Ji/iJ-KHENCJ-: S I 

(p di(Stjrffsliuif.t yv.vilfi the witHh ofet2c/tmI''ffli-J/ic/i<-s \ 

J KnstBirr/hi/t Sonun^Ss to (maiiorj Brult/c.. . ,66 

Z O?.^ niimui<J&i>m£//eryS!lpffui'tinttrdS'Tjf 

.•y .hBtfcLutf 

4 A'Uih /for... 

,,- Su'a< ./ffo nf/S.,, SF'atawrch Si 

6 /,imituudel,iui(-aiJIuvloF.'atCJwnhJl 

7 TruilUJ^arBav 30F.'iu(hmiiJ!2SF' \ 

utJfct/m^Q./.",:« atli'm^ J'^30^:' j 

<* Maimj .-CSrr 

l> Inyliti Arch at/kdim.r ^iJip'/•f/7 at t/ie .^e^L 

10 £MioffJ''utOutrAJf2iiJre/-atlSm: 

iJ Gad.!dau JlUt^ 

n Bmudjra/Jiar 6i 'iE'atMea.^S'eSfatFvbf Ji 

Jlebnxt J^MdiJ Cfmnh iLJttefjUarhCiOoF. 

/./ />." 

/f Oia/merj AB^ 

i6 Fmn- AUry 

ly (Jufcii J'^aeMaysT^F'iit Huirch JT^S^ ] 

iS Am/adj' Ceuit. 

iS Icu/f/f Mty 

io U'ru,jfij Alln jpFldtAn; loFitfailhurch. 

V OiureJij1utQuftn.i'?4gI''iuCi^TovmiS0l* 1 

12 /J' cvnJumed _...'. 

13 ^Vniru mihu-wn _ 

74 IATIJI Lane 

ZS Water S!. 

26 Jiopn Lane^ 

^S'-J/iduie/sABfy. _ 

iS Mirktt J<fiMre atMe/infS^Jgl^ttBmidJ: 

to ATa/mtAff(i'atMain^S.'jCatC7iun^jZ, 

30 OmierimdJ^. 

31 Mery Sir. 

i3 JlaidmZane. 

i$IrmdiJlie\ 

34 Oi/jrlfj3 

35 J^'ame imkrunm. 

36 Giuifnard Jt 

37 •yante imArumn 

38 J^chifv S' 

'39 Qt/aice J*2()F^ 4oJjifm JT. 

41 Jcarbormgh J' 

42 jVimtf unhiom atFm^/^rJ'i f/F'at^^ 'in/i £ni/ 

43 ffajseO Sr4i'F'.44Svlt^^f\. 45Cmnmon ,C 

fS SoeK/v S'. 

47 bfcrye J7mm j'auiimi^iL'Xiu/J^i^ W'. fu/rj-'dF ) 

ntS'JfaS^.rjTi^F'araitiixaeJamttisSfF J. 

4J Mxang S'iuS°£(^0'oF' atlrtuidSI 64/" lKt«-i.jt 

S'Miduids Oum/i kTirajurvs6f^hetmxt.teareffmifr 

IcMrht eSFatOueais S'tyFfrmnF&i.why J^PU J. 

• • 

iBB e ••! I 

j p "^ »• • y lij • • • " J •' 

/ i 11 • i-i ^# K 

-^^. '^i 

O 

'•^^^j^^^^f^f^ 

" J' J, 

NOGRAPHYioB 

• V 

49 S^uv^J'44r S" J'mMrZ.mfJsF'SI Khm Court 

Si J^rtJJSp'atSmff JUof jljfefimi/J^jz/" 

jS JbttiJiauje J^uior or /tnvij JTsZ-fatMrelmtj, f 

S4 Jinn J'' atFma J'l8F'at.V«/ai<^S'. 

.^S FitJem/S'4oJ'' ,^f3'ainr imhutm aiKoii/S* 

ff Anmdioy S'atai/ afifif (j/f A 'orlh ^i/ir 

SSFmyS'. at. fauihFayXjWatTmddS'M^* at/Mv./ 

J'34F'cgQujm.ri4F^iu£ll>m:,s/''jtB,wiJan\i' j 

SB-ior^O .f atKm!/S'i6/''JV,Bn'>i/Mrr](!F'iillffi<ur,i^ 

60 lefiarr.C^fsF'QGihtfj .f^sF" ('ifnmil.f. 

03 OmnjfeJ'' 

/ y' . , T / Y—^ y r ) . 

'^^^^H{E\^-I ':£} V *^'THI I E -^ ^ b l 

a/iTn fhwi^deffm/Su 

•iooJwt A' 0f\ 

/ifMjZ.y/j.ni"j^Q.'h'} 
^CHARI^ESTOX , 

• ^ 

i F 

\^'^ 

Jii:Fi:i{i:i\'CE 's 

to theSirtHs.Zari^jir amfinued 

64 Mavck J'iitBnaidyI/if^tramQuMitoJifJUJian.'' to 

63 .fhivr.fwF 66Allm.CalJiroad.('i<)f'' ar<iuem .f ^H. 

67 .•Mda/e.r'xi/''tffJf^^armr.C'ioF'69>lhT.rr. JQ. 

70 Jhn/e Affinal ArHidalr^CSt^aeXm^,!'. -7 •-

7! Aitiilhumh.llln'JjFf^BrnffbrdiJi 23. 

73 BeMiKimJ'at.1hjnrkJ^4ofyatA'i>fl.(f. 31- S 

74 Cunimms 'i^^liddi imhipm JlittJtdf 

75 SaouFlu/ipjJ^.. .^. 4e. 

76 Jlen/wi>rihJJ/n Kills'4fiF ivCumnms J*. 3c. 

77 Liiaty .S*.. 39-

i\ iiames oitli 

78 (iiU.i la.ur' 

7.'*JUakr.,. /J' 

80 JFKennr.'. JJ' 

81 Ri'piT.f JJ' 

82 £\rUflhj.. f)' 

83 Jtmder/iffnrtr....M.° 

84 (rrirnir.r.. J)!' 

85 Mirkit f)o,k 

86 Miffs If^a/f 

87 drrmmiodr .D° 

88Ji(td!. D' 

89 Ch/rnipntvj Wurf' 

go JiTvrvJ. D° 

$t Gdiranj. D' 

gz Jheltauj. J)' 

S3 (XOicru H' 

04 T^derhorjr.. .D' 

S5 Shmjiunj:...J>'' 

p6 Jfunrflj. ./F 

37 Jh:< Jr 

38 /Mitrm.'. /)'' 

S9 6ad!dai.r /)' 

JVAMES of PUBLIC JBzwLn/jrGs 

A AewAtplijtChurdi 

i» OU /»." J)9 

C Ftrjfyterum J?f 

I I> GiumiBoiuc 

iJ Irrtmay, t.ludctnr ^enendt Ofiice 

V jyAIichaeif Fpucopal Omrck, 

G Fcraur^ JtatrBouje runr CourtMnue kc. , 

H JSfeFJfarkM 

I Zo»Jlivht 

K F^ehanpe 

L FuhJlarket 

M FheeuA CJtufck 

N J^F/u'l^j£pucopal Churdi f>i*if~^.^^^ 

0 OldlnJepmdent A"^ 7 

P Jfetfifld^jt M 

Q Qwikn. • ^|__ . , 

K. Ahf JnJtjtouhnt D^t^ . / 

S (^rman y^.'-W,,^.^*''' 

T i^ai:r Jyiiaifc^ae 

:V J>tsHlI/rvs 

V OarmsHiisiM/t 

W Romifh ChurtA 

X Brfwjffouse 

.\i:^r firifkMDujej coLmdAkr . ^ 

liicHicd />' Dr. ' • 

^ 

SS Atibc Hc& marked thu * 

9 Far £n^mf brbufinfi tp Ac C^' 

,1 '. HI"' II^O' • " " 

•A ^ - • • - -— = 

C 1.(0 

v^f'':/.,.uf^4/!.r, 
iywmx^ee/}^ .^>^/ ^Aa7^€A^<)m/"/793^^79 6 
AN ACCOUNT OF A FRENCH PALATINATE IN SOUTH CAROLINA 

•:i0-.":^\ 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

NUMBER 1 

iywmiiem^' /imy ^kci^leAtcyn' 

i793-i796 

MELVIN H. JACKSON 

Curator of Marine Transportation 

National Museum oj History and Technology 

S»j^' ' f ^^ ^'S -•y* 4 ~:*. 

^''^i^irzster^. 

iTHSpNIAN iN^-^rr] 

CITY OF 

^^•"^^••-•m,V •• 

rUTION'l%ES^S 

WASHINGTON 
1969 0~294-34 1 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1969 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $3.50 
^o^i^em^o/i^cl/ 

The privateer was a privately owned vessel bearing a commission from a sovereign state that empowered her to seize declared enemies of that state on the high seas. Such seizures, or 

prizes, after due process in the courts of the sovereign or of 

friendly powers, became the property of the captor to do with 

as he would. The license under which the privateer operated 

was known as a letter of marque and reprisal, and in time the 

vessel bearing such a commission came to be known as a "Letter 

of Marque." 

All too often the letter of marque was used as a legal cloak 

for banditry on the high seas, and efforts over the centuries to 

restrict the worst features of privateering evolved an elaborate 

body of international convention and domestic regulations. By 

the early nineteenth century, however, privateering finally 

came to be recognized for the incorrigible institution it was, 

and in 1856 it was swept away by the Treaty of Paris, to which, 

it is interesting to note, the United States and Spain did not 

subscribe. 

Privateering as a form of warfare persisted over so many centuries largely because it was a cheap weapon. For France at 

the outbreak of the long Wars of the French Revolution— 

her caste-ridden navy long neglected and destroyed at last by 

social upheaval—privateering was a weapon of last resort— 
VI PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

but, it must be noted, one for which history records her longtime predilection. 

For the investor and the seaman alike, the potent lure of 

privateering naturally was the quick dollar: "Any Seaman or 

landmen that have the inclination to make their Fortunes in 

a few Months May have an opportunity by applying to . . . ." 

read the broadside nailed to the tavern door. Grateful governments, eager to strike a blow against the wealth-bearing commerce of an enemy, granted letters of marque to all who met 

a few simple requirements. Inquiries into the character of 

the outfitters, if made at all, were casual. Bonding, if required 

to insure compliance with international law, was only casually 

enforced. Privateering, therefore, tended to attract the unprincipled, and therein lay the evils of the institution that 

often led its practitioners to the borders, and beyond, of outright piracy. 

For the owners, a privateer armed, provisioned, and ready 

for sea might represent a heavy investment. If they committed their vessel to all-out commerce raiding, the risk to their 

capital was greater than if the letter of marque was used as 

an adjunct to normal cargo carrying, during which the seizure 

of a chance prize might enhance the profits of carriage. The 

commerce raider, on the other hand, could roam the seas at will, 

trimmed to her fastest sailing lines, uncluttered with cargo, 

and carrying a crew large enough to work the ship, handle the 

guns, and man the prizes she took. 

Glorious single-ship actions and bloody resistance were 

shunned. The aim of the privateer was to capture, not to destroy, enemy shipping, and investors, captain, and crew worked 

together under the best of incentive plans—No prize, no pay! 

These men, no matter how highly they were motivated by 

patriotism, were far more horrified by red ink than by blood. 

For her part, the merchant ship, deeply laden and difficult 

to maneuver, and more than likely under-armed and shorthanded, was seldom a match for a determined privateer. The 

merchant captain, aware of the futility of fighting or running 

away from such an adversary, often would fire a gun to windward to salve his honor and then haul down his colors. For the 

most part, the bringing to and surrender of a merchantman, 

armed or unarmed, was as formalized as a quadrille. 

History aflFords examples of prizes of inordinate value, yet 

over the years the vast majority of privateers had indifferent 
FOREWORD v n 

success. Enemy merchantmen were not easy to find. Often they 

were under the protection of heavily armed men of war. As a 

result, a prize once taken was seldom released, even if her papers 

seemed to be in order. It was too well known that vessels might 

carry double or even triple sets of papers during times of war, 

and might sail under as many diflPerent flags as did the privateer 

herself as she worked into hailing distance of a strange sail. 

Handling of the prize prior to adjudication of her case ashore 

varied from punctilious observance of international convention 

to acts of piracy. The prize's stores or cargo might be pilfered 

by the privateer crew, her papers might be tampered with or 

destroyed entirely to insure condemnation, and often her 

captain and officers were detained, or set ashore in some distant part, to make certain that no libelant would appear before 

the court to challenge the legality of the capture or to tie up 

the proceeds of the sale in endless legal red tape. 

To walk the thin edge of legality, then, was the everyday 

lot of the privateer commander. Some fell off. Others, using 

forged papers and abetted by corrupt port officials, operated 

as Httle more than outright pirates—gens sans aveu. 

The French-commissioned privateers sailing out of Charleston who are the subjects of this study exhibited all of these 

traits. And the emotional motivation of those who sailed aboard 

their vessels—the burning anglophobia of French and American alike—^was important and accounted for much of the bravura, daring, and scoundrelism that characterizes their story. 

This study develops a facet of a larger work in progress on 

the privateering wars in the Caribbean, 1793-1801. To those 

who read, corrected, and offered invaluable suggestions regarding it, I wish to express my gratitude: to Robert Greenhalgh Albion, who really started all this; to Dr. Ulane Bonnel, 

for her guidance in French maritime affairs; to my colleague 

Howard I. Chapelle, an inexhaustible source of information 

on the ships and shipping of the eighteenth century; to Donald 

Green and Terrence Murphy, for eliminating the worst of my 

outrages against the language of the law; to Peter F. Copeland 

of the Smithsonian's Office of Exhibits, for his advice and assistance with the illustrations; to Welles Henderson, who graciously supplied photographs of a fine painting in his collection, 

showing a French privateer overhauling an American ship; to 

the late John Gaillard Stoney, for conjuring up for me the 

Charleston of the late eighteenth century; to Virginia Rug-
VIII 

PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

heimer, of the Charleston Library Society, for her patient 

help; to Mary E. Braunagel, for reading the galley proofs; and 

finally, to my wife Faith Reyher Jackson, who, although weary 

of privateering, never failed me during the long voyage. 

Such errors in fact or judgment that may appear can only 

be my own. 

M.H.J. 

February 1969 

See End Papers 

"Ichnography of Charleston, South Carolina, At the Request of Adam 

Tunno, Esq. for the use of the Phoenix Fire-Company of London, Taken 

from Actual Survey, 2^ August 1788 by Edmund Petrie. Published 7^* 

Jan.^ 1790 by E. Petrie N.° 13 America Square." From United States Coast 

and Geodetic Survey Library Archives. 

See Title Page 

"A view of Charles-Town, the Capital of South Carolina. From an original 

Picture painted at Charles-Town, in the Year 1771. Published as the Act 

directs 3^ June 1776, by S. Smith, Green Street, Lavender Fields, London. 

Painted by Tho^. Leitch. Engraved by Samuel Smith." The original 

painting by Thomas Leech hangs in the Museum of Early Southern 

Decorative Art, in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and engravings made 

from it hang in that Museum and in the Gibbes Art Gallery of the Carolina 

Art Association, Charleston, South Carolina. Reproduction of the engraving on the title pctge of this work is by courtesy of these Museums. 
Page 

INTRODUCTION 1 

1 TH E PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 3 

2 GALLOMANIA AND THE EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 21 

3 TH E WA Y Is CLEARED BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT. 47 

4 TH E PALATINATE CHALLENGES UNITED STATES NEUTRALITY . . 63 

5 JAY'S TREATY: TH E GREAT BETRAYAL 91 

6 TH E PROFITS OF PRIVATEERING 107 

BIBLIOGRAPHY Il l 

APPENDIX 115 

1 Memorial by Jean Frangois Theric, Translated from 117 

the Manuscript Original (see Bibliography) 

2 British, Spanish, and Dutch Prizes Brought into the 127 

Ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, 

Georgia, between April 1793 and April 1796, by 

French Privateers Based at or Frequenting Those 

Ports 

INDEX 155 

294-341 o—fl 
L I B E R T E, E G A L I T E. 

A U N O M E L A REIPUBLIQU E 

FRANC A I S E. 

JLE CONSEIL EXtCUTlF PROVISOIRE DE LA RtPUULIQUE F R A Nf AIS E pemut, par 

tes prhenus, d it fiure armer et ^qu'ipper en guerre un 

no-nmi le Ju port Je mnneaax, ou environ, actaellemeni du port de , aVec tel nombre 

de canons, houlets. et telle quantUi de poudres, ptomhs, et autres munitions de guerre et vivres qu'il juge.'a ndcessaire pour le mettre en etat de 

eourir sur lex pirates, foibans , gens sans aveu, et g^niraltnunt sur tous tes ennemis de la R^publl^ue Franfaise. en quelque lieu qu'il pourra le» 

•renconirer, deles prendre et amener prisonmert avee lean aaviret, armes^ et autres objets dont ils sercnt saiiis, i la charge, par ledtt 

de se confo'mer aux Ordonnanees de la Mariru , aux Lois dicreties par Its Reprisentans du Peaple Franfois, et notamment a I'ardcU IV de tt 

Lot du 3% Janvier, conctrnant le nombre ^homma decant former son iquipage, de falre enregistrer les pr^sentes Lettres au Bureau des Classed 

du lieu de son dJpirt, d'jr dtposer un role, signi et cenifli de lui, eonttnant les nons et sumoms, dge, lieu de naissance et demeure des 

g:ns de son iquipagi, et a son retour, de /aire son rapport par-devant I'OJJicier eharg^ de l'Administration des lasses , de ce qui se sera possd 

pendant son Voyage. 

Le Conseil Exccutif provisoire requiert tous Peuplet, omit it allids de la RipuUiquc Franfaist, et teun agens, de donner audit 

mjte assistance, passagt et retraite en Uurs poru avec sondit vaisstaU a tes prises qu'il aura pa faire, offraru d'en user de mime en pareillet 

circonstances. Monde et ordonru aux Commandans des Bdtiment dt I'Etat, Je laitsir librement passer tcdit ^ 

son vaisseau et ceux qu'il aura pu prendre sur I'tnntm, et dt lui donner stcours it assittanctt 

Ne pourrontf les prisenut^ seryir que pour moit uulemtnt, ^ eompttr de la date dt Itur tnrtgistrement. 

En foi de quoi le onseU Exkudf provlioin de ta KipubUgiM a fait lignv Its prittntts Lettres par le Ministrt de b Maritu, a y % 

fait apposer Ic seeau dt la Ripuhliqutt 

Donnd i Paris le jour du Mots d mU Mft tent 

it la Ripuhliqtte Fratifoin 

f M 

e^J/cM ^m 

it^vt^au t^^^^y/ ^^;^^ 

par It Ministrt dt la Marine, 
^"yvt^i^rwluotii <m, 

T H E WAR TO CRUSH REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE burst its continental boundaries in January of 1793 and became a worldwide maritime conflict which was to rage almost continuously 

for more than two decades. On April 22 of that year the United 

States, asserting its sovereign rights, declared itself neutral in 

the struggle. Within nine months unfolding events brought 

forth in the United States a series of executive directives and 

judicial opinions concerning admiralty jurisdiction and treaty 

interpretations that swept aside the worst aspects of those "entangling alliances" with France—the Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 1778, the Treaty of Alliance "Eventual and Defensive" 

of the same year, and the Consular Convention of 1787. 

For France, rigorous implementation of this American neutrality policy was tantamount to a coup de grace to her efforts 

to salvage her position in the West Indies. France's navy was in 

a state of anarchy and her West Indian colonial establishments 

were in a state of civil war and political chaos. The one effective 

This diplomatic pro forma copy of the official French letter of marque in 

use in the 1790s, shown opposite, is now in the United States National 

Archives. Very possibly it was delivered to the Department of State by 

Edmund Genet upon his arrival at Philadelphia. The French governors 

of outlying possessions were empowered to issue their own commissions, and 

when Victor Dupont became consul at Charleston in 1796, he reported that 

letters of marque were being counterfeited and retailed at that port. 
PRIVATEER S I N CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

naval weapon remaining to her was the privateer. Since much 

privateering was carried on in small vessels incapable of keeping the sea for extended periods of time, ports close to traveled 

trade routes and convenient for repairs and refitting, the refreshment of crews, and disposal of prizes were highly necessary. 

For France to be closed out of such facilities along the North 

American coast would be disastrous. France had a foretaste of 

this between June 1793 and January 1, 1794, when the United 

States Government took steps systematically to thwart French 

privateering enterprises in ports north of the Cape Fear River. 

Had not Charleston, South Carolina, kept its port open to the 

French raiders during this critical period, 1794 through 1795, 

the British might have accomplished the total liquidation of 

the French West Indian empire with unassessable effects on 

the long war. 

The activities of those privateers which used Charleston as 

their base during the years 1794 and 1795, how they managed 

to cling to their "forlorn hope," what they accomplished, and 

the effect of their effort on the war in the Caribbean and on the 

port which showed them hospitality, is the concern of this study. 
/ 

THE PRELUDE 

TO 

CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WAR the French Foreign Office thought of Charleston as a primary base on United States 

soil. The city was strategically located in relation to Saint Domingue ^ and, to a lesser extent, to the French Windward Islands 

of the Lesser Antilles. Charleston's position on the flank of the 

Gulf Stream, the highway of Europe-bound West Indian commerce, made her a logical haven for privateers. No less important was Charleston's proximity to Spain's North American 

possessions in the Floridas and Louisiana. The revolutionizing of 

those Provinces was an important part of France's war plans, as 

is indicated in the original and supplemental instructions issued 

to that nation's Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, 

Edmond Charles Genet. 

Many reasons can be advanced to account for the toleration 

Charlestonians extended to the French privateersmen long after 

the northern ports had turned them away. From our vantage 

point in time the reasons often have a strange perverseness about 

them. 

The historian Ulrich B. Phillips, analyzing the political attitudes of South Carolinians in general, felt that much could be 

explained by South Carolina's history as a frontier colony. It 

^ As that portion, now modern Haiti, of the Island of Hispaniola was called 

when it was a French colony. The Spanish colony on the island, Santo Domingo, 

is now the Dominican Republic. 
PRIVATEERS I N CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

had been, he said, isolated from the main currents of colonial 

thought that prevailed in older northern colonies and the situation was complicated by "the centralization of commerce, social, 

and political life by reason of the great importance of the city of 

Charleston." ' The feeling of self-sufficiency which such conditions generated, Phillips felt, explained much of the history of 

South Carolina through the Civil War and after. 

This sense of "apartness" was a salient feature of Charleston 

as a city,' for, compared with the cities of the middle and New 

England states, it had a certain foreignness about it, even something of the exotic. This city—with its fine homes of distinctive 

architecture, its parks, theatres, and elegant society, in which 

moved many men and women who traced their French ancestry 

to the Huguenot emigrees of the 17th century—was notably 

more European than "Yankee." The luxuriance of its subtropical vegetation, the brilliance of its flowers, the mildness of its 

winters were more evocative of Saint Domingue's Port au 

Prince than of Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. As for the 

rest of the South, there was nothing that could compare with 

Charleston. 

The nature of the southern economy, combined with its geographic and psychic isolation, produced a marked time lag in 

the resolution of South Carolina's post-Revolutionary-War economic troubles,* troubles which had been common to the 

United States as a whole during the interval between the end of 

the American Revolution and the outbreak of war between 

France and England. 

2 "South Carolina Federalists, I." American Historical Review vol. 14, no. 3 

(April 1909), p. 529. 

' When E. S. Thomas, who later became editor of Charleston's City Gazette, 

arrived there on June 10, 1795, he found the appearance of the city "so totally 

different from Boston, that I could scarcely realize the idea that it was part of 

the American Union and under the same government" {Reminiscences of the Last 

Sixty-Five Tears, vol. 1, pp. 30-31). An earlier visitor, JOHANN DAVID SCHOEPF, 

in his Travels in the Confederation [1783-1784] (transl. and edit, by Alfred J. Morrison, Philadelphia: William J. Campbell, 1911), noted that "the manners of the 

inhabitants of Charleston are as different from those of the other North American cities as are the products of their soU ... . luxury in Carolina has made 

the greatest advance, and [in] their manner of life, dress, equipage, furniture, 

everything denotes a higher degree of taste and love of show, and less frugality 

than in the northern provinces. 

* At Thomas Jefferson's request, on October 15, 1784, the Charleston Chamber 

of Commerce forwarded statistics regarding that city's pre- and post-Revolutionary 

foreign trade. In a comment accompanying the statistics it was noted that "Corn, 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRrVATEERING 

The attendant social unrest which dominated the period 

between the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the adoption of the 

Constitution of 1787 was alleviated to a great extent in the 

northern seaboard States with the revival of trade and reforms 

in State governments. But in South Carolina the effects of the 

postwar depression were still manifest as late as 1792 and governmental reforms were resisted sharply by the oligarchic clique 

in control of the legislature. A type of unrest such as Massachusetts had experienced during the Shaysite agitation persisted 

and became a fertile seedbed for the radical propaganda that 

increased in virulence as France's period of constitutional monarchy gave way before the onslaught of the Jacobins. 

The Charleston radicals blamed the "aristocratical" plantermerchant oligarchy for all the ills suffered by the artisan-mechanic class of the port city and the small upland, non-slaveowning farmer. Such men as Alexander Gillon ^ and Dr. James 

Fallon had been busy organizing an alliance of the oppressed 

as early as 1783 ® and had succeeded in plunging South Carolina 

into an era of internal strife and bitterness aimed at destroying 

the power of the oligarchy. The course of the French Revolution provided inspiration and guidelines for their efforts. 

Neither the excesses of the Terror nor the decree of February 

4, 1794, which emancipated—on paper at least—the slaves of 

the French colonial population, diminished the admiration of 

the radicals for the arms of Revolutionary France. Anti-British 

sentiment had been carefully cultivated by them for years by 

identifying the ruling oligarchy with the loyalists and cryptoloyalists who had served England's interest during the years of 

the Revolution. The enormities perpetrated by the British during their occupation of Charleston and their devastation of the 

Pease, Beef and Pork, and Lumber of all sorts were chiefly shipped to the West 

Indies, which is not prohibited . . . very littie of said articles being shipped to 

other islands, or at most, not one fifth part of the lumber." This was accompanied 

by laments about the effects of British trade restrictions and a Portuguese prohibition on rice ("A Journal of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, commencing 

6 of February, 1784"). 

«Commodore Alexander Gillon was a violent anglophobe and the guiding 

spirit behind the Marine Anti-Britannic Society. Gillon had been commander of 

various naval forces raised by South Carolina during the Revolution. Lieutenant 

Governor of South Carolina, 1789-1791, he was elected to Congress in 1793 and 

maintained a strong anti-British posture until his death in October 1794. 

« PHILLIPS, "South Carolina Federalist I," pp. 534-537. 
PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

countryside was a vivid memory. The failure of French Admiral 

Charles Hector d'Estaing at Savannah in October 1779 was 

forgotten. At least the French had come to help their American 

friends by land and sea. Thus, when Citizen Genet landed at 

Charleston, April 8, 1793, on his way to assume duties at Philadelphia as Minister Plenipotentiary, he was feted as a paladin 

in the great crusade against tyranny and injustice. Indeed, it 

has been held that the warmth of Charleston's reception of the 

Minister and its enthusiasm for him went far toward determining his later course of action, which in the end embarrassed 

France's plans for Franco-American cooperation. 

Genet's stay at Charleston was brief but busy. His first act 

was to issue letters of marque to hastily organized privateering 

syndicates. Within ten days of his arrival, the first of five identifiable "Consular Privateers" cleared port to cruise against the 

enemies of the Republic. Consular prize courts were activated 

in accordance with France's interpretation of the several 

Franco-American treaties. Between personal appearances called 

for by a heavy schedule of celebrations. Genet met with favorably disposed South Carolina notables, and the expedition 

against the Spanish Provinces was sketched out for Michel Ange 

Bernard Mangourit, French consul at Charleston, to develop 

and mature. Subsequent to Genet's departure in mid-April for 

Philadelphia, the first flurry of privateering died down as the 

raiders forsook Charleston for northern waters, and Mangourit 

concentrated with exemplary zeal and determination on intrigue 

and on recruiting for the Spanish adventure. 

As Genet traveled overland toward Philadelphia he was feted 

enthusiastically all along his route. Manifestations of popular 

attachment to the French cause undoubtedly had their effect 

on the Minister as he jolted along, and led him to reevaluate 

the instructions which were to guide him. 

The French National Convention was convinced that existing 

treaties with the United States provided the necessary legal 

basis for carrying out France's plan for maritime war in the 

waters of the West Indies and the United States. Genet, therefore, in addition to being charged with the task of provisioning 

the West Indian colonies and negotiating anticipatory payments 

on the debt owing to France, was carefully instructed to exact 

stringent observance of articles 17, 21, and 22 of the Treaty 

of Amity and Commerce of 1778. These articles, it was held, 

gave special privileges to the ships of war, public and private. 
Edmond Charles Genet, Minister 

Plenipotentiary of the French 

Republic to the United States, 

1793-1794. Oil on panel by Ezra 

Ames, ca. 1809-1810. Courtesy of 

the Albany Institute of History 

and Art. 

of the contracting parties, and clearly forbade the use of their 

ports to the enemy. France's position was that its treaty rights 

made British privateering from American ports impossible. 

Genet was to insist, therefore, on the exclusion of British privateers and their prizes from American ports. 

These treaty rights were deemed so important that the 

National Convention emphasized in its instructions to Genet 

that he was not to press the issue of the guarantees called for by 

article 2 of the Treaty of Alliance "Eventual and Defensive" 

of 1778, although in that treaty the United States clearly undertook to guarantee to France the integrity of her West Indian 

possessions. Instead, Genet was ordered to promote a closer 

commercial alliance between the two nations. France, in short, 

assumed the same posture of guarantor of neutral rights in time 

of war that she had taken during the Seven Years War and the 
PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

War of the American Revolution. For the moment the United 

States would be cast in the role of a benevolent neutral rather 

than a cobelligerent. It was conceived that the United States 

might well prove more of an embarrassment than an asset as 

an active ally, since she lacked the means not only of challenging 

British power on the sea lanes but even of protecting her own 

shores. 

If there was room for possible doubt as to the construction 

France placed on the two treaties of 1778, the Consular Convention of 1787 was regarded as the clinching argument. The 

interpretation of this document held that special grants of extraterritorial jurisdiction had been accorded French consular 

officials to complement and strengthen conceivable vagueness 

in the earlier treaties. At Charleston Genet had already implemented the provisions of the Convention by setting up the 

consular prize court. At about the time of Genet's arrival at 

Charleston, however, the United States Government at Philadelphia was already pondering means for curtailing the activities of the American-commissioned French privateers. But as 

late as May 30 it recognized the right of French privateers to 

dispose of their prizes in American ports upon paying the same 

duties imposed on regular importations, though it was silent 

on the functioning of the French consular prize courts.^ 

By June 5,1793, however, the Federal Government, outraged 

by Minister Genet's indiscretions and perhaps by the alarming 

growth of pro-French agitation as well, yielded to British 

Minister George Hammond's importimities to place positive 

restraints on France's privateering efforts. The Government 

agreed to confiscate and turn back to their British owners those 

vessels made prize by the American-commissioned French 

privateers. On July 15 the Government seized the opportunity 

provided by the notorious Petite Democrate ^ affair to lash out 

^ Circular letter, Alexander Hamilton to Collectors of Custom, May 30, 1793 

(American State Papers, vol. 3, p. 339). 

8 La Petite Democrate (ex-Little Sarah), a British brig, was captured by the French 

frigate rEmbuscade in April 1793. Bid in by French interests over the bitter protest 

of George Hammond, she was fitted out as a privateer. Although Citizen Gen^t 

had promised Secretary of State Jefferson that she would not sail, she did so on 

July 10 and embarked on a career of raiding that distinctiy violated American 

sovereign rights over coastal waters. 

The Petite Democrate affair was used by the Administration to discredit Genet 

by revoking his exequatur. Jefferson, who had vouched for Genet's word was so 

embarassed by what seemed to be Genet's treachery that his position in the 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 

against both the French privateers and the French Minister. A 

positive injunction was issued against what were now regarded 

as illegally commissioned privateers from using American ports 

under penalty of confiscating their prizes. 

But the mere proscription of the privateers did not make them 

evaporate. Even granting the Government's right to issue such 

injunctions, the problem of enforcement was enormous. The 

machinery for searching out and lodging informations against 

illegal outfits had to be erected; such as existed was new and untried, and, owing to the slowness of communications, inefficient. 

Hammond lost little time in placing at the disposition of the 

United States his own efficient intelligence organization— 

a network of consuls, agents, and informants. He bombarded 

the Department of State with information on the activities, real 

and suspected, of French privateer outfitting. In addition, he 

gratuitously undertook to tutor Secretary of State Jefferson 

in the niceties of international law—as to exactly what neutrals 

could, and could not, do. In many instances the tutoring was 

needed. The Government, under the new constitution, was still 

unprepared to thread its way through the tangle of problems of 

international law with which it was suddenly confronted. Even 

the fundamental question of whether admiralty jurisdiction resided in State or Federal courts had to be resolved. 

The British brig Betsey provided a case in point. She was captured on May 3 by the Charleston-commissioned French privateer le Citoyen Genet. The British minister at once entered a 

libel in the Federal Court in Pennsylvania, claiming that the 

capture was illegal under international law, and petitioned for 

the restitution of vessel and cargo to her owners. Against the 

libellant's claim, the respondent entered a plea to jurisdiction, 

that is, he pled that the court had no jurisdiction over the case 

in admiralty, and argued that the libelants had only one means 

of redress—negotiation. Justice Richard Peters of the Federal 

Court in Pennsylvania found for the respondent. His opinion 

concluded that the court was without jurisdiction and hence 

not empowered to inquire into the validity of the commission 

held by the vessel le Citoyen Genet. 

Consternation in Washington's cabinet was great. If the Federal Government did not have the powers of admiralty, how 

Federalist cabinet was seriously compromised. That Gen6t was sincere in his 

promise and that the sailing of the raider was effected without his complicity is 

treated in JACKSON "The Consular Privateers," pp. 92-94. 
10 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

could it, indeed, maintain maritime neutrahty, especially in view 

of the widespread sympathy of State judges and other officials 

with Genet's activities?' An appeal on the Betsey case was 

pressed by the Government, but until a pronouncement was 

made on the important issues, it was virtually powerless to enforce its will. 

The Betsey case was followed shortly by another based on 

contravention of the presidential neutrality proclamation. 

Gideon Henfield, who had signed on the Charleston-commissioned le Citoyen Genet as an officer, arrived at Philadelphia as 

prizemaster of a French prize. He was immediately arrested and 

bound over for indictment for contravention of the neutrality 

proclamation, which specifically forbade American citizens 

from entering the service of a belligerent. Henfield was brought 

to trial before a special session of the United States Circuit 

Court for the District of Philadelphia on July 22, 1793. The 

jury refused to indict, and on July 28 Henfield was set free, amid 

a great outpouring of public approbation and sympathy for the 

French cause." 

Meanwhile, the President and his cabinet anxiously consulted 

over the strained situation. On July 18, notwithstanding Hamilton's objections, President Washington decided to petition the 

Supreme Court through the office of the Department of State 

for rulings on treaty obligations and international law. On 

August 8 the Chief Justice and his associates answered the President's request for direction by respectfully declining to render 

an "extrajudicial" opinion. They based their objections on the 

constitutional provision of the separation of powers. The executive, they held, was empowered to call only on his cabinet for 

advice, not the judiciary, and ended by expressing regret if their 

action might cause the administration any embarrassment." 

Three days after the receipt of the Supreme Court's letter. 

Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton took the first 

tentative step to clarify at least some of the perplexities faced 

by the officers charged with the enforcement of the neutrality 

proclamation and to provide them with some guidelines. But 

this Circular Letter to Collectors of Customs, dated August 11, 

8 WARREN, The Supreme Court in United States History, vol. 1, pp. 105-107. 

^° American State Trials, vol. 4 (1915), pp. 615-636. 

" The original of this letter, dated August 8, 1793, was signed by John Jay, 

James Iredell, William Patterson, John Blair, and James Wilson (Miscellaneous 

Letters, U.S. Department of State). 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 11 

was productive of even greater confusion.^' It contained the 

curious provision that "Equipments of any vessels of France in 

the ports of the United States which are doubtful in their nature 

as being applicable to commerce or warfare are deemed lawful 

[italics supplied]." 

It is tempting to read into this phrase a certain desire to 

offset the political and diplomatic repercussions that were 

expected to follow the Government's action in revoking Genet's 

exequatur and to silence some of the bitter allegations of subservience to British interests by the Government's opposition. 

Article 5 of the Circular Letter specifically refers to the French 

privateers and in giving great latitude to the judgment of local 

law enforcement officials it might easily have been construed 

as reflecting second thoughts on the effect of the Administration's policy on treaty obligations. A privateering entrepreneur 

taking into account the previous Government dictum might 

almost feel that he was being directed toward acceptable 

methods of arming and equipping privateers in United States 

ports. 

Indeed, in the heyday of French privateering out of Charleston, between January 1794 and the end of 1795, subjective 

interpretations by State officials and local customs officers provided an indispensable laissez-aller for the French raiders. 

The effectiveness of the Circular Letter of August 11 was put 

to the test a few days after its issuance, when the British Minister 

lodged an information against the French armed schooner 

I'Industrie, reported as then lying at Baltimore. In the absence 

of the Governor of Maryland, some time was lost in rounding 

up a quorum of the State Council to get the investigation under 

way. Finally, a man named Kelty was chosen, but Kelty 

apparently had little taste for the job entrusted to him. After 

several vain attempts to locate the schooner—which lay in plain 

sight off Fell's Wharf—Kelty with manifest reluctance placed 

the vessel in detention. 

The owner-master of the schooner I'Industrie, Jean Baptiste 

Garvin, who later became one of the most successful privateer 

commanders and outfitters based at Charleston, immediately 

12 It is interesting to note that 14 months after the date of this circular letter 

the Treasury Department was forced to elaborate for the benefit of law enforcement officers by use of italic and citing specific examples what was meant by 

"Equipments, etc." (see Circular Letter to Collectors of the Custom, Treasury 

Department, October 6, 1794, American State Papers, vol. 3, pp. 339-340). 
yfgnvn;,^ 

The vessels in this contemporary 

view of New York harbor are 

those of Vice-Admiral Sercey's 

squadron prior to its departure 

in 1794 [see footnote 16, p. 14). 

In the left foreground is either 

FEole or le Jupiter—with an 

American shield and eagle on her 

head! The frigate is la Concorde. 

The brig and schooner are possibly two of the "proscribed" privateers—the former the notorious 

la Petite Democrate (^Ar-Little 

Sarah), her name changed to la 

Cornelia, and the latter her consort la Carmagnole. Painting, by 

Archibald Robertson, in the collection of the National Maritime 

Museum, Greenwich, England. 

Courtesy of the Trustees, National Maritime Museum. 

clamored for the return of his vessel. Aided by Citizen Moissonier, French consul at Baltimore, Garvin presented documentary proof that he held a valid commission from the French 

colonial government at Saint Domingue. 

The nature of Garvin's commission was a curious one but it 

was not questioned. He referred to it as a "license for cruising" 

by which his vessel was in effect under charter to the colonial 

government. Under this arrangement Garvin relinquished all 

prizes to his government and contented himself with a "reasonable gratification." By this agreement it would be difficult to 

determine whether I'Industrie was a Letter of Marque or a 

public vessel or merely an armed merchantman within the 

meaning of international convention. In answer to the information that I'Industrie had augmented her armament while at 

Baltimore, Garvin presented further proof that clearly established that his vessel had mounted 16 guns ever since she sailed 

from Cap Frangais on April 11, 1793, laden with refugees from 

the civil war, 

Kelty, provided only with Hamilton's equivocal Circular 

Letter, had a difficult decision to make. From the evidence 

available to him there could be little doubt that I'Industrie at 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 13 

the time of the inquest was qualitatively much better armed 

than when she entered at Baltimore. Much work had been done 

to her hull, fittings, and armament. It could not be proved, however, that her armament had been quantitatively increased. The 

fact of being armed was not conclusive evidence of the belligerent character of a particular vessel, for this was an era in 

which owners determined whether their vessels would be 

armed according to the nature of the trade in which they were 

engaged." Presumptive evidence of the character of the schooner's employment was certainly offered by the abnormal size of 

her crew but that was evidently not considered conclusive 

enough to warrant detention. 

Kelty's decision to release the French schooner was probably 

justified in view of the vagueness of the standards afforded him 

by article 5. But the fact remained that the chief occupation of 

I'Industrie was indeed privateering." 

Garvin sailed shortly after the release of his vessel and 

thumbed his nose at British Minister Hammond by seizing the 

British ship Roehampton off the Virginia Capes. He ordered 

the prize for Baltimore either under the impression that his 

status had been fully vindicated or, possibly, out of pure impudence. What he was unaware of as he sailed south was that 

the Government had rejected Kelty's findings; when the Roehampton arrived in port she was promptly seized under the 

President's directive of June 5 and returned to her owners. 

Thus, by extension, I'Industrie was placed in the category of the 

"proscribed privateers," '^^ and, as increasing pressure was 

brought to bear against the activities of the American-commissioned French privateers, one after the other, by September 

" Jefferson, smarting under the harassment of Hammond, who accused him of 

countenancing French privateering activities in the United States, sought to draw 

a line between vessels armed for attack (privateers) and merchant ships defensively 

armed. "Just because she has guns for self protection it does not make her a 

privateer ... . Does a husbandman following his plough in time of war become 

a soldier because he carries a pistol or a knife in his pocket?" (American State 

Papers, vol. 1, p. 68.) In 1794 the U.S. Government attempted to regulate the 

arming of merchant vessels in order to obtain a measure of control over the 

export of arms and armed vessels. It did not meet with notable success. (See 

below p. 68.) 

'* Details of depositions and the investigation of PIndustrie's detention are contained in British Counter Case and Papers . . (hereafter cited as BCC), p. 544. 

