 crossing" the Bay, I saw several ships, but passed none without 
 bringing them to, boarding and examining them. OflF the 
 Western Islands saw a brig privateer, who, on my giving 
 chase, thought proper to alter his course and make the best of 
 his way. I saw nothing more until I was within fifteen leagues 
 of this island, where I was attacked by a large privateer sloop 
 of 12 guns, a number of swivels, blunderbusses, and full of 
 men. They attacked me at four o'clock in the afternoon, 
 with a great deal of vigour, for an hour and-a-half, and then 
 sheered off. I attempted to give chace, but soon found she 
 could sail two feet for my one. She then got her graplins out 
 for boarding when dark, and attempted it three times, but 
 perceiving his intentions, disappointed him, and threw him off 
 his guard, by which means I got our guns to bear, which made 
 him sheer off to refit ; this I was not sorry for, as it gave us 
 an opportunity to do the same, for our braces and running 
 rigging were often shot away. The engagement lasted six 
 hours. Getting all my guns to bear, in less than a quarter of 
 an hour I lost sight of him. The ship is a good deal damaged 
 in her rigging, sails, and hull, but no lives lost, which is owing 
 to the good shelter we had on deck, as she constantly fired 
 small arms. I found the sloop had great advantage over us, 
 we being square rigged, she always kept on my quarters. The 
 Sparhng's sides are hard, but the yankies found means to shew 
 davlight through her in several places, but hope to repair her 
 at a small expence. There is three feet of the starboard 
 quarter entirely knocked out, and some shot in the bends. My 
 men behaved during the action with the greatest courage, and 
 very attentive to command." 
 
 In 1778, the Sparling ioo\i a prize named the Isaac, which 
 was recaptured by a privateer, which in its turn was taken 
 by a King's ship. 
 
 Captain James CoHinson, of the ship Will, writing- to his 
 owners from Dominica, on October 13th, 1777, says : — 
 
 " I congratulate you on our arrival here, on the 8th oi 
 
212 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 October. On the 7th, we fell in with a rebel privateer sloop 
 with 10 g"uns and 16 swivels, which we defended ourselves from 
 for full five hours. She boarded us on the larboard quarter 
 with twelve men, which we killed, and made them cry out for 
 quarter several times, but still kept a brisk fire upon them, and 
 paid no regard to their crying for quarter, as they still had their 
 colours up. They were half an hour under our quarter, where 
 we made them fast to us. By their cutting their ropes they 
 cleared from our quarter; then we stood to the northward, and 
 cleared ship ready for them again ; when clear, gave chase, and 
 came up with them, gave them three broadsides and three 
 cheers, and left them, as we should run a risk of losing the ship 
 if we had taken them all, though I imagine we killed 40 or 50 of 
 their men ; and by information, I find she had on board 120. 
 
 "At noon the same day, we fell in with a schooner of 14 
 carriage guns, which we fought for six hours, and gave them 
 the same as above, but are not certain what number of men we 
 killed, as she did not board us, but was prepared with stinkpots 
 on her bowsprit end. We should have sailed for Jamaica in 
 three days after our arrival, but for the damage we got by the 
 sloop ; she carried all the iron stantions away on the larboard 
 quarter. We have not one man killed or wounded, and all 
 behaved like true Britons. We fired the small arms three times 
 for their twice, and every man obeyed his orders. I will write 
 you more particulars from Jamaica, as I strained my forefinger 
 on my right hand in the engagement, but came to no more hurt, 
 although there was a swivel ball came through the speaking 
 trumpet in my right hand. We boarded five sail coming out, 
 but could not condemn them." 
 
 Immediately on the WilVs arrival at Dominica, the 
 following paper was subscribed by a number of gentlemen, 
 and ^72 6s. collected. 
 
 " For the encouragement of the twenty-five brave fellows 
 belonging to the ship Will, Captain CoUinson, who, on the 7th 
 inst., gallantly defended the said ship for five hours against a 
 rebel privateer of fourteen carriage guns and about 120 men, 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 213 
 
 and obliged the privateer to sheer oflF; likewise a schooner 
 privateer of the same force. We subscribers hereto, have 
 given the sum opposite to our respective names." 
 
 At this period, on the arrival of privateers, slave ships,* 
 and other armed vessels in the river, it was customary to 
 salute the town with a discharge of cannon, which, from 
 negligence, were sometimes loaded with ball. For the 
 prevention of accidents, the following order was issued by 
 the magistrates : — 
 
 "The late alarming- circumstances of vessels coming from 
 sea, and those lying- in the river, frequently firing balls from 
 their cannon, to the great and imminent danger of the lives 
 and property of the inhabitants of this town, we, the grand 
 jury, having a power invested in us for that purpose, do order, 
 that every captain, or any other commanding officer for the 
 time being, of any ship or vessel, suffering any cannon loaded 
 with ball, or any other shot whatsoever, to be fired from on 
 board such ship or vessel, after such ship or vessel has come 
 round the Black Rock, shall pay twenty pounds for every and 
 each gun so fired, loaded with ball or other shot. And we 
 farther request, that this order may be publicly printed in the 
 newspaper, that no person may plead ignorance thereof; and 
 we recommend that the penalty hereby inflicted may be appro- 
 priated to the fund of the Seamen's Hospital." 
 
 In a letter from Captain James Wiseman, of the Isabelldy 
 of Liverpool, dated St. Vincent's, January 20th, 1778, is the 
 following description of a hot engagement between her and 
 American war vessels fitted out bv the Congress : — 
 
 ^ The paper of November 14th, 1777, gives an instance of this dangerous 
 practice of firing guns when entering the port, adopted by the slave ships : — 
 " Wednesday before last, a Guineaman coming in and firing, a shot from a six- 
 pounder passed very near a servant of Richard Parry Price, Esq. ; and broke a 
 tree near to his pleasure ground at Berkhead. Care certainly ought always to be 
 taken to draw the shot before the guns are fired in the river. Vet, tho' nothing 
 can be more absurd, dangerous, and deserving of punishment than thus firing with 
 shot, this is the third instance which has happened lately. One of the shot 
 passed thro' Water-Street and Dale-Street, and another over the Old Churchyard. 
 So imprudent a practice should be checked by the merchant no less than the 
 magistrate." Mr. Price was lord of the manor of Birkenhead. 
 
214 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 "We sailed from Cork 15th December, and had a fine 
 passage of four weeks ; and on the 8th January met with an 
 American brig- privateer of 16 guns, and fought her for two 
 hours and a half, yard arm and yard arm. We gave her the 
 first and last broadside. I believe she is sunk. We had 
 killed Mr. Godwin, passenger, and John Taylor, seaman, 
 and wounded John Manesty ; third mate shot in the hand, 
 which is since amputated, and he is likely to do well ; 
 Rowland Evans shot in the leg, since amputated and he is 
 dead ; John Jones shot twice through the knee ; we expect he 
 will recover. John Webster received a shot in the thigh and 
 another in the arm, but likely to do well ; six or seven others 
 slightly wounded. We received 132 shots in our hull and 
 masts, a six pounder went through our mainmast, six foot 
 above deck, and four others higher up, and our main top mast 
 almost shattered to pieces, three shots in our mizen mast, one 
 of them about six foot above deck, and numberless in our 
 hull, most of them betwixt wind and water, and all our rigging 
 entirely shot away. Our Ensign halyard being shot away, 
 and the Ensign falling down, the privateer thought I had 
 struck and gave a huzza, which was answered by a broadside 
 from us. The Captain hailed me to strike, telling me he 
 would never leave me, which I believe were his last words, for 
 I never saw or heard him afterwards ; in short, the engage- 
 ment was hot, and I believe fatal to them, for we could see 
 them falling out of the tops, and hear their shrieks and groans. 
 It falling dark and our rigging being cut to pieces, we could 
 not work our ship, and so lost our prize. The next day, we 
 were chased by a sloop, but when she came within view of our 
 guns, she hauled her wind and run away ; our rigging being 
 gone, we were in no condition to follow her. On the nth we 
 were chased by a brig and a sloop, who soon came up with us 
 (the brig first, and hailed from Halifax, bound on a cruize to 
 the westward) and then dropped astern to his consort, when 
 we got our stern chaces to bear on them and began to fire 
 away, our people still in good spirits ; the third shot we 
 carried away the brig's cross jackyard, sent several shots into 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 215 
 
 her bows and rigging-, and beat them both off. The brig 
 stayed along side of us for two hours, and told me that 
 General Burgoyne and his army were defeated by the rebels. 
 The next day, being the 12th, we arrived at St. Vincent's and 
 were received by every one with great applause." 
 
 The following additional particulars appeared in the St. 
 Vincent Gazette of March 7th, 1778 : — 
 
 " The brig that first engaged the Isabella, Captain Wiseman, 
 was the General Sullivan, Capt. Darling, of 14 guns, 4 and 6 
 pounders, fitted out by the Congress ; and had at that time, by 
 the Captain's account, 135 men on board, most of whom were 
 able seamen. She arrived at Martinico a few days after the 
 engagement in a most shattered condition, her mainmast so 
 much wounded that Capt. Darling was obliged to get another ; 
 the bowsprit carried away, and the hull, rigging, etc., greatly 
 damaged. Captain Darling says he had eleven men killed and 
 twenty-three wounded, many of them very dangerously, — and 
 gives Capt. Wiseman and the crew great credit for their spirited 
 behaviour and good conduct. He expressed great surprise 
 when he found the Isabella had only fifty men ; acknowledged 
 he was obliged to sheer off", and that it was the second drubbing 
 he had got from Liverpool men, and wished not to meet with 
 any more armed vessels belonging to that port. There is 
 certainly a great deal of propriety in his remark, as the 
 merchants of Liverpool have entered more into the spirit of 
 arming ships than any others in England, in the present contest. 
 Being a mercantile people, they choose to bear the additional 
 expence, rather than have their trade annihilated, which has 
 raised their town, in the last century, from an obscure fishing 
 place to that of being the second commercial port in Great 
 Britain. The second brig that engaged the Isabella was the 
 Resistance, Captain Tue, of 14 guns and 100 men, and the sloop 
 that was in company was the Rajubler, Capt. Stanton, of 10 
 guns and 70 men. 
 
 " The zeal and loyalty of the Merchants of Liverpool, in 
 favour of Government," says Williamson' s Advertiser, of 
 
216 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 February 27th, 1778, "is eminently evinced by the number 
 of vessels they have already armed and stationed for the 
 annovance of the commerce and communication with the 
 natural enemies of Great Britain. The following- are now 
 cruising in the American seas, on the coasts of Carolina 
 and Virginia, the Sarah Goulbiirn, Captain Holland, of 20 
 six and nine-pounders ; the Brilliant, Captain Priestman, 
 of 20 six and nine-pounders ; the Belcoiir, Captain Moore, of 
 18 six and nine-pounders ; the Pole, Captain Maddock, of 
 18 six and nine-pounders ; and the Active sloop, Captain 
 Powell, of 12 four-pounders." 
 
 In February, 1778, an enquiry took place before the 
 House of Lords, as to the amount of injury done to British 
 commerce from the beginning of the war, in which it was 
 stated that the number of vessels destroyed or taken since 
 the commencement of the war was 773, or, after allowing 
 for those retaken, 559 ; that their value, at a very moderate 
 computation, was ^1,800,000 ; that of the ships thus taken, 
 247 were engaged in the West India trade ; that all articles 
 imported from America had risen enormously in price ; 
 tobacco from 7^d. to 2s. 6d. per lb. ; pitch from 8s. to 35s. 
 per barrel, and tar, turpentine, oil, and pig iron in the same 
 proportion.* It was considered a sufficient answer to this 
 statement to show that the English cruisers had taken 904 
 American vessels, of the value of ;^i,8o8,ooo. "It was 
 forgotten," says Baines, "that the enormous sums taken 
 from the merchants of England were not transferred to the 
 merchants of America ; nor those taken from the merchants 
 of America transferred to those of England ; but that the 
 whole were taken from commerce and turned into prize- 
 money." 
 
 In January, 1778, Captain Jolly, in the Ellis, on the 
 passage from New York to Liverpool, took the Endeavour, 
 
 * In 1777, sugar sold in Carolina at upwards of ^5 sterling per cwt. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 217 
 
 from North Carolina, with flour, staves, and 43 hogsheads 
 of tobacco, and the Nancy, from Essequibo, with coffee, 
 cotton, and 115 hogsheads of rum. Later in the year. 
 Captain Jolly, in the Gregson, and Captain Washington, in 
 the Ellis, cruised in consort, and took the La Ville dii Cap, 
 from St. Domingo to Nantz, with 224 hogsheads, 6 tierces, 
 and 12 barrels of sugar, 392 casks and 275 boxes of coffee, 
 16 bales of cotton, 45 barrels of rum, and 6 barrels of indigo. 
 Their next prize was E Aigle, "a large new snow, 70 feet 
 keel and 24 feet beam, pierced for 16 guns," from Port-au- 
 Prince for Nantz, with sugar, cotton, indigo, coffee, etc. In 
 October, the Gregson took a privateer sloop of 10 guns, 
 eight swivels, and 64 men, threw the guns overboard, 
 dismantled her by taking on board her swivels, small arms, 
 spare sails, cables, etc., and sent her home. On October 23rd, 
 the Gregson boarded a snow with passengers, belonging to 
 St. Pierre and Miquelon, but they had a pass from Admiral 
 Montague, to ^o unmolested to France. On the following 
 day, the Gregson captured the snow La Genevieve, from 
 Nantz to St. Domingo, laden with wines, flour, etc. The 
 Ellis also took the snow Josephine, bound for Dunkirk, 
 loaded with oil, soap, brimstone, casks of straw hats, and 
 boxes of lemon. " Yesterday," says the paper of November 
 27th, "arrived here the Gregson, Captain Jolly, from a 
 cruize, and brought in with her a large ship bound from St. 
 Domingo to Nantz. This is the sixth prize, the Gregson and 
 Ellis, who sailed in consort, have taken ; three of them fine 
 ships from St. Domingo to France." In May, 1779, we read 
 that the Ellis, Captain Washington, "who had sent into 
 Liverpool five valuable prizes," had been captured, and 
 carried into Martinico, and in March, 1780, it is stated that 
 the Ellis had been re-taken by Admiral Parker. She was 
 a vessel of 340 tons burthen, carrying 28 guns and 130 men ; 
 the Gregson, of 250 tons, carried 24 guns and 120 men. 
 Both vessels belonged to Messrs. Boats and Gregson. 
 
218 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Clarendon, Captain Amery, arrived at Jamaica from 
 Liverpool, with a fine brig, called the Defence, from New 
 London for Martinico, with staves, lumber, etc., which she 
 had captured on her passage. 
 
 A Liverpool vessel, commanded by Thomas White, fell in 
 with an American privateer, of 14 guns, and upwards of 100 
 men, to windward of Antigua. For some reason, Captain 
 White's people refused to fight, whereupon the brave 
 commander blew his vessel up, and only ten of the crew 
 were saved, and put on board a Dutch vessel. 
 
 The Tom, of 12 six-pounders, Captain Lee, arrived at 
 New York, after a passage of eight weeks, from Liverpool, 
 during which he captured two vessels loaded with fish and 
 lumber, and a schooner of 10 guns and upwards of 40 men. 
 As he could not spare a prize crew to take the schooner 
 home, he took out her guns, disabled her mainmast, and 
 providing "the rebels" with bread and water, turned her 
 adrift. Soon afterwards, he met another privateer of 12 
 guns, which he fought for over an hour, and would have 
 taken her had she not greatly outsailed him. In 1779, the 
 Tom arrived at Antigua with a prize laden with fish and oil, 
 and in February, 1781, he captured the De Koningin Esther, 
 laden with 200 hogsheads of sugar, 1,000 bags of coffee, 300 
 bags of tobacco, 100 bags of cocoa, 300 hides, and 24 casks 
 of indigo ; and also the Jacobus, with 140 casks of sugar, 
 1,400 bags of coffee, 48 casks of indigo, 100 bags of tobacco, 
 200 bags of cocoa, and 1,200 hides. A few months later, 
 the Tom, in company with the Greyhound, captured a French 
 cutter of 16 guns and 120 men, and carried her into London- 
 derry. The cutter had four ransomers for 150 guineas on 
 board. 
 
 "The Liberty, Wardlaw, and the Prince George, Gardner, 
 both from Martinico, are safe arrived here," says the news- 
 paper of March 20th, 1778. " They being both defenceless 
 and arriving safe without molestation, we may reasonably 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 219 
 
 presume the privateers are not so numerous, at least in the 
 homeward bound track." 
 
 The John^ Captain Watkins, and the Sujfolk, Captain 
 Bower, both missing ships, from Liverpool bound for New 
 York, arrived safe at Antigua, having captured a large 
 schooner laden with tobacco, etc. 
 
 The Sally, Captain Smith, upon a cruise in the West 
 Indies, took an American vessel loaded with timber, and 
 sunk a privateer of 12 guns ; and another ship, belonging to 
 Liverpool, took three prizes on the coast of Carolina. The 
 Toms, Captain Houghton, also cruising in the West Indies, 
 took a schooner laden with spermaceti, candles, etc. 
 
 The Lydia, Captain Evans, on her passage from New 
 York to Barbadoes, took a very valuable ship loaded witii 
 masts, etc. 
 
 The Richard, Captain Lyon, arrived at New York from 
 Liverpool, with a prize worth ^4,000, taken on the passage. 
 
 The Sparling, Captain Denny, arrived at Philadelphia, 
 with a vessel from Charleston for Amsterdam, loaded with 
 rice, etc., which she had captured. 
 
 The Mersey, Captain Gibbons, on her passage to Phila- 
 delphia, took a schooner bound to Boston, loaded with 
 coffee, molasses, etc. 
 
 In February, 1778, the Fanny, Captain James Wignall, 
 arrived in Liverpool from Philadelphia, after a passage of 
 thirty-one days, bringing in 35 American prisoners taken 
 out of an American privateer, captured by her on the 
 passage, and ordered for Liverpool. The ivj;;z/7_y was herself 
 taken in the following July near Sandy Hook, on her pas- 
 sage from Liverpool to New York, by one of the French 
 fleet under Count d'Estaign. The following account of 
 the usage of the prisoners by the French was written by 
 Captain Wignall : — 
 
 "About seven in the evening- the Lang-esanf frigate of 36 
 
 guns took us. As soon as the boat came alongside, we 
 
220 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 were hurried into it, without clothes or bedding", the officer 
 promising" us all our clothes, &c. , should be safe, and that we 
 should have them in the morning. We were carried on board 
 the frigate, and remained there about an hour, then part of us 
 were sent on board the Languedoc, Count d'Estaign's ship. 
 They put us down in the forehold altogether, and about five 
 in the morning ordered us up on the forecastle, where an 
 officer came and searched us all one by one, all our pockets, 
 shoes and stockings, &c., and took from us all our money, 
 watches, papers, &c. , then ordered us down into the hold 
 again, where we were almost smothered, and not so much as 
 a drink of water. About noon, I made a motion to the 
 sentinel to permit me to ^o upon deck on a necessary occasion, 
 which was granted. I then went upon the quarter deck, where 
 I found an officer that could understand English. I desired 
 that we might have permission to come on deck to have air, 
 and that we might have some provisions and water; the answer 
 was we had been forgot. We were then ordered upon the 
 poop, and had served us some bread and stinking cheese, half 
 a pint of wine and half a pint of water per man. About two 
 in the afternoon, an officer came to me, and asked for the key 
 of the strong" box, as he called it, (that was the chest where 
 the money was) ; I told him the key was on board the prize, 
 and if he would permit me to ^o there, I would get it. A boat 
 was immediately manned, and we went on board, but when I 
 was on board, he would not permit me to bring my clothes or 
 bedding with me. 
 
 "The next morning I saw the Admiral, Count d'Estaign. 
 I went to him and begged the favour of him to permit us to 
 <go on board the prize for our clothes, which was granted for 
 four of us to ^o, and was immediately done ; but when we 
 came on board, found our clothes and bedding all gone. 
 What chests were left were all empty, and we all returned 
 as we went. We then made out a petition, and I presented 
 it to the Count, setting forth our distresses. He then gave 
 me an order to ^o on board the frigate, and have her searched 
 for our clothes. I went on board, and the captain ordered 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 221 
 
 one of his officers to g^o down and search for them, but all to 
 no purpose, as they would not find any of them, and that was 
 not the worst, for several of my men had part of their clothes 
 stripped off their backs. 
 
 " August 2, about noon, we landed on Point Judith, 245 in 
 number ; at four in the afternoon beg-an our march towards 
 Providence ; at eight arrived at North Kingston ; about nine 
 had a little raw salt pork and bread served us, that being the 
 first victuals we had tasted that day. The ground that night 
 was our bed, the clouds our covering. 
 
 " August 3, at seven in the morning, we began our march ; 
 at eleven arrived at a town called Greenwich. We halted four 
 hours, it being very hot, but nothing to be got to eat. About 
 three in the afternoon we moved forward, at nine arrived at 
 Providence, and were put into the market-house for that 
 night ; we had walked thirty miles that day, but nothing to 
 eat. At six in the morning we were turned out, and marched 
 through the streets into a yard to be viewed and mustered. 
 At about nine we were marched down to the river near the 
 bridge, embarked in boats and sent down the river and put on 
 board a ship called the Aurora, lying at Fox's Point, where 
 we were confined altogether, in number 225. About four in the 
 evening- we had some beef and bread sent down to us, having 
 then been forty-five hours without victuals or drink, except 
 water ; and when we complained, they comforted us with 
 saying we were too well used, with several other speeches to 
 the same purpose and mortification. The ship had no cover- 
 ing for her hatchways, and when it rained there was scarce a 
 dry place to be found under deck, and nothing to lie on but 
 the bare planks. We then lived middling for three weeks, 
 then were put to one quarter allowance for twelve days ; after 
 that to half allowance for sixteen days. We then petitioned 
 General Sullivan, telling him we were nearly starving for want. 
 He then ordered us full allowance, which was continued as 
 long as we stayed there, but the provisions very often were so 
 bad, that nothing but hunger could make us eat them. 
 
 " October 7, we were put on shore out of the prison ship, 
 
222 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 and marched about five miles on our way towards New London, 
 where we arrived the 12th. On the 15th, were marched back 
 ag'ain to Norwig" ; the 22nd, were marched back to New 
 London, and on the 23rd were embarked on board the 
 Carlisle, and on the 28th arrived at New York." 
 
 In 1778, the Belcour, Captain Moore, on her passage to 
 Jamaica took a schooner valued at ^1,200, and some time 
 later a French brig with salt and bale goods, worth ;^2,5oo. 
 A letter dated Old Harbour, May 9th, 1779, gives the 
 following account of a terrible catastrophe which attended 
 the capture of this ship : — 
 
 " hi our passage from Halifax to Jamaica, we unfortunately 
 fell in with a French frig-ate off Coycas, one of the Bahama 
 Islands, called the Minerva, taken from the English about 
 five months before. We engaged her full two hours and an 
 half, the furthest distance she was off was not more than 
 pistol shot, a great part of the time yard arm and yard arm, 
 as we term it, but that you may better understand it, her sides 
 and ours touched each other, so that sometimes we could not 
 draw our rammers. The French, I assure you, we drove 
 twice from their quarters, but unluckily their wadds set us on 
 fire in several places, and then we were obliged to strike. You 
 may consider our condition, our ship on fire, our sails, masts 
 and rigging being all cut to pieces, several of our men severely 
 mangled. The French seeing our ship on fire, would not 
 come to our assistance for fear of the ship blowing up, as soon 
 as the fire reached the magazine, which it did five minutes 
 after I was out of her. The sight was dreadful, as there was 
 many poor souls on board. You will be anxious to know 
 how we that were saved got out of her. We hove the small 
 boat overboard in a shattered condition, being almost shot to 
 pieces, and made two or three trips on board the frigate before 
 she blew up. The next morning, we picked up four men that 
 were on pieces of the wreck. The following is a list of the 
 unfortunate men who lost their lives : William Ion, second 
 mate ; Peter Thompson, third mate ; Daniel Gibson, surgeon ; 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 223 
 
 John Lyon, surgeon's mate ; Thomas Anderson, Wm. Wood, 
 Absolom Crippin, Lawlens Madget, John Kelly, William 
 Crowby, James Carey, James Wrinkle, Edward Mahoney, 
 Richd. Wellsted, George Cample, seamen ; three negroes and 
 a child, passengers." 
 
 In April, 1778, the famous corsair, John Paul Jones, 
 cruised in the Irish Channel in the Ranger privateer, 
 committing much havoc. He sailed boldly into the harbour 
 of Whitehaven, and set fire to the shipping. He then sailed 
 northward, and afterwards landed in the Scottish Isles, 
 remaining on the coast for a considerable time, but occasion- 
 ally taking refuge in the French and Dutch ports when 
 hard pressed by English cruisers, or when short of supplies. 
 More fortunate than his predecessor, M. Thurot, Paul 
 Jones escaped all attempts at capture, and retired safe to 
 America with his booty. Liverpool was well prepared to 
 give the daring adventurer a fitting reception. " We have 
 the pleasure to inform the public," says the paper of May 
 ist, 1778, "that there are two grand batteries here of 27 
 eighteen-pounders, in excellent order for the reception of 
 any mad invader whose rashness may prompt him to attempt 
 to disturb the tranquility of this town. George's battery is 
 commanded by the Mayor, and the Queen's by Captain 
 Hutchinson, both of them accustomed to the thunder of 
 cannon, as are also the several captains and assistants 
 stationed to each gun, which are shoted, etc. Centeries 
 are fixt, and all the requisites so regulated as to be ready 
 for action at the shortest notice. The King's battery for 
 thirty-two-pounders is preparing with expedition, under the 
 direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon, an experienced 
 engineer. To these securities will be added the Hycena 
 frigate, a King's ship built here, which in a day or tw'o will 
 be fit for sea, and will be moor'd in the river ; for our security 
 by land we have two companies of Veterans, and four 
 companies of the Liverpool Blues, commanded by General 
 
224 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 Calcraft, who resides in Liverpool." The following vessels 
 were afterwards sent to cruise in St. George's Channel : — the 
 Thetis^ 32 guns ; the Stag^ 28 ; the Boston, 28; the Heart oj 
 Oak, the Satisfaction, and the Three Brothers, all of 20 guns. 
 
 Early in 1778, the Active, of 14 guns and 80 men, Captain 
 John Powell, upon a cruise on the coast of America, took 
 no less than fourteen prizes, mostly loaded with tobacco 
 and rice, and sent them into St. Augustine. In September 
 of the same year, the Liverpool paper stated that the Active 
 had been very successful on her second cruise, having 
 carried into St. Augustine a large brig loaded with iioo 
 tierces of rice and indigo, and a schooner with 72 hogsheads of 
 tobacco, and it was supposed that she had had further success. 
 
 " Last week," says the Liverpool Advertiser, of September 
 25th, 1778, "arrived here the Santa Maria, from Barcelona 
 for Honfleur, loaded with brandy, etc., taken by the Wasp 
 privateer, belonging to this port ; and on Friday, the 
 Minerva, from Hispaniola for Dunkirk, taken by the Sarah 
 Goulburn, in the Bay of Biscay, with upwards of 118 hogs- 
 heads of tobacco, etc., on board ; and yesterday the Sarah 
 Goulhiirn arrived here with another prize called the Amiable 
 Magdalaine, from Guadaloupe for Nantz ; her cargo con- 
 sists of 595 hhds. of sugar, 119 casks of coffee, 145 
 bales of cotton, 1600 lb. of ivory, and some dollars ; also 
 the Lady Granby privateer, with a fine brig, called the 
 Lady Louisa, that she had taken, from Newfoundland to 
 Bordeaux, laden with fish." 
 
 In 1779, the Sarah Goulburn, Captain Lewtas, fell in Avith 
 a tobacco ship, and chased her eight hours, but by heaving 
 a great part of her cargo overboard she got away. In 1780, 
 she took a shallop, loaded with coftee, and in 1781, on a 
 cruise from New York, she captured two vessels, one from 
 France, and the other from Holland ; and soon after 
 arrived at Jamaica with a Dutchman of 400 tons, laden 
 with sugar, etc., which she had captured. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 225 
 
 In September, 1778, the Lady Granhy privateer, brought 
 into the Mersey, a French snow, called Le Bon Chretien^ 
 loaded with fish and oil from Newfoundland. On the 2nd 
 of October, we are told that "several ladies of the first rank 
 are about following the patriotic plan of the Marchioness of 
 Granby, by opening subscriptions for fitting out privateers, 
 and it is expected, in a very little time, several will be 
 manned and sent to sea against our perfidious enemies, 
 merely by British pin-money." Lady Granby was very 
 popular in Liverpool. The privateer named after her, the 
 '■'■ Marchioness of Granhy^" of 260 tons, 20 guns, and 130 
 men, was owned by the Marquis of Granby and Mr. Nicholas 
 Ashton. There was a smaller privateer, called the '■'■ Lady 
 Granby^'" of 45 tons, 10 guns, and 60 men, owned by Messrs. 
 Ashton & Co., in which the Granbys doubtless had an 
 interest. On June i8th, 1779, we read that the sloop Lady 
 Granby^ Capt. Powell, took and carried into Antigua, a 
 French snow, laden with salt, dry goods, wine, and 
 brandy. 
 
 In December, 1778, the Marchioness of Granby, Capt. 
 Rogers, captured a Dutch ship with a French cargo on 
 board, and sent her for Liverpool, but the prize was lost on 
 the coast of Ireland, all but two of a crew of fourteen 
 perishing. On the 20th of January, 1779, the Marchioness 
 of Granby, cruising in latitude 44.34 N., took the Le Labour, 
 from St. Malo to New England, with sundry merchandize, 
 also a Dutch snow for Cadiz, with a cargo of brandy. The 
 Marchioness of Granby was captured, after an obstinate 
 engagement, by the French frigate Sensible, 26 guns, and 
 carried into Brest. 
 
 In Williamson's Advertiser, of October 23rd, 1778, 
 appeared the following tribute to the charms of Lady 
 Granby, who in the spring of the following year "was 
 safely delivered of a son at the Marquis's house in Har- 
 rington Street." 
 p 
 
226 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 TO THE MARCHIONESS OF GRANBY. 
 
 In beauteous Granby nature sure design'd 
 The fairest form to clothe the sweetest mind : 
 She joins in Granby, courteous, g^reat and g"ood, 
 The brig^htest virtues with the noblest blood ; 
 And from her heart, so generous and humane. 
 Impels benevolence through every vein. 
 What g-raceful affability and ease ! 
 How g-reat the power, how kind the wish to please ! 
 Go on, fair excellence, to charm mankind. 
 Your beauteous face the transcript of your mind ; 
 Teach them what praise to virtue's charms belong's, 
 And live a lesson to admiring- throng's ; 
 That wondering- courts may this great truth relate, 
 Virtue adds lustre to the noblest state. 
 In the same month, " An Old Seaman " issued the follow- 
 ing " Invitation " : — 
 
 Rouse, British Tars ! Old England's boast, 
 
 Drive all her foes on either coast — 
 
 Let Lewis know and feel that we 
 
 Can yet avenge his perfidy, 
 
 While Keppel has the Key of Brest. 
 
 Be Ready, Lads — slip out in quest 
 Of riches bound to faithless France, 
 And bravely take another chance. 
 
 Revenge and Riches both invite 
 A Foe insidious to requite ; 
 May your attempts, my willing Boys, 
 Be crowned with Honor, Wealth and Joys ! 
 On the 25th of September, 1778, Williamson's Advertiser 
 published a list of 18 privateers fitted out in Liverpool, in 
 addition to which there were many others preparing for sea, 
 besides several "Letters of Marque," carrying from 16 to 
 28 guns. It was computed that at that date — not five w^eeks 
 since letters of marque were issued — prizes worth upwards 
 of ;^ioo,ooo had been brought into the port. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 227 
 
 In September, \\\q. Jeyiny^ Captain Ashton, in her passage 
 from Liverpool to Tortola, in company with the Betsey and 
 the Buckingham, of Lancaster, captured a very valuable 
 prize called Le Marquis de Brancas, bound from St. 
 Domingo for Nantz, with a cargo of sugar, coffee, indigo, etc. ; 
 also a brig from Newfoundland for Havre, with fish, and 
 sent both of them into Cork. The Jenny carried 12 guns 
 and 30 men, and was owned by Messrs. Ashton & Co., of 
 the Island of Tortola. 
 
 In the paper of December 4th, we read that the Bellona, 
 Captain Fairweather, a vessel of 250 tons burthen, 24 guns 
 and 140 men, belonging to Messrs. Bolden & Co., on a 
 cruise from Liverpool, took a schooner loaded with 75 
 hogsheads of tobacco, and sent her for Liverpool, but 
 unluckily she got ashore in Carnarvon Bay and bulged. On 
 the 1 8th of the same month, it is stated that the Bellona had 
 taken a sloop called the Canister^ bound from Virginia to 
 F" ranee, with 58 hogsheads of tobacco. On January 31st, 
 1779, the Bellona carried into Lisbon the snow U Amitie,, of 
 18 guns, 10 swivels, and 54 men, bound from St. Ubes to 
 South Carolina, with a cargo of salt, wine, oil, fruit, soap, 
 and several chests, supposed to be arms. In April, 1779, 
 she took a ship called the Necessary., and in May, 1780, it 
 was stated that she had arrived at Jamaica with a prize 
 valued at ^4000. 
 
 The following is extracted from the log of the Bellona, 
 on her passage from Lisbon to Liverpool, in April, 1779: — 
 
 " April 25th. Gave chace and spoke the snow Vrow 
 Theadora, from Barcelona to Rotterdam ; spoke a Dutch ship 
 from Barcelona bound to Amsterdam ; 27th, saw two sail, one 
 astern chasing- us, the other under the lee bow ; away to the 
 ship under the lee, he laying- by under English colours, fired 
 two guns to leeward, which he answered with two to wind- 
 ward. Made sail and stood from him, he still firing shot and 
 standing after us under English colours. The said ship 
 
228 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 mcTLinted 24 g-uns upon one deck, and six on the quarter deck, 
 being- a long frigate-built ship, with a plain stern and gilt 
 image head. 29th, fell in and spoke the Vrow Pheadora that we 
 spoke the 25th. 30th, saw a sail standing towards us ; down 
 steering sails and stood towards her ; came near, when she 
 put about and stood from us, making and shortening sail, as 
 she out-sailed us, and never would come near ; hove about 
 but she did not follow. Seeing- that, kept the ship her course, 
 and in a short time she came down towards us ; shortened 
 sail, when she hoisted American colours and fired a gun, 
 which was returned several times with the nine pounders. 
 As they scarcely reached her then, she made sail, when we 
 crowded all after her, but the wind being light, she got away. 
 By the description of the vessel in Lisbon, she is called the 
 Vengeance, fitted out at Vigo, in Spain, mounting 20 guns, 
 very low, with an image head. May ist, spoke the ship 
 Partar, Captain Lloyd, from Bristol ; out five weeks, had 
 taken nothing. 5th, at four a.m. saw a sail one mile and half 
 under our lee quarter. Perceiving her to be a very large 
 frigate-built ship, in chace of us, thought it prudent to run, 
 as having many people ill ; in nine hours near out of sight, 
 when she left off chace. 6th, spoke the St. Bees bark, belonging- 
 to Whitehaven, Capt. Williamson, from Cork, bound to New 
 York ; sailed in a convoy of 24 sail, out 18 days ; lost the 
 fleet 29th April. 7th, at seven a.m. saw a sail bearing down 
 upon us, shortened sail to wait for her, proved to be the Pyger, 
 Capt. Shaw, from Bristol, mounting 22 g-uns, out eleven weeks, 
 and taken one St. Domingo man." 
 
 On the 28th of September, 1778, a large ship, bound from 
 Archangel for Marseilles, laden with tar, hemp, and iron, 
 arrived in the Mersey, a prize to the Delight, Capt. Dawson, 
 a vessel of 120 tons, 12 guns, and 39 men, belonging to 
 Messrs. Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 The St. Peter, Capt. Holland, upon a cruise from Liver- 
 pool, fell in with and captured a French East Indiaman, 
 called the Aqitilone, valued at upwards of ^200,000, but 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 229 
 
 most unfortunately, Capt. Holland and his prize afterwards 
 met with a French man-of-war of 74 guns, and a frigate, 
 who took him and his prize, and carried them into Port 
 L'Orient. The St. Peter, 320 tons, 22 guns, and 147 men, 
 was owned by Messrs. Holme, Bowyer, & Kennion. 
 
 The Thomas Hall, Capt, Beard, one of the fleet from 
 Jamaica for Liverpool, having parted with the convoy in a 
 gale of wind, had the good fortune to capture a ship loaded 
 with rum, which she carried safely to Cork. 
 
 The Rumbold, Captain Fayrer, a vessel of 250 tons 
 burthen, 20 guns, and 57 men, owned by Messrs. Caruthers 
 & Co., captured a large ship from Alicant, with a cargo of 
 brandy. In 1779, on her passage from Liverpool to Africa, 
 she took a French Guineaman called the Ulysses, with 302 
 slaves, and about two tons and-a-half of ivory on board. In 
 April, 1 781, the Fortiina of Flensburg, laden with fruit and 
 wine, another prize to the Riimhold, arrived in the Mersey. 
 On the 14th of October, 1778, the cooper of the Brilliant, 
 20 guns, Captain Priestman, wrote from New York, as 
 follows : — ■ 
 
 " We arrived here on the 26th of September, after a passage 
 of ten weeks. On the i6th of Sept. in lat. 38 N. long-. 65 W. 
 we had a very hard eng-agement with an American privateer of 
 28 g-uns, which lasted for nine g-lasses, when the privateer ran 
 away ; and being- a faster sailing- vessel than ours, we could 
 not come up with her, having- g-reat part of our rig-g-ing shot 
 away, and our masts wounded. I believe she was much worse 
 shattered than us. We had three people wounded. I was 
 shot in the hand by a piece of cross-bar shot, but am mending 
 fast. On our passage, we saw several privateers, but none 
 durst engage us but the one mentioned before. We were 
 dogged two days by two privateers and sloops, but imagine 
 they did not like our appearance, as they would not come near 
 us. Our ships of war and cruisers are bringing in here French 
 and American prizes daily." 
 As security against privateers, all vessels were ordered to 
 
230 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 sail under convoy, and in large fleets. In the third week in 
 September, 1778, it was announced that all the principal 
 fleets had arrived safely, namely, the Jamaica fleet at Liver- 
 pool and Bristol ; the Leeward Islands fleet at Plymouth, 
 and the Lisbon and Spanish fleets in the Downs. The 
 arrivals that week were the largest that had been known for 
 many years. In October, the London underwriters cal- 
 culated that the losses sustained by the French since the 
 proclamation of reprisals already amounted to upwards of 
 ^1,200,000. 
 
 The Txvo Brothers^ Captain Ralph Fisher, a vessel of 150 
 tons, 16 guns and 39 men, sailed for a cruise in company 
 with the Young Henry, Captain Currie, of 270 tons, 18 guns 
 and 60 men, belonging to Messrs. Hartley & Co. The 
 following letter was received from Captain Fisher by Messrs. 
 Roberts & Co., the owners of the Two Brothers: — 
 
 " Ship Tiw Brothers, at Spithead, 3rd October, 1778. 
 
 "Gentlemen, — I have the pleasure to acquaint you we 
 arrived safe here this day with a French East Indiaman of 500 
 tons, deeply laden, from Bengal, which we took on Tuesday 
 the 29th of September, in lat. 47.28 N. long. 10.30 W. At 
 six in the morning we discovered two sail in the N. W. quarter, 
 wind at S.S.W. upon which the Henry and me gave chace to 
 the northwardmost of them. At eight, I found she wronged 
 us much, and was afraid she would pass to windward. I left 
 the Henry chacing, and hauled for the westermost ship. At 
 ten I just weathered her, at a long shot, (she was standing to 
 the Eastward) notwithstanding her formidable appearance, I 
 wore round and gave her a broadside, which was well directed. 
 She still stood on, thinking to outsail us and get clear, which 
 I believe she would, had not the second broadside of grape 
 and round shot, which we poured into him, immediately cleared 
 his decks, and he struck to the Brothers. The Henry had 
 given over the other chace, and passed us a league to leeward ; 
 and when she struck he was a long way astern. As she is 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 231 
 
 such a valuable prize, we thoug-ht it most prudent for both of 
 us to convoy her into port. I put two mates (Mr. Callow and 
 Mr. Pugmore) and twelve men on board ; Currie the same 
 number. She is called the La Gaston (her first voyagfe). She 
 is 90 feet keel and 28^/^ feet beam, frigfate built, and would 
 carrv 32 gfuns. She has only 6 nine-pounders on board and 60 
 men, including- passeng^ers, among-st which is a French General 
 called Nardierre, a Chevalier of the order of St. Lewis. By 
 the General's account she is worth 2,000,000 of livres ; I think 
 she is worth more. I beg- you will write me by return of post, 
 to the care of the postmaster at Portsmouth ; but I think one 
 of you coming- yourselves post would be requisite ; I wish you 
 would. We have sent off express to Mr. Hartley. As dull as 
 the Brothers sails we have stumbled upon a noble acquisition. 
 I had near lost her for want of a fast sailing- ship. Had they 
 stood another broadside by keeping- all crowded as they had, 
 they would have got clear. The Henry was too far to leeward 
 to have come up with her. At three o'clock the same day we 
 took the prize, we fell in with the Ellis and Gregson* who 
 informed us that the day before they had been chased by three 
 French frig-ates, and that they saw a French 60 gun ship with 
 a prize, a larg-e black ship, standing- to the S.E. Inclosed you 
 have the French Captain's account of the carg-o, but by 
 information of some of the passengers, there is four trunks of 
 valuable merchandise, and other packages of value. Am, 
 Gentlemen, your most humble Servant, Ralph Fisher. 
 
 " 400 Bales of Muslin and White Bafts, 150 Tons Saltpetre, 
 190 Bales Cotton, 11 Pipes, 138 Half Pipes, 34 Bags Sago, 
 4 Casks Tortoise Shell, 40 Barrels Coffee, 50,000 Billets Ebony, 
 besides other packages of value." 
 
 On Sunday, October 4th, 1778, the Mary, Captain 
 Bonsall, a vessel of 130 tons, 16 guns, and 40 men, belong- 
 ing to Messrs. Drinkwater & Co., arrived in the river 
 
 * The Editor patriotically remarks:— "The Gregson and Ellis both belong to 
 this port, and as they are two fine ships and manned with brave seamen, it" they 
 got up with the other East Indiaman, we doubt not her being soon brought to 
 England." 
 
232 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 'Mersey with a ship she had captured in the Bay of Biscay 
 in her passage from Liverpool to Dominica. The prize 
 was called Le Grand Athanase, from Port de Paix for 
 Nantz, loaded with about 200,000 lbs. of tobacco and other 
 goods. In December, the Mary arrived from a cruise, 
 bringing in with her another prize, called L Equite., bound 
 from St. Domingo for Bordeaux. Her cargo consisted of 
 239 hhds., 6 tierces, 9 barrels first white Sugars. 
 67 ,, 58 ,, 184 ,, 1 18 bag-s of Coffee. 
 
 2 ,, 3 m I m 3 ankers Indigo. 
 
 16 Bales, 10 bags Cotton. 2 Barrels Cocoa. 
 I barrel tortoise shell. 
 The paper of December nth, describes how the prize, 
 coming into port, was run aground, on the Dove, "and 
 coming round the Rock, beat off her rudder, which was 
 washed away; when very bad weather coming on, no boats 
 could be got to tow her into the dock. A temporary rudder 
 was sent off to her, but after cutting three cables, being 
 three times ashore, and losing three boats, she at length 
 was run ashore near the New Ferry, with one anchor and 
 cable at her bow, which were never let ^o. 'Tis to be 
 feared the ship will not be got off, but the materials and 
 greatest part of her cargo are saved." Such were some of 
 the difficulties of navigation prior to the advent of those 
 powerful steam tug-boats which have rendered incalcul- 
 able services to the shipping of the port. But L Equite's 
 dramatic career was not yet closed. What followed is 
 related by Troughton as an instance of the daring 
 depravity of the inhabitants on the Cheshire coast. A 
 number of lighters were employed to take out the cargo. 
 On the second day, the people from the country, assem- 
 bling in their hundreds, swooped down upon the vessel, 
 threatening destruction to all who opposed them, forcibly 
 seized and carried off great quantities of the cargo, in con- 
 sequence of which lawlessness, it was found necessary to 
 
AMERICAX WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 233 
 
 call in the aid of the military. Application was accordingly 
 made to the Mayor of Liverpool, and the commanding officer 
 of the Leicestershire Militia stationed there, both of whom 
 declined interfering, the transaction being in another county. 
 The owners of the privateer then sent over arms to their 
 people, for the defence of the vessel. On the following 
 night a numerous mob again assembled, and in spite of the 
 entreaties of the four men who guarded the property, pro- 
 ceeded to renew their depredations. The guard then fired 
 several times over the heads of the most desperate of the 
 plunderers, and at last, for the preservation of their own 
 lives, fired directly upon them, killing one man. This 
 resistance, however, only exasperated the mob, and in the 
 end, to prevent farther bloodshed, the men upon guard took 
 to their boat, and left the prize to the robbers. 
 
 In April, 1779, the Mary fell in with the rebel privateer 
 Vengeance, Captain Wingaze Newman, of 22 six-pounders 
 and 90 men. The Mary had only 16 four-pounders, and 48 
 men and boys, having a short time before sent fifty-five 
 people away with a prize. In the engagement which ensued, 
 lasting one hour and-a-half, the Mary had three men killed 
 and twelve wounded ; her main topmast was carried away, 
 the mainmast cut two-thirds through ; she received thirty 
 shots in her hull, five of which Avere between wind and 
 water, three of her guns were dismounted, and the rigging 
 all cut to pieces. In this condition, the brave Captain 
 Bonsall was obliged to strike his colours, and the Mary 
 was carried into the port of Newbury. She did not remain 
 long, however, in the hands of the Americans, being retaken 
 and carried into Antigua. 
 
 In August, 1778, \hQ Molly, Captain Kendall, from Liver- 
 pool for Africa, took the La Vertiirane, from Port-au-Prince 
 for Havre, with sugar, coffee, cotton, indigo, etc. Being 
 a valuable prize, Captain Kendall returned back to convoy 
 her safe to Liverpool, but, meeting with the Stag man-of-war 
 
234 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 between Holyhead and Tuskar, the prize was taken from 
 him, and arrived in Liverpool on December 17th. 
 
 On her passage from Africa to Jamaica, with 412 slaves, 
 the Molly took and carried in with her, a valuable prize laden 
 with provisions, etc. In March, 1781, we read that she had 
 arrived at Jamaica from Africa, with a cargo of 514 slaves, 
 which was an immense success, considering that she had 
 buried 106 poor wretches on the middle passage. The Molly 
 belonged to Messrs. Gregson & Co. She was 260 tons 
 burthen, and carried 16 guns and 70 men. The Nancy, 
 Captain Nelson, a slaver of 150 tons burthen, 16 guns and 50 
 men, owned by Messrs. Pringle & Co., managed at about the 
 same time to convey to the same elysium, 610 slaves, doubt- 
 less to the great disappointment of the sharks, which followed 
 these floating dungeons with expectant eyes. In December, 
 1782, we read of the Molly, Captain Kendall, being well on 
 the coast of Africa with 650 slaves, and in April, 1783, it was 
 announced that La Joletta, prize to the Molly, had arrived in 
 the river Thames. Happy was the merchant who possessed 
 brave and skilful captains, who, not only secured large 
 cargoes of eligible and healthy negroes, but picked up rich 
 argosies on the passage. 
 
 In October, 1778, Captain Robert Bostock, of the Little 
 Ben, 1 10 tons, 14 guns, and 50 men, wrote from Exeter to his 
 owners, Messrs. Radcliffe & Co., in Liverpool, as follows: — 
 
 " I am just arrived here, in company with the Molly 
 privateer, belong-ing- to this port, with the snow Le Mallie, 
 Capt. Mouroy, from Port Prince, bound to Bordeaux, laden 
 with sug"ars, coffee, indigo, and cotton ; they calculate the 
 value here to be ;^'20,ooo, and a Dutch ship loaded at Mar- 
 seilles, and bound to St. Villeroy, with brandy, oil, soap, &c. 
 I spoke the Gregson on Monday last, who had parted with the 
 Ellis. She was chased by three French men of war, and he 
 saw them take an English ship, which he was afraid was a 
 Liverpool vessel. I was very near being- taken by a French 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 235 
 
 40-gun ship ; she g^ave us three broadsides, but we being- the 
 best sailor, got clear of her." 
 
 The paper of October 30th, mentions that "the Little Ben, 
 from Liverpool for Africa, and the Molly ^ belonging to 
 Exeter, had taken a snow bound from Martinico for Nantz, 
 laden with 178 hogsheads of Muscovado sugar, 50 hogs- 
 heads, 74 tierces and barrels of white sugar, 5000 lbs. of 
 indigo, 6,500 lbs. of cotton, and 103,896 lbs. of coffee. In 
 July, 1779, the Hope, Captain Potter, arrived from Africa, 
 and reported that the Little Ben had left the coast full 
 slaved, and that the Rose and the Spy had likewise left the 
 coast to escape the French frigates, but intended to return 
 to finish their trade, after the French had passed." The Spy, 
 Captain Rigmaiden, and the Rose, Captain Jackson, were 
 both vessels of 120 tons, belonging to Messrs. J. Zuill & Co., 
 and each carried 14 guns and forty men. 
 
 At the end of October, 1778, the Knight, a vessel of 220 
 tons burthen, 18 guns, and 80 men, belonging to Messrs. 
 Hindley, Leigh & Co., Captain Wilson, brought safe to 
 Hoylake a large ship from St. Domingo, called La Plaine 
 du Cap, which she had captured. On the 27th of November, 
 another prize, taken by the Knight, arrived in the Mersey, 
 the Catharina, from Cadiz for Havre de Grace. The cargo 
 consisted of 418 packs of wool, 174 tanned hides, 25 barrels 
 of wine, 16 barrels of cochineal, 28 bales of indigo, 2 bales 
 chocolate, 6 chests gum copal, 5 chests of medicines, 4 
 chests vanigla, 26 pipes sweet oil, one case of books, and 
 one bale of camlet ; the whole valued at ;^25,ooo. In the 
 Liverpool paper of January 8th, 1779, we read how the 
 Knight, upon a cruise, captured a fine East Indiaman called 
 the Deux Amis, from China, with a valuable cargo on 
 board, and was convoying her into Liverpool, but in a gale 
 the prize was forced on shore upon the point of Ayr, while 
 the Knight went on shore in Conway Bay, with the loss of 
 her masts only. The crew of the prize, when she filled 
 
236 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 with water, endeavoured to save themselves by getting 
 upon the shrouds and masts, but the sea breaking over 
 them, and the night being intensely cold, only nine English- 
 men and one Frenchman survived it ; the rest, thirty-two in 
 number, were starved to death, and the ship broke to pieces. 
 A great part of the cargo was saved. In July, 1779, the 
 Knight was sunk by a French frigate. Her crew were 
 saved and landed at Oporto. 
 
 The following quotations from a letter dated Baltimore, 
 U.S., December 12th, 1778, show the distress which pre- 
 vailed in that country during the war : — " Dry goods 1500 
 per cent, advance. Exchange 600 per cent, few good bills. 
 Hard money 500 advance on current cash. Gunpowder, 
 lead, shot, earthenware, sells at 2500-3000 per cent." 
 
 In October, 1778, the Viper, Captain Cowell, 160 tons 
 burthen, 18 guns, and 80 men, belonging to Messrs. Birch 
 & Co., captured a valuable prize called La Judicieiix^ from 
 Port-au-Prince for Nantz, laden with sugar, coffee, indigo, 
 cotton, sweetmeats, copper, and lignum vitse. On the 17th 
 November, in the Bay of Biscay, the Viper took the snow 
 La Amiable Annette, bound from Cape Fran9ois to Nantz, 
 with sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo. On the 8th of March, 
 1780, the Viper, in company with the Dick, Captain Hewin, 
 took the Uriah, from Newberry to Hispaniola, with lumber, 
 €tc., and on the 17th of the same month, they captured the 
 Count d'Estaign, of 18 guns, from Cadiz to Virginia, laden 
 with wine and salt. They carried both prizes to St. Kitts. 
 The Viper also took a schooner from Salem for Grenada, 
 laden with wine and lumber, and carried her into Antigua. 
 In 1782, she recaptured the Parnassus, from Liverpool for 
 London. 
 
 At a council held on the 7th of October, 1778, the Cor- 
 poration resolved to give a bounty of four guineas per man 
 to able seamen, not exceeding 40 in number, who should 
 enter as volunteers on board his Majesty's ship Penelope, 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 237 
 
 built in Liverpool, "they being first fairly proved to be 
 volunteers and not impressed men, before the committee of 
 the council formerly appointed for the purpose." 
 
 The Juno, Captain Beaver, a small vessel of 90 tons 
 burthen, 14 guns, and 40 men, belonging to Messrs. 
 Hartley & Co., in her passage from Liverpool to Africa, 
 took a large Dutchman with a French cargo, which she 
 sent to Liverpool. 
 
 In October, 1778, the Tartar, Captain AUanson, captured 
 the Le Concorde, of 500 tons burthen, from Bordeaux, with 
 2,500 barrels of flour, 800 barrels of beef, 200 hogsheads of 
 wine, and above 20 bales of dry goods, in which were 600 
 ounces of silver. On February 26th, 1779, the Tartar 
 carried into Antigua, a large New England brig, laden with 
 380 hogsheads of tobacco. In the paper of May 28th, 1779, 
 we read that Captain Allanson on his passage to Jamaica, 
 captured a French slaver, from Angola with 692 slaves, 
 who were sold in Jamaica for ;^25,56o, currency ; a stroke 
 of business which must have caused great satisfaction in the 
 office of the owners, Messrs. J. Backhouse & Co. Captain 
 Allanson also took the schooner Victory, from Nantucket, 
 with lumber, fish, and oil ; and on his passage home, the 
 sloop Hazard from Providence, with lumber. The Tartar, 
 though worthy of her name, was not a formidable craft to 
 look at, being only 90 tons burthen, carrying 18 guns, and 
 80 men. 
 
 It may be easily imagined from the nature of their 
 employment afloat, that the privateersmen, when they 
 came into port, were not exemplary pillars of law and 
 order. As a matter of fact, they were a rough and lawless 
 set, the terror of the town, committing many outrages, and 
 breaking open the guard-house to release the impressed 
 seamen there confined. Their riotous behaviour became 
 so alarming as to demand magisterial notice, insomuch 
 that, towards the close of the year 1778, during the 
 
238 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 mayoralty of William Pole, the following caution was 
 published under his authority : — 
 
 " Great complaints having; been made to me, as your chief 
 magistrate, that of late, numbers of seamen and others, 
 eng-ag^ed and entered on board the several privateers, and 
 letters of marque vessels equipping' at this port, to cruize 
 ag'ainst his Majesty's enemies, do frequently assemble them- 
 selves, and g"o armed in a riotous and unlawful manner throug-h 
 the town, and its environs, as well in the day as in the night 
 time, without any commission or other officer being- in com- 
 pany, or to command them, to the gfreat annoyance of the 
 inhabitants and others, and who have committed several 
 outrag-es thereby against his Majesty's peace, and the laws 
 of our country in particular, in forcibly breaking open, and 
 rescuing several impressed seamen out of the houses for the 
 reception of them. These are, therefore, in his Majesty's 
 name, for the future, to caution all such persons assembling 
 themselves in such an unlawful manner and mode, and from 
 committing such unlawful breaches of the peace, and violations 
 of the laws, otherwise, I shall be under the most disagreeable 
 necessity of calling unto my assistance, for the preservation 
 of the lives and propert}' of his Majesty's peaceable subjects in 
 this town, the military stationed here, of which, I hereby 
 require all such persons to take notice, at their peril." 
 This remonstrance had its proper effect in deterring a 
 lawless banditti from the perpetration of outrages. 
 
 The Bess, 270 tons, 18 guns, and 100 men, Captain Perry, 
 belonging to Messrs. Slater & Co., on her passage from 
 Liverpool to St. Vincent's, captured in the Bay of Biscay an 
 American snow called the St. Croix, with 49 hogsheads (or 
 40,000 lbs.) of tobacco ; 102 hogsheads, 6 half-hogsheads, and 
 two barrels white sugar; 24 hogsheads, 3 half-hogsheads, 
 and one barrel of brown sugar; 116 hogsheads, 15 half-hogs- 
 heads, and 28 barrels of coffee; and 826 dollars. In January, 
 1779, the Bess, in company with the Saville, of Bristol, took 
 a rich snow, named the Proteus, bound from Philadelphia to 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 239 
 
 France, with 281 hogsheads of flax seed, 166 hogsheads of 
 tobacco, 52 casks of pot-ashes, 15,000 staves, and 140 beaver 
 skins. 
 
 The Arethiisa, Captain Jones, a vessel of 150 tons burthen, 
 18 guns, and 92 men, belonging to Messrs. Nelson & Co., 
 took a brig from Bayonne, loaded with wine and flour, and 
 sent her for Liverpool, but she was stranded near Waterford. 
 The crew and part of the cargo were saved. The Arethiisa 
 soon afterwards captured a schooner loaded with tobacco, 
 and sent her for Liverpool. In November of the following 
 year, we read that the Arethiisa had taken and carried into 
 the Bermudas, two prizes, one a sloop laden with 59 hogs- 
 heads of tobacco from Bird's warehouse, James River, 
 the other from Salem for Cape Francois, laden with fish 
 and lumber. In company with another privateer, the 
 Arethiisa captured a prize which was sent to the Bermudas, 
 and another from Carolina, which she sent to New York. 
 
 On the 28th of October, the Carnattc, East Indiaman, was 
 taken by the Mentor., Captain John Dawson. This was said 
 to be the richest prize ever taken and brought safe into port 
 by a Liverpool adventurer, being of the value of ^135,000. 
 "A box of diamonds of an immense value," says the Liver- 
 pool paper, of November 27th, "was discovered on Friday 
 on board the Carnatic, French East Indiaman, which is 
 arrived in the river, to the no small satisfaction of the 
 captors." This lucky hit was due in a great measure to the 
 sagacity of Captain Dawson. War with France had com- 
 menced in April, but Admiral Keppel only put to sea to 
 look for the French fleet on June 17th. Captain Dawson 
 boldly sailed southwards to intercept the French East India- 
 men, which had put to sea before the declaration of war, and 
 met with the reward which his pluck and foresight deserved. 
 The Mentor, 400 tons burthen, 28 guns, and 102 men, 
 belonged to Messrs. Baker & Co. Mr. Baker became 
 Captain Dawson's father-in-law, and partner in the noted 
 
240 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 shipbuilding firm of Messrs. Baker & Dawson, on the 
 Estuary Bank. Mr. Baker was mayor in 1795, and died 
 during his year of office. Messrs. Baker & Dawson bought 
 the Mossley Hill Estate, and erected thereon the mansion 
 which, in joke, was called by the wags,"Carnatic-hall."* In 
 1778, the firm bought the manor of Garston of the Corpora- 
 tion of Liverpool, and in January, 1791, they conveyed their 
 undivided moieties to Mrs. Elizabeth Kent, widow of Mr. 
 Richard Kent, of Duke Street. 
 
 In the Binns' Collection, at the Brown's Library, is the 
 following undated newspaper cutting : — 
 
 "A RELIC OF OLD LIVERPOOL. 
 
 " The fire which took place on Monday last at Carnatic-hall, 
 situate on Mossley-hill, promises to complete the destruction 
 of a mansion not a little associated with the fortunes and 
 history of Liverpool and its leading citizens during- the last 
 100 years. It is well known what a prominent part Liverpool 
 took in fitting out privateers against the French and other 
 enemies at the commencement of our American troubles in 
 1775. But it was in November 1778, that the richest prize 
 ever taken by a Liverpool adventurer fell into the hands of 
 Captain John Baker of the Mentor, a ship of 400 tons, 28 guns, 
 102 men, and belonging to the Bakers and Pudsey Dawsons — • 
 names then of repute In commercial circles. The prize, a 
 French East Indlaman, the Carnatic, turned out to have on 
 board a box of diamonds, valued at ;^i 35,000. With the 
 proceeds of the prize and after It Carnatic-hall was built and 
 
 * Carnatic-hall, re-built in princely style, is now the residence of Mr. Walter 
 Holland. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, Mr. Samuel HollanH, grand- 
 father of Mr. Walter Holland, the present owner, came to Liverpool from Knutsford, 
 in Cheshire, from which place the present Henry Holland takes \\\< title of Viscount 
 Knutsford. Mr. Samuel Holland was no doubt largely engaged in privateering, 
 like other Liverpool shipowners, in the long war with France. He is said to have 
 been on board one of his own privateers, and commenced an engagement with either 
 a British man-of-war or another privateer, in the Mediterranean (each vessel having 
 hoisted a wrong colour to deceive an enemy) before the mistake was found out. 
 The family of Holland is an old one, and was resident in the neighbourhood of 
 Liverpool farther hack than the days of the valiant Nehemiah, who commanded 
 the Ann Galley and the St. Peter. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 241 
 
 appropriately named. Though the name of its architect is not 
 known, the proportions of its rooms and their decoration 
 denoted a superior hand — possibly that of Adams. It is not 
 known for certain whether there remain any of the family of 
 the builders of the mansion, thoug"h about twenty years ago a 
 woman claiming to be so descended appealed for alms to the 
 then occupants of the house. Anyhow, the latter after remain- 
 ing in the family of its builders till about 1830, came into the 
 possession of the Ewarts, one of whom was sometime member 
 of Parliament for Liverpool, and in 1838, shorn of part of its 
 acreage, it was purchased by the late Charles Lawrence, 
 grandfather of Mr. W. F. Lawrence, M.P. In 1886, after 
 the death of Mrs. G. H. Lawrence, the property was sold to a 
 syndicate, and lately came into the hands of the present owner. 
 In 1847, during the mayoralty of Mr. G. H. Lawrence, Sir 
 Robert Peel visited Liverpool, and slept at Carnatic-hall, as 
 the guest of Mr. Charles Lawrence. In 1886, an old and 
 interesting print, which always hung at Carnatic-hall through 
 its many vicissitudes, representing the capture of the Cariiatic 
 East Indiaman, was forwarded by the representatives of the 
 then owners to the authorities at the Brown Library. It is 
 probably lost under the accumulation of similar curios, but it 
 would seem worth while for the authorities to provide some 
 room specially devoted to commemorate Liverpool in the olden 
 days, and to set out a selection of prints and curios of special 
 interest. It is probable the old picture depicting the capture 
 of the Carnatic, however poor as a work of art, might be not 
 the least attractive exhibit, and stimulate many a youth to 
 deeds of daring and laudable ambition." * 
 In August, 1779, we read that the Mentor had captured 
 two prizes on her passage to Jamaica. In that year she 
 
 * The writer of the above interesting article is incorrect in saying that 
 Captain Baker was in command of the Mentor, instead of Captain Dawson. The 
 author of the present work, having had his attention called to the old picture in 
 question, by Mr. \V. F. Lawrence, M.P., made enquiries, and, with the kindly 
 aid of Mr. Cowell, the Chief Librarian, found it hung in a dark corridor in the 
 private portion of the Brown's Library. " More light" only revealed the sad fact 
 that the picture had been in battle on its own account, and that it was too sorely 
 wounded for reproduction in this volume. 
 O 
 
■242 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 was commanded by Captain John Whiteside, who, on the 
 4th of November, wrote to Messrs. Baker & Dawson, from 
 Cork, as follows : — 
 
 "On Wednesday, the 27th ult., in lat. 47, long. 11., at 
 A.M. daylight, saw four sail bearing- S.E. ; bore away for them. 
 As we came near, found two of them to be ships, one having 
 Dutch colours hoisted, the other English ; the other two sail 
 being a sloop and a schooner. At nine a.m. came so near one 
 of the ships as to perceive she was a frigate, on which we 
 hauled upon a wind to the southward. She immediately 
 hoisted French colours, fired several shot, and gave chace to 
 us. We, finding she came up fast, kept away with the wind 
 abeam, and set every studding sail and small sail in the ship 
 to the best advantage. At noon the frigate was about two 
 miles astern in chace. The 28th October moderate winds and 
 clear weather; the frigate in chace all these twenty-four hours, 
 sometimes coming near us, other times dropping, according as 
 the breeze freshened and died away. We took every possible 
 method to get away from him, but could not get distance 
 enough from him to alter our course in the night. At ten a.m. 
 saw three sail astern, steering after us. At meridian, the 
 frigate about a mile and a half astern, coming up fast with us. 
 The 29th October, at half past meridian, the wind dying away, 
 the frigate came up with us fast, in consequence of which, we 
 in studding sails, up courses, and got all clear for engaging. 
 At one P.M. came to action, which continued very warm till 
 ten minutes past two, when she made all the sail she could, and 
 stood away from us to the southward. 
 
 " She was a frigate of 36 guns, carrying 28 twelve-pounders 
 on one deck. We weighed one of their shot, and found it 
 15 lb. weight. We had our main-top-mast shot away, a great 
 deal of our rigging and sails, and one shot through our main- 
 mast head, just below the trussle trees, which splintered all 
 the larboard cheek of the mast and all the bolts. At five p.m. 
 two of the vessels we saw astern came up, and spoke us, 
 proved to be the Lyon and Tyger privateers, belonging to 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 243 
 
 Bristol. We all three made sail after the frigfate. At a.m. 
 daylig^ht, had a survey on our mainmast, by our carpenters, 
 found it so much shattered, and impossible to get any fishes 
 on it, concluded putting- into Ireland, in order to get a new 
 one. At meridian in company with the privateers, saw two 
 sail, one upon a wind, which we knew to be the frig-ate, being- 
 in the same disguise as when we first saw her, with his fore- 
 top gallant mast down, and a small jigger abaft, and the other 
 a brig standing to the S.E., to which the Lyon gave chace I 
 suppose, not knowing the other vessel to be the frigate by 
 being in that disguise, and she on the wind to the N.W. The 
 Tyger gave chace to her, we being disabled so much, with our 
 main-top-mast down, and a great way astern of them both, 
 and not consulting with me, thought it most prudent to haul 
 m}' wind. As the Tyger drew near her chace, she perceived 
 her to be the frigate, whereupon she immediately hauled her 
 wind, and stood for the Lyon, which I suppose would have 
 been the case had I gone down with her. Our officers and 
 men behaved exceeding well." 
 
 In 1782, on her passage from Jamaica to Liverpool, the 
 il/(?;^^r foundered in a gale, off the Banks of Newfoundland, 
 and 31 of the crew were lost. Captain Whiteside, his 
 second mate, and a boy were saved. The Sarah Goulburn, 
 Captain Orr, also foundered. 
 
 The Dragon privateer, 112 tons, 14 guns, and 75 men, 
 Captain Briggs, belonging to Messrs. Warren & Co., took the 
 La Bonne Foi, from Martinico for Dunkirk, laden with 201 
 hogsheads, 7 tierces, and three barrels of sugar, 165 bags 
 of cocoa, 1 19 bags of cotton, 22 hogsheads, and 48 bags of 
 coffee ; also two ships from Newfoundland laden with fish, 
 one of which was lost off Cork. The prize-master of the 
 other stated that he had left the Dragon in pursuit of fifteen 
 more vessels when he parted from her. On the i6th of 
 February, 1779, the Dragon took the La Modeste (a French 
 Letter of Marque), from St. Domingo for Nantz. When she 
 struck, the sea ran so high that it was impracticable to board 
 
244 777^ LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 her, upon which she was ordered to steer towards Ireland, 
 and carry a light, the Dragon keeping close on her quarter. 
 When the weather became more moderate, an attempt was 
 made to man the prize, in which all the boats belonging to 
 each ship were stove. The impatience of the Dragoiis crew 
 was now raised to the utmost pitch, and, regardless of all 
 danger, five seamen stripped themselves, leaped into the sea, 
 swam to the prize, and took possession. This unparalleled 
 instance of British courage so astonished the French, that 
 they declared none but Englishmen would have thought of 
 such an expedient, and much less have carried it into effect. 
 The prize was worth swimming for, the cargo, which arrived 
 safely in Liverpool, consisting of 517 hogsheads of sugar, 
 42 hogsheads, 31 barrels, two tierces, 116 quarter casks, and 
 181 bags of coffee, 39 bales and 29 pockets of cotton, four 
 hogsheads, one barrel, and eight quarter casks of indigo. 
 In February, 1780, we read that the Dragon privateer, 
 Captain Reed, had taken "another schooner, bound from 
 Martinico to Boston, laden with sugar, etc., and sent her 
 into Bermuda, where both vessel and cargo were sold." 
 In the paper of September 13th, 1781, the capture was 
 announced of the Dragon., Captain Gardner, on a cruise 
 from Liverpool, by a French frigate, which carried her into 
 Brest. 
 
 The Nanny., Captain Beynon, belonging to Messrs. 
 Hindley, Leigh & Co., a vessel of 220 tons, 14 guns, and 
 50 men, took a large Swedish brig bound from Lisbon to 
 Rouen, with wine, fruit, and wool. In January, 1779, on her 
 passage to Oporto, she recaptured a brig loaded with pro- 
 visions, from Limerick for Gibraltar. In the following 
 March, on the homeward passage from Oporto, she had a 
 three hours' engagement with a privateer of 16 guns, and 
 beat her off. The particulars of an engagement between the 
 Nanny 2in^ the American privateer. General Arnold., Captain 
 Brown, of 18 six-pounders, and 100 men, are given in the 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 245 
 
 following letter from Captain Beynon to his owners, dated 
 Cadiz, June 2nd, 1779: — 
 
 "On the 20th of May, off Cape Finisterre, saw a ship in 
 chace of us. Being- resolved to know the weight of his metal 
 before I gave up your property, I prepared to make the best 
 defence I could. Between eight and nine o'clock, he came 
 alongside, with American colours, hailed, and told me to haul 
 my colours down. I desired him to begin and blaze away, for 
 I was determined to know his force, before I gave up to him. 
 The engagement began, and lasted about two hours, our ships 
 being close together, having only room to keep clear of each 
 other. Our guns told well on both sides. We were soon left 
 destitute of rigging and sails, as I engaged him under my top- 
 sails and jib. We were sadly shattered below and aloft. I 
 got the Nanny before the wind, and fought an hour that way, 
 one pump going, till we had upwards of seven feet water in the 
 hold. I thought it then almost time to give up the battle, as 
 our ship began to be water-logged. We were so close, that I 
 told him that I had struck, and hauled my colours down. The 
 privateer was in a sad shattered condition. By the time we 
 were all overboard the Naiiny, the water was up to the lower 
 deck. When Captain Brown heard the number of men I had, 
 he asked me what I meant by engaging him so long ? I told 
 him, as I was then his prisoner, I hoped he would not call me 
 to any account for what I had done, before the colours were 
 hauled down. He said he approved of all I had done, and 
 treated my officers and myself like gentlemen." 
 One man went down in the Nanny. The General Arnold 
 was herself taken soon after, by his Majesty's ship Experi- 
 ment^ Commodore Sir James Wallace. 
 
 The slave ship Diana, Captain Colley, from Liverpool 
 and Africa for America, was captured 30 leagues to wind- 
 ward of Tobago, by the ship General Moutrey, Captain 
 Sullivan, 18 guns and 200 men, and the brig Fair American, 
 Captain Morgan, 14 guns and 90 men. The prize w^as 
 carried to Curacoa, where her cargo, consisting of 378 
 
246 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 slaves, 30 tons camwood, and about three tons of ivory, 
 was sold ; the slaves at ten "Joes" per head. The Green- 
 xvood, Captain Reid, a slaver of 250 tons burthen, 16 guns, 
 and 50 men, belonging to Messrs. Crosbie & Greenwood, 
 was taken on her passage to Africa by the Vengeance, an 
 old French frigate of 24 twelve-pounders and 260 men, and 
 carried to Cadiz. The French commander was killed at 
 the first broadside from the Greenivood, but the great weight 
 of metal, number of guns and men against him, made it 
 impossible for Captain Reid to continue the action. 
 
 In November, 1778, the Catcher, Captain Fletcher, a 
 vessel of no tons, 14 guns, and 80 men, owned by Messrs. 
 Salisbury & Co., brought into the Mersey a French ship 
 from Cape Francois for Nantz, with 130,300 lbs. of sugar, 
 115 barrels of coffee, 7 barrels of indigo, and 12 bales of 
 cotton. 
 
 On the loth of December, 1778, the Atalanta, Captain 
 Collinson, 180 tons burthen, 16 guns, and 54 men, owned 
 by Messrs. Fowden & Berry, recaptured the brig Eagle, 
 from Newfoundland to Cadiz, with 3429 quintals of fish, 
 and sent her to Lisbon. On the 21st of the same month, 
 the Totvjiside, Captain Watmough, 130 tons, 16 guns, and 
 90 men, belonging to Messrs. Mitton & Co., captured an 
 East Indiaman, laden with coffee, dry goods, etc., but the 
 prize was lost near Beaumaris, the crew and part of the 
 cargo and materials being saved. The Toivnside was 
 captured a few months later, and re-taken by the Sybil 
 man-of-war. 
 
 "The attention shewn to our trade by the Admiralty," 
 observes the paper of December i8th, 1778, "cannot be 
 too generally known ; but it may not be improper to men- 
 tion that 120 trading vessels are preparing to sail from 
 Domingo to France : a promising harvest for our spirited 
 privateers." From this we perceive that the editorial mind 
 was tainted with the prevailing "iniquity." In the same 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 247 
 
 month it was stated that since the commencement of hostih- 
 ties with France, the Kite cutter had taken, in the English 
 Channel, prizes to the amount of ^400,000. 
 
 In the beginning of 1779 — a year memorable for the 
 numerous instances of gallantry displayed by the seamen of 
 Liverpool, both in privateers and merchantmen — the Ellen, 
 Captain Fell, 200 tons, 20 guns, and 70 men, owned by 
 Messrs. France & Co., on her passage to Jamaica, took the 
 Three Friends, from Boston to L'Orient, with furs, lignum 
 vit^, etc. ; and a little later she captured the Fantasie, 700 
 tons, from Port-au-Prince for Bordeaux, with 482 hogsheads, 
 2 tierces and 7 barrels of sugar, 100 bags of cocoa, 10 bags 
 of cotton, 59 hogsheads, 1 19 tierces and 165 barrels of coffee, 
 10 hogsheads, 5 tierces and i barrel of indigo. 
 
 The Retaliation, Captain Townsend, 160 tons, 16 guns, 
 and 100 men, belonging to Messrs. Syers & Co., took a 
 brig of 200 tons, laden with tobacco, flour, lumber, etc., and 
 a schooner laden with fish, both from America for the West 
 Indies, and carried them into Antigua. She also captured 
 a large French ship, of 16 guns, laden with bale goods and 
 provisions, which she carried into St. Kitts. 
 
 The Friendship, Captain Fisher, on her passage from 
 Liverpool to Jamaica, took a Dutch ship, bound from St. 
 Eustatia for Amsterdam, laden with tobacco, etc. ; also a 
 vessel from Charleston, with a cargo of rice, indigo, etc. 
 
 In February, 1779, the Betsey, Captain Fisher, returned 
 from an unsuccessful cruise of three months, but on the 
 20th of June following, she brought into the Mersey, the 
 Favourite, an East India ship, 450 tons burthen, bound for 
 L'Orient, with 1,054 billets red wood, 484 sacks of cowries, 
 171 bales of cotton, 2 bales dimity, 1,570 bags of pepper, 
 500 rattans, 27 bags of Mocha coffee, 8 bags of Bourbon 
 coffee, 1,090 bales of coffee, 44^ bales, 2 trunks and i box 
 sundries. On the 29th of August, the Betsey was taken 
 on her passage to New York, three days after leaving 
 
•2 1 8 THE LIVERPOOL PRl VA TEERS. 
 
 Liverpool, by the Alliance frigate, of 44 guns, and three 
 other ships in company, cruising off the coast of Scotland, 
 under Commodore Paul Jones. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1779, the Success (Letter of 
 Marque), 120 tons, 12 guns, and 30 men, owned by 
 Messrs. Crosbie & Greenwood, and commanded by 
 Captain Niven, arrived in Hoylake from a cruise, having 
 captured La Prohite from St. Domingo, with a valuable 
 cargo consisting of 94 hogsheads and 4 barrels of 
 tobacco, 43 hogsheads, 3 tierces and 2 barrels of sugar, 
 14 tierces, 49 barrels and 103 bags of coffee, some cocoa, 
 and hides. On the 14th of May, in her passage to 
 Bermuda, the Success fell in with the Pilgrim privateer, 
 Captain Hugh Hill, from Beverley, New England, of 16 
 nine-pounders and 150 men, which she engaged. The 
 sailing-master of the Success was killed at the first broad- 
 side, and others of her principal officers dangerously 
 wounded before she struck. The Pilgrim had two of her 
 crew wounded, three of her mizen shrouds carried away, 
 and her sails and rigging greatly damaged. The Pilgrim 
 cruised afterwards in lat. 50° and long. 13" to 15°, and 
 took the John, from New York to Liverpool, and the 
 Anna and Eliza, from New York for London, both laden 
 with tobacco, etc. After despatching them, she stood for 
 Sligo Bay, landed all her prisoners, and stood off again to 
 pick up some of the linen and yarn ships. She had taken 
 eight prizes in six weeks. 
 
 On the 19th of February, 1779, the Enterprize, 250 tons, 
 20 guns, and 70 men, belonging to Messrs. Brooks & Co., 
 and commanded by Captain Pearce, took the Paulina, 450 
 tons burthen, from Cape Fran9ois to Bordeaux, with 
 upwards of 500 hogsheads of sugar, besides indigo, coffee, 
 etc. She was pierced for 22 guns. On the 23rd of the 
 same month. Captain Pearce captured E Hostilite, bound 
 from Bordeaux to Port-au-Prince, laden with provisions. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 249 
 
 etc. Both prizes arrived safe in Liverpool. On the 22nd 
 of October, the Enterprise, having changed owners and 
 commander, and having been out about a month cruising 
 on behalf of Messrs. Francis Ingram & Co., whose instruc- 
 tions to Captain Haslam we gave in a former chapter, 
 brought into the Mersey L Aventiirier^ of 22 guns, and 50 
 men, from Martinico to Bordeaux, with 105 bales of cotton, 
 28 hogsheads of tobacco, 600 hogsheads of clayed sugar, 
 38 hogsheads of Muscovado sugar, 14 tierces and 23 barrels 
 of sugar, 164 hogsheads, 49 tierces and 115 barrels of 
 coffee, 6 tierces, 235 bags and i barrel of cocoa, and 
 2000 lbs. of cassia fistula. On the 14th of September, 
 1780, the Courier, 200 tons, captured on the passage from 
 Bordeaux to St. Sebastian, by the Enterprise and the Stag, 
 of Jersey, arrived in Liverpool. The prize cargo, as 
 advertised to be sold at the St. George's Coffee-house, con- 
 sisted of 141 casks of sugar, 82 bales of hemp, 7 hogsheads 
 of claret, i hogshead of Virginia tobacco, paint, copper 
 pans, marble slabs, looking glass frames, 12 new chairs, 
 41 new guns, and 8 new carriages. The brig Le Vaillant, 
 another prize taken by Captain Haslam, laden with wine, 
 flour, sugar, etc., was lost on the Burbo, on September 12th, 
 1780, and only one man saved. About 140 casks of claret 
 and 74 barrels of flour, etc., were recovered from the wreck. 
 In quick succession there arrived the following prizes, 
 captured by the same successful privateer: — The San 
 Pedro, 150 tons, taken on her passage from Bayonne to 
 Bordeaux, with 900 barrels of flour, 1 1 casks of brandy, etc. ; 
 the St. Joseph, 40 tons, from Bordeaux to St. Sebastian, 
 with 484 casks of resin, etc.; and the brig Le Moineau, 
 from Nantz to St. Domingo, with a miscellaneous cargo 
 that would have delighted Robinson Crusoe — flour, claret, 
 nails, canvas, sail cloth, Castile soap, tallow and wax 
 candles, butter, tallow, bread, cheese, pork, salad oil, lin- 
 seed oil, linens, drugs, Epsom salts, thread, handkerchiefs, 
 
250 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 thread stockings, men and women's shoes, hair powder, 
 snuff, earthenware, flint glass, barrel staves, etc., coopers' 
 twiggs, copper pans, scales, garden seeds, swivel balls, 
 etc., all sold by auction at St. George's Coffee-house. 
 
 The Molly, Captain Woods, 240 tons, 14 guns, and 40 
 men, belonging to Messrs. Rawlinson & Co. ; the Wasp, 
 Captain Byrne, 220 tons, 14 guns, and 95 men, owned by 
 Messrs. Kennion & Co. ; and the Bess, Captain Perrey, all 
 belonging to Liverpool, and cruising in company, took a 
 schooner bound from Bordeaux to Philadelphia, loaded 
 with tea, silks, etc., which arrived in the Mersey on 
 February 25th, 1779. They also captured a brig bound 
 from France to the West Indies, laden with provisions. 
 The Wasp and the Bess, in company, took a ship from St. 
 Domingo for France, with a cargo of coffee, indigo and 
 ivory, which likewise entered the Mersey on February 25th. 
 The Molly soon afterwards captured the St. Augustine, a 
 three-decked ship, from Port-au-Prince to Nantz, mounting 
 10 nine-pounders and carrying 40 men. She was laden with 
 536 hogsheads and 5 tierces of Muscovado sugar, 8 hogs- 
 heads, 61 tierces and 97 barrels of indigo, and 300 hides. 
 The Molly was captured on September 4th, 1782, on her 
 passage from Liverpool to St. Lucia, by two frigates bound 
 to Marseilles. 
 
 The West India fleet sailed from Cork on the ist of 
 March, under convoy of two 74-gun ships, one of 50 guns, 
 and two frigates. In the same month, a gentleman in Man- 
 chester, received the following testimonial to the activity of 
 our privateers, from his correspondent at Bordeaux: — 
 "Very many rich and respectable merchants here, have 
 been already ruined by the great success of your privateers 
 and cruizers. Many more must fall soon. May God, of 
 his mercy to us, put an end speedily to this destructive and 
 ridiculous war." 
 
 Early in the year 1779, Captain Ash, of the Terrible, 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 251 
 
 250 tons, 20 guns, and 130 men, belonging to Messrs. 
 Nottingham & Co., took a large snow called La Victoire, 
 from St. Domingo to Bordeaux, and on the same day, a 
 large ship from Port-au-Prince, called L' Age D'Or, both of 
 which arrived safe in Liverpool. Their united cargoes 
 consisted of 774 hogsheads and 22 tierces of sugar, 29 
 barrels, 29 half-barrels, 65 quarter-casks, and 40,000 pounds 
 of coffee ; 120 bags of ginger, 120 bales, 11 bags and 3 
 pockets of cotton, and 2 quarter-barrels indigo. Captain 
 Ash also recaptured and sent into Cork, the Leinsfer Packet, 
 from Bristol to Galway, which had been taken the previous 
 dav by the Rocket, of 16 guns and no men. 
 
 On Sunday, February 28th, 1779, the Griffin, Captain 
 Grimshaw, 130 tons, 14 guns, and 90 men, owned by Messrs. 
 Hall & Co., brought into the Mersey the Count de St. 
 Germain, a large St. Domingoman, ot 14 guns and 2,2, men, 
 bound to Nantz with two passengers, and a valuable cargo 
 of sugar, molasses, coffee, cotton, indigo, cocoa and tortoise 
 shell. The Frenchman fought for eight hours before he 
 struck. The Griffin had two men severely wounded, one of 
 whom died of his wounds. The arrival of this and several 
 other prizes in the same week "appeared to occasion very 
 general satisfaction" in Liverpool. In April, 1780 — more 
 than a year after the capture — an advertisement appeared in 
 the papers desiring the officers, seamen, and others having 
 legal demands against the late owners of the privateer 
 Griffin, or her prize Le Compte de St. Germain to attend at 
 33, Edmund Street (the street where John Newton formerly 
 resided), to receive their due. Thus, "Poor Jack,"after risk- 
 ing his life and losing a limb in his desperate employment, 
 had long to wait for his share of the plunder, and was too fre- 
 quently the prey of land sharks. Many of those interested in 
 the Griffin's prize had probably gone elsewhere to receive 
 their due, before the invitation to Oldhall Street was issued. 
 The Razvlinson and the Clarendon, of Liverpool, 
 
252 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 recaptured off the Land's End, the Weymouth Packet^ which 
 had sailed from Jamaica without convoy and been taken by 
 the General Sullivan privateer, of Portsmouth, New England. 
 
 The Dreadnought, Captain Cooper, took a vessel laden 
 with salt, and sent her into Mount Bay, in February, 1779. 
 On the 5th of March, the Dreadnought ^ Captain Taylor, 
 200 tons, 20 guns, and 120 men, belonging to Messrs. 
 Wagner & Co., returned from a cruise, bringing in with 
 her the L' Aimable Agatha from St. Domingo, with "237 
 hogsheads of sugar, 80 bales of cotton, 150,000 weight of 
 coffee, and 600 weight of indigo." The head of the firm of 
 Messrs. Wagner & Co., was Mr. Benedict Paul Wagner, 
 the maternal grandfather of Felicia Dorothea Hemans, 
 some of whose earliest poems were written at what is now 
 the "Loggerheads Revived" tavern, in Richmond Row. 
 
 On the 30th of March, 1779, five leagues off Cape Clear, 
 the Polly., of and for Liverpool, was taken by the French 
 privateer Monsieur., of 40 guns, and 450 men. After being 
 ransomed for 1250 guineas, the Polly proceeded on her 
 voyage, but on the following day, another French vessel of 
 36 guns, a consort of the Monsieur., fired four guns at the 
 Polly., but the latter luckily made the port of Skibbereen 
 before the Frenchman could come up with her. 
 
 The Tom., Captain Davis, a slaver of 100 tons, 12 guns, 
 and 36 men, belonging to Mr. Clement, was taken on her 
 passage from Africa by two French 36-gun ships, a brig 
 and several armed boats. The Tom was purchased from 
 the French to bring the people home. The Hereford., 
 Captain Harrison, the Providence., Captain Colley, and the 
 Juno., Captain Beaver, all slave ships belonging to Liver- 
 pool, were taken by the French on the coast of Africa. 
 The Juno, a. vessel- of 90 tons burthen, 14 guns, and 40 
 men, belonged to Messrs. Hartley & Co. 
 
 The Hunter, Captain Ashburn, was taken on her passage 
 to New York by a rebel privateer, of 16 guns, called the 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 253 
 
 Pallas, after an engagement of " jfive glasses," wherein the 
 Hunter had four men killed and sixteen wounded. The 
 American had many men killed and wounded, and was so 
 torn to pieces in her hull and rigging that she had to put 
 into Newbury. 
 
 The Nancy, Captain Adams, on her passage from Tortola 
 to Liverpool, had a very smart engagement with an 
 American privateer, of i8 guns, and beat her off. Captain 
 Adams's men in the tops with small arms, made great 
 slaughter amongst the privateer's people. 
 
 The Sturdy Beggar, Captain Cooper, i6o tons, i6 guns, 
 and i6o men, belonging to Messrs. Davenport & Co., took 
 the St. Michael, from Cape Fran9ois for Nantz, with 325 
 hogsheads, 14 tierces and 4 barrels of sugar, 147 casks and 
 201 bags of coffee, 22 casks of indigo, 12 bags of cocoa, i bag 
 of cotton, and 246 hides, which arrived in Liverpool in May, 
 1779. On the 4th of September, the Le Moissonier, from 
 Cayenne to St. Malo, laden with cotton, cocoa, mahogany, 
 etc., a prize to the Sturdy Beggar, Captain Humphrey, 
 arrived in the Mersey ; and on the 8th of the same month, 
 the privateer returned from her cruise, bringing in La Salta 
 Nostra Senora del Rosario, Captain Buenaventura Prana, 
 from Buenos Ayres to Cadiz, laden with dollars, skins, wool, 
 etc. On the 29th of October, 1779, the Sturdy Beggar, then 
 in Fayal Road, parted both cables in a gale of wind, drove 
 on shore, and in ten minutes went entirely to pieces, four of 
 her crew being drowned. Five other vessels were totally 
 lost in the same manner, and at the same time and place. 
 
 On the 20th of April, 1779, the Vulture, Captain Allanson, 
 took the St. Cyprian, 400 tons burthen, from Martinico to 
 Bordeaux ; and in August, a large Spanish snow called the 
 San Esteven, from Orinoco to Cadiz, with 14,000 rolls of 
 "the Genuine and Fine Oronoque Vorcena or Cannastre 
 Tobacco," 23 tons of cocoa, 400 hides, 370 dollars, and some 
 chests of medicine. Early in 1782, the Vulture, on her 
 
254 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 passage from Jamaica to Liverpool, captured a brig and a 
 snow, one of which foundered on the coast of Ireland. 
 
 The Will^ Captain Lewtas, cruising in company with 
 another vessel, took the La Meredale, from Virginia for 
 Cadiz, with 240 hogsheads of tobacco, and 70 barrels of tar 
 and turpentine. The Nanny, Captain Harrison, 14 guns 
 and 70 men, belonging to Messrs. Watts & Rawson, on 
 her passage to Jamaica, took a Swede from St. Domingo ; 
 and the Jamaica, 350 tons, 18 guns, and iio men, owned 
 by Messrs. Birch & Co., captured two prizes. 
 
 The Ashton, Captain Thompson, on her passage to the 
 Baltic, had a severe engagement with two French privateers, 
 one a snow, of 18 guns, and the other a brig, of 16 guns. 
 When at last the Liverpool vessel was obliged to strike to 
 superior force, she had only her foremast standing. The 
 mate died of his wounds. The boatswain of the Ashton 
 was carried off as ransomer. The same privateers captured 
 and ransomed iho, Hannah, belonging to Messrs. Heywood, 
 and shortly after were themselves taken by the Fairy sloop 
 of war and the Griffin cutter. 
 
 TheZ)^//^/!^'(Letter of Marque), Captain Dawson, 120 tons, 
 12 guns, and 39 men, belonging to Messrs. Rawlinson & Co., 
 was lost upon Cape May in a fog, and her crew made 
 prisoners. 
 
 The barque S^vijt, Captain W. Brighouse, belonging to 
 Messrs. W. Davenport & Co., having lost sight of the 
 Jamaica fleet and convoy, off the west-end of Cuba, pro- 
 ceeded on her passage alone, and was captured by the 
 General Arnold privateer, 20 guns and 85 men. Captain 
 James M'Gee, of Boston. Most of the captain's letters, 
 papers, and clothes were taken from him, and he was 
 nearly stripped of everything he had. 
 
 The Tyger (Letter of Marque), Captain Amery, 300 
 tons, 16 guns, and 60 men, belonging to Messrs. James 
 France & Co., was taken on her passage from Liverpool to 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 255 
 
 Jamaica, by a French frigate, and carried into Hispaniola ; 
 and the Adventure^ Captain Hyatt, a privateer of i6o tons, 
 14 guns, and 80 men, belonging to Messrs. Newby & Co., was 
 taken, in company with a Glasgow privateer, of 14 guns, 
 by an American privateer, of 20 guns. 
 
 The privateer Spitfire^ 200 tons, 16 guns, and 100 men. 
 Captain Thomas Bell, was captured by a French frigate, 
 which also took the Intrepid, Captain Buddicome. The 
 Intrepid was retaken by the Dublin (Letter of Marque), 
 Captain Harding, and carried into New York. The owners 
 of the Spitfire, Messrs. J. Zuill & Co., received the following 
 letter from Captain Bell, dated L'Orient, May 2nd, 1779 : — 
 " I am sorry to acquaint you with my misfortune. On the 
 19th of April, in lat. 46. 20. long. 5. 10. we met with the La 
 
 frigate, of 32 guns, 26 twelves and 6 six-pounders, 
 
 removable to either side, which made ig guns on the side they 
 engaged, and three brass swivels of one pound each, with 246 
 men. We began to engage about fifty or sixty yards distance, 
 and from that to thirty. The fire was brisk on both sides and 
 well kept up for one hour and fifteen minutes, having then only 
 two guns on the starboard side, and five on the larboard fit for 
 action. We were at last obliged to strike our colours, or 
 rather the Union thereof, as the other part was shot away. In 
 all our sails, from the royals downwards, there was scarce one 
 piece left the size of a sheet. Our standing and running 
 rigging cut entirely to pieces ; two ports made into one, and 
 the ship's side like a rabbit warren. You may rest assured I 
 have discharged the duty of a man, both in courage and con- 
 duct. Four killed and six wounded." 
 
 On the 20th of June, 1779, the Commerce, Captain Woods, 
 on her passage from Liverpool to Halifax, fell in with an 
 American privateer, of 16 six-pounders and 75 men, which 
 she beat off after an engagement of three hours and-a-half, 
 with the loss of one man killed and four wounded. On the 
 24th of June, she fell in with another privateer, of 14 six- 
 pounders, and full of men, which she also beat off, after a 
 
256 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 very obstinate engagement of four hours, in which she had 
 one man killed, and the Captain and four more men wounded. 
 The Commerce had but forty-two people on board, and 14 
 carriage guns, six and four-pounders. In December, 1780, 
 we read of the Commerce^ Captain Curwin, being retaken and 
 carried into New York. 
 
 The paper of July 2nd, 1779, announced that orders had 
 been despatched to all the seaports to lay an embargo on all 
 ships, that none might put to sea until all the men-of-war 
 which were wanted for immediate service, had got their full 
 complement of men. 
 
 The Corporation of Liverpool were at this time — and, 
 indeed, at all times — as effusively loyal in words and deeds 
 as the merchants of Liverpool were far-seeing and warlike 
 in their enterprises. At a special Council, held on June 26th, 
 1779, it was resolved that an address, under the Common 
 Seal, should be presented to the King ; "as a testimony of 
 our duty and affection for your Majesty's royal person, and 
 of our attachment to the welfare and prosperity of your 
 kingdoms at the present alarming juncture ; when from the 
 perfidious alliances of our natural and combined enemies, 
 the House of Bourbon, with your Majesty's revolted colonies 
 in America, to succour rebellion against the parent state, 
 this nation and the most formidable powers in Europe must 
 be unavoidably involved in all the calamities of war." Their 
 loyalty did not evaporate in mere professions, for, at the 
 same council, it was ordered "that a bounty of ten guineas 
 for every able seaman, and five guineas for every ordinary 
 seaman, should be offered, and be paid by the Corporation 
 treasurer to every volunteer who should enter on board any 
 of the King's ships of war at Liverpool." 
 
 "According to accounts from the Admiralty," says 
 the Liverpool paper of July 9th, 1779, "upwards of 
 250 Warrants have been granted for making out Letters 
 of Marque in Doctors Commons, since the Spanish 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 257 
 
 Ambassador delivered his manifesto; and it is certain 
 upon a moderate computation, there will not be less than 
 700 sail of privateers and Letters of Marque fitted out at the 
 different ports in this Kingdom." 
 
 The Richardy Captain Lee (a Letter of Marque), of 150 
 tons, 16 guns, and 70 men, owned by Messrs. Rawlinson 
 & Co., brought in with her a large schooner, laden with 
 sugar, cotton, coffee, molasses, &c., bound from Guadaloupe 
 to America, which she had captured in her passage from 
 Tortola. The Jtiliaiia, Captain Robinson, on her passage 
 to Antigua, took two prizes, bound from France to the 
 West Indies, and the Ranger^ Captain Adams, took a Dutch 
 ship bound from Marseilles to St. Valery, and sent her to 
 Liverpool. On the 26th of August, a French snow called 
 the Chamont, bound from Beaufort, North Carolina to 
 Nantz, with tobacco, naval stores, and indigo, arrived in 
 Liverpool, having been captured by the slave sh\^ Blossom, 
 Captain Doyle, on her passage to Africa. The slave ships 
 were often lucky in taking prizes. The N'ancy, Captain 
 Hammond, a slaver of 250 tons, 20 guns, and 59 men, 
 belonging to Messrs. Fowden & Berry, arrived at Jamaica 
 with 430 slaves; and the Nancy ^ Captain Nelson, belonging 
 to Messrs. Pringle & Co., a vessel of 150 tons, 16 guns, and 
 50 men, with 420 slaves. The latter captured and carried 
 in with him a valuable prize, a Guineaman with 200 slaves. 
 The Gregson, Captain Jolly, belonging to Messrs. Boats & 
 Gregson, also arrived at Jamaica with a valuable prize. 
 
 Early in July, 1779, the Amazon privateer, of 14 nine- 
 pounders, and 95 men, Captain Charles Lowe Whytell, 
 returned from a cruise, with a Portuguese brig, which she 
 had taken, bound from Lisbon to Havre. A few weeks later 
 a much finer stroke of good fortune befell the Amazon. A 
 letter, dated Cork, September 9th, 1779, gives the following 
 particulars: — 
 
 " Yesterday was brought into Cove, the Sancte Incas, Don 
 
258 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Fr. Renosso, a Spanish man-of-war, from Manilla to Cadiz, 
 deeply laden with gold, silver, coffee, china, cochineal, and 
 indigo, 800 tons burthen, mounting 18 twelve-pounders, and some 
 small guns, but pierced for forty guns, and had 130 men. She 
 was taken the 23rd ult., off the Western Isles, by the Aynazon 
 privateer, of Liverpool, and the Ranger, of Bristol, of 16 guns 
 each, after an engagement of two hours. A cask of gunpowder 
 taking fire on board the prize, forty of her hands were blown 
 up, which threw them into such confusion as to give the brave 
 English tars an opportunity of boarding her, with the loss only 
 of one man. She is deemed the most valuable prize taken 
 since the rich Acapulco ship by the late Lord Anson, In her 
 after hold, the King of Spain's cargo is stowed, which is 
 supposed to be gold and silver, but not yet opened. The 
 captain and crew were not permitted to see it when shipped, as 
 she was laden by porters, which is the usual custom at Manilla ; 
 nor is it supposed it will be examined until the owners of the 
 privateers from England arrive here." 
 
 Captain Whytell's * own account, written at sea, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 On Tuesday, the 24th August, we saw a ship, which proved 
 to be a Spaniard; and at five minutes after twelve o'clock p.m., 
 began to engage her. She looked exceeding large, and shewed 
 fifteen guns on a side, but we could not tell whether they were 
 metal or not until we tried ; so run up and received her fire, 
 and found she had only fourteen metal guns, but they were 
 heavy ones. We gave her two broadsides for one, and 
 continued the engagement for three glasses very briskly, and 
 then lost sight of her for ten minutes in a cloud of smoke, and 
 feared she had sunk. When it cleared up we perceived her 
 endeavouring to make her escape, and gave chase to her again ; 
 came up with, received her broadside, and returned only a few 
 guns before she struck her colours. A Bristol privateer (which 
 
 * Among the obituary notices of 1795, is the following : " On the 13th of June, 
 1795, in Hamoaze, on board his ^laJesty's ship Standard, Capt. Ellison, ^]r. 
 Charles Lowe Why tell, lately tide surveyor at Iloylake." 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 259 
 
 we afterwards found to be the Ranger ) came up during- the 
 engagement, but kept aloof, and never fired one gun. We 
 having received much damage in our rigging and sails, and our 
 yard teacles shot away, the Bristol privateer took the advantage 
 and boarded her first, and received the Captain's sword and 
 papers, which they did not deserve. 
 
 "She proved to be the St. Agnes, a Spanish frigate, com- 
 manded by Fernando de Reynosa, from Manilla bound to Cadiz ; 
 larger than any of our thirty-six gun frigates, and pierced for 
 forty guns. She had two eighteen and twelve nine-pounders 
 mounted, and upwards of 150 men, of whom forty-sev^en were 
 killed and wounded in the action, and in an explosion of gun- 
 powder ; (thirty-three of the forty-seven are dead). 
 
 "We only lost one brave fellow (the master's mate) who 
 had his arm shot off by an eighteen-pounder, close to his 
 shoulder, and he died in about an hour. My officers and ship's 
 company all behaved like men of true courage during^ the whole 
 engagement. I believe the prize is very rich ; but know not 
 yet what she is loaden with, therefore cannot ascertain her 
 value." 
 
 "The prize," says the editor, "is since arrived safe in 
 Cork, and the Amazon is come into Hoyle-lake. Letters 
 from Ireland say the above prize is worth one million." 
 
 Amongst other curiosities exhibited in Liverpool in the 
 year 1780, was a zebra, shipped on board the St. Inez — for 
 that was the real name of the Amazons prize — at the Cape, 
 as a present for the King of Spain. An elaborate descrip- 
 tion of this zebra, as an animal exceedingly rare and curious, 
 appeared in the columns of the local papers. 
 
 The paper of August 6th, 1779, stated that the Charming 
 Kitty privateer, Captain Williams, had captured and sent 
 into the Mersey, a Spanish brig laden with dollars and 
 provisions, and was left in chase of a large ship. A week 
 later, we read that the Charming Kitty, "cruising in lat. 
 41° 10', long. 10° 30' took a Spanish brig laden with 125 bar- 
 rels of beef, 762 quintals of rice, 744 quintals of calavences, 
 
260 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 904 quintals beans, 2505 bottles of oil, two trunks and one 
 bale merchandize, and 130 dollars." 
 
 A letter from Fougeres Castle, Ille-et-Vilaine, dated 
 August i6th, 1779, says: — 
 
 " I have the happiness of conveying- to you a letter by a 
 prisoner who is to be exchanged in room of the Americans, 
 and take the opportunity to let you and my friends know in 
 what manner we have been used. In the first place we have 
 a pound and ha.lf of bread, such as is the cause of all the sick- 
 ness, beef is but just good enough for dogs, sometimes it 
 amounts to half a pound a day, but more often to six ounces, 
 sometimes we have peas, and those so bad that one half of 
 them are as hard when they come out of the furnace as when 
 first put in. The worst of usage in England for the prisoners 
 is absolutely too good. The great havock it made in Dinan 
 last winter is astonishing ! Thirty died of a day, in the whole 
 about 1600. They were put into a cart, a pit dug, and were 
 thrown in like dogs. We have nothing to lie on but straw 
 full of vermin, which deprives us of rest. The beds we had at 
 first are taken away, and we are now treated as if we were 
 horses. We dread the thought of another winter, and expect 
 nothing but to fall victims to death." 
 
 In September, 1779, the following advertisement appeared 
 in the Liverpool papers : — 
 
 " Port of Milford. To all Commanders of his Majesty's 
 
 ships of war, cruisers, Letters of Marque, etc. For the more 
 
 speedy condemnation of American, French, and Spanish prizes, 
 
 captured by the said ships, the High Court of Admiralty hath 
 
 issued out commissions appointing commissioners, etc., for 
 
 taking depositions, etc., for condemnation of such prizes in the 
 
 said port of Milford. W. Wright, Actuary." 
 
 On Saturday, the i8th of September, 1779, the 7^/<9//J^ late 
 
 Captain Seddon, arrived in Liverpool from Tortola. Her 
 
 people had a sad story to tell. On the 7th September, she 
 
 had encountered an American privateer, of 22 guns on one 
 
 deck, besides quarter-deck and forecastle guns, a force 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 261 
 
 greatly superior to that of the Molly. After a hot engage- 
 ment which lasted upwards of an hour, the privateer sheered 
 off, having received considerable damage, and, it was 
 supposed, with many of her people killed and wounded. On 
 board the Molly., Captain Seddon and five of his brave crew 
 were killed, and seven wounded. " True courage," says the 
 Liverpool Advertiser., "was never more conspicuous than in 
 Captain Seddon's conduct during the engagement, nor was 
 ever young man more deservedly respected, not only in the 
 capacity of a commander, but in private life, by all who 
 knew him." 
 
 With so many local instances of the heroism of British 
 seamen coming under his observation, well might Liver- 
 pool's blind poet champion the cause of 
 "A race renown'd in story : 
 
 A race whose wrongs are Britain's stain, 
 Whose deeds are Britain's glory. 
 
 By them when Courts have banish'd peace, 
 Your seagirt land's protected. 
 
 But when war's horrid thunderings cease, 
 These bulwarks are neglected." 
 The Defiance, Captain Thomson, took the Francisco de 
 Paula, laden with wool, hides, and dollars, but the prize, 
 minus the dollars, was re-captured by the notorious Dun- 
 kirk (alias Black Prince) privateer, of Dunkirk, which also 
 took the Three Friends.,'^ Captain Maine, on her passage from 
 
 * The following notice appeared in the papers : — 
 
 LiVF.urooL, September 24th, iTjg. 
 
 " Whereas, Samuel Maine, master of the Three Friends, Letter of Marque, of 
 Liverpool, bound to New York, was captured the 19th in^t., in Lalliman's Bay, in 
 the Island of Jura, by the Dunkirk privateer, of Dunkirk, commanded by J. B. 
 Royer ; who afterwards disposed of to the beforementioned Samuel Maine, a 
 sloop laden with kelp, which the said privateer had likewise taken, after the crew 
 had totafly deserted her. This is inserted with a wish to apprize the owners of the 
 said sloop, that unless application is made for the sloop and her cargo, and all 
 demands and expense-; incurred upon her discharged before the expiration of 
 twenty-one days, f om this date, the sloop's cargo will then be absolutely sold by 
 public auction, to defray such charges ?s may have accrued from the time of her 
 capture, to release the hostage given by Captain Maine. Every proper enquiry 
 will be fully answered and attended to by Crosdale, Barrow & Co." 
 
262 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 Liv^erpool to New York. The Defiance was taken on her 
 passage to the West Indies by a French privateer. 
 
 In September, 1779, a Special Council was held, to take 
 into consideration the most effectual method of putting the 
 town into a state of defence against a possible descent by 
 Paul Jones, or any other invader.* Orders were passed "to 
 remove the gunpowder from the magazines in Cheshire to 
 the New Fort, and St. George's Battery ; to apply to the 
 Government for a thousand stand of arms for the use of 
 such gentlemen and privates who may offer themselves to 
 serve as volunteers in case of the enemy landing on the 
 coast ; that steps be immediately taken to receive names for 
 volunteer service ; that application be made for the removal 
 of the French and Spanish prisoners now confined in the 
 gaol at Mount Pleasant to the Castles of Chester, Carlisle, 
 etc., and for the removal of the prisoners now on parole at 
 Ormskirk and Wigan to some more inland situation ; that 
 a pilot-boat be sent out to cruise off Point Lynas, to give 
 intelligence upon the appearance of an enemy, and that 
 boats be stationed at the different buoys along the coast to 
 sink them in case of imminent danger." 
 
 On the 29th of October, 1779, as the Stag privateer. 
 Captain Wilson, ready for a cruise, was sailing up and 
 down the river, to the admiration of a crowd on shore, as 
 was the custom of privateers about to ^o forth against " the 
 
 * "Though the present Administration cannot l)e called felicitating, or that »e 
 now sit quietly under our vine and fig tree,'' says the paper of September loth, 
 I779> "yet the public need not be apprehensive that an invasion of consequence 
 can take place till our fleet be first destroyed. We are to consider that to effect 
 the Revolution, the Prince of Orange (afterwards the (ilorious King Wil iam), 
 had with him 52 men-of-war, and 25 frigates, with 400 large Dutch transport 
 ships, for the bringing over of 3,660 horse, and 10,692 foot. From this it would 
 seem, that 800 transports should be necessary (besides men-of-war) to land in 
 these kingdoms 30,000 men. This number of ships the French and Spaniards 
 have not ready, nor will they venture so hazardous an enterprise till Sir Charles 
 Hardy's fleet shall be discomfited. This, we trust in the great Disposer of Events, 
 will not be the case. From the preparations, spirit, and unanimity that now 
 appear, none can seriously believe that even 30,000 troops could conquer Britain 
 or Ireland. Away then with false, unmanly fears. Let magnanimity and fortitude, 
 vigilance, activity, and the love of our country animate us to the noblest actions." 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 263 
 
 enemies of Great Britain," she got aground near the 
 Codling Gag and bulged. Most of the ship's stores were 
 saved. On the i8th of February, 1780, the Stag captured 
 a French ship, bound from Bordeaux to Martinico, laden 
 with wine, provisions, bale goods, etc. Early in 1781, she 
 took two prizes valued at ;^r4,ooo currency, and carried 
 them into St. Kitts. The Stag., "upon a cruise in the 
 West Indies," on the 14th of March of the same year, took a 
 ship of 18 guns and 65 men, bound from Martinico for 
 America, loaded with dry goods and some produce, valued 
 at about ;i£"i 2,000. 
 
 The Vengeance, Captain Graham, took the St. Man'a from 
 Campeachy for Valencia, laden with logwood, etc. On the 
 2 1st of October, 1779, the Who\ Afraid, Captain Moore, 
 in company with the Benson, Captain Ball, 360 tons, 20 
 guns, and 79 men, belonging to Messrs. Rawlinson & Co., 
 took La Jeanne Lucy., from Martinico to Marseilles, laden 
 with sugar, coffee, and cocoa. A month later the Diligence., 
 a prize to the Whds Afraid., arrived in the Mersey. In 
 March, 1780, we read of the Whds Afraid., with two more 
 prizes, being at Jamaica. 
 
 On the 24th of November, 1779, the frigates Telemachas, 
 Captain Ash, and the Ulysses, Captain Briggs, both from 
 Liverpool, on a cruise, took a Spanish frigate of about 600 
 tons burthen, called the Soladad, pierced for 26 guns upon 
 her main deck, and carrying 170 men. She was bound from 
 the South Seas for Europe, and had been three years out. 
 The prize narrowly escaped an American privateer, of 30 
 guns, off Mizen Head, as she was making for Crookhaven. 
 
 "The first entry of licensed goods from England," 
 says the paper of October 15th, 1779, '* made in the Isle of 
 Man after it was annexed to the Crown, was made by Paul 
 Jones, he having imported the first rum there. His name 
 stands first in the Custom House books at Douglas." 
 
 During this critical part of the war, when France and 
 
264 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Spain united with America, and presented a most formidable 
 coalition in arms against Great Britain, the Royal Liverpool 
 Blues — named in memory of the battalion raised in 1745 — ■ 
 formed part of the garrison of the beautiful island and rich 
 colony of Jamaica, which was in the utmost danger, until 
 Rodney's great victory gave the English forces complete 
 ascendancy in the West Indies. The Liverpool Blues, raised 
 in 1778, principally at the expense of the Corporation, was 
 a regiment of the line, commanded by Lieutenant-General 
 Calcraft, as Colonel ; Major Pole, as Lieutenant-Colonel ; 
 the Honourable Thomas Stanley, Major ; Banastre Tarleton 
 (afterwards General Tarleton), William Greaves, Bryan 
 Blundell, Thomas Dunbar, Richard Cribb, Lieutenant 
 Pigot, and Lieutenant Andrew Despart, as Captains ; Mr. 
 Buckley, as Captain-Lieutenant ; George Headlam, as 
 Lieutenant ; and Christopher Graves, George Leigh, 
 Thomas Leigh, and James Smith, as ensigns. These 
 subalterns were principally Liverpool gentlemen. Theie 
 was a comic side to the achievements of the valiant Blues 
 of '45 — the march to Warrington, and the nocturnal charge, 
 that would have fired the soul of Don Quixote, and satisfied 
 the stomach of Sancho — but the brief story of this line 
 regiment is one grim tragedy. On the 25th of May, 1778, 
 the Liverpool Blues mustered iioo strong on the sands 
 near Bank Hall, where they were reviewed, and presented 
 with their colours. On the 4th of June, the birthday of 
 George HL, they were reviewed in front of the Goree 
 warehouses. On the 17th of the same month, they marched 
 from Liverpool to Warley Common, Essex, being ultimately 
 sent to Jamaica, where nearly the whole regiment succumbed 
 to the climate. On the 9th of February, 1784, the poor 
 remnant, reduced to 84 in number, returned to Liverpool 
 in the ship James, belonging to Messrs. James France & 
 Nephew, and deposited their colours in the Exchange. 
 Thus Liverpool men, by land as well as by sea, freely gave 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 265 
 
 themselves in defence of their King and Country. On the 
 departure of the Bkies, the first division of the Leicestershire 
 militia, commanded by the Marquis of Granby, was stationed 
 in Liverpool, hence, no doubt, the connection of the future 
 Duke of Rutland with privateering. A little later, a regi- 
 ment of Yorkshire militia, commanded by Sir George 
 Saville, did duty in the town. At the close of 1779, Sir 
 George gave ^50 to the infirmary, ;^50 to the dispensary, 
 and ^50 for the relief of the French and American prisoners. 
 An appeal for subscriptions in aid of the latter object con- 
 cluded with these modest words: "and as the town of 
 Liverpool is already the terror of our foes, they will, by 
 this means (at the time that they acknowledge our spirit and 
 bravery) be obliged to reverence our virtue and humanity." 
 On the 22nd of January, 1780, the Lively^ Captain Watts, 
 sailed from London for Liverpool, and, two days after leav- 
 ing the Downs, they fell in with the Black Prince (called an 
 Irish pirate vessel), to whom they were forced to strike. The 
 sea at that time ran so high that the enemy could not board 
 the Lively, but ordered them to follow, which they did, till 
 night coming on, and the gale continuing, they got away 
 from her. Two days after separating, the Lively had the 
 misfortune to fall in with the Monsieur, a frigate of 44 guns, 
 who made a capture of her, took the captain and all the 
 people overboard, except three boys, and put on board a 
 French officer and twelve seamen. Some time after they 
 parted company with the frigate, the Lively grew very leaky, 
 so that it was with difficulty she could be kept up. On the 
 4th of February, when all but three of the Frenchmen, 
 greatly fatigued with working and pumping the ship, were 
 asleep, the three boys seized on two cutlasses, the only arms 
 on board, and recaptured the ship, "and" says the paper 
 "preserved the power they had taken with amazing reso- 
 lution." The day following they arrived off Kinsale, and 
 making a signal of distress, were conducted into port by 
 
266 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 two pilot boats, where Captain M 'Arthur, in the Hercules 
 (Letter of Marque), took possession of her, "after beating 
 off the savages of our own realm, who came in shoals to 
 plunder. More than 50 of those unprincipled villains, 
 taking advantage of the signal of distress, had actually got 
 on board, and had already begun the shameful business 
 w^hich so repeatedly practised fixes an eternal stigma on the 
 coast which shelters such abandoned miscreants." 
 
 On the i6th of January, 1780, the Antigallican privateer, 
 Captain Butler, of Liverpool, in company with the Alert, of 
 London, took the snow Diana, from Philadelphia to 
 Bordeaux, laden with tobacco, logwood, staves, etc., valued 
 at ;^ 1 2,000. Both privateers then chased a large ship of 
 30 guns, laden with 600 hogsheads of tobacco, etc., which 
 had parted company with the snow only five hours before 
 she was taken. The Antigallican mounted 20 eighteen- 
 pounders and 2 long sixes, and had 120 men. The Alert 
 carried 12 eighteen-pounders, 4 long nines, and 70 men. 
 It is not clear whether this was the Antigallican privateer, 
 which sailed from Shields on the 13th of March, 1779, "on 
 a six months' cruize against the enemies of Great Britain, 
 completely fitted and manned," and was " universally 
 allowed by every competent judge to be the finest ship for 
 that purpose yet fitted out from England." 
 
 In February, 1780, the Sparling, Captain Jackson, on her 
 passage to New York was taken by the Thorn sloop-of-war, 
 22 guns and 150 men, after an engagement of nearly an 
 hour, in which Captain Jackson, the first and second lieu- 
 tenants, and seven men were w^ounded, and three killed. 
 The Sparling was carried into Boston. 
 
 Early in 1780, the Hero, Captain Wilcox, bound for 
 Guinea, w^as taken by the French, and retaken within 
 a league of Cherbourg by his Majesty's ship Champion. 
 On the ist of May, the Hero was again taken, 16 leagues 
 south of Cork, by a French privateer, and again retaken 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF IXDEPENDENCE. 267 
 
 from the enemy. Once more the Hero essayed to reach 
 Africa, only to fall a prey to the combined fleets of France 
 and Spain, who sent her to Cadiz. 
 
 The Bridget^ Captain Gilbody, on the voyage from St. 
 Kitts to Liverpool, re-captured the Brothers, Captain 
 Hasseldine, which was proceeding to France in charge of a 
 prize crew. In the summer of 1781, Captain Hasseldine 
 was again taken within one day's sail of New York, and 
 carried into Providence. 
 
 On the 8th of February, 1780, the Pallas, 16 six-pounders, 
 Captain Townsend, took the La Anna, from Bordeaux to 
 St. Domingo, laden with 642 barrels of flour, 180 barrels of 
 beef, 216 barrels of pork, two pipes and 30 casks of oil, 141 
 barrels and cases of wine, 55 cases of brandy, besides large 
 quantities of butter, salt, pease, prunes, soap, hoops, medi- 
 cines, and women's shoes. On the loth of March, the Pallas 
 brought into the Mersey, the ship Pa Victotre, of 16 six and 
 nine-pounders, and 100 men, laden with naval stores, cap- 
 tured off" Cape Finisterre, as she was making for Corunna. 
 This prize had previously been taken by one of Admiral 
 Digby's fleet, but the French prisoners had put the prize 
 crew in irons and retaken the ship, about thirty hours before 
 Captain Townsend fell in with her. The ship La Vulture, 
 from L'Orient for Maryland, another prize taken by the 
 Pallas, was totally lost on the coast of Ireland, and several 
 of the crew drowned. In May, the Pallas sent into Liver- 
 pool a Spanish schooner, laden with iron, oil, brass and 
 steel ware, etc., captured off Bilbao. A few weeks later, the 
 Pallas was taken by the L' Aimable, frigate, and carried into 
 Rochefort. "Tuesday," says the paper of May i8th, "was 
 married Captain Holland, in the African trade, to Miss 
 Townsend, sister to the brave Captain Townsend,* of the 
 Pallas." 
 
 * Commenting on the superiority of the n;\v prepared cartridges over the old 
 fashioned or common sort, the paper of December 17th, 1779, relates the following 
 
268 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 At the Annual Board of the Infirmary, on March 6th, 
 1780, thanks were voted to the late President, Nicholas 
 Blundell, Esq., for a benefaction of forty guineas, and to 
 the owners of the Enterprise, Terrible, St. George, and 
 Dragon privateers, who had sent benefactions towards the 
 support of the charity. 
 
 The William, Captain Wignall (a Letter of Marque), 
 cruising on her passage from New York for Liverpool, 
 captured a schooner laden with lumber, which she sent to 
 Liverpool. On the 8th of February, 1780, the William fell 
 in with a French cutter, of 18 nine-pounders, 20 swivels, and 
 full of men, from Havre-de-Grace, on a cruise, with which 
 she had a stout engagement of an hour, but by the gallant 
 behaviour of the officers and men of the William, the cutter 
 was obliged to sheer off with much damage. Captain 
 Wignall had one man killed, seven wounded, and two 
 blown up by a cartridge taking fire. The loss of the cutter 
 was believed to be greater. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1780, there entered the river Mersey, 
 under peculiar circumstances, a vessel appropriately named 
 the Happy Return. She was a cartel ship, commanded by 
 Captain Webb, bound from L'Orient to Plymouth, with 
 300 prisoners of war, to be exchanged. These men had taken 
 possession of the vessel during the passage, and brought 
 her into Liverpool, in hope of escaping the press. Among 
 them were the crew of the Bess, Captain Walker, which had 
 been taken by the Monsieur, three days after she sailed from 
 Liverpool for Tobago. 
 
 In March, 1780, two additional frigates and two cutters 
 were stationed in the Irish Channel, in consequence of a 
 
 incident: — "In a smart engagement witli an American privateer, in which Capt. 
 Townsend, of this place, Jost his leg, in the heat of action to save time, a brave, 
 high-spirited boy dared to endeavour to load one of the guns on the outside of the 
 vessel, though the privateer was alongside, but when putting the cartridge down 
 with his arm into the gun just discharged, the burning paper left behind, set fire 
 to the new one, and blew the bold fellow into the sea, where he was drowned." 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 2G9 
 
 petition of the Liverpool Merchants, in which they stated 
 that the force previously on the station was insufficient for 
 the protection of trade. 
 
 On Friday, March 17th, 1780, between ten and eleven 
 o'clock at night, the press-gang assembled before the house 
 of James Richards, in Hackins-hey, where a number of 
 sailors had resorted to protect themselves from impress- 
 ment ; and upon Richards refusing to open the door a 
 general firing ensued, which continued about half an hour. 
 In the affray, Richards received two dangerous wounds in 
 the face. A soldier, who happened to be in the house, was 
 shot through the body and died next morning. 
 
 The Modeste, Captain Bewsher, in her passage from 
 Liverpool to New York, took a prize with tobacco, lumber, 
 etc., and sent her for the Bermudas ; and on her passage 
 from New York to Jamaica she captured a sloop and a 
 schooner. 
 
 Occasionally we discover an element of comedy amongst 
 the sanguinary records of the sea at this period, as in the 
 following experience of the dignified Captain Gurley and 
 the irreverent rover, as reported in the paper : — ■ 
 
 " On Friday morning, April 14th, the Hussar wherry, 
 Capt. Gurley, a revenue cruizer under the inspection of Charles 
 Lutwidge, Esq., of Whitehaven, sailed on a cruize, but 
 returned ing-loriously to port in the evening-, having met with a 
 large buccaneering cutter, mounting 18 carronades, twelve and 
 eighteen-povmders, off the Abbey Head, about four miles distant 
 from Kirkcudbright. The cutter fired several guns into the 
 Hussar, shot away her colours and the main haulyards ; made 
 several holes in her mainsail and foresail, and lodged several 
 shot in one of her masts and In the hull. Captain Gurley had 
 a part of his hat and wig taken off by a ball, and one of the 
 men was also In the same perilous situation, but happily 
 neither of them received much bodily injury. The lawless 
 rover was very near them, and had the Insolence to call out 
 
270 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 and order them to go home, which they were under the 
 
 necessity of complying- with, being much inferior in strength. 
 
 The cutter had an EngHsh ensign flying." 
 
 In May, the Tonyn, Captain Wade, took a prize which 
 
 .sold for ;i^i,30o ; and the Ceres, Captain Cook, on her 
 
 passage from Liverpool to Archangel, took an American 
 
 siiip called the Governor Johnson, from Bergen to Baltimore, 
 
 with salt and sail canvas. 
 
 Instances of cowardice in face of the enemy were happily 
 
 rarer in the armed mercantile marine of Liverpool than in 
 
 the Royal Navy itself. In the following interesting letter 
 
 from Captain William Garnett, of the Vengeance privateer, 
 
 to the owners, Messrs. Jonas Bold & Co., dated Port 
 
 L'Orient, June 19th, 1780, we find a serious and unusual 
 
 -charge of poltroonery brought against two of his officers : — 
 
 "Gentlemen: I take this opportunity to inform you that 
 
 on the 13th inst., fell in with two large ships, which we took to 
 
 be loaded, and chaced them under Belleisle. As one of them 
 
 got under the battery, we bore down on the other, which we 
 
 soon brought to action, in doing which, we began to suspect 
 
 we had got into a very disagreeable situation, but were too 
 
 far advanced to retreat, therefore kept down upon her, and 
 
 received three broadsides without any great damage, reserving 
 
 our fire until we found it absolutely necessary to engage, as 
 
 we were to prevent the other ship if possible from raking us, 
 
 she having bore away for that purpose. Thus after two hours 
 
 contention with the Magician, of 36 guns and 300 men, and 
 
 the Eiourdie, of 24 guns and 180 men (both King's frigates), 
 
 was obliged to surrender, on a false alarm of our magazine 
 
 being on fire, our ship having from four to five feet water in the 
 
 hold, her fore-topsail-yard hanging in two pieces, her foremast 
 
 wounded, and in short her hull, rigging and sails much 
 
 shattered ; and was very much surprised from the situation 
 
 we were in when we struck, that we had but one man killed and 
 
 fourteen wounded, all but two or three of which were slightly so. 
 
 It is impossible for me to do justice to our people's behaviour ; 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 271 
 
 some of whom, when we had struck, lay down by their i,^uns, 
 and shed tears for downright vexation. We have lost all but 
 what we had on us, otherwise we were tolerably well treated 
 while on board, which was till this morning-, when they landed 
 us at this place, from whence we are to set out on the 20th to 
 travel to St. Malo, in order to be exchanged, and have for 
 company the Alert's crew, and the crew of a Jersey privateer, 
 all taken this week. We had but two persons whose behav- 
 iour during the action, I am sorry to say, was exceptionable." 
 
 On the 2 1 St of June, the Captain wrote again, from 
 Portevin : — 
 
 *' I wrote you the 19th, advising you in a particular manner 
 of our being taken on the 13th inst., after an action of two 
 hours with a frigate of 36 guns and 300 men, and one of 24 
 guns and 180 men, in which we had one man killed and 
 fourteen wounded, and our vessel shattered to pieces. Our 
 people behaved in a very brave manner, and had several 
 encomiums paid them by the Captain of the large frigate, 
 whom we struck to, particularly Mr. Given and Mr. Walker, 
 . two better or braver officers never went on board a ship ; the 
 latter of whom, after being knocked down twice with splinters, 
 and his right arm broke, still kept encouraging the men. The 
 conduct of two of our officers during the action was highly 
 exceptionable ; there is no knowing a man until he is tried. I 
 have not spoke to either of them since, which conduct I shall 
 observe. I have all the other officers along with me ; and as 
 they are brave fellows, think they have a right to every assist- 
 ance in my power to afford them. We are now forty miles on 
 our way to Dinan, and hope we shall not be long detained. I 
 write you from hence in preference to any other place, having 
 
 met with a Monsieur , who, to offering me any money I 
 
 should want, takes the trouble of having this conveyed to you 
 in the most expeditious manner. We were very well treated 
 on board the frigate, our wounded in particular with the 
 greatest care and humanity. We have left six wounded in the 
 hospital at L'Orient, where they are taken the greatest care of, 
 
272 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS 
 
 are all in hig-h spirits, and have every g-ood symptom. The rest 
 are along- with me, Mr. Given and Mr. Walker in particular, 
 who reckon nothing of walking twenty miles per day." 
 
 The Albion^ Captain Hutchinson, from Liverpool to 
 Archangel, was taken on the 8th of June, 1780, by three 
 American Letters of Marque, bound to Amsterdam, with 
 tobacco ; the General Washington, of 18 six-pounders and 7j 
 men, with 160 hogsheads ; the brig Alexander, of 12 four- 
 pounders and 50 men, with no hogsheads; and the brig 
 Maryland, of 10 four-pounders and 50 men, with 120 hogs- 
 heads. They also took the Speed-well, from Peterhead to 
 Norway, with oatmeal, and gave her to Captain Hutchinson 
 to carry the prisoners to Inverness, where they landed on 
 June 15th. Captain Hutchinson reported that the ship 
 Ashtoii and three brigs, which sailed with her from Liverpool, 
 had been taken by American privateers. The Albion was 
 sent to Boston. Some of the privateers were very unlucky. 
 On the loth of June, 1780, the Alert privateer. Captain 
 Chapman, was taken by the Venus, French frigate of 40 guns, 
 and carried into L'Orient. The Alert had sailed from 
 Whitehaven in March, 1779, and returned to Liverpool in 
 the following July, without taking anything. Captain 
 Chapman died about September, 1780, imprisonment and 
 disappointment probably hastening his end. 
 
 In February, 1780, the Sally, Captain Denny, on her 
 passage to Barbadoes, took a Spanish brig from the Grand 
 Canaries, loaded with sugar, barley, and household furniture. 
 
 The Watt (Letter of Marque), Captain Coulthard, on her 
 passage from Liverpool to New York, took two prizes ; one 
 called the Nancy, from Virginia to Nantz, laden with 103 
 hogsheads of James River tobacco ; and the other, the brig 
 Le Pegase, of 16 guns, bound from Bordeaux to St. 
 Domingo, laden with provisions. The best contested battle 
 fought by any of the British privateers during this war was 
 undoubtedly that fought by the Watt, and the American ship 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 273 
 
 TrumhiiU^ Captain Nicholson, The following account of 
 the engagement appeared in the New York paper of June 
 i6th, 1780 : — 
 
 " Monday arrived the Letter of Marque ship Watt, Captain 
 CoLilthard, in twelve weeks from Liverpool. On the ist 
 instant, in kit. 35. 54 long. 66. she fell in with and engfag-ed a 
 rebel frig-ate of 36 guns, 12-pounders, for upwards of seven 
 glasses. The rebel ship was crowded with men, and fought 
 19 guns on a side. The Watt mounts 32 twelve and six- 
 pounders, some of them carronades, and had only 164 men on 
 board, eleven of whom were killed, and several wounded. The 
 action was obstinate and bloody, and the carnage on board the 
 rebel frigate amazing, as the vessels were a considerable time 
 yardarm and yardarm, and the Watt, by the superior skill of her 
 officers, and the alertness of her crew, had the opportunity of 
 twice raking her antagonist fore and aft, which made her a 
 perfect slaughter house. Her stern was drove in almost down 
 to the water, many of her guns dismounted, hundreds of shot 
 through her sides, her foreyard and topmast shot away, and 
 all her sails and rigging greatly damaged. She at last put 
 before the wind, and run from the Watt, which chased her 
 eight hours ; but having a cargo on board, and her masts so 
 damaged that she could not venture to carry a great press of 
 sail, she lost sight of the chace on the and inst. The Watt has 
 a great number of shot holes through her sides and sails, four 
 of them through her powder magazine. She has certainly 
 fought a more glorious battle than any private ship of war 
 since the commencement of hostilities. The most exalted 
 encomiums are inadequate to the merit of the brave Captain 
 Coulthard. The determined courage he exhibited during the 
 action, and the cool, deliberate manner in which he issued his 
 orders, does him the highest honour ; nor ought the approved 
 behaviour of his gallant officers and crew remain unnoticed ; 
 they richly merit, and will certainly receive applause from every 
 man who has the glory of his country at heart." A later issue 
 supplied the following particulars : — 
 S 
 
274 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 "By a flag" of truce arrived last night from the Eastward, 
 we are informed that the Lieutenant of the TriimbiilL Rebel 
 frigate, had with much difficulty got the ship into New London, 
 after being torn down to a mere wreck in an engagement on 
 the first instant, with the Letter of Marque ship Watt, of Liver- 
 pool, commanded by the truly invincible Capt. Coulthard. We 
 have as yet only been able to learn that Capt. James Nicholson, 
 the TrumbiiH's commander, was killed at the first broadside 
 received from the Watt, and that there were fifty-seven men 
 killed on board the Trumbull ; the number of wounded has not 
 yet been declared. Our last Gazette gave the particulars of 
 the glorious behaviour of Capt. Coulthard and his Crew of 
 Heroes." 
 
 In connection with this sanguinary drawn battle, after 
 which both vessels were nearly sinking when they got back 
 into port, the following appeal appeared in Williamson^s 
 Advertiser., of August 3rd : — 
 
 "To the Humane Inhabitants of Liverpool, and others. 
 " Phebe Rigby, widow of Nicholas Rigby, late a mariner, 
 on board the Watt, commanded by the truly magnanimous 
 Captain Coulthard, claims your attention to her present dis- 
 tressed condition, having lost her husband in that memorable 
 engagement with an American frigate of 36 guns, wherein the 
 Watt had thirteen men killed and seventy-five wounded, and 
 the loss of the American was considerably more (an engagement 
 which does very great honour to the intrepid Captain Coulthard, 
 and casts an additional splendor on the British flag). This 
 destitute widow thus deprived of her husband (who was the 
 chief support of her and two helpless children, and an expert 
 and courageous sailor) is really a deserving object of charity, 
 and claims that kind and liberal attention of the humane and 
 g"enerous, which ever distinguishes Britons from other nations, 
 and which extends its munificent hand to all ranks of deserving 
 objects, but more especially to those who have sustained the 
 irreparable loss of an industrious husband and aff'ectionate 
 parent, and that, too, in fighting for his country. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 275 
 
 " By applying- to Mr. Tate, hair-dresser, in Church Street, the 
 pubHc may be assured of the reality of this case ; and con- 
 tributions for the widow may be left with him, or at Mrs. 
 Williamson's and Mr. Gore's, printers, in Liverpool. 
 "Descend, sweet Charity, celestial maid, 
 And to the widow lend thy fav'ring aid. 
 Whose valiant husband, under Coulthard's sway 
 (Coulthard, the dauntless hero of the sea) 
 Asserting- Britain's g"lory, lost his life, 
 And left two helpless children and a wife. 
 Celestial Charity, thy hand extend. 
 Be now the widow and poor orphans' friend." 
 In the Liverpool paper of July 6th, 1780, appeared the 
 followinor paragraph : — 
 
 "The Ellen, Borrowdale, arrived at Antigua in May with 
 a Spanish sloop of war called the Si. Ann Gracia, Don John 
 Morallas, commander, mounting- 16 g-uns, and full of small 
 arms, bound from the island of St. Thomas to Cadiz, which 
 he took on the 26th of April, in lat. 30. 30 N. long-. 37. 38 W. 
 after an eng-ag-ement of three hours. The Spaniard had eleven 
 men killed and two wounded." 
 
 Such is the bare record of a notable engagement which 
 has been selected by Professor Laughton as worthy of a 
 place in his "Naval Studies," and, which we venture to 
 quote here : — 
 
 " The Ellen, which mounted 18 lig-ht six-pounders, and had 
 on board 64 men, all told, of whom many, including- a Captain 
 Blundell of the 79th reg-iment, were passengers, was making- a 
 passag-e to the West Indies, under orders of urg-ent haste. Her 
 small complement shows that she had no ag-g-ressive intentions ; 
 but, when overhauled by the Spaniard, she prepared to defend 
 herself. She shortened sail, and, to prevent the enemy opening- 
 fire at long- rang-e, and thus getting the advantage of a pre- 
 sumably heavier armament, hoisted American colours. At the 
 same time, her guns were double-loaded with round shot and 
 grape ; and Borrowdale, encouraging his men, 'recommended 
 
276 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 to them a cool and determined courage, entreated them to fire 
 quick, to take good aim, and to fight the ship to the last 
 extremity.' We seem almost to have before us the old sea-dog 
 described by Captain Marryat : — 
 "The Captain stood on the carronade ; 'First Lieutenant,' 
 
 says he, 
 * Send all my merry men aft here, for they must list to me ; 
 I haven't the gift of the gab, my sons, — because I'm bred to 
 
 the sea ; 
 That ship there is a Spaniard, who means to fight with we ; 
 That ship there is a Spaniard, and if we dont take she, 
 'Tis a thousand bullets to one, that she will capture we.' 
 
 "And so as the Spaniard ranged up alongside to windward, 
 he hauled dow-n the American colours, hoisted the English, and 
 poured into her his whole broadside, with a volley of musketry. 
 The astonished and entirely disabled Spaniard fell to leeward, 
 and received the Ellen's other broadside, in the same fashion, 
 after which she put before the wind and endeavoured to make 
 ofi". Rut the privateer held on to her advantage, and after 
 a running fight of an hour and a half the Santa Anna, a 
 commissioned sloop of sixteen guns — heavy 6-pounders — 
 exclusive of swivels, and 104 men, hauled down her colours, 
 and accompanied the Ellen to Jamaica." 
 
 In regard to the quotation from Marryat, Professor 
 Laughton informs us that carronades were not used in the 
 time of William and Mary, They were first ordered for 
 use in the navy in 1779. The Ellen had not any, but, in 
 1780, she might have had if her owners had chosen. The 
 "lawless rover," who attacked the Hussar wherry, had 18 
 carronades on board. On the 26th of June, 1782, the Isabella, 
 from the Isle of Bourbon for France, laden with cotton, 
 coffee, pepper, cloves, etc., arrived in the Mersey, having 
 been captured by the Ellen, on her passage from Liverpool 
 to Jamaica. In October of the same year, the Ellen arrived 
 at Hoylake from Jamaica, having on board forty-two of the 
 ship's company of the Ramilies, flagship of Rear-Admiral 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. Ttl 
 
 Graves, which had foundered. The Mayor received a letter 
 from the Admiral requesting him to convey to the captains 
 of the merchant ships belonging to Liverpool, who were 
 the preservers of the lives of the Admiral, officers, and 
 company of his Majesty's ship Ramilies, the approbation 
 of the Lord's Commissioners of the Admiralty, of their 
 humane conduct. 
 
 On the loth of August, 1780, the Snapper privateer, 
 Captain Taylor, returned to Liverpool from a successful 
 cruise. On the 24th of July, she met with a fleet of seven 
 ships, off Bordeaux, under convoy of a 20 gun ship, which 
 chased the Snapper till night came on, when the Snapper 
 altered her course, and the next morning fell in with the 
 seven sail, four of which she captured, and run the three 
 others on shore. The four prizes consisted of a snow from 
 Bayonne, laden with bombs, mortars, and oak plank; a sloop 
 from St. Sebastian, with iron and iron hoops; a brig from 
 Bayonne to Rochefort, with anchors, hemp, and canvas; 
 and another brig from the same place to St. Malo, with 
 pitch, tar, and oak plank. In December, the An7i, with fish 
 and oil, and La Santa Louisa, both prizes to the Snapper, 
 arrived in Liverpool. 
 
 Early in the year, the Tartar cutter. Captain Whytell, 
 took a French snow bound from Guadaloupe to America, 
 with a cargo of sugar, and carried her into St. Kitts. On 
 the 22nd of August, the Tartar arrived in Liverpool from a 
 cruise, and brought in with her a prize called the St. George, 
 laden with flax, iron, etc. In September, the Tartar hsid a 
 smart engagement with a French cutter privateer of 16 guns, 
 which resulted in the Frenchman accompanying the Tartar 
 into Penzance. After taking another prize, a Dutch vessel, 
 from Ostend to Bordeaux, with 420 hogsheads of tobacco, 
 the Tartar had the ill-luck of being herself captured by two 
 French frigates, one of which was commanded by "Monsieur 
 Le Viscount Mortimer." 
 
278 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 In the summer of 1780, the Black Princess, and other 
 French privateers, were very active in the Channel, picking 
 up, at a small risk, a large number of vessels, many of 
 which they ransomed for sums ranging from 100 guineas to 
 ^6,000. One Sunday in July, the John, of Newcastle, 
 Captain Rawson, fell in with the Black Princess, off the 
 Mull of Galloway, and was obliged to strike, after having 
 one man killed and the captain and second mate wounded. 
 He was ransomed for ^^ 1,000, *' to which," says the paper 
 of July 20th, " he was compelled, at the hazard of his life and 
 the lives of his crew. The inhuman villain who com- 
 mands the Black Princess would not permit his surgeon to 
 dress the wounded, and on Captain Rawson hesitating to 
 ransom for so large a sum, was preparing to burn the ship, 
 and, horrid to relate, the people also." The "inhuman 
 villain" in this case happened to be an Irishman named 
 Edward Macartney, who had lived twelve years in France. 
 In 1 781, we find him, together with his second captain, and 
 first and second lieutenants, enjoying the hospitality of the 
 British Government in Mill Prison, Plymouth. 
 
 The first cigars introduced into Liverpool are said to 
 have been brought in some French prizes, from the Island 
 of St. Domingo, taken during this war. 
 
 In July, 1780, the Porcupine, a private ship of war, of 
 Liverpool, John Walker, commander, in company with the 
 Tartar cutter, of Folkestone, took the ship Elizabeth, from 
 Bordeaux to Bilbao, with a cargo of sugar, chocolate, 
 indigo, wine, etc., and sent her to Falmouth. The Eagle, 
 Captain Ashton, on a cruise, took two prizes; and tl.e 
 Peggy, Captain Leigh, captured three prizes in the West 
 Indies. 
 
 "Jenny" was a favourite name for Liverpool vessels, there 
 being at this period about half-a-dozen "Jennys" sailing from 
 the port. Th.Q, Jenny., Captain Gill, and the Jenny, Captain 
 Walker, had a smart engagement for upwards of five hours 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 279 
 
 with an American frigate of 28 guns, off the Banks of New- 
 foundland. They shot away the frigate's main-mast, and 
 otherwise damaged her so much, that she made the best of 
 her way from them. The Jenny, Walker, had four men 
 killed, and one wounded ; the Jenny, Gill, had two men 
 killed. The armament of these tw^o vessels is described 
 in the following advertisement, which appeared in the paper 
 of December 28th, i;-8o: — * 
 
 "The ship, Jenny, a Letter of Marque, Thomas Walker, 
 commander, is now fitting out to cruize for four months agfainst 
 the combined enemies of Great Britain, and will proceed to her 
 station as soon as possible in order to intercept some valuable 
 Dutchmen, that are soon expected to arrlv^e from the East and 
 West Indies. 
 
 The _/?««!' carries 14 guns, six-pounders, swivels, and small 
 arms, is copper bottomed, and has every convenience for the 
 comfort and accommodation of her crew, being- about 5 feet 6 
 inches between decks. 
 
 Captain Walker invites all brave seamen and landmen that 
 are willing to try their fortune in the Jenny, to apply to him 
 immediately, at his house, No. 13, in Paradise-St., or to Daniel 
 Backhouse, who wants a few good seamen and landmen for the 
 brig Jenny, Capt. Wm. Gill, now in the river, and will sail on 
 Saturday or Sunday next for St. Kitts, and from thence upon a 
 cruize. She is copper bottomed, sails like the wind, and carries 
 16 guns, six-pounders." 
 
 T\\^ Jenny, Gill, took the F. Coleux, of Boston, with wine, 
 flour, etc., which arrived in the Mersey in January, 1782. 
 
 In 1780, the Mars, Captain John Forsyth, a slave ship 
 belonging to Messrs. Wm. Earle & Sons, on her passage 
 to Africa, took a Dutch snow laden with French brandy, 
 wine, and corkwood. In January, 1782, we read that the 
 Mars was herself taken on her passage from St. Kitts to 
 
 * In the same issue of the paper, an advertisement appears, offering a reward of 
 ;if 20, in addition to the King's reward of £,i,o, for the apprehension of the highway- 
 men who inlested the roads in and near the town. 
 
