The Sun.
London, England, 1807-10-17 00:00:00

which, with my Altswer, I: I have the botto' to
subjoin, and have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant, •
S. P. HUNIPIIRgYS.

Serjeant Richard Frodsham, of the Royal MArines,
of His Majesty's Shlp Bellona, called in and sworn,
to truly answer r what he kneW of the Prisoner, as
also to-such *questions -as the Court might ask
„him.
Had heard the.charges read.
Q. Do you know any thing of the Prisoner ?
A. Only that he was confined on board the Bel long,
so a Deserter from the Halifax.

Q. Were yon. on board
'His
Majesty's Ship :Chi.'
cheater in the Chesapeake, doing duty as Serjeant
of Marines i—A._ Yes—l was lent from the Bello-
na to His Majesty's Ship Chichester, on. the 10th of
Npvember, 1806, and remained there until the 15th
March, 1807. _ _

. .
Q. Do you know of any Deserters from Fort
Nelsoet being claimed by the American Command.
ant ?—A. Yes.

Q. Relate to the Court the particulars.—A. In:
the early part of February last, the Chichester being
along-side the wharf at Gosport, in Virginia, I' saw
a party of soldieis, under arms, consisting of the
Commandant of Fort Nelson, a Serjeant, Corporal,
and four Privates, coming from the Fort to the
Wharf, along-side which -the Chichester was lay-
ing. Having entered the gates, they proceeded to
Captain Stopford's lodgings; when I was sent for,,
by him, and asked whether 'there were any Deser-
ters on board from the Fort—l answered, there were
not any.—The Captain said, " there are three, ale
there not?" and diretied me to give them up to the
person I supposed the Commandant.—l, With -the
assistat ce of the Offipers, searched the -ShiP, but
could not find them, and reported accordingly to
the C: plain, who then ordered all hands to be turned
up, in order to search more partiCularly; as he was
determined to give them up. I; with the Master,
and other Officers, renewed the search ; and, at the'
expiration of an hour, two Were t'ound under the
stores in the hold, the third was found in one of the
store-houses, under the sails. Captain Siopford di
re6ted Mr. Brooks, one of the Midshipmen of the
Ship, to be confined, for telling Captain Saunders
that he thought it was not right to give up their
Deserters when they would not give up ours. The
Deserters were then put in a boat, and taken, by
the American Captain and Guard; to the
,Fort
Their names were, Wm. Burn, a shoemaker by
trade, an Irishman, born in Loncloriderry.; Williact
Jones, a weaver by trade, born at
,Manchester,, in
England ; the name, or place of birth, of the third
person I'do not recollect.
Q.: Do you know of any of the crew, or supernu-
theraries, deserting from the Chichester,:: and enter-
ing the American military service Yes—Cost-
valescents, who came from the Regiments, &c. iq
the West Indies, for recovery of their health.
Q. Relate the 'particulars.—A. Robert Simpson
and Francis Sedgewick, of the Royal Artillery;
Win. Phillips, Corporal of Royal Marines,,belonging
to. the Chichester Benjamin Withers, of the lath
Regiment of Foot ; and John Mahoney, of the 37th,,
deserted from the Chichester—some of whom en-
listed, in the English uniform, info the American
service, and were afterwards seen by me in the
American military uniform—Simpson and Mahoney
were Irishmen, and Withers and Phillips, English-
men, from theCoUnty of Lancaster--I di) not know
what countryman Sedgewick was, but have repeat.
edly heard theta all declare, they were strangers to
the United States.'

'l'he Evidence withdrew; and
Captain John Erskine Douglas, of His Majestis
Ship' Bellona, sworn.
Q. Was you.SeniOr Officer of His Majesty's Ships
in the Chesapeake when the men, stated by the'last
witness, deserted from the Chichester wag
Senior Officer.

Q. Did you make any application for those men ?
A:I did make application, but they were not given
up: and, to the .best of my recolleaion, the answer
given was, " if pny Desertem frcim 'the English
service have entered into the American service, they
have been sent with a detachment into the country."
' The Prisoner 'was now called upon for his defence,
having been told, et the examination of each wit-
ness„ that he' might, isic any questions' he. pleaied.-,
After retiring, for a short time, with the judge Act-
vocate, he returned into Court, 'nd stated, that the
evidence hi-ought 'against him was so strong, there
was but little left for hiM to say in his defence ;biit
that the reason of his, hiding in 'the coal-hole Was,.
for fear of the Americans making him fight against
Ills country, which he declared. he would not do on
any account ; thathe, With all the men Who deserted
from, the Halifax, were persuaded by the BoatiWain
to enter for the 'Chesapeake, to'protea themselves,
which they did r Lieut. Sinclair asking them if they
had 'not a second name: About thirty men went in
tihtYfirst draft with him to the Chesapeake, when
aptain Gordon mustered them, and they Were
mustered again in Hampton ROads by the Conitno-
dore. He. reqUested leave to call one -evidence iii
again--;-to ask his Officers for a charaEter—andlhen
he threw himself on the mercy of the Court,
Lord James rownihend stated, that, prior to the
charges, he had always behaved himself .as a quiet,
steady:man.

Mr. Turßer called in again, and reminded that
he was still on his oath,

.Q. By the Prisoner. Do you recolleet my throw-
ing_ my oar across the boat, and not rowing after the
beat had been pulling some tithe for The shore, and
after others ealled out ,t pull away ?"—A. I do not.
The Prisoner pulleirakiray as the others did.
Lieutenant Career, 'of the Halifax, on being called-
on for the Prisoner'S chargler, stated, that all the'
time he was in the Slogp, he'considered him a steady,
sober, .attentive man, and one be could have en-
trusted on shore.

Lieutenant Masters had known the Prisoner all
the time he had been in the Halifax—never knew
any thing against hint—he was sober and attentive,
and occasionally with working parties on shore.
The Prisoner having nothing further to offer, the
Court adjourned from the wiarteit-deck, to consider
of the evidence they had heard ; and, after maturely
and deliberately weighing the same, were of opinion,
That the Charges against Jenkin liatford were prov-
ed, and adjudged hint to suffer death, by being hung
at the yard-arm of such one of His Majesty's Ships,
and at such time, as the Commander in Chief at