'" On the Roehampton affair see Jefferson Manuscripts, Jefferson to Bournonville, 

October 3, 1793; and Miscellaneous Letters, U.S. Department of State, Thornton 

to Governor Lee of Maryland, October 13, 1793, demanding the arrest of the 

Roehampton and lodging a complaint against I'Industrie. 
14 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

1793, they had disappeared. Some departed for the West Indies, the others were either captured or dismantled or bought 

up by the French squadron lying at New York.^^ 

Other French raiders with impeccable credentials fresh from 

France came in their place, however, and the problem of neutrality enforcement persisted, awaiting a clear definition of 

treaty obligations and the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal Courts. It was not until January 1794 that these problems 

were resolved. Until then, French privateers continued to bring 

in their prizes and to dispose of them through their consular 

courts along the length of the United States coast, at the same 

time generally flouting Government directives against refitting 

and recruiting.^^ 

As long as French raiding could be carried out with profit and 

relative impunity in northern waters, Charleston remained only 

a privateering backwater. Although the most successful of the 

Charleston-based privateersmen, Jean Bouteille, had brought 

his schooner la Sans Pareille into port for the first time on 

July 18, 1793, it was not until six months later that Charleston 

began to assume major proportions as a haven for French 

privateers. 

Bouteille's career paced the rise of Charleston as a raiders' 

haven. He can be identified as either owning or sharing in at 

least sixteen privateers by the middle of 1795, and probably he 

had interests in others. Only Jean Baptiste Garvin could equal 

him in his achievements at sea. Bouteille, a native of Narbonne 

in his middle fifties, had come out to Saint Domingue fifteen 

years earlier to engage in the coasting trade. On the very day 

that news arrived of the war with England, Bouteille purchased 

the schooner which he named la Sans Pareille, scraped up what 

18 This was the squadron which in the summer of 1793 escorted the convoy of 

refugees from Cap-Frangais (Cap-Haitien) to New York and other Atiantic ports 

as a result of the burning of Le Cap during the civil war that for the previous 

three years had been devastating the great colony of Saint Domingue. Actually, 

by November 1793 the fleet, torn by mutiny and political dissension and by 

revolutionary and counter-revolutionary intrigue, had been dispersed on various 

fruitiess missions and its potential had been frittered away. 

" As testimony to the smooth functioning of French consular prize courts as 

late as September 1793, we have the advertisement carried by the Boston Centinel 

(September 9) headed "Consulat de la Republique Frangaise" soliciting all 

claims against the Dutch prize Tonge Gerard and the British vessels Harpooner and 

Britain. In Savannah, the French consulate called for claims against the British 

ship Grenada Packet as late as April 1794 (Georgia Gazette, April 24, 1794). 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 15 

armament he could, and obtained a commission from the authorities at Saint Domingue to cruise against the British." 

Indications are that he had in mind making for the hunting 

grounds which lay between the Virginia Capes and Boston for 

he bypassed Charleston on his way north. En route, off the north 

coast of Cuba, he made a daring capture of a large and well 

manned Spanish vessel, la Santa Catalina, described as a "flatbottomed barge." '^ Bouteille took three other prizes, two of 

which he dismissed after removing their supplies. The third was 

the Jamaican brig Betsey, laden with 35 puncheons of rum, a 

crew of eight, and one passenger. 

On June 22 he brought Betsey into Wilmington, North 

Carolina,^" but his stay was short. It is not quite clear what 

happened at Wilmington. There is a confused account of a 

contretemps involving Betsey's captain, who managed to escape 

ashore and alerted the authorities to some irregularity in the 

capture of his vessel, for when la Sans Pareille sailed, toward 

the end of June, it was without the company of his prize.^^ 

Another factor in Bouteille's abrupt departure might have been 

the sight of the dismantled, Charleston-commissioned le Vainqueur de la Bastille, which had been seized and detained under 

18 Information on the background of BouteUle as well as other privateer commanders who operated out of Charleston from mid-1793 to April 1795 is contained in a report from "Jean Frangois Theric, n6gociant a Charlestown [sic] . . . 

au Ministre de la marine et des Colonies," "5 frimaire, Pan 4 (26 9'' " 1795)." 

(Hereafter cited as Theric, Memorial.) Theric was active as a privateer agent, 

and in the spring of 1795 was sent as a deputy of the privateersmen to the National 

Convention at Paris in order to bring to the attention of France the services of the 

Charleston-based privateers to the cause. Theric sought recognition for the corsair 

captains by recommending that certain of them be granted brevet ranks in the 

French navy. As part of his argument Theric included in his memorial a list of 

prizes, British, Spanish and Dutch, brought into Charleston as well as a list of 

privateers regularly operating out of that port. As a gauge of the damage done to 

enemy commerce he also drew up a balance sheet vzduation of the prizes brought 

in. These are translated in the Appendix, pp. 117-126. 

1° Bouteille's description of la Santa Catalina (American Daily Advertiser, August 1, 

1794) strongly suggests a New Orleans origin, and very possibly she was one of 

those vessels built and freighted by Americans on the Ohio River, with the east 

coast of the United States as a destination. Because of Spanish control of the 

mouth of the Mississippi, such vessels were required, to be cleared for the sea-leg 

of the journey, to take out Spanish registry and to carry a Spanish master and 

crew. Bouteille's account further mentions her as under charter to the King of 

Spain, and although she was pierced for 20 g^ns, she was unarmed except for 

4 cannon in the hold. La Santa Catalina was sent to Norfolk, but nothing further 

on the vessel is ascertainable. 

^° American Daily Advertiser, July 12, 1793. 

2' Ibid. 

294-341 O—6 
16 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-17 9 6 

the directive of June 5." This may well have provided Captain 

Bouteille with an insight into the bleak future of privateering 

in northern waters and caused him to head south after leaving 

Cape Fear River." 

Bouteille, after first touching at Savannah, brought la Sans 

Pareille into Charleston on July 18 and from that date until 

1796 he made that port the base of his operations. For the remainder of 1793 his success was rather indifferent '* until, toward the end of August, he joined forces with Jean Baptiste 

Carvin. It seems likely that the two vessels met at sea, while 

Carvin was en route south from his brush with the Baltimore 

''Draught of a Schooner of 25 

tons proposed to be built at English Harbour Antigua . . 23rd 

July 1800." Its length along the 

deck was 40 feet and its extreme 

beam was 12 feet 6 inches. Small 

vessels of this type were favorites 

of the West India privateersmen. 

With lines reminiscent of the 

Norfolk pilot boat, they were fast 

and weatherly. Jean Bouteille's 

little Sans Pareille very probably 

resembled such a vessel. 

22 BEE, Reports, p. 68, Williamson v. Brig Betsey & J. P. Sargeant. 

23 Two months later Captain Hervieux, another French privateersman associated 

with Charleston, and captain of several of Bouteille's other privateers, also remarked 

on the coolness of the Wilmington authorities. 

2< La Sans Pareille captured the Hamburg brig Anna Magdalena on July 22, 

having followed her out of port. This vessel was released by the consular prize 

court on the grounds of Hamburg's neutrality. (American Daily Advertiser, 

August 7, 1793). She also captured the British hvig Jessie, which proved a profitable 

prize. Bound for Baltimore from Havana, she carried a cargo listed as 152 casks 

of molasses, 24 boxes of sugar, 30 hides, 529 dollars in cash, and two bills of 

exchange, the whole valued at $12,000. (State Gazette of South-Carolina, July 29, 

1793, and American Daily Advertiser, August 10, 1793.) Theric (Memorial, f. 215) 

gives the value oi Jessie as £2,015/19/11. She is not mentioned in the Annexes 

to BCC, listing vessels taken by French privateers from Charleston. 

YliXtU' 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRFVATEERING 1 7 

authorities and the capture of Roehampton and was doubtless 

not eager to return northward. A partnership, not uncommon 

among privateersmen, was struck up between the two captains. 

The two schooners, the lightly armed la Sans Pareille carrying 

only four swivels and a full crew of 37 men and the heavier 

I'Industrie carrying 16 guns, would have complemented each 

other well. If her size seems hardly to have merited la Sans 

Pareille a share-for-share arrangement, the skill and daring 

shown by Bouteille in the capture of la Santa Catalina, as 

noted above, made up for the lack of weight of his small 

schooner. 

The Sans Pareille-Industrie partnership produced four joint 

prizes which arrived at Charleston between September 12 and 

25." Thereafter, to the end of 1793 both vessels cruised on their 

own account with only modest returns.'^ 

At the beginning of 1794 Bouteille and Carvin were the only 

two French privateer captains regularly based at Charleston. 

Other French privateers certainly called in, but the shipping 

columns of local newspapers ignored the movements of armed 

vessels into and out of the port unless they were accompanied 

by a prize of note. The auction sale notices inserted in the newspapers—a lively indicator of privateering activity—are similarly infrequent until February 1794. 

But the lull was a short one. The law courts in the northern 

States and British naval power in the West Indies were creating 

pressures that would shortly have great influence on Charleston's development as a French privateering palatinate. 

2» These were the following: 

Stated value (£) Sale 

Vessel price 

BCC Theric (£) 

^ark Two Brothers 1,669 1 4 1,000 550 

Ship Harriet (referred to 

as Henrietta) 5,769 19 6 2,000 2,000 

Shx^ Sovereign 1,12,\ 10 0 2,210 10 6 500 

Snow Adventure 1,200 0 0 280 

29 La Sans Pareille captured the British brigs Maria and Argo, which entered 

Charleston on October 3 (New York Journal and Patriotic Register, October 16, 1793). 

Although Maria is mentioned neither in the Annexes to BCC nor in Theric, 

these valued Argo at £233/6/8 and £280, respectively. 

Ulndustrie captured the 500-ton ship Reddington and ordered her for Norfolk 

(New York Journal and Patriotic Register, October 16, 1793). Since she is not mentioned in either of the above sources, it is presumed that she was retaken. Another 

vessel, Aurora entered Charleston as a prize on December 30, was run through the 
PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

It was in Boston, stronghold of Federalism, that the first 

major blow was struck in behalf of the United States Government against French treaty-right pretentions—in the 1793 

decision of the Massachusetts District Court, in the case of 

Folger V. Lecuyer.^^ 

The case revolved about the capture of the British registered 

whaler Harpooner, Captain Brown Folger, by the French privateer La Marseille of Havre de Grace [Le Havre], commanded 

by Jacques Louis Lecuyer. Brown Folger, an American citizen, 

sought to extricate his share from sale of the whaler's cargo, 

a sale that had been hustled through the consular court at 

Boston.'' In his Hbel Folger based his claim on the fact that the 

lading of the whaler was made prior to the outbreak of war 

between France and England, and, in addition, as an American 

citizen, he cited article 14 of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and the United States, which stipulated 

that such cargoes were to be exempt from seizure. Lecuyer for 

his part confidently entered the tried and true "plea to 

jurisdiction." 

On December 6, 1793, the court handed down its decision 

upholding the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts in cases of 

admiralty and laid the axe to extraterritorial rights of jurisdiction which the French insisted was the intent of the FrancoAmerican consular convention. 

In his rejection of the respondent's claim to such a right, 

Justice Lowell voiced the clear intent of the Government to 

extricate the Nation from its embarrassing obligations under 

the Treaty of Affiance of 1778 in words that were not lost on 

interested parties: 

French consular court, and put up at auction, where she was bought in by Penman 

& Co. for £150 on behalf of her former master, Captain Dickie, even though the 

value of the vessel had been set at £4,000 by the British consul at Charleston. 

Dickie managed to slip out for New Providence, only to fall into Bouteille's hands 

again two months later. Aurora was again put on the block, sold to a man named 

Smith who cleared her for Boston. (BCC, Annex 1, p. 616). Theric listed her as 

bringing £1,053/11/0 at her first sale and £3,838/18/9 at the second sale. 

These figures undoubtedly reflect the gross proceeds of cargo and vessel. 

2' The case papers of Folger v. Lecuyer and the related docket books are contained 

in Massachusetts District Court Records, 1788-1799. Lowell's decision was printed 

in full by the Boston Centinel, January 4, 1794. 

28 The Boston Centinel, September 9, 1793, carried an advertisement headed 

"Consulat de la Republique Francaise" soliciting all claims against the Dutch 

Prize Yonge Gerard, and the British vessels Harpooner and Britain. 
1 : PRELUDE TO CHARLESTON PRIVATEERING 19 

It does not appear by the Treaty that it was the contemplation of the contracting parties to make common cause in all future wars in which either 

of them might be engaged.^^ 

Within two months of Folger v. Lecuyer, Lowells' decision was 

amplified and settled with finahty by the Supreme Court in the 

case of Glass v. the Sloop Betsey.^"^ This blow to France's maritime strategy of fighting a privateer war in the western hemisphere would have been severe even without reference to her 

desperate military posture in the Caribbean; compounded with 

the reverses which had begun to accumulate there in September 

1793, it spelled disaster. 

From the beginning of hostilities between Great Britain and 

France, Whitehall had adopted a pohcy of conquest by intrigue 

and was content to watch and wait while Saint Domingue dissolved in civil war and the other French islands lapsed into 

political anarchy. French emigre planters and royalists flocked 

to both London and to Kingston, Jamaica, seeking British help 

in ousting the revolutionary governments in return for the 

restoration of the old regime under British protectorates. British 

colonial privateers were carrying the main burden of the war 

in the Caribbean so that the Royal Navy could be husbanded 

for the indispensable blockade of France's European ports. 

In September 1793, however, the war in the Caribbean came 

to life with the launching of a British amphibious attack against 

Saint Domingue. That wretched colony, devastated by two 

years of terrible civil war and stripped of its naval defense, 

could offer little resistance to the British onslaught. The town 

of Jeremie was the first to fall, her defenses handed over by a 

deputation of planters. Three days later the "Gibraltar of the 

Antilles," Fort Saint Nicholas Mole, capitulated without a shot 

fired in its defense, and at the end of 1793, by straining available 

military reserves to the breaking point, Britain had extended 

her holdings. In the Bight of Leogane, the surrender of Saint 

Marc and Gonaives was followed by that of Les Verettes and 

Petite Riviere; in the south Jean Rabel fell and finally Leogane, 

Jacmel, and Saltrou. When Mirebelais offered to surrender at 

the beginning of 1794 the British had to refuse it. Men for 

garrisoning the town were completely lacking. Subjugation of 

the entire colony, however, was a foregone conclusion. 

"Massachusetts District Court Records, vol. 1, p. 89. 

'" The case is recorded in Dallas, Reports. It is legally cited as 3 Dallas 6(1794). 
20 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

The British landings on Saint Domingue proved only the 

prelude to the systematic reduction of remaining French strongholds in the Caribbean. Tobago was captured in February 1794, 

and soon thereafter Martinique and Saint Lucia, by forces under 

the command of Admiral John Jervis and General Sir Charles 

Grey. 

By the end of May 1794 France was dispossessed from the 

Lesser Antilles with the capture of Guadeloupe, while at Saint 

Domingue a British coup de grace was being readied for the 

few remaining pockets of French resistance that survived a 

Spanish invasion from Santo Domingo that captured Fort 

Dauphin " and drove into the central plains. The sole colonial 

possession wholly in the hands of France in the vicinity of the 

Caribbean was Cayenne, hedged in by Dutch, Spanish, and 

Portuguese possessions in alliance with Great Britain. 

" Fort Dauphin lay close to the long disputed boundary between the Spanish 

and French parts of Hispaniola's north coast. This effort marked Spain's only 

military adventure in 13 years of Caribbean warfare, during which time she was 

involved first on the side of the British and later on that of France. 
eo^2 

GALLOMANIA 

AND THE 

EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 

AFTER MINISTER GENET DEPARTED FOR PHILADELPHL\ in midApril 1793, it was vice-consul Mangourit who took over the promotion of France's grand design to revolutionize and seize from 

Spain the Floridas and Louisiana. 

Seemingly it would have been difficult to find a man with 

better credentials for the job. As a veteran of the storming of 

the Bastille and former editor of the Parisian revolutionary 

newspaper Heraut de la Nation, he was the very embodiment 

of the French Revolution. Since late summer of 1792 he had 

been assiduously propagandizing Charleston. He encouraged the 

organization of, and participated in, binational patriotic societies which not only were dedicated to furthering French Republican principles but also were active in soliciting gifts of money 

and goods for the cause of revolutionary France. 

When war broke out between France and England, Mangourit lost little opportunity of reminding Charlestonians of the 

bestiality of "perfidious Albion." Many French refugees were 

resident in Charleston. Their experiences at the hands of the 

British colonial privateers could be heard at first hand, while 

Peter Freneau kept the columns of his pro-French City Gazette 

liberally sprinkled with extracts from such newspapers as Philadelphia's American Daily Advertiser relating the savage 

attacks of the British "harpies" on the misery-laden refugee fleet 

from Cap Frangais. Tales of pilferage, kidnapping, larceny petit 

and grand, slave snatching, and outrages to womanhood 
2 2 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

created a widespread revulsion against Great Britain, even m 

Federalist ranks. That many of the attacks were perpetrated on 

neutral American vessels engaged in nothing more nefarious 

than aiding fellow humans in distress served to compound 

American bitterness. 

Under Mangourit's experienced direction, French agents 

cleverly manipulated American sympathies through the fronts 

oflFered by the radical clubs he had carefully nurtured. Thus in 

August 1793 the Republican Society of Charieston, convinced 

that the Federal authorities were being dilatory in stopping the 

arming of the Jamaican merchant sloop Advice, assumed the 

role of the defender of United States neutrality and appointed 

a committee to demand that the sloop's master land his vessel's 

guns and ammunitions. Captain Marshall refused. This refusal 

the committee conveyed to the Society, which determined that 

in view of Government apathy private action was indicated. 

New demands were made. Marshall again refused, saying 

that only force would make him yield his armament. Another 

retreat, another meeting, another demand. This last demand, 

backed by "Captain Cunnington's troops and a batallion of 

artillery in their uniforms," won the day.^ 

In a letter published in the State Gazette on August 12, Captain Marshall sought to explain his conduct in the hope that— 

. . . it may tend to soften and not by any means to extend the disgust, 

which appears unfortunately to have taken place in some instances, I hope 

unintentionally, between the citizens of America and my fellow citizens. 

Diplomatically, he took the opportunity to remind Charlestonians that if international law—which prevented the sailing of 

belligerent armed vessels within 24 hours of an enemy—had 

been observed by the American authorities, he "never .should 

have had an idea of arming." ^ 

Nevertheless, popular enthusiasm was kept at a high pitch by 

carefully organized demonstrations on the occasion of the news 

of France's field triumphs in Europe. The victories of Dumouriez in the Low Countries were the occasion of a two-day gala 

' The patriots triumphantly relieved Advice of 3 6-pounders (double fortified), 

2 3-pounders, 4 swivels, 325 rounds of shot, some grape, and a number of pistol 

balls. Further detective work turned up 3 unfinished gun carriages in a blacksmith shop as well as some 70 men who, purportedly, were prepared to join the 

sloop after she had crossed the bar. (State Gazette of South-Carolina, August 9, 1793.) 

^ Ibid., August 12, 1793. Marshall's letter is headed "on board the cutter 

Advice of Jamaica . .," whereas the account of August 9 refers to the sloop Active. 
2 : GALLOMANIA, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 23 

in January 1794 that was minutely chronicled in the press.^ In 

February 1794 the Republican Society of Charleston, much 

frequented by Mangourit, celebrated another such victory, and 

the splendid civic feast it occasioned was duly noted by the public press as far away as Philadelphia. 

At 2 p.m. of the gala day the members of the Society, with 

their special guest, the consul general of the French Republic, 

assembled at Citizen Harris' hotel. From there the Society, the 

members' hats decorated with the French national cockade, 

and bearing branches of laurel surmounted by liberty caps, proceeded to City Hall where an oration was delivered by that 

dedicated Francophile Stephen Drayton. As a recessional the 

members returned to Harris' Hotel in the same order that they 

went, with drums beating and fifes tootling Qa Ira, to partake of 

an elegant collation. 

Charleston's population, already enlarged by refugees from 

Saint Domingue, was further swelled by an influx of soldiers of 

Ibid., January 17, 1794. 

Transfer-printed Liverpool-type 

cream-ware pitchers, ca. 1792— 

1795. McCauley Collection, in 

the Smithsonian's National Museum of History and Technology. 
2 4 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-17 9 6 

fortune and seafarers scenting booty and prize money. Swaggering filibusterers and privateersmen of every maritime nation 

of Europe and America elbowed citizens oflF Charleston's narrow sidewalks. Drunken, raucous, and riotous, they filled the 

boardinghouses, taverns, and theatres to overflowing. They tendered pubHc banquets at which, according to the custom of the 

day, they orated and they drank innumerable toasts to the 

brotherhood of the two republics and confusion to Pitt and the 

British slaves.' By the end of 1793 the hooliganism in the streets 

of Charleston oflFered an opportunity for an ironic comment on 

the spread of "gallomania:" 

It has been an old adage that the people of the French nation were the 

most accomplished and polite in the world. But, I am sorry to see the 

proverb so extremely reversed by the behaviour of most of them in this 

city. Having generally the occasion to pass the corner of Queen-street and 

the Bay, two or three times a day, and frequently through the Dirty Street, 

while a crowd of from ten to thirty heroes, of the pistol, dagger and sword, 

keep full possession of the pavement, not even giving way to ladies! It 

was Saturday last, two gentlemen had the hardiness to break in upon 

their ranks (one a member of the Republican society) when they had like 

to have suffered for their presumption in brushing past those sons of 

thunder; for they were immediately accosted with Sacra Bougra, etc., etc., 

etc., and were actually pursued to be revenged for the insult, until they 

took sanctuary in a store adjoining. How far this menacing our civil 

citizens walking in the open day can be remedied, time will develop. 

A CITIZEN ' 

It was during this period that Jean Bouteille began to cut the 

figure for which he was so long remembered. With the proverbial prodigality of the seafarer ashore Bouteille vied with the 

societies in glorifying the feats of the armies of the Republic. 

Not only did he proffer and pay for out of his own pocket lavish 

civic feasts, attended by Charleston's leading figures, but in the 

manner of an Arabian prince he distributed gifts of bread, 

food, and money to the poor. At one banquet Bouteille placed 

a gold guinea under the plate of each of his guests. At another, 

as though to avoid a repetition of such vulgar ostentation, theatre tickets were substituted.*' 

* FRASER, Reminiscences of Charleston, p. 39. 

5 Columbian Herald, December 12, 1793. 

6 FRASER, Reminiscences, pp. 12, 34-46. Writing more than a half century later, 

Fraser gives a vivid account of the ebullient period of French privateering out of 

Charleston. Ebenezer Thomas, who came to Charleston a year after Bouteille's 

more extravagant entertainments, 40 years later remembered that people were 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 2 5 

As adroitly as Mangourit managed his propaganda campaign 

did he set about the main business at hand—putting into execution the French Republic's "grand design" against the two 

Spanish Floridas and Louisiana. Under the benign patronage 

of Governor Moultrie, Commodore Gillon, Stephen Drayton, 

and others, the dissidents and ambitious of South Carolina and 

Georgia were drawn into the conspiracy. To handle the raising 

of Indian allies among the Creeks, Mangourit had the aid of 

the brothers William and Samuel Hammond, ably assisted by 

another brother, Abner, partner in Hammond and Fowler, an 

American firm with business ambitions in Spanish Florida. 

Even George Rogers Clark of Revolutionary War fame was not 

adverse to considering the possibilities presented by the destruction of Spanish power in North America. Recruiting was 

pressed. Soon the "Revolutionary Legion of Florida" took 

shape. For his part, Mangourit maintained the fiction of respecting United States neutrality. He asserted that recruiting 

for the Florida Legion was carried out beyond the borders of 

the country, but it was patent that Charleston was the general 

headquarters for the expedition, and houses of rendezvous were 

operated quite openly in the city. 

The vexations of organization were endless. For every needed 

article—from arms and ammunition to needles and thread— 

the Charleston merchants had run up the price to such an exorbitant amount that Mangourit was forced to seek military 

essentials through Genet and as far afield as New York and 

Philadelphia. Capable leaders had to be attracted, their vanity 

fed, and their cupidity assuaged. The good will and cooperation of the Creeks and Cherokees had to be insured with gifts 

of cocked hats, French uniforms, cockades, handkerchiefs, toys, 

mirrors, razors, scissors, knives, hatchets, and a thousand and 

one other items. Treaties had to be prepared, proclamations 

issued, and agents sent out to report back on the state of public 

opinion in New Orleans and on the constitution of the garrison and armament at Saint Augustine. Officials in Georgia and 

still talking about them when he arrived there. (THOMAS, Reminiscences, vol. 1, p. 32.) 

Theric (Memorial, f. 212 v.), in seeking recognition of Bouteille's privateering 

feats from the Directory, recounted Bouteille's generosity to the poor, and said 

that by Germinal (April) 1795, when Bouteille's privateering interests encompassed no fewer than 38 vessels he negotiated with a Spanish commissioner the 

exchange of some 30 French seamen held captive in Havana for a new vessel of 

350 tons, also from his own pocket. (City Gazette, April 6, 1795: "Saturday arrived 

brig John and Phillip, Bourden, Havana with 200 [sic] French prisoners on board.") 
2 6 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

South Carolina had to be seduced, placated, flattered, or otherwise rendered sympathetic. But since Mangourit was almost 

entirely dependent on Genet for supplies, money, and a naval 

covering force to guarantee the success of the projected attack, 

he grew alarmed, by the Minister's delays and evasiveness. By 

the end of December 1793, it became clear that Genet, burdened with mutinous French naval units at New York and 

embroiled in partisan feuding with the French refugees and in 

his quixotic campaign to topple President Washington's unfriendly Federalist Administration, would never be able to 

produce the needed elements. 

Slowly it became clear to Mangourit that the ascendancy of 

French sympathies in the United States would not override the 

determination of the Government to eliminate any possible 

compromise with the maintenance of strict neutrahty. The fateful issue of French treaty rights was already in the northern 

courts when Mangourit decided that it was imperative to prepare a stronghold from which the war at sea could be carried 

on against the enemies of the Republic. As a consequence, the 

original design for conquest of a vast area was scaled down to 

East Florida, with Ameha Island on the Saint Marys River 

as the immediate beachhead to be seized. This port would at 

least serve as a stronghold for the French privateers in the 

event that French privileges in United States ports should be 

abrogated. There, just south of the boundary that divided the 

United States from East Florida, a thriving entrepot could be 

set up. 

In a memoir published in Paris in 1795, after he had been 

recalled to answer for his administration of French affairs at 

Charleston, Mangourit set forth the rationale of the East Florida Expedition: 

I was going to seize a vast country in order to give France a port near 

the outlet of the Gulf of Mexico free of the timid and cowardly courts of 

a degraded people [i.e., the United States] where daring privateersmen 

might have been commissioned; a port that might have been turned into 

a North American entrepot for the sale of our prizes and where our colonial 

products might have been exchanged for those of the United States; a port 

where the live oak and cedar might have built you rot-proof naval fortresses 

at practically no expense and from whence the infamous brigands from 

Jamaica and the Bahama Islands might have been chastened.'' 

' Translated from MANGOURIT, Memoir, pp. 16-17. 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDFTION 27 

tvcfic.jtf.v. 

An attack on Amelia Island, however, required a seagoing 

force not only to carry assault troops but to guard the beaches 

from interference by Spanish and British naval units. In the 

past these had been conspicuous by their absence, but this was 

no guarantee against their sudden appearance. Repeated requests to Genet for frigates to cover the landing were of no 

avail. 

Thus by the end of 1793 Mangourit had begun frantically to 

cast about for naval support in the form of French privateers. 

Few were to be found and these were small in size. From 

Charleston on November 18, 1793, a Bernardino Sanchez wrote 

to his brother in Saint Augustine that only three French privateers were then in port. Two of them were careened, while the 

other was involved in a dispute over the division of prize money. 

Only one raider based at the port was known to be at sea.* On 

January 4, 1794, the number of French privateers at the port 

of Charleston was increased by the arrival of the 16-gun 

^ In a letter from the Governor of Florida to the Captain General of Cuba, 

Florida and Louisiana, December 10, 1793, East Florida Papers, vol. 24. 

Saint Marys in 1791. "Piano 

numero 2 del Puerto y Barra de 

Santa Maria. . . . San Agustin 

de la Florida, 24 Diz.'^ de 1791." 

From map in the Library of 

Congress. 
28 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

schooner le Lascazas, Branzon, bearing a Saint Domingue commission. Captain Branzon, anxiously seeking the whereabouts 

of a prize he had taken earlier and sent into Savannah, was 

relieved to find her, the Jamaican vessel Friendship, safely 

riding at anchor.® 

To the harassed consul, the arrival of le Lascazas was a windfall. Making use of the powers vested in him by Minister Genet, 

he promptly requisitioned le Lascazas for the Florida expedition, handed out provisional commissions to Branzon and his 

chief lieutenant, Langlois, and drafted her crew into the French 

Navy. This action clearly did not set well with men predisposed 

for privateering, and le Lascazas proved to be a most troublesome asset. The end of January saw Branzon and his lieutenant 

complaining about the burdens imposed upon them by the lack 

of a sufficient afterguard, while the crew presented a neverending problem of insubordination.^" In the meantime the consul sought to add to his naval force by the purchase of other 

prizes brought by French privateers into Charleston for disposal. The choice of suitable vessels was limited, but finally 

Mangourit singled out two: the first of these was le Lascazas' 

own prize the Friendship, and the second was Minerva sent in 

by the French privateer I'Atalante.^^ 

On January 14 Mangourit reported to Genet the situation of 

his naval force under the heading, "Etat de nos forces en effet 

ou en esperance a Charleston." ^^ The vessels named were very 

possibly those referred to by Bernardino Sanchez. 

^ Branzon had called in at Savannah bar on December 29 and, not finding his 

prize, had proceeded to Charleston the next day. (Georgia Gazette, January 2, 1794; 

South-Carolina State-Gazette, January 4, 1794.) 

'" The Mangourit Correspondence, pp. 612-613. 

" Minerva entered Charleston on January 4, 1794. Her history, a curious one, 

illustrates the vicissitudes of privateering. Originally of French registry, she was 

built in Saint Domingue as la Minerve in 1792. At the outbreak of Franco-British 

hostilities she was one of the first vessels in that colony to be commissioned as a 

privateer. When the British landed at Jeremie in 1793, la Minerve managed to 

break out, only to be captured in the Windward Passage. Sent out by her British 

owners as the privateer Minerva under the red ensign, she was recaptured by the 

French privateer I'Atalante and sent for adjudication to Charleston, where she 

came under Mangourit's eye. L'Atalante, shortly after dispatching Minerva to 

Charleston, was in turn captured, having mistaken H M Postal Packet Antelope 

for a merchantman. (See JAMES, The Naval History of Great Britain, vol. 2, pp. 

110-111.) James and the South-Carolina State-Gazette (January 5, 1795), state that 

PAtalante was one of the original Charleston commissioned vessels, but no substantiation of this has been found. 

'2 The Mangourit Corresponderwe, p. 605. 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEOmON 2 9 

In addition to le Lascazas, noted as carrying at this time 18 

6-pounders and 120 men, Mangourit included Friendship, under 

her former name le Robert, with 16 guns and 50 men;' ' 

Minerva, with 8 guns, 6 swivels, and 40 men; la Sans Pareille, 

whose armament had been reinforced by 2 swivels and 4 broadside guns; I'Industrie, with 12 guns, 2 howitzers, and 50 men; 

and an unnamed vessel, supposed to be enroute from Martinique, with 12 guns and 40 men. 

The entire flotilla was expected to be ready for operations by 

the beginning of February, a time determined by completion of 

repairs to I'Industrie, which had grounded while returning from 

a cruise. 

Mangourit proved overoptimistic, however, about the state 

of readiness of his naval force. Actually, Garvin's participation 

in the expedition was far from settled; in fact, at the last 

moment, the consul found it necessary to requisition I'Industrie.^* A vessel promised by Bouteille never did show up, while 

le Robert [ex-Friendship] which had been sent to Saint Domingue for a commission, returned to Charleston under a new 

name, la Montagne, too late to participate in the expedition. 

As for Minerva, as late as March 5 Mangourit was still impatiently awaiting Genet's permission to purchase her.'^ Le 

Lascazas continued a constant problem because of her bickering 

crew and ineffective oflficers. 

While Mangourit agonized over Genet's evasiveness on the 

supply of promised naval reinforcements, new problems were 

being posed by the Governor of Georgia, who was having second 

thoughts on the recruiting of troops in his State for the Florida 

expedition. It seemed wise, therefore, to allow Bouteille to go 

cruising off the Florida and Cuban coasts in order to keep his 

crew occupied with raiding and to develop intelligence on the 

state of the defenses of Saint Augustine. 

In the first week of February la Sans Pareille captured the 

Spanish vessel la Santa Isabella, from Havana for Saint Augustine, and sent her into Charleston with a 4-man prize crew. If 

the value of the vessel as a prize was small, she was an excellent 

'^ The history of le Robert curiously parallels that of la Minerve. She too had 

started life as a French privateer, had been captured by a New Providence privateer, was condemned at Nassau and fitted out as the letter of marque Friendship, 

under which name she was captured by le Lascazas. (See Stannick v. the ship Friendship in (Bee, Reports, p. 40.) 

'^ The Mangourit Correspondence, pp. 650-651. '* Ibid., p. 628. 
30 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

propaganda piece. The docility toward the prize crew shown 

by the 32 men that she carried from the Third Company of 

Havana Volunteers augured well for the ease with which the 

Spanish possessions could be seized.'' By Mangourit's count la 

Santa Isabella was Bouteille's fifteenth prize, and the captured 

Spanish seamen related that when last seen, la Sans Pareille was 

hot on the heels of yet another Spanish vessel. 

But elation gave way to anxiety over the future of the expedition when reports arrived that a British armed vessel of 14 guns 

was standing off Tybee Roads and two heavily armed Liverpool 

Letters of Marque were lying at Savannah. 

While Mangourit vainly tried to get le Lascazas off to sea to 

meet the British challenge, the British consular oflficer at 

Charleston, Mr. Shoolbred, sent off to learn the character of 

the British man-of-war. She proved to be HM frigate Hussar, 

Captain Rupert George, on a routine patrol.'' Arrangements 

were made for Hussar to take under convoy five British merchantmen that had been held in a state of blockade by the 

French privateers. 

Hussar appeared off Charleston on February 7 and for two 

days patrolled the approaches to the harbor in the hope of intercepting French raiders. On the 10th she signalled for the British 

vessels to leave the harbor and then stood to the north with the 

convoy. 

Six days later a Spanish snow under a French prize crew stood 

across the bar. This was the vessel which the Spanish sailors 

had reported as under chase by Bouteille. In addition to some 

130 dispirited Spanish troops the snow carried the considerable sum of 187,000 Spanish dollars as payroll for the Spanish 

garrison at Saint Augustine.'^ As for Jean Bouteille, shortly after 

'^ Ibid., pp. 606-607. Mangourit reported that many of the prisoners wanted 

to join the French forces after they had been duly enlightened on the subject of 

their slavery to the Spanish "Capet, " but that French law prevented their enlistment. Could they not be used on earthworks ashore? Their arms and uniforms 

were very attractive; could they not be purchased? The problem of incarcerating 

the Spanish prisoners proved a knotty one that was solved temporarily by turning 

le Lascazas into a prison ship. 

' ' HMS Hussar, Captain Rupert George, was attached to the Halifax Squadron. 

She patroled and offered convoy escort in the area from Halifax to Bermuda and 

New Providence. Details of her movements are from Public Records Office, 

London, Admiralty 51/452, part 8, HMS Hussar, Captain's log. 

^^The prize was met entering Charleston on February 16 by Captain Garman 

of the Philadelphia Packet and was reported in the Philadelphia General Advertiser, 

March 28, 1794 (see also The Mangourit Correspondence, p. 612). 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 3 1 

his spectacular coup he came ashore for a spell to bask in the 

admiration of Charleston's "san culottes," to partake of the 

lively social life of the city, and to expand his privateering 

interests. 

The departure, soon after the safe arrival of the Spanish 

prize, of the British frigate and the two Liverpool Letters of 

Marque lifted the threat to the Florida expedition. Local prospects for the success of the expedition were bright, and developments on the diplomatic front were even more promising, for 

by the beginning of 1794 American anti-British feeling had 

risen to hysterical proportions. Even as early as September 1793, 

British depredations on American trade had reached the point 

that Thomas Jefferson instructed United States Minister to 

Great Britain Thomas Pinckney to protest in the strongest 

terms. His instructions echoed a large and growing sector of 

American opinion: "Great Britain might indeed feel the desire 

of starving an enemy nation, but she can have no right to do so 

at our loss, nor of making us the instrument of it." ^^ 

Great Britain's answer, however, was to draw the noose of 

maritime restrictions even tighter. The Order-in-Council of 

November 6, 1793, extended the grounds for seizure of neutral 

shipping, and the British colonial privateers reacted enthusiastically. Colonial vice-admiralty courts, notably those of New 

Providence, Saint Kitts, and Saint Vincents, rapidly became notorious for their juridical sleight of hand. 

In the wake of British military operations in the French 

Windward Islands, wholly illegal prize courts were even created 

to deal with neutral shipping trapped in the harbors of the 

French Islands. The "Martinique cases," involving American 

vessels condemned at that island and constituting the largest 

single group in the later adjustment of British spoliations of 

1793, were characterized by United States Commissioner 

Bayard as "shameful and abominable." ^" The corrupting hand 

of Britain could be discerned everywhere. Even Britain's role 

in bringing about a treaty between Portugal and Algiers took 

on a sinister cast. To some this act portended a diabolical plot 

' ' MOORE, International Adjudications, vol. 4, p. 16. 

^^ Ibid., p. 38. Justice Marriott, sitting on the Relief case, returned that vessel 

to her owners with costs and damages and the comment that "the captors were 

in a great hurry to sell these vessels and pocket the money . . . as to [General] 

Sir Charles Grey, he may have little to do with the business, but Sir John Jervis 

[later Lord St. Vincent] ought, and must have known better" (ibid., pp. 53-54, 57). 

2194-341 O—6fl 4 
Drr7t/'rr?':i. 

Shrrt 28. 

's^Xxno .H-ncr.-,/ Ac Li •^^Ha'^a dc c^a// f4ciu^ti^i Jc la oFlonlix, if sits miin-fuu^YoiiC'^: cfiic cvrnpiv/n-iu-lc Ls .'u/nu/.i.^-

Ac sii.<^VlAirrus. ^^fc.s^. Cinos, Sicncc.xs, jfmcas, jf J^cJncios .Jnr la cfrcuj/cn, /iinnJf'shviJosc al nusmo'?innpo^ 

/ c.vnj.-'IctaA.i la iJ)i^fanon .pie sr coiiipiif-n in\\\-\rrut ) ''i'hAo Io .j^iic sc _^prrpi>?tc ^p.ir.r J-^u C-<Z y/'V?^-^ -^ 

.'^frVt^ •'~^Si^^l^'° ;k^'^i*M.'^ ^ft^F^-**- , , 'WW V 

-.<tfitlll Ml I'n.fiii.il ,mi ("4/ 

^ ^ , 'c l(j.lnU U .i( , \>r„„J.r( m-l 

I -Clf/JMh lj^n.;.,l •(...f.yr.ijl. 

„^.^.l^,.,^U-TJt.m.^.rA, i.tt..-

Facsimile copy, dated 24 November 1884, in United States National Archives (record group 77, 

no. 7) of a map of Saint Augustine dated December 24, 1791, in the Archives of the Direccion de 

Ingenieros, Madrid. 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 3 3 

to unleash the fury of the Algerine corsairs against United 

States trade in the Mediterranean."^ 

When the second session of the Second Congress met at 

Philadelphia on December 2, 1793, the Federalist Administration noted with alarm a loss of support which some saw as 

a reflection of anti-British sentiment that was causing growing unrest among the electorate. It was not until December 16 

that the growing maritime problem was faced in a rather 

oblique manner through the reading of the Secretary of State's 

report concerning the privileges and restrictions on the commerce of the United States. Almost three weeks were spent in 

an effort to avoid coming to grips with the ominous situation. 

Finally, on January 3, 1794, Madison's seven resolutions were 

taken up.^^ The chief tenor of these resolutions was that England 

was to be subjected to economic pressure until she would come 

to heel. The ensuing ten-day debate produced a deeper split 

between the parties but no decision could be made on the resolutions, and definitive action was further delayed. 

In the meantime the drift toward war with Great Britain 

continued. By early February Charlestonians, like the majority 

of other Americans, were convinced that war was not only inevitable but imminent." By the beginning of March, when Congress again took under consideration Madison's seven resolutions, further procrastination was out of the question. British 

depredations had practically halted the booming West Indian trade, and at New York unemployment among seamen 

grew as owners and masters refused to risk their vessels and cargoes against the odds of British capture and confiscation, or of 

long detentions which could prove equally ruinous.^* And the 

situation was further exacerbated by the deterioration of the 

tense situation along the Canadian frontier and at the Western 

Posts, and by an outbreak of Algerian seizures of American 

shipping in the Mediterranean. 

On March 4 the Congress cautiously took a first step in 

answer to British provocations in the form of a bill providing 

2'BASSETT, The Federalist System, p. 113. For correspondence reflecting this see 

Instructions to the British Minister to the United States, 1791-1812, pp. 49-50. 

^^ American State Papers, vol. 1, pp. 300-400. 

^ The Mangourit Correspondence, p. 612. Appearance of HMS Hussar off the 

Charleston bar resulted in a near panic among American shipping, both ocean 

and coastal, in the harbor and caused many sailings to be postponed. 

2< MCMASTER, History, vol. 2, pp. 167-170, treats at some length the effect of 

British policy on the maritime centers of the United States. 
34 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

for the fortification of harbors, and a week later it cleared the 

way for later creation of the United States Navy by authorizing 

the building of six frigates. The climax of American reaction 

to British provocations was finally reached on March 25, when 

President Washington read to Congress two letters from Fulwar 

Skipworth, American consular agent at Martinique. The letters 

detailed the extent of the losses suffered by American merchants 

in the capture of not only Martinique but the other West Indian 

islands seized by British forces. A 30-day embargo on all shipping in American harbors was immediately voted pending clarification of events in the Caribbean and before its expiration 

a 30-day extension was voted. 

