1797-1798 - Archive of documents relating to the capture of an Alexandria-based merchantman by French privateers that was one of several such incidents that led to the Quasi-War with France

"The Tribunal declares a Good Prize the Merchandizes of the Cargo of the said Sloop Diana of Alexandria . . . and awards them to the Owners, Captain and Crew of the said French Privateer le Trepied, Captain Antoine Pellegrin. . .."

Various locations, 1798.

This archive consists of 11 documents related to the voyage, seizure, plundering, and eventual return of the Sloop Diana out of Alexandria, Virginia. The ship was captured twice by French privateers while bound for Cape Nicholas Mole, Saint-Domingue, and Port au Prince, Haiti. This was one of the incidents that led to the United States' Quasi-War with France between 1798 and 1801.

On 15 December, Captain Henry Nicoll departed Alexandria, Virginia, on the Sloop Diana with a cargo of flour, pilot bread, butter, beef, pork, onions, and spermaceti candles.

• Although just "off the pitch of Cape Henry [with] the wind blowing fresh, one of his Crew, named Thophilus Townshend, fell overboard and was drowned." Nothing else out of the ordinary occurred until the ship neared Cape Nicholas Mole, Saint-Dominique.

There,

• "When being within Gunshot of Cape Nichols Mole, his Vessel was captured by the Armed French Privateer Schooner called The Flying Fish [and was] carried into the port of Jean Rabel [where] his papers were sent to Cape Francois for Trial at which he attended with considerable Trouble and Expence, and both the Vessel and cargo were cleared. . .. On his return to Jean Rabel, he found his Vessels Hatches had been broke open by the privateers Men and the following articles stolen there by them, one Barrel of Beef, One barrel of Pork, Two boxes of Candles Two Ferkins of Butter, Two Barrels of Pilot Bread, Three Hundred Bunches of Onions, and the greatest part of his Cabin Furnishings. . .."

Nicoll next applied for clearance to sail to Haiti but was refused,

• "And at the same time the Administration signified to him that they must have his flour, for which they would allow him eighteen Dollars per Barrel payable in Coffee at the Market Price, and would Deliver the Coffee in the Course of sixty Days. . .. From the manner this Intimation was made, he found it was impossible to resist, [for] he was advised . . . if he had made a positive refusal they would assuredly have taken it by Force [and] all Hopes of payment would have been at an end. . .. After the sixty Days were expired, he made various applications for Payment, but found it was in vain to expect it as he was informed by the Administration an Order had reached the Island forbidding the payment of such Debts. . .. Being much destressed for the want of provisions, and having no money to purchase any, he applied to the administration for one Barrel of Beef, but they refused to let him have it. . .. Being uncertain when, if ever payment would be made . . . he resolved [to go to] Cape Francois . . . with the expectation of selling his Bread at some price or other. [He next purchased] five Hundred Bushels of Indian Corn [and after sailing to the] Grand Caicos [and after] he there purchased with his Corn one thousand four hundred and fifty Bushels of Salt [he] sailed for Alexandria. [Unfortunately] he was captured by the armed French Privateer Schooner called Le Trepied commanded by Captain Pelligren who carried him into Port de Paix, where after much ill usage and long detention his Cargo was condemned [i.e., seized]"

Although he was allowed to keep the Diana.

• "The Tribunal declares a Good Prize the Merchandizes of the Cargo of the said Sloop Diana of Alexandria . . . and awards them to the Owners, Captain and Crew of the said French Privateer le Trepied, Captain Antoine Pellegrin. . .. The Tribunal declares also that the Sloop Diana of Alexandria, Captain Henry Nicoll is not a good Prize, and must be entirely delivered to the said Captain, together with his Sails and Appurtenances. . .."

While his ship was impounded during the tribunal at Port de Pais, it was "plundered of part of her Rigging and Sails" and Nicholls was forced to use personal funds "to purchase some provisions, and to ballast his Vessel" in order to sail for Alexandria, where he arrived on June 4, 1798.

Considerably more detail is provided in this archive, much of it from a French perspective that also provides a rare, detailed inside view of the "Deliberations of [a] Tribunal of Prizes" and the maritime laws, dating back to 1661, used to determine whether a captured ship and/or its cargo was a "good prize" which could be sold and the proceeds distributed between a privateer's owners, captain, officers, and crew, or "not a good prize" in which case it was returned to the vessel's captain.