280 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Liverpool, and carried into Boston. She was retaken and 
 carried to Jamaica. 
 
 The Emperor, Captain Wm. Wilson, owned by Mr. John 
 Galley, took the bv\g Jupiter, from Newberry, with tobacco, 
 staves, etc. ; also the brig privateer L' Impromptu, of 14 guns. 
 In 1 781, the Emperor, and the Telemachus, Captain Sher- 
 wood, on their passage to Jamaica took a brig from Salem, 
 laden with lumber, etc. 
 
 "By an Act passed this Session," says the paper of May 
 25th, 1780, "merchant ships are allowed to have three- 
 fourths of their crew foreigners ; and all foreigners who shall 
 have formerly served, or shall hereafter serve, two years on 
 board any of his Majesty's ships, or any privateer, or 
 merchant ship, being British property, shall be deemed a 
 natural born subject of Great Britain, and enjoy all privileges 
 and immunities thereto belonging." 
 
 On the 5th of June, 1780, the Vengeance, Hypocrite, and 
 Surprise, three Liverpool privateers, captured off Belleisle, 
 the Dauphine snow, from L'Orient to the Isle of France, 
 with wine, brandy, flour, cordage, etc., on the French king's 
 account. A month later, the Hypocrite, Captain Beynon, 
 returned from a cruise, and brought into the Mersey a 
 Genoese snow, from St. Andero to Cadiz, with 250 tons of 
 wheat. In August, another prize laden with wheat, taken 
 by the Hypocrite, arrived in Liverpool; and early in the 
 following year. Captain Beynon, in his passage to St. Kitts, 
 took a valuable schooner, bound from St. Eustatia to Mari- 
 galante. While cruising in the West Indies, the Hyprocrite 
 was taken by a French privateer, after a severe engagement, 
 in which Captain Beynon was killed. 
 
 In November, 1780, the Hawke, Captain Smale, took La 
 Jeune Emilie, from Rochefort to Martinico, laden with wine, 
 brandy, etc. 
 
 The paper of October 26th, 1780, stated that in the 
 action at Camden, Lieut.-Colonel Tarleton had killed nine 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 281 
 
 Americans with his own hand. Though this may have 
 been an exaggeration, the Liverpool hero certainly covered 
 himself with glory during the war, and the fame so won, 
 together with the dexterous display of a maimed hand, was 
 of immense value to him in later years for electioneering 
 purposes. 
 
 An idea of the unsightly, narrow, and mean appearance 
 of Liverpool streets and alleys at this period may be 
 gathered from the following account, extracted from the 
 Journal and Letters of Samuel Curwen, Judge of Admiralty, 
 etc., an American refugee in England, who visited the town 
 on the 1 2th of June, 1780 : — 
 
 " Entered the City of Liverpool so celebrated for Its com- 
 mercial character ; houses by a great majority in middling- and 
 lower style, few rising above that mark ; streets long, narrow, 
 crooked, and dirty in an eminent degree. During our short 
 abode here, we scarcely saw a well-dressed person, nor half a 
 dozen gentlemen's carriages ; few of the shops appear so well 
 as in other great towns ; dress and looks more like the 
 inhabitants of Wapping, Shadwell, and Rotherhithe, than In 
 the neighbourhood of the Exchange, or any part of London 
 above the Tower. The whole complexion nautical, and so 
 infinitely below all our expectations, that naught but the 
 thoug^hts of the few hours we had to pass here rendered It 
 tolerable. The docks, however, are stupendously grand, the 
 inner one, called Town Dock [a] lying- In the centre of It, and 
 filled with vessels exhibiting a forest of masts ; besides this, 
 are three very large ones {b) lying- In front of the city, com- 
 municating- with each other by flood gates, intermixed with 
 dry ones for repairing (c) ; the lower or new one [d) has a fine, 
 wide quay on Its outer side ; an ag-reeable walk, being lined 
 with trees on either hand ; {e) below this, on the river, Is now 
 building, nearly finished, a circular battery, (/") with embras- 
 sures for thirty cannon. Parade and barracks are In hand, 
 
 {a) The Old Dock, {b) George's Dock, the Dry Dock (now pnrt of the 
 Canning Dock), and the Salthouse Dock. (<:) The Graviig Docks. [d) 
 George's Dock, [e) The North Ladies' \V,.lk, (/) The Old Fo.t. 
 
282 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 and when completed, will afford a charming walk and prospect, 
 
 if allowed to the inhabitants." 
 
 On the 7th of April, 1781 — a notable month for the 
 arrival of prizes this year — the Adylet, from Curacoa, 
 a prize taken by the Lookout and Prince of Orange 
 privateers, came in, and, about the same time, the brig 
 Venits, Captain Ouayle Fargher, from Bordeaux to 
 America, laden with cordage, etc., a prize to the Terror 
 privateer. On the loth, arrived the Success, laden with 
 3000 bushels of salt, 115 boxes of lemons, 14 boxes of 
 hats, 300 pairs women's shoes, and about " 4000 weight" 
 of cordage, a prize to the James and Mary, Captain 
 Preston. She had been taken before by a Dartmouth 
 privateer, who left on board nine men and a boy, and 
 eleven Frenchmen ; the latter had overpowered the 
 privateer's people and got possession of her again. 
 
 The Betty, Captain Wilson, on her passage to Green- 
 land, took and sent into Lough Swilly, the Johannes, from 
 St. Eustatia for Amsterdam, laden with 292 hogsheads of 
 sugar, 100 hogsheads of tobacco, 158 bags of coffee, 103 bags 
 of cocoa, and 9 casks of indigo. 
 
 On the [4th of April, Captain Butler, of the Tartar, then a 
 prisoner in Bayonne Castle, wrote to his owners in Liver- 
 pool that he was captured on the 15th of March, by the 
 Eagle, French ship-of-war, of 28 guns, twentyfour-pounders, 
 and 430 men, after a chase of eight hours and an engage- 
 ment of one hour and a quarter. The Eagle had captured 
 nine prizes in three weeks, amongst which were the Stately, 
 Captain Fisher, and the Ely, Captain Byrne, both of Liver- 
 pool. Captain Fisher was getting better of a long sick- 
 ness. Men who laughed at the perils of the deep and 
 faced death without flinching in the stress of battle, soon 
 succumbed to chagrin, prison fare, and close confinement 
 in a foreign land. In this respect the more vivacious 
 Frenchmen suffered less during their temporary sojourn in 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 283 
 
 the land of "perfidious Albion." Tiie self-reliant spirit of 
 the Scot in adversity, is happily illustrated in the following 
 letter, written to his wife, by a Scotch sailor, who was 
 evidently a humourist and a philosopher : — 
 
 " Dear Jenny : This is to let you know that I am well in a 
 dung-eon at Dunkirk, God be blessed for it, hoping to hear 
 from you and all friends. Tell Mrs. Ross I bought her stuff- 
 ings ; but it is g^ane. Let Jean know that I boug^ht her a 
 gown, and it is g^ane too. I boug^ht an anker of brandy and 
 g-in to ourselves ; but Jenny, they are g-ane too, and a's g-ane : 
 for the French dog's unrlgg^ed me in an instant, and left me 
 noug-ht but a g^reasy jacket of their ain ; but Jenny, I have 
 saxpence a day from the King- of Eng-land, God bless him ; 
 and I have bread and water from the French King-, God curse 
 him. Out of the saxpence a day, I have saved as much as 
 bought me a knife, a fork, and a wee Coggie. Jenny, keep a 
 good heart, for I'll get out of this yet, and win meikle Siller, 
 and get a bottom of my ain too ; and then have at the French 
 dogs. I am, &c." 
 
 The vivacity of the French prisoners in Liverpool is 
 mentioned by the Rev, Gilbert Wakefield, who resided in 
 the town at this period, and who did not think it beneath 
 his dignity to write an anonymous letter to the Mayor on 
 their behalf. He says : — 
 
 "The American and French war had now been raging for 
 some months, and several hundred prisoners of the latter 
 nation had been brought into Liverpool by privateers. 1 
 frequently visited them in their confinement, and was much 
 mortified and ashamed at their uniform complaints of hard 
 usage, and a scanty allowance of unwholesome provision. 
 What I occasionally observed in my visits gave me but too 
 much reason to believe the representations of this pleasing 
 people, who maintained their national sprlghtliness and good 
 humour undamped even by captivity. I kept my suspicions 
 secret ; but wrote an anonymous letter to the Mayor, stating 
 my observations and sentiments on the subject. 
 
284 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 " I was happy to learn very soon, from the prisoners them- 
 selves, the good efifects of my interference ; and the Commissary, 
 the author of their wrongs, was presently superseded ; whether 
 in consequence of my detection of his iniquities, I could never 
 learn ; but when I met him in the street there was fire in his 
 eye, and fury in his face. 
 
 " Towards the conclusion of one of my sermons, preacht ^t 
 Liverpool, I was led by the proximity of the subject to condemn, 
 in terms of the utmost asperity, and somewhat hyper-tragical, 
 the horrid practice of aggravating the calamities of war by the 
 rapine and injustice of private hostility. This, in the grand 
 mart of privateering during that war, and of the African slave 
 trade, excited, of course, no small degree of resentment against 
 the author of such outrageous doctrine. I was acquainted at 
 that time with no other effect of my interference besides 
 malignity against myself; but learnt some years afterwards, 
 that the nerves of one lady were so agitated by the thunder of 
 my lecture, as to allow herself and husband no rest till he had 
 sold his share in a privateer." 
 
 In April, 1781, the Balgrove, Captain Thompson, was 
 taken by a French privateer, and recaptured by the mate 
 and four of the crew, who overpowered sixteen Frenchmen, 
 and carried the ship into Cove. 
 
 By a singular coincidence, the ^/(?r/privateer, of Alderney, 
 took the Reine Jeanne, from St. Domingo to Nantz, which 
 proved to be the former Alert privateer, of Liverpool. A 
 much more remarkable circumstance happened before the 
 close of the year, when a Captain M 'Bride discovered in the 
 father and son, who commanded two Dutch privateers taken 
 by him, the very men he had captured, under similar 
 circumstances, twenty-one years before. 
 
 In May, 1781, the Ferret privateer, of 10 guns. Captain 
 Archer, was taken by the French, and retaken by the 
 Vulture privateer, of Jersey ; and on the 31st of the same 
 month, the Patsey, Captain Dooling, was taken, off the 
 Western Islands, by the Fripon, French frigate of 44 guns 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF IXDEPEXDENCE. 285 
 
 and 400 men, after an engagement of one hour and-a-half 
 in which Captain DooHng, the saiHng master, and six of the 
 crew of the Patsey were killed, and several wounded. 
 
 The slave ship £ssex, Captain Potter, on her vovage to 
 Guinea, took two Dutchmen, from St. Eustatia to Amsterdam 
 and Rotterdam, laden with 400 hogsheads of sugar, 119 
 hogsheads of tobacco, and 800 bags of coffee. La Fortune, 
 one of the prizes, was totally lost near Wexford, and all the 
 crew perished ; the other prize, called the Golden Tea, 
 arrived safe in Liverpool. The Fly privateer took a Dutch 
 brig, from St. Eustatia, and carried her into Kinsale. The 
 Stormont, Captain Dawson, took the Henry and Maria^ of 
 Amsterdam, from Salonica, with 462 bales of cotton. 
 Another Dutchman, called the Vleyt, from Curacoa to 
 Amsterdam, was taken by the Lookout, Captain Wright, 
 and sent into Scilly. The cargo consisted of 794 bags 
 of coffee, 77 casks of indigo, 1 10 hogsheads of sugar, 43 bags 
 of cocoa, 140 bags of tobacco, hides, sarsaparilla, and 800 
 pieces of wood. The Minerva^ Captain Ryder, took another 
 valuable Dutch ship, called the Good Friends, from St. 
 Eustatia to Amsterdam, with 504 hogsheads and tierces of 
 sugar, 524 bags of coffee, 137 hogsheads and 244 bags of 
 tobacco, 16 bales of cotton, besides elephants' teeth, etc. 
 
 The Industry^ Captain Moore, on her passage to New 
 York, had an engagement of 75 minutes with a privateer of 
 16 guns, which, having much shattered, she beat off. 
 In March, the Woolton, Captain Backhouse, took and carried 
 into the Shannon, a ship from St. Domingo, called La 
 Sartine, of 350 tons burthen, 16 guns, and 58 men. She 
 engaged the Woolton three hours and-a-half, and had 
 eight men wounded, three of whom afterwards died of their 
 wounds. The Woolton had only one man wounded. The 
 prize, which entered the river Mersey on April loth, was 
 laden with coffee, sugar, etc., valued at ;i£^i 5,000. The 
 Barbara, Captain Perry, on her passage from St. Eustatia, 
 
286 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 met with a French privateer, of 24 guns, which, after an 
 engagement of three glasses and-a-half, she beat off. The 
 Barbara captured a brig, from Curacoa to Rotterdam, 
 which arrived in Liverpool on April loth, 1781. 
 
 The Townside, Captain Bonsall, cruising in company with 
 the Rodney and Union, of Barbadoes, captured three Dutch 
 prizes from Demerara, one of which, a large ship with 190 
 bales of cotton, 456 hogsheads of sugar, 1447 bags and 
 1 1 1 casks of coffee, they sent to Tobago ; another, with a 
 cargo of 206 bales of cotton, 241 casks and 3015 bags of 
 coffee, they ordered to Barbadoes ; and a schooner, with rum 
 etc., into St. Lucia. The Tozvnside and the Rodney, in 
 company with two sloops of war, were concerned in the 
 further capture of four ships in the harbour of Demerara; 
 and in Essequibo of several other vessels. A little later on, 
 the Imvnside had a narrow escape from capture when the 
 French fleet appeared before St. Lucia, but she cut her 
 cables, slipped out, and arrived safe at Tortola. J 
 
 In May, Captain Fayrer, in the Harlequin privateer, 
 cruising in sight of the Azores, took a Swedish brig, and, by 
 stratagem, discovered that "she was sent out to give advice 
 to the East Indiamen." He afterwards took and detained 
 another from Ostend, upon the same errand. The Harle- 
 quin and the Ccesar, of Bristol, in company, took a ship from 
 Curacoa, and sent her to Bristol. In August, the Harlequin 
 arrived in Liverpool with two prizes, the Sivallow and a 
 French snow. In the summer of 1783, the Harlequin 
 arrived at St. Lucia, from Africa, after a severe engagement 
 with a French privateer of 20 guns, in which Captain Fayrer 
 behaved with great courage. 
 
 "Tuesday se'nnight, " says Williamson's Advertiser, 
 of the 6th of February, 17S3, "was determined in the Court 
 of Admiralty, a cause long depending between the owners 
 of the ships Patsey and Harlequin of Liverpool, and the 
 CcEsar of Bristol, respecting the right which the former 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 287 
 
 claimed as joint captors of the ship Eendroghty bound from 
 Curacoa to Amsterdam, the most valuable West Indiaman 
 taken during the course of the war, upwards of ^40,000 of 
 her proceeds being- lodged in the Court of Admiralty. It 
 was adjudged in favour of the Liverpool ships, which are 
 the property of Henry Rawlinson, Esq., member for this 
 town, and Messrs. Earle & Co., merchants." 
 
 The Rawlinson and the Molly arrived in Liverpool at the 
 beginning of June, 1781, having parted from the fleet, 
 which left Jamaica on the 17th of March, under convoy of 
 4 line of battle ships, a 50 and a 44. In consequence of 
 information received at Jamaica, the fleet sailed through the 
 Windward passage, to avoid 20 French and Spanish ships 
 of the line said to be at the Havannah waiting for them. 
 The convoy fell in with a French 64, called the Marquis de 
 la Fayette., bound from France to America, with 80 pieces 
 of brass cannon, clothing for ten regiments, stores for two 
 ships, and about 2,000,000 livres in specie, which they 
 captured. They also retook the James and Rebecca., from 
 Liverpool to New York, which had been captured by an 
 American privateer, of 18 guns, and was proceeding with 
 her for America. The privateer was chased for eighteen 
 hours but outsailed her pursuers. The portion of the fleet 
 destined for Liverpool consisted mainly, of course, of 
 slave ships, bringing sugar, rum, and other commodities, 
 purchased with the proceeds of the human cargoes which 
 they had carried from Africa to the West Indies. 
 
 In the first week of July, the Prosperity., a ship of 300 
 tons, laden with lumber, etc., for Teneriff'e, arrived in 
 Liverpool, having been captured by the Lydia, Captain 
 Fell; also the Resolution, laden with brandy, Geneva, etc., 
 a prize to the Lurcher, Captain Doyle. The Seacombe, 
 Captain Pagan, arrived on the coast of Africa, from Liver- 
 pool, " with five spermaceti whales, and a large Dutch ship, 
 her prize." The Kitty, Captain Clough, on her passage 
 
288 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 from Liverpool to Jamaica, had an engagement of seven 
 hours with a privateer, which she beat off. On the home- 
 ward voyage, the Kitty captured a prize, which entered the 
 Mersey with her in September ; and in the same month 
 there came in a vessel called the Johannes, laden with 
 tobacco, coffee, etc., prize to the Betty. 
 
 About this time, threats of a French invasion helped to 
 intensify the horrors and miseries of war. In the 
 beginning of September, the following alarming dispatch 
 was received by the commanding officer in Liverpool : — ■ 
 
 "Dublin, in Homoaze, Angiist -^pth, 1781. 
 " Sir, — I think it necessary to acquaint you, by express, 
 that on the evening- of the 28th inst., the combined fleets of the 
 enemy (French, Spanish, and Dutch), consisting- of thirty-four 
 or thirty-five sail of the line, were seen five or six leag^ues to 
 the east of Scilly, and that there is great reason to apprehend 
 that they are now in the Channel ; in order that you may make 
 the same known to the captains of any of his Majesty's ships 
 that may be within your reacfi, as well as the merchants of 
 Liverpool, to prevent any of their trade from falling- into their 
 hands. Vice-Admiral Darby, with his Majesty's squadron 
 under his command, is now in Torbay. I am, Sir, yours, 
 
 Shuldam." 
 
 Captain Campbell, oi the Dicky of Liverpool, writing to 
 his owners from Staten Island, on the 29th of July, 1781, 
 gives the following account of an engagement between the 
 Dick and an American vessel : — 
 
 " On the 17th of June, at nine in the mornin_o-, lat. 39. 40 ; 
 long-. 54. 30 ; we fell in with an American ship of 20 six- 
 pounders, which eng-ag-ed us from nine till a quarter past 11, 
 when he made sail from us. We immediately g-ave chace, 
 but could not come up with him, our ship sailed so heavy. 
 When we g-ot upon the coast of America, saw two or three 
 sail every day, sometimes five privateers In a day, sloops and 
 schooners. His Majesty's frig-ate Orpticus fell in with us off the 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 289 
 
 Hook, and pressed three of our best men, nine more were 
 pressed at the Hook. Our officers and men behaved very 
 gallantly all the time we were engag-ed. We fired twenty- 
 seven broadsides ; only one man wounded, and one boy his 
 arm broke. 
 
 *' Amount of shot which took place from the privateer : In 
 the jibb, 13, great and small ; fore topmast staysail, 2 ; fore- 
 sail, 14 ; fore topsail, 8 ; main topmast staysail, 31 ; main top- 
 sail, 30; main sail, 42; main staysail, 12 ; mizen, 11 ; main 
 topsail, 13 ; in the hull, 36 ; main mast, 2 ; mizen mast, i ; 
 fore shrouds, 3 ; main shrouds, 2 ; main stay, i ; mizen stay, 
 I ; fore and main topgallant rigging all cut away ; fore top- 
 mast shrouds, 3 ; main top ditto, 2 ; back stays, 3 ; a number 
 more, not ascertained, one shot went through the side and 
 through a butt of water. " 
 
 In September, 1781, the Lightning privateer, Captain 
 Walker, took a large Swedish ship of about 500 tons, from 
 Bordeaux to St. Domingo, laden with bale goods, wine, 
 flour, etc., value as per invoice, 330, 118 livres. In March, 
 1782, the Lightning captured a Spanish packet, from the 
 Havannah to Cadiz, with 12,000 dollars on board, and sent 
 her into Lisbon. On the 30th of May, 1782, the Maria., from 
 L'Orient, with wine, salt, etc., another prize to the Lightning., 
 arrived in Liverpool. The St. George schooner, from 
 Rochelle for Martinique, with wine, flour, oil, and bale 
 goods, also captured by the Lightnings narrowly escaped 
 being recaptured by a large cutter privateer, which chased 
 her into Kinsale. In September, the Lightning took a 
 vessel with 77 hogsheads of tobacco, and on December 21st, 
 off the island of St. Michael, she captured a French East 
 India packet, from the Cape of Good Hope, for St. Malo, 
 with passengers and despatches for France. The mails were 
 thrown overboard, and narrowly escaped being taken. The 
 vessel was formerly the English privateer, Resolution^ 
 re-christened Le Mars by her French captors. 
 
290 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The paper of October 4th, 1781, stated that the Quaker., 
 Captain Evans, had arrived at Newfoundland from Liver- 
 pool, with a rebel privateer of 13 guns, which he had 
 captured. Early in 1782, the Quaker took three prizes, and 
 carried them into Antigua, where they sold for ;^2 1,000. 
 On his passage to Newfoundland, in the autumn of the same 
 year, this very pugnacious Quaker fell in with a French 
 44-gun ship, exchanged a broadside with her, and got clear 
 by dint of sailing, after an exciting chase of twelve hours. 
 The Quaker had one boy killed, and another wounded, but 
 received no other damage. In the paper of February 6th, 
 1783, we read that the Quaker had captured in the West 
 Indies, a brig with a Letter of Marque, from Martinico to 
 France, laden with sugar, coffee, and cocoa, valued at 
 ;^io,ooo, and sent her to Tortola. 
 
 England was now at war with Holland, as well as with 
 the United States, France and Spain. The English were 
 by this time disgusted with the folly of their rulers, and 
 weary of the unnatural strife with their own kinsmen beyond 
 the seas. The enemies' privateers were doing excellent 
 business on our coasts. When the Count de Guichen, 
 French privateer, was taken by the English frigate Aurora, 
 Captain Collins, she had on board the following ransom 
 bills, or promises to pay ransom, given by British merchant 
 ships to the French commander. The Peace, of White- 
 haven, 2000 guineas ; the Spooner, of Glasgow, 1800 
 guineas ; the Fortitude, of Greenock, 1500 guineas ; the 
 Six Sisters, Isle-of-Man, 1500 guineas ; the William, of 
 Bristol, 1500 guineas ; the Sally, of Strangford, 500 guineas; 
 the Lark, of Workington, 300 guineas ; the Glory, of 
 Workington, 150 guineas ; and the Elizabeth, no guineas ; 
 a total of 9360 guineas during one cruise. This probably 
 fell short of the mischief actually done to British commerce 
 by this single ship, as it was the habit of privateers to 
 plunder, burn, or sink vessels which were not ransomed, or 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 291 
 
 which were too insignificant to send home in charge of a 
 prize crew to be condemned. So great was the boldness of 
 the enemies' privateers, that the Dublin linen ships, said to 
 be worth ^150,000, were convoyed from Dublin to Chester 
 fair, by the Boston frigate and two armed cutters, lest the 
 linen should be diverted to a French market. 
 
 In September, 1781, the Heart of Oak privateer. Captain 
 Ash, recaptured the Alexander privateer, of Liverpool, 
 which had been taken by an American frigate. In March, 
 1782, we read of the Heart of Oak taking a Dutch privateer, 
 which was cruising off the Humber, and carrying her into 
 Hull. The Dutchman had taken two colliers and a corn 
 vessel, the ransom of the latter being 1200 guineas. 
 
 The Tom privateer, of Liverpool, captured the Countess 
 de Maurepas, French privateer, 16 guns and 120 man, 
 which had been cruising in the Channel, and taken the 
 Blessing, of Workington, which she ransomed for 450 
 guineas. 
 
 In the summer of 1781, the notorious Pat Dowling was 
 doing a " roaring trade" in the Channel, when he took the 
 Olive Branch, from Liverpool to Charleston, which he 
 ransomed for 7700 guineas. It was said he had 17 ransomers 
 on board, and had taken on the Irish coast upwards of 
 twenty vessels, five of which he had sunk, as the people 
 would not ransom on his terms. He took a vessel from 
 Maryport, and ransomed her for 750 guineas ; the William, 
 from Bristol to Liverpool, ransomed for 900 guineas ; the 
 Elizabeth, from Liverpool to Cork, ransomed for 800 guineas; 
 and the Sally, for Guernsey, which he released for 700 
 guineas. It is difficult to understand what the King's 
 cruisers were doing while this enterprising Irishman, and 
 others of his countrymen, were serving France so effectually 
 in the Channel. Well might the paper of October 4th, 
 observe that "the safe arrival of the Leeward Islands fleet is 
 a circumstance which must diffuse a general joy through 
 
292 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 this country, and ought to excite its gratitude, when it is 
 considered from what an host of foes it has escaped." 
 
 "In the history of England," says the paper of January 
 24th, 1782, "many are the intervals where she was 
 surrounded with imminent dangers ; yet did her native 
 spirit prove ultimately superior to and surmount every peril. 
 Let her admirals and generals rouse into a true spirit of 
 action, her people be united and lay by at the present 
 alarming crisis all party animosities, and act with one 
 heart and with one arm, and there is no doubt but the ensign 
 of Albion will again wave to victory, to fame, and to honour." 
 The country as a whole, however, had by this time become 
 sick of the war. Petitions and addresses against the 
 further prosecution of it began to pour in. In January, 
 1782, the Corporation of Bristol, not content with merely 
 voting a petition to the House of Commons against the 
 continuance of the struggle with America, went a step 
 further and requested the House to advise the King to a 
 total change of the unhappy system which had involved 
 the nation in such complicated misfortunes. In March, 
 1782, a resolution was moved in Parliament, and passed 
 without a division, declaring that the House would consider 
 as enemies to his Majesty and the country all who should 
 advise the prosecution of offensive war in North America. 
 
 On Sunday evening, March 3rd, 1782, as two of the 
 press-gang were conveying a man, whom they had just 
 impressed, to the press-room, he suddenly turned upon 
 them, drew out a loaded pistol, shot one of them dead, and 
 escaped. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of man- 
 slaughter. 
 
 In April, 1782, the Venus., Captain Brown, arrived at 
 Hoylake, from St. Lucia, having on the voyage taken a 
 valuable prize, with 87 hogsheads of tobacco, naval stores, 
 etc., on board. 
 
 At six o'clock on Monday morning, the 19th of May, 1 782, 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 293 
 
 an express from the Admiralty arrived in Liverpool, with 
 dispatches for the Mayor, announcing Admiral Rodney's 
 victory over the French fleet, in the West Indies. The 
 "great and glorious news" was received with delight in the 
 town, which was deeply interested in Jamaica and the West 
 India Islands, both on the ground of property, and because 
 the Liverpool Blues were on military duty in the former 
 island. Joy bells were set ringing for the rest of the day, 
 and flags were displayed on all the public buildings. At 
 noon, a royal salute of twenty-one guns was fired, from 
 George's Battery. At one o'clock, the Westminster Militia 
 were drawn up in front of the Exchange, and fired three 
 volleys, amidst the acclamations of thousands of spectators. 
 After this great victory, which restored confidence to the 
 public mind after so many disasters, all the West India 
 ships sailed for England, and arrived in safety. Amongst 
 them were eleven rich Jamaica ships for Liverpool, which 
 arrived in July. 
 
 In May, the Kitty, Captain Clough, on the voyage from 
 Liverpool to Jamaica, took a prize from Guadaloupe for 
 Cadiz, which she convoyed to Londonderry. The cargo 
 consisted of 130 hogsheads of sugar, 7 hogsheads, 25 tierces^ 
 and 150 bags of coffee, 55 bags of ginger, 39 bales of cotton, 
 151 bags of cocoa, 2 barrels of copper, etc. On the 25th of 
 the same month, the Bridget, Captain Gilbody, from Liver- 
 pool for the Leeward Islands, took and sent into Londonderry, 
 the American brig Dove, from St. Domingo to Cadiz, laden 
 with 35,500 lbs. of cocoa, 4000 lbs. turtle shell, 4020 lbs. 
 indigo, besides other articles. 
 
 The Jenny, Captain Collison, and the Tom, Captain 
 Briggs, on their passage from St. Lucia to Liverpool, had 
 an engagement with an American privateer, and beat her 
 off, with a loss to the Tom of two passengers — an officer and 
 his servant — who were killed. A little later they took an 
 American vessel called the Fox. 
 
294 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The ship Rumhold, Captain Molyneux, on the middle 
 passage from Africa to Jamaica, with slaves, beat off a 
 French privateer, of 24 guns, after a severe action of about 
 an hour, in which three men were killed and eleven wounded 
 on board the Riimbold, which had only 16 guns and 45 
 men. 
 
 The Quest, Captain Ogden, in company with a Jersey 
 privateer, took a vessel from Havannah to Cadiz, laden 
 with sugar, etc. The Quest afterwards took the Good 
 Design, an American brig, laden with fish, molasses, etc., 
 and carried her into St. Lucia, to be sold. On the 3rd of 
 November, 1782, the Quest, in company with the Iris, of 
 Tortola, captured the American brig Thoroiighgood, with a 
 cargo of rum, salt, and dry goods. On the i6th, they 
 engaged four American vessels, one of which carried 18 nine- 
 pounders. The Iris in this affair kept aloof. After a 
 gallant action, the Quest had to sheer off, much shattered, 
 having four men killed, and four wounded, amongst the 
 latter being the brave Captain Ogden, who afterwards died 
 of his wounds. 
 
 The Liverpool, Captain Webster, on her passage to Africa, 
 took a French ship, of 400 tons, 14 twelve-pounders, and 63 
 men, bound from Bordeaux to the Isle of France, with 
 cordage, wine, brandy, etc., but the prize was recaptured by 
 two French frigates. The Mossley Hill, Captain Hewan, 
 captured off Cape Mount, on the coast of Africa, an outward 
 bound East Indiaman from Toulon, and despatched her to 
 Tortola, where the Mossley j!^z7/ arrived in due course, with a 
 cargo of 723 prime negroes. The Spy, Captain Burrows, 
 while proceeding from Africa to the West Indies, with 250 
 slaves and about 6 tons of ivory, was taken by two French 
 frigates, and carried to Dominica. The Stag, Captain 
 Butler, was more fortunate, having on her voyage to the 
 coast, taken a ship, bound from Barcelona to Buenos Ayres, 
 valued at ;i^8ooo, which, added to the profit on a cargo of 700 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 295 
 
 slaves carried to the West Indies, no doubt satisfied the 
 owners. 
 
 The Jllol/v, Captain Jordan, from Jamaica for Liverpool, 
 was captured off the Tuskar, by the Terror of England 
 privateer, of 22 guns, commanded by an Irishman named 
 Kelly, after an engagement of three hours, in which Captain 
 Jordan and four of his people were killed. Afterwards, a 
 g-ale of wind came on, when the prize crew, whom Kelly 
 had put on board the Molly, not knowing what to do with 
 her, delivered her up to her own crew, who had been left 
 on board, and by them she was carried into Greenock, A 
 few days later, the Terror of England was captured by the 
 ^/«^ frigate, Captain Cooper, and carried into Dublin, where 
 Kelly does not appear to have been received with the amount 
 of fraternal love which an "enemy of Great Britain" naturally 
 expected on Irish soil, even prior to the Union. 
 
 A Dublin newspapsr referred to the captain in the 
 following unsympathetic terms : — 
 
 "Captain Kelly," says the Journalist, "seems to be not 
 in the least affected with his present situation, and considers 
 this chang-e of fortune as a mere bagatelle, beneath making any 
 impression upon a gentleman of his spirit and humanity. The 
 Captain imagines that by the assistance of Le Roy de France, 
 whose signature he displays to a scrap of parchment, he will 
 be able to baffle the utmost efforts of the King's lawyers, and 
 once more be liberated to plunder the property of the subjects 
 of his native land Avith impunity. There does not seem to be a 
 doubt entertained but Kelly will add one more to the numerous 
 throng that occasionally make their exit from that tree which 
 so often has promoted the good of the community by ridding 
 the world of villains disgraceful to human nature. The horrid 
 treatment of Lieutenant VIckers, of the Hope cutter, with his 
 brave crew, Is recent in every memory. This renegade refused 
 quarter to these tars, after fighting- him nobly with an inferior 
 force, and continued, when they had pulled down their colours, 
 pouring in his broadsides. Some of his infernal crew, after 
 
296 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 they boarded the cutter, cut and abused, in a shocking- manner, 
 several of the men. He can scarce escape the reward due for 
 his inhumanity and piracy, as the most positive evidence can be 
 produced of his being- born in this country." 
 
 In August, 1782, there arrived in Liverpool, from Jamaica, 
 a self-made man, one of whose first acts on landing in his 
 native land entitled him to be called one of Nature's noble- 
 men. Richard Watt, a poor boy, like Richard Whittington, 
 and with some of that hero's grit in him, came to Liverpool 
 from Standish, near Wigan, probably about 1740, and, 
 according to Smithers, was hired by Mr. Geoffry Walley,* 
 to look after his horse and chaise, the only carriage then 
 kept in the town, except the coach of "Madame" Clayton. 
 His master sent him to an evening school, and, finding him 
 tractable and industrious, advanced him to the counting- 
 house, and employed him as supercargo to Jamaica, where 
 he settled and acquired a large fortune. Time had not 
 effaced the memory of his old master's kindness, and on his 
 return to Liverpool, after an absence of about forty years, 
 his first enquiries were after the survivors of his former 
 employer's family. He found two maiden sisters — one 
 account states two widows — in poor circumstances, upon 
 each of w^hom he settled ^100 a year for life. He was head 
 of the firm of Messrs. Watt and Walker, and built the 
 mansion of Oakhill, Old Swan. His nephews, Richard 
 Watt and Richard Walker, to whom he left upwards of 
 half-a-million, resided in Duke Street. Mr. Watt died in 
 1796, aged 72, and was interred at Standish, having been 
 born at Shevington in that parish. Mr. Richard Watt 
 bought the manor of Speke from Charles George, son of 
 Topham Beauclerk, the friend of Dr. Johnson, and Miss 
 Adelaide Watt, the representative of Richard Watt, is the 
 present lady of the manor. Her residence, Speke Hall, is 
 
 * Brooke states that his employer was James Dimmock, or Dimoke, horse and 
 chaise hirer, Fenwick Street. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 297 
 
 a fine specimen of an ancient Lancashire manor house, and 
 was for ages the home of the Norris family. 
 
 The Molly, Captain M'Kown, on her passage to Jamaica, 
 took two prizes, but the Molly, Captain Lloyd, bound for 
 St. Lucia, had the ill-fortune to fall in with the Holker, 
 American privateer, which, after a smart engagement, 
 carried her to Martinico. Captain Lloyd had four men 
 killed and 13 wounded. 
 
 Two items of intelligence in the newspapers of October 
 17th, 1782, spread universal joy throughout the nation. 
 The first was, that the grand attack of the Spaniards and 
 French on the fortress of Gibraltar had been totally defeated 
 by sea and land by General Elliot ; the second was, that 
 Messrs. Fitzherbert & Oswald, on the part of Great Britain, 
 had exchanged credentials with Messrs. Franklin & Jay, 
 the ambassadors of the United States, preparatory to 
 the arrangement of the terms of peace between the two 
 countries. 
 
 The year 1782, at the end of which we have now 
 arrived, was memorable for the great losses and defeats 
 sustained by both the French and Spaniards. A Liver- 
 pool poet, Edward Rushton — like Roscoe, the friend of 
 liberty, irrespective of colour — published the following 
 stanzas : — 
 
 Britain ! thy fame in eighty-two 
 
 Outswells the boast of fifty-nine, 
 Gallia was vanquished then, 'tis true, 
 
 But now a host of foes combine ; 
 A host combine to pull thee down, 
 And strip thee of thy nautic crown ; 
 Whilst proud rebellion towers on high, 
 i\nd millions from their duty fly : 
 Never, oh, Britain ! did the warring storm 
 Howl round thy rocky coast in such a threatening form. 
 
298 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 To keep such numerous foes at bay, 
 Is one continued victory ; 
 
 But now old ocean owns thy sway, 
 
 And vanquished foes confounded fly. 
 
 As skims the flying finny brood. 
 
 When by the Albicore pursued, 
 
 So, in this great, this wondrous year, 
 
 When 'bove themselves thy sons appear, 
 
 Proud Gallia's navy fled in dire dismay. 
 
 And had Cordova dared, so had he winged his way. 
 
 Britain ! 'tis done, and grim despair 
 
 Has fastened on each vengeful foe ; 
 
 The Rock's* relieved ; and through the air, 
 Hark ! how the sounds of triumph flow. 
 
 And now, ye unassisting powers. 
 
 What think ye ! is the trident ours ? 
 
 Ye baffled foes, what arts, ah ! say. 
 
 Can wipe the foul disgrace away ? 
 
 For wondering Europe ey'd the important deed. 
 
 And, spite of every boast, beheld your foes succeed. 
 The strong contrast afforded between the kindly feelings 
 cherished in England towards the Americans, and the 
 rooted animosity entertained for their allies, "the hereditary 
 enemies of Great Britain," is reflected in the following 
 song '* On the prospect of peace with America," to be sung 
 to the tune of " Hearts of Oak, etc.," printed in the Liver- 
 pool paper of the 9th of January, 1783 :^ 
 
 I. 
 
 Hark ! the lion is roused, and the cannons they roar. 
 Like the thunder of Jove, from the main to the shore. 
 Tell the false sons of France, and their neighbours of Spain 
 We'll teach them to dance to the old tune again. 
 
 France and Spain then shall know. 
 
 That their topsails shall bow ; 
 
 If we meet them, we'll hail 'em, 
 
 Like Britons assail 'em ; 
 We'll fight or we'll die, still Lords of the main. 
 
 *GibraItar. 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 299 
 
 II. 
 
 Let the Cherubs of bUss now diffuse it around, 
 And the Seraphs of concord exult in their sound, 
 That America comes, with mild peace in her train, 
 While the olive re-blooms, and we're friends once again. 
 
 France and Spain, etc. 
 
 III. 
 
 The Maid of the Colonies puts forth her hand. 
 Bids commerce to flourish once more in this land ; 
 Britannia she bends, and with joy in each eye, 
 Cries, let us be friends, and the world we defy. 
 
 France and Spain, etc. 
 
 The Mermaid^ Captain Reynolds, on her passage from 
 Antigua, took a brig, laden with lumber, etc. The AntigaUi- 
 can, Captain Corran, on her passage to Tortola, captured 
 off Porto Rico two prizes ; one an American brig, loaded 
 with salt, the other a Spanish vessel, of 182 tons, bound to 
 Cape Fran9ois with flour, wine, oil, soap, canvas, cordage, 
 bale goods, etc. The Rover, Captain Latham, from Africa 
 for the West Indies, with 209 slaves, was captured by an 
 American privateer, and carried into Martinico. 
 
 The Bella, Captain Burgess, was taken by her crew, a 
 day or two after she sailed from Jamaica for Liverpool. 
 The mutineers killed the chief mate, and landed the Captain 
 and two of his men upon a rocky island, called the Jordans. 
 The vessel was retaken by the Harlequin, bound from 
 Jamaica for Liverpool, but as she had five feet of water in her 
 hold, and was in a bad condition, they sunk her, the pirates 
 being placed in irons on board the Harlequin and the Nep- 
 tune, and carried to Liverpool. 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1783, Mr. Secretary Townshend 
 announced, in the House of Commons, that preliminaries of 
 peace had been signed with France, Spain, and the United 
 States of America. The definite treaty of peace was 
 
300 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 published in the Liverpool papers on the 30th of the 
 same month. " The Mercantile World," says Williamson' s 
 Advertiser of that day, " is in a hurry and bustle unknown 
 at any former time. The merchants are endeavouring to 
 outstrip each other in the race of traffic. European goods, 
 and particularly the produce of England, being greatly 
 wanted in the ports of America, the destination of many of 
 the vessels now in the river is altered from the West India 
 Islands to the American ports, where it is expected the 
 cargoes will sell at an immense profit." 
 
 Thus ended, at last, to the joy of the English speaking 
 peoples throughout the world, and for the future blessing 
 of mankind, a most disastrous, disgraceful, unnatural, 
 unnecessary, and expensive war, that might have been 
 averted had a single grain of common sense been admitted 
 into the councils of the obstinate old King. 
 
 " Many of the American privateers," says a London paper 
 of March 20th, 1 783, ' ' have been cruising all the war without 
 commissions, and others have been frequently suspected of 
 having had forged ones ; there is therefore every reason to 
 apprehend that piracies will continue for some time, not- 
 withstanding that hostilities are over. This is the general 
 opinion among the captains at Lloyd's." News travelled 
 slowly in those days, and no doubt captures were made in 
 good faith on both sides for some time after the conclusion 
 of the war, especially in distant waters. The slave brig 
 Fancy^ Captain Greaves, of Liverpool, was taken at Cape 
 Mount, on March 22nd, 1783, (the very morning she sailed 
 for the West Indies, with a cargo of 390 negroes, two tons 
 of ivory, and a quantity of rice), by a French 50 gun ship, 
 and carried to Cape Fran9ois. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1783, the Count Belgioso, Captain 
 Pierce, a fine new ship, lately launched, sailed from Liver- 
 pool, for the East Indies, with a fair wind and fine weather; 
 but a violent storm of wind, and a great fall of snow coming 
 
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 301 
 
 on, she was lost upon the Kish Bank three days after leaving- 
 port, and all on board, comprising 147 persons, perished. 
 She was said to be one of the richest ships that ever sailed 
 from Liverpool, being valued at ;^i30,ooo. She had 100,000 
 dollars on board, besides a great value in ginsang, bale 
 goods, and 300 tons of lead. 
 
 The general effect of the American war of independence 
 on the position of Liverpool, was to put an entire stop to the 
 commercial progress of the port, during seven long and 
 disastrous years. The foreign trade of the port, which had 
 doubled itself between the accession of George the Third, in 
 1760, and the commencement of hostilities, in 1775, declined 
 in all its branches, from the beginning of the struggle, to its 
 close in 1783. The customs revenue of the port, which 
 amounted to ;^274,655 at the commencement of the war, had 
 fallen to ;i^ 188,830 in 1780, the sixth year of the contest. 
 The tonnage declined from 84,792 tons to 79,450, of which a 
 large part consisted of privateers. The population decreased 
 from 35,600 to 34,107 ; and the condition of the inhabitants 
 was deteriorated so greatly in the latter years of the war, 
 that, at its close, not less than io,ooo of the poorer class, 
 were supported either by the parish, or by charitable 
 donations. "The seven years of the first American war," 
 as Baines truly observes, "were the seven lean years of 
 Liverpool, and the only seven years of the eighteenth 
 century during which the port did not increase in population 
 and wealth." While the war lasted town improvements were 
 mostly suspended. Beyond the occasional bustle of numer- 
 ous sales by auction of the cargoes of prizes taken from the 
 enemy, there was little business transacted in the port. 
 "The manners of the common people at this period," says 
 Troughton, "made a retrogression towards barbarism, rather 
 than a progress in refinement or virtuous habits. This was 
 the natural consequence of that spirit of enterprise cherished 
 by the proprietors of privateers ; for successful adventurers^ 
 
302 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 upon their return to port, spent in excess what they had 
 obtained with danger. As for the public amusements, the 
 theatre was opened every summer, and the people were also 
 sometimes gratified by the occasional visits of Breslau, and 
 other jugglers, whose dexterity disencumbered them of their 
 superfluous cash." One remarkable but natural effect of 
 the war was to destroy for a time the popularity of Liverpool 
 as a bathing place, but on the return of peace, there was a 
 great influx of visitors from the interior, whom fear of the 
 press-gangs had deterred from visiting the town during the 
 war. "For the last week," says the Liverpool Advertiser, 
 "the town has been uncommonly crowded with country 
 people from the vicinity of Rochdale, Blackburn, Manchester, 
 etc. It is computed that there were upwards of 3000 of them. 
 They came to bathe and drink salt water. During the war, 
 very few of them durst come down, on account of the 
 warmth of the impress ; and it is therefore supposed that 
 this is the most crowded bathing season ever known here." 
 
303 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Liverpool Privateers and Letter of Marque Ships 
 
 DURING THE WaRS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 
 
 The ten years of peace which succeeded the war with 
 America, were years of extraordinary activity and prosperity, 
 during which the trade of Liverpool increased more rapidly 
 than it had done during any former decade in its history. 
 The population in 1793 was estimated at about 60,000. The 
 marvellous progress of the port is seen from the fact that, in 
 1 716, the whole tonnage which entered and cleared from 
 English ports, was 456,309 tons, of which 18,371 tons 
 cleared from Liverpool ; in 1792, the whole tonnage cleared 
 from English ports was 1,565,154, of which 260,380 cleared 
 from Liverpool. Thus, in a period of 77 years, Liverpool's 
 share had increased from the twenty-fourth to the sixth 
 part of the whole. But the peace and plenty which England 
 enjoyed from 1783 to the end of 1793, were doomed to be 
 followed by years of war and scarcity. On the 21st of 
 January, 1793, Louis XVL, deposed King of France, was 
 guillotined at Paris. In common with other European 
 Courts more concerned about the safety of Kings than the 
 rights of the people, England, under the administration of 
 Pitt — then Liverpool's favourite statesman — alarmed by the 
 progress of the French Revolution, declared war with 
 France. This war continued until 1815, when it culminated 
 in the Battle of Waterloo. It was the cause of untold misery, 
 the destruction of an appalling number of human lives, and 
 of an incalculable amount of property on sea and land, and 
 
304 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 cost upwards of ;^83 1,000,000. The two main results oi 
 this war were to deHver France to despotism again, and to 
 hinder our own march of progress at least half a century. 
 During its continuance the commerce of Liverpool was 
 exposed to all the dangers and chances of war, with only 
 one short interval of rest during the peace of Amiens. 
 
 When the news of the execution of Louis XVL arrived 
 in Liverpool, it produced a general feeling of pity, horror, 
 and despondency. The colours at the Exchange and 
 Custom-house were hoisted half-mast high, and the shipping 
 in all the docks exhibited the same signs of mourning. But 
 sorrow soon gave way to anger, and to resolute prepara- 
 tions for war with "republican and regicide" France. At 
 the invitation of Mr. Pitt, a deputation of merchants pro- 
 ceeded to London, to consult with the Government on the 
 " protection necessary to be afforded to the shipping of the 
 port." For the purpose of depriving the enemy of naval 
 and military supplies, and of arming the British fleet more 
 rapidly, an embargo was laid on vessels taking out naval 
 and military supplies. Greenland ships proceeding to the 
 northern fisheries were ordered to be well armed ; and 
 Letters of Marque were issued against French ships and 
 commerce. The old fighting instinct of Liverpool was 
 revived in full force, but it does not appear that privateering 
 was carried on to so great an extent, comparatively, from 
 the port, as during the American Revolutionary War. 
 Many acts of bravery were, however, performed, and 
 valuable prizes taken by the officers and crews of Liverpool 
 privateers and armed merchant ships during this long war. 
 
 On Wednesday afternoon, the 20th of March, 1793, a 
 most distressing sight was witnessed by a number of people 
 from the Pierhead and its vicinity. The Pelican privateer, 
 of 20 guns and 100 men, having that day been launched, 
 full rigged, with all her guns and stores on board, was 
 cruising to and fro in the river, with a moderate breeze, 
 
TVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 305 
 
 according to custom in such cases, with about two hundred 
 persons on board, including the shareholders and their 
 friends, and women and children. While they were making 
 merry, and enjoying themselves to their hearts' content, to 
 the strains of music, the ship, on being put about opposite 
 Seacombe, suddenly capsized, filled with water through the 
 lee-ports, and sunk in ten minutes with all on board. Seventy 
 or eighty persons were drowned — accounts vary as to the 
 number — and the rest either swam ashore, or were rescued 
 by boats. Twenty-five persons were saved by Mr. John 
 Starkey, excise surveyor, who went from the Pierhead in his 
 boat, and subsequently received the Humane Society's 
 medal for his activity. Amongst the saved was James 
 Creasey, the pilot of the ship, who was tried at the Lancaster 
 Assizes for manslaughter, as it was said that the accident 
 was the result of his negligence. He was, however, 
 acquitted. The ship was never raised, and the top of her 
 masts stood above the water for years after the fatal event. 
 " A young man, who was saved at the sinking of the Pelica7i 
 privateer," says the Naval Chro7iicle (which however gives 
 the date as 1783, instead of 1793), "had the singular 
 affliction of losing his mother, sister, wife, and two children, 
 who had come on board to take a long, a last farewell. The 
 grief of a son, a brother, a husband, and a parent, on being 
 thus suddenly deprived of all his dearest relatives, may more 
 easily be conceived than described." 
 
 O^ the 5th of April, 1793, the first French prize taken by 
 any vessel belonging to the port of Liverpool, since the 
 commencement of hostilities, was brought in by the ship 
 Harriet {l^QttQv of Marque), Captain Caitcheon, belonging to 
 Mr. Thomas Barton. She was a fine Bermuda-built brig-, 
 raised upon a cedar frame, and copper bottomed, about 200 
 tons burthen, called L'Agreable, laden with coffee, sugar, 
 indigo, and cotton, and was taken on her voyage from 
 Port-au-Prince to Bordeaux. The value of ship and cargo 
 
306 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 was variously estimated at from ^6,000 to ;;£^i 0,000. The 
 French manifests seldom expressed the quantity of goods 
 contained in the vessel. The people on board the prize 
 stated that they sailed from Port-au-Prince, with 31 more 
 French vessels; — "good information this for our brave tars," 
 remarks the Advertiser, "as we hope, and are led to believe, 
 that few of them will reach their destined port." Both the 
 ship and cargo were sold by auction at Messrs. Ewart & 
 Rutson's office, in Exchange Alley. On her next voyage, 
 the Harriet chased a French Guineaman into Martinique, 
 but being fired upon by the fort, was obliged to desist. "The 
 ship Harriet^ belonging to Thomas Barton, Esq.," says the 
 paper of January 8th, 1798, "has made ^^-^^i voyages from 
 hence to Barbadoes and back in the last ten years and 
 three months ; has taken and retaken some vessels, and 
 rescued others, and has been lengthened in the time — an 
 instance of commercial expedition, we believe, scarcely to 
 be paralleled." 
 
 On the 28th of March, 1793, the Ann^ Captain Worth- 
 ington, belonging to Messrs. Boates and Seaman, captured 
 the brig La Porkiii, a privateer of 10 guns and 79 men, 
 out three days from Nantz, and the property of Messrs. 
 Margerin, Reneau, & Co., of that port. 
 
 On the 6th of April, 1793, the Thomas privateer, Captain 
 Fluston, took the French ship La Expeditif, from Charleston 
 to Havre, with rice, indigo, deerskins, etc., valued at about 
 ;;^io,ooo. On the 15th of the same month, the Princess 
 Elizabeth privateer. Captain Beasley, took the French ship 
 Les Sons Freres^ about 400 tons, from Port-au-Prince for 
 Bordeaux, laden with coffee, indigo, and sugar ; and 
 towards the close of the year, she brought into the Mersey 
 the Amsterdam Packet^ from New York to Havre, with a 
 cargo of tobacco, coffee, sugar, cotton, and pearl-ashes. 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1793, the brig Victoire from 
 Guadaloupe for Havre, laden with 125 hogsheads of sugar, 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 307 
 
 So casks of coffee, and i8 bags of cotton, was brought in 
 a prize by the Earl of Derby privateer. Captain Perrin. 
 
 The Prince of Wales privateer. Captain Thompson, after 
 being out three weeks, arrived at Hoylake ox\ the 14th of 
 April, 1793, bringing in with her the French ship Le 
 Federatif,^ from St, Domingo for Bordeaux, which she had 
 captured on April 5th, in latitude 46°. Her cargo was 
 valued at about ^1^32, 000. 
 
 On the 8th of October, the Prince of Wales captured the 
 brig Maryland, from Baltimore to Bordeaux, with 135 
 hogsheads, 78 tierces, 39 barrels, and 604 bags of coffee, 9 
 hogsheads of sugar, and 5,000 hogsheads' staves, and sent 
 her for Montserrat, In December, she recaptured, and 
 brought into the Mersey, the Best, from Lancaster for the 
 West Indies, which had been taken by a French man-of- 
 war. Early in 1794, the Prince of Wales captured and 
 brought in the Flugan, of Malmo, from Bordeaux for St. 
 Domingo, laden with wine, brandy, and bale goods. 
 
 The Gipsey, Captain Tobin, captured at Loango, on the 
 30th of May, 1793, a French ship, Le Hirondelle, having on 
 board 122 slaves and 8 guns, which prize was sent to 
 Mayomba, where she captured a French schooner, Le 
 Pourvoyenr, with 51 slaves, 5oolbs. of ivory, and a cargo of 
 70 slaves more. This prize was given up to the prisoners 
 after taking out the cargo. On the 3rd of June, in company 
 with the Isabella, of Bristol, and the Lord Charlemont, 
 Captain Finder, of Liverpool, the Gipsey captured, at 
 Malimba, a French ship, Le Emilie, with 241 slaves, and 
 sent her to Grenada. Le Hirondelle was retaken by the 
 French and carried to St. Lucia. Early in 1794, on the 
 
 * A French officer, M. Thiliallier, was coming home a prisoner in the Le 
 Federatif^-hen she was captured. He was Lieut. -Col. of the 4th Regiment of 
 Provence, and had been made Colonel in St. Domingo, and Governor of the fourth 
 part of the Island. Being an intimate friend of M. Blanchelandej the Governor, 
 he was suspected of supplying the rebellious negroes with arms, etc., which 
 so enraged the Democrats that they caused him to be seized and sent to France 
 for trial. 
 
308 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 passage from Jamaica to Liverpool, the Gipsey took an 
 American vessel with a cargo of provisions for Martinico, 
 and sent her to Jamaica. 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1793, the cutter Dudgeon privateer. 
 Captain Gullin, took the French brig St. Roman, from 
 Charleston for St. Valery, with 730 barrels of rice, 2 hogs- 
 heads of tobacco, and 105 cow-skins, valued at about ;[£"5,ooo ; 
 and on the 17th of the same month, she captured a French 
 snow, from Cayenne for Havre, laden with sugar, coffee, 
 cotton, and indigo, valued at ;^i5,ooo. On May 4th, the 
 Dudgeon recaptured, and sent into Milford, the brig Argy/e, 
 of Greenock; and on the 9th of June, she brought into the 
 Mersey a Spanish brig, from Caracas for Spain, laden with 
 cocoa, indigo, and hides. In company with the Jenny 
 privateer, the Dudgeon made a prize of L'Esperance, a 
 French vessel, from Lisbon for France, which was sent 
 North about, and arrived in Liverpool on June 19th. On 
 the 3rd of February, 1794, we read that the Dudgeon, Captain 
 Egerton, returned from a cruise, after throwing her guns 
 overboard and receiving other damage at anchor in a gale 
 at the N.W. Buoy. In March, the Dudgeon recaptured the 
 Danish galiot Unge Simon, from Lisbon to St. Petersburgh, 
 with sugar, oranges, figs, and almonds. A few weeks later, 
 the Dudgeon and the Ann and Jane, a ship of 500 tons, 
 from Liverpool, were carried into Brest. The Dudgeon was 
 afterwards fitted out by the French as a National vessel, and 
 sent to sea to prey on British commerce, but in September, 
 1794, she was captured and carried into Falmouth. 
 
 In June, 1793, the Ann privateer. Captain Flanagan, 
 recaptured the ship Harriet, from Honduras for London, 
 with wood, etc., and took an outward bound vessel, from 
 Old France to the West Indies, laden with bale goods, 
 wine, etc. The George W. Lntxmdge, from Baltimore for 
 Havre, with flour, another prize to the Ann, was retaken 
 by two French privateers, and again captured by the Mary, 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 309 
 
 of Liverpool, Captain Pince, arriving safe in the Mersey on 
 July ist. The Frenchmen on board the prize informed 
 Captain Pince that the same privateers had retaken another 
 prize of the Ann. On the 7th of August, a sloop, from 
 Bayonne, bound to Brest, with resin, arrived; and on the 
 15th of October, the L Augustine^ from Guadaloupe to 
 Havre, with a cargo of sugar, coffee, and cotton, both 
 prizes to the Mary, Captain Pince. 
 
 The Mary, Captain Thompson, took the Le National 
 Pavilion, about 500 tons burthen, from Guadaloupe to 
 France, and recaptured the brig Diligent, from Jersey for 
 Quebec, with cordage, etc., and the Franklin, loaded with 
 provisions, from Dublin for Cadiz. The latter had been 
 twice recaptured before the Mary fell in with her. Early 
 in 1795, the Mary, Captain Thompson, was captured on 
 her passage from Liverpool to Leghorn, and carried into 
 Brest. 
 
 The Mary, Captain Mollineux, took the French lugger 
 privateer La Carnagmolle, and recaptured an East India 
 brig, which was lost near Baltimore in Ireland. 
 
 The Favourite, Captain Bradley, recaptured from the 
 French, a very fine brig belonging to Leith, and bound to 
 Cadiz, with glass bottles and iron hoops; and, in company 
 with the Bess privateer, of Bristol, recaptured a Swedish 
 brig, from Barcelona for Ostend, laden with 283 pipes of 
 brandy. On the 19th of January, 1794, the Favourite 
 arrived at St. Eustatia, having taken ten prizes ; three she 
 sent to Montserrat, and seven to St. Christophers. In 
 1798, on her passage from Demerara to Liverpool, the 
 Favourite was taken by the Bougainville French privateer, 
 and carried into L'Orient after an action of three hours, in 
 which one man was killed, and the captain and several men 
 wounded. 
 
 The Loyal Ann chased a French West Indiaman on 
 shore near Bordeaux, and took a fine new sloop, from 
 
1 
 
 310 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 New York for Havre, laden with sugar, cotton, and pot- 
 ashes. 
 
 The Brothers, of Liverpool, recaptured the ship Com- 
 7;2z^;77'^', with wine, oil, and cocoa, from Cadiz to Ferrol, which 
 arrived in the Mersey on June 30th, 1793; as did also the 
 ship Tliree Brothers., of Dartmouth, laden with stock fish, 
 from North Bergen for Venice, recaptured by the Dispatch 
 privateer. 
 
 The Brothers., Captain Fleming (Letter of Marque), cap- 
 tured the Hebe, from the Southern Fishery to France, with 
 130 tons of oil, which arrived in Liverpool in October, 1793. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1793, the Pilgrim (Letter of Marque), 
 Captain Hutchinson, fell in with the La Liberte, French 
 East Indiaman, from Bombay for L'Orient, a very fine ship, 
 Danish built, about 800 tons burthen, carrying 12 six- 
 pounders, and 60 men. An obstinate engagement took 
 place, on the second evening of which the French captain 
 was killed, and on the following morning his ship struck 
 to the Pilgrim, and was carried to Barbadoes, where she 
 arrived on the 29th of May. The ship having been three 
 years in the country, her cargo turned out a most valuable 
 one, realizing ;^i90,ooo.* We have already seen two 
 Liverpool estates — the "St. Domingo," and " Carnatic- 
 hall " — named in grateful commemoration of fortune's 
 favours granted to privateers, and the present capture must 
 be added to the list. A certain shoemaker, who flourished 
 when a comparatively small portion of Everton had been 
 brought under cultivation, enclosed a considerable tract of 
 
 *The carpjo, as enumerated in the Liverpool paper, consisted of the following: — 
 138,557 pieces yellow and white Nankeens, about 150 hogsheads of sugar, 71 chests 
 of china ware, 18 chests mother of pearl, 139 chesis cinnamon, 183 bales of Surat 
 goods, 2 chests Nankeen silks, i chest cotton woollen stuff, 4 bales niccanees, 17 
 bales casileys, i bale tapsel, i bale muslin, 5oocardels of pepper, 500 chests tea, 
 20 cases images, 2 bales coral, 2 chests .■■ilk manufactory, i case Nankeen calico, i 
 chest painters' paper, loS sacks Malabar pepper, 3 bales white linen, 90 bales 
 cotton, 13 bales Bejuta pants of Surat, i bale Bengal goods, i bale embroidered 
 waistcoats, I parcel medical roots, 6 parcels sugar-candy, i parcel Kontanagu lacca. 
 
TVAI?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 311 
 
 land in the neighbourhood of Sleeper's Hill, and modestly 
 called his estate "Cobbler's Close." This property was 
 bought and re-named "Pilgrim," by Mr. Barton, who, in 
 conjunction with Mr. Thomas Birch, had an interest in the 
 fortunate "Letter of Marque" of that name. The Pilgrim 
 property was afterwards bought by Mr. Atherton, who sold 
 it to Mr. Woodhouse, the agent for Lord Nelson's Bronte 
 estate in Sicily, and that gentleman re-named the property 
 Bronte, a name it retained until it was invaded by enterpris- 
 ing builders. The Bronte and the St. Domingo properties 
 adjoined each other, and it is a rather curious circumstance 
 that the two valuable estates should have been the products 
 of two rich privateering adventures. 
 
 Many vessels were fitted out of the American ports, under 
 French colours, manned chiefly with Americans, and they 
 captured many prizes. Captain Morgan, of the Jean, from 
 Jamaica for Liverpool, put into Philadelphia to refit, having 
 been chased a whole day by the L Ambuscade frigate, 
 which cruised off the Hook, speaking most vessels that 
 passed in or out. Captain James, of the Halifax Packet,, 
 applied to the Governor and Council to prevent the frigate 
 sailing immediately after him, but they would not comply 
 with his request. He then, through a friend, applied to the 
 French Consul, who politely gave him four days' start of the 
 U Amhiiscade. 
 
 A gentleman in Philadelphia, writing to a merchant in 
 Liverpool, on May 13th, 1793, says : — 
 
 " What can all your frigates, of which we are told you have 
 such an immense number in commission, be about, to permit 
 the French frigate, L'Afubiiscade, Citizen Bompard, commander, 
 to insult your flag, take your merchantmen, and "ride triumph- 
 ant o'er the western waves." She is now abreast of our city, 
 and has taken five or six prizes since her departure from France, 
 two of which are at present alongside of her, the Little Sarah, 
 of Kingston, Capt. Laury, built in Liverpool, taken ten leagues 
 
312 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 at sea, and the Grange, Hutchinson, of your port also. This 
 vessel it is expected will be delivered up, as she was taken at 
 anchor with the pilot on board, ten or twelve miles up the 
 Capes, and we were two days ago informed that the President, 
 minister of state, ot war, and of the treasury, and the attorney- 
 g-eneral, have given it as their unanimous opinion that she was 
 illeg-ally taken, and therefore no prize, she being- within the 
 jurisdiction of the United States, and of course, under the 
 protection of a neutral country. The business, however, will 
 not be determined until the arrival of the French Minister, M. 
 or rather Citizen Genet, who is daily expected from Charleston, 
 where he was landed by the above frigate. The ship William, 
 of Glasgow, Capt. Nageto, is just sent up as a prize to a little 
 privateer of six guns." 
 
 The Grange was eventually given up, and the captain 
 and seamen all liberated. 
 
 The French privateers from Martinico, Guadaloupe, and 
 St. Lucia, captured, in a short time, 70 sail of British, Dutch, 
 and Spanish merchant vessels, and carried them into those 
 islands. 
 
 The ship Sivift, Captain Roper, was taken on the 26th of 
 May, by a French privateer, who took out of her thirty-three 
 male slaves, and 224 elephant teeth. They returned to 
 Captain Roper his ship, and the remainder of his cargo, for 
 a ransom of ;^iooo sterling, and took the second mate as a 
 hostage for the same. 
 
 Captain Heavysides arrived from Philadelphia, and 
 reported that Congress were exerting themselves to hinder 
 vessels, fitted out as privateers, sailing from any of the 
 American ports. 
 
 The King Grey^ Captain Cash, arrived at Jamaica, from 
 Africa, having been captured on the passage by a French 
 privateer, and retaken by his Majesty's frigate Hycena^ who 
 ran the privateer on shore at Hispaniola, where Captain 
 Cash and his people released themselves from their irons, 
 
IVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 313 
 
 and, getting possession of the Frenchman's boat, got on 
 board the frigate. 
 
 Captain Raphel, of the Polly, arrived at Jamaica, from 
 Liverpool, reported that about fifty leagues to the westward 
 of Madeira, he met with a French brig privateer, without her 
 main mast. On boarding her, he was informed she had 
 been dismasted, six days before, by the Christopher, Captain 
 Molyneux, of Liverpool, who, after she had struck her 
 colours, sent on board and dismantled her of her guns, 
 powder, shot, and all kinds of arms, took out what stores 
 (except provisions) they stood in need of, and proceeded on 
 his voyage. The privateer had 75 men on board, and was 
 only six weeks off the stocks. The Christopher afterwards 
 captured a valuable prize at Angola. 
 
 The Robust, Captain Forrest, recaptured the Little Joe, 
 Captain Jones, and the Echo, Captain Kelly (the latter with 
 120 negroes on board), two Liverpool slavers, which had 
 been taken on the windward coast of Africa by the Liberty, 
 of Bordeaux, which also took the Union, Captain Farrington, 
 the Mercury, Captain Hewitt, the Hazard, Captain Rigby, 
 and the Prosperity, Captain Kelsall, all engaged in the 
 man traffic. The Mercury was retaken by the Seafiower 
 cutter, and sold to Captain Hewitt, who, by the way, lived 
 in Murray-street, Williamson-square, "adjoining the rope 
 walk," when he was not prosecuting his humane mission 
 in Africa, etc. The Prosperity was also retaken by the 
 Andromache frigate, and carried into Barbadoes. The 
 Robust had the good fortune to capture a French ship, with 
 about 200 slaves, at Cape Mount, and in November, 1793, 
 we read that she took, on the coast, a large French ship, 
 called Le Patriote Soldat, with 260 slaves and a cargo of 
 goods, and carried the prize to Dominica. 
 
 The slave ship Minerva, late Captain Moore, arrived at 
 Jamaica from Africa, with a cargo of prime negroes, "with- 
 out burying either black or white, the master excepted " — a 
 
314 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 feat by no means of common occurrence. The Minerva 
 privateer, Captain Williams, recaptured a Swedish vessel, 
 and took the Ann and Margaret^ from Riga, with deals. 
 
 The Lord Stanley^ Captain Farquhar, captured the Jidie 
 Chere, from Guadaloupe for Bordeaux, with sugar, coffee, 
 cotton, etc. 
 
 A letter from Dominica, to a merchant in Liverpool, dated 
 May 6th, 1793, mentioned that the sloop Amity, Captain 
 Spellin, of 6 guns and 34 men, had brought in there the 
 ship Bo)i Menage, pierced for 22 guns (only six mounted), 
 and 38 men, belonging to St. Malo. She had been thirty- 
 three months on a voyage to the East Indies, and after- 
 wards called at Malimba for slaves, 674 of whom she had 
 on board. Her hold was full of trunks and bales of India 
 goods, brandy, gold dust, etc., supposed to be worth 
 ^100,000. 
 
 On the 9th of June, 1793, Captain S. Bower, of the Active 
 privateer, captured by the French, wrote as follows, from 
 Morlaix, to his owners in Liverpool :— 
 
 " It is with concern I inform you of our being- captured on 
 the 2ist ult., by the French frig-ate Semillaiite, of 44 g-uns and 
 300 men, who took me on board. She also captured, the next 
 day, a brig- privateer (the Betsey, of Guernsey), of 10 guns and 
 55 men. On the 27th, she fell in with an English frigate, whom 
 she engaged two hours, had twenty men killed and forty 
 wounded : Amongst the former was the captain, first lieutenant, 
 and a petty officer, when he bore away, having five feet water 
 in her hold, and was chased by the English frigate, whose 
 main-top giving way, the Frenchman (I am sorry to say it) 
 escaped, for could the frigate have come up with her again, she 
 would have struck immediately. She proceeded directly for 
 Brest, where we arrived the 2nd of June, and where I have 
 been in prison until yesterday, when I was marched for Dinant, 
 with 112 more English prisoners, and this day arrived at 
 Morlaix on our road thither. We have been just now joined by 
 
IVAT^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 315 
 
 two men belong-ingf to the Allanson, Capt. Byrne, private ship 
 of war, taken in a prize captured by that vessel." 
 The Active was retaken, and carried into Guernsey. 
 The Golden Age, Captain Fayrer, from Jamaica to Liver- 
 pool, was taken by the French frigate Citoyen, of 36 guns, 
 which two days later captured the Courier, Captain Rigby, 
 also from Jamaica to Liverpool, and, after plundering her, 
 ransomed her to the captain for ;^300. The lieutenant of 
 ' the Citoyen was an American, and 27 of her crew were 
 English, but called themselves Americans. The Citoyen 
 had lost her captain and 63 men in an engagement with an 
 English frigate, all of whom had been killed outright or 
 died of their wounds. 
 
 The William, of Liverpool, Captain Ward, on her 
 passage from Virginia, in company with the Hector, of 
 London, the Fanny, of Greenock, and the Joseph, of 
 Appledore, fell in with a schooner privateer, fitted out in 
 America, under French colours. A desperate engagement 
 ensued, which lasted three hours, resulting in the capture 
 of XhQ Joseph; the rest escaped. The privateer was twice 
 beaten off, but in the third charge, one of the guns of the 
 Joseph exploded, by which unfortunate accident Captain 
 Prance lost both his hands, and was obliged to strike his 
 colours. He also received a wound in the thigh, and had 
 one of his eyes much injured ; his recovery was despaired 
 of. The mate also was wounded. Only three persons 
 were wounded on board the privateer. The William 
 arrived in Liverpool on the 3rd of July, 1793. 
 
 By the ist of July, 1793, no less than sixty-seven Liver- 
 pool privateers were armed and manned, and were either 
 at sea or preparing to sail. Great numbers of privateers 
 were fitted out afterwards, and an extraordinary number of 
 prizes was taken. The French were too much distracted 
 by internal dissentions, and attacks from abroad, to carry on 
 this mode of warfare with any success. In three or four 
 
316 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 years their commerce was swept from the ocean ; whilst, 
 from the commencement of the war, the English commerce 
 was carried on in tolerable safety, under the protection of 
 ships of war. The number of British vessels employed in 
 commerce at this period was said to be 23,600. 
 
 The Savannah, Captain Wrigglesworth, recaptured a 
 Dutch ship, from Cadiz for Amsterdam, laden with 250 
 lasts of bay salt. 
 
 On July loth, 1793, the Tarleton, Captain Gilbody, from 
 Liverpool, in company with the Eliza, Captain Cannell, for 
 Africa, took the Le Guerrier, a brig privateer, of 8 guns and 
 72 men, belonging to Bayonne. 
 
 On the i8th of June, 1793, the Fancy, Captain Robinson, 
 recaptured the brig Margaret, belonging to Leith, bound 
 from Alicant to Dublin, laden with 456 bales of barilla, 47 
 pipes and 4 casks of wine, about a ton of saffron, and 7,000 
 reeds. Some months later, on her passage to Jamaica, the 
 Fancy took, and sent into Kingston, a brig laden with 700 
 barrels of flour. A few days after, the Fancy was attacked 
 by a French privateer, of 16 guns and upwards of 100 men. 
 The engagement lasted five hours and-a-half, the French- 
 man sheering off, leaving the Fancy much shattered in her 
 sails, rigging, etc. 
 
 The Union privateer, Captain Nicholson, took a Swedish 
 vessel, laden with brandy, from Barcelona for Calais. 
 
 The Colonel Gascoyne and Margaret, privateers, captured 
 The Sisters, from New York for Havre, laden with coffee, 
 indigo, etc. 
 
 The Duke of Leeds, Captain Purvis, took a Danish vessel, 
 from Guadaloupe, laden with sugar, coffee, and cotton, and 
 carried her into St. Kitts. The Duke was captured early in 
 1794, on the passage home from the West Indies. 
 
 The Philip Stephens privateer brought into the Mersey, in 
 September, 1793, the ship Sarah, one of the Jamaica fleet, 
 which she had retaken from the French. 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 317 
 
 The Oporto, Captain Hamilton, captured an American 
 ship called the Birmingham, laden with sugar, coffee, and 
 cocoa, from Baltimore for Amsterdam, which arrived in the 
 Mersey on September 29th, 1793. In March, 1794, the 
 Oporto recaptured a ship of 400 tons, with salt, from 
 Alicant, which had been taken by the Tribune French frigate. 
 The Alert, Captain Hollywood, captured on the coast 
 of Africa, a ship of about 500 tons burthen, from Bordeaux, 
 with 50 slaves, and a cargo of goods on board ; also a sloop 
 with 50 slaves, and a schooner with 40 slaves. 
 
 The Mercury, Captain Mellanby, on his passage to the 
 West Indies and Virginia, was attacked by two small 
 privateers, who came alongside and fired into him, which 
 he returned with a broadside that caused them to sheer off, 
 and make the best of their way from him. The Mercury, 
 on her passage home from Virginia to Liverpool, was 
 wrecked near the Orme's Head, and the captain, with fifteen 
 of the crew, perished ; ten hands were saved. 
 
 The Hope privateer, Captain Hall, recaptured La Mai ion, 
 a Spanish brig, from La Guira for Cadiz, laden with 500 
 bales of tobacco, about 700 quintals of cocoa, cofi^ee, indigo, 
 and hides. The Hope, in company with the Thought, of 
 London, also recaptured the Neptune, from Dominica, and 
 took an American ship, bound to France, with a cargo of 
 sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, and a number of French 
 passengers on board. On the 5th of September, 1793, the 
 Hope was taken, in latitude 48", by two luggers, one of them, 
 the Hook, of 20 guns and 125 men, formerly an English 
 revenue vessel. The Hook came up with the Hope (v/hich 
 only carried 12 guns and 44 men) about seven o'clock in the 
 morning, and fired one gun, which Captain Hall answered 
 with a broadside. The lugger then fired two guns, and 
 bore away. The Hope gave her a second broadside, when 
 the other lugger came up, and the Hope engaged her for an 
 hour; but, after having the carpenter, boatswain's mate, and 
 
318 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 a seaman killed, the first and fourth lieutenants with six 
 men wounded, Captain Hall was forced to strike. 
 
 The Nereus (Letter of Marque), of i6 guns, Captain 
 M'lver, on her passage from Liverpool to New York, re- 
 captured a Spanish brig, from the Havannah, laden with 
 850 boxes of fine sugar, beeswax, honey, etc. This vessel, 
 when retaken, was in tow of a French privateer, of 16 guns, 
 which the Nereus beat off. The privateer had unfortunately 
 taken 50,000 dollars out of the prize before the Nereus fell 
 in with her. On the 12th of July, 1793, another prize taken 
 by the Nereus^ arrived in the Mersey — the brig T%<oo Friends, 
 with oil, from the fishery at Falkland Islands, for Dunkirk; 
 and on July 17th, tho^ Joseph came in (probably the Spanish 
 brig before mentioned). 
 
 In August, 1793, Mr. Asburner, agent at Barbadoes for 
 Mr. James Kenyon, of Liverpool, was captured on the 
 passage to Dominica, by the Saijs Calotte privateer, and 
 carried into Martinique. The Frenchmen treated him 
 "exceeding ill, taking everything from him." He was 
 confined with the common sailors in the prison ship, under 
 Fort Republique ; and what must have intensified his 
 humiliation, although it savoured of poetic justice, was the 
 fact that the commander-in-chief at that place was "a mulatto 
 man." 
 
 On the 24th of September, 1793, the Olive, of Liverpool, 
 Captain Pennant, was taken in lat. 45 ., long. 28^, by the 
 La Felicite, French frigate, of 40 guns. 
 
 "The French captain," says one of the officers of the Olive, 
 writing" from Brest, "behaved in a most villainous manner, 
 sheering up alongside and pouring nine of his heavy guns right 
 into us before he hailed, which killed one man and wounded 
 another. We found it impossible to get away from her, she 
 sailed so much faster than us. They boarded and stripped us 
 of every article but the clothes on our backs, and in that state 
 we were landed at Brest, the 5th inst., and marched to a 
 
WA/^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 319 
 
 hospital five miles in the country. In two days we are to 
 march to Dinan Castle, 80 leagues from this place. The Lydia, 
 Captain Crow, was taken on the 26th ult. by the same frigate. 
 Captain Crow is sick in the hospital, having- his arm dislocated." 
 One Friday evening, in October, 1793, an affray took 
 place at the bottom of Redcross Street, between Mr. Felix 
 M'llroy, master of the sloop Ann, of Newry, and some of 
 the press-gang belonging to a tender lying in the river, one 
 of whom drew a pistol and shot the captain dead upon the 
 spot. The murderer got on board the tender, but was 
 arrested next morning. The coroner's jury brought in a 
 verdict of " murder," but, at the Lancaster assizes, the man 
 got off with one month's imprisonment. On the Saturday 
 evening following the crime, a large body of sailors 
 assembled, and, out of revenge, it was supposed, for the 
 death of Captain M'llroy, attacked the "rendezvous" of the 
 press-gang, in Strand Street, and, soon after, the one on 
 New Quay, which they completely gutted, cutting open the 
 beds, and throwing the feathers, bedding, and household 
 furniture of every description into the street. They tore 
 down the wainscoting, mouldings, cornices and doors, 
 which, as well as the windows, shutters, etc., they utterly 
 demolished, leaving little more than the walls, floors, and 
 roof undestroyed. At the solicitation of the Mayor and Ex- 
 Mayor, who appeared upon the scene, the mob desisted from 
 further outrage and dispersed. That bright and genial 
 gossip, "An Old Stager," has left so racy a picture of the 
 press-gangs in his native town of Liverpool, and their doings, 
 of which he was an eye-witness, that we cannot resist the 
 temptation of quoting his own words : — 
 
 "We had a venerable g-uardship in the river, the Princess, 
 which, we believe, had orig^inally been a Dutch man-of-war, and 
 if built to swim, was certainly never intended to sail. There 
 she used to lie at her moorings, opposite the old George's Dock 
 pier, lazily swinging backwards and forwards with the ebbing 
 
320 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 and flowing- of the tide, and looking as if she had been built 
 expressly for that very purpose and no other. Her very 
 shadow seemed to grow into that part of the river on which 
 she lay. But, besides her, we had generally some old-fashioned 
 vessel of war which had come round from Portsmouth or Ply- 
 mouth to receive volunteers or impressed men. Those who 
 live in these "piping times of peace" have no idea of the means 
 which were employed in the days of which we are speaking to 
 man our vessels of war. The sailors in our merchant service 
 had to run the gauntlet, as it were, for their liberty, from one 
 end of the world to the other. A ship of war, falling in with a 
 merchant vessel in any part of the globe, would unceremoni- 
 ously take from her the best seamen, leaving- her just hands 
 enough to bring- her home. As they approached the English 
 shore, our cruisers, hovering- in all directions, would take their 
 pick of the remainder. But the great terror of the sailor was 
 the press-gang. Such was the dread in which this force was 
 held by the blue-jackets, that they would often take to their 
 boats on the other side of the Black Rock, that they might 
 conceal themselves in Cheshire ; and many a vessel had to be 
 brought into port by a lot of riggers and carpenters, sent round 
 by the owner for that purpose. And, truly, according to our 
 reminiscences, the press-gang was, even to look at, something 
 calculated to strike fear into a stout man's heart. They had 
 what they called a " Rendezvous," in different parts of the 
 town. There was one we recollect in Old Strand-street. From 
 the upper window there was always a flag flying, to notify to 
 volunteers what sort of business was transacted there. But 
 look at the door, and at the people who are issuing from it. 
 They are the press-g^ang. At their head there was generally 
 a rakish, dissipated, but determined-looking oflficer, in a very 
 seedy uniform and shabby hat. And what followers ! Fierce, 
 savage, stern, villainous-looking fellows were they, as ready to 
 cut a throat as eat their breakfast. What an uproar their 
 appearance always made in the street ! The men scowled at 
 them as they passed ; the women openly scoffed at them ; the 
 children screamed, and hid themselves behind doors or fled 
 
IVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 321 
 
 round the corners. And how rapidly the word was passed 
 from mouth to mouth, that there were 'hawks abroad,' so as 
 to give time to any poor sailor who had incautiously ventured 
 from his place of concealment to return to it. But woe unto 
 him if there were no warning- voice to tell him of the coming 
 danger ; he was seized upon as if he were a common felon, 
 deprived of his liberty, torn from his home, his friends, his 
 parents, wife or children, hurried to the rendezvous-house, 
 examined, passed, and sent on board the tender, like a negro 
 to a slave-ship. And so it went on, until the floating prison 
 was filled with captives, when the living cargo was sent round 
 to one of the outports, and the prisoners were divided among 
 the vessels of war, which, were in want of men. Persons of 
 the present generation, have certainly heard of the press-gang, 
 but they never attempt to realise the horrors by which it was 
 accompanied. Na}-, the generality seem to us to hardly 
 believe in its existence, but rather to classify it with "Gulliver's 
 Travels," " Don Quixote," " Robinson Crusoe," or the 
 "Heathen Mythology." But we can recollect its working. 
 We have seen the strong man bent to tears, and reduced to 
 woman's weakness by it. We have seen pa^rents made, as it 
 were, childless, through its operation ; the wife widowed, with 
 a husband yet alive ; children orphaned by the forcible 
 abduction of their fathers. And yet, there were many in those 
 days, not only naval men, but statesmen and legislators, who 
 venerated the press-gang as one of the pillars and institutions 
 of the country. In those days, indeed ! We much fear that, 
 if even now we could look into the heart of hearts of many a 
 veteran admiral and captain, we should find that they have, in 
 the event of war, no other plan in their heads for manning the 
 navy, but a return to this dreadful and oppressive system. We 
 would, however, recommend those in whose department it lies 
 to be devising some other scheme, as we are strongly impressed 
 with the conviction that public opinion will not in these days 
 tolerate, under any plea or excuse of necessity, such an infringe- 
 ment upon the liberty of the subject. But we are not writing a 
 political article, but only describing our old-world fashions. 
 
322 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 Pretty rows and riots, you may suppose, now and then occurred 
 between the press-gang- and the fighting part of the pubhc ; 
 and not a few do we remember to have witnessed in our younger 
 days. On more than one occasion, we have seen a rendezvous- 
 house gutted and levelled to the ground. 
 
 "Sometimes the sailors and their friends would show 
 fight, and as the mob always joined them, the press-gang 
 invariably got the worst of it in such battles. Sometimes, 
 too, the press-gangers would 'get into the wrong box,' and 
 'take the wrong sow by the ear,' by seizing an American 
 sailor or a carpenter, and then there was sure to be a squall. 
 The bells from the shipbuilding yards would boom out their 
 warning call in the latter case, and thousands would muster 
 to set their companion at liberty. A press-gangman was 
 occasionally tarred and feathered in those days when caught 
 alone. We remember, as if it were only yesterday, walking 
 down South Castle Street (it was Pool Lane then), with the 
 Old Dock, where the Custom House now stands, before us. 
 It was, for some reason or other, tolerably clear of ships at 
 the time. We well remember, however, that there w s one 
 large vessel or hulk somewhere about the middle. Before we 
 tell what happened, we must observe that, attached to the 
 Strand Street press-gang, there was one most extra piratical- 
 looking scoundrel, named Jack Something-or-other. Perhaps, 
 as is often the case, ' they gave the devil more than his 
 due ' ; but if owo. half of the things said against this Jack was 
 true, he deserved to be far and away Prince and Potentate 
 and Prime Minister in Madame Tussaud's Chamber of 
 Horrors. Well, as aforesaid, the Old Dock was in front of us, 
 when all at once we heard a noise behind us, which told us 
 that the game was up, and the hounds well laid on and in full 
 cry. 
 
 "At the same moment. Jack shot past us, like an arrow 
 from a bow, while hundreds of men, women, and children 
 were howling, shouting, screaming, yelling, threatening close 
 behind him. Every street sent forth its crowd to intercept 
 him. There was no turning until he reached the dock quay. 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 323 
 
 but there the carters and porters rushed forward to stop him. 
 What was to be done ? How was he to escape ? The dock, 
 as we said before, was in front, and there was the vessel in 
 the middle. Without a moment's hesitation, the terrified 
 wretch took the water, dived, like Rob Roy, to baffle his 
 pursuers, and soon grained the deck of the hulk. Some talked 
 of boarding- her, and dragfg^ing him from his concealment ; but 
 the majority of the mob decided that justice was better than 
 veng^eance, and, satisfied with Jack's frig-ht and ducking-, 
 concluded that althoug-h he was a bad one, he was g-ame, and 
 would make them more sport another time, and so dispersed." 
 
 Desperate press-gang encounters took place in Pool-lane, 
 now South Castle Street, so that it was hardly safe to pass 
 along it at times, certainly not in the night season. It was 
 much frequented in war-time by th6 privateersmen, who 
 spent their prize money freely amongst the dingy denizens 
 of the locality, in the public-houses, and slop-sellers' shops. 
 When Jack came in from a cruise, with his cutlass at his side, 
 and his pockets full of plunder, Mistress Quickly received him 
 like a mother, and Doll Tearsheet wept crocodile tears of 
 joy at his hairbreadth escapes. He was her Othello for the 
 nonce, but when his money was spent, or stolen, they could 
 always betray him to the press-gang, or the crimps, for a 
 Guinea voyage. At Seacombe, in those days, there were 
 but few liouses, and only a farm or two between it and the 
 Magazines, near w^hich, and on the site of the villa erected 
 and now occupied by Mr. Joseph Kitchingman, at the bottom 
 of Caithness Drive, on the Promenade, was a little public- 
 house, kept by "Mother Red Cap," where the sailors fled 
 from impressment, and where the privateersmen lodged their 
 gains with the landlady, w^ho earned her title by the red cap 
 she always w^ore. Many curious stories are extant about 
 this old woman and her inn. There is a tradition that the 
 caves at the Red Noses, in addition to penetrating as far as 
 Chester, communicated in some way, and somewhere, with 
 
324 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Mother Red Cap's house, and it was in their recesses that 
 the hunted sailors, in war-time, used to be put into safe 
 hiding. The caves undoubtedly penetrated to a considerable 
 distance in the direction of the Magazines, as there is now 
 living at Wallasey, an old man who explored them in his 
 youth. In preparing for the foundations of Mr, Kitching- 
 man's villa there was a good deal of excavation, and perhaps 
 a reasonable expectation of finding *' treasure-trove," but it 
 produced nothing of greater interest than a nine-hole stone, 
 on which the old lady's customers used to amuse themselves. 
 The striking contrast between Mother Red Cap's humble 
 hostelry, filled with a wild crew of blood-stained men of 
 the sea, drinking, smoking, singing, quarrelling, and 
 fighting, as the humour took them, and the present beauti- 
 ful home of the arrtst, is typical of the moral transfor- 
 mation which the people on both sides of the " Silent 
 Highway " have undergone since the last private ship of 
 war sailed out of the Mersey. 
 
 Stonehouse, speaking of Woodside Ferry, also bears 
 testimony to the character of both the privateersmen and the 
 press-gang: — 
 
 "The last century was a lawless time in its history, for it 
 swarmed with fierce privateersmen, inhuman slavers, reckless 
 merchantmen, and violent men-of-war's men, who all conspired 
 to make the sailor element of the town 'thick and slab.' In 
 these days of peace we have no conception of the uproar, the 
 violence, the turbulence, as well as the merriment that pre- 
 vailed when men came home from some short voyage with 
 large sums to receive, the results of their rapacity upon, and 
 robbery of their neighbour, that war gave countenance to and 
 justified. These men's hearts were hardened against the cry of 
 humanity. After some great engagement, when men were 
 scarce and the strength of the navy was enervated, the press- 
 gangs stalked through the town, seizing anyone to whom they 
 took a fancy ; and though such an one might have been able to 
 show himself to be a simple landsman, or, if a sailor as having 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 325 
 
 protection, if the service was hard pushed but small consider- 
 ation was used in any case. A man was a man, and away he 
 went on board the tender. It was no uncommon circumstance 
 in those days for persons to be unaccountably missing, men in 
 really respectable positions in life, who would after a year or 
 two suddenly turn up, having been impressed and sent to a 
 foreign station. The atrocities of the press-gangs we read 
 about, but can scarcely credit." 
 
 A rare instance of the press-gang lion and the sailor 
 lamb lying down, or rather sitting together, happened in 
 July, 1794, when a benefit performance took place at the 
 Theatre Royal, for the relief of the widows and orphans of 
 the brave fellows who fell on the "glorious first of June." 
 Prior to the performance a letter appeared in the Advertiser^ 
 from a "J.B.," of Tarleton Street, in which occurred the 
 following passage : — 
 
 "The only thing to be lamented on the occasion is that a 
 set of men are precluded from attendance, whose principal 
 characteristic is a most unbounded generosity. I mean the 
 sailors, who dare not appear, in order to show their liberality, 
 being deterred by the apprehension of being impressed ; this 
 very circumstance I should presume will materially affect the 
 receipts of the gallery, unless the gentlemen in power would 
 step forward and generously guarantee the personal safety of 
 these hardy heroes for twenty-four hours, to commence this 
 day at noon and to continue till the noon of the following day; 
 a circumstance this, I should presume, that would in no 
 respect injure the general purpose of government." 
 Immediately below it appeared the following re-assuring 
 letter, probably inspired from the "rendezvous" of the 
 press-gang : — 
 
 " Liverpool, July 21st, 1794. Mr. Tim Mainstay — Being 
 well acquainted with the disposition of the Regulating Captain, 
 I will answer for his not suffering any man to be impressed at 
 the time of his going to, or returning from the Theatre, this 
 evening ; therefore all jolly tars may subscribe their mite 
 
326 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 to the widows and orphans, and at the same time enjoy the 
 evening's amusement, without any apprehension of being- 
 pressed. The officers, press masters, &c. , will partake of the 
 amusement, without the least intention of interrupting- the 
 performers or the audience. — Yours, Tom Bowline." 
 The receipts at the Theatre on the occasion in question 
 amounted to ;^2o8 i8s. 6d. 
 
 The press for seamen for the navy was very hot this 
 year, but Tim Mainstay, Tom Bowdine, and the rest of 
 the tarry fraternity were not the only people who had cause 
 of complaint. The press-gang, not content to scour Jack's 
 usual haunts and hiding places on both sides of the river, 
 went inland, invading the merriment of wakes and fairs, 
 and carrying off every eligible landsman they could lay 
 their hands on. This practice carried indescribable grief and 
 misery into many a home. 
 
 Even a stage coach, dashing along in charge of an armed 
 guard, and presided over by a masterful and dignified Jehu, 
 the admiration and awe of all pedestrians, was not sacred in 
 the eyes of the hardened ruffians, who hunted for sailors with 
 the tenacity of sleuth hounds. 
 
 In the newspaper of May 12th, 1794, we read as follows: — 
 "On Thursday evening", about six o'clock, a press-gang 
 stopped Sherwood's boat coach from Warrington, at Low 
 Hill, near this town, and cut the bridles of the horses, to pre- 
 vent the carriage proceeding, when they examined the outside 
 passengers in expectation of some of them proving seamen. 
 The York mail coming up at the time, they also stopped it, the 
 guard threatened to fire at them, and in getting his pistols, one 
 of them by accident went ofF, and the shot passed through the 
 back of the coach, wherein were two gentlemen, but hurt 
 neither of them : the report of it frightened the horses of the 
 other carriage so, that they set off with it at full speed, without 
 the driver. After gaining a distance of about 400 yards, a 
 gentleman of the law of this town, threw himself out of the 
 coach and has been confined to his room ever since, being 
 
JVA/?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 327 
 
 dreadfully hurt on his head and one of his legs. Two ladies 
 were also inside, but stuck by the carriagfe and were not hurt. 
 The offending- parties were carried before a county magistrate 
 on Saturday, and after examination were bound over to the 
 Sessions to answer for the outrage." 
 
 During the year 1794, the navy of France received a blow 
 from which it never recovered, and her principal West 
 Indian Colonies fell into the hands of England, opening up 
 for Liverpool, with its West India and African trade, 
 prospects of great extension of commerce. On the 28th of 
 April, the Mayor of Liverpool, Mr. Henry Blundell, whose 
 brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Blundell, had distinguished 
 himself at the capture of the island of Ma-rtinique, gave a 
 grand banquet in honour of that event. On Friday, the 
 2ist of May, the bells of the churches rang all day in honour 
 of the conquest of Guadaloupe ; and early in July, news 
 arrived of the capture of Port-au-Prince, in the island of St. 
 Domingo. But the crowning event of the year was the great 
 victory gained by Lord Howe over the Brest fleet, on the ist 
 of June, a victory which greatly diminished the apprehen- 
 sions of invasion, but did not altogether remove them.* 
 
 "On Friday morning, when the news of Lord Ho\ve 
 having defeated the French fleet arrived in Liverpool," says 
 Williamson s Advertiser oi June i6th, *'it gave rise to the 
 most unbounded joy. The bells of the different churches 
 rang incessantly ; flags were displayed from the ships and 
 steeples ; the ships in the different docks were gaily decor- 
 ated ; pendants and ensigns were hung out from the various 
 dwellings throughout the town ; and where those could not 
 be obtained, quilts, handkerchiefs, curtains, etc. At one 
 o'clock, a royal salute was fired from the great guns of the 
 fort. On Saturday, the flags were again displayed." 
 
 '■ The Corporation headed a county subscription, to raise vohmteer regiments, 
 with a contribution of ;i^iO0O. 
 
328 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 Whether rejoicing, fighting, or slave trading, the old Dicky 
 Sams did nothing by halves. 
 
 On the i8th of July, 1794, the brig Three Brothers, Cap- 
 tain Hanna, on her passage from Liverpool to New York, 
 was taken and burnt by two French frigates, which, a 
 month later, also captured the brig Hawk, of Pool. Captain 
 Hanna, with one of the passengers he had in the Three 
 Brothers, a Dutchman, and two small boys, with several 
 Frenchmen and boys, were put on board the Hawk. On the 
 28th of August, Captain Hanna, with the assistance of his 
 companions, got the Frenchmen made fast in the forecastle, 
 and carried the brig into Dor Sound, in the Orkneys. She 
 was richly laden with bale goods, tanned leather, butter and 
 cheese, teas, etc. The two frigates captured twenty-five 
 prizes while Captain Hanna was on board, burning and 
 sinking all but two, which they sent to Ireland with 130 
 men. They had previously taken the Hound, sloop of war, 
 and sent her to Brest, and burnt a Spanish vessel. 
 
 The ship Fame, of Boston, Captain Davies, on her pas- 
 sage from Virginia to Liverpool, was taken, off Cape Clear, 
 by the French frigate L'Agricole, of 44 guns and 550 men. 
 She was set for France, under the care of a prize-master and 
 six men, and her crew were taken on board the frigate, 
 except Captain Davies, two men, and a black boy. Three 
 days after parting from the frigate. Captain Davies and his 
 men rose upon the Frenchmen, secured them, and carried 
 the ship safe into Cork and thence to Liverpool. 
 
 The Polly, Captain Jones, arrived at Jamaica, from 
 Liverpool, after a severe engagement, off Martinico, with a 
 French privateer, of 14 guns and 120 men, whom she beat 
 off. 
 
 The French privateer Sans Culottes, of 20 guns (supposed 
 to have been formerly the William, of Liverpool), was 
 captured and carried into St. Kitts by the La Blanche 
 fri crate. 
 
IVA/^S OF THE FREXCH REVOLUTION. 329 
 
 The Mary, Captain Bonsall, and the Agnes, Captain 
 Parker, captured eight vessels from Martinico and Guada- 
 loupe, laden with sugar, coffee, and other commodities, and 
 carried them into Monserrat. The Agnes also had a claim 
 upon another prize, being in sight when it was taken. 
 Soon after, the JlJary captured a French privateer, of 12 
 guns and 55 men, and carried her into St. Christophers. 
 
 The ship Cliristopher, Captain Smith, captured three 
 vessels laden with West India produce, and destroyed 
 a French privateer, of 12 guns and 44 men, belonging to 
 Martinico. 
 
 The Elizabeth, Captain Fletcher, arrived at Jamaica, 
 from Liverpool, after b^ating off two French privateers, of 
 16 and 14 guns, who attacked her near Isle de Vache. 
 
 TY^Q James, Captain Brailsford, on her passage to Africa, 
 was taken, off Cape Clear, by two French 40-gun frigates, 
 and a sloop of war. The French commander put eleven of 
 the frigate's crew on board, leaving only the mate and two 
 boys belonging to the James in her, and ordered the prize- 
 master to take her to Brest. He being incompetent for the 
 task, requested the English mate to steer for that port. The 
 mate, however, very wisely altered her course for Bristol, at 
 which place he would probably have arrived, had not the 
 Castor and Peggy tenders relieved him of his charge, and 
 carried her into Plymouth. 
 
 At the beginning of August, 1794, there arrived in Liver- 
 pool, James Scallon, carpenter of the Ellen, Captain Raphel, 
 Avhich had been taken, in March, by the French frigate La 
 Proserpine. On the ist of July, he, with six others, had 
 escaped from the prison at Ouimper, in Brittany, from 
 whence, after a march of seventeen nights (being obliged to 
 conceal themselves by day), they reached the sea coast, 
 where they fortunately found a small boat, in which they 
 embarked, in the hope of reaching England. Having made 
 a mast with a strong pole taken from a neighbouring wood, 
 
330 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 they converted their shirts into a sail, and with a piece of 
 board for a rudder, without water or food, they committed 
 themselves to the ocean, and in three days, to their inex- 
 pressible joy, landed at Sidmouth Beach, in Devonshire. 
 Scallon stated that he left 2,700 English in the prison at 
 Ouimper. In a small house near the prison, was confined, 
 under a guard, the Lady Anne Fitzroy, who had been taken 
 some time before in the packet returning from Lisbon, 
 about whose fate there had been great uncertainty. Among 
 the prisoners was Lieutenant Robinson, of the Thames 
 frigate, whose leg had been shot off in the action when the 
 Thames was captured, but who was sufficiently recovered to 
 move on crutches. Some of the crew of the Thames had 
 been shot in attempting to escape from prison. Since the 
 defeat of the French fleet, the English prisoners had been 
 treated with much more severity than before. One oi 
 Scallon's fellow prisoners, who was sent to Brest, in order 
 to be examined for the condemnation of a ship, saw, whilst 
 he was there, the Bishop of Ouimper, and 25 other persons 
 guillotined in the space of eleven minutes. It was stated 
 that in the action of the ist of June, the French Admiral's 
 ship Montague had 1,500 men on board, 500 of whom were 
 killed. 
 
 The Gregson, Captain Gibson, was taken on her passage 
 from Liverpool to Africa, by the La Robiiste, of 22 guns 
 and 160 men, and carried into L'Orient. On the 2nd of 
 July, 1794, Mr. Pince, second mate, and Mr. Jones, 
 surgeon's mate, of the Gregson, were ordered, with other 
 prisoners, about 45 miles up the country. During the 
 preparations in weighing their baggage, etc., — each having 
 previously provided himself with a National cockade — they 
 passed through the crowd unobserved, and got on board a 
 Danish vessel, where they put on a disguise. They then 
 went into an American vessel, but the captain being unwill- 
 ing to keep them, they returned to the Danish ship, only, 
 
U'A/^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. SH 
 
 however, to board the American a second time, unknown 
 to the skipper. They were concealed in the hold eight 
 days, and, when discovered, were treated by him with the 
 greatest civility. A few days later, when off Portland 
 Point, they boarded a brig, bound for Bermuda, which was 
 standing in, with the intention of getting on shore, but the 
 Captain refused to assist them, and they were forced to 
 return to the American vessel. Soon after, they met with 
 a pilot boat, which landed them at Portsmouth Point. 
 Captain Tristram Barnard, the kindly commander of the 
 American ship, paid their passage, and gave them four 
 guineas to enable them to reach Liverpool. They reported 
 that the French were re-building several ships of the line and 
 frigates, a number of the latter being specially intended to 
 cruise against the African vessels belonging to Liverpool. 
 
 During the year 1794, the following recaptures were 
 effected by Liverpool ships : — 
 
 The Enterprize., Captain Young, recaptured the Virginie, 
 400 tons burthen, from River Plate for Cadiz. The Sarah, 
 Captain M'Ghie, recaptured the Mary, Captain Taylor. 
 The Sivan, Captain Hall, recaptured the brig Nancy, of 
 Belfast. The Fortune recaptured the Two Brothers, of 
 Yarmouth. The Mary recaptured the Active, from Lisbon 
 for London. The Hazvke, on her passage to Barbadoes, 
 recaptured the Penelope, of Greenock. The Old Dick, 
 Captain Bird, recaptured the brig Martin, of Whitehav^en, 
 and the brig Ilfracombe, with 198 pipes of wine, 30 bags of 
 shumac, and 40 quintals of cork. The Old Dick, the Betsey, 
 Captain Corran, and Xh& Jenny, Captain Smith, had narrow 
 escapes of being taken by French frigates, but escaped by 
 dint of sailing. T\\q Barton, Captain Hall, recaptured the 
 brig Mentor, of Aberdeen, with fruit from Lisbon. The 
 Othello, Captain Christian, recaptured the ship Minenni, 
 from Martinico for St. Domingo. The Edgar, Captain 
 Kendall, took possession of a fine brig, off Cape Finisterre, 
 
332 THE LIVERPOOL PRLVATEERS. 
 
 laden with salt, wine, and fruit, but without a soul o\\ 
 board. 
 
 The Commerce^ Captain Bosworth, cruising off Desseado, 
 took four prizes, and the Allanson, Captain Byrne, re- 
 captured the brig Minerva^ of Belfast ; and, on her passage 
 to Barbadoes, took the Cleopatra^ an American vessel, from 
 Mauritius for Boston, with many French passengers on 
 board. In August, 1794, the Allanson was herself captured, 
 homeward bound, by a French frigate. 
 
 The Molly, Captain Ford, on her passage to Virginia, 
 was attacked by a French privateer, of 12 guns, and full of 
 men, whom she beat off. 
 
 The Kitty, Captain Taylor, arrived in Liverpool from 
 Guernsey, having been retaken from the French by the 
 Hero, of that island. 
 
 Seven slave ships belonging to Liverpool, together with 
 others from different ports, were taken and destroyed by 
 the French squadron on the Gold Coast, which also devas- 
 tated the settlement of Sierra Leone, leaving the settlers, 
 1300 in number, without provisions or necessaries, but such 
 as could be obtained from the natives. The store houses at 
 Isles de Los were also burnt. 
 
 The Kitty, Captain Mount, on her voyage to the coast of 
 Africa, made the island of Madeira, and observed three ships 
 close in with it. Captain Mount ran down on the weather- 
 most of them, and found her to be a French privateer, 
 mounting 24 guns on one deck, and seemingly full of men. 
 He made sail and stood away, after exchanging a few shots. 
 Two of the vessels followed him, and continued the chase 
 two days and nights, pulling a number of sweeps, and had 
 nearly come up with him, when a breeze sprung up, and 
 the Kitty sailed away from them with ease. The Kitty, 
 and the Sally, Captain Woods, were in company with the 
 Clemison, Captain Jones, when she was taken by a French 
 frigate, of 44 guns, and saved themselves by bearing down 
 
JVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 333 
 
 on the Frenchman, causing him to make off with his 
 prize. 
 
 On the loth of January, 1795, three ships belonging to 
 the French squadron, which had committed considerable 
 ravages on the coast of Africa, sailed up to Duke Town, 
 Old Calabar, and one of them, carrying 20 twelve-pounders, 
 attacked the slave ship Kitty, Captain Walker, of Liverpool, 
 which received and returned three broadsides. Finding 
 that only one of their number could engage the Kitty at one 
 time, owing to her position, the enemy sheered off, and 
 made no further attempts. On receipt of the news in Liver- 
 pool, a subscription was started for the master, officers, and 
 crew of the Kitty, for their gallant behaviour. The Kitty 
 was an "amazingly fast" sailer, and on her voyage to 
 Africa, in April, 1796, on two occasions escaped from 
 different squadrons of frigates which chased her. 
 
 The Mary Ann, Captain Bushell, left Jamaica on the 
 14th of January, 1795, with a crew of 19 men, and two 
 passengers. On the 29th, a French schooner privateer, of 
 6 guns and 70 men, which had been hovering in sight for 
 two days, twice attempted to board them. The Frenchman 
 ran on board the Mary Ann's starboard quarter, where he 
 lay for half-an-hour, but was repulsed. The contest was 
 very severe on both sides, and the slaughter on board the 
 schooner was dreadful. The Mary Ann had two men 
 killed and four wounded. The two passengers. Lieutenant 
 Wall, of the Belliqiieux, and Lieutenant Ford, of the 
 Penelope, were complimented by Captain Bushell for their 
 bravery and gallant conduct, having been foremost in 
 danger throughout the action, and unremitting in thei'r 
 exertions to animate his little crew against " their numerous 
 and inveterate foe." 
 
 Nine of the crew of the Cochrane, Captain Wiseman, 
 of Liverpool, fearful of being impressed in the West 
 Indies, went on shore in the boat at St. Vincent. They 
 
334 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 unfortunately landed in a small bay near where the French 
 and Charaibs were encamped, who, on seeing the boat, 
 rushed to the beach and made them all prisoners. After 
 remaining in durance two days, the unlucky mariners were 
 relieved from their perilous situation by the British troops 
 storming the French and Charaibs' camp. 
 
 On the loth of April, 1795, off Abaco, one of the 
 Bahamas, the Crescent, Captain M'Gauley, fell in with a 
 Republican privateer, of 10 guns and about 70 men, who 
 maintained an obstinate action for two hours, and then 
 sheered off. 
 
 The Eoliis was attacked off Nevis by a French privateer, 
 of 10 guns, and full of men, with which she kept up a 
 running fight of three hours, and at length beat her off, after 
 inflicting considerable damage and receiving none. 
 
 Some curious expedients were adopted to baffle captors 
 searching for treasure. Amongst the packages on board 
 the French ship Hermione, captured by his Majesty's ship 
 Argonaut, were some marked "verdigris," which, on being 
 opened, were found to contain 46 ingots of silver, which 
 sold for upwards of ;^ 12,000 sterling. 
 
 The ship James, Captain Warren, arrived at Montego 
 Bay, on June 22nd, 1795, with a cargo of slaves. On the 
 passage from Barbadoes, he was attacked, off St. Lucia, by a 
 French schooner privateer, which he beat off after an engage- 
 ment of near two hours. Neither the ship nor crew received 
 any damage, but seven negroes died afterwards from fright, 
 taken during the conflict. 
 
 On the 31st of August, 1795, at five a.m., the ship Mary 
 Ellen, Captain Grierson, bound from Liverpool to Bar- 
 badoes, discovered a sail in chase, astern, upon which they 
 made all the sail they could to get clear of her, but to no 
 purpose. She came up with them at seven a.m., hauled 
 down English colours, hoisted French National colours, 
 and proved to be an armed French brig. She fired her 
 
JVAI?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 335 
 
 bow guns into the Mary Ellen, then came alongside and 
 poured a broadside of nine guns into her, which was 
 returned "as quick as possible." Then a continual fire 
 was kept up on both sides for six hours, within pistol shot, 
 when the stays, topsail sheets, and steering sail booms of 
 the brig being shot away, she dropped astern for some 
 time; but the Mary Ellen being at the same time almost a 
 wreck — the hull, masts, yards, rigging, and sails much 
 shattered, and the rudder shot away, so that they could not 
 work her as they wished, — the Frenchman took advantage oi 
 their situation, run alongside the ship again, and poured 
 a whole broadside into her, which being immediately 
 returned, he dropped asrfiern, and hauled his wind to the 
 northward, leaving the Mary Ellen in a most shattered 
 condition. They then returned to the repairs of the ship, 
 put her in the best condition they could, made sail, and 
 arrived at Barbadoes on the 3rd of September. This gallant 
 action gained Captain Grierson and his crew universal 
 approbation. On his return to Liverpool, the captain was 
 married at St. Thomas' Church, to "Miss Stringfellow in 
 Park Lane." 
 
 On the 30th of October, 1795, Captain Farquhar, of the 
 ship Lord Stanley, wrote from Havannah as follows : — 
 
 "On my way from St. Kitts, down the north side of St. 
 Domingo, I fell in with a French schooner privateer, of 12 g-uns, 
 and full of men. He eng-ag-ed us, but in about forty-five 
 minutes got so severely handled, as to haul off; his sails tore, 
 main-topmast and the tricolour flag hanging heels up ; his 
 mainsail down, and the mast so wounded, that he made no sail 
 on it while in sight. An intelligent lad in our main-top, saw 
 them heave seven dead bodies overboard. Thank God, we 
 have received no damage, but some shot through the sails. 
 A pair more of them came to look for us off the Matanzas, 
 but the ship's appearance when the sloop of 8 guns — the 
 largest — was within hail, prevented any firing ; and I had 
 
336 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the satisfaction of protecting- a Danish ship, which had been 
 before plundered and much illtreated, by a privateer from 
 Port-au-Paix." 
 
 On his arrival in Liverpool, Captain Farquhar brought 
 the intelligence that the San Lorenzo^ of 80 gtms, had 
 arrived at the Havannah from St. Domingo, bearing "the 
 coffin, bones, and fetters of Christopher Columbus, which 
 the Government were preparing to receive on shore for 
 re-interment, with the highest military honours." 
 
 Captain M'Ouay, of the Stag, arrived from the Havannah, 
 and brought the news that five Spanish sailors on board the 
 Hibernian, of Dublin, Captain Wilson, had cut the throats 
 of the captain, second mate, and carpenter, and thrown their 
 bodies overboard. The chief mate had three cuts across his 
 throat, but, with two boys, he brought the ship to the 
 Havannah. The five Spaniards took the boat, and landed 
 at the Moro. The Governor immediately despatched a party 
 off, who took them, and in a short time they were all executed 
 in the presence of Captain M'Ouay, their bodies quartered, 
 and their heads hung in cages. The Governor took all the 
 property, intending to dispose of it, and remit the amount 
 of sales to the owners in Dublin. 
 
 Captain Hart, of the Bolton., of 20 guns and 30 men, left 
 Jamaica for Liverpool, on September 22nd, 1795, in com- 
 pany with the Union., a London ship, of 20 guns and 40 men. 
 Off Cape Corrientes, on the 27th, in a dead calm, a French 
 ship-rigged privateer, of 18 nine-pounders and 140 men, 
 commanded by an Irishman, named O'Brien, with the aid 
 of 24 sweeps laid him alongside of the Bolton^ and engaged 
 her for an hour and-a-half. Unfortunately the Bolton was 
 between the privateer and the Union., so that the latter vessel 
 was unable to fire a gun, for fear of damaging her consort. 
 A breeze springing up, the privateer out with his studding 
 sails, and by the help of his sweeps, made off. The Bolton 
 arrived in the Mersey on November 8th. 
 
WAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 337 
 
 On September 25th, 1795, the Jamaica, a Liverpool 
 vessel in the Government transport service, commanded by 
 Captain James Farmer, sailed from Gibraltar with the home- 
 ward bound fleet, and on the 7th of October, was taken with 
 the rest of the convoy. The same afternoon, six of his sea- 
 men deserted from him in a boat, but with the remainder of 
 his crew, the captain retook the ship, made the French 
 prize crew prisoners, and sailed for Portsmouth, where he 
 arrived in safety. 
 
 In November, 1795, the Wildings Captain Pemberton, 
 engaged a French privateer, of 18 guns, and full of men, 
 for two hours, when the privateer blew up, and all on 
 board perished. Captain Pemberton died of his wounds 
 received in the action. As a just tribute paid to his 
 memory, a tablet, bearing the following inscription, was 
 erected in St. James' Church, Toxteth Park, by Mr. 
 jMoses Benson, owner of the Wilding'. — 
 
 " To the Memory of Captain George Pemberton, Com- 
 mander of the ship Wildings of Liverpool, who died on the 
 20th day of November, 1795, of the wounds He received in a 
 most Gallant Action with a French Privateer, of superior Force, 
 when bound on a voyag^e to Jamaica, In which Captain 
 Pemberton did Honor to the Character of a British Sailor. 
 This Monument is erected by the order of Moses Benson, In 
 testimony of the High respect he entertained for Captain 
 Pemberton, during many years' faithful services." 
 
 The Mersey^ Captain Jones, sailed from St. Thomas's on 
 the 2nd of February, 1796, in company with the Aurora, 
 Ceres, Diana, and Atlantic, all for Lancaster. On the 5th, 
 they fell in with a French privateer, from Charlestown, 
 mounting 16 four-pounders, and 95 men, which boarded the 
 Diana, Captain Fox. After a sanguinary fight on the deck 
 of the Diana, the privateer was obliged to make off in a 
 shattered state, having received a heavy fire from the other 
 ships, leaving thirteen of her people on board very badly 
 
338 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 wounded, and some dead on the deck. Three of the Diana's 
 brave crew were killed, and thirteen wounded. The priva- 
 teer had, in fact, caught a Tartar, through believing the 
 statement of a Danish skipper that the English ships were 
 badly manned, having only twelve men each, which en- 
 couraged the Frenchman to board the Diana. The Danish 
 ship had been lying alongside the others at St. Thomas's, 
 and, after giving the Frenchman the above information, she 
 bore down to see the fight. 
 
 In January, 1796, wnthin five hours' sail of Jamaica, the 
 Elizabeth, Captain Jacob Fletcher, of Liverpool, was 
 attacked by a French privateer of superior force, w^hich 
 she beat off after a smart action, in which the Frenchman 
 had about 30 men killed and wounded. In recognition of 
 his gallant and seamanlike conduct, the underwriters of 
 London presented Captain Fletcher v/ith a piece of plate, 
 of the value of 100 guineas. 
 
 The merchants and shipowners of Liverpool petitioned 
 the Lords of the Admiralty, to send three or four frigates, 
 or fast-sailing sloops of war, to cruise, from March to 
 December, on the* coast of Norway, from the Naze along 
 that coast to the eastward, and across the Slieve to the 
 coast of Jutland. Likewise, for two or three frigates, or 
 fast-sailing sloops of war, to cruise from Duncan's Bay 
 Head, on the north-east coast of Scotland, to the Shetland 
 Islands, for the protection of English vessels trading to and 
 from those parts. The merchants and shipowners of Hull 
 also petitioned to the same effect. 
 
 The Diana, Captain Pince, from Africa and Demerara for 
 Liverpool, captured the Rosanna, from Surinam to Amster- 
 dam, and sent her to Falmouth. 
 
 The Ranger, Captain Wilson, from Africa to the West 
 Indies, was taken to windward of Barbadoes by a French 
 privateer, of 16 guns, after an action of two hours, and 
 carried into Curacoa, where Captain Wilson died soon after. 
 
JVA/^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 33& 
 
 Two of his men were killed in the action. The Ranger 
 was recaptured and carried to Barbadoes. 
 
 "On the i6th inst.," says a letter from Madras, dated 
 January 23rd, 1796, "arrived the schooner i^^wi?, Captain 
 Robertson, from Calcutta. On the 7th, Captain Robertson, 
 being in the latitude of 18 North, fell in with the Modeste 
 privateer, when she immediately gave chase to the Fame, 
 but the latter, being a swift sailer, fortunately escaped. 
 Captain Robertson, a few hours after, saw a large ship 
 standing towards him, which brought him to by firing a 
 shot athwart his forefoot, and a boat, with an officer, being 
 sent on board the Fame, the strange vessel was found to be 
 the Sally, Captain Brown, one of the Company's extra 
 ships, a beautiful vessel of 600 tons, and mounting 24 guns, 
 9 twelve-pounders, five months from Liverpool, and had 
 not touched at any place, or seen a single sail during the 
 whole voyage. Captain Robertson having, to the inquiry 
 of ' what news ' ? answered that the Modeste, a French 
 privateer of 20 guns, was within a few hours sail of them, 
 the crew of the Sally instantly gave three cheers, loudly 
 exclaiming : ' Captain Brown ; you have forty-two old 
 privateersmen on board: only run us alongside this French- 
 man, and we will shew him what can be done for the 
 honour of Liverpool.' Captain Brown instantly complied, 
 the guns were run out, the ship cleared for action, and in 
 five minutes the Sally proceeded, under all the canvas she 
 could crowd, in chase of the enemy ; and should she be so 
 fortunate as to fall in with the Modeste, we have no doubt 
 but that, 'for the honour of Liverpool,' the Modeste w'lW 
 accompany the good ship Sally to her moorings off Calcutta." 
 
 On the 30th of March, 1796, the Ferina, with a cargo 
 of salt, from Liverpool to Riga, a new ship belonging 
 to "Mr. Gladstones,"* and commanded by Captain James 
 
 " Proljably Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Gladstone, father of the Right Hon. W. 
 E. Gladstone. 
 
340 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Handyside, was captured off the coast of Norway, by a 
 small French privateer, of 8 guns and 28 men, and carried 
 into Farsund. 
 
 To be "a free and accepted Mason" was not without its 
 advantages, even in dealing with French privateers, at this 
 period, as we find in the case of Captain May, of the S7isa/2?mh. 
 About half-past six in the morning of the 6th of March, 
 1796, he discovered two sail ahead, bearing W., distant two 
 miles, lying to under bare poles. Perceiving they were 
 Frenchmen, he made his ship ready for action. They 
 proved to be two privateer schooners, one of 16 guns (nine 
 and twelve-pounders) and 100 men; the other of 6 four- 
 pounders and 50 men. At seven, one of them came up and 
 attempted to board him. He poured a broadside into her, 
 and she dropped under his stern. The other vessel bore 
 down on his starboard quarter, and both privateers hoisted 
 the bloody flag on the foretop-gallant mast. In this situa- 
 tion, with one enemy raking him fore and aft, and the other 
 laying on his quarter, Captain May found it impossible to 
 sustain the engagement any longer, or to make his escape, 
 and struck, after an action of three quarters of-an-hour. 
 Finding him to be a Freemason, the French commanders 
 allowed Captain May to depart in an American vessel, 
 which was present during the action. The Susannah was 
 recaptured by the Favourite sloop, and carried into Barba- 
 does. 
 
 All owners and masters of vessels taking on board guns 
 for their defence, were required to procure a license for that 
 purpose, from the Lords of the Admiralty. The Act passed 
 in the 24th of George III., only allowed them to have two 
 carriage guns, not more than four-pounders, and two 
 muskets, for every ten men. Vessels found with more on 
 board, without a license, were subject to seizure and for- 
 feiture. A caution to this effect was published in April> 
 1796. 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 341 
 
 Captain Wright, of the Ann, writing from Barbadoes, on 
 the 2ist of March, 1796, to his owners in Liverpool, says: — 
 "Yesterday, to windward of this island, I was attacked by 
 a long" schooner privateer, of 16 guns, with a great number of 
 swivels and small arms, and full of men, which, after an engag'e- 
 ment of two hours and a half, we beat off. He seemed much 
 disabled, as he shewed no other sail after he left us, whilst in 
 sight, but a piece of foresail. The disabled state of m}- own 
 vessel totally prevented me following him, could I for a moment 
 have had such an intention, the fore-mast being- shot one-third 
 through, the fore top-gallant-mast shot away, fore and main 
 topmast stays and mizen stay gone, main yard shot through in 
 the slings, the braces, staysail haulyards, chief part of the 
 running rigging and sails cut to pieces, and the boats stove ; 
 though fortunately none of my small crew (only 25 in number) 
 was killed, and but two slightly wounded. Every encomium is 
 due to my officers and ship's crew ; and too much cannot be 
 said in praise of their bravery and good conduct on the 
 occasion." 
 
 The Brothers, Captain Cudd, was captured by the Morgan 
 Rattler, French privateer, of 14 guns, commanded by John 
 Coffin Whitney, of L'Orient. The privateer, and six prizes 
 which he had taken, were all captured by the Sitffisante 
 British sloop of war, 14 guns, and it was a fine sight to see 
 the little vessel sailing into Plymouth on the 30th of June, 
 1796, with her seven prizes. The Morgan Rattler was 
 originally a Liverpool privateer. 
 
 The Nereus, Captain Williams, arrived at Port-au-Prince, 
 from Liverpool, after beating off two French privateers. 
 In November, 1797, on her passage to St. Domingo, the 
 Nereus had an engagement of two hours with a French 
 privateer, of 16 guns, which she beat off with the loss of one 
 man killed, and one wounded. The Recovery, Captain 
 Needham, had a narrow escape from a privateer, which kept 
 up a running fire for two hours, but found the Recovery's 
 two stern chasers too heavy, and dropped the pursuit. 
 
342 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Fame, Captain Bennett, recaptured the brig i?e;'/mr«', 
 laden with coffee and cotton for Messrs. Neilson & Heath- 
 cote. 
 
 The schooner Thomas, Captain Bosworth, of Martinique, 
 belonging to Messrs. Thomas Gudgeon and Co., sent to 
 cruise off Surinam against the Dutch, fell in with a Dutch 
 fleet, from Surinam bound for Holland, without convoy. 
 Captain Bosworth gave chase, and brought twelve of them to, 
 but he could only man five, which he carried into St. Pierre. 
 They were described as "amazing large ships, and five of 
 the richest prizes taken this war." Their united cargoes 
 consisted of 1,240,682 lbs. of coffee, 671 hogsheads of sugar, 
 244 bales of cotton, and a quantity of cocoa. The Thomas 
 had previously captured a valuable ship, laden with coffee, 
 from the same place. The remaining part of the fleet was 
 taken the same day by two British frigates. Out of 72 sail, 
 69 were captured. 
 
 At ten p.m., on the 12th of August, 1796, on her voyage 
 to the coast of Africa, the slave schooner Harlequin, Captain 
 Topping, belonging to Messrs. T. & W. Earle, fell in with 
 a French privateer, who came up within gunshot, and fired 
 his bow chasers at them, which was returned with their 
 two stern chasers, whereupon the enemy shortened sail, 
 watching them all that night. They altered their course 
 several times in hope of escaping, but the Frenchman 
 kept so close that, with the advantage of night glasses, he 
 prevented them getting clear. Captain Topping then 
 determined to try to beat the enemy off, and got everything 
 ready for action. At three a.m., he made her out to be a 
 long, black brig, pierced for 16 guns, and she then made sail 
 to run alongside of him, with the intention of boarding, but 
 was prevented by the play of the Harlequin s stern chasers. 
 A general action immediately ensued, which was kept up 
 with equal spirit on each side for thirteen hours. During 
 this engagement, the Frenchman attempted to board several 
 
IVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 343 
 
 times, but Captain Topping himself taking the helm, by a 
 watchful steerage frustrated his design, either of boarding 
 or doing any material damage to the Harlequin, which, 
 with all sails up, made the best of her way, the enemy in 
 hot pursuit. When a lucky shot from the slaver damaged 
 his rigging, the Frenchman dropped astern to repair, and 
 again followed them, and this happened repeatedly during 
 the action. Captain Topping being informed by the crew 
 that all their shot was expended, gave orders to fire with 
 copper dross, which was accordingly done for some time. 
 Finding, at length, that it was in vain to resist without proper 
 ammunition, and hard to be shot at without a return, Captain 
 Topping, at the request of all the crew, who, till then had 
 behaved with the greatest bravery, ordered the colours to be 
 struck, and the privateer took possession of the Harlequin. 
 She proved to be the L'Aventure, of Bordeaux, of 14 guns 
 and 90 men, commanded by Pierre Lautorine, who kept 
 Captain Topping and his men nine days, and then put them 
 on board a Swedish dogger, which landed them at Figueira. 
 The Harlequin was recaptured by the Sugar-Cane, of 
 London, and carried to Cape Coast. She afterwards traded 
 on the Windward Coast, under the command of Captain 
 Higgin, but, early in 1797, we hear of her again, under the 
 command of Captain Topping, recapturing from the French 
 a Swedish ship, which she sent to Lisbon ; and in June, 
 1797, taking, after a running fight of an hour and-a-half, 
 off Cape Finisterre, the Spanish brig privateer Signora del 
 Carma, of 9 guns (nine-pounders), a number of brass swivels, 
 and 70 men. On her passage to Angola, in February, 1798, 
 the Harlequin beat off a French privateer, of 14 guns, and 
 full of men, after an engagement of three hours. On the 
 20th of December, 1798, the Harlequin, bound to Africa, 
 was taken by the La Mouche French privateer, of 18 guns 
 and 200 men, of Bordeaux, which, on the 17th, had taken 
 the Union, of Lancaster, Captain Thompson, after a 
 
344 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 severe action of three hours and-a-half. The Frenchman 
 gave the Harlequin to Captain Thompson, with 89 Enghsh 
 prisoners, on condition that he should proceed with them 
 to England, and get them exchanged for the same number 
 of French. 
 
 Captain Smerdon, of the Bud., writing from Jamaica to 
 his owners in Liverpool, in October, 1796, says : — 
 
 "We were chased on our passage from the Windward 
 Islands by a French privateer, and as I found he sailed faster 
 than we did, after we had gfot everything- prepared to receive 
 him, I hove to. 0\\ his coming- up, he fired several broadsides 
 at us, before I returned him a shot, as from the leng-th of his 
 g-uns his shot went over us, when ours would not touch him. 
 At last, the fellow in g-oing- about missed stays, and was oblig-ed 
 to wear, which broug;ht him close to us, and I immediately 
 gave him the contents of our starboard g-uns, then wore round 
 and g-ave him the larboard ones, which were well loaded with 
 round and grape. We did him considerable damage, as he 
 immediately made sail from us, and as the wind was very light, 
 he was able to get away. I chased him about an hour, and 
 then bore away. Some of his shot went through our sides, 
 just above the bends, but he did us no other damage." 
 
 On the 8th of October, 1796, the s\\\'^ Backhouse ., Captain 
 James Flanagan, on her voyage from Liverpool to Martin- 
 ique, was chased by a French cutter brig, of 16 guns, full 
 of men, from eight in the morning till nine at night, when 
 she came up, and began to fire at them. Being dubious of 
 her all day, Captain Flanagan had made every preparation 
 to give her a warm reception, and when he found really 
 what she was, he illuminated the ship with his side lanthorns 
 to every gun ; in with all his small sails, backed his main- 
 topsail, and fired a shot, reserving his broadside till the 
 Frenchman came alongside. Contrary to expectation, the 
 enemy sheered off, but followed them till daylight next 
 morning, compelling them to keep their quarters all night, 
 
JVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 345 
 
 for fear of attack. The next morning, the Frenchman renewed 
 his visit, under English colours, which he hauled down three 
 times, and fired a shot each time, as much as to say, 
 "Strike!" Captain Flanagan, writing to his owners, 
 says : — 
 
 "But we never minded ; we kept everything- clear, and the 
 guns pointed at him, waiting- his coming- close to us, so that 
 we were sure our shot would tell, as we had none to waste, 
 when he down English colours altogether and up French ; 
 sheered under our quarter, and gave us a broadside, which we 
 returned directly, which staggered him very much, and I 
 believe wounded his mainmast, as we afterwards saw him 
 repairing. But his men, four or five, came tumbling out of 
 their main-top in a terrible hurry ; nevertheless he continued his 
 fire about one hour successively at us, till our last two cart- 
 ridges were handing out from the cabin by one of the boys, 
 who said, 'Sir, here Is the two last cartridges,' which struck 
 me, but not with fear, when I exclaimed, ' Never mind, there 
 is luck in those two, I hope.' I had not well spoke, when he 
 made sail from us, on which we made sail after him, and con- 
 tinued our chace till begot clear; when we resumed our course, 
 but he came down on us again on Monday, after repairing his 
 mainmast, but we again met him ; and he, seeing our intention 
 as he supposed, he sheered off" again, and we after him till he 
 was out of sight. Commodore Blanket was kind enough to 
 spare me seven casks of powder, which I paid him for with a 
 stock of potatoes, etc. Our engagement, lat. 28.30 N. long 
 24 W." 
 
 In July, 1797, on the passage from St. Vincent to Liver- 
 pool, the Backhouse had an engagement with a French 
 schooner privateer, of 16 six-pounders, and full of men. 
 Captain Flanagan's crew consisted only of 15 men, in- 
 cluding the officers, by whose steady and brave conduct, 
 aided by the gallant intrepidity of three gentlemen who 
 were passengers, he fortunately beat her off, after a warm 
 action of two hours and-a-half, without a single man on 
 
346 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 board being hurt, but with his running rigging much cut 
 by the enemy's shot, and his ammunition nearly all 
 expended. 
 
 Captain John Mills, of the slave ship Sally, of 8 four- 
 pounders and 23 men, writing from River Rionoones, on 
 October loth, 1796, tells how he baffled Monsieur Renaud: — 
 
 " I arrived at Isle de Los the 25th of August. On the 5th 
 of September, being- thick, hazy weather, the ship Mentor, M. 
 Renue, from Goree, carrying 20 guns, nine and six-pounders, 
 was observed standing in to the harbour, under English colours, 
 and as we expected the Manchester, and Falmouth, to arrive 
 daily from Liverpool, we took her to be one of those ships, but 
 when she came close alongside of us, she hauled down the 
 English and hoisted French colours, and gave us a broadside. 
 
 " The people being all In good health and spirits, we deter- 
 mined not to give the ship up, but immediately cut the cables, 
 and set the sails to the best advantage, although the shot came 
 very fast upon us. As soon as that was done, we fired a 
 broadside, and hauled our wind to beat out of the harbour, and 
 get clear. The second tack of the privateer, away went his 
 main-top-gallant-yard in the slings, and then the Sally gained 
 on him fast, till we got clear of the islands, when the flood tide 
 making, he could not get out after us. We stood out to sea 
 for six days, and lay to four more, in order to give them time 
 to get away. I then bore away for the River Riopongos ; but 
 on making the land on the 17th, the privateer and her prize, 
 the Manchester, hove in sight, almost within gunshot, about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 " How to get clear of them then, I did not know, but hauled 
 my wind to the southward, till dark, and then wore right round 
 to the northward, in order to get In shore of her, which I luckily 
 effected, and got Into the River Rionoones safe in the morning, 
 where I now lie 300 miles up the river. I lost three boats, two 
 anchors, and cables, but have got another anchor since my 
 arrival here. I have been told by Mr, Jackson, of Isle de Los, 
 that Renue declared. If he took us, he would put us all on 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 347 
 
 shore on a desolate island, with a biscuit round each of our 
 necks, for daring- to engage him. He did not destroy any 
 property on shore, but cut the buoys from our anchors, lest we 
 should recover them again ; and had heard of our g^oing to 
 Riopongos, which induced him to cruize off there for us. I 
 expect to be off the coast in all January next." 
 
 Monsieur Renaud's squadron, having taken and destroyed 
 many British ships on the coast of Africa, two Liverpool 
 vessels were sent out to punish him. On the 25th of 
 December, 1797, the Ellis, Captain Souter, and the St. 
 Anne, Captain Jones (both belonging to Liverpool) ; the 
 Dedalus frigate, Captain Ball, and the Hornet, sloop-of-war, 
 Captain Mash, arrived at Isle de Los, after sinking the ^e//, 
 and doing some damage to the town and fort of Goree. The 
 Ellis and the Hornet cruised off that place, and took the 
 Ocean and the Prosperity, two of Renaud's cruisers, and 
 recaptured the Quaker, w^ith 388 slaves on board, and also 
 an American ship called the President. Early in 1798, it 
 was stated that the two Liverpool ships had totally destroyed 
 Renaud's squadron, with the exception only of his own ship, 
 which managed to escape. On their passage to Africa, in 
 the same year, the Ellis and the St. Anne recaptured the 
 Hannah, from Mogadore for London. Captain Souter, 
 writing to his owners from Barbadoes, on the 3rd of July, 
 1798, gives the follow'ing account of an affair with a French 
 frigate, on the coast of Africa : — 
 
 " On the 30th of May, lying at Cape Mount, saw a larg-e 
 ship coming from the southward ; made the signal to the St. 
 Anne to get under way immediately. The Pilgrim, having- a 
 copy of our signals, got under way also. As soon as the Si. 
 Anne came up, I took my station astern of her, finding it was 
 impossible for her to escape if I left her, thinking better to 
 risque an action, than bear the name of a runaway ; the Pilgrim 
 being- a long way astern shortened sail for her to come up. The 
 French frigate (as I was afterwards informed by Captain 
 
348 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Mentor, who was unfortunately captured by her), was called 
 the Convention, Captain Roscow, two months from Dunkirk, 
 carries 32 g'uns, and 200 men, had taken four ships. She bore 
 down on the St. Anne and Ellis, and commenced a brisk fire, 
 which we returned with all the streng-th we were masters of. 
 After a little, finding- us rather strong-er than she expected, she 
 filled, I supposed with an intention to rake the St. Anne. I 
 immediately filled, and shot ahead of the St. Anne to leeward 
 and met her, being- little more than a g-ood musquet shot apart, 
 and received her broadside, being- well prepared to pay her for 
 her trouble. She, finding- our shot heavier than she expected, 
 made sail in a g-reater hurry than she took it in. My running- 
 rigg-ing- being- very much cut, she g-ot out of reach of my guns 
 before I could set my top gallant sails ; chased him till dark, 
 then wore round, and joined the St. Anne, who was a long way 
 astern." 
 
 The Ellis, in 1800, recaptured the ship La Fraternite, 
 Captain Rockliffe, which had been taken on her passage to 
 Africa, by a French privateer of 22 guns and 200 men. 
 
 On the ist of November, 1796, in N. lat. 42.30. W. long. 
 16, a French privateer, of 18 guns (12 nine-pounders, and 
 6 six-pounders), with 2 swivels, and a crew of 90 men, 
 ranged alongside of the slave ship Ann, Captain Catterall, 
 hailed her and then sheered off, but came up again the next 
 morning under their starboard quarter, when the action 
 began on both sides, and continued with great spirit for 
 about an hour. The Ann, having sustained several broad- 
 sides from the enemy, was greatly disabled in her sails and 
 rigging, had her boats stove, and received very considerable 
 damage. Her crew, seeing the great superiority of the 
 enemy, fled from their quarters, and ran below, leaving the 
 captain and his officers alone to defend the vessel, which, as 
 it was then impossible, obliged them to strike their colours. 
 " We are sorry to state," says the Liverpool paper, 'Svhat 
 may at first appear repugnant to the character of British 
 
JVAT^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 349 
 
 seamen, which, we trust, will not be tarnished, when we 
 inform our readers that the crew was in great part composed 
 of Americans and foreigners, not interested in the preser- 
 vation of that exalted name." After the lapse of a centur\-, 
 England is more than ev'er dependent on foreigners to man 
 her merchant navy. Will they, in the next great naval war, 
 think as much of preserving her exalted name, as of quietly 
 running her ships into an enemy's harbour? 
 
 The Cornivallisy Captain Tate, from Liverpool, arrived at 
 Jamaica in 34 days, after beating off two French privateers, 
 full of men, both of which attempted to board her. 
 
 The S7van, Captain John Walls, one of the London cheese 
 ships, gave a French privateer such a warm reception, on 
 mere suspicion of his intentions, that he bore away before 
 the wind, without attacking the Stva/i, or the Apollo., which 
 was in company with her. 
 
 The following letter, dated November 30th, 1796, was 
 wTitten off Barbadoes, by Captain Ratcliff Shimmins, of the 
 slave ship Tarletoii, belonging to Messrs. Tarleton & Rigg, 
 of Liverpool : — 
 
 " On the 28th instant, about forty leag"ues to the eastward 
 of Barbadoes, at daylight in the morning-, we fell in with a 
 larg^e French schooner, of 12 g-uns ; after g^iving^ him a broad- 
 side, he bore away. Same da}- at meridian, rather hazy, saw 
 a ship to the S.W. standingf to the northward, about six miles 
 distant. As we g^ot nearer, perceived her to be a ship of 
 force. Did not like her appearance, but found it Impossible to 
 avoid her, and to induce him to shew colours, hauled our 
 wind, hoisted an ensig^n, and fired a g^un to windward. 
 On which, he hauled up his courses, down stay sails, and fired 
 two g-uns to windward, then hoisted the bloody flag- at the 
 fore-top-g-allant masthead. We then saw what he was ; 
 kept our wind, which he perceiving-, made after us. Finding- 
 my people all healthy and well disposed (particularly my 
 officers), and with the assistance of the best of our slaves, 
 prepared for action, and about two o'clock he g-ot along-side 
 
350 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 of us, hoisted his French ensign, and before there was any 
 time for hailing, gave us a broadside, which we returned 
 warmer than he wished. The action continued without ever 
 ceasing, till five o'clock, when he sheered off, and stood to the 
 northward. The only damage we received was in our sails 
 and rigging ; not a man hurt. She Avas as handsome a 
 frigate-built ship as I have seen, mounted 20 guns, nine- 
 pounders, on her main deck, and eight guns on her quarter 
 deck ; had much the appearance of the Princess Royal, 
 formerly of Liverpool. 
 
 " My people were in high spirits, and if we could have got 
 alongside of him again, we would, I am certain, have saved 
 them the trouble of taking down their bloody flag, but our 
 rigging and sails being a good deal cut, partly prevented us. 
 He was much more shattered than us, and his hull pretty 
 well moth eaten, his quarter was at one time so well cleared, 
 with our eighteen-pounders, that we suppose a number of 
 them slept under their arms. Nothing but his superior 
 sailing saved him at last. We expended five barrels of gun- 
 powder, and the next afternoon, about five o'clock, made the 
 Island of Barbadoes." 
 
 "Captain Peter M'Ouie, who commanded the ship 
 Tliomas, of Liverpool," says Brooke, "was as brave and 
 respectable a man as ever commanded a vessel sailing out 
 of Liverpool ; and he several times signalised himself in 
 engagements with vessels of the enemy, of superior force. 
 The Thomas carried 16 guns, of heavy calibre, and sailed 
 from Liverpool, under his command, with a crew of 78 
 men, and besides being adapted for the regular trade* in 
 which she was employed, she was completely equipped as a 
 privateer. On the 2nd of January, 1797, she encountered a 
 French National corvette, mounting 18 guns, twelve- 
 pounders, and four carronades of very heavy metal, and 
 
 '' The slave trade ; in dealing with which, we shall have more to say of this 
 ressel. 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 351 
 
 between 200 and 300 men, and a severe engagement took 
 place, the vessels being so close together that the enemy's 
 bowsprit was entangled in the foreshrouds of the Thomas^ 
 and so remained forty-seven minutes, whilst the enemy 
 threw on board hand grenades, stink pots, and other 
 missiles, besides keeping up an incessant fire from the tops 
 upon her deck. After making some attempts to board, 
 and after sustaining considerable injury, and much loss of 
 life amongst her crew, the French vessel was beaten off." 
 
 In a letter to his owner, Mr. Thomas Clarke, dated at 
 sea, in lat. 38^ 56', January 5th, 1797, Captain M'Ouie 
 himself supplies full particulars of the engagement, which 
 are as follow : — 
 
 "On the 2nd instant, in lat. 37. 40 scudding- under easy 
 sail, the man whom I had stationed at the masthead, gave the 
 signal of a sail ahead, and bearing right down for me ; I, 
 however, judged it most prudent to keep the course I was 
 then steering. On the vessel approaching nigher, I discovered 
 her to be an armed vessel. Of course, I made the necessary 
 arrangement to act on the defensive, for the preservation of 
 the Thomas and cargo. The vessel having come within gun- 
 shot of the Thomas, I fired a gun, and hoisted my colours, to 
 learn who or what she was, when I found her to be a French 
 National corvette, mounting 18 guns, twelve pounders, with 
 four carronades, of very heavy metal, with from 200 to 300 
 men. The shot of one of the carronades made a hole in the 
 side of the Thomas's cabin, of ten inches diameter, but no 
 material injury accrued therefrom. 
 
 " But to commence with a detail of the whole action. The 
 corvette steering right down upon me, I hoisted my colours, 
 giving her a shot, which for some time was not answered. I, 
 however, took every necessary precaution. The corvette being 
 now abreast of me, I gave her a full broadside, which was 
 answered by several guns, miserably conducted, and from 
 which I received no damage. The corvette kept her course for 
 some time, and I expected had no further intention of engaging. 
 
352 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 which was wished for on my part, being" agreeable to your 
 instructions. I therefore continued my course. 
 
 "In a few hours the Frenchman about ship, hoisted his 
 bloody pendant for boarding-, made sail, and in a short time 
 (he sailing- comparativel)^ speaking-, two feet for my one), came 
 off my larboard quarter, and in a very peremptory manner, 
 ordered me to haul down my colours, otherwise he would g-rant 
 me no quarter whatever. I hailed him through my Ling-uist, 
 that if he would come along-side, I would treat upon more 
 amicable terms, but to no effect. He then, like a man, laid 
 his ship along-side of me, with his bowsprit entang-led in my 
 fore-shrouds, when the action became g-eneral, and for forty- 
 seven minutes remained in this position, with a determined 
 resolution to board me on his part, and a determination on mine 
 to resist him to the last. His bowsprit being- thus entang-led, 
 I with my own hands, lashed my shrouds to his main-top-mast 
 back-stay, which, if the lashing- had not been cut, I am convinced 
 you would have ha-d a g-ood account of her. The men were all 
 armed with tomahawks, etc. Her tops were all crowded with 
 men, and from so well continued and kept up fire of small arms, 
 I am surprised the injury was not greater. The enemy threw 
 on board hand granadoes, stink-pots (five and twenty or thirty 
 stink-pots and hand granadoes I have now on board), marling- 
 spikes, boarding-pikes, and even the arm of his ship's head. 
 
 " My first broadside, I am assured, injured her masts very 
 materially, his foretopmast and jib-boom being both shot away. 
 In the general part of the action, my quarter guns tore him to 
 pieces, the carnage was dreadful, sweeping every thing before 
 them, being both well loaded with grape, ball, and canister 
 shot, and well conducted. After the smartness of the action 
 was over, the fellow gained on me much, and shot ahead of me 
 like an arrow (in plain truth, I never saw a vessel sail so 
 remarkably fast in all my life), and soon about ship, and went 
 astern of me, I suppose to repair the injury sustained from my 
 guns. The same evening he came several times down, I believe, 
 with an idea of finding me unprepared, and to board me, but I was 
 ever ready to receive him, my men always resting on their guns. 
 