The action of Congress seemed fully vindicated when on 

March 28 the news of Britain's revised Order-in-Council of 

November 6, 1793, became public. The provisions of this decree even outraged the strongly FederaHst mercantile community of New England. The Reverend William Bentley, tireless diarist and staunch Federalist, commenting on the actions of Congress, recorded that "a privateer is already up in Becket's yard 

and several are said to be engaged." ^^ On every hand it was 

agreed that the country was as good as at war with England. 

At Charleston, as elsewhere, the democratic societies were in 

the forefront of preparations for all eventualities. Militia units 

such as the Charleston Irish Volunteers, the Republican Battery, and the Cadette Battery sprang up, and much time was 

spent in drilling. As had earlier happened during the fitting out 

of the Jamaican sloop Advice, the clubs set themselves up as 

watchdogs, this time on behalf of the enforcement of the embargo. On one occasion the Charleston Republican Society, 

hearing that the British brig Liberty had managed to escape 

from the harbor just prior to publication of the embargo proclamation, fitted out a vessel which successfully recovered the 

brig.^^ But the excitement of warlike preparations gave way 

to a noticeable gloom as April passed. As the consequences of 

hostilities with Great Britain became clearer, Congress became 

more and more loath to make any decision that might have fatal consequences. 

In France, meanwhile, with the establishment of the Jacobin 

dictatorship under Robespierre in the summer of 1793, supreme 

25 The Diary of William Bentley, D.C, vol. 2 (January 1793-December 1802). 

Hereafter cited as Bentley, Diary. 

28 For the details of this incident, see The City Gazette, April 10, 1794. 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 3 5 

control passed into the hands of a ten-man Committee of Public 

Safety that undertook ruthlessly to reconstruct the nation from 

the shambles of civil war—an effort that was accompanied by 

systematic stamping out of all opposition through the machinery 

of the Terror. 

Eager to exploit the Anglo-American tension, the Committee of Public Safety reviewed Franco-American relations. 

Minister Genet, whose conduct had outraged the United States 

Government and caused it on August 4, 1793, to revoke his 

exequatur and demand his recall, had failed miserably to carry 

out the fundamental part of his mission—negotiation of a 

commercial treaty. Instead, he had allowed himself to be diverted by dreams of military glory which were frustrated by 

the political intrigue and anarchy that prevailed among the 

French naval forces in North America. Genet, moreover, was 

an appointee of the execrated Brissotins, betrayers of the Revolution, sufficient cause in itself for his liquidation. 

To replace Genet, Jean Antoine Joseph Fauchet was chosen 

to head a commission armed with the most positive instructions : every means were to be employed to smooth over FrancoAmerican relations, and a most important step toward this goal 

was to assure and rigorously enforce a rigid respect for United 

States neutrality. In addition, Fauchet was to concentrate on 

securing the commercial treaty that Genet had botched. He 

was also to obtain supplies of all kind and to arrange for largescale purchases of grain vitally needed to replenish France's 

granaries, exhausted by a combination of bad harvest and civil 

war in La Vendee. 

Toward the end of January 1794, Hampton Roads, the port 

of Norfolk, Virginia, had begun to bustle with activity as 

arrival of the French sloop-of-war le Brutus"' brought news 

of Fauchet's approach. Le Brutus was followed by a squadron 

of five French men-of-war under the command of Rear Admiral 

Jean Van Stabel.'* On February 8 the frigate la Charente 

arrived at Norfolk to set ashore Citizen Fauchet and his fellow 

commissioners. Unlike his predecessor, Fauchet did not dally 

but departed posthaste for Philadelphia, a journey that took 

" Not to be confused with le Brutus Franqais, about which see below, p. 69. 

28 Vessels consdtudng the squadron were the frigates le Tigre, of 80 guns; le Jean 

Bart, 74; la Concorde and la Semillante, 40; and the brig le Papillon. See the Philadelphia General Advertiser for January 29 and February 21, 1794. 
3 6 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-1 7 96 

nearly two weeks, thanks to bad weather and execrable roads. 

On February 22 he was presented to President Washington and 

on March 2 he formally relieved ci-devant Citizen Genet of his 

duties as Minister Plenipotentiary.^^ 

Seeking the quickest and most public means of proving to 

the Government at Philadelphia the sincerity of France's respect 

for the neutrahty of the United States, Fauchet inserted in the 

American Daily Advertiser for March 6 a proclamation which 

was subsequently widely copied: 

In the name of the French Republic 

Every Frenchman is forbid [sic] to violate the neutrality of the United 

States. All commissions or authorizations intended to infringe that neutrality are revoked and are to be returned to the agents of the French 

republic. 

Philadelphia, Ventose 16, second year of the French 

republic one and indivisible (March 6, 1794, O.S.) The 

Minister plenipotentiary of the French republic, 

[Signed] JN FAUCHET.^" 

Then Citizen Fauchet began to study the dossiers of France's 

consular officers in the light of his Government's new policy. 

The file of Citizen Mangourit required urgent consideration. 

At Charleston, by early February, Mangourit had heard 

rumors of Genet's possible replacement. If these were true, it 

must have seemed highly probable to Mangourit that his own 

recall would follow. His correspondence took on a note of increasing urgency and at times hysteria. On March 5, apparently 

still unaware of Fauchet's arrival, no less of Genet's replacement, he wrote to the latter, expressing fear that the expedition 

might be abandoned, and then flatly announced that the invasion date was set for April 10.^^ It seems clear that by making 

this decision Mangourit hoped to forestall any change in orders 

that either Genet or a new Minister at Philadelphia might make 

and, if luck were with him, to present either one or the other 

with a fait accompli in East Florida. To this announcement 

Mangourit added a plea for ships, arms, munitions, and provisions, and complained that delays in obtaining these essential 

needs made it ever more difficult to hold his forces together. 

28 Although Fauchet was directed to bundle Genet back to Paris to answer for 

his handling of the mission, the very government that Genet had attacked with 

such intemperance granted him political asylum. 

3" This notice first appeared in the Charleston papers on March 27 (see p. 38). 

^' 77?^ Mangourit Correspondence, p. 627. 
2 : GALLOMANIA, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 3 7 

But the climate at Charleston seemed to be changed: citizens 

were becoming less tolerant of the high jinks and brawling of 

the privateersmen. A riot which broke out in a Charleston 

theatre on March 17 saw no less a personage than Captain 

Branzon and his trusty Lieutenant Langlois dragged off to jail 

and fined for their complicity in the fray.^" The crew of le Lascazas had got so out of hand that Mangourit attempted to control the flow of liquor to the French seaman by reminding 

tavern keepers that they extended credit to the crews of French 

vessels at their own risk. The French republic did not recognize 

claims against anticipated prize money.^^ The success of the 

consul's warning is open to doubt. 

By March 23, Mangourit, if his erratic dating can be relied 

upon, finally heard of Genet's recall and, very possibly, of his 

own. To Genet he expressed his regrets and hoped that the 

former minister would speak a few kind words to the "incorruptible" Robespierre.^* But Mangourit's regrets did not affect 

his determination to press on. He immediately set about rushing preparations to such a point that Fauchet could not possibly 

order the expedition cancelled. 

In his first letter to Fauchet, Mangourit, fearing that the 

inevitable enemies had already reached the ears of the new 

minister, sought to reassure him of his zeal for the revolutionary 

cause.^^ He not only dismissed as incredible the possibility that 

the new commissioners could intend to call off the Florida 

expedition, but went on to urge the appointment of a henchman, one Fremin, then acting vice-consul at Savannah, to a 

post to be created on the United States side of the Saint Marys 

River, where it would be handy to the new conquests. 

^^South-Carolina Gazette, March 19, 1794; The City Gazette, March 20, 1794. 

'3 The City Gazette, March 21,1794. Mangourit cited chapter and verse of French 

law which disclaimed responsibility of the French Republic for debts incurred 

in advance of prize money. 

^* The Mangourit Correspondence, p. 638. 

" As was the case in all American cities where French refugees gathered in 

numbers, intrigue between the varying shades of political opinion was rampant. 

Strife within the Charleston Patriotic Society was recorded by che State Gazette of 

South-Carolina as early as December 3, 1793. Mangourit had been branded as "an 

intriguant and a promoter of discord." Enemies held his newspaper articles to be 

inflammatory in the extreme. Denunciations made to Fauchet to this eifect 

certainly affected the decision on the Consul's replacement. In his Memoir, 

Mangourit refers bitterly to the maneuverings of partisan groups, many of them 

doubdessly infiltrated by British agents provocateurs. 
38 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

To Fauchet's demands of late March that le Lascazas be 

sent north to Hampton Roads, where she was urgently needed 

to strengthen the escort for the grain convoy,'' Mangourit answered that he regretted being unable to comply: not only was 

the corvette allocated to his own particular service, she was 

then at sea on a training cruise.'' In fact, however, le Lascazas 

was still in port embroiled in her interminable crew problems 

and Mangourit's orders to Branzon to get to sea were not dated 

until March 27. 

On the very day that le Lascazas was scheduled to sail, the 

thunder and hghtning of Fauchet's public circular letter of 

March 6 struck in the local press.'' Mangourit dodged agilely. 

An urgent meeting of the leaders of the Florida expedition was 

assembled in a council of war on March 29 to ponder the nature 

of Fauchet's injunction.''' Was this surprising document in truth 

an English ruse? Perhaps it had been concocted by Fauchet 

in conjunction with the United States Government to mislead 

the English and Spanish as the first step in America's declaration of war. Some were suspicious about the dating of the 

document and made a point of the fact that it was not in accord 

with the new revolutionary calendar. If the purpose of the 

declaration was really to stop the invasion, why had not the 

new minister sent an express to that purpose when he first 

stepped ashore? In any case, the feeling was general that the 

injunction against recruiting quite eliminated the Florida expedition from the intent of the declaration. After all, was not 

all its recuiting carried on outside the boundaries of the United 

States? The clinching argument against the applicability of the 

declaration, however, was that the invasion date had been set 

prior to the issuance of the printed circular. 

The council of war finally decided that it could not find the 

slightest excuse to stop the execution of the enterprise 

and agreed to press on with the greatest diligence and secrecy. 

Only Colonel Bert dissented and expressed grave doubts about 

^^Correspondence of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-1797, Commissioners to Ministers of Foreign Affairs, May 20, 1794, p. 346. 

^^ The Mangourit Correspondence, p. 645. 

38 See The City Gazette, March 27, 1794. 

3^ The Mangourit Correspondence, pp. 629-632. Branzon's name appears among 

those who were present at the council of war. The details that follow are derived 

from the minutes of the council. 
2 : GALLOMANL\, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 3 9 

the success of the enterprise without the essential ingredient of 

seapower to cover the landings and prevent intervention by 

enemy sea forces. 

The letter which Mangourit wrote to Fauchet on March 29 

explained the proceedings of the council of war and predicted 

the fate awaiting French privateering operations out of American ports in spite of the Franco-American rapprochement 

inaugurated by Fauchet. Ending with a persuasive argument, 

Mangourit urged: 

The ports of Florida will be of the greatest utility to France in wartime. 

The privateering commissions which we will be able to issue there will not 

be subject to the interference of the United States. The armed vessels which 

will sail from Florida will enjoy all the advantages that they should have 

had in those [i.e.. United States] ports. The St. Mary's [river], being capable 

of receiving entire fleets, will especially facilitate our maritime operations.•'° 

Only five days before Mangourit's letter of March 29, the 

State Gazette of South-Carolina reported the receipt of a Treasury Department Circular Letter which directed collectors of 

the custom to take inventories of all vessels and cargoes which 

had been captured by illegal privateers and brought into American ports, and to consult with the consuls of nations whose vessels had been seized, with the view of appointing appraisers to 

arrive at a valuation of damages suffered." The Secretary of 

War had even ordered that the Spanish brig San Jose *^ be delivered up to her owners because her capture was considered 

collusive. 

Ignoring Fauchet's orders to cease and desist from any further attempts to execute any design that might infringe on 

United States neutrality, Mangourit wrote the Minister on 

March 30 that everything was ready—supplies, ammunition, 

and treaties with the Indians. Two transports were ready to 

leave on April 4 and the landing would be made on April 10 

Then, incomprehensibly, he wrote, "Nous attendons la flotille 

et la Floride est a nous . . . Ah! Citoyen, ce projet si vous 

envoyez une flotille. ... " ^' 

^o Ibid. Translation of report of Assembly of Leaders of the Expedition at 

Charleston, March 29, 1794. 

" South-Carolina State-Gazette, March 24, 1794. 

^2 Undoubtedly this is the prize made by Bouteille called San Joseph which 

featured in the important admiralty case of Castello v. Bouteille, et at., and treated 

at length below. The case was being argued in court at the very time. 

*^ The Mangourit Correspondence, p. 645. 
40 PRrVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-1 7 96 

The following day another letter to Fauchet was dashed off 

containing more sermonizing, urging, logic, and wheedling on 

the subject of the invasion. Forgetting that he had told his superior that le Lascazas was at sea he announced her departure 

with the transports. Again he hammered at his need for a fleet. 

Genet had promised him one on February 2. Where was it? 

Send it. More money was needed; the war scare had driven the 

price of supplies out of sight. 

But even if the promised flotilla had existed, it is certain that 

Mangourit had no intention of waiting for it. On March 27 the 

consul issued orders to Branzon on the subject of the Saint 

Marys landings: le Lascazas was to cruise off the coast, "not too 

far off the bar;" on April 4, he was to close the harbor, send in 

a boat and be prepared to escort the transports southward. If 

Branzon should arrive off Saint Marys before April 9, he was to 

cruise off the mouth of the river and keep it bottled up. Detailed 

instructions were given on how contact was to be made with the 

"revolutionary legion." Knowing his man and le Lascazas' 

crew, Mangourit could not refrain from the injunction, "Don't 

stray off chasing prizes." *' 

Mangourit's vexation with Branzon and the corvette le Lascazas was compounded by further troubles with his other armed 

ships. As late as March 30 he could count on only the two transports he had mentioned earlier to Fauchet. He had been unsuccessful in his attempt to purchase the prize Minerva. This vessel was finally bought in by Jean Bouteille, who placed Captain 

Hervieux in command and sent her off cruising under some sort 

of commission. Both Bouteille and Carvin continued to cruise 

during the Fauchet - Mangourit duel, although from the nature 

of their prizes it may be presumed that to some extent they were 

cooperating with Mangourit.*^ 

With only four days remaining before Captain Branzon was 

scheduled to appear off Charleston bar to collect the invasion 

fleet, Mangourit was still frantically trying to assemble shipping. 

In a letter to Carvin dated March 31 the consul congratulated 

the privateer captain on his successful cruise and refreshed Car-

^< Ibid., pp. 643-644. 

" On March 16 la Sans Pareille returned to port accompanied by the Spanish 

prize San Jose, mentioned above (South-Carolina State-Gazette, March 18, 1794). 

Shortly before March 29 Carvin brought his ITndustrie back to Charleston after a 

successful cruise which netted the Spanish sloop Emmanuel (South-Carolina StateGazette, March 28, 1794). 
2 : GALLOMANIA, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDFTION 4 1 

vin's memory about former discussions concerning his participation in the East Florida Expedition. That campaign, announced 

Mangourit, was about to be realized and Florida was about 

to be snatched from Spanish tyranny. At first he elaborately 

protested his conviction of Garvin's patriotism. Then he insinuated that a loan would be in order (Carvin had taken a 

particularly valuable prize). Finally, after dismissing any 

thought that Carvin would refuse to cooperate, he peremptorily 

requisitioned I'Industrie, "en vertu de I'article 23 de la Loi du 

11 8""^ 1793," and ordered him to join forces with le Lascazas.*'' 

In addition to listing Bouteille's la Sans Pareille and recently 

purchased la Minerve {ex-Minerva) and Garvin's I'Industrie as 

ready for sailing, Mangourit mentioned a fourth vessel, the 

schooner I'Ami de la Pointe-d-Pitre,'^' under the command of 

William Talbot. 

Whether all, or indeed any, of the vessels other than le Lascazas sailed on schedule cannot be verified. It is known, however, that la Sans Pareille was still in port on the eve of the rendezvous off Charleston bar, for her crew was involved in yet 

another of those fracases that with increasing frequency were 

trying the patience of Charlestonians.*^ But it seems likely that 

none of the privateers listed were in port by April 7, for on that 

day, from the same express which brought news of the Presidential embargo of March 26, Citizen Fonspertuis stepped 

ashore, sent by Fauchet to relieve Mangourit as consul general 

at Charleston for the French Republic.*^ 

" The Mangourit Correspondence, pp. 650-651. 

*''Ex-Fair Play (see p. 56). The appearance of this vessel, to become one of 

Charleston's regulars, was heralded by the arrival of a Spanish prize consigned 

to her on March 16. The South-Carolina State-Gazette, March 18, 1794, referred to 

her as the Santa Jacta (possibly a misreading of a manuscript abbreviation "Santa 

Jac*^[jacinta]" and to her captor as Des Amis. Talbot made his entry into Charleston between March 20 and 30 and during that period was included in the expedition. Whether Mangourit managed to pry out of Talbot the 15,000 dollars cash 

reported to be on board the prize is not known. 

^8 See, South-Carolina State-Gazette, April 4, 1794. 

^° While part of Fauchet's instructions related to the replacement of those 

consuls and agents who were particularly involved in transgressions of United 

States neutrality, he was actually unequipped to send a man of sufficient calibre 

to substitute for Mangourit. Fonspertuis, who had accompanied Fauchet as a 

minor chancellery official, remains a relative unknown whose chief qualification 

seems to have been his removal from the Canary Islands as consul at the request of 

the Spanish Government. According to the custom of the era he was known simply 

by his last name. 
42 PRrVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

While there can be no doubt that at first Fonspertuis entered 

with exemplary zeal into the task of enforcing his superior's 

orders, Mangourit's delays in turning over the consulate's records and Fonspertuis' inability, because of the embargo proclamation, to charter a vessel to pursue the Florida squadron 

prevented him from immediately effecting the most important 

part of his mission—the recall of the Florida expedition.^" 

Not until April 14 did the new consul manage to charter the 

schooner Hawke and to arrange with the deputy collector of 

the port for a coastwise clearance for Saint Marys in Georgia.^^ 

Ex-consul Mangourit, whose departure gave rise to eloquent expressions of regret from some of the leading Charlestonians,^^ 

was hustled on board Hawke, and her supercargo Alexandre 

Bolchos—soon to build a reputation of his own as a successful 

privateer commander—was ordered to seek out le Lascazas and 

bring about abandonment of the expedition. Thereafter Mangourit and his suite were to be transferred to the corvette, which 

in turn was to proceed forthwith to Philadelphia so that the exconsul could report in person to Minister Fauchet on his activities. This was duly accomplished. 

The invasion as planned proved a fiasco. When le Lascazas 

was finally located, Branzon had been standing on and off the 

mouth of the Saint Marys for 17 days, unable to make contact 

with the Florida Legion, even though it was reported that the 

Legion was in the immediate vicinity and was expected momentarily. Actually, a small group of American and Floridian filibusterers managed to establish themselves on the southern bank 

of the Saint Marys River, never losing hope that a French reinforcement would come to their relief." 

What roles the privateers la Sans Pareille, la Minerve, I'Industrie, and I'Ami de la Pointe-d-Pitre played in the aborted 

5" He did, however, according to his instructions, release English prisoners that 

Mangourit had been illegally detaining in a prison hulk in Charleston harbor, 

and reparations were duly made. See The City Gazette, May 15, 1794, which 

printed an extract of Fonspertuis-Fauchet correspondence; also mentioned was 

the fact that le Lascazas was not in Charleston when Fonspertuis arrived. 

" Under the terms of the embargo, coastwise vessels as well as foreign public 

vessels and privateers were allowed to clear customs. 

52 In his Memoir, Mangourit printed at length testimonials to the excellence of 

his stewardship of France's interests during his term in office. The signatures 

subscribing to the testimonials constitute a virtual "Who's Who " of Charleston's 

most dedicated Republicans. 

53 See Correspondence of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-1797, p. 827, 

Adet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, February 9, 1796. 
2 : GALLOMANIA, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 4 3 

invasion is not certain. No mention of them was made in the 

account of the locating of le Lascazas. It is possible that they 

had been dispatched on scouting missions when no contact was 

made with the Legion, or even more likely—from the succession 

of prizes that entered Charleston by the end of April—they had 

gone off on raiding expeditions of their own. 

On April 27 /<2 Sans Pareille arrived at Charleston, her 

captain lamenting that because of a shortage of crew he had 

been forced to pass up two Spanish vessels. She was followed 

the next day by two of her prizes, the British snow Susannah 

and the schooner Ann.^'^ On May 2 an unnamed Spanish brig 

of 10 guns and 35 men, laden with cargo, entered as prize to 

la Sans Pareille and finally, on May 6, arrived still another 

Spanish vessel, Del Pelao {Del Sillaro?), consigned to the same 

privateer. All were passed through the French consular court 

and condemned.^^ 

Both Carvin and Talbot subsequently returned with interesting prizes of their own, to be noted below. As for the schooner 

Hawke, once her duty was completed she blithely ignored her 

coastwise clearance and made directly for Port-de-Paix in Saint 

Domingue. There on June 10 she was sold .to Alexandre 

Bolchos, who had gone out in her as supercargo, and was commissioned on the same day as the French privateer la 

Parisienne.^^ 

On June 27 la Parisienne entered Charleston in company 

with her British prize Prosperity, and almost immediately became involved in the District Court of South Carohna over the 

legality of her prize and the legitimacy of her commission. La 

Parisienne survived the suit to become one of the longest lived 

of the Charleston privateers and one of the most successful 

as well. 

Fonspertuis' attempt to call off the Florida expedition coincided with the sailing of the great French convoy on April 17, 

1794, an event which strained Anglo-American relations to the 

breaking point. If British minister Hammond skirted making 

^* Susannah and Ann grossed £1,211 j^j^, while the Spanish brig, which was 

estimated at 20,000 Spanish dollars, grossed £4,300/19/8. See The City Gazette, 

May 15, 1794; and BCC, Annex J, pp. 612-613. 

" See South-Carolina State-Gazette, April 30, May 2, and May 6, 1794. 

5« Details of the saga of the Hawke are gleaned from cases in Bee, Reports: The 

United States v. Schooner Hawke (pp. 34-38); Kelly, Jun. v. Schooner Prosperity and 

Cargo and John Coole (pp. 38-39); and British Consul v. Schooner Favourite and 

Alexander Bolchos (pp. 39-41). 
Michel Ange Bernard Mangourit 

(1752-1829), freemason, revolutionary, pamphleteer, editor, 

scholar and archeologist, diplomatist, and vice-consul of the 

French Republic at Charleston, South Carolina, 1792-1794. 

From a print in the Bureau des 

Estampes, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. 

a direct charge of American complicity in allowing the convoy 

to sail while a general embargo was in effect he nevertheless 

accused the United States Government of neglect to employ 

"coercive means" of preventing its departure." 

On May 2 and again on May 12 the Reverend Bentley noted 

the progression toward war in Salem: "A Derby vessel was 

being set up . . . upon the model of a privateer. . . . Yesterday was launched at Beckett's a schooner built in the form of 

a privateer . . . another of the same construction to be set up 

immediately." ^^ 

None of the privateers being built along the Atlantic coast in 

March, April, and May 1794 went cruising against the British 

under American colors, but many did under the tricolor, for, as 

we shall see, a thriving market came into being for such spe5' Attorney General Edmund Randolph, who succeeded Jefferson as Secretary 

of State in January 1797, had to extricate his Government as best he could. He 

denied that permission had been granted for the clearance of the convoy and 

then weakly offered as an extenuating circumstance the distance of Norfolk from 

the seat of Government, along with the plaintive observation that no formal 

complaint had ever been received from the British at Philadelphia. (BCC, p. 577). 

*8 The Diary of William Bentley, vol. 2, pp. 85, 86. 
2 : GALLOMANIA, EAST FLORIDA EXPEDITION 4 5 

ciaHzed vessels and Charleston became a center for their export 

to the West Indies. 

Even while the French convoy was clearing American waters, President Washington, bent on heading off the war which 

threatened so ominously, decided to dispatch an envoy extraordinary to London. After some delay, John Jay was chosen for 

the mission on April 19. The reaction to Jay's mission was mixed 

at the start. The Philadelphia General Advertiser voiced mihtantly anti-British sentiment in an article which began, "Negotiations, negotiations, is yet the cry of the minority in Congress. . . ." '^ Yet, even though the embargo proved irksome to 

some, the American Daily Advertiser, having earlier decried 

peace overtures, found it necessary to reprove a demonstration 

of unemployed seamen marching in the streets of Philadelphia 

with the advice that they "could get 5-6 shillings as laborers or 

stonecutters." And in spite of the anti-British furor that arose in 

May over a lurid episode of British arrogance at Newport, 

Rhode Island, war fever dwindled rapidly ''° as the appeals by 

Federalist journals for a sense of proportion on the subject of 

British villainies made steady headway. 

To many contemporary observers the embargo appeared to 

have done what had been intended, at least as far as the British 

West Indies were concerned. Island assemblies soon clamored 

for relief from the acute scarcity of plantation staples and from 

the glut of tropical produce overflowing their warehouses, a situation certainly the result of the embargo. Governor after Governor yielded , suspending the Navigation Acts for periods of six 

months to a year and inviting neutral traders to their harbors. 

The prize so eagerly sought by the Americans trading to the 

West Indies, and so maddeningly denied since the treaty of peace 

with England in 1783 now seemed within reach. It would have 

been a shame to allow such ripe plums to fall to the neutral 

Danes and Swedes. To many of the mercantile community in 

the United States, burdened with depreciated French assignats, 

with protested bills of exchange, and with vessels immobilized 

in continental French ports by embargoes, the loss of trade 

with such fragments of the French West Indian Islands that 

59 April 17, 1794. 

^ The British Frigate Nautilus was boarded by representatives of the Rhode 

Island legislature in May when, after several demands had been made, her captain 

had refused to release several impressed seamen. The Americans were forcibly 

removed while the British commander promised dire consequences for the trespass 

upon one of his Britannic Majesty's vessels. 
46 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

remained would be small compared to the gain from a liberalized trade with the British West Indian Islands. 

John Jay, who had sailed for England on May 12 to adjust 

outstanding differences and to negotiate trade agreements with 

Great Britain, apparently had succeeded in placing the limited 

opening of West Indian trade on a permanent basis. 

The embargo was allowed to expire without further renewal.'^' Once again the country was divided. Some were glad, 

others were resentful. The democratic societies, divining the 

effect on the French cause, shrilled against the renewal of intercourse with Great Britain. The sectional issue was raised by 

Philadelphia's pro-French General Advertiser. "Great News! 

The Embargo is off—but stop! Great news from whom? For 

those who have petitioned for an exemption for their fish.''' ^^ 

But the sound of protest "^ was lost in the bustle of sails being 

bent and running rigging being overhauled in every port along 

the Atlantic Coast. At Philadelphia, on the day the embargo 

ended, 55 vessels dropped down the Delaware, 45 of them 

cleared for the West Indies alone.^ About 30 vessels sailed from 

New York and as many from Baltimore. Within a week after 

the embargo was lifted, a probable total of 300 vessels cleared 

out of United States ports. 

In Boston the Reverend Bentley philosophized on the irrationality of mercantile man as he observed the busy waterfront: 

May 24:—last day of the Embargo and all busy to prepare to crowd 

the market: Some enquiring why it was put on? Others why taken off? 

(S) ome wounded by their losses others exulting in their gains. Among them 

all not the least sign of public virtue. 

May 27:—Vessles against wind and weather striving to get out of the 

harbor bound to supply the islands from which we have received the 

greatest Insults. Even a privateer raised on the stocks in resentment was 

the first to sail with supplies at the risk of the same owners. Never did 

interest discover its influence more favorably.*''"' 

^' An attempt was made in Congress to extend the embargo to June 20 on the 

grounds it was only beginning to have its desired effect. 

"2 May 30, 1794. 

^^ At Philadelphia and Baltimore, mates and masters of vessels resolved not to 

go to sea for ten days after the embargo ended as a symbol of their protest to the 

raising of the embargo (see MCMASTER, vol. 2, pp. 174—175). 

^* Only three vessels cleared for Europe; the remainder were coasters. Of the 

45, all but four were bound for British Islands, and of the four, three were for 

Saint Croix (neutral); the fourth was for Dutch Saint Eustatius (General Advertiser, 

Philadelphia, May 28, 1794). 

" Dairy of William Bentley, vol. 2, p. 91. 
lev^^ 3 

THE WAY IS CLEARED 

BY THE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTH OF THE VIRGINIA CAPES FRENCH PRIVATEERING diminished rapidly after mid-April 1794. Many of the privateers that 

had not accompanied the sailing of Admiral Cambis' squadron 

from New York in November 1793—on Genet's ill-fated campaign against the Newfoundland Banks—were drawn off as 

convoy escorts for the strategically important grain fleet which 

cleared out of Hampton Roads, April 17, 1794.^ Still others fell 

victim to Minister Fauchet's campaign to eliminate infringements on United States neutrality.^ By the end of the embargo 

period the newspapers which had once given the French privateers much space contained few allusions to them.^ 

But, as French privateering decreased north of the Virginia 

Capes, the reverse was happening at Charleston. From the 

• Among the privateers that sailed with the convoy were la Cornelia (tx-la Petite 

Democrate, ex-Little Sarah), and la Carmagnole, both of which were commissioned 

into the French Navy, and Captain Molinari's le Sans Culotte de Marseille, which 

had been laid up at Philadelphia du ing the winter months. 

2 Fauchet was responsible for the detention and later dismanding of the privateer 

Van Stabel, which had been fitted out at Norfolk in March 1794. See Miscellaneous 

Letters, 1796-1906, U.S. Department of State, Secretary of State to the President, 

June 30, 1794. 

3 An attack on two British vessels by the French privateer Liberty on May 27 

seems to constitute the sum total of French activity. These were the ship Charles 

and the schooner Delight, reported as captured in the waters of Chesapeake Bay 

within a mile of the shore. (BCC, Hammond to Randolph, June 5, 1794, pp. 

520-522.) Depositions of the masters of the vessels are included. 

294-341 0-^9 5 
4 8 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

departure northward of the original "consular privateers" in 

May 1793, privateering enterprise there had been seemingly the 

exclusive domain of Jean Bouteille and Jean Baptiste Carvin. 

By the end of March 1794, new raiders began to make their 

appearance, some of them converted from the prizes taken by 

la Sans Pareille and I'Industrie, and some from prizes sent in 

by raiders that never appeared at Charleston. In June the number of French privateers increased notably, and Charleston 

rapidly became the primary base of operations on United States 

soil for French raiders. To the general reason already adduced 

to account for this rise of Charleston as a French privateer 

haven, i.e., proximity to the main sea route between the Caribbean and Europe and the predisposition of Charlestonians for 

the French cause, might be added the abandonment of the 

Florida expedition and France's renunciation of any further 

adventures in that direction.* By June 1794, moreover, two 

particular elements directly concerned in the acceleration of 

privateering activity had come strongly to the fore. The first 

of these was a legal decision handed down by the Federal District Court of South Carolina, and the second was the sudden 

and dramatic reversal of French military fortunes in the West 

Indies. 

The case of Castello v. Bouteille, heard during the March 

term of the District Court at Charleston, paved the way for the 

later influx of French raiders, and it was ironic that the judge 

who handed down the decision was Thomas Bee. It is difficult 

to conceive of a man with deeper distaste for the French revolutionary principles being trumpeted through Charleston, or for 

the brash vulgarity of the defendant in the case, or for the 

brawling privateersmen who made it dangerous to walk the 

streets of his native city.° Yet, as we will see, Bee's decisions in 

case after case challenged the findings of the Supreme Court 

on points essential to the continued prosecution of privateering 

by the French operating out of Charleston. The details of 

^ When in July 1795 Pierre Adet, who replaced Fauchet as French Minister to 

the United States, attempted to revive French ambitions in Florida, the privateersmen turned notably cool to the project. See below, p. 102. 

"^ FISCHER, The Revolution of American Conservatism, p. 397. Fischer lists Bee as one 

of the "Federalists of the Old School." Bee, the scion of a family of lawyers, was 

educated at Oxford and read law at Lincoln's Inn. He was a man of wealth, and 

a holder of slaves on a large scale. In the tradition of old Federalists, Thomas Bee 

devoted a large part of his life to public service. He had received his appointment 

as U.S. District Judge in 1790. 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 4 9 

Castello V. Bouteille, as well as the decision, are of interest for 

the instructive insight they afford into at least one corner of the 

arsenal of deception and chicanery developed by the French 

privateersmen and their agents in order to maintain their foothold in Charleston. 

The case arose over the seemingly trivial question of the legal 

status of 50 bales of cotton, against which Captain Castello, 

formerly master of the Spanish vessel San Jose filed a libel in 

behalf of the vessel's owners. The San Jose was en route for 

Cadiz when she was overhauled and captured by the French 

privateer sloop Fair Margaret, Captain Henri Hervieux, on 

September 22, 1793.*^ 

Hervieux made for Cape Fear River with his prize in company, but when he had arrived off Wilmington, North Carolina, 

news came that the Government at Philadelphia had ordered 

Sloop Mediator, ca. 1745. Model, 

in the Smithsonian's National 

Museum of History and Technology, was constructed from the 

original plans in the National 

Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 

England. That the sloop rig was 

a favorite in the coastwise and 

West Indian trade to the end of 

the 18th century seems confirmed by the number of them 

captured by the French privateers in the period 1793-1802. 

* Fair Margaret is not listed as one of the privateers that frequented the port of 

Charleston. It is possible that she was one of the first commissioned by Genet upon 

his arrival at Charleston. No other prize made by this privateer is known. 
50 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

or, more properly speaking, requested, that the Government of 

North Carolina seize Fair Margaret as one of those privateers 

proscribed under the directive of June 5, 1793. Hervieux lost no 

time in clearing out of Wilmington. Once at sea he headed 

south with his prize still in company. Off Charleston bar, Hervieux, who had no intention of endangering his prize as at 

Wilmington, left San Jose to jog on and off shore under her prize 

crew while he entered port to survey the situation. 

Possibly Mangourit put Hervieux in touch with Jean Bouteille, who was in port at the time after his cruise in company 

with Garvin's I'Industrie, but in any event, the two met, and 

the result of the meeting was not only the solution of Hervieux's 

dilemma but also the beginning of a fruitful relationship between the two privateersmen, for Bouteille took la Sans Pareille 

to sea, where contact was made with the waiting San Jose, and 

in due course that vessel was "seized." The two vessels then 

proceeded in company down the coast of Georgia where the 

master and crew of San Jose were set ashore to make their way 

as best they could to Saint Augustine. The vessels then made 

for Charleston, where the prize was duly entered as belonging 

to la Sans Pareille. She was processed through the consular 

court, condemned, and cargo and vessel were offered at public 

sale. 

By the time that Captain Castello had doubled back to 

Charleston, all that remained to proceed against was the 50 

bales of cotton, and these he accordingly libeled. Acting in behalf of his owners and freighters, Castello sought restitution 

of cargo and vessel as well as damages for detention. Bouteille's 

answer to the libel was a plea to jurisdiction, that is, he questioned the right of the court to act upon the case. He steadfastly 

maintained the regularity of his commission and, in addition, 

invoked article 17 of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 

1778, between France and the United States. 

The libelant built his case primarily on the force of the 

Presidential directives relating to "proscribed" privateers and 

maintained that San Jose, now le Saint Joseph, was in point 

of fact captured by the Fair Margaret and not by la Sans 

Pareille. Judge Bee, however, refused to recognize the authority of the President in this context. According to Bee, who cited 

the Constitution on the separation of powers, the President's 

wishes did not have the force of law and hence were not binding. If Fair Margaret was indeed the original captor and a 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 51 

proscribed vessel, the libelant must have recourse to the Executive for relief. Thus, by virtue of the decisions in the William 

case in Pennsylvania, and the Catherine case in New York,^ both 

of which denied admiralty jurisdiction to the Federal Courts, 

Bee upheld Bouteille's plea to jurisdiction, and Castello's libel 

was accordingly dismissed.^ 

Bouteille's victory and the circumstances surrounding the 

entire case must have been gratifying in the extreme to the privateer fraternity. Not a finger had been raised at either the 

customhouse or the Governor's mansion to seize the proscribed 

Fair Margaret or to prevent the transparent sleight of hand of 

shifting the Spanish vessel from Hervieux to Bouteille. Bee even 

refused to look beyond the law to take into account the obvious 

fraud. All this augured as well for the future of French privateering, as did Bee's denial of Federal jurisdiction over the 

activities of the French privateers. But Judge Bee's observations 

on the nature of the Franco-American treaties then being so 

severely manhandled in the northern courts, held even greater 

significance. They seemed to be a total reaffirmation of the case 

that France had been urging from the very beginning of the war. 

The libelants had sought, by citing the U.S. treaty with the 

Netherlands, even though San Jose's registry was Spanish, to 

establish that the United States owed certain obligations to those 

nations with whom she was at peace. Judge Bee, however, was 

of the opinion that the treaty which bound the United States 

to France was of a more sweeping nature than the others and 

was designed to be operative "under all circumstances of war 

and peace with other nations." ^ The treaty with the Netherlands, he held, was specific. It provided for the restitution of 

vessels recaptured by either party from a common enemy. 

It is difficult to establish or fully to assess the influence that 

this case had in the rash of conspiracy and bald collusion between the French privateersmen and American officials that 

marked the year 1794, except to note the coincidence. The 

machinations, chicanery, and thimblerigging indulged in by the 

^ For a discussion of these two cases, see JACKSON, "Consular Privateers," pp. 86, 

88, 92n. 

* It may well be argued that the dismissal of Castello's libel was, in fact, based 

more on the nonlegal force of the Presidential directive than on lack of admiralty 

jurisdiction. It should be noted also that while this case was being tried, the 

Supreme Court was hearing the case of Glass and Appellants v. the sloop Betsey, 

which resolved the question of admiralty jurisdiction. See above, p. 19. 

8 BEE, Reports, pp. 32-33, Castello v. Bouteille, et. al. 
5 2 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

privateer operators, agents, and captains is attested to by the 

barebone records and correspondence which have survived from 

the court proceedings of the day. Thus, his Britannic Majesty's 

acting vice-consul for Georgia, South Carolina, and North 

Carolina,'° seeking to protect the interests of his Government 

and the property of British shipowners and freighters, was not 

entirely unjustified when he complained of the difficulties of 

obtaining cooperation from the persons in authority." 

Castello V. Bouteille prepared the way for the entry of privateersmen whose operations steered the shadow line between 

legality and outright piracy, veering from one side to the other 

as circumstances demanded. The relatively simple deception 

practiced by Jean Bouteille and Henri Hervieux was elaborated 

with great ingenuity in subsequent days. 

While the majority of the Charleston-based privateers at one 

time or another played fast and loose with the domestic laws of 

the United States and with the international conventions governing the institution of privateering, few were more consistent 

and flagrant in this respect than the privateering syndicate involving three Americans—William Talbot, Edward Ballard, 

and John Sinclair. The saga of this trio, constitutes a perfect 

vade mecum of the mechanics of rascality as practiced at 

Charleston between 1794 and 1795. When Colonel Jacob Read, 

attorney for the libelants of one of the prizes made by Edward 

Ballard, in open court called that worthy, his officers, and crew 

a "Band of Lawless pirates," he was not far from the truth.^^ 

We have already met William Talbot, whose arrival at 

Charleston in late March (see p. 41) caused something of a 

'" Vice-Consul Benjamin Moodie arrived at Charleston on February 9, 1794, 

on board the ship Caroline, 70 days from London (South-Carolina State-Gazette, 

February 10, 1794). From his correspondence with Lord Grenville (Public Records 

OflBce 133, FO 5, 6, f. 127) we learn that his appointment was a temporary one 

to replace the deputy consul Shoolbred while on leave. The consulship, however, 

was actually held by Charles Miller, on leave in England for reasons of health. 

Moodie was subsequendy made permanent consul, in which office he served until 

his death in 1837. 

" " I will readily lodge remonstrance in such cases [i.e., illegal captures] 

and with such executives as you may direct; but it does not seem to me that they 

consider themselves called upon unless a legal process is instituted, and the 

authority of the Federal court is disputed, which has latterly determined me to 

apply there, in the first instance, by libel; otherwise, even the court will not 

consider the complaint cognizable." BCC, p. 593. 

'2 See, PHILLIPS, "South Carolina Federalists II, " p. 734. This charge so outraged 

the hot patriots of the democratic club which Ballard frequented, that a threatened 

duel was narrowly averted. 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 5 3 

Stir in privateering circles. His first involvement in privateering 

is a story often paralleled in those days when Yankee seamen 

lived in fear of impressment by the Royal Navy and shipmasters faced ruin at the hands of British colonial privateers 

and prize courts." Talbot was a native of Virginia and a merchant seaman by trade. According to his own account he had 

espoused the French cause and had taken to privateering under 

the French flag out of resentment for injuries suffered at the 

hands of the British: During the early days of the war he had 

been taken into New Providence, which was notorious for the 

voraciousness of its privateersmen and the corruption of its prize 

courts, where he lost his brig and cargo. There and then he 

"resolved to be indemnified and revenged." " Returning to 

Virginia, he cast about for a berth and, in October 1793, met 

John Sinclair, who, in partnership with Solomon Nelson of 

Smithfield and Samuel Reddick, owned the schooner Fair Play. 

They saw in Talbot qualities needed to forward their plans, and 

Talbot, for his part, found what he was looking for and readily 

enlisted in the design to convert the schooner to a French privateer. He was to go in her as master and also to receive a share 

in the vessel. 

