President Rawlins Lowndes of South Carolina to Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, July 29, 1778

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[Extract]

Dear Sir

... The Letters of Marque you sent me are all disposed of, every thing that carries a Gun, is Sollicitous of being in fortunes way, and taking out a Commission, which makes great demands upon me every day, and their obtaining them free of all expence gives a greater Scope to these speculative Genius's—¹

.... A Sloop from Jamaica which Sailed out of that place in Company with a fleet of 104 Vessells under Convoy of the Southampton Cap^t Garnier,² was lately brought into Charles Town by the Sailors (All Americans) seven in Number, who took the Command, near Augustine where she was bound from the Captain & Mate and Conducted her in here together with M^r. James Jamieson (and his Family) who was owner & going to reside in Augustine—³ Jamieson was sent off the State last Fall, as his Principals and Practice did not at all Coalesce with our measures; he is now here without being Guilty of Treason, which a voluntary return would have subjected him to; I shall send a Flag to Augustine in a few days with him and other Prisoners perhaps Bachop, but Osborne I fancy must abide a little longer with us to answer some Charges of a Criminal Complection not warranted by either Law Civil or Martial,⁴ pray Sir does the Enemy exchange our People whom they Capture in Ships of War indiscriminately with other Men or do they require Prisoners in the like Situation in Excha because both Bachop & Osborne and their Crews were in Armed Vessells purposely Equiped, and if the Enemy insist on Similarity of Circumstances as conditions in their Cartels, or lay us under any difficulties in exchanging our People we ought to know it, that our Conduct may be regulated thereby⁵

.... Dear Sir Your most Obed^t Serv^t.

Raw^s. Lowndes

Cha^s. Town 29^th. July 1778—

L, ScU, South Caroliniana Library. Addressed below close: “His Excy Henry Laurens Esq^r-." Docketed: "Presid^t. Lowndes/29 July 1778/Rec^d 19 Aug^t./Ans^d. 21^st—." In the portions not included Lowndes discusses the end of the expedition against East Florida and the dispute over command of the expeditionary force that marred its last days. He discusses a commission issued to a French army officer by the governor of North Carolina as a possible precedent and the gist of his conversation with John Christian Senf concerning the disposition of British and German regimental flags after the Saratoga convention. He notes that reports of a battle have arrived from the North; congratulates Laurens on Congress' return to Philadelphia; details the case of John Mills and John Hutchinson, which includes the forgery of notes of exchange and possible espionage; and asks Laurens to look into the financial affairs of John Dorsius, who states that he has supplied a large sum of money to French officers traveling northward.

1. In his reply dated 20 Aug., Laurens promised to send Lowndes more commissions; ScHi, Henry Laurens Letter Book.

2. The convoy escorted by H.M.S. Southampton, Capt. William Garnier commanding, left Jamaica in late June.

3. The crew of sloop Dolphin, John Roberts, master, commandeered the vessel on 20 July. The American crew had been earlier taken prisoners by the British. Dolphin arrived at Charleston on 25 July. As Lowndes writes, the vessel's owner, James Jamieson, his wife Rebecca, and their four children were also on board, as was another passenger, Mrs. Margaret Bennet. The cargo consisted of 80 hogsheads of rum and "other articles" that were "in great demand." Laurens Papers 14: 89n.

4. Capt. Peter Bachop had commanded the East Florida Privateer sloop Tonyn's Revenge; Capt. George Osborne had commanded the East Florida Privateer sloop Ranger. On the capture of both vessels, see The Gazette, of the State of South-Carolina, 24 June, above. South Carolina sent eighty-two prisoners, including the crews of the Tonyn's Revenge and Ranger to St. Augustine aboard the Oakhampton packet cartel on 8 Aug. The Gazette, of the State of South-Carolina, 12 Aug.

5. In his reply of 20 Aug., Laurens wrote that the British only exchanged seamen of equal rank and that they treated captured American seamen with "a rigor and barbarity unheard of before the present contest." He then launched a diatribe about British policies toward American prisoners, concluding: "thousands [of American naval prisoners] have died languishing miserable deaths, they have exchanged the emaciated survivors, for healthy well fed fellows, compassion for fellow Citizens on our part has induced us to submit to the injustice and inequality of the Exchange"; ScHi, Henry Laurens Letter Book.

Document Information

Date

1778 July 29

Volume

Volume 13

Series

American Theater, June 1 to August 15, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

President Rawlins Lowndes of South Carolina to Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress, July 29, 1778

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