 1 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 353 
 
 "The following- day, the 3rd of January, the fellow hove 
 down upon me, as if to engage, but the cowardly scoundrel 
 never came so near as that one of my shot could tell. I 
 therefore kept them in reserve. The whole of that evening, 
 till four o'clock in the morningf of the 4th, the fellow kept 
 pestering- me by turns. What must my feelings be when I 
 inform you that my surgeon, Mr. James Beatty, was shot 
 through the head, and died instantaneously at my feet, on the 
 quarter deck, after having fired several muskets at the enemy. 
 I had also one seaman shot through the head (John Stile) ; my 
 ship's steward, Thomas Bevington received a shot through his 
 leg, but is in fair way of recovering. My gunner's mate (James 
 Hogat), received a shot through the arm, but will soon be of 
 service to me again. Several others of my hearty crew received 
 small wounds, but of no material consequence. I should be 
 wanting in feeling was I not to observe with what firm 
 resolution the whole of my small ship's company, consisting of 
 forty-seven, behaved. I am particularly indebted to Mr. Gullin 
 for the grand manner in which he worked the stern chasers 
 and quarter guns, which much injured the enemy. Mr. Douglas, 
 who commanded the main-deck guns, his conduct was such 
 that will ever reflect honour upon him, as well as Mr. Crabbe. 
 
 "My boatswain behaved in a grand manner, going through 
 the most irrkminent danger. I recommend him to your notice ; 
 in fact, the whole of my small crew behaved in the most gallant 
 and heroic manner. At two o'clock a.m., observed a fleet to 
 the S.E. From the number of ves,sels, I judged them to be an 
 English fleet; four o'clock came within hail of a small sloop, 
 who gave me to understand that the fleet was from England, 
 under convoy of the Sheerness, James Cornwallis, Esq., com- 
 mander, to whom I am particularly obligated, he having sent 
 his surgeon, after finding my situation, to examine the wounds 
 of my people, with a promise of every assistance." 
 
 This well-fought action was soon followed by another, 
 
 which occurred off Monte Video, in April, in the same year, 
 
 when the Tlwnias fought a Spanish vessel of war, full of 
 z 
 
354 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 troops, and mounting between 30 and 40 guns. The 
 action commenced at eight in the morning, and lasted until 
 half-past twelve, with scarcely any intermission, at no 
 greater distance than musket or pistol shot. The Thomas 
 suffered considerably in her hull and rigging, and in the 
 loss of several of her brave crew; and her quarter-deck at 
 one time took fire, in consequence of an explosion of gun- 
 powder; yet Captain M'Ouie succeeded in preserving his 
 vessel, and beating off the enemy's ship. In the same year 
 he captured a ship, from Buenos Ayres, laden with hides, 
 tallow, etc. 
 
 On the 3rd of January, 1797, at 7 p.m., the ship King 
 Pepple, Captain James Brown, in her passage to Barbadoes, 
 fell in with a French brig, of 18 guns and full of men. At 
 7.30 they commenced a smart action, and kept up a hot 
 fire until 10 o'clock, when the privateer ceased firing and 
 hauled her wind about two miles from them. At 6.0 in the 
 morning she bore down upon them again, and both ships 
 maintained a warm fire for about four hours, when the 
 brig hauled away, seemingly in very great confusion, her 
 sails and rigging much shattered, and with great slaughter 
 amongst her crew. The three last broadsides from the 
 King Pepple, with double charges of grape and langrage, 
 went home with great effect. "I could plainly see the 
 people either drop or dodge from the fire," writes Captain 
 Brown. "She having much the advantage in sailing, 1 
 thought it useless to follow. We expended nine barrels of 
 gunpowder. I cannot say enough in behalf of my officers 
 and people, no men could behave with more spirit and good 
 conduct ; fortunately had nobody hurt." 
 
 "On Tuesday last," says the Advertiser^ Q'i February 
 20th, 1797, "was launched from the building yard of Mr. 
 Edward Grayson, a remarkable fine three-decked ship, 
 called the Watt, pierced for 22 guns on her gun deck, built 
 for Richard Walker, Esq., and intended for the Jamaica 
 
JVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 355 
 
 trade. The tide was very high, the launch very fine, and 
 having a large band of military music on board, playing 
 martial tunes, the whole proved highly gratifying to a vast 
 concourse of spectators which had assembled on the 
 occasion." Thus were war and commerce harmoniously 
 blended together. 
 
 The Fair Penitent privateer, Captain Dunlop, captured 
 and sent into Liverpool, the Clara A. N'orbeg, from Lisbon 
 for Bilbao, with salt, cocoa, sugar, etc. ; also a prize laden 
 with anchors, cables, and naval stores, from Altona ; and 
 the brig Seahorse^ from Havre to Cadiz, laden with linens 
 and other merchandise. Th.Q Forbes, of Liverpool, captured 
 and sent into Martinico, the Neptune, from Surinam for 
 Amsterdam. 
 
 In March, 1797, the Barton, Captain Richard Hall, 
 having parted company with the Agreeable, Captain 
 McCallum, on the passage to Barbadoes, was attacked by 
 a heavy Spanish privateer, of 16 guns and 120 men, which 
 was repulsed after a smart action of twenty minutes. The 
 Spaniard kept about half a mile astern of the Barton all 
 night, but on the Agreeable appearing in sight at daylight 
 next morning, the privateer bore down on both ships, when 
 a warm action was fought for an hour and forty minutes, 
 resulting in the privateer sheering off, much damaged in 
 her sails and rigging. The Agreeable had two men 
 wounded during the engagement. 
 
 The armed brig Sivalloiv, Captain John Maclver, of Liver- 
 pool, whilst cruising off Leogane, to prevent supplies being 
 carried in there, sent into Port-au-Prince a large brig and 
 schooner, laden in America, with French property on board. 
 He took several other vessels, and saved the Fame, of Liver- 
 pool, from being captured when parted from the fleet. 
 
 The owners of the Swallozv, were Thomas Twemlow, 
 Peter Maclver, Samuel McDowall, Iver Maclver, of Liver- 
 pool, merchants, and the commander, John Maclver. In 
 
356 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the Letter of Marque* granted to Captain Maclver on the 
 1 2th of July, 1796, to cruise against the French, the Sivallow 
 is described as of about 256 tons burthen, British built, 
 square stern, scroll head, and two masts, mounted with 18 
 carriage guns, carrying shot of six pounds weight, and no 
 swivel guns, and navigated by thirty-five men, of whom 
 one-third were landsmen. In the commission granted to 
 cruise against the Spaniards in January, 1797, she is said to 
 have twenty carriage guns, carrying shot of six and twelve 
 pounds weight, cohorns, and swivel guns, and to be 
 navigated with 80 officers and men. The Sivalloiv was 
 not an ordinary privateer, or Letter of Marque ship, but an 
 armed vessel, specially hired by Government, as will be seen 
 by the following letter, addressed to Captain Maclver by 
 Mr. Huskisson : — 
 
 " Parliament Street, December 'jih, I'jf)"]. 
 "Sir, — I am directed by Mr. Dundas to desire that, on 
 the receipt of this letter, you will put yourself under the orders 
 of Captain Lane, of His Majesty's ship Acasio, and obey such 
 directions as you may receive from him, until the period of your 
 arrival at St. Domingo, which you will immediately report to 
 the Officer commanding- His Majesty's Troops there, and obey 
 such further orders as you may receive from him. You will, 
 previously to your sailing- from Portsmouth, receive on board. 
 Colonel de Cambefort, with his lady and family, and such other 
 officers as may be furnished with letters from me for that 
 purpose. 
 
 " I am, Sir, Your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 W. Huskisson. 
 
 "To the Officer commanding- the Swallorv, KivQd armed 
 vessel." 
 
 As special interest attaches to this vessel, owing to her 
 principal owners and commander being members of that 
 
 * By the courtesy of Messrs. D. & C. Mnclver, we are enabled to give, in 
 another part of this volume, the full text of the Letter of Marque. 
 
WAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 357 
 
 famous Clan Iver, which has given to Liverpool several 
 merchant princes, whose foresight and enterprise have con- 
 tributed greatly to the prosperity of the port, we append the 
 following account of the Clan, condensed from an elegant 
 and interesting brochure^ printed for private circulation : — 
 
 The Maclvers were of Scandinavian origin, but of Iver, 
 the prog-enitor of the race which bears his name, nothing- is 
 known. Perhaps he landed upon the shores of Scotland from 
 his own private ship of war, and found some dear ' Highland 
 Mary,' who lured him from his wild sea life. Anyhow, his 
 grandson or great-grandson, Donald Maclver, lived in the 
 reign of Alexander II., a.d. 1219, and was the father of Iver 
 Crom, the conqueror of Cowal. The ancestors of the race 
 were among the chieftains, who, in 1221, fought under 
 Alexander II. against Somerled the Younger, and were 
 rewarded with Baronies in Argyll formed out of the lands which 
 they had conquered. The Ordinance of King John Baliol, 
 dated at Scone, loth February, 1292, shews the decendants of 
 Iver to have been settled there as an independent family, 
 holding their lands of the Crown in the thirteenth century ; 
 thus assigning to them as high an antiquity in that district as 
 can, on any certain historical ground, be claimed for the name 
 of Campbell. The Maclvers always maintained in Argyll the 
 character of a brave and energetic Clan, and constituted a 
 formidable division of the forces of the House of Argyll. The 
 Chieftains of the Clan were hereditary keepers and captains of 
 the Castle of Inverary. The Clan Iver formed part of the 
 vanguard of the Scottish host on the fatal field of Flodden, 
 when Archibald, Earl of Argyll, with his cousin. Sir Duncan 
 Campbell, and all the flower of Argyll, fell valiantly fighting 
 in front of their King. The main body of the Clan Iver 
 exchanged their ancient patronymic for that of Campbell, and 
 the greater number of the Ross-shire Maclvers migrated to 
 Lewis in the seventeenth century ; from these are descended 
 the Maclvers of Uig, and of the Maclvers traceable to UIg, 
 the most important are the Maclvers of Liverpool. A 
 
358 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 member of the Clan settled in Uig had two sons, Iver and 
 John ; from Iver the late Rev. Wm. Maclver, of Lymm, 
 Cheshire, was descended. John, the son of Iver, had three sons, 
 named Iver, Peter, and William. Iver and Peter settled in 
 Liverpool, and became prosperous merchants and shipowners, 
 having at one time almost a monopoly of the trade between 
 Liverpool and Glasgow. They were joined by their brother 
 William, who, after the death of both without issue, became 
 the head of the house. He married Anne Clark, by whom he 
 had (besides a daughter) an only son, the Rev. Wm. Maclver, 
 who died in 1863, leaving six sons and five daughers. Charles 
 Maclver, the progenitor of the Maclvers of Liverpool, was the 
 son of Captain John Maclver, brother of the great-grand- 
 father of the Rev. Wm. Maclver. This Charles Maclver, 
 the g^randfather of the late Charles Maclver, of Calderstone, 
 also commanded a ship. He had seven or eight sons, of 
 whom only three grew up. The eldest of these, John, earned 
 a very high reputation by his skill and gallantry in command 
 of the Swalloiv, a ship of 18 guns, and in other armed vessels 
 in the Government service. He died without issue, as also 
 did a younger brother who served under him with the same 
 credit, and afterwards commanded a ship. These two 
 brothers were uncles of the late Charles Maclver, of Calder- 
 stone. One of them is referred to in the following- paragraph 
 from the Edinhurgh Advertiser, of March 23rd, 1795: — 'The 
 armed ship in his Majesty's service, King Grey, commanded by 
 the gallant Captain Maclver, was sunk by a bombshell, and 
 part of her crew drowned.' 
 
 The only son who left issue was David, who, like the other 
 members of this family, was an intrepid and skilful mariner, 
 and who perished in command of a ship in the Bay of Biscay, in 
 181 2. He married Jane, daughter of John Boyd, of Port 
 Glasgow, w^ho, when in command of a merchant ship, volun- 
 teered his services on board of a man-of-war of the convoy, on 
 the occasion of an attack by a French squadron. The attack 
 was successfully repelled, but Captain Boyd was killed in the 
 action. The before-mentioned Captain David Maclver was the 
 
IVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 359 
 
 father of Messrs. David and Charles Maclver, the founders of 
 the firm, so well known in connection with the Liverpool and 
 Glasgow steam trade. In conjunction with Sir Samuel 
 Cunard, Bart, (then Mr. Cunard), and Messrs. James and 
 George Burns (now Sir George Burns, Bart.), of Glasgow, 
 Messrs. David and Charles Maclver established the Trans- 
 atlantic Royal Mail Steam Service, which is now known as the 
 Cunard Line. The firm of D. and C. Maclver, of which the 
 two brothers were the original partners, managed this Trans- 
 atlantic service at Liverpool, from the year 1840, until their 
 retirement from the management in 1883. David Maclver died 
 unmarried in 1845, at the age of 38 years. Charles^ the head 
 of the house of the Maclvers of Calderstone, and representative 
 of the family in Liverpool, died in 1885. He has left numerous 
 descendants to hand on the honourable traditions of the race. 
 The Elizabeth, Captain Johnston, on the passage from 
 Barbadoes, beat off a French privateer, of 14 guns and full 
 of men, after an engagement of two hours, in which the 
 Frenchman's fore-top-gallant mast was shot away. 
 
 The Lord Rodney, Captain Joseph Campbell, took, and 
 carried to Montego Bay, a valuable Spanish prize, bound to 
 Cadiz with cotton, coffee, cocoa, hides, etc. 
 
 The Eliza Jane, Captain Hayward, on her passage from 
 Africa to St. Kitts, had an engagement of four hours with a 
 French privateer, whom she beat off. 
 
 The Dart, Captain Clare, on her passage from Liverpool 
 to Africa, took a French privateer, of 6 guns, dismantled 
 her, and gave her to the crew ; and afterwards had an engage- 
 ment with another privateer, of 12 guns and 90 men, which 
 she beat off. 
 
 The Lucy, Captain James, from Liverpool for Demerara, 
 and the Cornbrook, beat off" a French privateer, and a Spanish 
 cutter of 14 guns. 
 
 The Posthumous, Captain Leigh, of Liverpool, recaptured 
 the Plumper, from Jamaica for London, which had been 
 taken by the French. 
 
360 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 The Hinde, Captain Mullion, on her passage to Africa, 
 was chased five different times by French cruisers, but 
 escaped by superiority of saiHng. 
 
 The Molly, Captain Tobin, from Liverpool to Africa, 
 captured a Spanish ship of 300 tons, bound from Cadiz to 
 the River Plate ; and the Gudgeon, Captain Boardman, on 
 the passage from Africa to Demerara, had an engagement 
 with a French privateer, which she beat off. The Ocean, 
 Captain Harrison, on her voyage from Liverpool to St. 
 Domingo, had the good fortune to take the La Victoria, a 
 fine Spanish brig, from Buenos Ayres to Old Spain, laden 
 with hides, oil, and copper, valued at ^10,000. The 
 Eagle, Captain Wright, homeward bound from St. Croix, 
 was sunk in an engagement with a French privateer. 
 Several of the crew were wounded, and Captain Wright was 
 carried prisoner to Nantz. 
 
 On the 25th of August, 1797, the Ranger, Captain Bell, 
 on her passage from Liverpool and Providence for the 
 Caicos, was taken by a French privateer, after an engage- 
 ment of two hours, in which Captain Bell was killed, and 
 the Ranger carried into Cape Fran9ois. 
 
 The ship Susannah, Captain Gladstone, on her passage 
 from Riga, in company with the Jane, of Workington, fell 
 in with a French privateer, of 14 guns and full of men, 
 which he engaged for an hour and-a-half, although he had 
 only 8 guns and 14 men. The privateer sheered off with 
 the loss of her mizen mast, and otherwise much disabled, 
 and appeared to have lost a number of men. Captain 
 Watson, in \h^ Jane, with 2 guns, rendered every assistance 
 in his power. There appeared in sight during the engage- 
 ment twelve sail of merchant ships, which made their 
 escape. 
 
 The Isabella, Captain Rogers, from Liverpool for Africa, 
 was taken on November 23rd, 1797, by the -/^e^'r^if privateer, 
 of 16 guns and 190 men, from Bordeaux, after an action of 
 
WAHS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 3G1 
 
 one hour, in which the mate was killed and the captain 
 badly wounded. The Isabella was carried into Bordeaux, 
 where Captain Rogers died of his wounds. 
 
 On the 9th of October, 1797, the Backhouse, Captain 
 James Hunter, from Liverpool for Africa, in lat. 45°, 
 long. 11°, fell in with a French cutter, mounting 16 guns 
 (twelve-pounders). Captain Hunter, writing at sea, gives 
 the following account of the engagement : — 
 
 *' At ten in the mornings commenced action within a cable's 
 leng-th, and continued so until one p.m. A heavy fire was 
 kept up on both sides. About meridian, unfortunately, had 
 our fore topmast shot over the bows, but notwithstanding our 
 dismantled state, we kept so well directed a fire that a little 
 after one he thought proper to sheer off, being compleatly 
 beaten ; which plainly appeared by his not being able to take 
 an advantage of our crippled state, having laid by us until 
 four p.m. when he made sail and came up again, attempted to 
 rake, and do us all the damage he could, but did not prevail 
 as we kept firing random shot as well as him, from our after 
 guns. But the truth is he was so much disabled that he 
 would not risk a close action again, therefore at six o'clock he 
 hauled away to the N. W. and left us. We have suffered 
 greatly in our rigging and sails, not a mast or yard in the ship 
 that has escaped his shot. It has taken until this time to 
 repair our damages, and hope by tomorrow we shall have 
 every thing in order again. I have great reason to be thank- 
 ful we suffered no more in the ship's company, having only 
 two killed and three wounded, one of the latter I fear will 
 prove mortal. I was slightly wounded early in the action, but 
 it proved no detriment to maintaining the engagement. My 
 officers behaved with truly becoming courage, and are deserv- 
 ing of every notice ; indeed my ship's company all, to a very 
 few, behaved gallantly, and would have supported me to the 
 last in defending the ship. In the sails are 170 shot holes, 
 besides a much greater quantity in the rigging and hull." 
 
 On November 26th, 1797, the Elizabeth, Captain Graham, 
 
362 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 belonginor to Messrs. Henderson and Sellar, on her 
 passage to Africa, had a close engagement for an hour and 
 twenty-five minutes, with a ship of i6 or i8 guns, which 
 sailed away much damaged, and in evident confusion, to 
 join a brig — her consort. The Blanchard, Captain M'Gauley, 
 on her passage from Africa to Barbadoes, took a Spanish 
 brig, laden with oil, skins, etc. 
 
 In December, 1797, the Eliza, Captain Bird, on the 
 voyage from Africa to the West Indies, was blown up, after' 
 an engagement with a French privateer, which had struck 
 to her. Only seven of the Eliza's people were saved, being 
 picked up by the privateer. As the Eliza w^as apparently a 
 slave ship, the catastrophe must have been a heart-rending 
 one. 
 
 On the 30th of December, 1797, the Lovely Lass, Captain 
 William Lace, belonging to Mr. Thomas Parr, and the 
 Agreeable, Captain Hird, on their passage from Liverpool 
 to Africa, had an engagement for upwards of two hours 
 with two privateers, one a blacksided ship of 22 guns, and 
 the other, a yellowsided ship of 18 guns, which they beat 
 off. Captain William Lace, though engaged in the slave 
 trade, enjoyed the friendship of Roscoe, one of the most 
 zealous enemies of the traffic. 
 
 The ship James, Captain Miller, on her passage to 
 Africa, fell in with a French privateer, and engaged her 
 from seven o'clock in the morning till half-past eleven, 
 when she sheered off. Four days later, the James was 
 attacked by a French National brig, of 14 guns and 100 
 men, and taken after an action of three hours and-a-half at 
 close quarters, in w^hich Captain Miller and the boatswain 
 were killed, and five men badly wounded. T\\q James wrs 
 nearly a wreck, the Frenchman having fought her on both 
 sides, and raked her fore and aft. She was shortly after- 
 wards recaptured by the Magnanime frigate, and carried 
 into Cork. 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 36a 
 
 On the 17th of February, 1798, the Barbara^ Captain 
 Dickson, belonging to Messrs. Edmund Chamley & Co., 
 was taken, by boarding, after a hard fought engagement of 
 sixteen hours, by the Zemly corvette cutter, of 14 guns and 
 170 men. Two men were killed, and ten wounded on board 
 the Barbara, amongst the latter being the Captain, wounded 
 in seven places. The Barbara was so much disabled, that 
 it was with the greatest difficulty she was got into Guada- 
 loupe, the action having been fought within twelve leagues 
 of Martinique. The Zemly had two long i8-pounders on 
 her forecastle. In the same month, the Young Dick, Captain 
 Smith, was captured, full slaved, by a Spanish privateer, of 
 16 guns and 120 men, at Cape Mount. 
 
 Captain Williams, of the Abigail, writing at sea, on St. 
 David's Day, 1798, says: — 
 
 "At two p.m., saw a sail to the northward, standhig- 
 towards us with all sail set; at three p.m., took in steering- 
 sails, and hauled our wind to meet him; at four p.m., g"Ot 
 within g-unshot, when he fired a g'un, and hoisted National 
 colours. We manned our guns, and gave him three cheers. 
 She proved to be a large schooner of 14 guns, and upwards of 
 180 men, as I am informed by the bearer of this letter. We 
 fought him within pistol shot, for seven hours, and kept a 
 steady and well directed fire with grape, doubleheaded and 
 langridge shot. He attempted boarding us three different 
 times, but we repulsed him with small arms, and three hearty 
 cheers. During the action we carried away the privateer's 
 maintopmast, shot her foresail to rag-s, and killed and wounded 
 a great number of her people. My officers and men behaved 
 as Englishmen, steady and collected. In the middle of the 
 action, they all came aft, and declared they would stick to their 
 guns, and be true to me, for which I thanked them — they 
 instantly returned to their quarters, and behaved like heroes. 
 Am sorry to inform you my poor carpenter was wounded, but 
 not dangerous ; he received a shot throug^h the leg, went below 
 
3G4 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 to the doctor, and as soon as the wound was dressed, came up 
 again and behaved like a man. Our hull and sails are much 
 shattered, boltsprit and sprit-sail-yard severely wounded, but 
 we will soon put all to rights again. We received 23 grape and 
 musket shot through our fore and aft main-sail. 
 
 P. S. Depend upon it I will not give the ship away." 
 The Abigail, on her passage from Africa to Jamaica, 
 recaptured an American vessel. 
 
 The Governor Wi/iiamson, Captain Kelsick, and the £liza, 
 Captain Bird, recaptured a large Portuguese brig, laden 
 with tobacco and rum. The former vessel was subsequently 
 lost going into New Calabar, the crew and part of the cargo 
 being saved. The Brothers, Captain Thompson, was lost 
 in Old Calabar river, and the crew saved. 
 
 In March, 1798, Mr. Gladstone (little dreaming that from 
 his loins should spring the greatest man of the great 
 Victorian age) presided at "a very elegant entertainment," 
 given at Bates's Hotel, by the merchants and shipowners 
 trading to Hamburg and Bremen, to Captain Paget, 
 commander of his Majesty's ship the Dart, and his officers, 
 in consequence of her being appointed by the Lords of the 
 Admiralty to convoy a number of valuable ships from 
 Liverpool to the Elbe and Weser. The Mayor, Bailiffs, 
 "several naval characters," and many of the leading 
 merchants, were of the party. In the following April, Mr. 
 Gladstone became a widower. 
 
 Captain I. H. Morgan, of the brig Betsey and Susan, 
 Avriting to his owners, from Port-au-Prince, on April 5th, 
 1798, says : — 
 
 "In lat. 41. long. 18 30. fell in with a large French privateer 
 brig, which shewed 18, but mounted 16 nine and six-pounders. 
 I made a running fight for about one hour, but finding she 
 would come alongside me, I prepared every thing for close 
 action, which lasted above two hours within pistol shot, when 
 she sheered off. I was in a most shattered state, main and 
 
WAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 365 
 
 gib-boom shot overboard, main and forestays gone ; and 
 almost every rope in the vessel cut to pieces, several dangerous 
 shot in my hull, and my masts and yards much wounded. She 
 was full of men, not less, I suppose, than loo. I had three 
 men slightly wounded, but am in hopes they will soon get the 
 better of it. During the action, my officers, and men behaved 
 as becomes Britons on all such like occasions — " Remarkably 
 well." 
 
 "We have much satisfaction in stating," says the paper 
 of May 7th, 1798, "that the mode so generally recommended 
 on the sea coasts, is likely to form a very essential part of 
 our voluntary armament, as we hear that Messrs. Thomas 
 and William Earle are completely fitting up at their own 
 expence a very formidable gunboat of 60 tons burthen, 
 carrying 24 pounders on her bows, for the public service ; 
 which we hope will be followed by many others. This, in 
 addition to the naval force to be stationed at the entrance 
 of the port, will be a very important and effectual additional 
 protection to this town and neighbourhood." 
 
 On the 9th of May, 1798, the Hind, Captain Mackenzie, 
 in her passage to the West Indies, took a sloop privateer, of 
 4 carriage and 4 swivel guns, and 41 men. 
 
 On the 30th of May, 1798, the ship Henry, Captain 
 Samuel Every, saw a sail, which tacked and stood towards 
 them, hoisting a French ensign. All hands were called to 
 quarters, and the privateer, which proved to be the Caroline, 
 of Nantz, 14 guns and 120 men, came up and fired a broad- 
 side into the Henry, which was immediately answered, and 
 the engagement continued for two hours. The Henry was 
 then obliged to strike, having had one man killed, the mate 
 and four men wounded, and her hull, sails, and rigging 
 considerably damaged. "We were all that evening on 
 board the privateer, and with great reluctance I came out 
 of the old Henry,'" says Captain Every. Next day, a British 
 frigate stood towards them, and on the Frenchman asking 
 
366 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 Captain Every what he thought she was, he replied, " An 
 American." The privateer then stood towards the stranger 
 to see for himself, but finding his mistake, took to his heels. 
 After a chase of three hours, the frigate came nearly up to 
 the privateer, upon which the English prisoners rose on 
 deck, and Captain Every had the satisfaction of hauling 
 down the French colours. The Henry being then just in 
 sight from the masthead, the frigate gave chase and 
 recaptured her. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1798, the Maria, Captain Martin, 
 the Mersey, Captain Molyneux, and the Africa, Captain 
 Smerdon, three vessels bound to Africa, captured the 
 Spanish xebeck Soliadad, from Cadiz, laden with wine, 
 brandy, iron, etc. 
 
 " Lloyd's Lists of last week," says Billinge's Advertiser, 
 "announce the arrival of 192 ships from the West Indies, 
 exclusive of those at Liverpool, Lancaster, and White- 
 haven. There is not a missing ship of either fleet — a 
 circumstance unparalleled in any former war. What a 
 delightful view of the vigour of our navy, and of the 
 prosperity of this country, to see our fleets of merchantmen 
 arrived safe in the midst of war." 
 
 The Agreeable, Captain M'Callum, belonging to Mr. 
 Barton, was captured on the 20th of September, 1798, by a 
 schooner privateer, of 14 guns and 120 men, and taken into 
 Guadaloupe. She was carried by boarding. The privateer 
 ranging up, put upwards of 60 men into her, over her 
 quarters, and through the cabin windows. Thirteen of the 
 Agreeable' s people were killed in the action, three of them 
 passengers, and a great number of her crew were wounded. 
 The French put 18 twelve-pounders and 210 men on board 
 the Agreeable, and sent her to cruise off Barbadoes. As she 
 was a match for any merchantman, and sailed very fast, it 
 was feared she would do much mischief. The Concorde 
 frigate and the Amphitrite were sent after her, the latter 
 
WAHS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 3G7 
 
 with orders not to return without her. She was ultimately 
 retaken by a sloop-of-war, and carried into Tortola. 
 
 On the 27th of September, 1798, the Bud, of 10 guns and 
 30 men, Captain Robert Tyrer, bound from Liverpool to the 
 coast of Guinea, was taken in latitude 37°, longtitude 18° N., 
 after a very severe action of half-an-hour, by the President 
 Parker privateer, of L'Orient, of 8 brass guns (thirty-six- 
 pounders), I long nine-pounder, and 65 men. The Bud 
 had two men killed, and two wounded. She was retaken, 
 on the 4th of October, with the privateer, by his Majesty's 
 ships Flora and Caroline, and sent to Lisbon. 
 
 The Forbes, Captain Pince, and the Charlotte, Cap- 
 tain Crow, recaptured the Portland, from Virginia for 
 London. 
 
 On the 7th of October, 1798, a shot fired by one of the 
 homeward-bound ships saluting the town, carried off the arm 
 of Robert M 'Combe, an old cooper, standing near the Old 
 Dock Gates ; tore open the breast of William Treasure, a fine 
 young man, mate of the William', and killed Dennis Burns, 
 an apprentice, standing near the bridge of the Old Dock. 
 Treasure died in a quarter of an hour after the accident. 
 After this, vessels were forbidden to fire in the river nearer 
 the town, on the north side, than lineable with the North 
 Battery, nor on the south side, than Birkenhead Point. 
 Since that accident no vessel can salute the town under a 
 penalty of ^10 a gun, as was found by the Captain of the 
 Hannah, who was fined in June, 1799. 
 
 The George, Captain Hackney, from Liverpool to Africa, 
 was taken on the Coast, by the Republican French priva- 
 teer, of 32 guns. 
 
 The Swalloiv, Captain White, escaped the same privateer, 
 in a squall, after a running fight of an hour. The Sivallow, 
 having, on her passage from Liverpool to the West Indies, 
 captured a privateer, from the Isle of France, was herself 
 taken by the prisoners, and sent to Cayenne. 
 
368 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The King Pepple, Captain Phillips, recaptured the Prince 
 of Wales ^ from Bristol to Africa. 
 
 The Brooks, Captain Williams, on her passage from 
 Jamaica, recaptured the Clermont^ from North Carolina, 
 laden with tar, turpentine, etc.; and the Mary, Captain 
 Erskine, on the voyage to Africa, recaptured the Maria, 
 with fruit and wine, from Malaga. The Two Brothers, 
 Captain Cummins, recaptured the Astrea, Captain Tink- 
 man, from Liverpool for Boston. 
 
 The slave ship King William, of Liverpool, Theophilus 
 Bent, master, having on board only 15 effective hands able 
 to stand to their quarters, was, on the morning of the nth 
 of October, 1798, at the distance of 180 miles from 
 Barbadoes, chased by a French privateer of 16 guns, six 
 and four-pounders, and 170 men. Captain Bent, finding 
 that he could not avoid fighting, brought the enemy to 
 close action, which lasted two hours and-a-half, when the 
 privateer, having sustained considerable damage, and an 
 immense loss of men, sheered off, leaving the King 
 William almost a wreck, having received 602 shots, and 
 her rigging cut to pieces. She had one of the crew killed, 
 and four wounded, besides eight male slaves below, two of 
 them mortally. 
 
 The Otter, Captain Grierson, and the Beaver, Captain 
 Murray, on their passage to Africa, took a brig bound to 
 Bilbao, with naval stores. 
 
 On the 2 1 St of October, 1798, Cape Clear, bearing 
 E.N.E., distance 235 leagues, at one a.m.. Captain 
 Brelsford, of the ship Mary, 12 guns and 29 men, saw a 
 brig to the northward, which followed close astern till 
 daylight, when she brought the Mary to action, and, after a 
 contest of one hour and twenty minutes, sheered off, with 
 her foretop-sails a good deal dismantled. The Mary's 
 principal damage was in the mainsail, with some of the 
 running rigging cut away. In consequence of her good 
 
JVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 369 
 
 quarters, her crew escaped scathless. The privateer was 
 pierced for i8 guns, and fought 12, with from 90 to 100 
 men ; they were so numerous as to fire muskets from the 
 bowsprit. 
 
 Captain Alexander Speers, of the slave ship, Amelia and 
 Eleanor^ writing from Barbadoes, on the 26th of October, 
 1798, to his owners, Messrs. W. Brettargh & Co., Liverpool, 
 says : — 
 
 "On the ist inst., I fell in with a French privateer, of 18 
 guns, six and nine-pounders, in lat. 3^ S. long. 22 W. He 
 hailed from London, bound to Angola. At eleven a.m., the 
 action commenced, and continued till half-past two p.m. Early 
 in the action, I lost my bowsprit and foremast, close by the 
 rigging. When he found I was disabled, he renewed the 
 action with double vigour, and hoisted the bloody flag at his 
 main-top-gallant-mast head, steered alongside within pistol 
 
 shot, and hailed me, ^^ Strike, yoii ! strike!" which I 
 
 answered with a broadside, which laid him on a creen. He 
 then stood away to the northward, to plug up his shot holes, 
 as I could see several men over the side. In about twenty 
 minutes, he came alongside again, and gave me a broadside as 
 he passed. He then stood to the southward, and got about a 
 mile to windward, gave me a lee gun, and hauled down his 
 bloody flag, which I answered with three to windward. I have 
 received a deal of damage to my hull ; on my starboard bow, 
 two ports in one ; several shot between wind and water. I had 
 not one shroud left forward, but what was cut to pieces, stays, 
 etc. I lost all head sails, and my after sails much damaged. 
 I lost one slave, and four wounded ; four of the people wounded ; 
 two are since dead of their wounds. I shall not be able to pro- 
 ceed from hence till January, as my hull is like a riddle." 
 In a letter from Barbadoes, dated December ist, 1798, we 
 have the following spirited description of an engagement 
 between the ship Barton^ Captain Cutler, which had arrived 
 there in 51 days from Liverpool, and a French privateer : — 
 
 " In the afternoon of Monday, about 20 leagues to 
 2A 
 
370 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 windward of the Island, she discovered a sail standing- to the 
 southward, which in the close of the evening stood for her, and 
 coming within gunshot, kept in the wake of the Barton most 
 part of the night, receiving her constant fire of stern chasers, 
 without returning a shot. At daybreak, the enemy, (which 
 proved to be a French privateer schooner, of i8 guns, nine and 
 six-pounders), spoke an American brig astern, and at sunrise 
 bore down with a press of sail upon the Barton, who again 
 opened her fire as soon as she came within shot, and soon after 
 a close action commenced, which lasted two hours and an half, 
 the schooner repeatedly attempting to board ; but by the heavy 
 and well directed fire from the ship, was prevented from 
 getting near enough to effect their purpose, and was at last so 
 dismantled in her riggings, that she sheered off; but having 
 refitted, commenced a second attack at noon, with a most 
 sanguinary design of boarding, and notwithstanding the 
 incessant cannonadingf from the ship, ran plump on board, and 
 endeavoured to throw her men into her. But well prepared 
 to receive the enemy, the whole of the Barton^s crew being 
 assembled on the quarter deck, and headed by their gallant 
 commander, who was spiritedly seconded by his passengers, 
 an attack, sword in hand, commenced, and the enemy were 
 driven back with considerable loss, many of them being spiked 
 from the netting and shrouds of the ship, while by a well 
 directed fire from the cabin guns, numbers were swept from 
 their own deck ; and great part of her rigging being cut away, 
 she dropped astern and gave over the contest, amidst the 
 victorious huzzas of the British tars, whose bold commander, 
 calling from his quarter deck, defied the vanquished Republi- 
 cans to return to the attack. Captain Cutler's conduct on this 
 occasion cannot be too highly spoken of, and such was the 
 enthusiasm of all on board the ship, that his passengers bear 
 a proportionate share of honour, while his mates have a just 
 claim to the approbation and applause of their merchants, 
 whose well-known liberality is ever ready to reward the merit 
 of every man in their employ. The second mate, and three 
 seamen were wounded on board the Barton. " 
 
IVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 371 
 
 The following intelligence was communicated by a gentle- 
 man, who went out passenger in the ship Benson, Captain 
 Croasdale, for Jamaica : — 
 
 "At daylig"ht in the morning" of Thursday, the 6th December, 
 1798, St. Kitts, N.N.E. about 18 leagues, we descried two 
 vessels on the starboard bow, which at eight we could plainly 
 discover to be a ship and a brig, under a press of sail, standing 
 towards us. At half after ten the latter passed us about a mile 
 astern, under American colours, standing to the southward ; 
 and the ship, which we could by this time observe to be a 
 vessel of force, upon our weather quarter, coming up with us 
 fast, under English- colours. At a quarter before eleven she 
 fired a shot at us, and showed the tricoloured flag, when we 
 in studding sails, and laying to for her coming up, prepared to 
 g^ive her a warm reception. At eleven the action commenced, 
 within pistol shot of each other, and continued without inter- 
 mission till about thirty minutes past twelve, when the firing 
 ceased, and both vessels, which had been ungovernable, lay to 
 for the purpose of refitting. 
 
 "At twenty minutes past one, the action ag"ain commenced 
 and continued till about a quarter past two, when our opponent 
 hauled his wind to the southward, and left us in such a crippled 
 state in our rigging, masts, sails, as to be unable to follow. 
 Fortunately no lives were lost in the contest, from the excellent 
 quarters our wood hoops afforded, and the enemy chiefly aiming 
 to disable us aloft. A neutral vessel we spoke the same 
 evening, informed us the ship we had engaged was a National 
 Corvette, lately from France, and that she mounted 20 
 nine-pounders, and was manned with 170 men. This was 
 afterwards corroborated by a gentleman, a prisoner at that 
 time on board, who got down to Jamaica shortly afterwards, 
 and says that they had twelve killed, and ten wounded." 
 
 On the day following the action, the Benson fell in with 
 a large schooner privateer, of 12 guns, and full of men, 
 which she drove amongst Cape Roxen shoals, the west end 
 of Porto Rico. On the nth of December, she chased a 
 
372 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 French cutter of 17 guns, which had an American ship, her 
 prize, in company. The privateer liberated the prize, on 
 seeing the Benson gaining upon her, but the wind dying 
 away in the evening, the cutter out sweeps and escaped. 
 
 On a former passage to Jamaica, the Benson took a 
 Spanish prize, valued at about ;^7ooo. 
 
 The slave sloop Henry, of 6 three-pounders, 2 two- 
 pounders, and 14 men, Captain Cusack, on her passage 
 from Africa, was chased by the Spanish packet, St. Roselia, 
 of 10 eighteen and twelve-pounders and 75 men, which 
 dropped astern after an engagement of forty minutes. 
 Coming up again shortly after, a close engagement took 
 place for about three-quarters of an hour, when the Spaniard 
 sailed away. At i p.m. on the following day, he again 
 came alongside, and gave the Henry a broadside, which was 
 returned, and an engagement within pistol shot followed 
 for three hours, resulting in the capture of the Henry, which 
 was heavily damaged and ungovernable. After taking 
 possession of the sloop, the Spaniards ran her on shore, 
 about seven leagues to leeward of Cape Maize, where all the 
 prize crew and slaves perished, except 27 negroes, who swam 
 on shore. Captain Cusack and his crew were well treated by 
 the Captain and officers of the SL Roselia, but in prison, at 
 Havannah, the Captain was only allowed three-sixteenths 
 of a dollar per day to live on. The Nassau paper, of 
 February 22nd, 1799, contains the following curious 
 intelligence : — 
 
 "On board of the sloop Henry, Cusack, from Africa for 
 this port, captured by the Spanish schooner, St. Roselia, 
 Captain Monase, were two African youths of about twelve years 
 each, one named John, the son of King- George, and the other, 
 Tom, son of King John Qua Ben, both having extensive 
 domains on the river Gaboon. These youths their fathers had 
 committed to the charge of Captain Cusack, to be carried to 
 Liverpool, to be there educated. They were both taken from 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 373 
 
 Captain Cusack, to be sold as slaves, in spite of all his remon- 
 strances, and at Havannah, he was told by a respectable 
 Spanish merchant, that they would not be delivered up. The 
 owner of the Spanish vessel is Francisco Maria Cuesto, who 
 must consign his name to eternal obloquy, should he persist in 
 refusing- these unfortunate youths their freedom. A representa- 
 tion on this business, we have reason to expect, will be made 
 to the g^overnment of Cuba." 
 
 On the 17th of April, 1799, Captain John Ainsworth, of 
 the slave ship Polly, wrote to his owners in Liverpool, from 
 Jamaica, as follows : — 
 
 "In lat. 3. 46 S., long. 22, W., I fell in with a large 
 Spanish brig, and after a running engagement of four and-a- 
 half hours, captured her, called the Si. Antonia, from Teneriflfe 
 to Buenos Ayres. We expended 160 cannon cartridges, and 
 upwards of 400 musquet and musquetoon cartridges. Our 
 sails and rigging were much cut, and several of our slaves 
 slightly wounded by a shot that w^ent through our side under 
 the main-chains, and broke two stanchions of the bulk head 
 of the women's room. On the 12th of March went into 
 Barbadoes to land the prisoners, being 22. 
 
 " I left Barbadoes on the i6th March. In the morning of 
 the 17th, fell in with a French schooner privateer, who chaced 
 us till 2 p.m. I then hove to for him, on which he shortened 
 sail, and seemed consulting with his officers. Soon after he 
 made sail, and came up under our quarter, when I gave him 
 what guns I could get to bear. We had a number of our men 
 slaves with small arms, which they fought very well, and 
 killed and wounded several of the privateer's people. She 
 then attempted to board us on the quarter, and carried away 
 our main-sheet. At this time only small arms were fired, and if 
 our people had been at the cabin guns we must have sunk her. 
 In their attempt to get up the side, I took a boarding pike, 
 and threw it at them, which went through the side of one man, 
 into the thigh of another and they both fell. He then sheered 
 off. I can safely say he had 20 men, or upwards, killed and 
 
374 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 wounded, his decks being- full of blood. We gave them three 
 cheers, and chaced him in our turn, but could not come up 
 with her. She was full of men, but cannot say what force. I 
 had one man wounded, our hull full of musquet shot, and our 
 sails and rigging- very much cut and shattered." 
 
 The Tow7iley, of Liverpool, was, on the 4th of July, 1799, 
 captured by a French privateer, of 14 guns, which took out 
 her crew, except Mr. W. Atkinson, the chief mate, and John 
 Overton, and put six men on board her. On the 7th, Mr. 
 Atkinson, assisted by Overton, took an opportunity to fasten 
 three of the Frenchmen below, and attacked the rest. The 
 prize-master fired his pistols without effect, and fell in the 
 conflict, when his men submitted; and on the 14th, the two 
 Englishmen took their ship safe into Viola Sound, in Shet- 
 land. 
 
 On the examination of the French prize-master of the 
 PoUy^ Captain Thompson, for Liverpool from Lisbon, re- 
 captured by the Sylph, 18 guns. Captain Dashwood, it came 
 out in evidence that the convoy of the fleet, a Portuguese 
 frigate, of 44 guns and 300 men, suffered the La Bellone, 
 French privateer, of 22 guns and 130 men, to come into the 
 middle of the convoy, capture and man five sail, worth 
 ;i^io,ooo each, and carry them off, without making any effort 
 to retake them. 
 
 At two p.m., on the loth of July, 1799, the ship Planter, 
 of 12 nine-pounders, 6 six-pounders, and 43 men. Captain 
 John Watts, on her passage from Virginia to Liverpool, 
 espied a lofty ship to the southward in chase of them. 
 Captain Watts, in a letter dated off" Dover, July 15th, gives 
 the following account of the subsequent proceedings : — 
 
 " By her appearance we were fully convinced she was an 
 enemy, and being likewise certain we could not outsail her, at 
 four p.m. had all ready for action, down all small sails, up 
 courses, spread boarding nettings, etc. At half-past five p.m., 
 we backed our main top-sail, and laid by for her, all hands 
 
JVA I^S OF THE FRENCH RE J VL L ^TION. 375 
 
 giving" her three cheers. She then bore down under our 
 starboard quarter, fired one gun into us, and showed National 
 colours. We found her to be a privateer of 22 guns, twelves, 
 nines, and sixes, with small arms in the tops, and full of men. 
 We immediately rounded to, and gave her a broadside, which 
 commenced the action on both sides. The first broadside we 
 received cut away all our halyards, top-sheets, and braces, and 
 killed three men on the quarter-deck. We kept up a constant fire 
 for two glasses and-a-half, when she sheered off to repair 
 damages; and in about one glass returned to board us, with 
 his Bloody Flag hoisted. We were all in readiness to receive 
 him, got our broadsides to bear upon him, and poured in our 
 langrage and grape shot with great success. A heavy fire 
 kept up on both sides for three glasses this second time. In 
 all, the engagement continued firing for five glasses. At last 
 he found we would not give out, and night coming on, sheered 
 off and stood to the south-west. His loss, no doubt, was 
 considerable, as the last two glasses we were so nigh each 
 other that our fire must have done great execution. My ship's 
 company acted with a degree of courage which does credit to 
 the Flag. I cannot help mentioning the good conduct of my 
 passengers during the action : Mr. M'Kennon and Mr. Hodgson, 
 with small arms, stood to their quarters with a degree of noble 
 spirit ; my two lady passengers, Mrs. Macdowall and Miss Mary 
 Harley, kept conveying the cartridges from the magazine to 
 the deck, and were very attentive to the wounded, both during 
 and after the action, in dressing their wounds and administering 
 every comfort the ship could afford ; in which we were not 
 deficient for a merchant ship. 
 
 " When he sheered off, saw him heaving dead bodies over- 
 board in abundance. Our ship is damaged in the hull ; one 
 twelve pound shot under the starboard cat head splintered the 
 sides much ; one double-headed shot through the long boat ; 
 sails, rigging, spars, prodigiously injured. We had four killed, 
 and eight wounded." 
 
 A letter from Whitehaven supplies the following addi- 
 tional particulars : — 
 
376 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 "Mrs. Macdowall and Miss Mary Harley, who lately 
 distinguished themselves so much in the gallant defence of the 
 ship Planter, of Liverpool, against an enemy of very superior 
 force, off Dover, are now at Whitehaven. These ladies were 
 remarkable, not only for their solicitude and tenderness for 
 the wounded, but also for their contempt of personal danger, 
 serving the seamen with ammunition, and encouraging them 
 by their presence. The merchants of that town have accord- 
 ingly acknowledged their services in the handsomest manner, 
 and have also instituted an enquiry for the parents of one 
 William Aickin, a native of that town, who was killed in the 
 action, after signalising himself in a most exemplary manner. 
 Early in the conflict he received two wounds, one of which 
 almost separated his hand from the arm, notwithstanding 
 which, without any other assistance than the application of some 
 styptic, and a bandage by Mrs. Macdowall and her companion, 
 he returned to his station and continued his exertions in 
 defence of the ship, till he fell in a manner covered with 
 wounds, from a broadside too successfuly directed by the 
 adversary. He was then carried below, where he expired in a 
 few minutes after requesting Mrs, Macdowall to convey his 
 duty to his parents, and to let them know that ' he died in a 
 good cause.' " 
 
 The Dicky private ship-of-war, Isaac Duck, commander, 
 on her passage from Liverpool to Gibraltar, beat off eight 
 gunboats, after an action of three hours and-a-half. Later 
 in the year, she arrived at Barbadoes with three prizes. 
 On the 13th of October, 1799, on her passage from St. 
 Bartholomew's to Liverpool, the Dick fell in with a National 
 corvette of 22 guns, with which she came to close action, 
 the enemy keeping up a smart fire of musketry from his tops 
 and quarter deck for two hours, when the Dick's langrage 
 and grape shot cleared her tops. Finding they had received 
 some shot betw'een wind and water, and having four feet 
 water in the hold, they bore down and came within half 
 pistol shot abaft the corvette's beam, and kept up a regular 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 377 
 
 and well supported fire at her for an hour, when she made 
 all sail possible and run ahead. They then brought their 
 ship by the lee to plug the shot holes, and found, although 
 they had the weather gage, a twelve-pound shot had gone 
 through the lower part of their bends. An hour and-a-half 
 later, they made the pumps suck, and at five p.m. (eight 
 hours after the commencement of the action) had their rig- 
 ging stopped and sails set, and all ready for engaging. The 
 enemy laying to ahead, seeing them coming up ready for 
 action, made sail, and run to the S. W. The behaviour of the 
 ship's crew, many of whom were wounded, was extremely 
 steady and valiant. Mr. Hugh Morris, the first mate, 
 specially distinguished himself in the engagement. Nearly 
 five years later — in the paper of August 20th, 1804 — ^^^ 
 read that the underwriters had presented Captain Duck with 
 200 guineas, in recognition of his good conduct and bravery, 
 in beating off a corvette of 22 guns and 200 men, after a 
 close action of three hours — possibly the same affair. 
 
 At the close of the year 1800, the Emperor Paul, of 
 Russia, declared war against England, and suddenly seized 
 on all the English vessels in Russian ports. Russian 
 vessels in English ports were promptly seized and confis- 
 cated by way of reprisals. The Angola^ the only Russian 
 vessel then in the port of Liverpool, was seized, and the 
 crew sent to prison, by Captain Hue, commander of his 
 Majesty's ship Actceon, who thereby made ^800 prize 
 money. The Admiralty ordered the release of the crew. 
 In January, 1801, Captain Hue took possession of eight 
 Danish and Swedish vessels in the port. During the 
 eighteenth century, a great number of girls and women 
 entered the army and navy as soldiers, sailors, and marines, 
 doing duty, and fighting side by side with the sterner sex, 
 without being suspected, until some unlucky accident, or 
 severe wound, revealed the jealously guarded secret. Some- 
 times the fair aspirant for military or naval honours or a 
 
378 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 violent death, was detected on the threshold of her antici- 
 pated glory. A romantic affair of this sort happened on 
 board the Actceoii. 
 
 " Some few weeks since," says Billinge's Liverpool 
 Advertiser, of May 12th, 1800, "a young person who had 
 the appearance of a boy, solicited to be brought on board 
 his Majesty's ship, the ActcBon, and continued in the ship 
 upwards of seven weeks, performing the duty of his station 
 the same as other boys, when by means of a letter sent to 
 some friends it was discovered that this pretended boy was 
 a fine girl, about 18 years of age. The loss of a mother, 
 and neglectful father, was the only reason she would ever 
 acknowledge for such a step. During the time she was on 
 board the Actceoii, she conducted herself with the greatest 
 propriety, that no one had the least suspicion of her sex. 
 She was sent on shore again, dressed in proper clothes, 
 with a handsome collection made for her by the officers and 
 ship's company." 
 
 On the 13th of January, 1800, a French brig privateer, of 
 14 guns, entered Torbay with the Gibraltar fleet, and 
 remained six days. She was several times boarded and 
 questioned what she was, but her hands, to the number of 
 50, being concealed, the few on deck (who spoke good 
 English) said she had been a French privateer, but was 
 bought by some Liverpool merchants. On the sailing of 
 the convoy, she also got under weigh, and in the night 
 would doubtless have captured the most valuable ; but a 
 signal was made, which she being unable to answer, of 
 course, was suspected, boarded, and taken possession of by 
 the Namur. 
 
 The underwriters presented Captain James Sturrock and 
 the crew of the ship Pursuit, five per cent, on the value of 
 the ship and cargo, for their gallant defence against a 
 French privateer, of considerable force, on the 5th of 
 January, 1800. 
 
WAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 379 
 
 On the 6th of October, 1800, the Dick, Guineaman, 
 mounting 20 guns (four and six-pounders), and 42 men and 
 boys, Captain W. Grahme, sailed from Liverpool for the 
 Coast of Africa. On the 15th of October, she had the mis- 
 fortune to fall in with the La Grande Decide, a famous French 
 privateer corvette, mounting 22 guns (nine and twelve- 
 pounders) on one deck, and 176 men. After as desperate an 
 action as ever was fought, lasting about seven hours and-a- 
 half, the Dick, reduced to a mere wreck, was forced to strike 
 to superior force. The brave Captain Grahme and ten of 
 his crew were severely wounded. The captain died six days 
 afterwards on board the privateer. The first lieutenant of 
 the corvette was killed, and 39 of the crew killed and wounded 
 in the action. Soon after, the Clyde, of 44 guns. Captain 
 Cunningham, hove in sight, took possession of the Dick, 
 and carried her into Plymouth, while the Fisgard, of 48 
 guns, chased the privateer. Captain Cunningham took 
 every care of the wounded men, entering them as super- 
 numeraries, and by that means, procuring their admission 
 into the royal naval hospital. A letter received in Liverpool, 
 probably from one of the officers of the Dick, gives the 
 following account of the engagement : — 
 
 "An action commenced a few minutes past one o'clock at 
 noon, which was most gallantly defended on both sides within 
 pistol shot. About five o'clock the Dick's standing- and 
 running- rig-g-ing-, bracings, and bowlines were cut to pieces ; 
 sails all in ragfs, topmasts gone, lower masts crippled, and 
 several shots betwixt wind and water. It was about this time 
 that an unfortunate canister shot struck poor Grahme and 
 took away all the upper part of his skull ; in this situation he 
 was carried below. To revenge his death, which his brave 
 crew anticipated, and for the honour of the British ensign, one 
 of the brave tars nailed the Dick's colours to the stump of the 
 mizen mast, and they one and all were determined to fight 
 the vessel as long as she could swim ; and without dread or 
 
580 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 fear the chief mate and crew fought on till near eight o'clock, 
 having- at that time their noble captain and ten men wounded, 
 their ammunition expended, every gun dismounted, spars and 
 rigging shot away, 3 feet 10 inches water in the pump well, 
 both pumps going, vessel expected to ^Q down, and the enemy 
 upon their quarter in the act of boarding, when Captain 
 Grahme advised them, to prevent every man from being put 
 to the sword, to strike their colours. He delivered up the 
 vessel in the most courageous manner ; and even had the 
 presence of mind to desire the third mate to fling his rifle- 
 piece, pistols, sword, &c. , overboard, saying no other man 
 should ever use them. He manfully walked overboard his 
 own vessel into the enemy's boat, refusing aid or assistance, 
 saying to his men, * My brave fellows, you have done your 
 duty like Britons,' adding (meaning his own vessel) ' Poor Dick 
 thou hast done thy duty likewise, but obliged to strike to 
 superior force — I only wish thy guns had been heavier metal.' 
 "The French first lieutenant was killed; the enemy had 
 also 27 killed and wounded, and several of her crew died after 
 the action. She was much hurt in her masts and hull, and 
 several holes in the side, which they were obliged to plug up 
 with lead. On Grahme's arrival on board the La Grande Decide^ 
 he was allowed a cot in the Captain's cabin, who behaved to 
 him like a brother. The French doctor attended him night and 
 day, his own chief mate was always with him, and his crew 
 allowed frequently to see him. He was insensible after the 
 first twenty-four hours, and on the 21st of October, about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, he departed this life, universally 
 respected by all who knew him. He fell like a hero and a 
 British sailor, fighting under the influence and for the honor of 
 his country's proud ensign ! God rest his soul in peace and 
 happiness. He was launched into the deep same evening, 
 sewed up in his cot, in as decent a manner, as the situation 
 would admit of." 
 
 Captain Samuel A. Whitney, of the ship Hiram^ writing 
 to his owners in Liverpool, from Fort Royal, Martinique, 
 
WAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 381 
 
 on the 22nd of October, 1800, gives the following' account 
 of events in real life, that have a foretaste of Stevensonian 
 romance about them : — 
 
 "I have a very unpleasant account to g'lve you of the 
 Hiratyi, which, after being- twice taken and retaken, arrived 
 here the 13th inst. after being- one hundred and two days at 
 sea; the circumstances are these: On the 13th September, 
 being in long. 55. and lat. 30. I was overtaken by a French 
 sloop of war brig, called the Oiirieiisc, Captain Ratlett, from 
 Cayenne, on a cruise of two months, and then to France, who 
 after an examination of my papers, pronounced the greater part 
 of my property to be English. They then took out all my 
 people, (except my brother, one green hand, and a boy of 12 
 years of age), and put on board two officers and eight men, 
 and ordered us for Cayenne, and after keeping us company for 
 two days, and robbing us of a lower yard, a cask of water, a 
 ship glass, and sundry small matters, they left us. I, on first 
 discovering her to be French, went below, loaded my pistols, 
 and hid them away in a crate of ware, which if I had not done 
 I should have lost them, for no less than three different times 
 was my trunk searched, my brother's chest and the cabin all 
 over, and were as cautious as though they read my determina- 
 tion in my face. The officers would not allow the men to go 
 off deck at any time, and they eat, drank and slept on deck 
 themselves, never suffering but one at a time to ^o off deck ; 
 therefore, I found I had no other chance but to engage them 
 openly by daylight. I directed my brother to have a couple of 
 handspikes in readiness, and when he saw me begin, to come 
 to my assistance. Therefore, at four o'clock on the after- 
 noon of the fourth day after being taken, I secured my pistols 
 in my waistbands, went on deck, and found the Prize-master 
 asleep on the weather hen-coop, his mate at the wheel, and 
 their people on different parts of the main deck, my brother 
 and man on the lee side of the windlass. Under the circum- 
 stances I made the attempt, by first knocking down the mate 
 at the wheel. The prize-master jumped up so quick that I could 
 
382 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 get but a very slight stroke at him. He then drew his dirk 
 upon me, but I closed in with him, sallied him out to the 
 quarter rail and hove him overboard, but he caught by the 
 main sheet, which prevented his going into the water. By this 
 time I had the remaining eight upon me, two of whom I 
 knocked backwards off the quarter deck ; by this time my 
 people got aft with handspikes, and played their parts so well 
 that I was soon at liberty again. I then drew a pistol and 
 shot a black fellow in the head, who was coming to me with a 
 broad axe uplifted, the ball cut him into the skull bone and 
 then glanced, but it stunned him and amazed all the rest, who 
 had no suspicion of my having pistols. By this time the mate 
 whom I first knocked down, had recovered and got a loaded 
 pistol out of his trunk, and, apparently, fired it directly in my 
 man's face, but the ball missed him. The prize-master got on 
 board again and stabbed my brother in the side, but not so bad 
 as to oblige him to give out until we had got the day. In 
 this situation we had it pell mell for about a quarter of an 
 hour, when at last we got them a running, and followed them 
 so close, knocking down the hindermost as we came up with 
 them, until part made their escape below. The rest then 
 began to cry for mercy, which we granted on their delivering 
 up their arms, which consisted of a discharged horseman's 
 pistol, a midshipman's dirk, a broad axe, a handsaw, and two 
 empty junck bottles. We then marched them all aft into the 
 cabin and brought them up one at a time, and after examining 
 for knives, etc., we confined them down forward. By this 
 time it was quite dark, and my brother was obliged to give 
 out, and lay in extreme pain for forty-eight hours, expecting 
 every moment to be his last, but he afterwards recovered 
 astonishingly, and was soon able to keep his watch. My man 
 got so drunk that I could not keep him awake at night, so 
 that there was only my little boy and I to work the ship, 
 watch the French, and attend my brother. I kept a French 
 lad upon deck, the only one that was not wounded, and kept 
 him at the wheel all night. The weather was extremely fine 
 and the Frenchmen quite peaceable, so that I met with little 
 
JVAJ?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 383 
 
 difficulty. Thus we kept possession of her for ten days, when 
 we had reached within two or three days sail of Savannah, 
 being in the long-, of 75. On the 27th September, was again 
 overtaken by a French privateer, from Guadaloupe, who, with- 
 out any ceremony of examining papers (only to find out the 
 contents of my packages) came immediately on board, broke 
 open the hatches, and filled the deck with bales, trunks, cases, 
 etc., and after examining for the most valuable goods, sent 
 them on board the privateer. As her cruise was nearly at an 
 end, having sent off their men, they hove overboard all their 
 empty water casks and lumber of all kinds, and filled them- 
 selves as full as an o.^^ out of us, not leaving room for their 
 people to sleep below. They were two days at work upon us. 
 They then took out my brother, man and boy, (leaving me on 
 board) and all the former French crew, except four men, and 
 put on board eleven more of their own men, and after plunder- 
 ing me of part of my cloaths, brass hanging compass, 
 carpenter's tools, spare cordage, deep-sea line, and many 
 other like stores, they left us, ordering us for Guadaloupe ; and 
 after being forty-six days longer in their hands, we were taken 
 by his Majesty's ship Unite, and sent into Martinique." 
 
 Billinge's Liverpool Advertiser^ of February 9th, 1801, 
 records the death of Captain William Hutchinson, in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 "On Saturday, universally lamented, Mr. William Hut- 
 chinson, aged 85. Of him, it may be truly said, that he steered 
 through the voyage of life, under the direction of the great 
 Captain of our Salvation, without ever deviating a point from 
 moral rectitude ; he was a friend to the fatherless, and made 
 the widow's heart sing for joy ; to his indefatigable exertions, 
 we are indebted in a great measure, for the superior advantages 
 we enjoy as a commercial port, and the instituting of the 
 laudable society for the relief of the widows and families of 
 Masters of vessels, will ever make his remembrance be held 
 dear, by that useful body of people." 
 
 On the 5th of March, 1801, the Bolto7i (Letter of Marque), 
 
384 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 280 tons, 20 guns, and 70 men, Captain J. Watson, on her 
 passage from Demerara for Liverpool, engaged for an hour 
 most gallantly, a large French privateer, of 26 guns and 
 260 men, called La Gironde, of Bordeaux, which ran her on 
 board, and she was obliged to strike to a superior force. 
 The Frenchman had a great advantage in the action, owing 
 to the number of men he was able to keep at the musketry, 
 to the great annoyance of the Bolton s people. Captain 
 Watson and five of his crew were wounded, and two 
 passengers were killed. Both ships were considerably 
 damaged, but the French had none killed or wounded. In 
 addition to a valuable cargo of sugar, coffee, cotton, 
 elephant teeth, etc., which was plundered by the privateer, 
 the Bolton had a very fine tiger on board, and a large col- 
 lection of birds, monkeys, etc. She was retaken on the 
 passage to Bordeaux, by the Leda, of 38 guns, and sent to 
 Plymouth. 
 
 The General Keppel privateer. Captain James Finlayson, 
 recaptured an American ship, and took another from Cadiz. 
 On the 14th of June, 1801, he had an action with the La 
 Moiiclie privateer, of 22 guns and 250 men, with her prize, 
 the Hirani^ of Liverpool, in company. The latter, manned 
 with 60 Frenchmen, soon sheered off, as did the privateer, 
 after a warm engagement, in which she had her second 
 captain killed, several men wounded, and her hull, masts, 
 sails, and rigging considerably damaged. The General 
 Keppel., was captured in the Rio de la Plata, on November 
 20th, 1801, by a Spanish frigate of 44 guns, after a severe 
 enerae^ement of three hours. 
 
 On the 14th of August, 1803, the ship Juno, of 18 six- 
 pounders, and 44 men and boys, Captain Affleck, was taken 
 70 leagues from Wilmington, after an action of two hours, 
 by the French frigate Poiirsnivant, mounting 22 French 
 twenty-four-pounders, 12 nines, and 350 men. The, Juno 
 had two men killed, the mate wounded, and her hull, masts, 
 
JVA/?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 385 
 
 sails, and rigging, very much shattered. When she struck, 
 the Frenchmen gave her three cheers, and Captain Affleck, 
 when he stepped on board the frigate, was very kindly 
 received by the French commander, who returned him his 
 sword, and let him have part of his own cabin, expressing 
 surprise that he had fought so long against such a superior 
 force. " But," savs Captain Affleck, in a letter to his 
 owners, "knowing I had a set of the bravest fellows that 
 ever swam salt water, I was determined to defend the ship to 
 the last extremity." The French captain, finding the Ju7io 
 too much damaged to proceed to France, made for Charleston, 
 but the American government refusing to allow the frigate 
 and her prize to enter the port, the Frenchman took the 
 cargo out of the Juno and burnt her. " This brilliant 
 action," observes Billinge's Advertiser^ "reflects immortal 
 honour on Captain Affleck and his brave crew, and will no 
 doubt meet that admiration and applause, we conceive they 
 are so well entitled to." 
 
 The Underwriters, of London, presented Captain Affleck 
 with a valuable bowl bearing the following inscription : — 
 
 "The ship y««o, of Liverpool, commanded by Captain 
 Lutwig Affleck, of i8 guns, six-pounders, and 44 men, being- 
 captured off the coast of North America, on the 14th August, 
 1803, by the French frigate Poiirsiiivayit , of 22 twenty-four- 
 pounders, 12 nine-pounders, and 350 men, after a well fought 
 battle, the Underwriters of London present Capt. Affleck with 
 this token of their estimation of his skill and bravery, in main- 
 taining a long and gallant action, with a ship of such superior 
 force." 
 
 The following communication was sent to Captain 
 Affleck, by Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Gladstone, on behalf 
 of the Liverpool Underwriters : — 
 
 "Underwriters' Rooms, Liverpool, i^th August, 1805, 
 
 " Sir, — ^By the direction of the Underwriters of Liverpool, 
 
 and with particular satisfaction to myself, I beg leave to 
 2B 
 
386 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 enclose a Bill on London for the sum of ^\20. It is their 
 desire this money may be employed in the purchase of a 
 suitable piece of plate, of which they request your acceptance, 
 as a mark and testimony of the high sense they entertain of the 
 hig-h skill and gallant conduct displayed by you, when Com- 
 manding the ship Juno, of this port, armed with i8 six- 
 pounders, and defended by a crew consisting of 44 men and 
 boys, in the action which you maintained for two hours, off 
 the Coast of America, against the French National frigate 
 La Poiirstievante , mounting 22 long twenty-four-pounders, 12 
 long nine-pounders, and 350 men, tho' at last compelled to 
 submit to superior force. I have the honour to be, Sir, your 
 most obedient, J. Gladstone, Chairman of the Underwriters' 
 Committee. 
 
 "Ten Guineas of this sum was subscribed by Messrs. 
 Davies, Dale and Co. 
 
 " To Captain Lutwidge Affleck, late of the s\\\^ Juno, at 
 Greenock." 
 
 Messrs. Davies, Dale & Co., were, no doubt, the owners 
 of \.\\& Jiaio. Captain Affleck acknowledged the honour in 
 the following terms : — 
 
 "Greenock, 22nd August, 1805. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — Your esteemed favour of the 15th curt., 
 enclosing a Bill on London per ;^i20, I received by last post, 
 and beg you will assure the Committee of Underwriters, at 
 Liverpool, that I cannot find words to express the gratitude I 
 feel, for so great a mark of their regard. 
 
 " I have ever considered it my duty to defend the property 
 of others, entrusted to my care against the enemy, as long as 
 there was any prospect of advantage to be gained by resistance. 
 Yet, I cannot help feeling much gratified by the high opinion 
 which so respectable a body of men, have been pleased to 
 express of my conduct in the defence of the Juno. I have the 
 honor to be, Sir, Your obliged humble servant, 
 
 Lutwidge Affleck." 
 
IVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 387 
 
 On the 20th of October, 1805, the ship Harmony, of 
 Greenock, Captain Affleck, fell in with a brig, supposed to 
 be Spanish, but showing- no colours, off the island of 
 Teneriffe. She mounted 16 guns, and appeared to have 170 
 men on board. Captain Affleck was determined to attack 
 and take her if possible, but it being light winds, could not 
 come up with her. He, however, manned three boats, with 
 himself and 24 men in one, and 22 men in the other two. 
 They pulled off, and soon got alongside the brig, when a 
 heavy fire of musketry took place on both sides, but after a 
 severe conflict, the boats returned without success. Captain 
 Affleck, with eight men, having been killed, and 18 wounded 
 in the contest. The report of this affair leaves us in doubt 
 whether the commander was Captain Affleck, formerly of 
 i\\Q, Jwio, or a relation — possibly a brother. 
 
 In October, 1803, the Amsley, Captain Every, brought 
 into the Mersey, a prize called the U Aimahle Lucile, a large 
 F'rench Indiaman, from the Isle of France to Bordeaux, 
 valued at ;^8o,ooo. 
 
 The Margaret and Eliza, Captain Barry, outward bound 
 Guineaman, captured, on the 5th of September, 1803, the 
 ship, Maria Alletta, from Batavia for Amsterdam, valued 
 at ;^45,ooo. 
 
 The Sarah, Captain Sellers, and the Ann Parr, Captain 
 Baldwin, took the French ship City of Lyons, 400 tons, from 
 the Isle of France for Bordeaux, laden with coffee, pepper, 
 indigo, etc., valued at about ^^26,000. 
 
 The peace of Amiens, which had caused great rejoicings 
 in Liverpool, proved to be nothing more than a truce, or 
 short breathing-time between two desperate conflicts. A 
 series of military victories, culminating in the triumph of 
 Marengo, had placed the continent of Europe at the feet of 
 France, or rather under the heel of Bonaparte. The naval 
 conquests of the ist of June, of St. Vincent, Camperdown, 
 and the Nile, with innumerable smaller victories, had made 
 
388 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Great Britain mistress of the ocean, had placed the colonies 
 of France at her mercy, and inflicted upon the military and 
 commercial navies of France, Holland, and Spain, in the 
 first ten years of the war, the loss of 8i line of battle ships, 
 187 frigates, 248 smaller vessels of war, 934 privateers, and 
 5,453 merchant vessels. Thus the commerce of Europe was 
 lost to Havre, Bordeaux, Cadiz, Rotterdam, and Amster- 
 dam, and ultimately to Hamburg and Bremen, and 
 concentrated in London, Liverpool, Bristol, Hull, the Clyde, 
 and the other ports of the British empire. The war, which 
 had ruined the allies of both, had left the principals in 
 possession of immense strength, unbroken courage, and 
 with additional causes of irritation and jealousy. Hence 
 grounds of difference sprang up almost immediately, and 
 after a stormy scene between Bonaparte and the English 
 ambassador at Paris, both parties began to prepare for war. 
 Bonaparte collected an army at Boulogne for the invasion 
 of England. The threat was received with shouts of 
 defiance by the people of Great Britain. Letters of Marque 
 and Reprisals were issued on the i6th of May, 1803, and 
 the King's Declaration was dated May i8th. The armed 
 vessels of England scoured the channels, sinking every gun- 
 boat that ventured to leave Boulogne, and even attacking 
 them under the batteries ; whilst hundreds of thousands of 
 volunteers rushed forward to defend their country. Liver- 
 pool, true to its fighting instincts and its renown on the sea, 
 did not yield to any town in the empire in the energy and 
 efficiency of its patriotic preparations against the invader. 
 As this is not a military history of Liverpool, it would take 
 too long to relate in detail how nobly the merchants and 
 people of " the good old town " did their duty at this great 
 crisis in the world's history — when the liberty of the 
 nations hung on the attitude and pluck of Britons. 
 It is, however, due to their patriotism to state briefly 
 the result of their efforts. Mr. John Bolton, of Duke 
 
WAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 389 
 
 Street, one of the wealthiest merchants, raised and 
 clothed, at his own expense, a regiment of volunteer infantry, 
 of which he became Colonel. All the boatmen of the river 
 Mersey, who were secured from impressment, came forward 
 and offered to assist in working the great guns of the forts, 
 and were formed into a regiment of artillery, under the 
 command of Peter Whitfield Brancker, Esq. Two regi- 
 ments of infantry were formed, one commanded by Lieut.- 
 Colonel Williams, the other by Lieut.-Colonel Wm. 
 Earle. There was also a Rifle Corps and a Custom 
 House Corps, and the Liverpool Light Horse. Lieut.- 
 Colonel Hollinshead raised and clothed a company of 
 pioneers at his collieries to serve with Lieut.-Colonel 
 Williams's regiment, of which he was second in command, 
 and Mr. Ford North presented the same regiment with 
 two brass guns, completely equipped for service. The 
 Corporation subscribed ;i^2,ooo from their own funds, and 
 ^i,ooo from the funds of the Docks. The drilling of the 
 regiments was incessant, the enthusiasm great, the people 
 being of one mind — to save the country or nobly fall in its 
 defence. At a review of the Liverpool Volunteers, on the 
 sixty-seventh birthday of George the Third, the number of 
 officers and men who appeared in the field was as follows : 
 I Colonel, 6 Lieut.-Colonels, 8 Majors, 54 Captains, 1 1 1 
 Subalterns, 221 Sergeants, 152 Musicians, and 3,313 rank 
 and file. From this crude outline of the defensive attitude 
 of the old " Dicky Sams," it would appear that a propensity 
 for privateering and slave trading in a community is not 
 incompatible with self-sacrifice and an exalted patriotism — 
 or, at any rate, was not in old Liverpool. 
 
 In 1803, Messrs. J. & H. Parry, merchants, presented a 
 piece of plate, with the following inscription, to Captain 
 Thos. Nicholson : — 
 
 " Presented by John Parry and Henry Parry, of Liverpool, 
 Merchants, owners of the Anna and Ellen, private ship of war, 
 
390 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 to her commander, Thomas Nicholson, in g-rateful testimony 
 of liis unwearied exertions for their interest, in his able and 
 active conduct as an officer, in capturing- two valuable French 
 merchantmen, and of his judicious management in bringing- 
 them safe into port." 
 
 The paper of January 24th, 1804, warns "persons liable 
 to the impress service and all others," against tw^o practical 
 jokers, or "extraordinary informers," as they are called, 
 one a tobacco manufacturer, and the other a clerk in a salt 
 warehouse, who sported with the feelings of their acquaint- 
 ance, by causing them to be seized and carried to the 
 rendezvous of the press-gang, where, with considerable 
 property upon them, they were detained several hours 
 among a company with which few would associate by 
 choice. 
 
 Captain Richard Sherrat, of the ship Caldicot Castle^ 
 captured by the French, gives the following account of the 
 affair, in a letter dated Barbadoes, i8th April, 1804 : — 
 
 " I sailed from Demerara on the 27th February, and on 
 the 8th March, being then about 200 miles to the eastward of 
 Guadaloupe, I fell in with two French privateers, a ship and 
 a schooner, who came alongside about eight in the evening, 
 and opened a very heavy fire upon us, which we returned, and 
 in about fifteen minutes disabled the schooner, when she 
 sheered off. We continued the action with the ship until 
 about twenty minutes past nine, when she sheered off also, 
 but continued in sight during the remainder of the night, in 
 which time we were employed repairing- damages and getting- 
 the ship in a proper state of defence. About half-past six next 
 morning the ship came within pistol shot, and opened a tre- 
 mendous fire of great guns and small arms, which we returned, 
 and continued in action for about fifteen minutes, when 
 finding our sails and rig-ging cut to pieces, the ship very much 
 hulled, several shot having g-one through her, our wheel shot 
 to pieces, tw^o others and myself wounded, one (my second 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 391 
 
 mate) mortally, we were obliged to strike. The ship proved 
 to be Le Grand Decide, of Guadaloupe, mounting- 20 nine- 
 pounders and 2 brass twelves, with 160 men. I have been 
 here these two days, and will go home either in the Venerable 
 or Barbadoes, with the protest regularly done. I am nearly 
 well of my wound ; it was a musket ball which entered my 
 right hip, and came out near my backbone. I have nothing 
 more to inform you of, but hope by the above account there 
 will not be any blame attached to either my men or me, as 
 they all to a man behaved in a very gallant manner." 
 
 The following letter, relating to the sale of East India 
 prize goods brought into Liverpool, was received by the 
 
 Mayor :— 
 
 " London, 6fh Jnne, 1804. 
 
 " I have this day had a final hearing of the Lords of 
 Trade, on the subject of the Petition of the Mayor and 
 Corporation and Merchants of Liverpool for leave to sell at 
 that port, the cargoes of those East India Ships which have 
 been taken in there, and I have their Lordships' authority to 
 acquaint you, that the Petition has beeji granted, and that 
 there is no objection to the Owners proceeding to advertise 
 and dispose of the said Cargoes. I beg the favour of your 
 making this generally known. 
 
 " I have the honour to remain, Dear Sir, Ver}' truly yours, 
 
 S. Cock. 
 " To his Worshipful the Mayor of Liverpool." 
 
 The paper of July 2nd contained an advertisement 
 stating that in consequence of an unexpected opposition 
 to the Bill then pending in Parliament, for permitting the 
 East India prize cargoes to be sold in Liverpool, the sale 
 was unavoidably postponed. 
 
 On the 4th of August, 1804, the ship William Heathcote, 
 of Liverpool, Captain Thomas Phillips, about 600 tons 
 burthen, carrying 20 guns and 30 men, from Demerara 
 bound to Liverpool, with a valuable cargo, consisting of 
 1,400 bales of cotton, and 125 casks of sugar, said to 
 
392 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 be worth ;^8o,ooo, had the misfortune to encounter in 
 the Irish Channel, the French dogger privateer, General 
 Aiigereau, of 12 guns and 192 men. After a very severe 
 action of half-an-hour, the Frenchmen made use of their only- 
 superiority, which consisted in their number, when by run- 
 ning their ship alongside, they carried the William Heathcote 
 by boarding with nearly their whole force. Captain Phillips 
 was killed after the Frenchmen got on board ; they rushed 
 upon him and stabbed him in many places, and he died, 
 encouraging the mate to fight the ship as long as possible, 
 but the mate was soon after mortally wounded. The 
 captain's son, a lad about twelve years old, behaved nobly 
 when the French were boarding. He was, however, mortally 
 wounded, and thrown overboard before he expired. A pas- 
 senger and a seaman were also killed, and another passenger 
 and seven seamen, besides the mate, were badly wounded. 
 According to one account, the owner's son was one of the 
 killed. The ship's sails and rigging were much damaged, 
 especially in the after part of the vessel. The privateer 
 suffered considerably in her hull, and had several men killed, 
 and the captain and five men wounded. After the exchange 
 of prisoners, the Frenchman bore away for a Spanish port, 
 and had arrived near St. Andero, when the Nautilus sloop, 
 of 18 guns. Captain Aldham, recaptured her, and carried her 
 into Plymouth. The General Augereau was taken on the 
 13th of February, 1805, by H.M.S. Topaze, Captain Lake. 
 On the 2nd of October, 1804, the Cockatrice, of 18 guns, 
 escorted the William Heathcote to Liverpool.* The latter's 
 
 ■' The following letter was written by Mr. I'amber, one of the officers of his 
 Majesty's ship Nautilus, Captain Aldham, and prize-master of the William 
 Heathcote, to Captain Moses Joynson, of Liverpool: — 
 
 " His Majesty's Ship Nautilus, 24th August, 1S04. 
 "Dear Sir, — I have to congratulate you upon the recapture of the IVilliaiii 
 Heathcote, by his Majesty's ship the Nautilus on the 9th inst., which ship 1 am 
 now master of. Knowing your great partiality to the employ of Messrs. Neilson 
 & Pleathcote, and your prepossession in favour of the ship, determined me to inform 
 you of the recapture of her, as I know you would be very happy to be the first to 
 congratulate Messrs. Neilson & Co. on this subject. I am likewise proud in saying, 
 
IVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 393 
 
 average was settled for the recapture, by the agents for the 
 Nautilus and the underwriters, at ;^36,ooo for the cargo, and 
 ^8,000 for the hull, stores, guns, and tackle. 
 
 Captain Leavy, of the ship Britannia.^ writing to his 
 owners, Messrs. France, Fletcher & Co., from Jamaica on 
 September ist, 1804, gives the following description of a 
 well-fought battle between the Britannia and the General 
 Erneuf, French privateer : — 
 
 " On 3rd July, we fell in with a French corvette of 22 g'uns, 
 in lat. 41, long-. 13, who ran from us ; on the 5th, fell in with 
 the same corvette, who at first seemed determined to attack us, 
 but desisted on our chacing, and again run away. After this, 
 nothing particular occurred until Sunday the 5th of August, at 
 8 a.m., in lat. 17, Antigua, W. 200 miles, saw a strange sail 
 which we soon perceived to be a cruizer, by making- all sail 
 after us, which we took no notice of, not wishing to lose a 
 good breeze which we had not been favoured with for several 
 days. This encouraged the robber to make boldly for us, our 
 g-uns being then in and our ports down, he thoug-ht we should 
 be ag-ood prize for him. At half-past 3 p.m. found him coming- 
 up fast, took in our steering- sails, prepared for action, and 
 hauled our wind towards him. At four, he hoisted the Tri- 
 coloured Flag, and g-ave us a salute with a 24 lb. shot, in ten 
 
 that she was by no means given away, as they gallantly defended her till the last, 
 against a superior in number, in which Captain Phillips, Mr. Shepley, and two 
 men were killed. Mr. Fraser, a passenger, Mr. Kewley, the mate, and several 
 men were badly wounded. Mr. F. was fortunate enough in being left on board 
 the Williain Heathcote, with three of the wounded men, and the major part of the 
 ship's company ; and I am happy to say they are all in a fair way of recovery. 
 The French officers taken on board the ]\'illiaiii Heathcote were loud in their 
 plaudits of the bravery of the Captain, Mr. Shepley, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Kewley, 
 and the ship's company. Mr. Kewley, they say, killed three men with his own 
 sword. He is on board the privateer, which I am very sorry for, as his brother 
 was a most part icular friend of mine. Mr. F. received two musquet balls, which 
 was nearly affecting his life ; one our surgeon extracted since he has been on 
 board this ship. I am happy to say he is nearly well of his wounds. The 
 privateer was in sight at the time we recaptured the Williain Heathcote, and did 
 not make sail until she saw her haul down her colours, and we could not go in 
 chase of her. I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing you at Plymouth to take 
 the Williain Heathcote to Liverpool. She is very much shattered in her hull, and 
 her deck and ropes are steeped with blood, much to the honour of them that fell 
 in defence of her. and those poor fellows who are wounded, and in fact, her 
 whole crew." 
 
394 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 minutes he gfrappled our quarter, when a brisk and well 
 directed fire commenced on both sides, with great g-uns and 
 small arms. He continued fast to the Britannia 40 minutes, 
 during- which time he twice attempted to board, and was beat 
 back with g-reat slaug-hter. All this time we could only get 
 our stern and quarter g-uns to bear, which cleared his rig-ging, 
 and shot away his boarding booms and g-rapplings. 
 
 "After he found he could not succeed in boarding, he 
 attempted to haul off, and get on board his tacks, which 
 enabled the Britannia to get her side to bear, and in ten 
 minutes the enemy was a complete wreck, his main-mast shot 
 away close to the cap, his fore-top sail sheets and fore-top 
 gallant ditto all cut, his sails in tatters, his side drove in, and 
 his fire compleatly silenced, his tops and decks that were 
 before full of men, scarcely one to be seen. With the remains 
 of his shattered foresail, mainsail, and mizen, he kept the 
 wind. Perceiving night coming on, and the Britannia's fore, 
 and fore-topsail braces, mizen-boom, mizen-stay, and mizen- 
 topsail all shot away, it was some time before the ship could 
 be brought upon a wind. Immediately after getting braces 
 reeved, we gave chase and passed him to leeward, having to 
 make a tack for want of after-sail, the ship was long in stays, 
 and before we could come up with him, it being dark and 
 squally, we lost sight of him. We then hove to, in full 
 expectation of falling in with him at daylight, expecting from 
 his crippled state he must run before the wind, but was much 
 disappointed in not seeing him, and I much regret, that after 
 fortune had so far favoured us, we had not daylight to take 
 possession of him, who intended to make a prey of us. My 
 people were in high spirits, and fought like English seamen. 
 I am confident the proudest of Frenchmen with equal numbers 
 must have humbled to them. I met with a great loss from the 
 enemy's first fire, having my boatswain, carpenter, and two of 
 my best men stationed with me to work the ship, wounded ; 
 four of my people run from me at Madeira, and two sick, 
 which made some of the guns to be weakly manned. My 
 passengers volunteered their services, and am truly sorry to 
 
JVAIiS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 395 
 
 say, one of them lost his life, but on the whole our loss was 
 not so great as might be expected. 
 
 '^TheBi'iiamiia has suflfered much in her rigging- and sails, 
 most of our lower rigging dreadfully cut, as well as almost every 
 running rope in the ship. The masts are full of small shot. 
 We were obliged to bend an entire fresh set of sails, but am 
 happy to say the ship is not much injured in her hull. The 
 day after our engagement, we were spoke by Commodore 
 Hood in his Majesty's ship Ceiilaur, who very politely sent his 
 surgeon on board to examine the wounded, and also supplied 
 us with medicines we were in want of. 
 
 " On the 9th, we fell in with a schooner under Danish 
 colours, who informed us that the privateer we had engaged 
 was the General Enieiif, carrying 4 long brass twenty-four- 
 pounders, and 12 eighteen-pound carronades, and had on 
 board, when she sailed from Basseterre, 170 to 190 men. 
 From the description given, she must be the same vessel, but, 
 to all appearance, must have had more men on board, they 
 being as throng as they could well stand. 
 
 " List of killed and wounded : — R. Rishton,* passenger, 
 died by a shot in his side. Captain Leavy, D. M'Call, J. 
 Newman, John Grey, and Edward Audley, wounded, but fast 
 recovering." 
 
 In February, 1806, while Captain Leavy was on shore, 
 the Britannia blew up in Cork harbour. A lady passenger 
 and others on board perished. 
 
 On the 9th of October, 1804, the Barbadoes, Captain 
 Lewis, on her passage from Barbadoes to Liverpool, beat 
 off a French privateer of 14 guns and full of men, after a 
 smart action of two hours, in which the Barbadoes had two 
 men severely wounded, one of whom afterwards died of 
 his wounds. During the engagement, the privateer hoisted 
 the bloody flag and attempted to board. 
 
 ^ "Richard Rishton, nged 21, son of the widow Rishton, at the Waggon-and- 
 Ilorses pubhcdiouse, in Blackburn." 
 
39G 777^ LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The sloop Dick, of Chester, laden with slate, from 
 Carnarvon to Portsmouth, was captured, near the Land's 
 End, by a French privateer, and retaken by the mate 
 alone, "a fine daring Welshman," who was left on board 
 the sloop with four of the captors. The Frenchmen, being 
 frightened at a gale of wind, the mate, who evidently had 
 some of the polite and persuasive qualities of Davy Llewelvn, 
 told them he was well acquainted with a port under their 
 lee, and unless they would give up the helm to him, every 
 soul of them would perish. They consented, and he bore 
 away for England. He then, with the blandness of the 
 heathen Chinee, enticed them to go below, make a good 
 fire, and take tea, and when they were down, kept them 
 there, having previously secured a musket and hanger. 
 He carried the vessel safe into Torbay. 
 
 On the 26th of December, 1804, the ship Lo7'd iVe/son, 
 Captain Maginnis, the Harmony, Captain Reed, of 20 
 guns, and the Nymph, Captain Heinsen, of 10 guns, 
 sailed in company for mutual protection, from St. Thomas's 
 for Liverpool. A few hours after they sailed, they fell in 
 with a large schooner privateer of 10 guns (two of them 
 long 12 pounders) and 100 men, all of whom, as well as the 
 captain, were blacks. Captain Maginnis, seeing that the 
 privateer was making a stretch to cut off the Nymph, 
 directly hove to, to give her time to come up with him. In 
 this, however, he was disappointed, as the privateer 
 succeeded in boarding and carrying her. The Lord 
 Nelson then continued her course, the privateer in chase, 
 which she kept up the whole of the night, and at three p.m. 
 the following day the privateer came up and the Lord 
 Nelson prepared for action, which soon commenced by the 
 enemy attempting to board. This manoeuvre Captain 
 Maginnis evaded by heaving his ship in the wind, and 
 giving the privateer his broadside of star and grape shot. 
 The action was then continued within pistol shot, with 
 
JVAI?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 397 
 
 great warmth on both sides, for upwards of an hour and-a- 
 half, the blacks making several attempts to board. At 
 length the privateer crowded what sail she could, and bore 
 off in the most shattered condition, her rigging being very 
 much cut, her main boom shot away, and all her bulwarks 
 entirely gone. As she sheered off, the officers and crew of 
 the Lord Nelson gave her three cheers. The Harmony, 
 Captain Reed, bore away before the action commenced, 
 when the privateer was endeavouring to cut off the 
 Nymph. 
 
 Th.Q schooner Lancaster, Captain John Pettigrew, having 
 captured the Z)/^ Vigilante, L' Union, Les Denx Anges, Der 
 Gnteman, and Vro-m Esther, a dividend was paid in full to 
 the owners on January i6th, 1805, and also to the crew on 
 the 23rd, at the office of Messrs. Gabriel James & Co., 59, 
 Parr Street. This captain was probably the same who, on 
 the 9th of July, 1801, wrote the following letter, from Bar- 
 badoes, to Evan Nepean, Esq., Secretary to the Board of 
 Admiralty : — 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honour to acquaint you, for the infor- 
 mation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that on 
 the 22nd day of June, in N. lat. 10 deg". 25 min., W. long-, per 
 accompts. 40 deg. 18 min., on board the ship Intrepid, of 
 Liverpool, bearing Letters of Marque, under my command, 
 having in company the ships Dominica Packet and Alfred, I 
 had the good fortune to capture, after a running engagement 
 of nearly two hours, the Spanish frig-ate-built ship La Galga, 
 commanded by Francisco de Pascadello, and mounting twenty- 
 four heavy sixes, and seventy-eight men, bound to Cadiz or 
 any port in Spain, loaded with hides, cocoa, indigo, and copper 
 in bars, the quantity not yet known. I am happy to say we 
 sustained no other loss than that of one of my brave men, and 
 our sails and rigging a good deal cut. The other ships have 
 not sustained any damage, except the prize, which has suffered 
 considerably in both hull and masts, and rigging. I arrived 
 
398 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 here o\\ the 4th oi July, with the prize and above-mentioned 
 ships, I have the honour to be, etc., 
 
 John Pettigrew. 
 "P.S. — The Galga has been at different ports, but was 
 last from Rio de la Plata." 
 
 In March, 1805, there arrived in the Mersey, the Spanish 
 ship St. Ana, ahas Nostra Hermanos, from Vera Cruz and 
 the Havannah for Cadiz and Malaga, laden with 60,000 
 dollars, 242 chests sugar, 1,800 pieces logwood, 368 cwt. 
 cocoa, 69 bags wool, etc., captured on the 14th of February, 
 1805, off St. Mary's by the Lady Frances, private ship of 
 war, Captain Hawkins, of Liverpool. The Westmoreland, 
 Captain Goodall, had the good fortune to capture a Spanish 
 ship from Vera Cruz, laden with sugars, dollars, etc., and 
 valued at about ;^25,ooo. She also recaptured the Eliza, 
 of Waterford, which had been taken by a Spanish privateer, 
 off Cape Clear. 
 
 In April, 1805, the Westmoreland, Captain Reed, an out- 
 ward bound Letter of Marque, of Liverpool, was taken, after 
 a desperate action of two hours, by the Spanish ship 
 privateer Napoleon, of St. Sebastian, pierced for 20 guns, 
 and mounting 10 nine-pounders, and 4 eighteen-pound 
 carronades, with 180 men on board. Captain Reed died 
 of his wounds soon after his vessel struck. Six of his crew 
 were killed. The Napoleon was captured by H.M.S. Topaze, 
 Captain Lake. 
 
 The Underwriters of London presented to Captain Lewtas 
 a valuable silver cup, with the following inscription engraven 
 thereon : — 
 
 "This cup is presented by the Underwriters of Lloyd's 
 Coffee-house, to Captain William Lewtas, of the ship Venerable, 
 of Liverpool, as their Testimony to the Bravery of his conduct 
 in twice repulsing-, with great slaug-hter, a French privateer, 
 carrying 16 guns, and 104 men, on his voyage from Liverpool 
 to Barbadoes, in March, 1805." 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 399 
 
 In May, 1805, an order for a general embargo on 
 shipping was issued from the Admiralty. It was followed 
 by a very hot press for seamen and even landsmen. 
 Protections were altogether disregarded, and ships were 
 stripped of their hands, except such as were absolutely 
 necessary to preserve them. The paper of May 13th, thus 
 referred to the subject : — 
 
 "The immediate aug-mentation of our naval force is thout,^ht 
 a matter of such pressing necessity, that all considerations of 
 individual suffering must, for the present, give way. The 
 order for an embargo at this port was announced from the 
 Custom-House on Thursday ; and, during the whole week, the 
 press gang had been indefatigable in their exertions. Persons 
 of all professions, as well as seamen, have been occasionally 
 taken ; though many have been released, on proper application 
 being made. In the early part of the week about forty 
 Irishmen, just landed from a Dublin packet, and who were 
 proceeding up the country in search of employment, were 
 pressed, and immediately taken on board the tender ; but most 
 of them are since liberated. The embargo extends to all 
 vessels bound to foreign parts, including Ireland and the Isle 
 of Man, with the exception of ships belonging to foreign 
 powers, provided they have no British seamen on board. It 
 extends, likewise, to coasting vessels of every description, 
 except such as are laden with coals and grain." 
 
 The cause of this extraordinary press for seamen was, 
 that the French and Spanish fleets were at sea, prepared to 
 strike a great blow either at the Colonies, at Ireland, or at 
 England itself, and it was thought urgently necessary to be 
 prepared at every point. 
 
 On the nth of August, 1805, Mr. Joseph Whidbey, late 
 chief mate of the West Indian., Captain Dunn, wrote the 
 following letter to his friends in Liverpool, from Oporto : — ■ 
 
 "It is with much concern I inform you of our being 
 captured by the combined fleets, on the 8th of June last, they 
 
400 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 being- 20 sail of the line, 7 frigates, and 2 brigs, the day after 
 we left Antigua, under convoy of the Netley schooner, who 
 escaped the enemy by superior sailing. The French finding 
 that the prizes could not beat up to Guadaloupe, and fearful 
 of Nelson overtaking them, they the next morning dispatched 
 5 frigates (having troops on board) to destroy them and 
 afterwards land the troops at Guadaloupe, which they effected, 
 putting my captain and others on shore with them. It was a 
 distressing sight to us to see our ships and cargoes burnt and 
 sunk, when two English frigates were bearing down on them, 
 but too late, the 5 French frigates returning at the time to join 
 the fleet. We were stripped of every thing but the cloaths we 
 had on. On the 22nd of July, to the southward of Vigo, we 
 fell in with the British fleet, consisting of 13 sail of the line 
 and I frigate. We were crammed below at six in the after- 
 noon, when the British Tars gave us three cheers, which was 
 returned by the cowardly Frenchmen, and a heavy cannonade 
 commenced on both sides. I was on board the Biicejitmir, 
 the French Admiral's ship, of 90 guns ; she, with one of 80 
 guns, engaged the English Admiral's ship, which unluckily 
 got dismasted. A brave 74 going to engage the ship in our 
 line ahead of us, sheered alongside and poured such a broad- 
 side into us that occasioned not a few to be brought to the 
 doctor (where I was), without arms or legs, and caused 
 numbers to fall on the decks, headless, and no doubt our poor 
 fellows suffered greatly also. Two Spanish 74's got dismasted 
 and were taken ; the French suffered much in their rigging 
 and people. At half-past nine at night, being very thick 
 weather, the firing ceased, and the English fleet,* the next 
 morning, lay to leeward of the French line, but the supper the 
 Frenchmen got that night made them afraid of getting a 
 similar breakfast, and indeed I, myself, was fearful of a 
 renewal of the engagement, the English not being a match for 
 such a superior force. The French bravadoed to me, and said 
 they would bear down on board the English. I told them to 
 go, they were ready to receive them, although the three-decker 
 *CommancIed by Admiral Sir Robert Calder. 
 
IVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 401 
 
 of the Eng-lish was dismasted, but the thick weather coming- 
 on, the French made the best of their way to Vig-o Bay, where 
 we arrived three days after, and landed the prisoners, which 
 were marched into the Portuguese dominions, where I now am, 
 sufficiently distressed." 
 
 The Mersey privateer, Captain Baldwin, captured the La 
 Asia from Lima, bound to Cadiz, laden with 282,151 
 dollars, 46 marks, 3 oz. of plate silver, 1497 chests of 
 cascarilla, 3068 cargas of cocoa, 583 bars of copper, 792 
 bars of pewter, 19 bags of beaver, 18 bales of Spanish 
 wool, and i bale of carpets. The paper of September 2nd, 
 1805, stated that the log of the Mersey was then on board 
 Lord Nelson's ship, the Victory^ having been taken from 
 on board an American vessel on the 15th of July, the day 
 before he made Cape St. Vincent. The American Captain 
 reported that when he left X\\q: Mersey, she was water-logged 
 and on fire, and had evident marks of having been 
 employed in towing a large vessel which was, no doubt, 
 the Spanish prize afterwards recaptured by the combined 
 fleets. 
 
 The merchants of Liverpool have ever been prompt and 
 liberal in recognising the gallantry of their captains. That 
 they rew^arded pluck and faithfulness, apart from success, is 
 proved by the following correspondence which appears in 
 Billinge's Advertiser, of September 30th, 1805 : — 
 
 "Captain William Dean, Dear Sir, — We have the pleasure 
 to inform you, the owners of the Bellona privateer commanded 
 by you, on a six months' cruize, have desired us to present you 
 with One Hundred Pounds, as a token of the hig-h opinion they 
 entertain (notwithstanding- you have been unsuccessful) of your 
 g-ood conduct, and zeal for the concern, during- the cruize. We 
 are, Sir, your most obedient servants, Lake & Brown, Liver- 
 pool Packet Office, September, 1805." 
 
 "Messrs. Lake & Brown, and Owners of the Bellona, 
 Gentlemen, — I have to acknowledg-e your letter of this day's 
 
 2C 
 
402 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 date, and must say, the handsome and Uberal manner hi which 
 you, with the other owners of the Belloiia, have been pleased 
 to testify your approbation of my conduct, leaves me quite at 
 a loss how to express myself on the occasion, but however in- 
 adequate I may be to such an undertaking, I shall ever feel 
 the most mortifying- regret that my exertions were not crowned 
 with the success due to such liberal minds, and I am proud in 
 having- the honour to subscribe myself, your very obliged and 
 very faithful humble servant, Wm. Dean." 
 
 In February, 1806, the ship Shipley, belonging to 
 Messrs. Shipley, Williams & Co., of Liverpool, and 
 commanded by Captain Wilson, on her passage to the 
 West Indies, was attacked by a French three-masted 
 schooner privateer (late his Majesty's schooner Demerara), 
 mounting 14 guns and full of men. Waiting until the 
 breeze was dying away, she attempted to board the ship, 
 but was repulsed with the loss of several of her men. 
 She then, by means of her sw^eeps, dropped under the 
 Shipley s larboard quarter, and commenced a very hot fire 
 of great guns and musketry. From the position in \vhich 
 the ship lay, it was impossible to get any of her guns 
 to bear, and the calm rendered the vessel unmanageable. 
 In that situation she engaged the privateer with small 
 arms for an hour and-a-quarter, until four of her men 
 were killed, Captain Wilson and Mr. Holden, the first 
 mate, besides the steward severely wounded (the former 
 shot through the shoulder and his hand much shattered, 
 the mate having his thigh broken), when the men, after 
 a most gallant defence, and having no officers to command 
 them, were obliged to strike. The French had their 
 second captain and five men killed and many woimded. 
 The Shipley, after having been plundered of much valu- 
 able cargo, which was carried on board the privateer, 
 was recaptured by H.M.S. Galatea, and sent to Barbadoes. 
 
 The private ship of war Mars, John White, commander. 
 
WAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 403 
 
 took the Dutch hr'ig /ong Vro7V Afan'a, the prize money of 
 which was distributed on February 25th, 1806, at the 
 counting house of Messrs. M'lver, M'Viccar, and M'Cor- 
 quodale, in Pownall Street. The following letter from the 
 ill-starred French Admiral Villeneuve to his chief, explains 
 the fate of the Mais : — 
 
 " On board the Bnceniaure, oflf the Azores, 
 on the 4th Messidor. 
 
 "My Lord, — I have the honour to inform your Excellency, 
 that yesterday mornings the advanced frig-ates discerned two 
 sail, to which they g^ave chase and came up with. One was 
 an English privateer, the Mars, of Liverpool, of 14 guns and 
 50 men ; the other was a Spanish ship, the Minerva, which 
 had been captured by the privateer, and which he was escorting. 
 The ship was coming from Lima, having been at sea nearly 
 five months, with a very rich cargo. Independent of 420,000 
 piastres, her cargo consisted of bark, cocoa., etc. ; the whole 
 estimation at from five to six millions (French). The privateer 
 being much damaged from boarding, Captain Lameillerie, of 
 the Horiense, set it on fire, after taking the crew on board. 
 The Didon manned the other, and I have her under my 
 protection. 
 
 " I entreat your Excellency to accept my respects. 
 
 Villeneuve." 
 
 The brig Hope, Captain Higgins, of Liverpool, bound 
 from Oporto to Dublin, laden with wine, was captured 
 shortly after leaving port by a French privateer, who took 
 out all her hands, except the captain and one man, and, 
 leaving the prize in charge of six Frenchmen, the privateer 
 bore away. The captain gave them plenty of wine to drink, 
 with which they became so intoxicated as to render them 
 quite helpless. When in this state, the captain and his 
 assistant secured the arms, and confined four of the sailors 
 in the hold. The remaining two they left on the quarter 
 
404 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 deck to become sober, and then compelled them to work the 
 vessel till they arrived in an English port, when they were 
 sent to prison. Having- completed his complement of hands, 
 the captain proceeded on his voyage, but only to meet with 
 worse disaster. On the night of the 6th of August, 1806, 
 the weather being remarkably hazy, the good brig Hope 
 struck on a reef of rocks off the Point of Greenore and 
 immediately foundered. The crew were saved. 
 
 A remarkable and interesting example of courage and 
 perseverance is afforded in the escape from a French prison, 
 of Mr. M'Dougall, lieutenant of the Laurel privateer, of 
 Liverpool, captured on the 14th of June, 1803, and Mr. 
 Samuel Mottley, a midshipman in the Navy. Mottley was 
 taken in the Minerve^ Captain Brenton, on the 3rd of July, 
 1803, off Cherbourg, where she had grounded while in 
 chase of some vessels. He and other officers of the ship 
 were marched to Verdun, after having been hurried from 
 one prison to another, where they had the liberty of the 
 town. Mottley got into some scrape with the townspeople, 
 and was sent a close prisoner to the fort of Bitche, in 
 Lorraine, and confined in a "" souterram" many feet below 
 the floors of the prison. Here he remained, treated with exces- 
 sive severity, from the 24th of May till the 22nd of August, 
 1806, on which day he, and three of his fellow prisoners, got 
 leave to ^o to the town to settle some affairs. They were 
 conducted under a guard, and therefore lay under no obli- 
 gation not to escape, and it struck the midshipman that 
 the thing might be accomplished. He communicated his 
 thoughts to M'Dougall, who appeared to him the most 
 enterprising of the other three, and therefore the fittest to 
 share in the daring of the undertaking. Their minds were 
 soon made up, and a lucky opportunity offered itself. The 
 party asked the guard permission to bathe, which was 
 granted, and Messrs. Mottley and M'Dougall left the river 
 before the other two. Dressing themselves, they told the 
 
IVA/^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 405 
 
 guard they would go on to the hotel, and provide dinner, 
 the guard remaining to attend the others to the house. In 
 a word — they ran off, and got away without hurt. When 
 they had marched about six miles, they heard alarm guns 
 firing, and they pushed on about an hour longer, and then 
 concealed themselves in a wood, where they remained till 
 half-past nine o'clock in the evening. They then made the 
 best of their way till towards dawn, and then again lay 
 down in the woods. This method was steadily pursued 
 till the evening of the 27th of August, when they crossed 
 the Rhine in a boat they seized on the bank. Their 
 sufferings were extremely great during the six days we 
 have been speaking of. They avoided the high road 
 and habitations, and tasted no food whatever but fruit, 
 which they stole occasionally. During the first night 
 and the last they waded up to the middle in swampy 
 ground, and suffered much from lying wet each of the 
 days, and not daring to take exercise. From the Rhine 
 to Stuttgart they proceeded on their former plan, only 
 they ventured to obtain food, and one night, from exces- 
 sive fatigue, they slept in a bed in a village. At 
 Stuttgart, an English gentleman advised them to make 
 the best of their way to Cassel, Hanover, and Hamburg, 
 Avhich they did. The route to the town of Hanover was 
 performed on foot, on the same system as before, only a 
 little relaxed, and they slept oftener under cover. They 
 walked about 6oo miles without shoes or stockings. At 
 Hanover, they took a carriage to Hamburg, where they 
 saw the English Consul, who furnished them with money 
 and a letter to the Ensflish ag-ent at Husum. Thev sailed 
 from Husum in the Lark packet, and landed at Harwich 
 on the evening of the ist of October, 1806. They slept 
 there and proceeded next day to London, where these 
 companions in a hardy enterprise separated for their 
 respective homes. 
 
406 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The great event of the year 1806 was the battle of 
 Jena, which crushed the Prussians, on the 14th of October. 
 On November 20th, Bonaparte issued his famous Berhn 
 Decrees, forbidding France, and all her allies, to trade with 
 Great Britain, declaring all British ports to be in a state of 
 blockade, all British subjects wherever found prisoners of 
 war, all British goods lawful prizes. All the Continental 
 ports under French influence were thus closed against British 
 ships ; all neutral vessels which had touched at a British 
 port were excluded. Bonaparte, deprived of his navy by the 
 glorious victory of Trafalgar,hoped, by means of the Decrees, 
 to strike a heavy blow at British trade — the secret of British 
 strength, as he well knew. Great Britain retaliated by an 
 Order in Council, dated the 7th of January, 1807, which 
 declared all the ports in the French Empire in a state of 
 blockade, and prohibited all neutrals from trading with the 
 enemy ; — that no vessel should trade from one enemy's port 
 to another of a French or French allies' coast closed against 
 British vessels. In November, 1807, another Order in 
 Council enacted that no vessel whatever should enter a 
 French port unless she had previously touched at a British 
 one ; and claimed the right of searching neutral bottoms for 
 the purpose of carrying out this regulation. This was out- 
 heroding Herod, and Great Britain, being mistress of the 
 seas, was able to effectively blockade the Mediterranean, the 
 Baltic, and the French ports, and practically to sweep from 
 the ocean the commerce of France and her allies. On the 
 17th of December, Bonaparte issued his Milan Decree, 
 which declared all merchant vessels of whatsoever nation, 
 which should submit to the British Orders in Council, to be 
 lawful prizes to the French. Consequent on this, a number 
 of American ships were seized and confiscated in the ports 
 of France and Italy. It was a war of commercial exter- 
 mination. These high-handed proceedings found favour at 
 first with the commercial community of this country ; but 
 
WAJiS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 407 
 
 ere long the pressure had to be mitigated by the grant of 
 licenses exempting particular ships from the operation of 
 the law, and this opened the door to forgery and fraud. 
 Unfortunately this was not all the mischief caused by the 
 Orders in Council. Their enforcement made us enemies of 
 neutral states who wished to trade with France. The 
 Americans naturally resisted the assumption of the right of 
 search, and passed Acts in retaliation. The united result of 
 the Berlin Decree, of the Orders in Council, and of the 
 American embargo, was to suspend and, for a time, destroy 
 the commerce of the United States. "Our commerce at 
 this moment" said the Boston Centinel,^^\s like a poor flying 
 fish, pursued from below by a couple of dolphins, and from 
 above by a couple of hawks. While the French blockading 
 decree, and the English retaliatory Order in Council, pursue 
 it on one side, the non-importation act and the general 
 embargo assail it on the other." The evil effects of this policy 
 were soon felt in Liverpool. In one year its commerce 
 declined by the amount of 146,000 tons, or nearly one-fourth of 
 the entire trade. In spite of this drawback, the Liverpool 
 docks weresoon after found to be insufficient for the accommo- 
 dation of the commerce of the port, in consequence of the 
 opening of the trade with Spain and Portugal, and with their 
 colonies in America. So it has ever been, and so may it 
 ever be, with Liverpool trade — the closing of one door has 
 been but the prelude to the opening of another ; and the 
 merchant on shore, as well as the sailor on the sea, has been 
 distinguished by courage, resourcefulness, and endurance, in 
 every crisis in the history of the port. 
 
 On the 17th of May, 1807, Captain Frears, of the ship 
 Fortitude, wrote to his owners in Liverpool, from Port 
 Royal, Jamaica, as follows: — 
 
 " Nothing- material occurred after our leaving St. Thomas', 
 until the morning of the 14th inst., at daylight, the Port of 
 Jaquemel, N.N.W. distant 11 miles, saw two schooners close 
 
408 777^ LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 in with the land. At half-past five o'clock, perceived them to 
 be armed vessels, pulling- a considerable quantity of sweeps. 
 As there was not a breath of wind, came up very fast, just gave 
 me time to get in readiness to receive them. At seven, hoisted 
 French colours, and continued sweeping towards us, and firing 
 their great guns at intervals. At a little before eight, com- 
 menced our fire with what guns I could get to bear, which made 
 them retreat out of gunshot. At half-past eight, swept up 
 again on either quarter to board. In this situation remained 
 until ten, keeping constant fire at them with what guns I could 
 get to bear. At a quarter-past ten, got their boats out, and 
 grappling up to the square-sail yard-arms. hX. eleven, clapt 
 me alongside, one on each quarter. As there was no wind, I 
 could not work the ship to get our guns to bear as I could wish. 
 The fire, believe me, Gentlemen, was tremendous. My two 
 after-most guns, with the carronades, were all the guns of 
 service to me, with my small arms — but alas ! what was my 
 musketry to contend with 185 men, some on one side, and some 
 on another. At meridian, boarded me, cutting up every person 
 who could not get out of their way. I am sorry to say that 
 my loss is so great, 4 men killed, 8 dangerously and 4 slightly 
 wounded. Every praise is due to my officers and men ; they 
 behaved like Englishmen to the last moment. I am sorry to 
 see so many suff'er, although I suff"er most myself, having 
 received at boarding a ball through the thigh, and a dangerous 
 cut on the cheek and ear. At six p.m., of the same, the ship 
 was recaptured by his Majesty's ship Heiireux, and sent for 
 this port, where we arrived this day. 
 
 "The following are the names of the killed and wounded 
 on board the Fortitude : — 
 
 '■'■Killed — Mr. Charles M'Adam, Junr., supercargo, 
 James Harrington, William Williams, Francis Frederay, 
 seamen. 
 
 "Wounded daugcrously — Robert Frears, captain; Hugh 
 Rogers, boatswain; Thomas Williams, William Catton, Jacob 
 Peterson, James Hamilton, Donald Mark, Nathaniel Hunt, 
 seamen. 
 
IVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 409 
 
 "Wounded slightly — ^Joseph Dunn, Joseph Edwards, John 
 Jones, John Tyrer, seamen." 
 
 The paper of October 5th, in recording the death of the 
 brave Captain Frears, at the early age of 30, observes, 
 "the severe wounds he received in his gallant but fruitless 
 attempt to preserve his ship from the grasp of the enemy 
 (two French privateers of superior force), off St. Domingo, 
 on the 14th of May last, brought on a fatal illness, which 
 has at length terminated his existence, and left his family 
 and friends to lament his loss." 
 
 At sunset, on the ist of August, 1807, the brig Pope, of 
 Liverpool, Captain Masheter, carrying 12 six-pounders and 
 25 men, on her passage from Liverpool to Barbadoes, when 
 within a day's sail of her destination, and soon after 
 speaking one of the King's cruisers, fell in with the French 
 privateer schooner Le Jeune Richard, mounting 8 twelve- 
 pounders and 120 men. Taking advantage of the night, 
 while the privateer kept aloof to reconnoitre, Captain 
 Masheter battened down his hatches, made the best 
 arrangements for the attack, and nailed his colours to the 
 mast. At sunrise, the action commenced, and was kept up 
 with unabating spirit on both sides for an hour and-a-half, 
 during which Captain Masheter lost his right leg, and his 
 left arm, and some of his men were desperately wounded. 
 The enemy then boarded, and carried the brig, which lost, 
 in the stubborn and sanguinary contest, besides the gallant 
 Captain, who was now completely cut down, the first and 
 second mates and three seamen killed, and four seamen 
 wounded. The privateer and her prize arrived at Point-a- 
 Petre (Guadaloupe) on the 4th of August. The loss of the 
 privateer was said to be only three or four men, which is 
 probable enough from the great disparity in numbers of 
 those opposed to her. Two months later the privateer 
 encountered Nemesis in the shape of the Windsor Castle 
 Packet, Captain Rogers. A passenger on board the packet, 
 
4 1 THE LI J ERPO OL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 writing from Barbadoes on the 3rd of October, 1807, givxs 
 the following account of the affair : — 
 
 " We are just landed here after an unpleasant passage of 
 37 days, and experiencing- one of the most desperate actions 
 which has been fought this war, though, thank God, we have 
 been victorious, and have cleared those seas of one of the 
 fastest sailing privateers out of Guadaloupe, which had in the 
 last six weeks taken no less than six fine running ships, viz. — 
 the America and Clio in company, the Margaret, the Pope, the 
 Portsea, and another. When we met her she was six days on 
 a fresh cruize, with 86 men, and 6 long sixes and i long thirty- 
 two-pounder gun. Our force consisted of 6 guns, short sixes, 
 and 30 men, including 3 passengers. We lost 3 men killed, 
 and 7 wounded, the first broadside ; but I am happy to say 
 that with the remainder, in an hour and forty minutes, such 
 was their gallantry, that they carried the privateer, after 
 killing 26, wounding 30, and making prisoners of 30 not 
 wounded, in all 60 prisoners, almost treble the number we had 
 left for duty. We have therefore, as you may suppose, had 
 little comfort for the last three days, not having had our 
 clothes off, and being obliged to sleep upon deck in order to 
 secure the prisoners. But I have so little time for the 
 Barbadoes, and am so nervous, that I cannot enter more into 
 detail by this opportunity, and can only say that if any man 
 has deserved a token of merit from your Underwriters, 
 Captain Rogers deserves it in the highest degree. He is a 
 young man, his first voyage as Acting Captain (the Captain 
 being left at home), and has therefore nothing but his merit 
 to depend upon. He was left with only 10 men about him for 
 the last half-hour, rallying them to their duty, with a deter- 
 mination to carry the prize, which repeatedly endeavoured to 
 clear from the packet, but was too fast lashed by her bowsprit 
 to escape, and he boarded her at the head of four men, and 
 charged her decks with a gallantry never excelled and seldom 
 equalled. The officers of the man-of-war here are astonished 
 when they look at the two vessels and their crews, and. 
 
IVA J^S OF THE FRENCH RE VOL UTION. 4 1 1 
 
 instantly in the handsomest manner relinquished all claim to 
 the prize." 
 
 " His Majesty's Post-Masters General," says BilUnge's 
 Liverpool Advertiser, of February ist, i8o8, "have ap- 
 pointed Mr. Rogers, the Acting-Captain of the Windsor 
 Castle Packet, to a command. Few instances can be 
 found of more determined bravery than that shown by the 
 whole crew, which consisted of only 28 men and boys. The 
 muster roll of the French privateer had 109 men, of whom 
 there appeared, on the arrival of the packet at Barbadoes, 
 61 killed and wounded, forty of whom were mowed down 
 by the last fire." The same paper published the following 
 paragraph on the 4th July, 1808 : — 
 
 "A few days since, an elegant silver cup, value sixty 
 g-uineas, was presented to Captain William Rogers, of 
 his Majesty's Packet Windsor Castle, with the following 
 inscription engraven thereon : — 
 
 " Presented by the Underwriters of Liverpool to Mr. 
 William Rogers, Acting-Captain of his Majesty's packet Wind- 
 sor Castle, as a testimony of their high sense of his distin- 
 guished gallantry in defending that vessel with a force of 28 men 
 and boys against the French privateer Le Jeiine Richard, with 
 a crew of 92 men, which he bravely boarded at the head ot 
 five followers, and captured on the ist of October, 1807, after 
 an action of four hours, in which he had 13 men killed and 
 wounded ; the enemy, 54 killed and wounded. Thus in the 
 hour of battle displaying to his countrymen an example 
 inspired by the soul of the immortal Nelson, that England 
 expects every man will do his duty." 
 
 "In addition to the above was added ;^i30 from the 
 merchants and Underwriters of Liverpool, to be distributed 
 amongst the officers and crew of the Windsor Castle, as a 
 testimony of their high approbation of the great braver}- 
 displayed by them on the above memorable occasion."* 
 
 * Captain Rogers acknowledged the presentation in the following letter dated 
 Falmouth, 20th July, 1808 : — 
 
412 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 On the 28th of August, 1807, the Diana, Captain Lewis, 
 a Liverpool Letter of Marque, bound to Port-au-Prince, 
 was attacked by the La Vengeance French schooner 
 privateer, Captain Bligh, from Guadaloupe, mounting 
 12 nine-pounder carronades, and 100 men. The privateer 
 attempted to board, but was repulsed, four of the boarders 
 being taken prisoners, two of them badly wounded, and the 
 privateer's foremast and bowsprit shot away. The Diana 
 received considerable damage, but managed to rejoin the 
 Hannah, which had been unable to take part in the engage- 
 ment. Captain Lewis was shot through the thigh, and 
 wounded in the face, while several of his men were also 
 wounded. 
 
 In a letter from Captain James, of the ship Glennwre, 
 written to his owners from Madeira on the 12th of Novem- 
 ber, 1807, we have an account of another gallant 
 and successful defence made by a Liverpool Letter of 
 Marque : — 
 
 " On Wednesday, 21st October, a suspicious sail ap- 
 peared on our wake, about seven p.m., when we beat to 
 quarters. At eight she fired into us, which we returned 
 with 2 nine-pounders. I immediately hailed him, but the 
 answer he returned was not satisfactory ; however, he 
 sheered off and kept without the reach of our guns all night. 
 At five a.m. saw him bear down towards us, at seven he was 
 in our wake, and observing- no stern guns, no doubt was 
 determined to keep us end on, so as to drive us from our 
 quarters, but he was mistaken, for as soon as he came within 
 gunshot, we lowered down the jolly-boat and fired 2 heavy 
 
 " To the Merchants and Underwriters of Liverpool. 
 
 "(jENTI.rmen, — I beg leave to return you my most grateful thanks for the 
 distinguished honour you have so generously conferred on me, by presenting me 
 with a piece of plate, for the service I performed on board the JViiidsor Castle 
 packet, in capturing the French ]5rivateer Le leune Richard, and be assured, 
 whenever an opportunity offers, I shall not be found wanting in the duty I owe to 
 my country, to support the high opinion you have entertained of my conduct. 
 " I remain, with great respect, Gentlemen, 
 
 " Your most obedient and most humble servant, 
 
 "William Ror.ERS." 
 
WARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 413 
 
 long" nines into him, which in the course of the night we had 
 placed there. But notwithstanding- a well directed fire from 
 our stern, he still persevered in his attempts to board. At 
 half past eight he attempted our starboard quarter, but we 
 rounded to and g-ave him a broadside. He immediately wore 
 round, expecting to get on our larboard side, but he found we 
 were ready to receive him there ; he was then within pistol- 
 shot of us. A continual fire on both sides continued until 
 half-past nine, when we drove them from their quarters, and 
 not a man was to be seen, nor a single shot from him. I then 
 hailed him and enquired why he should attempt a second time 
 such a ship as ours ? His answer was, 'I wished to tr}- what 
 you was,' and immediately upwards of loo men made their 
 appearance. From the small number I had on board, was 
 afraid to attempt boarding him. As he had the superiority in 
 sailing, he immediately made sail and stood to the west. She 
 was a beautiful vessel, pierced for i6 guns, and mounted 14 
 brass six-pounders, as the wad found on our decks was 
 covered with verdigrease, and about the size of our sixes ; 
 she was apparently a new lugger. For the gallant behaviour 
 of my sailors I have promised them five g^uineas reward to 
 drink, which I certainly think they deserve, as in the ver}- heat 
 of the action they gave three cheers, and sung- out ' Conquer 
 or Die.' I am happy to say not a man was hurt on board our 
 ship, though many shot have gone through our bulwarks and 
 cloths, some of our running rigging- is cut, and several shot 
 through our sails. We must have done him much damage, as 
 we fired 75 shot, 18 of which were from our stern guns." 
 
 In July, 1807, an important lawsuit arising from 
 Liverpool privateering was tried in the Court of King's 
 Bench, before Lord Ellenborough and a special jury. 
 Messrs. Hobsons and others, the owners of the Eliza 
 privateer, Captain Keene, of Liverpool, claimed ^2888 
 IDS. 6d. from the Hon. Captain Blackwood, being a loss 
 sustained by the plaintiffs in consequence of the act of 
 the defendant, who, being in command of H.M.S. the 
 
414 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 Eiirvaliis, in 1805, sent a lieutenant on board the 
 Eliza (which the plaintiffs had sent to sea three weeks 
 before, fitted out for a cruise, with Letters of Marque, etc., 
 manned with 41 men and boys), impressed four of her 
 men, and carried them off, although the captain of the Eliza 
 produced the usual protection from the Lords Commisioners 
 of the Admiralty. In a few days after, that is, on the 4th 
 of April, 1805, the Eliza, in company with the Greyhound 
 privateer, of Guernsey, fell in with and captured, off the 
 Azores, after an action of one hour and forty minutes, a 
 rich Spanish ship, called La dos Amigas, 24 guns, bound 
 from Lima to Cadiz. She was about 700 tons burthen, and 
 laden with 179,935 dollars, 473 marks of worked silver, 561 
 chests of cascarilla, 54 bags 3 serons of wool, 40 serons of 
 sea-wolf skins, 9 serons of indigo, i chest of drugs, 17,507 
 cargas of Guayaquil cocoa, 1,745 bars of copper, 3,398 bars 
 of pewter. The prize-money which this rich haul enabled 
 the privateers afterwards to divide, amounted to upwards of 
 ;^i5 1,000. In the distribution of the prize-money, in captures 
 of this description, the owners of the privateers shared three- 
 fourths, and the crew the remaining one-fourth ; and where 
 there was a joint capture, each ship, upon such distribution, 
 was entitled to her portion according to the number of hands 
 on board at the time of the capture. In consequence, there- 
 fore, of Captain Blackwood's high-handed proceeding in 
 impressing four of her hands, the Eliza's share of prize- 
 money became proportionally less by upwards of ;^3,ooo, to 
 recover their dividend of which, the plaintiffs brought the 
 action. It was contended for the defence that the certificate 
 and protection produced by the captain of the Eliza were 
 frauds upon the Admiralty, and justified the taking of the 
 men in question. It appeared upon the evidence of Lieutenant 
 Methuen, of the Eitryalus, that Captain Blackwood, having 
 orders to impress able seamen for his Majesty's service, 
 sent the witness on board the Eliza, to examine her hands, 
 
IVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 415 
 
 and impress any of them that might be liable. He accord- 
 ingly had the crew mustered on the deck, and upon compar- 
 ing them by name, age, and description, with the license from 
 the Admiralty, he found that some of them did not in any 
 way answer the description given, either as to age, name, 
 or appearance, and by the account given of their ages, by 
 the four men whom he did so impress, he found they varied 
 three, four, and five years from the description in such 
 license. It also appeared, that the Letter of Marque was 
 originally granted for a complement of 50 men ; but from 
 the certificate granted at the Liverpool Custom-house, the 
 parties had sworn only to a complement of 35 men and boys. 
 It appeared, however, that from the difficulty of procuring 
 men for such service in the port of Liverpool, the parties 
 were not limited to 35 men, but had the power to engage 
 more if they could be procured. Lord Ellenborough, in 
 summing up the evidence to the jury, observed that the first 
 question was whether the defendant was duly authorised to 
 impress men ? Of this there could be no doubt, as the good 
 of the service required that a certain description of persons 
 should be liable to be impressed, and in almost every case 
 captains of his Majesty's ships had such power vested in 
 them. The next question was whether these men so 
 impressed, answered the description (in point of age and 
 appearance) given in the license. Captain Blackwood, his 
 Lordship continued, could have no sinister purposes to 
 answer in taking these men. It was a part of his duty, and 
 from the well-known fame and character of that gallant 
 officer — whose life must always make a prominent feature in 
 the naval annals of this country, — there could be no doubt, if 
 he had acted improperly, or rather illegally in impressing 
 these men, he could have done it with no other motives but 
 with a view to the public service. His Lordship did not mean 
 this as any compliment to that honourable officer, whose 
 services were too well known to require any eulogium. At 
 
416 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the same time, if any indulgence was to be made for an error 
 of this nature, certainly no man was more entitled to have 
 such indulgence than the defendant. But it was their duty 
 to decide wholly upon the facts before them in evidence; and 
 they would consider whether he was justified in this pro- 
 ceeding, and if not, what compensation in damages the 
 plaintiffs were entitled to. The jury brought in a verdict 
 for the plaintiffs — damages, ^2,888 los. 6d. 
 
 Captain Phillips, writing from Guadaloupe, on March 
 20th, 1808, gives the following account of the capture 
 of the Robert : — 
 
 "We sailed from Africa, 5th February. Nothing- par- 
 ticular occurred until the 6th of March. On that day we 
 saw a sail, and immediately knew her to be a cruizer, upon 
 which we made every preparation to engage her, determined 
 to resist being taken, or sell our vessel dearly. About 7 p.m. 
 she was right astern, and commenced firing from a long 
 artillery eighteen-pounder (whilst the Robert's stern chasers 
 would not reach him). He kept in that position for an hour, 
 then run close up under the stern and quarter, pouring in his 
 small arms with an intention of boarding. Fortunately a shot 
 from the Robert, at this moment (as I afterwards found) killed 
 two men, and wounded three others on board the privateer, 
 and materially damaged his foremast. He then sheered off, 
 but kept in sight all that night, during^ which we were every 
 moment expecting him to renew the eng-agement. However, 
 at 7 a.m., being daylight, he came up under the larboard 
 quarter, and kept up a constant fire from his gun and small 
 arms, for upwards of an hour, when the fire from the privateer 
 caught the arm-chest on the poop, which exploded, and made 
 sad work amongst such as were near it, w^ho were dreadfully 
 scorched by the cartouch boxes exploding about them. In 
 this situation, the privateer boarded, and after a quarter of an 
 hour's fruitless resistance, they succeeded in g-aihing posses- 
 sion ; they then hauled down our colours. Mr. Youd, the 
 chief mate, was dangerously wounded by a musket ball near the 
 
IVAI^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 417 
 
 temples, but the ball is since extracted, and I hope he will 
 recover. Stephen Baker, William Gray, Philip Crawley, and 
 John Post, seamen, were wounded, and now in the hospital, 
 where great attention is paid them. From being- immediately 
 hurried on board the privateer, I cannot exactly inform you of 
 the fate of those who remained on board the Robert; but by a 
 French gentleman who arrived here from Martinique, I am 
 informed the Robert arrived there the 12th inst. ; that the 
 Doctor was, it is feared, mortally wounded, and that several 
 of our crew are since dead of their wounds." 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr. 
 J. L. Forrester, on board the armed ship Active, of 12 guns, 
 Captain Teed, of Liverpool, dated harbour of Chaquaramas, 
 Trinidad, July i8th, 1808:— 
 
 " On the i6th inst. we made the river Demerara, off which 
 we fell in with a vessel, which we supposed to be a Demerara 
 dogger, or pilot boat ; but on hailing, she proved to be a 
 Spanish privateer, and a running fight commenced, which 
 ended in her sheering off into shoal water. This lasted about 
 forty minutes, and in bearing up for our port, we found our- 
 selves about 12 or 15 miles to leeward of Demerara; and 
 knowing the impossibility of beating to windward with a ship 
 so deeply laden, our bends being actually under water, we 
 resolved to bear up for this island, to which we were welcomed 
 at six o'clock this morning by a French privateer of consider- 
 able force, who seemed certain of her prize. On our firing a 
 gun for her to shew her colours, she had the impudence to run 
 alongside, sent a hand to the mast-head, who either lashed or 
 nailed her colours, and then returned us two guns, and a volley 
 of musquetry. The latter seemed a continual shower during 
 the whole of the engagement, which lasted an hour and a 
 quarter. We had no one hurt on board, many shot-holes 
 through our sails, and some trifling injury to our rigging." 
 
 Captain Bibby, of the Jtdiana, writing to his brother, in 
 Liverpool, on the 7th of October, 1808, from sea, the Lizard 
 bearing E. by N. distant 15 leagues, says : — 
 
 2D 
 
4 1 8 THE LI VERPOOL PR I VA TEERS. 
 
 " This is to inform you of the death of Captain Bosworth, 
 which took place on the 4th ult. , after an ilhiess of eig^ht days, 
 after which nothing' material occurred until the 2nd inst. , when 
 at three p.m. we fell in with a French privateer, full of men, he 
 having an English Jack hoisted at the main. We took him 
 for an English gun-brig- ; we, however, cleared for action, and 
 he sheered up under our quarter, till within half pistol shot, 
 when he hoisted French colours, and without hailing, fired into 
 us with his great guns and small arms, his deck crowded with 
 men, which we returned with a broadside, our guns being 
 loaded with round and canister shot, when he hauled his wind, 
 firing his musketry, we firing our g-reat guns as long as they 
 could reach him. At five p.m., she having left us, we stood 
 on our course, not being in a condition to follow him, being 
 damaged in our hull, rig^ging, and sails, and the ship making 
 a considerable quantity of water. At six p.m., lost sight of 
 the privateer. At half-past eight a.m., in lat. 49. 44. long. 12. 6. 
 saw a brig ahead, cleared for action ; at half-past eleven a.m., 
 hoisted a French ensign, when she hove to, and shewed 
 Hambro colours. We then fired a gun, pulled down the French, 
 and hoisted English colours, and went on board to overhaul her, 
 when finding- the Captain had different papers, one not agreeing 
 with the other, we took possession, and ordered her for Liver- 
 pool. At half-past one p.m., discovered a strang-e sail; at seven 
 p.m., she came up with us, and proved to be H.M. sloop of war 
 brig Aluime, Capt. Hugh Steward, who carried me and the 
 captain of the brig, with the papers of both vessels, on board 
 his ship, saying he would take the brig from us. He then sent 
 his boat and took Wm. Gourley and the men we had left on 
 board the brig, out of her, putting his own people on board, 
 not suffering- mine to take a single article of their cloathing 
 except what they had on ; nor can we get to speak to the 
 Captain of the man-of-war to get the people's cloaths over- 
 board. Fortunately, not a man of our crew was hurt. N.B. 
 The name of our prize is Johanna. 
 
 The following letter w^as written at sea, in lat. 45, long. 
 13. 18 W., by Mr. William Hymers, commander of the 
 
JVAI?S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 419 
 
 snow Sliawy to her owners, Messrs. John D. Case & Co., of 
 Liverpool: — 
 
 "Gentlemen, — I am sorry to inform you that on Wednes- 
 day, November 3rd, 1808, I saw a rog'uish-looking- brig- to 
 windward, cleared ship for action, at half-past three p.m., he 
 bore down into our wake, under a press of sail, with an Eng-lish 
 Jack flying-. I shewed Spanish colours. At five p.m., he down 
 Eng-lish colours, and up French ensign, and wore round and 
 g-ave us his larboard broadside. We commenced firing- our 
 stern chasers, continued firing- two glasses; he dropped astern, 
 having been a little disabled. At daylight the privateer 
 appeared off our starboard quarter; at half-past eight a.m., 
 commenced close action, and continued without intermission 
 until half-past eleven a.m. He then out sweeps and sweeped 
 from us. We then gave him three cheers, and when I came to 
 look over the shot I had left, I must say that I was heartily 
 glad that he had sheered off", as I had only six rounds, 13 
 cannister, and 15 langridge shot, and no cartridges. I have 
 cut up all my stockings, and the ship's company followed my 
 example ; I then tied up all the carpenter's nails and tools that 
 would ^o into a gun, and the cabouse lead. As the privateer 
 was only laying out at gunshot, I perceived that he had a mind 
 for another tack as soon as he was ready. I saw him get his 
 stink-pots on his main yard-arm, and his grapplings on his fore 
 yard-arm. I then got a spare main-yard athwart abaft to 
 prevent him getting on our quarter. At one p.m., he crowded 
 all sail and sweeped up in our wake. As soon as our stern guns 
 would reach him, we slapped away, and shot away his gaft 
 and hauled (hulled?) him several times. At three p.m., he 
 gave us his whole broadside and sheered off". She is a brig, 
 pierced for 16 guns, but only 14 mounted; she was full of men. 
 she has two narrow yellow streaks, and all the rest black. I 
 cannot say too much for Mr. Jackson (chief mate) for his 
 manly support, and to do the crew every justice, they fought 
 like Englishmen. Having no shot, I thought it my duty to call 
 at Madeira for more. I am happy to say that none of my people 
 
420 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 are hurt, only sails and rig-ging suffered materially; the g'rape 
 shot played like hail." 
 
 The Lord Cranstoim, Captain Gibson, for St. Croix, 
 with 50 men and 22 guns, and the Lydia, Captain Lewis, 
 for St. Kitts, with 22 guns and 45 men, sailed in company 
 from Liverpool, on the 9th of November, 1808, and on the 
 i6th, were parted in a heavy gale of wind, thunder and 
 lightning. On the 29th, in lat. 26. 30, long. 31. 26., the 
 Lydia was chased by a large frigate under Spanish colours, 
 which, when within half-pistol shot, gave her a broadside, 
 which was returned by the Lydia, and an action commenced 
 which lasted about 25 minutes, when Captain Lewis 
 thought it prudent to strike, having i man killed and 4 
 wounded, his masts so crippled that it was impossible to 
 carry sail, and his rigging and sails completely cut to pieces. 
 The enemy proved to be the French frigate L'Amphitrite, 
 of 44 guns (28 eighteen-pounders, 12 thirty-six-pounders, 
 and 4 long nines) and 450 men, 200 of whom were soldiers 
 bound for Martinique. On the 3rd December, in lat. 
 23- 35- N. long. 37. 30. W., they fell in with the Lord 
 Cranstoun, with which the frigate exchanged two broad- 
 sides. The Lydia being in company, and on his starboard 
 side, the frigate on his larboard, Captain Gibson had the 
 mortification to receive two broadsides from his old consort. 
 The Lord Cranstoim^s masts, sails, and rigging, being 
 completely shattered, she was obliged to yield to such 
 superior force. The Frenchmen threw overboard from 
 both prizes the least valuable articles, transferred part of 
 the Lydia' s cargo to the Lord Cranstoun, and scuttled the 
 former. Having captured an American brig they gave 
 her up to the prisoners (96 Englishmen and 12 Portuguese) 
 as a cartel, with a small proportion of provisions. Fearing 
 a long passage to a British port under such conditions, the 
 prisoners steered for the Isle of Flores, where they arrived 
 on the 24th of December. Having victualled they sailed 
 
JVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 421 
 
 for Liverpool, where they arrived on the i6th of January, 
 1809. 
 
 In consequence of the number of captures made by the 
 enemy's privateers in the Channel, the Government gave 
 directions for the adoption of a system of alarm gun signals, 
 intended to serve as an intimation to the men-of-war that 
 a privateer was on the coast, and to point the very place 
 where it might be found. 
 
 The following account of a gallant and successful stand 
 against fearful odds is extracted from a letter dictated by 
 Captain Spence, of the Lascelles, at Palermo, 21st of 
 August, 1809, and received by the owners in Liverpool : — 
 
 " It will now be proper to inform you, that after seeing 
 many privateers in the Mediterranean, we at last had one to 
 eng'ag'e, close under the island of Galitor. It was on the 7th 
 inst., about 12 o'clock at noon, we perceived a larg^e sail in the 
 offing bearing down upon us from W.N.W. , apparently an 
 enemy, but we still continued our course. At two p.m., 
 coming up with us very fast, we immediately beat to quarters 
 and cleared away the decks for action. He still coming up, 
 with a long pendant at his main, and an Algerine flag on his 
 mizen, we shortened sail ready to engage. We gave him a 
 gun and hoisted our colours, which he immediately returned 
 with a broadside, his French colours hoisted. Then we came 
 to a general action within pistol-shot, with our great guns and 
 small arms. He fought very hard for about an hour and-a-half 
 with his great guns, but we suppose that by our driving them 
 from their quarters, they betook themselves to small arms, 
 which they continued to do until the end of the action, having 
 all their sweeps out on both sides, endeavouring to get away 
 as fast as possible, we still continuing to keep up our fire upon 
 them. 
 
 "She was a very large vessel or ship, and much longer 
 than the Lascelles, shewed 16 ports, and mounted 14 guns, and 
 we cannot conceive that she carried less than 150 men. 
 
 "We then have the pleasure to say, that we succeeded in 
 
422 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 beating- her off entirely ; and by a peculiar Providence not one 
 soul of us lost our lives, but five of us were most shockingly 
 burnt (particularly myself and one of the sailors,) who have 
 suffered in a most excruciating manner, and are far from being- 
 recovered. All that the ship could afford in point of relief was 
 administered to the injured ; and when arrived here, Mr. Gibbs 
 immediately sent a surg-eon on board to attend us all; and now 
 we have g-reat hopes of our recovery. 
 
 " My running- rig-g-ing- and sails are very much shot away ; 
 
 standing- rig-g-ing and the hull of the ship likewise have received 
 
 many a shot. In the course of a few days, I hope to be so 
 
 much better as to be able to enter into a protest on this account, 
 
 which I shall send you in my next in course." 
 
 The foregoing letter was written by Mr. H. Le Resche, 
 
 passenger on board the Lascelles, and dictated to him by 
 
 Captain Spence, who was disabled by the action he fought 
 
 from writing himself, as the following letter from Mr. Le 
 
 Resche to the owners of the Lascelles, shows : — 
 
 "Dear Sirs, — I wrote you a few lines by a ship at sea, on 
 the 17th July, viz.. La Rose Duncaniwn, belonging to Messrs. 
 Rogers & Bownas. Now I have the pleasure to drop you a 
 few lines more from hence. You see what an awful encounter 
 we have had, and the effects of it are such that Captain 
 Spence cannot use his hands, therefore he has begged of me 
 to write 3^ou as above. It's a great blessing that we all escaped 
 with our lives. All the passengers were equally engaged in 
 the action. I and Mr. Cougan were employed in working a 
 six-pounder all the time. 
 
 " I have now to inform you, that 3'ou have chosen a very 
 good Captain ; he has your interest very much at heart ; he 
 thinks of nothing else. I hope you will keep him long in your 
 employ ; and that you will give him every encouragement, as 
 he well deserves it." 
 
 The Alexander Lindo^ Captain Pi nee, on her passage 
 from Rio Janeiro to Liverpool, having thrown 10 guns 
 overboard in a heavy gale of wind, afterwards encountered 
 
JVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 423 
 
 a French privateer, of 14 guns. Captain Pince having only 
 4 guns left, called his men together, and addressed them on 
 the danger of their situation without their individual 
 exertion, offering 20 guineas to the first man who would 
 disable the enemy's vessel. The first gun that was fired by 
 Mr. Patterson, the chief mate, shot away the privateer's main- 
 vard, upon which she hove to and clued up her sails. Two 
 davs later the Alexander Lindo was attacked by a French 
 schooner privateer, full of men, who bore down upon her, 
 but after having received her fire made sail and bore away. 
 
 On the 22nd of April, 1810, as a boat from the ship Earl 
 of Chester^ just arrived from Madeira, was putting off with 
 some of her crew for the shore, it was pursued by a boat 
 belonging to one of the King's ships lying in the river, for 
 the purpose of impressing the seamen. The man-of-war's 
 men wantonly fired several shots at the boat, which was 
 running in the direction of the Parade Walk, then crowded 
 with pedestrians. One of the shots took off part of the 
 finger and lodged in the thigh of an elderly woman then 
 on the walk. This occurrence increased the hatred of the 
 people towards the impress service. 
 
 In July, 1810, about 200 American sailors assembled at 
 the Queen's Dock, and having armed themseh^es with 
 staves, proceeded to the rendezvous houses of the press- 
 gang, in Cooper's Row and Strand Street, where they broke 
 the windows and furniture, and liberated some seamen who 
 had been impressed. Two of the ring-leaders were appre- 
 hended, and committed for trial at the Lancaster Assizes. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1810, several hundred people 
 on the heights of Dover, had the privilege of seeing a 
 Liverpool Letter of Marque engaging six French lugger 
 privateers, full of men. The Mary, Captain Barry, was on 
 her passage from Pernambuco to Liverpool when chased 
 by the luggers, four of which were within half-pistol shot 
 of her stern, and the other two on her lee quarter, though 
 
424 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 not within range of musket shot. Owing" to the fatigue of 
 the crew, and the vessel being under close reefed fore and 
 main-top sails and reefed foresail, caused by the severe gales 
 of wind, they could make sail but slowly, and the privateers 
 had nearly got alongside before they could get her sails 
 trimmed. That done, Captain Barry got the Mary's guns 
 well supplied with round and grape shot, and by two well 
 directed broadsides caused the two headmost luggers to 
 drop astern, until they were again supported by their 
 consorts. At last, having drawn close in to the land, where 
 they saw the English gun brigs making sail, the privateers 
 made off, but were so daring that they chased the Mary 
 almost within gunshot of the men-of-war brigs, the com- 
 mander of one of which complimented Captain Barry on his 
 perseverance and consequent escape. 
 
 An atrocious and deliberate outrage, far exceeding any 
 wild, practical joking ever indulged in by Joe Daltera and 
 his Committee of Taste, was perpetrated in Liverpool, in 
 November, 1810. Half-a-dozen fellows, assuming the char- 
 acter and authority of a press-gang, seized a very respectable 
 gentleman of the town, who never was at sea in his life, and 
 took him to a public-house, where they shut him up in a 
 room, and confined him as an impressed man. In this 
 miserable apartment he was forcibly detained two days and 
 nights, without food or refreshment of any kind, and was 
 not released till his captors had extorted from him a sum 
 of money as the price of his liberty. The gentleman 
 immediately complained to the Regulating Captain of the 
 port, of this unexampled outrage, and was assured by that 
 officer that every exertion would be used to discover the 
 authors of it, but that the offence had certainly not been 
 committed by any of the press-gangs under his command, 
 nor had any such, person been brought to any of the houses 
 of rendezvous under his direction. It does not appear that 
 the daring ruffians were ever brought to justice. 
 
