Deposition of John Cook, Seaman in the Schooner Liberty, given before the North Carolina Admiralty Court, June 18, 1778

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[State North Carolina Port Carrituck 18^th. Day June 1778]

John Cook being Sworn Deposeth & Sayeth, Goodrich¹ Came in At Carituck Inlet Run Amongst the Vessells fired At them, Amongs^t. the Rest he boarded Said Schooner Liberty² About five or Six A Clock in the After Noon—

The Cap^t. Privateteer ask^d. Cap^t. Belt if there was any Pilote aboard they Answred No, than Cap^t. Belt Agreed that Provided he the Said Goodrich would Give him Every thing that belong^d. to him On board, he would Carry the Vessell out.³ The next morning Git answar from Goodrich About Sun Rise to git under way in Order to go to Sea, we Just weigh^d. Anchor & Schooner Liberty got a ground. directly after the Vessell took a [Shore?], Cap^t. Belt Ordred the Cable to be Cut,⁴ & then said Schooner went down the Chaniel some Distaince, being at the Helm him Self, Ordred the People to Look out for stakes, Soon after Bob⁵ Spied Two on the Starbord Bow, he ask^d. if we did not see any upon the Lawbord Bow, no sooner Spoke But the Vessell Got a ground, the Cap^t. Imediently Ordred the Main Sail to be Lowerd & the Gib hold to winderd, & Gave orders to Put Poles out & Push him of[f] if we Could, the Privateteers men Ask^d. what thay Should do the Cap^t. told them they must take his Boat & Go a Board the Privateteer & bring an Anchor Or other wise they would not git hir of[f] & if in case thay Chused to come back & take some of the goods out of the Vessell & burn hir he hoped they would be kind Enough to bring a Craft to take his things a Shore & the Rest of the things might go to hell & be dam^d. if they would, the three Privateersmen took Schooner Libertys boat & went a board the Privateer,⁶ About three quarters of an Hour the Millitia Come lon[g] side said Schooner Cap^t. Belt Denyd. their Cuming a board Cald them Heathern & told them he did not want any of their assistance, but the millitia Come on board Said Vessell, Cap^t. Belt Revild them askd. them if they ware gowning to Rob him. the millitia Ordred the Hatches to be Opene^d. to see if any Arms or amunition wore secreted, on which Capt Belt for bid them, one of the millitia with this Deponent wen into the hole, & Returnd with out Any thing, this Deponent further declares that it his Oppnion that said Schooner Liberty would ben Burnt if it had not ben Provented by the millita & futher Sayeth not—

John Cook—

State North Carolina
Port Carrituck

These Certyfie that the above Deposition was sworn to in the Court of Admiralty 18^th. Day
June 1778

Sol^o. Perkins R C A⁷

D, DNA, Revolutionary War Prize Cases, Records of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, no. 105. The deposition was taken in the trial concerning the disposition of Schooner Liberty between a group of North Carolina militiamen, who asserted that they had captured the vessel while it was in enemy hands, and Peter Kerwin, the North Carolina representative for the owners, who contended that the vessel never passed from the control of its captain, Cook was one of six seamen serving with the schooner.

1. Capt. Bridger Goodrich, a Loyalist commanding the Bermudian privateer sloop Hammond. According to a letter written by Capt. Middleton Belt of Liberty to the vessel's owner, Hammond chased Liberty into Currituck Inlet early on 8 June and then later that day entered the inlet and attacked five ships, including Liberty, moored within. Ibid.

2. Charles Lee, the Virginia Naval Officer for the Lower Potomac District, certified that Liberty, a twenty-ton Virginia-built schooner, owned by Joseph Harper and Co., had left Alexandria, Virginia, on 25 Apr. 1778 bound for Cape François. Ibid.

3. In his letter to Joseph Harper of 16 June, Belt asserted that during the boarding Hammond's crew "Broke the Hatches and Plunderd Considerably." Ibid.

4. According to Belt's deposition, the anchor was used to pull Liberty to open water and then the Privateer" ordered that the line be cut and the anchor abandoned.

5. Robert Ferguson, another seaman with Liberty. He mentioned his spotting the stakes in his deposition. Ibid.

6. In his deposition, Belt said that three men from Hammond were then aboard Liberty.

7. “RCA” presumably means Register, Court of Admiralty. The Court found that the militiamen deserved one eighth the value of the Liberty and its cargo. The owners successfully appealed the verdict to Congress, but in the meantime, a group of the militiamen seized Liberty and its cargo.

Document Information

Date

1778 June 18

Volume

Volume 13

Series

American Theater, June 1 to August 15, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

Deposition of John Cook, Seaman in the Schooner Liberty, given before the North Carolina Admiralty Court, June 18, 1778

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