The prospect of arming and equipping an American vessel 

as a French privateer at that time was not too promising. The 

furor over Genet was at its height. The Act of June 5, 1793, 

proscribing the American-commissioned French privateers and 

the increased vigilance of both State and Federal officers all 

complicated the business. But Samuel Reddick was an American 

expatriate, a French citizen, and a legal resident of Guadeloupe. 

The partners agreed that the vessel Fair Play would go to 

Guadeloupe and there take out French registry. Great care was 

to be exercised to comply in detail with the Ship Registry Act 

of 1790, so that her subsequent operations would not be jeopardized by some overlooked technicality. In addition, at 

Guadeloupe Captain Talbot was to become a French citizen to 

avoid a recurrence of Henfield's fate. 

The arming of Fair Play for clearance under United States 

registry constituted no problem, since it was still within the right 

of any American merchant vessel to sail armed. With her 

" I n many ways Talbot's story is similar to that of the implacable anglophobe 

and privateersman extraordinary, Joshua Barney. 

'^ Talbot's experiences, either provided by himself or the result of an interview, 

appeared in the American Daily Advertiser, of Philadelphia, May 16, 1794. 
54 

Pilot boat Coureuse built at New 

York about 1785. The pilot-boat 

hull form, with its reputation for 

speed and weatherliness, was 

highly regarded for privateering. 

Relatively inexpensive to build 

and man, this type of vessel provided a minimum-investment 

entry into a field that offered 

quick returns. This one, captured 

by the British in 1793 was used 

as a dispatch boat. Sail plan from 

H. I. Chapelle, "Search for Speed 

Under Sail" ( New York: W. W. 

Norton, 1968). 

PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

armament, ammunition, and provisions on board, Talbot received his instructions and a power of attorney to sell the vessel. 

Fair Play, with Citizen Reddick as a passenger, must have sailed 

shortly after October 24. Once at Guadeloupe, Talbot moved 

with dispatch. On December 28, 1793, he shed his U.S. citizenship and became a citizen of the French Republic. On December 31 Citizen Talbot formally conveyed the schooner Fair Play 

to Citizen Reddick and conscientiously took care of all the legal 

details required for the transfer of registry of an American 

Coureuse 

P/7o/- doa/ r/cf, /790 

Bonnei 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 55 

vessel. On January 2, 1794, the French armed schooner I'Ami 

de la Pointe-d-Pitre {ex-Fair Play) received her commission as 

a French privateer empowered "courrir sus les pirates, forbans, 

gens sans aveu et generalement sur tous les ennemis de la 

Republique frangaise." 

On the very day of commissioning, I'Ami de la Pointe-dPitre sailed on her first cruise.^° A report from Saint Kitts also 

noted the sailing of the "American privateer" and commented: 

The example of the above vessel will, we apprehend, be followed by 

many other American vessels, in which case. Great Britain has no alternative and must of course declare war against the American States for having 

her subjects found in arms ... . 

Thousands of Sans Culottes of America have long carried on war 

against England under the pretence of neutral trade, and now as their 

oaths, false papers, and other arts are detected, and that their vessels carrying French property cannot escape, we read and wonder at their recourse 

to French commissions, in order to plunder British subjects.^° 

By the time Talbot had appeared at Charleston to engage in 

the Florida expedition, he had captured nine prizes, and it was 

said that "British privateers of the Leeward Islands were afraid 

of meeting with him." 

If the Florida expedition was a fiasco, Talbot nonetheless 

managed to bag an interesting prize, the British ship Grenada 

Packet, which he sent into Savannah before hurrying on to 

Charleston to keep his rendezvous with John Sinclair.^^ The 

reunion must have been joyous, and we may suspect that after 

division of the prize money accumulated by Talbot the usual 

privateersman's rout took place.'^ But the celebration was a 

short one, for Sinclair had developed new plans involving 

'5 Columbian Centinel, February 24, 1794, news item datelined Basseterre, Guadeloupe, January 2, 1794: "An American privateer on the first inst. The 

crew of the above privateer got naturalized and admitted French citizens." 

16 The General Advertiser, March 10, 1794. 

'7 The Grenada Packet, Francis Hamilton, Pensacola for London, entered Savannah 

on April 19 (Georgia Gazette, April 24, 1794). The French consulate advertised her 

condemnation trial for April 25. Benjamin Moodie, in libelling the vessel, estimated 

her worth at £2,500 and her lading at £13,849/19/07 (BCC, Annex 2, pp. 

616-617). However, before the vessel could be seized by the marshall she took 

fire from an overturned tar pot, floated up the river endangering wharfs and 

longshore property, burned to the water's edge, and sank. She was being fitted 

out for a privateer at the time she took fire. (Georgia Gazette, May 29, 1794). 

^« Georgia Gazette, May 1, 1794, dateline Chadeston, April 28: "We learn from 

Captain Thomson of the Carolina of the transfer of accumulated prize money from 

Savannah to Charleston via inland water way, because of prowling British 

privateers." 
56 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

the schooner I'Ami de la Liberie in which he had come to 

Charleston." 

Sinclair's acquisition of this vessel dated from the arrival of 

Admiral Jean Van Stabel's French squadron at Norfolk in January 1794 and the assembling of merchant vessels, both French 

and American under French charter, at the rendezvous in 

Hampton Roads. One of Van Stabel's major problems was the 

supression of inteUigence leaks to the British on the state of forwardness of the great grain convoy. In order to prevent the 

British from fitting out dispatch boats to alert the British Admiralty it was necessary to keep the area under close surveillance; but with the embargo threatening in March and the 

stepped-up movement of shipping toward Hampton Roads, 

security became ever more difficult to maintain. Van Stabel 

began to charter ships to serve a dual role as tenders and guardships cruising the roadstead and its vicinity to keep watch on 

British shipping—especially on HMS Daedalus, whose presence 

there was particularly galling to the French. Taking advantage 

of this opportunity offered by Admiral Van Stabel, Sinclair and 

his partners had acquired a schooner which they named I'Ami 

de la Liberie and on April 3, 1794, procured from him what 

Sinclair later referred to as a "commission." La Liberie, as she 

will be called for the sake of brevity, was described as "raised 

from a pilot boat." Fitted with a railing and stanchions and a 

strake above the planksheer, she apparently had carried some 

armament when on duty with the French squadron, but upon 

her entry at Charleston she was noted as being unarmed."^ 

Between April 3 and 15, Sinclair hired Edward Ballard as 

captain but continued to remain on board as either passenger 

or supercargo. During the remainder of the time the French 

convoy was at Hampton Roads, Sinclair's vessel had served, 

under Van Stabel's charter, as one of several tenders functioning as the Admiral's unofficial embargo enforcement agents.^^ 

When the convoy moved to sea, Sinclair had accompanied it, 

secure in the knowledge that his "commission" would get him 

through the embargo. Once clear of the reach of Federal au-

'* As were so many other vessels, this one was variously recorded, being Amour 

de la Liberie, Friends of Liberty, and variations of these names. 

20 BEE, Reports, p. 51, Peter Martins v. Edward Ballard & William Talbot. 

2' Sinclair was involved in the "unrigging and prevention of sailing of certain 

vessels," undoubtedly advice boats bought by the British at Norfolk to warn the 

British fleet of the convoy's sailing. 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 5 7 

thority, la Liberie parted company with the convoy and headed 

south. The wind must have been fair and the schooner fast, for 

on April 20 she crossed the bar into Charleston harbor and there 

was duly entered at the customhouse as "not in distress, not 

armed: the embargo then in existence." ^^ 

Once at Charleston, Sinclair let it be known that he was on 

a "secret mission" entrusted to him by Admiral Van Stabel. But 

the appearance of Talbot and his impressive prize Grenada 

Packet made it important for Sinclair to remain ashore, and this 

need raised the problem of how to get la Liberie to sea under 

Ballard, as the "commission" was made out in Sinclair's name. 

Pleading his inability to command the schooner because of illness, Sinclair prevailed on Citizen Fonspertuis to endorse his 

"commission" over to Ballard. The consul was either completely bamboozled by the so-called commission or chose to 

close his eyes to what must have been obvious. The latter is probably nearer the truth.^ On May 3, 1794, the consul's office applied for clearance for la Liberie and on May 5 the schooner 

sailed on her "secret mission of importance," followed closely 

by Talbot in la Poinie-d-Pitre. Ballard took la Liberie to Savannah, where he embarked guns and ammunition brought to him 

by Talbot, after which the two vessels set out to cruise in 

company. 

While off the coast of Cuba, between May 15 and May 18, 

the two raiders ran across several strays from a British convoy 

bound for Europe. Separating, la Pointe-d-Piire picked up the 

British brig Elizabeth, and on May 16 /a Liberie overhauled 

the Dutch brigantine Vrouw Christina Magdalena. Ballard 

placed a prize crew on board the Hollander and the two continued in company. On the same day la Pointe-d-Piire came up 

with la Liberie and her prize, and Captain Talbot placed an 

additional prize crew of his own on board Magdalena. On the 

next day another Dutch prize was taken, the Foriuijn der Zee, 

and both privateers placed crew members on board. Shortly 

after Foriuijn was seized, a strange sail was sighted and Talbot 

hastily removed la Liberie's men from both prizes leaving just 

his own men in possession. When the danger had passed la Liberie's men were again returned to the prizes. 

22 BEE, Reports, p. 267, Joost Jansen v. The Brigantine Vrouw Christina Magdalene 

23 Justice Bee later took Fonspertuis to task for his irregularity, laying it to either 

ignorance or a desire to rid himself of importuning applicants (Bee, Reports, p. 24). 
5 8 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

It is not known whether any other prizes were taken on this 

joint cruise but the four vessels proceeded toward Charleston, 

remaining in company until two days before making port. Elizabeth was sent into Savannah, while Vrouw Christina Magdalena, along with la Poinie-d Piire and Foriuijn, arrived at 

Charleston on May 25, followed shortly by la Liberie. 

Dispensing with the formalities of condemnation, and with 

little regard for the law, Ballard at once set about converting 

the prizes into cash. Hatches were opened, cargo landed, bales 

and packages made free with, and ship's stores appropriated. 

He would have sold Vrouw Christina Magdalena, ship and 

cargo complete, had not the District Court of South Carolina 

intervened in response to a libel filed against the brigantine by 

her master Joost Janson. In demanding restitution and damages, the libelants alleged that the capture and sending in of 

Magdalena constituted a breach of the treaty between the 

United Netherlands and the United States. They further 

claimed that Ballard "was and is" a United States citizen and 

that I'Ami de la Liberie "was and is" an American vessel. Ballard, the hbel asserted, did not have and could not have a French 

commission. Ballard, however, was much too busy in further 

forays against the "enemy" to answer the court's monitions, and 

after a third and last summons had been issued for him to appear, the libelants were awarded a default judgment. 

On July 16, 1794, Ballard returned to port and the City Gazette reported the arrival of "the French schooner of war 

Friends io Liberty." ^* It is interesting to note that she was still 

referred to as "a tender to the French Admiral Vanstabel [sic] 

who sent her on a particular mission." The cruise had been a 

good one, for la Liberie had captured the British sloop Rambler and two Spanish sloops, la Santa Caterina, from Saint Augustine for Havana, and la Juno, which arrived on July 16." 

When Ballard came ashore he was hit by a deluge of suits. 

Libels were filed against Rambler and, shortly after, against 

the Spanish prizes. In the main the respondents' allegations 

were the same as those in the Magdalena case. Again Ballard 

chose not to appear when summoned. In his stead appeared the 

privateer agent Abraham Sasportas, who, conceivably count2< It must be noted (see footnote 19) that CAmi de la Liberie was also referred to 

as "the French National Schooner" (The City Gazette, July 28, 1794). 

25 City Gazette, July 12, and July 17, 1794. 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 59 

ing on the weight of Judge Bee's decision denying the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts in the case of Castello v. Bouteille, 

maintained that neither he nor Ballard was bound to appear 

or to answer the libel on the grounds that I'Ami de la Liberie 

was a French vessel, "fitted, armed, and commissioned by their 

[i.e., French]authority," and that Ballard was a French citizen. 

Sasportas then made a grave error. He said that even if 

Ballard were not a French citizen he would still have the right 

to command a French vessel. Judge Bee would have none of 

this. He found Sasportas not only incompetent to appear in 

behalf of Ballard, who was then in contempt, but assessed costs 

against the agent as well. Yet as late as July 25 Ballard, to all 

appearances, was quite unconcerned by what was building up 

in the District Court. On that day, we learn. Citizen Edward 

Ballard, emulating the genial Jean Bouteille, was tendering "to 

a number of respectable citizens" a feast at Harris' Hotel where 

it was reported that no fewer than 15 patriotic toasts were 

offered to memorialize the glories of the two republics. 

Ballard might have continued his career as a commander of a 

properly commissioned French privateer had not Captain Talbot sought to salvage what he could from the shambles that 

Ballard had made of the partnership's prospects. "As a French 

citizen acting under a commission from the Governor of Guadeloupe," he interposed his own claim as well as those of the 

owners, officers, and seamen of I'Ami de la Poinie-d-Piire. But 

the ensuing trial succeeded only in disclosing further interesting 

facts regarding the operations of Talbot, Ballard, and Sinclair. 

Ballard, of course, was far from being a French citizen and 

the so-called "commission" under which he was operating was 

merely a charter party, that is, an agreement for the hire of his 

vessel, made between Sinclair and Admiral Van Stabel. As a 

commission it was valueless. The shifting of crews between la 

Liberie and la Pointe-d-Pitre during and after the capture of 

Magdalena and Foriuijn was carried out to mask the fact that 

la Liberie was operating illegally. Indeed, such maneuvering 

was an old game with Captain Talbot. He had played it before 

with the "Spanish Launch" San Joseph which he had brought 

in with him at his first appearance in Charleston in April 1794."'' 

2" Not to be confused with the San Joseph (San Jose) of the Castello v. Bouteille 

case (pp. 48-52 ), nor with the San Joseph captured by la Montagne off Saint 

Augustine on May 18 nor yet with the St. Joseph reported by Moodie (BCC, Moodie 
60 PRrVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

San Joseph had been bought by Sinclair and Ballard for use 

as a raider and in some devious manner Governor Moultrie was 

induced to intercede with Federal officials to release the vessel 

from the embargo. 

On April 13 San Joseph, mounting 3 guns and carrying a 

crew of 50, under the command of Captain Sweet, cleared 

Charleston for a cruise " and almost immediately fell in with 

the New Providence privateeer Flying Fish, mounting 12 6-

and 4-pounders and manned by a crew of 56, under Captain 

McKenney. After a 15-minute engagement during which 4 

men were killed, San Joseph struck her colors. The French 

privateer was sent off to Nassau and all but 15 of her men were 

loaded on board the British vessel Speedwell and sent back to 

Charleston, where they were set free on May 18.^^ 

An examination of San Joseph's papers caused some very interesting information to come into the hands of British Consul 

Benjamin Moodie, who, in the cause of justice, handed it over 

to his Dutch allies, the libelants of Vrouw Christina Magdalena. 

San Joseph, the evidence revealed, had been cruising illegally 

under one of la Pointe-d-Pitre's prize passes at the time of her 

capture by Flying Fish. On August 9, The City Gazette announced the "decree of the long contested case of the Dutch 

Brigantine Vrouw Christina Magdalena." The facts of fraud 

were so strong that Judge Bee pronounced Talbot's plea to 

jurisdiction as irrelevant and decreed the restitution of vessel 

and cargo."'' 

It still remains to account for the fate of the ship Elizabeth, 

the first vessel captured by la Poinie-d-Pitre and la Liberie. This 

vessel, after her capture, made for Savannah, where her arrival 

with a cargo of 285 hogsheads of sugar, 90 puncheons of rum, 

to Bond, December 17, 1794, p. 593) as a "handsome new Baltimore schooner 

cleared out for Port-de-Paix as a Spanish prize." 

2^ Early in March 1795 Captain Sweet appeared as master of the privateer 

(^a Ira (see City Gazette, March 7, 1795). 

28 This incident is treated at some length in the Georgia Gazette, May 22, 1794, 

under the dateline of Charleston, May 19. 

29 Talbot appealed the case and it eventually went to the Supreme Court of 

the United States (reported in 3 Dallas 133). Thiere the original claim was vastiy 

overshadowed by the question of whether an American citizen had the right to 

expatriate himself, a constitutional question that loomed large in the last days 

of the 18th century. Vrouw Christina Magdalena and her cargo had to be off'ered 

for sale and the proceeds were held in escrow pending the final disposition of 

the case. 
3 : THE WAY IS CLEARED 61 

and 7 tons of fustic ^° was reported on May 22 in the Georgia 

Gazette. Once she was at anchor, the privateer's agents Messrs. 

Hills, May, and Woodbridge took charge of ship and cargo and 

proceeded to convert both to their own profit, and through "a 

fictitious and clandestine sale, [they] did themselves become the 

pretended purchasers . . . without having the same legally 

adjudicated, condemned or without forms or processes in the 

law." ^^ Not until after the Vrouw Christina Magdalena case 

had been adjudged did Moodie decide to act against the seizure 

of Elizabeth. The libel was entered in October and, finally, on 

December 25 ^' the court decision was handed down. Elizabeth 

was to be returned to her owners and damages were assessed 

against all concerned in the affair.^^ 

The career of I'Ami de la Pointe-d-Pitre did not end at this 

point, although it appears that Talbot no longer commanded 

her when she arrived at Charleston on October 15, 1794, from 

a cruise ^* during which she captured the British brig Somerset. 

This vessel, which had been sent into Savannah, was quickly 

libeled ^^ and the same court that heard the Elizabeth case returned Somerset to her owners with damages.''*' La Pointe-dPitre sailed on yet another cruise and was next heard from in 

the vicinity of the Bahamas, where she took the British schooner 

George.^' From a news item datelined Falmouth, Jamaica,^^ 

^^ A dye-wood (chlorophara tinctoria) native of the West Indies, used to produce 

a yellow dye. 

^' In the Georgia Gazette, October 16, 1794, the text of the libel is printed in full. 

^2 Although the case was scheduled to be heard at Augusta on November 2, the 

illness of the presiding judge caused a postponement until December and the 

jurisdiction was changed to Savannah. 

2^ On January 22, 1795, the Georgia Gazette carried an advertizement announcing 

the sale of Elizabeth and her cargo by order of the "Admiralty Court." The sale 

was scheduled for February 10, 1795. 

3* The City Gazette, October 16, 1794, carried a garbled name, "Defanamyre," 

for her master. 

35 The Georgia Gazette, November 6, 1794, published a copy of the libel which 

named both Talbot and Ballard as being involved in the "piratical seizure." 

'8 The Georgia Gazette of January 22 carried an advertizement for the sale of 

Somerset and her cargo to be held on February 10, 1795. Both the Elizabeth and 

Somerset decisions were appealed to the Circuit Court, and on May 4 that court 

reaffirmed the decision of the lower court (Georgia Gazette, May 7, 1795). 

" Georgia Gazette, March 26, 1795. An article datelined Nassau, New Providence, 

stated that four seamen showed up at Nassau in a small boat, claiming to be part 

of the crew of George lately captured by "Pointe-a-Pitre, 10 guns, 47 men owned 

in Charleston." Actuailly, the four men were part of the privateer's prize crew, 

>nd were turned out of George when her crew rose and reseized the ship. 

^^ Georgia Gazette, April 2, 1795. 
6 2 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

we learn of an engagement between la Pointe-d-Pitre and the 

brig Neptune, presumably an American vessel, on January 8 off 

the west end of Tortuga. Neptune was ordered to Port-de-Paix 

in Saint Domingue, where her cargo was subjected to the type 

of forced sale that had become a standard procedure of the 

French colonial governments and one of growing concern to 

American merchants. Thereafter I'Ami de la Pointe-d-Pitre 

vanished under that name. Reappearing at Charleston as 

I'Egaliie, commanded successively by Captains Pelletier, 

Pecheu, and De Latre, she operated with indifferent success 

until the end of 1795.^' 

Privateersman Edward Ballard paid dearly for his transgressions, not only for his participation in the capture of Foriuijn 

der Zee but for the seizing of his other prizes as well. If he 

escaped trial for piracy, his career was just as effectively halted 

by his confinement in debtor's prison. Even the sale of I'Ami de 

la Liberie, if its proceeds were indeed used to help him, could 

not meet the damages assessed against him.*° 

Sinclair left Charleston for Norfolk at about the time that 

Ballard and Talbot fell afoul of the law, and in July 1794 was 

again busily engaged in fitting out privateers. The last we hear 

of Sinclair is that one of his vessels, the Smithfield, was seized 

after an information was lodged against her by the resident 

agent of the United Netherlands, Van Berkel. When Sinclair 

tried to break his vessel out of detention, she was invested by 

militia and in November 1794 was finally dismantled.^^ 

3* Actually, la Pointe-a-Pitre seems to have come under new ownership while at 

Port-de-PaLx. On February 25 the schooner Egalite entered Charleston and the 

City Gazette noted that she had captured no less than 19 prizes on her cruise (City 

Gazette, February 26, 1794). One of these, the brig Everton was sent into Savannah, 

where a libel was brought by the British consul and his agent John Wallace. 

The Everton was noted as having been captured on December 21, and that in 

addition to her cargo, £3,000 sterling had been taken from the prize. The libel 

stated that PEgalite and la Pointe-a-Pitre were one and the same vessel. The court 

acted quickly on the libel. At the beginning of March Everton was returned to 

her owners. An appeal heard in May 1795, reaffirmed the decision of the lower court. 

^^ After some years Ballard applied for relief under an act of Congress for the 

relief of insolvent debtors. Judge Bee, who heard the plea remorselessly refused on 

the grounds that Ballard's situation arose from the contravention of the treaty 

with the Netherlands and not from any civil cause recognized by the act. 

^' Miscellaneous Letters, 1789-1906, U.S. Department of State, Attorney for 

Virginia to the Secretary of State, July 11, 13, 16, 29, November 27, 1794. 
ahle^A 

THE PALATINATE 

CHALLENGES 

UNITED STATES NEUTRALITY 

A NASSAU NEWSPAPER NOTED AT THE END OF MAY 1794 that 

more than 12 privateers, fitted out and commissioned at 

Charleston, were enjoying considerable success in capturing 

English and Spanish prizes, and somewhat anxiously observed: 

Now that the situation of Affairs in the West Indies can admit of a part of 

the naval force in''that quarter being detached on other service, we trust 

the depredations on the British trade committed by these French American 

privateers, will be one of the first objects to attract the attention of our 

Admirals.^ 

But the breathing spell for the British in the West Indies was 

too short to admit of detaching the hoped-for force. On June 

2, just when they seemed to have gained control of the Caribbean and, according to the Reverend Bentley, a rush of shipping 

was clearing United States ports to take advantage of West 

Indies trade prospects, a small French expeditionary force 

under Representant en Mission Victor Hugues had stormed 

ashore at Cosier on Guadeloupe's Grandeterre. The British garrison, plagued by fever, and its high command demoralized by 

bickering and indecision, was outmaneuvered, outfought, and 

cut to pieces by the savagery of the French attack. 

Before the rubble of Pointe-a-Pitre stopped smouldering, 

Hugues began to rebuild a French stronghold in the Caribbean. 

' According to the City Gazette, July 1, 1794, in a story datelined Nassau, New 

Providence, May 27. 

294-341 0^6 9 6 
64 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

For this effort naval and merchant shipping were essential. 

But except for the two frigates and three transports that had 

landed his force at Guadeloupe, not a single French naval unit 

above the rating of a corvette was to be found in the Caribbean, 

and the British control of the Lesser Antilles had eliminated 

French merchant shipping there. 

Here it must be ^recalled that when the great French grain 

fleet left the Chesapeake in April 1794, France had ordered 

every available man-of-war to sea to meet and escort the convoy 

through the British blockade. Although the convoy successfully 

reached France, the sea battle (known as the Glorious First of 

June) between a British fleet seeking to intercept the convoy 

and the French covering force resulted in a crippling blow to 

France's naval power which took many years to repair. Thereafter France had to husband her strength for the multifarious 

demands in French home waters, and especially to mount offensives against England. Naval needs of colonial areas were perforce unheeded and so it was that Victor Hugues could count 

on little aid beyond the infrequent appearance of French naval 

units on special missions. 

Compelled to build his own striking force, he fell back on the 

classic solution of Caribbean sea warfare, the privateer. The 

ships necessary to supply the French stronghold were assembled 

by the simple expedient of capturing British merchantmen. The 

cargoes of such prizes met his immediate needs for supplies and 

weapons, while surplus cargoes thus obtained were traded off to 

neutrals for additional supplies. Prizes suitable for privateering 

were quickly commissioned and sent out on cruises. 

Hugues' successful assault on Guadeloupe and the energy 

with which he exploited his opportunities was directly responsible for saving Saint Domingue from complete collapse. And 

within six months of the French landings there he had set up a 

system of agencies in the neutral Swedish and Danish islands 

that was later to be expanded to the leading ports of the United 

States. The British, again faced with an active French base in 

the heart of the lesser Antilles, were forced to abandon the coupde-grdce they had prepared as a follow-up to their capture of 

Port-au-Prince on June 5. 

Meanwhile, the French area commanders on Saint Domingue, relieved from immediate threat of invasion and, coincidentally, from the meddling of the commissioners Sonthonax and Polverel (who had been recalled to answer to charges 

of maladministration), managed to iron out their differences 
f^V: CART E MIlil'lWail K _£ cnarli'incnt > e la Guayelouni 

DRKSSKK POVn I.K S IT K ^ 

CI I.-Tul,U;.u()oluM-l\lc ilonK.iidliiiifi.i 

CI lli.d.Ti.-. .1.- (it'.-. , 

for a short time. General Etienne Laveaux was named Governor ad interim of Saint Domingue and supreme commander of 

French forces in the colony. Together with Toussaint I'Overture, whom Laveaux wooed away from his alliance with the 

Spanish and whom he had made commandant of the Western 

Cordon, Laveaux succeeded in bringing a degree of stability to 

the northern part of Saint Domingue. The capture of Jean 

Rabel in April 1794, and offensive actions against the Spanish 

invaders had been followed by the clearing away of much of the 

ruins in the vicinity of Grande Riviere and the reinstitution of a 

semblance of the old plantation economy. Laveaux like Hugues, 

was in desperate need of supplies of all kinds to carry out operations against the Spanish and the British by land, and he 

turned to Charleston as a principal source of supply for food, 

Manuscript map, 1797-1798, of 

"Departement de la Guadeloupe, 

An 6^^. Carte Militaire dressee 

pour le site et le Tableau Generale des Fortifications et Batteries 

de Cotes." From Archives de 

France Outre-Mer, Paris, transferred to Archives Nationales. 
gg PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-1 7 96 

munitions, and also that most essential element, the bottoms to 

carry the cargoes as well as to strike out offensively against 

France's enemies at sea. 

In Chadeston, Laveaux's appeal for aid, supported by the 

organizing ability of vice-consul Fonspertuis, called forth an 

enthusiastic response from privateersmen, outfitters, and the 

sizable membership of the democratic societies. By midsummer 

1794 an organization known as the Council for the Repubhc 

made its appearance under the leadership of the consul and had 

assumed the role of agency for the collection and forwarding 

of supplies of all descriptions to Port-de-Paix.' Laveaux, impressed by the importance of the Council to his war effort, sent 

his personal representative Pressinet as deputy and adviser to aid 

Fonspertuis. The latter in turn sent Pressinet to Philadelphia to 

make a first-hand report to Minister Fauchet on the state of 

affairs in Saint Domingue. This resulted in an emergency shipment of 1,600 barrels of flour to replenish the exhausted warehouses of the colony, and Philadelphia and Baltimore agents 

and merchants soon thereafter extended credits for further 

shipments of provisions.^ But as important as were foodstuffs 

to the renewed effort of the French in the West Indies, even 

more essential were the munitions of war—cannon, powder, 

muskets, and shot. And most essential was the need for fastsailing, well-armed vessels, for, as Victor Hugues had demonstrated, by means of them the other essentials could be 

summoned into existence. 

It was the endeavor to clear out shipments of arms and vessels 

to the resurgent French in the West Indies that brought about 

a new confrontation between United States national policy and 

French imperatives in the Caribbean. 

The war tension in the United States that marked the period 

from January to May 1794 had revealed, as the country was canvassed for contractors able to supply cannon, shot and shell, and 

2 Le Moniteur Universel, Jun e 5, 1795, quotes a letter from Roger, aide-de-camp 

of General Laveaux to Pressinet, deputy to the consul at Charleston, that refers 

to Pressinet's activities at Charleston and his visit to Philadelphia and also to a 

visit to Port-de-Paix by "le digne republicain" Carvin, and that notes the receipt 

of Fauchet's shipment of flour. By context the letter may be dated between the 

middle of July and middle of August. Except for this reference, no further information about the Council for the Republic has been found in contemporary newspapers, but it may be supposed that the Council was an organ of the Republican 

Society. 

3 CABON, Histoire de Haiti, vol. 4, pp. 118-122. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 6 7 

ship timbers, an appalling lack of any of these essentials of 

national defense. Consequently, measures were undertaken to 

conserve what arms were in existence and to encourage the importation of the raw materials needed to put the country's defenses in some semblance of readiness. One such measure was 

the Act of May 22, 1794, that placed a one-year embargo on the 

export of cannon, muskets, pistols, bayonets, cutlasses—in short, 

on the entire range of arms and armament. An exception was 

made for the arming of vessels, but if the value of such an armament exceeded 400 dollars, the articles were to be forfeited and 

the vessel subject to seizure.* 

This Act was followed on June 4 by another titled "An Act 

in Addition to the Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes 

against the United States," ' which, although primarily aimed 

at closing the loopholes in the Neutrality Act discovered and 

used by those fitting out belligerent privateers in American 

ports, also reinforced the decisions of the Supreme Court rendered at the beginning of 1794 and neatly complemented the 

Act of May 22. It clearly stated that fitting out a vessel or procuring one to be fitted out or the issuance of a commission to 

one within the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose 

of privateering ^vas to be punishable by the forfeiture of the 

vessel concerned, a fine of 5,000 dollars, and a jail term of three 

years. It further stipulated that any increase or augmentation 

of armament was unlawful, as was adding to the number and 

size of the guns, or the addition of equipment "solely applicable 

to war." 

On July 22 The City Gazette quoted for the benefit of readers 

who might be interested what was meant by "augmentation of 

armament" according to the Secretary of War: 

The mounting of additional guns, or changing or altering the calibre 

of guns in any manner whatever; the making of new gun carriages, or the 

cutting of new portholes in any part of the vessel, are adjudged to be 

unlawful augmentation of force, and is therefore to be prevented. 

Much as these Acts hindered the French in their acquisition of 

weapons for the colonial war effort—this at a time when the 

tide of British success in the Caribbean seemed to have been 

halted—a regulation of the Secretary of War, at first not fully 

appreciated, posed an even greater obstacle to exporting fully 

armed vessels: 

* U.S. Statutes at Large, chapt. 32. 

6 Ibid., chapt. 50. 
68 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

The United States being a neutral nation, the vessels of their citizens, in 

most cases do not require to be armed. To guard against any abuse, no 

vessel belonging to any citizen of the United States is to be permitted to be 

armed and sail until after all circumstances concerning her shall have been 

transmitted to the President and his decision thereon be made known.® 

This restrictive legislation and the regulations imposed by 

the Federal Government were met by redoubled ingenuity on 

the part of Charleston privateering entrepreneurs and arms 

exporters seeking to evade them. In this, they were aided by 

conveniently near-sighted officials and by merchants resentful 

of interference in a lucrative trade. British Minister Hammond, 

writing in 1896, alluded to that resentment as basic to the 

Government's lack of success in preventing the outfitting of 

French privateers: 

Indeed, Mr. Chase, one of the Federal judges, gave it as his opinioh that 

the citizens of the United States had a right to build and equip ships of 

war as an article of trade, and to dispose of them to either belligerent powers 

without any breach of neutrality, provided that none of them were in any 

manner concerned in them after they became cruisers.'^ 

The evasions devised by the privateersmen were many, of which 

some are revealed in the correspondence of British consul 

Benjamin Moodie and in records of the lawsuits he instituted. 

One means of procuring armed vessels, as we have seen, was 

to capture the enemy's armed shipping. These vessels could be 

made available for the Caribbean war effort with minimum 

delay, provided that no attempt was made to alter them in a 

manner conflicting with the new United States Government 

regulations, and also provided that the captor's legal position 

was in good order. 

The latter provision was very often a real obstacle, however, 

for the pedigrees of French privateers were closely scrutinized 

by the British consul and his agents as well as by the agents of 

His Catholic Majesty. Because so many of the French commissions were of doubtful validity, the predilection was strong 

for consular officials, masters, and supercargoes to interpose 

"shotgun" libels against prizes based on a claim of illegal capture. Also a fertile ground for libels were the still largely uninterpreted treaties entered into between the United States and 

the sovereign of the country of origin of the captured vessel. 

Prizes libeled on this basis could be tied up over an extended 

6 The City Gazette, July 22, 1794. 

7 BCC, p. 607. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALrTY 69 

period pending htigation, and many appeals were taken as far 

as the Supreme Court. Benjamin Moodie, for his part, undertook to enter libels against prizes brought in by French raiders 

as a pohcy of harassment, without regard to the fact that penalties were often assessed for failure to make an adequate case. 

Another and generally preferred means of acquiring armed 

vessels was to purchase ships of American registry already 

armed, such as those that had been set up in American yards 

as privateers when war with England was threatening. Tapping 

this source of supply had its risks, especially after promulgation 

of the Acts of May and June 1794, but the number of readybuilt American vessels equipped as raiders was such that a 

brisk market was open to the privateer entrepreneur and exporter. A notable example of such a sale was the new brig 

Pulaski, built by the New York yard of Rivington for the 

Charleston firm of Cross and Crawley, which arrived at 

Charleston on November 24, 1794, and was immediately put 

up for sale.^ This "remarkably fine vessel" as Moodie termed 

her, was "sold to some Frenchmen for 18,000 dollars." She presumably needed little if any work done to her and after several 

metamorphoses, as noted below, she reappeared as the French 

National vessel le Brutus Frangais, (ex- le Pichegru, see p. 84) .^ 

The majority of vessels, however, whether bought or captured, 

needed refitting in some degree to ready them for cruising, and 

hence their owners tended to become entangled in United 

States laws. 

The history of the privateer brig le General Laveaux illustrates the procedures and some of the complications that developed in fitting out purchased privateers. 

This raider started hfe as the American brig Cygnet. As was 

true of the Pulaski she had been laid down as a privateer during 

the war scare.'" She was purchased by the privateer agent and 

local merchant Abraham Sasportas and Jean Gaillard,^' a 

former chief officer in Garvin's I'Industrie. Between the middle 

8 The City Gazette, November 24, 1794. 

" Moodie provides this identification in his letter to Phineas Bond dated December 

17, 1794 (see BCC, p. 601). 

'0 Unless otherwise noted, information pertaining to le General Laveaux is derived 

from British Consul v. ship Mermaid in BEE, Reports, pp. 69-73. 

" Not connected with the Charleston family of the same name that owned the 

wharf where much of the ship conversion took place. A brief biography of the 

man appears in Theric's Memorial. 
70 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

of May and the end of June 1794, Sasportas personally directed 

the work of fitting her out. This entailed, in essence, a reconversion to her warlike origin, rather than the conversion of a 

merchant ship into a warship, for her original gun ports had 

been "nailed up and caulked in" outboard, while inboard over 

the stanchions a ceiling had been installed which effectively 

masked the ports from view. (It was later stressed, however, 

that from outboard the old gun ports were clearly defined.) The 

partners ripped off the inboard ceiling and the outboard planking, and opened her old ports as they had been built. Her quarter deck was removed and "rotted timbers and planks were 

replaced." '^ 

Moodie watched the proceedings carefully and kept the collector of customs advised. In return he was assured that the 

vessel would be detained. At about the time the embargo ended, 

Cygnet was reported to have been sold to one Ladevize, an 

American citizen. With her name changed to le General Laveaux, her clearance for Port-de-Paix was sought. At this point the 

collector of customs seized the vessel. She was subjected to an 

intensive examination, her guns were landed, and her hold was 

searched for "warlike instruments." Nothing was found, but 

the new owner was forced to reseal the recently opened gun 

ports, after which, with no further grounds for detention and 

over Moodie's protest, le General Laveaux {ex-Cygnet) was 

allowed to go to sea, since she made no pretentions to being a 

privateer. If Moodie is to be believed, le General Laveaux's 

guns were somehow repossessed and sent out to be loaded on 

board the brig when she had cleared the bar. The lightering 

service was performed by none other than William Talbot in 

I'Ami de la Pointe-d-Piire.^^ Every indication points to the fact 

that le General Laveaux proceeded to Port-de-Paix and there 

picked up her commission; in subsequent court proceedings no 

question was raised as to its validity. 

Upon her return to Charleston, accompanied by the British 

prize Mermaid, the legality of her outfitting was tested by a 

libel filed by the British consul. In the ensuing trial Judge Bee 

'2 The fact that the vessel contained bad timber although she could not have 

been above six months old at the time presents an interesting commentary on the 

quality of material employed in order to get a privateer to sea in the shortest 

possible time when war threatened. 

" See p. 57, above, on the arming of I'Ami de la Liberie (BCC, Moodie to Miller, 

November 28, 1794, p. 600). 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 71 

heard "various and contradictory evidence" much of which, he 

said, he would have rejected if both parties had not "intimated 

an intention to appeal." The libel charged that le General Laveaux was a French vessel when she sailed from Charleston; that 

she was fitted out for war in Charleston and that her crew, for 

the most part, was American. The respondents Sasportas and 

Gaillard " denied the libel in all its points. Any question about 

the legality of the transfer of le General Laveaux's registry was 

quickly resolved when the respondents produced a bill of sale 

and testimony from the collector of the customs which acknowledged that the ship's register had been delivered up legally and 

that Cygnet's bond was duly surrendered with the change of 

nationality of the vessel. 

Ship Recovery built by Retire 

Becket for E. H. Derby in 1794 

for use in the East Indies trade. 

Vessels like this were much sought 

by the French because little alteration was required to make 

them powerful privateers. She 

could have carried 18 guns. Courtesy the Peabody Museum of 

Salem, Massachusetts. 

^* The fact that Sasportas and Gaillard answered the libel seems at first to give 

point to Moodie's charge that the sale of Cygnet had been rigged (BCC, Moodie, 

to Bond, April 28, 1795, p. 602). 
72 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

The work on le General Laveaux was readily admitted, but 

the respondents maintained that it was not illegal: the vessel 

had been originally built as a private ship of war in anticipation 

of hostilities with Great Britain, and she was merely being restored to her original condition rather than in any sense being 

converted to a warship from a merchant ship. Was it then, 

illegal to arm the vessel? Bee decided it was not: 

The laws of neutrality and nations in no instance that I know of, interdict 

neutral vessels from going to sea armed and fitted out for defensive war. 

All American Indiamen are armed, and it is necessary that they be so! ^^ 

Judge Bee's reasoning seems eminently clear when we recall 

that Cygnet was sold with her armament as part of her "furniture and equipment." Thus, as le General Laveaux she retained 

every right to proceed to sea armed. In many respects the Secretary of Treasury's circular letter which had played such an 

important part in the release of Garvin's I'Industrie from detention at Baltimore a year earlier, again became pertinent. There 

could hardly have been a question of doubt as to whether le 

General Laveaux's armament was offensive or defensive, and 

hence the vessel could not be deprived of her ordnance. 

The applicability of the two Acts of Congress, particularly 

that of June 5, 1794, was also assayed. The alteration and 

refitting of the vessel might have been made pertinent except 

that the work had been completed prior to the latter Act. The 

charge that the vessel was manned by Americans could not be 

substantiated over the denial of the respondents, for the bar 

pilot who took le General Laveaux to sea testified that her crew 

of about 40 men "were all outlandish" and only one of them 

seemed to be able to speak English. 

Alluding to the alleged infringement of the Act of May 22, 

Judge Bee considered that the action of the collector in searching the vessel, in taking off her armament, and in causing her 

ports to be restored to their former condition was itself sufficient. 

The vessel, after all, was still American and there could be no 

justification in rendering her useless to her owners. As for her 

being rearmed by le Pointe-d-Piire outside the bar that evidence 

was held to be hearsay. Finally, since there was no question of 

the prize having been taken anywhere but on the high seas, 

Judge Bee dismissed the libel and levied costs against the 

libelants. 

>=BEE, Reports, p. 71. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 73 

Moodie raged against the decision. He complained of the 

depravity of witnesses who gave evidence "upon oath contrary 

to their own knowledge" and insinuated that Bee showed a distinct anti-British bias.'' Although plagued by a shortage of funds 

to stoke his legal backfires, Moodie was aware that it was essential to appeal the decision of the District Court if the four other 

prizes made by le General Laveaux subsequent to the capture of 

Mermaid were to avoid the same fate.'' He therefore wearily 

requested instructions as to whether he should proceed to the 

next higher court, scheduled to meet in Columbia, South Carolina on May 12. As for the ship Phyn, another of le General 

Laveaux's prizes, which had been sent into Charleston on February 26, 1795," Moodie felt she was not even worth libeling if 

they were not ready to take her case to the Circuit Court as well: 

"We can expect little from the District Court." " 

The fitting out of le General Laveaux was only one of many 

such operations. They followed the same general pattern, but 

some of the variations are of interest. 

The San Jose, the same vessel that was captured by Jean 

Bouteille and was featured in the trial Castello v. Bouteille et al., 

was also fitted out for a raider. The San Jose's rig was altered 

while she was alongside a wharf and when all was ready she was 

warped out into the harbor and anchored just within the bar. 