JVAJ^S OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 425 
 
 The ship Brothers, of Liverpool, Capt. Geo. Powditch, 
 on her voyage from Bahia to London, was captured on the 
 13th of March, 181 1, by the French privateer Diligente^ of 
 i4eighteen-pounders and 150 men. Monsieur Garceau, the 
 commander of the privateer, put on board 15 men, leaving 
 in the Brothers only the steward, John Murdock, who 
 selected such of the privateer's people as he found inclined 
 to his purpose, and recaptured the ship. The prize-master 
 was ordered to carry the Brothers into a port in Norway, 
 and the people who aided Murdock in the recapture were 
 chiefly Norwegians, pressed into the French service. The 
 Brothers arrived in Liverpool on the 20th of April, 181 1. 
 The threatened disappearance of the British seaman from 
 the mercantile marine of Great Britain is suggestive of a 
 bad time for our shipowners and the country in the next 
 naval war. 
 
 When the French privateer La Ciipidon was taken on the 
 24th of March, 181 1, by the Amazon frigate, four English- 
 men were discovered amongst the crew. They represented 
 themselves to be Americans ; but some suspicions arose, 
 and they were taken into custody as traitors, and tried at 
 the Old Bailey Admiralty Sessions, in February, 181 2. In 
 their defence, the prisoners stated that they had suffered 
 much in a French prison, and their only motive in getting 
 on board the French privateer was to seek an opportunity 
 of returning to their native country. Far from wishing to 
 aid the enemy, they had actually engaged with other 
 Englishmen and Americans to overpower the crew of the 
 privateer, and lodge her in a British port. This was 
 corroborated, but it unfortunately turned out that two of the 
 prisoners had also served in the Napoleon French privateer. 
 They were found guilty, and sentenced to death, the Judge 
 observing that the distress of the prisoners was no excuse 
 for serving the enemy. In March, 181 2, two seamen were 
 executed for the same offence — high treason ; five more, 
 
426 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 who had been sentenced to death at the same time, received 
 the royal pardon. Long confinement and hard usage in 
 French prisons undoubtedly drove many British seamen to 
 take service on board French privateers, while others entered 
 the enemy's ranks for baser reasons. 
 
 During this long struggle, Liverpool became a depot for 
 prisoners of war. The gaol in Great Howard Street, which 
 had been erected in 1786, but not occupied, was used for 
 this purpose. In January, 1799, there were 4009 French 
 prisoners in Liverpool, out of a total of 30,265 in Great 
 Britain. The mortality amongst them was very consider- 
 able, and the hearse was constantly in requisition to convey 
 from the gaol the corpse of some poor Frenchman to the 
 portion of St. John's Churchyard then used as a public 
 cemetery. Among the iioo French prisoners liberated after 
 the Peace of Amiens, was one who had made 300 guineas 
 during his confinement, by his skill and industry in manu- 
 facturing toys.* With their usual ingenuity, the French 
 manufactured a variety of trinkets, rings, snuff boxes, slippers, 
 crucifixes, baskets, little carved boxes, and toys, which were 
 exhibited on a stand in the entrance of the gaol, and sold for 
 their benefit. Though ill-clad, dispirited and miserable, 
 they were not always sad. Occasionally they performed 
 plays in a small theatre within the walls, to which the 
 public were admitted, the admission money raised in one 
 night being, in some instances, as much as ;^50. Once 
 an unrehearsed tragedy took place ; one of the Frenchmen, 
 while dancing and singing on a Sunday evening, in July, 
 1793, dropped down and expired immediately. A prisoner 
 named Domery, a Pole by birth, possessed a marvellous and 
 
 "■'" This was used as one of the arguments in favour of Mr. Gregson's plan for the 
 encouragement of mechanical drawing and design in the Blue Coat Hospital, and all 
 the public schools of Liverpool. Referring to the advantages to the boys from such 
 training, the paper of April 12, 1813, says : " Should they incline for sea, and be 
 taken into a French prison, their ingenuity there may enable them to sustain their 
 confinement with more comforts than usually fall to the lot of a British tar." 
 
JVAIiS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 427 
 
 insatiable appetite. In one day he consumed 14 lbs. of 
 raw beef, 2 lbs. of candles, and drank twelve bottles of 
 porter, and felt fit for more. The capacity of the deposed 
 King of Babylon for eating grass has not been recorded, 
 but from a medical report published on Domery's case, 
 we know that he could eat grass weighing 4 lbs. or 
 5 lbs. at a time. Cats, dogs, and rats, were mere tit- 
 bits for him, and his sufferings from the want of what 
 is vulgarly called a really "square meal" must have 
 been terrible. Felix Durand, one of the Frenchmen 
 confined in the Tower, in Water Street, about the 
 middle of the eighteenth century, had some romantic 
 experiences. He worked for a tradesman in Dale Street, 
 the go-between being a young lady, who became sufficiently 
 interested in the prisoner to herself make a survey of the 
 rooms adjoining his place of confinement, and in conse- 
 quence of the information so gained, Durand and several 
 of his compatriots made their escape. After wandering 
 about the country for some time, pretending to be deaf and 
 dumb, and surprising the country-people by the clever 
 workmanship he turned out in return for their hospitality, 
 he one day, being in hiding, overheard a young lady 
 expressing her admiration of the scenery in the French 
 language. Unable to suppress his emotion, he rushed 
 forward and poured forth his sorrows in his native tongue, 
 and, as he thought, into a sympathetic ear. Unfortunatelv, 
 he was recognised by the lady's companions and attendants 
 as the deaf and dumb man who had sought employment a 
 a few days pre\'iously. In spite of the lady's pleading, a 
 gentleman of the party arrested the poor Frenchman, and 
 carried him before a very gruff old justice at Ormskirk, 
 who sent the prisoner back to Liverpool. One true heart 
 in that town was not sorry to see him once more, and 
 Monsieur Felix Durand, having discovered that fact, was in 
 due time united in holy matrimony to Miss P , of Dale 
 
42S THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Street, the young- lady who had facilitated his escape. His 
 compatriots had been retaken before him. 
 
 The French privateer L'Amelie, described as schooner- 
 rigged, with a yellow streak, and white bottom, showing no 
 guns, but carrying 14, and 100 men, and commanded by 
 Captain Lacroix, sailed from St. Malo for a cruise, and very 
 judiciously chose a station commanding the entrance into 
 three channels — St. George's, Bristol, and the English. 
 She had been three days out, when, on the 25th of November, 
 181 1, she encountered the ship Sally, of Liverpool, George 
 Knubley, master. Captain Knubley took every precaution, 
 and made every disposition which human foresight could 
 suggest, for the preservation of his vessel, and during the 
 action kept the quarter-deck amidst a shower of musket-balls, 
 endeavouring to encourage his men to an effectual resistance. 
 But, after a sharp action of about twenty minutes, the Sally 
 was carried by boarding, and the crew, with the exception 
 of three, taken on board the privateer, where, to the honour 
 of the commander and his officers, they experienced every 
 possible kindness compatible with their unfortunate situation, 
 being allowed to preserve the whole of their private property, 
 and indulged in all the comforts and luxuries which the 
 privateer afforded. During the action, the first lieutenant of 
 the U Amelie was killed, and several of the crew wounded. 
 The Sally had five wounded, one dangerously. She was 
 ordered for France, and parted company with her captor 
 next day. Captain Lacroix promised to Captain Knubley 
 that he should have his liberty, and the first ship of little 
 value which the L' Amelie should take, upon condition of 
 his giving his parole for the exchange of an equal number 
 of French prisoners in England, to be sent to France as 
 soon as possible after his arrival at an English port. This 
 promise Captain Lacroix had an opportunity of fulfilling on 
 the 28th of November, when he captured the brig Noah, of 
 Dundee, Captain Bowman. After taking possession of the 
 
JVARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 429 
 
 brig, and offering Captain Bowman to ransom her, which was 
 refused, the Frenchman agreed with Captain Knubley about 
 the exchange of prisoners, and having filled up the necessary 
 papers, and given him the sole command of the Noah, set 
 him, and the crews and the passengers of both vessels, at 
 liberty, declaring at the same time, that if the exchange of 
 prisoners was honourably made on Captain Knubley's part, 
 he would set every Englishman, whom the fortune of war 
 should throw into his power, free the first opportunity. 
 
 During this war, commerce, like politics, continued in a 
 state of extraordinary excitement, being too often a mere 
 lottery, prices depending on the course and result of events 
 which no sagacity could foresee. A victory or a defeat 
 made one man, who was rich in the morning, poor at night, 
 or suddenly raised another from poverty to riches. May 
 Great Britain never again experience the horrors of such a 
 prolonged struggle ; but if her own liberties and those of 
 mankind call for a similar magnificent effort of courage and 
 endurance, may the sons and daughters of the most 
 powerful empire the world has ever seen, do their duty as 
 valiantly and as successfully as their forefathers, who held 
 the bridge of liberty against the Arch-tyrant in *' the brave 
 days of old." Passing over an innumerable series of minor 
 engagements, captures and recaptures, which would only 
 weary the reader, though representing great bloodshed and 
 immense gains and losses to the combatants, we proceed, 
 in the next Chapter to chronicle the leading incidents and 
 the fading glories of privateering during the second war — 
 by the grace of the Prince of Peace may it be the last 
 war — with the United States of America. 
 
4.30 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Liverpool Privateers during the Second War 
 WITH America. 
 
 The relations of Great Britain with the United States had 
 been of the most unsatisfactory character ever since the 
 first issue of the Orders in Council, in 1807, which compelled 
 all vessels on their way to blockaded ports to touch at 
 British harbours, and asserted a right of seizing British 
 sailors found in American vessels. The United States, 
 highly exasperated, met this step by the announcement that 
 all intercourse with Great Britain and her dependencies 
 was at an end. Although the embargo was withdrawn in 
 1809, and the trade with this country for a time resumed, 
 the friction still continued. In spite of the remonstrances 
 of the American Government, of the American merchants 
 of Liverpool and elsewhere, and of many of the ablest men 
 in this country, the British Ministry persisted in enforcing 
 the orders until June, 1812. President Madison, in his 
 address to the American people, stated that upwards of a 
 thousand American vessels were seized under these orders 
 on the high seas, carried into English ports, where many 
 of them were condemned, and all subjected to heavy losses. 
 At the beginning of the year 181 2, as the commercial and 
 manufacturing distresses became greater, it appeared that a 
 perseverance in the unwise policy would produce a war 
 with America. The great attainments and powerful 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 431 
 
 eloquence of Mr. Brougham were for four years ranged 
 against the orders, and on the i6th of June, 1812, his 
 efforts were crowned with success, Lord Castlereagli 
 announcing to Parliament that the ministry had decided to 
 suspend the orders. The concession came too late. Two 
 days after Lord Castlereagh's announcement and three 
 weeks before the news could reach America, President 
 Madison had issued a declaration of war against Great 
 Britain. The war lasted about two years and-a-half, in- 
 flicting enormous losses on both belligerents, whilst their 
 successes were so nearly balanced that both nations were 
 heartily glad to accept the mediation of the Emperor of 
 Russia to put an end to the unnatural conflict. Perhaps 
 there never was a contest where the amount of political and 
 commercial benefit received on either side was so ridicu- 
 lously disproportionate to the frightful material and moral 
 damage inflicted by the belligerents upon one another. 
 
 From a return made to the House of Lords, it appears 
 that from the ist of October, 18 12, to the ist of May, 181 3, 
 382 British ships were captured by the Americans, of which 
 66 were retaken and 20 restored, leaving a loss of nearly 300 
 British ships in seven months — a most unsatisfactory result 
 of a naval war for the mercantile classes. It is difficult to 
 arrive at a correct estimate of the losses on each side. "In 
 the course of the conflict," says Baines, "from eight hundred 
 to a thousand English merchant ships were taken by the 
 American privateers and ships of war, and at least an equal 
 number of American merchantmen were taken by the British 
 cruizers." The American privateer commander. Captain 
 Coggleshall, however, puts down the number of American 
 vessels taken and destroyed by the British, at not more than 
 five hundred sail. He points out chat most of the American 
 losses occurred during the first six months of the war. After 
 that period the United States had very few vessels afloat, 
 except privateers and Letters of Marque. A large portion 
 
432 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 of their merchant-ships, he says, returned home within the 
 first two or three months after the commencement of the war, 
 and were laid up out of reach of the enemy. Some of them 
 were taken up the navigable rivers, and others dismantled 
 in secure places. The same authority claims that the little 
 navy of the United States, with the aid of privateers and 
 Letters of Marque, captured, burnt, sunk, or destroyed about 
 two thousand sail of British shipping, including men-of- 
 war and merchantmen. This statement does not include 
 captures made on the great lakes, which would swell the 
 number to a much larger figure. It has been roughly esti- 
 mated that of these two thousand vessels, two-thirds, or say 
 thirteen hundred and thirty sail, were taken by American 
 privateers and private armed vessels, and the remainder by 
 United States Government ships. The British, according 
 to Captain Coggleshall, entered the contest with a navy of 
 1060 men-of-war, 800 of which were in commission, and were 
 effective cruising vessels. To oppose this immense force, 
 the United States had but seven effective frigates, with some 
 twelve or fifteen sloops of war. Of the latter, the greater 
 part were lying in the dockyards repairing. 
 
 In the latter part of the war, the risk of capture was so 
 great that the freight on cotton, from Savannah to France, 
 rose to lod. a pound. The insurance on coasting voyages 
 in America, rose to the rates of from 6 to 25 per cent.* 
 according to circumstances. At the close of the contest, 
 upwards of 200,000 bales of cotton (then more than a year's 
 supply) was piled up in the warehouses of America, whilst 
 
 * I'he Liverpool Mercury, of May 7th, 1813, quoting from an American in- 
 surance list, says, "the following is a statement of the premiums of insurance on the 
 coasting trade from Boston, on the 3rcl ult. — To Eastport, 7 to 10 per cent. ; other 
 eastern ports. 2 to 5 ; to New York, £6 to £l 10/- ; to Philadelphia, lO ; to the 
 Chesapeake, 12 to 15 ; to North Carolina, 17 to 18 ; to South Carolina, 21 to 28 ; 
 to Savannah, 22 to 25. With regard to foreign trade, it is emphatically stated in 
 the insurance list that there is none remaining, except to France, and the premium 
 upon voyages to that quarter is 30 to 50 per cent. ! " Another account stated that 
 at Halifax insurance had been absolutely refused on most vessels ; on others 33 per 
 cent, had been added to the former premiums. 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 433 
 
 England was suffering distress for want of it. The highest 
 quotations of the war, for cotton, were those of March 19th, 
 1814, as follows : — New Orleans, 3/- to 3/2 j^ per lb.; Sea 
 Island (April 9th), 3/1 1 to 4/ 1 ; Pernambuco, 2/ 1 1 1^^ to 3/ 1 ^ ; 
 Surat, 1/9 to 2/-. 
 
 American privateers swept the Atlantic, and even pene- 
 trated within a few leagues of the mouth of the Mersey. 
 The merchants and shipowners of Liverpool, instead of 
 fitting out private armed vessels with the energy which had 
 characterised them in former days, put their trust in the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and found, too late, 
 that the King's cruisers, like the modern policeman, were too 
 often absent from the spot where their services were most 
 required. The depredations of the American privateers on 
 the coasts of Ireland and Scotland at length produced so 
 strong a sensation at Lloyd's, that it was difficult to get 
 policies underwritten, except at enormous rates of premiums. 
 It is said that thirteen guineas for ^100 was paid to insure 
 vessels across the Irish Channel. 
 
 Liverpool suffered greatly in 181 2, the diminution in the 
 number of ships entering the port (compared with 18 10) 
 being 2130, representing a fall in tonnage of 287,603 tons, 
 and in dues of ;i^2i,379. 
 
 The following is a copy of a letter from Captain Affleck, 
 of the ship May^ to his owners in Liverpool, dated St. 
 Lucia, 8th of August, 1812 : — 
 
 '* I am happy to intorm you of the arrival of the ship May 
 here on the 5th. Nothing- materially occurred on the voyage 
 until the 3rd inst., at 2 p.m., when a vessel was seen from the 
 masthead, bearings W.N. W. standing to the S.E. the wind at 
 the time E.N.E. a light breeze, our course west, being at the 
 time in the latitude of this island, and about 160 miles to 
 windward. At 4 p.m., had neared this strange sail so as to 
 see his hull distinctly, and perceived him to be a large schooner, 
 and apparently a vessel of war. Ordered all hands to quarters, 
 2E 
 
434 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 and had everything- clear for action. At five, he tacked to the 
 northward, and at half-past he tacked ag^ain, and came into our 
 wake, when he immediately bore up after us under all sail, 
 with Eng-lish colours hoisted, and not wishing- to let him come 
 too near, fired the stern guns at him, which were immediately 
 returned by his broadside of 4 guns, and was answered by the 
 May in the same manner. At 7 p.m., he hoisted a light, and 
 hailed — "Where is that ship from?" Answered, "Falmouth," 
 and demanded to know what schooner that was. He replied — 
 "A British man-of-war," and ordered me on board with my 
 papers immediately. I told him if he attempted to come a 
 yard nearer, he should receive my broadside, but at that 
 distance I would send my boat on board, which I did, with my 
 chief mate and two men. His boat immediately returned with 
 six men and an officer, all armed, none of whom were allowed 
 to come on board, except the latter ; one who attempted had a 
 pistol put to his breast, and he immediately sat down in the 
 boat. The officer, on coming on board, told me he was a 
 British privateer, belonging to Bermuda, and insisted on my 
 g-oing on board his boat with my papers. I told him I was a 
 British Letter of Marque, and would not quit my vessel, unless 
 to go on board one belonging to his Majesty, and ordered him 
 out of the ship, at the same time, desiring him to send my 
 mate and people on board. His boat soon after returned with 
 the following note: "Captain Taylor presents his regards to 
 the master of the ship, and insists on his coming on board with 
 his papers, otherwise he may abide by the consequences." My 
 answer was as before, and sent his boat off". He then hailed, 
 declared he would sink me, should I refuse to comply with his 
 request. My answer was, " Fire away! " which was put into 
 execution as soon as his boat reached him, by his broadsides, 
 and showers of musquetry, and was as quickly returned by the 
 May. I had no longer a doubt of his being an American 
 privateer, and on the dawn of day my suspicions were 
 confirmed by his colours. From this time, half-past 7 p.m., 
 till 9 a.m., a fire, with very little intermission, was kept up by 
 both vessels ; and it appeared during this long action to be his 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 435 
 
 intention to board the May, which was always frustrated by 
 rounds of grape, until at last he was obliged to haul off in the 
 greatest confusion with his sails, rigging, and hull dreadfully 
 cut up, and indeed we are in the same situation, having six of 
 our lower shrouds shot away, forestay, main-top mast back- 
 stay, three shots between wind and water, the main topmast 
 wounded, and the sails and running rigging cut to pieces, one 
 man killed, and two wounded. And it affords me the greatest 
 pleasure to say, that nothing could exceed the coolness and 
 bravery of the few people I had the honour to command. 
 " I am. Gentlemen, your most obedient servant, 
 
 "William Affleck. 
 " P.S. The above is a confused account of the action with 
 the American privateer, as I had only a few minutes' notice of 
 this opportunity to write you by way of Martinique. I have, 
 however, only to add, that had the May been armed with any 
 other guns than those on Col. Congreve's plan, she must 
 inevitably have been captured, from the small crew I had on 
 board — one man having been killed, and one wounded, by the 
 first discharge from the privateer, after the return of his boat. 
 The privateer mounted eight guns and full of men. 
 
 "Killed — Joseph Rummona, seaman. Wounded, J. B. 
 Hanna, second mate ; Wm Walker, apprentice ; both slightly, 
 and they are doing well. 
 
 "Prisoners on board the privateer — Samuel Hazelhurst, 
 chief mate ; John Erick and James Antonia, seamen." 
 
 * In this case we have the advantage of presenting the enemy's version of the 
 affair. The^ following is an extract from the log of the American privateer schooner 
 Shadow, of Philadelphia, Captain Taylor, which evidently met, without catching, 
 a Tartar in the J/<ri' : — 
 
 " On the 4th of August, at half-past twelve (meridian), saw a sail to the eastward 
 standing westward ; made all necessary sail in chase. At half- past five p.m., 
 carried away the square-sail boom ; cut the wreck adrift ; rigged out the lower 
 studding-sail boom, and set her square-sail again, coming up with the chase. At 
 six p.m., being within gunshot, she commenced firing from her stern guns. At 
 seven p.m., came up with her, and commenced an action ; at half- past seven, the 
 ship hoisted a light in her mizzen rieging, which was answered by a light from us; 
 at the same time hailed her. She hailed from Liverpool, when Captain Taylor 
 ordered her to send her boat on board with her papers, which she in part complied 
 with, by sending her Doat with an officer and two men, whom we detained, and 
 gave directions to man the boat with our crew, hoard the ship, and demand her 
 papers. These orders were delivered by Mr. Thomas Yorke, who received for 
 answer, that such a demand would not be complied with, at the same time handing 
 
43G THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Shadow arrived at Philadelphia, was refitted, and 
 soon sailed on another cruise. 
 
 As a mark of their sense of his gallantry, the Under- 
 writers of Liverpool presented Captain Affleck with an 
 elegant silver cup of the value of forty pounds, and at a 
 general meeting passed a resolution allowing him free 
 access to their rooms. Thus did the merchants, ship- 
 owners, and underwriters of Liverpool at all times foster the 
 spirit of gallantry and fidelity in the merchant navy of the 
 port, and helped to render it formidable in war and 
 unrivalled in peace. 
 
 On the 13th of December, 181 2, Captain G. Howard, of 
 the private ship of war, John Tobin, writes from Bahia to his 
 owners, Messrs. Hughes and Tobins, of Liverpool, 
 describing an action between that ship and the American 
 privateer Alfred, as follows : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, — I am happy to inform you of my safe 
 arrival at Bahia, after a pleasant passage of 46 days. Nothing- 
 material occurred until the 21st Nov., being- in the latitude 
 8. 10. S., and longitude 33. 30. W., being a degree or two to 
 the eastward of Cape St. Augustinej at one o'clock in the 
 morning, being moonlight, a vessel was seen under a very 
 heavy press of sail in our wake, coming up fast. I continued 
 
 him a note addressed to Captain Taylor, purporting that his ship was a British 
 Letter of Marque, called the May, from Liverpool, bound to St. Lucia, commanded 
 by Captain AfHeck, mounting fourteen guns and fifty men. He also stated that the 
 Orders in Council had been rescinded, and a change of Ministry taken place in 
 England. The note was handed to Captain Taylor. The boat was again sent on 
 board, witli a note from our captain, demanding his papers, "hich were refused. At 
 half-past eight o'clock a brisk fire commenced on both sides, during which time 
 William Craft, sailmaker, was wounded. At ten p.m., dropped astern, with the 
 intention of lying by all night within gunshot ; at intervals kept up a brisk tire ; 
 weather, squally and dark. 
 
 "At daylight, ranged up under her stern and commenced a severe action, when 
 we received a shot in our starboard bow which shattered the wooden ends, started 
 the plank shear, and broke several timbers. At half-past seven a.m., received 
 another in our larboard bow ; struck the larboard after-gun-carriage, killed six men 
 and wounded three. At half- past eight a.m., our commander received a ball in his 
 left temple, which instantly terminated his existence, to the inexpressible regret of 
 all hands. About the same time a shot struck under the larboard fore-chains, 
 between wind and water, which caused the vessel to leak badly ; found three feet 
 water in the hold on sounding the pumps." 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 437 
 
 on our course until four o'clock, when I called all hands to 
 quarters, took in steering" sails, stay sails, hauled up the 
 courses, and prepared for action, she being- then on my 
 weather quarter, and took in all her small sails and prepared 
 "for action also. At five o'clock, I hauled up for her, being- 
 daylight, and hoisted Spanish colours, with a g^un. At a 
 quarter past five, she being within g-unshot, hoisted American 
 ensign and pendant, and gave us a shot. I thought it prudent 
 to keep up the Spanish colours until he came a little nearer, 
 as the Jolin Tobin's guns are short, and I did not wish to let 
 him know we were English until my gfuns would tell. He 
 soon gave us another shot between the fore and main masts. 
 I then down with Spanish colours and displayed the British, 
 which he no sooner saw than he began to fire away with 
 round and grape shot as fast as he could well load and 
 discharge, and we returned it as quick as he sent it, from 
 a quarter before six until a quarter after nine o'clock, when we 
 both desisted in order to repair damages, having- the chief part 
 of my running rigging- and sails shot away, also two guns 
 disabled during- the action. At seven o'clock, he shot away 
 my ensign halliards, and our colours came tumbling^ down. It 
 was not long, however, before they were up again, and a 
 second time shot away, on which, one of my people volun- 
 teered to ^o to the mizen topmasthead and nail them up, 
 which was done, althoug-h the shot was flyings in all directions. 
 I then hoisted the red flag forward, and gave them three 
 cheers. At a quarter before ten, we commenced firing again, 
 and shot away his boom. He then thought it best to make 
 off", and making all sail, kept close by the wind. At a quarter 
 after ten, she tacked and stood to the northward. The y<9//« 
 Tohin tacked also after her, firing- as long as our g-uns would 
 have any effect ; but he soon got out of their reach, owing- to 
 his superior sailing. At eleven o'clock, I wore ship and stood 
 on my course, not being able to come up with him. 
 
 "Gentlemen, I cannot speak too highly of Mr. Cannon, my 
 chief mate, likewise the rest of my officers and ship's company, 
 not forgetting- Mr. Toole, passenger, for his gallantry during- 
 
438 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA TEERS. 
 
 the whole of the action. I am happy to say that the John 
 Tohin has not suflFered much in her hull. The privateer mounts 
 nine guns on a side, with two stern chasers, and full of men. 
 Her guns are nine-pounders, having- some of her shot on 
 board, which we have taken out of the John Tobin's bends. 
 She was a long, low ship, with a billet head, yellow sides, and 
 three royal yards rigged aloft, exactly the appearance of a 
 small sloop of war. You will be astonished, Gentlemen, to 
 hear that I had not a man or boy hurt on board, although the 
 shot were flying about us like hail. Since my arrival here, I 
 am told that there are three American privateers on this coast, 
 two of them brigs, and the other (the one we engaged) a ship. 
 I shall be under the necessity of purchasing some more powder 
 before I sail. I suppose we shall have another dust coming 
 home, with one of the brigs ; as for the ship, she will not come 
 near us again." 
 
 The Underwriters of Liverpool presented Captain Howard 
 with a silver cup '* in testimony of his gallant and seaman- 
 like conduct in defending his ship against the American 
 privateer Aljred^ on the 21st of November, 1812, off the 
 coast of Brazil." 
 
 The following details of an action between the Bridget, 
 of Liverpool, Captain Archibald Kennan, and an unknown 
 armed schooner, which fought under English colours, off 
 Surinam river, were supplied by a person on board the 
 Bridget^ writing from Demerara : — 
 
 " On the 6th December, 181 2, at 4 p.m., saw a sail to the 
 northward, standing to the southward ; at 5 p.m. , made it out to 
 be a large hermaphrodite brig or schooner. At half-past five, 
 when he was on our weather quarter, he bore up before the 
 wind and stood towards us. We then cleared ship for action, 
 supposing him to be an American privateer. At six, we took 
 in all steering sails, and hauled to the northward to see what 
 he was before dark. On this he took In his steering sails also, 
 and came down with English colours flying. He hailed and 
 asked what brig it was ? Captain Kennan asked what 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 439 
 
 schooner? He answered, H.M. schooner , and desired 
 
 us to send our boat on board, which the captain refused. He 
 then said, if our captain did not comply, he would take him to 
 the gangway and ^og him. The captain answered, and said 
 it was more than he dared to do. He hailed the fourth time, 
 and said if we did not send our boat on board, he would fire 
 into us. Captain answered, if he did we should return it. 
 He instantly fired a broadside of round and grape, with 
 musketry, which we returned. The action commenced at a 
 quarter-past six p.m., and lasted until five minutes past eight. 
 He fought under English colours during the whole of the 
 action. We had two men killed and six wounded. After the 
 first broadside, we ran the brig on board of him, between his 
 main-mast and fore-mast. He mounted i8 guns, and a very 
 large one amidships, which did us a great deal of damage in 
 our bows, several shot going through our bows, carrying away 
 timbers and breast-hook, and going through our upper-deck 
 beams and deck, our jib-booms both carried away ; masts, 
 sails, and rigging very much injured, cut-water shattered to 
 pieces, and our figure-head very much damaged. From the 
 situation of the privateer or pirate in fighting, he must have 
 received considerable damage from our vessel's bows falling 
 on him. When he got clear of us, he stood off immediately, 
 and as we could not get the brig to wear, for the purpose of 
 following him (by reason of our anchors being shot from the 
 bows, and hanging by the cables), and the night being dark, 
 we soon lost sight of him. During the action, he attempted 
 to set fire to us with a bag of combustibles, with a view to 
 board us at the same time, but he was received different to 
 what he expected. The crew are extremely thankful to the 
 passengers for their heroic exertions during the whole engage- 
 ment. 
 
 "List of Killed and Wounded. 
 
 "John Burns, seaman, and Alexander M'Keller, killed; 
 James Sanders and Samuel Turner, severely wounded; Daniel 
 Dunn, passenger, had a musket ball through his ankle; Daniel 
 Ross, passenger, Thomas Capper, and Captain Kennan, 
 slightly wounded." 
 
440 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 The Underwriters of Liverpool presented Captain Kennan 
 with a silver cup in recognition of his gallantry. 
 
 The Underwriters of Liverpool also presented a silver 
 cup to Captain John Irlam, of the ship Maxwell^ " in testi- 
 mony of his gallant and seamanlike conduct in defending 
 his ship against the General A rmstj^ong American privateer 
 of 1 8 eighteen-pounders, and i forty-four-pounder, and 130 
 men, on the 29th of November, 1812, off Demerara, in which 
 action he was severely wounded." The Committee also 
 voted a free admission to Lloyd's Rooms, in Liverpool, to 
 the three gallant commanders, Captains Irlam, Howard, 
 and Kennan. The General Armstrongs which belonged 
 to New York, captured one of the most valuable prizes 
 made during the war — the ship Queen, 16 guns and 40 
 men, from Liverpool, with a cargo worth from ;;^7o,ooo to 
 ^100,000 sterling. She was bound to Surinam, and was 
 bravely defended, the captain, his first officer, and nine of his 
 crew being killed before she was surrendered. The prize 
 was wrecked off Nantucket. The General Armstrong took 
 the brig Lucy and AH da, with a full cargo of dry goods, 
 which was retaken by the Liverpool Letter of Marque ship 
 Brenton, and again recaptured by the Revenge, of Norfolk, 
 and sent into that port. 
 
 The brig Henry, 6 guns, 200 tons, from Liverpool for 
 Buenos Ayres, laden with 300 packages of dry goods and 
 other valuable articles, invoiced at ^40,000 sterling, was 
 taken and sent into New York by the Governor Tompkins 
 of that port. The bounty (or reduction of duties) allowed 
 by the United States on this prize, amounted to about 35,000 
 dollars. The Governor Tompkins was a very formidable 
 vessel and made many prizes. On her first cruise, she was 
 commanded by Joseph Skinner, of New London, and 
 subsequently by Captain Shaler. She suffered severely 
 from the shot of a British frigate, but finally made her 
 escape. 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 441 
 
 The brig Nancy, from Liverpool for Halifax, laden 
 with dry goods, was captured by the Portsmouth priva- 
 teer, of Portsmouth, N. H., divested of 318 bales and 
 packages of goods invoiced at ;^27,ooo sterling, and 
 ordered into port. The Portsmouth, commanded by John 
 Sinclair, was a conspicuous cruising vessel, and made a 
 great many valuable prizes. The Fox privateer, belonging 
 to the same port, captured and burnt the schooner Brother 
 and Sister, and the brig Dove, from Liverpool ; and sent to 
 Norway the sloop Fox and the brig Chance, both from 
 Liverpool. The Stork sloop-of-war, and the Fortune frigate, 
 cruised between Achill Head and Cape Clear, and off Tory 
 Island, in vain quest of the Fox. Some of the Fox's people 
 had the audacity to go ashore at Sligo and Newport, in 
 uniform, and, personating British officers, procured supplies 
 of fresh provisions, etc., at both places, and gave the 
 requisite drafts for the payment of the amount. The name 
 of the Captain of the Fox was said to be Stewart. He was 
 formerly master of one of the regular traders between 
 Londonderry and Liverpool. The Fox mounted 20 
 guns, and had a crew of 150 picked seamen. The Thomas 
 privateer, also of Portsmouth, N. H., captured the ship 
 Dromo, of 12 guns, from Liverpool for Halifax, with a cargo 
 invoiced at $70,000 sterling. The Macedonian, of Ports- 
 mouth, captured and burnt the brig Britannia, from St. 
 John's, N. B., for Liverpool, laden with 195 tons of ship's 
 timber and other articles. 
 
 The True Blooded Yankee privateer, of 18 guns and 160 
 men, cruising in St. George's Channel, captured the 
 Margaret, of Hull, the Fame, of Belfast, with linen for 
 London, the George, from Kinsale, a Liverpool Letter of 
 Marque (name unknown), of 14 guns, bound for Spain, and 
 three other vessels. The Margaret was recaptured and 
 carried into Plymouth. The True Blooded Yankee, was 
 formerly the Challenger gun-brig, and her crew were said to 
 
442 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 be chiefly British. The captures were made between Holy- 
 head and the Skerries. Captain Coggleshall, himself a 
 distinguished privateer commander, thus refers to the 
 vessel in his History: — 
 
 " The famous brig privateer True Blooded Ya7ikee, carrying- 
 1 8 guns and i6o men, was owned by an American gentleman, 
 residing in Paris, by the name of Preble. She had an American 
 commission, and sailed under the American flag, but always 
 fitted and sailed out of French ports, viz., Brest, I'Orient, and 
 Morlaix. This vessel was very successful. She cruised the 
 greatest part of the war in the British and Irish Channels, 
 and made a large number of rich prizes. These she generally 
 sent into French ports ; sometimes, however, she sent a few to 
 the United States. During one cruise of thirty-seven days, 
 she captured twenty-seven vessels, and made two hundred and 
 seventy prisoners. While on this cruise she took an Island on 
 the coast of Ireland, and held It six days ; she also took a town 
 In Scotland, and burned seven vessels In the harbour. She 
 was soon after fitted out to make another cruise, in company 
 with the Bunker Hill, of 14 elghteen-pounders and 140 men. 
 When the True Blooded Yankee arrived In France, she was 
 laden with the following spoils: — 18 bales of Turkey carpets, 
 43 bales of raw silk, weighing twelve thousand pounds ; 20 
 boxes of gums, 46 packs of the best skins, 24 packets of 
 beaver skins, 160 dozen of swan skins, 190 hides, copper, etc." 
 
 An account of a gallant action with the American privateer 
 Snap Dragon, is given in the following extract of a letter 
 from William Hill, master of the ship Liverpool, to Messrs. 
 Hughes & Tobins, the owners, dated Demerara, 25th of 
 March, 1814:— 
 
 " Gentlemen, — On the 3rd inst. the entrance of Juramac 
 [Saramac ?J River bearing S.S.W. six or seven miles, whilst 
 standing In shore, endeavouring to get to windward, saw 
 a schooner on our larboard bow, standing the same way 
 under her foresail, but immediately made all sail. At 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 443 
 
 half-past six a.m. she bore up for us; a quarter before 
 seven she fired a shot, and hoisted American colours. 
 At half-past seven, finding- her shot g^oing- over us, opened 
 our fire on him. At eight, the enemy nearingf us, and 
 making every attempt to get under our stern. At 9 she 
 opened her broadside, still keeping up a hot fire from his 
 long gun, whilst we annoyed him much from our quarter guns. 
 At ten the enemy hoisted a red flag at the fore, gave us a volley 
 of musketry, three cheers, and again bore up for us, which was 
 returned with a broadside and musketry. Finding- from her 
 superiority in sailing I could no longer keep her on either 
 quarter, I bore up before the wind, and set topg-allant sails, and 
 got the two aftermost guns through the stern ports. At 11, 
 he dropped astern, frequently cheering; at half-past he made 
 sail. At 12, came up with a drum and fife playing, and keeping 
 up a hot fire of grape and musketry, but firing high, which we 
 returned with g-rape and cannister. A quarter before one, the 
 enemy closing fast, I ordered the helm a starboard, to bring the 
 larboard guns on him, when he run us on board, her jib-boom 
 coming through the bulwark abaft the cross-tree, and broke 
 short off. Having fresh way on the ship by putting the helm 
 a port, we carried away his bowsprit, when between the main 
 and mizen rigging, the enemy threw a number of men on board 
 of us, and fell astern. By the time he was clear, we had drove 
 the boarders from the deck, over the side and into the chains, 
 where a number of them were killed and wounded, falling and 
 jumping overboard, the enemy lying across our stern, still 
 keeping up a smart fire. At one, his mainsail came down, we 
 keeping up a hot and destructive fire from the stern guns right 
 into him. At half-past he hauled off on the larboard tack, her 
 fire slackening. On her coming to the wind, the foremast went 
 over the starboard bow, taking with It the main topmast, and 
 the head of the mainmast. I never saw so complete a wreck. 
 She then came to an anchor, many of her crew swimming 
 towards her. It was my first intention to have renewed the 
 action, but on hauling to the wind for that purpose, I found all 
 our sails and running rigging shot away, and a strong lee 
 
444 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVA PEERS. 
 
 current running-, I determined to run for this port, which I 
 trust will meet your approbation. 
 
 " From one of the boarders, wounded on our quarter-deck 
 (who died next day on board us), I gained the following- 
 account : — The schooner privateer Snap Dragon, Captain 
 Murphy, of 112 men, six four-pounders, and one long- twelve- 
 pounder traverse gun, belonging to South Carolina, out four 
 weeks, had taken nothing, and had been chaced by a line of 
 battle ship and a frigate. 
 
 " My chief officer, Mr. Williams, and every one of my crew, 
 behaved in a most gallant and daring manner, so much so, it 
 is impossible to say to whom the preference is due. Mr. 
 Williams, just at the conclusion of the action, was wounded by 
 a pistol ball in the left jaw; he, together with three seamen also 
 wounded, are doing w^ell. 
 
 " The boarders took so precipitate a leave of us, that they 
 left two pistols, one bayonet, and a cartouch box on our quarter 
 deck. 
 
 " Enclosed I transmit you duplicates of two letters* I have 
 received from Captain Muddle, of his Majesty's ship Columbine. 
 
 " Gentlemen, Your most obedient servant, William Hill. 
 
 The following description of a desperate conflict between 
 
 the Liverpool Letter of Marque ship Fanny and the American 
 
 " His Majesty's sloop Cohimbme, 
 
 Demerara, i6th March, 1S14. 
 
 ■ Sir, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, 
 detailing the <;allant defence of the ship Liverpool, under your command, on the 
 3rd inst. against the American privateer Snap Dragon, and send you herewith a 
 pendant which you will be pleased to carry on this coast, during the time I may 
 have the command, as a mark of distinction for your meritorious conduct ; as also 
 the enclosed protection for your gallant crew from impress by any of his Majesty's 
 vessels under my orders. I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 [Signed,] " R. II. Mudi^le, Captain. 
 
 " To Mr. Wm. Hill, Master of the ship Liverpool, of Liverpool." 
 " By R. Henry Muddle, Esq., Commander of his Majesty's sloop Columbine. 
 
 "In consequence of the very gallant defence of the ship Liverpool, Mr. W. Hill, 
 master, against the American privateei Snap Dragon, on the 3rd of March, off 
 Surinam River, I have thought proper to permit her to wear a pendant, during the 
 lime of my command on this coast, and to grant her a protection for her crew, 
 during the said time. 
 
 "The commanders of his Majesty's vessels under my command are hereby 
 required and directed to respect the same. 
 
 '• Given under my hand, on board his Majesty's sloop Columbine, in the River 
 Demerara, i6th March, 1814. " R. Henry Muddle, Commander." 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 445 
 
 privateer General Armstrong, of New York, was addressed 
 by Captain Laughton, of Xho, Fanny, to his owners, Messrs. 
 Brotherston and Begg, on the 30th of April, 1814: — 
 
 " On Monday, the i8th hist, about meridian, we discovered 
 a schooner standing towards us, supposing- her to be an enemy, 
 we immediately prepared for action, but it being wet and 
 squally, he did not think it right to engage us on that day, but 
 kept sight of us the ensuing night, and about half-past seven 
 a.m. bore down to us with two American ensigns flying, and 
 when he had got about the distance of a pistol shot he 
 commenced a most severe and destructive fire, which the 
 Fanny with alacrity returned, but the wind having fallen 
 almost to a calm, the Fanny would scarcely steer, and the 
 enemy having the superiority in sailing, kept upon our quarters, 
 notwithstanding we shot away his main-fore jib, and flying-jib 
 halyards, when he fell alongside with only his topsails set. At 
 this time was a desperate conflict, but his fire from a long 
 French forty-two-pounder proved so tremendous, and his numer- 
 ous musketry so galling, that the great part of the men on the 
 main deck could not be kept to their quarters, notwithstanding 
 the exertions of Mr. Bridge, the chief mate. I thought it my 
 duty, though a painful one, to save the lives of the brave few 
 that remained true, to haul down the colours, after engaging 
 one hour, never out of pistol shot, to the General Armstrong, 
 Champlin, from New York, and I trust you will not think the 
 Fanny given away. She had scarcely a shroud left standing, 
 nor one brace, the sails completely reduced, several gun 
 carriages disabled, not a breeching left whole, one shot between 
 wind and water, several others through diff'erent parts of her 
 hull, the maintopsail and topgallant yards shot through, not a 
 running rope but what was cut to pieces, a complete wreck on 
 the quarter deck, the second mate, my brother, killed by my 
 side, and six others wounded, five severely, one slightly. 
 Amongst the former I am truly sorry to say is your Mr. 
 Begg, whilst gallantly doing his duty with the musketry, but 
 I hope his wound is doing well. 
 
446 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 "The General Armstrong is a schooner of the largest 
 class, say from 250 to 300 tons, armed with i French forty- 
 two long-pounder, 6 long nine-pounders (King's), with G. R. 
 upon them, and between 90 and 100 men. She has been 
 chased within the last month by three different men-of-war, 
 but always escaped by superior sailing, although at times 
 nearly within gunshot. I remain. Gentlemen, your most 
 obedient servant, John Laughton." 
 
 The Fanny (which was bound from Maranham to Liver- 
 pool when captured), was retaken by the Sceptre, M. W. 
 
 In August, 18 1 3, the American sloop of war Argus, 360 
 tons, mounting 18 twenty-four-pounder carronades, two 
 long twelve-pounders, and 149 men, commanded by Captain 
 W. H. Allen, committed great ravages off the coast of 
 Ireland, capturing and burning many valuable vessels. 
 One morning, in sight of Lundy, in a very thick fog, she 
 found herself in the midst of the Leeward Island fleet, 
 eleven in number, several of which she captured. Captain 
 Allen, while on board one of the prizes, said he had 
 destroyed eleven vessels off the Shannon, and had orders to 
 destroy all vessels they fell in with, in retaliation for the 
 damage done by the British navy on the coasts of America. 
 He had taken a great many other vessels. The Argus had 
 actually a Pill pilot on board. She was captured by 
 boarding, on the 12th of August, 1813, after an action of 43 
 minutes, by H.M.'s sloop Pelican. The commander of the 
 Argus was dreadfully wounded in his leg and thigh, by one 
 of the raking fires of the Pelican, which at the same time, 
 carried away the leg of a midshipman, wounded the first 
 lieutenant in the head, and killed several of the crew. 
 Captain Allen suffered amputation after the Argus arrived 
 at Plymouth, and received the most "humane and polite 
 attentions," but he appeared to be aware of his approaching 
 dissolution, spoke little, and seemed perfectly resigned. 
 He was taken out of the Argus and carried to the hospital 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 447 
 
 at Mill Prison. On leaving his ship, of which he must 
 have been proud, the dying hero looked up for a moment 
 and exclaimed, "God bless you all, my lads — we shall 
 never meet again." His auditors were so deeply affected 
 that not a man of them could articulate, " Farewell." Soon 
 after he reached the hospital he expired. His remains were 
 interred at the Old Church, Plymouth, with the most 
 distinguished honours. "The funeral procession, as it 
 moved from the Mill Prison, afforded a scene singularly 
 impressive to the prisoners, who beheld with admiration the 
 respect paid by a gallant, conquering enemy to the fallen 
 hero. Five hundred British Marines first marched, in slow 
 time, with arms reversed ; the band of the Plymouth 
 Division of Marines followed, performing the most solemn 
 tunes. An officer of Marines, in military mourning, came 
 after these. Two interesting black boys, the servants of 
 the deceased, then preceded the hearse. One of these bore 
 his master's sword, the other carried his hat. Eight 
 American officers followed the hearse, and the procession 
 was closed by a number of British naval officers. On the 
 arrival of the body at the Old Church, it was met by the 
 officiating minister, and three volleys over the grave — the 
 tribute to departed heroism — closed the scene. Captain 
 Allen was First Lieutenant of the United States^ in her 
 action with the Macedonian, and was made captain for his 
 bravery in the action. Captain Decatur was much attached 
 to the deceased, and made him a present of two brass guns 
 from the Macedonian, which are now on board the Argus. 
 He was highly esteemed in his profession, and was an 
 officer of the most determined courage."* Such was the 
 
 *The Waterford Alirror brought a charge of " barbarity" against Captain 
 Allen, on the testimony of a cattle dealer, passenger in the Diana and Betsy, one 
 of the captured vessels who stated that there were 30 head of cattle on board, of 
 M hich the enemy killed three for the use of his crew, and burned the rest with the 
 vessel. Other papers bear testimony to the excellent conduct of Capt. Allen, and 
 his courtesy and humanity towards the passengers and crews who fell into his 
 hands. 
 
448 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 tribute paid by the valour of old England to the gallantry of 
 young America. 
 
 The celebrated American privateer brig Yankee, owned 
 by Mr. James De Wolf, of Bristol, Rhode Island, was a 
 most fortunate cruiser, and made a great many captures. 
 She took the Royal Bounty, a British Letter of Marque 
 ship, after a severe engagement, and ran all the war 
 without being captured. In several of her first cruises, she 
 was commanded by Captain Wilson, and subsequently by 
 Captain Smith. The Yankee arrived at Newport, R.I. 
 after a cruise of about 150 days, during which she had 
 scoured the whole western coast of Africa, taken eight prizes, 
 62 guns, 196 men, 496 muskets, and property worth 296,000 
 dollars. She had on board 32 bales of fine goods, 6 tons of 
 ivory, and 40,000 dollars' worth of gold dust. She looked 
 in at every port, river, town, factory, harbour, etc., on the 
 coast. Among her prizes were the following: — 
 
 Brig- Thames, Captain Toole, of Liverpool, 8 g-uns and 14 
 men; with ivory, dry g-oods and camwood ; worth 40,000 dollars. 
 Brig- Shatinon, Captain Kendall, from Maranham for 
 Liverpool, 10 guns, and 15 men ; worth 50,000 dollars. 
 
 Portug-uese ship Si Jose, from Liverpool for Rio Janeiro, 
 with dry goods, hardware, etc., valued at about 600,000 dollars, 
 said to be British property, and sent into Portland, U.S. 
 
 The Eliza Afi7i, from Liverpool to Baltimore, sent into 
 Boston. 
 
 The schooner Alder, Captain Crowley, of Liverpool, 6 guns 
 (nine-pounders) and 21 men ; laden with 400 casks muskets, 
 flints, bar lead, iron, dry goods, etc. ; vessel and cargo worth 
 24,000 dollars. In the engagement an explosion occurred, 
 which blew up her quarter deck, and killed her captain and 
 five of her men. 
 
 The Yankee also captured the Despatch, from Liv^erpool for 
 Quebec, with a cargo invoiced at ;^8o,ooo sterling, and six 
 other vessels. Including the Ann, of Liv^erpool, which was 
 afterwards retaken. The Yankee would have taken several 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 449 
 
 other prizes but for the injury she received in capturing- the 
 barque Paris, of Liverpool, Captain Harrison, who with only 
 6 g-uns and ii men fought the Yankee, which carried i8 
 twelve and nine-pounders, one bow gun, and 75 men, for 45 
 minutes, receiving- great injury herself, and inflicting- damage 
 on the Yankee, which compelled her to put into port to refit. 
 
 The Alexander, Captain Newby, from St. Thomas's to 
 Liverpool, was captured on the 2nd of August, 1814, in lat. 
 47. 13 N., long. 32. W., by the Mammoth American 
 schooner priv^ateer, of Baltimore, Captain Franklin, of 14 
 guns and 140 men. The Mammoth had been out seven 
 weeks, and had made 16 captures ! Captain Newby was 
 seventeen days on board the privateer, cruising between the 
 latitude of his capture and Cape Clear, and during the whole 
 of that period did not see a single British ship of war. A 
 meeting of the Committee of the Underwriters' Association 
 of Liverpool was held on the 22nd of August, for the 
 purpose of making some communication to the Admiralty 
 respecting the numerous captures made by the Americans, 
 when it was resolved, *'as the most delicate and proper 
 mode of proceeding," that a list of the captures made by the 
 Mammoth be transmitted to J. W. Croker, Esq., for the 
 information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 
 In a four months' cruise, the Mammoth took 21 prizes, 18 of 
 which she destroyed, or gave up as cartels. Her cruising 
 ground was principally on the coasts of Great Britain, and 
 in the Bay of Biscay. 
 
 On the 29th of August, 1814, a meeting of merchants, 
 shipowners, underwriters, etc., was held in the Liverpool 
 Town Hall, to take into consideration a memorial to the 
 Government on the subject of the numerous captures made 
 by American cruisers. Mr. John Gladstone proposed an 
 address to the Lords of the Admiralty, but this was opposed 
 on the ground that representations had been made to that 
 department without redress. Mr. Clare proposed an address 
 
 2F 
 
450 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 to the Prince Regent, which, after warm opposition on the 
 part of Mr. Gladstone, was carried, and the petition des- 
 patched on the 30th. The address conveyed a censure upon 
 the Admiralty. At another meeting, held on the 30th, a 
 counter address to the Admiralty was voted, very numer- 
 ously signed, and sent off on September ist. In this 
 memorial, complaining of a want of sufficient naval 
 protection against American captures, the memorialists 
 spoke of privateers destroying vessels as a novel and extra- 
 ordinary practice, which they were informed was promoted 
 by pecuniary rewards from the American Government, and 
 they wished measures adopted to prevent as much as possible 
 the ruinous effects of this new system of warfare. Mr. 
 Croker replied on behalf of the Admiralty, that an ample 
 force had been under the orders of the Admirals commanding 
 the western stations ; and that during the time when the 
 enemy's depredations were stated to have taken place, not 
 fewer than three frigates and fourteen sloops were actually 
 at sea for the immediate protection of St. George's Channel 
 and the western and northern parts of the United Kingdom. 
 In that case the vessels must have been totally unfit for 
 the service required of them, for we cannot believe that the 
 officers and men of the British navy shirked their duty. 
 
 Perhaps nothing will better illustrate the state of public 
 feeling on this question, than the following resolutions of 
 the merchants, manufacturers, shipowners, and underwriters 
 of Glasgow, passed in public meeting, the Lord Provost 
 in the chair, on the 7th of September, 1814 : — 
 
 " That the number of American privateers with which our 
 Channels have been infested, the audacity with which they 
 have approached our coasts, and the success with which their 
 enterprise has been attended, have proved injurious to our 
 commerce, humbling- to our pride, and discreditable to the 
 directors of the naval power of the British nation, whose flag^, 
 till of late, waved over every sea, and triumphed over every 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 451 
 
 rival. That there is reason to believe, that in the short space 
 of less than twenty-four months, above eight hundred vessels 
 have been captured by that power, whose maritime strength we 
 have hitherto impolitically held in contempt. That at a time 
 when we were at peace with all the rest of the world, when 
 the maintenance of our marine costs so large a sum to the 
 country, when the mercantile and shipping- interests pay a tax 
 for protection, under the form of convoy duty, and when, in 
 the plenitude of our power we have declared the whole Ameri- 
 can coast under blockade, it is equally distressing and morti- 
 fying that our ships cannot, with safety, traverse our own 
 Channels ; that insurance cannot be effected but at an exces- 
 sive premium ; and that a horde of American cruisers should 
 be allowed, unheeded, unresisted, and unmolested, to take, 
 burn, or sink, our own vessels, in our own inlets, and almost 
 in sight of our own harbours. 
 
 " That the ports of the Clyde have sustained severe loss from 
 the depredations already committed, and there is reason to 
 apprehend still more serious suffering, not only from the 
 extent of the coasting trade and the number of vessels yet to 
 arrive from abroad, but as the time is fast approaching when 
 the outward bound ships must proceed to Cork for convoys, 
 and when, during the winter season, the opportunities of the 
 enemy will be increased both to capture with ease and escape 
 with impunity. 
 
 " That the system of burning and destroying every article 
 which there is fear of losing — a system pursued by all the 
 cruisers, and encouraged by their own government — diminishes 
 the chances of recapture, and renders the necessity of 
 prevention more urgent. 
 
 "That from the coldness and neglect with which previous 
 remonstrances from other quarters have been received by the 
 Admiralty, this meeting reluctantly feels it an imperious duty 
 at once to address the Throne, and that therefore a petition be 
 forwarded to his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, acting 
 in the name and on behalf of his Majesty, representing the 
 above grievances, and humbly praying that his Royal 
 
452 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 Highness will be graciously pleased to direct such measures 
 to be adopted, as shall promptly and effectually protect the 
 trade, on the coast of this Kingdom, from the numerous 
 insulting and destructive depredations of the enemy." 
 
 One of the lieutenants of H.M.S. Leander, writing from 
 Fayal, on the 14th of January, 1815, gives the following 
 curious account of an adventure which befell an American 
 prize-master, in charge of a captured Liverpool brig : — 
 
 "In search of the American squadron, we saw a large brig 
 the other day, which the captain ordered us to draw to, but 
 under a moderate sail, so as not to show any particular anxiety, 
 suspecting from circumstances she was a British vessel cap- 
 tured, and being desirous, if she should prove so, of getting 
 hold of the American prize-master, and by imposing this ship 
 upon him as an American frigate, obtaining information which 
 otherwise we might not get. Nothing could have happened 
 better. This brig proved to be the John, of Liverpool, lately 
 captured by the Perry privateer; and the American prize-master, 
 a high-blooded Yankee, hoisted out his boat, and without any 
 hesitation came on board the Leander. The moment he got upon 
 deck, he congratulated the officers on the squadron being at 
 sea, and in a situation where they would, as he expressed it, 
 do a tarnation share of mischief to the damned English sarpents, 
 and play the devil's game with their rag of a flag. He then 
 observed that he knew this ship the moment he saw her, by her 
 black-painted masts and sides, and the cut of her sails, to be 
 the President, as he was in New York just before she sailed. 
 After these observations, in which the Yankee professed to be 
 very well informed, he walked up to Sir George Collier;* and 
 to the extreme amusement of us all, making his bow, addressed 
 him as the American Com. Decatur, reminding him at the same 
 time of having once seen him at New York. Sir George 
 agreed to all this; when the Yankee presented the John's 
 papers, to shew what she was, and complained of his 
 
 * Those who are familiar wilh the portraits of Sir George Collier, will readily 
 believe that the scene must have been a fine comedy, highly enjoyed by the British 
 
 commander. 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 453 
 
 crew, which he said were a set of such vile, mutinous 
 sarpents, that his Hfe was in his hand every night, and 
 requested, therefore, some of them might be changed for 
 so many of the supposed President's crew, and that one, in 
 particular, might have a second flogging. All this Sir George 
 promised, with great gravity, should be done, and ordered the 
 First Lieutenant to have as many men ready in exchange for 
 those complained of. The captain then asked Jonathan into 
 his cabin, and retiring for a moment for a chart, returned with 
 one in which the Leander's track was marked, over which 
 was written '■'^ President, from New York, on a cruise," and 
 placing his finger upon these words, as if by accident, they 
 immediately caught the eye of the Yankee, who exclaimed, 
 that he knew the President the moment he saw her, and Nick 
 himself could not deceive him. He was then asked by Sir 
 George, pointing to the Acasta, if he knew her. His reply was, 
 that she was the Macedonian ; and when asked what the New- 
 castle was, he said he did not know her ; on which Sir George 
 told him she was the Constitution. He replied, he recollected 
 she was, though not painted as she used to be. He then asked 
 the Perry's cruizing ground, and he said he had spoken the 
 Whig privateer, who told him he would probably soon fall in 
 with Commodore Decatur's squadron, which rejoiced his heart, 
 as he knew he should then get rid of some of his mutinous 
 crew. After he had no more to tell, Sir George recommended 
 his returning to the John, and in great form returned him the 
 ship's papers, wishing him a good voyage, and desiring he 
 would not forget to let it be known he left Commodore Decatur 
 and his squadron well. Jonathan took his leave with great 
 apparent satisfaction, but when about to quit the Leander, our 
 First Lieutenant M'Dougall stopped him, and apprized him of 
 his real situation. For a long time he considered this a joke, 
 but casting an eye upon the English Captain's uniform, in 
 which Sir George Collier then appeared, he became almost 
 frantic with disappointment." 
 
 Early in the spring of 1814, the peace, for which the people 
 were wearying, at length arrived, and was thus announced 
 
454 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 in Liverpool: "Downfall of the tyrant! Peace! heavenly 
 peace! the desire of all nations dawns on the world!! 
 The Almighty's name be praised!" In May, the long- 
 suspended commerce with France was renewed, by the im- 
 portation of two cargoes of grain into Liverpool from Havre. 
 Negotiations for the arrangement of the differences with the 
 United States were opened at Ghent, in the following June, 
 and, after a long delay, which cost many thousands of liv^es, 
 were brought to a close on December 24th. The arrival of 
 the first American ship in Liverpool after the peace, was 
 thus announced in the paper of the 3rd of April, 1815 : — 
 
 " Several hundred vessels left this port on Friday and the 
 day before, which had been detained many weeks by adverse 
 winds. The river afforded a most brilliant and interesting- 
 spectacle. A still more pleasing and interesting- sight was 
 witnessed on Thursday, about one o'clock, in the arrlv'al of the 
 ship Milo, the first belonging to the United States which has 
 arrived since the restoration of peace. The day was remark- 
 ably bright, and she came up the river In very fine style, with 
 the British flag flying at the mainmast head, the American 
 colours at the mizenmast, which were lowered on passing 
 H.M.S. Argo, lying In the river, and a beautiful signal-flag at 
 her foremast. This first effect of the restoration of amity 
 between two countries, designed by nature, habits, and mutual 
 interests, to maintain uninterruptedly the relations of peace, 
 was hailed with delight by a great number of spectators, who 
 covered the piers and the shore. The Milo left Boston on the 
 1 2th ult.. In company with the Liverpool packet, daily ex- 
 pected. The Milo arrived in ballast." 
 
 The arrival of the first British vessel at New York, on 
 the 5th of May, 181 5, was thus announced in one of the 
 papers of that city: — -"The regular British packet, after an 
 absence of nearly three years, at length re-appears in our 
 harbour, in token of returning amity. We hail with 
 sensations of gladness the joyful omen, and may no 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA 455 
 
 inauspicious event ever occur again to banish her from our 
 waters ! " 
 
 This was the last war in which Letters of Marque and 
 Reprisals were granted by the British Government. 
 Without discussing the wisdom or otherwise of the 
 Declaration of Paris, or attempting to prophecy its effect on 
 British commerce in the event of a great naval war, we 
 shall close this section, with a plain statement of the present 
 attitude of the British and American governments, towards 
 privateering. 
 
 On the 30th of March, 1856, on the conclusion of the war 
 with Russia, there was signed the so-called Treaty of Paris. 
 Subsequently the plenipotentiaries, who signed that treaty 
 sat in conference, and on the preamble that " maritime law 
 in time of war, had long been the subject of deplorable 
 disputes," they adopted a solemn Declaration, which has 
 since been known as the " Declaration of Paris," and which 
 was appended to the treaty, on April i6th. 
 
 The Declaration ran as follows: — 
 
 " I. Privateering- is, and remains abolished. 
 
 *' 2, The neutral flag- covers enemy's goods, with the 
 exception of contraband of war. 
 
 " 3. Neutral goods, except contraband of war, are not 
 liable to capture under the enemy's flag-. 
 
 "4. Blockades, in order to be binding-, must be effective, 
 that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient in reality to 
 prevent access to the coasts of the enemy. 
 
 "The Declaration not to be binding except between the 
 Powers acceding to it." 
 
 By this Declaration, Great Britain and the other states 
 who signed it were, of course, bound ; and all civilised 
 nations have since acceded to it, except the United States, 
 Mexico, and Spain. Accordingly the United States, in the 
 deplorable event of a war with Great Britain, would be 
 justified in using privateers, and Great Britain, though a 
 
456 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 signatory of the above Declaration, would also be justified 
 in using them in a war against a state, which is not bound 
 by it. 
 
 At first sight it seems extraordinary that so enlightened 
 a country as the United States should be found associated 
 with Spain and Mexico in upholding privateering. This 
 has not always been the attitude of American opinion and 
 practice on this question, for, we find that more than a 
 century ago, in 1785, it was stipulated by a treaty, negotiated 
 by Franklin, between the United States and Prussia, that in 
 case of war, neither Power should commission privateers to 
 depredate upon the commerce of the other. And here it is 
 worth while quoting Franklin's opinion of privateering, as 
 expressed in his printed works : — * 
 
 "It is for the interest of humanity in general," says the 
 venerable statesman and philosopher, " that the occasions of 
 war and the inducements to it should be diminished. The 
 practice of robbing merchants on the high seas, a remnant of 
 the ancient piracy, though it may be accidentally beneficial to 
 particular persons, is far from being profitable to all engaged 
 in it, or to the nation that authorizes it. Piraterie, as the 
 French call it, or privateering, is the universal bent of the 
 English nation, at home and abroad, wherever settled. No 
 less than seven hundred were, it is said, commissioned in the 
 last (the American) war. These were fitted out by merchants, 
 to prey upon other merchants who had never done them any 
 injury. Methinks it well behoves merchants to consider well 
 of the justice of a war, before they voluntarily engage a gang 
 of ruffians to attack their fellow merchants of a neighbouring 
 nation, to plunder them of their property, aiid perhaps ruin 
 them and their families if they yield to it; or to wound, maim, 
 and murder them, if they endeavour to defend it. Yet these 
 things are done by Christian merchants, whether a war be 
 just or unjust ; and it can hardly be just on both sides. They are 
 done by English and American merchants who, nevertheless, 
 
 * Franklin's Works, l2mo, 1798. II., 152-178. 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 457 
 
 complain of private theft, and hang by dozens the thieves 
 they have taught by their own example. It is high time, for 
 the sake of humanity, to put a stop to this enormity. The 
 United States of America, though better situated than any 
 European nation to make profit by privateering (most of the 
 trade of Europe with the West Indies passing before their 
 doors) are, as far as in them lies, endeavouring to abolish the 
 practice, by offering in all their treaties with other powers, an 
 article, engaging solemnly, that in case of future war, no 
 privateer shall be commissioned on either side ; and that 
 unarmed merchant ships, on both sides, shall pursue their 
 voyages vmmolested. This will be a happy improvement of 
 the law of nations. The humane and just cannot but wish 
 general success to the proposition." 
 
 The United States may possibly say that the reason why 
 they have not repeated and endorsed that stipulation in 
 subsequent treaties, is all the fault of Great Britain. Great 
 Britain has always maintained her right to destroy an 
 enemy's private property at sea (not now by privateers, but 
 by public war vessels). Constant representations have been 
 made to us by other Powers, including the United States, 
 asking us to abandon this right. But, as the greatest 
 maritime Power, we have stood out for the right of 
 destroying hostile private property at sea, as a method of 
 warfare most effective and substantial, without inflicting a 
 disproportionate amount of suffering upon individuals. 
 Whether we are really the gainers in the end, by clinging to 
 this principle, is another question. No doubt it gives a 
 great advantage to the Power with the strongest fleet ; but 
 when that Power has also far the largest amount of private 
 property at sea, it is clear that the compensating dis- 
 advantage is considerable. The protection of our own 
 merchandise and the complete destruction of the enemy's 
 will prove an exceedingly heavy task for our navy. But 
 this is beside the point, for Great Britain rightly upholds 
 the principle and must fight accordingly. What then was 
 
458 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the actual position of the United States as to the Declaration 
 of Paris? They said : "If England will not abandon the 
 right to capture private property at sea, then we will not 
 abandon the right to use privateers. We do not choose to 
 be at the cost to maintain a large fleet, and must rely on 
 privateers in case of war. We realise the abuses of 
 privateering, but we are bound to perpetuate them because 
 Great Britain will not give way on the first point." But it 
 is obvious that there is no necessary connection between 
 privateering and the right of capture by national vessels. 
 It would appear that in the matter of privateering, the 
 United States to-day are guided, not by the example and 
 opinions of Benjamin Franklin, but by the vigorous senti- 
 ments of Jefferson, promulgated on the 4th of July, 181 2 : — 
 
 "What is war? It is simply a contest between nations, of 
 trying" which can do the other the most harm. Who carries 
 on the war ? Armies are formed and navies are manned by 
 individuals. How is a battle gained ? By the death of 
 individuals. What produces peace ? The distress of individ- 
 uals. What difference to the sufferer is It that his property is 
 taken by a national or private armed vessel ? Did our 
 merchants who have lost nine hundred and seventeen vessels 
 by British captures, feel any gratification that the most of them 
 were taken by his Majesty's men-of-war? Were the spoils 
 less rigidly exacted by a seventy-four gun ship, than by a 
 privateer of four guns ; and were not all equally condemned ? 
 War, whether on land or sea, Is constituted of acts of violence 
 on the persons and property of individuals ; and excess of 
 violence Is the grand cause that brings about a peace. One 
 man fights for wages paid him by the gfovernment, or a 
 patriotic zeal for the defence of his country ; another, duly 
 authorised, and giving the proper pledges for his good 
 conduct, undertakes to pay himself at the expense of the foe, 
 and serve his country as eflfectually as the former, and 
 government drawing all Its supplies from the people. Is, In 
 reality, as much affected by the losses of one as the other, the 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 459 
 
 efficacy of its measures depending- upon the energies and 
 resources of the whole. In the United States, every possible 
 encouragement should be g-iven to privateering- in time of war 
 with a commercial nation. We have tens of thousands of 
 seamen that without it would be destitute of the means of 
 support, and useless to their country. Our national ships are 
 too few in number to give employment to a twentieth part of 
 them, or retaliate the acts of the enemy. But by licensing 
 private armed vessels, the whole naval force of the nation is 
 truly brought to bear on the foe, and while the contest lasts, 
 that it may have the speedier termination, let every individual 
 contribute his mite, in the best way he can, to distress and 
 harass the enemy, and compel him to peace." 
 
 In the American Civil War, Congress authorised the 
 President to issue Letters of Marque, but he did not avail 
 himself of this power. The Confederates went so far as to 
 offer their Letters of Marque to foreigners, but the 
 acceptance of them would, of course, have been a gross 
 infringement of the restriction of neutrality, and the 
 Northern States threatened to treat foreign privateers as 
 pirates. 
 
 It must be admitted that the contention of the United 
 States Government that in the event of their engaging in 
 hostilities with a country having a powerful navy, their 
 adhesion to the Declaration of Paris would place them at a 
 great disadvantage, is as true to-day as it was in 1856. In 
 comparison wnth the royal navy of England — the most 
 tremendous maritime force in the world — the American 
 public navy is practically non-existent. It is difficult to 
 see how^ the United States, in the improbable event of a 
 conflict with this country, could keep the sea for any length 
 of time, even if they converted every vessel in their 
 mercantile marine into a privateer. Neither mercantile 
 nor public navies can be created in a few weeks or months, 
 and the present preponderance of Great Britain in both 
 
460 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 classes of vessels, could not be seriously reduced on the 
 outbreak of hostilities, by even the clever and energetic 
 American people. This statement is borne out by a 
 comparison of British and American shipping, made in a 
 Times article of December, 1896, from which we learn that 
 the total tonnage of the United States mercantile marine is 
 rather under 4^ millions, more than 70 per cent, of which 
 is of timber. 
 
 " It needs no elaborate parade of argument," says the 
 Times, "to prove that, with a merchant marine in which 
 timber still constitutes 70 per cent, of the total tonnage, the 
 United States could not possibly hope to compete with a 
 marine like our own where timber is almost entirely discarded, 
 and where sailing vessels have ceased to be, as they once were, a 
 dominating factor, more especially when we add that almost 
 one-half of the American marine Is still sail propelled. Little 
 more need be said in explanation of the fact that during the 
 first ten months of the current year — to take the latest figures 
 available — of the tonnage that entered and cleared at British 
 ports only some 625,000 were of American nationality, whereas 
 35i'2 million tons were of British origin. This preponderance 
 of British tonnage Is all the more striking when we remember 
 that during the same ten months the total value of our direct 
 trade with the United States was not less than 88 millions 
 sterling, or about 20 per cent, of the value of our trade with all 
 countries In that period. As against the American marine of 
 nearly 4^ million gross tons already alluded to, we have In the 
 United Kingdom a mercantile marine of about tweh'e million 
 tons, almost entirely built in iron or steel, and so largely 
 modernised from year to year that It Is necessarily at the highest 
 point of efficiency. This Is more than can be said of even the 
 steel-built tonnage In the American marine, although much of 
 that tonnage is superior to what could be shown a few years 
 ago.- 
 
 While it would be a rash thing to assert that the 
 American merchant navy will never seriously compete with 
 
SECOND WAR WITH AMERICA. 461 
 
 the British marine, it is safe enough to assume that the 
 Union Jack is not Hkely to have anything to fear from the 
 Stars and Stripes for a long time to come. The true patriots 
 on both sides of the Atlantic will ever pray that nothing more 
 bitter than friendly rivalry in the arts of peace may stimu- 
 late these two great nations, whose mission is, hand in hand, 
 to scale the heights of civilization, and shower blessings 
 upon mankind. 
 
 For more than eighty years, the merchant navy of the 
 British Empire has sailed in every sea unmolested and 
 unmolesting, until our merchants have become almost 
 oblivious of those contingencies which require to be 
 specially provided against during a naval conflict. Yet do 
 the signs of the times indicate, that in the future, as in the 
 past, the merchant vessels of Liverpool may play a dis- 
 tinguished part in the terrible game of war. On the 26th 
 of June, 1897, there assembled in the historic waters of the 
 Solent, in honour of Queen Victoria's record reign, and of 
 days more truly "spacious" than those of " great Elizabeth," 
 a magnificent naval pageant comprising nearly 200 war 
 vessels, or twenty-five miles of fighting force. Never in 
 the world's history has so stupendous an exhibition of naval 
 supremacy been seen. So large an array, such strength, 
 such powers of destruction, such speed were never before 
 assembled together, to fill the mind with awe and admiration, 
 and to teach the nations of the earth to cultivate peaceable 
 habits. Conspicuous even among this unparelleled demon- 
 stration of sea power, were the magnificent representatives 
 of Liverpool's armed merchant cruisers, and especially the 
 Campania, "before which, with its towering bulwarks, its 
 graceful lines, and its huge red funnels, even the largest 
 of the war-ships seemed to dwarf." Perhaps it is not too 
 much to say that if a single Campania, or Teutonic, were 
 opposed to all the privateers that ever sailed out of Liver- 
 pool, she could destroy them all, and still be none the worse 
 
4G2 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 for the encounter, provided that her ammunition did not 
 prematurely give out, or her guns wear out. Such is our 
 appalling progress in deadliness, and such, too, is the 
 capacity of Liverpool for keeping abreast of the times, and, 
 in peace or war, holding its own on the "silver sea." 
 
THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 How It Originated and Thrived. 
 
 " Man finds his fellow guilty of a skin 
 Not coloured like his own, an'l havino; power 
 To enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause 
 Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey." 
 
 The British first began to trade with Africa in 1553. In 
 August of that year, two vessels under the command of 
 Thomas Windham, sailed from Portsmouth on a voyage to 
 Guinea and Benin. The second voyage was made in 1554, 
 by John Lok, who reported that he carried "five blaca- 
 moors " to England. To Sir John Hawkins, one of the 
 great sea captains of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, belongs 
 the infamous distinction of being the first Englishman who 
 engaged in the importation of slaves from Africa. Eliza- 
 beth, at first, seems to have revolted at the very thought of 
 the new British traffic, and to have foreseen the evils to 
 which its continuance might lead. We find her sending for 
 Captain Hawkins on his return from his first voyage to 
 Africa and Hispaniola, whither he had carried slaves, and 
 expressing her anxiety lest any of the negroes should be 
 carried off without their free consent, declaring that "it 
 would be detestable, and call down the vengeance of Heaven 
 upon the undertakers." Captain Hawkins promised to 
 respect the scruples of his royal mistress, but when he 
 reached the coast of Africa, on his second voyage, the sight 
 
 2G 
 
466 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 of so much "black ivory" proved too strong a temptation 
 for him. He seized many of the inhabitants, carried them 
 off as slaves, and sold them to the Spaniards to work in the 
 mines and plantations. "Here," says Hill, the historian, 
 "began the horrid practice of forcing the Africans into 
 slavery, an injustice and barbarity, which, so sure as there 
 is vengeance in heaven for the worst of crimes, will some- 
 time be the destruction of all who allow or encourage it." 
 
 In the year of the Armada (1588), Queen Elizabeth by 
 letters patent, limited the trade with Africa to a company, 
 which was also encouraged by James I. and Charles I. In 
 1618, an African company was established, but a traffic in 
 slaves formed no part of its objects. It was not until after 
 the colonizing of Barbadoes and Antigua, in the years 
 1623-25, that the slave trade, though very profitable, com- 
 menced to be carried on in English ships. From that time 
 the English merchants and shipowners plunged into the 
 trade as eagerly as the Portuguese and Spaniards had done 
 before, and as the French and Dutch did about the same 
 time. In consequence of the great depredations committed 
 upon the English traders by the Dutch, Charles II., in 
 1662, granted an incorporation to "The Company of Royal 
 Adventurers of England to Africa," who, being unsuccessful, 
 resigned their Charter in favour of "The Royal African 
 Assiento Company." In 1689, this company entered into a 
 contract to supply the Spanish West Indies with slaves. A 
 large house, called the South Sea House, was built at 
 Kingston, Jamaica, for the accommodation of factors, who 
 were stationed there to conduct the business, and for the 
 reception of the human cargoes which survived the horrors 
 of the " middle passage." Although the company's Charter 
 was abrogated by the Bill of Rights — the third great 
 Charter of British freedom — the company carried things 
 with a high hand, and seized the ships of private traders. 
 Bristol, however, carried on the traffic under great difficulties 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 467 
 
 from the time the monopoly was rendered illegal by the 
 Bill of Rights, until the trade was thrown open in 1698 by 
 the breaking up of the Assiento Company. 
 
 The great wealth of the merchants of London and Bristol, 
 enabled them to enjoy a practical monopoly of the African 
 slave trade for a long period prior to Liverpool having any 
 share in it. Liverpool adventurers with a small capital 
 were unable to equip vessels and purchase goods specially 
 adapted to the African market and of no use outside of that 
 market, nor could they afford to await the uncertain results 
 of round voyages, sometimes prolonged to more than a 
 year, and subject to terrible dangers unknown to any other 
 description of trading adventures. Early in the eighteenth 
 century, however, a successful rivalship with Bristol, in 
 exporting provisions, and coarse checks and silk hand- 
 kerchiefs of Manchester make, to the West Indies and the 
 continent of America, eventually enabled the merchants of 
 Liverpool to participate in the more lucrative slave traffic. 
 While Liverpool obtained from this competition a sudden 
 accession to her commerce, which stimulated the industrious 
 and enriched the enterprising, multiplied the ships in her 
 docks, and filled her warehouses with sugar, rum, and other 
 West India produce, the trade of Bristol to the West Indies 
 declined. The checks of Manchester, carried in Liverpool 
 ships, ousted from that market the German, French, and 
 Scotch osnaburgs exported from Bristol. Finding them- 
 selves out-distanced in the competition, the merchants of 
 Bristol embarked with energy in the slave trade, and that 
 so successfully, that the number of ships despatched by 
 them to the slave coast from the year 1701 to 1709 was no 
 less than 57 per annum. The effect of this upon the London 
 slave traffic was enormous. The 104 vessels employed by 
 that port in the Guinea trade in 1701, fell to 72 in 1702, and 
 50 in 1704, while in 1707 there were only 30 ships so 
 employed. As yet, the hands of Liverpool were clean from 
 
468 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 negro blood. There was one easy gradient to descend 
 before she entered upon the horrid traffic, and this was the 
 contraband trade with the Spanish main. Spain shipped 
 to her colonists in America, French and German checks, 
 stripes and osnaburgs, under a duty of 300 per cent. To 
 evade this exorbitant impost, the Spanish West India 
 traders ran down in schooners and large canoes from the 
 Havannah, Portobello, and Carthagena to Jamaica, to 
 purchase Manchester goods, which they found not only 
 cheaper, but superior in quality to those made in France 
 and Germany. A growing demand resulted in ample 
 returns in specie to Liverpool and Manchester, and in spite 
 of the vigilance of the Spanish Guarda Costa, which were 
 continually cruising between the south-end of Jamaica and 
 the Spanish main, this trade flourished for about twenty 
 years, and gave the Guarda Costa some excuse for the 
 cruelties they practised in boarding and plundering British 
 vessels, under the pretence of searching for contraband 
 goods. The traffic received a check in 1740, in consequence 
 of a remonstrance from the King of Spain, and finally 
 received its death blow from the Grenville treaty of 1747. 
 The cutting off of a branch of commerce, which, while it 
 lasted, helped to establish the manufactures of Manchester, 
 and lay the foundation of the fortunes of several mercantile 
 houses* both in that town and Liverpool, threw a strong 
 temptation in the way of the Liverpool merchants to employ 
 their ships in the Guinea trade. 
 
 When the slave trade was thrown open in 1698, Parlia- 
 ment enacted that private traders should pay to the Assiento 
 Company 10 per cent, for the repairs of the forts and the 
 expenses of the factory. Disputes and dissensions arising 
 
 * In Edwards's History of the West Indies, it is stated that the value of the 
 goods annually disposed of amounted to ;i^i, 500,000 sterling, while 4,000 tons of 
 shipping were employed in this one single branch of commerce. When the con- 
 traband trade was at its height, the annual return to the town of Manchester tor 
 the first cost of the goods was estimated at ;^"56o,000, and the amount of the profits 
 to the merchants of Liverpool at £,2'J2A^7- 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 469 
 
 from this arrangement, the legislature, in 1730, granted a 
 certain sum for such purposes, and enacted that persons 
 trading to Africa should pay to the Chamberlain of London, 
 the Clerk of the Merchants' Hall, Bristol, or to the Town 
 Clerk of Liverpool, 40s. for the freedom of the new company, 
 which should consist of all his Majesty's subjects trading 
 between Cape Blanco and the Cape of Good Hope. London, 
 Bristol, and Liverpool were each to send three committee 
 men to manage the business, and to take charge of the forts 
 and factories. Thus encouraged, the merchants of Liverpool, 
 trebly qualified by the capital, spirit of adventure, and 
 knowledge of the requirements of the West India Islands 
 gained in the contraband trade, entered heartily into the 
 new speculation. The merchants of London having almost 
 relinquished the slave trade in 1720, the memorable year of 
 the South Sea disaster, the only riv^al Liverpool had to fear 
 in its fresh sphere of enterprise was Bristol. The pre- 
 dominance gained by that port over London in the Guinea 
 trade, and the success obtained over Bristol by Liverpool in 
 the West India market were not more remarkable than the 
 success of Liverpool adventurers in a traffic which, however 
 repugnant to the feelings of humanity, was productive of 
 vast profits. For a period of 77 years, they carried on the 
 trade with a characteristic vigour and ability that out- 
 distanced every competitor, and won for Liverpool the 
 unenviable distinction of being the chief slaving town of the 
 Old World. 
 
 It must not be supposed from the fact that, between the 
 year 1709 and 1730, only a single barque of 30 tons burthen 
 sailed from the Mersey for Africa, and laid the foundation of 
 a great but terrible commerce by conveying 15 slaves 
 across the Atlantic, that Liverpool felt any repugnance to 
 embark in a lucrative trade in which every seaport of 
 Europe was engaged, which London and other English 
 ports had carried on for nearly a hundred years, and which 
 
470 THE LIVERPOOL SLA IE TRADE. 
 
 was winked at, if not sanctioned by, the British legislature.* 
 No morescruple was then felt as to the "licitness" of the trade 
 in slaves than as to the lawfulness of the trade in black cattle. 
 " So totally different was the feeling which then prevailed on 
 this subject, " says Baines, ' ' that whilst the article of the treaty 
 of Vienna, denouncing the African slave trade, was regarded 
 as the noblest article of the great pacification of 1815, the 
 article of the treaty of Utrecht, giving England the privi- 
 lege of importing negroes into the Spanish possessions in 
 America as well as into her own, was regarded as one of 
 the greatest triumphs of the pacification of 1713." 
 
 Immediately on the adoption of the new regulations in 
 1730, 15 vessels, of the average burthen of 75 tons each, were 
 despatched from Liverpool to the coast of Africa. The 
 number of slaves annually imported in the infancy of the 
 trade cannot now be ascertained, but the encouragement 
 must have been very great to increase the vessels more 
 than double in seven years, 33 Guineamen having cleared 
 for the coast in the year 1737. 
 
 The Liverpool merchants at length found it advantageous 
 to have their own factors settled at Jamaica, as had long been 
 the practice of London and Bristol. Liverpool hitherto had 
 been compelled to dispose of her adventures by super- 
 cargoes, who were often obliged to sell their goods at a low 
 advance on the invoice, to enable them to make their returns 
 in the vessel, which was frequently an impediment to the 
 sale of their goods. / The planters soon discovered that they 
 could purchase slaves from the Liverpool stores at four or 
 five pounds per head less than from the London and Bristol 
 [/factors, and yet get the same length of credit as had been 
 given by the latter. The causes which enabled Liverpool 
 merchants thus to dispose of Guinea cargoes of "prime 
 negroes" at about 12 per cent, less than the rest of the 
 
 * The property in slaves was specifically acknowledged by statute of 5th, 
 Geo. II., Cap. 7, and again by 13th, Geo. III., Cap. 14. 
 
HO W IT ORIGIN A TED AND THRIVED. 4 7 1 
 
 kingdom, and at the same time return an equal profit, 
 are thus set forth by a well-informed local author of the 
 eighteenth century : — ^ 
 
 "The reason the port of Liverpool could undersell the 
 merchants of London and Bristol, was the restriction in their 
 outfits and method of factorage. The London and Bristol 
 merchants not only allowed ample monthly pay to their 
 captains, but cabin privileges, primage and daily port charges; 
 they also allowed their factors five per cent, on the sales, and 
 five per cent, on the returns, and their vessels were always 
 full manned by seamen at a monthly rate. The Liverpool 
 merchants proceeded on a more economical but less liberal 
 plan, the generality of their captains were at annual salaries, 
 or if at monthly pay, four pounds were thought great wages at 
 that time, no cabin privileges were permitted, primage was 
 unknown amongst them, and as to port allowances, not a 
 single shilling was given, while five shillings a day was the 
 usual pay from Bristol, and seven and six from London. 
 The captains from these ports could, therefore, occasionally 
 eat on shore, and drink their bottle of Madeira ; whereas, the 
 poor Liverpool skipper was obliged to repair on board to his 
 piece of salt beef and biscuit, and bowl of new rum punch, 
 sweetened with brown sugar. The factors, instead of a rate 
 per centum, had an annual salary, and were allowed the rent 
 of their store, negro hire, and other incidental charges ; there- 
 fore, if the consignments were great or small, the advantages 
 to the factor suffered no variation. Their portage was still 
 more economical, their method was to take poor boys 
 apprentice for long terms, who were annually increased, 
 became good seamen, were then second mates, and then 
 first mates, then captains, and afterwards factors on the 
 islands. This was the usual gradation at the time, whereby 
 few men at monthly pay were required to navigate a Liver- 
 pool vessel." 
 
 * A general and descriptive history of Liverpool, published anonymously in I795» 
 
472 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 In 1746, the Fortune^ Captain Green, of Liverpool, on her 
 voyage from Africa to Jamaica, was captured and carried 
 to Porto Cavalla, with 354 slaves on board. 
 
 In 1747, the slave-ship Ogden^ Captain Tristram, of Liver- 
 pool, bound from Africa to Jamaica, was taken by a Spanish 
 privateer. The gallant resistance made by the crew so 
 irritated the Spaniards, that, on boarding the Ogden, they 
 killed all, both whites and blacks, during which the ship 
 sunk, and all on board, except one man, five boys, and nine 
 negroes, perished. 
 
 In 1 75 1, the African trade, under legislative enactments, 
 had swelled to a great volume, and in that year no fewer 
 than 53 vessels, with an aggregate burthen of 5,334 tons,sailed 
 from the Mersey for the slave-coast. Owing to the length 
 of the round voyage, which sometimes occupied over a year, 
 the returns of Guineamen that cleared annually for the coast 
 from Liverpool do not represent all the vessels belonging 
 to the port then actively engaged in the trade. We find, for 
 instance, in the returns,* that 58 vessels cleared for Africa 
 in the year 1752, f but from "Williamson's Liverpool 
 Memorandum Book," published in 1753, we know that in 
 \^ 1752, Liverpool possessed no less than 88 vessels employed 
 in the African trade, :|: all of which, with one exception, 
 ^carried slaves. That exception was the Eato)i, owned by 
 Messrs. John Okill & Co., which traded in wood and 
 teeth. The 87 slavers had a capacity for conveying about 
 25,000 negroes across that terrible belt of ocean in which 
 
 ■*See appendix. 
 
 t In the History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, 1 y Edward 
 Baines, edited by Jas. Croston, F.S.A., it is stated that only 51 or 52 Liverpool 
 vessels out of upwards of 300 were engaged in the slave-trade in the year 1752, an 
 assertion contradicted, both by the clearance list and the list of vessels actually 
 em])loyed. 
 
 J They traded with the following places: — 5 with Benin, 11 with Angola, 
 3 with New Calabar, II with Old Calabar, 38 with the Windward and Gold Coast, 
 &c., 12 with Bonny, and 8 with Gambia. All these vessels were also engaged in 
 the trade with America: for the living cargoes which they took in on the coast of 
 Africa they conveyed either to the West Indies or the North American plantations, 
 from Maryland and Virginia southwards, after which they returned to Liverpool, 
 with cargoes of sugar, rum, and other tropical or colonial produce. 
 
I/01V IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 473 
 
 so many heart-broken captives found rest. The number 
 shipped, if not actually deliv^ered "in good order and 
 condition," was probably much higher, as it was then 
 customary to overload, with the most frightful results. 
 
 From the same "Memorandum Book" we learn that 
 there were in Liverpool, in the year 1752, loi merchants 
 who were members of the Company trading to Africa* 
 established by Act of Parliament in 1750 (the 23rd of 
 George II.), entitled "An Act for extending and improving 
 the trade to Africa belonging to Liverpool." In the same 
 year there were in London, 135 African merchants, and in 
 Bristol 157, though the African trade of the latter was less 
 extensive than that of Liverpool. 
 
 From this time the man traffic set in with such a steady 
 current, that it soon became one of the most lucrative branches 
 of the commerce of the port. Fast sailing vessels, specially 
 adapted for the trade, were built in the shipbuilding yards 
 on the banks of the Mersey, w^here many a noble frigate for 
 the king's navy was turned out in those days, and soon 
 the odour of the human shambles began to mix with that 
 of tar and rum in the docks of Liverpool. Here, as else- 
 where, it was impossible to keep the pollution at a distance 
 — the smoke of the evil genie followed the homeward bound 
 Guineamen across the seas, and tainted the town, in spite 
 of every effort to bottle it. The insignia of the men-stealers 
 were boldly exhibited for sale in the shops and warehouses, 
 and advertised in the papers.f Busts of blackamoors and 
 
 * In the appendix will be foiird a list of the Liverpool African merchants, and 
 also of their 88 Guineamen, their commanders' names, and the slave-carrying 
 capacity of each vessel. 
 
 t In 1756, the following articles suitalile for a Guinea voyage were advertised to 
 be sold by auction at the Merchants' Coffee-house : — One iron furnace and copper, 
 27 cafes (?) with bottles, 83 pairs of shackles, 11 neck collars, 22 handcufts for \.)\f 
 travelling chain, 4 long chains for the slaves, 54 rings, 2 travelling chains, i corn 
 mill, 7 four-pound basons, 6 two-pound basons, 3 brass pans, 28 kegs of gunpowder, j 
 12 cartouches loxes, i iron ladle, I small basket of flints. In the paper of May 
 27th, 1757; another lot was advertised: one large negro hearth with 2 iron 
 furnaces, I copper ditto for 450 slaves, i decoction copper kettle, ditto pan, a 
 parcel of shackles, chains, neck collars, and handcufls, i iron furnace, 245 gallons, 
 with a lead top, sufficient to boil 10 barrels of liquor. 
 
 \y 
 
474 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 elephants, emblematical of the African trade, adorned the 
 Exchange or Town Hall.* One street in the town was nick- 
 named Negro Row, and negro slaves were occasionally sold 
 by auction in the shops, warehouses, and coffee-houses, and 
 also on the steps of the Custom House. f The young bloods 
 of the town, when not engaged in more disgraceful pursuits, 
 deemed it fine amusement to circulate handbills in which 
 young ladies were offered for sale. 
 
 In an auctioneer's bill of the period, we find, "twelve 
 pipes of raisin wine, two boxes of bottled cyder, six sacks 
 of flour, three negro men, two negro women, two negro 
 boys, and one negro girl." 
 
 Amongst the many curious advertisements which appeared 
 in the Liverpool papers, while the slave trade was in full 
 swing, were two side by side in Williamsoii' s Advertiser^ 
 of August 20th, 1756. The first announced the hull of the 
 snow Molly, to be sold by the candle at i o'clock noon at 
 R. Williamson's shop, adding : " N.B. — Three young men 
 slaves to be sold at the same time." Facing it in the next 
 column we read, "Wanted immediately a negro boy. He 
 must be of a deep black complexion, and a lively, humane 
 disposition, with good features, and not above 15, nor 
 under 12 years of age. Apply to the printer." The irony 
 of contrast presented by these two advertisements was, of 
 course, lost upon the most "lively and humane" reader of 
 
 * "Between the capitals runs an entablature or fillet, on which are placed in 
 base relief the busts of blackamoors and elephants, with the teeth of the latter, 
 with such-like emblematical figures representing the African trade and commerce." 
 — " History of Liverpool." 
 
 fThe Custom House, on the east side of the Old Dock, now Canning Place, 
 was built about 1700, by Mr. Silvester Moorecroft, who was mayor in 1706. It 
 was a meagre red brick building with two slightly projecting wings ; the angles 
 and windows being ornamented with stone. It had the royal arms carved in stone 
 in front, and was entered by a wide flight of steps in the centre, through arches, 
 into an arcade or piazza, out of which several doors opened, and a staircase led to 
 the long room, which was above the piazza, and to several other offices. Ships 
 loaded and discharged at the quay in front of the building, and ai the back were 
 the Custom House yard and warehouse (the latter fronting Paradise St.), access to 
 which was obtained by a passage on the south side of the Custom House. The 
 slave-auctions were held on the flight of steps leading to the main entrance. 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 475 
 
 that day. In the same paper, for June 24th, 1757, we read 
 
 the following : — 
 
 " For Sale immediately, One stout Negro young- fellow, 
 about 20 years of age, that has been employed for 12 months 
 on board a ship, and is a very serviceable hand. And a negro 
 BOY, about 12 years old, that has been used since Sept. last to 
 wait at a table, and is of a very good disposition, both 
 warranted sound. Apply to Robert Williamson, Broker. N.B. 
 A vessel from 150 to 250 tons burthen is wanted to be 
 purchased." 
 
 Among the wants advertised in December, 1757, by Robert 
 Williamson aforesaid, who kept the Universal Register 
 Office, near the Exchange, and, amongst other matters, 
 registered " Persons of Ingenuity and Learning," were the 
 following: "A French Horn for a Letter of Marque. A 
 Black Boy that can beat a drum, for an officer in the 
 Army. A person that can play on the Bagpipes, for a 
 Guinea ship." We are not told whether the piper was 
 required to discourse sweet strains to the crew, or to tame 
 the mutinous negroes. 
 
 In the short-lived Liverpool Chronicle., James Parker, 
 auctioneer, advertised for sale by the candle, at the Merchants' 
 Coffee-house, a fine negro boy, 11 years of age, imported 
 from Bonny, by Mr. Thomas Yates, a Guinea merchant, 
 who lived in Cleveland Square. 
 
 The following is from Williamson's Advertiser of Feb. 
 17th, 1758:— 
 
 " For Sale a Healthful Negro Boy, about 5 feet high, well 
 proportioned, of a mild, sober, honest disposition ; has been 
 with his present master 3 years, and used to wait on a table, 
 and to assist in a stable." 
 
 On the 8th of September, 1758, the following appeared in 
 the same paper : — 
 
 " Run away from Dent, in Yorkshire, on Monday, the 
 28th August last, Thomas Anson, a negro man, about 
 
476 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 5 ft. 6 ins. hig"h, aged 20 years and upwards, and broad 
 set. Whoever will bring the said man back to Dent, or 
 give any information that he may be had again, shall receive 
 a handsome reward from Mr. Edmund Sill, of Dent ; or 
 Mr. David Kenyon, merchant, in Liverpool." 
 
 In 1765, we have another specimen from the same 
 source: — 
 
 " To be sold by Auction at George's Coffee-house, betwixt 
 the hours of six and eight o'clock, a very fine negro gi-rl about 
 eight years of age, very healthy, and hath been some time 
 from the coast. Any person willing to purchase the same 
 may apply to Capt. Robert Syers, at Mr. Bartley Hodgett's, 
 Mercer and Draper near the Exchange, where she may be 
 seen till the time of Sale." 
 
 In the paper of September 12th, 1766, was announced " to 
 be sold at the Exchange Coffee-house in Water Street, this 
 day the 12th inst. September, at one o'clock precisely, eleven 
 negroes, imported per the yl;?^o/«, * * * * Broker," 
 
 On December ist, 1767, one negro man and two boys 
 were advertised for sale at Mr. Robinson's office. 
 
 Thus the hateful traffic was not kept altogether at a 
 distance, nor confined to those referred to by the poet — 
 
 " But ah ! what wish can prosper or what prayer. 
 For merchants rich in cargoes of despair ; 
 Who drive a loathsome traflfic, gauge and span. 
 And buy the bones and muscles of the man." 
 
 It is, indeed, too often forgotten that while British ships 
 were employed in transporting millions of " African 
 labourers" to their doom in the mines, and on the sugar 
 and cotton plantations of the New World, the traffic in 
 human flesh and blood was polluting freedom-loving 
 England itself: and in justice to Liverpool, a few facts 
 must be stated under this head, lest the reader should 
 imagine that her people were worse than their neighbours. 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 477 
 
 When Henry Esmond Warrington, Esq., of Virginia, 
 landed at Bristol, in 1756, with his black slave Gumbo, he 
 was only the type of thousands of others who landed upon 
 our shores, and Gumbo, boasting in the servants' hall at 
 Castlewood, and singing in church as loud as the organ, 
 was but the idealised representative of thousands of black 
 slaves held in bondage in England at that period. In 1764, | 
 the "Gentleman's Magazine" estimated that there were I 
 upwards of 20,000 black slaves then domiciled in London 
 alone, and these slaves were openly bought and sold on ! 
 'Change. These unfortunate creatures were burnt with some 1 
 distinguishing mark, and collars and padlocks were deemed a 
 necessary part of their livery. V-That a collar was considered 
 as essential for a black slave as for a dog, is clear from the 
 London Advertiser for 1756, in which Matthew Dyer, 
 working goldsmith, at the Crown, in Duck Lane, Orchard 
 Street, Westminster, intimates to the public that he makes 
 "silver padlocks for Blacks or Dogs; collars, &c."J In the ^ 
 London Gazette oi March, 1685, a reward was advertised for 
 bringing back John White, a black boy of about 15 years of 
 age, who had run away from Colonel Kirke's. He had a 
 silver collar about his neck, upon which was the Colonel's 
 coat-of-arms and cipher; he had also upon his throat a great 
 scar, &c. King William III., "of glorious memory," had 
 a favourite slave, a bust of whom may be seen at Hampton 
 Court; the head is of black marble, and the drapery round 
 the shoulders and chest of veined yellow marble, while the 
 throat is encircled by a carved white marble collar, with a 
 padlock, in every respect like a dog's metal collar. In the 
 Daily Journal^ of September 28th, 1728, is an advertisement 
 for a runaway black boy, who had the legend, "My Lady 
 Bromfield's black, in Lincoln's Inn Fields," engraved on a 
 collar round his neck. A specimen of these slave collars is 
 preserved in the Museum of the Antiquarian Society, in 
 Edinburgh. The collar, which in this instance was worn by 
 
478 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 a white man, bears the following inscription : "Alexander 
 Stewart, found guilty of death for theft, at Perth, December 
 5, 1701. — Gifted by the Justiciaries, as a perpetual servant, 
 to Sir John Erskine, of Alva." The following advertise- 
 ments show how common was the custom of buying and 
 selling black slaves in England in the eighteenth century: — 
 
 y In the Tatler, for 1709, a black boy, twelve years of age, 
 "fit to wait on a g-entleman," is offered for sale at Dennis's 
 Coffee-house, in Finch Lane, near the Royal Exchange. 
 
 The Daily Post, of August 4th, 1720, contains the following: 
 "Went away the 22nd July last, from the house of William 
 Webb, in Limehouse Hole, a negro man, about 20 years old, 
 called Dick, yellow complexion, wool hair, about five foot six 
 inches high, having on his right breast the word 'Hare' burnt. 
 Whoever brings him to the said Mr. Webb's, shall have half-a- 
 guinea reward and reasonable charges." 
 
 In the Daily Journal, of September 28th, 1728, a negro boy, 
 eleven years of age, was advertised for sale at the Virginia 
 Coffee-house, in Threadneedle Street, behind the Royal Ex- 
 change. 
 
 / The following appeared in the London Advertiser, of 1756: 
 "To be sold, a Negro Boy, about fourteen years old, warranted 
 free from any distemper, and has had those fatal to that colour; 
 has been used two years to all kinds of household work, and to 
 wait at table; his price is ;^25, and would not be sold but the 
 person he belongs to is leaving off business. Apply at the bar 
 of the George Coffee-house, in Chancery Lane, over against the 
 Gate." 
 
 / In the Public Ledger, of December 31st, 1761, "a healthy 
 Negro Girl, age about fifteen years," is offered for sale; "speaks 
 good English, works at her needle, washes well, does household 
 work, and has had the small-pox." 
 
 In 1763, one John Rice, was hanged for forgery at Tyburn, 
 and among his effects, sold by auction after his execution, was 
 a negro boy, who fetched ;^32. The "Gentleman's Magazine," 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 479 
 
 commentini;^ on the sale of the boy, says that this was "perhaps 
 the first custom of the kind in a free country." 
 
 At Lichfield, in 1771, there was offered for sale, by public 
 auction, "A Negro Boy, from Africa, supposed to be ten or 
 eleven years of age. He is remarkably stout, well proportioned, , 
 speaks tolerably good English, of a mild disposition, friendly, 
 officious, sound, healthy, fond of labour, and for colour, an 
 excellent fine black." 
 
 The Stamford Mercury, for 1771, states that "at a sale of a 
 gentleman's effects at Richmond, a Negro Boy was put up and 
 sold for ;^32 ; " adding, "a shocking instance in a free country !" 
 
 In March, 1752, the Clayton snow,* Captain Patrick, of 
 Liverpool, 200 tons burthen, armed with 4 two-pounders 
 and 10 swivel guns, was taken off Fernando Po, on the 
 coast of Africa, by pirates, also from Liverpool. These 
 proved to be nine men and a boy belonging to the Three 
 Sisters, Captain Jenkins, who had run away with the ship's 
 longboat. The pirate took the opportunity of luffing up 
 under the lee quarter of the Clayton when all her hands 
 were forward, except the captain and gunner, and then 
 boarded with sword and pistol in hand, wounded the 
 captain in several places, captured the ship, kept the crew 
 in irons one night, and the next morning put them on board 
 their own longboat and turned them adrift. The pirates 
 had brought with them in their boat a bale of scarlet cloth 
 and another of handkerchiefs, and told the Clayton's crew 
 that if they " w^ould go a-roving they should be clothed 
 with scarlet." Four, unable to resist this dazzling proposal, 
 voluntarily entered as rovers, and the chief mate and two 
 boys \vere impressed into the pirate service. The rest of 
 the crew were 12 days in getting into the river Bonny, 
 where the king seized their longboat, and the men had to 
 
 * A common type of slaver at this time was a snow, of about 14c tons, square 
 sterned, 57 feet keel, 21 feet beam, 5 feet between decks, 9 feet in the hold — a 
 miniature Malbolsre when crammed with slaves like sardines in a box. 
 
480 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 enter on board different slavers trading- there. The pirates 
 carried the Clayton to Pernambuco, where a Portuguese 
 man-of-war retook her and carried her to Lisbon, The 
 Three Sisters was wrecked on the coast of Wexford, and 
 Captain Jenkins, with most of the crew, perished. 
 
 In the summer of 1756, while a sloop commanded by 
 Alexander Hope was making the middle passage with a 
 cargo of slaves, being then 100 leagues from the coast, six 
 or seven slaves, who were upon deck, watched an oppor- 
 tunitv when the first mate (Mr. Ashfield) and some more of 
 the crew were in the hold, rushed into the cabin, knocked 
 Captain Hope's brains out, wounded the second mate 
 (Mr. Charles Duncan) in several places, secured all the 
 arms, and kept possession of the cabin for four hours. 
 Duncan, with difficulty got out of the cabin, and, with the 
 assistance of the first mate and the cooper, got the door shut 
 upon the negroes. The blacks then fired all the muskets 
 and blunderbusses at the crew through the door, but hurt 
 none of them. The first mate and the cooper then rushed 
 into the cabin, disarmed the slaves, and recovered the vessel. 
 The ringleader of the slaves jumped overboard and was 
 drowned. The first mate and the cooper received several 
 wounds. 
 
 ■^ Captain Jenkinson, of the Fannys writing to his owners 
 in Liverpool, from Jamaica, on November 27th, 1756, says : 
 "On the 19th we arrived here, with no slaves, 22 ct. of 
 
 ivory, and ounces of gold, after a tedious passage of 
 
 13 weeks and 4 days. My slaves are sold from £^0 to ;^48 
 per head." 
 
 In January, 1757, the Nancy, Captain Gill, with 72 fine 
 slaves on board, was captured at Junk, while trading, by two 
 French frigates. "Our usage, whilst on board them," says 
 Captain Gill, "was cruel, no better lodgings than the decks, 
 only short and bad allowance, and to be marooned without 
 provisions was treatment beneath an European enemy, let 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 481 
 
 alone the polite nation of France." In his letter Captain 
 Gill mentions that the Priscilla, of Liverpool, had arrived 
 at Barbadoes on the 30th of March, from the coast of 
 Africa, having- buried 94 slaves on the middle passage ! 
 Her complement was 350 slaves, which, allowing for over- 
 loading, shows a shocking rate of mortality. 
 
 Captain Bailie, commander of the slave-ship Carter, 
 writing to his owners in Liverpool from the River Bonny, 
 Africa, on January 31st, 1757, reveals the method sometimes 
 resorted to by slave-captains to compel the native chiefs to 
 trade with them. He says: — 
 
 "We arrived here the 6th of December, and found the 
 Hector, with about 100 slaves on board, also the Marquis of 
 Lot/ii'aii, of Bristol, Capt. Jones (by whom I now write), who 
 was half slaved, and then paying 50 Barrs, notwithstanding- he 
 had been there 3 months before our arrival. I have only yet 
 purchased 15 slaves at 30 and 35 Barrs; but as soon as tlie 
 bearer sails, I propose giving- more ; for at present there is a 
 dozen of our people sick, besides the two mates, some of whom 
 are very bad, and I have been for these last 8 days In a strong 
 fever, and frequently insensible. Yesterday morning I burled 
 Thomas Hodge, and on the 13th James Barton. Capt. Nobler 
 of the Phoenix arrived here the 3d, and on the 19th our trade 
 was stopt (as It had often been before) ; upon which we all 
 marched on shore to know the reason and applied to the King 
 thrice, though he constantly ordered himself to be denied, and 
 wou'd not admit us. However, we heard his voice In doors, 
 and as he used us so III, we went on board, and determined 
 (after having held a Council), to fire upon the town next 
 morning, which we accordingly did, In order to bring them to 
 reason, but found that our shot had little effect from the river, 
 upon which we agreed that the Phoenix and the Hector shou'd 
 go Into the Creek, It being nigher the town, whilst Captain 
 Jones and I fired from the river. The Phcenixhemg the head- 
 most vessel went In, and the Hector followed about a cable's 
 length astern. The Phcenix had scarce entred the Creek 
 2H 
 
482 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 before they received a volley of small arms from the bushes, 
 which were about 20 yards distant from the ship, and at the 
 same time several shot from the town went throug^h him, upon 
 which they came to anchor, and plied their carriage guns for 
 some time ; but finding- there was no possibility of standing the 
 decks, or saving the ship, he struck his colours, but that did 
 not avail, for they kept a continued fire upon him, both of 
 g-reat and small arms. His people were thrown into the utmost 
 confusion, some went down below, whilst others jumpt into the 
 yaul which lay under the ship's quarter, who (on seeing a 
 number of canoes coming down to board them) desired Capt. 
 Nobler to come down to them, which he at last did, as he 
 found the vessel in such a shattered condition, and that it was 
 impossible for him to get her out of the Creek before the next 
 ebb tide, in case he cou'd keep the canoes from boarding him. 
 With much difficulty they got on board the Hector, but not 
 without receiving a number of shot into the boat. The natives 
 soon after boarded the Phoenix, cut her cables, and let her 
 drive opposite the town, when they began to cut her up, and 
 get out her loading, which they accomplished in a very short 
 time. But at night in drawing off" some brandy, they set her 
 on fire, by which accident a great many of them perished in the 
 flames. The Phoenix's hands are distributed amongst the other 
 three ships, and all things are made up, and trade open, but 
 very slow, and provisions scarce and dear." The Marquis of 
 Lothian was afterwards taken and carried into Martinico. 
 
 The dangers to which slave-captains were exposed in 
 war time is set forth in the following letter from Captain 
 Jackson, of the ship King George, dated Surinam, June 
 6th, 1757:— 
 
 "On the 28th of March last, being at an anchor in Melimba 
 Road, on the coast of Africa, in company with the Ogden, 
 Captain Lawson, Penelope, Captain Wyatt, and the Black 
 Prince, of Chester, Captain Creevey, two French men-of-war 
 (the St. Michael of 64 guns, and the Leviathan of 36 guns), 
 stood directly in for us. As soon as we found it impossible to 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 483 
 
 escape, we slipt, and run our ships on shore, choosing- rather 
 to lose all, than fall into the enemies' hands. I had then on 
 board 390 slaves, who ran away and were for the most part 
 taken by the natives. We have lost everything, except a few 
 things I had in the factory on shore, and about 20 slaves, with 
 whom I got o\\ board the ship Wolpenbiirg, of Flushing, and 
 took passage for this place. As she does not sell here, but 
 sails for St. Eustatia in the morning, I propose going with 
 her. Captain Creevey got his passage by way of Rotterdam : 
 Captain Lawson was carried away by the French men-of-war, 
 and sailed for Martinico ten days after they forced us on 
 shore, and Captain Wyatt we left at Melimba, with some 
 slaves that he had saved. My surgeon and Will Dawson are 
 with me ; part of my people propose staying on the coast of 
 Africa, whilst others design going in the long boat to Island 
 Princess, or St. Thomas's. I left my second and third mate 
 at Melimba, who are well, but poor Tom Cross is dangerously 
 ill, and I had the misfortune to bury Mr. Moncaster on the 
 29th of April." 
 
 Further details of the unfortunate affair were supplied by 
 Captain William Creevey, on his arrival in Liverpool. 
 They were to the following effect: — 
 
 " The St. Michael had 600 men on board, and the Leviathan 
 300. They first appeared in sight about 7 o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, under English colours, upon which all the boats then on 
 shore, distrusting them, immediately repaired on board thei^ 
 respective ships, and made what preparations they could for an 
 engagement. The frigate, being the headmost ship, stretched 
 first in with them, upon which a smart engagement ensued 
 between her and the Englishmen, whose metal were only 3 and 
 4 pounders, and hers 18 pounders. The engagement lasted 
 till the 64-gun ship came within reach of them with her 24 
 pounders, which obliged them to slip their cables, intending to 
 run their ships on shore. The Frenchmen dispatched two 
 launches full of men after them, intending to cut them off the 
 shore, and Captain Creevey's vessel being the sternmost, they 
 
484 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 attempted to board him, but received such a warm reception 
 from his stern chase g'uns, loaded with musket balls, that they 
 sheered off, and afterwards steered for and boarded the Ogden, 
 Captain Lawson, whom with most of his people they carried 
 on board the Commandant and used extremely ill. Next 
 morning- they burnt the Black Prince and Ogden, and after 
 waiting two days, destroying all before them, they landed all 
 Captain Lawson's people but himself and the Doctor, went to 
 Cape Binda to wood and water, and sailed for Martinico. Bv 
 their behaviour on the coast they seemed as if their only object 
 was to destroy the trade ; for they allowed 70 of the natives to 
 plunder the Ogden, but fixed a fuzee to the powder magazine, 
 which blew up the ship and all the black men on board. This 
 wanton cruelty so exasperated the natives that they threatened 
 to take revenge on the first French ship that fell into their 
 hands. The blacks behaved extremely kind to all the English- 
 men, and assisted them with what they wanted." 
 On the 6th of January, 1758, we read that the Knight, 
 Captain William Boates, from Annamaboo, with 398 
 slaves, had touched at vSt. Kitts, all well, and had gone 
 down for Jamaica. On the 17th of February, we read of 
 his arrival at Jamaica wnth 360 Coromantee, Ashantee, 
 Akin, and Whydah negroes, from which we gather that 
 the sharks had banqueted on 38 prime negroes. Off the 
 Leeward Islands, Captain Boates had a smart engagement 
 with a French privateer sloop of 12 carriage guns, and 
 full of men, w^hich attempted to board him several times. 
 Captain Boates armed several of his negroes, who behaved 
 very gallantly with the small arms, and eventually the 
 privateer sheered off, much disabled, and it was afterwards 
 reported that she had sunk. The story of Captain Boates 
 (or Boats) is a strange one. His real name will never be 
 known, as he was a waif, found in a boat, hence the 
 peculiar surname. He was brought up by the person who 
 found him, placed in the Blue Coat School, which has 
 turned out so many capable and worthy men in every walk 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 4B5 
 
 of life, and afterwards apprenticed to the sea. He rose to 
 be commander of a slave-ship, and prospered amazingly, 
 becoming one of the leading merchants and shipowners of 
 Liverpool. In the paper of June 6th, 1760, the marriage is 
 announced of " Capt. Wm. Boates, formerly of the African 
 trade, merchant, to Miss Brideson, daughter of Mr. Paul 
 Brideson, of Douglas, Isleman." It is related that one of 
 his vessels captured a Spanish ship with a large quantity of 
 gold and silver bullion and specie on board. When the 
 news was communicated to Mr. Boates, he ran along the 
 Pierhead exclaiming " Billy Boates — born a beggar, die a 
 lord!" Part of the structure known as Drury Buildings, 
 Drury Lane, was formerly his residence. It was built in a 
 superior style for that age, a large portion of the woodwork 
 being mahogany. The Liverpool newspaper of November 
 3rd, 1794, records the death, at the age of 78, of " William 
 Boates, Esq., whose extensive transactions in the commer- 
 cial world rendered him a most useful member of society, 
 and whose memory will be long revered by all who had 
 connections with him." He was interred in the Old 
 Churchyard. His daughter, the wife of Richard Puleston, 
 Esq., died at Brighton, in September of the same year. 
 His son, Henry Ellis Boates, of Rosehill, Denbighshire, 
 died in January, 1805. " It is a remarkable fact," says 
 Brooke, "that of the large number of Liverpool persons 
 who made fortunes in the African slave trade, and some of 
 them acquired by that odious traffic considerable wealth, it 
 only remained in very few instances in their families 
 until the third generation, and in many cases it was dis- 
 persed or disappeared in the first generation after the death 
 of the persons acquiring it." 
 
 Captain Boates had retired from the sea, and settled down 
 as a merchant, when he appended his signature to a very 
 interesting document,* of which the following is a copy : — 
 
 * In the possession of Mr. C. K. Lace. 
 
486 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 " LiVERPOOLE, 14 April, 1762. 
 " Cap^- Ambrose Lace, 
 
 " Sir, — You being- Master of tlie ship Marquis of Granby, 
 and now cleard out of the Custom house, and ready to sail for 
 Africa, America, and back to Liverpoole, the Cargoe we have 
 shipd on Board is agreeable to the Annexed Invoice, which we 
 consign you for sale, For which you are to have the usual 
 Commission of 4 in 104 on the Gross Sales, and your Doctor, 
 Mr. Lawson, i2d. 1^ Head on all the slaves sold, and we give 
 you these our orders to be observed in the course of your 
 intended voyage. With the First Favourable wind 3-ou must 
 sail and proceed in company with the Douglas, Cap" Finch, 
 who has some Business at the Isle of Man, when you must 
 accompany him not waiting- longer for him than six days. 
 When finished at the Isle of Man, you are to make the Best o'i 
 your way in Company thro the So. Channell and as 3'ou are 
 Both Ships of Force, and we hope Tolerably well mann'd you 
 will be better able to Defend yourselves against the Enemy, 
 we therefore Recommend your keeping a good Look out that 
 you may be Prepaird against an attack, and shoud you be 
 Fortunate enough to take any vessell or vessells From the 
 Enemy, we recommend your sending them Home or to Cork 
 whichever will be most convenient so as not to Distress your 
 own ship, and on your arrival at Old Callebar if one or more 
 ships be there you will observe to make an agreement with the 
 Master or Masters so as not to advance the Price on each 
 other and we doubt not you will use your utmost endeavours 
 to keep down the Comeys which in Generall are to extravagant 
 there and For which you have no Return at least not worth 
 any thing to the Ownery and as your Cargoe is larger than we 
 expected we hope will be able to Purchase 550 slaves, and may 
 have to spare ;^'40o to lay out in Ivory which we Recommend 
 your Purchasing From the Beginning of your Trade and pray 
 mind to be very Choice in your Slaves. Buy no Distemperd 
 or old Ones, But such as will answer at the Place of Sale and 
 stand the Passage and as Callebar is Remarkable for great 
 Mortality in Slaves we Desire you may take every Prudent 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 487 
 
 Method to Prevent it, viz. — not to keep your Ship to Close 
 in the Day time and at Night to keep the Ports shut as the 
 night Air is very Pernicious. The Privilege we allow you 
 is as Follows : yourself ten Slaves, your first mate Two, and 
 your Doctor Two, which is all we allow except two or three 
 Hundred wt. of screveloes amongst your Officers, but no 
 Teeth, which 3-ou will take care to Observe, as we will not 
 allow any thing more. When Finished at Callebar 3-ou are to 
 make the Best of your way For Barbadoes, where you will 
 Find Letters Lodged For you at the House of Messrs. Wood 
 & Nicholas, how you are to Proceed which will be to Guada- 
 loupe or Martinico or any other of the Leeward Islands, 
 whichever is the best Markett which you may advise with 
 the House of Messrs. Wood & Nicholas unto which place to 
 Proceed, or any other Person you Can Confide in. We expect 
 your Cargoe of Slaves will be taken up at J^ *stg V Head, 
 and what more they sell For to be For the Benefitt of the 
 Owners and to have the Ship Loaden in the Following Manner 
 viz : about One Hundred Casks good Mus°- Sugar for the 
 Ground Tier, the Remainder with First and Second white 
 Sugars, and Betwixt Decks with good Cotton and Coffee, 
 and the Remainder of the neat Proceeds in Good Bills of Ex- 
 change at as short Dates as you can. If the aforementioned 
 Prices cannot be obtaind For your Slaves at either Guadaloupe 
 or Martinico, or the Leeward Islands as aforesaid we then 
 desire as little time may be Lost as Possible, but proceed for 
 Jamaica and on your arrivall there apply to Messrs. Cuthbert 
 & Beans, Messrs. Hibberts, Messrs. Gwyn and Case, or any 
 other House you think will do best for the Concern, unto 
 whom Deliver your Cargoe of Slaves which you think will 
 make the Most of them, if Possible, by a Country Sale and 
 to have your agreement in writing and the Ship Loaden in the 
 Following Manner ; as much Broad Sound Mahogany as will 
 serve for Dunnage, the Hold filld with the very Best Mus" 
 Sugar and Ginger and Betwixt Decks with good Cotton and 
 Pimento and about Ten Puncheons Rum, the Remainder of the 
 * Obliterated. 
 
488 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 neat Proceeds of your Cargoe in Bills of Exchange at as short 
 Dates as you can g^et them. The House you are to sit down 
 with must Fournish you with what money you may want for 
 Payment of wag'es and other necessary Disbursements of your 
 ship which we recommend the utmost Frug-ality. In annexd 
 you have invoice of Slops for the use of the seamen and 
 apprentices. What the seamen have you must lay an 
 advance on to pay Interest of Money, &c. The Apprentices 
 only Prime cost. We recommend your keeping" Good Rules 
 and g"ood Harmony amongst your Crew and a good watch, 
 Particularly whilst you have any Slaves on Board, and Guard 
 against accidents of Fire, Particularly in Time of Action. 
 Suffer no Cartridges to be Handed out of the Magazine 
 without Boxes, which will Prevent any Powder being sprinkled 
 on the Deck and in Case of your Mortality (which God Forbid) 
 your First Mate, Mr. Chapman must succeed you in command. 
 Pray mind to embrace every opportunity that Offers advising 
 us of your Proceedings, For our Government as to Insurance 
 &c. We wish you a Prosperous Voyage and Safe Return and 
 are your assured friends. 
 
 Crosbies & Trafford Chas. Goore 
 
 W" RowE Will" Boats 
 
 Robert Green Cha"^ Lowndes 
 
 Thos. Kelly 
 P.S. You and your officers' slaves 
 are to be equal Qy Male and Female." 
 
 The following letter, dated Barbadoes, February 28th, 
 1758, was written by Captain Joseph Harrison, commander 
 of the slave-ship Rainbow, to his owners, Messrs. Thomas 
 Rumbold & Co., of Liverpool :— 
 
 "We arrived here on the 25th inst. in company with Capt. 
 Perkins from Bonny, and Capt. Forde from Angola, whom we 
 fell in with at St. Thomas's. The packet arrived here from 
 England the day after us. I expect to sail from hence for 
 South Carolina in five days, having on board 225 slaves, all in 
 good health except eight. On the 23rd of June last, I had the 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 189 
 
 misfortune to fall in with a French brig- privateer, of fourteen 
 6-pounders, to leeward oi Popo. We eng-ag-ed him four hours, 
 and were so near for above four g^lasses, that I expected every 
 moment we should run on board him, as he had shot away all 
 my running- rig-g-ingf and the fluke of my small bow anchor. 
 My standing- rig-g-ing- and sails were mostly cut to pieces, and 
 the privateer was in a little better condition. Fifteen of his 
 shot went throug-h and throug-h my sides, we being- scarce the 
 leng-th of the ship from one another. I lost in the engag-ement, 
 my boatswain — William Jackson — Robert Williams — and 
 Henry Williams. My first and second mates, three landsmen, 
 and one servant were wounded. The privateer being- well 
 satisfied sheered off. We were three days in repairing- our 
 rigg-ing-, &c., and on the 28th g-ot over the Bar of Benin and 
 found only one vessel there, viz. a Portuguese sloop at Warree. 
 I purchased eight slaves on the windward coast, and 261 at 
 Benin, besides 5400 weight of ivory. Leaving the river, 
 Nov. 9th, we arrived at St. Thomas's Dec. 17th, from whence 
 our three vessels sailed, Jan. 4th. I have buried all my 
 officers, except my first and third mates and gunner. Having 
 lost since left Liverpool, 25 white people and 44 negroes. 
 The negroes rose on us after we left St. Thomas's ; they killed 
 my linguister whom I got at Benin, and we then secured them 
 without farther loss. We have an account of five privateers 
 being to windward of Barbadoes, by a retaken vessel brought 
 in here this day, so that we shall run a great risk when we 
 leave Barbadoes." 
 
 Writing on board the French 64-gun ship Fortitne, at 
 Isle Grand, on the coast of Brazil, on the 27th of June, 1758, 
 Captain William Creevey gives the owners of the slave 
 ship Betty a pathetic account of the capture of that vessel 
 on her voyage to Gambia, and of his own misfortunes. 
 Captain Creevey was the father of T. Creevey, Esq., ALP., 
 and resided in School Lane : — 
 
 " Pursuant to your several orders, I sailed from Ports- 
 mouth under convoy of his Majesty's ships IVar^oick, Nassau, 
 
490 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Ray, and Swan, bound to Africa ; about five leagues S.S.E. 
 from Plymouth, the whid flew out at N. and began to blow, 
 which made the King's Ships to out carry the merchantmen, 
 and they got in shore, whilst I with several others were left 
 about five leagues to the southward, after beating to windward 
 there all da}^ my people greatly fatigued, night coming on, 
 and no possibility of getting into any harbour on the coast of 
 England, and knowing I was more exposed to the enemy's 
 cruizers that might happen to be beating in the channel, than 
 I should be in running to the Southward ; therefore, with the 
 approbation of my officers, I took the opportunity of the night 
 and made what sail I could, leaving Ushant about twelve 
 leagues to the eastward. The gale continued, and I got clear 
 of the Bay of Biscay without being spoke to by any ship except 
 the Antelope privateer of London, and one of our comrades 
 that had parted with the fleet. After we had got as far as 
 Lat. 39 and Long. 17 and thought that we were entirely out of 
 danger, to my inexpressible mortification we fell in with a 
 fleet of French Indiamen outward bound, escorted by the 
 Fortune of 64 guns, and 630 men. We were taken by one of 
 their best sailing frigates, who sunk your Snow Betty, with the 
 greatest part of her cargo. The prisoners were distributed 
 into different ships. It fell to my lot to ^o on board the Com- 
 modore, where I have been treated with great humanity and 
 politeness, but must leave you to judge of the shocking 
 prospect that's before me, in being carried to the Indies, 
 where I have neither money nor credit, and where there has 
 been such acts of cruelty committed to prisoners. All this I 
 must submit to, it being the unhappy event of war, in which 
 I have been very unfortunate, to be twice taken in less than 
 twelve months. When, how, or whether I shall return to thank 
 you for the confidence and trust you reposed in me, is only known 
 to that all wise and merciful God, who hears the distressed 
 cries of the unfortunate prisoners, in the remotest parts of the 
 earth ; and I hope in his good time, will return me to the British 
 shore, there to partake of those inestimable blessings of liberty 
 and religion, which I am at present entirely deprived of." 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. 491 
 
 The Molly y Captain Timothy Wheelwright, from the 
 Windward and Gold Coast of Africa, was taken by the 
 French in the middle passage. The Frenchman took the 
 slaves out of the Molly and carried them to St. Domingo. 
 The vessel was afterwards retaken and carried into Jamaica. 
 
 The Hazard^ Captain W. Parkinson, with 411 slaves 
 from Africa, had an engagement on the 28th of November, 
 1758, with a privateer sloop of 12 four-pounders, and full of 
 men, who soon sheered off. The next day he was attacked 
 furiously by another privateer, of 8 six-pounders and 4 
 four-pounders, for above five hours, who made several 
 attempts to board him, but having only his topsails set and 
 being prepared, he gave her such a reception as made them 
 alter her course. He had only one man wounded, and 
 himself a little scratched. His people behaved well, and 
 the next day they arrived at St. Kitts. 
 
 The Achilles, Captain Chr. Carus, with 325 slaves on 
 board, Avas taken and carried into Guadaloupe, by a sloop 
 and a schooner privateer. Captain Carus bravely defended 
 himself for some time, but during the engagement one of 
 his four-pounders (which had been bored into a six-pounder 
 before he left Liverpool) burst, killed his third mate, and 
 wounded seven or eight of his crew. The Frenchmen 
 wrecked the A clii'lles on some rocks going into the harbour, 
 but landed the slaves and prisoners safe. Captain Carus 
 died on board the Hazard on his passage home. 
 
 Early in 1759, the Hector, Captain Lievsey, of 14 six- 
 pounders, and 37 men, arrived at St. Kitts with 365 slaves. 
 When off Deseada she fell in with a French privateer brig, 
 of 4 nine-pounders and 12 six-pounders, with 270 men on 
 board, with whom she had a very close and smart engage- 
 ment for four hours and-a-half. Captain Lievsey's men 
 quitted their quarters three different times, but he and his 
 officers bravely rallied them, and obliged the privateer to 
 sheer off. During the engagement he had four men 
 
492 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 wounded, and three negroes killed ; the French suffered 
 much, and the action was deemed one of the bravest fought 
 in the West Indies during the war. 
 
 Captain Linnecar brought to Liverpool the melancholy 
 news of the loss of the Perfect^ Captain Potter, at Mana. 
 He had purchased over loo slaves, w^ho rose upon him, 
 killed all the crew on board, and run the ship on shore. 
 Luckily, the mate and three or four of the seamen were on 
 shore with the boat, and saved themselves. Further details 
 came to hand in a letter from Mr. Henry Harrison, to his 
 relations in Liverpool, dated Plantains, on the coast of 
 Africa, April 23rd, 1759: — 
 
 " On the 1 2th of January, we had the misfortune to be cut 
 off by the negroes ; they killed Captain Potter, our surg-eon, 
 carpenter, cooper, and James Steward, a boy. Luckily, the 
 captain had sent me on shore that morning to go to the King-'s 
 town, about ten miles up the river, to fetch slaves down ; but 
 before I reached the town, met two of his servants bring-ing- a 
 slave down ; returned with them ; made a smoke on the shore 
 as a signal for our boat, but before had well made it, saw her 
 put off from the vessel with six of our people in her, being all 
 left alive on board. I swam off to her and we rowed for the 
 Spencer, Captain Daniel Cooke, then lying at Cape Mount. At 
 one o'clock that night, Captain Cooke got under way, and 
 made sail in order to attempt to recover our vessel ; at day- 
 light, finding her at anchor, he fired his guns into her for about 
 an hour, but I could not persuade him to board her. That 
 evening the slaves run the snow on shore. We had purchased 
 103 slaves, and had a pledge for two more on board. The 
 slaves and natives would not give us the least article of wearing 
 apparel. When this fatal accident happened, our chief mate 
 was gone with the yawl to windward, and the boatswain with 
 the long boat to leeward to purchase slaves. Mr. Eaton and 
 the boatswain got on board Captain Nichols, and I heard 
 that they saved 15 or 16 slaves that were due to us on shore, 
 and left Mana, Mar. 30, designed for the West Indies. I am 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRU 'ED. 493 
 
 now got moved to the brig; Indiisfiy. Captain Banks, and we 
 intend to sail for Antig-ua to-morrow, having- 122 slaves, all in 
 g-ood health, on board. They have buried Richard Worthing-- 
 ton and three more of their people." 
 
 On the nth of August, 1759, about 70 leagues to the 
 eastward of Antigua, the snow Mac, Captain Edward 
 Cropper, on her passage from Benin, with 232 slaves, 3 tons 
 of ivory, a parcel of screveloes, and some gold, was attacked 
 by the Mars privateer brig, of 14 carriage guns, 20 swivels, 
 and 90 men. After an engagement of an hour and-a-half, 
 Captain Cropper was obliged to strike, he having only six 
 white men able to stand the decks, the rest being all sick 
 or dead. The Mac was carried into Martinico, and the 
 prisoners sent in a cartel to Antigua. Captain Cropper 
 came home passenger in the Prussian Hero, Captain 
 Kevish. 
 
 On the 25th of July, 1759, X^o-hn^ Betsey, Captain Jones, 
 sailed from Liverpool for Africa, and on the 14th of August, 
 was taken, after a chase of three days, by the Marquis de 
 Jarvis, French schooner privateer, Monsieur de Schoye, 
 commander, mounting 10 carriage guns, 16 swivels, and 
 100 men, and carried to Bayonne. On the ist of September, 
 in the night, William Peel, the cook, and six others of the 
 crew, broke out of prison, seized a large fishing boat, bound 
 the five occupants, laid them at the bottom of the boat, 
 and put to sea. On the 3rd, seeing a sail, they put up a 
 handkerchief at the masthead, as a signal of distress. The 
 vessel, which happened to be British, bore down, and took 
 them on board, the Frenchmen and their boat being liber- 
 ated. They were landed at Londonderry, and travelled to 
 Carrickfergus, where they met Captain Hutchinson, of the 
 cod smack — our old privateering friend — who gave them 
 their passage to Liverpool. 
 
 The doctor of the ship Glory, Captain Thomas Chalmers, 
 writing from Papau, on the coast of Africa, on August iSth, 
 
494 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 1759, says : — "I left the ship at Cape Coast, and came down 
 here to purchase 26 slaves, but am afraid we shall be at 
 Whydaw 5 or 6 months before we can purchase 540, owing 
 to the high prices, which our captain is determined to beat 
 down, otherwise we might get off the coast in 2 months." 
 
 The Knight, Captain Jenkinson, left the coast of Africa 
 for Jamaica, with 390 slaves, a ton of ivory, and 90 ounces 
 of gold dust on board. 
 
 The black prince, Accra, was a passenger on board the 
 Spy, Captain Creevey, on her voyage from Liverpool to the 
 coast of Africa to purchase slaves, and was safely landed. 
 
 On the 2 1 St of March, 1760, the slave-ship, Francis, of 
 18 guns. Captain Thomas Onslow, was wrecked on the 
 island Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, on her 
 passage from Liverpool to Africa, 23, out of a crew of 58, 
 being drowned. The misfortune happened for want of a 
 look-out, the second mate being asleep on the deck during 
 his watch, when the helmsman called out, "land ahead." 
 
 On the 30th of July, 1763, the Charlotte, Captain Lowndes, 
 for Africa, was blown up at the Magazines, and only one 
 
 Jan saved. 
 The peace of 1763 gave a great impulse to the trade of 
 Liverpool, and two years later, we find the number of slave- 
 ships clearing for the coast had increased to 83, with a 
 tonnage of 9,382, carrying 24,200 slaves. 
 
 So great was the success of Liverpool in the hideous 
 traffic, that the ports of London and Bristol began to feel an 
 abatement of their accustomed exports in proportion as 
 those of Liverpool increased. Bristol, in particular, found 
 her demand of slaves for the plantations rapidly decrease, 
 insomuch that, in the year 1764, she cleared out only 32 
 vessels for Africa, while Liverpool cleared 74.* To such a 
 \J ' 
 
 * In the year 1764, the number of ships cleared to Africa from Liverpool directly 
 was 74 ; from flristol 32 ; the number cleared to America from Liverpool was 141, 
 against 105 from Bristol. There entered the Port of Liverpool in the same year, 7 
 
HOW IT ORIGINATED AND THRIVED. ib,^, 
 
 height had the African trade of Liverpool advanced at this 
 period, that more than one-fourth of the entire shipping 
 belonging to the port consisted of Guineamen, and more 
 than one-half of the African trade of th^ whole kingdom was 
 in the hands of Liverpool merchants. / Thus we behold the 
 remarkable commercial phenomenon of Bristol, a wealthy 
 city, which had apparently established a lucrative branch of 
 trade and enjoyed a long experience of foreign commerce, 
 being gradually ousted from its position by the energetic 
 policy and enterprise of a port that, at the beginning of 
 the eighteenth century, was not only situated on the 
 utmost verge of commercial activity, but without sufficient 
 capital to support a vessel of 30 tons in the same trade. 
 While the vending of human beings was thus in the full 
 tide of prosperity, to the great delectation and enrichment 
 of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and 
 other centres of industry that supplied the requisite wares 
 for a Guinea voyage, no warning voice on earth, except the 
 feeble wail of a few obscure Quakers, had as yet been 
 raised against the great iniquity, though many accusing 
 spirits had doubtless flown up to heaven's chancery with 
 an ever-swelling indictment. 
 
 / During the period which we have just passed over, there 
 was connected with the Liverpool slave trade one of the 
 most extraordinary characters of the eighteenth century. 
 We mean John Newton, afterwards the celebrated rector of 
 St. Mary Woolnoth, who, in 1752-54, commanded the 
 slave-ships Duke of Argyle and the African, belonging to 
 Mr. Joseph Manesty. To the story of his strange and 
 adventurous career we devote the next chapter. 
 
 vessels from Africa and iS8 from America, against 137 entering Bristol from 
 'America, and none from Africa direct. Liverpool had inwards 766 ships; 
 Bristol, 332. Liverpool had outwards 832 ships ; Bristol, 343. 
 
49^^ 
 
 496 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Captain John Newton. 
 
 John Newton was born in London on the 24th of July, 
 1725 (O.S.). His mother died when he was seven years old, 
 and with her died the pious teaching which was intended to 
 prepare him for the ministry. After two years spent at a 
 boarding school in Essex, he made several voyages with 
 his father, a stern sea captain in the Mediterranean trade, 
 who, having been educated himself at a jBAit college in 
 Spain, found a situation for his son at Alicant. The youth's 
 unsettled behaviour and impatience of restraint, necessitated 
 his removal after a few months trial. Before he was sixteen 
 years of age, he had taken up a religious profession three 
 or four times, his condition alternating between asceticism 
 and the most horrid profanity, as the mood took him. 
 After two years of strict Pharisaism, he met with Lord 
 Shaftesbury's "Characteristics," and the fine words of "The 
 Rhapsody" beguiled his heart and operated like slow poison. 
 "In 1742, Mr. Manesty, a merchant in Liverpool and a friend 
 kof his father's, offered to send young Newton to Jamaica, 
 and take care of his future welfare. John was well pleased, 
 and everything was prepared for his voyage. He was upon 
 the point of setting out the following week, when his father 
 sent him to visit his relations in Kent for a few days. Here 
 he met Mary Catlett, a young lady not quite fourteen, who 
 had been designed from her birth, by his mother and her 
 mother, as his future wife. Being profoundly ignorant of 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 497 
 
 this little matrimonial arrangement, Newton fell madlv in 
 love with the girl. He preferred a treasure in Kent to a 
 fortune in Jamaica, stayed three weeks instead of three davs, 
 missed his passage, and encountered his father's wrath. 
 Soon after this he made a voyage to Venice as a common 
 sailor, and fell a prey to evil companionship. A remarkable 
 dream startled his conscience about this time, but the 
 impression soon faded away. In December, 1743, he visited 
 his friends in Kent, and again, for love of Mary Catlett, 
 frustrated his father's plans on his behalf. His thoughtless 
 conduct at length led him into the meshes of the press- 
 gang, and he found himself on board the Harwich man-of- 
 war, at the Nore. War being daily expected, there was no 
 hope of release. After a month's hardship he was, by 
 his father's influence, taken upon the quarter-deck as a 
 midshipman. Here, with his foot or\. the lowest rung of 
 the naval laddBlj^e might have aspired to high command, 
 for he had in him the stuff which makes British admirals. 
 Providence, however, had not raised John Newton to be 
 either a martyred Byng, or an idolised Nelson. He fell , 
 under the influence of a zealous atheist, who completed the 
 ruin of his principles — no difficult task, — for the youth, while 1 
 talking of virtue, delighted in all manner of wickedness. 
 
 In December, 1744, the Harwich was in the Downs, 
 bound to the East Indies. Newton got a day's leave, took 
 horse and rode off to see his Mary, with the usual result. 
 He overstayed his leave, and forfeited the favour of the 
 captain, who had overlooked such pranks more than once. 
 The vessel having put into Plymouth through stress of 
 weather, Newton heard that his father was at Torbay, and 
 determined to desert in order to get into the African employ 
 through his influence, a short Guinea voyage being pre- 
 ferable to five years in the East Indies, from a lover's point 
 of view. " I was sent one day in the boat," he says, "to 
 take care that none of the people deserted, but I betrayed 
 
 21 
 
498 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 my trust, and went off myself." In a day or two he was 
 caught on the road to Dartmouth by a party of soldiers, 
 marched through the streets of Plymouth guarded like a 
 felon, his heart full of rage, shame and fear. After two days' 
 confinement in the guard-house, he was sent on board the 
 Harwich, kept awhile in irons, then publicly stripped, 
 whipped and degraded. Thus was the proud, head-strong 
 and profane Mr. Midshipman Newton brought down to a 
 level with the lowest, and exposed to the insults of all. 
 Who, outside of the counsels of eternity, would have been 
 bold enough to prophecy that this disgraced deserter was 
 destined to be the famous rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, the 
 friend of the gentle and pious Cowper, the joint author of 
 the " Olney Hymns," the spiritual father and teacher of 
 Thomas Scott, the commentator, and one of the most 
 remarkable Englishmen that ever lived. The mere sug- 
 gestion of such a destiny would have been received with 
 derision by the whole ship's company, and most of all by 
 Newton himself. His condition was now pitiable. The ship 
 sailed, the captain was implacable, and the culprit, friendless, 
 tabooed, exposed every hour to some new insult and hard- 
 ship, his breast torn by conflicting passions, eager desire, 
 rage and despair, watched the receding coast of England 
 with intense wistfulness and regret. When the last dim line 
 had faded from his view, he was tempted to throw himself 
 into the sea. "But," he says, "the secret hand of God 
 restrained me." On the passage to Madeira, he was a prey 
 to the most gloomy thoughts, and, by brooding over his 
 imaginary wrongs, he came at last to form designs against 
 the captain's life. Fortunately, his love for Mary Catlett 
 acted as a strong cable to hold him from plunging into a 
 terrible abyss. She had not yet accepted him as her affianced 
 lover, but he could not bear that she should think meanly 
 of him when he was dead. When the Harwich arrived at 
 Madeira, Newton, through the intercession of the lieutenants. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 499 
 
 was allowed to exchan jgejnto a Guineaman, b ound to Sierra 
 Leone, The captain, who happened to be acquainted with 
 the elder Newton, received the son kindly, but the youth 
 soon gave free rein to his evil passions, lampooned his 
 benefactor, and made it his study to corrupt others. " Let 
 it be buried in eternal silence," he says, of this part of his 
 career. Six months later the captain died, and Newton, 
 fearing his successor would put him on board a man-of-war, 
 entered the service of a trader on board, who was returning 
 from a visit to England. Hoping to rise, as this man had 
 done, from poverty to riches, by purchasing slaves in the 
 rivers and selling them to the ships, Newton omitted to 
 make a proper agreement for wages, trusting to his master's 
 generosity. The consequence was, that when he landed 
 upon one of the Banana Islands, with little more than the 
 clothes upon his back, ihere_began_ for him ^aj)er[od^^of 
 virtualslavery — of unspeakable degradation and misery. It 
 looked as if Providence, in its mercy, had almost banished 
 him from human society at a time when he seemed like one 
 infected with a pestilence, capable of spreading a taint 
 wherever he went. He soon fell too low to have an y 
 i nfluence even for_ evil. *'I was rather shunned and despised 
 than imitated," he says, "there being few even of the 
 negroes themselves, during the first year of my residence 
 among them, but thought themselves too good to speak to 
 me. I was as yet an 'outcast lying in my blood,' and to all 
 appearances exposed to perish." 
 
 His-«ew-4ftaster, who had formerly resided near Cape 
 Mount, now /^ttl ed at the Plantains, upon a low, sandy 
 island, about two miles in circumference, and almost covered 
 with palm trees. They built a house and entered on trade, 
 and as Newton was inclined to be diligent, he might have 
 done well with his employer. Unfortunately, the trader 
 was under the influence of a black woman, who lived with 
 him as his wife. She was a person of some consequence 
 
500 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 in her own country, and he owed his first rise to her interest. 
 This woman took a disHke to Newton from the first. He 
 had a severe fit of illness, and his master, before sailing in a 
 shallop to Rio Nuna, left him in her hands. As he did not 
 recover soon enough, she grew weary, neglected him, and 
 led him the life of a dog. He could scarcely procure a 
 draught of cold water when burning with fever, his bed 
 was a mat spread on a board, his pillow a log of wood. 
 When the fever subsided, he w^as left almost to starve, 
 though the black woman kept a good table, much in the 
 European style. Occasionally, when in high good humour, 
 she would send him victuals in her own plate after she had 
 dined, and these, so greatly was his pride humbled, he 
 greedily devoured. Once, when called to receive this bounty 
 from her own hands, he, from extreme feebleness, dropped 
 the plate and lost his dinner. The table was covered with 
 dishes, but the black woman cruelly laughed at his dis- 
 appointment, and would give him no more. So great was 
 his distress at times, that, at the risk of being punished as a 
 thief, he went by night into the plantation to pull up roots, 
 which he ate raw upon the spot, in fear and trembling, but 
 which seldom missed to act like tartar emetic. He was some- 
 times relieved by strangers, and even the slaves in the chain 
 secretly brought victuals from their own slender pittance, 
 to keep the future slave-captain from starvation ! But to 
 pressing want were added scorn and contempt, almost 
 harder to bear. When he was slowly recovering, the black 
 woman came with her attendants to mock, revile, and 
 torment him. She called him worthless and indolent, 
 compelled him to walk, set her servants to mimic his 
 motions, to clap their hands, laugh, and pelt him with 
 limes, or occasionally with stones. When she was out of 
 sight, however, he was "rather pitied than scorned by the 
 meanest of her slaves." When his master returned, he com- 
 plained of ill-usage, but w^as not believed. He accompanied 
 
CA PTA IN JOHN NEWTON. 501 
 
 the factor in his next voyage, and did pretty well for 
 a while, till a brother trader persuaded his master that he 
 stole his goods in the night, or when he was ow shore. 
 This, as he tells us, was about the only vice of which he 
 was not guilty, but the charge was believed, and Newton 
 condemned without evidence. Hard usage followed. He 
 was locked upon deck, with a pint of rice for his day's 
 allowance. He kept himself from starvation, by catching 
 an occasional fish at slack water, his master allowing him 
 the entrails of fowls to bait his hook with. His joy at 
 seeing a fish on his hook was pathetic; such a fish hastily 
 broiled, or half burnt, without sauce, salt, or bread, afforded 
 him a delicious meal. If he caught none, he had to sleep 
 away his hunger till the next return of slack water, and then 
 try again. He suffered much from the inclemency of the 
 weather and the want of clothes. Clad only in a shirt, a pair 
 of trousers, a cotton handkerchief instead of a cap, and a 
 cotton cloth, about two yards long, to supply the want of upper 
 garments, he was exposed sometimes for thirty or forty hours 
 to incessant rains and strong gales of wind, without the least 
 shelter; and some of the effects of such exposure after a long 
 sickness remained with him for the rest of his life, "as a 
 needful memento of the service and the wages of sin." 
 