Additionally, this archive documents Captain Nicoll's and the Diana's "underwriter's" dissatisfaction with the French tribunal's decision. However, their "protest" apparently did no good; State Department records show that as of 1801, a claim of $6,018 against France for damages to the Sloop Diana and its cargo had not been paid. However, the underwriters were successful in their attempt to obtain partial compensation via an insurance claim.

The 11 documents contain 22 pages of often densely packed text. All are in nice shape, however, one, as noted below has chipping to the lower margin of one page that affects one line of text. Transcripts of the most important documents will be provided. The documents include:

1. 1. Partially printed agreement, dated December 24, 1797, between James Patton & J W Dykes and William Hodgson, et al., insuring "the good Sloop called Diana" for the duration of this voyage.
2. Hand-delivered, folded letter, dated 14th January 1798, from Patton and Dykes reporting the capture of the Diana to arbitrators who would examine their eventual insurance claim.
3. Manuscript "Protest" (in French) by Captain Henry Nicoll to "the Notary Public in the North part of the Island and Coast of St. Domino, residing at Jean Rabel," dated "the sixth Pluviose the sixth Republican Year [15 January 1798 per Morse's online "French Calendar Conversions in One Step"].
4. Translation of Nicoll's "Protest," (see item 3 above) which is affixed by ribbon to items 5 and 7.
5. Translation of an "Extract of Deliberations of the Tribunal of Prizes," dated "the third Floréal, the sixth Year of the French Republic" [22 April 1798]. (Attached by ribbon to items 4 and 7.
6. Manuscript certificate in French from the National Customs at Port-de-Pais, Saint Domingue authorizing Captain Nicoll, his crew, and the Sloop Diana to depart the island, dated 25 Floreal, Sixth Year [14 May 1798].
7. Statement from Henry Moore, translator, notarized by Cleon Moore, Notary Public, dated June 6, 1798, stating that items 4 and 5 "are just and true literal Translations of certain French Writings concerning the Sloop Diana of Alexandria." This is attached by ribbon to items 4 and 5.
8. Notarized statement by Henry Nicoll and two crew members, dated June 6, 1798, that describes in detail the voyage of the Diana and its capture by two different French privateers. This is attached by ribbon to item 9.
9. "An Account of the Sales of the Cargo of the Sloop Diana. . .," dated June 7, 1798, and signed by Captain Nicoll. This is a detailed, itemized list of sales and disbursements related to the Sloop Diana's voyage. (Attached by ribbon to item 8.)
10. Written opinion by arbitrators William Wilson and John Janney, dated July 6, 1798, concerning the underwriters' obligations regarding the Diana's loss of cargo and furnishings.
11. Bond, dated July 9, 1798, between James Patton and James Dykes, and the voyage underwriters, William Hodgson, et al., for $3,000 in payment for the losses suffered to the Sloop Diana and its cargo.

The Quasi-War was an undeclared naval war between the United States and France that was primarily fought in the Caribbean and along the U. S. east coast between 1798 and 1800. French discontent with the United States had been brewing since 1792-1793 when France declared war upon Austria, Britain, and Spain. With the signing of the Jay Treaty of 1794 that formally ended the American Revolution, trading increased between the United States and Britain, and in 1796 France retaliated by chartering privateers to seize over 300 American ships involved in that commerce. In March 1798, Congress reestablished the U. S. Navy, which had been dissolved following the Revolution, and by the end of 1799, American warships were engaging French privateers and merchantmen, reducing U.S. losses and inflicting significant damage upon French shipping. Later negotiations led to the Convention of 1800, which ended the conflict.

(For more information see, Williams's The French Assault on American Shipping, 1793-1813, "French spoliations. Report of the Secretary of State relative to the papers on file in the Department of State concerning the unpaid claims of citizens of the United States against France for spoliations prior to July 31, 1801," Document 84, Senate Documents, 61st Congress, 1st Session, March 15 to August 5, 1909, and Weld's Our Naval War with France.)

An exceptional collection of first-hand material from the perspective of an American sailing master, his ship's owners, and French officials in the Caribbean that reflect the building tension and animosity between the U.S. and France which would soon spill over into a maritime conflict.

Exceptionally scarce. At the time of listing, nothing similar is for sale in the trade, and no similar archives have appeared at auction per the Rare Book Hub. While OCLC shows several letters regarding the seizure of ships by privateers, it identifies no institutions that hold significant similar collections documenting any seizure from start to finish from multiple first-hand French and American perspectives.