There, just prior to sailing, her quarter deck was razed, gunports 

cut in, and her guns mounted. Bouteille brought off the job without let or hindrance of the authorities.'" 

i«BCC, p. 602, Moodie to Bond, April 28, 1795. In relating Judge Bee's summation of the evidence Moodie wrote, "The judge said previous to the promulgation of the law of June 5 . Sasportas or any other citizen of the United States, 

had a right to arm their vessels for self-defense, and that the general unanimity 

then prevailing . to obtain redress for depredations committed by the British 

on their trade had occasioned the arming all along the continent; and that in 

such instance the arming became meritorious, and that had a war with Great Britain 

then taken place, he did not doubt but the British West India Trade would have received a 

mortal wound [Italics supplied]." 

'^ Among these were Jamaica and la Tendre Mere (apparendy owned by French 

emigres under British registry), captured in company with the Charleston-based 

privateer la Mere Michel, and Tivoli. All these vessels had been taken in February 

1795 and sent into Charleston. City Gazette, February 10, 16, and March 26, 1795. 

'^ A monition for the trial of the ship Phya [sic] appeared in the City Gazette, 

March 3, 1795. The date for the trial was set for March 12. 

" Records of the final disposition of the Mermaid case have proved elusive. 

Newspaper notices indicate, however, that le General Laveaux carried on operations 

well into 1796. 

20 BCC, p. 589, Moodie to Miller, November 28, 1794. 
74 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

In another case the outfitters employed a bit more finesse in 

evading the Act of June 5, 1794. At the end of November a 

brigantine from Port-de-Paix, very possibly le Port-de-Paix 

{ex-le Vulcan, tx-le Vainqueur de la Bastille), was fitting out at 

Gaillard's wharf. This vessel was already pierced for 12 guns 

upon her arrival at Charleston. While alongside the wharf the 

bulkhead between her raised poop and waist was knocked out 

and deck beams were fitted from the old break aft to the counter, without affecting the raised poop. Once clear of the harbor 

the poop stanchions were sawn through at the height of her 

bulwarks and the structure was heaved overside. Presto! A fine 

flush-deck privateer. All that remained to be done was to sway 

on board her guns and take in her ammunition, all of which 

were lightered out to her.^^ 

In the frantic search for armed vessels to meet the soaring 

demand even candidates for the "boneyard" did not escape the 

attention of the outfitters. One such was the ship le Dauphin 

of L'Orient which made her appearance at Charleston during 

the embargo and on May 20 was advertised for sale "for the 

benefit of the underwriters." At the auction which took place at 

Mey's wharf on July 23, 1794, she was bid in by Jean Bouteille 

for an undisclosed sum. A relic of the American War of Independence, she had been built for the Continental Congress as 

the frigate Delaware, and in 1777 was captured and entered 

into the Royal Navy. In 1788 she was sold out of the service to 

French South Sea whaling interests. What other trades she 

served during her 17-year life is not known.^^ 

With a potential armament of 32 12-pounders and 6 6-

pounders (her former establishment as a frigate was 24 guns) 

the vessel would have been a dangerous weapon in the hands 

of Etienne Laveaux, then exerting heavy pressure on Britain's 

Spanish ally. 

Moodie worked hard to keep the old frigate from sailing and 

apparently enjoyed some success. In a memorial to the National 

Convention drawn up by "Les Capitaines & Armateurs des 

Corsairs Frangais en Rade de Charleston," dated "12 Nivose 

De L'an 3' [January 1, 1795]," complaint was made that al21 Ibid., p. 591, December 14, 1794. 

22 For further information on Delaware, see H. I. Chapelle, The History of the 

American Sailing Navy (New York: Norton, 1949), pp. 75, 78, 90. See also advertisements in The City Gazette, May 20, June 4, July 21, 23, 1794: in the latter two 

she was identified as the former Delaware; her tonnage was given as 604. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 75 

though Captain Bouteille had been most scrupulous in abiding 

by the letter of the American law, le Dauphin had been placed 

in detention by "un ordre Arbitraire & Despotique arrive de 

[President] Wasghinton [sic]." Bouteille, the memorial noted 

bitterly, had put all the profits from his successful la Sans Pareille into this patriotic venture which had been designed as a 

gift for General Laveaux." Rehabilitation of le Dauphin proved 

to be long and costly but in March it was finally reported near 

completion, 

Moodie, under orders to keep a careful tally of the comings 

and goings of the French raiders, more often than not was kept 

in a state of bewilderment by the manipulations of the privateersmen. On one occasion, in answering a request from Philadelphia on the whereabouts of a vessel called la Signoria (sic), 

he supposed that she had gone in one of Garvin's fleets to Saint 

Domingue: 

Truly, what with the increase in numbers and change of name, commissions, and masters, it is impossible to trace them; and still more so to obtain 

such particular information as Mr. Moore requires. Can he be aware of 

the partiality of the inhabitants, the number of privateers and that they 

neither enter inwards nor clear outward at the custom-house? ^* 

At the time of Moodie's letter the Charleston-Saint Domingue 

shuttle was at its peak. Jean Bouteille and Jean Baptiste Carvin 

were in the forefront of the privateersmen who had come to the 

aid of their countrymen struggling against the British and 

Spanish in and around Saint Domingue by forwarding arms and 

munitions and by pressing the war along the sea lanes. Garvin's 

success at privateering is manifest in his sending to sea what 

amounted to a privately owned fleet to aid General Laveaux 

in a design against the Spanish stronghold of Montechristi on 

the north coast of Hispaniola.^^ Bouteille, not to be outdone by 

23 Theric in his Etat Nominatif listing the privateers based at Charleston 

appended a request that Bouteille be reimbursed and aided in bringing about the 

completion of the Dauphin. Since the Etat was written no later than May 1795, 

it seems more than likely that Bouteille had undertaken a job too big for his purse. 

The subsequent career of this vessel is not known with any degree of certainty. 

2^ BCC, p. 592. Moodie's problem in identifying La Signoria may be better 

appreciated from the following culling of Spanish prizes sent into Charleston by 

French privateers during the period concerned (the spelling is that of the news 

paper notices): "Z-a Signiora de la ," "Signora Candelero,''"Sigmor de Car ," 

"La Sinteric," "La Seignorita.'" 

25 See Th6ric, Memorial. The strike against Montechristi did not occur, because 

Carvin fell ill and Laveaux was reluctant to entrust the flotilla to any but Carvin's 
7 5 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-1 7 96 

his former partner, forwarded at his own expense both provisions de bouche and a variety of munitions to supply Laveaux's 

forces. Indeed, la Signoria, about which Moodie had been asked 

by his superior at Philadelphia, was one of Bouteille's vessels. 

Together with his la Narbonnaise, commanded by the ubiquitous Hervieux, it was part of one of the flotillas which carried an 

extremely valuable cargo of powder and arms to Port-de-Paix 

in the last half of November. 

The provenance of the powder and the chain of events and 

complications which surrounded its dispatch to Saint Domingue 

constitute an episode difficult to equal for the number of facets 

it displays of French privateering operations out of Charleston. 

The north coast of Cuba had been a favorite cruising ground 

of the French privateers since the outbreak of the war. Havana 

was the cynosure of Spanish colonial trade and at that port all 

cargoes were consolidated for the run to the Iberian Peninsula. 

This pattern of traflfic was as old as the Spanish empire on 

Tierra Firme. Between June and December 1794 shipping 

began to converge on Havana from Caracas, Cartagena de 

las Indias, Vera Cruz, Campeche, Florida, Santo Domingo, and 

Puerto Rico, carrying royal treasure and private cargoes for 

the eastbound convoy. 

In June, Don Gabriel Aristizabal, Lieutenant-General in 

command of Spain's naval forces in the Caribbean, set up his 

headquarters at Havana in order to repair and refit the escort 

force for the home-bound fleet. Plagued by epidemics of fever 

in the two squadrons based on Havana and by the devastation of 

one hurricane which struck on July 22 and another which played 

havoc with a fleet of merchantmen en route from Vera Cruz, 

Don Gabriel found himself seriously short of men, arms, munitions, and supplies of all kinds. To fill his desperate need he 

was forced to send out vessels to make levies on every possible 

source of supply in the Spanish Caribbean.'*^ 

Towards the end of September 1794 Cesar Peronne, in command of Carvin's 12-gun sloop le Republicain, was cruising the 

heavily traveled approaches to Havana harbor. He had already 

taken several prizes when in quick succession, he came into 

command. Theric notes that involved were ITndustrie, 12 guns; the brig le Sans 

Culotte, 14 guns; the sloop le Republican; and the schooner la Carmagnole, 16 guns. 

26 The details of Spanish naval movements at Havana are contained in "Extracto 

de las ocurencias diarios de la escuadra del mando de teniente general Don 

Gabriel Aristizabal ...., " Museo Naval, Madrid, Ms. 595, Doc. 1. 
possession of the British brig Eagle, a Letter of Marque of 14 

guns, and the Spanish ship la Trasmerana, of 16 guns, from 

Vera Cruz for Havana.^^ Upon capturing Ea^/g", Peronne placed 

on board the British vessel a prize captain and half of le 

Republicain's crew. The two vessels continued to cruise in company until September 19 when la Trasmerana was overhauled, 

boarded, and seized. Both prizes were ordered for Savannah 

where they arrived on September 29."' 

The cargo of la Trasmerana was a veritable windfall consisting of peas, beans, lead, logwood, dried meat, and 842 150-

"A Bermudian sloop with a view 

upon the Spanish Main," three 

aspects of the same sloop in a 

West Indian harbor during the 

last half of the eighteenth century. Vessels of this type, a 

favored rig in American and 

Caribbean waters, often served as 

privateers. The size and weight of 

their gear, however, made them 

less desirable than the schooner. 

2' The account of the capture of these vessels is confused. Theric, possibly 

writing from memory in November 1795, gives the impression that it was Carvin 

himself who captured Eagle while in command of a new privateer called le Vengeur. 

However, Theric is alone in associating the capture of Eagle or la Trasmerana with 

le Vengeur. Tha t vessel does not appear at Charleston until March 1795. Theric 

also mentions that Carvin had placed Joseph Langlois on board Eagle and that 

it was Langlois in turn who captured la Trasmerana. Langlois is not mentioned in 

the libels that were instituted against both vessels. (See Theric, Memorial, if". 212v, 

213.) Theric's account is also at variance with that contained in the memorial 

written by "Les Capitains & Armateurs des Corsaires Frangais en Rade de 

Charleston . . 12 Nivose de l'an 3^'"^ [January 2, 1795]." 

"^^ Georgia Gazette, October 2, 1794, announced the arrival of Eagle and la 

Trasmerana as prizes to le Republicain. The former was noted as mounting 12 guns, 

from Vera Cruz for Havana "with a cargo of guns, powder, and balls . . ." 
78 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

pound boxes of gunpowder, as well as 4,242 Spanish dollars in 

specie and the vessel's 12 cannon, of unidentified caliber.^^ Almost immediately upon arrival the privateersmen and their 

agent, Mordecai Sheftall, began with their usual dispatch to 

liquidate ship and cargo. It is not clear how much of the cargo 

was disposed of by the time that la Trasmerana's master managed to lodge with the District Court of Georgia, a libel against 

his former vessel, but from an advertisement which appeared 

in the City Gazette on October 25, 1794, at least 1,400 pounds 

of it might have found its way to Charleston. 

According to the libel, la Trasmerana was not seized by le 

Republicain but by the brig Eagle, and the presumption was 

that Peronne was playing William Talbot's game of fobbing off 

a prize pass as a legal commission. The latter vessel, it was maintained, had been fitted out at Charleston. The capture was 

therefore illegal and piratical, and restitution of ship and cargo 

and damages, were demanded. The libel was followed by seizure 

of the vessel, and such cargo as remained intact was impounded 

and duly moved off to a warehouse pending adjudication of the 

case. The attorney for the captors denied all the allegations in 

the hbel, insisting that la Trasmerana was a good prize, made 

by le Republicain, a legally commissioned privateer sloop. As 

time went by and Peronne failed to show up, tempers began to 

flare. Privateersmen in both Savannah and Charleston saw in 

the delay attending the libel hearings on the precious cargo yet 

another instance of American ill will.^° 

Nine days later, on October 25, still another of le Republicain's prizes, la Princesa de Asturias, a 15-gun brig, entered the 

Thunderbolt River. The whereabouts of the French privateer 

was finally learned when, on the same day, the British frigate 

Hussar, 28 guns, and the sloop-of-war Scorpion, appeared off 

Charleston bar and announced that they had captured le Republicain as well as another small raider.^^ 

2» Details of her lading were printed in the libel cited by D. Pedro Trabudua 

(on November 17, 1794) and printed by the Georgia Gazette, December 4, 1794. 

Theric reported that Las Tres Meronas (sic) carried 900 chests of 300 pounds each 

of cannon powder (Memorial, f. 213), while "Les Capitaines & Armateurs" 

mentioned 105,000 pounds of powder as the lading of the vessel. 

3° The outraged "Capitaines & Armateurs" branded the proceeding as "un 

acte de rigeur et arbitraire en faveur de nos ennemis, les Espagnols." 

" The City Gazette, October 25, 1794. On January 15, 1795, the Georgia Gazette 

published, under the dateline "Halifax, November 3, 1794" an account of the 

taking of le Republicain, "one of the best privateers which, for the disgrace of the 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 79 

It is not certain when Captain Peronne reappeared on the 

scene; possibly he was one of the French seamen landed from 

Hussar on the evening of October 25.^^ Moodie gives the impression that Peronne was in Charleston on December 17,1794, 

at the time he wrote his letter to Phineas Bond. He was not, 

however, one of those who signed the memorial protesting the 

seizure of la Trasmerana's cargo on January 1, 1795.^^ But if 

Moodie was correct, Peronne may well have been present at 

the incident involving the raid on the warehoused powder described in the memorial of the captains and outfitters: 

Our brave sans culottes . . . seized from the magazine the amount of 

powder they could carry on their backs and loaded it aboard the Eagle 

under the protection of the tricolor. The Americans even took arms to 

cooperate with our project rather than have the Americans [i.e., their 

countrymen] turn over to the enemies of our country such a precious cargo 

under such an iniquitous judgment.^* 

A search of contemporary newspapers, correspondence, and 

other records has failed to yield any further information on 

when and where this serious challenge to the authority of the 

U.S. Government took place or who exactly was involved. It 

does seem certain, however, that the crew of the privateer la 

Carmagnole was involved, and that the incident probably took 

place between November 1 and 17, for on November 18 the 

brig Eagle, Latalie, arrived at Charleston from Savannah in 

company with the privateer schooner la Carmagnole and the 

prize la Princesa de Asturias. One is led to conclude that after 

the raid's proceeds had been loaded in Eagle, no time was lost 

in seeking the more hospitable climate of Charleston.^^ 

The action against la Trasmerana finally came to trial on 

January 2, 1795, after having been postponed from its original 

date of December 4. The indignation, if not the violence, of the 

privateersmen seems to have been justified, for the Federal District Court of Georgia dismissed Captain Trabudua's libel as 

American government, have been suffered to be fitted out at Charleston." It was 

reported that she had taken 20 prizes, most of them Spanish, and that she had 

33,000 dollars in specie on board at the time of her capture. 

32 The City Gazette, October 27, 1794, mendons that some 50 Frenchmen were 

set on shore and given their liberty. 

33 "Les Capitaine & Armateurs .. . en Rade de Charleston." The signers of 

the memorial were H. Gariscan, Guillaume Barre, Alexandre Lory, Jean Baptiste 

Garvin, Bouteille, and others whose names are illegible. 

3< Ibid., translated. 

3» The City Gazette, November 18, 1794. 

294-34.1 O—69-
8 0 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

The ship Belisarius of Salem, 

1794, was built with an eye 

toward privateering as well as 

trade during the Anglo-American war scare of 1794. Many 

such vessels found their way into 

the hands of French privateering 

entrepreneurs, and Charleston, 

South Carolina, did a thriving 

business in their purchase and 

sale. From a watercolor copy by 

M. Macpherson of the original 

by M. Come. Courtesy the Essex 

Institute, Salem, Massachusetts. 

•0{(p»WS*«.iX*&:«M. 

unfounded. Whether costs were also assessed against the libelant 

is not known."" Without the records of the case one can only 

wonder what evidence was adduced to cause the District Court 

of Georgia to throw out the libel of the Spanish vessel, but one 

can surmise that the libel's flaw lay in the claim that Eagle was 

fitted out in Charleston, for such certainly was not the case. 

Perhaps Peronne himself put in an appearance with convincing 

evidence that he had captured the Spanish ship with le 

Republicain. 

Moodie was no more successful with the libel he lodged 

against Eagle than Captain Trabudua had been with his action 

against la Trasmerana. Although he managed to tie the vessel 

up in litigation until early May 1795, she was finally put up for 

sale at Beale's Wharf,^' purchased by Carvin, and given to 

Peronne as a replacement for the captured le Republicain.^^ 

As I'Aigle, she was reported operating, in July 1795 in company 

with Carvin's le Vengeur, in the vicinity of Crooked Island 

Passage and the north coast of Jamaica. She continued to 

appear at Charleston until at least January 1796 when both 

the vessel and her master were defendants in a law suit brought 

by the chandlery firm of North & Vesey for payments of supplies 

delivered to the privateer.^^ 

36 Georgia Gazette, January 8, 1795. 

37 An advertizement for the sale appeared in the City Gazette, May 12, 1795. 

38 As early as December 17, 1794, Moodie, writing to his superior in Philadelphia 

noted that Eagle was a remarkably fast sailer and that Peronne meant to have 

her command (BCC, p. 593). 

38 BEE, Reports, pp. 78-79, North & Vesey v. Brig Eagle and Caesar Peronne. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY g ^ 

The fitting out and servicing of French raiders continued to 

be a major concern of privateer outfitters at Charleston until 

the summer of 1795, despite Benjamin Moodie's best efforts. 

If the Royal Navy had been able to appear off the port at 

more frequent intervals, as the already quoted Nassau newspaper (see p. 63) hoped would be possible, perhaps the 

privateering might have been inhibited at an earher stage. Subsequent to the brief visit of HMS Hussar in February 1794, 

British warships did not make another appearance until midAugust of that year. Thereafter, until the beginning of January 

1795, units of Rear Admiral Murray's squadron, including 

HMS Quebec, the frigates Blonde, Thetis, Terpsichore, and 

Hussar, and the sloop-of-war Scorpion cruised singly or in units 

of various size in the vicinity of Charleston and Savannah. Their 

total effect, beyond infuriating Charlestonians by impressing 

seamen from the American vessels they systematically overhauled entering or leaving harbor, seems to have been 

negligible.^" 

Hussar and Scorpion, whose visit we have already noted in 

relation to the capture of le Republicain, had missed an excellent opportunity to deal privateering a serious blow by failing 

to capture the Letter of Marque schooner I'lnirepide which 

slipped into Charleston the very day the frigate and sloop-ofwar arrived, for Jean Baptiste Carvin had come as a passenger 

in I'lnirepide on one of his regular shuttle trips from Port-dePaix to oversee the fitting out of two new privateers: the 

Spanish prize la Princesa de Asturias, taken by le Republicain, 

and the brig le Pichegru {tx-Pulaski). The latter of these was 

of great concern to Benjamin Moodie who kept a watchful eye 

on her progress after her purchase by Carvin. 

The commander of le Pichegru was Henri Garriscan, a 

former officer of Carvin's who had commanded I'Industrie 

during a September 1794 cruise."*^ As an associate in le Pichegru 

he had taken extreme care in fitting his vessel for sea. When his 

^^ A Letter of Marque from Guadeloupe, the schooner la Liberie, was delayed 

from leaving port between August 22 and September 14, 1795, when she made a 

dash for sea (see. City Gazette for that period of time) and the privateer la Montagne 

was brought to bay off Edisto while two of her prizes were chased ashore (City 

Gazette, April 18, 19, 23, 1794.) 

" Garriscan held a provisional grade of Lieutenant de Vaisseau in the French 

Navy, issued by General Laveaux. He was to become a successful privateer commander and his le Pandour became known to American seamen in the Caribbean 

during the Quasi-War with France. 
8 2 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

request for clearance was denied on the grounds that it contravened United States neutrality laws, and three separate 

searches yielded nothing to substantiate the charge, Garriscan 

became righteously indignant.'' After he had fumed to Fonspertuis about his perishable cargo, the consul finally managed 

to have the ship cleared out for Port-de-Paix. But Moodie, who 

was responsible for lodging the information, was again able 

to delay the sailing of the vessel until H M frigate Thetis once 

more showed up off the bar. It was not until the end of the first 

week of January 1795 that le Pichegru managed to slip out to 

sea. 

Between January 1795, when le Pichegru sailed, and the beginning of July 1795, the outfitting of French privateers reached 

its peak of activity. It was a particular time of trial for consul 

Moodie as well. Added to the frustrations he was suffering in 

the U.S. District Court, and the dark suspicions that he harbored about the good will of State and Federal officials in carrying out the impartial enforcement of United States neutrality 

laws, was the worry about the seamen from captured British 

merchant ships turned loose on the town. It was important to 

keep these men at hand as witnesses for cases in litigation, and 

this drew heavily on the slim contingency fund Moodie used to 

fight the French raiders in the law courts. If these seamen were 

not subsidized they would readily sign on with the French raiders, lured by the prospects of prize money or merely to keep from 

starvation in the streets, since no international convention protected them.'^ On the other hand, the predilection of seamen of 

whatever nation to go privateering under whatever flag, was 

used by Moodie to good effect, for it enabled him to plant spies 

among the privateersmen and obtain intelligence of plans being 

hatched and learn what vessels were fitting out as raiders.** 

Early in March 1795 Moodie was confronted by a particularly vexing situation. A very valuable Jamaican merchantman 

^2 "Copie de la Petition addressee au Citoyen Conssul [sic] par Gariscan, 

capitaine du navire Le pichegru," dated "Charleston le 11 nivose L'an 3*TM® 

[December 31, 1794]." 

^3 Public Records Office, London, 133 Foreign Office 55/11, Moodie to Murray, 

Charleston, April 25, 1795. Moodie refers to the inadequacy of the subsistence 

guaranteed to seamen of the Royal Navy—9 pence per diem as not being 

"sufficient to buy firewood in this expensive place." 

** Ibid., Foreign Office 97/98, March 12, 1795. This letter contains material on 

the French privateer cited below. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALFTY 83 

had put into Charleston for emergency repair and was ready 

to proceed on her voyage. How was he to get her safely to sea, 

with the approaches to the port infested by prowling raiders 

and with five other raiders lying in the harbor apparently ready 

for sea at a moment's notice? 

Two of those in the harbor were notably successful privateers: 

Alexander Bolchos' la Parisienne, "remarkably fast and 

manned by Desperadoes of all Nations," and la Mere Michel, 

a medium-sized schooner of 50 tons but carrying a very heavy 

armament of 12 to 15 guns.*^ The three other raiders, newly arrived, included le Courier National, mounting 16 guns, copper 

bottomed, and "a fast sailer though an old vessel," *^ and "a 14-

gun Bermuda-built ship which had formerly been a Spanish 

Packet," painted black with a head and galleries. Moodie was 

impressed by the detail that her iron guns "were painted green 

to represent brass." This vessel, of course, was Carvin's prize 

la Princesa de Asturias.*^ The third vessel was the old frigate 

le Dauphin {ex-Delaware), mounting between 24 and 32 guns; 

Bouteille had managed to work his way out of his troubles with 

the port authorities (see p. 75) and had completed the repairs 

to her, which earlier had been halted. Moodie commented particularly on her "very much altered appearance." The upper 

deck had been entirely razed, her old ports had been opened 

and her old head and quarter galleries removed. She was painted a funereal black. Moodie then observed without further comment that the work had been done "with a view of making her 

look like a Collier or a North Country built ship." *^ 

" Ibid. Considering her size, the reported armament is improbable. La Mere 

Michel was a relative newcomer. It is not certain that she was fitted out at 

Charleston but she was certainly owned there. She arrived at Charleston 

March 1, 1795, after having sent in the British ship Eliza of Jamaica (City Gazette, 

February 10, 1795) and, in partnership with le General Laveaux, la Tendre Mere 

(ibid., February 16, 1795). An Edenton, North Carolina, newspaper reported the 

raider's arrival at that port on February 2 and that she had taken 2 ships, 2 brigs, 

2 schooners, and 1 sloop (ibid., February 16, 1795). 

" BCC, p. 593. Moodie refers to her simply as the "Courier of Liverpool." 

This vessel had been taken prize by the privateer le Port-de-Paix and her 

tender le Petit Port-de-Paix in October 1794 and brought into Charleston on 

October 24. Within one week she was condemned, and hull and cargo were put up 

for sale. (The City Gazette, October 24 and 30, 1794) Moodie libelled the prize 

and succeeded in delaying the captors until January 1795, when his suit was 

dismissed with costs (BCC, p. 590). 

" See above, p. 79. 

" Such disguises were not uncommon. In this instance it is conceivable that it 
84 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-1 7 96 

Moodie may well have asked himself, did these vessels make 

up another Saint Domingue shuttle fleet, such as those which 

had been dispatched with provisions and powder earlier, or did 

the unusual features presented by these vessels portend another 

use? These questions, when compounded with rumors of the 

imminent arrival from Port-de-Paix of the former British frigate Hyaena,^^ which had been refitted under the tricolor at 

Port-de-Paix, must have made the situation seem most 

threatening. 

On March 12, Moodie addressed a dispatch to Rear Admiral 

Murray in HMS Cleopatra, thought to be cruising in the vicinity, or to the first of His Majesty's ships that could be found, and 

sent it to sea in a chartered pilot boat under a Mr. Giles. The 

dispatch requested that a British man-of-war be sent to escort 

the Jamaican merchantman across the Gulf Stream. He also 

apprised the admiral of the situation in Charleston, saying that 

his spies had informed him that the French privateersmen were 

threatening to kill British prisoners. Admiral Murray would be 

well advised, wrote Moodie, to question prisoners from French 

privateers closely on this matter. 

There is evidence that a British warship did come to Moodie's 

aid and that the Jamaican got off safely to sea. As for the raiders, 

if a joint operation had been planned there is no evidence that 

it was carried out.^" But for Moodie the respite was brief; on 

April 8 le Pichegru, now named le Brutus Frangais, was once 

again in Charleston armed with 16 6-pounders and 2 carwas planned to slip Delaware into a British convoy under the cover of night to 

await a favorable opportunity to make a strike. Privateersmen often resorted to 

disguise to throw off inquisitive enemy men-of-war while sailing under a neutral 

flag. Rigs were often altered at sea, and Garriscan's le Pandour appeared as a 

blacksided schooner from one side and a yellowsided schooner from the other. 

^9 On March 19, 1795 the City Gazette published a letter from Port-de-Paix to 

Fonspertuis which told of the French victories in the Caribbean and stated that 

the corvette Hyaena would be ready to sail for the continent within 20 days. 

'" Le Dauphin (ex-Delaware) seems finally to have put to sea, bound for Port-dePaix. La Mere Michel cleared out toward the end of March on a 30-day cruise 

(Georgia Gazette, May 7, 1795) and returned with the British 6-gun ship Phoebe 

and the brig Tivoli as prizes. A subsequent cruise ended in her capture in late 

Jun e by a New Providence privateer of 20 guns (Georgia Gazette, July 16, 1795). 

La Parisienne continued her successful raiding career, accounting for at least 14 

prizes between the time she sailed in mid-March and December 1795, when it 

was her misfortune to run ashore and break up on Wading Key. (City Gazette, 

January 4, 1796). 

Le Courier Nationale apparendy cleared Charleston toward the end of March 

and made for Guadeloupe to take part in Victor Hugues' campaign against the 
PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALFIY 85 

ronades, bearing a Saint Domingue commission and still under 

the command of Garriscan.^^ 

Le Brutus had proved her worth during a 30-day cruise by 

capturing 9 prizes. Nearing Charleston on April 6, Garriscan 

met with and engaged the Bermudian privateer-ship Sir Charles 

Grey, Daniel Morgan, armed with 16 12-pounders. This vessel 

had been lurking about the approaches, intercepting French 

prizes bound in for that port. One of these was Garriscan's prize, 

Alfred, which had been run ashore while attempting to cross the 

bar. If the engagement had been inconclusive, at least the Bermudian was sufficiently damaged to force her to draw off and 

abandon further harassment of the French raiders.^' 

Le Brutus' return to Charleston was in reality a waystop dictated perhaps by the need to consult with the vessel's agent 

about the disposition of prizes and to transact business with 

Carvin, whose latest privateer, la Princesa de Asturias, was 

being readied for sea. On April 21 the two vessels sailed in company and within two days after their departure they ran into 

a force of four British warships, two ships-of-the-line and two 

frigates, perhaps the very vessels which Moodie had sent Giles' 

pilot boat to pursue, more than a month before. The two 

Frenchmen parted company, each chased by a frigate and a 

74. After three days and three nights, le Brutus gave her pursuers 

the slip after heaving over the side four guns and taking to her 

sweeps. 

When Garriscan arrived at Philadelphia he wrote back to 

Charleston of the incident and expressed the opinion that 

Carvin must certainly have outrun his pursuers, since la Princesa 

British islands. On July 3, 1795, the City Gazette carried the news of her capture 

off Guadeloupe by a British frigate after an obstinate engagement. 

" From what can be gleaned of her activities in the vicinity of Philadelphia in 

May and still later in New York, le Brutus seemed to be acting more in the capacity 

of a naval auxilary than a privateer. Her movements between the United States 

and the West Indies indicate that she might have been used in carrying dispatches. 

" Two of le Brutus' prizes—the Spanish schooner Santo Christo de la Caridad, 

Montechristi for Havana, and the polacre Nuestra Senora del Carmen, Barcelona for 

Havana—were reported as entering Savannah (Georgia Gazette, April 9); two 

others, Spanish slavers, were reported as having been ransomed for 41,000 dollars. 

Alfred was refloated on the next tide and taken up to Charleston, where Moodie 

libelled her on the grounds that le Brutus had been fitted out at Charleston. Bee 

found for the respondents. When Moodie brought the case to the Circuit Court, 

the judgment of the lower court was confirmed, and then carried it to the Supreme 

Court, where once again the decree of the lower court was confirmed. (See Moodie 

V. the Ship Alfred, 3 Dallas 307 (1796).) 
86 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

•m. 

This painting by Mesnier the 

elder, is dated 1793 and identifies the French privateer I'Aventure, Captain Reynaud, overhauling the Philadelphia ship 

Pigou, Captain Jacob Lewis, 

laden with wheat for Mauritius, 

in 1793. From the original in the 

J. Welles Henderson collection. 

Courtesy of the owner. 

handily outsailed his vessel.^^ Le Brutus sailed south from Philadelphia for the West Indies where Garriscan became involved in 

Victor Hugues' effort to carry the war to the British. Except 

for a single call in January 1796, le Brutus never put in at 

Charleston again. 

As for la Princesa, Garriscan was right about her escape. She 

reached Port-de-Paix and quickly emerged as le Vengeur de 

Sans Culottes, or, more simply, le Vengeur.^^ She was reported 

as operating in the vicinity of Crooked Island passage on May 

21, 1795, in company with another of Carvin's privateers, la 

Carmagnole, a schooner of 8 guns, commanded by Captain 

Lory,®^ and shortly thereafter the two vessels were reported 

53 City Gazette, March 30, 1795. Extract of a letter from Garriscan in Philadelphia. 

While at Philadelphia, the crew of le Brutus on May 30 became involved in a fray 

with some workmen at a ropewalk. Garriscan took the occasion of a city magistrate's 

dealing with the rioters to deliver some unflattering observations on American 

hospitality. These were printed in the City Gazette, June 22, 1795 (datelined 

Philadelphia, May 30). 

5* Two other Vengeurs seem to share the scene, one being referred to as le Vengeur 

de Risque-tout, the other simply as le Vengeur, both of which called at Charleston 

and Savannah. Of these, the first seems to be identifiable with Carvin's vessel. 

The second appeared after June 1795, the month in which, it has been established, 

Carvin's vessel was set afire in the Bahamas. 

55 La Carmagnole made her appearance at Charleston first on November 18, 

after having participated in the affair oi la Trasmerana's cargo (see above, p. 79). 

She was one of Carvin's most successful investments and made use of the port of 

Charleston well into 1796. 
cruising off the north coast of Jamaica between Port Maria and 

Orracabella in plain sight of shore. According to a letter recounting the capture of the British ship Hero by the two privateers, "they both intended to follow the [Jamaica] convoy 

through the gulf, as they tell me, which I have not the least 

doubt of, for they seem to be perfectly acquainted with the situation of the island." '^ 

The magnet that drew the French privateers away from 

Charleston by the summer of 1795 was, of course, the opening 

up, in the very heart of the Caribbean, of new privateering opportunities brought about not only by the revival of offensive 

Detail of this handsome painting, 

which is possibly unique for the 

period 1793-1802 in its representation of a sharp-built privateer 

schooner of uncontestably American design operating under the 

French flag. 

" Georgia Gazette, August 6, 1795: "Extract of a letter from aboard HMS Sloop 

of War le Serin [sic]. Mole St. Nicholas, May 30, [1795]." Hero never did reach 

Charleston, for she was run ashore on the Isle of Pines through an error of navigation by her prizemaster (Georgia Gazette, July 30, 1795). Two other prizes taken 
88 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Strength in Saint Domingue under Laveaux and Andre Rigaud, 

who was in command of the Department of the South, but, 

more fundamentally, by Victor Hugues' expanding operations 

in the Lesser Antilles. These, as we have noted (p. 64), had 

temporarily paralyzed Britain's war effort throughout the 

Caribbean. 

Even before the final evacuation of Guadeloupe by the British 

in December 1794, Victor Hugues had gone on the offensive. A 

small reinforcement from France temporarily allowed him to 

send out combined flotillas of warships and privateers to harry 

the approaches to the Caribbean from the latitude of Barbados 

to Puerto Rico. Britain's hard-worked Caribbean squadrons 

were accordingly thrown off balance, and her forces were held 

to the defensive well into 1796 by interminable delays caused by 

mismanagement and a series of disasters involving reinforcements from England. 

On March 2, 1795, after a carefully prepared campaign of 

subversion had been launched throughout the British islands 

of the Caribbean and in Spanish Trinidad, Hugues' storm— 

which the British called the Brigand's War—broke over the 

West Indies. A series of insurrections flared on island after island, leaving confusion and terror in their wake. Grenada, lying 

close to the chief British staging area at Barbados, was the first 

target. There, as at other islands, local insurrectionaries were 

joined by French expeditionary forces carried by privateers 

from Guadeloupe. Three days after the outbreak at Grenada, 

St. Vincent flared up in revolt. The Caribs, long discontented 

with British rule and carefully propagandized by Hugues' agents 

were reinforced by French troops and arms and ammunition 

ferried over to them under the cover of night by privateers. 

St. Lucia was taken under attack on April 1 and the entire 

island passed into French hands when the last of the British 

garrison was evacuated on June 19. 

To increase the confusion among the British and their French 

royalist allies, Hugues bombarded the entire Antilles with 

from the convoy, however, did reach Charleston about July 12, the brigs Kingston 

and Potowmac (Georgia Gazette, July 16, 1795). These were preceded by the arrival 

oile Vengeur and la Carmagnole at Savannah (Georgia Gazette, July 2, 1795). Potowma

was subsequently libeled, and as late as March 23, 1796, Phineas Bond, British 

charge d'affaires at Philadelphia, wrote that the Supreme Court had continued 

the Potowmac case and that the counsel was not sanguine about the outcome (BCC, 

Annex 7, p. 621). For reasons unknown, Kingston's capture was not disputed in court. 
4 : PALATINATE CHALLENGES NEUTRALITY 89 

promises of emancipation to the slave populations and bloodcurdling proclamations threatening reprisals for any Republicans who were executed and the guillotine to any Frenchman 

who joined the British. 

As Hugues struck to windward at Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. 

Vincents and threatened landings on Martinique itself—the 

nerve center of the British war effort in the Lesser Antilles— 

the Royal Navy drew off units from the Leeward Islands. 

Hugues struck unerringly in that direction. 

The neutral Danish islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, 

which under a combination of Hugues' merciless browbeating 

and a hunger for profits had become a major source of supply 

for Guadeloupe and a haven for French privateers, became an 

unwilling host to an expeditionary force aimed at Dutch St. 

Eustatius. 

A T L .1 .V r I c O (• /•; A .\ 
90 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-1 7 96 

At St. Kitts, John Stanley, President of the island's Assembly, 

fearful of the consequences of French possession of the Dutch 

island, urgently called for aid from Martinique, only to receive 

the despairing answer that St. Eustatius must be left to its fate. 

By mid-April not only St. Eustatius but St. Martins were in 

French hands, while belatedly dispatched British naval units 

sailed about in bewilderment attempting to fend off the threat 

to neighboring British islands. 

By June 23, 1795, the situation of the British in the West 

Indies was such that the Barbados Mercury lamented: 

Thus stands affairs: 

Guadeloupe long since taken. 

Martinico Attempted. 

St. Lucia Abandoned. 

Grenada ruined. 

St. Vincents laid waste. 

Antigua unsafe and 

Dominico on the verge of being lost. 

In the midst of this calamitous situation to which the West Indies are now 

reduced, Barbados still remains secure. How long this may be, the virtue 

of her sons can only determine. 
i€/}(^5 

JAY'S TREATY: 

THE 

"GREAT BETRAYAL" 

T H E HIGH TIDE OF FRENCH PRIVATEERING out of the port of 

Charleston that had been reached between January and July 

1795, began to ebb rapidly, but during that brief period, 

Charleston wore an air that caused a London newspaper to 

characterize it as "a province of France" and "a disgrace to 

the thirteen United States." ^ 

Public celebrations sponsored by the democratic and patriotic societies flourished as they had in previous years,^ but none 

of these outdid the public demonstration of grief of the Society 

of the Sans Culottes at the news of the death of General 

Dugommier, whose victories in the Pyrenees brought Spain 

to sue for peace. A decadi's mourning was decreed and, said 

an announcement, "the Republic [sic] thunder on board the 

armed vessels in the road shall salute on the morning and 

evening of the first day [of mourning]; that on all days of said 

decade, ensigns of distress shall be displayed on board of the 

vessels—that each day a discharge of cannon shall recall to the 

' City Gazette, June 8, 1795, datelined London, March 25 [1795]. 

2 On January 21, 1795, all good "sans culottes" assembled on Bequet's Green 

to renew their civic oaths and to sing patriotic hymns. A parade through town 

followed, accompanied by a band of music and the martial sound of cannons 

fired from French shipping in the harbor. The same evening, Citizen Michel, the 

owner of the successful privateer la Mere Michel tendered an elegant ball to 

celebrate the occasion. (City Gazette, January 21, 1795.) 
9 2 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Republicans in mourning the great loss they have sustained." ' 

As has been noted (p. 37), during 1794 rioting had taken 

on a more vicious character and public reaction to it had 

become sharper. By April 1795, the City Council was obhged 

to deal with a particularly ugly outbreak of hoohganism which 

resulted in a death by stabbing.^ But the city Intendent pro 

tem, John Edwards, had to deal with an even more serious 

challenge to peace and order when a "large party of 

Frenchmen armed with swords and daggers . . . forcibly rescued . . . Anthony Shepland, alias Cadet, Jean Michael and 

John Cutteau while under committment for riot and assault" 

from constables who had them in security. A sizable reward 

was offered for the apprehending and delivery of the three men 

to the gaoler of Charleston.^ The outraged citizenry demanded 

that the Intendent take counsel with the Governor "respecting 

the most proper measures to be adopted for the tranquility of 

the city." Some expressed the opinion that nothing short of 

prohibiting armed vessels from approaching the town closer 

than Fort Johnson would solve the problem. Shore leave for 

privateer crews, except for officers, was to be rigidly restricted 

and, when permitted, only under the command of an officer 

who would be accountable for the peaceful behavior of the men. 

None were to be armed.^ 

Another aspect of lawlessness indulged in by the privateers' 

commanders was regarded with even more alarm than infrac3 City Gazette, May 5, 1795, "Translated from le Patriote Franqais, a French paper 

just published in this City." 

* City Gazette, February 19, 1795, "Proclamation, the peace and tranquility of 

the city is much disturbed . . . several persons while walking the streets were 

wounded at several times .. . 30 dollars reward for information and conviction . . . ." 

^ City Gazette, April 23, 1795. The incident took place on April 22. Shepland, 

or Antoine Chaplin, to give him his proper name, was mate of the French privateer 

la Guillotine then in port. Chaplin made good his escape and soon after was reported 

molesting American shipping off Port-de-Paix. General Laveaux alarmed by 

manifestations of outiawry and violence, which began to appear by the fall of 

1795, was determined to make an example of Chaplin and paraded him in chains 

in the streets and forced him to pay a heavy fine. (For details see GV)'Ga^^W^, November 10, 1795, datelined New York, November 3, "Extracts of a letter from Portde-Paix, October 11, 1795.") 

«City Gazette, April 24, 1795, reporting the minutes of the City Council on the 

previous day. At the same meeting an ordinance was read for the first time forbidding mariners from appearing in the streets of Charleston "with swords, pistols 

or any other offensive weapons under the penalty not to exceed £20 for each 

offense," offenders were to be proceeded against in the court of the wardens, 

with the fine to go to the informers. 
5: JAYS TREATY THE GREAT BETRAYAL 9 3 

tions against the peace and order of the city. This stemmed from 

their activities in the forbidden slave trade.' Charlestonians had 

shown great forbearance in allowing the entry of slaves belonging to refugees from Saint Domingue in spite of apprehensions 

held of the possible evil effect they might have on domestic 

slaves. To counteract possible subversion, a system of surveillance was set up to detect and stop the transfer of the infection of 

egahtarian notions brought in not only by the Saint Domingue 

slaves but by the outpouring of philanthropic propaganda from 

the French dominated "clubs." ® 

In April 1794 a wave of consternation had been caused by the 

appearance of a Spanish prize belonging to the French privateer 

la Montagne carrying a partial cargo of slaves, especially since 

Santo Domingan slaves were reputed to be of "bad character." ^ 

An anxious committee of citizens inquired into what certainly 

must have been a collusive infraction of the slave importation 

act. Each of the 75 slaves was carefully accounted for; 12 had 

died, 7 who were serving as sailors had made good their escape, 

6 had been sent by water to Augusta, Georgia, and 50 remained 

on hand. The committee was finally mollified by the commander 

of the privateer who pledged that he would carry the remainder 

out of the State and use diligence in recovering the runaways. 