 In about two months they returned to the Plantains, 
 Newton's haughty heart brought down, but not to whole- 
 some repentance. His spirits were sunk, he lost all\ 
 resolution, and almost all reflection. But the tiger was/ 
 only sleeping. It is remarkable that during this period of 
 semi-starvation and extreme wretchedness, he often be- 
 guiled his sorrows by devoting his mind to mathematical 
 studies. He used to take Barrow's "Euclid" — the only 
 book he had brought on shore — to remote corners of the 
 island, by the seaside, drawing his diagrams with a long 
 stick upon the sand. In this manner he fairly mastered the 
 first six books of " Euclid." 
 
502 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 His master and mistress one day stopped awhile to 
 watch him planting some lime trees, no higher than a 
 young gooseberry bush. " Who knows," said the trader, 
 mockingly, "but by the time these trees grow up and 
 bear, you may go home to England, obtain the command 
 of a ship, and return to reap the fruits of your labours. 
 We see strange things sometimes happen." What was 
 intended as a cutting sarcasm, turned out a true prediction. 
 The black woman lived to see it fulfilled. 
 
 He continued in this abject state for about a year, sending 
 an occasional letter to Mary Catlett, for in his deepest 
 misery he clung to the hopeoTseeing her again. When he 
 made shipwreck of faith, hope, and conscience, his intense 
 lovp, for thJ5_|nrl :u;jj-^^t-4Ais^ njTJy_rpHp^i o n . He Wrote tO his 
 
 father, at whose request Mr. Manesty ordered one of his 
 captains to search out the prodigal and bring him home. 
 Meanwhile, the prodigal entered the employ of another 
 trader, who fed and clothed him decently, and made him 
 joint manager of a factory at Kittam. Business flourished; 
 Newton thought himself happy, and was in some danger of 
 " growing black," not in colour but in disposition. While 
 the infatuation was growing upon him, and his engagements 
 with the natives becoming closer, he was saved from him- 
 self in a remarkable manner. One day in February, 1747, 
 his fellow-servant walking on the beach saw a vessel sailing 
 past and made a smoke in token of trade. She proved to 
 be the very ship which had orders to look for Newton, and 
 the first words uttered by her commander had reference to 
 that young man. When the captain went on shore to 
 deliver his message, he found Newton rather indifferent to 
 his proposals. 
 
 The invitation which would have been received as life 
 from the dead by the sick and starving wretch at the 
 Plantains a few months before, fell flat on the ear of the 
 comparatively prosperous trader, whose despair of ever 
 
CAPTA IN JOHN NE WTON. 503 
 
 seeing England had caused him to form other plans. The 
 captain, unwilling to lose him, lied on a grand scale, telling 
 Newton that a relative, lately deceased, had left him ;^400 
 per annum ; that he (the captain) had express orders to 
 redeem him, though it should cost one-half of his cargo. 
 Other embellishments were added by this resourceful 
 mariner, but the plausible story was only partially believed 
 by Newton. Something more powerful than the captain's 
 blarney turned the scale. The sweet face of Mary Catlett 
 passed before him, fresh as a breeze from the Kentish hills, 
 and in less than an hour, John Newton, freed from a 
 captivity of about fifteen months, embarked as a passenger 
 on board the Liverpool ship. During a tedious trading 
 voyage on the coast, lasting about a year, he amused him- 
 self with mathematics, and in the invention of new oaths 
 and imprecations. The captain, who was no saint, at last 
 believed that he had a Jonah on board — that a curse attended 
 his passenger wherever he went, and that all the disasters 
 they met with were owing to Newton being in the ship. 
 
 They sailed for England in January, 1748, and on the 
 9th of March, eight days after leaving the Banks of New- 
 foundland, a great sea struck the vessel, and in a few 
 minutes reduced her to a mere wreck. Newton awoke to 
 tind his cabin filled with water. In making for the deck he 
 was turned back by the captain, who wanted a knife, and 
 this trifle saved his life, for the man who went up in his 
 room was instantly washed overboard. With almost super- 
 human exertions the ship was kept afloat, Newton assisting 
 at the pumps and encouraging his companions. The 21st 
 of March was an ever memorable day for him. "On that 
 day," he says, "the Lord sent from on high, and delivered 
 me out of the deep waters." Exhausted with pumping 
 from three in the morning till noon, he lay down, almost 
 indifferent whether he ever rose again. An hour later he 
 was called, took the helm and steered the ship till midnight. 
 
504 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 /While thus employed, the whole course of his past life rose 
 \up before him in review. He reflected on his former religious 
 professions, the extraordinary turns in his life, the calls, 
 warnings, and deliverances, his licentious conversation, 
 and his profane ridicule of the gospel history, of the truth 
 of which he was not yet convinced. If true, there was no 
 forgiveness for him, and he waited with fear and impatience 
 to receive his inevitable doom. When he heard, about six 
 in the evening, that the ship was freed from water, there 
 arose a gleam of hope. He saw the hand of God displayed 
 in their favour, and began to pray. " I could not utter the 
 prayer of faith," he says ; " I could not draw near to a 
 reconciled God, and call Him father. My prayer was like 
 the cry of the ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain 
 to hear. I now began to think of that Jesus whom I had so 
 often derided." But he wa s not y et a believer. He wanted 
 evidence, and especially an assurance of the Divine 
 inspiration of the Scriptures. He soon found in the New 
 Testament certain sayings which made him resolve for the 
 present to take the gospel for granted, as embodying- hope, 
 while on every other side he saw nothing but unfathomable 
 despair. W^eks of suffering passed, the ship was driven 
 from her course, the pumps were kept going incessantly, 
 provisions were running very short, starvation, or the 
 prospect of feeding upon one another, loomed before them. 
 The captain, whose temper was soured by distress, hourly 
 reproached Newton as the sole cause of the calamity, and 
 believed that if he were thrown overboard they should be 
 preserved from death. The captain did not mean to carry 
 his theory into practice, but Newton was very uneasy, as 
 his own conscience confirmed the master's words. "I 
 thought it very probable," he says, "that all that had 
 befallen us was on my account. I w^as, at last, found out 
 by the powerful hand of God, and condemned in my own 
 breast." Their last victuals were boiling in the pot when 
 
CA PTA IX JOHN NE J VTON. 505 
 
 they anchored in Lough Swilly, and a great storm 
 immediately arose, which, had they been at sea, would have 
 sent them to the bottom. ''About this time," says Newton, 
 "I began to know that there is a God that hears and answers 
 prayer." He was no longer an infidel. He renounced 
 profanity, and became a changed man, though ignorant of 
 the spirituality of the hidden life of a Christian. While the 
 ship was refitting, he visited Londonderry, went twice a day 
 to church, received the Sacrament, and "with the greatest 
 solemnity engaged himself to be the Lord's for ever, and 
 only his." 
 
 He arrived in Liverpool in ]\iay, 1748, and after paying 
 a visit to Mary Catlett, returned to Liverpool, andv§ailed 
 again for Africa, in August, as mate of a new slave-ship 
 belonging to Mr. Manesty, who had in fact offered him 
 the command. Soon after his departure he relapsed into 
 religious indlSJere nce, . and by the time they arrived in Guinea 
 he was almost as bad as before. His, business on the coast 
 Avasto^sail^Jrom place to place in the longboat, to purchase 
 slaves. The ship was at Sierra Leone, while he was at the 
 Plantains, the scene of his former captivity. He was now 
 in easy circumstances, courted by those who formerly des- 
 pised him. The lime trees he had planted were growing 
 tall, and promised fruit the following year, if he should 
 return with a ship of his own. Here he was seized with a 
 violent fever. Weak and delirious, he crept to a corner of 
 the island to pray. The burden w^as removed from his con- 
 science, peace and health came quickly, and in two days he 
 stepped on board his ship perfectly restored. This was his 
 last great declension. He employed his leisure hours in 
 learning Latin, and under great disadvantages acquired a 
 spice of classical enthusiasm. Writing to a friend, in 
 March, 1749, from the coast, he says : — 
 
 "Though we have been here six months I have not been 
 
 ten days in the ship, being continually cruising about in the 
 
50G THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 boats to purchase souls, for which we are oblig-ed to take as 
 much pains as the Jesuits are said to do in making- proselytes, 
 sometimes venturing- in a little canoe through seas like moun- 
 tains, sometimes travelling- through the woods, often in danger 
 from the wild beasts, and much oftener from the more wild 
 inhabitants, scorched by the sun in the day, and chilled by the 
 dews in the night." 
 
 Notwithstanding the perils he passed througli, he was 
 never so happy in his life as he was now. Referring to the 
 eight months passed on the coast, and to the treachery of 
 the natives, he observes: — 
 
 "Several boats in the same time were cut off; several 
 
 white men poisoned, and in my own boat I buried six or seven 
 
 people with fevers. When going on shore, or returning from 
 
 it, in their little canoes, I have been more than once or twice 
 
 overset by the violence of the surf, or break of the sea, and 
 
 brought to land half dead, for I could not swim.' 
 
 How often must these wild scenes of African adventure 
 
 have rushed into the mind of the Rev. John Newton in 
 
 after years, while walking with his mild friend Mr. Cowper, 
 
 through the peaceful glades of Olney? With what grim 
 
 pleasure must the devil have presented to the eye of the 
 
 pious rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, some photographic 
 
 picture of his African experiences, while the congregation 
 
 sang one of his own beautiful hymns. 
 
 /^They sailed from Africa with their living cargo for 
 Antigua, and from thence proceeded to Charleston, where, 
 jvhen time permitted, Newton prayed and sang hymns in 
 the woods by day, and at night joined "vain and worthless 
 company," venturing on the brink of temptation. He 
 arrived in Liverpool on the 6th of D ecernbgr^ ^719- I" 
 February, 1750, he was marri ed to Mary Catlett, at St. 
 Margaret's Church, Chatham, and in the following August, 
 he sailed from Liverpool as comjiiaiidgr_of_th£- ^lave-sh ip 
 Du^£-q^_A^yle, 150 tons burthen, and 30 men, belonging 
 to his constant friend, Mr. Manesty. He established public 
 
CA PTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 507 
 
 worship on board ship twice every Lord's day, officiating- 
 himself. Having now much more leisure, he prosecuted 
 his classical studies. His letters to his wife show a very 
 striking gradual development of his religious life, during 
 this and subsequent voyages. 
 
 Writing to Mrs. Newton, from the Bananas, in Nov'ember, 
 1750, he says : — 
 
 " I have lately had a visit from my quondam black mistress, 
 with whom I lived at the Plantains. I treated her with the 
 greatest complaisance and kindness, and if she has any shame 
 in her, I believe I have made her sorry for her former ill-treat- 
 ment of me. I have had several such occasions of taking the 
 noblest kind of revenge upon persons who once despised and 
 used me ill. Indeed, I have no reason to be angry with them. 
 They were what they little intended — instrumental to my g^ood." 
 
 Further details of this circumstance, are given by the 
 Rev. John Campbell: — 
 
 " Upon being asked whether he ever met again with the 
 black woman who had treated him so harshly when he was in 
 Africa, Mr. Newton replied, ' Oh, yes; when I went there as a 
 captain of a ship, I sent my longboat ashore for her. This 
 soon brought her on board. I desired the men to fire guns 
 ov^er her head in honour of her, because she had formerly done 
 me so much good, though she did not mean it. She seemed 
 to feel it like heaping coals of fire on her head. I made her 
 some presents, and sent her ashore. She was evidently most 
 comfortable when she had her back to my ship. I just recollect 
 a circumstance that happened to me when I first stepped 
 ashore on the beach at that time. Two black females were 
 passing ; the first who noticed me observed to her companion, 
 that ' there was Newton, and, what do you think, he has got 
 shoes ! ' ' Ay,' said the other, ' and stockings too ! ' They had 
 never seen me before with either." 
 
 Writing from Shebar, he speaks of the raillery he en- 
 countered amongst the sea captains he met with: — 
 
508 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 "They think I have not a rig-ht notion of Hfe ; and I am 
 sure they have not. They say I am melancholy ; I tell them 
 they are mad. They say I am a slave to one woman ;* which 
 I deny, but can prove that some of them are mere slaves to a 
 hundred. They can form no idea of my happiness ; I answer, 
 I think the better of it on that account." 
 
 Having completed his purchases on the African coast, 
 Captain Newton crossed the sea with his human cargo to 
 Antigua, where he heard of his father's death. Writing to 
 his wife he gives her the following account of his position 
 and authority as captain: — 
 
 "My condition when abroad, and even in Guinea, might be 
 envied by multitudes who stay at home. I am as absolute in 
 my small dominions (life and death excepted) as any potentate 
 in Europe. If I say to one, come, becomes; if to another, go, 
 he flies. If I order one person to do something', perhaps three 
 or four will be ambitious of a share in the service. Not a man 
 in the ship will eat his dinner till I please to give him leave — 
 nay, nobody dares to say it is twelve or eight o'clock, in my 
 hearing, till I think proper to say so first. There is a mighty 
 bustle of attendance when I leave the ship, and a strict watch 
 kept while I am absent, lest I should return unawares and not 
 be received in due form. And should I stay out till midnight 
 (which for that reason I never do without necessity) nobody 
 must presume to shut their eyes till they have had the honour 
 of seeing me again. I would have you judge from my manner 
 of relating these ceremonies, that I do not value them highly 
 for their own sake; but they are old-fashioned customs, and 
 necessary to be kept up, for without a strict discipline the 
 common sailors would be unmanageable. But in the midst of 
 
 * Mr. Cecil tells us that he "heard Mr. Newton observe, that, as the com- 
 mander of a slave-ship, he had a number of women under his absolute command ; 
 and knowing the danger of his situation on that account, he resolved to abstain 
 from flesh in his food, and to drink nothing stronger than water, during the voyage ; 
 that, by abstemiousness, he might subdue every improper emotion ; and that, upon 
 his setting sail, the sight of a certain point of land was the signal for his beginning 
 a rule which he was enabled to keep." 
 
CA PTA IN JOHN NEWTON 509 
 
 my parade I do not forget — I hope I never shall — what my 
 situation was on board the Harwich, and at the Plantains." 
 
 After passing through various scenes of danger and 
 difficulty he reached home in November, 1751, after a 
 voyage of fourteen months. In July, 1752, he s ailed again 
 from Lijv^erpoolj^co mman dej of the new slave-ship African. 
 He^is no sooner at sea than down in his diary goes the 
 expression of his earnest desire to live wholly to the Lord. 
 He elaborates a scheme of rules for his own conduct, prays 
 for his wife, whom he almost worshipped, arranges for as 
 much Sabbath rest as was possible for his crew, and even 
 sets apart a day of fasting and prayer on their behalf. 
 These were the high and holy purposes of a good man, 
 made in simple and child-like faith in God, and we must 
 not let our present enlightened prejudice against the slave 
 trade lead us to imagine that John Newton w^as a hypocrite 
 or a fanatic. He was simply for thoroughness in all he 
 did, whether on the side of black or white angels. 
 Formerly energetic as an atheist, he was no'.v energetic 
 for Christ. Let us return to his own narrative : — 
 
 " A sea-faring^ life is necessarily excluded from the benefit 
 of public ordinances and Christian communion ; but my loss 
 upon these heads was at this time but small. In other respects 
 I know not any calling- that affords greater advantages to an 
 awakened mind, for promoting the life of God in the soul, 
 especially to a person who has the command of a ship, and 
 thereby has it in his power to restrain gross irregularities in 
 others, and to dispose of his own time; and still more so in 
 African voyages, as these ships carry a double proportion of 
 men and officers to most others, which made my department 
 very easy; and excepting the hurry of trade, &c., upon the 
 coast, which is rather occasional than constant, afforded me 
 abundance of leisure. To be at sea in these circumstances, 
 withdrawn out of the reach of innumerable temptations, with 
 opportunity and a turn of mind disposed to observe the wonders 
 
.510 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 of God in the great deep, with the two noblest objects of sig^ht — 
 the expanded heavens and the expanded ocean — continually in 
 view, and where evident interpositions of Divine Providence, in 
 answer to prayer, occur almost every day ; these are helps to 
 quicken and confirm the life of faith, which, in a g'ood measure, 
 supplv a relig"ious sailor the want of those advantag-es which 
 can only be enjoyed upon the shore. My knowledge of spiritual 
 thing^s was at this time very small, yet I have sometimes looked 
 back with reg"ret upon those scenes. I never knew sweeter or 
 more frequent hours of divine communion than in my two last 
 voyages to Guinea, when I was either almost secluded from 
 society on shipboard, or when on shore with none but natives. 
 I have wandered through the woods, reflecting on the singular 
 goodness of the Lord to me, in a place where perhaps there was 
 not a person who knew Him for some thousand miles round me. 
 Many a time, upon these occasions, I have restored the beau- 
 tiful lines of Propertius to the right owner ; lines full of 
 blasphemy and madness when addressed to a creature, but 
 full of comfort and propriety in the mouth of a believer — 
 
 " Sic Q.^o desertis possim bene vivere sylvis 
 Quo nulla humano sit via trita pede ; 
 Tu mihi curarum requies, in nocte velatra 
 Lumen, et in solis tu mihi turba locis. 
 
 " Paraphrased. 
 "In desert woods with thee, my God, 
 Where human footsteps never trod, 
 
 How happy could I be ! 
 Thou my repose from care ; my light 
 Amidst the darkness of the night ; 
 
 In solitude my company " 
 
 " In the course of this voyage I was wonderfully preserved 
 in the midst ot many obvious and many unforeseen dangers. 
 At one time there was a conspiracy amongst my own people 
 to turn pirates, and take the ship from me. When the plot 
 was nearly ripe, and they only waited a convenient opportunity, 
 two of those concerned in it were taken ill in one day ; one of 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 511 
 
 them died, and he was the only person I buried while on 
 board. This suspended the affair, and opened a way to its 
 discovery, or the consequence might have been fatal. The 
 slaves, on board were likewise frequently plotting insurrections 
 and were sometimes upon the very brink of mischief, but it 
 was always disclosed in due time. When I have thoug-ht my- 
 self most secure, I have been suddenly alarmed with danger ; 
 when I have almost despaired of life, as sudden a deliverance 
 has been vouchsafed to me. My stay upon the coast was long, 
 the trade very precarious, and in the pursuit of my business, 
 both on board and on shore, I was in deaths often." 
 
 On one occasion he was hindered from going on shore at 
 Mana by some strange dream and premonition of danger, 
 and found afterwards that it was no idle fear. A trader 
 named Thomas Bryan, who owed him ^loo, sent him the 
 money in a huff, charging him, at the same time, with an 
 intrigue with one of his women, and refusing henceforth 
 to have anything to do with him. The charge, which 
 affected his honour and interest in Africa and England, 
 and might have touched his hfe had he landed, was after- 
 wards acknowledged to have been a malicious calumny, 
 without the least shadow of a ground.* 
 
 In a letter to his wife, Captain Newton thus describes a 
 " Sea-Sunday " : — 
 
 "The Saturday evening is a time of devotion when I 
 especially beg a blessing ow your Sunday, as I know, where you 
 are, you are unavoidably exposed to trifling company. I 
 usually rise at four o'clock in the morning, and after seeking a 
 blessing on the day, take a serious walk on deck. Then I read 
 two or three select chapters. At breakfast, I eat and drink 
 
 * Among Newton's papers were found the following notes addressed by Bryan 
 " For Capt. John New^ton, these:" 
 
 "Sir, — I have sent you one boy-slave on board, and I am going up to my town. 
 I shall be down again in three days. I would not have you go from here till you 
 hear further from me, for I intend to do what I can for you. I have no further 
 commands at present, but remain your friend and well-wisher, Thomas Bryan." 
 
 " Sir, — Mr. Corker gives his service to you, and has sent you one girl-slave on 
 l)oard, and says he will do what he can for you." 
 
512 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 more than I talk, for I have no 0x^.0. here to join in such 
 conversation as I then choose. At the hour of your going to 
 Church I attend you in my mind with another prayer ; and at 
 eleven o'clock the ship's bell rings my own little congregation 
 about me. To them I read the morning service according to 
 the Liturgy. Then I walk the deck and attend my observation 
 (i.e. take the latitude of the ship). After dinner a brief rest, 
 or I write in my diary. I think again upon you at the time of 
 afternoon service, and once more assemble the crew for worship. 
 I take tea at four, then follows a Scripture lesson, and a walk 
 and private devotion at six." 
 
 Captain Newton drew up a written instrument devoting 
 himself once more the servant of God, "absolutely and for 
 ever, without any reserve or competition," and the covenant 
 was signed, sealed, and dated as in the presence of God, at 
 "New Shebar, on the Windward coast of Africa, on Sunday, 
 the 15th of October, A.S.M., 1752." 
 
 He resumed his Latin studies when business permitted, 
 and was regular in his habits, allotting about eight hours to 
 sleep and meals, eight hours to exercise and devotion, and 
 eight hours to his books. He sailed from Africa for St. 
 Kitts, and on the voyage wept two or three times over some 
 passages in the life of Colonel Gardiner. One would have 
 thought that there was more cause for weeping to be seen in 
 the hold, but the good captain puts us right to our confusion. 
 
 "One circumstance," he says, "I cannot but set down here, 
 and which I hope I shall always take pleasure in ascribing to 
 the blessing of the God of peace, I mean the remarkable dis- 
 position of the men-slaves I have on board, who seem for 
 some time past to have entirely changed their tempers. I was 
 at first continually alarmed by their almost desperate attempts 
 to make insurrections. One of these affairs has been mentioned, 
 but we had more afterwards ; and when most quiet they were 
 always watching for opportunity. However, from the end of 
 February, they have behaved more like children in one family 
 
CA PTA IN JOHN NE J VTON. 5 1 3 
 
 than slaves in chains and irons, and are really upon all occasions 
 more observing", obliging- and considerate than our white people. 
 Yet, in this space, they would often in all likelihood have been 
 able to do much more mischief than in former parts of the 
 voyage." 
 
 Captain Newton arrived at St. Kitts on June 24th, 175-^. 
 On the nth of July, he sailed for England, arriving in 
 Liverpool in August. He remained only six weeks in 
 England, sailing in the middle of October on hi^ t hird and 
 last v oyage. He sets Wednesday, November 21st, apart 
 for the special purpose of seeking a blessing upon his 
 voyage, and for protection through its various difficulties 
 and dangers. He also resolves to devote a certain proportion 
 of his earnings to charity. A strange and a sad thing 
 happened in connection with this voyage. Before he sailed, 
 Newton met with a young man, formerly a midshipman, 
 and his own intimate companion on board the Harzvich. 
 A sober youth at first, he had fallen a victim to Newton's 
 libertine principles. They resumed their intimacy at 
 Liverpool, Newton told his story, and earnestly set about 
 undoing the evil he had done, but was reminded by his 
 friend that he was the very first person who had preached 
 the scepticism against which he was now arguing. This 
 was a terrible stab to Newton's conscience. His friend's 
 owner having failed just as he was about to sail as master 
 of a Guinea ship, and left him without employment, 
 Newton, more in the hope of undoing his own evil work 
 than to serve the man in business, took him on board his 
 own ship as a companion, the owners promising to provide 
 him a ship on his return. He soon had reason to repent 
 the step. The man was exceedingly profane, and grew 
 worse and worse. " I saw in him," says Newton, "a most 
 lively picture of what I had once been, but it was very 
 inconvenient to have it always before my eyes." After 
 being a sharp thorn in the captain's side upon the voyage, 
 
 2K 
 
5U THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 requiring all his prudence and authority to keep him under 
 any degree of restraint, the man was sent away in a small 
 vessel to trade on the ship's account. He was greatly affected 
 at parting with the captain, who gave him good advice, but 
 no sooner was he free of the controlling eye, than he "gave 
 a hasty loose to every appetite, and his violent irregularities, 
 joined to the heat of the climate, soon threw him into a 
 malignant fever, which carried him off in a few days. He 
 died convinced, but not changed." 
 
 "The account I had from those who were with him," sa^^s 
 the Captain, " was dreadful. His rage and despair struck them 
 all with horror, and he pronounced his own fatal doom before 
 he expired, without any appearance that he either hoped or 
 asked for mercy. I thought this awful contrast might not be 
 improper to adduce, as a stronger view of the distinguishing 
 goodness of God to me, the chief of sinners." 
 
 On the passage from the Coast of Africa to St. Chris- 
 topher's, Captain Newton was attacked with fever, which, 
 for a while, gave him "a very near prospect of eternity." 
 In this illness, a somewhat strange fancy disturbed him : "I 
 seemed not so much afraid of Avrath and punishment, as of 
 being lost and overlooked amidst the myriads that are con- 
 tinually entering the unseen world. What is my soul, 
 thought I, among such an innumerable multitude of beings ! 
 And this troubled me greatly: ' Perhaps the Lord will take 
 no notice of me.' " It does not seem to have occurred to him, 
 that some of his cargo might be ready to identify him in the 
 spirit world, with a view to a settlement of accounts. 
 However, he remembered that "the Lord knoweth them 
 that are his," and his perplexity vanished, as also did the 
 fever before his arrival in the West Indies. At St. Kitts, 
 Newton met Captain Clunie, commander of a London ship, 
 and a member of the church of the Rev. Samuel Brewer, of 
 Stepney. " He was a man," says Newton, "of experience 
 in the things of God, and of a lively, communicative turn. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 515 
 
 For near a month, we spent every evening together on board 
 each other's ship akernately, and often prolonged our visits 
 till towards day-break. I was all ears; and what was better, 
 he not only informed my understanding, but his discourse 
 inflamed my heart." His intercourse with Captain Clunie 
 broadened his religious views, and proved of lasting value 
 to him. He arrived in Liverpool on the 9th of August, 
 1754, "having had," he says, "a favourable passage, and, in 
 general, a comfortable sense of the presence of God through 
 the whole, and towards the end, some remarkable deliver- 
 ances and answers to prayer." Then he makes a remarkable 
 statement : — 
 
 " I had the pleasure to return thanks in the churches (at 
 Liverpool), for an African voyage, performed without any 
 accident, or the loss of a sing-le man; and it was much noticed 
 and acknowledg^ed in the town. I question if it is not the only 
 instance of the kind. When I made my first appearance upon 
 'Change, a stranger would have thought me a person of great 
 importance, by the various congratulations I received from 
 almost every gentleman present." 
 
 " My stay at home was intended to be but short, and by 
 the beginning of November I was ready again for the sea; but 
 the Lord saw fit to overrule my design. During the time li 
 Avas engaged in the slave trade, I never had the least scruple 
 as to its lawfulness. I was, upon the whole, satisfied with it, | 
 as the appointment Providence had marked out for me ; yet it 
 was in many respects far from eligible. It is, indeed, accounted j 
 a genteel employment, and is usually very profitable, though to I 
 me it did not prove so, the Lord seeing that a large increase of 
 wealth could not be good for me. However, I considered 
 myself as a sort of gaoler or turnkey; and I was sometimes 
 shocked with an employment that was perpetually conversant 
 with chains, bolts, and shackles. In this view, I had often 
 petitioned, in my prayers, that the Lord (in his own time) would 
 be pleased to fix me in a more humane calling, and (if it might 
 be) place me where I might have more frequent converse with 
 
516 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 his people and ordinances, and be freed from those long- 
 separations from home, which very often were hard to bear." 
 
 His prayers were answered. Two days before sailing, 
 while sitting at tea \vith his wife, he was seized with a fit. 
 By the advice of his physicians he resigned the command 
 of the Bee^ which Mr. Manesty had bought purposely on 
 his account, and thus escaped a calamitous voyage, and 
 terminated his connection with the slave trade. Through 
 the influence of Mr. Manesty, he was appointed tide sur- 
 veyor of Liverpool.* 
 
 In October, 1755, his wife, recovering from a great illness, 
 joined him in Liverpool, and they lived " in health, love, 
 peace and plenty." 'T jog on very comfortably," he writes, 
 " in my new pro-consulship, and have struck some bold 
 strokes in my way, one of which will perhaps put from 
 ;^ioo to ^150 in my pocket." In January, 1756, he took a 
 house in Edmund Street, off Oldhall Street, and set apart a 
 little room for study and prayer. In April, he printed his 
 "Thoughts on Religious Associations," and sent copies to 
 every minister in Liverpool. 
 
 In October, 1757, we find him entertaining his first 
 definite thoughts of entering the ministry. 
 
 "This," he says, " was my dear mother's hope concerning 
 me, but her death and the scenes of life in which I afterwards 
 engaged seemed to cut off the probability. I thought I was 
 above most living, a fit person to proclaim that faithful saying 
 ' that Jesus Christ came into the world to save the chief of 
 
 * In a letter to his wife, written l^efore she joined him in Liverpool, Newton 
 thus describes his new situation, which was by no means an uncomfortable one. 
 
 " I entered upon business yesterday. I find my duty is to attend the tides one 
 week, and visit the ships that arrive, and such as are in the river ; and the other 
 week to inspect the vessels in the docks ; and thus alternately the year round. 
 The latter is little more than a sinecure, Imt the former requires pretty constant 
 attendance, both by day and night. I have a good office, with fire and candle, 
 fifty or sixty people under my direction, with a handsome six-oared boat and a 
 coxswain to row me about in form. Mr. W. went with me on my first cruise down 
 to the Rock. We saw a vessel, and wandered upon the hills till she came in. I 
 then went on board, and performed my office with all due gravity; and had it not 
 been my business, the whole might have passed for a party of pleasure." 
 
CAPTALY JOHN NEWTON. 517 
 
 sinners ; ' and as my life had been full of remarkable turns, and 
 I seemed selected to shew what the Lord could do, I was in 
 some hopes that perhaps sooner or later he might call me into 
 this service." 
 
 In the year 1758, he made his first effort to enter the 
 Church, but the Archbishop of York, through his secretary, 
 gave him " the softest refusal imaginable." 
 
 His first attempts at preaching, made in dissenting 
 meeting houses, were ignominious failures, with MS. as 
 well as extempore, and his shame was so great that he 
 could not see two or three persons conversing in the street, 
 without imagining that he was the subject of ridicule. 
 
 In March, 1764, John Newton was offered the curacy of 
 Olney, which he accepted. He was then in his 39th year, 
 and on the 29th of April, he was admitted to deacon's orders 
 at Buckden. On his return to Liverpool, he was asked to 
 preach for two of the clergymen w^ho had signed his testi- 
 monials. Then was seen the strange sight of an ex-slave- 
 captain ascending the pulpit of St. George's Church, and 
 preaching to " a crowded and various auditory" composed 
 of the cream of slave-trading Liverpool.* 
 
 On the 2ist of May, 1764, the Rev. John Newton and his 
 wife left Liverpool, where they had resided for eight years, 
 and took up their residence at Olney. On the 17th of June, 
 
 '* Of this wondrous turn in his affairs he speaks thus: — " I hope I was enabled 
 to speak the truth. Some were pleased, but many disgusted. I was thought too 
 long, too loud, too much extempore. I conformed to their judgment, so far 
 as I lawfully might, ()n the Sunday when I preached at the other church in the 
 morning, and at the Infirmary in the afternoon. The next and last Sunday, I 
 preached at Childwell, and was followed by many from town, both of my own 
 friends and others." 
 
 In a letter to his old friend, Captain Clunie, he adds : — " The Lord was very 
 gracious to me at Liverpool. He enabled me to preach His truth before many 
 thousands, I hope with some measure of faithfulness, I trust with some success, 
 and in i^eneral with much greater acceptance than I could have expected. W hen 
 we came away I think the bulk of the people, of all ranks and parties, were very 
 sorry to part with us. How much do I owe to the restraining^ and preserving 
 grace of God, that when I appeared in a public character and delivered offensive 
 truths in a place where I had lived so long, and there appeared a readiness and 
 disposition in some to disparage my character, nothing could be found or brought 
 to light on which they could frame an accusation ! '' 
 
518 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Mr. Newton was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Lincoln, 
 and so, after weary waiting, the desire of his heart and his 
 mother's wish were granted. In November, 1766, Mr. 
 Newton heard of the bankruptcy of his staunch friend, Mr. 
 Manesty, with whom he had deposited all his sav^ings. He 
 bore the blow with his usual trust in God, thankfully 
 remembering all the good he had formerly received, at Mr. 
 Manesty 's hands. 
 
 At Olney, where he laboured as curate and vicar for close 
 upon sixteen years, he lived in closest intimacy with the 
 poet Cowper. To be the friend of Cowper was to be the 
 friend of what was best, purest and most spiritual in the 
 England of that time, and the wonder is not that John 
 Newton, the ex-slave-captain, obtained admittance into the 
 Church of England, as an ordained minister, but that he 
 found his way into the heart of the gentle poet, who sang 
 the wrongs of the negroes Avhom Newton had been buying 
 and selling, and conveying across the sea in floating prisons, 
 the horrors of which he probably locked in his own breast. 
 
 It is to the endeared friendship that existed between these 
 two extraordinary men — so dissimilar in all but sincere 
 devotion — that we owe the "Olney Hymns," the joint pro- 
 duction of the divine and the poet — of the emancipated slave 
 and the tuneful champion of the negro. These sacred 
 lays form a lasting monument to the kinship of soul sub- 
 sisting between the strong, clear-visioned pastor, and his 
 gentle, melancholy parishioner, and, in the light of Newton's 
 story, afford another instance that— 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way 
 His wonders to perform." 
 
 From Olney, Mr. Newton was removed to the united 
 parishes of St. Mary Woolnoth and St. Mary Woolchurch 
 Haw, Lombard Street, London. He often spoke with 
 great feeling of his new position, seldom passing a single 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 519 
 
 day anywhere without referring to the strange event in one 
 way or other.* 
 
 In one of the letters of the Cardiphonia Series, dated 
 October 27th, 1778, is the following remarkable passage : — 
 
 " Last Sunday a young- man died here of extreme old age, 
 at twenty-five. He laboured hard to ruin a good constitution, 
 and unhappily succeeded, yet amused himself with the hopes 
 of recovery almost to the last. We have had a sad knot of 
 such poor creatures in this place, who labour to stifle each 
 other's convictions, and to ruin themselves and associates, soul 
 and body. How industriously is Satan served ! I was 
 formerly one of his most active under-tempters. Not content 
 with running- the broadway myself, I was indefatigable in 
 enticing others ; and, had my influence been equal to my 
 wishes, I would have carried all the human race with me. 
 And doubtless some have perished to whose destruction I was 
 greatly instrumental, by tempting them to sin, and by poisoning 
 and hardening them with principles of infidelity ; and yet I was 
 spared. "^ * Had my abilities been equal to my heart, I should 
 have been a Voltaire and a Tiberius in one character, a monster 
 of profaneness and licentiousness. 'O to grace how great a 
 debtor ! ' A common drunkard or profligate is a petty sinner 
 to what I was. I had the ambition of a Cccsar or an Alexander, 
 and wanted to rank in wickedness among the foremost of 
 the human race." 
 
 With regard to the peculiar traffic in which Newton was 
 so long engaged, and which, to modern views, seems so 
 strangely at variance with the first principles of Christianity, 
 he speaks for himself, in 1763, as follows : — 
 
 "The reader may perhaps wonder, as I now do myself, 
 
 that, knowing the state of this vile traffic to be as I have 
 
 *" That one," said he, '"of the most ignorant, the most miserable, and the 
 most abandoned of slaves, should tie plucked from his forlorn state of exile on the 
 coast of Africa, and at length be appointed minister of the parish of the first magis- 
 trate of the first city in the world — that he should there not only testify of such 
 grace, but stand up as a singular instance and monument of it — that he should be 
 enabled to record it in his history, preaching, and writings to the world at large — 
 is a fact I can contemplate with admiration, but never sufficiently estimate." 
 
520 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 . described " — the reference is to a letter in which he has been 
 speaking- of the condition of the slaves — " and abounding- with 
 enormities which I have not mentioned, I did not at the time 
 start with horror at my own employment as an agent in pro- 
 moting^ it. Custom, example, and interest, had blinded my 
 eyes. I did it ignorantly, for I am sure had I thought of the 
 
 ^ slave-trade then as I have thought of it since, no considerations 
 would have induced me to continue in it. Though my religious 
 views were not very clear, my conscience was very tender, and 
 I durst not have displeased God by acting against the light of 
 my mind. Indeed, a slave-ship, while on the coast, is exposed 
 to such innumerable and continual dangers, that I was often 
 then, and still am, astonished that an3-one much more that so 
 many, should leave the coast in safety. I was then favoured 
 with an uncommon degree of dependence upon the Providence 
 of God, which supported me; but this confidence must have failed 
 in a moment, and I should have been overwhelmed with distress 
 and terror, if I had known, or even suspected, that I was acting 
 wrongly, I felt greatly the disagreeableness of the business. 
 The o^CQ. of a gaoler, and the restraints under which I was 
 obliged to keep my prisoners, were not suitable to my feelings ; 
 but I considered it as the line of life which God in His Provi- 
 dence had allotted me, and as a cross which I ought to bear 
 with patience and thankfulness till he should be pleased to 
 deliver me from it. Till then I only thought myself bound to 
 treat the slaves under my care with gentleness, and to consult 
 their ease and convenience so far as was consistent with the 
 safety of the whole family of whites and blacks on board my 
 ship." 
 
 In 1787, Mr. Newton's remarks on the African slave trade 
 were g-iven to the world. Mrs. Hannah More writes 
 to tell him how much she is pleased with his sensible, 
 judicious, well-timed, and well-tempered pamphlet on the 
 slave trade, and that in a letter from Bristol, she had been 
 informed that IVIr. John Wesley named it with great 
 commendation in a sermon he preached on the subject. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 521 
 
 He also received a communication from Scotland, speaking 
 most highly of his writings, and stating that they had made 
 his name "savoury" in the most remote and distant parts 
 of the country, and concluding with a request, that he would 
 allow their reprint in that part of the kingdom — a sure 
 earnest of fame. From America, India, and other quarters 
 nearer home, came strong proofs that his works were now 
 read with comfort and delight by thousands of people who 
 revered the name of Newton. He refused to accept the 
 degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of New 
 Jersey, and threatened that if any more letters came from 
 Scotland, addressed to Dr. Newton, he would return them 
 unopened. He supplied Mr. Clarkson with valuable infor- 
 mation connected with the slave-traffic, and was one of the 
 most important witnesses called before the Parliamentary 
 Committee appointed to enquire into that subject. 
 
 In 1792, when Wilberforce had renewed his motion in 
 the House of Commons for the abolition of the slave trade, 
 Newton preached upon the subject, as he had done on a like 
 occasion in r79i. 
 
 " I reg-arded it," he says, in a letter to the Rev. W. Bull, 
 " not in a political, but in a moral view. I consider myself 
 bound in conscience to bear my testimony at least, and to 
 wash my hands from the guilt which, if persisted in now that 
 things have been so thoroughly investigated and brought 
 to light, will, I think, constitute a national sin of a scarlet and 
 crimson dye." 
 
 About the same time, he published his "Thoughts upon 
 the African Slave Trade," in which he pointed out its fear- 
 ful political and moral evils — its injury alike to the slaves 
 and those who trafficked in them : — 
 
 "If my testimony," he says, "should not be necessary or 
 serviceable, yet, perhaps, .1 am bound in conscience to take 
 shame to myself by a public confession, which, however sincere, 
 comes too late to prevent or repair the misery and mischief to 
 
522 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 which I have formerly been accessory. I hope it will always be 
 a subject of humiliating- reflection to me that I was once an 
 active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders. 
 Perhaps what I have said of myself may be applicable to the 
 nation at larg-e. The slave trade was always unjustifiable; but 
 inattention and interest prevented for a time the evil from being 
 perceived. It is otherwise at present. The mischiefs and evils 
 connected with it have been of late years represented w-ith such 
 undeniable evidence, and are now so generally known, that 
 hardly an objection can be made to the almost universal wish 
 for the suppression of this trade, save on the ground of political 
 expedience." 
 
 Three thousand copies of this pamphlet were printed and 
 distributed by the AboHtion Society. 
 
 In the course of a sermon, preached on Friday, Feb, 28th, 
 1794, the day appointed for a general fast, Mr. Newton 
 referred to the slave trade in these words : — 
 
 " I should be inexcusable, considering the share I have 
 formerly had in that unhappy business, if upon this occasion, 
 I should omit to mention the African Slave Trade. I do not 
 rank this amongst our national sins, because I hope and 
 believe a very great majority of the nation earnestly long for 
 its suppression. But, hitherto, petty and partial interests 
 prevail against the voice of justice, humanity, and truth. This 
 enormity, however, is not sufficiently laid to heart. If you 
 are justly shocked by what you hear of the cruelties practised 
 in France, you would perhaps be shocked much more if you 
 could fully conceive of the evils and miseries inseparable from 
 this traffic, which I apprehend, not from hearsay, but from my 
 own observation, are equal in atrocity, and perhaps superior in 
 number, in the course of a single year, to any or all the worst 
 actions which have been known in France since the commence- 
 ment of their revolution. There is a cry of blood against us ; a 
 cry accumulated by the accession of fresh victims, of thousands, 
 of scores of thousands, I had almost said of hundreds of 
 thousands, from year to year." 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 523 
 
 Preaching in the parish church of St. Mary Woolnoth, 
 on December 19th, 1797, the day of general thanksgiving for 
 the late naval victories, he said : — 
 
 "Oppression is a national sin if the grievance be publicly 
 known, and no constitutional measures adopted for prevention 
 or relief. Charges of this nature have been brought against 
 the exercise of our power, both in the east and in the west. I 
 pretend not to say how far they were founded in truth, or 
 exaggerated. I confine myself to a single instance, of which 
 my own knowledge warrants me to speak. I have more than 
 once confessed with shame in this pulpit the concern I had too 
 long in the African slave trade. This trade, marked as it is 
 with the epithet Infamous by a vote of the House of Commons, 
 is still carried on, and under the sanction of the legislature. 
 Though the repeated attempts to procure the abolition of this 
 trade have not succeeded, they have doubtless contributed to 
 meliorate the condition of the blacks who are in a state of 
 slavery in our West India Islands. The mode of their trans- 
 portation thither from the African coast seems to be less 
 tormenting and fatal than formerly. How far this trade may 
 have been affected by the present war I know not. When I 
 was engaged in it, we generally supposed, for an accurate 
 calculation was not practicable, that there were not less than 
 a hundred thousand persons, men, women, and children 
 brought off the coast by the European vessels of all nations ; 
 and that an equal number lost their lives annually by the wars 
 and other calamities occasioned by the traffic, either on shore, 
 without reaching the ship, or on shipboard before they reached 
 the places of sale. It was also supposed that more than one- 
 half, perhaps three-fifths of the trade was in the hands of the 
 English. If the trade is at present carried on to the same 
 extent, and nearly in the same manner, while we are delaying 
 from year to year to put a stop to our part of it, the blood oi 
 many thousands of our helpless, much injured fellow-creatures 
 is crying against us. The pitiable state of the survivors who 
 are torn from their nearest relatives, connections, and their 
 
524 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 native land, must be taken into the account. Enough of this 
 horrid scene. I fear the African trade is a national sin, for 
 the enormities which accompany it are now generally known ; 
 and thoug-h, perhaps, the greater part of the nation would be 
 pleased if it were suppressed, yet, as it does not immediately 
 affect their own interest, they are passive. The shop-tax, a 
 few years since, touched them in a more sensible and tender 
 part, and therefore petitions and remonstrances were presented 
 and repeated, till the tax was repealed. Can we wonder that 
 the calamities of the present war begin to be felt at home, 
 when we ourselves wilfully and deliberately inflict much 
 greater calamities upon the native Africans, who never 
 offended us ? That is an awful word — ' Woe unto thee that 
 spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled ; when thou shalt cease 
 to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled.'" 
 
 Not a word did the ex-slave-captain say of the negroes who 
 behaved "like children of one family" forty-five years before! 
 
 A friend who called on him when he was seventy-nine, 
 relates how "when the servant was employed putting on 
 his shoes, he looked up, saying, * I had not this trouble in 
 Africa, for I had no shoes. Sir' — looking at his friend — 
 'when I rose in the morning, and shook myself like a dog, 
 I was dressed. For forty years past I have thought every 
 waking hour on my former misery.' " 
 
 In January, 1806, his friend, Mr. Cecil said to him : " In 
 the article of public preaching, might it not be best to 
 consider your work as done, and stop before you evidently 
 discover you can speak no longer?" "I cannot stop," 
 said he, raising his voice. "What! shall the old African 
 blasphemer stop while he can speak ?" 
 
 An interesting reference to his African life occurs in a 
 letter to a Mr. Campbell a few years before his death. 
 Twenty African boys and girls had been brought over for 
 instruction, and after five years were sent back to the coast 
 of Guinea. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 525 
 
 " Last week," he says, " I was at Clapham, and saw the 
 twenty African blackbirds. The girls were at Battersea, out 
 of my reach. When I went into the school, I said Lemmi, 
 which is, being- interpreted. How do you do? Two or three 
 answered Bah, that is, I thank you ; by which I knew that 
 they had some knowledg-e of the languag-e of Sherboro', the 
 scene of my bondagfe. I am told the boys come forward 
 apace, behave well, and seem very happy, and especially when 
 they see Mr. Macaulay." 
 
 What strange thoughts must have passed through the 
 old man's mind as he stood there in the presence of types of 
 Africa's future civilization ! And the children — the African 
 blackbirds — had they any inkling" that they were in the 
 presence of a once typical enemy of their race, soon to be 
 doomed to extinction? 
 
 As a minister of the gospel, there was such a zeal for 
 the truth, such gentleness, candour, and forbearance in 
 Mr. Newton, that conciliated enemies and made him beloved 
 by his friends. On this head the testimony of Cowper is 
 very clear. In a letter to Newton, the poet says, "A people 
 will love a minister, if a minister seems to love his people. 
 The old maxim, simile agit in simile^ is in no case more 
 exactly verified ; therefore you were beloved at Olney ; and 
 if you preached to the Chickesaws and Chactaws, would be 
 equally beloved by them." 
 
 For some months before his death, Mr. Newton was 
 confined to his room. "I am," said he, "like a person 
 going on a journey in a stage coach, who expects its arrival 
 every hour, and is frequently looking out at the window for 
 it;" and another time: ''I am packed and sealed, and 
 waiting for the post." Mr. Jay visited him near the closing 
 scene. He was hardly able to speak, but said: "My 
 memory is nearly gone ; but I remember two things : that 
 I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." 
 
526 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 About a month before his death, he said to a lady who was 
 sitting- by him : — 
 
 " It is a great thing' to die, and wlien flesh and heart fail, to 
 have God for the strength of our heart, and our portion for 
 ever. I know whom I have believed, and He is able to keep 
 that which I have committed to him against that great day. 
 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
 which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." 
 
 At another time he said : — 
 
 "More light, more love, more liberty. Hereafter, I hope 
 when I shut my eyes on the things of time, I shall open them 
 in a better world. What a thing it is to live under the shadow 
 of the wings of the Almighty! I am going the way of all 
 flesh." 
 
 And so he " gradually sank as the setting sun, shedding to 
 the last those declining rays which gilded and gladdened 
 the dark valley." On the evening of Monday, December 
 2ist, 1807 — the year of the abolition of the Liverpool Slave 
 Trade — he passed away in his eighty-third year. He was 
 buried in his church of St. Mary Woolnoth. He composed 
 the following epitaph for himself, which was inscribed on a 
 plain marble tablet in the church: — 
 
 "John Newton, clerk. Once an Infidel and Libertine, A 
 Servant of Slaves in Africa, was By the rich mercy of our Lord 
 and Saviour — Jesus Christ, Preserved, Restored, Pardoned, 
 And appointed to preach the Faith He had long laboured to 
 destroy. He ministered Near XVI. Years as curate and Vicar 
 of Olney in Bucks, And XXVIII. as Rector of these United 
 Parishes. On Febry. the First MDCCL. he married Mary, 
 Daughter of the late George Catlett, of Chatham, Kent, Whom 
 he Resigned To the Lord Who Gave Her, On Deer, the XVth. 
 MDCCXC." 
 
 Mr. Newton's conversational powers were remarkable. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN NEWTON. 527 
 
 He had wit, humour, ready thought, and expression, all 
 tempered by cheerfulness, kindliness, and real piety. Some- 
 times he would have droll fancies, as when by a strong 
 sneeze he shook off a fly which had perched on his gnomon, 
 and immediately said: "Now, if this fly keeps a diary, he'll 
 write, 'To-day, a terrible earthquake.' " Asked how he slept, 
 he instantly replied: "I'm like a beef-steak — once turned, 
 and I'm done." Once a little sailor boy, with his father, 
 called on him. He took the boy between his knees and 
 told him that he had been much at sea himself, and then 
 sung him part of a naval song. His heart was as large as 
 it was loving. There must have been something marvel- 
 lously winning and uncommon about a man who had life- 
 long friendships with such people as Lord Dartmouth, and 
 Wilberforce, the Thorntons, Charles Grant, Ambrose Serle, 
 and Mrs. Hannah More, with the flower of the clergy of all 
 denominations. He was no great preacher. He was not a 
 Whitfield or a Wesley in the pulpit, trumpet-tongued to 
 arouse the masses, but though he had neither music in his 
 voice nor grace in his manner, great congregations hung 
 upon his lips. The secret of his power was sincerity and 
 earnestness. His whole soul was in sympathy with the 
 truth, and with his hearers. He was a strong-minded man, 
 a practical Christian, with a gift for turning his talents to the 
 best account. His character was beautiful in its entireness. 
 He never forgot what he had been, and if pride ever arose 
 in his mind, he would say on such occasions he had only 
 to mix a little Plantain sauce with his more savoury diet 
 and the evil was at once suppressed. Prayer was his vital 
 breath. As a pastor and house-preacher he was probably 
 unequalled. For nearly half a century he was one of the 
 best known and most valued ministers of the English church, 
 and his character, which was peculiarly English, refined by 
 grace, rendered him a man revered and loved better and 
 more widely than most of his fellows. The story of his life 
 
528 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 and Christian experiences, his Letters, and some of his 
 Hymns, will probably be remembered when the seaport from 
 which he sailed as a slave-captain, is but a name like Tyre 
 and Sidon, and when Africa, the scene of his degradation, 
 is basking in the light of the great day of Restitution and 
 Refreshment. 
 
529 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Massacre at Old Calabar. 
 
 In 1766, the Vine, Captain Simmons, returned from a 
 voyage to Bonny, on the coast of Africa, and Dominica, in 
 the West Indies, with 400 slaves, having accompHshed the 
 round voyage in seven months and ten days, and apparently 
 broken the record. The market value of the cargo could not 
 have been less than ;i^ 13,000, as will be seen from the 
 following table, showing the average price of negroes sold 
 at Charleston, Jamaica, Grenada, Tortola, and Dominica, 
 during seven years (1759, 1767-1772), and from the account 
 sales of negroes imported in the ship African. 
 
 Average Price of Negroes. 
 
 1759 
 
 Whydah 
 
 Negroes 
 
 averaged at Charleston 
 
 35 
 
 s. 
 1 1 
 
 d. 
 
 
 1767 
 
 Calabar 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Grenada 
 
 27 
 
 
 
 
 
 1767 
 
 Bonny 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. do. 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 1768 
 
 Calabar 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Tortola 
 
 23 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 1769 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Jamaica 
 
 34 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 1770 
 
 Windward , 
 Coast 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Domuiica 
 
 JO 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1770 
 
 Old Calat 
 
 )ar do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Dominica 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 I77I 
 
 Eboe 
 
 do. 
 
 &o. 
 
 do. Charleston 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 I77I 
 
 Calabar 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Dominica 
 
 30 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 1772 
 
 Eboe 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. Charleston 
 
 39 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1772 
 
 Averag-es 
 
 at Charleston from 
 
 ;^5o to ;^54 
 
 
 
 
 1773 
 
 2L 
 
 Number 
 
 f Negroes 
 
 arrived at Charleston that 
 
 year 4,500 
 
530 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Copy of Account Sales of Negroes. 
 
 " Sales of 268 Negro slaves imported in the ship African, 
 Captain Thomas Trader, from Malemba, on the acct. and 
 risque of Messrs. John Cole & Co., owners of the said ship, 
 merchants in Liverpool. 
 
 Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Tot 
 
 To whom Sold. 
 
 By Tames Fisher 
 
 ,, John Miller 
 
 ,, Augustus Valtette. 
 ,, George Richards . 
 ,, Ditto. 
 
 ,, Papley & Wade 103 
 
 ,, Chambers & Mead ... 5 
 
 ., Sloop Two Brothers 
 
 ,, Monsr. Fontanelle 
 
 ,, John Darey 
 
 ,, Ditto 4 
 
 ,, Alexan. Forceston 
 
 ,, Sold at Vendue 
 
 26 
 
 67 
 2 
 6 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 34 
 I 
 
 230 
 8 
 6 
 2 
 
 I. Price. £, s. 
 
 35 o 
 
 35 o 
 
 40 o 
 
 35 o 
 
 35 o 
 
 ...7820 o 
 
 296 o 
 
 204 o 
 
 @ £z^ 72 o 
 
 @ £■1,0 60 o 
 
 (©-^SS 420 o 
 
 Sickly 30 O 
 
 C'pt to a/c for 
 
 112 30 85 41 268 
 
 /■9082 
 
 Charges, viz. : — 
 To Cash paid Import Duty on 268 Slaves at 10/ and Bond 5/ 
 To ditto paid the Dr. his head money on ditto at 12/ 
 To ditto paid Captain Trader, his Coast Commission, at 
 
 /4 per 104 on ^9082 gross sales 
 
 To my Commission, at 5 per cent, on the gross sales 
 
 I s. d. 
 
 134 5 o 
 
 13 8 o 
 
 349 6 2 
 454 2 o 
 
 To Messrs. John Cole & Co., owners of the African, in account cur- 
 
 951 
 
 rent for 
 
 Errors excepted. 
 Kingston, Jamaic.\, 19//^ September, 1764. 
 
 ;^8i3o 18 10 
 
 Per WM. BOYD. 
 
 Messrs. JOHN COLE or' CO., Owners of the Ship "African,'" in Acct. Current 
 
 Dr. 
 
 with JVM. BOYD 
 £ s. d. 
 
 CO. 
 
 To Amount of Sundries ship- 
 ]ied in the African, per 
 Invoice 6384 16 Sk 
 
 To Balance of the African's 
 a/c of disbursements, per 
 Capt. receipt ... .. 269 7 3^ 
 
 To my draft on Snell & Co., 
 of London, for ^1054 
 l6s. 6d. sterling, Exc. at 
 40 per cent., payable at 
 60 days' sight 1476 15 ij 
 
 ;i^8i30 18 10 
 Errors excepted. 
 
 Kingston in Jamaica, 20th September, 1764. 
 
 By Nt. Proceeds of the 
 African'' s sales ... 
 
 Cr. 
 
 8130 18 10 
 
 ^^8130 18 10 
 
 Per WM. BOYD. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 
 
 531 
 
 As few persons in this country ever saw a bill of lading 
 for human beings, shipped on board a British vessel 
 engaged in this odious traffic, we append a copy of an 
 original bill of lading for slaves, shipped for Georgia*: — 
 
 ♦♦^Ijip^jcb by the grace of God, in good 
 order and well condition'd by James [surname 
 illegible], in and upon the good Ship call'd the 
 Mary Borough, whereof is Master, under 
 God, for this present voyage. Captain David 
 Morton, and now riding at Anchor at the Barr 
 of Senegal, and by God's grace bound for 
 Georgey, in South Carolina, to say, twenty- 
 four prime Slaves, six prime women Slaves, 
 being mark'd and number'd as in the margin, 
 and are to be deliver'd, in the like good order 
 and well condition'd, at the aforesaid Port of 
 Georgia, South Carolina (the danger of the Seas 
 and Mortality only excepted), unto Messrs. 
 Broughton and Smith, or to their Assigns ; he 
 or they paying Freight for the said Slaves at 
 the rate of Five pounds sterling per head at 
 delivery, with Primage and Avrage accustom'd. 
 In Witness whereof, the Master or Purser of 
 the said Ship hath aflfirm'd to three Bills of 
 Lading, all of this tenor and date ; the one of 
 which three bills being accomplish'd, the other 
 two to stand void ; and so God send the good 
 ship to her desir'd port in safety, Amen. 
 "Dated in Senegal, ist February, 1766, 
 
 " David Morton." 
 It will be observed from the bill of lading, that those slaves 
 were marked or branded with particular marks. The oper- 
 ation of marking slaves was performed on them by means of 
 
 * The original bill of lading was in the possession of the late Richard Brooke, 
 Esq., F.S.A., who printed it in his " Liverpool as it was during the last quarter of 
 the Eighteenth Century." 
 
 Marked on the 
 Right Buttock 
 
 o 
 o 
 
532 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 a heated iron, with as much indifference as if they had 
 been merely cattle. Branding irons, with letters or marks 
 for branding slaves, were exhibited for sale in the shops of 
 Liverpool, and no doubt they were sold in the same manner 
 in other seaport towns of the kingdom. Mr. Clarkson gives 
 the following description of certain instruments which he 
 bought during his sojourn in Liverpool: — 
 
 "There were specimens of articles in Liverpool, which I 
 entirel}- overlooked at Bristol, and which, I believe, I should 
 have overlooked here also, had it not been for seeing them at 
 a window in a shop. I mean those of different iron Instruments 
 used In this cruel traffic. I bought a pair of the iron handcuflFs 
 with which the men slaves are confined. The right-hand wrist 
 of one, and the left of another, are almost brought into contact 
 by these, and fastened together by a little bolt with a small 
 padlock at the end of it. I bought also a pair of shackles for 
 the legs. The right ancle of one man Is fastened to the left of 
 another, by similar means. I bought these, not because It 
 was difficult to conceive how the unhappy victims of this 
 execrable trade were confined, but to show the fact that they 
 were so. For what was the Inference from it, but that they 
 did not leave their own country willingly ; that when they 
 were In the holds of the slave vessels, they were not in the 
 Elysium which had been represented ; and that there was 
 a fear, either that they would make their escape, or punish 
 their oppressors. I bought also a thumb-screw at this shop. 
 The thumbs are put Into this Instrument through the two 
 circular holes at the top of it. By turning a key, a bar rises 
 up by means of a screw, and the pressure upon them becomes 
 painful. By turning It further, you may make the blood start 
 from the ends of them. By taking the key away, you leave 
 the tortured person In agony, without any means of extricating 
 himself, or of being extricated by others. This screw, as I 
 was then informed, was applied by way of punishment in case 
 of obstinacy In the slaves, or for any other reputed offence, at 
 the discretion of the captain. At the same place I bought 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 533 
 
 another instrument which I saw. It was called a speculum 
 oris. This instrument is known among surgeons, having been 
 invented to assist them in wrenching open the mouth, as in 
 the case of a locked jaw. But it had got into use in this trade. 
 On asking the seller of the instruments on what occasion it 
 was used there, he replied, that the slaves were frequently so 
 sulky, as to shut their mouths against all sustenance, and this 
 with a determination to die ; and that it was necessary their 
 mouths should be forced open to throw in nutriment, that they 
 who had purchased them might incur no loss by their death." 
 
 The slave-captains sometimes got into awkward scrapes 
 wath the natives. Captain James Berry, of Liverpool, 
 gives the following remarkable account of his being taken 
 prisoner : — 
 
 " On board Brig Dalrimple Old Callabar April 3, 1763 
 This is to acquaint all gentlemen that it may fall into the 
 hands of that on the -^o of Jany I arrived hear in a small 
 vessell came too at 7 Fathom Point wrote up to Abashey 
 finding no vessell their I imagined the might Lett me stay 
 paying a small acknowledgement to the King the Duke and 
 some of the Heads*Abashey came down and prevaild on me to 
 ^o up the River I accordingly went up that night next morning 
 according to custom went ashore to shake the Kings and the 
 Rest of the getlemen Hands made my proposalls which was 
 af first Refuse'd but after standing out about fifteen Day 
 aggreed to pay 1000 Coppers among's them all the King and 
 Duke each 65 Crs the rest of the Gentlemen in proportion I 
 gott pledges out of the Kings Town Dukes and Tom Hen- 
 shaws Likewise there cairn as tokens of their Honour Robin 
 John Town Refused me a son for pledge but thought I had 
 sufficient security on the Second of March was much out of 
 order and Had been for four Days before that was unfortunate 
 
 * The leading people of Old Town, Calabar, were the King, the Duke, Ephraim 
 Robin John, Robin John Tom Robin, John Amboe, Orrock Robin John, Archi- 
 bong Robin John, John Robin John, Ot"to Robin John, Abashey, Egbyoung, Tom 
 Henshaw, Solomon Ilen^haw, Amboe Robin John, Ancoua Robin Robin John. 
 
534 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 enoug-h to ijo down the River to g-ett a little air thinking" 
 their was no Danger of being- molested by any Body haveing- 
 the Kings Sons Duks and Tom Henshaw's Eg-byoung- Antera 
 in the Boat with me but no sooner g-ott the Lenght of Old 
 Town but that Rouge Eph"". Robin John Joined by R". John Tom 
 R". Capt". John Ambo and the Rest of that Town sent ten 
 canoos full of people and took me out of my Boat by force 
 hauld me over nine into the Tenth the first vilain that I was 
 rec'' by was Tom R". who told me it was very well I was 
 come it had saved them the Trouble of fetching me out of my 
 ship Eph'". came on board my vesell the night before that 
 with that design only I was at that time very bad but had 
 intended to have come again in a day or two they haveing 
 counted all my people and pitched upon their Boys for the 
 seaing my people seeing so few and three or four of them at 
 that time sick while the took me bo force and putt me in the 
 canooe he kept me on shore 29 Day and obliged me to pay 
 him and the Rest of the Scoundrells just what he pleas'd the 
 amount of his imposition is 4251 Copper besid's him takeing in 
 spight of all I cood do one of my great guns which I have 
 given the Duke an order for if he can possably get it he 
 Likewise has gott three of my musquetts two Blunderbusses 2 
 pistolls 2 cutlasses and two of my Jacketts the Black Boys had 
 on that was in the Boat with me he oblig'd me to give severall 
 Books and one to clear him of all palaver with me which for 
 sake of getting on board my vesell wood have given him any 
 Books he wanted but the air all of no signification I immagine 
 any Gentleman wodd do the same was it their case. On the 
 22nd of Mar the King the Duke Solomon Henshaw and the 
 Rest of the Gentlemen of the other party come on board with 
 98 slaves the seeing how I was Imposed on b}^ those Rascalls 
 made my mate count all the good in my ship Abashey made 
 Trade and Bought me 47 slave all of which was good only one 
 woman and I believe did me justice in every thing the Duke 
 carried ashore with him 605 Copper to buy yammes which he 
 sent me as fast as he cood gett them I doant Blame any of 
 them for what the did seeing the vilanious intentions of the 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 535 
 
 Old Town Scoundrells but never will for g-ive the injury Eph'" 
 and the rest of them did me till I have satisfaction. 
 
 I am the Gentleman 
 
 Hum'^ Serv' 
 
 James Berry." 
 
 In 1767, there was a strong competition between the ports 
 of Bristol and Liverpool in the trade to the coast of Africa. 
 The inconveniences and dangers attendant on that branch of 
 traffic are described in the following extract of a letter from 
 Old Calabar, dated August 12th, 1767: — 
 
 " We had a tolerable good passage of three weeks and five 
 days. There are now seven large vessels in the river, each of 
 which expects to purchase 500 slaves, and I imagine there was 
 seldom ever known a greater scarcity of slaves than at present, 
 and these few chiefly from the low country. The natives are at 
 variance with each other, and, in my opinion, it will never be 
 ended before the destruction of all the people at Old Town, who 
 have taken the lives of many a fine fellow. Captain Hutton's 
 chief mate had the misfortune to suffer under their vile hands; 
 but I now flatter myself, I shall be an assistant in revenging 
 the just cause of every poor Englishman that have innocently 
 suff'ered by them. 
 
 "The river of late has been very fatal both to whites and 
 blacks. There have three captains belonging- to Bristol died 
 within these few months, besides a number of officers and sailors. 
 I assure you, I never saw a worse prospect in my life for 
 making a voyage than at present. The major part of the 
 vessels here have very dangerous disorders amongst the slaves, 
 which makes me rejoice that I have very few on board. I do 
 not expect that our stay here will exceed eight months. The 
 adjoining coasts of trade seem all to be very much thronged 
 with shippings, except the Gold Coast, the bad eff"ects of which, 
 I am afraid, the Liverpool gentlemen must feel this season."* 
 
 In the year 1767, a terrible affair, which seems to be 
 hinted at in the preceding letter, known as the massacre 
 
 * " Troughton's History of Liverpool," p. 143. 
 
533 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 at Calabar, took place. The details are drawn from copies 
 of the original depositions, in the case of the King against 
 Lippincott and others, supplied to Mr. Clarkson by Mr. 
 Henry Sulgar, a Moravian minister at Bristol. The 
 originals were sworn before Jacob Kirby and Thomas 
 Symons, commissioners at Bristol for taking affidavits, by 
 Captain Floyd, of the city of Bristol, who had been a witness 
 to the tragedy, and of Ephraim Robin John and Ancona 
 Robin Robin John, two African chiefs, who had been 
 sufferers by it. It appears from these documents, that in the 
 year 1767, the ships, Indian Queen, Duke of York, Nancy, 
 and Concord, of Bristol, the Edgar, of Liverpool, and the 
 Canterbury, of London, lay in Old Calabar river. A 
 quarrel, originating in a jealousy respecting slaves, existed 
 at this time between the principal inhabitants of Old 
 Town, and those of New Town, Old Calabar. The 
 captains of the vessels before mentioned joined in sending 
 several letters to the inhabitants of Old Town, but parti- 
 cularly to Ephraim Robin John, who was at that time 
 a grandee, or principal man of the place. The tenor of 
 these letters was, that they were sorry that any jealousy 
 or quarrel should subsist between the two parties ; that 
 if the inhabitants of Old Town would come on board, 
 they would afford them securityand protection ; adding, at the 
 same time, that their intention in inviting them was that 
 they might become mediators and thus heal their disputes. 
 
 The inhabitants of Old Town joyfully accepted the 
 invitation. The three brothers of the chief, Ephraim Robin 
 John, the eldest of whom was Amboe Robin John, first 
 entered their canoe, attended by twenty-seven persons, and 
 being followed by nine canoes, directed their course to the 
 Indian Queen. They were dispatched from thence the next 
 morning to the Edgar, and afterwards to the Duke of York, 
 on board of which they went, leaving their canoe and 
 attendants alongside of the same vessel. In the meantime, 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 537 
 
 the people on board the other canoes were either distributed 
 on board, or lying close to the other ships. 
 
 This being the situation of the three brothers, and of the 
 leading people of the place, the treachery now began to 
 appear. The crew of the Duke of York, aided by the captain 
 and mates, and armed with pistols and cutlasses, rushed 
 into the cabin with an intent to seize the persons of their 
 three unsuspicious guests. The unhappy men, alarmed at 
 this violation of the rights of hospitality, and struck with 
 astonishment at the behaviour of their supposed friends 
 and peacemakers, attempted to escape through the cabin 
 windows, but being wounded, were obliged to desist and to 
 submit to be put in irons. While this atrocious act was in 
 progress, an order was given to fire upon the canoe, w^hich 
 was then lying alongside of the Duke of York. The canoe 
 soon filled and sank, and the wretched attendants were 
 either seized, killed, or drowned. Most of the other ships 
 followed the example. Great numbers were thus added 
 to the killed and drowned on the occasion, while others 
 attempted to escape by swimming to the shore. But at this 
 juncture, the inhabitants of New Town, who had concealed 
 themselves in the bushes by the waterside, and between 
 whom and the commanders of the vessels the plan had 
 been previously arranged, came out of their hiding places, 
 and, embarking in their canoes, made for such as were 
 swimming from the fire of the ships. The ships' boats also 
 were manned, and joined in the pursuit. They butchered 
 the greatest part of those whom they caught. Many dead 
 bodies were soon seen upon the sands, and others floating 
 upon the water. Including those who were seized and 
 carried off, and those who were drowned and killed, either 
 by the firing of the ships, or by the people of New Town, 
 the number lost to the inhabitants of Old Town on that day 
 was three hundred souls. The carnage was scarcely over 
 when a canoe, full of the principal people of New Town 
 
538 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 who had promoted the massacre, dropped alongside of the 
 Duke of York. They demanded the person of Amboe 
 Robin John, the brother of the chief of Old Town, and the 
 eldest of the three on board. The unfortunate man put the 
 palms of his hands together, and beseeched the commander 
 of the vessel that he would not violate the rights of 
 hospitality by giving up an unoffending stranger to his 
 enemies. But no entreaties could prevail. The commander 
 received from the New Town people a slave, of the name of 
 Econg, in his stead, and then forced Amboe Robin John 
 into the canoe, where his head was immediately struck off 
 in the sight of the crew, and of his afflicted brothers. As 
 for them, they escaped his fate, but they were carried off, 
 with their attendants, to the West Indies, and sold into 
 slavery. 
 
 The action of the captains has never been defended ; but 
 we must not forget that they were dealing with a shifty, 
 greedy, and treacherous lot of rascals, who made a practice 
 of selling their own countrymen into slavery. The delays 
 and subterfuges resorted to by the native chiefs to enhance 
 the price of slaves, and to extract more "coomey," must 
 have been extremely exasperating to the slave commanders, 
 whose lives and cargoes were imperilled by a prolonged 
 bargaining, owing to the climate, and the possible outbreak 
 of disease among the slaves cooped up in the hold, before 
 they left the coast and entered upon the horrors of the sea 
 passage. The following copies of papers belonging to 
 the commander of the Edgar, show that the chiefs were in 
 his debt, and that they exonerated him from the charge of 
 kidnapping a boy named Assogua. Moreover, certain 
 letters from the chiefs of Old Town, Calabar, addressed to 
 the captain, prove that they held him and his family in the 
 highest esteem, notwithstanding the fact that the Edgar 
 was present in the unfortunate tragedy of 1767. Whether 
 this is to be attributed to the innocence of the captain, 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 
 
 539 
 
 who was at all events a worthy citizen of Liverpool, or to 
 the abnormal development of Christian charity and for- 
 ofiveness in the African chiefs and man-stealers of Old 
 Calabar, let the reader determine for himself: — 
 
 "An Ace', of Goods and Slaves Owing to the ship Edgar 
 from the Traders of Old Town as under : 
 
 " Archibong- Robin John five slaves Goods 
 
 Co* 
 20 Iron 5 Nicconees 5 Brawels 155 
 
 4 Romales 3 Cushtaes 2 Photes 106 
 
 8 B. Pipes 5 Flag-ons 50 Rods 102 
 
 3 Basons 4 Guinea stuffs 25 
 
 3 Blunderbus's 8 Kegs 112 
 
 Dr 
 
 Rec'' Nothing- 
 
 500 ; 
 
 24th July 1767 Goods for 5 slaves. 
 
 Received a further trust 10 rods i Nicconee 20 
 
 Co 
 
 "Orrock Robin John Dr 
 
 23rd July 1767 To I Keg of Powder 8 
 
 By a boy left on board name 
 Asuqu not stoped by me as 
 Orrok says nor was Orrock's 
 son 
 
 " Ambo Robin John 
 August 7. 1767 To Goods for two men slaves 
 
 Co 
 2 Blunderbs' 3 Kegs 8 Iron i Nicconee 98 
 
 2 Brawels i Cushtae 2 Romales 44 
 
 I Photac 2 Flagons 2 basons 3 Pipe bds 44 
 10 Rods 8 Chints 18 
 
 204 
 
 Dr 
 
 •Rec'* Nothing 
 
 * " Co." means cowries, small shells brought from the East Indies, and used by 
 the natives as substitutes for coin. Meneles, maniloes, or manillas were orna- 
 ments for the wrists and ancles. Romalls (or romales), niccannees, cushtaes, 
 photes, photacs, or photaes, chellos, and Guinea stuffs, were Manchester and 
 
540 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 "Ephraim Robin John 
 
 Co 
 July 23rd 1767 To 20 Rods i Romale >, 
 
 4 Basons 4 L. Meneles 48 
 
 I Neg'anepaut i Blunderbus 20 Rods i Baft 
 
 12 Knives 74 
 
 Dr 
 
 Rec"^ Nothino- 
 
 24th To Goods for 2 men slaves as under 
 
 Co 
 
 4 Kegs 8 Iron 2 Nicconees 2 Brawels 
 
 I Cushtae 104 
 
 1 Romale i Photac 16 Chello 4 b^ Pipe bds 60 
 
 2 b= Red 2 G. Stuffs i Flagon 14 rods -56 
 
 Rec'' Nothine: 
 
 " John Robin John 
 
 July 7th 1767 To 10 rods i Nicconee 
 6 Romale 
 
 x\ugt 2 To 8 Chello i hatt i 
 
 Jug brandy 
 
 Co 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 42 
 
 Dr 
 
 VRec'^ Nothing 
 
 Rec"* Nothing 
 do do 
 
 Co 
 "Augt I, 1767 Otto Rob. John Dr 
 
 To 5 Rords 5 
 do Tom Andrew Honesty, do 5 
 
 July 30th Robin John 6 L Meneles i 
 
 Rom 18 
 
 Augt 1st Rob. Rob. Jno. i Keg 2 Caps 
 
 I Shenda i Br 20 
 
 All Coppers makes. 240 and 9 slaves makes 1 1 slaves and 
 20 Copers Tom Robin had makes near 12 slaves " 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 
 Indian fabrics. Brass and copper kettles and pans, pewter l^iasons, iron pots, bars 
 of lead, bars and rods of iron, shallow brass pans, called "Neptunes," for prepar- 
 ing salt out of sea water ; plates, dishes, mugs, basons, wine glasses, tumblers, 
 decanters, knives, spoons, razors, soap, gunpowder, muskets, brandy, rum, beads, 
 trinkets, worsted caps, laced hats, looking-glasses, cottons, calicoes, chintz, silks, 
 slops, salt, fish-hooks, axes, hatchets, cutlasses, carpets, handkerchiefs, felt hats, 
 scarlet jad^ets ; all these formed part of a Guinea cargo, to be bartered for " prime 
 negroes." 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 541 
 
 "Old Calabar, August 22, 1776 
 
 "This is to certify whom it doth or may concern that the 
 within is a True List of Debts owing by the Natives of Old 
 Town to Captain Lace of Liverpoole, and that the Boy named 
 Assogua was not stoped by Captain Lace has as been 
 Reported, but was put on board by Orrock Robin John unto 
 whom he belonged, and that Captain Lace carried him of 
 for the within debts, because we made no application for him 
 nor did we even offer to Redeem him whilst the ship staid in 
 the River, as Witness our hands 
 Witness his 
 
 John Richards King X George 
 
 James Hargraves mark 
 
 his 
 Jno. X Robin John 
 mark 
 Otto Ephraim 
 his 
 Orrock Robin X John 
 mark " 
 
 Another signature is also appended which is undecipher- 
 able. 
 
 The following letter written by the former captain of the 
 Edgar to Mr. Thomas Jones, a Bristol owner of slave-ships, 
 seems to have some reference to the two brothers carried off 
 after the massacre in 1767 : — 
 
 "Liverpool, nth November, 1773 
 " Mr. Thos. Jones, 
 
 " Sir, — Yours of 7th I received wherein you disire I will 
 
 send an Affidavit concerning the two black men you mention, 
 
 Little Ep'"- and Ancoy, in what manner the ware taken off the 
 
 coast, and that I know them to be Brothers to Grandy Ep'"- 
 
 Robin John; as to little Ep""- I remember him very well, as to 
 
 Ancoy Rob. Rob. John I cant recolect I ever saw him. I 
 
 knew old Robin John the Father of Grandy Ep'"- and I think 
 
 all the Family, but never found that little Ep'"- was one of Old 
 
542 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Robins sons, and as to Rob. Rob. John he was not Old Rob. 
 Johns son. Old Robin took Rob. Rob. J"°- mother for a wife 
 when Robin Rob. J""' was a boy of 6 or eight years old, and as 
 to Rob. Rob. J"°- hen ever had a son that I heard of. You 
 know very well the custom of that place whatever Man or 
 Woman g^os to live in any family the take the Name of the 
 first man in the family and call him Father, how little Ep"'- 
 came into the family I cant tell, and as to what ship they came 
 off the coast in I know no more than you, therefore, cant make 
 Affidavit Eather to their being- Brothers to Grandy Ep'"' or the 
 manner he was brought off" the Coast, as to Grandy Ep'"- you 
 know very well has been Guilty of so many bad Actons, no 
 man can say anything in his favour, a History of his life would 
 exceed any of our Pirates, the whole sett at Old Town you 
 know as well as me. I brought young Ep'"- home, and had 
 him at School near two years, then sent him out, he cost me 
 above sixty pounds and when his Fathers gone I hope the 
 son will be a good man. As to Mr. Floyd he says more then 
 I ever knew or heard of hes in many Errors, even in the Name 
 of the vessell I was in hes wrong, there was no such a ship as 
 the Hector while I was at Callebarr, a man should be 
 carefull when on Oath, how he knows the two men to be 
 brothers to Ep"'. I cant tell, I have several times had the 
 pedigree of all the familys from Abashey the foregoing acct. 
 of Rob. Rob. was from him, but to prove the two men to 
 be Ep'"^ brothers I dont know how you will do it, I assure you 
 I dont think they are, if you think to send a vessell to Old 
 Town it might ans'' for you to purchas the two men I once 
 bog' (bought) one at Jamaica a man of no consiquance in family 
 but it ansr"" the Expence. 
 
 I am Sir your hbl Serv'- 
 
 " P.S. — I left the duke of York and Indian Queen at Callebarr." 
 
 Copy of a letter from "Grandy King George," King of 
 the Old Town Tribe, addressed to "Mr. Ambrose Lace 
 and Companey, Marchents in Liverpool " : — 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 543 
 
 " OuLD Town, Ould Callabar, yrt««a;^ 13, 1773 
 
 " Marchant Lace, S'^, — I take this opertunety of Wrig-ht- 
 ing- to you and to aquant you of the behaveor of Sum ships 
 Lately in my water there was Capt Bishop of Bristol and Capt. 
 Jackson of Liverpool laying" in the river when Capt Sharp 
 arived and wanted to purchese his cargo as I supose he ought 
 to do but this Bishop and Jackson cunsoulted not to let him 
 slave with out he payed the same Coomey* that thy did thy sent 
 him out of the River so he went to the Camoroons and was 
 away two munths then he arived in my water again and thy 
 still isisted upon his paying the Coomey acordingly he did a 
 Nuff to Blind them so I gave him slaves to his content and so 
 did all my peeple, till he was full and is now ready to sail only 
 weats for to have a fue afairs sattled and this sail be don before 
 he sails to his sattisfection, and now he may very well LafFe at 
 them that was so much his Enemeys before, for that same day 
 thy sent him out of the River this Jackson and Bishop and a 
 brig that was [tender?] to Jackson at night began to fire at my 
 town without the least provecation and continued it for twenty- 
 four hours for which I gave them two cows but it seemed as 
 after words Jackson confirmed that Bishop and him was to cary 
 away all our pawns as it was lickely true for Jackson did cary 
 of his but more than that before he sailed he tould me that if I 
 went on bord of Bishop I shuld be stoped by him and my hed 
 cut of and sent to the Duke at Nuetown, but I put that 
 out of his power for to cut of my hed or cary of the pawns 
 by stoping his boats and sum of his peeple and so I would 
 Jackson had I known his entent when he informed me of Bishop, 
 but he took care not to divulge his own secrets which he was 
 much to bleam if he]did so my friend marchant Lace if you Send 
 ship to my water again Send good man all same your Self or 
 same marchant black, f No Send ould man or man want to be 
 
 * Coomey was the duty paid to the King for the privilege of trading. 
 
 t Patrick Black, one of the oldest sea captains of the port of Liverpool. 
 Troughton,in his History, dedicated to him a view of Woodside Ferry. " An Oki 
 Stager" gives the following amusing account of " Marchant Black," when he lived 
 in Duke Street : " Picture to yourselves a kind and venerable man, in a cloak 
 enveloping his whole body from head to foot, a gold-headed cane in his hand, and 
 
544 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 grandy man, if he want to be grandy man let he stand home for 
 marchant one tune, no let him com heare or all Same Capt 
 Sharp he very gfood man, but I no tell before that time Capt. 
 Sharp go to Camoroons he left his mate till he came back again, 
 so they say I do bad for them but I will leave you to Jude that 
 for if any ship fire at my town I will fire for ship again Marchant 
 Lace S' there is Mr Canes Capt. Sharp and second mate a 
 young man and a very good man he is ver}^ much Liked by me 
 and all my peeple of Callabar, so if you plase to sand him he 
 will make as quick a dispatch as any man you can send and I 
 believe as much to your advantage for I want a good many ship 
 to cum, for the more ships the more treade wee have for them 
 for the New town peeple and has blowed abuncko for no ship 
 to go from my water to them nor any to cum from them to me 
 tho Bishop is now lying in Cross River but thy only lat him 
 stay till this pelaver is satteled for I have ofered him lo slaves 
 to Readeem the Pawns and let him have his white people, but 
 he will not for I dount want to do any bad thing to him or any 
 ship that cums to my water but there is 4 of my sons gone 
 allredy with Jackson and I dont want any more of them caried 
 of by any other vausell the coomy in all for my water now is 24 
 thousand cop'^ besidges hats case and ship gun, Marchant Lace 
 1 did as you bob me for Lett" when this tend"' com I no chop 
 
 a wig. Oh ! such a wig, a regular wig of wigs, as white as the whitest of hair- 
 powder could make it, of a transcendental cauliflower appearance, and in size far 
 beyond the proportions of the largest Sunday wig assigned to Dr. Johnson in the 
 pictures which have come down to us. We recollect once, when about some six 
 years old, getting into an awful scrape about this said venerable gentleman and his 
 megatherium wig. We were walking with a small friend of our own age and 
 inches, when suddenly the apparition of Mr. Patrick Black, arrayed as we have 
 described him, came in sight. Our admiration, as usual, burst forth in the far 
 from respectful and almost profane exclamation, 'There goes old Black with 
 his white v^ig.' Hardly were the words out of our mouth, when a gentle tap 
 came upon our shoulders, and a soft whisper fell upon our ear. ' Master Aspinalj, 
 if it would be any particular pleasure to you, I will ask my father to wear a bkack 
 wig in future.' We looked round, and O ! horror of horrors ! were we not thrown 
 into real agonies and almost hysterics, when, in the person uttering this mild 
 remonstrance, we recognised the daughter of the old gentleman, whose wig we had 
 been blaspheming? We stammered and hammered at an excuse, and then ran for 
 our life. And for many a long day we disappeared round the nearest corner as 
 quickly as possible, if any of the Black family came in sight of us in our walks. 
 The joke, however, got wind and it was long before our martyrdom and perse- 
 cution ceased, even in our own circle, where ' Old Black with his white wig was 
 thrown into our teeth whenever we were inclined to be obstreperous and naughty.'" 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 545 
 
 for all man for you bob me No Chop to times for bionbi I back 
 to much Cop"' for Coomy so I do all same you bob me who make 
 my father grandy no more white man so now marchant Lace 
 send good ship and make me grandy again for war take two 
 much cop' from me who man trade like me that time it be peace 
 or break book like me so Marchent Lace if you Send ship now 
 and good cargo I will be bound shee no stand long before shee 
 full for %o away." 
 
 The following is another lucid passage from " Grandy 
 King George's" correspondence : — 
 
 "And now war be don Wee have all the Trade true the 
 Cuntry so that wee want nothing but ships to Incorige us and 
 back us to cary it on so I hope you and marchant Black wount 
 Lat ous want for that In Curigement O^ the other marchants of 
 that Pleasce thut has a mind for to send their ships thy shall be 
 used with Nothing but Sivellety and fare trade other Capt°^ may 
 say what they Please about my doing them any bad thing for 
 what I did was thier own faults for you may think S' that it was 
 vary vaxing to have my sons caried of by Capt" Jackson and 
 Robbin sons and the King of Qua son thier names is Otto Im- 
 bass Egshiom Enick Ogen Acandom Ebetham Ephiyoung Aset 
 and to vex ous more the time that wee ware fireing at each other 
 thy hisseted [hoisted ?] on of our sons to the yard arm of Bishop 
 and another to Jacksons yard arm and then would cary all of 
 them away and cut of my hed if it had not been Prevented in 
 time and yet thy say I do them bad only stoping Sum of thier 
 peeple till I get my Pawns from them Marchant Lace when you 
 Send a ship send drinking horns for Coomey and sum fine white 
 mugs and sum glass tanckards with Leds to them Send Pleanty 
 of ship guns the same as Sharp had I dount care if there was 2 
 or 3 on a Slave Send one Chints for me of a hundrerd yard ° i 
 Neckonees of one hundrd yards i photar of a hundrd y's i Ream- 
 all I hund. yards one Cushita of a hundred yds one well baft of 
 the same Send sum Leaced hats for trade and Vicor bottles and 
 cases to much [to match ?] for all be gon for war Send sum 
 Lucking glasses at 2 Cop'^ and 4 Cop" for trade and Coomey to 
 
 2M 
 
546 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 and send Planty of hack and Bally for Trade and Comey and 
 Small Bells Let them be gfood ones and send sum Lango Sum 
 Large and sum small and sum Curl beads Send me one Lucking 
 glass six foot long and six foot wide Let it have a strong woden 
 freme Send two small Scrustones that their Leds may Lift up 
 send Plenty of Cutlashs for Coomey of 2 Cop" price Let your 
 Indgey goods be Right good and your ship no stand long send 
 me one table and six Chears for my house and one two arm 
 Schere for my Salf to sat in and 12 Puter plates and 4 dishes 12 
 Nifes and 12 forcks and 2 Large table spoons and a trowen and 
 one Pear of ballonses 2 brass Juggs with thier Cisers (?) to lift 
 the same as a tanckard and two Cop'' ones the same two brass 
 falagons of two gallons each Pleanty for trade of puter ones 
 Send Plenty of Puter Jugs for trade send me two Large brass 
 beasons and puter ones for trade Send me one close stool and 
 Send me one Large Red [illegible] Send me one gun for my own 
 shuting 5 foot barill and two pueter p*** pots Send one good 
 Case of Rezars for my Saveing Send me sum Vavey brade Iron 
 bars of 16 foot long Send 100 of them Send Large caps of 2 
 Cop" for Coomey &c Please to show this to Marchant black and 
 shend sum Large Locks for trade Sum chanes for my Salf two 
 brass tea kittles and two scacepang a fue brass Kittles 12 or 
 fifteen Cop" each Send Pleanty of canes for Coomey and one 
 long cane for my self gould mounted and small Neals for Coo- 
 mey you may pay your Coomy Very Reasonable Saws or aney 
 tools No Send Small Iron moulds for to cast mustcats and sum 
 small 3 pounders Send me sum banue* canvess to make sails 
 for my canows and sum large Leg monelonest with hendges 
 [hinges?] to thim to lock with a Screw and two large iron wans 
 for two sarve in the Room of irons and Send me one whip shaw 
 and one cross cut shaw Send red green and white hats for trade 
 Send me one red and one blue coat with gould Lace for to fit a 
 Large man Send butt' and Suger for to trade Send sum green 
 sum red sum blue Velvet caps with small Leace and Send Sum 
 files for trade, So no more at Preasent from your best friend 
 
 "Grandy King George 
 * Possibly, "brand new." + Maniloes or Manillas perhaps. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 547 
 
 "give my Complements to the g-entlemen owners of the brig-g- 
 Swift Mr Devenport Marchant Black and Capt" Black and as 
 allso Mr ErlL* 
 
 "Please to have my name put on Everything that you send 
 for me." 
 
 Robin John Otto Ephraim writes to Captain Ambrose 
 Lace, merchant, in Liverpool, as follows: — 
 
 "Parrot IsLANDy«/r 19/A 1773 
 "Sir, — I take this opportunity to write to you I send 
 Joshua I Little Boy By Captain Cooper I been send you one 
 Boy By Captain faireweather I ask Captain Cooper wether 
 Captain faireweather give you that Boy or not he told me 
 Captain fairewether sold the Boy in the West India and give 
 you the money I desire you will Let me know wether faire- 
 weather give you money or not my mother Send your wife one 
 Teeth By Captain Sharp I done very well for Captain Cooper 
 and my father too I am going to give a Town of my own I dar 
 say you knows that place I am going to Live Bashey Dukey 
 there once send Gun Enough for Trad. I want 2 Gun for 
 every Slave I sell Send me 2 or 3 fine chint for my self and 
 handkerchief any thing you want from Callabar Send me Letter 
 I think I come to see next voyage Send me some writing paper 
 and Books my Coomey his 1600 Copper Send me 2 sheep a 
 Life Sir I am your Best friend Otto Ephraimf 
 
 "S.P. I will Sell Captain Doyle slave because he told me 
 you have part for his ship I expect Captain Sharp here in 4 
 months time Remember me to your Wife and Mr. Chiffies."! 
 
 " Old Town Callabar December 2<\th 1775 
 
 "Captain Lace I take this opportunity to write to you by 
 
 Captain Jolly that letter you Send me by Sharp you did not 
 
 put your name as for Captain Sharp I will do anything hys in 
 
 my power to obliged you when Captain Cooper comes Let him 
 
 * Mr. Earle. f This letter was marked " The King's own handwriting." 
 
 + Captain Chaffers, probably. 
 
548 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Guns enoug-h I want 2 Gun for every Slave I Sell and father we 
 
 Dont want Iron only 2 for one slave so no more at present 
 
 from your friend 
 
 "Ephraim Robin John 
 
 "S.P. Remember me to your wife. 
 
 "To Captain Ambrose Lace merchant in Liverpool." 
 
 Chief's Letter. 
 From "Otto Ephraim, King of Old Town, Old Calle- 
 bar," to Mr. Ambrose Lace, merchant, in Liverpool. 
 
 " Old Town Old Callabar August 22,the 1776 
 " Mr. Lace, 
 
 " Sir, — I take this opportunity to write to you I received by 
 
 Captain Cooper one painted cloth one book in the box one gown 
 
 one ink cake and some wafers I was in the country when 
 
 Orrock send that letter to you now I put my hand and my that 
 
 is enough what Orrock can do he can do anything without my 
 
 father and I please I pay Egbo men yesterday I have done now 
 
 for Egbo I received by Captain Sharp one lace hat I make 
 
 monkey Captain Loan pay me for that cap I got one hundred 
 
 Copper for it I put him in the iron 5 days in Quabacke sea he 
 
 told me that Captain Barley give the Willy Honesty but I 
 
 make him pay for all that I was on board Barley myself he 
 
 never mention it to me that you Send me a cap by him I have 
 
 sent you by Cooper one teeth 50 weight 
 
 "Your most obedent Humble Servant 
 
 " Otto Ephraim " 
 
 " Old Town Old Callabarr March 20th 178^ 
 " Mr Lace, 
 
 "Sir, 
 
 "I take this oportunity By Captain Faireweather we 
 have no News here only Tom King John come Down to live 
 with my father is here now with us Orrock Robin John is 
 Dead May 24th 1783 (?) we give all his coppers to his both 
 son George Orrock and Ephraim Orrock Send me some Writing 
 papers and i Bureaus to Buy 
 
 "Your Humble Servant 
 
 "Otto Ephraim 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 549 
 
 "P.S. Remember me to your Wife and your son Joshua* 
 Ambrose William and Polly 
 " Mr Ambrose Lace 
 " Merchant in Liverpool 
 " Sent by ship /(?««_;'." 
 
 The Liverpool newspaper of June i6th, 1769, contained 
 the following laconic announcement: — "Theyo/i«, Captain 
 Erskine, from Bonny, at Barbadoes, with 200 and odd 
 slaves, buried 247, and gone to Dominica." There was no 
 fuss made about this mortality of at least 50 per cent, on 
 the number originally shipped, but so tender is the public 
 conscience in 1897, that the death of 247 bullocks in crossing 
 the Atlantic would immediately be the subject of questions in 
 Parliament. 
 
 On the nth of January, 1769, about eight o'clock in the 
 morning, as the Nancy, Captain Williams, of Liverpool, 
 was lying at anchor at New Calabar, with 132 slaves on 
 board, the negroes rose upon the crew and wounded several, 
 which obliged them to fire amongst the slaves, killing six 
 and wounding others. " It was with great difficulty," says 
 the paper, "though they attacked them sword in hand, to 
 make them submit. As soon as the natives on shore heard 
 the report of the guns, great numbers of them came off in 
 canoes, and surrounded the vessel, and finding her weakly 
 manned (having only five people but what were sick), 
 immediately boarded her, took away all the slaves, with 
 some ivory, and a large quantity of different kinds of goods; 
 plundered the vessel of everything on board, stripped the 
 captain and crew of books, instruments, and clothes, after- 
 wards split the decks, cut the cables, and set the vessel 
 adrift. Captain Labbar, who was lying in the river, sent 
 his boat, and brought Captain Williams and his people 
 from the vessel, which was then driving with the ebb, a 
 perfect wreck." 
 
 * Joshua Lace was the founder and first President of the Liverpool Law Society. 
 
550 THE LIVERPOOL SLA IE TRADE. 
 
 The following is a fragment of instructions handed to a 
 slave-captain who sailed from Liverpool on the 3rd of 
 August, 1770: — 
 
 "to whom deliver your Carg"oe of Slaves provided they will 
 engage to turn them out @ £30 V head sterling round clear of 
 the Island Duty and the advantage of the sale to us in bills not 
 exceeding 6 9 and 12 months (or less if possible) in equal Sums 
 — Could a freight to Porto Rica be procured on Advantageous 
 terms we should be glad and perhaps it would be a good oppor- 
 tunity to dispose of the Brig which we limit you at ;^i5o Ster- 
 ling either there or at Dominica you taking out the Butts and 
 Guinea Materials. We have liberty in our policys of Insurance 
 to go to Porto Rica. You'll find Letters lodged for you at 
 Lovell Morson & Co.'s for your Government to which we at 
 present refer. We allow of no private adventures being carried 
 out that all trade be on the owners Ace' recomending humane 
 treatment to your Crew, care of accidents by Fire and that a 
 Diligent Watch be kept so that the unhappy Misfortunes of 
 Insurrections may be prevented. We are wishing you health 
 and a prosperous voyage. 
 
 " Y° friends &ct 
 
 "John & W"m Crosbie 
 " Edw° Chaffers 
 " Ambrose Lace." 
 
 The following curious particulars regarding the customs 
 paid at Whydah when trading for slaves, appear to have 
 been drawn up by Captain Ambrose Lace, for the guidance 
 of one of his captains : — 
 
 " State of the Customs which the ships that make their 
 whole trade at Whydah pay to ye King of Dahomey : 
 
 Thes slaves paid to ye Cabor- 
 Eight Slaves for Permission kees after which he gives you 
 of Trade gongon Beater and ,two small children of 7 or S years 
 
 Broakers 
 
 old which the King sends as a 
 return for the Customs. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 
 
 551 
 
 I Slave for Water and washerwoman] These slaves paid to 
 
 2 Do. for the Factory house 
 7 Do. for the Conoe 
 
 j whom supplies you 
 
 6 Anchors Brandy 
 
 is I 
 
 Slave ^ 
 
 2oCabessof Cowriesisi 
 
 Do 
 
 40 Sililees 
 
 
 Do 
 
 200 lb Gunpowder 
 
 
 Do 
 
 25 Guns 
 
 
 Do 
 
 10 Long- Cloths 
 
 
 Do 
 
 10 Blue Bafts 
 
 
 Do 
 
 10 Patten Chints 
 
 
 Do 
 
 40 Iron Barrs 
 
 
 Do , 
 
 J These to the Fort 
 The above Slaves are Valued as under : — 
 
 x\nd if any other good must 
 be in proportion but you must 
 'observe to pass the Goods 
 Least in Demand. 
 
 " After the Customs are paid which should be done as soon 
 as possable for the traders dare not trade till the Kings Customs 
 are paid, the Vice Roy gives you the nine following Servants 
 viz. one Conducter to take care of the goods that comes and 
 go's to and from the waterside which you deliver him in count 
 and he's obliged to answer for things delivred him he's paid 2 
 Gallinas of Cowries every time he conducts any thing whether 
 coming- or going and one flask of brandy every Sunday. 
 
 " Two Brokers which are obliged to ^o to the traders 
 houses to look for slaves and stand Interpiter for the Purchas 
 the are paid to each two Tokes of Coweres 1^ day and one 
 flask of brandy every Sunday and at the end of your trade you 
 g-ive to each of them one Anchor of Brandy and one ps of 
 Cloth. 
 
 "Two Boys to serve in the house the are paid each two 
 tokees V day at the end of your trade 1?* ps of cloth. 
 
 "One Boy to Serve at the tent water side 2 Tokees "^ day.^ 
 
 "One Doorkeeper paid 2 Tokees "i- day i ps Cloth for him \ 
 
 and ye above. I 
 
 "One Water woman for the factory 2 Tokees "4 day at end of 
 trade. One ps of Cloth. 
 
552 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 "One Washer Woman 2 Tokees '3 day and six Tokees 
 everytime you g-ive her any Linnen to Wash and one ps of Cloth 
 at ye end of trade. 
 
 "N.B. the two last Servants are sometimes one if so you 
 only pay one. 
 
 "To the Cannoe men for bringing the Captain on shore 
 one Anchor Brandy and to each man a hatt and a fathom Cloth. 
 To the Boatswain a hat ^ ps Cloth one Cabes Cowrees a 
 flask of brandy every Sunday and a bottle every time the cross 
 the Barr with goods or Slaves and every time the pass a white 
 man and at the end of trade for earring the Capt" on board 
 one anchor of Brandy and four Cabeses Cowrees. 
 
 " N.B. The above Bottles flasks &c was usely given to ye 
 Conoemen but now the Capt" gives y'" one Anchor of Brandy 
 and one Cabese of Cowrees every Sunday for the weeks Avork. 
 To the Gong Gong Beater for anouncing trade 10 Gellinas of 
 Cowrees and one flask of Brandy. 
 
 "To the Kings Messenger for Carring News of the ships 
 Arrivell and Capt"'^ Compliments to the King ten Gallinas. 
 
 " To the Trunk keeper a bottle brandy every Sunday and 
 a peice of Cloth when you ^o away if you are satisfied with 
 his service. 
 
 " To the Capt" of the Waterside on your arrivell one anchor 
 of brandy and at your Dep'- one ps- Cloth and one anchor of 
 brandy. 
 
 " To the six Waterrowlers two tokees I?* day each and two 
 Bottles Brandy besides which you pay them 2, 3 or 4 tokees of 
 cowrees each Cask according to the size at the end of trade 
 two ps Cloth and one anchor Brandy. 
 
 "To the Vice Roy who go's with his people to Compliment 
 the Cap'- at his arrivell and Conduct him to the Fort one Anchor 
 Brandy and two flasks but if Coke be their four flasks Brandy. 
 
 "To the Vice Roy for his owne Custom i ps Silk 15 yards 
 I Cask of Flower one of Beef but if you are short of these you 
 may give him some thing else in Lew of them. 
 
 "To making the Ten one Anchor Brandy 4 Cabess Cowrees. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 553 
 
 "To the Cap'"' Gong Gong that looks after the house at 
 night one bottle "^ day and one ps Cloth if your content. 
 
 "You pay 3 Tokees of Cowrees for every load such as one 
 Anchor 40 Sililees 10 ps Cloth and so in proportion for small 
 goods but when loads are very heavy you pay more as ten Gal- 
 linas for a Chest of pipes &c. 
 
 The Tokee is 
 The Gallina is 
 
 The Cabess is 
 
 "N.B. their go's five tokees to one Gallina and twenty ^ 
 Gallinas makes one Cabess." J 
 
 Letter from a Chief, addressed "see Capt. Brighouse": — 
 
 "Friend William Brighouse, 
 
 "I have sent you one woman and girl by Shebol. I will 
 come toomorrow to see you. Suppose you Some Coffee to 
 spar. Please send me a Little. 
 
 "I am your PViend 
 "Deer 30th 1777 " Egoboyoung CoFFiONG 
 
 "Sunday" 
 
 In the year 1772, slavery in England received its death- 
 blow. In 1729, Lord Talbot, Attorney-general, and Mr. 
 Yorke, Solicitor-general, had given an opinion which raised 
 the whole question of the legal existence of slaves in Great 
 Britain and Ireland. They said that the mere fact of a slave 
 coming into these islands from the West Indies did not 
 make him a free man, and he could be compelled to return 
 again to those plantations. On the strength of this decision, 
 slavery continued to flourish in England for a period of 
 forty-three years. Chief-Justice Holt, however, had ex- 
 pressed a contrary opinion to that of the law officers of the 
 crown ; and, after a long struggle the matter was brought 
 to a final issue in the case of the negro Somerset, so nobly 
 fought by Granville Sharp. On May 22nd, 1772, Lord 
 Mansfield in the name of the whole bench, delivered the 
 
554 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 memorable decision,* which, from that day to this, has been 
 one of the glories of our land — that "as soon as a slave set 
 foot on the soil of the British Islands, he became free," or 
 in the words of Cowper : 
 
 " Slaves cannot breathe in Engfland ; if their luniks 
 Receive our air, that moment they are free ; 
 They touch our country, and their shackles fall." 
 
 Notwithstanding this ruling, we find in Williamson's 
 Advertiser, of May 4th, 1780, the following curious 
 advertisement : — 
 
 "RUN AWAY, on the iSth of April last, from PRESCOT, 
 A BLACK MAN SLAVE, named GEORGE GERMAIN 
 FONEY, aged twenty years, about five feet seven, rather 
 handsome ; had on a green coat, red waistcoat, and blue 
 breeches, with a plain pair of silver shoe buckles ; he speaks 
 Eng-lish pretty well. Any person who will bring- the black to 
 his master. Captain Thomas Ralph, at the Talbot Inn, in 
 Liverpool, or inform the master where the black is, shall be 
 handsomely rewarded. All persons are cautioned not to 
 harbour the black, as he is not only the slave, but the 
 apprentice of Captain Ralph."! 
 
 * "On ]\Iay 22nd, 1772, the court of King's Bench gave judgment in the ca^e 
 of Somerset, the slave, viz. that Mr. Stuart, his master, had no power to compel 
 him on board a ship, or to >end him back to the plantations. Lord Mansfield 
 stated the matter thus : The only question before us is, is the cause returned 
 sufficient for remanding the slave ? If not, he must be discharged. The cause 
 returned is, the slave absented himself, and departed from his master's service, and 
 refused to return and serve him during his stay in England ; whereupon, by his 
 master's orders, he was put on board the ship by force, and there detained in 
 secure custody, to be carried out of the kingdom and sold. So high an act of 
 dominion was never in use here ; no master ever was allowed here to take a slave 
 by force to be sold abroad, because he had deserted from his service, or for any 
 other reason whatever. We cannot say the cause set forth by this return is allowed 
 or approved of by the laws of this kingdom, therefore the man must be discharged." 
 Annual Register, vol. 15, p. HO. 
 
 + In contrast to the above, we take the following from the Liverpool newspaper : 
 "On Saturday, February 26th, 17S0, died in the 79th year of his age, '1 homas 
 Crowder, a merchant who had acquired a large fortune in Jamaica ; and on 
 Tuesday died his faithful black servant, who had served him upwards of twenty 
 years." 
 
 " On Jany. 4th, 1797, died William Patrick, a black, upwards of 36 years a 
 servant in the family of U'illiam Gregson, Esq., of Everton, in which capacity he 
 was honest and faithful becoming his situation.' 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 555 
 
 The rapid decline of commerce consequent upon the 
 revok of the North American Colonies, and the activity of 
 the American Privateers, seriously interfered with the 
 Liverpool slave trade. In 1773, the number of ships 
 cleared to Africa was 105, burthen 1 1,056 tons, which carried 
 to the West Indies 28,200 negroes. In 1775, the number of 
 ships fell to 81, burthen 9,200 tons, while during the war 
 this branch of traffic, in common with others, had declined 
 so much that in 1779, only 11 vessels, burthen 1205 tons, 
 sailed from the Mersey to the coast of Africa. One great blow 
 to the trade was an Order in Council prohibiting the export- 
 ation of gunpowder, an article which formed a large portion 
 of every Guinea cargo. 
 
 In August, 1775, a sailors' riot broke out in Liverpool, 
 and continued for several days, threatening to lay the 
 town and shipping in ashes. Some sailors, who had 
 been engaged on board the Derby Guineaman, Captain 
 Yates, fitting out in one of the docks, having finished the 
 rigging, demanded their wages at the rate of 30s. per 
 month, for which they had contracted ; but the owners 
 refused to pay more than 20s., as there were then about 
 3000 sailors in the port unemployed, and no fewer than 
 forty sail of Guinea ships laid up. The men returned on 
 board the vessel, and in a short time cut and demolished 
 the whole of the rigging, and left it on the deck. A party 
 of constables seized nine of the ringleaders, whom the 
 magistrates committed to the Tower in Water-street, where- 
 upon upwards of 2000 sailors, armed with handspikes, clubs, 
 and other weapons, attacked the gaol and rescued their 
 comrades. The rioters then marched about the docks till 
 near midnight, terrifying the inhabitants and unrigging all 
 the vessels that were ready to sail. This was on a Friday ; 
 on Saturday all was quiet, and on Monday, the sailors, in 
 a body, waited on the magistrates, praying redress and 
 support. They came to no terms, but met the following 
 
556 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 day, and the merchants agreed to give the wages they 
 demanded. On this they dispersed and spent the day in 
 the greatest festivity, but hearing that 300 able-bodied men 
 had been hired at ids. per day to apprehend those who had 
 been most forward in the riot, the sailors again met at nine 
 o'clock the same evening, unarmed, and went to the 
 Exchange, which they surrounded. Some straggler of their 
 party unfortunately broke a pane of glass, whereupon the 
 special constables within fired upon the mob, killing seven 
 and wounding about forty. A general attack upon the 
 windows of the Exchange was made with stones, amid the 
 dismal cries and groans of the wounded. On Wednesday 
 morning, upwards of 1000 sailors again assembled, all with 
 red ribbons in their hats. They went to Parr's, the gun- 
 smith, took about 300 muskets, plundered other shops of 
 powder, balls, &c., and at one o'clock, being all armed, 
 some with muskets and others with cutlasses, they 
 surrounded the Exchange, against which they planted six 
 cannon, which they had brought from the vessels in dock.* 
 Having hoisted the bloody flag, they blazed away at the 
 building with great guns and small arms. The cannon in 
 Castle-street was so large, and the street so narrow, that 
 the houses shook till scarce a pane of glass was left whole in 
 the neighbourhood. In this attack four persons were 
 killed. It is said that much more damage would have 
 been done to the Exchange by cannon balls if some one had 
 not cried, " Aim at the goose," alluding to the cormorant, 
 or liver, the heraldic device of the town, which formed one 
 of the figures in the pediment. The gunners took the hint, 
 
 * "When the sailors were attacking the houses of the African merchants in 
 1775," says Stonehouse, " a cannon was obtained from the Old Dock by a party 
 of the rioter-. One of these fellous took a horse out of Mr. Blackburne's stable 
 at the Salt Works, and attempted to harness it to a truck on which the cannon 
 had been placed. The leader of the gang, in stooping down to fasten a rope to 
 the truck, offered so fair a mark for a bite, that the horse, evidently having notions 
 of law and order, availed himself of the opportunity of making his mark upon Jack's 
 beam end, which sent him off roaring, leaving the gun in the possession of the 
 saline Bucephalus." 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 557 
 
 and the cannon, being pointed high, did less mischief than 
 it might otherwise have done. From the Exchange, they 
 marched to Whitechapel, to the house of Mr. Thomas 
 RatcHffe, a Guinea merchant, the attack upon which is 
 thus described by an eye-witness : — 
 
 " This day I have been so frig-htened as hardly to be able to 
 do anything-. Such scenes of distress as I have been eye-witness 
 to, with the clattering- of swords and cannon, have so terrified 
 me, that I hardly know what I say or do. To inform you of 
 the particulars : you must know that in Whitechapel, lived a 
 merchant [Mr. Thomas Ratcliffe], who was said to be the first 
 that fired upon the sailors ; in consequence thereof, a large 
 number of them came with a drum, a flag-, and armed with 
 guns, blunderbusses, cutlasses, clubs, &c. who fired on the 
 said merchant's house, which stands In sight of us, where they 
 threw out the feather beds, pillows, &c. ripped them open, and 
 scattered the feathers in the air, broke open the drawers, full 
 of clothes, laces, linen, tore in pieces the house and bed furni- 
 ture, together with the stoves, parchments, china, &c. and all 
 that was in the house. We were all in a dreadful confusion, 
 but they behaved very well to every one, excepting those to 
 whom they owed a grudge. They then marched to a very 
 large house behind us, [in Rainford Garden] belonging to 
 another merchant, whose name is [William] James, and one 
 of the greatest traders here.* The family having been apprised 
 of their coming, had left it, and taken some of their most 
 valuable effects with them to a country house they have ; but 
 such good furniture they destroyed here, would have grieved 
 any one to see. They destroyed also the compting-house, with 
 
 * Mr. William James had, at one time, 29 vessels engaged in the slave trade, but 
 they were not of large dimensions. lie died at his house in Clayton Square, ia 
 January, 179S, aged 67. "Mr. James," says one who knew him, "sat for some 
 years in the House of Commons, and gave evidence of talent far beyond mediocrity. 
 There was also a spice of originality about him which commanded attention when- 
 ever he spoke, which, however, was but seldom. '1 here was another iMr. James, 
 in Liverpool, in those days, rather a rough-spun and unhewn kind of person, and 
 very eccentric and amusing in his way — a character, in short, amongst his own circle. 
 His name was Gabriel James, or 'the Angel Gabriel,' as some of his waggish 
 friends called him. He had a ready tongue and plenty of mother wit, and seldom 
 came off second best in a tilt and tournament with words.' 
 
558 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 all the papers, g-oods, &c. The household furniture was very 
 rich, with abundance of china and chintz bed-furniture, all of 
 which were torn to shivers, and linen, plate, &c. tumbled into 
 the street, and thrown about in fragments immediately, in the 
 air. During- the whole time the cellars were kept quite open, 
 and what liquor they did not drink, they threw away. Our 
 poor Debby would g^o to see them, and has g^ot her eyelash cut 
 with a candlestick. 
 
 "It is not possible to form any idea of the distress this 
 place has been in, all this day. The merchants get to the 
 corner of the streets, where, methinks, I yet see them standing-, 
 with fear painted in their faces. The 'Chang-e has all its 
 windows broke, and frames forced quite out. They have been 
 firing- also at the walls the greatest part of this day, and are 
 now gone to Cleveland Square. I suppose there is not a 
 merchant who has wanted to lower their wages but will 
 be visited bj^ them ; and God knows how long these riots may 
 continue. You will not wonder, after reading this, that I was 
 terrified. I am a coward, it's true, but I think this would have 
 alarmed any one. They read the Riot Act last night, and 
 then began to fire on them, when they killed three, and 
 wounded fifteen. This has made them so desperate. I could 
 not help thinking we had Boston here, and I fear this is onl}' 
 the beginning of our sorrows." 
 
 In destroying Mr. James's furniture, a little negro boy 
 was discovered by the sailors, concealed in the clock case, 
 whither he had fled for safety. Having got drunk at 
 Mr. James's house, the mob marched to Mr. Thomas 
 Yates' in Cleveland Square, and from thence to Mr. John 
 Simmons' in St. Paul's Square, sacking both houses, after 
 which they met at their rendezvous, the North Ladies' 
 Walk, where they gathered daily under a leader they 
 called " General Gage." Besides other acts of turbulence 
 and disorder, which were committed during several days, 
 the rioters marched about the streets in gangs, presenting 
 pistols at the breast of every person they met, and demanding 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 559 
 
 money from them. They also visited the houses of the 
 merchants, levying contributions of money, among the 
 rest, the residence of Mr. WilHam Leece, a merchant, in 
 Water-street. It happened that no one was within, except 
 the merchant's daughter and the female servants. Miss 
 Leece, with a fearlessness and self-possession that was com- 
 pletely wanting in the local authorities of Liverpool during 
 the riot, went to the door, and, addressing the mob leader, 
 who was a sailor, enquired what they wanted. Jack, 
 struck with admiration at her courage and coolness, took 
 off his hat, and remained uncovered while, in respectful 
 language, he solicited, instead of demanding, a contribu- 
 tion. Having received it, he thanked her, and drew off the 
 rabble without doing any mischief. This wise and high- 
 spirited lady afterwards married Mr. James Drinkwater, 
 who was mayor of Liverpool in 1810. Her eldest son, 
 Sir George Drinkwater, was mayor in 1829 ; her second 
 son, Mr. William Leece Drinkwater, of the Isle of Man, 
 was a member of the House of Keys ; her third son, 
 Mr. John Drinkwater, was the father of Deemster Drink- 
 water. Her daughter, Margaret, married Mr. Peter Bourne, 
 who was mayor of Liverpool in 1825. The riot was 
 eventually quelled by a troop of light horse from Man- 
 chester, * and in April, 1776, fourteen of the sailors 
 
 * A gentleman, who accompanied the party of Lord Pembroke's Royal Regiment 
 of Horse, that was sent for from Manchester to Liverpool, to quell the riot, writing 
 on September 6th, says: " Last Wednesday, at three o'clock in the afternoon, an 
 express was received at Manchester from the Mayor of this place, demanding the 
 assistance of the soldiery, to put a stop to the riotings of the sailors; and in the 
 evening two of the principal gentlemen in the town arrived, praying their immediate 
 march, otherwise, Liverpool would be laid in ashes, and every inhabitant murdered. 
 Upon this, the men were collected together with all speed, to the number of lOO 
 privates and six officers ; and about three o'clock in the morning, they marched. It 
 rained very hard, and did not cease until they came within six miles of Liverpool, 
 where they were met by the Mayor, who told them the rioters were drawn up in a 
 body to attack them. Before they proceeded any further, they examined their 
 arms, which being very wet, required a short time to put them in order and 
 when done they loaded, then marched in six divisions with their horses on each 
 side, to keep the flanks clear, intending to give the sailors the street fairing. 
 They arrived at Liverpool about four o'clock in the afternoon, in good spirits, 
 though somewhat fatigued, amidst the acclamations of the whole town, who now 
 
560 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 concerned in the affair, *'were suffered to go on board one 
 of his Majesty's ships destined for America." With the 
 exception of the rebellion and the Gordon Riots, the annals 
 of the eighteenth century probably cannot mention a more 
 extraordinary and formidable popular outbreak in England 
 than these riots, arising from the greed of slave-merchants 
 and the ferocity of their hirelings, and in which cannon, 
 muskets, pistols, cutlasses and other deadly weapons were 
 freely used by the mob. 
 
 The True Briton, Captain Dawson, which sailed from 
 Bonny, for the West Indies, on the 14th of June, 1776, with 
 upwards of 500 slaves, in coming out had an insurrection on 
 board, in which the sailmaker was killed, and cooper 
 wounded. 
 
 One of the most inexplicable facts in connection with the 
 trade is, that when the slave-ships were in danger from an 
 enemy on the middle passage, the captains frequently armed 
 some of the negroes, who fought most gallantly to preserve 
 the vessels and the lives of the men who were carrying them 
 into perpetual and pitiless bondage. We have an instance 
 of this in the case of the notorious slaver, the Brooks. 
 Captain Noble, her commander, writing to the owners from 
 Montego Bay, Jamaica, on the 26th of April, 1777, says: — 
 
 " I can with a g"ood deal of pleasure inform you that your 
 ship Brooks has been the destruction of one of the American 
 privateers. The next morning- after we left Barbadoes, we 
 were chased by her, and made all the sail we could to g^et from 
 her, but to no purpose, for she came up with us very fast, and 
 a little afterwards we saw another privateer right ahead, so 
 that we had then nothinp- to do but either fieht or be taken. 
 
 came out of their houses, which they had not clone, nor even shewn their faces, for 
 some time before. Immediately upon their appearance, the rioters dispersed, with 
 the utmost confusion, hiding themselves in garrets, cellars, &c. and in short, 
 anywhere they could. The soldiers then surrounded several houses, and in the 
 course of Thursday and Friday, made about sixty prisoners, who were sent to 
 Lancaster Jail, and now all remains very quiet." 
 
THE MA SSA CRE A T OLD CA LA BA R. 561 
 
 We therefore, to prevent being- engaged by them both at once, 
 took in all our small sails, and made ready for an engagement. 
 She came up right astern, would shew no colours till we fired 
 two shot at her, which did g-reat execution ; upon which she 
 hoisted American colours, and gave us a broadside, which we 
 returned with our two stern chasers, which never missed raking- 
 them fore and aft. After eng-aging- her about an hour, we 
 were so lucky as to shoot away her mast, just above the deck, 
 by wiiich time the other was almost up with us, but seeing the 
 sloop's mast gone, she hauled away from us as fast as possible. 
 The sloop and us exchanged many shot after her mast was 
 gone, but I thought it the most prudent way not to attempt 
 taking her for fear of the other (which was a schooner) 
 altering- her mind, and coming- back, upon which we bore away 
 in a tattered condition, our sails and rig-ging- being very much 
 torn to pieces, and a g-reat many shot in the hull, but 
 miraculously nobody killed or wounded on board us, except 
 .the Doctor, who received a musket ball in his belly, but has 
 g-ot the better of it already, as it came through the stern before 
 it hit him. We killed a great number on board the privateer, 
 as they stood quite exposed to our shot. She was a sloop of 
 ten or twelve guns, a great number of swivels, and as full of 
 men as she could stow. I believe the greatest part Frenchmen 
 by their appearance. I had fifty of our stoutest slaves armed, 
 who fought with exceeding great spirit. After I left the sloop, 
 the schooner came to her, and, I suppose, took the people out 
 of her ; she sunk about an hour after I left her. The engage- 
 ment was within two miles of St. Vincent, on the S.E. part 
 of the island. I went into Kingston Bay, and went on board 
 the Favourite, sloop-of-war, to beg- some powder, which they 
 supplied me with very readily, and that evening made sail for 
 Jamaica, kept a g-reat way to the southward, and then hauled 
 right over for Jamaica, by which means (I dare say) we 
 escaped a good many of the Americans. We saw several 
 small sail on our way down, but what they were, I cannot 
 tell." 
 Captain Noble, when writing, had not heard the sequel. 
 
 2N 
 
562 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Soon after the removal of the sloop's crew on board the 
 schooner, the latter blew up, and fifty-five persons were 
 drowned and thirteen saved, amongst whom was the captain 
 of the sloop privateer. The captain and three men were 
 lodged in gaol at St. Vincent's. We shall presently hear 
 more of the Brooks, and her accommodation for compulsory 
 passengers. 
 
 At a public meeting of the African Freemen, merchants 
 and others, held in the Exchange, in Liverpool, on the 14th 
 of July, 1777, a committee of merchants was appointed to 
 take into consideration the state of the African trade, and to 
 draw up some plan to be laid before the ensuing Sessions 
 of Parliament for the better regulation of the said trade. 
 The following merchants were present : — 
 
 Alderman Greg-son, Mr. Higginson, Mr. Sparling-, 
 
 Mr. Slater, Mr. T. Hodg-son, Mr. Blundell, 
 
 Mr. Caruthers, Mr. Heywood, Mr. Brown, 
 
 Mr. Bold, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Birch, 
 
 and Mr. Grimshaw. 
 
 It was resolved that the Committee be an open one, "to 
 which any merchant or other person, trading to Africa from 
 Liverpool, or any Freeman of the African Company, there, 
 or other merchant of the same place, should be allowed to 
 come, be heard, and vote." The Committee sat at ten o'clock 
 every Monday morning in the Town Hall, and was formed of 
 the following gentlemen : — 
 
 William Crosbie, Esq., Mayor, 
 
 William Greg-son, John Dobson, Alexr. Notting-ham, 
 
 Gill Slater, Joseph Brooks, Jun., Thomas Hodg-son, 
 
 Thomas Case, Benjamin Heywood, Thomas Staniforth, 
 
 Georg-e Case, Thos. Rumbold, Thomas Birch, 
 
 Richard Savag-e, James Caruthers, Wm. Crosbie, Jan., 
 Francis Ing-ram. 
 
 The Secretary was Francis Gildart. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 5G3 
 
 On the 4th of December, 1777, th.& Jane^ Captain Syers, 
 and the Gregsoii, Captain Boyd, two Liverpool slave-ships, 
 arrived at Barbadoes, from Africa, after a passage of seven 
 weeks. Two days before their arrival, they exchanged a 
 broadside with a small sloop, but the day following, thQ.Jane, 
 then a good way ahead of the Gregson, was grappled and 
 attacked by a large sloop of 14 guns and well manned, who 
 managed to throw five boarders into thQ Jane, but these were 
 soon repulsed, and a close action ensued for about two hours, 
 when the privateer cut her grapnel and sheered off, having 
 caught fire, which, however, was extinguished. The Jane 
 had five men and a negro boy killed, and six seamen dan- 
 gerously wounded. "Captain Boyd," says the Liverpool 
 newspaper, "crowded all he could, but was not able to get up 
 and assist, otherwise 'tis likely the people of Barbadoes would 
 have had the pleasure of seeing those two brave African 
 heroes bring the Rebel Taxgatherer into Carlisle Bay." An 
 account from St. Vincent's, dated December 27th, mentions 
 that a Liverpool Guineaman had given a rebel privateer a 
 severe drubbing, near Barbadoes, and that ^2> of the priva- 
 teer's crew were killed, and upwards of 47 wounded, and this, 
 no doubt, was the action with th^Jane. 
 
 In March 1779, in a cause tried before Earl Mansfield, at 
 Guildhall, Amissa, a free black of Anamaboe, on the coast 
 of Africa, was awarded ;^500 damages against the captain 
 of a Liverpool slave-ship, under the following circumstances. 
 In 1774, the defendant, wanting hands while on the coast, 
 hired the plaintiff as a sailor, advancing part of his wages. 
 When the ship arrived at Jamaica, the plaintiff was sent, 
 with three other sailors, to row some slaves on shore, and, 
 to his intense astonishment and grief, instead of being 
 allowed to return to the ship, he was detained by the 
 purchaser of the slaves, to whom the captain had sold him, 
 and sent up to the mountains to work as a slave. When 
 the heartless captain returned with his ship to Anamaboe, 
 
564 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 he gave out to Amissa's friends that he had died on the 
 passage. A year or two later, however, a black returned to 
 Anamaboe, who reported that he had left Amissa in slavery 
 at Jamaica, whereupon the King, and other great people of 
 
 the country, desired Captain E , who was then on the coast 
 
 with his ship, on his arrival at Jamaica, to redeem Amissa 
 and send him back to his friends, they paying all expenses. 
 The better to identify his person, they directed the son of 
 one Ouaw, a gold taker at Anamaboe, to accompany Captain 
 
 E on his voyage. Soon after their arrival at Jamaica, 
 
 they found out the man, redeemed him after a slavery of 
 near three years, and brought him to London, where the 
 matter was laid before the African Committee, who ordered 
 the defendant to be prosecuted as a warning to other 
 captains, with the result, as aforesaid, of heavy damages. 
 
 Early in 1781, the Sally, Captain Taubman, had the good 
 fortune of capturing, and escorting to Barbadoes, a Dutch 
 Guineaman with 350 slaves, which, taken at the average 
 market price ruling in Jamaica for eleven years — ;^50 a 
 head — would amount to ;^ 17, 500. 
 
 On the 28th of April, 1781, Captain Stevenson of the slave- 
 ship Rose, wrote to his owners, in Liverpool, from Old 
 Harbour, Jamaica, in the following terms : — 
 
 "This Is to inform you of m}^ safe arrival here on the i6th 
 inst, after a passag-e of 48 days from Cape Coast, but had the 
 misfortune the day before we got in here, to fall in with a 
 French privateer of 14 guns, and 85 men, called the Mould, 
 belonging to Cape Nichola Mole, off the S.E. end of this Island. 
 At first coming up with us, we gave her two broadsides with 
 our great guns and small arms, which she returned In the like 
 manner, but her Intention was for boarding us, he at last came 
 up on our starboard quarter, with a stinkpot fast to the end of 
 his gaff, thinking to swing It on board, but one of the Trantee 
 slaves shot It away with his musquet. He then grappled our 
 main chains, and we lay together yardarm and yardarm for 
 
THE MASSACRE AT OLD CALABAR. 565 
 
 above one glass, when he thought proper to sheer oflF, having- 
 g-ot his belly full. I had about fifty men, black and white, on 
 deck at great guns and small arms, halfpikes, boathooks, boat 
 oars, steering^-sail-yards, firewood, and slack ballast, which 
 they threw at the Frenchmen in such a manner that their heads 
 rattled against one another like so many empty callibashes. 
 
 "My people all behaved very well, both white and black. 
 We lost a white man named Peter Cane ; myself wounded, and 
 five other white people, as likewise seven blacks, one of which 
 is since dead, the other six I am in hopes will recover. The 
 Frenchmen hove such a large quantity of powder flasks on 
 board us, that the ship abaft was all in a blaze of fire three 
 different times ; this hurt the blacks much, having no trowsers 
 on them. I had my own shirt burnt off" my back. After that I 
 received a ball through my right shoulder, but, thank God, it 
 was in the latter part of the action, so that I did not lose much 
 blood. On the doctor's examining my wound, he found the 
 ball was gone clean through my shoulder." 
 
 The Rose carried 12 guns, three and four-pounders, and 
 30 white people. On the 12th of June in the following year, 
 she was taken on the Coast of Africa, by two French frigates 
 and a cutter, and sent to England as a cartel with prisoners. 
 
 The Othello (Letter of Marque) Captain Johnson, a slave- 
 ship belonging to Messrs. Heywood & Co., on her voyage 
 to the coast of Africa, took the St. Anne., 300 tons burthen, 
 from Buenos Ay res for Cadiz, with a cargo of 8,500 dry 
 hides, 180 boxes of Peruvian bark, and four sacks of fine 
 Spanish wool, the whole valued at ^20,000.* The prize- 
 master put into Killybegs, in September, 1781, to await 
 orders from the Messrs. Heywood, before venturing to pro- 
 ceed to Liverpool, on account of the swarm of the enemies' 
 privateers on the coast and in the Channel. 
 
 The unfortunate owner of a considerable part of the cargo, a Spanish gentle- 
 man, who spoke very bad English, was on board the prize when taken. He told a 
 horril'le tale of a rebellion which had broken out in several provinces of South 
 America, particularly Cuzco, where the native Indians had hanged the governor, 
 and driven 500 Christians into a church, to which they set fire, and destroyed them. 
 
566 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1783, the Othello was taken, on 
 the coast of Africa, by the crew, and retaken by the second 
 mate and the doctor, but not until Captain Johnson had lost 
 his life in attempting to quell the mutiny. In July of the 
 same year, we read of her being cast away on her passage 
 from Africa to Tortola, on the east of that island ; the cargo, 
 consisting of 213 slaves, was saved. 
 
 On the 7th of December, 1781, the Nelly, Captain 
 Fairweather, on her passage from Africa to Jamaica, with 
 429 slaves on board, was wrecked in the night upon the 
 Grand Canaries ; 108 of the slaves, and one of the crew 
 perished. The remainder of the blacks were shipped in a 
 vessel the captain purchased, and sent to Jamaica. 
 
 The peace of 1783 infused new life into the trade, which 
 had been languishing for nine years ; the number of slave- 
 ships which cleared from Liv^erpool for the coast of Africa in 
 that year being 85, burthen 12,294 tons, carrying 39,170 
 slaves.* Hitherto, no public demonstration hostile to the 
 traffic had been made, though private opinion in many quar- 
 ters was gradually strengthening against it. The time, 
 indeed, was fast approaching when a small but devoted band 
 of men were to win undying renown by grappling with, and, 
 after a fierce and prolonged struggle, slaying a monster more 
 hideous than the Gorgon, cruel as Moloch, and hydra-headed 
 in its ramifications. In 1787, the little cloud, no bigger than 
 a man's hand, appeared in the political sky in the shape of a 
 petition to the House of Commons, from some members of 
 the Society of Friends, praying for the suppression of the 
 trade in human flesh. 
 
 * The reader is warned apainst accepting the figures of Sir James Picton on this 
 c[uestion, as he repeatedly gives the amount of tonnage as the number of slaves carried ; 
 for instance, in this case, he puts the number of slaves at 12,294, instead of 39, 170. 
 The tables in the Appendix show at a glance the number of vessels, tonnage, &c., 
 cleared for Africa from 1709 to 1S07. 
 
56< 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Abolition Movement. 
 
 " When Clarkson his victorious course began, 
 Unyielding- in the cause of God and man, 
 Wise, patient, persevering to the end. 
 No guile could thwart, no power his purpose bend. 
 He rose o'er Afric like the sun in smiles, 
 He rests in glory on the western isles." 
 
 The causes which led to the agitation against the slave-trade 
 will now be briefly stated. The cruelty, the injustice, and 
 the impolicy of the traffic had been exposed in Dr. Beattie's 
 "Essay on Truth" (1770), in Adam Smith's "Wealth of 
 Nations" (1776), in Paley's "Moral Philosophy" (1785), 
 and in John Wesley's "Thoughts on Slavery." The pulpit 
 began to denounce the evil, and the spirit moved the Quakers 
 of America and England to the most vigorous and chivalrous 
 crusade against a traffic so peculiarly revolting to their 
 humane and pacific tenets. In the year 1776, Mr. David 
 Hartley, member for Hull, brought the question before 
 Parliament. It was reserved, however, for Granville Sharp, 
 the champion of the negro Somerset, to call public attention 
 to a case which did more than any collection of essays to 
 stamp the horrors of the trade upon the minds of disinterested 
 persons, and produced an earnest desire for its abolition. It 
 was a cause tried at Guildhall, in the year 1783, in which 
 certain underwriters were heard against Gregson and others, 
 of Liverpool, owners of the slave-ship Zong, Captain 
 
568 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Collingwood. It was alleged that the captain and officers 
 of that vessel had thrown overboard into the sea 132 living 
 slaves, in order to defraud the underwriters, by claiming the 
 value of the same, as if they had been lost in a natural way. 
 It came out in the evidence that the slaves on board the 
 Zong were very sickly ; that sixty had already died, and 
 several were ill and likely to follow, when Captain Colling- 
 wood proposed to James Kelsall, the mate, and others, to 
 throw several of the negroes overboard, stating that if they 
 
 -died a natural death, the loss would fall upon the owners, 
 but that if they were thrown into the sea, it would fall upon 
 the underwriters. He accordingly selected 132 of the most 
 sickly of the slaves, 54 of whom were immediately thrown 
 overboard, and 42 on the following day. A few days later, 
 the remaining 26 were brought upon deck. The first batch 
 of 16 submitted to be thrown into the sea, but the rest, with 
 a noble resolution, would not permit the officers to touch 
 them, and leaped overboard after their companions. 
 
 i/ln May, 1787, the Society for the Abolition of the African 
 Slave trade was instituted in London. The Committee con- 
 sisted of Granville Sharp (chairman, and father of the cause 
 in England), William Dillwyn (an American Quaker), 
 Samuel Hoare, George Harrison, John Lloyd, Joseph 
 Woods, Thomas Clarkson, Richard Phillips, John Barton, 
 Joseph Hooper, James Phillips, and Philip Sansom. With 
 the exception of Sharp, Clarkson, and Sansom, all the 
 members were of the Society of Friends. At a meeting 
 held on the 7th of June, Mr. Barton informed the members 
 that Mr. William Roscoe, of Liverpool, author of a poem 
 entitled, "The Wrongs of Africa," had offered the profits 
 that might arise from the sale of that work, to the committee 
 towards furthering their cause. This offer, coming from the 
 head-quarters of the iniquity, was deemed very encouraging, 
 especially as the preface to the poem was written by Dr. 
 Currie, another dweller in the tents of unrighteousness. 
 
THE ABOLITIOX MOVEMENT. 569 
 
 This poem, the second part of which was published the next 
 vear, was well received by the public, and afterwards trans- 
 lated into German. In his juvenile poem of "Mount 
 Pleasant," written in 1771, and published in 1777, Mr. 
 Roscoe had previously voiced his abhorrence of the un- 
 hallowed traffic. In 1787, he published a temperate and 
 masterly pamphlet entitled, "A General View of the African 
 Slave Trade, demonstrating its injustice and impolicy ; with 
 hints towards a bill for its abolition." "I rejoice," writes 
 good Quaker Barton to him, "to find that thy pamphlet has 
 occasioned a ferment amongst the African merchants at 
 Liverpool, and I trust it will occasion a ferment amongst 
 our senators likewise, and produce the conviction we so 
 much wish them to feel." 
 
 William Roscoe, the man who had the courage to deliver 
 this straight blow from the shoulder at the favourite sin of 
 his native town, was the son of an innkeeper and market- 
 gardener, on the slope of what is now Mount Pleasant. In 
 his youth he worked in his father's garden, and carried 
 the potatoes upon his head to sell in the public market. 
 Then we trace him, as a boy, in a bookseller's shop, and 
 from there to an attorney's office. He conquered the dead 
 languages ; he made himself master of many living tongues ; 
 and then, emerging as an attorney, banker, poet, and his- 
 torian of a high order, displayed an erudition rare in those 
 who have not enjoyed university training, combined with an 
 elegance and originality of style, which achieved a world- 
 wide reputation, and caused him to be sought out by the 
 illustrious and learned of every land. In Italy, the name of 
 the historian of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and of the Ponti- 
 ficate of Leo the Tenth, was a passport in all cultivated 
 society, and even in his native town, where his sentiments 
 regarding the slave trade were hateful to the majority of the 
 people, he was not without honour; and when the stroke of 
 undeserved misfortune bowed the noble head, it was admitted 
 
570 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 that he had "worn the white flower of a blameless life," and 
 kept unsullied his escutcheon as one of Nature's noblemen. 
 During the last hundred years the names of two illustrious 
 sons of Liverpool have stood out on the roll of history, con- 
 spicuous for their combination of moral worth with rare 
 intellectual and literary powers. One of them — William 
 Roscoe — has long since passed away; the other — William 
 Ewart Gladstone — is still amongst us, with mental forces 
 unimpaired at eighty-eight. These two great men and great 
 scholars were born within bowshot of each other. 
 
 In January, 1788, the Society for the Abolition of the 
 
 African Slave Trade made its first appearance before the 
 
 public of Liverpool with a well-written address, designed to 
 
 rprove that the traffic, which was then said to bring about 
 
 /;^300,ooo a year into the Port of Liverpool, was immoral 
 
 Tand unjust, and one which ought to be abolished, as 
 
 unworthy of a Christian people. A list of the members oi 
 
 the Society* was published in the same year, from which it 
 
 appears that there were eight righteous persons still left in 
 
 Liverpool, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Their 
 
 names, and the amount of their subscriptions, were as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 Anonymous, Liverpool 
 Dr. Jonathan Binns, Liverpool .. 
 Mr. Daniel Daulby, Liverpool 
 Mr. William Rathbone, Liverpool 
 Mr. William Rathbone, Junr. , Liverpool 
 Mr. William Roscoe, Liverpool ... 
 Mr. William Wallace, Liverpool... 
 Mr. John Yates, Liverpool 
 These worthy men, however, were not all the enemies of 
 the trade in Liverpool, even at that early period. The blind 
 
 "Baines, Picton, and others state that only two Liverpool names — those of 
 William Rathbone and Dr. Binns — figured in the list of original members. In the 
 printed list at the Picton Reference Library, we find eight subscribers, as above. 
 " Anonymous " was probably Dr. Currie. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 571 
 
 poet, Edward Rushton, sang the wrongs of the negro in 
 vigorous, manly verse. Mr. Clarkson has inscribed his 
 name, along with that of Roscoe, and Dr. Currie, in his 
 map of the pioneers in the great cause of abolition, because 
 each of the three, acting independently, published his work 
 on behalf of the poor African, before any public or combined 
 agitation had been commenced. Rushton, indeed, though 
 residing in Liv'erpool, had been bold enough to affix his 
 name to his work, entitled, " West Indian Eclogues." His 
 story is a remarkable one. Born at Liverpool in 1756, 
 educated at the Free School, and, when about eleven years 
 of age, apprenticed to the sea, in the employ of Messrs. 
 Watt & Gregson, merchants, he had an early experience of 
 the horrors of the slave trade. When he was sixteen years of 
 age, the vessel in w^hich he served was in danger of ship- 
 wreck ; the captain and crew gave up all for lost, and 
 abandoned themselves to despair. Young Rushton seized 
 the helm, saved the ship, and was promoted to the rank of 
 second mate. He sailed as mate on a voyage to Guinea, 
 and while on the coast, contracted a friendship for a negro 
 named Ouamina, whom he taught to read. Going one day 
 to the shore with a boat's crew, of which Ouamina was one, 
 the boat upset. Rushton swam towards a small water cask, 
 which point of safety Ouamina had previously attained, and 
 when the negro saw that his friend was too much exhausted 
 to reach the cask, he pushed it towards him, bade him good 
 bve, and sank to rise no more. Rushton afterwards lost 
 his sight in an attempt to relieve the sufferings of a cargo 
 of slaves, afflicted with ophthalmia. An ardent love of 
 freedom constituted a leading feature in Mr. Rushton's 
 character through life. The idea of the Liverpool School 
 for the Blind is said to have originated with him. His son 
 became stipendiary magistrate of Liv^erpool in May, 1839. 
 
 Another of the gallant little band of Reformers, who dared 
 to unfurl, in the very stronghold of the enemy, the standard 
 
572 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 of truth, liberty and justice, was Dr. James Currie, a native 
 of Annandale, and father of William Wallace Currie, who 
 became first Mayor of Liverpool, under the Municipal 
 Corporations Bill. Dr. Currie, then rising into notice as a 
 physician in the town, had the courage to risk popularity 
 and practice by writing in defence of the down-trodden 
 African, and in reprobation of the slave trade, and it may 
 be that the fact of his doing so will be remembered, when 
 his biography of Burns, which disgusted Charles Lamb, 
 is forgotten. 
 
 In March, 1788, two months after the Abolition Society 
 had broken ground in Liverpool, the slave-merchants put 
 forth or found a champion worthy of their cause, in the 
 person of the Rev. Raymond Harris,*" a Spanish Jesuit, of 
 English extraction, who had settled in Liverpool. This 
 reverend defender of iniquity put forth a pamphlet entitled, 
 " Scriptural Researches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade, 
 showing its conformity with the principles of Natural and 
 Revealed Religion, delineated in the sacred writings of 
 the Word of God." We need not do more than indicate the 
 singular specimens of sophistry and perversity that 
 characterised this production. The author contended "that 
 no one could doubt the licitness of the slave trade, who 
 believed that the Bible was the Word of God. In proof ot 
 this assertion he first laid it down as an axiom, that whatever 
 practices were mentioned in either the Old Testament or the 
 New, with implied approbation, were sanctioned by God, 
 and would continue to be lawful through all time. This he 
 contended, was the case with slavery and the slave trade. 
 His first example was that of Hagar, slave of Sarah, 
 Abraham's wife, who having fled from her mistress, in 
 consequence of having been hardly dealt with by her, was 
 
 * He was born at Bilbao, 4th September, 1744 ; admitted S.J., 1758 ; expatriated 
 from Corsica, April 1st, 1767 ; was afterwards chaplain at Walton Hall ; removed 
 to Liverpool, where he officiated at the Catholic Church, in Edmund Street. 
 Whilst there he was thrice suspended by his Bishop. 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 573 
 
 ordered by God to return, and humble herself under the 
 hand of her mistress. A second example was that of the 
 patriarch Joseph, who had bought the whole people of Egypt 
 for King Pharaoh, during the seven years of famine. A 
 third was that of the Gibeonites, who had been condemned 
 to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for ever to the 
 Israelites. Many other instances, equally apposite, followed, 
 and the general inference which the author drew from them 
 all was, that the slave trade was a ' licit ' occupation, and 
 that those who did not believe it to be so, did not believe their 
 Bibles."* 
 
 This astounding vindication of man-stealing so delighted 
 the Corporation that they presented the reverend sophist 
 with a gratuity of ;^ioo. Lord Hawkesbury (afterwards 
 Earl of Liverpool) actually condescended to distribute some 
 of Harris's precious " Researches," recommending them at 
 the same time as containing unanswerable arguments in 
 favour of the slave trade. 
 
 While those who were interested in the traffic admired 
 the reverend gentleman's "bold attempt to degrade the 
 noblest of all the attributes of the Deity — his justice and his 
 mercy" — others were filled with indignation and loathing at 
 its appearance. Dr. Currie, a man of cool and dispassionate 
 judgment, thus speaks of the trade and its advocate in a 
 letter to a friend : — 
 
 " The g^eneral discussion of the slavery of the negroes has 
 produced much unhappiness in Liverpool. Men are awaking- 
 to their situation, and the strugg-Ie between interest and hu- 
 manity has made great havoc in the happiness of many families. 
 If I were to attempt to tell you the history of my own transac- 
 tions in this business, I should consume more time than I can 
 spare. Altog-ether I have felt myself more interested and less 
 happy than is suited to my other avocations. The attempts 
 
 *Thouias Baines's " History of Liverpool," pp. 472-3. 
 
