[Dover, Del., 6 July 1778]
. . . . the Libel of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Barratt who prosecutes as well for himself as on behalf of a Party of men consisting of Militia under his Command, humbly setteth forth, That whereas the Honorable the Continental Congress did on the twenty third day of march in the year of our Lord One Thousand seven Hundred and seventy six by a Resolve ordain and enact, that all Vessels with their Tackle, apparel and Furniture and Cargoes belonging to Inhabitants of Great Britain, and all Vessels which may be employed in carrying Supplies to the Ministerial Armies which shall happen to be taken near the shores of any of those Colonies by the People of the Country or detachments from the Army shall be deemed lawful Prize and so forth:1 And whereas your Libellant who as well for himself &c did on the twenty ninth day of April in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven Hundred and seventy-eight in the Creek called St. Jones's Creek and near the mouth thereof in Kent County on Delaware and within the Jurisdiction of this Court with a Party of men under his Command capture a certain Schooner called the Packet whereof a certain Edward Knotts was master, which Schooner then and there did belong to a certain Benjamin Stockley an Inhabitant of this State, and which said Schooner was then and there actually employed in carrying Supplies to the Ministerial Army now laying in the City of Philadelphia in direct Opposition to the true Intent and Meaning of the Resolve aforesaid, your Libellant therefore in behalf of himself as well as &c humbly entreateth that your Honor would take the Premisses into Consideration and pass a decree that Condemnation of the Schooner, Tackle, Apparel, Furniture and Cargo may be had &c . . . .2
D, DNA, Revolutionary War Prize Cases, Records of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, no. 52, pp. 1-2.
1. See Journal of the Continental Congress, 23 Mar. 1776, NDAR 4:477–80.
2. The claim of Philip Barratt and the militiamen was challenged by Gov. Caesar Rodney who claimed half ownership in Packet and asserted that if it had been engaged in carrying supplies to the British in Philadelphia, it was done without his knowledge. After a series of hearings, Judge Thomas Rodney of the Admiralty Court of Delaware decided that Barratt and his militiamen were entitled to Stockley's half share of Packet, but upheld Rodney's claim and ordered that his share of the vessel and its equipment be restored to him, including half of any "Profits and Advantages" accrued from use of the vessel from the time of its capture until the judgment date of 1 June 1779. DNA, Revolutionary War Prize Cases, Records of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, no. 52, pp. 3–28.