To this the privateer agent Abraham Sasportas promised his 

assistance. 

The pernicious effect of the presence of the French-owned 

slaves was debated hotly for the rest of 1794. In June, at a 

^The slave trade had been prohibited in South Carolina in 1787. As a result 

of the slave upheavals in Saint Domingue in 1793, the prohibition had been 

reenacted. It must be noted that in the neighboring state of Georgia the slave 

trade flourished. 

^ Colonel A. Vanderhorst of the Charleston Militia on August 26, 1793, issued 

an order which he had received "this moment" from Governor Moultrie that 

patrol duty was to be regularly performed and that negro houses "or any other 

suspected places" were to be searched. If arms were found they were to be sent 

to Charleston. Large meetings of negroes were to be suppressed and militiamen 

were to be careful to look out for any tendency of negroes to revolt. (Order Book, 

30di Regiment 7th Brigade, South CaroHna Militia, 1793-1814.) 

The depth of apprehension that some held on this subject may be gauged by 

an extract from a letter published by the New York Journal and Patriotic Register 

on October 11, 1793: "They write from Charieston, S.C. the NEGROES have 

become so insolent in so much that the citizens are alarmed and keep a constant 

guard. It is said that St. Domingue negroes have sown the seed of revolt and 

that a magazine has been attempted to be broken open." 

^ South Carolina State Gazette, April 10, 1794. 
94 PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

public meeting, a Mr. Hunt offered the proposition that "all 

negroes without exception that have within the last three years 

arrived here from the French West Indies be expelled." ^" Under 

the pen name "Rusticus" a Charlestonian went Mr. Hunt one 

better by demanding that all French refugees as well as their 

slaves be deported, asserting that the safety and prosperity of 

the country was at stake. 

In July Rusticus, who apparently never succeeded in breaking 

into print, again sought to express his concern over the slave 

situation. Prompted by reports which appeared in the 

Columbian Herald of July 14,1794, which chronicled Laveaux's 

triumph on Saint Domingue and which attributed much of his 

success to the effect of the French slave emancipation decree on 

his negro troops, Rusticus declared himself scandalized that a 

Charleston newspaper should publish such a report: 

I never expected that in a paper published by one of our own citizens 

that the tribute of praise should be so lavishly bestowed upon a race of men 

who by their example and success hold up every inducement to our 

domestics to resist our authority and rise up in arms against us .. . . They 

are told that actuated by the spirit of liberty their Brethren have become 

heroes .. . I will not dwell upon the consequences. Your good sense will 

point out the propriety of preventing a repetition of similar publications. 

On August 7, Rusticus sounded the tocsin in yet another letter. 

"It has been asserted that there actually exists within our city a 

Society corresponding with that which the French term Les 

Amis des Noirs." 

On September 5, however, still another incident of slave 

importation brought forth a public meeting at the Charleston 

Exchange. A committee of "distinguished citizens" was appointed to examine the details of the importation of 22 Negroes 

from Santo Domingo in the brig Governor Pinckney, Captain 

ConoUy." The committee's report was published in The City 

Gazette on September 8, 1794. Both Captain Conolly and the 

ubiquitous Jean Frangois Theric had produced the 22 slaves, 

17 of whom were lodged in the workhouse for safekeeping. 

The remaming 5, consisting of 2 free women and their children. 

'"Quoted in MS. letter "Rusticus" to "Gendemen," dated June 20, 1794. (File 

235, Charleston Historical Society, Charleston, South Carolina.) Rusticus is 

believed to be Alexander Garden, Jr., author of Anecdotes of the Revolution. 

11 City Gazette, September 9, 1794. The committee consisted of Thomas Simmons, 

chairman, Theodore Gaillard, Jr., Benjamin Huger, J. Rudedge, and Solomon 

Legare, Jr. 
were kept on board the Governor Pinckney. When the brig was 

ready to sail, the workhouse would deliver the slaves, and 

the Committee would make a final accounting at that time.^^ 

But neither the lawlessness of the privateersmen nor their 

role in the illegal introduction of slaves into the State of South 

Carolina, nor yet concern with potential slave insurrection had 

the least effect toward diminishing the activities of the French 

raiders. As far as the legal aspect of French privateering was 

concerned, the United States District and Circuit Courts of 

South Carolina seemed bent on favoring the raiders. 

Such was not the case, however, in the neighboring State 

of Georgia. At Savannah the riotous living of the privateersmen, their disregard of the law, and the chicanery of their 

"Sketch of the City & River of 

Savannah," about 1815. Original 

in the United States National 

Archives, record group 77, no. 37. 

" From the lack of further news on the matter of the 22 slaves it can be concluded that Pinckney sailed without further incident and with her cargo on board. 

294-341 0—6 
96 

PRFVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

agents had, by early 1794, become a stink in the noses of the 

sober burghers. The recruiting of a foreign army on the soil of 

Georgia and the impudent attack on the warehouse storing 

la Trasmerana s gunpowder seems to have determined the Federal Courts to discourage the privateersmen from entering 

Savannah and disposing of their prizes there, as the proceedings in the cases of the prizes Everton and Elizabeth serve to 

illustrate. The former had been captured by the French privateer I'Egaliie {ex-l'Ami de la Poinie-d-Piire) at the end of 

December 1794. The libel served against the prize maintamed 

that since I'Egaliie and la Pointe-d-Pitre were one and the same 

vessel, and that the latter was an "illegal armament," the seizure of the Everton was illegal. The prize was handed back to 

her owners although there was never a question of the validity 

of I'Egaliie's commission. 

Elizabeth was carried into Savannah as a prize to I'Ami de 

la Poinie-d-Piire in May 1794. British consul Moodie, motivated 

by the decision on the Dutch brigantine Vrouw Christina 

Magdalena, urged Captain Ross to libel his former vessel, 

which he did in November. On December 19, a decision was 

rendered in favor of the libelant and upheld in the United 

States Circuit Court for the District of South Carolma in 

May 1795.^^ 

Among the friends of the French privateersmen at Savannah, indignation aroused by the Elizabeth decision was voiced 

in an extract of a letter published in the Charleston City Gazette 

of July 18, 1795. Referring to Judge Blair's decision the writer 

mentioned that— 

He also gave a decree of over seventy-five thousand dollars against 

Hill, Mag and Woodbridge of this city. It appeared that they were agents 

for the privateer which sent into this port a ship called Elizabeth: they sold 

the ship and cargo as such and paid over to the French consul the amount 

of the sales of the ship and cargo. This decree pa.ssed notwithstanding it 

was proved that the ship and cargo were advertised and sold by a publicly 

licensed auctioneer and the sale was not forbid. How far those decrees will 

be justified with you I cannot say, but I hope your judges of the United 

States [Courts] will never confirm so iniquitous a decree.^* 

Certainly French privateering interests at Charleston could 

not have levelled such charges against the Federal courts in 

South Carolina, where the United States Circuit Court of 

Appeals, arrived at Charleston on October 24, 1794, in the 

13 Talbot V. Janson, 3 Dallas 133 (1795). 

1* The letter was datelined Savannah, May 10, 1795. 
5 : JAY S TREATY THE GREAT BETRAYAL 

person of Associate Justice James Wilson and opened its sessions the next day with Judge Bee in attendance.'' Between 

sittings at Charleston and Columbia the court dealt with a 

heavy load of admiralty cases, some pending for over a year.'^ 

During this time it reviewed decisions made by the District 

Court on 14 appeals of cases in admiralty. Of these, Benjamin 

Moodie alone had lodged 9 in behalf of British owners. The 

12 cases in which the lower court decision was in favor of the 

French privateersmen were confirmed. And the 2 cases in which 

the District Court had held against the privateersmen, were 

reversed by the Circuit Court.'" 

Yet as high as resentment ran in mid-1795 against the more 

nefarious activities of the French privateersmen, it was eclipsed 

by the nationwide furor caused by the revelation of the terms 

of the Jay Treaty. As early as March, Charleston had already 

become aware of the contents of the treaty, which had been 

signed on November 19, 1794, and, as elsewhere in the United 

States, the debate over its provisions and implications for the 

future was pre-empting wide attention. 

The French benefited by the outrage vented on what was 

held to be an abject surrender to British arrogance. Charleston's 

American Independence Day celebrations were attended by 

the French societies and old ties were recalled, and on Bastille 

Day Charlestonians took advantage of the occasion to declare 

97 

'5 The City Gazette, October 27, 1794. 

1" The court finally adjourned on November 5, 1795. 

" The cases decided were the following (City Gazette, November 6, 1795): 

Appellant 

Lavergne and others 

Benjamin Moodie, vice consul of his 

Britannic Majesty 

(< 

<c 

c< 

(( 

iC 

Lawrence Vidal 

John Mitchel 

Benjamin Moodie 

(( 

it 

(C 

Don Diogo Morphy (sic) Consul of 

his Catholic Majesty 

Respondent 

J. Arnold 

Ship Mermaid 

Brig Eliza 

Ship Phyn 

Brig Tivoli 

Brig Favorite 

Ship Brothers 

Benjamin Moodie 

John Geyer 

Ship Alfred 

Ship Britannia 

Ship Phoebe Ann 

Snow Potowmack 

Ship Sacra Familia 

Decision of 

District Judge 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Reversed 

Reversed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 

Affirmed 
9 8 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

their admiration for the principles of the French Revolution 

and to pledge Franco-American solidarity. The interval between the two hohdays was marked by the appearance of the 

full text of Jay's Treaty. A City Gazette Extraordinary was 

published on Sunday, July 12,'' and it was at once clear that 

should the treaty's article 24 be put into effect, the doom of 

French privateering out of American ports would be certain 

and final. The article stipulated that the United States 

would undertake not only to prevent the arming of privateers 

of Britain's enemies but to deny the French permission to sell 

their prizes as they had hitherto done, or even to purchase 

provisions beyond those necessary to take them to the nearest 

French port. 

To the Francophile, the Treaty represented a staggering 

United States betrayal of an old friend; to those mainly concerned with the future of American trade as well as national 

honor, it portended an incalculable financial blow. Bitterness 

was great on the day after publication of its text. American ships 

in the harbor of Charleston lowered their colors to half mast 

and kept them there until sunset to express their "disapprobation of the Treaty." '^ On July 16 a heated public meeting, 

presided over by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 

United States John Rutledge, was held to decide how best to 

make known their feeling about the "reprehensible" Treaty.^" 

A select committee was elected and instructed to draw up a report. Published on July 24, the report urged the suspension of 

article 12,"' except for the clause protecting American seamen 

from impressment. Articles 23, 24, and 25 were also rejected 

18 The editorial comment preceding the text of the treaty is of interest: "As it 

is possible that the news of the Treaty, between the United States and Great 

Britain, being in town, might agitate the minds of the citizens so strongly, that 

they would not be able to give a due attention to the religious duties of the day, 

until they first should have seen it. The Publisher of the City Gazette, therefore, 

thought proper to issue a Gazette Extraordinary on the occasion, which they 

hope will not be deemed an intrusion on the sanctity of the Sabbath. 

"The Treaty was received here yesterday afternoon, by the ship Alexander, Captain Gault, seven days from Philadelphia." 

19 City Gazette, July 14, 1795. 

2" City Gazette, July 17, 1795: "Before the question was put, the Intendent in a 

very forcible manner, recommended to the citizens to be calm and temperate in 

the discussion of this momentous affair, and to discountenance any appearance 

of disorder or riot." 

21 This restricted American trade to the West Indies to vessels of 70 tons or 

under and specified under what conditions the trade could be carried on. 
5: JAYS TREATY THE GREAT BETRAYAL 99 

as having a tendency "to make our seaport towns scenes of riot 

and bloodshed." These articles, the report went on, also "tend 

to make a common cause between the United States and Great 

Britain, to oppress and distress our allies." The report concluded 

that if the treaty was ratified, the committee apprehended great 

evils and urged an address to the President that it not be 

ratified.'^ 

The same meeting that heard the report of the select committee heard Charles Pinckney accuse Jay of bartering away the 

Nation's honor for a mess of pottage. He characterized the treaty 

as a "mean ungenerous desertion of the interests of our friends 

the French to whose supplies, at least in the articles they consider 

as of necessity in their present noble and unexampled struggle 

for freedom, we were bound by every tie of gratitude and honor 

to attend to." John Jay, Pinckney stated, should be impeached."^ 

It is not surprising that as the realities of the Jay Treaty began 

to be appreciated in Charleston's privateering circles, the attractiveness of Amelia Island's port of Saint Marys as a haven 

for French raiders increased. Privateering interests had expanded greatly in numbers, influence, and wealth over the year 

before, when Mangourit had barely been able to scrape up four 

or five raiders to cover the projected East Florida Expedition. 

By mid-June 1795, the privateersmen and the popular societies 

had already began to assemble supplies and money. Consul 

Fonspertuis was deep in negotiations with the remnants of the 

East Florida expedition, who had taken refuge on the United 

States side of the Saint Marys River. There a French consular 

agent had been established and was fanning the smouldering 

discontent of the Anglo-Spanish settlers between the Saint John 

and Saint Marys River; he let it be known everywhere that 

France was willing to underwrite an uprising with powerful 

aid.=^* 

In the latter half of June, an uprising in East Florida broke 

out under Elijah Rogers, John Mcintosh, and Richard Lang, 

all of whom had participated in the expedition. 

22 City Gazette, July 23, 1795. 

23 City Gazette, August 4, 1795. 

2< Excellent analyses and accounts of the troubles along the river border between 

Spanish East Florida and the State of Georgia are contained in the East Florida 

Papers, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, vol. 26 [M2], box 103 [L8]. 

See especially, letters from Governor of Florida (Nepomucena de Quesada) and 

the Captain General of Cuba [Florida and Louisiana] (Las Casas) June 28, 1795. 
100 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

Lang, who had escaped from a Spanish jail, led a band of 

insurgents along the Saint John River, where he seized two 

fortified posts and a Spanish gunboat. With the latter he raided 

along the River, destroying crops and driving off cattle. By 

June 28 the rebels dominated the heights along the Camino 

Real that joined the Saint John and Saint Marys Rivers. Lang, 

boasting that he had received considerable supplies and the 

strongest assurances of support from the French, announced that 

he was ready to march against Saint Augustine itself.''^ 

From his vantage point in Charleston, Diogo Morphy (sic), 

the Spanish consular agent, did his best to keep Saint Augustine 

alerted to French plans. He warned the Governor of East Florida, Nepomucena de Quesada, on July 22 that the main target 

of the French filibusterers was Amelia Island. The French interest, wrote Morphy, "was to hold a port where prizes could 

be carried and disposed of without opposition." As for the 

Americans interested in the rebellion, Morphy explained, they 

were eager to procure the benefits of free trade that would result between the United States and a French-controlled 

Florida.'" 

But even as Morphy wrote, the insurgents struck at Amelia 

Island under the leadership of J. B. E. Ferrey, who was said to 

be a French naval lieutenant. The Spanish garrison, taken by 

surprise, fled without firing a shot and the French flag rose over 

what was hoped would become a French entrepot and privateer haven removed from all possibility of interference by an 

unfriendly United States. 

When Joseph Fauchet, then engaged in a losing battle at 

Philadelphia to influence Congress to reject the Jay Treaty, 

became aware of Fonspertuis' maneuvering is not clear. Fonspertuis' enemies, as had those of Mangourit, beseiged the 

French Embassy with charges against him that could not be 

ignored, but before Fauchet was able to find a suitable replace2' City Gazette, July 9, 1795. "Extracts of a letter from St. Mary's to his friend 

at Savannah, dated June 30." 

A gloomy letter from St. Augustine, dated June 29 published in the City Gazette, 

July 11, 1795, seemed to confirm this state of affairs: "We are badly situated here; 

but for the fear the letter may be stopped and perused, I dare not tell you the 

various alarms some are under." The recipient of the letter referred to the dissatisfaction with the Spanish government and predicted success if the disaffected 

were supported by the French people with any degree of spirit. 

2fl East Florida Papers, vol. 26, Morphy to Nepomucena de Quesada, July 22, 

1795 (transl.). 
5 : JAY S TREATY THE GREAT BETRAYAL 

ment for the consul at Charleston, another change of direction 

in French foreign policy brought about his own relief. 

Fauchet's successor Pierre Adet arrived at Philadelphia on 

June 13, 1795, and within two days assumed charge of France's 

Embassy. Adet's instructions from his government left him 

poorly equipped to face the political storm which was to burst 

in the United States soon after his arrival. The French Foreign 

Office had been silent as to what course he should take in the 

event of the ratification of Jay's Treaty. Indeed, his mstructions 

differed only in minor details from those of his predecessor 

Fauchet: he was to honor American neutrahty, agitate for adherence to the two treaties, especially those articles referrmg 

to the rights of French privateers in the ports of the United 

States, and he was to keep in close touch with the "French 

party." 

Almost immediately upon assuming his duties he was confronted by urgent problems in the important consular district of 

Georgia and North and South Carolina in the form of the 

formidable dossier on consul Fonspertuis, charging him with 

misfeasance in office, a complete disregard of accounting for 

expenditures, and a scandalous pubhc and private hfe." The 

charges were so grave that although Adet possessed Fonspertuis' 

confirmation in his post, he felt that a replacement was essential. For the post, he chose young Victor Dupont, first secretary 

of the French Embassy, in spite of the fact that he did not have 

the power to make such an appointment. But if Adet thought 

Fonspertuis' replacement essential, the Florida adventure nonetheless retained its attractions. 

Jay's treaty, which had been ratified by Congress on June 28, 

only awaited the President's signature; hence that part of Adet's 

instructions which called for him to exert every possible means 

to prevent the treaty from going into effect was a dead letter, 

and petitions such as that received from a "number of inhabitants of East Florida seeking aid in throwing off the Spanish 

yoke" '^ could be viewed in a new light. Dupont's departure for 

Charleston was delayed while Samuel Fulton, an American 

soldier of fortune who had been involved in the original expeditions, was commissioned to go to Florida and report back the 

prospects of reviving Genet's old project.'^ 

2^ Correspondence of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-1797, pp. 760-761. 

28 Ibid., p. 828 (transl.). The petition was received by Adet on July 18. 

" Ibid. 
102 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Fulton's report must have been highly encouraging. Adet 

carefully briefed young Dupont on how he was to proceed: he 

was to take advantage of every opportunity of reviving the expedition, but at the same time, the minister stressed, American 

neutrality was to be scrupulously respected. If the Florida affair 

assumed the character of an internal insurrection, he should 

favor it by sending aid. We are left to infer, however, that if the 

project necessitated an invasion, he was to steer clear of that, 

so as not to trespass on American neutrality. And if it turned out 

to be just another pirate operation, the minister wrote, he should 

not risk what feeble resources were available to him. 

Before Adet's cautious instructions could be put into operation, however, and even before Dupont could arrive at 

Charleston, France's beachhead in East Florida was destroyed.'" 

By July 17, Don Carlos Howard, commander of the Spanish 

Frontier Guards, drove Lang and Clark from their positions 

and forced them to take refuge across the Saint Marys River, 

on U. S. soil. Amelia Island held out until the two Spanish naval 

brigs la Flecha and el San Antonio, 3. gunboat, and a small privateer carrying troops from St. Augustine appeared before the 

port on August 2. The little flotilla opened fire at 7 p.m. The 

French filibusterers fled as precipitously as had the Spanish 

defenders before them and retreated across the Saint Marys, 

where they joined the small force assembled by Lang and Clark. 

At Newtown the leaders managed to hold together a semblance 

of organization until hopes of French aid finally evaporated.'^ 

Dupont tried hard to sustain interest in the insurrection and 

went to great lengths to encourage the society members to 

assemble supplies on a larger scale than hitherto. The privateersmen, however, viewed his efforts with complete disinterest. "No one wished to board a vessel bound on an expedition 

that would not offer the lure of assured earnings such as privateering." '^ The hegira to the Caribbean had already begun. 

East Florida had lost its lure for the raiders. Charleston was 

of two minds as the privateers began to desert the port. 

3" On August 31, 1795, Fonspertuis was still awaiting the arrival of his relief 

(East Florida Papers, Fonspertuis to Diogo Morphy, August 31, 1795, transl.). 

Correspondence forwarded to St. Augustine detailing Franco-Spanish prisoner 

exchange. 

*' The City Gazette, August 25, 1795, also chronicled the debacle of the Florida 

insurrection. 

32 Correspondence of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-179y, p. 829 (transl
5 : JAY S TREATY THE GREAT BETRAYAL 

The extent of the desertion of the port of Charleston by the 

French privateers was reported to the Governor of Florida by 

Don Diogo Morphy at the end of August 1795: 

All is quiet in Charleston and there is nothing to fear on the head of 

ship armings. The privateers going through this port are of small consequence. At the present only the brig el Vengador de la Republica [le 

Vengeur], Captain Carvin, of 16 guns is in port and it like the rest are 

experiencing manning difficulties; .. . for the moment all is quiet.^ 

The following tabulation, extracted from the columns of the 

City Gazette, records the entries of the raiders for the period 

between July 1795 and April 1796 and supports his observation. 

1 0 3 

Notice in 

City Gazette 

July 2, 1795 

July s 

July 6 

July 20 

July 26 

August 13 

October 5 

October 12 

October 20 

October 21 

October 26 

November 10 

November 27 

November 29 

January 11, 1796 

February 12 

April 5 

April 6 

April 7 

Privateer Arrival 

le Vengeur 

Privateer schooner 

unidentified 

VAigle 

le Vengeur 

le Vengeur 

French schooner, 

12 guns, unidentified 

la Carmagnole 

le Vengeur 

le Brutus Franqais 

la Carmagnole 

le Leo 

Prize Arrival and Captor 

Britannia 

North Bay 

Schooner 

Adventure 

Notre Dame de 

Rosier (sic) 

brig Eliza 

San Antonio de 

Almas 

ship Rosina 

2 Spanish 

schooners 

Spanish brig 

ship Lymington 

Amity 

le Vengeur 

la Narbonnaise 

la Parisienne 

le Vengeur 

la Carmagnole 

la Carmagnole 

la Parisienne 

le Vengeur 

le Leo 

le Leo 

" East Florida Papers, vol. 26, Morphy to Nepomucena de Quesada, Charleston, 

August 31, 1795 (transl.). 
104 

"Polacca [polacre] Brig at Anchor," a sketch by Sir William 

Symonds in his "Naval Costume," ca. 1837. The polacre, a 

Mediterranean rig, distinguished 

by long pole masts and lack of 

tops, was often seen in Caribbean 

waters at the end of the eighteenth century. 

Thus, of the "regular frequenters" of Charleston, only le 

Vengeur, la Carmagnole, and la Parisienne continued to maintain a liaison with the port, to which they also dispatched a 

considerable number of their prizes. Soon after her arrival at 

the end of November le Vengeur disappeared. At some time in 

December she ran afoul of what was variously reported as a 

Letter of Marque and a British frigate among the Bahamas; 

heavily damaged after an engagement, she was either run 

ashore and set afire or blown up.^* La Parisienne ended her 

career on a reef in the Bahamas (p. 84n). La Carmagnole also 

disappeared. What became of her is uncertain, although there 

is evidence that she became part of Victor Hugues' privateering fleet based on Guadeloupe. 

By early November 1795, when French privateering had all 

but ceased, and rumors of a Franco-Spanish rapprochement 

had been gaining strength, Alexandre Bolchos appeared at 

Charleston in la Parisienne for the last time. He announced that 

a Spanish brig he had spoken reported that the English had declared war on Spain and that a sizable Spanish fleet had gone 

to sea from Havana. This news was confirmed on Tuesday, 

December 8, 1795, when the representatives of France and 

Spain at Charleston simultaneously revealed official copies of 

the treaty of peace between the two nations. The vessels of both 

Nations lying in the harbor displayed their colors imited, and 

at noon fired a series of salutes.^^ The crews of French and Span3< See City Gazette, April 14, 1795, and January 7, 1796. 

3« City Gazette, December 9, 1795. 
105 

ish vessels exchanged visits and fraternization was accompanied 

with the usual numberless toasts. 

If any French sentiment on behalf of a conquest of the Spanish Floridas had remained, it vanished. Not only did it appear 

that privateer havens and markets for the disposal of prizes 

would be opened in the Spanish possessions in North America 

for the use of French raiders, but the entire sweep of Spanish 

Caribbean islands from Puerto Rico to Cuba would throw open 

their ports, as would the whole of the Spanish Main. Indeed, 

Captain Silvestre of la Carmagnole had already sent one of his 

British prizes into Havana during a cruise which ended at 

Charleston on February 12, 1796,^^ and Benjamin Moodie in a 

letter to Vice-Admiral Murray, dated April 6, 1796, remarked 

that the coasts of Cuba already swarmed with French 

privateers." 

In relating to Murray the conditions of the port of Charleston, 

Moodie with cautious optimism observed that, "the lapse of 

time since any prizes were brought into port, gave me hopes that 

privateering was nearly at an end, so far as respected prizes 

being sent into this place . . .," but, referring to cases still 

pending before the Supreme Court, he nonetheless feared that 

decisions favorable to the privateersmen might yet see them return to Charleston and "encourage them anew in their depredatory plans." ^* His forebodings proved to be ill-founded; 

except for a few infrequent visits the French privateers never 

returned to Charleston. A new phase in the privateering war 

had commenced. 

^^ City Gazette, February 13, 1796. This marked la Carmagnole's last appearance 

at Charleston. 

" BCC, p. 604. 88 Ibid. 

"Ballahoe [balau, ballou, etc.] 

Schooner," a sketch by Sir William Symonds in his "Naval Costume," ca. 1837. The balau was 

a distinctive West Indian type 

much favored by privateers during the period 1793-1815. 
106 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

As we had noted earlier, Franco-American relations deteriorated rapidly toward the end of 1796. Jay's treaty was looked 

upon by France with deep bitterness as a betrayal of friendship 

and trust, and this was reflected in the attitude of her privateersmen in the Caribbean. Interruption of American shipping accelerated throughout 1797 as France entered upon a policy of 

countering British regulations on neutral rights with similar 

regulations of her own. Prize courts sprang up from Puerto Rico 

to Curagao which, in the arbitrariness, corruption, and cynicism 

with which they treated American vessels brought in on a bewildering array of charges, many of which bordered on the 

frivolous, exceeded even the worst of Britain's colonial courts. 

As convenient symbols of American perfidy, American seamen 

bore the brunt of French resentment in acts of untoward violence and brutality. 

France refused to negotiate outstanding diflFerences as England had done in 1794. Conditions were set that were too unpalatable for the Federalist Government, which in March 1798 

finally saved face by capitalizing on the "XYZ AflFair" to engage in maritime counterreprisals against France. 

The reprisals and counterreprisals were stopped by the Convention of Paris, signed on September 30 and ratified on December 19, 1800, which contained in article 24 an interesting but 

little mentioned provision: 

When ships of wa.v of the contracting parties, or those belonging to 

their citizens, which are armed in war, shall be admitted to enter their 

prizes in the ports of either of the two parties, the said public or private 

ships, as well as their prizes, shall not be obliged to pay any duty either to 

the officers of the place, the judges or any others: Nor shall such prizes . . . 

be arrested or seized, nor shall the officers of the place make examination 

concerning the lawfulness of such prizes; but they may hoist sail at any time, 

and depart, and carry their prizes to the places expressed in their commissions, which the commanders of such ships of war shall be obliged to show. 

It is always understood that the situation of the article shall not extend 

beyond the privileges of the most favored nation ... . 

France in essence had salvaged a part of the rights she had 

claimed during the days when her privateers were desperately 

seeking to maintain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere. 

Thus, when American privateers carried the burden of the war 

at sea during the War of 1812, French ports of refuge and 

French markets for the sale of British prizes contributed heavily 

to the maintenance of a cordon of American commerce raiders 

about the British Isles. 
% ^ ^ 6 

THE PROFITS 

OF 

PRIVATEERING 

I F THE PRIVATEERMEN'S PRESENCE HAD CAUSED inconvenience and apprehension to some citizens of Charleston, it was 

not without some positive benefit to them, for the economic upswing that Charleston experienced in the years 1793-1796 owed 

considerable to the presence of the French raiders.^ 

Although statistics concerning Charleston's overall trade during the period 1793-1796 are few and unreliable, fragmentary 

reports which appear in the City Gazette on February 13, 1795, 

and again on June 1, 1795, as well as other indicators, provide 

some foundation on which to base an estimate of the contribution of French privateering to the economy of the port of 

Charleston. 

The figures published on February 13 give the sum of $3,869,-

021.49 as the value of foreign trade of South Carolina for the 

year October 1, 1793, to September 30, 1794. The figures, 

"highly gratifying to the citizen," which appeared on June 1, 

1795, showed that for the six-month period from October 1794 

^ See TAYLOR "Wholesale Commodity Prices at Charleston, South Carolina 

1732-1791," pp. 356-377, and "Wholesale Commodity Prices . . 1796-1861," 

pp. 848-868. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957, supplies 

the following index for all commodities at Charleston for the years concerned 

herein (for 1792 to 1795 no statistics are available): 

1790 

1791 

— 

97 

92 

—• 

1796 

1797 

1798 

145 

122 

129 

1799 

1800 

133 

123 
108 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

through March 1795 alone the total was $2,878,314.43, or an 

increase of 50 percent over the comparable period of the previous year.^ In themselves, however, these isolated figures only 

suggest the extent to which the economy of Charleston as a port 

was affected. From the most cursory study of the newspaper columns of the same period one can find evidence of rising business 

activity in the increased space taken by merchants to advertise 

new lines of imported goods, both tropical and European, and 

in the appearance of new names and combinations of names 

among those of the old, established merchants. Beyond this, we 

feel the pulse of a city enjoying the fruits of prosperity in such 

newspaper items as annoimcements of horse-race meets, the attractions of Mr. Blanchard's spectacular exhibits, theatrical 

companies competing for the patronage of a play-going public, 

and the City Coimcil struggling to regulate the swollen traffic 

in the streets.^ 

The pubHshed figures, moreover, do not take into account the 

value of the clandestine trade in guns, powder, shot, and, above 

all, in ships. Nor do they reflect the profits to Charleston's maritime industry from fitting out the raiders or to the legal profession for processing British, Spanish, and Dutch prizes. 

Neither do they give an idea of the profits to the shipchandlers 

who provisioned the raiders, to the owners of wharves where 

prizes were converted into raiders, to the newspapers that advertised the auctions of prize goods and prizes, and to the 

blacksmiths, whitesmiths, gunsmiths, shipwrights, sailmakers, 

* It should be noted that the first set of figures include the 3-month inactivity 

caused by the embargo. Both sets of figures also include reexports. These, however, 

are not thought to have been of major significance in Charleston. For the first 

time in over three years an advertizement appeared in the City Gazette for April 

21, 1795, indicating that the lumber trade, which ranked with rice and indigo as 

one of the prime export staples of South Carolina prior to the British restrictions 

of 1787, was enjoying a revival. 

Charleston Mills—Subscriber has received a large quantity of the best 

pine timber—also engages to prepare any quantity of Particular Lumber 

for the West Indies use such as windmill arms, points, beams, &c. .. . by 

having 6 or 8 weeks notice previous to arrival of vessels to carry them ofT. 

Ship Plank and Beams. 

' Charleston's famous statue of William Pitt which had survived the American 

Revolution had to be removed from its site at the intersection at Broad and 

Meeting Streets, not because, as is usually held, that it was objected to by the 

"pro-Gallicans," but because it was a traffic hazard. Traffic had increased to 

such an extent that the City Gazette (January 15, 1795) published an appeal to 

the citizenry to keep to the driver's left at night: "This is the practise in all well 

regulated cities of Europe." 
109 

"English Merchant Schooner," a 

sketch by Sir William Symonds 

in his "Naval Costume," ca. 

1837. 

riggers, coopers, boatbuilders, ropewalkers, armorers, and the 

arsenal of other trades that shared in purveying to the need5 

of the French corsairs and vessel exporters. 

Jean Frangois Theric's "Etat Nominatif" (see appendix 1) 

which accompanied his memorial affords a rough gauge against 

which the privateers' contribution can be measured. He lists 72 

prizes brought into Charleston alone during the period between 

Genet's visit to that port in 1793 and his own departure for 

France in April 1795/ Of these, 52 can be identified as having 

been carried in during the period between the laying of the 

embargo and the closing of Theric's list. These prizes, for the 

most part the product of such captains and outfitters as Bouteille, 

Carvin, Hervieux, Peronne, Barre, and Garriscan, were valued 

at £114,985. Using the rate of exchange of 4s and 8d to the dollar," the value in United States currency of the prizes taken 

amounts to $424,000, or about 14 percent of the value of all exports from Charleston for roughly the same period. For a truer 

measure, this figure should be augmented by the value of goods 

pilfered from cargoes by the privateersmen and their agents 

prior to evaluation of the prizes by the French consulate, and by 

the sizable amotmt, possibly another $200,000, of specie seized 

from various prizes. 

* Excepted are those sent into Saint Domingue or Guadeloupe, as well as prizes 

still undergoing litigation at the time of his departure, such as De Onzekeren and 

Sorrurset. 

' This rate is quoted in an advertisement for the sale of the British prize sloop 

Betty Cathcart taken by the privateer Citoyen de Marseille, Chabert (City Gazette^ 

May 16, 1795). 
n o PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Of the tentative net proceeds from prizes taken by the 38 

privateers listed by Theric ^ (see Appendix 1) as operating out 

of Charieston between April 1793 and April 1795, 50 percent, 

or $312,000, represented the owners' share, the remainder being 

shared by captains, officers and crews. 

Allowing the owners the generous average net profit of 30 

percent, $218,000 would have been paid out for the services 

listed above, including a further small percentage of the net 

for consular fees. 

There remains to account for the prize money that went into 

the pockets of captains, officers and seamen. If we assume that 

agents' fees and the spirit of thrift accounted for a reduction of 

30 per cent of their share, a sum of $218,400 would remain to 

find its way into the tills and pockets of yet another sector of 

Charleston's business community, notably tavern, brothel, and 

boardinghouse keepers, as well as the theatres and slop shops. 

When we consider that the total free population of Charleston 

between 1794 and 1795 could not have been more than 17,000, 

a considerable amount of money per capita must have been 

put into circulation.^ 

Thus it might be more than coincidental that during the second half of 1796, well after the privateersmen had deserted 

Charleston as a permanent base of operations, the commodity 

index fell sharply, not to revive again until after 1800 when the 

rupture of the brief Peace of Amiens again plunged the western 

world into warfare which finally in 1812, engulfed the United 

States. 

«Theric's Etat lists some 38 French privateers as regular frequenters of the port 

of Charleston. Of 3 of these, le Petit Jacmel, le Violin and rEnfant de la Patrie, no 

record has been found at Charleston, and of the others, la Guillotine, la Dorade, 

le Citoyen Frangais, PEsperance, Plntrepide and le Joujou National called in at Charleston 

only from one to three times. The first three might have been the privateers noted 

by Th6ric as having sent their prizes into Wilmington, North Carolina. (See: 

Th6ric's Memorial, f 215.) 

^Charleston, S.C, ranked as the fourth largest city in the United States, was 

considered as the sole urban area in South Carolina at this time. Th e following is 

extracted from U.S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, Census of Population: 1950 . . ., 

vol. 1, pp. 40-46 (Number of Inhabitants) (Washington, D.C : Government 

Printing Office, 1952): 

Charleston, S.C Percent of Total Rural and 

Population Increase Urban Population 

Number Percent U R 

1790 16,359 — — 1790 6.6 93.4 

1800 18,824 2,465 15.1 1800 5.4 94.6 
Mic^oT^aJiA'w 

MANUSCRIPTS 

Benjamin Moodie letters. Public Records Office, London, PRO 133/FO 

5-11. 

"Les Capitaines & Armateurs des Corsaires Frangais en Rade de Charleston." Dated "12 Nivose de l'an S^"-^ [January 1, 1795]." Archives 

Nationales, France, BB*, vol. 85, flf. 219-221. 

"Copie de la Petition addressee au citoyen Conssul [sic] par Garriscan, 

capitaine du navire Le Pichegru." Dated "Charleston, le 11 nivose 

L'an S'""* [December 31, 1794]." Archives National, France, BB*, 

vol. 85, ff. 222, 222 verso. 

"Extracto de las ocurencias diarios de la escuadra del mando de tenientegeneral Don Gabriel Aristizabal." Museo Naval, Madrid, ms. 595, 

doc. 1,268 pp. 

East Florida Papers: Letters from the Governor of Florida to Captain 

General of Cuba, Florida, and Louisiana; correspondence with Ministers and Consuls. Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, vols. 

24, box 4^; 26[M2], boxes 51 and 52; 103 [L8], boxes 216 and 217. 

Jean Francois Theric, negociant a Charlestown .. . au Ministre de la 

marine et des Colonies." Dated "5 frimaire [l']an 4 (26 9"" 1795)." 

Archives Nationales, France, BB^ vol. 85, fT. 212-216 verso. Cited 

as "Theric, Memorial." The Memorial and two of its attachments 

(cited as "Etat Nominatif") are translated in the Appendix. 

"Etat nominatif et Produit net des Prises des Batimens Anglais, 

Espagnols & Hollandais . . . ." Ibid., ff. 215-215 verso. 

"Etat nominatif des Batimens armes en cours sous le Pavilion de la 

Republique francaise . . . ." Ibid., ff. 216-216 verso. 

204-341 O—69 9 
112 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Jefferson manuscripts. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Mass. 

"A journal of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, commencing 

6 of February, 1784." South Carolina Historical Society, (Charleston, S.C.), Manuscripts Collection. 

Miscellaneous letters, 1789-1906, U.S. Department of State. U.S. National Archives, Record Group 59 (General Records of the Department of State). 

Massachusetts District "Court records, docket books, vol. 1, 1788-1799. 

U.S. National Archives, Record Group 21 (Records of the District 

Courts of the United States). 

Order book, 30th Regiment, 7th Brigade, South Carolina Militia (Vanderhorst), 1793-1814. South Carolina Historical Society (Charleston, S.C.), Manuscript Collection. 

Letters, "Rusticus" to "Gentleman." South Carolina Historical Society 

(Charleston, S.C), Manuscript Collection. 

NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS 

[For details of titles and dates of publication, see Clarence S. 

Brigham, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 

1690-1820. Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 

1947.] 

American Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pa.), 1794-1796. Variously 

as "Dunlap's . . . ," "Dunlap and Claypoole's . . . ," and "Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser." 

Centinel (Boston, Mass.), 1793-1795. 

The City Gazette & Daily Advertiser (Charleston, S.C), 1793-1796. 

After January 1, 1795, as "City Gazette <2? . . . ." The files of 

the City Gazette in the Charleston Library Society, while the most 

complete in existence, lack copies for July 1 through October 5, 1795. 

This gap is in part filled by random copies in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, so that between the two sources it was 

possible to make a reasonably accurate survey of privateering activity. 

Columbian Herald (Charleston, SC) , 1794. 

General Advertiser (Philadelphia, Pa.), 1794. 

Georgia Gazette (Savannah, Ga.), 1793-1796. 

Le Moniteur Universel (Paris). 

New York Journal and Patriotic Register, 1793-1794. 

State Gazette of South-Carolina (Charleston, S.C), 1793. 

South-Carolina State-Gazette & Timothy & Mason's Daily Advertiser 

(Charleston, S.C), 1794-1795. Words of title variously arranged 

and punctuated. 

PRINTED DOCUMENTS 

American State Papers, Foreign Relations. Vols. 1, 3, 4. Washington, 

D.C, 1832+ . 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 1 3 

British counter case and papers, arbitration at Geneva. Correspondence 

respecting privateers fitted out at United States ports, 1793-1796. 

Printed by Order of the House of Representatives, 42d Congress, 2nd 

Session, 1871-1872. Cited as "BCC." 

Correspondence of the French Ministers to the United States, 1791-1797. 

Frederick Jackson Turner, ed. (Seventh Report of the Historical 

Manuscripts Commission.) Vol. 2 of Annual Report of the American 

Historical Association for the Year 1903. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1904. 

Instructions to the British Ministers to the United States, 1791-1812. 

Bernard Mayo, ed. Vol. 3 of Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1936. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1941. 

The Mangourit Correspondence. Frederick Jackson Turner, ed. Vol. 2 

of Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 

1897. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1898. 

GENERAL 

American State Trials. John D. Lawson, ed. 8 vols. St. Louis, 1914-

1918. 

BASSETT, J. M . The Federalist System. New York: Harpers, 1907. 

BEE, THOMAS. Reports of Cases Adjudged in the District Court of South 

Carolina. Philadelphia, 1810. 

BENTLEY, WILLIAM. The Diary of William Bentley. 3 vols. Salem, 

1907. 

GABON, ADOLPHE. Histoire de Haiti. Vols. 3, 4. Port-au-Prince, n.d. 

CHAPELLE, HOWARD I. The History of the American Sailing Navy. New 

York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1949. 

DALLAS, A. J. Reports of Cases Ruled and Adjudged in the Several 

Courts of the United States, Philadelphia. 3 vols. Philadelphia: 

1799. 

D E CoNDE, ALEXANDER. Entangling Alliances. Durham, N.C., 1951. 

FISCHER, DAVID HACKETT. The Revolution of American Conservatism. 

New York: Harper & Row, 1965. 

FRASER, CHARLES. Reminiscences of Charleston. Charleston, S.C, 1854. 

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960. 

JAMES, W . J. The Naval History of Great Britain. 6 vols. London, 

1841. 

LECONTE, PIERRE. "Repertoire des navires de guerre frangais." Paris: 

Musees de la Marine, n.d. [Issued irregularly as a supplement to 

Triton]. 

JACKSON, MELVIN H . "The Consular Privateers." The American Neptune, wo\. 22, no. 2 (April 1962),pp. 81-98. 

MANGOURIT, MICHAEL ANGE BERNARD. Memoir. Paris, 1795. 
114 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

MCMASTER, JOH N BACH. A History of the People of the United States. 