574 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 that are continually made to justify this gross violation of the 
 principles of justice one cannot help repelling; and at the same 
 time it is dreadful to hold an argument where, if your opponent 
 is convinced, he must be made miserable. A little scoundrel — 
 a Spanish Jesuit — has advanced to the assistance of the slave- 
 merchants, and has published a vindication of this traffic from 
 the Old Testament. His work is extolled as a prodigy by 
 these judges of composition, and is in truth no bad specimen 
 of his talents, though egregiously false and sophistical, as all 
 justifications of slavery must be. I have prompted a clergy- 
 man — a friend of mine — to answer him, by telling him that if 
 such be religion, I would 'none on't.'" 
 
 Harris's pamphlet was promptly answered by several 
 writers, who had no great difficulty in showing that if his 
 argument proved anything, "it proved a great deal too 
 much ; for it proved that the marrying of three or four 
 wives at one time was a commendable practice ; made it a 
 matter of duty to stone all blasphemers to death ; and 
 justify true believers, not only in making slaves of heathen 
 nations, but in exterminating them with fire and sword. 
 Among those who published rejoinders were the Rev. Mr. 
 Hughes and the Rev. Henry Dannett, M.A., minister of 
 St. John's Church, whose pamphlet was entitled, "A 
 Particular Examination of Mr. Harris's Scriptural Re 
 searches on the Licitness of the Slave Trade." 
 
 The most eloquent answer, however, to Harris's work 
 was that of William Roscoe, entitled, "A Scriptural Refu- 
 tation of a Pamphlet lately published by the Rev. Raymond 
 Harris, entitled ' Scriptural Researches on the Licitness of 
 the Slave Trade,' in four letters from the Author to a 
 Friend." This rejoinder immediately attracted the attention 
 of the London Abolition Committee, who pronounced it the 
 work of a master, thanked the author for the important 
 service he had rendered to the cause, and arranged with him 
 for the issue of a new edition on his own terms. 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 575 
 
 Nothing daunted, the Rev. Raymond Harris, mounted 
 on his good steed, "Sophistry," again entered the lists as 
 the champion of "Hcit" man-steahng ; but his death, very 
 soon afterwards, left the controversy to be carried on by 
 writers who argued the question on behalf of the merchants 
 as one of profit and political expediency, rather than of right 
 and wrong. The line of defence adopted in the news- 
 papers and pamphlets of the day was the great importance 
 and magnitude of the trade ; the ruin of the West India 
 Islands if the supply of "labourers from Africa" were 
 discontinued ; that slavery was rather a blessing than 
 otherwise for the negroes themselves ; and that the blacks 
 were an inferior race, incapable of living as free men. 
 
 While collecting evidence on behalf of Abolition, the 
 Rev. Thomas Clarkson visited Liverpool, and soon found 
 himself in dramatic situations. He called upon Mr. 
 William Rathbone, Mr. Isaac Hadwen, Dr. Binns (all of 
 the noble people called Quakers), Mr. Roscoe, Dr. Currie, 
 and Mr. Edward Rushton. Mr. Rathbone, than whom 
 the negro had no better friend, had supplied Mr. Clarkson 
 (through their fellow-worker, Mr. James Phillips, of 
 London) with copies of the muster-rolls of Guineamen, from 
 ihe Custom-house at Liverpool. The revelations of mor- 
 tality among the seamen in the slave trade made by these 
 muster-rolls, had an important bearing upon the agitation, 
 and helped to explode the theory that the employment was 
 "a nursery for seamen." Mr. Rathbone, desirous that Mr. 
 Clarkson should have reliable information, introduced him 
 to Mr. Robert Norris, a merchant, who had formerly been 
 a slave-captain, and who was writing a history of Dahomey, 
 
 ■■■Jonathan Binns, M.D., was for many years senior physician to the Liverpool 
 Dispensary. He published, at Edinburgh, in 1762, Dissertatio Aledica in Aiigti- 
 ralis de Exercitatione. He superintended, for some time, the school belonging to 
 the Society of Friends, in Yorkshire, and whilst there, published an English 
 Grammar, and also a Vocabulary. He removed to Lancaster, where he jDractised 
 as a physician until the tinie of his death, in 1812, aged 65 years. — " bmithers' 
 History," p. 433. 
 
576 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 and a life of the King, who sold his own subjects to the 
 slave-captains. Mr. Norris, at this time, made no secret of 
 the facts with which he was priming Mr. Clarkson, and 
 even "answered in a solid manner" the arguments of a 
 slave-merchant named Coupland, who fired up and defended 
 the humanity and policy of the trade. Finally, Mr. Norris 
 drew up certain clauses, which, if made law, would effect 
 the abolition of the traffic. Strange to say, Mr. Norris 
 afterwards completely changed his front, and became one of 
 the champions of the trade, receiving the thanks of the 
 Corporation for his exertions, which were further acknow- 
 ledged, after his decease, by the grant to his widow of a life 
 annuity of ;^ioo from the Corporate funds. 
 
 Mr. Clarkson found a sympathiser in Captain Chaffers, 
 who had been in the West India employ, and who offered 
 
 to introduce him to Captain L , whose long experience 
 
 in the slave trade would be invaluable to the abolitionist. 
 
 The two accordingly called upon Captain L , who, in 
 
 speaking of the productions of Africa, happened to mention 
 that mahogany trees, the height of a tall chimney, grew at 
 Calabar. Then a curious scene ensued : — 
 
 "As soon as he mentioned Calabar," says Mr. Clarkson, 
 "a kind of horror came over me. His name became directly 
 associated in my mind with the place. It almost instantly 
 occurred to me, that he commanded the Edgar out of Liverpool, 
 when the dreadful massacre there took place. Indeed I seemed 
 to be so confident of it, that attending- more to my feelings than 
 to my reason at this moment, I accused him with being con- 
 cerned in it. This produced great confusion among us. For 
 he looked incensed at Captain Chaffers, as if he had introduced 
 me to him for this purpose. Captain Chaffers again seemed to 
 be all astonishment that I should have known of this circum- 
 stance, and to be vexed that I should have mentioned it in 
 such a manner. I was also in a state of trembling myself. 
 Captain L could only say it was a bad business. But he 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 577 
 
 never defended himself, nor those concerned hi it. And we 
 soon parted, to the great jo}' of us alL" 
 
 On his first arrival in the town, Mr. Clarkson found the 
 people ready enough to talk about the slave trade. Horrible 
 facts were in everybody's mouth, and it seemed to him that 
 the inhabitants were no longer capable of being surprised at 
 the extent of their own wickedness. From this callousness 
 he expected to extract the damnatory evidence for which he 
 vearned. After the argument with Mr. Coupland, and the 
 
 scene with Captain L , however, he found that attention 
 
 of an unpleasant character had been drawn to the purpose 
 of his visit, and information was no longer obtainable. Slave- 
 merchants, slave-captains, and others, dropped into the 
 "King's Arms," where he was staying, and gazed at him as 
 an animal exceedingly rare and somewhat to be feared. 
 Dale, the master of the tavern, was delighted with the 
 custom his new guest attracted. Many of the callers dined 
 there, and entered into warm arguments with the enemy of 
 "the trade;" some provoked and insulted him, others hinted 
 that men were going about to abolish the slave trade who 
 would have done much better if they had stayed at home. 
 Or\^ said that he had heard of a person turned mad, who 
 had conceived the thought of destroying Liverpool and all 
 its glory; while another, laughing boisterously, raised his 
 glass and gave as a toast, "Success to the trade," watching 
 if Clarkson would drink it. Mr. Clarkson, fortunately, had 
 with him Mr. Falconbridge, of Bristol, who had been in the 
 slave trade. He was an athletic and resolute looking man 
 who, when the slave-captains ridiculed Clarkson's statements 
 and asked if he had ev^er been on the Coast, used to strike in 
 with, "But I have; I know all your proceedings there, and 
 that his statements are true." This went on day by day, 
 until the situation became dangerous. The friends of Abo- 
 lition saw him privately, said he was right, and exhorted him 
 
 to persevere ; but fear of having their houses pulled down 
 20 
 
578 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 held them back from giving evidence publicly against the 
 man-traffic. These were not idle fears, for Dr. Binns had 
 nearly fallen into a plot laid against him because he was a 
 subscriber to the Abolition Society, and was suspected of 
 aiding Mr. Clarkson. That brave-hearted man, without ab- 
 solutely leaving the "King's Arms," took rooms in William- 
 son-square, where he was visited by seamen from the Guinea 
 ships, whose stories of wrong, murder, and ill-treatment, 
 made his life a misery. The hostility against him increased. 
 He received anonymous letters entreating him to leave the 
 town immediately, or he should never leave it alive. The only 
 effect these threats had upon him was to make him more vigi- 
 lant when he went out at night, which he never did without 
 Falconbridge, who, unknown to him, went about well armed. 
 That Mr. Clarkson's life was in danger at this time seems 
 undeniable. When he was standing on the pier-head one 
 day, a gang of men closed upon him and bore him back 
 within a yard of the precipice, when perceiving his danger, 
 he darted forward, knocking one of the ruffians down, which 
 broke their ranks, and enabled him to escape, "not without 
 blows, amidst their imprecations and abuse." Amongst 
 them he recognised the murderer of the steward of a 
 Guinea ship, around whom he was drawing the coils of 
 justice, and two others who had insulted him at the " King's 
 Arms." 
 
 Mr. Clarkson paid a visit to Lancaster, where he learned 
 that the slave-merchants of the place made their outfits at 
 Liverpool, as a more convenient port. Lancaster, too, was 
 then under a cloud in the African trade. The captain of 
 the last slave-ship which sailed thence to the Coast, had 
 taken off so many of the natives treacherously, that any 
 other vessel known to come from Lancaster would be cut 
 off. There were then only one or two superannuated slave- 
 captains living in the town. On looking over the muster- 
 rolls at the Custom-house, Mr. Clarkson found that the loss 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 579 
 
 of seamen was precisely in the same proportion as at other 
 ports. 
 
 On his return to Liverpool, he learned from Mr. Falcon- 
 bridge that during his absence visitors had continued to 
 call at the " King's Arms," to deliver their abuse of him, 
 and that one of them had said that "he deserved to be thrown 
 over the pier-head." 
 
 Mr. Clarkson had now collected in London, Bristol, and 
 Liverpool, the names of more than 20,000 seamen who had 
 made different voyages, and he knew what had become of 
 each man. As the Committee in London were pressing 
 him to write an Essay on the impolicy of the Slave Trade, 
 he bade farewell to his few friends in Liverpool. To one 
 of them he refers as follows : — 
 
 "The last of these was William Rathbone, and I have to 
 regret that it was also the last time I ever saw him. Inde- 
 pendently of the gratitude I owed him for assisting me in this 
 great cause, I respected him highly as a man. He possessed 
 a fine understanding, with a solid judgment. He was a 
 person of extraordinary simplicity of manners. Though he 
 lived in a state of pecuniary independence, he gave an example 
 of great temperance, as well as of great humility of mind. 
 But, however humble he appeared, he had always the 
 courage to dare to do that which was right, however it might 
 resist the cvistoms or the prejudices of men. In his own line 
 of trade, which was that of a timber merchant on an extensive 
 scale, he would not allow any article to be sold for the use of 
 a slave-ship, and he always refused those who applied to 
 him for materials for such purposes. But it is evident that 
 it was his intention, if he had lived, to bear his testimony 
 still more publicly upon this subject ; for an advertisement, 
 stating the ground of his refusal to furnish anything for this 
 traffic, upon Christian principles, with a memorandum for 
 two advertisements in the Liverpool papers, was found 
 among his papers at his decease." 
 Mr. Rathbone resided in Liver-street, and afterwards in 
 
580 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Cornhill. He was a fine, venerable-looking man, with 
 dark eyebrows and flowing, silvery hair. He was very 
 highly respected, and it is said that he was not surpassed 
 by any contemporary individual in Liverpool in acts of 
 benevolence and charity. In 1805, he published "Memoirs 
 of the Proceedings of the Quakers in Ireland," Mr. 
 Rathbone died in February, 1809. It had been his custom 
 to inscribe in a book devoted to that purpose the names of 
 those of his family whom he had lost by death. In this 
 volume, his bosom friend, William Roscoe, has, in his own 
 hand, thus recorded the death of his friend : — 
 
 "nth February, 1809. 
 " William Rathbone died at nine o'clock in the morning-, 
 ag-ed 51 years and 8 months. 
 
 " This domestic record which contains the brief memorials 
 of his beloved and respected relatives, reg"istered by his own 
 hand, and endeared b}- the warm expression of his affection, 
 now receives the honoured name of 
 
 "William Rathbone,* 
 " Of Liverpool, Merchant ; 
 " a name which will ever be disting-uished by independence, 
 probity, and true benevolence, and will remain as an example 
 to his descendants of genuine piety, patient resignation, and 
 of all those virtues which give energ-y to a community, adorn 
 society, and are the delight of private life. 
 
 " Through life beloved ! O let this votive line 
 Unite in death its author's name with thine. 
 
 " William Roscoe." 
 
 The agitation of this question by a man like Clarkson, 
 who, with invincible patience, zeal, and faith, hunted up 
 the most astounding facts and made them public in his 
 
 *Mi. Ricliard Brooke, who died';in 1852, in his 92nd year, knew five out of 
 seven William Rathbone's in successive generations, namely : — a great-great-grand- 
 father, a great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and son. What is more remarkable 
 ]ierhaps is, that virtue and benevolence appear to be hereditary in this old 
 Liverpool family. 
 
THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT. 581 
 
 pamphlets, and by Wilberforce, who, in 1787, had become 
 the parHamentary champion of aboHtion, could have only 
 owt, possible termination ; but the effects produced in 
 Liverpool by the twenty years' contest between right and 
 wrong were of a very demoralising character. "The secret 
 consciousness," says Sir James Picton, "that the trade 
 would not bear the light either of reason. Scripture, or 
 humanity, combined with the conviction that the prosperity 
 of the town depended upon its retention, produced an 
 uneasy feeling of suspicion and jealousy, and a dread of all 
 change, v/hich could not but impart a peculiar character to 
 those at least connected with the occupation." 
 
582 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Horrors of the Middle Passage. 
 
 " Freighted with curses was the bark that bore 
 The spoilers of the West to Guinea's shore ; 
 Heavy with g-roans of ang"uish blew the gales 
 That swell'd that fatal bark's returning- sails ; 
 Old Ocean shrunk, as o'er his surface flew 
 The human cargo and the demon crew." 
 
 We have now arrived at a period when a Parliamentary 
 enquiry into the whole conduct of the slave trade enables us 
 to give an authoritative account of the method of procuring 
 slaves on the coast, together wath a reliable sketch of the 
 perils and horrors of the middle passage. 
 
 The great demand for slaves made it the interest of the 
 princes and chiefs of Africa to procure supplies by any 
 means — by war, by rapine, or perfidy. In their efforts to 
 keep pace wuth the merchants' cry of " more, more !" these 
 cruel panderers did not scruple to turn a naturally fine and 
 productive country into one continued scene of devastation 
 and slaughter, for more than three or four thousand miles 
 along the coast. 
 
 With a hellish ingenuity the very crimes of the country 
 seemed to have been made on purpose to serve the interests 
 of slave-sellers and slave-buyers. Theft, adultery, witch- 
 craft, and the removal of fetiches were falsely imputed for 
 the sake of selling the accused into slavery, and some of the 
 chief men were said to employ the best looking w^omen 
 they could find, well dressed, in order to entice the unwary 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 583 
 
 into criminal situations, which ensured their conviction, or 
 offered a pretext for selHng them to Europeans. It was, in 
 effect, argued by the defenders of the trade that the slaves 
 procured in consequence of native wars would have been 
 put to death, had not the slave-merchants humanely and 
 providentially stepped in and relieved the native belligerent 
 powers of the necessity of committing wholesale massacres. 
 The abolitionists, however, maintained that what the slave- 
 traders called war was nothing else but pillage, robbery, 
 and kidnapping, of the most wanton, cruel, and sordid 
 character. When slave-ships arrived on the coast, the petty 
 princes of the country sent out their myrmidons in parties 
 of from 300 to 3000, often on horseback, to attack and burn 
 towns and villages in the dead of night, so that the panic- 
 stricken inhabitants were the more easily seized and bound, 
 while attempting to save themselves and those most dear to 
 them from the flames. Every man, woman, and child that 
 could be secured by this armed banditti were carried off 
 without mercy ; the men stripped quite naked, and chained 
 together ; the women and children loose. In this manner, 
 they were all driven by their own countrymen, assisted 
 sometimes by Europeans, towards the place of sale, like 
 sheep for the slaughter, the distance to be travelled before 
 they reached the coast being often two or three hundred 
 miles. Thus the dearest relatives were torn from each 
 other's arms, in all probability never more to meet on earth. 
 Even children were separated from their parents, except the 
 sucking infants, who were permitted, for obvious reasons, 
 to accompany the mother. "What a moving scene," 
 exclaims Clarkson. " Parents and children, husbands and 
 wives, brothers and sisters, not only forced from their native 
 country, but denied, in their exile and captivity, the small 
 consolation of mingling their sighs and tears in mutual 
 condolence and commiseration ! Such a scene must exceed 
 the powers of language to express, or of the human mind to 
 
584 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 conceive, where not felt or seen." When, as sometimes 
 happened, native princes objected to pillage their subjects 
 and sell their countrymen into bondage, the traders kept 
 them in a state of intoxication till their end was attained. 
 Some noted traders were a terror to the country, for they 
 openly and avowedly kidnapped their brethren, whom they 
 carried off gagged, lest their cries should alarm the country 
 as they passed. This method was called "panyaring," and 
 no questions were asked by the slave-captains, whose 
 business was to make up their cargoes speedily. The 
 slave-ships occasionally expedited this desirable object by 
 capturing canoes at sea, and along the coast. They also 
 decoyed the natives on board on pretence of traffic, seized 
 them, and put them in irons. Another dastardly method 
 was to make some leading native drunk, get him to sell 
 some of his own relations, whom he redeemed, when sober, 
 at any price insisted upon by the slave-captains or their 
 agents. A son sold his father, who was a slave-owner, and 
 he had to give twenty slaves to redeem himself. A trader, 
 returning from a ship with the proceeds of four slaves he 
 had just sold at a high price, was seized by a native chief, 
 taken to the vessel and sold, thus becoming the companion 
 in misery of those over whom he had a short time before 
 held the power of life and death. Traders were occasionally 
 invited to dine with the captain on board ship, when they 
 were filled with drink, and awoke to find themselves out at 
 sea. They were then stripped, branded, and thrust down 
 the hold to share the fate of the other slaves, some of them 
 possibly their own victims. The instances of wicked 
 artifice and base treachery employed in procuring slaves, 
 mentioned in the evidence, are almost innumerable. 
 
 The slaves having been procured by some, or all, of the 
 foregoing methods, we must now find a ship to transport 
 them to the scene oi their future labours, or — to death ; their 
 own choice being probably the latter. We choose for our 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 585 
 
 purpose a typical vessel, with whose fighting qualities we 
 are already acquainted — the Brooks, Captain Noble. 
 
 From a return presented to Parliament in 1786 by Captain 
 Parrey, who was sent to Liverpool by the Government to 
 take the dimensions of the ships employed in the African 
 slave trade from that port, it appears that the dimensions of 
 the ''^Brooks" were as follow: — The length of the lower 
 deck, with the thickness of the gratings and the bulkheads, 
 was 100 ft. ; her breadth of beam on the lower deck from 
 inside to inside, 25 ft. 4 in. ; the depth of the hold from 
 ceiling to lower deck, 10 feet ; height between decks, 5 ft. 
 8 in. ; length of the men's room on lower deck, 46 ft. ; 
 breadth of the men's room on lower deck, 25 ft. 4 in. ; length 
 of the platform in men's room on the lower deck, 46 ft. ; 
 breadth of the same platform on each side, 6 ft. ; length of 
 the boys' room, 13 ft. 9 in. ; breadth of the boys' room, 25 ft. ; 
 breadth of platform in boys' room, 6 ft. ; length of the 
 women's room, 28 ft. 6 in. ; breadth of the women's room, 
 23 ft 6 in. ; length of platform in women's room, 28 ft. 6 in. ; 
 breadth of platform in women's room on each side, 6 ft. 
 The number of air-ports going through the side of the deck 
 was 14 ; the length of the quarter deck, 33 ft. 6 in., by a 
 breadth of 19 ft. 6 in. ; the length of the cabin was 14 ft., 
 by 19 ft. in diameter, and 6 ft. 2 in. in height ; length of 
 the half-deck, 16 ft. 6 in., by 6 ft. 2 in. in height; length of 
 the platforms on the half-deck, 16 ft. 6 in., by 6 ft. in 
 breadth. The vessel is described as frigate-built, without 
 forecastle, and pierced for 20 guns. Nominal tonnage, 297 ; 
 supposed tonnage by measurement, 320; number of seamen, 
 45. It appears from the accounts given to Captain Parrey 
 by the slave-merchants themselves, that, when leaving the 
 coast of Africa, she carried, besides her crew, 351 men, 
 127 women, 90 boys, and 41 girls, a total of 609, though 
 only legally allowed to carry about 450. She lost by death, 
 on her passage, 10 men, 5 women, 3 boys, and i girl. In 
 
586 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 the year 1782, she arrived at Jamaica with 646 slaves, but 
 how many she had when she left the coast on that voyage 
 is not stated. 
 
 Her provisions for the negroes were: — 20 tons of split 
 beans, peas, rice, shelled barley, and Indian corn ; 2 tons 
 of bread ; 12 cwt. of flour; 2,070 yams, averaging 7 lbs. 
 each ; 34,002 gallons of water ; 330 gallons of brandy, 
 rum, &c. ; 70 gallons of wine ; 60 gallons of vinegar ; 60 
 gallons of molasses ; 200 gallons of palm oil ; 10 barrels of 
 beef; 20 cwt. of stock fish ; with 100 lbs. of pepper. She 
 was 49 days on the passage from the Gold Coast to the 
 West Indies, the shortest passage of nine vessels reported 
 being 42 days, and the longest 50 days. 
 
 The mind cannot realise, language cannot paint the 
 sufferings of one day, nay, of one hour, passed under such 
 circumstances, by the tightly-wedged human cargo in the 
 hold of the best managed slaver. Dreadful must have been 
 the agony under the most favourable conditions, with a 
 humane captain, like John Newton, an able surgeon, fine 
 weather, and a short passage, but what a circumscribed hell 
 were they tormented in when, after several months spent on 
 the coast to complete the cargo, they experienced, during a 
 long passage to the West Indies, lasting from six to eight 
 weeks, rough weather, inhuman treatment, and scanty 
 rations of bad quality ! In one instance, the slaves on 
 board a schooner which carried only 140, were kept below, 
 and the gratings covered with tarpaulin, during a gale of 
 wind, which lasted eighteen hours, when no less than 50 
 slaves perished in that brief space of time. '' One real view, 
 one minute, absolutely spent in the slave rooms on the 
 middle passage," says an officer employed in the trade, 
 " would do more for the cause of humanity than the pen of 
 a Robertson, or the whole collective eloquence of the 
 British Senate." 
 
 To indicate the sanitary condition of the ships on the 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 5S7 
 
 middle passage, it is sufficient to quote the testimony of a 
 
 surgeon employed in the trade : — 
 
 " Some wet and blowing" weather having occasioned the 
 port-holes to be shut and the g"rating to be covered, fluxes 
 and fevers among- the negroes ensued. While they were in 
 this situation, my profession requiring it, I frequently went 
 down among^ them, till at length their apartments became so 
 extremely hot as to be only sufferable for a very short time. 
 But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered 
 their situation intolerable The deck, that is, the floor of their 
 rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had 
 proceeded from them in consequence of the flux, that it 
 resembled a slaughter-house. It is not in the power of the 
 human imagination to picture to itself a situation more 
 dreadful or disgusting. Numbers of the slaves had fainted, 
 they were carried upon deck, where several of them died, and 
 the rest were, with difficulty, restored. It had nearl}- proved 
 fatal to me also." 
 
 The men — except in sickness — were kept constantly 
 chained two and two ; the right leg of one to the left leg of 
 the other, their hands being secured in the same manner. 
 In this miserable state they had to sit, walk, and lie, some- 
 times for nine or ten months, without any mitigation or 
 relief till they reached their destination. It was impossible 
 for them to turn or shift posture with any degree of ease, or 
 without hurting one another. The effects of this severe 
 treatment were assigned as the reason why the men died on 
 the passage in double the proportion of the women and 
 children, who went unfettered. Some who went below in 
 the evening in apparent good health were found dead in the 
 morning. The Rev. John Newton, in his evidence, said he 
 had often seen a dead and a living man chained together. 
 Such as were out of irons were packed spoon-ways, one on 
 another, so that each had less room than a man in a coffin ; 
 those who did not get into their places quick enough being 
 stimulated by the cat-o'-nine tails. 
 
588 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 In favourable weather the slaves were brought up on the 
 main deck daily, about eight o'clock in the morning, and 
 as each pair ascended from the horrible dungeon, a strong 
 chain, fastened bv ring bolts to the deck was passed through 
 their shackles, a precaution absolutely necessary to prevent 
 insurrections, but often ineffectual, as we have repeatedly 
 had to record. They were allowed to remain on deck about 
 eight hours, during which time they were fed, and their 
 apartment below was cleaned — a terrible task. If the 
 weather was bad, however, they were only permitted to come 
 up in small parties of about ten at a time, to be fed ; after 
 remaining on deck a quarter of-an-hour, each mess was 
 obliged to give place to the next in rotation. 
 
 When feeding time was over, the slaves were compelled 
 to jump in their chains, to their own music and that of the 
 cat-o'-nine-tails, and this, by those in the trade, was euphe- 
 mistically called "dancing." Those with swollen or diseased 
 limbs were not exempted from partaking in this joyous 
 pastime, though the shackles often peeled the skin off their 
 legs. The songs they sang on these occasions were songs 
 of sorrow and sadness — simple ditties of their own wretched 
 estate, and of the dear land, and home, and friends they 
 were never more to see. During the night they were often 
 lieard to make a howling, melancholy noise, caused by their 
 dreaming of their former happiness and liberty, only to find 
 themselves, on waking, in the loathsome hold of a slave-ship. 
 The women, on these occasions, were often found in hysteric 
 fits. 
 
 From statistics kept by several vessels, it appears that out 
 of 7904 slaves purchased on the Coast, 2053 perished on the 
 middle passage. In one document, the average is put at 20 
 per cent., and in the case of t\\Q John, already referred to, the 
 rate of mortality was actually 50 per cent. Yet 
 
 "Fresh myriads, crowded o'er the waves, 
 Heirs to their toils, their suffering-s, and their graves!" 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 589 
 
 The slave-ships were peculiarly constructed, with a view 
 to prevent the negroes from ending" their misery by plunging 
 into the sea; nevertheless, the utmost vigilance was not able 
 to frustrate such manumission, and a score have been 
 known to muster up all their strength, burst from their 
 chains, and leap overboard, exulting, with apparent jov, as 
 they sank in the waves, or fell a prey to the procession of 
 sharks that followed in the wake of the Guineamen. 
 
 One witness stated that his feelings were much hurt by 
 being so often obliged to use the cat, to force the slaves to 
 take their food ; and that in the very act of chastisement 
 they have looked up at him with a smile, saying in their 
 own language, " Presently we shall be no more." Some 
 of them endured voluntary starvation, frequent floggings, 
 the torture of the thumbscrews — which made the sweat run 
 down their faces, and their bodies to tremble all over as in 
 an ague fit — and other cruel usage, for the space of eight or 
 nine days. Then came death, the kind manumitter, for 
 whom they had longed with a great longing. The very 
 children sometimes chose rather to die than live. We have 
 a remarkable instance of a young child that refused all 
 sustenance. The captain, enraged at his obstinancy, flogged 
 him, and, with horrid imprecations, threatened to kill him if 
 he would not eat. This discipline was repeated several 
 times without effect. The child's feet being swelled, were, 
 by the captain's order, put in water, though the ship's cook 
 told him it was too hot. This brought off the skin and nails. 
 After about four days of this usage, the child died, just after 
 the captain had done whipping him. The mother refusing 
 to cast her son overboard when ordered to do so, was 
 severely beaten, compelled to take up the body and go to 
 the ship's side, where, turning away her face to avoid the 
 sight, she dropped the child into the sea, and continued for 
 many hours to cry bitterly. 
 
 A certain Liverpool captain, in a large company at 
 
590 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Buxton, related how a female slave on her voyage fretted 
 herself to a very great degree on account of an infant child, 
 which she had brought with her. " Apprehensive for her 
 health, I snatched the child," said this monster, glorying in 
 his unparalleled brutality, " I snatched the child from her 
 arms, knocked its head against the side of the ship, and 
 threw it into the sea." 
 
 When any of the Guineamen were driven out of their 
 course by stress of w^eather, and provisions ran short, the 
 slaves were sometimes compelled to " walk the plank," or, 
 in other words, to jump overboard. In cases of shipwreck, 
 they were either left to perish, entangled in their irons, or 
 the seamen put them to death, to prevent their escape and 
 to ensure their own safety. One terrible instance of this is 
 given in the evidence. A ship from Africa, with about 400 
 slaves on board, struck in the night upon some shoals about 
 eleven leagues distant from the south end of Jamaica. The 
 officers and seamen landed in their boats, carrying with 
 them fire-arms and provisions. The slaves were left on 
 board, shackled together in their chains. Having somehow 
 got out of their irons, they were discovered at daybreak 
 busily making rafts of broken parts of the wreck, upon 
 which they placed the women and children, while the men 
 and others that could swim, accompanied the rafts as they 
 drifted before the wind towards the island, where the crew 
 had landed the preceding night. The seamen, fearing that 
 the slaves would consume the water and provisions, which 
 they had saved from the ship, came to the horrid resolution 
 of destroying them, and accordingly fired upon them with 
 such good effect, as they were attempting to make the land, 
 that between three and four hundred were massacred ; so 
 that out of the whole cargo only thirty-three or thirty-four 
 were spared, carried to Kingston, Jamaica, and exposed to 
 public sale. 
 
 Many other instances, substantiated by affidavit, could be 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 591 
 
 given of the most shocking cruelties and murders perpe- 
 trated on both the negroes and the seamen by captains, 
 whom the slave trade had converted into fiends incarnate. 
 
 On the arrival of the ships at their destined ports, the 
 slaves were prepared for sale, much pains being taken 
 to clean and anoint their bodies, that they might appear to 
 the best advantage. There were three methods of sale, all 
 more or less attended with circumstances harrowing to the 
 feelings and degrading to humanity. The first w'as by 
 private treaty between the merchants' factor and the 
 planters, the latter selecting their "■ goods " at the factory ; 
 the second, and the most curious method, was by 
 scramble, which was described by Mr. Falconbridge of the 
 Emila. The ship, on its arrival at Jamaica, was darkened 
 with sails and covered round. The men slaves were 
 placed on the main deck, and the women on the quarter- 
 deck, while an eager crowd of buyers, who had been 
 supplied with tallies or cards, waited on shore for the sale 
 to begin. When all was ready, a signal gun w^as fired, 
 and the gangways thrown open, when the buyers rushed 
 through the barricado door with the ferocity of brutes, 
 seized as many slaves as they thought fit for their purpose, 
 encircling them with handkerchiefs tied together. At 
 Grenada, where a scramble sale took place, the women 
 were so terrified that several of them got out of the yard, 
 and ran about St. George's town as if they were mad. At 
 Kingston, Jamaica, during a sale on board the Tiyal^ 
 Captain Macdonald, forty or fifty slaves leaped into the sea, 
 but were recovered. From the evidence of several witnesses, 
 this appears to have been a very common method of sale in 
 America and the West Indies. The slaves on these 
 occasions were all at one price. 
 
 The slaves sold by the third method — public auction or 
 vendue — were generally the refuse and sickly, some of whom 
 died before the fall of the auctioneer's hammer. The prices 
 
59ii THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 sometimes fell so low as a single dollar per head. In ox\^ 
 case, the ship Lotteiy, Captain Whittle, belonging to Mr. 
 Thomas Leyland, of Liverpool, we find a blind negro givxn 
 away! An officer of high rank testified that he once saw a 
 number of slaves, who had been landed from a ship, brought 
 into the yard adjoining the place of sale. Such as were not 
 very ill were put into little huts, while the most sickly were 
 left in the yard to die, for nobody gave them food or drink, 
 and some of them lived three days in that situation. Slaves 
 were often carried from the ship to the vendue-master in 
 the agonies of death, and expired in his piazza. At these 
 auctions the slaves were exposed to public view, naked as 
 they came into the world, regardless of age or sex, and the 
 slave-merchants and planters viewed and handled them as a 
 butcher handles the cattle he is about to purchase for 
 slaughter. 
 
 A terrible mutiny of slaves on the middle passage occurred 
 in the year 1797. The ship Thomas, of Liverpool, belonging 
 to Mr. Thomas Clarke, and commanded by a very brave, 
 respectable, and intelligent man, Captain Peter M'Ouie* 
 took on board 375 picked slaves at Loango, and sailed for 
 Barbadoes. On the morning of the 2nd of September, 1797, 
 while the crew were at breakfast, two or three of the women- 
 slaves discovered that the armourer had incautiously left the 
 armour-chest open. They got into the after-hatchway, and 
 passed the arms through the bulkheads to the men-slaves, 
 about two hundred of whom immediately ran up the fore- 
 scuttles, and put to death all of the crew that came in their 
 way. The captain and a few of his men fought desperately 
 with the arms remaining in the cabin ; but they were 
 eventually overpowered, the slaves gaining complete 
 possession of the ship. Captain M'Ouie and many of his 
 
 * A native of Minnigaff, in the County of Galloway, Scotland, and father of the 
 late Mr. Peter Robinson M'Quie, merchant, of Liverpool, who communicated the 
 details of the tragedy to Mr. Brooke, author of " Liverpool in the Last (Quarter of 
 the Nineteenth Century." 
 
HORRORS OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. 593 
 
 crew perished, being- either killed in the conflict, butchered 
 afterwards, or driven overboard. Twelve of the hands, 
 however, escaped in the stern-boat, and after enduring the 
 most dreadful hardships, two only survived to land in 
 Barbadoes. A few were kept alive to steer the vessel back 
 to Africa. Four of these escaped in the long-boat, and after 
 being six days and nights without food or water, reached 
 Watling's Island, one of the Bahamas, in a wretched 
 condition. Five of the crew still remained on board the 
 Thomas, the negroes not being able to steer the vessel 
 without their assistance. After forty-t\vo days of misery and 
 dread, an American brig, laden with rum, came alongside, 
 of which the negroes made themselves masters, her crew 
 escaping in their boats. Rum casks were opened, and a 
 scene of drunkenness and confusion ensued, during which 
 several of the blacks were drowned. The remaining crew 
 of the Thomas took immediate advantage of this occurrence 
 and recaptured the brig — the boatswain, with the captain's 
 cutlass, having first killed the ringleader of the negroes, — 
 set sail for the nearest land, and reached Long Island, 
 Providence. The Thomas, with the surviving negroes, was 
 afterwards recaptured by H.M. frigate Thames, carried into 
 Cape Nicola Mole, and sold there. 
 
 2P 
 
594 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Emoluments of the Traffic — A Millionaire's 
 Ventures. 
 
 "I own I am shocked at the purchase of slaves, 
 
 And fear those who buy them and sell them, are knaves ; 
 
 What I hear of their hardships, their tortures, and g"roans. 
 
 Is almost enough to draw pity from stones. 
 
 I pity them gfreatly, but I must be mum. 
 
 For how could we do without sug"ar and rum?" — Cowper. 
 
 A DRUNKEN actor,* on the stage of the Theatre Royal, 
 Williamson-square, on being hissed by the audience for 
 presenting himself before them — not for the first time — in 
 that condition, is said to have steadied himself, and vocifer- 
 ated, with offended majesty, "I have not come here to be 
 insulted by a set of wretches, every brick in whose infernal 
 town is cemented with an African's blood." This w^as a 
 home-thrust which might have made the daring offender the 
 hero of an unrehearsed tragedy. The taunt, however, 
 would have been almost as applicable hurled at London, 
 Bristol, or certain southern port audiences, whose bricks 
 were more or less cemented in the same sanguinary fashion 
 for fully one hundred years before the people of Liverpool 
 ever soiled their hands and souls in the African slave trade. 
 The brilliant success which crowned the shrewd enterprise 
 of Liverpool merchants in this, as in all other branches of 
 
 * George Frederick Cooke, U-agedian, 1756-1S12 ; the predecessor of Kean in 
 his peculiar line of characters. 
 
A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. 595 
 
 commerce, has made them the focus of scorching censure, 
 while the older offenders, left far behind in the race for pelf, 
 are comparatively forgotten, and their exceeding weight of 
 guilt overlooked. In a word, Liverpool, while sowing wild 
 oats in its commercial youth, or leading a sort of double 
 life — -wedded to freedom at home, and courting slavery 
 abroad, — took a hand in this dark game, swept the board, 
 and, rather unjustly, has had to bear the concentrated odium 
 attached to the whole of the play. Roscoe, all his life the 
 firm, but statesman-like opponent of the man-traffic, speaking 
 at a public dinner held at the "Golden Lion," to celebrate 
 his election as one of the representatives in Parliament of 
 his native town, thus referred to the national character of the 
 iniquity: — 
 
 "It has been the fashion throughout the King"dom to 
 regard the town of Liverpool and its Inhabitants in an unfavour- 
 able light on account of the share it has in this trade. But I 
 will venture to say that this idea is founded on ignorance, and 
 I will here assert, as I always shall, that men more independent, 
 of greater public virtue and private worth, than the merchants 
 of Liverpool do not exist in any part of these kingdoms. The 
 African trade is the trade of the nation, not of any particular 
 place ; it is a trade, till lately, sanctioned by Parliament and 
 long continued under the authority of the Government. I 
 do not make this remark in vindication of the character of any 
 gentlemen engaged in the trade, who stand in need of none, 
 but in order to shew that if any loss should arise to any 
 individuals who are concerned in it, it is incumbent upon 
 Government to make them a full compensation for the losses 
 they may so sustain." 
 
 However we may detest the trade, and shudder at the 
 horrors which necessarily accompanied it, even when most 
 rigorously supervised, and conducted by the most humane 
 instruments ; though we know that no casuistry can convert 
 wrong into right, yet must we remember that custom has a 
 
596 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 wonderful effect in blinding the moral perceptions ; that 
 men's standard of morality is being raised, as the leaven of 
 Christianity spreads with power, and that ages, like indi- 
 viduals, are prone to 
 
 *' Compound for sins they are inclined to, 
 By damning- those they have no mind to." 
 
 Let us now endeavour to arrive at the approximate amount 
 of the emoluments of the traffic ; certainty as to the aggregate 
 profits is impossible, but we are in a position to compare 
 estimates, made while the trade was in full swing, with the 
 real profits made by certain ships, whose accounts are forth- 
 coming. It appears from one calculation* that, during the 
 eleven years from 1783 to 1793, 878 slave-ships belonging 
 to Liverpool, imported to the West Indies, etc., 303,737 
 slaves, whose estimated sterling value amounted to the 
 ' enormous total of ;i^ 15, 186,850. 
 
 In order to arrive at the net amount returned to the port 
 of Liverpool out of this sum, we must deduct factors' com- 
 mission of 5 per cent, on the sales, in addition to 10 per 
 cent, for contingencies, making a deduction of 15 per cent,, 
 or ;^2, 278,027 from the gross sales of ;i^i 5, 186,850, leaving 
 the net proceeds ^12,908,823. But this sum is subject to 
 a further deduction of ^614,707, being the factors' com- 
 mission of 5 per cent, on the actual amounts remitted by 
 them to the merchants of Liverpool. It appears, therefore, 
 that the net proceeds remitted to Liverpool, for the eleven 
 years' slave-trading, from 1783 to 1793, amounted to 
 ^12,294, 1 16-|- sterling, or on an average ;^i, 117,647 per 
 annum ; expressed perhaps more clearly in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 *See Table in the Appendix. 
 
 tBaines, evidently quotinrr from the same source, £jives the gross amount brought 
 into the port as " ;^i2,9oS,823 in eleven years, or ^1,117,647 a year," which on 
 the face of it, is an error, the cause of which is the omission of the factors' com- 
 mission of ^614,707, which of course, never reached Liverpool. 
 
A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. 597 
 
 Gross amount of Sales of 303,737 slaves, 
 
 averaged at _;^5o per head ... ... ;^i5, 186,850 
 
 Deduct Factors' Commission 
 
 5% on ditto ^'759' 342 
 
 Deduct for Conting-encies 10% 1,518,685 2,278,027 
 
 ^^i 2,908,823 
 
 Deduct Factors' Commission 5% on real 
 
 amount remitted ... ... ... ... 614,707 
 
 Net proceeds remitted to Liverpool ... ;^i2,2g4,ii6 
 
 Average net proceeds remitted during eleven 3'ears 
 
 ;^i,ii7,647 a year 
 Taking the number of slaves imported in the year 1786 
 as his basis, and allowing twelve months for the length of 
 the voyage, instead of the average nine months, the same 
 writer arrives at the appended statement of probable net 
 gains on a Guinea cargo : — 
 
 The net proceeds on 31,690 
 
 negroes ... ... ... ;^i,282,690 
 
 Gross value of goods exported to 
 
 Africa ;^864,895 
 
 Freight of 31,690 slaves ... 103,^88 
 
 Maintenance of 31,690 slaves at 
 
 10/- each ... ... ... 15)845 984,228 
 
 Profit on the whole ... ... ;£,'298,462 
 
 Having shown by the above statement that the profits 
 were upwards of 30 per cent., our author proceeds to 
 analyse the aggregate sums and discovers — 
 
 The net proceeds of one slave to be ;^4o 9 6^ 
 
 The prime cost of one slave 
 
 on the Coast ... ... ;^27 5 10 
 
 The freight of one slave ... 3 5 33^ 
 
 The maintenance of one 
 
 slave ... ... ... 0100 ^i I \V\ 
 
 Profit on the sale of one slave ;^9 8 
 
598 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 It appears then, from the preceding calculations, that there 
 was a profit of upwards of 30 per cent, ow the sale of each 
 slave; that in the year 1786, the town of Liverpool pocketed 
 ;^298,462 sterling from the importation of 31,690 negroes; 
 and that during the eleven years, from 1783 to 1793, both 
 inclusive, the gains on 303,737 slaves sold amounted to 
 ^2,861,455 13s. id. or on an average ;^26o, 132 6s. 8d. per 
 annum.* 
 
 "This great annual return of wealth," says our author, -j- 
 " may be said to pervade the whole town, increasing the 
 fortunes of the principal adventurers, and contributing to the 
 support of the majority of the inhabitants. Almost every 
 man in Liverpool is a merchant, and he who cannot send a 
 bale, will send a bandbox, it will therefore create little 
 astonishment, that the attractive African meteor has, from 
 time to time, so dazzled their ideas, that almost every order 
 of people is interested in a Guinea cargo." , The small 
 adventurers, however, whose ships were despatched 
 irregularly, could not, under the most favourable circum- 
 stances, derive a large income from the trade, although the 
 returns might sometimes arrive in time " to prop a tottering 
 credit." In the case of a ship importing 100 slaves, which 
 by the preceding estimate would yield a profit of ^942 is.8d., 
 we find, on subdividing the amount amongst the share- 
 holders, that an eighth is ;^ii7 15s. 2^d., a sixteenth, 
 ;^58 17s. 7d., and a thirty-second, ;^29 8s. lod. Spasmodic 
 adventurers, then, were not greatly enriched in one voyage, 
 but it was far otherwise with firms limited to three or four 
 persons, who traded regularly in human misery. For 
 
 * The writer we are following gives the two latter amounts as ;[^2,36l,455 6s. id. 
 and ^'214,677 15s. id., but if we multiply 303,737 (the number of slaves sold) by 
 £<^ 8s. 5d. (the profit on the sale of each slave) we find the aggregate protit of 
 ;[^2,S6i,455 ^2i^- ^d., or an average of ^260,132 6s. 8d. yearly, for the eleven years. 
 Troughton, accepting his predecessor's Hgures (;£^2r4,677 15s. id.) as "a late cal- 
 culation made with great accuracy," calls it "an influx of wealth which, perhaps, 
 no consideration would induce a commercial community to relinquish." 
 
 t " A General and Descriptive History of Liverpool," (1795,) P- 230. 
 
A MILLIOXAIRE'S VENTURES. 599 
 
 instance, we find one firm importing' 2850 in five ships, 
 which, calculated on the previous scale, produced a net 
 profit of ;^26,849 7s. 6d., or if divided between four share- 
 holders, the sum of ;i^67i2 6s. loy^^. for each adventurer. 
 The great wealth accruing from the traffic, however, went 
 into the coffers of ten leading houses, who maintained a 
 regular routine of slavers. From a summary* of eleven 
 carefully prepared tables, covering the eleven years in 
 question, we find that although 359 firms sent out no less 
 than 878 Guineamen, yet ten houses despatched 502 out of 
 that number, which was not only more than one-half the 
 shipping employed, but proves that the 502 vessels were of 
 greater aggregate burthen, for the number of slaves imported 
 by the ten firms was nearly four-sixths of the whole number 
 imported in Liverpool Guineamen during the eleven years 
 under notice. Although a Guinea voyage might exceed 
 twelve months, the instances were comparatively few, and 
 the ten leading houses aforesaid must be allowed to have 
 had yearly regular returns, or uniform successive annual 
 adventures, producing successive annual remittances of a 
 highly satisfactory and soothing character to the share- 
 holders. From a report presented to the Privy Council, 
 while the Slave Bill was depending, it appears that the 
 number of negroes transported yearly from Africa to the 
 West Indies, from 1783 to 1793, amounted to 74,000. Of 
 this number, Great Britain imported 38,000, Holland 4000, 
 Portugal io,ooo, Denmark 2000, and France 20,000, Of 
 the immense multitude of 814,000 negroes conveyed from 
 Africa to the West Indies in eleven years, Liverpool had 
 the profit and the disgrace of conveying 303, 737. f 
 
 We now leave estimates and pass on to incontestable 
 facts, commencing with the ship Lottery^ Captain John 
 Whittle, belonging to Mr. Thomas Leyland, banker and 
 
 *See Appendix, 
 t Baines puts the number at 407,000, but our tables show this to be wrong. 
 
600 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 millionaire, thrice mayor of Liverpool. She sailed from the 
 Mersey on the 6th of July, 1798, arrived at Bonny on the 
 22nd August, passed Barbadoes on the 27th of November, 
 after a passage of 50 days, with 460 negroes. The following 
 details, showing the result of the voyage, as far as Mr. 
 Leyland's pocket was concerned, are taken from the original 
 account books : — 
 
 Net proceeds of 453 Negroes sold by 
 
 Bogle & Jopp, as remitted by bills 
 
 of various dates after payment 
 
 of all charg-es ... ... ... ... ^22,']26 i o 
 
 Deduct : — 
 Cost of ship's outfit ...;^2307 10 o 
 
 Cost of the cargo sent out 
 
 to Africa ... ... 8326 14 11 10,634 4 11 
 
 Profit on the voyage ;^'i 2,091 16 i 
 
 But this was not all ; there would be, probably, some of 
 the Guinea cargo and stores left over for future use. 
 
 The Lottery, Captain Charles Kneal, also belonging to 
 Messrs. Thos. Leyland & Co., sailed from Liverpool on the 
 2ist of May, 1802, on her sixth voyage, and carried from 
 Africa to Jamaica 305 negroes. The amount of the outfit 
 and cargo was ^7982 2s. 6^d. When a final balance was 
 struck on October 31st, 181 1, the profits stood thus : — 
 Thomas Leyland y^ baP... ... ... £,9S^'^ ^^ o 
 
 R. Bullin % „ 4755 8 o)i 
 
 Thos. Molyneux ^ ,, ... ... ... 4755 8 o^ 
 
 ^1(^,021 12 0/^2* 
 
 In the next case, we subjoin a copy of the instructions 
 penned by Messrs. Leyland & Co., for the guidance of the 
 captain. These are taken from the original account book, 
 
 * There were a few hundreds more made on returned goods, and on rum, sugar, &c. 
 
A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. 601 
 
 which begins with the following memoranda of the 
 voyage : — 
 
 "Ship Enterprize^ i^*- Voyage. 
 
 "Sailed from Liverpool, 20 July 1803 
 
 " August 26* detained the Spanish Brig- St. Augxistin, Capt. 
 Josef Ant"- de Ytuno, in Lat. 22, 47 North, Long". 26, 14 West; 
 bound from Malag-a to Vera Cruz, which vessel arrived at 
 Hoylake on the 25"' October. 
 
 "September 10"' Recaptured the John of Liverpool in Lat. 
 4, 20 North, Long". 11, 10 West with 261 Slaves on board, and 
 on the 2'"* November she arrived at Dominica. 
 
 ' ' September 2't^"^ the Enterprise arrived at Bonny, and sailed 
 from thence on the 
 
 "December 6'" the St. Augustin sailed from Liverpool. 
 
 "9"' January 1804 the Enterprise arrived at the Havanna 
 and sold there 392 Neg-roes. On the 28 March she sailed from 
 the Havannah and arrived at Liverpool 26 April 1804." 
 
 "Liverpool, iSJnly 1803 
 "Cap. C^sar Lawson, 
 
 " Sir, — Our ship Enterprise, to the command of which you 
 are appointed, being now ready for sea, you are immediately to 
 proceed in her, and make the best of your way to Bonny on the 
 Coast of Africa. You will receive herewith an invoice of the 
 Cargo on board her which you are to barter at Bonny for prime 
 Negroes, Ivory, and Palm Oil. By Law this vessel is allowed 
 to carry 400 Negroes, and we request that they may all be 
 males if possible to get them, at any rate buy as few females as 
 in your power, because we look to a Spanish market for the 
 disposal of your cargo, where Females are a very tedious sale. 
 In the choice of the Negroes be very particular, select those that 
 are well formed and strong; and do not buy any above 24 years 
 of Age, as it may happen that you will have to go to Jamaica, 
 where you know any exceeding that age would be liable to a 
 Duty of ;^io 1^ head. While the slaves are on board the Ship 
 allow them every indulgence Consistent with your own Safety, 
 
G02 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 and do not suffer any of your officers or Crew to abuse or insult 
 them in any respect. Perhaps you may be able to procure some 
 Palm Oil on reasonable terms, which is likely to bear a great 
 price here, we therefore wish you to purchase as much as you can 
 with any spare carg-o you may have. We have taken out 
 Letters of Marque against the French and Batavian Republic, 
 and if you are so fortunate as to fall in with and capture any of 
 their vessels Send the Same direct to this Port, vmder the care 
 of an active Prize Master, and a sufficient number of men out 
 of your ship; and also put a Copy of the Commission on board 
 her, but do not molest any neutral ship, as it woud involve us 
 in expensive Lawsuit and subject us to heavy Damages. A 
 considerable part of our property under your care will not be 
 insured, and we earnestly desire you will keep a particular look 
 out to avoid the Enemy's Cruisers, which are numerous and you 
 may hourly expect to be attacked by some of them. We request 
 you will Keep strict and regular discipline on board the ship ; do 
 not suffer Drunkenness among any of your Officers or Crew, 
 for it is sure to be attended with some misfortune, such as In- 
 surrection, Mutiny and Fire. Allow to the ship's Company their 
 regular portion of Provisions &c and take every care of such as 
 may get sick. You must keep the ship very clean and see that 
 no part of her Stores and Materials are embezzled, neglected, 
 or idly wasted. As soon as you have finished your trade and 
 laid in a sufficient quantity of Yams, wood, water, and every 
 other necessary for the Middle Passage, proceed with a press 
 of sail for Barbadoes, and on your arrival there call on M"^""" 
 Barton Higginson & C°- with whom you will find Letters from 
 us by which you are to be govern'd in prosecuting the remainder 
 of the voyage. Do not fail to write to us by every opportunity 
 and always inclose a copy of your preceding Letter. 
 
 "You are to receive from the House in the West Indies, 
 who may sell your cargo, your Coast Commission of ^2 in 
 ;^io2 Qw the Gross Sales, and when this Sum with your Chief 
 Mate's Privilege and your Surgeon's Privilege, Gratuity and 
 head money are deducted, 3-ou are then to draw your Com- 
 mission of ;^4 in ;^i04 on the remaining amount. Your Chief 
 
A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. 603 
 
 Mate, Mr. James Cowill, is to receive two Slaves on an average 
 with the Carg-o, less the Island and any other duty that may be 
 due or payable thereon at the place where you may sell your 
 Carg-o; and 3'our Surg^eon, Mr. Gilb'' Sinclair, is to receive two 
 Slaves on an averag-e with the Carg-o less the Duty before- 
 mentioned, and one Shilling S'*-' head money on each slave sold. 
 And in consideration of the aforementioned Emoluments, neither 
 you nor your Crew, nor any of them, are directly or indirectly 
 to carry on any private Trade on your or their accounts under 
 a forfeiture to us of the whole of your Commissions arising- on 
 this voyage. In case of your Death, your Chief Mate, Mr. 
 Cowill, is to succeed to the Command of the ship, and dilig-ently 
 follow these and all our further orders. Any Prize that you may 
 capture, direct the Prize Master to hoist a white flag at the fore 
 and one at the main top Gallant Mast-heads, on his approach to 
 this Port, which will be answered by a signal at the light House. 
 "We hope you will have a happy and prosperous voyage, 
 and remain 
 
 "Sir, Your ob Serv'' 
 
 "P.S. — Shoud you capture any vessel from the Eastward of 
 Cape of Good Hope, Send her to Falmouth and there wait for 
 our orders. In case of your Capturing a Guineaman with Slaves 
 on board, Send her to the address of Mess"^^ Bogle, Jopp & C"' 
 of Kingston, Jamaica." 
 
 "I acknowledge to have received from Mess""- Thomas 
 
 Leyland & C°- the Orders of which the aforegoing is a true 
 
 Copy, and I engage to execute them as well as all their further 
 
 orders, the Dangers of the Seas only excepted, as witness my 
 
 hand this 18 July 1803 
 
 "C^SAR Lawson." 
 
 Theoutfit of the ^;^/^r/)r/3^^cost;^8I48 i8s. 8d. ; her cargo 
 of trading goods, ;i£"8896 3s. g^d. ; total, ^17,045 2s. 5^d. 
 In January, 1804, Captain Lawson delivered to Messrs. 
 Joaquin Perez de Urria, at Havanna, 412 Eboe slaves (viz., 
 194 men, 32 men-boys, 66 boys, 42 women, 36 women-girls, 
 
604 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 and 42 girls) to be sold on account of Messrs. T. Leyland 
 & Co. Nineteen of the slaves died, and one girl, being 
 subject to fits, could not be disposed of. The net profit on 
 the round voyage, after selling the 392 remaining slaves, 
 paying damages for detaining the St. Augustine^ and 
 crediting salvage of the John, profit on teeth, logwood, 
 sugar, etc., amounted to ;^24,430 8s. i id., which was divided 
 between the partners as follows : — 
 
 Thomas Leyland for his half of balance ;^i2,2i5 4 5)^ 
 Thomas Molyneux for his ]^ of Do 6,107 12 2V2 
 
 R'- Bullin for his X ^^ ^o 6,107 12 3 
 
 £2^,^.20 8 II 
 
 Our next example is the first voyage of the slave-ship 
 Fortune, Captain Charles Watt, which sailed from Liver- 
 pool on the 25th of April, 1805, arrived at Congo River 
 16th July, sailed thence loth November, arrived at Nassau 
 2ist of December, 1805, sailed thence 29th of March, 1806, 
 and arrived at Liverpool on the 2nd of May, 1806. The 
 result of the round voyage was as follows : — 
 
 Remittances &c on account of 343 slaves 
 
 sold by H}^ and Jas. Wood, Nassau, 
 
 New Providence, after payment of 
 
 all expenses, ... ... ... ... ;^i3,27i o i 
 
 This was apportioned as under : — 
 Thomas Leyland for his 
 
 yf^- balance ^'8847 6 9 
 
 Wm. Brown for his ^3''' 
 
 balance ... ... 4423 13 4 
 
 ^'13,271 o I 
 
 The cost of the outfit in this case was £^^\2^f 18 9 
 
 5, cargo ,, ,, ,, 7267 18 7 
 
 ;^:i 1,392 17 4 
 
A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. 605 
 
 The profit appears from the foregoing statement to be 
 very trifling, ;^i878 2S. gd., but we must add to it the sum 
 of £1^0^ 7s. 6d. for slaves sold on credit, making 
 ;i^9487 IDS. 3d. Nevertheless, the expenses seem to have 
 been remarkably heavy. 
 
 The slaves sold very slowly, there being 100 left on the 
 factors' hands on July 31st, 1806, and the last batch of these 
 was sold in September. The result was a big bill for rent 
 of store, doctor's attendance, provisions, brandy, wine, 
 tobacco, heads and offals, oil, etc., for the slaves. The 
 muster-roll shows that Captain Watt, the third mate, 
 and six seamen died on the voyage ; two sailors were 
 drowned, the fifth or trading mate, and one of the men 
 ran away, while 34 seamen entered or were impressed 
 on board his majesty's ships on the station. This refers 
 to the original crew of 66 officers and men shipped at 
 Liverpool. 
 
 The slave-ship Louisa., on her fourth voyage, having sold 
 326 negroes at Jamaica for the sum of <;i^i9,3i5 13s. 6d., 
 the profit (after adding interest on account sales, ;^io5i 
 19s. 7d., and deducting ;i^i234 2s. 8d. for disbursements 
 and commission, etc., due to factors) amounted to ^19,133 
 IDS 5d., which was apportioned among the owners as 
 follows : — Thomas Leyland, ;^9566 15s. 2^ ; R. Buliin, 
 ;^4783 7s. 7^d. ; Thomas Molyneux, ;^4783 7s. 7i/(d. 
 
 In 1784, the Bloom., Robert Bostock, master, carried 307 
 slaves from the Windward Coast of Africa to the West 
 Indies, on account of Messrs. Thomas Foxcroft & Co., 
 merchants, Liverpool, who also owned the Bud and the 
 Pine. The shares were held as follows : — Thomas Foxcroft, 
 V^^jths ; Wm. Rice, -/Vhs ; A. Wharton, -/i^ths ; Felix 
 Doran, "/ig^^s; Jas. Welsh, 7i6^hs; Robert Bostock, -/ui'^hs; 
 and Geo. Welch, Vig^^. 
 
 The result of the voyage, as disclosed by the original 
 account books, may be summarised thus : — 
 
COG THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Sale of 307 slaves (103 men, 51 women, 99 
 boys, 54 girls), the lowest price being ;^2i for a 
 woman and ^40 each for man, a boy and 2 girls, ^9858 
 
 Charges : — 
 To 6 slaves at the average 
 
 £^2)2 2s. 2]26l. freight for 
 
 Captain Bostock ... ... ^193 13 3 
 
 To I slave for James Oddie the 
 
 second mate, sold by desire 
 
 of Captain B. ... ... 30 o o 
 
 To Captain Bostock's privilege 
 
 C''"' .^^9635 9^- 7^^- '^t 2 per cent. 192 14 2 
 
 Ditto on extra privilege one 
 
 average ... ... ... 32 2 2}^ 
 
 To Mr Wm Cockerill's one 
 
 privilege ... ... ... 32 2 2^ 
 
 To Capt Bostock's coast com- 
 mission on ;^9378 1 1 s. Qt 4 
 
 per 104 ... ... ... 360 14 3 
 
 To Factors' (Taylor & Kerr), 
 
 Commission on do 5;/ ... 465 1 8 
 
 To Mr John McCulloch, surgeon, 
 
 for head money on 300 slaves 
 
 (ic I currency is ;^""r5 @ 82^4 
 
 per cent. 
 To store rent, advertising, 
 
 liquor, &c. 
 To sugar, rum, &c., shipped 
 
 and cash advanced ... 
 ,, Drafts at 15 mos' sight 
 ) ) ) ) 1 ) ^ o , , , , ... 
 
 ,, Factors' Commission on re- 
 mittances, &c., 5% ... ... 406 3 7 
 
 ;^9S58 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 918 
 
 4 
 
 2401 
 
 14 
 
 2401 
 
 14 
 
 2401 
 
 14 
 
Slaves 
 sold. 
 
 Net profits. 
 
 Average profit 
 per slave. 
 
 
 Owners. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 d. 
 
 i; s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 453 
 
 12,091 16 
 
 I 
 
 26 13 
 
 10 
 
 T. 
 
 Leyland & Co. 
 
 305 
 
 19,021 12 
 
 o>4 
 
 62 7 
 
 4 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 ■e 392 
 
 24,430 8 
 
 1 1 
 
 62 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 343 
 
 9,487 10 
 
 3 
 
 27 13 
 
 2 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 326 
 
 i9>i33 10 
 
 5 
 
 58 13 
 
 10 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 307 
 
 8,123 7 
 
 2 
 
 26 9 
 
 2 
 
 T. 
 
 Foxcroft&Co. 
 
 2i26;^92,288 4 
 
 io>4 
 
 ;^43 8 
 
 3 
 
 
 A MILLIONAIRE'S VENTURES. GOT 
 
 The appended table shows at a glance the highly satis- 
 factory result of the six voyages — to all but the negroes. 
 The Chief Accountant of the oppressed may possibly have 
 pigeon-holed another table, compiled on the basis of our 
 fifth chapter. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Slaves 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Loitery 
 
 Lottery 
 
 Enter pri 
 
 Fortune 
 
 Louisa 
 
 Bloom 
 
 The net profits shown in the third column are the 
 amounts actually divided between the partners after pay- 
 ment of all expenses incurred on the round voyage, and the 
 sums, of course, include the profit made on the rum, sugar, 
 and other commodities sent home in payment for the slaves. 
 The proceeds were sometimes brought home in dollars. 
 
 If we multiply the number of slaves imported in Liver- 
 /pool ships in the eleven years (from 1783 to 1793) namely, 
 /303>7375 by ^43, we have a total of ;^ 13,060,691 or an annual 
 net profit of ^1,187,335 iis. od. to the merchants of Liver- 
 pool. The difference between these amounts, which are 
 based on facts, and those in the estimate {viz., ^12,294,116 
 aggregate net proceeds, and ;^i, 11 7,647 yearly net profits) 
 is accounted for by the fact that the price of slaves had risen 
 considerably in the later years of the trade, when Mr. 
 Leyland's ships were engaged in it. It does not appear that 
 the compiler of the estimate allowed for the profits on the 
 sugar, rum, etc. However, his figures, so far, appear 
 
608 THE LIVERPOOL SLA IE TRADE. 
 
 reasonable when tested by realities. But when he attempts 
 to estimate the net gains on a Guinea voyage, putting the 
 profit at ;^9 8s. 5d. per slave, we part company with him 
 and appeal to the foregoing table of facts, which shows that, 
 even when the ship returned to Liverpool without a cargo of 
 West Indian produce worth naming, as in the case of the 
 jB/oo??i, the profit on each slave imported was ;i^26. 
 
 According to an extract from the books of the Liverpool 
 Custom-house, supplied to Mr. Elliot Arthy, a master 
 mariner and surgeon engaged in the slave trade, it appears 
 that between the 5th of January, 1798, and the 5th of 
 January, 1799, there sailed for Africa from the port of 
 Liverpool, 150 vessels,* whose total tonnage was 31,533 
 tons, their complement of slaves, as allowed by Act of 
 Parliament, 52,557, and the total of their complement of 
 seamen, as required by law, 5,255. Mr. Arthy made a 
 series of elaborate calculations, and arrived at the con- 
 clusion that the merchants made a clear profit of ;i^385o 
 per vessel, or ;^577,535 in the year. He estimated the net 
 remittances at ^2,511,535, and the freight made by the 
 ships from the West Indies (at ^800 a ship) ^120,000, 
 total ;^2,63i,535. Against this he computed the probable 
 cost of repairing, outfitting, storing, victualling, goods for 
 purchasing slaves, seamen's wages, insurance, etc., at 
 ;,^2, 054,000, leaving a balance, as above, of ;^577,535. 
 This only shows a profit of about ;^i2 per head on the 
 47,500 slaves, whom he assumes to have survived the 
 passage. In his desire to show the collateral benefits 
 flowing from the trade, he appears to have exaggerated 
 the cost of repairs, insurance, victualling, etc. The cost 
 of a slave on the coast was from ;^20 to ;i^25, and the 
 average price in the West Indies in 1798-99, trade being 
 very brisk, was ;^7o. This clearly left a margin for a 
 handsome profit, as shown in our summary of six voyages. 
 
 * See Appendix for names, o\\'ners, commanders, etc. 
 
coy 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Corporation and the Slave Trade. 
 
 "To abolish that trade would be to 'Shut the gates of 
 mercy on mankind.' " — -James Boswell. (Life of Dr. Johnson. ) 
 
 The presentation of a petition to the House of Commons, 
 in 1787, signed principally by members of the Society of 
 Friends, praying- for the suppression of the Slave Trade, 
 and the formation of the Anti-slavery Society, greatly 
 alarmed the Liverpool Common Council. On the 14th of 
 February, 1788, during the mayoralty of Mr. Thomas Earle, 
 the Council met, and adopted a petition to Parliament, 
 drawn up by Mr. Statham, against the abolition of the 
 trade. The petition, which is cunningly framed to propitiate 
 the Government, to implicate the Commons for having 
 encouraged the corporation in its outlay on wet docks for 
 the African ships, and to alarm the landed interest and the 
 capitalists, is as follows: — 
 
 "To the honourable the House of Commons, &c. The 
 humble petition of the Mayor, &c., sheweth : That your peti- 
 tioners, as trustees of the corporate fund of the ancient and 
 loyal town of Liverpool, have always been ready, not only to 
 give every encouragement in their power to the commercial 
 interests of that part of the community more immediately under 
 their care, but as much as possible to strengthen the reins of 
 government, and to promote the public welfare. That the 
 trade of Liverpool, having met with the countenance of this 
 honourable house in many Acts of Parliament, which have been 
 
 2Q 
 
610 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 granted at different times during- the present century, for the 
 constructing- of proper and convenient wet docks for shipping, 
 and more especially for the African ships, which, from their 
 form, require to be constantly afloat, your petitioners have been 
 emboldened to lay out considerable sums of money, and to 
 pledge their corporate seal for other sums to a very large amount 
 for effectuating these good and laudable purposes. That 3^our 
 petitioners have also been happy to see the great increase and 
 different resources of trade which has flowed in upon their town 
 by the numerous canals and other communications from the 
 interior parts of this kingdom, in which many individuals, as 
 well as public bodies of proprietors, are materially interested. 
 And that from these causes, particularly the convenience of the 
 docks, and some other local advantages, added to the enter- 
 prising spirit of the people, which has enabled them to carry 
 on the African slave trade with vigour, the town of Liverpool 
 has arrived at a pitch of mercantile consequence which cannot 
 but affect and improve the wealth and prosperity of the kingdom 
 at large. 
 
 " Your petitioners therefore contemplate with real concern 
 the attempts now making- by the petitions lately preferred to 
 your honourable house to obtain a total abolition of the African 
 slave trade, which has hitherto received the sanction of 
 Parliament, and for a long series of 3'ears has constituted and 
 still continues to form a very extensive branch of the commerce 
 of Liverpool, and in effect gives strength and energy to the 
 whole ; but conflding in the wisdom and justice of the British 
 senate, your petitioners humbly pray to be heard by their 
 Counsel against the abolition of this source of wealth before the 
 honourable house shall proceed to determine upon a point 
 which so essentially concerns the welfare of the town and port 
 of Liverpool in particular, and the landed interest of the king- 
 dom in general, and which, in their judgment, must also tend 
 to the prejudice of the British manufacturers, must ruin the 
 property of the English merchants in the West Indies, diminish 
 the public revenue, and impair the maritime strength of Great 
 Britain. And your petitioners will ever pray, &c." 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 611 
 
 On the 4th of June, 1788, the Council ordered that the 
 freedom of the borough be granted to Messrs. John 
 Tarleton, Robert Norris, James Penny, John Matthews, 
 and Archibald Dalzell, who had been deputed by the 
 Committee of the Liverpool African merchants to attend in 
 London on the business, "for the very essential advan- 
 tages derived to the trade of Liverpool from their evidence 
 in support of the African slave trade, and for the public 
 spirit they have manifested on this occasion." On the 20th 
 of the same month, the freedom of the borough was pre- 
 sented to Lord Hawkesbury, chiefly for his support of the 
 slave trade, and in May, 1796, when he was created Earl of 
 Liverpool, the Corporation invited him to quarter the arms 
 of Liverpool with his own, which was done to the great 
 honour and edification of all concerned. Lord Liverpool 
 was Prime Minister from 1812 to 1827. 
 
 In the year 1788, Wilberforce began his agitation to 
 obtain freedom for the slaves in our West Indian Colonies ; 
 and a bill was passed for the better regulation of slave-ships. 
 This measure immediately roused the hostility of the Cor- 
 poration of Liverpool, who, on the 20th of June, 1788, 
 petitioned the House of Lords to throw out the bill, or to 
 allow them or their counsel to be heard against it. They 
 stated " that the trade had been legally and uninterruptedly 
 carried on for centuries past by many of his Majesty's 
 subjects, with advantages to the country, both important 
 and extensive ; but had lately been unjustly reprobated as 
 impolitic and inhuman." 
 
 The spectacle of the corporation, the members of which 
 must have been perfectly well acquainted with the horrors 
 of the slave trade, appealing to the House of Lords to 
 uphold the infamy of the town, is a melancholy, but 
 striking example of the power of usage and self-interest 
 in blunting the moral vision of men otherwise distinguished 
 for many excellent and even noble qualities. In judging 
 
612 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 them we must not forget that in our own day there are 
 commercial practices and walks of trade that may call for 
 the indulgent criticisms of posterity. 
 
 In April, 1789, the Corporation presented to the House of 
 Commons a petition verbatim with that of the previous year, 
 and on July ist, another, similar in most of its statements, 
 and praying that the further inquiry and the examination 
 of witnesses might be postponed for another year. On the 
 2nd of December, 1789, the thanks of the Council were 
 presented to Messrs. Norris and Penny for their diligent 
 attendance on the House, and otherwise respecting the 
 business of the African Slave Trade Bill. In the same 
 year, through the efforts of Wilberforce, Fox, and Burke, 
 resolutions condemning the slave trade were introduced in 
 the House of Commons. 
 
 From its immense importance to the town, the slave trade 
 at election times naturally acted as the touchstone or 
 Ithuriel's sword, by which the true member was discovered 
 and elected — provided his purse was equal to the value 
 which the freemen set upon their votes. In the election of 
 1790, great credit was given to the old members, Mr. 
 Bamber Gascoyne and Lord Penrhyn, for having, " in the 
 late violent attempt to abolish the supply of the West India 
 Islands with labourers from Africa, given the most con- 
 vincing proofs of superior abilities, unremitted attention, 
 and invincible perseverance." " Was not the African 
 Trade in danger?" asked an admirer, signing himself 
 "Common Sense." ''Was not Mr. Pitt, the minister, 
 against it? Was not Mr. Fox, the leader of the Opposition 
 against it? Was not the House of Commons against 
 it? Was not the whole nation against it? Who was 
 there to stand up for it but Lord Penrhyn and Mr. Gascoyne ? 
 How then can any man be so ungrateful as to give his vote 
 against them ? " 
 
 The idea of the two Liverpool members successfully 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. G13 
 
 opposing the whole nation in defence of the favourite traffic 
 of their constituents, reminds us of the Skihbereen Eagle 
 keeping a restraining eye on the Emperor of Russia, or 
 Dame Partington mopping out the Atlantic. The Silas 
 Wegg of the Gascoyne party, dropping into poetry, rose to 
 the height of his great argument in the following fashion: — 
 
 " Be true to the man who stood true to his trust, 
 Remember our sad situation we must ; 
 When our African business was near at an end, 
 Remember, my lads, 'twas Gascoyne was our friend. 
 
 If our slave trade had gone, there's an end to our lives. 
 Beggars all we must be, our children and wives ; 
 No ships from our ports their proud sails e'er would spread. 
 And our streets grown with grass, where the cows might 
 be fed." 
 
 The Corporation did not drop into poetry, but they 
 presented their thanks to Colonel Gascoyne, for his general 
 attention to the interests of the port, and particularly for his 
 unwearied exertions on behalf of the African slave trade. 
 
 In 1 791, Wilberforce continued the Anti-Slavery agita- 
 tion, which, in the following year, was very violently 
 opposed by H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence (afterwards 
 William IV.). 
 
 At a special council, on the 24th of May, 1792, Mr. Henry 
 Blundell being mayor, another petition against interference 
 with the pet trade, was approved, and John Barnes, Richard 
 Miles, and Peter W. Brancker, Esquires, were desired to 
 wait upon H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence, and request that 
 he would present the same to the House of Lords. On the 
 5th of the following December, when Mr. Clayton Tarleton 
 was mayor, the council recognised the services rendered to 
 the slave trade of the town by the late Mr. Robert Norris, 
 Mr. James Penny, and Mr. Samuel Green, by granting to 
 the widow of the former, an annuity of ^100 for life, a piece 
 of plate of the value of ^100 to Mr. Penny, and the sum of 
 
614 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 ^300 to the widow of the late Mr. Green, and ^\ 17 for his 
 public services and expenses disbursed. Messrs. John 
 Barnes and P. W. Brancker were sent to join the delegates 
 from various ports, who sat in London directing the opposi- 
 tion to the Abolition Bill. 
 
 In 1792 (the year preceding the Revolutionary War), 
 the number of Liverpool ships engaged in the African 
 trade was 136, the tonnage 24,544, or about a twelfth part 
 of the tonnage which entered the port. 
 
 Not only in public but also in private did Roscoe use his 
 great influence on behalf of the despised and down-trodden 
 negro, as will be seen from the following letter, addressed 
 at this period, to a slave-captain : — 
 
 "Captain Wm. Lace, of the s\ni^ Joshua, Angola. 
 "Per Captain Evans, ship Mary. 
 "Dear William, 
 
 "As I mist the opportunity before you sailed, I take the 
 first occasion of reminding you that I shall think myself much 
 obliged by your bringing me a small quantity of such seeds of 
 African or West Indian plants as may conveniently fall in your 
 way — or if you can employ any person to collect them on the 
 coast, I will pay the expense attending it. As to plants 
 growing, I fear It wou'd not be possible to preserve them, and 
 wou'd be attended with much trouble ; but if any bulbous (or 
 onion-like) roots cou'd be obtained, they would probably keep 
 so as to grow in a hot-house here on their arrival. Both the 
 seeds and roots should be preserved from wet, which is all 
 that will be necessary. 
 
 " I cannot omit this opportunity of expressing my hearty 
 wishes for your return in safety and health to your friends, 
 and I am sure you will excuse me, if I remind you that the 
 employment you are now intrusted with is very weighty and 
 important. To have the unlimited direction and controul of 
 several hundreds of people who are to rely upon your care and 
 management for their protection and support, places you in a 
 situation of great responsibility, not only to your owners, but 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 615 
 
 to the poor creatures committed to your charge, and to j'our 
 own conscience. That you will discharge this serious duty 
 with fidelity, and with as much humanity as is consistent with 
 the nature of this business, I make no doubt. I have ob- 
 served, wath pleasure, tliat your natural disposition is kind 
 and liberal, and you can never have a fitter opportunity of 
 exerting- these qualities than your present situation affords. I 
 need not, I am sure, remark that any warmth or hastiness of 
 temper (which, if ever you had it, is, I think, now well cor- 
 rected by experience) might be productive of consequences 
 which you might ever have to repent. Coolness, vigilance, 
 compassion, attention to the necessities of all under your 
 charge are essential requisites. Let these never be forgotten, 
 and let the poor imprisoned African find that in all his dis- 
 tresses he is not without a friend. 
 
 "May God bless you and all under your care, whatever 
 may be their complexion, and believe me, my dear friend, ever 
 aff"ectionately yours, 
 
 " W. ROSCOE. 
 *' Liverpool, 12th July, 1792." 
 
 Captain William Lace was the son of Mr. Ambrose Lace, 
 merchant and ship owner, of St. Paul's Square, and brother 
 of Mr. Joshua Lace, the founder and first president of the 
 Liverpool Law Society. He had a life full of adventure, 
 for in the time of the war with France he fitted out privateers, 
 and took the command of one himself. After taking many 
 prizes, he was himself captured by the French fleet, and 
 carried a prisoner to France, from which country he after- 
 w^ards escaped, after enduring great hardships. On another 
 voyage he lost his ship, and was 14 days in a small boat, 
 part of this time without w^ater, and, w^hen picked up, was 
 one of the few survivors. He was one of the early African 
 explorers, and, we believe, the first to give us an account of 
 the gorilla, long before Du Chaillu. He was an enthusiastic 
 botanist, and largely contributed to the founding of the 
 Liverpool Botanical Gardens, the freedom of which was 
 
616 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 presented to him in recognition of his gifts. Members of 
 his family repeatedly refused the office of Mayor, and the 
 last Bailiff of Liverpool was his cousin, Ambrose Lace. One 
 of our illustrations is a fac-simile of an original sketch made 
 by Captain Lace of the palace and stockade of an African 
 king, of whom he purchased slaves ; and the private signal 
 code of a slave-ship is reproduced from the original in his 
 handwriting. 
 
 In May, 1794, the Bolton^ Captain Lee, arrived at 
 Dominica from Africa, after a passage of thirty-four days, 
 with a remarkably healthy cargo of negroes, having left the 
 coast with her full complement, and buried only one. 
 
 The continuation of the slave trade till the first of January, 
 1796, was carried in the House of Commons by a majority 
 of 19. " This decision signed," as Mr. Fox justly observed, 
 "the death-warrant of perhaps a hundred thousand of our 
 fellow-creatures, or more, and doomed an unknown number 
 to perpetual slavery, with their seed, and extended misery to 
 a still greater number of their relatives in Africa, who were 
 left to mourn their parents or children, husbands or wives, 
 torn from them by a merciless banditti, to satiate the un- 
 bounded cravings of British avarice." A similar motion in 
 the Lords was postponed to the following year, in order to 
 give time for the examination of witnesses. 
 
 Not content with importing from Africa a supply of slaves 
 for our own plantations, the Liverpool merchants were 
 induced by love of gain to perform the same work for some 
 of the neighbouring kingdoms. Knowing that the time and 
 opportunity of making such gain was now limited, they 
 used redoubled exertions to procure as many of the natives 
 as possible. Secretary Dundas presented a petition for a 
 Mr. Dawson, of Liverpool, stating that he had eighteen 
 vessels in the slave trade, for the service of Spain, and that 
 the whole of the property embarked altogether in it was 
 five hundred and nine thousand pounds and upwards. 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 617 
 
 At a special council, held on the 12th of March, 1796, 
 during- the mayoralty of Mr. Thomas Naylor, it was 
 unanimously agreed that petitions be sent up on behalf of 
 the Corporation against the Bills before Parliament for the 
 abolition of the African slave trade, and praying to be 
 heard by counsel. The petitions were merely an echo of 
 those previously presented. Among the toasts drunk at a 
 g-athering of the friends of John Tarleton, Esq., met at the 
 " King's Arms," in 1796, to celebrate the anniversary of the 
 King's birthday, was "Prosperity to the African Trade, and 
 may it always be conducted with Humanity." 
 
 The largest vessel at this time engaged in the African 
 trade was the Parr, of 566 tons burthen, launched from 
 Mr. W. N. Wright's yard, in November, 1797. 
 
 On the 3rd of October, 1798, during the mayoralty of 
 Mr. Thomas Staniforth, the thanks of the Town Council, 
 and a piece of plate to the value of 100 guineas, were 
 presented to Mr. Peter Whitfield Brancker, a member of 
 the Council, for having, in his character as delegate, attend- 
 ing in London every session of Parliament, been very 
 instrumental in securing a continuance of the slave trade 
 under proper restrictions and regulations. Mr. P. W. 
 Brancker was bailiff in 1795, and mayor in 1801. In 1803, 
 at a period of national danger, all the boatmen of the 
 river Mersey were formed into a regiment of artillery 
 under his command, John Brancker being one of the 
 captains. Somewhat blunt and bluff of bearing, he was 
 a true-hearted man of the old school, and far before most 
 of the merchant princes of that day in reading and 
 intellectual attainments. 
 
 On the ist of April, 1799, during the mayoralty of Mr. 
 Thomas Leyland, the corporation petitioned the Commons 
 against "a bill to prohibit the trading for slaves to the 
 coast of Africa within certain limits," characterising it as 
 impracticable in parts, injurious, partial, and oppressive, and 
 
618 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 so forth. On May ist, 1799, another bill introduced into 
 the Lords for regulating the shipping and carrying of slaves 
 in British vessels from the coast of Africa, also drew a peti- 
 tion from the Town Council, who held that the health and 
 comfort of the slaves had been already effectually secured. 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1799, the Recorder, and a Com- 
 mittee of the Council, attended at St. James's Palace, and 
 presented H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence (afterwards the 
 "Sailor King") with the freedom of the borough, in a gold 
 box (costing ;^226) with an address (illuminated for 25 gui- 
 neas) "in grateful sense of his active and able exertions in 
 Parliament" on behalf of the slave trade. After all, the 
 expenses of the deputation, together with the presents, only 
 amounted to the price of two or three "prime and healthy 
 negroes" — a reasonable return for royal eloquence and 
 support. 
 
 In the year 1802, the question of the slave trade appears 
 to have been too stale for effective electioneering treatment. 
 The only reference to it is in a stanza by one of General 
 Gascoyne's admirers : 
 
 "For if he your member be, my boys, 
 
 Provisions still must lower; 
 And open trade be carried on 
 
 Along the Afric shore. 
 
 And a plumping we will go." 
 
 In the year 1804, a bill for the abolition of the slave trade, 
 was carried by Wilberforce in the House of Commons, but 
 was thrown out by the Lords. In the next session a similar 
 bill was rejected by the Commons. The capture by Great 
 Britain of the French and Dutch Colonies in the West 
 Indies, increased the demand for slaves, which had been 
 diminishing. The number of slaves imported in Liverpool, 
 London and Bristol ships, in the year 1802, was 41,086; in 
 1803, the number had fallen to 24,925; and in 1804, it had 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 619 
 
 reached 36,899. Out of this number the proportion carried 
 by Liverpool was as follows : In 1802, 122 vessels, of 30,796 
 tons burthen, carried 31,371 slaves; in 1803, 83 vessels, of 
 15,534 tons burthen, carried 29,954 slaves ; in 1804, 126 
 vessels, of 27,322 tons burthen, carried 31,090 slaves.* 
 
 In 1805, an order in council prohibited the importation of 
 negroes, to the newly conquered colonies of the British 
 crown. After the death of Mr. Pitt, in 1806, the coalition 
 ministry, under Lord Grenville and Mr. Fox, carried a bill 
 prohibiting British subjects from supplying slaves either to 
 foreign settlements or to our own colonies. One of the last 
 acts of Mr. Fox before he followed his great rival to the 
 grave, was to carry a resolution in the Commons, pledging 
 the House to the abolition of the trade in the next session. 
 Meanwhile, a bill was passed through both Houses, 
 forbidding the employment of any new vessel in the trade. 
 
 On the 20th of January, 1807, during the mayoralty of 
 Mr. Thomas Molyneux, petitions to the Lords were 
 adopted from the ; Corporation and the Dock Trustees, 
 praying that the Abolition Bill be not passed, "but if 
 from considerations foreign to their interests it should be 
 thought expedient that the Bill should pass," the petitioners 
 prayed for compensation for the depreciated value of 
 houses, warehouses, land, etc. 
 
 Parliament was dissolved in November, 1806, and in its 
 short-lived successor, called by the Grenville Ministry, the 
 great Roscoe, then in the zenith of his fame, sat as one of 
 the members for Liverpool. His political opinions, and his 
 enmity to the slave trade, were opposed to the views of the 
 majority in a constituency where the most shameless bribery 
 
 *Sir James Picton, in his " Memorials of Liverpool," vol i. p 277, has fallen 
 into the curious error of giving the tonnage of the ships as the number of slaves 
 carried, the passage being as follows : — 
 
 " The trade had previously been diminishing, the number imported in Liverpool 
 ships having dropped from 30,796 in 1S02, to 15,534 in 1803. Stimulated by the 
 new colonial markets, the number in 1S04, had risen to 27,322, being five-sixths 
 of the whole number imported." 
 
620 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 prevailed. Nevertheless, his high standing in the commer- 
 cial,* literary, and political world, and the unsullied 
 excellence of his private character, induced the burgesses to 
 return him at the head of the poll. There was something 
 of "the everlasting fitness of things" in the presence, in this 
 parliament, of the man, whose youthful genius had sung the 
 wrongs of Africa; who, in early manhood had confuted the 
 sophistries of the Jesuit Harris, and who had, from first to 
 last, shared the hopes and fears of Clarkson and Wilberforce, 
 in their long and arduous struggle with the monster evil, 
 against which, single-handed, he had stood forth, like young 
 David of old. Short as was the parliament summoned by 
 the "ministry of all the talents," it covered itself and them 
 with imperishable glory, by finally declaring the slave trade 
 illegal, and Mr. Roscoe had the gratification of contributing 
 to this result by a speech, delivered on the second reading of 
 the Bill, which received the royal assent on March 25th, 1807. 
 The Bill enacted that no vessel should clear out for slaves 
 from any port within the British dominions after the ist 
 of May, 1807, and that no slave should be landed 
 in the Colonies after the ist of March, 1808. Thus 
 was ended a conflict of twenty years between truth and 
 falsehood, justice and selfishness, humanity and cruelty; 
 and the foulest blot which ever darkened the name of Eng- 
 land was removed. During the last fifteen months of the 
 trade, from January ist, 1806, to May ist, 1807, the number 
 of Liverpool vessels engaged in the traffic was 185, measur- 
 ing 43,755 tonsjt and allowed to carry 49,213 slaves. The 
 immediate effect of the Bill upon the commerce of Liver- 
 pool was injurious. The tonnage fell from 662,309 in 
 
 * Ml". Roscoe was connected with one of the first banks in Liverpool, of which 
 Mr. Thomas Leyland, afterwards the richest man and most skilful banker in the 
 town, was the head. The firm of Leyland, Clarke and Koscoe was dissolved on 
 December 31st, 1S06, the partners being Thomas Leyland, John Clarke and 
 William Roscoe. 
 
 t Here again Sir James Picton has substituted the tonnage of the ships for the 
 number of slaves carried. 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 621 
 
 1807 to 516,836 in 1808, and the amount of the dues from 
 ;^62,83i to ;^40,638. This was principally owing to the 
 general anxiety to "make hay while the sun shines," 
 which swelled the tonnage of 1807, and the depression 
 was not lasting, for the tonnage in 1810 had risen to 
 734,391, and the dues to ;^65,782. 
 
 When it became known in Liverpool that Parliament had 
 decreed that England should no longer play a guilty part in 
 perpetuating the horrors of the middle passage, prophets of 
 woe and evil sprung up in every street, and with the ex- 
 ception of the small band of abolitionists and two or three 
 shrewd land speculators, who afterwards reaped a great 
 reward, the whole community was terror-stricken.* The 
 docks were to become fish-ponds, the warehouses to moulder 
 into ruins, grass was to grow on the local Rialto, the streets 
 were to be ploughed up, "Bootle organs"f were to sing in 
 the deserted mansions and pleasure grounds of the merchant 
 princes, and Liverpool's glorious merchant navy, whose 
 keels penetrated to every land, and whose white sails wooed 
 the breeze on every ocean, was to dwindle into a fishing 
 vessel or two, while the brave tars, who had made themselves 
 the terror of England's enemies on the seas, were to die of star- 
 vation or in the workhouse. "And what became of Liver- 
 pool? Were the melancholy predictions of her prophets 
 fulfilled? Were her docks turned into fish-ponds? Did 
 the mower cut down hay, or the reaper gather in his harvest 
 in her deserted streets?" Without entering at length into 
 the fascinating romance of Liverpool's progress it is a suf- 
 ficient answer to quote the following figures, indicating the 
 enormous growth of her shipping trade : — 
 
 In 1764 the total tonnage of vessels that entered the port 
 
 *"The efifect of the abolition of the slave trade began to be felt in the cessation of 
 the demand for common rum, for which the coast of Africa was the principal vent; 
 and also of the demand for all kinds of goods suited for the African market, such 
 as gunpowder, coarse cloth, muskets, and trinkets of all kinds." — Baines' "History 
 of Liverpool," p. 732. 
 
 i' Frogs. 
 
622 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 was 56,499 tons, in 1780 it was 112,000 tons, in 1796 it 
 was 224,000 tons, in 181 1 it was 611,190 tons, in 1827 it was 
 1,225,313 tons, in 1841 it was 2,425,461 tons, in 1857 it had 
 reached 4,645,362 tons, so that by the same rule that 
 doubled the tonnage of the port between 1749 and 1764, 
 the tonnage doubled itself between 1841 and 1857. It 
 occupied 134 years to produce an increase equal to that 
 which had taken place between 1841 and 1857. In the year 
 ending July ist, 1897, the tonnage had reached 1 1,473,421 tons. 
 The value of exports in the whole kingdom in 1857 amounted 
 to ^"110,000,000 sterling, out of which ^55,000,000 
 passed through Liverpool alone. Of the total exports of 
 the United Kingdom in 1896, amounting to ^296,379,214, 
 those of Liverpool were valued at ;^93, 298,954; those of 
 London at ;^83, 227,874. The total value of the imports 
 of foreign and colonial produce into the United Kingdom 
 in 1896 was ^441,808,904, of which ;^i46,852,558 was the 
 value of London imports, and ;^I03,5I2,255 those of 
 Liverpool. ' This enormous growth of commerce could 
 never have taken place, but for the continuous vigilance 
 and enterprise of the inhabitants of Liverpool in the 
 construction and extension of the dock system./ Up to 
 1 71 5, floating docks were unknown in England; and in 1795, 
 the Liverpool docks were only about i^miles in extent.* 
 
 *In a Uiaiy of a Tour thiough Great Britain, in 1795, by the Rev. Wm. 
 MacRitchie, of Clunie, we find some interesting references to Liverpool. Passing 
 through Ormskirk, on the 6th of July, he saw "large fields of potatoes, very well 
 dressed, and country girls, with their petticoats tucked up, bestriding the drills and 
 taking out every weed with their hands." He approached Liverpool from the north- 
 west, and says, "Vast number of ships under sail, making their way out of the river. 
 Put up at the 'Cross Keys,' near the Exchange, where dine ; after dinner call upon 
 Mr. Keay, and take the grace-drink with him. In the evening, Mr. Keay accom- 
 panies me out, and shows me the docks and the shipping. This infinitely the most 
 wonderful scene of the kind I have ever seen ; and one who has not seen it cannot 
 possibly conceive any idea of it. Sup at the 'Cross Keys' (Mrs. Walker) with a number 
 of travelling gentlemen; some of them very entertaining; Welch, Irish, English, 
 Scotch, American, West Indies — variety of characters." . . "Visit again the 
 greatest thing to be seen here, or perhaps anywhere else — the Docks. Storehouses, 
 the largest of any in Britain — particularly the Duke of Bridge water's, etc. One gentle- 
 man here has storehouses eleven stories high. Bathinghouses, ladies' and gentlemen's ; 
 coffee-rooms ; vast number of windmills for grinding corn, flint for the potteries. 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 623 
 
 In 1897, the Liverpool dock systems fringe the estuary 
 on the Lancashire shore for nearly seven miles, and pene- 
 trate the Wirral Peninsula on the Cheshire side of the 
 Mersey for two or three miles. The Liverpool docks are 
 unrivalled, not only by reason of their extent, but for the 
 solidity and magnificence of their construction, and the 
 facilities which they offer for the quick handling of cargo. 
 The Dock Estate on the Liverpool side of the estuary con- 
 tains an area of 1 105 acres, with 25 miles 1679 yards of quays. 
 On the Birkenhead side, the area is 506 acres, the length of 
 quay space 9 miles 925 yards, making the total area of the 
 Dock Estate, 161 1 acres with 35 miles 844 yards of lineal 
 quay space. 
 
 The total cost of the docks is estimated at ;^42, 000,000. 
 Of this sum, ^19,000,000 was expended during the thirty- 
 five years from 1861 to 1896. A large portion of the money 
 spent upon the estate has been defrayed out of the revenue, 
 and the present (July, 1897) bonded debt is ;^i8, 166,583. 
 The annual income of the estate is (July, 1897) ;^i,4oo, 152. 
 The whole of this magnificent property is a public trust, 
 under the management of the Mersey Docks and Harbour 
 Board, which was instituted in 1857. 
 
 In 1897, the largest ocean steamers are able to come 
 alongside the Liverpool Landing Stage, which is moored in 
 about the centre of the seven-mile frontage of the finest 
 
 flax-seed for oil, logwood, etc." . . "The docks extend more than one and a 
 half miles, and exceed all description. This war, however, has considerably affected 
 the trade of Liverpool. Harbour difficult of access, the tract in the river narrow, 
 and many sandbanks on each side ; pilots necessary." . . "Walkout again to 
 the Docks. The Glasshouse here upon a small scale. The Copper work discon- 
 tinued here ; removed to Wales on account of the nearness of the ore there. Number 
 <3f the best ships belonging to this place taken during the present war. Ships of 
 upwards of a thousand tons built here. 'An endless grove of masts !' It gives one 
 a very high idea indeed of the immense trade of Liverpool, supposed superior to that 
 of Bristol, and inferior only to that of London." . . . "Thursday 9th July. — 
 Breakfast at the ' Cross Keys. ' After breakfast make my escape from this large, ir- 
 regular, busy, opulent, corrupted town ; where so many men and so many women 
 use so many ways and means of gaining and spending so much money, and meat, 
 and drink, etc." And so he passes on to dine at Boldheath, and quaff good ale, at 
 threepence a pint, and to muse on the extravagance and wickedness of Liverpool. 
 
624 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 docks in the world. Gigantic and mysterious looking 
 dredgers — which would have struck the bravest of our 
 privateersmen with terror, had they fallen in with them on 
 a cruise — have scooped away the shallow bar, which long 
 obstructed the entrance to the port, and now 25 feet is the 
 least depth at low water, and the largest vessels have free 
 access at all states of the tide. In this the Mersey Docks 
 and Harbour Board have displayed the pluck and enterprise 
 of the early makers of Liverpool. By sending out their fleet 
 of powerful dredgers to cruise successfully against the enemy 
 which, in former ages, destroyed the port of Chester, the 
 Board have confounded many sceptical engineers, and 
 deserved the thanks of present and future citizens of Greater 
 Liverpool. "England, England," said the Marquis of 
 Halifax, "thou art like Martha, busy about many things, 
 but one is necessary for thy salvation — look to thy moat; of 
 an Englishman's creed, the first article is the sea." This 
 true saying is also good for Liverpool, and the Docks Board 
 have lived up to it. They, too, have had their battles to 
 fight against fearful odds, and, figuratively speaking, to face 
 the great guns, swivels, small arms, and stinkpots of 
 innumerable enemies and critics, and still the good ship 
 Liverpool sweeps the seas, sound in every plank, her officers 
 and crew in great spirits, and the red flag of "no surrender" 
 flying at the main, as in the days gone by. 
 
 There are many other indications that, far from having 
 reached the meridian height of her glory and prosperity, 
 Liverpool, like that dark continent with the sad history of 
 which her own darkest record is linked, is but on the thresh- 
 old of a more splendid future. In this present year of 
 Jubilee, about 30,000 natives went down from the hinterland 
 into the town of Lagos, and were conducted by the governor, 
 Major M 'Galium, down to the beach. Scarcely one of them 
 had ever before beheld the sea, and their countenances were 
 
CORPORATION AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 625 
 
 a perfect picture as they gazed at the endless expanse. It 
 was not the vastness of the area that impressed them most, 
 but the unceasing roll of the waves, which they could not 
 understand. That great sea and its ceaseless roll is to us 
 typical of that mighty civilising power which is now ad- 
 vancing over Africa. In this honourable work, the merchants 
 of Liverpool compete against the world as vigorously and 
 successfully as their predecessors did in an iniquitous traffic. 
 When Governor M 'Galium, on the occasion previously 
 referred to, conducted the two leading black kings to the 
 Durbar, one on each arm, the enthusiasm of the natives 
 was tremendous. The chiefs said they never knew the 
 white man as they knew him then, and the friendship 
 expressed by them before they left for their homes, showed 
 that the jubilee celebration, at Lagos, was an unparalleled 
 event in the history of the colony. It would appear from 
 this that it is only now, ninety years after the abolition of 
 the Liverpool slave trade, that the white man is learning 
 the true way of dealing with the African. Soon may he 
 
 " View the accomplish'd plan, 
 The negro towering- to the height of man." 
 
 The Act of 1807 had not the effect of stopping the im- 
 portation of slaves, which continued to be carried on by 
 British subjects under the cover of foreign flags. Gonse- 
 quently, in 181 1, another Act was passed, which made such 
 importation felony, punishable with fourteen years' trans- 
 portation. In 1824, the trade was declared to be piracy, 
 subject to the penalty of death. In 1833, the slaves in the 
 British Golonies, to the number of 770,000, were emanci- 
 pated, subject to an apprenticeship, which expired in 1838, 
 the sum of ;^20,ooo,ooo being paid to their owners as com- 
 pensation. The part played by Liverpool in the agitation 
 which brought about this result, does not fall within the 
 scope of the present work. 
 
 2R 
 
62G 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Captain Hugh Crow. 
 
 Captain Hugh Crow commanded the last slave-ship that 
 cleared out of the port of Liverpool. He was one of the 
 bravest, shrewdest, quaintest, and most humorous old sea 
 dogs that ever breathed. He lost his right eye when very 
 young, but as one of his employers said, the other was "a 
 piercer," and he was known far and wide as "mind your eye, 
 Crow." He was generally on the most friendly footing with 
 himself, and ready to uphold his own merits, the beauty of 
 his native Isle of Man, and the Manx language, wherever he 
 went. He was justly proud of the estimation in which he 
 was held by the merchants and underwriters of Liverpool 
 and London, and it was a great sight to see him nodding 
 and bowing with much urbanity when he met them in the 
 streets or on 'Change. 
 
 We have it on the high authority of Mr. Hall Caine, that 
 the Manxman is a born sailor, and Hugh Crow heard the 
 call of the sea very early. When a mere child, walking with 
 his mother on the shore at Ramsey, where he was born, in 
 1765, he prophesied to her that he would command a big 
 ship some day. When that prophecy was fulfilled he did 
 not forget to send the old lady substantial tokens of his love 
 and success. Soon after being bound apprentice to the sea, 
 in the employ of a Whitehaven merchant, he had to fight for 
 his life with a vindictive fellow-apprentice, who, on a dark 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 627 
 
 night, attempted to throw him from the maintop-gallant yard 
 into the sea. He saved himself with difficulty, forgave the 
 attempted murder, and held his tongue. 
 
 His early life was full of adventure. On one occasion, he 
 left his ship at night, taking with him his quadrant and 
 chest, having procured a situation as second mate of a fine 
 ship, bound to Honduras. His old captain, suspecting his 
 intentions, and anxious to retain so valuable a man, 
 discovered his retreat, and, attended by bailiff, constables, 
 and soldiers, boarded his new ship. After a scuffle 
 with the crew, who also desired to retain their new 
 acquisition, the captain, the law, and the army discovered 
 Crow in the pump-well, nearly suffocated with filth and heat. 
 When he was dragged upon deck, the captain threatened to 
 cleave him with the cook's axe if he made any resistance. 
 He was tightly handcuffed, bundled into a boat, with only 
 his shirt and trousers on, taken on shore, and thrown into 
 a noxious prison, amongst a number of dirty, runaway 
 negroes. *' There I lay," he says, " without any food, and 
 tormented by rats, for forty-eight hours. It is but a 
 grateful acknowledgment on my part to state that many of 
 the poor negroes shed tears on seeing my distressed 
 situation." 
 
 In December, 1787, he sailed as a passenger on board a 
 ship bound from Cork to Kingston, Jamaica, paying one 
 penny, as was the custom, otherwise a sailor (though a 
 passenger) might claim wages. They met with a succession 
 of dreadful gales, which greatly disheartened the crew, and 
 Hugh Crow endeavoured to rally their drooping spirits on 
 many a stormy night by singing sea songs, and especially 
 "Ye Gentlemen of England," which he always found to 
 have an animating effect on his shipmates on dark and 
 stormy nights. 
 
 He had several offers to go as second mate to the coast of 
 Africa, but, like many other sailors, he was prejudiced 
 
C28 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 ag-ainst the Guinea trade, and had an abhorrence of the very 
 name of "slaves," "never thinking," he observes, "that 
 at the time I was as great a slave as well might be ; and I 
 agreed, though with fewer advantages, to embark as 
 second mate of the Elizabeth, the first ship bound to 
 Jamaica." * 
 
 He tells the following anecdote, which we quote, because 
 it shows the soft side of a strong character that knew no fear. 
 It relates to a black boy they had on board named "Fine 
 Bone," about fifteen years of age : — 
 
 "When we got further north," says Crow, "the cold began 
 to pinch him severely, and, being very fond of me, he one 
 morning came shivering to the side of my cot, and said : 
 ' Massa Crow, something bite me too much, and me no can 
 see 'im, and me want you for give me some was mouth, and 
 two mouth tacken.' I knew that 'wash mouth' meant a 
 dram, and he soon gave me to understand, by getting hold of 
 my drawers, what he meant by ' two mouth tacken.' I fur- 
 nished the poor fellow with the needful, and as he had shoes, 
 stockings, and jacket before, he was quite made up." 
 
 His repugnance to the slave trade was at length overcome. 
 In 1790, he made his first voyage to Africa in the Prince^ 
 belonging to Mr. J. Dawson, and afterwards he sailed in one 
 of Mr. Harper's ships, and in the Jaiie belonging to Mr. 
 Boats, as second mate, which was equal to chief mate in any 
 other employ. In June, 1794, he sailed as chief mate of the 
 Gregsoii, a fine ship of 18 six-pounders, Captain W. Gibson, 
 bound to Guernsey for spirits, and thence to Cape Coast. 
 Three days after leaving Guernsey, they were attacked by 
 the Robiiste, a large French ship, of 24 long twelve-pounders, 
 and 150 men. After a vigorous action of about two hours, 
 
 * It was with money granted by the Underwriters for services rendered to the 
 Elizabeth when she took the ground in coming into dock, that Crow bought the 
 first respectable suit of clothes he ever possessed. He was expert as a carpenter 
 as well as a sailor, having served t\N0 years to the trade of a boat-builder. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 629 
 
 in which several of the 35 men who manned the Gregson 
 were severely wounded, Captain Gibson, to avoid useless 
 loss of life, reluctantly struck. They were carried to 
 L'Orient, and fairly treated as prisoners of war for some 
 weeks. Here they saw 150 fine looking women, who had 
 been caught with a priest at prayers in a field on a Sunday, 
 brutally driven into the town and handed to the public 
 executioner without a trial. Crow, with others, was removed 
 to Ouimper, where he experienced terrible hardships in 
 prison. Lady Fitzroy and her brother, the KTon. Henry 
 Wellesley (sister and brother of the Duke of Wellington), 
 were also prisoners at the same place, and not having been 
 plundered of their money, sent nourishment to the sick. 
 Crow, like a careful Manxman, had a little cash, and raised 
 ;^20 on his note of hand, which saved his life, as those who 
 had no money perished of want or disease. He complains 
 that the feeling of the day, in England, was exclusively 
 devoted to the melioration of the black slaves, while not a 
 word was said of the white slaves who were daily dying by 
 scores in the prisons of France. 
 
 " Often" he says "in our indignation at this partiality, 
 and indifference to our fate, did we wish that our colour had 
 been black, or anything else than white, so that we might 
 have attracted the notice and commanded the sympathy of 
 Fox, Wilberforce, and others of our patriotic statesmen." 
 
 By the middle of November, nearly 2000 prisoners had 
 died, and Crow and the rest who could walk were marched 
 to the north of France. After marching five or six hundred 
 miles he was put in hospital at Pontoise, in February, 1795, 
 and here an English mate taught him arithmetic and 
 logarithms. He also picked up a few French words, and 
 one day in May, 1795, having fixed a large tricoloured 
 cockade in his hat, and the vocabulary in his mind, he made 
 his escape. Next day, when he had proceeded fifty miles, 
 he was stopped at a bridge by an officer and a file of soldiers. 
 
630 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 His newly acquired French suddenly deserted him and he 
 stood mute. 
 
 "The officer," he says, "followed up one stern inquiry by 
 another, but all to no purpose. At length, as a random expe- 
 dient, I bolted out all the words of the different lang-uag^es I 
 could remember, and of which I had obtained a smattering- in 
 m}^ different voyages, mingling the whole with my native 
 language, the Manks, with a copiousness proportioned to my 
 facility in speaking it. The Frenchman was astonished and 
 enraged, and as he went on foaming and roaring, I continued 
 to repeat (in broken Spanish), ' No entiendo ! ' until worn out 
 of all patience, he swore I was a Breton, and giving me a 
 sharp slap with his sword, he exclaimed ' Va-t en, coquin !' I 
 thanked him over and over again, as loud as I could, in Manks, 
 and I assure the reader never were thanks tendered with more 
 sincerity. After this escape, I became more cautious, and 
 resolved henceforward to travel only by night. With the dawn 
 I looked out for a place of shelter and repose, and every 
 morning, as I lay down to rest among the green bushes, my 
 drooping spirits were not a little animated by the delig'htful 
 notes of the thrush and the blackbird that emerged from their 
 nests to enjoy the wide freedom of the air, while I, to preserve 
 myself from a prison, sought covert from the beams of day." 
 
 Missing his way one day, he found himself close to a 
 camp of soldiers, and in the greatest alarm took to his heels. 
 After running and walking sixty miles, his "poor old hull 
 was in so sad a condition from stem to stern," that he "put 
 into the first port," turned into a house, and submitted him- 
 self to the mercy of the people. While they were giving 
 him brandy, and putting his feet in warm water, he fell in- 
 sensible across the tub. He was put to bed, slept soundly, 
 and in the morning, after a good breakfast, he proceeded on 
 his journey, blessing his benefactors. He reached Rouen, 
 and in two days arrived at Havre, where a generous Danish 
 captain gave him a passage to Deal, on arriving at which 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 631 
 
 place, he kissed the soil, in gratitude for his deliverance. 
 The Dane paid his fare to London, and he again raised ;£\o 
 on his note of hand and started for Liverpool, where he 
 arrived *'in great spirits," after an imprisonment of about 
 twelve months. The first person known to him, whom he 
 saw in Liverpool, was his brother William, who had gone 
 out as chief mate of the Othello, Captain Christian, to Bonny, 
 where the ship one night caught fire and blew up, several 
 whites, and about 120 blacks on board perishing, amongst 
 them being a brother of King Pepple. William Crow had 
 scarcely left the vessel when the explosion took place. 
 Captain Christian, in a subsequent voyage, met with a 
 similar and more fatal accident. Hugh Crow mentions a 
 little romance m connection with his next vessel: — 
 
 "After a short stay in Liverpool, I shipped as chief mate of 
 the AiniCy a fine ship, mounting- eighteen guns, commanded by 
 my old master, Captain Reuben Wright, and bound to Bonny. 
 While we lay in the river Mersey, a number of men one day 
 came on board, and among^st them was a prepossessing- young 
 sailor of apparently about eighteen years of age, named Jack 
 Roberts. This youth drank grog", sang song^s, chewed tobacco, 
 enjoyed a yarn, and appeared in all respects, saving the 
 slenderness of his build, like one of ourselves. In a few days, 
 however, we discovered that Jack's true name and designation 
 was Jane Roberts, and a very beautiful young woman she was. 
 She was landed with all possible g^entleness, and I was 
 informed soon after married a respectable young man. It is 
 remarkable that about this time several handsome young- 
 women committed themselves in the same way, and some 
 succeeded in probably eludings all discovery of their sex, and 
 made a voyage or two to sea." 
 
 The Anne arrived at Bonny almost at the same moment 
 as the Old Dick and the Eliza, from which she had been 
 separated at sea for fourteen weeks. The town being full of 
 slaves, the Anne soon completed her cargo, and in three 
 
C32 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 Aveeksthey sailed to the westward in good health and spirits. 
 When about three days' sail to windward of Barbadoes, they 
 took under ^their protection a Lancaster brig parted from 
 the convoy, and defended her gallantly against a French 
 privateer which poured three or four broadsides into the 
 Anne, but met with a warm reception in the shape of 
 broken copper dross made up in bags, which did terrible 
 execution. After continuing the action off and on for 
 nearly five hours, the Frenchman made off, leaving the 
 Aline much damaged, and with several whites and blacks 
 wounded. On her arrival at Barbadoes every man and 
 boy worth taking were impressed, "a galling reception," 
 says Crow, "after the manner in which we had defended 
 ourselves and the Lancaster brig- from the enemy." 
 They sailed for Santa Cruz, sold the slaves, loaded at St. 
 Thomas's, and in due course arrived in Liverpool. 
 
 His next voyage was as mate in the James, Captain 
 Gibson, with liberal wages, besides a gratuity of ;i^ioo 
 and the promise of a ship on his return. They sailed in 
 October, 1796, but the ship got ashore on the Cheshire side, 
 and Crow earned the thanks of the owners and underwriters, 
 for his conduct on this occasion. Proceeding on their 
 voyage, they arrived at Bonny, and after taking in a cargo 
 of negroes, weighed anchor on Janaury, 15th, 1797. They 
 had scarcely proceeded five leagues, when the ship grounded 
 at half-ebb on a bank, and then, with six feet water in her 
 hold, was carried over the tail of the bank by the tide and came 
 to anchor in deep water. The captain went off in a boat 
 to Bonny to get assistance, leaving Crow to do the best 
 he could with the ship and about 400 blacks, and only 
 40 whites to superintend them. While the pumps were 
 going, and the spirits and strength of the crew sinking, 
 Crow went down into the hold with the carpenter, found 
 the leak, and crammed it with pieces of beef. The slaves 
 had got themselves out of irons, and when Crow unlocked 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 633 
 
 the hatch they all gathered round him, shook him by 
 the hand, and asked him to permit fifteen of their best 
 men to come up and assist at the pumps, which was 
 readily agreed to. The ship had to be stranded in Bonny 
 Creek, and the slaves put on board of other vessels. At 
 night, the natives plundered her, but Crow, who had 
 stowed all his own property on the booms, and furnished 
 himself with scores of six-pound shot, defended himself 
 stoutly against all attempts to dislodge him. At length 
 Kings Pepple and Holiday came alongside and com- 
 manded their people to desist. 
 
 "I was rejoiced at the truce," he says, "for althoug-h my 
 ammunition was not yet expended, so desperate and destructive 
 was my defence, that had my assailants not been called off, 
 they would, in reveng-e, certainly have killed me in the end. 
 INIany whites and blacks were wounded on both sides. The 
 ship, in a few days, was literally torn to pieces, and a demand 
 was even made for half the number of the blacks we had on 
 board. The fatigues I had undergone brought on a severe 
 illness, which continued for several days. On my recovery, I was 
 invited by the Kings and the great men to spend some time 
 with them on shore. When I reached the town, all classes 
 were lavish of their presents to me (for I was always on good 
 terms with the inhabitants), and even the children, amongst 
 whom I was well known, sang after me in the streets. A grand 
 ceremony afterwards took place, and I was sent for to attend 
 the Palaver-house, where I found both the Kings and all their 
 great men sitting-, attended by crowds of priests and people. 
 The priests proceeded to lead to the sacrifice hundreds of 
 goats and other animals, and the King's were very active in 
 performing the part of butchers on the occasion. All the 
 musicians in the town were in attendance, and a horrible 
 discordant din they made. I was given to understand that 
 during- the ceremony I must neither laugh nor smile, and I 
 believe I kept my instructions by maintaining a suitable gravity 
 of visage. The day was afterwards devoted to feasting and 
 
634 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 revelry, and this g"rand domcut was intended as a thanks- 
 offering- to their g"od, for his goodness in casting our ship upon 
 their shore. From Bonny, I took my passag^e to Kingston, 
 and thence to Liverpool ; where, notwithstanding the unfor- 
 tunate issue of our last voyage, I met with a most friendly 
 reception from my employers. I afterwards agreed to fgo 
 mate of a ship called the Parr ; but had cause to change my 
 mind, and it was well I did so : for that ship was blown up at 
 Bonny on the same voyage. She had at the time her full 
 complement of slaves on board, most of whom as well as the 
 whites lost their lives, and of the number was Captain 
 Christian, whose former ship, the Othello, it will be remern- 
 bered, was also blown up, and he and my brother were 
 amongst the few survivors. At length, as the old proverb goes, 
 ' long looked for come at last,' I had the good fortune to be 
 appointed to the command of a very fine ship called the Will, 
 belonging to Mr. W. Aspinall, one of the most generous 
 merchants in Liverpool. She was about 300 tons burthen, 
 carried eighteen six-pounders, besides small arms, and was 
 manned by fifty men. The instructions I received were 
 most liberal, and as a young man on my first voyage as 
 master of a ship, I could not but be hig^hly gratified by 
 the friendly and confidential language in which they were 
 conveyed. We sailed for Bonny, in July, 1798, and arrived 
 safely, after a fine passage. One of our first occupations was 
 the construction of a regular thatched house on the deck, for 
 the accommodation and comfort of the slaves. This building 
 extended from stem to stern, and was so contrived that the 
 whole ship was thoroughly aired, while at the same time the 
 blacks were secured from getting overboard. These tem- 
 porary buildings would cost from ;^30 to J^\o, according 
 to the size of the ship. We soon procured a cargo, and after 
 a pleasant run arrived at Kingston in good health and spirits. 
 Our voyage proved to be most successful, I sold nearly 
 _;^i200 worth of return goods, which I had saved from my 
 outward cargo, and received the bounty allowed by govern- 
 ment for the good condition of the slaves on their arrival. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 635 
 
 We sailed for Eng-land with the fleet, from which we parted 
 in a g'ale of wind; but ours was, nevertheless, the first ship 
 that arrived at Liverpool. Mr. Aspinall, my owner, who was 
 fond of a good joke, happening- to meet one evening with old 
 Mr. Hodson, merchant, commonly called 'Count' Hodson, their 
 conversation turned upon the voyage we had just accomplished. 
 Mr. Hodson observed, ' I give my captains very long 
 instructions, yet they can hardly make any money for us ;' 
 adding to Mr. Aspinall, ' What kind of instructions. Will, 
 did you give ji'(?»r captain ? ' ' Why,' replied Mr. Aspinall, ' I 
 took him to Beat's hotel, where we had a pint of wine 
 together, and I told him — Crow ! Mind your Eve ! for you 
 will fifid many ships at Bofiny ! ' Mr. Hodson immediately 
 said, ' Crow ! mind your eye ! — Will, I know the young man 
 well, he has only one eye.' 'True,' said Mr. Aspinall, 'but 
 that's a piercer ! ' The joke travelled to London, and I could 
 hardly cross the 'Change there afterwards without hearing 
 some wag or other exclaim, ' Crow, mind your eye !' It is very 
 probable that Mr. Aspinall had, in joke, told some of them that 
 these words were the only instructions I had ever received ; 
 and as such a fancy on his part was complimentary to me, I 
 may here state that I should have been as proud of that 
 laconic injunction, and acted as faithfully for his interests 
 under it, as under the lengthened instructions which he penned, 
 in his proper anxiety as a trader who had much at stake." 
 
 He sailed for Bonny in July, 1799. When off Cape 
 Palmas, a fast-sailing schooner brushed up alongside of 
 them, hoisted French colours, and began to fire; but they 
 cooled his courage with a few broadsides, and he sheered 
 off before the wind. They lay in the river Bonny about 
 three months, slaving, and had a two hours' fight with some 
 French vessels. On this voyage, while in the latitude of To- 
 bago, on the 2ist of February, 1800, the Will was attacked by 
 a large French privateer, of 18 guns, who gave her two broad- 
 sides, and with a loud yell attempted to board, but received 
 such a destructive fire from the Will's guns, loaded with 
 
636 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 round and broken copper dross, that he sheered off, and fired 
 from a greater distance. After fighting for about two liours, 
 he came up a second time, and ordered Captain Crow to 
 strike, or he would sink him. Crow repHed that sooner 
 than strike to such as him, he would go down with the ship. 
 This exasperated the French captain, who took up a musket 
 and fired it at Crow several times. With another yell, the 
 enemy attempted to board, but failed, and the Will poured 
 into him three broadsides, which produced much havoc 
 and confusion among his men. The privateer dropped 
 astern to refit, and again came up fiercely, the action being 
 stoutly maintained on both sides for about two hours longer. 
 At last, after an engagement lasting in the whole about 
 four hours and-a-half, the privateer sheered off, leaving the 
 IVi'll in a very shattered condition. One of the enemy's 
 shot went into the men's room below, and wounded twelve 
 blacks, two of whom died next day, and two others had 
 their thigh bones broken. Three of the crew were wounded, 
 and a gun dismounted by another shot. 
 
 "As soon as we had finally beaten him off," says the captain, 
 "I went into the cabin to return thanks to that Providence 
 which had always been so indulgent to me in all my dangers 
 and troubles. When the black women (who had rooms separate 
 from the men) heard that I was below, numbers of the poor 
 creatures gathered round me, and saluting me in their rude but 
 sincere manner, thanked their gods, with tears in their eyes, 
 that we had overcome the enemy. My officers and the ship's 
 company conducted themselves throughout the action with the 
 greatest coolness and determination, and we found a young 
 black man, whom we had trained to the guns on the passage, 
 to be both courageous and expert. In a few days after this 
 rencontre we arrived at St. Vincent's, where we refitted, and 
 proceeded to Kingston. We had scarcely let go the anchor at 
 Port Royal when no fewer than eight men-of-war boats came 
 alongside, and took from us every man and boy they could find. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 637 
 
 The impressment of seamen I have always considered to be, 
 in many points of view, much more arbitrary and cruel than 
 what was termed the slave trade. Our great statesmen, how- 
 ever, are regardless of such evils at home, and direct their 
 exclusive attention to supposed evils abroad. 
 
 "Our voyage proved very successful, and the blacks were so 
 healthy, and so few deaths had occurred amongst them, that I 
 was, a second time, presented with the bounty of ;^ioo awarded 
 by government. We returned home under convoy; and on our 
 arrival off the N.W. Buoy, my owner and his brothers paid me 
 the compliment of coming out to meet me. To add to my 
 satisfaction, Mr. Aspinall appointed a fine ship, the Lord Stanley, 
 to sail with me on the next voyage. To Mr. Kirby, my mate, 
 was given the command of that vessel, and she was placed in 
 every respect entirely under my orders. Both ships, together 
 with some others that were to join us, being fitted for sea, and 
 with valuable cargoes, I received my instructions, which were of 
 the most liberal nature, and we sailed in October, 1800, for the 
 coast of Africa. We encountered some severe gales of wind, 
 and did not reach Bonny till after a passage of ten weeks. There, 
 the ship Diana, having been cast ashore and become a wreck, we 
 received on board the captain and crew. After completing our 
 cargo, we sailed in company, all in good health, and arrived 
 at Jamaica without losing a man. Indeed my friends at Kings- 
 ton used to say — ' Crow has come again, and, as usual, his 
 whites and blacks are as plump as cotton bags.' Having con- 
 cluded our business, we sailed from Port Royal on the 21st of 
 May, 1801, under the convoy of the York, sixty-four, Commo- 
 dore John Ferrier. The Will was appointed a pennant ship, 
 and at the same time, one of the whippers-in of the fleet." 
 The Hector, of Liverpool, having gone down, the crew 
 jumping overboard, they were all saved by the Will, Captain 
 Crow personally rescuing several of them. *' One of them, 
 a Swede," he says, "was only saved by being caught hold of 
 with a boat-hook. He had on a pair of heavy half-boots, 
 and was moreover loaded with a quantity of doubloons 
 
638 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 sewed up in a belt. This fellow, when he came to himself, 
 without thanking God, or us, for his preservation, only 
 made anxious inquiry if his money were safe." The fleet, 
 consisting of 164 ships, when all under sail presented a 
 most beautiful appearance. Soon after his arrival in Liver- 
 pool, Captain Crow was presented by the merchants and 
 underwriters with a handsome silver tray, bearing the 
 following inscription : — 
 
 "This piece of plate is presented by the Merchants and 
 Underwriters of Liverpool to Capt. Hugh Crow, of the ship 
 Will, in testimony of the high estimation they have of his 
 meritorious conduct in the River Bonny, on the coast of Africa, 
 on the i6th of December, 1799, when menaced by three French 
 Frigates." 
 
 The Underwriters of Lloyd's Coffee-house also presented 
 him with a sum of money and an elegant silver cup, of the 
 value of ;^200, for his gallantry in defending the ship Will 
 against the French privateer, on the 21st of February, 1800. 
 
 After this. Captain Crow commanded the Ceres, a fine 
 frigate-built ship of 400 tons, well armed and manned. One 
 day, at Bonny, King Pepple came on board, flushed with 
 palm wine, and began to boast of the services he had 
 rendered to Crow, who lay in great pain upon a mattress, 
 unable to satisfy the king's greed. At length, Pepple 
 worked himself into such a rage, that, going up to the 
 captain with insulting gestures, he began to utter all 
 manner of abuse against the Isle of Man, which he de- 
 nounced as little and despicable, and finally roared out that 
 Manxmen were a miserable race of people, as poor as rats, 
 and unable to support a king. At this. Crow sprang up, 
 seized a stick, and shouting "You villain ; how dare you 
 abuse my country," followed his majesty on all fours, and 
 fairly chased him out of the ship. As he left the side, the 
 king reiterated *' Poor boy ! you cant havey king." They 
 became good friends afterwards. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 639 
 
 In December, 1806, Captain Crow was in command of 
 the slave-ship Mary, about 500 tons burthen, carrying 24 
 long nine-pounders on the main deck, and 4 eighteen- 
 pound carronades on the quarter deck. She was manned by 
 between 60 and 70 men, 36 of whom were qualified to take 
 the wheel. He gives an amusing description of his pre- 
 parations for receiving an enemy on the middle passage : — 
 
 "It was my constant practice to keep the ship in a state of 
 readiness to receive any enemy we might chance to meet, and 
 particularly when we drew near to the coast of Cayenne, which 
 I had learned, by dearly bought experience, was infested by 
 French cruisers. To this end my crew were frequently trained to 
 work the great guns and small arms, and on the present voyage 
 I selected several of the finest of the black men to join them in 
 these exercises, as well as in passing along the powder, and in 
 other minor duties that might become requisite in the hour of 
 action. The blacks, who were very proud of the preferment, 
 were each provided with a pair of light trowsers, a shirt, and a 
 cap ; and many were the diverting scenes we witnessed, when 
 they were in a morning eagerly employed in practising firing at 
 empty bottles, slung from the ends of the yard arms. Being but 
 indifferent marksmen few of their shots took effect; and the 
 falling countenances of those who had just missed formed a 
 ludicrous contrast to the animated features of the next sanguine 
 competitors. The first who struck a bottle was presented with 
 a dram and a new cap. This small reward excited a strong emu- 
 lation, and the morning's sport furnished matter of exultation to 
 the victors, and of general merriment to all throughout the day. 
 
 "Meantime we made a rapid run to the westward, and 
 though my confidence in my crew was such that I thought very 
 few French or other privateers, or even sloops of war could 
 successfully cope with us singlehanded, yet as I one day paced 
 the quarter deck ruminating on the chances of being attacked 
 by probably an unequal force, a project came into my head for 
 the greater annoyance and destruction of an enemy, of which I 
 determined, if occasion required, to make experiment. Having 
 
640 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 g-ot my plan to bear in my own mind, I sent for the g-unner and 
 the armourer, who were both clev^er men, and having- expressed 
 to them the great satisfaction I had all along derived from the 
 good conduct of the officers and crew, I informed them that I 
 had before had two actions off the coast of Cayenne, and that 
 as there was a probability of our soon falling- in with some 
 powerful French privateers from that quarter, I had resolved, 
 being so well manned, should any one attack us, not to give 
 them much chance at long bowls, but to slap them right on 
 board, if possible; and to run them down rather than expose 
 the lives and limbs of my crew by a long action. I then desired 
 them to take half-a-dozen of two-gallon jars, of which we had 
 a number on board ; and first to put about two quarts of powder 
 into each, and the same quantity of small flints; over these an 
 additional quantity of powder ; next about two quarts of pepper, 
 and then to fill up with powder and cork them up. They were 
 finally to insert a tin tube with a good match through the middle 
 of the cork, to cover the jars with canvas, and coat them 
 thickly with a composition of powder, brandy and brimstone. 
 Each jar was to be put into a loose sack that it might be hauled 
 up into either top when wanted. 'And,' I concluded, ad- 
 dressing myself to the armourer, 'as you are the strongest 
 man in the ship, your station will be in one of the tops, with a 
 lighted match, so that you may, on the word being- given, heave 
 these destructive jars right on board of any enemy that may 
 dare to come to close quarters.' The gunner, on hearing these 
 injunctions, exclaimed — 'Sir, I have seen a deal of service both 
 in men-of-war and in privateers, but I never heard of, or saw, 
 so deadly a contrivance before ; and if any French or Spanish 
 privateers venture to come alongside of us, they will never be 
 able to get away again.' He did not probably exaggerate the 
 effects of these infernal bombs if thrown upon the crowded deck 
 of an enemy's vessel ; for as the jars would burst into sharp and 
 irregular fragments, they would cut and mangle with as much 
 execution as the flints ; and the burning pepper, which was to 
 be kept in a blaze by the combustible covering, no one could 
 abide in the heat of action. This contrivance was, I confess, 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 641 
 
 destructive, if not wicked; but when I recurred to the horrors 
 of a French prison, I should not have hesitated, rather than run 
 the hazard of undergoing a repetition of my sufferings, and in- 
 volving my crew in a similar misfortune, to resort even to more 
 desperate means of disabling an enemy, if occasion required." 
 
 He had not long to wait for an opportunity to prove the 
 mettle of his crew. On the ist of December, while they 
 were running down with studding sails set in the latitude of 
 Tobago, he saw two sail which with the help of the glass he 
 took to be powerful vessels of war, and as they were 
 crossing the very ground where French cruisers often 
 attempted to intercept British ships bound to the West 
 Indies, he judged they came from Cayenne, and tried to 
 avoid them. They both tacked, and gave chase under a 
 heavy press of canvas. The Mary and her crew were a 
 match for any single cruiser, but the captain did not want 
 to fight two. Night coming on, Captain Crow called all 
 hands to quarters, and addressing his men in a rousing 
 speech, said he was determined that rather than be taken 
 and sent to a French prison, he would defend the ship to 
 the last, and ^o down with her sooner than strike. To a 
 man they promised to stick by him. *' Commend your- 
 selves, my brave fellows, to the care of Providence," said 
 the captain. " Let us have no cursing or swearing, but 
 stand to your quarters, and such is my opinion of your 
 abilities and courage that I have no doubt but that, should 
 even both vessels attack us, we shall triumphantly beat 
 them off; and woe be to them if they attempt to board us." 
 They were not long left in that silent and intense anxiety 
 that immediately precedes an engagement at sea, for the 
 captain had scarcely done speaking when one of the vessels 
 loomed large in the obscurity astern, and hailed him in 
 English — an old French trick, and ordered him to bring to ; 
 and soon after her consort came up and made the same 
 demand. To both Captain Crow coolly replied that he was 
 
 2S 
 
642 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 the Rambler off a cruise, and that no strange vessel should 
 bring him to in those seas in the night. The ships again 
 hailed, but the gabble of the sea and the bustle on board 
 made it impossible to detect whether the words were spoken 
 with a foreign accent or not. Captain Crow had made up 
 his mind that they were French, and that was enough. One 
 of the vessels rounded to and poured a broadside into him, 
 and he fought her at close quarters for some time. She 
 then took her station at some distance, and they fought for 
 another half-hour, when her consort came up on the Mary's 
 larboard side; both vessels closed, and simultaneously 
 attacked the Mary. Captain Crow animated his men, who 
 blazed away with right good will in the pitchy darkness, 
 which hid from them the fact that their captain was 
 partially disabled by a violent blow from a splinter. They 
 soon grew callous to the flashing of the guns on both sides of 
 them, and to the storm of balls. For a moment the man at 
 the wheel deserted his post, stunned by the wind of a large 
 shot, but soon flew back when the captain's ringing voice 
 cried, "What! is it possible we have a coward in the 
 Mary?" Meanwhile the stout armourer was stationed in the 
 maintop ready to fling the infernal combustible jars on the 
 enemy if they attempted to board. Captain Crow was here, 
 and there, and everywhere, cheering up his men, who boldly 
 stood to their quarters, and fought like heroes. It was 
 now past midnight, and the din like continued peals 
 of thunder. A large shot entered a gun-port, and took off 
 both the boatswain's thighs. Another entered the men's 
 room below, and wounded a great number of blacks, five 
 of whom died soon after. The cries of the dying and the 
 wounded were pitiable, and aroused the spirit of vengeance 
 in the seamen, who fought like demons. After an action 
 of nearly six hours, one of the ships dropped astern, 
 and Captain Crow sung out, " I think, my brave fellows, 
 we have sickened them both, and your names will be 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 643 
 
 honourably mentioned by our friends in Liverpool for your 
 resolute conduct in this action." The men wanted to give 
 him three cheers, but he sent them back to their quarters. 
 The ship again came up and resumed the action as fiercely 
 as ever. The 7l/<2r)/ continued to engage both vessels, tooth 
 and nail, until the grey of the morning, when Captain Crow 
 was struck by a splinter and fell senseless on the deck. 
 The man at the helm sung out that the captain was killed, 
 the crew, worn out by fatigue, lost heart, and when the 
 captain revived he found that the colours had been struck. 
 Raising himself on the deck, with true Viking spirit, he en- 
 treated them to hoist the colours and give the enemy " three 
 or four more broadsides to conclude with." His hope was 
 that "as a chance shot will kill the devil," he might inflict 
 an injury that would turn the scales of battle. But it was all 
 in vain, the force of the enemy was now seen to be so great 
 that further resistance would have been madness. The captain 
 was carried to his cabin and laid on a mattress, while the 
 crew prepared to go on board the enemy's vessels as 
 prisoners of war. When the boats came alongside, the poor 
 fellows were standing at the gangway ready to surrender, 
 but what was their astonishment when they found that those 
 who boarded them were their own countrymen, and that they 
 had been all the while fighting two British men-of-war ! 
 One was the Dart sloop of war, of 30 guns, (thirty-two- 
 pounders); the other the Wolverine^ of 18 guns, of the same 
 calibre. This was astounding intelligence for Captain Crow, 
 who, in his anguish and vexation, struck his head several 
 times against the cabin floor, until the blood started from his 
 mouth and nostrils, and the effects of which never quite 
 left him. Friendly hands restrained his phrenzy, and a flow 
 of tears relieved his grief. The lieutenants of the war vessels 
 consoled him, and told him that their captains were as- 
 tonished to find that a Liverpool Guineaman could sustain 
 an action of seven hours with so superior a force. They had 
 
644 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 mistaken the Mary for a French privateer. Captain Spear 
 of the Dart^ presented Captain Crow with the following 
 certificate: — 
 
 " His Majesty's Sloop, Dart, at sea, 
 "Dec. ist, 1806. 
 
 "I 6.0 hereby certify that Hugh Crow, commanding- the 
 ship Mary, of Liverpool, and last bound from the coast of 
 Africa with slaves, defended his ship in a running action, under 
 the fire of his Majesty's Sloop, under my command, and also 
 his Majesty's Sloop Wolverine, both carrying thirty-two 
 pounders, from about ten p.m. till near daylight the next 
 morning, in a most gallant manner (supposing us French 
 cruisers from Cayenne), and did not give up till his rigging 
 and sails were nearly cut to pieces, and several of his people* 
 wounded. Latitude 11° 27' N. ; longitude 53° W. 
 
 (Signed,) "Joseph Spear, Commander." 
 
 When the slaves came to know that Captain Crow was 
 wounded, and that he had been fighting friends instead of 
 foes, they rushed up in groups from below, and gathered 
 round him in the cabin. Some of them took hold of his 
 hands, others of his feet, and on their knees expressed in 
 their own way, their sorrow for the unfortunate affair, offering 
 him their rude, but sincere condolence. 
 
 The Mary made the land of Jamaica in a few days. On 
 passing Port Royal, the negroes to the number of about 
 400, were nearly all on deck. When they saw the bodies 
 of about a dozen men-of-war's men, who had been executed 
 for mutiny, hanging on gibbets and in chains, and some in 
 iron cages, on the low lands called the "Keys," they became 
 dreadfully alarmed, lest they should be sacrificed in the 
 same manner, and many of them were with much difficulty 
 restrained from jumping overboard. Admiral Dacres sent 
 
 * Six died of their wounds. It is worthy of note that from the afternoon before 
 the action, until it was over, the crew of the Alary had not a single glass of spirits, 
 nor did a murmur arise on that account. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 645 
 
 on board a protection from impressment for all the crew. 
 The Captain's friends hastened on board to bid him 
 welcome; the cargo, after all, was fine and healthy, and was 
 disposed of to great advantage by Mr. Thomas Aspinall. 
 
 " On the first Sunday after our arrival at KIng-ston," says 
 Captain Crow, "a circumstance occurred on board the Mary, 
 which was the more gratifying to me as it was entirely 
 unexpected. While I was lying- in my cot, about nine o'clock 
 in the morning, Mr. Scott, my chief mate, hurried into the 
 cabin and said ' Sir ! a great number of black men and women 
 have come on board, all dressed in their best, and they are 
 very anxious to see you ; will you allow them to come 
 down?' 'By all means,' said I, springing- up, and hastily 
 putting on my clothes to receive them, and in a moment they 
 all rushed into the cabin, and crowding round me with gestures 
 of respect, and with tears in their eyes, exclaiming — ' God 
 bless massa ! how poor massa do ? Long live massa, for 'im 
 da fight ebery voyage ' — and similar expressions of good will 
 and welcome. I soon recog-nised these kind creatures as 
 having- been with me in one or other of the actions in which I 
 had been engaged o\\ former voyages, and thoug-h my-- 
 attention to them when on board was no more than I had 
 always considered proper and humane, I was deeply affected by 
 this mark of their grateful remembrance. Poor Scott shed tears 
 when he saw them clinging round me, and observed, ' How . 
 proud, sir, you must be to receive this grateful tribute 
 of reg-ard ! and how few captains can boast of a similar 
 proof of their good treatment of the blacks under their 
 charge.' Indeed, I could not refrain from shedding- tears 
 myself, when I reflected that the compliment came from 
 poor creatures whom I had brought from their own homes on 
 the coast of Africa. The women were neatly dressed in 
 calicoes and muslins. Their hair was tastefully arranged, 
 and they wore long, gold earrings. The men appeared in 
 white shirts and trousers, and flashy neckcloths, with their 
 hair neatly plaited. The whole were at once clean and 
 
G4G THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 cheerful, and I was glad from my heart to see them. When 
 . they left the ship, which was not till they had repeatedly 
 expressed their happiness to see me ag"ain, I distributed 
 amongst them a sum of money, and they bade me good bye 
 with hearts full of thankfulness and joy. In a few days 
 afterwards the Governor of the Colony with his suite did 
 me the honour to pay a visit on board the Mary, a 
 compliment seldom known to be paid to the master of a 
 merchant ship." 
 
 The blacks in Jamaica composed a song in honour of 
 Captain Crow, of which the following verses are a 
 specimen : — 
 
 " Captain Crow da come again. 
 
 But em alway fight and lose some mans, 
 
 But we glad for see em now and den. 
 
 Wit em hearty joful gay, wit em hearty joful gay. 
 
 Wit em tink tink tink tink tink tink ara. 
 
 Wit em tink tink tink tink tink tink ara. 
 But we glad for see em now and den 
 Wit em hearty joful gay, wit em hearty joful gay ara." 
 * * * 
 
 " But did you eber the governor see 
 
 When em went on board of he. 
 
 Den em say Sir Hugh you must be. 
 
 Wit you hearty joful gay, wit you hearty joful gay. 
 
 ' Wit em tink tink &c. 
 Den em say Sir Hugh you must be, 
 Wit you hearty joful gay, wit you hearty joful gay." 
 
 Captain Crow did not forget to visit daily the poor 
 wounded sailors in the hospital, several of whom died. " It 
 was a consolation to me," he observes, "to be informed 
 that, even in the height of their sufferings, they frequently 
 mentioned my name in terms of attachment and respect. 
 The captain was one day met by a fine young black, who in 
 a very polite manner accosted him; " Cappy Crow, how 
 
C APT A IX HUGH CROW. 647 
 
 you do?" "I do not know you, boy," said the captain. 
 "Cappy Crow," rejoined the negro, "me sabby you bery 
 well !" "When and where did you know me?" demanded 
 the skipper. "Me sabby you very much when you live 
 for you ship for big water — when you look ebery day wit 
 crooked tick for find da pass ;" meaning, he knew the 
 captain when he was on board the slave-ship at sea, when 
 he took daily observations with the quadrant to find out the 
 way. After a little conversation. Crow gave him some 
 money, and away he went, delighted with the present and 
 the condescension of the captain. 
 
 Captain Crow tells a humorous story of a monkey, who 
 wanted to take command of the Mary, showing that the 
 middle passage had its comedies as well as its tragedies: — 
 
 "During- my last visit to Bonny, I had purchased a monkey 
 of the largest size, which was a source of amusement, but more 
 frequently of annoyance on board of the Mary. This fellow at- 
 tached himself particularly to nie, and as he constantly kept at 
 my side, considering- me no doubt his protector In his new mode 
 of life, we became in a short time pretty well acquainted. He 
 was uncommonly expert in imitating- any thing- he saw done, 
 particularly if it were mischievous. Althoug-h I was sometimes 
 oblig-ed to check his propensity to evil doing-, we for some weeks 
 continued to maintain a mutual good understanding- as ship- 
 mates. But the best of friends, alas ! will sometimes quarrel, 
 and so it was with us. One day while we were in the middle 
 passage, we were overtaken by a squall, and while I was busy 
 ordering sail to be taken in, my gentleman snatched the speaking 
 trumpet from my mouth, with intent no doubt, to assist me bv 
 making his own sort of noise upon it. Jealous of my prerog- 
 ative I insisted upon a restoration of my instrument of office — 
 the trumpet; this he resisted, and a scuffle ensued, which ended 
 in my being obliged to knock him down with the end of a rope. 
 Before I had time to look about me, the fellow sprang at my 
 neck, and after chattering and makingfaces of great consequence. 
 
648 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 he bit me several times. This was beyond endurance; he re- 
 ceived a drubbing", whicli made him so outrageous that we were 
 obHged to chain him. It appears he never forgave me for this 
 infliction, for one morning very early, whilst I was lying asleep, 
 he by some means got loose, and thirsting for revenge, ran 
 down to the cabin, where mounting the table near my cot, he 
 made no ceremony in pulling off the whole of the clothes that 
 covered me, and that with such alacrity that I had no time to 
 stand upon the defensive. The fellow then sprung to the beaufet 
 and began, as fast as he could, to pitch the wine glasses and 
 ' tumblers, and whatever else he could lay hold of, out through 
 the cabin windows. The steward, at length, luckily came in, 
 and we secured him. Owing to these and similar pranks, I de- 
 termined to part with him, and a few days after we arrived at 
 Kingston, I had him advertised in the newspapers, by the name 
 of Fine Bone, from Bonny, on the coast of Africa, to be sold, 
 for high crimes and misdemeanours. Having equipped him in 
 a jacket and trowsers made for the occasion by a fashionable 
 tailor, and a cap of the newest cock, he was on the day appointed 
 sent on shore to a vendue store, where several hundreds of per- 
 sons were waiting, brimful of curiosity, to see what kind of a 
 being he was. He was put up in due form, and after a good 
 deal of merriment among the bidders, and particularly among 
 the Jew gentlemen present, whom he seemed to scrutinize with 
 very knowing looks, he went off for ;^5 6s. 8d. I must not say, 
 in auctioneering phrase, that he was 'knocked down' for that 
 sum, for he would have been a bold man who would have 
 knocked him down, unless indeed in such a manner as to give 
 him his quietus. For myself, I did not venture to ^o on shore 
 on the day of sale, for if he had seen me in the street he would 
 certainly have run after me, and claimed the privilege of an old 
 acquaintance in a manner more earnest than welcome. Next 
 morning the wags in the town reported that they had seen him, 
 during the night, at West-street, assisting the press-gang; and 
 others gave out that he had run off with two half firkins of 
 butter from a provision store, and would certainly be tried and 
 banished the colony for so grave an offence." 
 
CA PTA IN HUGH CROW. 640 
 
 Captain Crow sailed from Jamaica in March, 1807, and 
 arrived in Liverpool on the 2nd of May, after a pleasant 
 passage of five weeks. Here he favours us with his senti- 
 ments on the new bill. 
 
 "' I was received by Mr. Aspinall with his usual kindness 
 and hospitality. We however, got home ' the day after the 
 fair,' for the African slave trade was abolished on the day 
 precedingf our arrival. The abolition was a severe blow for 
 England, and particularly as it affected the interests of the 
 •white slaves who found employment in the trade. It has 
 always been my decided opinion that the traffic in negroes is 
 permitted by that Providence that rules over all, as a necessary 
 evil, and that it ought not to have been done away with to 
 humour the folly or the fancy of a set of people who knew little 
 or nothing about the subject. One thing is clear ; instead of 
 saving any of the poor Africans from slavery, these pretended 
 philanthropists have through the abolition, been the (I admit 
 indirect) cause of the death of thousands ; for they have caused 
 the trade to be transferred to other nations, who in defiance of 
 all that our cruisers can do to prevent them, carry it on with 
 a cruelty to the slaves, and a disregard of their comfort and 
 even of their lives, to which Englishmen could never bring 
 themselves to resort." 
 
 Self-interest evidently blinded him. The slave trade, like 
 the Rontgen rays, caused an obliquity of vision when 
 closely followed. 
 
 As the Mary could not again clear out for an African 
 voyage, Captain Crow took command of the Kitty's Amelia, 
 of 300 tons, and 18 guns, belonging to Mr. Henry Clarke, 
 which had been cleared out previous to the passing of the Abo- 
 lition Bill. Messrs. Kerwen, Woodman & Co., insurance 
 brokers, London, wrote to Captain Crow that they would 
 insure his commissions from Liverpool to Africa at 15 gui- 
 neas per cent., adding, " we have never heard greater praise 
 bestowed on any commander than the underwriters in general 
 
650 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 have expressed in consequence of your very gallant behaviour, 
 which will always procure their decided preference to what- 
 ever vessel you sail in." The Liverpool underwriters insured 
 ship and cargo at the same rate, which was 5 per cent, lower 
 than the usual premium. The Kitty s Amelia sailed on the 
 27th of July, 1807, with a crew of between fifty and sixty 
 men, four of the ablest of whom were soon after impressed, 
 in spite of their protections, by H, M. frigate Princess 
 Charlotte, Captain Tobin. Captain Crow had three com- 
 missions, or Letters of Marque, but although he chased and 
 boarded several vessels, he took no prizes. They arrived at 
 Bonny after a passage of about seven weeks, and were 
 immediately boarded by his Majesty, King Holiday, who 
 anxiously enquired if it was true that Captain Crow was in 
 command of the last ship that would come to Bonny for 
 negroes. Captain Crow gives a curious account of what 
 passed at a long palaver. The King's sentiments regarding 
 the abolition were as follows: — 
 
 "Crow," he remarked, "you and me sabby each other long- 
 time, and me know you tell me true mouth (speak truth) ; for 
 all captains come to river tell me you King- and you big- mans 
 stop we trade, and 'spose dat true, what we do ? For you 
 sabby me have too much wife, it be we country fash, and have 
 too much child, and some may turn big- rog'ue man, all same 
 time we see some bad white man for some you ship, and we 
 hear too much white man grow big- rogue for you country. 
 But God make you sabby book and make big- ship — den you sen 
 you bad people much far for other country, and we hear you hang- 
 much people, and too much man g-o dead for you warm (war). 
 But God make we black (here the poor fellow shed tears) and 
 we no sabby book, and we no havy head for make ship for sen 
 we bad mans for more country, and we law is, s'pose some of 
 we child g-o bad and we no can sell 'em, we father must kill 
 deni own child ; and s'pose trade be done we force kill too 
 much child same way. But we tink trade no stop, for all we 
 
CA PTA IN HUGH CROW. G 5 1 
 
 Ju-Ju-man (the priests) tell we so, for dem sa}' you country 
 • no can niber pass God A'mig-hty." 
 
 The last words he repeated several times ; and Captain 
 Crow^ thought his remarks not altogether destitute of sense 
 and shrew^dness. 
 
 There were ten or twelve vessels waiting for slaves at 
 Bonny, and Captain Crow had long to wait for his turn. 
 When he did begin to trade, a misfortune befell him. In 
 the hurry of fitting out the vessel at Liverpool, before the 
 passing of the Abolition Bill, some returned goods from a 
 former voyage (when the ship was sickly), were repacked in 
 damp water casks, and when these were opened at Bonny, a 
 malignant fever and dysentery broke out amongst the crew. 
 The rotten goods were thrown overboard, but the sickness 
 retarded the slaving. Terrible storms broke over the vessel, 
 and, altogether, the voyage of the last slaver was attended 
 with misfortunes. Lucky was it for the owners that they 
 had Captain Crow at the helm. Having completed his 
 purchase, he sailed from Bonny for the last time, with 
 " as fine a cargo of blacks, as had ever been taken from 
 Africa," but the disease baffled the skill of the two doctors, 
 and he was deeply afflicted to see both whites and blacks 
 dying around him daily at an alarming rate. They put into 
 the Portuguese island of St. Thomas, to recruit, and here 
 Captain Crow, with Captam Toole, also of Liverpool, visited 
 the ruins of the Bishop's palace and saw the torture chambers 
 of the Inquisitors. The sick having recovered, the ship re- 
 sumed her voyage with additional passengers in the shape of 
 several monkeys presented by the Governor to Captain Crow. 
 They had not been long at sea before the sickness broke out 
 afresh, both whites and blacks dying daily. The death of 
 the chief mate added greatly to the captain's anxiety, as he 
 feared that if anything happened to himself, there was no one 
 left on board capable of navigating the ship to port. When 
 they were in this trying situation, the horrors of the voyage 
 
Go 2 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 were intensified by an accident, which we shall let the 
 captain himself relate: — 
 
 "One afternoon, when we were ten or twelve hundred miles 
 from any land, and were sailing- at the rate of seven or eig-ht 
 knots, the alarm was given that the ship was on fire, in the 
 afterhold. I was in the cabin at the time, and spring-ing- upon 
 deck, the first persons I saw were two young- men with their 
 flannel shirts blazing- on their backs ; at the same time I perceived 
 a dense cloud of smoke issuing- from below, and looking- round 
 me I found the people in the act of cutting- away the stern and 
 quarter boats, that they might abandon the vessel. At this 
 critical juncture, I had the presence of mind to exclaim, in an 
 animating tone, 'Is it possible, my lads, that you can desert me 
 at a moment when it is your bounden duty, as men, to assist 
 me?' And observing them hesitate, I added, 'Follow me, my 
 brave fellows, and we shall soon save the ship.' These few 
 words had the desired eff'ect, for they immediately rallied, and 
 came forward to assist me. To show them a proper example 
 I was the first man to venture below, for I thought of the poor 
 blacks entrusted to my care, and who could not be saved in the 
 boats, and 1 was determined, rather than desert them, to ex- 
 tinguish the fire, or to perish in the attempt. When we got 
 below we found the fire blazing with great fury on the starboard 
 side, and as it was known to the crew that there were forty-five 
 barrels of gunpowder in the magazine, within about three feet 
 only of the fire, it required every possible encouragement on my 
 part to lead them on to endeavour to extinguish the rapidly 
 increasing flames. When I first saw the extent of the confla- 
 gration, and thought of its proximity to the powder, a thrill of 
 despair ran through my whole frame; but by a strong mental 
 effort I suppressed my disheartening feelings, and only thought 
 of active exertion, unconnected with the thought of imminent 
 danger. We paused for a moment, struggling, as it were, to 
 determine how to proceed. Very fortunately for us our spare 
 sails were stowed close at hand. These were dragged out, and 
 by extraordinary activity we succeeded in throwing them over 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. 653 
 
 the flames which they so far checked, that we g-ained time to 
 obtain a g^ood supply of water down the hatchway, and in the 
 course of ten or fifteen minutes, by favour of the Almighty, we 
 exting-uished the flames. Had I hesitated only a few minutes 
 on deck, or had I not spoken encouragingly to the people, no 
 exertions whatever could have saved the ship from being- blown 
 up, and as the catastrophe would most probably have taken 
 place before the hands could have left the side in the boats, per- 
 haps not a soul would have survived to tell the tale. I hope, 
 therefore, I shall be excused in assuming to myself more credit 
 (if, indeed, credit be due) for the presence of mind by which I was 
 actuated on this occasion, than for' anything I ever did in the 
 course of my life. The accident, I found, was occasioned by 
 the ignorance and carelessness of the two young men, whose 
 clothes I had seen burning on their backs; through the want 
 of regular officers, they had been intrusted to draw off" some 
 rum from a store cask, and who, not knowing the danger to 
 which they exposed themselves and the ship, had taken down 
 a lighted candle, a spark from which had ignited the spirit." 
 
 What must have been the terror and sufferings of the 
 slaves, while the gallant captain and his true men fought the 
 flames? He goes on as follows :— 
 
 "I shall never forget the scene that followed the suppression 
 of the flames. When I got on deck, the blacks, both men and 
 women, clung round me in tears — some taking hold of my hands, 
 others of my feet, and all, with much earnestness and feeling, 
 thanking- Providence for our narrow escape, an expression of 
 gratitude in which, I assure the reader, I heartily joined them." 
 
 Truly a strange slave-captain is this, well-beloved by the 
 very people he is carrying to perpetual and cruel captivity; 
 a very different man from the monster depicted by Mont- 
 gomery. But we must remember that Captain Hugh Crow 
 and Captain John Newton were the exceptions that prove 
 the rule. Captain Crow, after all his experiences of the 
 horrors of the middle passage, and familiarity with many 
 
654 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 sanguinary engagements, could still sympathise with a sick 
 monkey.* I 
 
 The sickness abated as they neared the West Indies, 
 but, on their arrival at Kingston, after a passage of eight 
 weeks from St. Thomas's, the two doctors died, and the 
 deaths on the voyage amounted to 80 (30 whites and 
 50 blacks). Captain Crow, who had always prided himself 
 upon keeping a clean ship, and taking the bounty for 
 healthy cargoes, was overwhelmed with grief, but he found 
 that the mortality on board the Kitty's Amelia was only 
 one-half that on other ships. It appeared that the Liver- 
 pool slave trade was doomed to come to an end amid death 
 and ruin on a large scale. The hurried manner in which 
 ships had been sent out without proper cleansing, and 
 the glutting of the market by the arrival of so many 
 vessels, proved almost the undoing of many merchants. At 
 Kingston, Captain Crow found sixteen slave-ships which 
 had been there five or six months, their cargoes unsold, and 
 their crews and slaves daily diminishing through deaths. 
 This was a dark outlook, but the good luck which 
 
 *"0n this passage," he says, "I witnessed a remarkable instance of animal 
 sagacity and afi'ection. We had several monkeys on board. They were of different 
 species and sizes, and amongst them was a beautiful little creature, the body of which 
 was about ten inches or a foot in length, and about the circumference of a common 
 drinking glass. It was of a glossy black, excepting its nose and the end of its tail, 
 which were as white as snow. This interesting little animal, which, when I received 
 it from the Governor of the island of St. Thomas, diverted me by its innocent gam- 
 bols, became afflicted by the malady which yet, unfortunately, prevailed in the ship. 
 It had always been a favourite with the other monkeys, who seemed to regard it as 
 the last born, and the pet of the family ; and they granted it many indulgences 
 which they seldom conceded one to another. It was very tractable and gentle in 
 its temper, and never, as spoiled children generally do, took undue advantage of this 
 partiality towards it by becoming peevish and headstrong. From the moment it 
 was taken ill, their attention and care of it were redoubled, and it was truly affecting 
 and interesting to see with what anxiety and tenderness they tended and nursed the 
 little creature. A struggle frequently ensued amongst them for priority in these 
 offices of affection, and some would steal one thing and some another, which they 
 would carry to it untasted, however tempting it might be to their own palates. 
 Then they would take it gently up in their fore paws, hug it to their breasts, and cry 
 over it as a fond mother would over her suffering child. The little creature seemed 
 sensible of their assiduities, but it was wofully overpowered by sickness. It would 
 sometimes come to me and look me pitifully in the face, and moan and cry like an 
 infant, as if it besought me to give it relief; and we did everything we could think 
 of to restore it to health, but in spite of the united attentions of its kindred tribe and 
 •ourselves, the interesting little creature did not long survive." 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CRO U . G55 
 
 usually attended Captain Crow did not fail him now. His 
 friends inserted a paragraph in the newspaper stating that 
 Captain Crow had arrived with the finest cargo of negroes 
 ever brought to Kingston. The puff did its work, and in 
 five days the cargo of the Kitty's Amelia had been sold at 
 higher prices than those obtained by any other ship. In 
 spite of the disasters and sufferings undergone, the voyage 
 turned out very profitable. It was Sunday morning when 
 Captain Crow landed at Kingston. He found a number of 
 his black friends, all neatly dressed, waiting on the wharf 
 to receive him. They crowded round him, took hold of his 
 hands, and said, "God bless massa ! How massa do dis 
 voyage? We hope massa no fight 'gen dis time." While 
 they were thus congratulating him, another black, one of 
 their party, and a wag, exclaimed, " Who be dis Captain 
 Crow you all sabby so much ?" Then the rest cried, "What 
 dat you say, you black negro? Ebery dog in Kingston 
 sabby Captain Crow, and you bad fellow for no sabby 
 him." With that they fell to and beat him until Captain 
 Crow interfered, and he was shrewd enough to guess that 
 the scene had been contrived before hand. Yet he w^as 
 pleased with their visit. He remained behind at King- 
 ston, to transact some business, taking command of the 
 King George schooner. The blacks came down to the 
 wharf at night, and, hailing the schooner, asked for 
 Captain Crow. When he made his appearance on deck 
 they used to sing out, " Captain Crow, you have bery 
 fine ship now — 'one pole and half ship," and after this 
 humorous sally they took to their heels, the jolly captain 
 doubtless pretending to be highly insulted. 
 
 From the captain's stand point, the consequences of the 
 abolition of the slave trade were pernicious to England ; it 
 destroyed her nursery of seamen, and drove her young 
 men, whose prospects at home were blighted, into the 
 American service, where they afterwards fought against 
 
656 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 their own country. He is very severe on the abolitionists, 
 or " pretenders to humanity," who should have begun their 
 reforms at home. *' Let them look to Ireland," he says, 
 "which is in a most deplorable state of slavery and 
 disaffection, for which no politician has yet discovered an 
 adequate remedy."* 
 
 Captain Crow was only forty-three years of age when, 
 in 1808, he retired from active .service, having made a 
 competent fortune by commanding several of the " crack 
 ships " out of the port of Liverpool. About this time, his 
 friend, Admiral Russel, wrote to the Rev. Dr. Kelly : — 
 "Tell the warlike Crow to send me his son, that I may 
 train him up to emulate his father." Young Crow, a very 
 handsome, amiable, and brave boy of fifteen, had, however, 
 been taken by Captain (afterwards Sir Robert) Mends on 
 board the Arethiisa frigate. "After fixing him, as I 
 trusted, permanently," says Captain Crow, " I bore up for 
 my native land, the Isle of Man, thinking to moor there in 
 peace and security for life." He bought an estate near 
 Ramsey, where he resided for some years, engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits and improvements on the property. 
 
 In June, 1812, he was "proposed and appointed a 
 member of the House of Keys," but declined the honour, 
 wishing, after all his trials and hardships, to spend the 
 remainder of his life in retirement. His heart, too, was 
 well-nigh broken by the death of his gallant son, who had 
 been taken by the French in one of the ship's boats, while 
 in the act of cutting out some vessels from a French 
 harbour, and who escaped from Verdun in a very daring 
 
 * When Captain Crow wrote those words, there was at Oxford a Liverpool 
 youth of rare gifts, who was destined in after years to make an historic effort to 
 pacify Ireland, not with the iron rod, but with the olive branch of brotherhood and 
 friendship, yet he failed ; with all his wisdom, learning, eloquence, ripe experience, 
 statesmanship rarely if ever excelled, spotless character, and immense political 
 influence, this great lawgiver of our time failed in his supreme endeavour, because 
 the majority of people can only look at the question of Ireland as Captain Crow 
 looked at the slave trade — from one side, and that the side of self. 
 
CAPTAIN HUGH CROW. G57 
 
 manner, but contaminated with the wickedness and de- 
 bauchery of the prison. On the way to join the Arethusa 
 frigate, the lad fell into bad company, and enhsted in the 
 gth Light Dragoons. This nearly killed his tather. The 
 youth's discharge was procured, but he died i a few days 
 after at Lisbon — of a broken heart, it was said,— thus blast- 
 ing the captain's fondest hopes. 
 
 Finding life in the Isle of Man too monotonous. Captain 
 Crow returned to Liverpool in the year 1817, to enjoy the 
 society of kindred spirits, his favourite haunts being the 
 Lyceum News Room, and the quays. After dinner, he 
 foregathered with his cronies in the African trade, when 
 each fought his battles over again, but such was the dis- 
 cipline among this knot of veterans that, at one of their 
 rendezvous, the striking of a particular hour was the signal 
 for a general separation, when they hurried out, helter 
 skelter, often leaving the tale half told, and the glass 
 unfinished. It was in scenes like this that the humour and 
 originality of Captain Crow were seen at their best, rather 
 than in his writings. 
 
 In 1827, the captain went to live in apartments at Preston, 
 in a lovely spot, which, in one of his letters, he calls 
 " Paradise Found." Here he wrote his memoirs, which he 
 regarded as " one of the first things of the kind ever got up 
 by a Manxman." He dearly loved the "oilan," and it was 
 his constant custom when his ship lay at Bonny, to show 
 his patriotism on holidays by hoisting the Manx flag at the 
 mast head, to the amusement of King Pepple and the chief 
 men there, who were greatly diverted by the strange device 
 of the •' Three Legs of Man." 
 
 Captain Crow died in 1829, in his 64th year, and his 
 remains were interred in the burial ground of his ancestors 
 in Maughold churchyard, where he lies entombed with his 
 venerable parents, for whom, throughout his eventful life, 
 he exhibited the strongest affection and the tenderest care. 
 
 2T 
 
658 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 In the long roll of Liverpool slave-captains, there were, 
 doubtless, a few as humane, and scores as brave as Hugh 
 Crow ; but when we attempt to realise the total amount of 
 misery and injustice which they and their employers system- 
 atically inflicted upon their black brethren, for the 
 greater part of a century, it is some satisfaction to remember 
 the lines of one,* whose father and mother died while 
 preaching to the poor slaves in the West Indies the 
 doctrine of another and a better world : — 
 
 "When the loud trumpet of eternal doom 
 
 Shall break the mortal bondag"e of the tomb ; 
 
 When with the mother's pangs the expiring- earth 
 
 Shall bring her children forth to second birth ; 
 
 Then shall the sea's mysterious caverns, spread 
 
 With human relics, render up their dead : 
 
 Though warm with life the heaving surges glow, 
 
 Where'er the winds of heaven were wont to blow. 
 
 In sevenfold phalanx shall the rallying hosts 
 
 Of ocean-slumberers join their wandering ghosts, 
 
 Along the melancholy gulf, that roars 
 
 From Guinea to the Caribbean shores. 
 
 Myriads of slaves that perish'd on the way, 
 
 From age to age the sharks' appointed prey. 
 
 By livid plagues, by lingering tortures slain. 
 
 Or headlong plunged alive into the main. 
 
 Shall rise in judgment from their gloomy beds, 
 
 And call down vengfeance on their murderers' heads ! " 
 
 *Jamt's Montgomery. 
 
659 
 
 APPENDIX No. I. 
 
 List of Vessels, trading to and from Liverpool, Captured 
 by the Spaniards and French in the War of 1 739-1 748. 
 The list is necessarily incomplete owing to the circum- 
 stances of the times: — 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 Voyage. 
 
 Where carried, etc. 
 
 Snow Mary 
 
 Benson 
 
 Liverpool to Jamaica 
 
 Porto Rico 
 
 St. Michael 
 
 John Thompson 
 
 Jamaica to Liverpool 
 
 Plundered off Cape 
 Antonio 
 
 Unity 
 
 Henan 
 
 Do. 
 
 St. Sebastian 
 
 Mar & Mary 
 
 Wilcox 
 
 Virginia to Liverpool 
 
 Do. 
 
 Thomas 
 
 Murray 
 
 Liverpool to Oporto 
 
 Do. 
 
 Endeavour 
 
 Whaley 
 
 ,, ,, Lisbon 
 
 Paniche 
 
 Dove 
 
 Lee 
 
 ,, ,, Africa 
 
 Do. 
 
 Priscilla 
 
 CuUen 
 
 ,, ,, Antigua 
 
 Do. 
 
 Hannah 
 
 Holmes 
 
 Virginia to Liverpool 
 
 Do. 
 
 Three Sisters 
 
 Cardwell 
 
 Jamaica to Liverpool 
 
 Do. 
 
 I'hilippa 
 
 Dewhurst 
 
 Liverpool to Gibraltar 
 
 Vigo 
 
 Byrne 
 
 Walker 
 
 Figuera to Liverpool 
 
 St. Sebastian 
 
 Blackamore 
 
 Bradley 
 
 Liverpool to Gibraltar 
 
 Cadiz 
 
 Sarah 
 
 Idle 
 
 Liverpool to London 
 
 Helvoetsluys 
 
 Betty 
 
 Biddy 
 
 , , to Cape de Verde 
 
 St. Sebastian 
 
 Tryton 
 
 Thompson 
 
 ,, to Leghorn 
 
 Ceuta and Algevire 
 
 Cape Coast 
 Swallow 
 
 Green 
 Hughes 
 
 From Liverpool j 
 Do. 1 
 
 Taken on the Coast 
 of Africa by Span- 
 ish Privateer 
 
 Angola 
 
 
 Jamaica to Liverpool 
 
 Retaken 
 
 Success 
 
 Lewis 
 
 Do. 
 
 Leeward Islands 
 
 Jean 
 
 Bradley 
 
 Liverpool to Gibraltar 
 
 Cadiz 
 
 Ellen & Mary 
 
 John Simon 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Ransomed for 47 gs. 
 
 Mary & Anne 
 
 Rush 
 
 Do. 
 
 Taken by French 
 privateer 
 
 Stafford 
 
 Perry 
 
 Gottenburg to L'pool 
 
 Ransomed for ^225 
 
 Stafford 
 
 Perry 
 
 Liverpool to London 
 
 Havre de Grace 
 
 
 Barnes 
 
 Virginia to Liverpool 
 
 Morlaix 
 
 Mulberry 
 
 Barton 
 
 Jamaica to Liverpool 
 
 Brest 
 
 Martin 
 
 Wilmot 
 
 L'pool for Montserrat 
 
 Taken by P^rench 
 
 Houghton 
 
 Postlethwaite 
 
 Liverpool for Antigua 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Thorn 
 
 Carter 
 
 L'pool for Harwich 
 
 Havre de Grace 
 
 Chester 
 
 Frith 
 
 
 Havre 
 
 
 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 ^M'Grieque 
 
 
 
 Oporto to Liverpool 
 
 St. Malo 
 
 Jane 
 
 Hyth 
 
 Liverpool for Virginia 
 
 Ransomed 
 
 X'ine 
 
 Walker 
 
 Maryland for L'pool 
 
 Do. by the French 
 
 Thomas 
 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 Rochelle 
 
 
660 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 APPENDIX No. I.— Continued. 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 Voyage. 
 
 t 
 Where carried, etc. 
 
 Content 
 
 Cooper 
 
 L'pool for Barbadoes 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Morecruft 
 
 Batty 
 
 Do. Leeward Islands 
 
 By French Privat'rs 
 
 Mary 
 
 Godsalve 
 
 Liverpool to Lisbon 
 
 Dieppe 
 
 Anne & Mary 
 
 Falkner 
 
 Liverpool to Antigua 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Lively 
 
 Dwjer 
 
 ,, for Africa 
 
 Port Louis 
 
 
 
 Clark 
 
 ,, to Colchester 
 
 Takenby the French 
 
 Robert 
 
 
 
 L'pool and Africa for 
 
 
 
 
 Jamaica 
 
 Do. 
 
 Hare 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Enterprise 
 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Black Prince 
 
 Derbyshire 
 
 From Liverpool ( 50 
 
 
 
 
 guns, 400 men) 
 
 Do. 
 
 Two Ships 
 
 Names unknown 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Recovery 
 
 Coates 
 
 I^ondon for Liverpool 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 Two Ships 
 
 Names unknown 
 
 Virginia for Liverpool 
 
 St. Malo 
 
 Dolphin 
 
 Postlethwaite 
 
 L'pool to Philadelphia 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 Vernon 
 
 Bannister 
 
 Jamaica for Liverpool 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Benson 
 
 Rawlinson 
 
 "L'pool for West Indies 
 
 Retaken 
 
 Bella 
 
 Foster 
 
 ,, forTortola 
 
 Do. 
 
 Rosendale 
 
 Hodson 
 
 Maryland for L'pool 
 
 St. Malo 
 
 Cleveland 
 
 Robinson 
 
 Virginia for L'pool 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Earl of Derby 
 
 Penkett 
 
 Liverpool to Jamaica 
 
 Bilbao 
 
 Fortune 
 
 Gardiner 
 
 London for Liverpool 
 
 St. Malo 
 
 Pretty Peggy 
 
 Rankin 
 
 Liverpool for Oporto 
 
 
 Fort line 
 
 Green 
 
 L'pool and Africa for 
 
 Porto Cavallo (354 
 
 
 
 Jamaica 
 
 slaves on board) 
 
 Leopard 
 
 Williams 
 
 L'pool for Rotterdam 
 
 Bergen 
 
 Graham 
 
 Naylor 
 
 L'pool for St. Kitts 
 
 Bilbao 
 
 Fanny 
 
 Thompson 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 By P'rench Privateer 
 
 Brunswick 
 
 Sturke 
 
 New York for L'pool 
 
 St. Augustine 
 
 Elizabeth 
 
 Ste\\ard 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Antigua Packet 
 
 Ciardiner 
 
 Liverpool for Leeward 
 
 
 
 
 Islands 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Goodwill 
 
 Darby 
 
 \'irginia for Liverpool 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 John & Thomas 
 
 Brownhill 
 
 Liverpool for St. Kitts 
 
 By French 
 
 Diligence 
 
 Strong 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 
 James 
 
 M atthews 
 
 L'pool to Barbadoes 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Blackburne 
 Elijah 
 
 Robinson 
 Hornliy 
 
 From Liverpool 
 For Liverpool 
 
 
 St. Jean de Luz 
 
 Black Prince 
 
 VVoodhouse 
 
 Liverpool for Gibraltar 
 
 Rochelle 1 
 
 Mary 
 
 St. Leger 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Old Gibraltar j 
 
 Molly 
 
 Clegg 
 
 Liverpool to Antigua 
 
 Ransomed for ;,{,"6oo 
 
 Blandenburg 
 
 Lookerman 
 
 Virginia for Liverpool 
 
 Bilbao 
 
 Defiance 
 
 Drape 
 
 Jamaica for Liverpool 
 
 Morlaix 
 
 Susanna 
 
 Pierce 
 
 P"or Liverpool 
 
 Dieppe 
 
 Bridget 
 
 Norton 
 
 Jamaica for Liverpool 
 
 Rans'm"dfor;,{!^i 100 
 
 Anne 
 
 Strong 
 
 Konigsberg for L'pool 
 
 Rans'm'd for ;!{^400 
 
 Union Galley 
 
 Frith^ 
 
 L'pool for Carolina 
 
 Ret'k'nwithl2ships 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 
 
 
 Merchant 
 Anne 
 
 
 Virginia to Liverpool 
 From Liverpool 
 
 
 
 
 
 Occupation 
 
 Saunders 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 Everard 
 
 N. Carolina for L'pool 
 
 Havanna 
 
APPENDIX. 
 APPENDIX No. I.— Continue n. 
 
 661 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 Voyage. 
 
 Where carried, etc. 
 
 St. George 
 
 Grayson 
 
 Liverpool to Africa 
 
 St. ]\Ialo 
 
 CharniingBetty 
 
 Barnes 
 
 Liverpool to Jamaica 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Benson 
 
 Brown 
 
 Liverpool for Antigua 
 
 Do. 
 
 Anne & Mary 
 
 Johnson 
 
 Liverpool to Tortola 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Martha 
 
 Wilson 
 
 P>om Africa to St. Kitts 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 A snow & a brig 
 
 
 Liverpool and Africa 
 
 
 
 
 to America 
 
 Do. 
 
 Blackljurn 
 
 Robinson 
 
 Africa for Jamaica 
 
 San Domingo 
 
 Sea Nymph 
 
 Whitesides 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 Ransomed 
 
 Mary 
 
 Haynes 
 
 L'pool to Barbadoes 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Benin 
 
 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 Do. 
 
 Trygarn 
 
 Kaye 
 
 Liverpool and Africa 
 
 St. Jago de Cuba 
 
 Mary Anne 
 
 Murthland 
 
 Jamaica for Liverpool 
 
 Do. 
 
 Charmingje'ny 
 
 Chivers 
 
 L'pool for Montserrat 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Nancy 
 
 Pemberton 
 
 Liverpool and Africa 
 
 St. Kitts 
 
 KingsofBrent- 
 
 
 Liverpool for Carolina 
 
 By Spanish privat'r 
 
 ford 
 The Boss 
 
 
 
 
 White 
 
 L'pool for New York 
 
 Sunk by Frencli 
 
 fTh. of Hungary 
 
 
 Of Liverpool 
 
 [man-of-war 
 
 
 APPENDIX No. II. 
 
 The EnterpHze Privateer, Captain James Haslam, com- 
 mander. Cost of Outfit, list of Officers, &c. September 
 1779.* The EnterpHze^ on her first cruize, was manned as 
 follows: — 
 
 Names 
 
 Stations 
 
 Wages 
 
 Cash ad- 
 vanced as 
 
 Notes and 
 
 Tota 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^ Month. 
 
 a Privateer 
 
 Cash Paid. 
 
 Ad 
 
 vanced. 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 £ .s. 
 
 {, 
 
 s. 
 
 I 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 James Haslam 
 
 Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Cotter 
 
 1st Lieutenant 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 George Pearson 
 
 2nd Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 James Green 
 
 3rd Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 Sam Robinson 
 
 Sailing Master 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 Henry Ivermitt 
 
 Master's Mate 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Armstrong 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 •7 
 
 2 W 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 
 
 Francis Lake 
 
 Prize Master 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 Henry Barr 
 
 Surgeon 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 ID 
 
 
 
 Rob. Madgett 
 
 Capt'n Marines 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 James Gowdy 
 
 Do. Mate 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 John Cooper 
 
 Carpenter 
 Carried fo)~wa)-d 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 ID 
 
 
 
 
 
 £0 
 
 
 
 124 14 
 
 2 
 
 2 \V 
 
 126 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 *Summarised from the original accounts, in the possession of — Hamp.son, 
 P"sq., and not Mr. Dixon, as stated in a foot-note, page 31. Matter was kindly 
 left at the publisher's by both these gentlemen, hence the error. 
 
662 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 APPENDIX No. II.— Continued. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Stations. 
 
 Wages 
 ■p Month. 
 
 Cash ad- 
 vanced as 
 a Privateer 
 
 Notes and 
 Cash Paid. 
 
 Total , 
 Advanced. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 f. 
 
 s. 
 
 £, s 
 
 ^- 1 
 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 
 
 
 
 124 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 126 16 
 
 
 
 Francis Gill 
 
 C'rp'nt'r's Mate 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 Edward Hodge 
 
 Boatswain 
 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 5 
 
 
 
 Henry Cowet 
 
 Do. Mate 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 W 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 Richard Armstrong 
 
 Gunner 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 10 W 
 
 }i5 10 
 
 
 
 John Sharpe Run 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 w 
 
 
 John Browne 
 
 Do. Mate 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 \v 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 David Kenny 
 
 Cook 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 William Mack 
 
 Gunner's Mate 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 w 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 John McCloiid 
 
 Do. 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 Thomas McDonald 
 
 Cooper 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 James Armstrong 
 
 Do. Mate 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Lewis Hughes 
 
 Prize Master 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 John Maddock 
 
 Quarter Do. 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 John Hudson 
 
 Do- 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 Morris Jones 
 
 Do. 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 10 
 
 i 
 
 Rob. Wedgwood 
 
 Do. 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 7 10 
 
 1 
 
 William Walton 
 
 Armourer 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 James Morton 
 
 Captain's Clerk 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 John Bryan 
 
 Ship's Steward 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Robert Yates 
 
 Cabin Do. 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Timothy Lee 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 10 
 
 
 
 Herbert Davis 
 
 Sailmaker 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 w 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 Lans. Devley orBoyle 
 
 Boats'in's Mate 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 20 Seamen (@, 60/ 
 
 -to 70/-) .. 
 
 58 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 143 2 
 
 6 
 
 6 5 Do. ((«' 45/ 
 
 -to 65/-) ... 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 41 15 
 
 9 
 
 13 \ Do. ((«., 35/ 
 
 -to 50/-) ... 
 
 28 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 57 3 
 
 
 
 9 \ Do. ((«) 20 
 
 040/-) 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 10 
 
 
 
 18 Landsmen (@ 20 
 
 /-to 40/-) ... 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 62 7 
 
 10 
 
 3 Boys and 3 Appr 
 
 entices 
 
 I 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 7 
 
 lOi 
 
 221 
 
 5 
 
 172 
 
 12 
 
 III 
 
 10 
 
 645 8 
 
 5ii 
 
 1 
 
 Tradesmen's Notes for the Enterprise Outfits. 
 
 ISt. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 2nd. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 3rd. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 
 {, 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Henry Clarkson, Boards, Sawing, etc. 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 14 6 
 
 James Aspinall, Glazier 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 I 
 
 John Parr, Arms 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 James Leigh, Medicines 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 II 
 
 William Earle & Son, Iron Work 
 
 36 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 Robert Tyrer, Joiner ... 
 
 3 
 
 IS 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thomas Staniforth, Cordage 
 
 64 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 221 
 
 10 6 
 
 William Neale, Blockmaker ... 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 II 9 
 
 George Worrall, Painter 
 
 12 
 
 II 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 S 
 
 i"i 
 
 3 
 
 Hulton & Foxcroft, Brandy 
 
 Ca7-}-ied foi-wai'd £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 159 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 76 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 312 
 
 2 9 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 663 
 
 APPENDIX No. II.— Continued. 
 
 Tradesmen's Notes for the Enterprize Outfits. 
 
 ist. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 2nd. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 3td. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. d. i 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 159 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 76 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 312 
 
 2 9 
 
 Anthony Mollineux, Brazier, Copper 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nails, (S;c 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 4 6 
 
 Edgar Corrie & Compy. , Bottled Beer 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 2 4 
 
 Edward Grayson, Carpenter ... 
 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 James Carruthers, Cooper 
 
 24 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 4 
 
 30 
 
 17 
 
 Joseph Matthews, Sailmaker ... 
 
 58 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 19 7 
 
 John Kaye, Slops 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Joseph Yates, Grocer 
 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 
 II 
 II 
 
 2 
 8 
 
 )m 
 
 2 10 
 
 Peter Rigby & Sons, Iron Hoops 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 13 2 
 
 *Egerton Smith, "Stationary" 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 John Eaton, Cartage ... 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 8 10 
 
 Thomas Ryan, Wine 
 
 7 
 
 19 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 15 4 
 
 Baker & Dawson, Rum 
 
 95 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Captain Haslam, Mr. Dillon, and Mr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Carruthers' disbursements at 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Whitehaven 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 Paid for Seamen going to and from 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Whitehaven and Chester 
 
 29 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 Crimpage, shipping seamen and board 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 wages, pilotage and boatage 
 
 46 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 28 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 II 8 
 
 Paid Carpenters, Joiners, riggers, la- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 bourers, <S;c. 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 176 
 
 16 6 
 
 Alex. Anderson, French and Spanish 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Commissions, &c. 
 
 41 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mathew Ligoe and Wm. Corf, Fresh 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Beef 
 
 61 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 47 
 
 9 6 
 
 Jas. Johnson and John Coleman, Bread 
 
 135 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 68 
 
 19 4 
 
 Dillon & Leyland, Beef, Pork, &c. ... 
 
 290 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 237 
 
 5 9 
 
 Cazneau & Marlin and David Shannon, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pork 
 
 44 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 Cheese, flour, pease, barley, butter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 potatoes, greens, fowls, fish. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 candles, water, salt, coals 
 
 87 
 
 ID 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 69 
 
 6 6 
 
 Poles, white cooperage, glasses. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 hoops, priming, powder, <S;c. ... 
 
 14 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 II 
 
 10 
 
 33 
 
 14 4 
 
 ! Pitch, tar, oil, ballast, graving dock, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i boats, cables 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 58 
 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 3 6 
 
 Gill Slater and Francis Holt & Co., 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anchors ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 13 9 
 
 Earle & Molyneux, Ironwork ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 14 8 
 
 Grayson & Ross, Carpenters ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 162 
 
 15 
 
 John Clowes & Co., Copper Sheathing 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 12 9 
 
 Warrington Copper and Brass Co. , Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 18 4 
 
 John Sparling, Rum 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 169 
 
 14 3 
 
 1 Miscellaneous expenses 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 3 
 
 49 
 
 13 9 
 
 j Gratuity to Seamen's mothers impressed 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Seamen's advance wages, first cruise ... 
 
 645 
 
 8 
 
 5i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Joseph Rathbone, Shot 
 
 Carried forward £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 2033 
 
 '3 
 
 84 
 
 372 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 1809 
 
 6 7 
 
 * Father of the founder of the Liverpool Mercury. 
 
664 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 APPENDIX No. II.— Continued. 
 
 Tradesmen's Notes for the Enterprize Outfits. 
 
 ist. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 2nd. 
 
 Cruise. 
 
 3rd. 
 
 Cruise. ! 
 
 
 £, 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 .s. d. 
 
 B 7-0 light foi"ivard 
 
 2033 
 
 13 
 
 Si 
 
 372 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 1809 
 
 6 7 
 
 John Stanton & Son, Gunpowder 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 II 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 12 7 
 
 Jos. Brookes, Junr., Gunpowder, Tur- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 pentine, and Oakum £,\\ lo lo 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Less paid Sailor for Spy- > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 ing the Prize ... £\ i o) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Paid Seamen's Advance Wages, Third 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cruise 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5S9 
 
 5 
 
 ExPENCES ON French Prisoner.s. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 To Paid Seddan Chair for the French 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, Madam Pennant's Board ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, John Carver, Cloths for the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2nd Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, Tho: '^eyers, making Do. Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, Present to 2nd Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, Ditto to the Captain... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , , Jas. Leigh, JSIedicines, Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, John Gladhill, Prisoners' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Board 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, John Glover, ditto, and his 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 trouble 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 ,, A present to passenger Mr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Page, and his board 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 3 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, John Kaye, shirts and cloths 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 for Sundrys ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, Present to the Dispensary ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Seamen's advance Wages, second 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cruise 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2033 
 
 13 
 
 u 
 
 568 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 2413 
 
 4 2 
 
 Total Outfits. 
 
 First Cruise 
 Second Do. 
 Third Do. 
 
 Value of the Ship 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 ■ ■ 2033 
 
 13 
 
 H 
 
 .. 568 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 .. 2413 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 ^5015 
 
 15 
 
 Ql 
 
 .. 2050 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^7065 
 
 IS 
 
 ^ 
 
 A List of the 
 
 Owners: — 
 
 Thomas Earle 
 
 •• '/,« 
 
 the above 
 
 Edgar Corrie . . . 
 
 .. 7l6 
 
 
 trancis Ingram 
 William Earle 
 
 
 
 Dillon e^- Leyland 
 Peter Freeland 
 
 2/ 
 
 
 Thomas Eagles 
 Edward Chaflers 
 James Carruthers 
 
 1/ 
 ■• /16 
 
 - 'h' 
 
 ■■ /IB 
 
 
 William Denison 
 
 •• V16 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 APPENDIX No. III. 
 
 665 
 
 List of Vessels trading to and from Liverpool, Captured 
 by the Enemy during the Seven Years' War, 1 756-1 763. 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 Voyage. 
 
 By whom taken, and 
 where carried. 
 
 York 
 
 Fowkes 
 
 Jamaica to Liverpool 
 
 Retaken by Guern- 
 sey Privateer 
 
 Betty 
 
 Logan 
 
 I^'pool for Philadelphia 
 
 Cape Breton 
 
 Mary 
 
 Richmond 
 
 Do. Virginia 
 
 
 
 Landovery 
 
 Johnston 
 
 Do. Jamaica 
 
 France 
 
 Annabella 
 
 Settle 
 
 From Cape Fear 
 
 Morlaix 
 
 Fanny 
 
 Ilenderwell 
 
 Lyme for Liverpool 
 
 Havre 
 
 True Love 
 
 King 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do 
 
 Happy Return 
 
 
 L'pool for Carolina 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 
 
 Fisher 
 
 INIaryland for L'pool 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 Anne 
 
 Ford 
 
 Rye for Liverpool 
 
 By French in Rom- 
 ney Bay 
 
 Orrell 
 
 Winter 
 
 Saloe for Liverpool 
 
 Marseilles 
 
 Hougwart 
 
 Martin 
 
 N.Yarmouth for L'pool 
 
 Boulogne 
 
 Schemer 
 
 Nichols 
 
 From Africa 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Austin 
 
 Holme 
 
 L'pool for Barbadoes 
 
 Do. 
 
 Margaretta 
 
 Hornby 
 
 Liverpool for London 
 
 Havre 
 
 Dolly iS: Nancy 
 
 Isaac Winn 
 
 Dartmouth to L'pool 
 
 Dieppe 
 
 Mary 
 
 Printon 
 
 Malaga for Liverpool 
 
 Malaga 
 
 ^■ork 
 
 
 L'pool for New York 
 
 ByB'rdeau Priv't'er 
 
 
 Falmouth 
 
 Pole 
 
 Liverpool for Boston 
 
 Brest 
 
 Grampus 
 
 Corbett 
 
 Liverpool for Gambia 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Lady Strange 
 
 Harrison 
 
 L'pool for Barbadoes 
 
 Do. 
 
 Snow Hesketh 
 
 Thos. Onslow 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Eliz'b'th&M'ry 
 
 Caruthers 
 
 Do. Africa, &c. 
 
 On Coast of Africa 
 
 King George 
 
 Jackson 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 
 r )o"Qpn 
 
 T fiwQon 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 
 Lh^yd 
 
 Sweeting 
 
 Maryland for L'pool 
 
 Cape Breton 
 
 Lady Charlotte 
 
 Oakes 
 
 Barcelona for L'pool 
 
 ByPt. MahonPr'te'r 
 
 Anson Privateer 
 
 Cuthbert 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Rochefort 
 
 Crown Point 
 
 Lawrence 
 
 L'pool for New York 
 
 Norway 
 
 Patterson 
 
 Cole 
 
 Do. 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Success 
 
 Catterwood 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 Dieppe 
 
 Quester 
 
 Potter 
 
 L'pool and Africa for 
 
 
 
 
 Jamaica with 87 slaves 
 
 St. Eustatia 
 
 Cavendish 
 
 
 Do. with 1 70 slaves 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 
 
 
 Jones 
 
 Do. 
 
 On Coast of Guinea 
 
 The Pickering 
 
 
 Do, 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Two Snows 
 
 (Names unknown) 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Hankinson 
 
 Dodgson 
 
 St. Pet'rsb'rg f r L'pool 
 
 Norway 
 
 Ellis 
 
 Simpson 
 
 Jamaica for L'pool 
 
 Taken by the French 
 
 A Snow 
 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 St. Jean de Luz 
 
 Eliza 
 
 Parker 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Cadiz 
 
 Swan 
 
 Cowan 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 By the French 
 
 A Brig 
 
 Barnes 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Do. on the Coast 
 of Africa 
 
 Adventure 
 
 Geo. Washington 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 Port Louis 
 
666 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 ArrENDIX No. III.— Continued. 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 Voyage. 
 
 By whom taken and 
 where carried, etc. 
 
 Whidah 
 
 Hammill 
 
 Liverpool for Africa 
 
 By the Mauchault 
 
 Salisbury 
 
 I 
 
 Key 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 privateer of 24 
 guns, & 300 men, 
 from Granville 
 
 A Schooner 
 
 Hendrickson 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 By the French 
 
 Adlington 
 
 Frierson 
 
 L'pool for Barbadoes 
 
 Retak'nby Guerns'y 
 Privateer 
 
 Henry 
 
 Bond 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Leghorn Trader 
 
 Hooper 
 
 Leghorn to Liverpool 
 
 Dieppe 
 
 Ch'rm'ngRach'l 
 
 Scott 
 
 New York for L'pool 
 
 By Louisburg Pr't'rs 
 
 
 Marshall 
 
 Virginia for Liverpool 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 
 Pemberton 
 
 W'lt'rKirkpatrick 
 
 L'pool for Africa, &C. 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Josiah Wilson 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 A Ship 
 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 By French Priv'te'r 
 
 Dragon 
 
 
 Do. St. Petersburg 
 
 Do. and Ransomed 
 
 
 Hopewell 
 
 Ford 
 
 Arundel for L'pool, 
 
 
 
 
 with Corn 
 
 France 
 
 Success 
 
 Clare 
 
 Liverpool to Leeward 
 
 
 
 
 Islands 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Phcenix 
 
 Nobler 
 
 L'pool for Africa, &c. 
 
 By negroes on the 
 Coast, & set on fire 
 
 Snow Betty 
 
 Wm. Creevey 
 
 Do. Gambia 
 
 Sunk Vjy the French 
 
 Betty & Peggy 
 
 Hollingsworth 
 
 Stockholm for L'pool 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 Henry 
 
 Thornton 
 
 Virginia for L'pool 
 
 By Belleisle Pr'teV 
 
 Judith 
 
 Hayes 
 
 L'pool and Africa for 
 
 
 
 
 America 
 
 Granada 
 
 Molly 
 
 Timothy Wheel- 
 
 From Windward and 
 
 
 
 Wright 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 By the French 
 
 John 
 
 Peter Gibson 
 
 Liverpool to Virginia 
 
 Port Louis 
 
 Rose 
 
 Bashaw 
 
 Do. for Tortola 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Betsey 
 
 Watt 
 
 Do. for Virginia 
 
 Queljec 
 
 Biddy 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Fr'm Windward Coast 
 
 
 
 
 of Africa 
 
 Guadaloupe 
 
 Charming Betty 
 
 Colley 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Salisbury 
 
 John Sacheverell 
 
 From the Cameroons, 
 
 
 
 
 with slaves 
 
 Do. 
 
 Lievsley 
 
 T. Onslow 
 
 From Calabar, with 
 323 slaves, 2 tons 
 of teeth and other 
 
 
 
 
 goods 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nelly 
 
 Hickhins 
 
 
 Taken by French 
 
 Providence 
 
 Clare 
 
 From Liverpool 
 
 Do. Do. in the 
 West Indies 
 
 Defiance 
 
 Campbell 
 
 L'pool for Africa, (Sic. 
 
 j 
 
 I 
 
 America 
 
 Nicholson 
 
 L'pool for the Baltic 
 
 Christiansund 
 
 Catherine 
 
 Seth Houghton 
 
 L'pool for Montserrat 
 
 \'igo 
 
 Granville 
 
 Spears 
 
 From North Carolina 
 
 Ransomed for ;i^5oo 
 
 Perfect 
 
 Potter 
 
 L'pool and Africa, &c. 
 
 Lost at Mana by 
 mutiny of slaves, 
 who killed nearly 
 all the crew on 
 board 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 667 
 
 APPENDIX No. III.— CoNTiNUKi). 
 
 Ship's Name. 
 
 Master's Name. 
 
 "Voyage. 
 
 By whom taken, and 
 where carried, etc. 
 
 Hothersall* 
 
 
 Liverpool for Antigua 
 
 Ret'k'n by Knight 
 
 
 Windsor 
 
 Joseph Clarke 
 
 Do. for Philadelphia 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Whe'lofF'rtune 
 
 Wm. Lethwayte 
 
 Do. for West Indies 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Snow Betty 
 
 Quirk 
 
 Jamaica for L'pool 
 
 Retaken by a Ne^v 
 York Privateer 
 
 Ann 
 
 Marshall 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Ellen 
 
 Kirby 
 
 Do. Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Brig Betsey 
 
 Jones 
 
 L'pool and Africa, &c. 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Brig Calvely 
 
 Hughes 
 
 L'pool and Africa, &c. 
 
 60 slaves taken by 
 the French, who 
 gave back the ship 
 to the captain 
 
 Brig St. Micha'l 
 
 Magee 
 
 Guadaloupe for L'pool 
 
 Martinico 
 
 George & Betty 
 
 Edwd. M'Gill 
 
 L'pool for Jamaica 
 
 Do. 
 
 Elizabeth and 
 
 
 
 
 Mary 
 
 
 Oporto for Liverpool 
 
 Rochelle 
 
 
 Alice 
 
 Ellams 
 
 Newfoundland for 
 
 
 
 
 Oporto 
 
 \'igo 
 
 Prospect 
 
 Howell 
 
 From Barbadoes for 
 
 
 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 By French Pr'v'te'r 
 
 Tyrrell 
 
 Gill 
 
 ,, Africa & Antigua 
 
 St. jean de Luz 
 
 Jenny & Nancy 
 
 Moses Drape 
 
 ,, Malaga 
 
 Brest 
 
 Samuel 
 
 Whitehead 
 
 For Africa, cS:c. 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 Carolina 
 
 Prince 
 
 For Guadaloupe 
 
 Do. 
 
 Good Intent 
 
 Quill 
 
 For New York 
 
 Do. 
 
 The Ferret 
 
 Berry 
 
 For Africa 
 
 Martinico 
 
 Phcebe 
 
 Gaball 
 
 For Barbadoes 
 
 Bayonne 
 
 * She was sold by auction, re-named \\\t Jane, taken again on her passage to St. 
 Petersburg, and ransomed for 400 guineas. 
 
 APPENDIX No. IV. 
 
 List of the principal Liverpool Priv^ateers and Letters of 
 Marque in the War with America, France, Spain, and 
 Holland (1775-83):— 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 t 
 
 Guns 
 
 Men. 
 
 Arethusa 
 
 Atalanta 
 
 Adventure 
 
 Alfred 
 
 Active 
 
 Amazon 
 
 Antigallican 
 
 Jones 
 
 CoUinson 
 
 Hyatt 
 
 Powell 
 
 C. L. Whytell 
 
 Butler 
 
 Nelson & Co. 
 Fowden <Jv: Berry 
 Newby & Co. 
 John Kennion 
 
 150 
 180 
 160 
 280 
 
 18 
 16 
 14 
 14 
 14 
 14 
 22 
 
 92 
 
 54 
 
 80 
 80 
 
 95 
 120 
 
 
 
 t Exclusive of swivels. The number of guns and men Mas liable to frequent 
 change. 
 
668 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 APPENDIX No. IV.— Continued. 
 
 1 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Guns 
 
 Men. 
 
 Brilliant 
 
 Wm. PriestiTian 
 
 John Sparling 
 
 6oo 
 
 20 
 
 _ 
 
 Bellona 
 
 Fairweather 
 
 Bolden & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 24 
 
 140 
 
 Brooks 
 
 Noble 
 
 
 320 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 
 
 Basil 
 
 Robt. Leake 
 
 Peter Freeland 
 
 — 
 
 12 
 
 
 Bess 
 
 Perry 
 
 Slater c\: Co. 
 
 270 
 
 18 
 
 100 
 
 Benson 
 
 Ball 
 
 Rawlinson, Chorley & 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 Grierson 
 
 360 
 
 20 
 
 79 
 
 Catcher 
 
 Fletcher 
 
 Salisbury & Co. 
 
 no 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 
 Commerce 
 
 Woods 
 
 
 — 
 
 14 
 
 42 
 
 Dragon 
 
 Briggs 
 
 Warren & Co. 
 
 112 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 
 Dreadnought 
 
 Taylor 
 
 Wagner & Co.* 
 
 200 
 
 20 
 
 120 
 
 Delight 
 
 Dawson 
 
 Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 12 
 
 39 
 
 Ellis 
 
 Washington (or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jolly) 
 
 Boats & Gregson 
 
 340 
 
 28 
 
 130 
 
 Eagle 
 
 Bond 
 
 Salisbury & Co. 
 
 no 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 
 Enterprisef 
 
 Pearce 
 
 Brooks & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 20 
 
 70 
 
 Ellen 
 
 Fell 
 
 France & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 20 
 
 70 
 
 Fly 
 
 Briggs 
 
 
 — 
 
 14 
 
 70 
 
 
 Griffin 
 
 Grimshaw 
 
 Hall & Co. 
 
 130 
 
 14 
 
 90 
 
 Greenwood 
 
 Reid 
 
 Crosbie & Greenwood 
 
 250 
 
 16 
 
 50 
 
 Gregson 
 
 Boyd (or Jolly) 
 
 Boats <S: Gregson 
 
 250 
 
 24 
 
 120 
 
 Hornet 
 
 Naylor 
 
 Liversley & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 16 
 
 90 
 
 Hawke 
 
 Bradley 
 
 Mason li Co. 
 
 120 
 
 16 
 
 70 
 
 Hercules 
 
 Wright 
 
 Whitaker e^ Co. 
 
 1200 
 
 30 
 
 100 
 
 Harlequin 
 
 Fay re r 
 
 Earle ^; Co. 
 
 180 
 
 20 
 
 — 
 
 Hope 
 
 MeUing 
 
 Crosdale, Barrow & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 16 
 
 — 
 
 Industry 
 
 J no. Moore 
 
 Meyer, Wilckens & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 10 
 
 — 
 
 Isabella 
 
 Wiseman 
 
 Gill Slater 
 
 300 
 
 16 
 
 80 
 
 James 
 
 J no. Amery 
 
 James France 
 
 
 20 
 
 — 
 
 Jenny 
 
 Adams 
 
 Chorley & Co. 
 
 130 
 
 14 
 
 35 
 
 Jenny 
 
 Wade 
 
 Thos. Moss & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 14 
 
 70 
 
 Jenny 
 
 Ashton 
 
 Ashton & Co. , of Tortola 
 
 80 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 1 Jenny (ship) 
 
 Walker 
 
 Tarleton & Co., or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Daniel Backhouse 
 
 140 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 Jenny (brig) 
 
 Gill 
 
 Daniel Backhouse 
 
 — 
 
 16 
 
 
 Jamaica 
 
 Fletcher 
 
 Birch & Co. 
 
 350 
 
 18 
 
 no 
 
 Juno 
 
 Beaver 
 
 Hartley & Co. 
 
 90 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 Knight 
 
 Wilson 
 
 Hindley, Leigh & Co. 
 
 220 
 
 18 
 
 80 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 Wilcox 
 
 S. Shaw & Co. 
 
 210 
 
 16 
 
 45 
 
 Little Ben 
 
 Bostock 
 
 Radcliiite & Co. 
 
 no 
 
 14 
 
 50 
 
 Livingston 
 
 
 Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 20 
 
 
 Lady Granby 
 
 Powell 
 
 Ashton & Co. 
 
 45 
 
 10 
 
 60 
 
 Marchioness of 
 
 
 Marquis of Granby and 
 
 
 
 
 Granby 
 
 Rogers 
 
 Nicholas Ashton, Esq. 
 
 260 
 
 20 
 
 130 
 
 Molly 
 
 Kendall 
 
 Gregson & Co. 
 
 260 
 
 16 
 
 70 
 
 Mary Fearon 
 
 Caton 
 
 France & Co. 
 
 280 
 
 16 
 
 60 
 
 Mentor 
 
 J no. Dawson 
 
 Baker & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 28 
 
 102 
 
 Mermaid 
 
 Smith 
 
 Sparling & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 16 
 
 50 
 
 Mary 
 
 Bonsall 
 
 Drinkwater & Co. 
 
 130 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 Molly 
 
 Woods 
 
 Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 240 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 * Mr. B. P. Wagner was the maternal grandfather of Felicia Dorothea Hemans. 
 t Afterwards owned by Francis Ingram & Co., and commanded by Captain Haslam. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 APPENDIX No. IV.— CoNTiMTF-n. 
 
 669 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Guns 
 
 1 
 
 Men. 
 
 Mersey 
 
 Gibbons 
 
 Whitaker k Co. 
 
 1400 
 
 28 
 
 100 
 
 Nancy 
 
 Hammond 
 
 Fo\\ den & Berr)' 
 
 250 
 
 20 
 
 59 
 
 Nancy 
 
 Nelson 
 
 l^ringle & Co. 
 
 150 
 
 16 
 
 50 
 
 Nanny 
 
 Harrison 
 
 Watts & Raw son 
 
 220 
 
 14 
 
 70 1 
 
 Nanny 
 
 Beynon 
 
 Hindley, Leigh & Co. 
 
 220 
 
 14 
 
 50 1 
 
 Patsey 
 
 La'ren'e Dooling 
 
 Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 — 
 
 18 
 
 
 Pole 
 
 Haddocks 
 
 Nelson & Co. 
 
 320 
 
 24 
 
 100 1 
 
 Pallas 
 
 Townsend 
 
 I. & R. Slinger 
 
 — 
 
 16 
 
 — 
 
 Queen 
 
 Gee 
 
 Richard Kent 
 
 800 
 
 20 
 
 100 
 
 Rose 
 
 Jackson 
 
 J. Zuill & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 Richard 
 
 Lee 
 
 Rawlinson & Co. 
 
 150 
 
 16 
 
 70 
 
 Resolution 
 
 Beard 
 
 Holme & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 22 
 
 100 •• 
 
 Retaliation 
 
 Townsend 
 
 Syers h Co. 
 
 160 
 
 16 
 
 100 
 
 Revenge 
 
 Ramsey 
 
 Hughes ife Co. 
 
 120 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 
 Rover 
 
 Bancroft 
 
 Kennion & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 
 Rumbold 
 
 Fayrer 
 
 Caruthers h Co. 
 
 250 
 
 20 
 
 57 ^ 
 
 St. George 
 
 Hanley 
 
 Warren & Co. 
 
 no 
 
 14 
 
 75 
 
 Sturdy Beggar 
 
 Cooper 
 
 Davenport & Co. 
 
 160 
 
 16 
 
 100 
 
 Sarah Goulburn 
 
 Lewtas 
 
 Brow n & Jones 
 
 340 
 
 26 
 
 120 
 
 St. Peter 
 
 N. Holland 
 
 Holme, Bowyer & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kennion 
 
 320 
 
 22 
 
 147 
 
 Spy 
 
 Rigmaiden 
 
 J. Zuill & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 Spitfire 
 
 Bell 
 
 Do. 
 
 200 
 
 16 
 
 100 
 
 Success 
 
 Nevin 
 
 Crosbie & Greenwood 
 
 120 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 Sparling 
 
 Plato Denny 
 
 John Sparling 
 
 400 
 
 18 
 
 
 Do. ^ 
 
 Ed. Forbes 
 
 Do. 
 
 300 
 
 14 
 
 — 1 
 
 Sally 
 
 Rimmer 
 
 Watts & Rawson 
 
 180 
 
 16 
 
 70 ; 
 
 Sisters 
 
 Webster 
 
 Whitaker & Co. 
 
 800 
 
 20 
 
 100 
 
 Townside 
 
 Watmougli 
 
 Mitton & Co. 
 
 130 
 
 16 
 
 90 
 
 Terrible 
 
 Ash 
 
 Nottingham & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 20 
 
 130 
 
 Tom 
 
 Davies 
 
 Mr. Clement 
 
 100 
 
 j 90 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 or 
 
 14 
 12 
 16 
 
 36 
 
 Tartar 
 
 Allanson 
 
 J. Backhouse & Co. 
 
 80 
 
 Tom 
 
 Two Brothers 
 
 Lee 
 Fisher 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Roberts & Co. 
 
 150 
 
 39 ' 
 
 Tyger 
 
 Qualtrough 
 
 
 200 
 
 14 
 
 70 
 
 
 Tyger 
 
 Amery 
 
 James France & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 16 
 
 60 
 
 Tryal 
 
 Eagle 
 
 
 — 
 
 14 
 
 80 ; 
 
 Ulysses 
 
 Briggs 
 
 Baker & Daw son 
 
 250 
 
 16 
 
 
 \'iper 
 
 Cowell 
 
 Birch & Co. 
 
 160 
 
 18 
 
 80 ^ 
 
 \'iper 
 
 Philip Cowell 
 
 Gregson & Bridge 
 
 — 
 
 16 
 
 40 
 
 Wasp 
 
 Byrne 
 
 Kennion & Co. 
 
 220 
 
 14 
 
 95 1 
 
 Watt 
 
 Coulthard 
 
 
 — 
 
 32 
 
 164 
 
 Young Henry 
 
 Corrie 
 
 Hartley & Co. 
 
 270 
 
 18 
 
 60 
 
670 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS, 
 
 APPENDIX No. V. 
 
 The Swallow, Letter of Marque Against the French, 
 Dated 12th July 1796. 
 
 "GEORGE the Third, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, 
 France, and Ireland, King- Defender of the Faith; To all 
 persons to whom these presents shall come Greeting-. Where- 
 as divers injurious proceedings have lately been had in France, 
 in derogation of the honor of our Crown, and of the just rights 
 of our subjects, and whereas several unjust seizures have been 
 there made of the Ships and Goods of our subjects, contrary to 
 the laws of nations, and to the faith of treaties. And whereas 
 the said Acts of unprovoked hostility have been followed by an 
 open declaration of war against us and our ally, the Republic of 
 the United Provinces. We therefore, being determined to take 
 such measures as are necessary for vindicating the honor of our 
 Crown, and for procuring reparation and satisfaction for our 
 injured subjects, did by, and with the advice of our Privy 
 Council, order that general reprisals be g-ranted against the 
 Ships, Goods, and Subjects of France, so that as well our Fleets 
 and Ships as also all other Ships and Vessels that shall be com- 
 missionated by Letters of Marque or g^eneral reprisals or other- 
 wise, shall and may lawfully apprehend, seize, and take all Ships, 
 Vessels, and Goods belonging to France, or to any persons being 
 subjects of France, or inhabitating within the Territories of 
 France, and bring the same to judgment in our High Court of 
 Admiralty of England, or in any of our Courts of Admiralty 
 within our Dominions, for proceedings and adjudication and 
 condemnation to be thereupon had according to the course of 
 Admiralty, and the laws of Nations. And, whereas by our com- 
 mission under our Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the 
 Fourteenth day of February, One Thousand Seven hundred and 
 Ninety-three, we have willed, required, and authorized our com- 
 missioners for executing the office of Lord Hig-h Admiral of Great 
 
APPENDIX. 671 
 
 Britain, or any person or persons by them empowered and ap- 
 pointed to issue forth and g^rant Letters of Marque and reprisals 
 accordingly, and with such powers and clauses to be therein 
 inserted, and in such manner as by our said commission more 
 at large appeareth. And, whereas our said Commissioners for 
 executing- the o?a.zQ, of our High Admiral aforesaid, have thought 
 JOHN MACIVER fitly qualified, who hath equipped, furnished, 
 and victualled a ship called the S-wallow, of the burthen of about 
 two hundred and fifiy-six tons, British built, square stern ^ scroll 
 head, and tivo masts, mounted with eighteen carriage guns 
 carrying shot of six pounds weight, and no swivel guns, and 
 navigated by thirty-five men, of whom one third are landsmen, 
 and belonging to the Port of Liverpool, whereof he the said 
 JOHN MACIVER is commander, and that THOMAS TWEM- 
 LOW, PETER MACIVER, SAMUEL M^DOWALL, and 
 IVER MACIVER, of Liverpool, Merchants, and him the said 
 JOHN MACIVER are the owners. And, whereas he the said 
 JOHN MACIVER hath given sufficient bail with sureties to us 
 in our said High Court of Admiralty, according to the effect 
 and form set down in our instructions made the Fourteenth day 
 of February, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-three, 
 in the Thirty-third year of our reign, a copy whereof is given 
 to the said Captain, JOHN MACIVER. Know ye therefore, 
 that we do by these presents issue forth and grant Letters of 
 Marque and reprisals to, and do license and authorize the said 
 JOHN MACIVER to set forth in a warlike manner the said 
 ship called the " Szvallow," under his own command, and 
 therew^ith by force of arms to apprehend, seize, and take the 
 Ships, Vessels, and Goods belonging to France, or to any 
 persons being subjects of France, or inhabiting within any of 
 the territories of France, excepting only within the harbours 
 or roads of Princes and States in amity with us, and to bring 
 the same to such port as shall be most convenient in order to 
 have them legally adjudged in our said High Court of Admi- 
 ralty of England or before the Judges of such other Admiralty 
 Court as shall be lawfully authorized within our Dominions, 
 while being finally condemned it shall and may be lawful for 
 
,672 THE LIVERPOOL PRIVATEERS. 
 
 the said JOHN MACIVER to sell and dispose of such Ships, 
 Vessels and Goods finally adjudg-ed and condemned, In such 
 sort and manner as by the Court of Admiralty hath been ac- 
 customed. Provided, always, that the said JOHN MACIVER 
 keep an exact journal of his proceedings, and therein particu- 
 larly take notice of all prizes which shall be taken by him, the 
 nature of such prizes, the times and places of their being- 
 taken, and the values of them as near as he can judg^e, as also 
 of the station, motion and strength of the French as well as 
 he or his mariners can discover by the best intelligence he can 
 get, and also of whatsoever else shall occur unto him or any of 
 his officers or mariners, or be discovered or declared unto him 
 or them, or found out by examination or conference with any 
 mariners or passengers of or in any of the Ships or Vessels 
 taken, or by any other person or persons, or by any other ways 
 and means whatsoever, touching or concerning the designs of 
 the French, or any of their Fleets, Vessels or Parties, and of 
 their stations, ports and places, and of their intents therein, 
 and of what Ships or Vessels of the French bound out or home, 
 or to any other place, as he or his officers or mariners shall 
 hear of, and of what else material In these cases may arrive to 
 his or their knowledge, of all which he shall, from time to 
 time, as he shall or may have opportunity, transmit an account 
 to our said commissioners for executing the o^co. of our High 
 Admiral aforesaid, or their secretary, and keep a corres- 
 pondence with them by all opportunities that shall present. 
 And, further, providing that nothing be done by the said 
 JOHN MACIVER, or any of his officers, mariners, or com- 
 pany, contrary to the true meaning of our aforesaid instruc- 
 tions, but that the said Instructions shall by them, and each 
 and every of them, as far as they or any of them are therein 
 concerned. In all particulars be well and truly performed and 
 observed. And we pray and desire all Kings, Princes, Poten- 
 tates, States, and Republlcks, being our friends and allies, 
 and all others to whom It shall appertain, to give the said 
 JOHN MACIVER all aid, assistance and succour in their 
 ports with his said ship, company and prizes, without doing 
 
APPENDIX. 673 
 
 or sLifFeriiig- to be done to him any wrong", trouble or hind- 
 rance, we offering- to do the Uke when we shall be by them 
 thereunto desired. And we will, and require all our officers 
 whatsoever, to g^iv'e him succour and assistance as occasion 
 shall require. 
 
 " In witness whereof we have caused the great seal of our 
 Hig-h Court of our Admiralty of England to be hereunto 
 affixed. Given at London the Tuoelfth day of Jtdy in the year 
 of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-six, 
 and m the Thirty-sixth year of our reign. 
 
 *'ARDEN, 
 
 " Regfistrar." 
 
 2U 
 
674 
 
 APPENDIX TO SLAVE TRADE SECTION. 
 
 APPENDIX No. VI. 
 
 A List of the Company of Merchants trading to Africa 
 (estabhshed by an Act of Parliament passed in the 23rd of 
 George II., entituled an " Act for Extending and Improv- 
 ing the Trade to Africa"), belonging to Liverpool, June 
 24th, 1752. 
 
 Armitage, John 
 Atherton, John 
 Ashton, John 
 Bostock, John 
 Bulkeley, Wilham 
 BUindell, Jonathan 
 Backhouse, John 
 Blundell, Bryan 
 BUmdell, Richard 
 Blackburn, John 
 Bradley, George 
 Brooks, George 
 Benson, Wm. 
 Ball, Thomas 
 Bridge, Edward 
 Blundell, William 
 vBrooks, Joseph 
 V Brooks, Jonathan 
 Bird, Joseph 
 Crowder, Thomas 
 Crosbie, James 
 Cunliffe, Foster 
 Cunliffe, Ellis 
 Cunliffe, Robert 
 \jCampbell, George 
 Clay, Robert 
 Craven, Charles 
 Clayton, John 
 Crompton, John 
 Clews, George 
 Chalmer, Thomas 
 Davis, Joseph 
 J. Dean, Edward 
 1/ Dobb, William 
 
 Dunbar, Thomas 
 Earl, Ralph 
 Eddie, David 
 Ellams, Elliott 
 
 /Forbes, Edward 
 Farmer, Joseph 
 Ford Richard 
 Fletcher, Potter 
 Gildart, Richard 
 Goodwin, William 
 Goore, Charles 
 Gorrell, John 
 
 \Xjildart, James 
 Gordon, James 
 Goodwin, John 
 Hardman, John 
 Heywood, Arthur 
 Heywood, Benja. 
 Hesketh, Robert 
 Hughes, Richard 
 liardwar, Henry 
 Higginson, William 
 Hallhead, Robert 
 Hughes, John Capt. 
 Kendall, Thomas 
 Knight, John 
 Leatherbarrow, Th. 
 Laidler, George 
 Lee, Pierce 
 ^Lowndes, Edward 
 Lowndes, Charles 
 Mears, Thomas 
 jNIanesty, Joseph 
 Nicholas, Richard 
 
 Nicholson, John 
 
 Ogden, Samuel 
 
 Ogden, Edmund 
 
 Oldham, Isaac 
 
 Okill, John 
 
 Pritchard, Owen 
 . Parr, John 
 
 Parr, Edward 
 
 Pardoe, James 
 
 Peiiket, William 
 
 Pole, William 
 
 Parker, John 
 
 Rowe, William 
 
 Reed, Samuel 
 
 Strong, Matthew^ 
 
 Shaw, Samuel 
 
 Savage, Richard 
 
 Seel, Thomas 
 
 Strong, John 
 
 Smith, Samuel 
 
 Seel, Robert 
 
 Smith, Rob., Broad-st., 
 London 
 
 Tarleton, John 
 
 Townsend, Henry 
 
 Townsend, Richard 
 
 Trafford, Edward 
 
 Tarleton, John 
 
 Unsworth, Levinus 
 
 Williamson, Wm. 
 
 Whytell, Christo 
 vWhalley, William 
 
 White, Hen., Lane. 
 
 Williamson, John 
 
 Total loi. 
 
 "N.B. — There are One Hundred and thirty five merchants 
 free of the African company in London, and One Hundred and 
 fifty seven in Bristol, whereas their Trade to Africa is not so 
 extensive as the Merchants of Liverpool."* 
 
 * From "Williamson's Liverpool Memorandum Book, i753," in the possession 
 of Richard Cyril Lockett, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 675 
 
 APPENDIX No. VII. 
 
 A LIST OF THE GUINEAMEN BELONGING 
 TO LIVERPOOL IN THE YEAR 1752, with their 
 Owners' and Commanders' names and the number of 
 slaves carried by each : — * 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Where Bound. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 No. of 
 Slaves. 
 
 Africa 
 
 Harrison 
 
 Benin 
 
 Jno. Welsh & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 African 
 
 John Newton 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 J. Manesty & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 Annahella 
 
 Wm. Harrison 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Dobb & Co. 
 
 260 
 
 Antigua Mer- 
 
 
 
 
 
 chant 
 
 Robt. Thomas 
 
 Angola 
 
 Jas. Gildart & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 Anglesey 
 
 James Caruthers 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 Tine,Farrar&Co, 
 
 180 
 
 Alice Galley 
 
 Rich. Jackson 
 
 Do. 
 
 R. Cheshyre & Co. 
 
 350 
 
 Ann Galley 
 
 Neh'm'h Holland 
 
 Calabar 
 
 Wm. Whalley & 
 Co. 
 
 340 
 
 Adlington 
 
 Tho. Perkin 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 T. Manesty & Co. 
 
 320 
 
 Allen 
 
 Jas. Strangeways 
 
 Do. 
 
 j. Brooks & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 Achilles 
 
 Thomas Patrick 
 
 
 Hen. Hardwar & 
 Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Betty 
 
 Sm. Sacheverelle 
 
 
 
 John Robinson 
 
 100 
 
 Blake 
 
 Alex. Torbet 
 
 Calabar 
 
 Jo. Bird & Co. 
 
 46o 
 
 Barbadoes 
 
 
 
 
 
 Merchant 
 
 John Wilson 
 
 Angola 
 
 G. Campbell &Co. 
 
 500 
 
 Boyne 
 
 Wm. Wilkinson 
 
 Bonny 
 
 E. Forbes & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Beverley 
 
 William Lowe 
 
 Angola 
 
 E. Lowndes&Co. 
 
 200 
 
 Brooke 
 
 Thomas Kewley 
 
 Old Calabar 
 
 Roger Brooks & 
 Compy. 
 
 400 
 
 Barclay 
 
 John Gadson 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jno. Welsh & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Bulkeley 
 
 Chris. Baitson 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 Coast 
 
 Foster Cunliffe, 
 Sons & Co. 
 
 550 
 
 Britannia 
 
 Jas. Pemberton 
 
 Do. 
 
 Thos. Leather- 
 barrow & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 Bridget 
 
 Anth'ny Grayson 
 
 
 
 
 
 (or Hayston) 
 
 Do. 
 
 Foster Cunliffe, 
 Sons & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 Clayton 
 
 Patrick 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 Cumberland 
 
 John Griffin 
 
 Gambia 
 
 E. Deane & Co. 
 
 260 
 
 Chesterfield 
 
 Patrick Black 
 
 Old Calabar 
 
 W. Whalley & Co. 
 
 440 
 
 Cbarm'gNancy 
 
 Tho. Roberts 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 Coast 
 
 W. Davenport 
 & Co. 
 
 170 
 
 * Compiled from a rare copy of IVilliaiiisoii's Liverpool McDiorandnni Book, 
 published in 1753, in the possession of Richard Cyril Lockett, Esq., and exhibited 
 on his behalf before the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, by J. Paul 
 Rylands, Esq., F.S.A., March, 1897. 
 
676 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX NO. VII.— Continued. 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. ofj 
 
 Ships. 1 
 
 Commanders. : 
 
 Where Bound. 
 
 Owners. 1 
 
 Sl.ives. 
 
 . 1 
 Cavendish 
 
 i 
 
 Robert Jennings ' 
 
 1 
 Win'dand CJold 
 Coast 
 
 Nicholas & Co. ; 
 
 170 
 
 Cecilia 
 
 Rd. Younge 
 
 Gambia 
 
 P'r. Green & Co. 
 
 120 ' 
 
 Duke of 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cumberland 
 
 John Crosbie 
 
 Bonny 
 
 J. Crosbie & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Dolphin 
 
 Joseph Pederick 
 
 V\ in'd and Gold , 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 Ed. Forbes & Co. 
 
 200 , 
 
 Elizabeth 
 
 William Heys 
 
 Gambia 
 
 Sam. Shaw & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 Elijah 
 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 E. Lowndes & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 Enterprise 
 
 Sam. Greenhovv 
 
 Gambia (miss'g) 
 
 John Yates 4; Co. 1 
 
 130 
 
 Ellis and Rob't. 
 
 Rich. Jackson 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 F.Cunliffe& Sons 
 
 32 > 
 
 Eaton 
 
 John Hughes 
 
 1 
 
 Angola 
 
 John Okill k Co. 
 
 (Wood & Teeth) ' 
 
 5SO 
 
 
 P'anny 
 
 Wm. Jenknison 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Coast 
 
 J. Ivnight & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 Ferret 
 
 Joseph Welch 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jno. Welch & Co. 
 
 50 
 
 Florimel 
 
 Samuel Linaker 
 
 Calabar 
 
 Rich. Townsend 
 &Co. 
 
 320 
 
 Frodsham 
 
 James Powell 
 
 Angola 
 
 Nich. Torr & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Fortune 
 
 Hugh Williams 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Ily. Townsend 
 & Co. 
 
 4S0 
 
 Foster 
 
 Edward Cropper 
 
 Benin 
 
 Foster Cunliffe, 
 .Sons & Co. 
 
 200 
 
 George 
 
 Charles Cooke 
 
 Angola 
 
 G. Campbell & 
 Co. 
 
 250 
 
 Grace 
 
 
 Old Calabar 
 
 Ed. Forbes & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 
 Greyhound 
 
 Maurice Roach 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 Rd. Savage k Co. 
 
 120 
 
 Hesketh 
 
 James Thompson 
 
 New Calabar 
 
 R.Nicholas & Co. 
 
 260 
 
 Hector 
 
 Brook Kelsall 
 
 Do. 
 
 W.Gregson & Co. 
 
 480 
 
 Hardman 
 
 Joseph Yoward 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 J.Hardman& Co. 
 
 300 
 
 Jenny 
 
 Thos. Darbyshire 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jno. Knight & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Judith 
 
 Nich. Southworth 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Jno. Welch & Co. 
 
 350 
 
 James 
 
 Jno. Sacherevelle 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 James Gildart 
 
 120 
 
 Knight 
 
 Wm. Boats 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jno. Knight & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Lintott 
 
 Ralph Lowe 
 
 New Calabar 
 
 R.Nicholas & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Lord Strange 
 
 Edw ard Smith 
 
 Benin 
 
 Wm. Halliday k 
 Co. 
 
 230 
 
 Lovely Betty 
 
 George Jackson 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 Geo. Campbell 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 ' & Co. 
 
 140 
 
 Little Billy 
 
 Thos. Dickenson 
 
 1 Do. 
 
 J. Knight & Co. 
 
 60 
 
 Mersey 
 
 John Gee 
 
 Benin 
 
 J.Kennion & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 Middleham 
 
 John Welch 
 
 Old Calabar 
 
 R. Gildart & Sons 
 
 320 
 
 Methwen 
 
 John Coppell 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 J. Crosbie & Co. 
 
 2S0 
 
 Minerva 
 
 Thomas Jordan 
 
 Gambia 
 
 Jas. Pardoe k Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Mercury 
 
 John Walker 
 
 Win'dand Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 Kennion<k Holme 
 
 100 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 677 
 
 APPENDIX No. VII.— Continued. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Commanders. 
 
 Where Bound. ] 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 Owners. 
 
 No. of 
 Slaves. 
 
 Molly 
 
 Richard Rigby 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 R.Golding&Co. ! 
 
 320 
 
 Neptune < 
 
 Tho. Thompson 
 
 Old Calabar ' 
 
 Joseph and Jona. 
 Brooks & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 Nelly 
 
 Joseph Drape (or 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Jno. Simmons) 
 
 Do. 
 
 Wm. Williamson 
 &Co. 
 
 320 
 
 Nancy 
 
 John Honeyford 
 
 Bonny 
 
 T. Kendal & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Nancy ' 
 
 Robert Hewin | 
 
 Do. i 
 
 Pet. Holme & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 Nancy 
 
 i 
 
 Thos Midgeley 
 
 Gambia 
 
 Knight, Mairs, 
 & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 Orrel 
 
 James Griffin 
 
 Do. 
 
 W.Whalley&Co. 
 
 120 
 
 Ormond 
 
 
 
 
 
 Success 
 
 
 Angola 
 
 Wm. Williamson 
 & Co. 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 Pardee 
 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 Coast 
 
 
 
 
 Jas. Pardoe & Co. 
 
 240 
 
 Priscilla 
 
 Wm. Parkinson 
 
 Angola 
 
 Jno. Welch & Co. 
 
 35° 
 
 Phoebe 
 
 I 
 
 Wm. Lawson 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 Coast 
 
 Arthur and Ben. 
 Heywood <t Co. 
 
 280 
 
 Prince William 
 
 John Valentine 
 
 Angola 
 
 R.Gildart & Sons 
 
 200 
 
 Rider 
 
 Michael Rush 
 
 Do. 
 
 R.Gildart&Sons 
 
 300 
 
 Ranger 
 
 James Sanders 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 W. Farington & 
 
 
 
 
 Coast 
 
 Co. 
 
 300 
 
 Sarah 
 
 Alex. Lawson 
 
 Bonny 
 
 T.Crowder&Co. 
 
 550 
 
 Salisbury 
 
 Thos. Marsden 
 
 Old Calabar 
 
 Robert Armitage 
 
 35° i 
 
 Sterling Castle 
 
 Charles Gardner 
 
 Bonny 
 
 John Backhouse 
 & Co. 
 
 \ 
 300 
 
 { Samuel and 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Nancy 
 
 James Lowe 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 
 
 
 
 Coast. 
 
 R. Savage & Co- 
 
 220 
 
 Swan 
 
 Peter Leay 
 
 Bonny 
 
 John Tarleton & 
 Compy. 
 
 400 
 
 ; Sam'y& Biddy 
 
 R0I3. Grayson 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 J. Blundell & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 Schemer 
 
 Robt. Grimshaw 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. Chalmers & Co. 
 
 120 
 
 1 Stronge 
 
 Thomas Cubbin 
 1 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Mat. and Jno. 
 Stronge & Co. 
 
 3C0 
 
 Tarlton 
 
 Jas. Thompson 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. Tarlton & Co. 
 
 340 
 
 Triton 
 
 1 Chas. Jenkinson 
 
 j 
 
 Do. 
 
 Levinus Uns- 
 worth i& Co. 
 
 240 
 
 Thomas 
 
 i Jas. Hutchinson 
 
 ; Gambia 
 
 G. Campbell & 
 Co. 
 
 200 
 
 True Blue 
 
 Benjamin Wade 
 
 Benin 
 
 J. Cheshyre & Co. 
 
 I 300 
 
 Thomas and 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 Martha 
 
 Jn. Gillman 
 
 Win'd and Gold 
 
 ; G. Campbell & 
 
 
 
 
 j Coast 
 
 Co. 
 
 1 200 
 
 *Vigilant 
 
 \^'m. Freeman 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. Bridge c& Co. 
 
 160 
 
 Union 
 
 Tim. Anyon 
 
 Do. 
 
 "j. Pardoe & Co. 
 
 350 
 
 William and 
 
 
 
 
 
 Betty 
 
 1 Thos. Barclay 
 
 Angola 
 
 S. Shawe & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 * ]\Iissing. 
 Total 88 Ships carrying upwards of 24,730 Slaves, and 550 wood and teeth. 
 
678 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE, 
 
 APPENDIX No. VIII. 
 
 The number of ships which cleared out from the port of 
 Liverpool to the coast of Africa, from the earliest date to 
 the time of the trade being abolished in May, 1807.* The 
 majority of these vessels were employed in the slave trade, 
 the rest carrying only wood and teeth. For instance, 
 during the period covered by Appendix IX., (1783-93) 43 
 ships carried wood and teeth, while 878 carried slaves. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ships 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ship.";. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Year. 
 1789 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1709 
 
 I 
 
 30 
 
 176S 
 
 81 
 
 8,302 
 
 66 
 
 11,564 
 
 1730 
 
 IS 
 
 nil 
 
 1769 
 
 90 
 
 9,852 
 
 1790 
 
 91 
 
 17,917 
 
 1737 
 
 33 
 
 2756 
 
 1770 
 
 96 
 
 9,818 
 
 1791 
 
 102 
 
 19,610 
 
 1744 
 
 34 
 
 269S 
 
 1771 
 
 105 
 
 10,929 
 
 1792 
 
 132 
 
 22,402 
 
 I751 
 
 53 
 
 5334 
 
 1772 
 
 100 
 
 10,159 
 
 1793 
 
 52 
 
 10,544 
 
 1752 
 
 58 
 
 5437 
 
 1773 
 
 105 
 
 11,056 
 
 1794 
 
 
 
 1753 
 
 72 
 
 7547 
 
 1774 
 
 92 
 
 9,859 
 
 1795 
 
 59 
 
 12,^-^0 i 
 
 1754 
 
 71 
 
 5463 
 
 1775 
 
 Si 
 
 9,200 
 
 1796 
 
 94 
 
 vj,-700 ; 
 
 1755 
 
 41 
 
 4052 
 
 1776 
 
 57 
 
 7,078 
 
 1797 
 
 90 
 
 20,415 ^ 
 
 1756 
 
 60 
 
 5147 
 
 1777 
 
 30 
 
 4,060 
 
 1798 
 
 149 
 
 34,937 
 
 1757 
 
 47 
 
 5050 
 
 177S 
 
 26 
 
 3,651 
 
 1799 
 
 134 
 
 34,966 
 
 1758 
 
 51 
 
 5229 
 
 1779 
 
 II 
 
 ' 1,205 
 
 1800 
 
 120 
 
 33,774 - 
 
 1759 
 
 58 
 
 5S92 
 
 17S0 
 
 32 
 
 ' 4>275 
 
 1 801 
 
 122 
 
 28,429 
 
 1760 
 
 74 
 
 S178 
 
 17S1 
 
 43 
 
 5,720 
 
 1S02 
 
 122 
 
 30,796 
 
 1761 
 
 69 
 
 7309 
 
 17S2 
 
 47 
 
 ■ 6,209 
 
 1803 
 
 S3 
 
 15,534 
 
 1762 
 
 61 
 
 6752 
 
 1783 
 
 85 
 
 ' 12,294 
 
 1S04 
 
 126 
 
 27,322 ' 
 
 1763 
 
 65 
 
 6650 
 
 17S4 
 
 67 
 
 " 9,568 
 
 1805 
 
 117 
 
 26,536 
 
 1764 
 
 74 
 
 797S 
 
 1785 
 
 79 
 
 10,982 
 
 1806 
 
 III 
 
 25,949 ■ 
 
 1765 
 
 ^1> 
 
 93S2 
 
 1786 
 
 92 
 
 13,971 
 
 1807 
 
 74 
 
 17,806 
 
 1766 
 
 65 
 
 6650 
 
 1787 
 
 81 
 
 14,012 
 
 
 
 
 1767 
 
 S3 
 
 8345 
 
 1788 
 
 r. 
 
 13,394 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 N.B. — From the first day of January, 1806, to the first 
 day of May, 1807, there had sailed from the port of Liver- 
 pool 185 African ships, measuring 43,755 tons, which were 
 allowed to carry 49,213 slaves. 
 
 APPENDIX No. IX. 
 
 A list of the houses that annually imported upwards of 
 1000 slaves, the number of ships employed, and slaves by 
 them imported from 1783 to 1793, both inclusive, whereby 
 is seen the proportion which they held to all the slave- 
 
 * Troughton's "History of Liverpool,' p. 265. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 679 
 
 vessels that annually sailed from the port of Liverpool 
 during that period : — * 
 
 Vear>. 
 
 Houses. Ships. Houses. Ships. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 In 17S3 there 
 
 were 42 and 85 of which 13 employed 47 and in 
 
 iported 26,820 
 
 „ 1784 „ 
 
 iZ > 
 
 , 59 - 10 
 
 28 
 
 13,590 
 
 
 , 1785 ,, 
 
 37 , 
 
 . 11 ^^ 9 , 
 
 , 36 
 
 18,020 1 
 
 
 , 1786 
 
 37 , 
 
 , 87 „ 13 
 
 53 
 
 ,, 21,520 
 
 
 , 1787 ,, 
 
 27 , 
 
 , 72 „ 8 , 
 
 39 
 
 17,130 
 
 
 , 1788 
 
 28 , 
 
 , 71 ., 8 , 
 
 35 
 
 ,, 13,606 
 
 
 , 1789 .. 
 
 29 , 
 
 , 62 ,, 6 , 
 
 32 
 
 10,752 
 
 
 , 1790 
 
 30 > 
 
 , 89 ,, 10 
 
 58 
 
 ,, 19,089 
 
 
 , 1791 
 
 38 , 
 
 , loi ,, 10 , 
 
 56 
 
 ,, 19,027 
 
 
 , 1792 
 
 33 ' 
 
 . 133 " 14 
 
 94 
 
 29,905 
 
 
 , 1793 
 
 25 ' 
 
 , 46 ,, 6 , 
 
 24 
 
 7,325 
 
 
 V 
 
 359 
 
 878 107 
 
 502 
 
 196,784 
 
 APPENDIX No. X. 
 
 A list of the Company of Merchants trading to Africa 
 (established by an Act of 23 of George II., Cap. 31, entitled : 
 "An Act for the extending and improving the trade to 
 Africa, 1750, for the port of Liverpool"), in 1807 : — 
 
 John Bridge Aspinall 
 James Aspinall 
 William Aspinall 
 Daniel Backhouse 
 John Backhouse, Wa- 
 
 vertree 
 John Barnes, London 
 Ralph Benson 
 Robert Bent, London 
 Patrick Black 
 Jonas Bold 
 John Bolton 
 P. W. Brancker 
 Thomas Brancker 
 Joseph Brooks 
 John Brown 
 George Brown, Wales 
 James Carruthers 
 George Case 
 Henrj' Clarke, Belmont, 
 
 Cheshire 
 Thomas Clarke 
 Samuel Clough 
 Edgar Corrie 
 William Crosbie 
 James Thompson Cukit 
 
 John Dawson 
 
 Edward Dickson 
 
 James Dickson 
 
 William Dickson 
 
 Thomas Earle 
 
 Williana Earle 
 
 William Forbes 
 
 James Gregson 
 
 James Gildart 
 
 Thomas Golightly 
 
 John Greenwood 
 
 William Harding 
 
 William Harper 
 
 B. A. Heywood 
 
 Thomas Hinde 
 
 Thomas Hodgson 
 
 John Hodgson 
 
 H. Blundell Hollinshead 
 
 Francis Ligram, Wake- 
 field 
 
 John Chambres Jones, 
 Wales 
 
 Peter Kennion, London 
 
 John Langton, Kirkham 
 
 Roger Leigh 
 
 Georfre Lewis 
 
 William Neilson 
 
 Thomas Parke, High- 
 field 
 
 Thomas John Parke 
 
 Thomas Parr 
 
 Thomas Parr, Junr. 
 
 James Penny 
 
 Jonathan Ratcliff'e 
 
 William Rigg 
 
 John Sanders 
 
 Christopher Shaw 
 
 John Shaw 
 
 Bryan Smith 
 
 George Spencer, London 
 
 Samuel Staniforth 
 
 Thomas Tarleton 
 
 John Tarleton 
 
 Thomas Moss Tate 
 
 William Thompson 
 
 James Watkinson 
 
 Richard Willis 
 
 William Watson 
 
 Richard Wilding 
 
 William Woodville, Ha- 
 vana 
 
 Richard Woodward 
 
 " A General and Descriptive History of Liverpool " (1795). 
 
680 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XL 
 
 Comparative Statement of Ships cleared out from the 
 Ports of London, Liverpool, and Bristol, to the Coast of 
 Africa, for ten years, from 1795 to 1804 inclusive.* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Each 
 
 
 London. 
 
 i 
 
 Jristol. 
 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Ship. 
 
 
 
 Slaves 
 
 
 Slaves 
 
 
 Slaves 
 
 
 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Allowed. 
 
 Ships 
 
 Allowed. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Allowed. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 1795 
 
 14 
 
 5.149 
 
 6 
 
 2,402 
 
 59 
 
 17,647 
 
 79 
 
 25,198 
 
 317 \ 
 
 1796 
 
 8 
 
 2,593 
 
 I 
 
 393 
 
 94 
 
 29,425 
 
 103 
 
 32,411 
 
 315 
 
 1797 
 
 12 
 
 4,225 
 
 2 
 
 801 
 
 90 
 
 29,958 
 
 104 
 
 34,984 
 
 3.36 
 
 1798 
 
 8 
 
 2,650 
 
 3 
 
 1,433 
 
 149 
 
 53,051 
 
 160 
 
 57,104 
 
 356 : 
 
 1799 
 
 17 
 
 5,582 
 
 5 
 
 2,529 
 
 134 
 
 47,517 
 
 156 
 
 55,628 
 
 356 j 
 
 iSoo 
 
 10 
 
 2,231 
 
 3 
 
 717 
 
 120 
 
 31,844 
 
 133 
 
 34,722 
 
 261 ! 
 
 I80I 
 
 2^ 
 
 6,347 
 
 2 
 
 586 
 
 122 
 
 30,913 
 
 147 
 
 37,846 
 
 259 j 
 
 IS02 
 
 30 
 
 9,011 
 
 3 
 
 704 
 
 122 
 
 31,371 
 
 155 
 
 41,086 
 
 26b ; 
 
 1803 
 
 15 
 
 3,616 
 
 I 
 
 355 
 
 83 
 
 29,954 
 
 99 
 
 24,925 
 
 253 
 
 1804 
 
 18 
 
 5,001 
 
 3 
 
 798 
 
 126 
 
 31,090 
 
 147 
 
 36,899 
 
 244 
 
 10 years 
 
 
 46,405 
 
 
 10,718 
 
 
 323,770 
 
 i 380,893 
 
 1 
 
 * Troughton's History of Liverpool, p. 266. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XII. 
 
 Paid for A Negro jNIan at Bonny, in iSoi : — 
 
 One piece of Chintz, eighteen yards long. 
 
 One piece of Baft, eighteen yards long. 
 
 One piece of Chelloe, eighteen yards long. 
 
 One piece of Bandanoe, seven handkerchiefs. 
 
 One piece of Niccannee, fourteen yards long. 
 
 One piece of Cushtae, fourteen yards long. 
 
 One piece of Photae, fourteen yards long. 
 
 Three pieces of Romalls, forty-five handkercliiefs. 
 
 One large Brass Pan, two muskets. 
 
 Twenty-five kegs of powder, one hundred flints. 
 
 Two bags of shots, twenty knives. 
 
 Four iron pots, four hats, four caps. 
 
 Four cutlasses, six bunches of beads, fourteen gallons of brandy. 
 
 These articles cost about ;i^25. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 681 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIII. 
 
 LIST OF GUINEAMEN BELONGING TO THE 
 PORT OF LIVERPOOL WHICH SAILED FOR 
 AFRICA, from the 5th of January, 1798, to the 5th of 
 January, 1799,* with owners' and commanders' names, and 
 the complement of slaves allowed to each:— 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 "0 jj 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Destinations, 
 
 Owners. 
 
 
 Sailed. 
 
 Fair Peni- 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 tent 
 
 John Gardner 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 S.McDowall&Co. 
 
 261 
 
 Jan. 8 
 
 Union 
 
 Robert Dowie 
 
 Gabon 
 
 J.Rackham &Co. 
 
 162 
 
 
 ^lercury 
 
 John Mill 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 W^m.Begg & Co. 
 
 370 
 
 9 
 
 Pilgrim 
 
 Robert Pince 
 
 Do. 
 
 R. Leigh & Co. 
 
 425 
 
 18 
 
 Mary 
 
 P. Henshall 
 
 Angola 
 
 J.Rackham & Co. 
 
 285 
 
 Feb. 2 
 
 Favottrite 
 
 IL Bennet 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Neilson& Heath- 
 cote 
 
 666 
 
 
 Kitty 
 
 George Walker 
 
 (31d Calebar 
 
 J. & IL Clarke & 
 Co. 
 
 505 
 
 
 Lord Stanley 
 
 \V. Murdock 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 394 
 
 
 James 
 
 John Miller 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 W. Dickson & Sons 
 
 337 
 
 
 Thomas 
 
 G. Farqtihar 
 
 Angola 
 
 Neilson & Heath- 
 cote 
 
 442 
 
 
 Penelope 
 
 Luke Mann 
 
 Bonny 
 
 W. Thompson & 
 Co. 
 
 389 
 
 1 
 
 Prince 
 
 John Kendall 
 
 Angola 
 
 J. Smith & Co. 
 
 435 
 
 i 
 
 Parr 
 
 D. Christian 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Thos. Parr & Co. 
 
 700 
 
 5' 
 
 Fame 
 
 Thomas Brade 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 A.Joseph &Mozely 
 
 250 
 
 18 I 
 
 Abigail 
 
 W. Williams 
 
 .Angola 
 
 J. Tarleton, junr. 
 
 302 
 
 
 Amelia Elea- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 nor 
 
 Edward Duncan 
 
 Do. 
 
 W.Brettargh&Co. 
 
 440 
 
 
 Triton 
 
 John Corran 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Corran & Co. 
 
 448 
 
 28 
 
 Anne 
 
 John Muir 
 
 Cameroons 
 
 \^'. Begg & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 
 John 
 
 N. Ireland 
 
 Do. 
 
 Tarleton & Back- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 house 
 
 265 
 
 Mar. I 
 
 Britannia 
 
 John Walker 
 
 Angola 
 
 Do. 
 
 238 
 
 1 
 
 Unity 
 
 E. 1 ovelace 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jos. Greaves h Co. 
 
 100 
 
 II 
 
 Cecilia 
 
 James Blake 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Thompson & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 285 
 
 12 
 
 Crescent 
 
 Thomas Huson 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 389 
 
 
 King George 
 
 .S. Hensley 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. Bolton & Co. 
 
 550 
 
 20 i 
 
 Betsy 
 
 Edward Mosson 
 
 Do. 
 
 John Bolton 
 
 317 
 
 
 Lime 
 
 James Taylor 
 
 Do. 
 
 Geo. Case & Co. 
 
 317 
 
 25 
 
 Sally and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rebecca 
 
 Thomas Harold 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 W. Begg & Co. 
 
 360 
 
 
 George 
 
 Alex. Hackney 
 
 Lagos 
 
 F. Ingram & Co. 
 
 275 
 
 
 Resource 
 
 Edward Clarke 
 
 Angola 
 
 Tarleton & Rigg 
 
 370 
 
 Apr. 2 
 
 * Extracted from the books of the Custom-house at Liverpool for Elliot Arthy, 
 master mariner, and Surgeon m the African Slave Trade. 1 he orthography of the 
 original is followed. 
 
682 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIIL— CoxTiXLTED. 
 
 
 
 
 
 'o S 
 
 1 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Destinations. 
 
 Owners 
 
 6% 
 
 Sailed. \ 
 
 Joshua 
 
 Edward Mentor 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 S. Lythgoe & Co. 
 
 243 
 
 
 Telegraph 
 
 J. Maginnis 
 
 Angola 
 
 T. & Wm. Earle 
 
 140 
 
 Apr. 10 
 
 Enterprize 
 
 John Heron 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. Ley land & Co. 
 
 363 
 
 
 Adriana 
 
 "William Hewett 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. & Wm. Earle 
 
 424 
 
 
 Louisa 
 
 William Brown 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. Leyland & Co. 
 
 465 
 
 
 Eanny 
 
 John Adams 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 Neilson, Heath- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cote & Co. 
 
 441 
 
 12 . 
 
 Margaret 
 
 E. Richardson 
 
 Angola 
 
 Jas. Penny & Co. 
 
 225 
 
 22 
 
 Indian 
 
 R. Pearson 
 
 Do. 
 
 John Shaw & Co. 
 
 344 
 
 
 Betsy 
 
 D. Hay ward 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 R. Leigh & Co. 
 
 317 
 
 
 EUidt 
 
 J. Parkinson 
 
 Angola 
 
 1. & H. Clarke & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 505 
 
 May 2 
 
 Augustus 
 
 John Smith 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Titherington & Co. 
 
 363 
 
 
 Friendly 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cedar 
 
 Wm. ^Villiams 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 245 
 
 
 Swallow 
 
 Robert White 
 
 Angola 
 
 R. Abram & Co. 
 
 341 
 
 4 
 
 Edward 
 
 James Davies 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 Taylor, Clare & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 270 
 
 5 
 
 Rosamond 
 
 John Foulkes 
 
 Angola 
 
 Jas. Penny & Co. 
 
 323 
 
 14 
 
 Plumper 
 
 J. Corbett 
 
 Do. 
 
 C. Aneus & Co. 
 
 143 
 
 
 Maria 
 
 Robert Martin 
 
 Win"d Coast 
 
 M. Ciiilen & Co. 
 
 230 
 
 21 
 
 Africa 
 
 J. M. Smerdon 
 
 Angola 
 
 S.McDowall&Co. 
 
 146 
 
 
 Don 
 
 H. Hamilton 
 
 Do. 
 
 Robert Johnson 
 
 118 
 
 
 Mersey 
 
 Thos. Molyneux 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 346 
 
 
 Henry 
 
 Matth. Cusack 
 
 Gallon 
 
 S.McDowall&Co. 
 
 165 
 
 
 Molly 
 
 John Tobin 
 
 Angola 
 
 Geo. Case & Co. 
 
 436 
 
 27 
 
 Adventure 
 
 O. Pritchard 
 
 Do. 
 
 R. Buddicomb & 
 Co. 
 
 2S0 
 
 
 Sundett 
 
 W. Ma.vwell 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Harper & Co. 
 
 312 
 
 
 Diana 
 
 J. Ains worth 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Moses Benson & 
 Co. 
 
 409 
 
 
 Britannia 
 
 Jos. Car.shoi-e 
 
 Old Calebar 
 
 T. & E. L. Hodg- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 son & Co. 
 
 340 
 
 31 
 
 Mary 
 
 Thomas Flint 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 Hardman& Wright 
 
 280 
 
 
 Diana 
 
 Robert Hume 
 
 Angola 
 
 J. & J. Parr & Co. 
 
 387 
 
 June 8 
 
 Annan 
 
 Andr. Davidson 
 
 Do. 
 
 "Neilson, Heath- 
 cote & Co. 
 
 250 
 
 
 Martha 
 
 Thomas Taylor 
 
 Do. 
 
 R. Fisher & Co. 
 
 384 
 
 
 Iris 
 
 John Spencer 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 420 
 
 
 Polly 
 
 J. Ainsworth 
 
 Do. 
 
 C. Fairclough 
 
 296 
 
 1 
 
 Erl.ofL'pool 
 
 Geo. Bernard 
 
 Bonny 
 
 T. Leyland & Co. 
 
 353 
 
 10 \ 
 
 Amacree 
 
 R. Kendall 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Harper & Co. 
 
 363 
 
 
 Lottery 
 
 John Whittle 
 
 Do. 
 
 Thos. Leyland 
 
 462 
 
 
 ^:'.>' 
 
 John Jones 
 
 Angola 
 
 John Shaw & Co. 
 
 615 
 
 25 
 
 Kingsmill 
 
 Thos. Mullion 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Mullion, Lenox 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 & Co. 
 
 650 
 
 July 4 
 
 Friendship ' 
 
 Miles Booth 
 
 Angola 
 
 C. Angus k Co. 
 
 120 
 
 
 Agreeable 
 
 James Seddon 
 
 Bonny 
 
 T. Hinde & Co. 
 
 300 
 
 
 Nancy 
 
 Thomas Kerkley 
 
 Angola 
 
 Do. 
 
 500 
 
 
 Arth'r Howe 
 
 1 
 
 Henry Booth 
 
 Do. 
 
 Geo. Case & Co. 
 
 314 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIII.— CONTiNirEi). 
 
 683 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ . 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Destinations. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 
 Sailed. 
 
 Bonwick 
 
 Benj. Cuite 
 
 ' Bonny 
 
 Flesher, Kelshaw 
 &Co. 
 
 330 
 
 
 Eagle 
 
 Michael Mills 
 
 Angola 
 
 Tarleton & Back- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 house 
 
 300 
 
 Julys 
 
 Aurora 
 
 James Bowie 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. Parr & Co. 
 
 287 
 
 
 James 
 
 \V. Engledeu 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 W. Dickson cS: Sons 
 
 327 
 
 20 
 
 Maria 
 
 Thos. Phillips 
 
 Angola 
 
 P. I'airweather & 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 120 
 
 24 
 
 Lightning 
 
 ^^'. (^uarrier 
 
 Do. 
 
 Tarleton & Rigg 
 
 390 
 
 
 J ane & Sarah 
 
 B. Armstrong 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 J. &E. L.Hodgson 
 
 287- 
 
 
 Annabelle 
 
 Thomas Cubben 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 350 
 
 
 Tarlet<in 
 
 R. Shimmins 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Tarleton & Rigg 
 
 394 
 
 30 
 
 Christopher 
 
 J. W atson 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 J. Bolton & Co. 
 
 390 
 
 
 Nelly Anne 
 
 John Young 
 
 Gabon 
 
 W. Lenox & Co. 
 
 400 
 
 
 Will 
 
 Hugh Crow 
 
 Angola 
 
 J. &J. Aspinall& 
 Co. 
 
 420 
 
 
 Ariel 
 
 John Guin 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jonathan Ratcliffe 
 
 153 
 
 Aug. 7 
 
 Windsor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Castle 
 
 Thomas Jones 
 
 Old Calebar 
 
 Geo. Case & Co. 
 
 450 
 
 10 
 
 Enterprize 
 
 John Bovin 
 
 Angola 
 
 Do. 
 
 355 
 
 15 
 
 Active 
 
 D; Playward 
 
 Old Calebar 
 
 Do. 
 
 434 
 
 
 Catherine 
 
 W. Kewley 
 
 Bonny 
 
 P'rancejPool &Co. 
 
 339 
 
 
 Bridget 
 
 Jos. Threllfall 
 
 Do. 
 
 Tarleton & Rigg 
 
 360 
 
 20 
 
 Fisher 
 
 Thos. I'ayne 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 J. Ward & Co'.^ 
 
 339 
 
 22 
 
 Catherine 
 
 John Morrison 
 
 Bonny 
 
 J. Tarleton, junr. 
 
 277 
 
 
 J'hn & S'rah 
 
 Thomas Brade 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 A. Joseph, Mozley 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 &Co. 
 
 305 
 
 Sep. 7 
 
 London 
 
 Thomas Briscoe 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Do. 
 
 398 
 
 8 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 William Crow 
 
 Do. 
 
 Bailey, Taylor & 
 Co. 
 
 344 
 
 
 Dart 
 
 William Neale 
 
 Angola 
 
 John Bolton 
 
 384 
 
 8 
 
 Kitty 
 
 James Backhope 
 
 Bonny 
 
 John Smith & Co. 
 
 444 
 
 
 Forbes 
 
 John Pince 
 
 Do. 
 
 Bailey, Taylor & 
 
 368 
 
 
 Sarah 
 
 Thomas Rives 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Dickson & Sons 
 
 520 
 
 
 Budd 
 
 Robert Tyror 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. Tarleton, junr. 
 
 281 
 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Rd. Durack 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 Robert Johnson 
 
 19s 
 
 
 Hannah 
 
 James Good 
 
 Angola 
 
 R. Abram & Co. 
 
 325 
 
 
 Grace 
 
 "D. Mc Elkeran 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 W. Begg & Co. 
 
 215 
 
 9 
 
 Mary 
 
 Andr. Erskine 
 
 Angola 
 
 B. Thomas & Co. 
 
 293 
 
 14 
 
 Bess 
 
 Cresar Lawson 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 Henderson, Sellar 
 &Co. 
 
 208 
 
 
 Eolus 
 
 John L. Nealc 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Slaniforth, Sons & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 355 
 
 20 
 
 Betsy & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Susan 
 
 John Curry 
 
 Whydah 
 
 P. W. Brancker & 
 Co. 
 
 296 
 
 
 Mona 
 
 P. Mawdsley 
 
 Angola 
 
 J. Penny & Co. 
 
 293 
 
 Oct. I 
 
 Fanny 
 
 James Irvin 
 
 Do. 
 
 John Shaw 
 
 380 
 
 4 
 
 Princess 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Augusta 
 
 Thomas Oliver 
 
 Do. 
 
 Jas. Penny & Co. 
 
 365 
 
 
684 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIII.— Continued. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 o i i 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Destiiic-ilions. 
 
 Owners. 
 
 6>. 
 
 Sailed. 
 
 King Pepple 
 
 James Phillips 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Neilson & Heath- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cote 
 
 476 
 
 Oct. 5 
 
 Ann 
 
 Thomas Lee 
 
 Do. 
 
 Timperon, Litt & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 35S 
 
 6 
 
 Friendship 
 
 Robt. Catterall 
 
 Angola 
 
 Bell, Gibb& Blake 
 
 337 
 
 21 
 
 George 
 
 Richard Kellsall 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 Jos. Ward & Co. 
 
 271 
 
 
 Alexander 
 
 Wm. Cockrall 
 
 Angola 
 
 "T. Sherington&Co. 
 
 517 
 
 23 
 
 Goodrich 
 
 H. Kennedy 
 
 Do. 
 
 I. & H. Clarke & 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 210 
 
 29 
 
 11 rriot 
 
 William Lace 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 313 
 
 
 Trelawney 
 
 James Lake 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. Parr & Co. 
 
 467 
 
 
 Neptune 
 
 James Williams 
 
 Old Calebar 
 
 Do. 
 
 350 
 
 
 Otter 
 
 Alex. Grierson 
 
 Angola 
 
 W^ IM olyneux 
 
 417 
 
 
 Beaver 
 
 William Murray 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 396 
 
 
 Blanch 
 
 Rd. Andovvs 
 
 Benin 
 
 J. Gibbons & Co. 
 
 230 
 
 
 Gascoyne 
 
 Jenkin Evans 
 
 Angola 
 
 Thomas Parr 
 
 444 
 
 
 Perseverance 
 
 John Lawson 
 
 Benin 
 
 J. Gibbons & Co. 
 
 526 
 
 
 Hannah 
 
 Andrew Arnold 
 
 Angola 
 
 Thomas Clare 
 
 523 
 
 
 Bolton 
 
 J. Boardman 
 
 Bonny 
 
 John Bolton 
 
 432 
 
 Nov 12 
 
 1 Elizabeth 
 
 E. Neale 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 461 
 
 
 Jack Park 
 
 John Little 
 
 Do. 
 
 J. &J. Aspinall& 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 416 
 
 13 
 
 Mary 
 
 James Herd 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Forbes & Co. 
 
 419 
 
 20 
 
 May 
 
 "p. Galium 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 364 
 
 
 Blanchard 
 
 Geo. Cormack 
 
 Do. 
 
 W. Thompson & 
 Co. 
 
 419 
 
 
 Sarah 
 
 R. Jones 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 T.&E. L.Hodgson 
 
 459 
 
 
 Princess 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 jVmelia 
 
 J. Levingston 
 
 Bonny 
 
 J. Deare & Co. 
 
 464 
 
 21 
 
 Bird 
 
 J. Flint 
 
 Do. 
 
 Bailey, Taylor & 
 Co. 
 
 36S 
 
 
 Tonyn 
 
 James Towers 
 
 Angola 
 
 Do. 
 
 326 
 
 
 Harlequin 
 
 J. Topping 
 
 Do. 
 
 T. & W. Earle 
 
 275 
 
 22 
 
 i\Iary Ann 
 
 R. Taylor 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 Neilson, Heath - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cote & Co. 
 
 329 
 
 23 
 
 Expedition 
 
 W. Murdoch 
 
 Do. 
 
 J.&H.Clarke&Co. 
 
 354 
 
 Dec. 6 
 
 Hector 
 
 W. Stringer 
 
 Bonny 
 
 Thomas Clare 
 
 591 
 
 9 
 
 Fanny 
 
 Thos. Croaker 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 Tarleton h Back- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 house 
 
 300 
 
 II 
 
 Favourite 
 
 N. Evans 
 
 Angola 
 
 Jas. Penny & Co. 
 
 275 
 
 13 
 
 Penny 
 
 H. Kesack 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 360 
 
 
 L'd. Duncan 
 
 John Hudson 
 
 Benin 
 
 S McDowall&Co. 
 
 242 
 
 
 Cecilia 
 
 John Roach 
 
 Angola 
 
 Thompson & Co. 
 
 2S5 
 
 19 
 
 Mary 
 
 John Askeu 
 
 New Calebar 
 
 Pole k. Gardner 
 
 200 
 
 21 
 
 Hind 
 
 Thomas Nuttal 
 
 Angola 
 
 Mullion, Lenox 
 &Co. 
 
 355 
 
 
 Adventure 
 
 Thomas Warren 
 
 Do. 
 
 Plardman, Wright 
 & Co. 
 
 307 
 
 
 Mercury 
 
 John Mills 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 Wm. Begg & Co. 
 
 376 
 
 24 
 
 Sarah 
 
 John Nerl 
 
 Angola 
 
 J. Ward & Co. 
 
 316 
 
 31 
 
 Ellis 
 
 James Soutar 
 
 Win'd Coast 
 
 T.& PI L.Hodgson 
 
 437 
 
 Jan. 2 
 
 L'pool Hero 
 
 Alex. Hackney 
 
 Gold Coast 
 
 F. Ingram & Co. 
 
 370 
 
 4 
 
 King George 
 
 Jas. Meckleghon 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 360 
 
 5 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 G85 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIII.— CoNTixuEi). 
 
 On summing up the above account, the total of ships and of their complement of 
 slaves, together with the number of ships destined for each place of trade in Africa, 
 and the number of slaves supplied at those places respectively, stands thus : — 
 
 Places of Trade. 
 
 Angola 
 Bonny 
 Gold Coast 
 Windward Coast 
 New Calebar 
 Old Calebar 
 
 Amount carried up 
 
 No. of 
 
 No. of 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 1 
 
 69 
 
 230O3 
 
 34 
 
 14,078 
 
 II 
 
 3,587 ! 
 
 10 
 
 3,27s 
 
 10 
 
 2,977 
 
 6 
 
 2,473 
 
 140 
 
 49,696 
 
 Places of Trade- 
 
 Amount brought up 
 
 Benin 
 
 Gabon 
 
 Cameroons 
 
 Whydah 
 
 Lagos 
 
 Total 
 
 No. of I 
 Ships. I 
 
 No. of 
 Slaves. 
 
 140 
 
 150 
 
 49,696 
 998 
 
 727 
 
 565 
 296 
 
 275 
 
 52,557 
 
 NOTE. — At that time the Guineamen were allowed by Act of Parliament to 
 carry five slaves for every three tons of their burthen ; and required by law to 
 take a proportion of ten people for each hundred of slaves, according to which the 
 above number of slaves makes the total tonnage of the 150 ships 31,533 tons, and 
 the total of their complement of seamen, 5,255. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XIV. 
 
 Summary of the aggregate number of Liverpool ships 
 employed in the Guinea trade, together with the number 
 and value of the slaves imported to the West Indies from 
 1783 to 1793 :— * 
 
 
 Gross No. 
 
 Ships carry- 
 
 
 Number of 
 
 
 Years. 
 
 of Ships. 
 
 atui Teetli. 
 
 Slave-Ships. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 Sterling Value. t 
 
 1783 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 85 
 
 39,170 
 
 1,958,500 
 
 1784 
 
 64 
 
 5 
 
 59 
 
 25,320 
 
 1,206,000 
 
 1785 
 
 77 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 29,490 
 
 1,474,500 
 
 1786 
 
 92 
 
 5 
 
 87 
 
 31,690 
 
 1,584,500 
 
 1787 
 
 80 
 
 8 
 
 72 
 
 25,520 
 
 1,276,000 
 
 I78S 
 
 74 
 
 3 
 
 71 
 
 23,200 
 
 1,160,000 
 
 1789 
 
 66 
 
 4 
 
 62 
 
 17,631 
 
 881,550 
 
 1790 
 
 90 
 
 I 
 
 89 
 
 27,362 
 
 1,368,100 
 
 1791 
 
 105 
 
 4 
 
 lOI 
 
 3', 'II 
 
 1,555,550 
 
 1792 
 
 136 
 
 3 
 
 133 
 
 38,920 
 
 1,946,000 
 
 1793 
 
 47 
 
 I 
 
 46 
 878 
 
 2.^ 
 
 14,323 
 
 716,150 
 
 
 921 
 
 43 
 
 303,737 
 
 15,186,850 
 
 * " A General and Descriptive History of Liverpool," p. 222. 
 
 t The author of the calculations in arriving at the value of a slave, takes the 
 average price in the West India market for eleven years — ^50 sterling a head. 
 
686 
 
 THE LIVERPOOL SLA VE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XV. 
 
 Extract from "A Log of the proceedings on board the 
 Brigg Mampookata, on a voyage to Ambrize, on the coast 
 of Angola," in the year 1787. 
 
 Year 1787. 
 Week Days. 
 
 Day. 
 Month. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 Remarks, &c., in Ambrize Road. 
 
 1 
 Saturday. 
 
 8th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Fresh breezes and clear sent the Long Boat 
 with Mr. Smith and Brown to Marsoola to 
 trade for slaves. Employed occasionally. 
 Received on board one woman and one boy 
 slave. 
 
 Sunday. 
 
 9th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Modrate breezes and clear weather. Em- 
 ployed starting Beens, &c. Received 3 woman 
 slaves and one child. No. on board 5. 
 
 Monday. 
 
 loth 
 
 \'ariable 
 
 Light airs & clear. Employed clearing the 
 fore Hould &c. Received on board 5 slaves, 
 viz. I man i woman i boy k 2 girls. No. 10. 
 
 Tuesday. 
 
 nth 
 
 ^'ariable 
 
 Light breezes and clear. Employed with 
 sundries &c. Received on board 6 slaves, viz. 
 I man, 2 woman with childer 2 boys & i girl. 
 Total 16. 
 
 We'n'sday. 
 
 1 2th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Ditto weather. Employed occasionally. Re- 
 ceived on board 5 slaves, viz. i boy & 4 girls. 
 Total 21. 
 
 1 
 Thursday. 
 
 13th 
 
 Westward 
 
 ^Modrate and clear. Employd stowing casks 
 in the Fore Hould. Returned from Marsoola 
 the Long Boat without any slaves. Received 
 from the Factory 3 slaves, viz. i man l^oy & 2 
 girls. Total on board 24. 
 
 .Friday. 
 
 14th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Light breezes & cloudy. Employed laying 
 the men's platform. Received one woman 
 slave. No. on board 25. 
 
 Saturday. 
 
 15th 
 
 \'ariable 
 
 Ditto weather. Sent the boat for Marsoola 
 with Mr. Smith and Brown. The carpenter 
 employed making the Woman's room bulkhead. 
 Received one woman slave. No. on board 26. 
 
 Thursday. 
 
 20th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Modrate breezes & cloudy. Arrived in the 
 Road ye Union, Capt. Lawson from Burdux. 
 Employed wooding & watering. Received 6 
 slaves, viz. man 2 men boys, 2 boys, and i girl. 
 Total 39. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XV.— Continued. 
 
 687 
 
 Year 1787. 
 Week Days. 
 
 Day. 
 Month. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 Reniaiks, &c., in Ambrize Road. 
 
 Friday. 
 
 2 1 Si 
 
 Variable 
 
 Ditto weather. Employed as before. The 
 carpenter building the Barricade on the main 
 deck. Received two men boys slaves. No. on 
 board 41. 
 
 Monday. 
 
 24th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Ditto weather. Received one man boy 
 slave and one tooth weighs Ii2lt). i two pieces 
 25lt). .Slaves on board 43- 
 
 Thursday. 
 
 Oct. 
 4th 
 
 Variable 
 
 Modrate and cloudy. -Sailed a French ship, 
 Captain Granier, for Cape Francois with 250 
 slaves. Received i man and man boy. Total 
 on board 49, all well. 
 
 Monday. 
 
 Nov. 
 26lh 
 
 Variable 
 
 Fresh breezes and cloudy with rain. Em- 
 ployed with sundries &c. Died one man boy 
 slave of the fever after a sickness of 6 days. 
 Slaves on board 153, all well. 
 
 H 
 10 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 K 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 F 
 
 Courses. 
 
 Wind. 
 
 Remarks, &c. 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 WSN 
 
 WBN IN 
 Nby W 
 
 SSW 
 
 SEES 
 
 SSE 
 
 January 1st, 1788. Modrate breezes & 
 cloudy. Employed occasionally. Buried 2 
 men slaves No. 3. Slaves on board 193. * 
 
 Lattd pr Obs" 5° 36" south. 
 
 Sunday Jany 6th 17S8. Buried a man slave 
 of the flux and fever &c. 
 
 Light airs inclinable to calms. Washed 
 the rooms and slaves, &c. Jany nth 1788. 
 
 Sunday February 3rd, 1788, anchored in 
 Carlisle Bay in 8 fathom water. Slaves on 
 board 192 all well. Received a quantity of 
 vegetables on board for the slaves, tVc. 
 
 Tuesday Feby 5th 1788. Got under way 
 and made sail. 
 
 Feby 13th. In Woodbridge Bay Domi- 
 nica several gentlemen came on board to 
 look at the slaves. 
 
 Feb 14th. Sold 188 slaves to Mr. Forbes 
 of St Christopher's. At 10 a.m. delivered 80 
 men & women on board a sloop. Remains 
 on board 1 12. 
 
 Saturday l6th. Delivered to Mr. Forbes 
 108 slaves, total, 188. Remains on board 
 4 viz. 2 men, i woman, & i boy. 
 
 She left the coast on December, 21st, 1787, with 195 slaves. 
 
688 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 APPENDIX No. X\'.— CoNTiNi-Ei). 
 Having- taken in a carg-o of sugar, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, 
 the ship sailed for England, and arrived in Liverpool on the 
 loth of April, 1788. The logbook is adorned with water-colour 
 drawings of the brig, and of the coast scener}^ together with a 
 pencil sketch of a gentleman in a cocked hat and pigtail, forming 
 an exceptional specimen of maritime caligraphy. It is now in 
 the possession of T. H. Dixon, Esq., The Clappers, Gresford. 
 
 APPENDIX No. XVI. 
 
 Character of the Seamen in the Slave Trade.* 
 
 "With respect to the mortality amongst the crews of 
 African ships, it must be taken into account that many of the 
 individuals composing them were the very dregs of the com- 
 munity. Some of them had escaped from jails : others were 
 undiscovered offenders, who soug^ht to withdraw themseh'es 
 from their country, lest they should fall into the hands of the 
 officers of justice. These wretched beings used to flock to Liver- 
 pool when the ships were fitting out, and, after acquiring a few 
 sea phrases from some crimp or other, they were shipped as 
 ordinary seamen, though they had never been at sea in their 
 lives. If, when at sea, they became savicy and insubordinate, 
 which was generally the case, the officers were compelled to 
 treat them with severity ; and having never been in a warm 
 climate before, if they took ill, they seldom recovered, though 
 every attention was paid to them. Amongst these wretched 
 beings I have known many g^entlemen's sons of desperate 
 character and abandoned habits, who had either fled for some 
 offence, or had so involved themselves in pecuniary embarrass- 
 ments, as to have become outcasts, unable to procure the 
 necessaries of life. For my own part I was always very lucky 
 in procuring good crews, and consequently the charge of great 
 mortality could not apply to my ships. The deaths in the 
 Kittys Amelia were attributable to the culpable neglect of 
 others, the consequences of which we could neither foresee nor 
 control." 
 
 * Memoirs of Hugh Crow. 
 
APPENDIX. 689 
 
 APPENDIX No. XVII. 
 
 Food of the Slaves.* 
 
 " It may not be uninteresting- to the reader to learn with 
 what kind of provisions the negroes were supplied. We 
 frequently bought from the natives considerable quantities of 
 dried shrimps to make broth ; and a very excellent dish they 
 made, when mixed with flour and palm oil, and seasoned with 
 pepper and salt. Both whites and blacks were fond of this 
 mess. In addition to yams we gave them, for a change, fine 
 shelled beans and rice cooked together, and this was served up 
 to each individual with a plentiful proportion of the soup. On 
 other days their soup was mixed with peeled yams, cut up thin 
 and boiled, with a proportion of pounded biscuit. For the 
 sick we provided strong soups and middle messes, prepared 
 from mutton, goats' flesh, fowls, &c., to which were added 
 sago and lilipees, the whole mixed with port wine and sugar. 
 I am thus particular in describing the ingredients which com- 
 posed the food of the blacks, to show that no attention to their 
 health was spared in this respect. Their personal comfort 
 was also carefully studied. On their coming on deck, about 8 
 o'clock in the morning, water was provided to wash their 
 hands and faces, a mixture of lime juice to cleanse their 
 mouths, towels to wipe with, and chew sticks to clean their 
 teeth. These are generally pieces of young branches of the 
 common lime, or of the citron of sweet lime tree, the skin 
 of which is smooth, green, and pleasantly aromatic. They 
 are used about the thickness of a quill, and the end being 
 chewed, the white, fine fibre of the wood soons forms a brush, 
 with which the teeth may be eff^ectually cleaned by rubbing them 
 up and down. These sticks impart an agreeable flavour to the 
 mouth, and are sold in the public markets of the West Indies, 
 in little bundles for a mere trifle. A dram of brandy bitters 
 was given to each of the men, and clean spoons being served 
 out, they breakfasted about nine o'clock. About eleven, if 
 the day were fine, they washed their bodies all over, and after 
 wiping themselves dry, were allowed to use palm oil, their 
 2X 
 
690 THE LIVERPOOL SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 favourite cosmetic. Pipes and tobacco were then supplied to 
 the men, and beads and other articles were distributed amongst 
 the women to amuse them, after which they were permitted to 
 dance, and run about on deck to keep them in good spirits. 
 A middle mess of bread and cocoa nuts, was given them about 
 mid-day. The third meal was served out about three o'clock, 
 and after everything" was cleaned out and arranged below, for 
 their accommodation, they were generally sent down about 
 four or five in the evening. Indeed I took great pains to 
 promote the health and comfort of all on board, by proper diet, 
 regularity, exercise, and cleanliness ; for I considered that on 
 keeping the ship clean and orderly, which was always my 
 hobby, the success of our voyage mainly depended. " 
 
 * From this gracious picture, drawn by Captain Crow, a model commander, 
 under the more humane regulations of the closing years of the trade, the reader 
 must not imagine that such paternal care was general. 
 
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 riaVATE SIGNAL CODE OF A SLAl'E SHIP. 
 From the orispttal MS. nt posmsion o/ A/r. C. A', late. 
 
» 
 
 INDEX TO NAMES OF PERSONS 
 
 MENTIONED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 A 
 
 Abberton, Lieut., 199 
 Accra, Prince, 494 1 
 Adams, Capt., 253, 257 
 Affleck, Capt. Lutwidge, 
 
 384 to 387 
 Afflecli, Capt. Wm., 433, 
 
 435> 436 
 Aickin, Wm., 376 
 Aikin, Dr., 184 
 Ainsworth, Capt. Jno., 373 
 Allanson, Capt., 207, 237, 
 
 253 
 Allen, Capt., W. H., 
 
 446—448 
 Alexander, Capt. C, 199 
 Amery, Capt., 218, 254 
 Anderson, Alex., 663 
 Ansdell, John, 155 
 Archer, Capt., 284 
 Argyll, Earl of, 357 
 Armitage, R., 155 
 Arthy, blliot, 608 
 Ash, Capt., 250, 251, 263, 
 
 291 
 Ashburn, Capt., 252 
 Ashburner, Capt., 210 
 Ashbmner, Mr., 318 
 Ashton, Capt., 227, 278 
 Ashton & Co., 225, 227, 
 
 668 
 Ashton, Jno., 155 
 Ashton, Nicholas, 225, 668 
 Aspinall, Wm., 634, 635, 
 
 637, M 
 
 Aspinall, Thos. , 645 
 Aspinall, James, 662 
 Atherton, Mr., 82, 94) 3" 
 
 B 
 
 Backhouse, Capt., 285 
 Backhouse, Daniel, 279, 
 
 668 
 Backhouse, John, 155 
 
 Backhouse, Thomas ^; 
 
 John, 82 
 Backhouse & Co., J., 203, 
 
 237, 669 
 Bailie, Capt., 481 
 Baines, Ed., 472 
 Baines, Capt. Dan., 126 
 Baker, Mr. (Mayor), 240 
 Baker & Dawson, 239, 
 
 240, 242, 663, 668, 669 
 Baldwin, Capt., 387, 401 
 Baldwin, Lieut., 199 
 Ball, Capt., 263 
 Banks, Capt., 493 
 Barber, Capt. Walter, 1 18, 
 
 119 
 Barley, Capt., 548 
 Barnard, Capt. Tristram, 
 
 331 , , 
 
 Barnes, John, 613, 614 
 Barr, Henry, 31 
 Barton, Capt. Jas., 196, 198 
 Barton, John, 568, 569 
 Barton, Thos., 305, 306, 
 
 3ii> 366 
 Barton, Higginson & Co., 
 
 602 
 Barry, Capt., 387, 423 
 Bassnett, Nathl., 82 
 Beard, Capt., 229 
 Beasley, Capt., 306 
 Beattie, Dr., 567 
 Beatty, James, 353 
 Beaver, Capt., 237, 252 
 Begg, Mr., 445 
 Bell, Capt., 255, 360 
 Benn, Capt., 113 
 Benson, Moses, 337 
 Bent, Capt. Theophilus, 
 
 368 
 Bentley, Capt., 199 
 Berry, Mr., 148, 149 
 Berry, Capt. lames, 533 
 Berry, Capt. John, 198 
 Bewsher, Capt,, 269 
 Beynon, Capt., 244, 245, 
 280 
 
 Bibby, Capt., 417 
 Biddle, Capt. Nich., 198 
 Bier, James, 190 
 Hillinge, Thomas, 143 
 Binns, Dr. J., 570, 575, 
 
 578 
 llirch, Capt., 156 
 Birch&Co.,236, 254, 668, 
 
 669 
 Birch, Thomas, 31 1, 562 
 Bird, Capt., 331, 362, 
 
 364 
 Bird, Henry, 145 
 Bird, Joseph, 82 
 Bishop, Capt, 543, 545 
 Black, Patrick, 543 to 547 
 Blackburne, Mr., 556 
 Blundell, Bryan, 136, 144, 
 
 264 
 Blundell, Lieut. -Col., 275, 
 
 327 
 Blundell, Henry, 327, 613 
 Blundell, Nicholas, 268 
 Blundell, Mr., 562 
 Blythe, Mr., 124 
 Boardman, Capt., 360 
 Boats & Gregson, 217, 
 
 257, 658 
 Boats & Seaman, 306 
 Boats (or Boates), William, 
 
 150, 484, 485, 628 
 Boates, H. E., 485 
 Bogle and Jopp, 600, 603 
 Bold, lonas, 562 
 Bold & Co., Jonas, 270 
 Bold, Obadiah, 115 
 Bolden &Co., 227, 668 
 Bolton, John, 388 
 Bompard, Citizen, 31 1 
 Bonsall, Capt., 231, 233, 
 
 286, 329 
 Bonaparte, 387, 388, 406 
 Borrowdale, Capt., 275, 
 
 276 
 Boscawen, Admiral, 131 
 Bostock, Robert, 234, 605, 
 
 606 
 
%i»^0 
 
 \\;wk: 
 
 f- 
 
 -J -> 1 \\^^i-JXX 
 
 -r^ V. 
 
 r-.-V^'-^s^^ 
 
INDEX TO NAMES OF PERSONS 
 
 MENTIONED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 A 
 
 Abberton, Lieut., 199 
 Accra, Prince, 494 ( 
 Adams, Capt., 253, 257 
 Affleck, Capt. Lutwidge, 
 
 384 to 387 
 Affleck, Capt. Wm. , 433, 
 
 435 > 436 
 Aickin, Wm., 376 
 Aikin, Dr., 184 
 Ainsvvorth, Capt. Jno., 373 
 Allanson, Capt., 207, 237, 
 
 253 
 Allen, Capt., W. H., 
 
 446—448 
 Alexander, Capt. C, 199 
 Amery, Capt., 21 8, 254 
 Anderson, Alex., 663 
 Ansdell, John, 155 
 Archer, Capt., 284 
 Argyll, Earl of, 357 
 Armitage, R., 155 
 Arthy, lilliot, 608 
 Ash, Capt., 250, 251, 263, 
 
 291 
 Ashburn, Capt., 252 
 Ashburner, Capt., 210 
 Ashburner, Mr., 318 
 Ashton, Capt., 227, 278 
 Ashton & Co., 225, 227, 
 
 668 
 Ashton, Jno., 155 
 Ashton, Nicholas, 225, 668 
 Aspinall, Wm., 634, 635, 
 
 637> 649 
 Aspinall, Thos. , 645 
 Aspinall, James, 662 
 Atherton, Mr., 82, 94, 311 
 
 B 
 
 Backhouse, Capt., 285 
 Backhouse, Daniel, 279, 
 
 668 
 Backhouse, John, 155 
 
 Backhouse, Thomas iS; 
 
 John, 82 
 Backhouse & Co., J., 203, 
 
 237, 669 
 Bailie, Capt., 481 
 Baines, Ed., 472 
 Baines, Capt. Dan., 126 
 Baker, Mr. (Mayor), 240 
 Baker <S; Dawson, 239, 
 
 240, 242, 663, 668, 669 
 Baldwin, Capt., 387, 401 
 Baldwin, Lieut., 199 
 Ball, Capt., 263 
 Banks, Capt., 493 
 Barber, Capt. Walter, 1 18, 
 
 119 
 Barley, Capt., 548 
 Barnard, Capt. Tristram, 
 
 Barnes, John, 613, 614 
 Barr, Henry, 31 
 Barton, Capt. Jas., 196, 198 
 Barton, John, 568, 569 
 Barton, Thos., 305, 306, 
 
 311, 366 
 Barton, Higglnson & Co., 
 
 6C2 
 
 Barry, Capt., 387, 423 
 Bassnett, Nathl., 82 
 Beard, Capt., 229 
 Beasley, Capt., 306 
 Beattie, Dr., 567 
 Beatty, James, 353 
 Beaver, Capt., 237, 252 
 Begg, Mr., 445 
 Bell, Capt., 255, 360 
 Benn, Capt., 113 
 Benson, Moses, 337 
 Bent, Capt. Theophilus, 
 
 368 
 Bentley, Capt., 199 
 Berry, Mr., 148, 149 
 Berry, Capt. lames, 533 
 Berry, Capt. John, 198 
 Bewsher, Capt,, 269 
 Beynon, Capt., 244, 245, 
 
 280 
 
 Bibby, Capt., 417 
 Biddle, Capt. Nich., 198 
 Bier, James, 190 
 Hillinge, Thomas, 143 
 Binns, Dr. J., 570, 575. 
 
 578 
 I'.irch, Capt., 156 
 Birch & Co. , 236, 254, 668, 
 
 669 
 Birch, Thomas, 311, 562 
 Bird, Capt., 331, 362, 
 
 364 
 Bird, Henry, 145 
 Bird, Joseph, 82 
 Bishop, Capt., 543, 545 
 Black, Patrick, 543 to 547 
 Blackburne, Mr., 556 
 Blundell, Bryan, 136, 144, 
 
 264 
 Blundell, Lieut. -Col., 275, 
 
 327 
 Blundell, Henr)-, 327, 613 
 Blundell, Nicholas, 268 
 Blundell, Mr., 562 
 Hlythe, Mr., 124 
 Boardman, Capt., 360 
 Boats & Gregson, 217, 
 
 257, 668 
 Boats & Seaman, 306 
 Boats (or Boates), William, 
 
 150, 484, 485, 628 
 Boates, H. E., 485 
 Bogle and Jopp, 600, 603 
 Bold, Jonas, 562 
 Bold & Co., Jonas, 270 
 Bold, Obadiah, 115 
 Bolden & Co., 227, 668 
 Bolton, John, 388 
 Bompard, Citizen, 31 1 
 Bonsall, Capt., 231, 233, 
 
 286, 329 
 Bonaparte, 387, 388, 406 
 Borrowdale, Capt., 275, 
 
 276 
 Boscawen, Admiral, 131 
 Bostock, Robert, 234, 605, 
 
 606 
 
692 
 
 INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 Bosworlh, Capt. , 332, 342, 
 
 418 
 Bourne, Peter, 559 
 Bower, Capt., 219, 314 
 Boyd, Capt., 358, 563 
 Boyd, & Co. W., 530 
 Bradley, Capt. , 309 
 Branclcer, Peter \\'., 389, 
 
 613, 614, 617 
 Brailsford, Capt., 329 
 Brelsford, Capt., 368 
 Brereton, Humphrey, 33 
 Brettargh & Co., 369 
 Brideson, Paul, 485 
 Bridge, John, 155 
 Briggs, Capt., 263, 293 
 Brighouse, Capt., 254, 553 
 Brison, Capt 190, 192 
 Brooke, Humfraye, 34 
 Brooke, Richard, 531, 580, 
 
 592 
 Brooks, Joseph & Jonathan, 
 
 151. 152 
 Brooks, John, 82 
 Brooks, jr., Joseph, 562, 
 
 664 
 Brooks & Co., 248, 668 
 Brotherston and Begg, 445 
 Broughton & Smith, 531 
 Brown, Capt., 103, 244, 
 
 292, 339 
 Brown, Capt. James, 354 
 Brown, Mr. 562 
 Brown, James, 155 
 Brown & Jones, 669 
 Brown, William, 604 
 Buckland, Frank, 140 
 Buckley, Mr., 264 
 Buddecombe, Capt. Wm., 
 
 200 
 Buddicome, Capt., 255 
 Bullin, R., 600, 604, 605 
 Bulkeley, 81 
 Burgess, Capt., 299 
 Burnaby, Sir Wm., 56 
 Burns, Sir Geo., 359 
 Burrows, Capt., 170, 294 
 Bushell, Capt., 333 
 Butler, Capt., 266, 282 
 Byng, Admiral, 55, 62 
 Byrne, Capt., 201, 250, 
 
 282, 315, 332 
 Byron, Lord, 35 
 
 c 
 
 Caine, Hall, 626 
 Caitcheon, Capt., 305 
 Calcraft, General, 224, 264 
 
 Calder, Sir Robt., 400 
 Campo Florida, Prince of, 
 
 46 
 Campbell, Capt , 288, 359 
 Campbell, George, 88, 90, 
 
 92 to 94, 155 
 Campbell & Sons, Geo., 
 
 155 
 Cannell, Capt., 316 
 Caruthers «& Co. , 229, 669 
 Caruthers, Jas., 19, 562, 
 
 663 
 Carruthers, Capt., 126 
 Carver, J., 664 
 Carus, Capt. Chr., 491 
 Case, Geo., 562 
 Case & Co., J. D., 419 
 Case, Thomas, 562 
 Cash, Capt., 312 
 Cassedy, Capt. R., 210 
 Catlett, Mary, 496 to 498, 
 
 502, 503, 505, 506 
 Catterall, Capt., 348 
 Cazneau & Marlin, 663 
 Chaffers, Capt., 19, 547, 
 
 550, 576 
 Chalmers, Capt. Thos., 
 
 493 
 Chambers, Capt., Jas. , 135 
 Chamley & Co., Edmund, 
 
 363 
 Champion, Capt., 157 
 Champlin, Capt., 445 
 Chapman, Capt., 272 
 Charlemont, Earl of, 68, 69 
 Cheshire, Robt., 155 
 Chorley & Co., 668 
 Christian, Capt., 331, 631, 
 
 634 
 Clare, Mr. 449 
 Clare, Capt., 359 
 Clarke, Capt. Joseph, 148, 
 
 149 
 Clarke, John, 620 
 Clarke, Thos., 351, 592 
 Clarkson, Hy., 662 
 Clarkson, Rev. Thos. 
 
 (see general index) 
 Clatworthy, Capt., David, 
 
 104, 106, 210 
 Clay & Co., Robt., 104 
 Clayton family, 163 
 Clunie, Capt., 514, 515 
 Clegg, James, 155 
 Clement, Mr. 252, 669 
 Clemens, Jas., 155 
 Clough, Capt., 287. 293 
 Clowes i*' Co., Jno. 663 
 Coggleshall, Capt., 431, 
 
 433> 442 
 
 Cole & Co., J., 530 
 Coleman, Jno., 663 
 Colley, Capt., 245, 252 
 Collier, Sir George, 202, 
 
 452, 453 
 Collingwood, Capt., 568 
 Collins, Capt., 290 
 Collinson, Capt., 211, 212, 
 
 246 
 Collison, Capt., 195, 
 
 293 
 Colquitt, Scroop, 155 
 Comyn, Capt., 49 
 Coppell, Capt. J., 104 
 Corf, Wm., 663 
 Cork, Earl of, 171 
 Corran, Capt., 331 
 Corrie, Edgar, 19, 663 
 Cornwallis, Jas., 353 
 Cotter, Mr. "j., 27, 28, }p, 
 
 661 
 Coulthard, Capt., 272 to 
 
 275 
 Coupland, Mr., 576, 577 
 Co well, Capt., 236 
 Cowell, Mr. Peter, 241 
 Cowper, Wm., 498, 518, 
 
 525, 554, 594 
 Cook, Capt., 199, 270 
 Cooke, Capt., Dank, 492 
 Cooke, G. F. , 594 
 Cooper, Capt., 252, 253, 
 
 295> 547, 548 
 Crabbe, Mr., 353 
 Creighton, Capt., 105 
 Creasey, James, 305 
 Creevey, Capt. Wm , 482, 
 
 483, 489, 490, 494 
 Creevey, M.P., T., 489 
 Cribb, Richd., 264 
 Croasdale, Capt., 371 
 Cropper, Edward, 82, 493 
 Crosbie, James, 82 
 Crosbie, Mr., 93 
 Crosbie, John, 155 
 Crosbie, J. & W., 550 
 Crosbie, Wm., 562 
 Crosbie & Greenwood, 246 
 
 248, 668, 669 
 Crosbies & Trafiford, 488 
 Crosby, Wm. 155 
 Crosdale, Barrow & Co., 
 
 26r 
 Crowder, Thos., 554 
 Crowley, Capt., 448 
 Crow, Capt. (see general 
 
 index) 
 Cudd, Capt., 341 
 Cummins, Capt., 368 
 Cunard. Sir Samuel, 359 
 
INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 693 
 
 Cunliffe & Sons, Foster, 
 
 82, 676 
 Cunliffe, Robert, 155 
 Cunliffe, Stanton & Craven, 
 
 88 
 Cunningham, Capt., 379 
 Currie, Capt., 230, 231 
 Curric, Dr. Jas., 133, 568, 
 
 571 to 575 
 Currie, W. W., 572 
 Curwen, Samuel, 2S1 
 Curwin, Capt., 256 
 Cusack, Capt., 372, 373 
 Cuthbert & Beans, 4S7. 
 Cuthbert, Capt. Wm., 95 
 Cutler, Capt., 369, 370 
 
 I 
 
 D 
 
 Dalzell, Archd., 611 
 Danks, Capt., 35 
 Dannett, Rev. Hy. , 574 
 Darling, Capt., 215 
 Dartmouth, Lord, 527 
 Dashwood, Major, 172 
 Daulby, Daniel, 570 
 Davenport, Mr., 547 
 Davenport & Co,, 253, 
 
 254, 669 
 Davies, Capt., 206, 252, 
 
 328 
 Davies, Dale & Co., 386 
 Dawson, Capt., 199, 228, 
 
 239, 241, 242, 254, 
 
 285, 560 
 Dawson, Mr., 616, 628 
 Day, Capt. W., 90, 91, 
 
 92, 209 
 Dean, Capt., 20I, 401 
 Deane, Edward, 119 
 Decatur, Commodore, 447, 
 
 452, 453 
 De la Motte, Capt., 105 
 Denison, Wm., 19 
 Denison & Co. Jos., 24, 25 
 Denny, Capt., 219, 272 
 Derby, Earl of, 32 to 34 
 Derrick, S., 17 1 
 Despart, Lieut., 264 
 D'Estaign, Count, 219 
 De Wolf, Jas., 448 
 Dick, Consul, 56, 57 
 Dickson, Capt,, 363 
 Digby, Admiral, 267 
 Dillon & Leyland, 19, 663 
 Dillwyn, Wm., 568 
 Dobson, Jno., 562. 
 Dooling,'Capt., 284, 285 
 Doran, Felix, 605 
 
 Douglas, Mr., 118, 353 
 Dowling, Pat., 291 
 Doyle, Capt., 257, 2S7, 
 
 .547 
 Drinkwater, Geo., 155 
 Drinkwater & Co., 231, 
 
 668 
 Drinkwater family, 559 
 Duck, Capt. Isaac, 376, 
 
 377 
 Dunbar, Thos., 264 
 Dunlop, Capt., 355 
 Dunn, Capt., 399 
 Durand, Felix, 427 
 Darning, Robt., 132 
 
 E 
 
 Eagles, Thos., 19 
 Earle, Thos., 19, 192,609 
 Earle, Wm., 19, 155, 389 
 Earle & Sons, Wm., 279, 
 
 662 
 Earle & Co. , 2S7, 668 
 Earle & Molyneux, 663 
 Earle, T. & W., 131, 342, 
 
 365- 547 
 Earle, Ralph, 15^ 
 Eaton, Jno., 663 
 Edie, David, 82 
 Edmondson, Capt.. 39 
 Egerton, Capt., 308 
 Ellenborough, Lord, 415, 
 
 416 
 Elliott, Capt., 173 
 Entwistle, Jno., 82 
 Erskine, Capt., 368, 549 
 Erskine, of Alva, Sir John, 
 
 478 
 Evans, Capt., 219, 290 
 Evelyn, Jno., 43, 44 
 Every, Capt. S., 365, 366, 
 
 , 387 
 
 thwarts, The, 241 
 Ewart & Litt, 93 
 Ewart & Rutson, 306 
 
 Fairweather, Capt., 227, 
 
 547, 54S, 566 
 Falconbridge, Mr., 577, 
 
 578, 579 
 Farmer, Capt. Jas., 337 
 Farquhar, Capt., 314, 335, 
 
 3.36 
 Harrington, Capt., 313 
 
 Fayrer, Capt., 229, 2S6, 
 
 315 
 Fell, Capt., 247, 287 
 Field, Capt., 190 
 Finlayson, Capt. Jas., 384 
 Fisher, Capt., 247, 282 
 Fisher, Capt. Ralph, 230, 
 
 231 
 Fitzroy, Lady Anne, 330, 
 
 629 
 Forbes, Capt. Edward, 
 
 210, 211 
 Ford, Capt., 197, 332 
 Ford, Lieut., TyTfT, 
 Forrest, Capt., 313 
 Forsyth, Capt. John, 279 
 Fortescue, Capt., 170 
 Foster, Capt. Geo., 123 
 Fowden & Berry, 246,257, 
 
 667, 669 
 
 Fowler, Capt., 40, 63, 89 
 Fox, Capt., 337 
 Fox, Mr. 612, 616, 619, 
 Foxcroft & Co., Thos., 
 
 605-607 
 P'lanagan, Capt., 30S, 344, 
 
 345 
 Fletcher, Capt., 246, 329, 
 
 33S 
 Fleetwood, Robt., 17 
 Fleetwood, Wm., 155 
 Fleming Capt., 310 
 Floyd, Capt., 536, 542 
 France & Co., 247, 254, 
 
 668, 669 
 
 France, Fletcher & Co., 
 
 393 
 France, James, 668 
 France >.\: Nephew, 264 
 Frankland, .'^ir Thos., 143 
 Franklin, Dr., 193, 456, 
 
 457 
 Franklin, Capt., 449 
 Eraser, Mr., 393 
 Frears, Capt., 407, 409 
 Freeland Peter, 19, 668 
 Frierson, Capt., 156 
 Frith, Capt., 195, 196 
 Fryer, Capt. E., 88, 89 
 
 Galley, Jno., 2S0 
 Gardner, Capt., 218, 244 
 Garnett, Capt. Wm., 270 
 
 271 
 Gascoyn, Mr., 29 
 Gascoyne, Bamber, 612 
 
694 
 
 INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 Gascoyne, General. 613, 
 
 618 
 Gawith, Capt., 122 
 Genet, Citizen, 312 
 Gibbons, Capt., 219 
 Gilison. Capt., 330, 420 
 Gii)son, Capt. Peter, 102 
 Gibson, Capt. Wm., 62S 
 
 629 
 Gill-;ody, Capt., 267, 293, 
 
 . 3'6 
 Gildart, Francis, 562 
 Gildart, Jas., 155. 
 Gill, Capt., 480, 481 
 Gill, Capt. Wm., 27S, 279 
 Gill, Dr., no 
 Given, Mr., 271, 272 
 Gladhill, J., 664 
 Gladstone, Sir John, 339, 
 
 364, 385, 386, 449 
 Glad.>,tone, Rt. Hon. W. E. 
 