6 vols. Boston, 192 7-1929. 

MOORE, JOH N BASSETT. International Adjudications. 6 vols. New 

York, 1931. 

PHILLIPS, ULRICH B. "South Carolina Federalists. I." American Historical Review, vol. 14, no. 3 (April 1909), pp. 529-543. 

. "South Carolina Federalists. II. " American Historical Review, 

vol. 14, no. 4 (July 1909), pp. 731-749. 

TAYLOR, GEORGE ROGERS. "Wholesale Commodity Prices at Charleston, 

S.C, 1796—1861." Journal of Economic and Business History 

(August 1932, Supplement), vol. 4, pp. 848-868. 

THOMAS , EBENEZER S. Reminiscences of the Last Sixty-five Years. 

2 vols. Hartford, 1840. 

WARREN, CHARLES. The Supreme Court in United States History. 

3 vols. Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1922. 
Memorial by Jean Frangois Theric, Translated from the Manuscript 

Original (See Bibliography) 

British, Spanish, and Dutch Prizes Brought into the Ports of Charleston, 

South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, between April 1793 and 

April 1796, by French Privateers based at or Frequenting Those 

Ports 
'il«A*%«' JUL 

^'CCUX rcancoli cAcric lu^ocUitt a. CSiar^c^^w/^^ 

OLQCHI ILUJIWUT el /fLvoyt aiyficJ Oi la. co/ive/UloiL flatlo/iaU^ ^ ^ 

/)i Coulee Jou/i. IL' S^cwiMoiL dt. /a. .Ac/jii^Uaucj AaJica-lacJ^ £kuLl i)<^ .,4tJae^Lcj 

2 1.2 

\1AU VlilliitrC Jle la inaruxe etdu Cole o/ut/u. 

vitoyen DVuilttrc 

XILULAJ out. Io CouJicL^tj \najLcouO Wio/nAiAolt O/L ^laooc/ e / cA, «<^/,^a<^?iict? 

J.)iviUon tiimlor JLU- {CJ />itA.y<u dc^ /latt JI^JLCAJZIL 11U.aciau^ e^ Dc. :? 

/ t /cj 0(Ao6<Aa. A L'ou^^ Ooah jujtfu!a cc MOUJ-^ iAj OH h Ih.' ^uvc*^ au^ytnuc 

-•<.' c/iuxlatjUMx. tjul /o^t lu Aaioj, a nuU^Uc' /e^a nomStcj 

>; I'tMI.U,. ^.^^^,. 0^>^.^..s.o^..^._, _ 4,.^... . 
/ . 

Memorial by Jean-Frangois Theric 

[The translator has endeavored to retain as far as possible the flavor of the 

manuscript original, a page of which is reproduced opposite, as it was 

composed by an eighteenth-century French businessmein.] 

Jean Frangois Theric, businessman at Charlestown, Agent 

appointed and sent to the National Convention by the captains, 

officers and crews of vessels fitted out as privateers under the 

flag of the French Republic based at the port of the said 

Charlestown, United States of America, 

To the Minister of the Marine and Colonies: 

CITIZEN MINISTER: 

While French courage triumphed in Europe over the numerous intriguing 

enemies of the Republic, some French seamen, gathered together in South 

Carolina of America, saw to it that the tricolor flew with honor over the 

seas of the United States, Mexico and Saint Domingue. History's pencil 

will trace with approbation their accomplishments and will shield them 

from the oblivion which until this day has concealed their deeds from the 

eyes of all France. They have made the French name redoubtable in the 

New World. 

It is in the cherished memory of their country that they have fought, 

in another hemisphere, the enemies of the Republic. They have brought 

humiliation to the royal navies and merchant marines of the English and 

the Spanish, and the emulation which has made them heroes has multiplied 

their numbers. 

The example was first set by Citizen Jean Bouteille. It was he who fitted 

out the first, and the vessels armed as privateers rose in Germinal last 
118 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3—179 6 

[March-April] to the number of 38. I attach to the present a list of them 

(a), and of those prizes (b) taken by our illustrious privateers. It will prove 

that their gallantry, stimulated by enthusiasm for liberty, seemingly calmed 

the waves in order to facilitate their carrying of enemy vessels. 

They alone transported provisions and war supplies to the General 

[Laveaux] and to their brave brothers-in-arms at Saint Domingue. Such 

was the use to which they devoted a portion of the fruits of their conquests. 

Already, Citizen Minister, I have furnished various memorials in their 

names to the Committee of Public Safety, the Sections of the Navy and of 

War, and Foreign Affairs. Deign to look into them, and you can judge 

with what zeal these men have served their country in spite of the obstacles 

the English factions have put in their way in the fitting out [of their 

vessels]. All are most deserving. 

But there are among them men who ought most particularly to be 

remarked by the government. I shall single them out. 

CITIZEN JEAN BOUTEILLE, native of Narbonne, 55 years old, having lived 

for 15 years in Saint Domingue, where he was engaged in the coasting 

trade, purchased at le Cap a schooner that he named la Sans Pareille. On 

the very day that he learned of the declaration of war against England 

he fitted out his schooner with four swivels and shipped a crew of 37 men. 

On his first sortie he came upon a Spanish corvette with 20 gunports and 

mounting four guns and with a crew of 40, laden with the King's cargo. 

He boarded and captured her and sent her to Norfolk, where she has been 

sold. 

Some time later he fell in with 4 English vessels, each of 500 tons, 

armed with cannon and laden with timber. He attacked them, and after 

a two-hour fight, captured them and took them to Charlestowm. 

He [Bouteille] is as generous as he is just. He recompenses all officers 

and men who behave well, and he gives bonuses to those who had the misfortune to have been wounded. 

His patriotism is deep and sincere. It was he, in particular, who forwarded to the brave General Lavaux, at Port-de-Paix, supplies of food 

and munitions of war. He sent them at his own expense via several vessels, 

among them the Spanish [prize] schooner la Seignorita, Captain Goureau, 

and la Narbonnaise, armed with 12 guns. Captain Francois Hervieux. 

Each time it was learned in the United States that the Republican 

armies had won some victory over its enemies, he gave, in order to 

stimulate patriotism, a sumptous banquet to which all the leaders of 

Charleton were invited, and at the end of the repast he had distributed 

to the poor of the place food, bread and money. 

In Germinal Izist, having learned that 300 French seamen were being 

held prisoner at Havana, he arranged with a Spanish commissioner to 

ransom them for a new vessel, of 350 tons, named Despillas [sic] which he 

had taken from the Spanish. 

Whatever the pleasure of rehearsing virtuous deeds, those of Citizen 

Bouteille are so frequent that it can be said of him that no day passes without his having done some good. 
APPENDIX 1 : THERIC MEMORIAL 1 19 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Capitaine 

de Vaisseau. 

CrriZEN JEAN-BAPTISTE CARVIN of Marseille, age 42, long-time mariner, 

Captain, at Saint Domingue. 

Proofs of his courage and of his devotion to the French Republic are 

incontrovertibly established by the following deeds. 

At the beginning of the war he bought and took command of the 

schooner I'Industrie, armed with 12 guns. At present he commands the 

brigantine le Vengeur, mounting 16 guns. He made several raids on the 

Spanish coasts [i.e., Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Cuba, and Florida]. 

He seized several vessels even in their very harbors. Among others he 

captured the Spanish brigantine I'Aigle, armed with 16 guns, and gave 

her to Captain Joseph Langlois of Missipi [Mississippi] to take into Charleston. En route he made a prize of a Spanish vessel called Las tres Meranas 

[la Trasmerana]. That vessel had as cargo 900 cases of cannon powder, 

weighing 300 pounds each, bound for Havana. Aware that General Lavaux 

lacked powder he sent it off to him immediately, and so as not to risk it 

all in a single vessel which might be captured at a single stroke by the 

enemy, he divided his shipment, in three and four thousand weights, 

among several vessels. All of them made port safely at Port-de-Paix. 

General Lavaux, certain of Carvin's patriotism and courage, ordered 

him to come to Port-de-Paix with his flotilla of vessels, so that he might 

take command of a projected expedition against Montechristi, where 

warehouses of provisions were located that belonged to the Spanish of 

Saint Domingue and Fort Dauphin, this latter having been captured from 

the French [in January 1794]. 

Carvin obeyed the orders of General Lavaux [and took with him] 

all his vessels, which had been captured from the enemy, that is: I'Industrie, 

12 guns; the brig le Sans Culote, 14 gims; the bateau le Republicain, 12 

guns; and the schooner la Carmagnole, 6 guns. But unfortunately Carvin 

fell ill and remained so for two months. General Lavaux did not dare to 

confide the command of the flotilla to any one but its owner, and so the 

expedition was a failure. 

I solicit also for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of 

Capitaine de Vaisseau. 

CITIZEN FRANgois HERVIEUX, of Normandy, 28 years old, having resided 

6 years at New Orleans, successively fitted out on his own account and 

commanded several privateers. At present he commands le Qa Ira, which 

belongs to him. He has taken several prizes, one of very great value. Although the [United States] Federal Government, against the letter and 

spirit of the Treaty of 1778, ordered him to turn over the major portion 

[of his prizes] to the enemy, his zeal has not slackened at all. Among other 

deeds that prove both his courage and his seamanship there should be 

cited the following: For two days he sailed in company with an English 

vessel of 24 9-pounders carrying a crew of 60 whites and 300 negroes boimd 

for Havana. During this time he spied a favorable opportunity to attempt 

a boarding. In order to know the strength of the vessel he sent one of 
120 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

his officers with six men in a boat to ask for water and provisions [for his 

vessel]. The English Captain sent him some. The crew of the le Qa Ira, 

seeing the superiority of the Englishman, urged Hervieux to abandon his 

project. When the last man [of his crew] left the enemy vessel he fired a 

broadside into her while hoisting the flag of the French Republic. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

CmzEN JOSEPH LANGLOIS of Missipi [Mississippi], 26 years old. It was he 

who, as I have said in the article on Carvin, while taking the prize I'Aigle 

to Charlestown, captured the Spanish vessel las tres Meranas [la Trasmerana]. Since then he has commanded la Mere Michelle, armed with 18 

guns. On his last cruise he took as prize and sent into Charlestown an 

English brig of 14 guns and another well-armed vessel of 500 tons also 

English. It was only through his great skill and only after several stubborn 

engagements that he took them. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutentant 

de Vaisseau. 

CITIZEN JEAN GAILLARD, of the Department of Angouleme, 44 years old, 

commanding the brigantine le GSneral Lavaux, armed with 18 guns. He 

shared constantly in the operations of Citizen Carvin in the capacity of 

chief officer. It was to him that the letter had entrusted the carrying of 

provisions to Port-de-Paix, and he eluded the enemy with great skill. In 

his last cruise he took by boarding the English vessel Jamaica, of 450 tons, 

armed with 22 9-pounder guns, laden with sugar and coffee, and two 

other vessels also richly ladened, but which had not yet entered Charlestown at the time of my departure. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

CITIZEN FRANCOIS BAR of Bordeaux, 40 years old, commanding the privateer le Courier National, armed with 18 9-pounders. He formerly commanded the schooner le Volcan, of 10 guns. It was with that schooner that 

he succeeded in taking, after a fight of several hours, the vessel le Courier 

National, then called the Courier of Liverpool. This vessel, too, was richly 

laden. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

CITIZEN ALEXANDRE BOLCHOZ of Paris, 32 years old. He has commanded 

several vessels since the beginning of the war. At present he is owner of 

and commands the schooner la Parisienne, of 8 guns. He has taken prizes 

of the greatest value—all of them armed vessels. He captured an English 

brig armed wdth 14 guns which he sent into Charlestown. He engaged in 

a fight of several hours duration with un [word illegible], of 18 6-pounders. 

[When] the wind freshened he was forced to break off the fight, after he 

had killed many of the people on the enemy vessel and had inflicted an 

extraordinary amount of damage. On his side he lost his second gunner 

and a sailor. His chief officer Jean Fitter [?] of Bordeaux had his right arm 

shot off and he himself was seriously wounded in one arm. He was one of 

the first to carry munitions to General Lavaux. 
APPENDIX 1 : THERIC MEMORL\L 1 21 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

CrriZEN CESAR PERONNE, 55 years old, from La Rochelle, commanding the 

brigantine I'Aigle, of 18 guns, he formerly commanded the bateau 

le Republicain, of 12 guns. He distinguished himself by making several 

raids on the coasts of Spain [Puerto Rico, etc.] where he captured several 

armed vessels and burned others. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

CITIZEN FnANgois CHABERT of Marseille. He commanded with the greatest success the privateer named le Citoyen de Marseille, armed with 30 

guns and a crew of 300. He took several heavily armed Dutch prizes and 

likewise took many English vessels, of which the major part are being detained by the Admiralty Court at CharlestowTi contrary to the terms of the 

treaty of 1778. 

I solicit for him, and in his name, the Brevet and Grade of Lieutenant 

de Vaisseau. 

Finally I solicit for CITIZEN GARISCAN confirmation of the rank of Lieutenant de Vaisseau provisionally conferred upon him by General Lavaux. 

I will not rehearse all the actions which have won him this rank. The General knows of them and has recompensed him. 

CITIZEN MINISTER: 

I have just named for you those seamen whose actions have won the 

most renowTi. But those who have fought under their orders, have equal 

right, by reason of their bravery, to advancement. It is the way to attach 

them more and more to the success of the arms of the French Republic; it 

is the way to assure [for France] the support and courage of more than 

4,000 seamen dispersed among the different ports of the United States of 

America. 

Salut et Fratemite 

JOH N F . THERIC 

Paris, 5 frimaire, an 4^ de la 

rep. frangaise [November 26, 1795] 
122 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

ETAT NOMINATIF 

[Names doubtfully translated are marked with (?); for further identification, see Appendix 2. Discrepancies in addition and carry-over exist in 

the original.] 

NUMBER 1. 

List of names and net proceeds from the sale of English, Spanish and Dutch prizes taken on the high seas of North America 

and the Antilles by the French seamen, Captains Jean Bouteille, 

Jean-Baptiste Carvin, Frangois Hervieux, Joseph Langlois, 

Jean Gaillard, Frangois Bar, Alexandre Bolchoz, Cesar Peronne, 

Frangois Charbert, and Gariscan, fitted out as privateers under 

the flag of the Republic of France and based at th& port of 

Charlestown, United States of America, to wit: 

English brig 4 Brothers 

English brig Morning Star 

English vessel La Belle 

Brig Anna Magdalena 

English brig Jesse 

English brig Providence 

English ship 2 Brothers 

English brigantine Adventure 

English ship Henriette 

English ship Souverain 

English brig Betsi 

English brig Argot 

English schooner Aurora 

English schooner Truro 

Spanish brigantine S*- Joseph 

English ship Friendship 

English schooner Minerve 

English schooner Aurora 

Spanish vessel S**- Isabella 

Spanish schooner S*- Joseph 

English schooner Hawk 

Spanish schooner Ascension 

Spanish schooner Signora Del Carmel 

Spanish polacre S**- Yaime [?] 

Spanish vessel Leon 

Spanish schooner Las Dolores 

Dutch brigantine Vrou. Chr. Magd. [?] 

English schooner Anne 

English brigantine Suzanne 

£ 662 

534 

1266 

317 

2014 

500 

1000 

280 

2000 

2210 

373 

280 

1053 

1090 

2318 

9838 

936 

3838 

318 

665 

760 

2858 

530 

7024 

886 

858 

1200 

374 

6901 

19 

9 

4 

6 

15 

— 

— 

— 

— 

10 

8 

— 

11 

16 

14 

4 

2 

18 

18 

13 

— 

6 

12 

4 

12 

10 

— 

11 

14 

5 

11 

7 

8 

6 

— 

— 

— 

— 

6 

4 

— 

— 

4 

4 

— 

4 

9 

1 

— 

— 

8 

4 

8 

4 

— 

—• 

2 

2 
APPENDIX 1 : THERIC MEMORIAL 123 

Spanish brig Del Sillaro [?] 

English ship Adventure 

Spanish schooner S*- Joseph 

Spanish ship Del Gamino 

English brig Nelly Carl. *[Caroline] 

Spanish schooner Nostra Seignora 

Spanish vessel Belinda 

Carry over 

4791 

296 

540 

10, 090 

725 

976 

914 

19 

17 

£71,430 

(Carry over 

Spanish polacre s**- Tecla 

Spanish schooner Bonne Mere 

English ship Rambler 

English schooner Adventure 

English ship Friendship 

Spanish ship s***- Domingo 

Spanish schooner s*- Joseph 

English ship Fanny 

Spanish schooner s**- Clara 

English schooner Swallow 

English ship Smith 

English brig Endeavour 

English brig Alerte 

English brig Fanny 

Spanish ship St. Joseph Desamel 

English ship Courier de Liverpool 

Spanish polacre Sans Cayetano 

Spanish brigantine Nostra S°*- De las Dolores 

English schooner La Blonde 

English brig Betsi 

English ship Brothers 

Spanish schooner Dorada 

Spanish ship S'^- Frangois 

Spanish schooner S** Maria 

English ship Betzi 

Spanish schooner Louisiana 

Dutch ship Denoncekeron 

Spanish ship Parfaita 

English brig Elisa 

English ship Mermaid 

English ship Tendre Mere 

English brig Trivoli 

English brig Favori 

Spanish brig Conception 

English ship Alfred 

English schooner Prosperite 

These six prizes were 

unsold in Germinale, 

but they were estimated at these prices. 

71,430 

8081 

1203 

1190 

964 

240 

2026 

432 

180 

1664 

906 

8347 

5961 

5752 

303 

3053 

7210 

6430 

866 

2000 

263 

470 

1778 

79 

1400 

1161 

1000 

212 

920 

1800 

25600 

1600 

1200 

20000 

25000 

920 

12 11 

7 4 

3 11 

19 5 

10 

2 

7 

17 

16 

7 

5 

17 

12 

17 

6 

4 

7 

7) 

5 10 

11 5 

16 8 

13 7 

1 9 

13 11 

17 5 

99 11 

3 

6 

5 

3 

5 

2K 

6 

5 

9 

9 

5 

13 11 

3 10 

4 5 

9 3 

9 6 

4 — 

9 3 

18 4 

6 — 

Total of two columns, 211,655 18 5}^ 
124 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Carried over 211,655 18 5 ^ 

To the proceeds of the prizes carried over must 

be added that of other prizes which entered 

port later, noting that at the time of my departure from Charlestown I was able to obtain 

only a summary of the proceeds without 

details. 

There entered into the ports of Savannah 

and Wilmington forty prizes which yielded. . 165, 000 

There were taken into the ports of French 

colonies, Danish, and Swedish, thirty prizes 

which yielded 90, 000 

Finally there were burned at sea twenty 

five enemy vessels to the value of at least.. . 20, 000 

Prizes taken from our enemies, have produced to their loss, a total of 486,655 £ 18^ 

dVi^ 486,655 18 5^2 

This totals, in French money, seven millions seven hundred eighty six thousand four 

hundred ninety two livres, fifteen sols, four 

deniers 7,786,485 15 4 

Observations 

The vessel UEsperance, belonging to Citizen Bouteille, had taken two Spanish prizes 

and one English: Captain Peyre brought these 

prizes to the Windward Islands. The constituted authorities [there] disposed of the major 

part of those prizes, doubtlessly for the service 

of the French republic. They were estimated 

to be worth four millions 4, 000, 000 

The total value of a large number of prizes 

brought into the northern ports of the United 

States at present cannot be given, the outfitters 

and captains not having been able to advise 

me of it before my departure. But these same 

will give at least 5, 000, 000 

Total 16,786,486 15 4 

To the considerable losses that our privateers have inflicted on the 

enemies of the French Republic, must be added the loss of their seamen, 

a great number of whom have sought service in our vessels. 

(signed) J.-F. TH6RIC 
APPENDIX 1 : THERIC MEMORIAL 

NUMBER 2. 

List of vessels commissioned as privateers under the Flag of the 

French Republic according to Letters of Marque, some issued 

by the Commissioners, others by the Governor General of Saint 

Domingue, to several seamen, presently based at the port of 

Charlestown and others of the United States of America, to wit: 

125 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

La Sans Pareille 

Le Genet [sic] 

Le Sans-Culote 

Le Vainqueur de la 

Bastille 

LTndustrie 

L'Atiante 

L'Ami de la Pointea-Pitre 

La Montagne 

La Minerve 

La Parisienne 

La Narbonnaise 

L'Amour de la 

Liberie 

La Mere Michelle 

Le Qui Auroit Pense 

^ga 

L'Esperance 

LTntr6pide 

Le Sans-Culote 

Le Port-de-Paix 

La Revolution 

4 swivels 

10 J 

12 

4 

2 

8 

12 

14 

10 

8 

10 

12 

12 

4 

14 

14 

14 

10 

12 

^ n s 

cc 

(C 

<< 

(C 

<( 

C( 

ii 

cc 

cc 

c< 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 

36. 

37. 

38. 

Le General Lavaux 

Le Grand Port-dePaix 

Le Citoyen de 

Marseille 

L'Enfant de la 

Patrie 

Le Brutus 

L'Aigle 

Le Vengeur 

Le Passe-Partout 

Le Republicain 

Le Volcan 

La Carmagnole 

Le Courier National 

La Guillotine 

Le Jou-Jou National 

Le Violon 

La Dorade 

L'Egalite 

Le Petit Jau (?) 

Jacmel 

La fregate le Dauphin 

18 1 

12 

30 

12 

20 

18 

16 

12 

10 

16 

8 

16 

10 

4 

10 

12 

14 

4 

32 

^ n s 

cc 

cc 

cc 

<c 

cc 

cc 

<c 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

cc 

Observations 

It is due to the example of success set by the schooners la Sans-Pareille 

and I'Industrie in capturing prizes from our enemies that this flodlla has 

been progressively formed. It has become even more redoubtable by the 

courage of its seamen rather than by the number of its vessels. It would 

have gained even greater success but for the fact that Captain Bouteille, 

although he purchased the frigate le Dauphin, could not obtain the free 

use of the vessel. Such is the strength of the English faction over the Government of the United States of America. But when France shall resolve 

to speak out and aid the brave seamen of the Republic with her authority 

the sooner will that influence disappear. Then Captain Bouteille will repossess his frigate, or rather it would be to the interests of the Republic to 

requisition the frigate for her service after first offering a just indemnity 
126 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 17 93-179 6 

"The Privateersman's Dream" 

watercolor by Pierre Ozanne, 

about 1798. On 14 December 

1798 the 20-gun French corvette 

la Bayonnaise attacked and captured the British 42-gun frigate 

Ambuscade. The picture shows 

the British frigate in the hands of 

the victors, her flag reversed, towing her heavily damaged captor 

at the end of a hawser. Courtesy 

Musee de la Marine, Palais de 

Chaillot, Paris. 

to Cit. Bouteille who would accept it at the first sign of interest 

on the part of the French Government. I will demonstrate the utility of 

this measure in a memoir that I will place before the Minister of the Navy. 

(signed) J.-F. Theric 
2. 

British, Spanish, and Dutch Prizes Brought into the 

Ports of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, 

Georgia, between April 1793 and April 1796, by 

French Privateers Based at or Frequenting Those 

Ports 

The table of prizes is arranged alphabetically chiefly because dates of 

capture and the names of captors often have been unascertainable. 

Errors in the names of the prizes caused by transliteration or purely 

phonetic spelling on the part of the rep>orters have been corrected in brackets directly following the name of the prize. Those names that have defied 

identification have been noted by question marks. 

Valuations are in pounds sterling unless otherwise noted. 

The information in the remarks column is derived from the sources 

noted, of which the following are abbreviated (see Bibliography for full 

tide) : 

1. The City Gazette and Daily Advertiser of Charleston, S.C. 

(cited as C/G). 

The Georgia Gazette, of Savannah, Georgia (cited as G/G). 

2. British Counter Case and Papers, Arbitration at Geneva (cited 

as BCC). 

3. Theric Memorial, translated from the manuscript original in 

Appendix 1 (cited as Theric). 

4. Bee, Report of Cases . . . (cited as Bee). 

Spelling of names of prizes is derived from the first three, in the order 

given. 

Footnotes are in remarks column. 
128 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

July '95 

Aug. '94 

May '94 

Sep. '93 

Oct. '94 

Apr. '95 

Apr. '94 

PRIZE 

(Capteiin) 

ADVENTURE 

(EUiot) 

ADVENTITRE 

(Mitchell) 

AoVENTtTRE 

(Griffidi) 

ADVENTURE 

(Cuzuenne) 

ALERT 

(Fullington) 

ALFRED 

(Bryan) 

ANN * 

(Anderson) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Sloop 

Brit. 

Snow 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

From 

^ t o 

Cargo 

New Providence-* 

Nassau-^ 

New Providence 

Savannadi-* 

Bahamas 

Jamaica—»^ 

Norfolk 

Jamaica—> 

London 

59 hhds., 8 tierces, & 52 bbls. 

sugar, 19 puncheons mm, 33 

pipes Madeira, 

30 bags coffee, 

9 bags pimento, 

4)^ tons logwood 

Jamaica—»^ 

London 

Mahog. (logs & 

plank), sugar, 

indigo, coffee, 

pimento, cocoa, 

cotton, dyewood 

Jamaica—* 

New York 

Captured 

by 

FRTVATEER 

LA NARBONNAISE 

LE Qui-AuRorrPENSE-A-QA 

LA SANS PAREILLE, 

LA MINERVE 

LA SANS PAREILLE, 

L'INDUSTRIE 

LE SANS CULOTTE 

LE BRUTUS 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

July '93 ANNA MAGDALENA Brig 

Hamburg 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

Apr. '94 ASUNCION* — Puerto Rico LA MONTAGNE 

Span. 

Sep. '94 ATALANTA 

Oct. '93 ARGO 

(Kingsley) 

Ship 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

— LA MINERVE 

Jamaica-* LA SANS PAREILLE 

Wilmingfton, N.C. 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 179 3-17 9 6 129 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—^Net (Theric) Columns page 

— Taken near Crooked Island Passage, arrival at 96, 

Charleston reported (C/O July 26, 1795). 103 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Aug. 2, 1794). 

964 0 0 

500 1 1 Vessel and cargo advertized for sale (C/G Sept. 29, 

— 1794); vessel reported not sold and in harbor on 

296 17 4 June 14, 1794 (BCC 612); reported bought by 

captors as store ship (BCC 614). 

1,200 0 0 Reported sold to "a Dane" (BCC 614); referred to 14-17 

— as a brig in Th6ric's list. 

280 0 0 

800 0 0* Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Oct. 14, 1794). 76n 

— *Vessel and freight (BCC 618). 

5,961 2 6 

817 

66 

374 

8 

10 

11 

30,000 0 0 Reported as run ashore entering Charleston harbor, 85, 

— later got off (C/G Apr. 8, 1795). 85n 

25,000 8 4* *Estimated, vessel reported as not sold FebruaryMarch 1795. 

10 Arrival April 29 as prize at Charleston reported 43, 

Of (C/G May 15, 1794); vessel registered at St. Johns, 43n 

2 N.B., cleared for Boston after sale (BCC 612). 

*Th6ric's ANNE, fVessel only. 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (Philadelphia, Ameri- 16n 

— can Daily Advertiser, Aug. 7, 1793). 

317 6 8* *Cargo only, vessel released as belonging to neutral. 

— A 12-g^n privateer, captured April 6 off Puerto Rico 

— after l}fhour fight (C/G May 16, 1794). 

2,858 6 8 *Th6ric's ASCENSION. 

— — 28,28n, 

29,42 

Arrival of vessel reported (C/G Oct. 21, 1793); re- 17n 

ported as bought by Thomas Stewart "for a Dane," 

cleared for Barcelona (BCC 612, 614). 

233 

280 

280 

6 

0 

0 

8 

0 

0 
130 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-1 7 96 

Taiken 

(17-) 

Dec. '93 

Feb.'9 4 

Nov. '94 

Nov. '94 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

AURORA 

(Dickie) 

AURORA 

(Dickie) 

BETSY* 

(Henderson) 

BETSY 

(Williamson) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

From 

-»to 

Cargo 

Jamaica—> 

Charleston 

New Providence 

—»St. Augustine 

Barbados 

— 

Captiired 

by 

PRIVATEER 

L'INDUSTRIE 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX 

(ex-LE VAINQUEUR 

DE LA BASTILLE) 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX 

Feb.-

Mar. '95 

June '94 

July '93 

BETSY* 

BELINDA 

BELLE* 

(Trott) 

Ship 

Brit. 

Sloop 

Span. 

Sloop 

Brit. 

LA NARBONNAISE 

Jamaica—* LE VAINQUEUR DE 

Charleston LA BASTILLE 

Jan. '95 BETTY CATHCART Ship Port-au-Prince^' LE CITOYEN DE 

Brit. Glasgow MARSEILLE 

(See Remarks) 

Nov. '94 BLONDE Schr. 

Brit. 

LE PATRIOTE 

July(?)'94 LA BONNE MERE Schr. 

Span. 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 179 3-17 9 6 131 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

673 0 0 Arrival of vessel at Charleston reported (C/G Dec. 17n 

150 0 0* 1793); vessel purchased by Penman & Co. for the 

1,053 11 0 master, cleared for New Providence (BCC 612). 

•Vessel only. 

4,088 0 0 Arrival of vessel at Charleston reported (C/G Feb. 17n 

— 1794); vessel sold to "Smith of Boston," cleared for 

3,838 18 9 Boston (BCC 612, 614). 

— Libeled by British consul Moodie in December 1794 

— (BCC 591); Hbel dismissed widi costs (G/G Apr. 2, 

2,000 0 0 1795). *Theric's BETSI. Probably the same vessel 

as prize in next entry. 

— Libeled by British consul as taken by illegally fitted 15 

privateer LE VAINQUEUR DE LA BASTILLE (BCC 591); 

decreed a lawful prize, case dismissed with costs 

(C/G Mar. 24 and 25, 1795. See also G/G (Apr. 2, 

1795), Williamson vs. Brig Betsy and J. P. Sarjeant 

(Bee, 67-68), BCC (601). 

— Noted as restored without damages in BCC (621, 

— Moodie memorandum May 8, 1795). 

1,400 0 0 *Theric's BETZI. 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G June 23, 1794). 

Vessel bought by master, price included "negroes and 

some stores," reported as still in Charleston on 

June 14, 1794 (BCC 612, 614); arrived at Charleston 

July 19, 1793 (BCC 614). 

•Theric's LA BELLE, fVessel only. 

Arrival reported (C/G Jan. 19, 1795); libeled "To be 

tried 20th March, if the commission sent to Philadelphia for the examination of witnesses returned 

by that time" (BCC 621); cargo itemized, sold by 

consent of parties, "the captors having appealed" 

(C/G May 16, 1795); Circuit Court found for 

captors (Bee, Moodie vs. Betty Cathcart, 292-299); 

Circuit Court upheld by Supreme Court (BCC 621); 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Nov. 28, 

1794). 

Theric list. 

914 

1,768 

250 

1,266 

19 

5 

0 

4 

5 

4 

ot 

7 

866 17 

1,203 11 5 
132 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-1 7 96 

Taken 

(17-) 

June '94 

Feb. '95 

Dec. '94 

— 

May '94 

Sep. '95 

Mar. '95 

Oct. '94 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

BOYD 

(Frew) 

BROTHERS 

(Thomas) 

CAESAR 

(Crosby) 

CAMIER (?) 

(Taylor) 

D EL CAMINO 

CASELDEA (?) 

CONCEPTION 

[LA CONCEPCION] 

COURIER* 

(Taylor) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Ship 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Ship 

Span. 

Sloop 

Span. 

Ship(?) 

Span. 

Ship 

Brit. 

From 

-•to 

Cargo 

Barbadoes—> 

London 

78,000 ft. mahog., 

21 tons dyewood 

St. Johns, N.S.-> 

Jamaica 

14,000 ft. lumber, 

40,000 shingles, 

12,000 staves, 

14 bbls. butter, 

40 boxes spirit 

of ttirpentine, 

20 bbls. oil, 

31 hhds. stockfish 

280 bbls. herring, 

31 hhds. salmon 

(BCC 601) 

Port-au-Prince—» 

Liverpool 

Coffee, sugar, 

cotton 

— 

— 

39,100 lbs. 

Spanish snuff, 

1904 quintals 

tobacco, 108 

quintals wax 

~ 

140 bags cotton. 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

LA NARBONNAISE 

LE VOLCAN (CX-LE 

PORT-DE-PAIX) 

LA PARISIENNE 

— 

— 

L'EGALIT6 

— 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX, 

LE PETrr 

Apr. '94 LAS DOLORES 

Jan. '95 DORADA 

Schr. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 1793-179 6 ^33 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on Sec 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Thdric) Columns 

470 17 9 

Vessel and cargo advertised for sale (C/G Feb. 4, 

1795). 

page 

4,730 0 0* Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G June 24, 1795); 

— taken by whaleboats of LA NARBONNAISE, vessel and 

— cargo recovered by British (BCC 594, 621). 

*Cargo 3,230, vessel 1,500 (BCC 594). 

3,000 0 0* Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Feb. 27, 1795); 

— vessel libeled, dismissed with costs (BCC 601, 621). 

263 12 9 See also Benjamin Moodie vs. The Ship Brothers (Bee, 

76-78). 

*BCC (601). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (G/G Dec. 18, 1794); 

libel notice (G/G Jan. 22, 1795); libel dismissed 

(G/G Feb. 5, 1795); affirmed by Circuit Court (G/G 

May 7, 1795). Noted in BCC (62n. 

Noted as having libel dismissed with costs (BCC 620); 

undoubtedly a misprint for COURIER, q.v. 

Th6ric list; see NOSTRA SIGNORA DEL CARMINO 

[NUESTRA SENORA DEL CAMINO]. 

Libel notice, trial to be held at Augusta, Georgia, 

second Tuesday in November 1795 (G/G Sep. 10, 

1795); Disposition not known. 

— Cargo and vessel advertised for sale (C/G Mar. 25, 

— 1795); vessel unsold at time of departure of Th6ric 

20,000 9 3 in March-April, 1795. 

2,760 0 Of Arrival reported (C/G Oct. 24, 1795); offered for sale, 83, 

— vessel and cargo, (C/G Oct. 30, 1794); libeled by 83n 

3,053 16 5 British consul, dismissed with costs (BCC 590). See 

also COURIER. 

•Theric's CoinuER DE LIVERPOOL. fCargo 2160/0/0, 

vessel 600/0/0. (BCC 594). 

— Thine list (SEE LA SIGNORA DE LAS —). 
134 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

Sep. '94 

Feb.'9 5 

Oct. '95 

May '94 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

EAGLE 

ELIZA* 

(Francis) 

ELIZA 

ELIZABETH 

(ROSS) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

From 

-»to 

Cargo 

Montego Bay 

Montego Bay 

London—» 

New Providence 

dry goods 

Jamaica- ^ 

London 

285 hhds. sugar, 

90 puncheons 

rum (G/G May 

22,1794), 7 tons 

fustic (BCC 594) 

Capmred 

by 

PRTVATEER 

LE REPUBLICAIN 

LA MER E MICHEL 

— 

L'AMI DE LA POINTEA-PrrRE, 

L'AMI DE LA 

LiBERTE 

Mar. '94 

Sep.(?)'94 

Dec. '94 

Oct. '94 

EMANUEL 

[MANUELA(?)] 

ENDEAVOUR 

(Cummings) 

EVERTON 

(Davis) 

FANCY* 

Sloop 

Span. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Jamaica- ^ 

London 

228 hhds. and 

6 tierces of sugar, 

5 puncheons of 

rum, 5 tons fustic 

— 

L'INDUSTRIE 

"Letter of Mairque 

from Cayenne" 

L'EGALIT6 (CX-L'AMI 

DE LA POINTEA-PITRE) 

L'INDUSTRIE 

Brit. 

Aug. '94 FANNY 

(Long) 

Sloop Turk's Islands LA SANS PAREILLE 

Brit. Newfoundland 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 17 9 3-17 9 6 13 5 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

— Arrival at Savannah reported (G/G Oct. 2, 1794); 77-78, 

libel notice (G/G Dec. 4, 1794); auction of vessel 80-81 

and cargo advertized (C/G May 12, 1795). 

— Arrival reported (C/G Feb. 11, 1795); advertized 

— (C/G Mar. 3, 1795); cargo and vessel advertized for 

920 4 5 sale (C/G Apr. 21, 1795). See also BCC (621). 

*Theric's ELISA. 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Oct. 5, 1795); 

reference to letters aboard (C/G Oct. 9, 1795); sale 

of cargo advertized (C/G Nov. 4, 1795). 

13,500 18 1* Bought by May, Hills and Woodbridge, resold to 57,61, 

11,183 1 9 Messrs. Joseph Miller, Mclver & Co., "Captain 96 

— Mclver has become a Danish as well as an American 

citizen," went to West Indies to get Danish papers 

(BCC 615); libel filed against vessel, also against 

Talbot and Ballard (G/G Oct. 16, 1794); decision 

on Elizabeth case: Ballard and Talbot to make good 

all damages and pay costs (G/G Dec. 25, 1794); 

decree of District Court upheld by Federal Circuit 

Court (G/G May 7, 1795). 

•Vessel valued at 2,200 (BCC 594). 

— Arrival at Savannah reported, cut out of Bay of Cuba 40n 

(G/G Mar. 20, 1794); arrival at Charleston from 

Savannah reported (C/G Oct. 25, 1794). 

1,400 0 0* *Vessel and freightage (BCC, 618). 

8,347 10 3 

Libel filed against vessel, cargo and, £8,000 sterling 62n 

(G/G Feb. 5, 1795); vessel and cargo restored by 

District Court to owners on Mar. 5 (G/G Mar. 12, 

1795); Circuit Court affirmed decree of District 

Court (G/G May 7, 1795). See also BCC (621). 

Arrival reported (C/G Oct. 15, 1794). 

*Theric's brig FANNY. 

5.752 7 5 

2,000 0 0 Taken August 14, 1794 (BCC 614); vessel and cargo 

— advertized for sale (C/G Sep. 29, 1794). 

432 1 9* *Th6ric lists this vessel as a ship. 
136 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

Mar. '95 

May '94 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

FAVORITE* 

(Grant) 

FoRTtmE DER ZEE 

[FoRTtnN VAN DE 

ZEE] 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Snow* 

Brit. 

From 

-»to 

Cargo 

Jamaica—> 

Dublin 

94 hhds., 9 

tierces, 4 bbls. 

sugar; 65 tierces, 

11 casks coffee; 

120 bales cotton; 

11 casks castor 

oil in bottles; a 

quantity of dyewood (BCC 601) 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

LA PARISIENNE 

L'AMI DE LA 

LIBERT£ 

Apr. '93 FOUR BROTHERS Brig Nova Scotia—> French National 

(Robb) Brit. Barbados Frigate L'EMBUSCADE 

Aug. '94 FRIENDSHIP 

(Stranack) 

Ship Jamaican LA MONTAGNE 

Brit. Quebec 

242 puncheons 

rum 

Dec. '93 FRIENDSHIP Ship 

(Leslie) Brit. 

Jamaica—* LE LASCAZAS 

London 

Sep. '93 GRACE 

(Brynan) 

Schr. Jamaica—> LA SANS PAREILLE 

Brit. Philadelphia 

Apr.'94 GRENADA PACKET Ship Pensacola-* L'AMI DE LA POINTE-

(Wemyss) Brit. London X-PTTRE 

May '95 HANNAH 

Feb. '95 HAPPY RETURN 

(Calvert) 

Brig. 

Brit. 

Snow 

Brit. 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 1793-179 6 I37 

Value (/) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on Sec 

—Sale pr, (BCC) Other text 

—^Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

— Arrival reported (C/G Mar. 25, 1795); vessel libeled 

— by the British consul, libel dismissed with costs (Bee, 

1,200 4 Of British Consul v. Schooner Favorite, and Alexander 

Bolchoz, 39); decree affirmed by Circuit Court and 

by Supreme Court (BCC 621). 

*Th6ric's brig FAVORI. fEstimate; unsold MarchApril 1795. 

— Vessel boarded, released after captain and mate taken 57-59 

off", libel entered by captain; damages awarded (Bee, 

Peter Martins vs. Edward Ballard and William Talbot, 

51-57). 

2,092 19 9 Noted in Th6ric's list as LE BROTHER, "bought by 

380 6 8* Penman & Co. for late master." Cleared for Jzunaica 

662 19 5 (BCC, 612, 614, 614-15). 

•Vessel only. 

5,440 0 0* Arrival reported (C/G Aug. 2, 1794); captain referred 

— to vessel as MONTAGUE (BCC, 615); vessel and cargo 

240 16 8 advertized for sale (C/G Jan. 19, 1795); Circuit 

Court sent case back to District Court for reconsideration, "right to inquire into treaty" (BCC, 

590); Ubel dismissed (Bee, Stamvick vs. Ship Friendship, 40-42). 

*Cargo 4,840, vessel 600 (BCC 616). 

Purchased by H. Grant for owners, cleared for West 27, 28» 

Indies (BCC 615). 29 

•Vessel only. 

350 0 0 Arrival of vessel reported (C/G Sept. 25, 1793); vessel 

— reported sunk in harbor (BCC 612, 614). 

11,630 6 8 Notification of condenmation by office of French con- 55,55n, 

5,843 12 5 sulate (G/G Apr. 24, 1794); account of burning of 57 

— GRENADA PACKET (G/G May 29, 1794). 

— Advertized for sale at auction (C/G May 22, 1795). 

Reference to capture by French privateer RESOLtmoN 

[LA RivoLUTiON(?)] (C/G Feb. 6, 1795); protest of 

captain, maltreatment, etc.; account of wreck of 

HAPPY RETURN, rescue of crew by Spanish schooner, 

capture of latter by LA SANS PAREILLE, plundered 

Americans set ashore on Cuba (C/G Mar. 30, 1795). 