 364, 570, 656 
 Gladstone, Capt., 360 
 Glover, J., 664 
 Godsall, Geo., 151 
 Goldsworthy, Consul, 46 
 
 -48 
 Golightly, Richd., 82 
 Goodall, Capt., 398 
 Goodwin, \Vm. (Mayor), 
 
 161 
 Goore, Chas., 82, 155, 
 
 488 
 Goore & l^ulkeley, 81 
 Gordon, Capt., 168 
 Gordon, Jas., 82 
 Gordon, Lieut. -Col. , 223 
 Gorrell, Jno., 155, 674 
 Gore, Jno., 17, 18 
 Granby, Marchioness of, 
 
 225, 226 
 Granby, Marquis of, 225, 
 
 265, 668 
 Grandy King George, 542 
 
 to 547 
 Graham, Capt., 201, 263, 
 
 361 
 Grahme, Capt. \\., 379, 
 
 380 
 Graves, Admiral, 276, 277 
 Graves, Chr., 264 
 Grayson, Edward, 354, 
 
 663 
 Grayson & Ross, 663 
 Greaves, Capt., 300 
 Greaves, Wm., 264 
 Green, Capt., 472 
 Green, Robt., 488 
 Green, Saml., 613, 614 
 Greenwood, Mr., 562 
 
 Gregson, Wm., 155, 554, 
 
 562 
 Gregson & Co., 234, 567, 
 
 668 
 Gregson, Bridge & Parke, 
 
 93, 127, 669 
 Grierson, Capt., 334, 335, 
 
 368 
 Grimshaw, Capt., 120, 
 
 121, 251 
 Grimshaw, Mr., 562 
 Grubb, Capt., 148, 149 
 Gudgeon & Co., Thos., 
 
 342 
 Guinall, Capt., Thos., 198 
 Gullin, Capt., 308, 353 
 Gurley, Capt., 269 
 Gwyn, Capt. Augustine, 
 
 103 
 Gwyn & Case, 487 
 Gyles, Capt. John, 96 to 
 
 100 
 
 H 
 
 Hackney, Capt., 367 
 Hadwen, Isaac, 575 
 Haffey, Capt., 124 
 Halifax, Marquis of, 624 
 Hall, Capt., 317, 318, 331, 
 
 355 
 Hall& Co., 251, 668 
 Halley, Dr., 137 
 Halliday & Dunbar, 122, 
 
 155 
 Hallock, Capt. J., 199 
 Halsall family, 92 
 Hamilton, Capt.. 317 
 Hammer, Jno., 155 
 Hammond, Capt., 257 
 Handyside, Capt,. 340 
 Hanna, Capt , 328 
 Harden, Capt., 105, 106 
 Harding, Capt., 255 
 Hardman, John, 82 
 Hardware, Henry, 127 
 
 134, 155 
 Hardwar & Co. , Hy. , 95 
 Harley, Miss M., 375, 376 
 Harman, Capt. Abraham, 
 
 105 
 Harper, W., 628 
 Harris, Capt., 199 
 Harris, Rev. Raymond, 
 
 572—575' 620 
 Harrison, Capt., 252, 254, 
 
 360, 488 
 Harrison, Geo., 568 
 Harrison, Henry, 492 
 
 Hart, Capt., 336 
 Hartley, M. P., David, 567 
 Hartley, Mr., 231 
 Hartley & Co., 230, 237, 
 
 252, 668, 669 
 Hasseldine, Capt., 267 
 Haslam, Capt, Jas., 18, 21, 
 
 24, 26, 30, 31, 178, 
 
 249, 661, 663 
 Hawke, Sir Edward, 41, 
 
 55. 56, 87, 131 
 Hawkesbury, Lord, 573, 
 
 611 
 Hawkins, Capt., 84, 398 
 Hawkins, Sir John, 465, 
 
 466 
 Hay ward, Capt., 359 
 Headlam, Geo., 264 
 Heavysides, Capt., 312 
 Heinsen, Capt., 396 
 Hemans, Mrs., 252, 668 
 Henderson & Sellar, 362 
 Hesketh, Robt., 155 
 Hewan, Capt., 294 
 Hewin, Capt., 236 
 Hewitt, Capt., 313 
 Hewston, Capt., 91 
 PI ey wood, Benson, & Co., 
 
 82 
 Pleywood & Co., 254, 565 
 Hey wood, A. & B., 155, 
 
 562 
 Hibberts, Messrs., 487 
 Hicks, Capt. John, 199 
 Higgin, Capt., 343 
 Higgjns, Capt., 403 
 Ilii'ginson, Capt., 562 
 Hill, Capt. Hugh, 248 
 Hill, Capt. Wm., 442-444 
 Hindley, Leigh, & Co., 
 
 235, 244, 668, 669 
 Hinman, Capt. Elisha, 
 
 190, 191, 192, 199 
 Plird, Capt., 362 
 Hoare, Samuel, 568 
 Hobson & Co., 413 
 Hodge, Capt. Jno., 199 
 Hodgett, Bartley, 476 
 Hodgson, Mr., 375, 562 
 Hodson, " Count," 635 
 Holland, Capt., 216, 228, 
 
 229, 267 
 Holland, Capt., Benj. 169 
 Holland, Capt. Nehemiah, 
 
 79, So, 205, 240 
 Holland, Samuel, 240 
 Holland, Viscount, 240 
 Holland, Walter, 240 
 Hollinshead, Lieut-Col., 
 
 389 
 
INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 695 
 
 Holden, Richd., 137, 141, 
 
 142 
 Holme, Peter, 160 
 Holme, Capt., 170 
 Holme & Co., 669 
 Holme, Bowyer, & Ken- 
 
 nion, 229, 669 
 Holt, Chief Justice, 553 
 Holt, Geo., 132 
 Holt \' Co., F., 663 
 Holt family, 132 
 Holt, James, 132 
 Hollywood, Capt., 317 
 Hood, Commodore, 395 
 Hooper, Joseph, 568 
 Hooton, Capt., 198 
 Hope, Capt., 480 
 Hope, Samuel, 132 
 Hopkins, Admiral, Ezek., 
 
 191, 192 
 Horn & Sill, 24 
 Houghton, Capt. Seth, 
 
 155, 156, 219 
 Howard, Capt. G., 436, 
 
 438 
 Howard, John, 164 
 Howe, Lord, 327 
 Hoysted, Capt. Hacker, 
 
 199 
 Hue, Capt., 377 
 Hughes, Rev. Mr., 574 
 Hughes, John, 155 
 Hughes (fc Co., 669 
 Hughes & Tobins, 436, 
 
 442 
 Hulton & Co., Jno., 98 
 Hulton & Foxcroft, 662 
 Humphrey, Capt., 253 
 Hunter, Capt. Jas. , 361 
 Hurst, \Vm., 82 
 Huskisson, Wm., 356 
 Huston, Capt., 306 
 Hutchinson, Capt., 272, 
 
 319, 312 
 Hutchinson, Capt. Wm., 
 
 (see general index) 
 Hyatt, Capt., 255 
 Hymers, Capt. W., 418 
 
 I 
 
 Ingram h Co., Francis, 21, 
 
 25, 30, 3i> 249, 668 
 Ingram, Francis, 19, 23, 
 
 26, 30, 1 78, 562 
 Ingram, Capt. Wm., 172 
 Irlam, Capt. Jno., 440 
 
 Jackson, Capt., 235, 266, 
 
 482, 483, 543, 545 
 Jackson, Joseph, 82 
 James & Co., Gabriel, 397, 
 
 557 
 James, Capt., 31 1, 359, 
 
 412 
 JameSj Capt. Josiah, 199 
 James, Wm., 557, 558 
 Jefferson, 193, 458, 459 
 Jenkins, Capt., 479 
 Jenkinson, Capt. , 480, 494 
 Johnson, Capt., 40, 102, 
 
 172, 565, 566 
 Johnson, Jas., 663 
 Johnston, Capt., 359 
 Jolly, Capt., 216, 217, 257, 
 
 547 
 Jones, Capt., 202, 239, 
 313, 328, 332, 337, 
 
 347, 493 
 Jones, Henry, 35 
 Jones, Commodore J. Paul, 
 
 199, 223, 248, 262, 263 
 Jones, Capt. Reeves, 116 
 Jones, Thos., 541 
 Jordan, Capt., 295 
 Joynson, Capt. Moses, 392 
 
 K 
 
 Kaye, Jno., 663, 664 
 Keene, Capt., 413 
 Kelsall, Capt., 313 
 Kelsick, Capt., 364 
 Kelly, Capt., 152, 295, 
 
 313 
 Kelly, Thos., 488 
 Kendall, Capt., 233, 234, 
 
 331, 448, 668 
 Kennan, Capt., 438, 439, 
 
 440 
 Kennion & Co., 250, 669 
 Kennion, Jno., 667 
 Kent, Mrs. Eliz., 240 
 Kent, Richd., 669 
 Kenyon, David, 171, 476 
 Kenyon, James, 318 
 Keppel, Admiral, 239 
 Kershaw, Nathan, 84 
 Kevish, Capt., 157 
 Kewley, Mr., 393 
 King Holiday, 650 
 King Pepple, 638, 657 
 
 Labbar, Capt., 549 
 
 Lace, Capt. Ambrose, 
 
 486, 542 to 550, 615 
 Lace, Joshua, 549, 615 
 Lace, Capt. William, 362, 
 
 614 615 
 Lady Bessie, 33 
 Lake & Brown, 401 
 Lamb, Chas. , 572 
 Langshaw, Ed., 151 
 Latham, Capt., 299 
 Lathom, Isabel of, 33 
 Laughton, Capt. Jno., 445, 
 
 446 
 Laughton, Prof, 42, 43, 
 
 45, 48, 56, 275, 276 
 Lawrence, Chas., 241 
 Lawrence, G. H., 241 
 Lawrence, W. F. , 241 
 Lawson, Capt., 482 to 
 
 484, 603 
 Leavy, Capt., 393, 395 
 Lee, Capt., 218, 257, 616 
 Leece, Wm., 559 
 Leece, Miss, 559 
 Leigh, Capt., 199, 278, 
 
 359 
 Leigh, Geo., 264 
 Leigh, James, 662, 664 
 Leigh, Thomas, 264 
 Leighs of Oughtrington. 
 
 148 
 Lethwayte, Capt. W., 156 
 Lewis, Capt., 395, 412, 
 
 420 
 Lewtas, Capt., 224, 254, 
 
 398 
 Leyland, Thos., 592, 599 
 
 to 608, 617, 620 
 Leyland & Co.. Thos., 
 
 600, 603 to 605, 607 
 Leyland, Clarke & Roscoe, 
 
 620 
 Lievsey, Capt., 491 
 Ligoe, .\]., 663 
 Linnecar, Capt., 492 
 I.iversley & Co., 668 
 Lloyd, Capt., 297 
 Lloyd, John, 568 
 Lok, John, 465 
 Lovell, Morson & Co., 550 
 Lowndes, Capt., 123, 494 
 Lowndes, Edward, 31, 82 
 Lowndes, Chas., 82, 488 
 Loy, Capt., 123 
 Lutwidge, Chas., 269 
 Lyon, Capt., 219 
 Lyons, Mr. & Mrs., 165 
 
G9G 
 
 INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 M 
 
 M 'Arthur, Capt., 266 
 M 'Bride, Capt., 2S4 
 Maccaffee, Capt., 64 
 McCallum, Capt., 355, 
 
 366 
 McCallum, Governor, 624, 
 
 625 
 Macartney, Capt. E., 278 
 M'Cullough, John, 124 
 M 'Daniel, Capt. A., 192 
 Macdonald, Capt., 591 
 Macdonalds of the Isles, 
 
 174 
 M'Dougall, Lieut., 404, 
 
 405 
 Mcdowall, Saml, 355, 
 
 671 
 Macdowall, Mrs., 375, 376 
 M'Gauley, Capt., 334, 
 
 362 
 M'Gee, Capt. Jas., 254 
 M'Ghie, Capt., 331 
 McGill, Capt. Ed., 171 
 Macgregor, Mr., 94 
 M'llroy, Capt., 319 
 Maciver, Capt. John, 318, 
 
 355, 356, 671, 672 
 Maciver, Capt. David, 358 
 Maciver, Iver, 355, 671 
 Maciver, Peter, 355, 671 
 Maciver, D. & C, 356, 
 
 359 
 Maciver family and clan, 
 
 355 to 359 
 Maciver, Rev. William, 
 
 358 
 M'lver, M'Viccar, & 
 
 M'Corquodale, 403 
 Mackaffee, Commodore, 
 
 96, 97, 110, III, 113 
 Mackay, Capt. Jno., 12S 
 McKee, Capt., 120, 122 
 M'Kennon, Mr., 375 
 Mackenzie, Capt., 365 
 M'Kown, Capt., 297 
 M'Neal, Capt. Hector, 19S 
 M'Quay, Capt., 336 
 M'Quie, Capt. Peter, 350 
 
 to 354, 592, 593 
 M'Quie, P. R., 592 
 MacC^uoid, Capt. Hugh, 
 
 122 
 MacRitchie, Rev. Wm. , 
 
 622, 623 
 Madison, President, 430, 
 
 431 
 Maddock, Capt., 205, 206, 
 216 
 
 Maginnis, Capt., 396 
 Maine, Jno,, 155 
 Maine, Capt., 261 
 Maisterton, Woolley, 151 
 Manesty, Joseph, 82, 149, 
 
 150,495,496,502,505, 
 
 506, 516, 518 
 Manly, Capt , 198 
 Mann, Horace, 43, 53, 60 
 
 to 62, 67, 136 
 Mansfield, Earl, 553, 554, 
 
 563 
 Marshall, Capt., 1 16 
 Martin, Capt., 366 
 Marryat, Capt., 276 
 Masheter, Capt., 409 
 Mason & Co. , 668 
 Mason, Stanhope, no 
 Matthews, Mr., 88, 61 1, 
 
 663 
 May, Capt., 340 
 Mears, Thos., 82, 155 
 Mellamby, Capt., 317 
 Mends, Sir R., 656 
 Metcalf, Capt., 80, 83 
 Meyer, Wilckens & Co., 
 
 068 
 Miles, Richd., 613 
 Miller, Capt., 57, 58, 362 
 Mills, Capt. J., 346 
 Mitton & Co., 246, 669 
 Mollineux, Capt., 309 
 Mollineux, A., 663 
 Molyneux, Capt., 294, 
 
 3i3> 366 
 Molyneux, Thomas, 600, 
 
 604, 605 
 Molyneux, Lord, 34 
 Montague, Admiral, 217 
 Montgomery, Jas., 658 
 More, Hannah, 520, 527 
 Moore, Capt., 216, 222, 
 
 263, 2S5, 313 
 Moore, Col. John, 35 
 Morgan, Capt., 245, 31 1 
 Morgan, Capt., LH., 364 
 Morris, Hugh, 377 
 Mortimer, M. le. Viscount, 
 
 277 
 Morton, Capt. D., 531 
 Moss & Co., Thos., 668 
 "Mother Redcap," 323, 
 
 324 
 Mottley, Midshipman, 404 
 Mount, Capt., 332 
 Muddle, Capt., 444 
 Mullion, Capt., 360 
 Munro, Capt., 190 
 ATurphy, Capt., 444 
 Murray, Capt., 368 
 
 N 
 
 Naylor, Capt., 200 
 Naylor, Thos., 617 
 Neale, Wm., 662 
 Needham, Capt., 341 
 Neild, Mr., 164 
 Neilson & Heathcote, 342, 
 
 392 
 Nelson, Capt , 257 
 Nelson, Lord, 31 1, 400, 
 
 401, 411 
 Nelson & Co., 667, 669 
 Newby & Co., 255, 667 
 Newby, Capt., 449 
 Newman, Capt. Wingaze, 
 
 233 
 
 Newton, John (see general 
 
 index) 
 Nicholas, Richd., 82 
 Nicholson, Capt., 273, 
 
 274, 316 
 Nicholson, Capt. Jas., 19S 
 Nicholson, Capt. Thos. , 
 
 . 389, 390 
 Nicholson & Co., Jno., 82 
 Niven, Capt., 248 
 Noble, Capt., 560, 561, 
 
 585 
 Nobler, Capt., 481, 482 
 Norris, Robt., 575, 576, 
 
 611, 612, 613 
 North, Mr. Ford, 389 
 Nottingham, Alex., 562 
 Nottingham & Co., 251, 
 
 669 
 
 o 
 
 O'Brien, Capt., 336 
 Ogden, Samuel, 82 
 Ogden, Capt., 294 
 Okill, John, 82 
 Okill k Co. , John, 83, 472 
 Olney, Capt. Joshua, 199 
 Onslow, Capt. Thos., 124, 
 
 494 
 Ormonde, Marquis of, 34, 
 
 35 
 Osborne, Admiral, 68 
 
 Pagan, Capt., 287 
 Page, Mr., 664 
 Paley, Dr., 567 
 Pardoe, Jas., 82 
 Parke, Mrs. Dorothy, 113 
 
INDEX TO NAMES 
 
 697 
 
 Parke, Capt , 113, 159 
 Parke, John, 82, 114 
 Parke, James, 204 
 Parke, Harry, 165 
 Parke, Thos., no, 114 
 Parker, Admiral, 217 
 Parker, G., 169 
 Parker, Capt., 329 
 Parker, Jas. , 475 
 Parkinson, Capt., 491 
 Parr, Edward, 82, 155 
 Parr, John, 155, 662 
 Parr, Thomas, 362 
 Parrey, Capt., 585 
 Parry, T- &• H., 3S9 
 Part, Capt. W., 153 
 Patrick, Capt., 479 
 Patrick, Wm., 554 
 Pearce, Capt., 248 
 Peddar k Co., 24, 25 
 Peel, Sir R., 241 
 Pemberton, Capt. Geo. , 
 
 -t -,•7 
 
 Pennant, Capt., 318 
 Pennant, Madam, 664 
 Penny, James, 611 to 613 
 Penrhyn, Lord, 612 
 Perry, Capt., 238, 250, 
 
 285, 286 
 Perrin, Capt., 307 
 Peltigrew, Capt., 397, 398 
 Phillips. Capt., 368, 391 
 
 to 393, 416 
 Phillips, James, 568, 575 
 Phillips, Richard, 568 
 Phipps, Capt., 29 
 Piclon, Sir Jas., 175, 176, 
 
 184, 566, 581, 619, 620 
 Pierce, Capt., 119, 300, 
 
 301 
 Pigot, Lieut., 264 
 Pince, Capt., 309. 338, 
 
 367, 422 
 Pinder, Capt., 307 
 Pitt, \!r , 37, 60, 87, 303, 
 
 304, 612, 619 
 Plimsoll, Mr., 138 
 Pole, Major, 264 
 Pole, Wm. (Mayor), 238 
 Potter, Capt., 235, 285, 
 
 492 
 Povvditch, Capt. Geo., 
 
 425 
 Powell, Capt., 216, 224, 
 
 225 
 Prance, Capt., 315 
 Preble, Mr., 442 
 Preston, Capt., 282 
 Price, R. P., 213 
 Priestman, Capt., 216, 229 
 2Y 
 
 Prince of Campo Florida, 
 .46 _ _ 
 
 Prince William of Glouces- 
 ter, 93, 94 
 
 Prmgle & Co., 234, 257, 
 669 
 
 Pritchard, Owen, 82 
 
 Puleston, Richd., 485 
 
 Purvis, Capt., 316 
 
 Q 
 
 , 465, 
 
 Oueen Elizabeth, 32 
 
 466 
 
 Queen Victoria, 461 
 Quickly, Mistress, 323 
 Quirk, Capt., 159 
 
 R 
 
 Radcliffe & Co., 234, 668 
 Ralph, Capt., T., 554 
 Raphel Capt., 313, 329 
 Ratclifte, Thos., 557 
 Rathbone, Wm., 570, 575, 
 
 579, 580 
 Rathbone family, 570, 580 
 Rathbone, Joseph, 663 
 Rawlinson, Chorley, & 
 
 Grierson, 228,250,254, 
 
 257, 263, 668, 669 
 Rawlinson, ALP., Henry, 
 
 287 
 Rawson, Capt., 278 
 Redcap, Mother, 323, 324 
 Reed. Capt., 198, 244 
 
 396, 398 
 Reid, Capt., 246 
 Reid, Wm., 155 
 Resche, Mr. H. Le, 422 
 Reynolds, Capt., 299 
 Rice, Wm. , 605 
 Roberts & Co., 230, 669 
 Robertson, Capt., 339 
 Robinson, Capt., 79, 105, 
 
 257, 316 
 Robinson, Capt. Isaiah, 
 
 199 
 Robinson Capt. James, 199 
 Robinson, Lieut., 330 
 Richardson, Capt., 193 
 Richmond, Capt., lOi 
 Rigby, Capt., 313. 3i 5 
 Rigby & Sons, Peter, 663 
 Rigby & Sons, Edmund, 87 
 Rigby, Phebe, 274, 275 
 Rimmer, <Japt. , 122 
 Rigmaiden Capt., 235 
 
 Rockliffe, Capt., 348 
 Rodney, Lord, 293 
 Rogers, Capt., 225, 360, 
 
 361 
 Rogers, Capt. Wm., 409 
 
 to 412 
 Roper, Capt., 312 
 Roper, Mr., 150 
 Roscoe, Wm. (see general 
 
 index) 
 Ross, Capt. John, 127 
 Ross, Capt. Geo.. 200 
 Roughsedge, Edward, 82 
 Rowe, Wm., 488 
 Rumbold, Thos., 155, 562 
 Rumbold, & Co. , 488 
 Rupert, Prince, 34 
 Rushton, Edward, 297, 
 
 571, 575 . 
 Russel, Admiral, 656 
 Rutland, Duke of, 265 
 Ryan, T. , 663 
 Ryder, Capt., 285 
 
 Sadler, Mr., 17 
 Salisbury, Capt., 123 
 Salisbury & Co., 246, 668 
 Saltonstall, Capt. Dudley. 
 
 198 
 Sansom, Philip, 568 
 Saunders, Admiral, 1 1 1 
 Savage, Richard, 82, 92, 
 
 155. 562 
 Saville, Sir Geo., 265 
 Scallon, James, 329, 330 
 Scarborough, Lord, 172 
 Scott, Alex., 152 
 Scott, Capt., 107 
 Scott, Thos., 498 
 Scott, Pringle & Scott, 
 
 24, 25^ 
 Seddon, Capt., 260, 261 
 Seddon. John, 82 
 Seel, Thos., 82 
 .Sefton, Capt., 152 
 Sellers, Capt., 387 
 Settle, Capt. Jas., 162 
 Seyers, T., 664 
 Shaler, Capt., 440 
 Shannon, David, 663 
 Sharp, Capt., 39, 543^ 
 
 544> 547, 54S 
 Sharp, Granville, 553, 567 
 Shaw, Sam., 82 
 Shaw, Thos., 82 
 Shaw & Co., S., 668 
 Sheffield, Capt. J., 197 
 
698 
 
 INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 Shcrral, Capt., R., 390 
 Sherwood, Capt., 280 
 Shcploy, Mr., 393 
 Shipley, Williams & Co., 
 
 .402 
 Shiiiimins, Capt. Ratcliff, 
 
 349 
 Siddal, Lieut., 102 
 Sill, Edmund, 476 
 Simmons, Capt., 529 
 Simmons, John, 55S 
 Simpson, David. 173 
 Sinclair, Capt. John, 441 
 Skinner, Capt. Joseph 440 
 Slater & Co., 23S, 668 
 Slater, Gill, 562, 663, 668 
 Slazer, Capt., 157 
 Slinger, J. & R., 669 
 Smale, Capt., 280 
 Smeaton, Air., 142, 144 
 Smerdon, Capt.. 344, 366 
 Smith, Adam, 567 
 Smith, Egerton, 19, 663 
 Smith, Capt., 122, 219, 
 
 .329, 331' 363, 448 
 Smith, James, 264 
 Solomon, Dr., 109 
 Somerset, the negro, 553, 
 
 554. 567 
 Souter, Capt., 347 
 Sparling & Co., 668 
 Sparling. John, 93, 210, 
 
 562, 663, 668, 669 
 Spear, Capt. Joseph, 644 
 Spears, Capt., 152 
 Speers, Capt., Alex., 369 
 Speers, Capt. Gersham, 
 
 63, 89 
 Speke Hall, 296 
 Spellin, Capt., 314 
 vSpence, Capt., 421, 422 
 Spencer, Col., 172 
 Spencer, Lawrence, 82 
 Staniforth, Sam., 82, 83 
 Staniforth, Thos. , 83, 84, 
 
 146. 562, 617, 662 
 Staniforth & Sons, T., 83 
 Stanleys of Knowsley, 163 
 Stanley, Sir John, 33 
 Stanley, Sir Thos. . 32 
 Stanley, Lord, 33 
 Stanley, Hon. Major, 264 
 Stanton, Capt., 215 
 Stanton, John, 88, 155, 664 
 Starkey, John, 305 
 Statham, Mr., 609 
 .Stevenson, Capt., 564, 565 
 Stewart, Capt., 441 
 Stringfellow, INIiss, 335 
 Stronge, John, 155 
 
 Stronge, Matthew, 155 
 Stuart, Mr., 554 
 Sturrock, (Japt. Jas., 378 
 Sulgar, lly., 536 
 Sullivan, (..'apt., 245 
 Sullivan, General, 221 
 Syers, Capt., 476, 563 
 Syers & Co... 247, 669 
 
 T 
 
 Tate, Capt.. 349 
 Tate, Mr., 275 
 Tatem, Consul, 60 
 Talbot, Lord, 553 
 Tarleton, Capt. Jno., 172 
 Tarleton, Clayton, 613 
 Tarleton, John, 82, 155, 
 
 611. 617 
 Tarleton & Co., Jno., 103, 
 
 668 
 Tarleton, General, 264, 
 
 280, 281 
 Tarleton c\: Rigg, 349 
 Taubman. Capt., 564 
 Taylor, Capt., 252, 277, 
 
 331,435, 436 
 Taylor & Kerr, 606 
 Tearsheet, Doll, 323 
 Teed, Capt., 417 
 Terry, S., 17 
 Thiballier, M., 3.7 
 Thomas, Capt. Joseph, 125 
 Thomson, Capt., 261 
 Thompson, Capt., S3, 157, 
 
 158, 198,254,284, 307, 
 
 309> 343. 344, 364, 374 
 Thurot, Muns.. 86, 104, 
 
 134, 141, 171 to 175, 
 
 223 
 Tobin, Capt., 307, 360,650 
 Tobin, Sir John, 152 
 Toole, Capt., 448. 651 
 Topping, Capt., 342, 343 
 Townshend, Capt., 247 
 Townshend, Col., 99 
 Townsend, Capt., 267, 268 
 Trader, Capt. Thos., 530 
 Traftbrd, Edward, 82, 148 
 Trafibrd & Sons, Ed., 148 
 Traftbrd & Bird, 135 
 Traftbrd, Mr., 131 
 Trafibrd, Wm., 148, 155 
 Traftbrd. Rich., 148 
 Traftbrd, Henry, 148 
 Tristram, Capt., 472 
 Tue, Capt., 215 
 Twemlow, Thos., 355, 671 
 Tyrer, Robert, 367, 662 
 
 u 
 
 Urria, Joaquin Perez de 
 603 
 
 V 
 
 Valens, Mr., 105 
 Venables, Capt. Richd., 
 
 126 
 Vickers, Lieut., 295 
 Villeneuve, Admiral, 403 
 
 w 
 
 Wade, Capt., 270 
 Wagner, B. P., 252 
 Wagner & Co., 252, 668 
 Wakefield, Rev. Gilbert, 
 
 20, 177, 283, 284 
 Walker, Capt., 268, 278, 
 
 279, 289, 333 
 Walker, Edward, 97, 98 
 Walker, Richd., 296, 354 
 Walker, Mr., 271, 272 
 Walpole, Horace, 43, 62 
 Wall, Lieut., 333 
 Wallace, Wm., 570 
 Wallace, Sir Jas. , 245 
 Walls, Capt. Jno., 349 
 Ward, Capt., 123, 134, 
 
 140, 174, 315 
 Wardlaw, Capt., 218 
 Wardley, Capt., 201 
 Warren & Co., 243, 668, 
 
 669 
 Warren, Capt., 334 
 Warner, Capt. , Elisha, 199 
 Washington, Capt., 149, 
 
 217 
 Watkins, Capt., 207, 219 
 Watmough, Capt., 24b 
 Watson, (Japt., 107 — 109, 
 
 384 
 Watt, Miss Adelaide, 296 
 Watt, Richard, 150. 29b 
 Watt, Capt. C, ()04,- O05 
 Watt <-%■ Gregson, 571 
 Watt & Walker, 296 
 Watts & Rawson, 254, 669 
 Watts. Capt., 265, 374 
 Webb, Capt., 268 
 Webster, Capt.. 294 
 Weeks, Capt. Lambert 
 
 193, 199 
 
 Welch, Geo., 605 
 Welch, Jno., 155 
 Wellesley, Hon. PL, 629 
 
INDEX TO NAMES. 
 
 699 
 
 Welsh, Jas., 605 
 
 Wesley, lohn, 520, 527, 
 
 567 
 Whalley k Co., Wm., So 
 Wharton, A., 605 
 \\ heelwright, Capt. Tim., 
 
 491 
 Whipple, Capt. Abram, 
 
 199 
 Whitaker& Co., 668. 669 
 White, Capt., 200, 367 
 White, John, 155, 402 
 White, Capt. Thos., 218 
 Whiteside, Capt. Jno., 242, 
 
 243 
 Whitney, Capt. J. C, 
 
 34' 
 
 Whitney, Capt. S. A., 3S0 
 
 -3^3 
 Whittle, Capt., 592, 599 
 Whytell, Capt. L. L., 257, 
 
 258, 277 
 Wilberforce, 521,527, 581, 
 
 611, 612, 613, 618, 619 
 Wilcox, Capt., 266 
 Wilding, Richd., 30 
 Wilson, Capt., 189, 235, 
 
 262,282,336,338,402, 
 
 448 
 Wilson, Capt. Josiah, 153 
 
 Wilson, Capt. Wm., 204, 
 
 205, 280 
 Wilson, Savil, 97, 98 
 W'illiams, Capt., 259, 314, 
 
 341, 363, 368, 549 
 Williams, Lt.-CoL, 389 
 Williamson, Wm., 155 
 Williamson, Robert, 16, 
 
 17, 18, 95, 97. 155. 
 
 474, 475 
 Wignall, Capt., 209, 219, 
 
 268 
 Windham, Thos., 465 
 Winn, Capt. Isaac, 116 to 
 
 118 
 Wise, Capt., 197 
 Wiseman, Capt., 213, 214, 
 
 215, 333 
 Wood & Nicholas, 487 
 Wood, H. & J., 604 
 Woods, Capt., 250, 255, 
 
 256, 332 
 Woods, Joseph, 56S 
 Woodhouse, Mr., 311 
 Woodville, Capt., 200 
 Woodward, Saml., 155 
 Worrall, Geo., 662 
 Wotherspoon, Capt., 207 
 Worthington, Capt., 306 
 Wrigglesworth, Capt., 316 
 
 Wright, Capt., 285, 341, 
 
 360 
 Wright, Capt. Fortunatus 
 
 (see general inde.x) 
 Wright, FortunatusEvelyn, 
 
 43 
 Wright, John Ellworthy 
 
 Fortunatus, 43 
 Wright, Sydney Evelyn, 43 
 Wright, Capt. John. 43 
 Wright, Capt. Reuben, 
 
 631 
 Wright, W. N., 617 
 Wyatt, Capt., 482, 483 
 
 Y 
 
 Yates, Capt., 555 
 Yates, John, 570 
 Yates, Joseph, 663 
 Yates, Thos., 475, 558 
 Young Capt , 193, 199, 
 
 331 
 
 Younghusband, Capt., 199 
 
 ZuiU & Co., J., 235, 255, 
 669 
 
 (SEE ALSO LISTS OF NAMES IN THE APTENDIX.) 
 
 I 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 Abolition Society, 522, 568, 570, 574 ; 
 Movement, 566, 567 to 581 ; Bill, 
 614, 616, 618, 619, 620, ; Efl'ects in 
 Liverpool, 620, 621 ; Captain Crow 
 on abolition, 649, 651, 655, 656 ; 
 King Holiday on ditto, 650 ; Aboli- 
 tionists in danger, 577 to 579 
 
 Account Sales of Negroes, 530, 606 
 
 Acts of Parliament, /'<? American Captures, 
 207, 208 ; Armed merchantmen, 
 340 ; Greenland fishery and im- 
 pressment, 84 ; Slave Trade, 466, 
 468, 469, 470 ; 473, 553, 554, 608, 
 616, 619, 620, 625 
 
 Actions at Law, 170, 287, 413 to 416, 
 
 554, 563, 564 
 
 Admiralty, Droit of, 203 ; Courts and 
 prizes, 46, 48, 207, 208, 260, 670 to 
 673 ; Suits, 286, 287 
 
 Advertisements, Curious Privateering, 
 18, 104, no, 119, 134, 160, 161, 169, 
 279 ; Slave Trade, 474 to 479, 554 
 
 Africa, Future of, 528, 624, 625 
 
 African Company, 469, 473 ; List of 
 members (in 1752), 674 ; (in 1806), 
 679 ; List of ships trading to Africa, 
 names of owners and commanders, 
 and number of slaves carried (in 
 1752), 675 to 677; Ditto (in 1798- 
 99) 681 to 685; Number of African 
 ships cleared (1709 to 1807), 678 ; 
 Number of slaves imported by 10 
 leading houses (1783-93), 679 ; 
 Comparative number of African 
 ships cleared out of London, Liver- 
 pool, and Bristol (1795 to 1804), 680; 
 African trade of Liverpool, 465 to 
 658 ; Slave trade at a stand, 181, 
 555 ; In full prosperity, 495 ; African 
 Princes sold as slaves, 372, 373 ; 
 African Freemen's meeting, 562 ; 
 Man-stealers, 582, 583, 584 ; King's 
 palace and stockade 616 (also illus- 
 tration) ; "Blackbirds," 525 ; Chiefs 
 kidnapped, 541, 542, 544, 545 ; 
 Kings and chiefs, their correspon- 
 dence, habits, orders, &c. , 48 1, 533 
 
 536 to 553, 633, 638, 650, 657; 
 Their del)ts, 539, 540, 541 ; Early 
 explorer, 615 ; African merchants' 
 houses attacked by sailors, 557 to 
 560 
 
 Aikin, Dr., on privateering, 184 
 
 " Aim at the Goose," 556 
 
 Alarm in Liverpool, 194, 195, 557 to 
 559, 621 ; In the common council, 
 609 ; Gun signals, 421 
 
 Alarming dispatch, 288 
 
 America, Distress in, 236 
 
 American independence declared, 180; 
 Privateers fitted out, iSi ; Privateers 
 of the First NN'ar, 179 to 302 ; Lesson 
 of the First War, 179, 180; Ransom- 
 ing of vessels, 152 ; Commission, 
 Copy of, 191, 192 ; List of naval 
 force and commanders, 198, 199 ; 
 Boldness and activity of American 
 privateers, 181, 198, 200, 555; In 
 the Channel, 107, 198, 207, 209, 
 210, 223, 433, 450, 451 ; Privateers 
 with forged commissions, 300 ; Under 
 French colours, 311, 315,; Encour- 
 aged by the French, 201 ; Tobacco 
 ships, 272, Refugee in Liverpool, 
 281 ; View of privateering, 193, 455 
 to 459 ; Alleged cruelty and bar- 
 barity, 201, 202, 210, 447 ; Cowards, 
 349 ; Prize money, 182 ; Prize 
 bounty, 440 ; Privateer captured, 
 219 ; Seamen tempted by British 
 Government. 202 ; A generous skip- 
 per, 331 ; Seamen rewarded, 203, 
 204 ; Seamen and the press gang, 
 423 ; Plantations, 472 ; Vessels cap- 
 tured, 170, rSi, 202 to 207, 431 ; 
 Vessels seized, 406, 430; Prisoners in 
 Liverpool, 219; Embargo on ship- 
 ping, 407 ; Second American war, 430 
 to 462 ; System of destroying ships, 
 450 ; Funeral of American hero in 
 England, 446 to 448 ; Address to the 
 Throne complaining of depredations 
 by American privateers, 450 to 452 ; 
 Audacity of American privateersmen 
 in Ireland, 441 ; Success of the Tnie 
 Blooded Yankee, 442; of the Yankee, 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 701 
 
 » 
 
 448 ; of the Mammoth, 449 ; Brig 
 captured by negroes, 593 ; American 
 and British Shipping compared, 460, 
 461 ; American Navy, 431, 432 
 
 American Privateers and Cruisers — 
 Alfred, 192, 436, 438 ; Alliance, 248; 
 Aix/is, 446, 447 ; BiDiker Hill, 442 ; 
 Cabot, 190 ; Eutet-prise, 193 ; Fair 
 American, 245 ; Fox, 441 ; General 
 Armstrong, 440, 445, 446 ; General 
 Arnold. 244, 245, 254 ; General 
 Mifflin, 107, 209, 210; General 
 Aloutrey, 245 ; General Sullivan, 
 215,252; Governor Tonikins, a^^o; 
 Holker, 297; Independence, 193, 198; 
 Lexington, 199, 201 ; Macedonian, 
 441, 447, 453; Mammoth, 449; 
 Pallas, 253 ; Perry, 452 ; President, 
 452 ; Pilgrim, 248 ; Portsmouth, 
 441 ; Ranger, 223 ; Revenge, 197 ; 
 Shadow, 435, 436; Sprye, 115 ; 
 ^;;rt/ Dragon, 442; 'Jartar, 206; 
 Thomas, 441 ; Z>7r^ Blooded Yankee, 
 5 441, 442 ; Trumbull, 198, 273, 274 ; 
 Tyrannicide, 196 ; Vengeance _ 233 ; 
 Yankee, 448. 
 
 (See also list at 198, 199.) 
 
 Americans, Feeling in England towards 
 the, 297 to 299 ; Killed by Lt.-Col. 
 Tarleton, 281 ; Drubbed by Liver- 
 pool men, 215 563 
 
 Amissa redeemed from slavery, 563, 
 564 
 
 Ammunition. 2, 88, 104, 209, 373 
 
 Amusing Incidents: — A terrilDle English- 
 man, 44 ; The Charge of the Blues, 
 94, 95 ; The privateersman and the 
 baby, 186-187; "A wee Coggie," 
 283 ; A race for life, 322, 323 ; 
 The high-blooded Yankee, 452, 453 ; 
 The saline Bucephalus, 556 ; " Two 
 mouth tacken," 628: " Va — t en, 
 Coquin," 630; "Poor boy! you 
 can't havey King," 638 ; The fight 
 for the trumpet, 647 ; " Me have too 
 much wife," 650. 
 
 Amusing correspondence of Grandy 
 King George, 543 to 547. 
 
 " Angel Gabriel" in Liverpool, 557 
 
 Ancient Britons, Society of, and priva- 
 teering, 116 
 
 Animal sagacity and affection, 654 
 
 "An Old Stager" on privateersmen and 
 press-gangs, 4, 5, 6, 319 ; on Patrick 
 Black and his megatherium wig, 543, 
 
 544 
 Antelope, man-of-war, fires into the 
 
 Liverpool, 131 
 Argyll, House of, 357 
 Armada, Liverpool and the, 33, 34 
 
 Armament of Ijverpool Privateers and 
 
 Letters of Marque, 2, 183, 279, 667 
 
 to 669 
 Armed merchantmen (1760), Typical, 171 
 Armenian, Strange adventures of an, 70 
 
 to 78 
 Assiento Company, 466 to 468 
 Atheist, Awful death of an, 513, 
 
 514; Character of an, by himself, 
 
 519 
 Auction Sales, 133, 171, 473 to 479,591, 
 
 592, 605, 648, 655 
 Aurora prize money, 203, 204 
 
 B 
 
 Baines, Ed., Correction of, 472 
 
 Balm of Gilead, 109 
 
 Bath coffee-house. 128 
 
 Battle between the Ellen and the Santa 
 Anna, 275, 276 
 
 Batteries, 223, 262, 281, 389 
 
 Beaumaris privateer, A, 115, 116 
 
 Beautiful end of the "Old African 
 Blasphemer," 524 to 526 
 
 " Best contested battle," 272 to 275 
 
 Bible and slavery, 572 to 575 
 
 Bidston lighthouse, 141 
 
 Bill of lading for slaves, 531 
 
 Black servants in Liverpool, 554 ; Black 
 slaves in England, 474 to 479 ; Black 
 privateersmen, 196, 396, 397 ; Black 
 woman's cruelty to John Newton, 
 
 499, 500 
 Blackwood, Hon. Capt. action against, 
 
 41310416 
 Blockade of Dublin, 35 ; of Liverpool, 
 
 86. 154; of Continental ports, 406; 
 
 blockade running, 204 
 Bloody engagements, 52, 125, 315, 330, 
 
 333, 373 to 375, 379, 380, 391 to 393, 
 
 408 to 411 ; Hoisting the bloody flag, 
 
 340, 349, 350, 352, 369, 375, 395. 
 
 443; In the streets of Liverpool, 556 
 Bloom slave-ship, profits of, 605 to 607 
 Blind poet and slavery, 571 
 Blue Coat Hospital, 144, 154, 426, 484 
 Boatmen of the Mersey, patriotic, 389 
 " Bootle Organs," 621 
 " Born a beggar — die a lord," 485 
 Boswell on slavery, 609 
 Botanic Gardens, 615 
 Bounty, 634, 637 
 
 Branding the slaves, iSic, 531, 532, 584 
 Brandy, 130, 224, 225, 229, 234, 249, 
 
 267, 279, 309, 316 
 Brave defence of the Queen, 440 ; Brave 
 
 boys, 265, 268, 392 ; Brave women, 
 
 375, 376, 559 (see also passengers) 
 
702 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 Brilliant action, 385 ; Stratagem, 50,51, 55 
 British influence in the Mediterranean, 
 41, 49, 50, 53, 62, 67, 68; Power 
 and reputation of Great Britain, 154; 
 British privateers (in 1745) 49 5 
 British gains and losses, 115 ; British 
 nierchant-men (in 1793) 316 ; British 
 tonnage. 303 ; British ships captured 
 i)y the Americans, 431, 450 to 452 ; 
 British indignation at American suc- 
 cesses, 450 to 452 ; British cruisers, 
 207, 216, 223, 224, 269, 290, 291, 
 295» 31 1) 320, 338 38S ; British 
 cruisers at fault, 433, 441. 449 to 452 ; 
 British maritime rights, 457. 458 ; 
 British and American shipping com- 
 pared, 460, 461 ; British naval 
 strength, 432, 459 to 462 ; British 
 Admiralty censured, 450 ; British 
 commerce, damage to, 290, 291 
 
 Bristol Corporation and the war. 292 ; 
 Bristol ousted from its position by 
 Liverpool, 495 ; Bristol privateers, 
 133, 258, 259, 286, 309; Bristol .slave- 
 ships, 307, 481, 494, 495, 618 ; 
 Terrible slaughter by them, 536 to 
 538 ; Bristol slave trade, 466, 467, 
 469, 473 ; Comparative statement of 
 Guineamen cleared out of Bristol, 
 Liverpool, and London (1795 t" 1804) 
 680 ; Bristol slave captains and 
 African king, 543, 544 ; curious reply 
 to a Bristol slave-merchant, 541 ; 
 Clerk of the merchants' hall, 469 
 
 "Brooks" the slave ship,56o, 561, 585,586 
 
 Bromtield's black, My lady. 477 
 
 Brontii estate, 311 
 
 Brown's estimate, 115; Library, 240, 
 241 ; William Brown's slave trading, 
 604 
 
 Cabess, 551, 553 
 
 Campania, 461 
 
 Cannonading in Castle .Street, 556 
 
 Captains (see Slave-Captains and Priva- 
 teer Commanders) 
 
 Carnatic, East Indiaman, captured, 239, 
 241 
 
 Carnatic-hall, history of, 240, 241, 310 
 
 Carolina ships, 114 
 
 Carronades, 276, 395, 398, 40S, 639 
 
 Cartel ships, 268. 428, 565 
 
 Cartridges, 16, 267, 268; "The last 
 two," 345 
 
 Catastrophes, terrible, loss of the Peli- 
 can, 304, 305 ; Explosion on the 
 Joseph, 315 ; Mutiny of slaves on the 
 Thomas, 592, 593 ; Sinking of the 
 Ogdeti, 472 ; Cutting oft of the Pei-- 
 fect, 492 ; Blowing up of the Ogden, 
 484 ; of the Othello, 631, 634 
 
 Catching a tartar, 337, 338 
 
 Charities, 153, 154, 265, 268, 274, 275 
 
 301, 664 
 Charleston, price of negroes at, 529 
 Chasing a press-gang man into the dock, 
 
 323. 324 
 
 Cheshu-c wreckers, 232, 233 
 
 Chester Privateer, a, 32 ; Slave-ship, 482 
 to 484 
 
 Children and Privateering, 186, 188. 
 189 
 
 Childwall Grammar School, 154 ; John 
 Newton at Childwall Church, 517 
 
 Christians burned, 565 
 
 Cigars first introduced into Liverpofil, 
 278 
 
 Civil War, the, 34 
 
 Clan Iver, history of the. 355 to 359 
 
 Clarkson, Rev. Thomas, 177, 521 ; On 
 irons and torture instruments, 532, 
 533 ; Details of massacre supplied to 
 him, 536 ; Joins the Abolition Society, 
 568 ; His map of pioneers, 571 ; His 
 visit to Liverpool, 575 ; Denounces 
 the Captain of the Edgar, 576 ; 
 Experiences at the "King's Arms," 
 577 ; Attempt upon his life, 578 ; His 
 panegyric on William Rathbone, 579! 
 His labours, 580. 
 
 Clarence, Duke of (William IV.), his 
 defence of the slave- traffic, 613, 618 
 
 " Clothed with Scarlet," 479 
 
 Coalition against Great Britain, 264 
 
 Cobbler's Close, 311 
 
 Cocoa, 123, 218, 232, 243, 247 to 249, 
 251, 253, 285, 293, 398, 401, 414 
 
 Cod smacks, 140, 141, 174, 175 
 
 Coft"ee, 39, 89, 92, 97, 103, 121 to 123, 
 128, 217, 218, 224, 227, 231 to 236, 
 238, 243, 244, 246 to 253, 285, 2S6 
 
 293' 305- 307, 342, 487 
 
 Columbus, bones of, 336 
 
 Combined fleets, 288, 399 
 
 Commerce of Europe, 388 ; Damage to 
 British commerce, 290, 291 ; Com- 
 merce a lottery, 429 ; Commerce of 
 Liverpool, 40, 620, 622 ; Commerce 
 with France and America renewed, 
 
 454- 
 
 Company of Royal Adventurers of Eng- 
 land to Africa, 466 ; Royal African 
 Assiento Company, 466 ; Company 
 of Merchants trading to Africa from 
 Liverpool, 674, 679 
 
 Confederate Government and Letters of 
 Marque, 459 
 
 Contraband trade, 468 
 
 " Conquer or die," 413 
 
 Conversion of John Newton, 503, 505 
 
 Convicts, ship captured by. 85, 86 
 
 I 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 703 
 
 Convoy duty and regulations, 50, 52, 116 
 to 118, 189, 200, 230, 287, 291, 364, 
 366, 374> il^, 45 1 > 4^9- 49°, 637 
 
 Coomey, 543 to 547 
 
 Corporation of Liverpool, subsidy to the 
 live fisli scheme, 141 ; Compliment to 
 the "Practical Seaman," 143; Bounty 
 to naval volunteers, 1S9, 236, 237, 
 256; Loyal address, iSi, 256; Pur- 
 chase of Tower gaol, 164 ; John the 
 Painter scare, 194, 195 ; Sale of the 
 manor of Garston, 240 ; Defences of 
 the town, 172, 173, 262, 264, 265 ; 
 regiments raised, 389 ; Petition for 
 leave to sell East India prize cargoes, 
 391 ; Corporation and the slave trade, 
 184 ; Gratuity to Rev. R. Harris, 573 ; 
 petitions against abolition, 609, 611 
 to 613, 617; Rewards for the cham- 
 pions of the slave traffic, 609 to 618 ; 
 Prayer for compensation, 619. 
 
 Costof Commissions or Lettersof Marque, 
 19 ; Cost of privateer outfit, 661 to 
 664 : Cost of slave-ship outfits and 
 cargoes, 600, 603 to 607 ; Prime cost 
 of negroes on the Coast, 539, 547, 
 548, 551, 597, 680; Costof the war 
 with France, 304; Cost of a deck- 
 house for slaves, 634. 
 
 Cotton, 58, 89, 100, III, 121, 217, 224, 
 231 to 236, 243, 244, 246, 247, 251 
 to 253, 285, 286, 293, 305, 307, 342, 
 4S7 ; Price of, 432, 433 
 
 Cowries, 539, 551 to 553 
 
 " Cross Keys " Inn, 622 
 
 Crow, Captain Hugh, 319, 367 ; His 
 character, Early life, 626 ; Thrown 
 into prison, Sails to Jamaica, Cheers 
 the crew with songs, 627 ; Early pre- 
 judice against the slave trade, " Massa 
 Crow, something bite me too much," 
 628 ; Becomes mate of a slave-ship 
 and is captured by the French ; Suf- 
 ferings in a French prison, 629 ; 
 Makeshis escape. Stopped by soldiers, 
 A volley of Manx, 630; Arrival in 
 Liverpool, The Othello blown up. 
 Romantic episode on board the Aidic, 
 
 631 ; Action with a French privateer, 
 
 632 ; Voyage of the James, Slaver 
 plundered by natives, Desperate 
 defence by Crow, 633 ; Visits Kings 
 Peppleand Holiday, A great sacrifice. 
 
 633 ; Appointed commander of the 
 IVill, Voyage to Bonny for slaves, 
 634; "Crow, mind your eye," 635 ; 
 'A brush with the French, Slaving at 
 
 Bonny, 635 ; Severe engagement 
 with a French privateer on the middle 
 passage Scene with black women. 
 
 636 ; Seamen impressed. Arrival in 
 Liverpool, 637 ; Another voyage to 
 Africa, A pennant for the Will, Sav- 
 ing the crew of the Hector, 637 ; An 
 ungrateful Swede, 638 ; Rewarded by 
 the underwriters and merchants. Ap- 
 pointed commander of the Ceres, 
 Voyage to Bonny, Ludicrous scene 
 with King Pepple, 638 ; Commands 
 the Mary, Negro shooting competi- 
 tion, 639 ; Preparing for the enemy, 
 A deadly contrivance. 640 ; Speech 
 to the crew, 641 ; Desperate night 
 engagement between the Alary and 
 two strange cruisers, 642 ; Crow's 
 Viking spirit, His phrenzy at discover- 
 ing that he had been fighting two 
 British men of war, 643 ; Certificate 
 of valour, Touching conduct of the 
 slaves, 644 ; Arrival at Jamaica, Crow 
 interviewed by the blacks, 645 ; Their 
 song in his honour. 646 ; The cap- 
 tain's monkey attempts to take the 
 command, 647 ; Fight for the trum- 
 pet, " Fine Bone " sent to the auction 
 room, 648 ; The Mary arrives in 
 Liverpool "a day after the fair," 
 649 ; Crow's opinion of the abolition, 
 
 649 ; Takes command of the la^l 
 slaver cleared out of Liverpool, 649 ; 
 Complimented by the underwriters, 
 
 650 ; Arrival at Bonny, Curious 
 palaver with King Holiday, 650 ; 
 Rotten goods and fever, Terrible 
 storms, Abirming mortality. Horrors 
 of the middle passage, 651 ; Ship on 
 fire. Heroic behaviour of Captain 
 Crow, 652 ; Gratitude of the slaves, 
 653 ; The captain and the sick 
 monkey, iVrrival at Kingston, A long 
 death roll, The market glutted, 654 ; 
 A good pull'. Result of the voyage, 
 The captain congratulated by his black 
 friends, Ner;ro humour, 655 ; Crow 
 retires to the Isle of Man, declines a 
 seat in the Keys, Sad end of his gal- 
 lant son, 656 ; Crow returns to Liver- 
 pool, African veterans and tjieir 
 habits. Memoir writing at Preston, 
 His patriotism and death, 657 
 
 Cruise of the dredgers, 624 
 Cunard Line, 359 
 
 Customs Revenue, 1S7, 301 ; Custom 
 house, 158, 1 87, 474, 608 
 
 D 
 
 Dahomey, King of. Customs paid to him, 
 550 to 553 ; Sells his subjects into 
 slavery, 576 
 
704 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 Danish ships seized, 86 
 
 Declaration of Paris, 455 
 
 Decoy-women, African, 5S2, 5S3 
 
 Decrees. BerUn and Milan, 406 
 
 Defenceless vessels, 157, 218 
 
 Derrick, Samuel, his visit to Liverpool, 
 
 171 
 Depredations of American Privateers, 
 sensation caused by the, 433, 440, 
 
 441, 449> 450, 451 
 
 Desperate action between the Dick 
 Guineaman and a French privateer, 
 379> 380 
 
 Desperate night battle between the Mary 
 Guineaman and two British men-of- 
 war, 642, 643, 644 
 
 Descriptions of runaway slaves, 476, 477, 
 554; Of runaway privateersmen, 160, 
 161 ; Of slaves for sale, 474, 475, 476, 
 478, 479 
 
 De Wolf, James, success of his Yankee 
 privateer, 448 
 
 Diamonds, discovery of prize, 239 
 
 Divine Worship on board slave-ships and 
 privateers, 147, 507, 509, 512 
 
 Docks, 93, 146, 185, 18S, 194, 195, 281, 
 389 407, 556, 609, 610, 621, 622 ; 
 Dock estate, magnitude of, 622 to 
 624 ; Dock masters, 42, 43, 135, 146; 
 Dock trustees and the slave trade, 619 
 
 Doctors' head money, etc. (see surgeons) 
 
 Dollars, 193, 238, 253, 289, 301, 318, 
 389, 401, 414, 448, 607 
 
 Drawn battle between the Watt and the 
 Triitnbidl, 272 to 274 
 
 Dress, of old merchants, 93. 543, 544 ; 
 Of volunteers, 172; Of African King, 
 545, 546 ; Of privateersmen, 160, 
 161 ; Of Captain Crow's monkey, 
 648 ; Of slaves, 554, 565, 62S, 639, 
 
 645 
 Drunken actor's taunt, 594 ; Drunken 
 
 king's, 638 
 Dublin blockaded by Liverpool cruisers, 
 
 35 
 Ducking a woman, 194 
 Durand P'elix, romantic adventure of, 
 
 427 
 Durbar at Lagos, 624, 625 
 Dutch contiaband trading, 103, 104 ; 
 
 Fleet captured, 342 
 
 Earthenware trade, 38 
 
 East India Company's ships, 138, 147, 
 339 ; East India prize goods, diffi- 
 culty about. 391 
 
 Edgar, slave-ship and the massacre at 
 Old Calabar, 536 to 538 
 
 Editorial hint, strange, 246 
 Electioneering and slave trading, 612, 
 
 613, 618, 619 
 Ellenborough, Lord, and impressment, 
 
 415, 416 
 Elopement, romantic, 76 
 Embargo on shipping, 256, 304, 399, 
 
 407 
 Entilie St. Pierre, 204, 205 
 England's enemies outwitted, 50, 51 
 Escapes, from the Tower prison, 162, 
 
 165, 427 ; From French prisons, 148, 
 
 149, 312, 329 to 331, 404, 405, 493, 
 
 629, 630, 656 
 Exchange attacked by rioters, 556 
 Execution of Louis XVi. — mourning in 
 
 Liverpool, 304 
 Exeter privateer, an, 234, 235 
 Explosions, terrible, 258, 259, 416, 448, 
 
 491 
 Exports, 172, 622 
 Everton Beacon, 127, 173 
 
 P'actor captured, 318; Factors' Commis- 
 sions, itc, 470, 591, 596, 597, 605, 
 606 ; Factories on the Slave Coast, 
 469 ^ 
 Fame, Privatee ■■, 45, 46, 48 to 50 
 Fight in the river Mersey, 157 ; in the 
 
 Custom House, 157 
 First Slaver out of Liverpool, 469 ] 
 
 Fishing Industry, 133, 134, 140, 141, 
 
 157= 15S ' . . i 
 
 Fitzroy, Lady Anne, her imprisonment, 
 
 330, 629 
 " For the Honour of Liverpool," 339 
 Fortifying the (^)uarter-deck, 12, 13 
 Fortune, slave-ship, profits of, 604, 607 
 P'ortunes made in the slave trade, 485, 
 
 594 to 608 
 Foundering of the King George, 63 , 
 
 Flour, 130, 249, 267, 316 fl 
 
 Fleets arrive safe, 230 •' 
 
 Florentine hatred of England, 53, 54, 56, 
 
 60 
 France declares war, 37 
 Franklin (Dr.) on privateering, 193, 456, 
 
 457 
 
 Freedom of the African Company, 469 ; 
 Of Liverpool, 164, 611, 618 
 
 Freemasonry at sea, 340 
 
 Free black, damages for selling a, 563 
 
 French ships fitted out to take Fortunatus 
 Wright, 59 ; Orders to burn him, 59 ; 
 Great rewards for his capture, 51 to 
 53 ; French privateers in the Medi- 
 terranean, 41, 50, 52 to 54, 58 to 60, 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 705 
 
 62, 67, 69, 75 to 77 ; French priva- 
 teers blockading Liverpool, 86, 154 ; 
 Their number and superiority, 87, 88 ; 
 Their alarming successes, they swarm 
 in every sen, 114, 156, 312 ; Depre- 
 dations in the Channel, 27S, 290, 291, 
 421 ; French property in Dutch bot- 
 toms, 152; French privateers captured 
 by the Liverpool, 133 ; French gains 
 and losses, 114, 115, 230, 297, 316; 
 Threat of invasion, 288; Revolution, 
 303- 304.; Cruisers, 32S, 639, 641 ; 
 East Indiamen captured, 230, 235, 
 239, 2S9, 314, 3S7 ; French humanity 
 and politeness, 139, 152, 153. 156, 
 311, 380, 3S5, 428, 429 ; Commerce 
 destroyed, 315, 316 ; Defeats, 327 ; 
 French slave-ships captured, 90, 229, 
 237. 307, 313- 314, 317 ; Capture of 
 French West Indian Colonies, 618 ; 
 Depredations of the French squadron 
 on the coast of Africa, 332, 333, 346 
 to 34S, 482 to 484 ; French prisons, 
 Horrors of, 30, 162, 166 to 169, 425, 
 426, 629, 630, 641, 657 ; French 
 prisoners of war in Liverpool, 162 to 
 165, 173, 283, 2S4, 426, 427 ; Ex- 
 penses on ditto, 664 ; Their skill, 
 426 ; Astonishing voracity of a French 
 prisoner, 427 ; Romantic adventure 
 of a prisoner, 427 ; Ruse cf a French 
 privateer, 378 ; Monsieur Renaud's 
 squadron destroyed by Liverpool 
 ships, 346 to 348 ; French merchants 
 ruined, 250 ; Dunkirk privateers, 1 14, 
 261, 265 ; Martinique, 20 1 : French 
 privateer blown up, 337 ; Dastardly 
 French action, 484 
 
 Frenchmen, Enraged, 69, 124; Inhuman 
 Frenchmen, 318 
 
 French Privateers and Cruisers, &c : — 
 L' Ai^ricole, 328 ; V Ambuscade, 311 ; 
 n Anielie^ 428 ; V Avciitiire, 343 ; 
 Black Prince, 261, 265 ; Black Pri)i- 
 ccss, 278 ; Bristol, 99 ; Biiceiitaitre, 
 400, 403 ; Boitgainviile, 309 ; Le 
 Ctipidon, 425 ; Convention, 348 ; 
 Count de Guichen, 290 ; Ctirieuse, 
 381 ; Countess de Maurepas, 291 ; 
 Diligente, 425 ; Etourdie, 270 ; Fri- 
 pon, 285 ; Ferret, 360; Fortune, 490; 
 La Gironde, 384 ; Le Grand Decide, 
 7il9i 3S0, 391; Gronyard, 119; Le 
 Guerrier, 316 ; General Augereau, 
 392 ; General Erneuf, 393, 395 ; 
 Hirondelle, 60, 70; Le Jeune Kicliard, 
 409, 411 ; Jupiter, 152, 153 ; Lange- 
 sant, 219 ; Languedoc, '22.0 ; Levia- 
 than, 4S2, 483 ; Magician, 270 ; 
 Mnuchault, 122, 150 ; Marshal Belle- 
 2Z 
 
 isle, 104, 134, 174, 175 ; Marquis de 
 Jarvis, 493 ; Le Mars, 289, 343, 384, 
 493 ; Minerva, 222 ; La Modesle, 243, 
 339; Morgan Rattler, 341 ; Montaigne, 
 330 ; Monsieur, 25.', 261 ; Mutiny, 
 119; Paulina, 248 ; La Porkin, 306; 
 Poursuivant, 384, 385 ; President 
 Parker, 367 ; Sans Culottes, 318, 
 328 ; St. Micliael, 482, 483 ; St. 
 Louis, 149 ; Sei/iillante, 314 ; Terror 
 oj England, 295 ; Vengeance, 2./i,(i, 
 412 ; Zeinly, 363 
 
 Funeral of a captain, Curious, 153 ; Of 
 an American commander, 447 ; Of 
 husbmd and wife, 165 
 
 Furniture and clothes for Grandy King 
 George, 545, 546 
 
 Gallant defence of the IVilliain Heath- 
 cote, 391 to 393 
 
 Gallant fights, 149, 196, 245, 271, 288, 
 2S9, 310, 334, 335, 338, 343 t" 346, 
 354, 366, 36S, 369, 373, 384, 385, 
 394; 419, 421, 434, 437, 439, 443, 
 
 445 
 Gallantry of slaves, 560, 561, 564, 565 
 " General Gage," 558 
 Gallinas, 551, 553 
 Gaol in Great Howard St., 426 
 Garston, Manor of, 240 
 Generous privateer owners, 19, 401 
 Gibraltar relieved, 297, 298 
 Ginger, 100, 129, 251, 293, 487 
 Glasgow's protest against Admiralty 
 
 neglect, 450 to 452 
 Gold dust, 172, 314, 448, 494 
 Gold and silver, 39, 97, 122, 258, 4S5 
 Golden Fleece, The, 113 
 Golden Lion, Shareholders in the, 80 
 
 81,83 
 Golden Lyon, Whaler's crew resist im- 
 pressment, 157 
 Gong-gong Captain, 550, 553 _ 
 Goods ordered by African kings, 539 
 
 545 to 547 
 Government and invasion, 262 
 Gorilla, First account of, 615 
 Grahme, Capt. W., His heroic conduct, 
 
 379, 380 
 Granby, Marchioness of, her patriotic 
 
 plan, 225 ; Verses in her honour, 226 ; 
 
 Marquis of, his interest in Liverpool 
 
 privateers, 225, 265, 668 
 Greenland ships armed, 304 ; Their 
 
 crews resist the press-gangs, S3, 84, 
 
 157 ; Whale fishery, 80, Si 
 Grenville ministry and abolition 619 
 
706 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 Greyhounds of the ocean, 119, 122, 144, 
 
 333' 35- 
 r,uillolined, A bishop, 330; Women, 629 
 
 Guinea voyages. Crimps and, 323 ; 
 Dangers of, 48S, 520 ; Guinea cargoes, 
 473. 539) 54'^' 555 > Guinea mer- 
 chants and the sailors, 557 to 560 ; 
 Lists of Gauieamin cleared out of 
 Liverpool, 675 to 677, 681 to 6S5 ; 
 Derby Guineaman unrigged by 
 sailors, 555 
 
 Gumbo, a type, 477 
 
 Gunpowder, 88, 104 ; Exportation pro- 
 hibited, 555 
 
 Guns carried by Liverpool ships, 2 to 17, 
 87, 88, 134, 170, 183, 279, 667 to 669 
 
 H 
 
 Hail of grape shot, 420 
 
 Hand to hand conflict, 381, 382 
 
 Harriet, remarkal^le success of the, 
 
 305, 306 
 " Hawks abroad," 321, 322 
 Heavy affliction, 305 
 Heroic recapture of the Hiram, 380 to 
 
 383 
 Hides, 121, 123, 12S, 218, 248, 250, 253 
 
 Highwaymen, 279 
 
 Horrible carnage, 107 to no, 400 
 
 Horrors of impressment, 320 to 326 ; Of 
 the middle passage, 480, 481, 56S, 
 582 to 593, 641 to 644, 651 to 654 ; 
 Of French prisons, 30, 162, 166 to 
 169, 425, 426, 629, 630, 641, 657 
 
 How a waif became a merchant prince, 
 484, 485 
 
 Hoylake, 258, 259, 292, 307 
 
 Humane society, 305 
 
 Humanity to prisoners enjoined, 24, 27, 
 29 ; To slaves, 601, 602 
 
 Hutchinson, Capt. William, his method 
 of arming and nmnceuvring privateers, 
 I — 16 ; Connection with Fortunatus 
 Wright, 42, 45, 48, 49 ; Commands 
 the Liverpool privateer and captures 
 several rich prizes, 127 — 130 ; Hails 
 British man-of-war in French, terrible 
 result, 131 — 2; Cruising in the 
 Mediterranean, French prizes, narrow 
 escape from de la Clue's squadron, 
 captures French privateers and other 
 prizes, relinquishes the command in 
 order to carry out his scheme for 
 supplying Liverpool with live fish, 
 
 133 ; Offers to resume the command 
 and to curb the insolence of Thurot, 
 
 134 ; The cruise dropped, he is 
 appointed principal water bailiff and 
 
 dockmaster of Liverpool, attempt on 
 his life, 135 ; His work on seaman- 
 ship and naval architecture, early life, 
 cook on a small collier, 136 ; New- 
 castle colliers and East India ships, 
 ship club, voyage to China, 138 ; His 
 method of brewing tea, 139 ; Serves 
 in the Mediterranean, danger from 
 French prisoners, over- polite French 
 captain, 139 ; Partnership with 
 Fortunatus Wright, a strange cure, 
 his live fish scheme, Corporation 
 subsidy, curious prejudice in Liver- 
 pool against cod-smacks, 140 ; His 
 daring spirit, raises volunteers against 
 Thurot, invents reflecting mirrors, 
 improves the approaches to the 
 harbour, 14 1 ; His observations on 
 the tides, etc., 142 ; Present from the 
 Corporation for his "Practical Sea- 
 man," tribute from Sir T. P'rankland, 
 143 ; Catastrophes caused by the 
 ignorance of shipbuilders in the eight- 
 eenth century, anecdote of Bryan 
 Blundell, 144; Hutchinson's fondness 
 for scientific experiments, 145 ; He 
 founds the Liverpool Marine Society, 
 his benevolence, patriotism and piety, 
 146 — 148 ; His cod-smack sent ex- 
 press, 174 ; Commands the Queen's 
 battery, 223 ; His death, 383 
 
 I 
 
 Illegal seizure, 312 
 
 Imports, 622 
 
 Impress service (see press-gangs. ) 
 
 Indigo, 39, 89, 92, 103, 114, 121, 122, 
 
 123, 128, 171, 205, 217, 218, 224, 227, 
 
 232, 233,234, 235, 236, 244, 246, 247, 
 
 248, 250, 251, 252, 253, 293, 305, 414 
 Infernal bombs, 640 
 Insignia of the men-stealers, 473 
 Insurance, 87, 99, 154, 172, 173, 230, 
 
 432, 433>45i. 649, 650 J 
 
 Invasion, threat of, 388 _ fl 
 
 Ireland, Captain Crow on, 656 ; Irish 
 
 provisions, 170; Irish character, 23; 
 
 Inhuman Irishmen, 278, 295, 296 ; 
 
 Irishmen in the French service, 265, 
 
 27S, 291, 295, 296, 336 
 Islay, Thurot's descent on, 173 to 175 
 Isles de Los, 332. 346 
 Isle of Man, 263, 485, 559, 626, 656 657, 
 
 638 
 Iver, the clan, 355 to 359 
 Ivory, 172, 224, 229, 246, 250, 294, 301, 
 
 307, 312, 448, 480, 486, 489, 493, 494 
 
 I 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 707 
 
 J 
 
 Jacobites, 79, 94, 165 
 
 Jefferson on privateering, 193, 458 
 
 Jesuit defender of slave trading, 572 to 575 
 
 John tlie Painter, scare, 194, 195 
 
 "Jonah on board," A, 503, 504 
 
 Jones, Paul, 199, 223, 262 
 
 Jamaica fleet, 287 
 
 K 
 
 Kidnapping, 53S, 541, 544> 545> 563> 
 
 57«, 583- 5S4 
 "King's Arms," Scenes at the, 577 to 
 
 579 ; Toast at, 617 
 King George, Letter of Marque, 59, 60 
 
 king Holiday on abolition, 650 
 
 King Pepple on Manxmen, 63S, 657 
 
 King William's slave, 477 
 Kirby, Capt. ,151 
 Kirke, Col., 477 
 
 Kirkpatrick, Capt. Walter, 150, 161 
 Kitchingman, Joseph, 323, 324 
 Kneal, Capt. C, 600 
 Knighthood, etc., offered for the capture 
 
 of a Liverpool hero, 51, 52, 54, 58 
 Knights of Malta, Chagrin of, 69 
 Knight, John, 82 
 Knubley, Capt. Geo., 428 
 
 "Laced Hat Gentry," 113 
 Ladies and Privateering, 122, 225 
 Lancaster, ships, 337, 338, 343' 344 ; 
 
 Slave trade of, 578 ; Mr. Clarkson's 
 
 visit to, 578 
 Launch, 354 ; Of a privateer and slaver, 
 
 184, 185 
 Law Society, 615 ; Suits, 413, 563, 5^7, 
 
 568 
 Leander, Laughable scene on board the, 
 
 452 
 L,egal opinion on slavery, 553, 554 ; 
 
 Legal complement of slaves and 
 
 seamen, 608 
 Legislation and slavery, 468, 469, 470, 
 
 473 . . , T. • • 1 
 
 Leghorn authorities and British priva- 
 teering, 41, 46, 47, 50, 52, 54, 55, 
 61 ; British residents of Leghorn, 
 44 to 47, 49, 51. 52, 54. 59, 62, 63, 
 6S ; Leghorn packets, 192 ; Trade 
 decaying, 60, 62, 67 
 Letters from African Kings and Chiefs, 
 543 to 549, 553 ; From slave-captains, 
 
 489, 533. 541 ; From Roscoe to a 
 slave-captain, 614 ; P'rom prisoners 
 of war, 151, 219 to 221, 255, 260, 
 270, 271, 283, 314, 318, 319 ; 
 Curious letter of a Scotch sailor, 283 
 
 Letters of Marque and Reprisals : — Cost 
 of, 19, 663 ; Against the Spaniards, 
 37 ; Advertised, 169 ; Against the 
 Americans, 182; Against the Span- 
 iards, &c. , 226, 255 ; Against the 
 French, 304 ; Terms of the Eliza's 
 letter of Marque disputed, 414, 415 ; 
 Against the French, 388 ; The last 
 granted, 455 ; Leyland & Co.'s, 602; 
 Captain Crow's, 650 ; Swallow^s, 
 670 to 673 ; The Castor's (see 
 illustration) ; Confederate Govern- 
 ment and Letters of Marque, 459 ; 
 United States Congress and Letters 
 of Marque, 459 
 
 Leyland, Thomas, his slave trading and 
 privateering ventures, 592, 599 to 
 60S, 617, 620 
 
 Licenses for armed vessels, 340 
 
 Linen ships, 248, 291, 441 
 
 " Linguisters," 18, 352, 489^ 
 
 Lippincott case, 536 
 
 Liverpool, its frigates in the Civil War, 
 35 ; Blockade of, 86, 154 ; Its patri- 
 otism, 215, 216, 388, 389 ; The 
 " Blues," 79, 94, 95, 223, 264, 293 ; 
 Preparing to receive Monsieur 
 Thurot, 171 to 173 ; To receive Paul 
 Jones, 223, 262 ; A Liverpool hero, 
 40, 2S0 ; Liverpool estates and priva- 
 teering, 92, 310, 311; The Custom- 
 house, 158, 187, 474, 608 ; Liverpool 
 in war time, 171 to 173, 388, 389; 
 Rivalry with Bristol, 171, 467, 469, 
 494 ; Liverpool as a bathing resort, 
 302 ; Its streets, 187, 188, 281, 323 ; 
 Coffee-houses and taverns, 96, 100, 
 113, 121, 128, 130, 133, 135, 163, 
 476 ; Liverpool Library, 141 ; 
 Marine Society, 146 ; Liverpool in 
 the eighteenth century, 184 to 189 ; 
 (in 17S0), 281 ; (in I795). 622, 623 ; 
 Its newspapers of that period, 17, 
 64 ; Its seven lean years, 301 ; 
 Twelve fat years, 179 ; Ship build- 
 ing, 473 ; Sowing its wild oats, 595 ; 
 Liverpool pirates, 479 ; Merchants 
 and the Government, 209, 304 ; 
 Sailors' riots, 319, 433, 555 ^ 560 : 
 Bravery of Liverpool men, 184, 247, 
 261, 264, 265, 270, 271, 274, 304, 
 353. 363, 370, 394, 408, 413 ; Liver- 
 pool morals and manners, 176, 177, 
 188, 189, 194, 301, 302, 324, 622, 
 623 ; Lyceum Newsroom, 657 ; 
 
70S 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS 
 
 Marvellous progress and greatness of 
 Liverpool, 38, 39, 303, 609, 610, 
 621 to 624 ; Its armed merchant 
 cruisers, 461, 462 ; Deterioration of 
 the inhabitants, 301, 302 ; Effect of 
 the American War on the progress 
 of Liverpool, 301, 302. Effect of 
 abolition, 620, 621 ; Panic in Liver- 
 pool, 559 ; Joy in, 293, 327 ; 
 Mourning, 304 ; Liverpool, Earl of, 
 supports the slave trade, 573, 61 1 
 
 Liverpool privateers and Letters of 
 Marque, in the war with Spain, 39 ; 
 Guns and men (1744), 39 ; In the 
 Seven Years" War, 79 to 178 ; Their 
 activity, 176; Result of privateering 
 in that war, 175, 176 ; In the war of 
 American Independence, 179 to 302 ; 
 Tonnage, guns and men (1779), 20; 
 In the wars of the French Revolution, 
 303 to 429 ; Their number (in 1793), 
 315 ; In the second war with America, 
 430 to 462 ; List of the principal 
 Liverpool privateers and Letters of 
 Marque in the war with America, 
 France, Spain, and Holland (1775 — 
 83), 667 to 669 ; liverpool cruisers 
 in American waters, 216, 224; Share- 
 holders in a Liverpool privateer, 19, 
 31 ; List of officers, crew, etc., 18, 
 661, 662 (see also illustration) ; 
 Cost of fitting out the Enterprize, 18, 
 661 to 664 ; Effect of a sermon on 
 privateering, 284 ; Moral effect of 
 privateerinL', 176 to 178, 184 ; 
 Privateers and Divine worship, 147 ; 
 The Z/w/(7^r J- mistake, 131; Adver- 
 tisements of Liverpool privateers, 
 134, 160, 161, 169, 171 ; Marquis of 
 Granby and Liverpool privateers, 
 225, 265 ; Did privateering pay ? 
 175, 176, 184; Children and priva- 
 teering, 1 86, 188, 189 ; Capture of 
 the Anson privateer, 95. 96 
 
 Liverpool ships captured by the enemy, 
 loi, 102, 114, 116, 117, 119, 125, 
 148 to 153, 155, 157, 169, 170, 171, 
 175, 176, 193, 200 to 202, 207, 217, 
 219, 222, 225, 233, 236, 244 to 248, 
 " 250, 252, 254, 255, 261, 262, 265 to 
 267, 270 to 272, 277, 279, 280, 2S2, 
 
 284, 294, 295, 297, 299, 300, 308, 
 
 309, 312 to 318, 328 to 330, 332, 33S, 
 340, 341, 343, 348, 360, 366, 367, 
 374, 379, 381, 384, 391, 392, 398, 
 400, 402, 403, 408, 409, 416, 420, 
 425, 428, 440, 441, 445. 44S, 449, 
 452, 565, 659 to 661, 665 to 667 
 Liverpool Privateers and Letters of 
 Marque : — 
 
 Active, 216, 224, 314, 417; Admiral 
 Blake, 39 ; Adventure, 149, 255 ; 
 A<^nes, 329 ; Agreeable, 355, 362, 
 366 ; Ainsley, 387 ; Albion, 272 ; 
 Allanson, 315, 332; Alder, 448; 
 Alert, 272, 284, 317; Alexander, 127, 
 291, 449 ; Alexander Undo, 422, 
 423 ; Amazon. 257 — 259 ; Amity, 
 314; Ann, 306, 308, 3C9, 341, 448 ; 
 A7in and Jane, 308 ; Anna and Ellen, 
 389 ; Anson, 63, 87, 88, 89, 95, 96, 
 112; Ann Parr, 387; Antigallican, 
 266, 299 ; Arethiisa, 239 ; Asliton, 
 254; Atalanta, 246; Aurora, 153; 
 Austin, 170; Backhouse, 344, 345, 
 561 ; BaJgrove, 284 ; Baltimore, 123; 
 Barbadoes, 395 ; Barbara, 285, 286, 
 363; Barton, 331, 355, 369, 370; 
 Bella, 299; Belcour, 216, 222; Bel- 
 lona, 227, 401, 402 ; Benson, 263, 
 371, 372 ; Bess, 238, 250, 268 ; 
 Betty, 122., 160, 282 ; Betsey, 247, 
 
 331 ; Betsey and Susan, 364; Blake- 
 ney, 63, 89 ; Blossom, 257 ; Boston, 
 224 ; Bolton, 336, 383 ; Brave Blalze- 
 ney, 87, 90, 91, 112 ; Brenton, 440 ; 
 Bridget, 267, 293, 438, 439 ; Brilli- 
 ant, 216, 229; Britannia, 393 — 395; 
 Brooks, 368, 560 — 562, 585, 586 ; 
 Brot iters, 310, 341, 364, 425 ; Catclier, 
 246; CcTsar, 127; Caldicot Castle, 
 390; Catiierine, 103, 155; Ceres, 270; 
 Charlotte, 367 ; CJiarming Kitty, 
 259; Clarendon, 218, 251 ; Ciiristo- 
 pher, 313, 329; Col. Gascoyne, 316; 
 
 Coclirane, 333 ; Commerce, 255, 256, 
 
 332 ; Cornwallis, 349 ; Connt Bel- 
 gioso, 300, 301 ; Courier, 315 ! Cres- 
 cent, 334 ; Dart, 359 ; Defiance, 261, 
 262 ; Deliglit, 228 254 ; Dispatch, 
 310, 448 ; Diana, 245, 412 ; Dick, 
 236, 288, 376, 377, 379 ; Dragon, 
 243, 244, 268 ; Dreadnought, 252 ; 
 Dublin, 255 ; Dudgeon, 308 ; Duke of 
 Leeds, 316 ; Eagle, 278, 360 ; Earl 
 oj Chester, 423 ; Earl of Derby, 307; 
 Edgar, 331 ; Ellen, 151, 152, 247, 
 275. 276, 329 ; Ellis, 216, 217, 231, 
 234; Eliza, lifi'},, 414; Eliza Ann, 
 448 ; Eliza Jane, 359 ; Elizabeth, 
 201, 329, 338, 359 ; Emperor, 280 ; 
 Enterprise, 18 to 21, 24, 26, 30, 31, 
 248, 268, 331. 661 — 664, 668 ; Eolus, 
 334 ; Essex, 285 ; Eair Penitent, 355 ; 
 Eame. 45, 46, 48, 49, 103, 104 ; Eame, 
 339. 342, 355 ; Fancy, 207, 300, 316; 
 Eanny, 209, 219, 444 to 446 ; Fa- 
 vourite. 309 ; Ferina, 339 ; Ferret, 
 2S4 ; Fly, 282, 285 ; Forbes, 355, 
 367; Fortitude, 407, 408; F^oitune, 
 
 \ 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 709 
 
 331 ; Friendship, 247 ; Geori^e and 
 Betty, 171; General BJaJcency, 123; 
 General Keppel, 384 ; Gipsey, 307, 
 308 ; Gleninore, 0,11 \ Golden Age, 
 315 ; Governor Wiilianison, 364 ; 
 Grace. 201 ; Grand Buck, 88, 104 ; 
 Grange, 312 ; Granville, 152 ; Greg- 
 son, 207, 217, 231, 234, 257, 330; 
 Greenwood, 246 ; Grey lion nd, 218 ; 
 Griffin, 251 ; Halifax Pac/cet, 311 ; 
 Tiioiuas Hall, 229 ; Harriet, 305, 
 306 ; Harlequin, 286, 299, 342, 343, 
 344 ; Harmony, 396 ; Hawlcc, 280, 
 331 ; Heart of Oa/c, 224, 291 ; Henry, 
 365, 366, 440 ; Heracles, 266 ; Here- 
 ford, 252 ; i%;v, 200, 266, 267 ; 
 Hesketh, 124; Hibernia, 107, 108, 
 no; Hiram. 380, 381, 384; i^tJ/^, 
 89, 235, 317.. 403 ; Hunter, 252, 253 ; 
 Hypocrite, 2S0 ; Industry, 285 ; ///i,'- 
 ?•(?///, 159; Isabella, 213 to 215; 
 /jr7rrc, 88, 104, 105, 107, 210, 211 ; 
 Intrepid, 255, 397 ; Jamaica, 254, 
 337 ; James, 264, 329 ; James and 
 Alary, 2S2 ; yt";?//, 311 ; Jenny, 103, 
 227, 278, 279, 293, 308 ; y^/^;z, 207 ; 
 Johnson, 122. 202, 207; Juliana, 
 257, 417 ; /'w^. 237, 252, 3S4— 386; 
 King George, 59, 60, 63 ; King Grey, 
 312; King of I'russia, 64, 88, no to 
 113 ; King J'epple, 354, 368 ; Kitty, 
 287, 288, 293 ; Kniglit, 235 ; Knuts- 
 ford, 152 ; lady Frances, 398 ; Z(7c/y 
 Granby, 224, 225 ; Lancaster. 397 ; 
 Lascelles, 421 , 422 ; Laurel, 200, 404 ; 
 Leghorn Galley, 192 ; Lightning, 289 ; 
 Z///^e y5d«, 234. 235 ; Lively, 265 ; 
 Liverpool, 88, 127, 129 to 135, 160, 
 161, 294, 442. 443 ; Lookout, 282, 
 285 ; Z(?rc/ Charleuiont, 307 ; Z^/r/ 
 Cranstoun, 420; Z(7i-(^ Stanley, 314, 
 335; Lord Nelson, 396; Lord Kodney, 
 
 359 ; ^<y'«^ '-^"'^ 309 ; ^"c. 359 ; 
 
 Lurcher, 287 ; Lydia, 201, 219, 287, 
 319, 420; JMandrin, 87, 96, 97; 
 Margaret, 316; I\Iarlborough, 123, 
 199 ; Mars, 279, 402, 403 ; Mary, 
 lOI, 231 to 233, 308, 309 ; Mary, 
 
 329. 331. 423 ; ^/«o'^««. 199. 333; 
 
 yJ/a^:)' Z//^«, 334, 335 ; May, 433— 
 436 ; Maxzuell, 440 ; Mercury, 88, 
 98 to loi, 119, 317 ; Mennaid, 299 ; 
 Mentor, 239 to 243 ; Mersey, 219, 
 337, 401 ; Minai'a, 285 ; Modestc, 
 269 ; Morgan Rattler, 341 ; Molly, 
 233, 234, 250; Molly, 260, 261, 287; 
 Molly, 295, 297, 332 ; Mossley Hill, 
 294; Artwj', 169, 234, 253, 441; 
 Nanny, 244, 245, 254 ; N'ereus, 31 8, 
 341; Nymph, 396; Ocean, 360; CW 
 
 A^^/-(, 39; 01,1 Dick, 331 ; O^/t'^, 318; 
 Oporto, 2,lT ; Ottway, 123 ; Pallas, 
 267 ; Paris, 449 ; Putsey, 2S4 to 2S6 ; 
 /V6°3'> 278 ; Pelican, 144, 304, 305 ; 
 Pemberton, 150, 160, 161 ; Philip 
 Stevens, 316; Pilgrim, 310; Planter, 
 171, 374 to 376; Zf^/'tf, 205 to 207, 
 
 216; z^?/j', 252, 313, 328; yv-'. 
 
 409 ; Porcupine. 2.1% ; Prince Fred- 
 erick, 156; Posthumous, T,^c); Prince 
 of Orange, 282 ; Prince of Wales, 
 307 ; Prijicess Elizabeth, 306 ; /^/-(j- 
 vidence, 159; 252 ; Prussian Hero, 
 92, 159; Pursuit, 378; Quaker, 290; 
 Queen, 440 ; Quest, 294 ; Ranger, 
 257, 360; Ratvlinson, 251, 2S7 ; 
 Recovery, 34: ; Resolution, %%, 118 to 
 120, 122; Retaliation, 2\'j ; Revenge, 
 87, 96, 97 ; Richard, 219, 257 ; Z'o- 
 /;/«/, 313 ; Z'ij^fi, 235; Rover, 299; 
 Rumbold, 229, 294 ; Sally, 219, 272, 
 339, 428 ; 5aw, 193 ; Sarah, 195, 
 196, 331, 387 ; Sarah Goulburn, 
 205, 216, 224, 243 ; Satisfaction, 224; 
 Savannah, 316 ; Shaimon, 448 ; 
 ShiTwe, 119; Shaw, 419; Shipley, 
 402 ; Sisters, 201 ; Snapper, 277 ; 
 Sparling, 210, 211, 219, 266; 6)>//- 
 yf;-£, 255 ; 6/ij', 88, 119 to 122, 161, 
 235 ; ^y. George. 41, 50, 54 to 59, 
 66, 67, 268 ; ^V. Pfj/i?;-, 228, 229 ; 
 Stag, 224, 262, 263, 336 ; Stately, 
 282 ; Stormont, 285 ; Sturdy Beggar, 
 253 ; Success, 248 ; Surprise, 280 : 
 Susannah, 340, 360 ; Swallow, 45, 
 355. 356, 358, 367 ; Swallow, b-jsi to 
 673 ; Swan, 331 ; Swift, 254, 312 ; 
 Tartar. 122, 237, 277 ; Telemachus, 
 263. 280 ; I'errible, 39, 250, 268 ; 
 Terror, 282 ; Thames, 448 : Tlictis, 
 224; Thistle, 123 124; 1 homas, 
 195, 196, 306, 342 ; Thomas, 350 to 
 354; J hurloe, 39; Three Brothers, 
 224 ; Three Friends, 261 ; yi^/zw 
 Tobin, 436 — 438 ; Tonyn, 270 ; yjjw, 
 218 252, 291, 293 ; 7bwj, 219 ; 
 Trafford, 116, 149; Townley, 374; 
 Townside, 246, 286 ; 7w(7 Brothers, 
 230, 368; Tyger, 170, 254 ; Ulysses, 
 263, Union, 189, 316; Upton, 85, 
 156 ; Valiant, 200 ; Venerable, 398 ; 
 Vengeance, 263, 270, 280 ; Venus, 
 292 ; Viper, 236 ; Vulture, 253 ; 
 Warren.. 40 ; Wasp, 224, 250 ; ^Frt//, 
 272 to 274, 354 ; /Ft'J-/ Indian, 399 ; 
 Westmoreland 398 ; Wheel of For- 
 tune, 156 ; IVho's Afraid 263 ; 
 Wilding, 337 ; ;r/7^, 211, 212, 254 ; 
 William, 268, 315, 328 ; JVindsor, 
 148 ; Windsor Castle Packet, 409 to 
 
710 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 411 ; ir/lliam I/'eafhco/e, 391 ; 
 IVoolfon, 2S5 ; Yoiimj Henry, 230 
 Liverpool Slave Trade, how it originated 
 and thrived, 465 to 495 : Underselling 
 London and Bristol, 470, 471 ; Pre- 
 dominance of Liverpool as a slaving 
 town, 469 ; Town clerk of, 469 ; 
 Liverpool bricks "cemented with 
 blood," 594 ; Guineamen menaced by 
 the French, 331 ; Liverpool oppo- 
 nents of the slave trade, 568 to 575 ; 
 Guineamen cleared, 469, 470, 472, 
 678 ; Liverpool's revenue from the 
 slave trade, 596, 598, 599, 607, 608 ; 
 Ruinous effects of abolition predicted, 
 610, 613, 621 ; Supplying slaves to 
 foreign countries, 616 ; List of Liver- 
 pool's African merchants in 1752, 
 674; In 1806, 679; List of Liverpool 
 ships trading to Africa in 1752. 675 
 to 677 ; in 1798 — 99, 681 to 685 ; 
 Comparative statement of ships 
 cleared out from the ports of London, 
 Liverpool, and Bristol (1795 '^o 1804), 
 /680 ; Effect of the first American war 
 on the slave trade, 555 ; Effects of 
 abolition in Liverpool, 620, 621 ; The 
 last slave-ship out of Liverpool, 626, 
 649 to 655 ; Demoralising effects of 
 the slave trade controversy in Liver- 
 pool, 581 ; Champions of the iniq- 
 uity, 572 to 575, 611 to 613, 617, 649, 
 
 650, 655 
 
 (See also Corporation of Liverpool, slave- 
 ships, slave-captains, slaves) 
 
 Lloyd's, Opinion at, 300 ; sensation at, 433 
 
 Log of a slave-ship, extract from, 686, 
 687 ; From the log of the Bellona 
 privateer, 227 
 
 " Loggerheads revived," 252 
 
 Logwood, 1 28. 263, 39S 
 
 London privateers and Letters of Marque, 
 49, 101, 105, 122, 210, 266. 317, 336, 
 343 ; London slave-traders and ships, 
 200, 467, 469, 473, 477, 494, 618; 
 Cheese ship attacks a privateer, 349 ; 
 Decline of London trade, iSi ; 
 Chamberlain of London, 469 
 
 Losses to commerce, 40 ; Of the enemy, 
 388 
 
 Lottery slave-ship, profits of voyages, 
 599, 600, 607 
 
 Louisa slave-ship, profits of, 605, 607 
 
 Love story. Romantic, 70 to 78 ; disap- 
 pointed love, 118, 119; Newton's 
 love for Mary Catlett, 496 to 498, 
 502, 503 ; Love in the Tower Gaol, 
 427 
 
 Ludicrous adventure of a Yankee, 452, 453 
 
 Lyceum Newsroom, 657 
 
 M 
 
 M'Quie, Capt. Peter, his gallant defence 
 
 of the I'hoinas against a French 
 
 corvette, 350 to 352 ; Action with 
 
 Spanish ship of war, 353, 354 ; 
 
 Killed in an insurrection of slaves on 
 
 the middle passage, 592, 593 
 MacRitchie, Rev. Wm. (of Clunie), his 
 
 visit to Liverpool, 622, 623 
 Magazines, The, 323, 324 
 Magistrates and the press-gang, 15S ; 
 
 and the rioters, 319, 555, 559 
 Mahogany, 100, 121, 485, 4S7 ; And 
 
 murder, 576 
 Malta, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63 to 65, 68, 69, 
 
 76. 77 
 Manchester goods, 467, 468 
 Man-stealing, Astounding defence of, 
 
 572 to 575 
 Manillas, 539, 546 _ 
 Manners and morality in Liverpool, 176, 
 
 177, 188, 189, 194, 301, 302, 324, 
 
 623 
 Manning of British ships, 280 
 Manxmen, 152, 559, 626, 629 to 631, 
 
 634, 638, 656, 657 ; Manx flag at 
 
 Bonny, 657 
 Maritime School at Chelsea, 143 
 Marseilles, 45 to 47, 49, 51, 52, 57 to 
 
 59, 64, 67, 69 
 Mary beats off six French privateers, 
 
 423> 424 
 Massacre at Old Calabar, 529 to 542, 
 
 576 ; Of shipwrecked slaves, 590 
 Mayor lying in state 148 
 Members of Parliament and the slave 
 
 trade, 567, 611 to 613, 617 to 620 
 Merchant, A noble Liverpool, 296, 579, 
 
 580 
 Merchants' Coftee-house, 96, 100, 121, 
 
 130, 133. 135 
 
 Merchants and Shipowners of Liverpool, 
 Their shrewdness, 26, 35, 36 ; They 
 fit out privateers, 87, 134, 135, 182 
 to 184 ; Their loyalty and warlike 
 spirit, 215, 216 ; They object to 
 publication of shipping lists, 155 ; 
 Warn captains who neglect convoy, 
 189 ; Their memorials and protests 
 to the Government, 180, 269, 338, 
 449, 450 ; They compete for the 
 American trade, 300 ; Encourage 
 gallantry, 436 ; Their economy, 471 ; 
 Character, 594, 595 
 
 ?tlercantile iVLirine Association, 205 ; 
 Mercantile marine of England and 
 America, 459 to 461 
 
 Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, 622 
 to 624 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 711 
 
 Meteorological tables, 141, 142 
 Mexico and privateering, 455, 456 
 Middle Passage, its horrors and mortality, 
 234. 334. 480. 481, 4S6, 489, 549, 
 56S, 582 to 593, 616, 641 to 644, 651 
 to 654 ; Its duration, 5S6 ; Merry 
 sport, 639 ; Orgie of slaves, 593 ; 
 Disgusting scenes, 5S6, 587 
 Midshipman Mottley, his escape, 404, 
 
 405 
 
 Military, 172, 264, 265, 2S7, 3S9, 559, 
 617 
 
 Millionaire's Ventures, A, 599 to 60S 
 
 Miscellaneous prize cargoes, 96, 97, 100, 
 104, III, 121, 124, 130 to 133, 171, 
 217, 227, 22S, 231, 234 to 239, 244, 
 247 to 251, 253, 254, 267, 2S2, 30S, 
 310, 316, 355, 359, 360, 362, 366, 
 . 368, 387 
 
 Mistake of a Greenock ship, Terrible, 
 
 3S7 
 
 Mock Corporation of Sephton, SB 
 
 Monkeys, 384, 647, 651, 654 
 
 Moorish maiden. Elopement of, 72 to 78 
 
 "Mother Redcap" and the privateers- 
 men, 323, 324 
 
 Moral effect of privateering, 176 to 178, 
 
 1S4, 188, 301 ; Of slave trading, 572 
 
 to 577, 581, 595, 616 
 
 I Mortality in P'rench prisons, 260, 272 ; 
 
 I Of slaves, 234, 334, 481, 486, 489, 
 
 ' 549, 586 to 588, 616, 651; 654; At 
 
 Old Calabar, 535 ; Of seamen in the 
 
 slave trade, 489, 493, 605, 651, 654 
 
 Mossley Hill estate, 240, 241 
 ( Murder, by sailors, 336 ; Of Amboe 
 Robin John, 538 ; Mutiny and mur- 
 der at Hoylake, 102 ; At sea, 299 
 
 Muster rolls of Guineamen, 575, 57S, 
 579, 605 ; Of privateers, 65 1, 662 
 (also illustration) 
 
 N 
 
 Nailing the colours to the mast, 379, 409, 
 
 437 
 
 Nation sick of war, 292 ; A national 
 iniquity, 523, 524, 595 
 
 Naval lethargy, 67, 114, 116 to iiS, 450 
 to 452 ; Naval victories, 293, 387, 
 388 ; Naval power of Great Britain, 
 459 to 462 
 
 Negroes, as marksmen, 564, 636, 639 ; 
 Humour of, 646, 655 ; Alarmed, 334, 
 591, 644 ; Faithful, 554 ; Kindness 
 of, 4S4 ; Negro boy in the clockcase, 
 558 ; A magnanimous negro, 571 ; 
 Negroes in the West Indies, 645 to 
 647 ; Negroes' first view of the sea, 
 
 624 (for price, &c. , of negroes, see 
 slaves) 
 
 Negro Row, 474 
 
 Neutral ships' certificates, 27, 28 
 
 New system of warfare, 450 
 
 New York, 200, 208 
 
 Newcastle colliers, Frenchman's admira- 
 tion of, 137 
 
 Newton, Cattain John, 147, 149, 
 5S6, 587 ; Early life, asceticism and 
 profanity, 495, 496 ; Falls in love, 
 and into the hands of the press-gang, 
 becomes a midshipman and an 
 Atheist. 497 ; Offends his captain, 
 deserts his ship, is arrested, whipped 
 and degraded, 49S ; Tempted to com- 
 mit suicide on the passage to Madeira, 
 498 ; Transferred to a slave-ship, evil 
 condtict, takes service with a trader, 
 lands in Africa, 499 ; Illness and 
 abject slavery, cruelty of his black 
 mistress, terrible hardships, 500 ; 
 Falsely accused of theft, imprisonment 
 and illusage, misery and mathematics, 
 501 ; Mocked by his master, a new 
 situation, danger of "growing black," 
 a ship from Liverpool, 502 ; A mari- 
 ner's blarney, love prevails, embarks 
 for England, 503 5 Jonah on board, 
 storm at sea, a memorable deliver- 
 ance, 503 ; The Atheist prays, "found 
 out by the powerful hand of God," 
 weeks of suffering, 504 ; Arrives in 
 Ireland, no longer an infidel, 505 ; 
 Sails from Liverpool as mate of a 
 slave-ship, relapses into old ways, 
 illness in Africa, and recovery, learns 
 Latin, 505 ; Slaving adventures on 
 the Coast, 506 ; Marriage and first 
 voyage as slave-captain, 506 ; Noble 
 revenge on his black mistress, 507 ; 
 Old fashioned discipline, 508 ; "A 
 slave to one woman," 508; Takes 
 command of the African, rule of life 
 at sea, 509 ; "In desert woods with 
 Thee my God," 510 ; Conspiracy 
 frustrated, 51 1 ; Life and honour in 
 danger, 511 ; Sunday on a slave-ship, 
 
 511 ; Covenant with God, 512: Do- 
 cility of slaves on the middle passage, 
 
 512 ; Arrival in liverpool, attempts 
 to convert an old friend, 513 ; An 
 Atheist's death, 514; Returns thanks 
 in the churches at Liverpool for a 
 successful African voyage, 515 ; Con 
 gratulated on 'change, 515 ; Illness 
 and termination of his connection 
 with the slave trade, 516; Appointed 
 tide surveyor at Liverpool, 516 ; 
 Attempts to enter the Church, 517 ; 
 
712 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 Failure at first as a preacher, 517 ; 
 Becomes curate of Olney, 5^7 > 
 Preaches at St. George's Church. 
 Liverpool, 517 ; Vicar of Olney, and 
 friend of Cowper, 51S ; Joint author 
 of the Olney Hymns, 518 ; Becomes 
 Rector of St. Mary's, Woolnoth, 51S; 
 Speaks of his past life, 519; Views 
 on the slave trade, 520 ; His fame as 
 a writer, 521 ; Gives evidence against 
 the slave trade, 521 ; Writes and 
 preaches against it, 522 ; Rememliers 
 his former misery, 524 \ African 
 "Blackbirds," 525; His lovable 
 character as a pastor, 525 ; His 
 beautiful death, 526 ; Singular 
 epitaph, 526 ; His character and 
 humour, 527 ; The secret of his 
 power, 527 
 
 Noljle revenge, 507 
 
 "Nonagenarian's" recollections, 184 — 
 1S9' 
 
 Nudity and cupidity, 244 
 
 o 
 
 Observations on tides, &c. , 141, 142 
 
 Old Calabar, its chief men, 533 to 548 ; 
 
 Attack on the Kitty, 333 ; Mortality 
 
 of slaves there, 486 ; Correspondence 
 
 from, 533 to 548 ; Terrible massacre 
 
 at, 535 to 542 
 Old Dock, 83 142, 146, 1S8, 322, 367, 
 
 474, 556 
 Oldest Liverpool ship, 171 
 Olney Hymns, 498, 518 
 Orders in Council, 406, 407, 430, 431, 
 
 5S5> 619 
 Owners of privateers and LettCTs of 
 
 Marque ships, list of, 667 to 669 
 Owners of slave-ships, 674 to 677, 679. 
 
 681 to 6S4 
 
 Palm Oil, 602 
 
 Pamphlets, poems, and essays on the 
 
 slave trade, 520 to 522, 567 to 574, 
 
 581. 
 Panyaring, 584 
 Parliament and the slave trade, 609, 
 
 611 to 613, 616 to 621 
 Passengers, bravery of. 333, 345, 370, 
 
 371, 375, 393- 422, 437, 439, 627 
 Pathetic scenes, 583, 588, 589, 592, 636, 
 
 644, 645, 653, 654 ; Pathetic letter of 
 
 a slave-captain, 4S9 ; Pathetic death 
 
 of an American commander, 447 ; Of 
 
 a Guinea captain, 379, 380 ; Of 
 Mrs. Dorothy Parke, 113 
 Peace, of Amiens, 304, 387 ; With 
 America, 297, 298 ; Of Paris and the 
 trade of Liverpool, 494 ; Of 1783, 
 299, 300 566 ; " Peace, heavenly 
 peace," 453, 454 
 Pelican, H.]\1.S. the, captures the Argus, 
 
 446 
 Pelican privateer, Loss of, 144, 304, 305 
 Penalties for saluting the town with 
 loaded cannon, 213, 367 ; For slave- 
 trading, 625 
 Pendant for the Liverpool, 444 
 Petitions, against war with America, 
 292 ; Against the abolition of the 
 slave trade, 609 to 613, 617, 619 ; 
 In favour of abolition, 566, 609 to 
 
 613, 616 to 619 ; Petition of a Liver- 
 pool slave-merchant, 616. 
 
 Picton, Sir James, on privateering, 175, 
 176, 184 ; On the slave trade, 581 ; 
 His statistical blunders corrected, 
 566, 619, 620 
 
 Pilgrim estate, 311 
 
 Pilots' committee, 123, 144 
 
 Pimento, lOO, 121, 487 
 
 Piracy, 85, 86, 299, 300, 479, 625 ; 
 Terrible butchery by pirates, 107 to 
 109 ; Piratical-looking scoundrels, 
 
 200, 201 I 
 Plymouth prison, 278, 447 " 
 Pool-lane (now South Castle Street), 
 
 Desperate affrays in 322, 323 
 Pontack's Coffee-house, 93, 96, 97 
 Population, 301, 303 
 Portuguese frigate, Shameful neglect by 
 
 a, 374 
 
 Practical jokers, 390 
 
 Presentation to commanders for gallan- 
 try, &c., 52, 200, 205, 212, 333, 338, 
 377, 378, 385, 386, 39S, 401, 411, 436, 
 438, 440, 628, 638 ; To champions of 
 the slave-traffic, 573, 576, 611, 613, 
 
 614, 617, 618 
 
 Prescot Almshouses, 154 ; A Prescot 
 slave, 554 
 
 Press-gangs ashore and afloat, Tyranny of 
 the, 5, 29, 84, 85, 102, 138, 157 to 
 159, 169, 170, 189, 194, 202, 204, 
 238, 256, 2O8, 2b9, 289, 292, 302, 
 319 to 327, 333, 390, 399, 414, 415, 
 423, 424, 605, 632, 637, 645 ; Press- 
 gang lion and the sailor lamb, 325, 
 326 
 
 Prices of goods, 216 ; Prices of slaves, 
 
 201, 246, 4S0, 481, 494, 529, 547, 
 548, 550, 551, 564, 597 606 to 608 ; 
 Prime cost of a slave, 539, 547, 54S, 
 551, 597, ^So 
 
 I 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 13 
 
 Princess Guardsliip, 319 
 
 Prisoners of war, not to be plundered, 
 &c., 24, 27, 29 ; Treatment of, in 
 France, 162, l6b to 170, 2S2, 283, 
 314, 330, 629, 630 ; In Liverpool, 
 162, 163, 173, 262, 265, 268, 664 ; 
 Spanish usage of, 372 
 
 Privateers, British (in 1745), 49 '■> 
 Activity of British, 176, 250 ; In the 
 British Colonies, I15 ; A Quaker 
 commander, 115 ; Golden age of 
 privateering, 32 ; Method of fitting 
 out, arming, manning, and man- 
 oeuvring privateers, i to 31 ; Priva- 
 teering dodges, 130, 133, 378 ; List 
 of American privateers, 198, 199 ; 
 American opinion of privateering, 
 193, 456 to 459 ; Privateers in the 
 Channel, 565; Privateering "abolish- 
 ed," 455 ; Guadaloupe privateers, 
 126 ; Guernsey, 130, 332, 414 ; 
 Martinique, 201 ; Dunkirk, 114, 261, 
 265 ; Jersey, 249, 2S4 ; Ladies and 
 privateering, 122, 225 ; Prussia and 
 privateering, 456 ; A Chester priva- 
 teer, 32 ; An Exeter privateer, 234, 
 
 235 ; 
 
 (See also American, French, and Liver- 
 pool.) 
 
 Privateer commanders, jealousy of, 106 ; 
 Their tactics, 14 ; A devout captain, 
 147, 148 ; His hobbies, 145 ; Pay of 
 privateer captains, surgeons, seamen, 
 etc., 31, 661 ; Instructions to priva- 
 teer commanders from owners, 21, 
 26, 27 to 30 ; From the government, 
 671 to 673 ; Charge of cowardice 
 refuted, 97 : List of commanders, 
 667 to 669 ; Defying the French, 370 ; 
 A daring capture, 1 1 1 
 
 Privateersmen, their character, dress, 
 habits, etc., 5, 6, 88, 96, 97, 112, 
 113, 121, 129, 136, 147, 148, 156, 
 160, 161, 184, 186 to 188 ; Their 
 wages, 18, 31, 661 to 664; Financing 
 them, 97 ; Their riotous conduct, 
 237, 238 ; Black privateersmen, 196, 
 396, 397 ; A female "privateersman," 
 118, 119; Their enthusiasm " for the 
 honour of Liverpool," 339 ; Prize 
 money, 323, 324 ; Damages for im- 
 pressing privateersmen, 413 to 416 
 
 Privileges and commissions of officers in 
 the slave trade, 471, 4S7, 530, 602, 
 603, 606 
 
 Prizes, Act of Geo. III., 207, 208 ; Prize 
 Courts, 46 to 48, 260, 286, 287, 670 
 to 673 ; Prize cargoes, leave to sell, 
 391 ; Prize ashore at New Ferry, 
 232 ; Prizes lost, 246, 249, 254, 267, 
 
 3A 
 
 2857 309 : Prize-money, 203, 204, 
 205, 251, 323, 324, 377, 414 ; Rich 
 prizes captured, 216 to 219, 222, 
 306 to 308, 310, 314, 315, 334, 342, 
 360, 372, 3S7, 39S, 401, 414, 564, 
 565 ; Prizes captured by the Ameri- 
 cans, 182, 190, 192, 193, 196 to 198, 
 200, 202, 209, 210, 216, 247, 248, 
 252 to 255, 311, 440 to 442, 44S ; 
 Prize cargoes captured bj' Liverpool 
 vessels, 257 to 261, 263, 266, 267, 
 269, 272, 276 to 2S0, 2S2, 2S5 to 290, 
 292 to 294, 299, 301, 305 to 310, 314, 
 316 to 318, 328, 329, 331, 332, 397, 
 398, 401, 414, 448, 565. (See also 
 ships captured.) 
 
 Profits of the contraband trade, 46S ; Of 
 slave trading, 530, 596 to 608 
 
 Property deal. Smart, 94 
 
 Provisions, 237, 247, 249, 250, 267 ; For 
 the slaves, 586 
 
 Protections from impressment, 83, 84, 
 169 
 
 Prussia and privateering, 456 
 
 Q 
 
 Quaint sayings of John Newton, 524, 
 
 525, 527 
 Quaker, A fighting, 1 15 
 Quakers and the slave trade, 495, 566 
 
 to 569, 575> 5S0, 609 
 Quamina, a noble negro, 571 
 Quarter-bill for a privateer, 3, 4 
 Quarter-deck, To fortify the, 12, 13 
 Queen Elizabeth and privateering, 32 ; 
 
 and the slave trade, 465, 466 
 
 R 
 
 Ramilies saved by Liverpool ships. Crew 
 of H. M.S., 276, 277 
 
 Ranelagh tea gardens, 187 
 
 llavgcr privateer, 223 
 
 Ransomers and ransom bills, 17, 32, 152, 
 153, 218, 252, 254, 27S, 290, 291, 
 312, 315, 659, 660, 666 
 
 Rathbone, William, assists Clarkson, 570, 
 575; His noble character, 579; Death, 
 580 
 
 Recaptures, 170, 201, 202, 207, 229, 233, 
 236, 244, 246, 251, 252, 255, 256, 
 265 — 267, 280, 282, 2S4, 287, 291, 
 294, 295. 307—310, 312. 313, 315— 
 317. 328, 329, 331. 332, 337, 339, 
 340, 342, 343, 347, 348, 359, 362, 
 364, 366—368, 374, 381, 384, 392, 
 396, 39S, 402, 403, 40S, 425, 440, 
 
714 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJF.CTS. 
 
 441, 446, 566, 593 ; Kccapture of 
 ihc Mary. lOI — 102 
 
 Reckless firing in the river Mersey, 423 
 
 "Red Noses," Sailors hiding at the, 323 
 
 Reflecting mirrors invented, 141 
 
 Remarkable coincidence, 2S4 
 
 Rendezvous of the press-gang, 319, 320, 
 322 
 
 Revenue cruiser insulted, 269 
 
 Rice, 224, 247, 30S 
 
 Riots, 319, 423, 555 to 560 
 
 Romantic inciden s — Fortunatus Wright 
 and the Knights of Malta, 69; His- 
 tory of Selim, the captive, 70 to 78 ; 
 Handsome "Jack" Roberts, 631 ; 
 Monsieur Felix Durand and a " Lan- 
 cashire Witch," 427 ; A female 
 "Privateersman," i iS, 1 19 ; Discovery 
 on board the Acfcron, 378 
 
 Roscoe, William, 133, 56S — 571, 574, 
 575. 5S0. 595. 619,620; His vindi- 
 cation of Liverpool merchants, 595 ; 
 His letter to a slave-captain, 614, 
 
 6'5 
 Rudders, 145 
 Rum, 100, 121, 129, 217, 21S, 229, 4S7, 
 
 593 
 
 Rushton, Edward, the blind poet, 297, 
 
 571, 575 
 Russia declares war, 377 ; Russian 
 vessels seized, 377 
 
 Sailing orders, 21, 26 to 30 
 
 Sailor Girls, 1 18, 37S, (331 
 
 Sailors, illtreated, 159, 578 ; Protections 
 from impressment, 83, 84, 169 : 
 Runaways described, 160 ; Tempted 
 into the French service, 167, 425 ; 
 Weeping sailors, 271 ; Cowardly 
 sailors, Rare instances of, 270, 271, 
 348, 349 ; Remarkable instance of 
 their courage, 244 ; Turbulent sailors 
 asho e, 237, 23S, 324 ; Sailors' riots, 
 319, 423, 555 to 560 ; Sailors in 
 hiding, 320, 324, 560 ; Wages of 
 sailors, 555, 661, 652, 664 ; Mortal- 
 ity of sailors, 489, 493, 605, 651, 654; 
 Character of British sailors employed 
 in the slave trade, 688 ; Extraor- 
 dinary press for seamen, 399 ; British 
 sailors in the French service, 425, 
 426 ; Foreign sailors on British 
 ships, 280, 348, 349, 425 ; Damages 
 for impressing seamen, 170 
 
 Saints in distress, 182 
 
 Sales of slives by auction, 301, 306, 591, 
 592 ; By scramble, 591 
 
 Salt trade, 187, 556 || 
 
 Sanguinary engagements, 201, 202, 206, ■'' 
 212, 214, 215, 253, 261, 272 to 274, 
 337, 338> 351 to 353, 370, 371, 379, 
 563 
 School for the blind, 571 
 Scientific seamanship, 136, 143 
 Scotch sailor, (Quaint letter of a, 283 
 Sea power of t,ngland, 459 to 462 
 Seacombe, 323 
 Seamen's Hospital, 213, 
 Shackles, torture instruments, etc., 473, 
 
 515, 532, 533, 546 
 
 Sham captures, 1S2 ; Sham press-gang, 
 424 
 
 Shallop-racer, a, 144 
 
 Sharks and slave-ships, 234, 484, 589, 
 658 
 
 Shipbudders, St,, 143, 145, 185, 322, 354, 
 617, 623 
 
 Shipping idle, 180, 181, 183 ; Shipping 
 lists suppressed, 155 
 
 Ships captured from the enemy, 20, 25. 
 32, 39, 40, 45 to 48, 57 to 59, 64, 66, 
 87 to 91, 96, 100 to 108, III to it6, 
 121 to 124, 128 to 135, 152, 156, 198 
 to 207, 216 to 219, 225 to 259, 263, 
 266 to 270, 272, 275 to 2S0, 282, 285 
 to 294, 297. 299, 305 to 310. 313 to 
 318, 32S to 332, 338, 342, 354, 355, 
 359, 360, 362, 365, 366, 368, 372, 
 373, 376, 387 to 390, 397, 398, 401, 
 403, 418, 564, 565 ; Blown up, 218, 
 222, 395, 448, 562, 634; Burnt, 328, 
 332 ; Capsized, 143, 144, 304, 305 ; 
 Sunk, 243, 245, 253 254, 276, 277, 
 304. 305, 404, 472, 637 ; Ships of 
 the Stanleys, 32, 33 ; Ships and 
 tonnage, 620 to 622 ; Ship money, 
 34 ; Ship club, 137, 138 ; Ship re- 
 captured by a steward. 425 ; Ships 
 belonging to Liverpool (1709 — 44), 
 38, 39; Rich ship lost, 301 ; Man- 
 ning of British ships, 2S0 ; List of 
 Liverpool ships captured (1739 — 48), 
 659 to 661 ; 1 1756— 63), 665 to 667 
 
 Shipwrights and the press-gang. 322 
 
 Shots received by the Dick, 289 ; By 
 the Backhouse, 361 ; By the A'iiig 
 IVlUiavi, 368 ; Shots expended by 
 the Fanny, 209 ; By the Polly, 373 ; 
 Shots and philosophy, 145 : A slave's 
 lucky shot, 564; "A chance shot 
 will kill the devil," 643 
 
 Sierra Leone devastated, 332 
 
 Signalling, 30, 603, 616 
 
 Silks, 58, 250, 310, 
 
 Silver, 237, 334 
 
 Simpson, David, his account of Thurot's 
 landing at Islay, 173 to 175 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 715 
 
 Slave-auctions in Liverpool, 474; In tin; 
 West Indies, 591 ; In London, iXic. , 
 477 to 479 
 
 Slave-captains, Lists of (1752), 675 to 
 677; (1798-99), 6S1 to 684; Their 
 high-handed methods, 481, 482 ; 
 Social status, 186, 50S, 515; Privi- 
 leges and emoluments, 471, 4S6 487, 
 530, 602, 603, 606 ; Habits, 657 ; 
 Artifices, 584 ; Character. 50S, 653, 
 65S ; Heartless trick, 563 ; Inhu- 
 manity, 563, 5S3 to 592 ; Heroic 
 Guinea captain, 379, 3S0 ; Discipline 
 maintained by Captain Newton, 508 ; 
 Oldest slave-captain in Liverpool, 
 dress of the, 543, 544 ; Strange 
 letters of slave-captains, 533, 534, 
 542 ; Roscoe's letter to a slave-captain, 
 614 ; Merchants' instructions to slave- 
 captains, 486 to 488, 550, 60 r to 603, 
 634, 635 ; Devout commanders, 509, 
 510, 636; Ex-slave-captain preaching 
 to slave-traders, 517 ; Captain cap- 
 tured by the natives, 533 ; Captain of 
 the Edgar, 538 to 541, 576 
 
 Slave-merchants, their orders to their 
 captains, 486 to 488, 550, 601 10603, 
 634, 635 ; Their conduct towards 
 Mr. Clarkson, 577 to 579; Their 
 houses sacked by sailors, 557, 558 ; 
 Leading slave-firms, imports by, 599 ; 
 Lists of names, 674 to 677, 679, 681 
 to 684 
 
 Slave trade and the war, &c. . 20,38, 172, 
 179 181, 183, 184, 18S, 284, 287, 
 331 ; Origin of the British slave trade, 
 465, 466 ; Slave trade thrown open, 
 46S ; Slave trade legislation, 468 — 
 470, 473, 625 ; Motions in parliament, 
 609, 611 to 613, 616 to 621 ; Slave 
 trading and rioting, 560 ; John New- 
 ton on the evils and calamities of the 
 slave trade, 515, 519 to 524 ; Slave 
 trade abolished, 620 ; The last spurt, 
 618, 620, 621, 651, 654 ; Slave 
 trading under foreign flags, 625 ; 
 Better regulation (jf the trade, 562 ; 
 Magnitude of the trade, 522 to 524 ; 
 Shipping employed in the slave trade, 
 494, 495> 555- 5^6, 599, 608, 614, 
 618, 619, 620; Emoluments of the 
 traffic, 570, 594 to 608 ; Compen- 
 sation, 619, 625 
 
 (See also Liverpool slave trade, &c.) 
 
 Slavic Ships : — Abigail, 363, 364 ; 
 Achiiks, 491 ; Africa, 366 ; African, 
 495> 509, 530 ; Amelia and Eleanor, 
 369; An7i, 348; Anne, 631, 632; 
 Ann Galley, 79, So ; Backhouse, 361 ; 
 Bee, 516 ; Beaver. 368 ; Betsey 493 ; 
 
 Betty.^ 489 ; JUanc/iai-d, 362 ; Bloom, 
 605 ; Blossom, 257 ; Bolton, 616 ; 
 Brooks, 560, 561, 583 ; 586 ; Bud, 
 344, 367 ; Carter, 481 ; Ceres, 638 ; 
 Cliartolte, 494 ; Clay/on, 479 ; 
 Clemison, 332 ; Dalrimple, 533 ; 
 Derby, 555 ; Diana, 245, 338, 637 ; 
 -^'■■^^■. 379 ; ^/'/^'^' of Argyle, 495, 
 506 ; Echo, 313 ; Edgar, 536 — 541 ; 
 Eliza, 316, 362, 364 ; Elizabeth, 
 361 ; Ellis, 347, 348 ; Enterprise, 
 601, 603, 607 ; Essex, 285 ; E'ancy, 
 300 ; Fanny, 480 ; Fortune, 472, 
 604 ; Francis, 494 ; George, 367 ; 
 Glory, 493 ; Greenivood, 246 ; Greg- 
 wn, 330, 563, 628, 629 ; Gudgeon., 
 360 ; Harlequin, 342 — 344 ; Hazard, 
 313, 491 ; Hector, 491, 492 637 ,- 
 Henry, 372 ; Hereford, 252 ; Hinde, 
 360, 365 ; Hope, 235 ; Ingram, 159 ; 
 Isabella, 360 ; Industry, 493 ; Juno, 
 zyj, 252 ; James, 334, 362, 632 ; 
 Jane, 563 ; John, 549 ; Joshua, 614 ; 
 I'^i'ig George, 481 ; Ki>ig Grey, 312 ; 
 King William, 368 ; Kitty, 332, 
 333 ; Kittyi's Amelia, 649 — 655 ; 
 Knight, 484, 494 ; Little Ben, 234, 
 235; Little Joe, 313; Liverpool, 
 2^4 ; Lo/d Stanley, 637 ; Lottery, 
 592, 599, 600, 607 ; Louisa, 605 ; 
 Lovely Lass, 362 ; Mac, 493 ; Mar- 
 garet and Eliza, 387 ; Maria, 366 ; 
 Marquis of Granby, 486 ; Mars, 
 2J() ; Mary, 368, 639, 641 t > 649 ; 
 Mary Borough, 531 ; Mercury, 313 ; 
 Mersey, 366 ; Minei-va, 313, 314 ; 
 Molly, 233, 234, 360, 491 ; Mossley 
 Hill, 294 ; Nancy, 234, 257, 480, 
 549 ; Nelly, 566 ; Ogden, 472, 482, 
 484; Othello, 331, 565, 566, 631, 
 634; Otter, 368; Parr, biT , 634; 
 Benelope, 482 ; Perfect, 492 ; Phoeiii.\\ 
 481 ; Pilgrim, 347 ; Polly, 373, 374; 
 Prise ilia, 48 1 ; Prosperity, 313 ; 
 Providence, 252 ; Rainboxv, 488 ; 
 Ranger, 338, 339; Robert, 416, 417; 
 Rose, 235, 564, 565 ; Rover, 299 ; 
 Kumbold, 294 ; Sally, 332, 346, 564 ; 
 Seacombe, 2S7 ; Speiuer, 492 ; Spy, 
 235, 294. 494 ; St. Anne, 347, 348 ; 
 Stag, 294; Swift, 312; Tarleton, 
 316, 349 ; Thomas, 350 to 354, 592, 
 593 ; Iliree Sisters, 479 ; I'oin, 252 ; 
 True Br it 0)1, 560 ; Union, 313 ; 
 Vine, 529, ; Will, 634 — 636 ; Young 
 Dick, 363 ; Zong, 567, 56S 
 Slave-ships, captured from the enemy, 
 90 229, 237, 307, 313, 314, 317, 
 564 ; Captured by the enemy, 176, 
 200, 201, 245 252, 294, 299, 300, 
 
716 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 472, 480, 4S9, 491, 493 ; Destroyed 
 by the French on the coast of Africa, 
 11^, 333' 482, 4S3; Cut off and 
 phuulered b)' natives and pirates, 
 
 479, 4S1, 549; Saluting the port with 
 loaded cannon, 213 ; Slave-ships in 
 action, 4S4, 491, 493, 560, 561, 563 
 to 565, 629, 632, 635, 636, 642, 643 ; 
 Slave-ships overset and sunk, 144, 
 490 ; Wrecked, 372, 566 ; On fire, 
 565, 652, 653 ; Blown up, 362, 484, 
 494, 631, 634 ; Slave-ships, how 
 manned, 509 ; Dimensions of, 171, 
 472, 479, 5S5, 586 ; Scramble sale 
 on board a slave-ship, 591 ; Sanitary 
 condition of slave-ships, 5S6 to 588 ; 
 Captain Parrey's report to parliament 
 on slave-ships, 585 ; Regulation 
 of slave-ships, 470, 562, 611, 617, 
 618 ; Loading the proceeds of a slave 
 cargo, 487 ; Extract from the log of a 
 slave-ship, 686, 687 ; Launch of a 
 slave-ship, 184 ; Cost of outfit and 
 carijoes, 600. 603, 604, 605, 607 
 
 Slaves, Orders to select, 486 ; viethod of 
 procuring, 582 'o 584 ; Of stowing, 
 585 to 587 ; A bill of lading for 
 slaves, 531 ; Branding slaves, 531, 
 532, 584; Slaves di owned, 372; 
 Slaves tortured, 532, 589 ; Thrown 
 overboard alive, 568 ; Scarcity of 
 slaves, 494, 535 ; Mutinous slaves, 
 
 480, 489, 492, 511, 512, 549, 560, 
 592. 593 : Starving themselves to 
 death, 533, 5S9 ; Jumping overboaid, 
 568; Dreaming of home, "dancing" 
 in chains, 588 ; Walking the plank, 
 589, 590 ; Shipwrecked slaves 
 massacred, 590 ; Slaves fighting 
 against the enemy, 349, 373, 484, 
 560, 561, 564, 565 ; Songs of sorrow, 
 588 ; Orgie of slaves on the middle 
 passage, 593 ; Preparing the slaves 
 for market, 591 ; Method of selling 
 them, 591, 592 ; Slaves advertised 
 for sale, 474 to 479 ; Account sales 
 of slaves, 530 ; Collars and padlocks 
 for slaves, 477 ; A runaway Prescot 
 slave, 554; Prime cost of slaves, 539, 
 547, 548, 551. 597. 680; Price of 
 slaves, 201, 246, 480, 481, 494, 529, 
 547, 548, 550, 551, 564, 597, 606 to 
 608 ; IJJumber of slaves imported, 
 494, 523, 596, 599, 618 to 621 ; 
 Slave cargoes, 257, 294, 300, 307, 
 312 to 314, 317, 472, 491, 493, 529 
 to 531, 549, 550, 5(30, 566, 586, 590 
 to 592, 596 to 608 ; Value of slaves 
 imported, 596 to 60S ; Duty on 
 slaves, 530, 550, 601, 603 ; Feeding 
 
 the slaves, 588 ; Their food, 586 
 689, 690 ; Deck-house for slaves, 634 ; 
 Dead and living chained together, 
 
 587 . 
 
 Slavery in England, 553 ; In the West 
 Indies, 523, 625, 658 ; Boswell on 
 slavery, 609 
 
 Small adventures in negroes, 598 
 
 Smart recaptures, 191, 202 to 205 
 
 Society of Friends (see Quakers) 
 
 Solent, Naval display in, 461 
 
 Somerset, The negro, 553, 554, 567 
 
 South Sea House, 466 
 
 Spanish Armada, 34 ; Guarda Costa, 36, 
 37, 468 ; War with Spain, 37, 180 ; 
 Spanish losses, 297 ; Cruelty, 472 ; 
 Spanish pirates, 336 ; Spanish treasure 
 ships captured, 258, 259, 263, 39S, 
 401, 485 ; Spanish privateers, 355, 
 2>^ij 398 ; Spain and privateering, 
 455, 45^ j Spanish usage of prisoners, 
 
 372 A 
 
 Stage coach stopped by press-gang, 326 m 
 St. Domingo, 246, 307 ; St. Domingo 
 House and Estate, 92 to 94, 310, 31 1 
 St. Edward's College, 94 j 
 
 St. George privateer, 50, 54 to 59, 66 ■ 
 
 St. George's Coffee-house, 249, 250 1 
 
 Stinkpots, 160, 352, 564 
 Stonehouse on privateering and slave 
 
 trading, 184 to 189, 204, 324, 325 
 Stout defence of the Spitfire, 255 
 Strange dreams and fancies of John New- 
 ton, 497, 504, 511, 514, 5)9 
 Streets of Liverpool, 187, 18S, 281, 323 
 Sugar, 39, 89, 92, 96, 100, 103, 121 to 
 "123, 128, 129, 216, 218, 224, 232 to 
 238, 243, 244, 246 to 253, 285, 286, 
 293, 305 to 307, 318, 342, 398, 4S7 
 Surgeons, 31, 109, no, 330, 353, 486, 
 487, 493, 530, 5t>i, 602, 603, 606, 
 651, 654, 661 ; First operation in 
 conservative surgery, 165 ; Speciihiin 
 oris in the slave trade, 533 ; Oph- 
 thalmia, 571 
 Swallow, Letter of Marque, Copy of the, 
 670 to 673 ; Cruise of the Swallow, 
 356 
 
 Tactics of privateer commanders, 14 
 
 Talbot Inn, 554 
 
 Tea, 1 38, 139, 250 
 
 Ten years of prosperity, 303 
 
 Terrible accident, 315 ; Butchery, 537 ; 
 
 Catastrophes, 143, 144 ; Mutiny of 
 
 slaves, 592 
 Terror-struck merchants, 558 
 
 1 
 
INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 717 
 
 Terroi- of England ■p\i\a[.cc)c, 295, 296 
 
 Ten/ 01 lie, The, 461 
 
 Thanksgiving for a prosperous African 
 voyage, 515 
 
 Tliealre l\.oyal, Benefit at, 325 ; Tillotson 
 on swearing, 147 
 
 Tim Mainstay and Tom Bowline, 325, 326 
 
 Tobacco, 123, 152, 171, 202, 203, 216 
 to 219, 224, 227, 232, 237, 23S, 239, 
 247, 24S, 249, 253, 254, 266, 272, 
 277, 2S5, 289, 292 
 
 Tobacco ships captured, 202, 203, 206 
 
 Tokee, 551, 553 
 
 Tonnage, 38, 39, 301, 303, 433, 620 to 
 622, 678 
 
 Torturing and flogging the slaves, 532, 
 533. 5S7 to 589 
 
 Tower Gaol in Water-street, t,^, 34, 162 
 to 166, 173.. 427- 555 
 
 Trade, flourishing in war time, 37, 38, 
 154 ; Trade of France, Blow to, 154; 
 Tradeof Liverpool (1739-48), 37, 38; 
 (in 1752), 472 ; (in 1756-63), 86, 87 ; 
 (ni 1760), 172 ; (1763-75), 179, 181, 
 1^4 ; ,(17^3-93). 303 : (1793 to 181 5), 
 304 ; (1812), 433 ; Trade of Liver- 
 pool protected by its armed vessels, 
 215,216; Decline during the wars 
 with America, 181, 301, 302, 433 ; 
 Effect of Abolition on trade of Liver- 
 pool, 620, 621 ; Effect of the Orders 
 in Council (1807), On, 407 ; Trade of 
 Liverpool in 1897, 622 ; Curious trade 
 regulations at Whydah, 550 to 553 ; 
 Trading goods sold to the natives, 
 539, 540 
 
 Treacherous artifices, 582 to 584 ; Treach- 
 ery encouraged by Government, 202, 
 203 
 
 Treasure Trove, 324, 334 
 
 Treaties and slavery, 470 ; Treaty of 
 Paris, 455 ; Of Utrecht, 470 
 
 Trial of traitors, 425, 426 
 
 True-Blooded Yankee Privateer, Remark- 
 able success of the, 442 
 
 Turkey Company, 42, 46 to 48 ; Turks 
 captured, 89, 112, 113 
 
 Tuscan Government and British ships, 
 50, 51, 54 
 
 u 
 
 Underwriters, 117, 230, 33S, 377, 378, 
 385. 3S6, 393> 398, 410, 411, 436, 
 43S, 440, 449, 567, 568, 626, 628, 
 632, 638, 649, 650 
 
 Unhappiness in Liverpool families, 573, 
 574 
 
 United States navy, 431, 432 
 
 United States Congress and Letters of 
 
 Manjue, 459 
 United States and privateering, 190 to 
 
 193, 198, 199, 201, 213, 215, 312, 
 
 455 to 461 
 United States, Relations with the, 430 
 Unworthy inducements, 202, 203 
 Utrecht, Treaty of, 470 
 
 V 
 
 Value of goods exported to Africa, 597 
 Value of prizes captured, 45, 48, 57, 58, 
 59,64,87, 89, 104, 106, III, 112, 
 156, 199, 216, 219, 222, 226, 227, 
 228, 231, 234, 235, 237, 239, 240, 
 247, 258, 259, 263, 266, 285, 287, 
 289, 290, 294, 304 to 308, 310, 314, 
 360, 372, 387 393, 398, 414, 564 ; 
 Value of slaves imported, 596 to 608 
 Vendue store, Curious scene in a, 648 
 Vengeanee man-of-war, 157 to 159 
 Verses, 33, 65, 66, 120, 226, 261, 275, 
 276, 297, 298, 299, 613, 618, 646, 658 
 Volunteers, 141, 172, 173, 189, 236, 237, 
 
 256, 327, 388, 389, 617 
 Volunteer gunboat, 365 
 
 w 
 
 Wages of seamen, 555, 661, 662, 664 
 
 War with Spain, 37, 180 ; With France, 
 50, 86, 180, 303 to4 29 ; With Hol- 
 land, 180, 290; With America, 179 
 to 302, 430 to 454 ; War subscription, 
 147 ; War prices, 236 ; War and 
 ruin, 250 ; War and scarcity, 303 ; 
 Cost of the great war, 304 ; War and 
 commerce, 62, 179, 207, 216, 301, 
 315, 316, 429 to 432, 555 ; War 
 stores captured, 88 ; Gains and losses 
 in the second war with America, 431, 
 432 
 
 Warehouses of Liverpool, 622 
 
 Watch trade, 38 
 
 Welsh privateers, 115, 116, 206 ; Welsh 
 mate's ruse, 396 
 
 West India fleets, 173, 250, 287, 293, 
 366 ; West India trade, 172, 179, 
 180, 216, 467 to 472 ; West India- 
 men captured by the Americans, 182, 
 198 
 
 West Indies, 327, 618. 61Q. 620, 625, -658 
 
 Whales, 2S7 
 
 Wheat captured, 59, ill, 280 
 
 White slaves, 478, 499, 500, 519, 628, 
 629, 649 
 
 Wig, A megatherium, 543, 544 
 
718 
 
 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 
 
 \ 
 
 Williamson's Liverpool Memorandum 
 Book, 37, 472, 473 
 
 Wiiichclsea man-of-war, affray with ihe 
 Upton, S5 
 
 Windsor Castle Packet, Remarkable 
 defence of the, 410, 41 1 
 
 Wine, 130, 217, 225, 227, 229, 235 to 
 237, 249 
 
 Women linguists on slave-ships, iS ; 
 Women sailors and soldiers, 118, 
 II9> 377j 3781 631 ; Women in 
 action, 206, 375, 376 ; Women 
 guillotined, 629 
 
 Woodside-house, 140 ; Ferry, 324 
 
 Wreckers, Welsh, 130 ; Cheshire, 232. 
 233 ; Irish, 266 
 
 Wrecks, 235, 236, 300, 301, 317, 480, 
 491, 494, 590, 632, 634, 637 
 
 Wright, Cai'tain Fortunatus, an 
 ideal commander, 40 ; Smollett's tri- 
 bute to his memory, the St. George 
 privateer, 41 ; Action with French 
 xebeck, 42 ; Professor Laughton's 
 criticism of Smollett's statement, 
 Wright's early iife^ family, connec- 
 tion with John Evelyn, Smithers' 
 account of Wright and his father, 
 43 ; Wright's adventure at Lucca, 44 ; 
 Residence in Italy, he takes com- 
 mand of the Fame privateer, captures 
 many French ships, connection with 
 Capt. W. Hutchinson, 45 ; Wright 
 ignores King George's pass and 
 captures the Prince of Campo 
 Florida's baggage <kc., remonstrance 
 of the English Consul at Leghorn, 
 the dispute referred to the naval 
 commander-in-chief, prize released, 
 46 ; Captures Turkish property 
 under French colours, complaint by 
 the Ottoman Porte, Wright ordered 
 to disgorge the prize money by the 
 British Government, his refusal and 
 imprisonment in the fortress of Leg- 
 horn, 47 ; His release, a tedious 
 law-suit, he states his case to Consul 
 Goldsworthy, the "Grand Signior," 
 48 ; Prizes taken by the /«/««?, Wright's 
 partnership with Hutchinson in 
 fitting out the Leostoff, 49 : Out- 
 break of the Seven Years' War, 
 Wright fits out the St. George priva- 
 teer at Leghorn, he hoodwinks the 
 Tuscan authorities, sails out of 
 Leghorn, 50 ; Great rewards and 
 honouis offered for his capture by 
 the French King and the merchants 
 of Marseilles, 51 ; Sanguinary en- 
 gagement between Wright and the 
 French xebeck sent to take him, 52 ; 
 
 Wright victorious, presentation by 
 the English Factory at Leghorn, a 
 price set on his head, 53 ! Wright 
 arrested by the Tuscan authorities, 
 Italian partiality for the French, 54 ; 
 Wright charged with violating the 
 neutrality of Leghorn, international 
 dispute, 55 ; Sir Edward Hawke 
 sends two men-of-war t(j deliver 
 Wright, 55 ; Carried off in triumph, 
 56 ; Action with French men-of- 
 war, more French prizes taken, puts 
 into Malta, 57 ; British captains in- 
 sulted and ill-used by the Maltese 
 authorities, 57 ; Wright refuses to 
 deliver up British sailors, compelled 
 by the galley royal, 58 ; Puts to sea 
 and plays with a French privateer, 
 captures more prizes, French King 
 and merchants fit out ships to take 
 Wright, 59 ; Engagement with the 
 Hironde/te, he is sequestered in port, 
 60 ; Horace Mann on Wright and 
 the Leghorn trade, 61 ; Wright 
 warned not to enter Leghorn, action 
 with the French, Wright and his 
 prizes, Horace Mann on sea captains 
 and French privateers, 62 ; mys- 
 terious fate of Captain Wright, 
 foundering of the King George, 63 ; 
 conflicting news of Wright, Liverpool 
 Privateers in the Mediterranean, 
 rich prizes, 64 ; Joy in Liverpool 
 at the reported safety of Capt. 
 Wright, curious verses, 65 ; His fate 
 still a mystery, 66 ; His name a 
 terror to the French, English pres- 
 tige in the Mediterranean lowered, 
 67 ; Admiral Osborne sails for Malta 
 to demand satisfaction for Maltese 
 cruelty to Wright, 68 ; Characteristic 
 story of Wright, action off Malta, 
 French Knights and the victorious 
 flag of P>ngland, 69 ; Romantic his- 
 tory of Selim and Zaida, 70 — 78 ; A 
 blwody conflict, Wright's generosity, 
 77 ; Connection with Hutchinson, 
 &c., 136, 139, 140 
 
 Y 
 
 Vorke on slaveryj 553 
 
 Young ladies ottered for sale, 474 
 
 Zaida and her lover, 70 to 78 
 Zebra, A prize, 259 
 
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