17,644 

435 

9,838 

18 

0 

4 

9 

0^ 

0 
138 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

Dec.(?)'94 

Sep.'93 

Mar. '94 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

HARCUM 

HARRIET* 

(Strong) 

HAWK 

(Cocks) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

From 

-+to 

Cargo 

— 

Honduras—> 

London 

Jamaica—* 

Norfolk 

Captured 

by 

PRTVATEER 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX 

LA SANS PAREILLE, 

L'INDUSTRIE 

L'INDUSTRIE 

June '95 HERO 

Aug. '94 ISABEL 

Feb. '95 JAMAICA 

Oct. '95 JAMES 

July '93 JESSIE* 

Ship 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit.(?) 

Ship 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Havana—* 

Baltimore 

152 casks molasses, 24 boxes 

sugar, 30 hides, 

$529 specie 

LE VENGEUR 

L'INDUSTRIE 

LE GENERAL 

LAVEAUX, 

LA MER E MICHEL 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

Aug. '94 JOLLY BACCHUS 

(Cox) 

Sloop 

Brit. 

L'INDUSTRIE 

Oct. '94 JuorrH 

(Gruikshank) 

July '94 JUNO 

July '95 KINGSTON 

Snow 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Montego Bay—» 

Londonderry 

233 hhds. sugar, 

50 puncheons 

rum, coffee, 

fustic, logwood, 

pimento, Madeira, mahog. 

Trinidad 

317 boxes of 

sugar 

Jamaica 

LITTLE JOHN (sic) 

L'AMI DE LA 

LiBERTE 

LE VENGEUR 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 17 9 3-17 9 6 I3 9 

5,769 

2,000 

2,000 

866 

160 

760 

19 

0 

0 

13 

0 

0 

6 

Of 

0 

4 

0* 

0 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Theric) Columns page 

— Libel filed (G/G Jan. 1, 1795); vessel and cargo 

returned to owners by District Court (G/G Jan. 15, 

1795). See also BCC (621). 

Arrival of vessel reported (C/G Sept. 15, 1793); vessel 17n 

purchased by Thomas Morris, bought back by 

owners; saUed for Cadiz (BCC 612, 614). 

fTh^ric's HENRIETTE. *Vessel only. 

Arrival of vessel at Charleston reported (C/G Mar. 

1794); sold to "Karvint [Carvin], master of the 

privateer," reported still in harbor on June 14, 1794 

(BCC, 612, 614). 

•Vessel only. 

R a n ashore on Isle of Pines June 15, set afire (G/G 87,87n 

July 30, 1795). 

Retaken by a British frigate off" Stono, Georgia (C/G 

Sept. 23, 1794). 

"A valuable cargo" (C/G Feb. 10, 1795). 83n 

— Protest, including description of unidentified French 

privateer (C/G Oct. 30, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston and details (State Gazette of 16n 

— South Carolina, July 29, 1793). 

2,014 15 6 *Theric's brig JESSE. 

— Prize reported (C/G Sept. 3, 1794); "taken by Captain 

Gallaspin [Garriscan] and carried into Wilmington, North CaroUna" (BCC 614-615, 620). 

12,067 0 0* Arrival at Savannah reported (G/G Oct. 23, 1794); 

— JUDITH and cargo libeled, privateer alleged as fitted 

— out at Charieston (G/G Nov. 6, 1794); vessel returned to owners, circuit Court of Georgia upheld 

decree of District Court (G/G May 7, 1795); one 

half of cargo embezzled (BCC 591). 

•Cargo 9,567, vessel 2,500 (BCC 594). 

— Arrival at Charieston reported (C/G July 17, 1794). 58 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (G/G July 16, 1795). 87n 
140 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17- ) 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

From 

—>to 

Cargo 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

Apr.(?)'94 LEON 

Jun e '94 Long Island Packet 

Ship 

Span. 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

Jan.(?)'95 LOIHSIANA 

Oct. '93 MARIA 

Apr. '95 MARIANNE 

(Kinnear(?)) 

Mar. '95 MAR Y ANN 

(Knowland) 

Feb. '95 MERMAID 

(Clarke) 

Schr. 

Span. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

— 

Jamaica—* 

Virginia 

In ballast 

Jamaica—* 

— 

— 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

LE GENERAL 

LAVEAIDC 

LA TENDRE M^R E 

(Prize to LE GENERAL LAVEAUX) 

LE GENERAL 

LAVEAUX 

Feb. '94 MINERVA* Schr. 

Brit. 

L'ATALANTE 

Apr. '93 MORNING STAR Brig 

(Fullerton) Brit. 

Sep. '93 NANCY Snow 

(Cooke) U.S. 

Jamaica-+ French National 

Charleston Frigate L'AMBUSCADE 

Havana—• LE JO U JO U 

Charleston NATIONAL 

July '94 NANCY 

(Cooke) 

Jan. 95 NANCY 

(Tatem) 

June '94 NELLY CAROLINE Brig 

(Otway) Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Bay of Honduras—+ 

Bay of Honduras^ 

Jamaica 

LA GmLLOTINE, 

LA MONTAGNE 

LE FONSPERTXnS 

Savannah—• L'AMI DE LA 

Jamaica POINTE-X-PTTRE 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 179 3-17 9 6 141 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

886 12 4 Theric list. 

— Recaptured by British privateer. FLYING FISH (G/G 60 

July 10, 1794). 

Th6ric list. 

1,161 13 11 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (New York Journal 17n 

and Patriotic Register, Oct. 16, 1793); not mentioned in Th6ric or BCC. 

— Vessel libeled, British consul Moodie noted that cost 

of proceedings did not warrant it (BCC 601). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, "afterwards given up 

to her owners" (C/G Mar. 2, 1795). 

-— Advertizement of monition to appear in Federal 70,83n 

— District Court (C/G Mar. 3, 1795); decision of 

1,800 9 3^ Court appealed by British Consul (BCC 602). See 

also Bee (69-73). 

•Estimated; vessel not sold, March-April 1795. 

— Arrival at Charleston and details (South Carolina 28,28n 

— State Gazette, Jan. 5, 1795). 

936 2 4 •Theric's MINERVE. 

800 2 0 "Bought by Penman & Co. for late master," cleared 

212 6 8^ for Jamaica (BCC 612, 614). 

534 9 11 •Vessel only. 

— Vessel seized on suspicion of being enemy property, 

plundered of $12,000 in specie, court found for 

plaintiff", levied damages of $12,000 against privateer, plus costs (Bee, Thomas Tunno vs. Benedict 

Preary, 6-8). 

— Arrival at Tybee Roads reported (G/G Aug. 2, 1794); 

advertizement by French consulate for claims 

against prize (G/G Aug. 14, 1794). 

— Vessel libeled by British consul, returned after cargo 

plundered (BCC 602; Bee, British Consul vs. 

Schooner Nancy et al., 73-74). See also BCC (621). 

2,030 5 9 Listed as not sold by June 14, 1794 (BCC 612); listed 

— by Th6ric as NELLY CARL. [CAROLINE]. 

725 7 4 
142 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

PRIZE 

(Capt£iin) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

From 

—»to 

Cjirgo 

Captured 

by 

PIUVATEER 

Jan . '95 NOSTRA SEIGNORA Brigtn. 

DE Los DOLORS Span. 

[NUESTRA SENORA 

DE LOS DOLORES] 

May '94 NOSTRA SIGNORA Ship 

DEL CARMINO • Span. 

[NUESTRA SENORA 

DEL CAMINO] 

Cuba-•Spain LA MINERVE 

" a very valuable 

cargo" 

Apr. '95 NUESTRA SENORA Polacre Barcelona—> LE BRUTUS 

DEL CARMEN Span. 

Jun e '94 NOSTRA SEIGNORA Schr. — — 

Span. 

Jan. '95 DEN ONZEKEN Ship Demerara ^ LE CITOYEN 

[De ONZEKEREN] Dutch London DE MARSEILLE 

Jan.-

Feb.(?)'95 

Apr. '95 

Apr. '95 

Feb. '95 

Nov. '95 

PARFAITA(?) 

PELOR 

(Brian) 

PHOEBE 

(Andrews) 

PHYA 

[PHYN] 

POLLY 

(Savage) 

— 

Span. 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

— 

— 

Montego Bay—> 

Liverpool 

"valuable cargo, 

rum, sugar, 

coff"ee, cotton" 

— 

New Orleans—> 

Baltimore 

— 

— 

LA MER E MICHEL 

LE G6N6RA L 

LAVEAUX 

L'EGALITE 

July '94 POLLY 

(Wright) 

Sloop Charleston-> LA NARBONNAISE 

U.S. New Providence 

July '95 POLLY Schr. New Bruns-

(?) wick—> 

LA NARBONNAISE 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 1793-17 9 6 I4 3 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

— Cargo and vessel advertized for sale (C/G Feb. 4, 

— 1795); reported in Theric as NUESTRA SRA. DE LAS 

6,430 5 6 DOLORES. 

— Cargo and vessel advertized for sale (C/G Sep. 29, 

— 1794); vessel libeled, libel dismissed with costs (Bee, 

10,090 7 11 Don Josiah Salderondo vs. Ship Nostra Signora del 

Camino, and Hervieux et al., 43—47). 

•Theric's DE L CAMINO(?). 

— Arrival at Savannah reported (G/G Apr. 9, 1795; 

C/G Apr. 16, 1795). 

— Theric list. 

976 3 11 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, "said to be Dutch" 

— (C/G Jan. 20, 1795); cargo and vessel advertized 

1,000 0 0 for sale (C/G May 14, 1795); mentioned as DINON 

ZECHERON (BCC 600); reported in Theric as 

DENONCEKERON. 

212 3 10 

Theric list. 

Advertizement of sale of cargo and vessel (C/G Apr. 

21, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston May 2, 1795, reported, account 

of engagement, first and second mates and two men 

killed, almost all men wounded (G/G May 7, 1795). 

Libeled by British consul (BCC 621); monition advertized for March 12 (C/G Mar. 3, 1795). 

Advertizement of libel against vessel, John Savage vs. 

Polly and privateer Egalite; vessel plundered of 36 

barrels containing $10,978 "and a half dollar" in 

silver, also a trunk of plate, $158 from "one Mrs. 

Freeman"; trial set for Dec. 19, 1795 (G/G Dec. 12, 

1795). Disposition not known. 

Carried to Port-de-Paix, there ruled to be illegal 

seizure by Court of Admiralty, vessel ran ashore 

before redelivery to Wright, suit brought for damages, damages awarded (Bee, M'Grath vs. Sloop 

Candalaro and Henri Hervieux, 60-65). 

SaUed July 5, 1795, taken same day (C/G July 26, 

1795). Vessel probably that of next entry. 
144 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

Rig 

zmd 

Flag 

From 

^ t o 

Cargo 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

July '95 POLLY 

(Prince) 

Schr. Mole St. Nich- LA NARBONNAISE 

(?) olas, Haiti-* 

Charleston 

July '95 POTOWMAC 

NOV. '94 PRINCESS OF 

ASTtnUAS 

[LA PRINCESA DE 

ASTURIAS] 

June '94 PROSPERITY^ 

(Kelley) 

Sep. '93 PROVIDENCE 

(Shoesmith) 

Brig 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Brit. 

Brig 

Brit. 

JamaicaCuba ^ 

Jamaica—* 

Shelburne N.S. 

28 puncheons 

rum, 2 hhds. 

sugar, 5 hhds. 

molasses, 

6 bales cotton, 

1,500 lbs. coffee, 

$1,636 in specie 

Honduras—* 

Jersey 

LE VENGEUR 

LE REPUBLICAIN 

LA PARISIENNE 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

Jun e '94 RAGEL(? ) LA PARISIENNE 

July 

Oct. 

Sep. 

Oct. 

Oct. 

to 

Jan. 

'94 

'95 

'95 

'95 

'94 

'95 

RAMBLER 

ROSINA 

SACRA FAMILIA 

SAN ANTONIE DES 

ALMAS 

[SAN ANTONIO DE 

LAS ALMAS (?)] 

SAN CAYETANO 

Sloop 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Ship 

Brit. 

Span. 

Polacre 

Span. 

Harbour Island 

—>Abaco 

5 negroes 

Jamaica -^ 

30 bales dry 

goods 

La Guayra-^ 

Indigo, cocoa, 

tar, cotton 

L'AMI DE LA 

LIBERT^ 

LA CARMAGNOLE 

LE G£N6RA L 

LAVEAUX 

LA CARMAGNOLE 

— 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 179 3-179 6 145 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BOC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

— Taken mid-July, vessel owned by Messrs. Penman & 

Co., Hary (sic) Grant and Joh n Price of Charleston, 

arrived Charleston July 22, outrages of prize crew 

reported (C/G July 26, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (G/G July 16, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Nov. 18, 1794); 

referred to as being converted to French privateer 

(BCC 603). 

1,155 0 0 Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G June 30, 1794); 

— listed among vessel taken by Cluirleston privateers 

920 6 0 (BCC 614); vessel libeled by the British consul as 

captured by illegal privateer, formerly the American 

schooner HAWK (Bee, Kelley, Jun. vs. Schooner Prosperity and Cargo, and John Cooke, 38-39); vessel 

restored with damages (BCC 614, 621). 

•Theric's PROSPERmi. 

1,699 1 4 Vessel and cargo bought by William Dicker (or 

550 0 0^ Decker) and cleared for New York (BCC 612, 614); 

500 0 0 arrival of vessel reported (C/G Sept. 14, 1793). 

•Vessel only. 

— Arrival at Charieston reported (C/G Jun. 8, 1794). 

396 13 4 Vessel libeled by British consul Moodie, restored as 

— taken by illegal privateer with damages (BCC 614, 

1,190 0 0 616, 621). See also Teasdale vs. Sloop Rambler and 

Cargo and Edward Ballard (Bee, 9-11). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, captured on "northside of Jamaica " (C/G Oct. 22, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston September 23, 1795, reported, 

taken on September 7 off" Puerto Rico (G/G Oct. 1, 

1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, taken on the coast of 

Cuba after ^-hoiu- engagement, armed with 8 

carriage guns (C/G Oct. 22, 1795). 

Theric list. 

7,210 7 2}^ 
146 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

Nov. '94 

Mar. '95 

Feb.'9 5 

May '94 

Sep. '93 

May '94 

Sep.-

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

SANTA CATERINA 

[SANTA CATALINA] 

SANTA CLARA 

SANTA MARIA 

ST. JOSEPH • 

[SAN JOSE? ] 

S T. JOSEPH 

[SAN JOSE? ] 

(Castello) 

ST. JOSEPH 

[SAN JOSE] 

ST. JOSEPH 

Oct.(?)'94 DESAMEL (?) 

Jun e '94 

Aug. '94 

Jan.(?)'94 

July '94 

Apr. '95 

July '94 

ST. MAR Y 

[SANTA MARIA] 

STA. CLARA • 

[SANTA CLARA] 

STA. ISABELLA 

[SANTA ISABELLA] 

STA. TECLA 

SANTO CHRISTO 

DE LA CARIDAD 

ST. CATHERINE 

[SANTA CATALINA] 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Polacre 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Brigtn. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Ship 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Span. 

Ship 

Span. 

Polacre 

Span. 

— 

Span. 

— 

Span. 

From 

^ t o 

Cargo 

Red & white 

wine, vinegar, 

brandy, salad 

oil, variety dry 

goods, 40 elephant teeth, 

anchovies 

Havana—> 

Havana —> 

Port-Au-Prince 

— 

Cartagena de Las 

Indias—>Spain 

— 

— 

Havana-+ 

— 

— 

Montechristi -^ 

Havana 

— 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX 

LA PARISIENNE 

L'EGALITE 

LA MONTAGNE 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

LA PARISIENNE 

— 

LA PARISIENNE 

— 

— 

LE BRUTUS 

L'AMI DE LA 

LiBERTE 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES , 17 9 3-179 6 I4 7 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Odier text 

—Net (Theric) Columns page 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, taken off" Puerto Rico 

(C/G Nov. 24, 1795); referred to as SAUNZE 

CARATANA (sic) (C/G Nov. 27, 1794); advertizement of sale of remainder of cargo of the polacre 

SANTA CALTANA (sic) (C/G Dec. 3, 1794). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Mar. 12, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charieston reported (C/G Feb. 28, 1795). 

79 4 0 

— Taken off St. Augustine, Fla. (C/G May 18, 1794). 

— •Possibly the second schooner ST. JOSEPH of Theric's 

540 0 0 list. 

— ST. JOSEPH featured in case of Castello vs. Bouteille, 

— alleged to have been originally captured by VAIN2,318 14 4 QUEUR DE LA BASTILLE (CX-FAIR MARGARET), libel 

dismissed (Bee, 29-34). 

— Theric list. 

— •Theric's valuation included schooner ST. DOMINGO, 

2,026 13 1* q.v. 

— Theric list. 

303 17 3 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G June 23, 1794). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported, vessel taken in St. 

— Marc (British occupied St. Domingue) (C/G Sep. 9, 

180 13 11 1794). •Possibly Theric's STA. CLARA. 

318 18 1 

8,081 5 10 

Theric list. 

Theric list. 

Arrival at Savannah reported (G/G Apr. 9, 1795; 

C/G Apr. 16, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G July 11, 1794). 
148 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-179 6 

Taken 

(17—) 

Nov. '95 

May '94 

PRIZE 

(Captziin) 

S T. CHRIST DE 

MONTE ALVAiR 

[SANTO CHRISTO DE 

MONTE ALVARO?] 

S T. DOMINGO 

[SANTO DOMINGO] 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

From 

-*to 

Ccirgo 

Malaga ^ 

Havana 

Wine and firuit 

— 

Sugar, hides, 

soap, cordage, 

etc. 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

LE VENGEUR 

LA PARISIENNE 

Dec. '94 ST. FRANCIS^ Ship 

[SAN FRANCISCO] Span. 

(Xavier) 

Jamaica—»Cuba LE R6PUBUCAIN, 

26 negroes, trunk LA REVOLUIION 

of dry goods 

Apr. '94 ST. JAGO+ 

Span. 

Apr. '94 SiGNOR DEL CAR~ ^ Schr. 

[NUESTRA SENORA Span. 

DEL CARMEN?] 

Apr. '94 LA SIGNORA DE LAS Schr. 

Span. 

[NUESTRA SENORA 

DE LAS DOLORES?] • 

— LA SIGNORIA (?) — 

Apr. '94 DEL SILLARO (?) Brig 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Sloop 

Brit. 

Brig. 

Brit. 

Polacre- Barcelona—» 

Brig Wine, fruit, 

brandy 

LA MONTAGNE 

July '94 SINTERIC(?) 

July '94 SMITH 

Oct. '94 SOMERSET 

(Ormond) 

LA SANS PAREILLE 

L'INDUSTRIE (?) 

LA GUILLOTINE, 

LA MONTAGNE 

LA PARISIENNE 

L'AMI DE LA POINTEA-PITRE 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 1793-17 9 6 I4 9 

Value {£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

-Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th&ic) Columns page 

— Arrival at Charleston November 30, 1795, reported; 

captured on November 8 (G/G Dec. 10, 1795). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (G/G May 28, 1795). 

— •Theric's valuation included schooner ST. JOSEPH, q.v. 

2,026 13 1* 

— Arrival in January of "FRANCTSCO" reported (G/C 

— Jan. 15, 1795); advertizement for sale of vessel and 

1,778 6 5 cargo, 10 guns, 4 swivels, "together with all her 

warlike stores" (C/G Jan. 20, 1795). 

•Th6ric's ST. FnANgois. 

— Arrival at Charleston April 18 reported, cargo valued 

— at $150,000 (G/G May 1, 1795). 

7,024 4 8 •Possibly Th6ric's aTA. JAIME. 

— Arrival at Charleston April 19, 1794, reported (G/G 

— May 1,1794). 

530 12 4 •Probably Th6ric's Spanish schooner SIGNORA DEL 

CARMEL. 

— Arrival at Charleston April 23, 1794, reported (G/G 

— May 1, 1794). 

858 10 0 •Probably Th6ric's Spanish schooner LAS DOLORES. 

— Capmred by Captain Carvin (BCC 601). 

— Th6ric list. 

4,791 19 8 

— Arrival at Savannah reported (G/G Aug. 7, 1794), 

— advertizement by French consulate for claims 

8,081 5 10 against prize (G/G Aug. 11, 1794). 

— Th6ric list. 

906 9 11 

Arrival at Frederica, Ga., reported (C/G Oct. 15, 

1794); libel filed in District Court of Georgia 

against vessel and Ballard for "piratical seizure" 

(G/G Nov. 6, 1794); vessel restored with cargo to 

owners (G/G Jan. 15, 1795); "run away with by 

captors, and the cargo landed and sold at St. 

Mary's, about 390 bales of cotton, part of the cargo, 

had been recovered" (BCC 620); Circuit Court 

affirmed decree of lower court in James Ormond vs. 

Brig Somerset (G/G May 7, 1795). 
150 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

From 

—>to 

Cargo 

Captured 

by 

PRTVATEER 

Sep. '93 SOVEREIGN Ship 

(Brown) Brit. 

Honduras—> LA SANS PAREILLE, 

London L'INDUSTRIE 

Apr. '94 SUSANNAH^ 

(Mclsaac) 

Brig. Jamaica—* LA SANS PAREILLE 

Brit. London 

Sep. '94 SWALLOW 

(Johnson) 

Schr. — 

Brit. Herring, 

2 Negroes 

LA PARISIENNE 

Feb. '95 LA TENDRE MER E Ship 

Brit. 

Mar. '95 TIROLI [TIVOLI] Brig 

(Barclay) Brit. 

Sep. '94 TRES MERONAS 

[LA TRASMERANA] 

(Trabadna) 

Oct. '93 TRURO Schr. 

Brit. 

Port-AuPrince —> 

Sugar, cotton, 

coffee, indigo 

Kingston ^^ 

1013 bales 

cotton, 5 hhds., 

1 tierce sugar, 

logwood, and 

mahog. 

Vera Cruz^^ 

Havana 

842 boxes of gun 

powder (150 lbs. 

each), pease, 

beans, lead, logwood, dried 

meat, $4,242 in 

specie, guns, ball 

Jamaica -^ 

New Brunswick 

LE GENERAL 

LAVEAUX 

LA MER E MICHEL 

LE REPUBLICAIN 

L'INDUSTRIE 
APPENDIX 2 : PRIZES, 17 9 3-17 9 6 I5 I 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—Net (Th6ric) Columns page 

7,731 10 0 Arrival of vessel reported (C/G Sept. 15, 1793); vessel 

500 0 0* bought by Thomas Stewart for owners, in harbor 

2,210 10 6 June 14, 1794, cleared for Cadiz by November 1794 

(BCC 612, 614). 

12,358 10 3 Arrival April 28, 1794, at Charieston, reported; 

— SUSANNAH, CX-HARRIET, owned by Abraham 

6,901 14 2 Sasportas, was taken to Jamaica; there condemned 

as a prize, sold to British owners, and sent to sea as 

SUSANNAH; later sold for £163/0/0, reported still 

in Charleston on July 14, 1794 (BCC 612-613). 

•Theric's brigantine SUZANNE. 

1,500 0 0 Arrival reported at Charleston, taken to St. Domingue 

— (C/G Sept. 9, 1794); vessel and cargo advertized for 

1,664 17 5 sale (C/G Sept. 17, 1794); Hbel against vessel dismissed, vessel valued at £1,200, negroes at £l40 , 

herrings at £140 (BCC 594, 619). SWALLOW was 

apparendy bought for a privateer and left Charleston in late November; reported as taking a British 

vessel (C/G Jan. 7, 1795); reported by British consul 

at Charleston as fitting out as a privateer (BCC 593). 

— Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Feb. 16, 1795); 

— prize captured British schooner MAR Y ANN (q.v.); 

25,600 0 0^ prize not sold by March-April 1795 (Theric). 

•Estimated. 

9,000 0 0^ Arrival at Charieston reported (C/G Mar. 27, 1795); 

— mentioned by Theric as not sold by March-April 

1,600 9 6t 1795; vessel libeled by British consul Moodie (BCC 

601). 

•Vessel only. fEstimated. 

— Arrival at Savannah with EAGLE reported (G/G Oct. 2, 

1794); libel filed against vessel and cargo Dec. 2 

(G/G Dec. 4, 1794); Georgia District Court gave 

decree against libelants of vessel and EAGLE (G/G 

Jan. 8, 1795); appeal against decree of District 

Court withdrawn (G/G May 7, 1795). 

— Vessel reported to have been brought into Savannah, 

1,369 12 9 she was bought by Carvin and sent to Charleston. 

1,090 16 4 Joh n Wallace, British consul at Savannah, noted 

that vessel and cargo were sold before he had 

received "any instructions from the consul-general 

[Phineas Bond] respecting valuation" (BCC 614). 
152 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-179 6 

Taken 

(17-) 

PRIZE 

(Captain) 

Rig 

and 

Flag 

From 

-•t o 

Cargo 

Captured 

by 

PRIVATEER 

Sep. '93 Two BROTHERS Bark 

(Woodman) Br. 

Honduras—* LA SANS PAREILLE, 

Liverpool L'INDIKTRIE 

Dec. '94 VERE Ship 

Brit. 

(See remarl 

May'94 VROUW CHRISTINA Brigm. Curacao-* L'AMI DE LA POINTEMAGDALENA^ Dutch Amsterdam A-PITRE 

Oct. '94 

Nov. '94 

Dec. '94 

Jan. '95 

Jan. '95 

Jan. '95 

Feb. '95 

Nov. '95 

Nov. '95 

Nov. '95 

Jan. '95 

Jan. '95 

Brig. 

Span. 

— 

Schr.(?) 

Sloop 

Span. 

Sloop 

Brit.(?) 

Sloop 

Span. 

Brig 

Brit. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Span. 

Brig. 

Span. 

Schr. 

Schr. 

Havana-^ 

Indigo, etc. 

— 

"from Savana" 

— 

New Providence—* 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— • 

Jamaica—* 

New Orleans 

UNIDENTIFIED 

LE REPUBLICAIN 

L'AMI DE LA POINTEX-PTTRE 

LE PORT-DE-PAIX 

LE RipUBLICAIN 

LA PARISIENNE 

L'AMI DE LA 

LlBERTl^ 

LA MfeRE MICHEL 

LA PARISIENNE 

LA PARISIENNE 

LE VENGEUR 

LE QUI-AUROITPENSE-X-QA 

LE FONSPERTUIS 
APPENDIX 2: PRIZES, 179 3-179 6 I53 

Value (£) Remarks 

—Est. (BCC) Notes on See 

—Sale pr. (BCC) Other text 

—^Net (Thfiric) Columns page 

4,266 16 6 Arrival of vessel reported (C/G Sept. 16, 1793); vessel 

1,000 0 0^ purchased by Thayer & Bardeu Co., cleared for 

1,000 0 0 Providence, R.I. (BCC 612, 614). 

•Vessel only. 

— About December 1, the vessel was captured by 200 

French prisoners who rose and ran her ashore on 

the coast of Georgia; account of rising and difficulties of getting American assistance (BCC 621); 

libel filed by master before District Court of South 

Carolina for part of stores etc.; case dismissed on 

plea to jurisdiction (Bee, Reid vs. Ship Vere, 66-67). 

— Joost Jansen vs. Brigantine Vrow Cristina Magdelena and 

— Edward Ballard (libel claimed illegal capture), deci1,200 0 0 sion reported (C/G Aug. 9, 1794); cargo advertized 

for sale (C/G Sep. 30, 1794). 

•Th6ric's "VROtrw. CHR. MAGD." 

PRIZES 

Reported entering Savannah River (G/G Oct. 16, 

1794). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Nov. 27, 1794). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Dec. 18, 1794). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Jan. 19, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Jan. 19, 1795). 

"Spanish bottom" arrival reported (C/G Jan. 19, 

1795). 

Arrival at Fort Johnson, February 9, 1795, reported 

(C/G Feb. 10, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston November 10, 1795, one of 

two, reported (C/G Nov. 11, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston November 29, 1795, reported 

(C/G Nov. 30, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Jan. 19, 1795). 

Arrival at Charleston reported (C/G Feb. 9, 1795), 

sale of vessel reported (C/G May 20, 1795). 

S'Tvdeay 

Vessels taken as prizes are listed on pages 127-153. Other vessels named 

are listed at the end of this index, pages 15B-160. 

Adet, Pierre (Ambassador of France), 101, 102 

Aristizabal, Lieutenant General Don Gabriel (Commander, Spanish Forces 

in the Caribbean), 76 

BaUard, Edward, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60,62, 62n 

Barney, Joshua, 53n 

Barre, Captain Guillaume, 79n, 109 

Bee, Judge Thomas (United States District Court, South Carolina), 48, 50, 

51,58, 59, 60, 70-71, 72, 73, 73n, 85n, 96 

Bentley, Reverend William (diarist), 34, 44,45, 63 

Bert, Colonel (Florida Legion), 38 

Blair, Judge John (United States Circuit Court, Georgia), 96 

Bolchos, Captain Alexandre, 42, 43, 83 

Bond, Phineas (British Consul General, Philadelphia), 79, 88n 

Bouteille, Jean, 14, 17, 23, 24, 24n, 29, 30, 40, 48, 50, 51, 52, 59, 73, 74, 

75, 75n, 76, 79n, 109 

Branzon, Captain( of LE LASCAZAS) , 28, 37, 38, 39n, 40, 42 

Cambis, Admiral (French Navy), 47 

Carvin, Jean Baptiste, 11-12, 14, 16, 17, 29, 40, 41, 43, 45n, 48, 50, 66n, 

72, 75, 77n, 79n, 80, 81, 85,86, 103 

Castello, Captain (see Castello v. Bouteille) 

Castello V. Bouteille (case), 48-52,59, 73 

Chaplin, Antoine, 92, 92n 

Clark, George Rogers, 25 

Cross & Crawley (Charleston firm), 69 

Connolly, Captain (of brig GOVERNOR PINCKNEY) , 94 
156 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

Cunnington, Captain (Charleston Militia), 22 

Cutteau, John, 92 

Drayton, Stephen, 23, 25 

Dupont, Victor (French Vice Consul, Charleston), 101, 102 

Edwards, John, 92 

d'Estaing, Admiral Charles Hector, 6 

Fallon, Dr. James, 5 

Fauchet, Jean Antoine Joseph (French Minister to the United States), 35, 

36, 37, 38, 39,40,42,47,66,100,101 

Ferrey, J. B. E., 100 

Folger, Captain Brown (see Folger v. Lecuyer) 

FolgerV.Lecuyer (case), 18, 19 

Fonspertuis, Citizen (French Vice Consul, Charleston), 41, 4In, 43, 57n, 

57, 66, 82, 99,100,101,102n 

Fremin, Citizen (French Acting Vice Consul, St. Marys), 37 

Fulton, Samuel, 101-102 

Gaillard, Jean, 69, 71 

Garden, Alexander, Jr., 94n (see "Rusticus") 

Garriscan, Captain Henri, 79n, 81, Bin, 82, 85,86, 86n, 109 

Genet, Edmond Charles (French Minister Plenipotentiary to the United 

States), 3, 6-8, 8n, 11, 12, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 35, 36, 36n, 37, 48, 53, 

101, 109 

Giles, Captain (Charleston pilot), 84, 85 

Gillon, Alexander, 5, 5n, 25 

Grey, General Sir Charles, 20, 3In 

Hamilton, Alexander, 10, 12 

Hammond, Abner, 25 

Hammond, George (British Minister to the United States), 8, 12, 13n, 

43,68 

Hammond, Samuel, 25 

Hammond, William, 25 

Hammond & Fowler (East Florida firm), 25 

Henfield, Gideon, 10, 53 

Hervieux, Captain Henri, 16n, 40,49, 50, 51, 52, 76, 109 

Hills, May & Woodbridge (Savannah firm), 61 

Howard, Don Carlos, 102 

Hugues, Victor, 63, 64,65,66, 84n, 86, 88-89, 104 

Jansen, Joost (Master of brigantine VROUW CHRISTINA MAGDALENA), 58 

Jay, John, 45, 46, 99; Treaty, 97-99, 100, 101, 106 

Jefferson, Thomas, 4n, 8n, 9, 13n, 31, 32 

Jervis, Admiral John (later Lord St. Vincent), 20, 3In 

Lang, Richard, 99-100, 102 

Langlois, Joseph (Lieutenant on LE LASCAZAS), 77n 

Latalie, Captain, 79 

Laveaux, General Etienne (Governor of Saint Domingue), 65, 66, 66n, 

74, 75, 87, 92n 

de Latre, Captain, 62 

Lecuyer, Captain Jacques Louis (see Folger v. Lecuyer) 
INDEX 15 7 

Lory, Captain Alexandre, 79n, 87 

Lowell, Judge John, 18-19 

Mangourit, Michel Ange Bernard (French Consul, Charleston), 6, 21, 22, 

23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 35, 37, 37n, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 50, 99, 100 

Madison James, 33 

Marshall Captain (of sloop ADVICE) , 22, 24 

Michael, Jean, 92 

Miller, Charles (British Consul, Charleston), 5.2n 

Moissonier, Citizen (French Vice Consul, Baltimore), 12 

Moodie, Benjamin (British Vice Consul, Charleston), 52 (ref. to); 55n, 

60, 61, 62n, 68, 69, 70, 71n, 73, 74, 75, 79, 80, 80n, 81, 82-83, 84, 85n, 

96, 97, 105 

Morgan, Captain Daniel, 85 

Morphy, Diogo (Spanish Consular Agent, Charleston), 100, 103 

Moultrie, Governor William (of South Carolina), 25, 29, 60, 93n 

Murray, Rear Admiral (British Navy), 81, 84,104 

Mcintosh, John, 99 

McKenney, Captain, 60 

Nelson, Solomon, 53 

Nepomucena de Quesada; Juan (Spanish Governor, East Florida), 100, 

103 (ref. to) 

North & Vesey (Charleston firm), 80 

I'Ouverture, General Toussaint, 65 

Pecheu, Captain, 62 

Pelletier, Captain, 62 

Peronne, Captain Cesar, 76, 78, 79, 80, 80n, 109 

Peters, Judge Richard, 9 

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, 99 

Pinckney, General Thomas, 31 

Polverel (French Commissioner, Saint Domingue), 64 

Pressinet (General Laveaux's Deputy), 66, 66n 

Randolph, Edmund (Attorney General of the United States), 44n 

Read, Colonel Jacob, 52 

Reddick, Samuel, 53, 54 

Rigaud, General Andre (Commander, Department of the South, Saint 

Domingue), 88 

Rivington Shipyard (New York), 69 

Robespierre, Maxmillien, 34, 37 

Rogers, Elijah, 99, 102 

Ross, Captain (Master of prize ELIZABETH) , 96 

"Rusticus" (Alexander Garden, Jr.), 94, 94n 

Rutledge, John (Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court), 98 

Sanchez, Bernardino, 27, 28 

Sasportas, Abraham, 58, 69, 70, 71, 73n, 93 

Sheftall Mordecai (agent), 78 

Shepland, Anthony (see Chaplin, Antoine) 

Shoolbred, G. (British Deputy Consul, Charleston), 30, 52n 

Silvestre, Captain, 105 

Sinclair, John, 52,53,55,56,57,59,60,62 
158 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 179 3-17 9 6 

Sonthonax, Leger-Felicite (French Commissioner, Saint Domingue), 64 

Stanley, John (President of Assembly, St. Kitts, British West Indies), 90 

Sweet, Captain, 59n, 60 

Talbot, William, 41, 41n, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 62, 70, 78 

Theric Jean Frangois, 15n, 77n, 94, 109, 110 

Trabadua, Captain Pedro, 78n, 79 

Van Berkel (Resident Agent for United Netherlands), 62 

Van Stabel, Rear Admiral Jean, 35,56, 57, 58, 59 

Wilson, Associate Justice James (United States Circiut Court of Appeals), 97 

VESSELS OTHER THA N PRIZES 

ADVICE, sloop, 22, 34 

L'AIGLE, French privateer, CX-EAGLE, 103 

L'AMI DE LA LIBERTE, French privateer schooner, 41n, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 

134-135, 136-137, 138-139, 144-145, 152-153 

L'AMI DE LA POINTE-A-PITRE, French privateer schooner, 41, 42, 55, 57, 58, 

59, 60, 61, 62, 70, 72, 96, 134-135, 136-137, 140-141, 148-149, 152-153 

(see also FAIR PLAY) 

L'ATALANTE, French privateer, 28, 28n, 128-129 

BLONDE, H M frigate, 81 

LA BONNE MERE, French privateer, 130-131 

LE BRUTUS, French sloop-of-war, 35 

LE BRUTUS FRANGAIS, French privateer, CX-LE PICHEGRU, 69, 84, 85, 85n, 

103, 128-129, 146-147 

LE QA IRA, French privateer, 60n 

LA CARMAGNOLE, French privateer, 12 (illustr.) 76n, 86, 104, 105, 144-145 

CATHERINE, 51 

LA CHARENTE, French frigate, 35 

LE CITOYEN GENET, French privateer brig, 8, 10 

CLEOPATRA, HMS, 84 

LE COURIER NATIONALE, French privateer, CX-COURIER OF LIVERPOOL, 

83, 84n 

CYGNET, American brig, later LE GENERAL LAVEAUX, 69-72 

DAEDALUS, HM frigate, 56 

LE DAUPHIN, French privateer ship, ex-U.S. Continental frigate DELAWARE, 

74, 75n, 83, 84n 

DELAWARE, former U.S. frigate, later LE DAUPHIN, 74 

EAGLE, Bridsh Letter of Marque brig, later French privateer L'AIGLE, 77, 

78, 80 

L'EGALITE, French privateer schooner, CX-L'AMI DE LA POINTE-A-PITRE, 

62, 96, 134-135, 142-143, 146-147 

L'EMBUSCADE, French frigate, 8n, 136-137, 140-141 

FAIR MARGARET, French privateer sloop, 50 

FAIR PLAY, schooner, later L'AMI DE LA POINTE-A-PITRE, 53, 54 

LA FLECHA, Spanish brig, 102 

FLYING FISH , New Providence privateer, 60 
INDEX 159 

LE FONSPERTUIS, French privateer, 140-141, 152-153 

LE GENERAL LAVEAUX, French privateer brig, CX-CYGNET, 69, 70, 71, 72, 

73, 83n, 138-139,140-141, 142-143, 144-145, 150-151 

LA GUILLOTINE, French privateer, 92n, 140-141,148-149 

HAWKE, schooner, 42, 43 

HUSSAR, HM frigate, 30, 33n, 78,19,81 

HYAENA, former British frigate, 84 

L'INDUSTRIE, French privateer schooner, 11,12-13, 17,17n, 29,40n, 41, 42, 

48, 50, 72, 76n, 81, 128-129, 120-131, 134-135, 138-139, 148-149, 

150-151 

L'INTREPIDE, French privateer, 

LE JOU JOU NATIONALE, French privateer, 140-141 

LE LASCAZAS, French national vessel, schooner, 28, 29, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 

43, 136-137 

LE LEO, French privateer, 103 

LA LIBERTE, French privateer schooner, 8In, 

LITTLE JOH N (alias, see LE PETIT JEAN) 

LA MERE MICHEL, French privateer schooner, 83, 83n, 84, 134-135, 138-

139, 142-143, 152-153 

LA MINERVE, French privateer, CX-MINERVA, 28, 28n, 29, 42, 128-129 

LA MONTAGNE, French privateer schooner, 29, 81n, 93, 128-129, 146-147, 

148-149 

LA NARBONNAISE, French privateer, 76, 103, 128-129, 130-131, 132-133, 

142-143, 144-145 

NAUTILUS, HMS, 45n 

LA PANDOUR, French privateer, 8In, 83n 

LA PARISIENNE, French privateer schooner, 83, 84n, 103, 104, 132-133, 

135-137, 144-145, 146-147, 148-149, 152-153 

LA PATRIOTE, French privateer, 130-131 

LE PETIT JEAN, French privateer, 138-139 

LE PETIT PORT-DE PAEX, French privateer tender, 83n, 132-133 

LA PETITE DEMOCRATE, French privateer brig, CX-LITTLE SARAH, 8, 8h 

LE PORT-DE PAIX, French privateer, CX-LE VAINQUEUR DE LA BASTILLE, 74, 

83n, 130-131, 132-133, 138-139, 152-153 

LE PICHEGRU, French privateer brig, CX-PULASKI, 81, 82 

PULASKI, brig, 69 

QUEBEC, HMS, 81 

LE QU I L'AUROIT PENSE A QA, French privateer, 128-129, 152-153 

LE REPUBLICAIN, French privateer sloop, 76n, 77, 78, 80, 81, 134-135, 144-

145, 148-149, 150-151, 152-153 

LE ROBERT, French privateer, 29, 29n 

LA RESOLUTION (see la Revolution) 

LA REVOLUTION, French privateer, 137, 148-149 

EL SAN ANTONIO, Spanish brig, 102 

SAN JOSE, converted to French privateer, 

LE SAN CULOTTES, French privateer, 76n, 128-129 
160 PRIVATEERS IN CHARLESTON, 1793-1796 

LA SANS PAREILLE, French privateer schooner, 14-17, 17h, 29, 39n, 41, 42, 

43, 48, 50, 75, 128-129, 130-131, 134-135, 136-137, 138-139, 140-141, 

144-145, 148-149, 150-151 

SCORPION, H M sloop-of-war, 78, 81 

LA SIGNORIA, 76 

SIR CHARLES GREY, British privateeer ship, 85 

LA TENDRE MERE, French privateer, 140-141 

TERPSICHORE, H M frigate, 81 

THETIS , H M frigate, 81,82 

LE VAINQUER DE LA BASTILLE, French privateer, 15, 130-131 

LE VENGEUR, French privateer, 86, 103, 104, 138-139, 144-145, 146-147, 

152-153 

LE VENGEUR DE RISQUE-TOUT (see LE VENGEUR) 

LE VENGEUR DE SANS CULOTTES (see LE VENGEUR) 

LE VOLCAN, French privateer, CX-LE PORT-DE-PAEX, 132-133 

LE VAN STABEL, French privateer, 47n