May 1778 Sunday 24th.
Cape Codd WBS 7 Leagues or 8 [AM] ½ Past [12] TKd Ship at 1 the Diamond1 SW ¼ of a mile. Do hauld down the Main Top mast staysail & hauld up the fore Sail at 2 the Diamond SWBW ¼ of a mile [at] 5 Do Wr [moderate & hazy] with lightning & some rain [at] ¼ Past Saw a Sail to the SE Made Sail & gave Chace At 7 hoisted out the Barge mannd & Armd her & Sent her in Chace [as] did the Diamond at ½ Past 8 light Airs & Cloudy [at] 9 the boats brought the Chace too Proved to Be a Schooner from Newberry to Virgiania With In Ballast.2 the Diamond took her along Side
Cape Codd W½No 5 or 6 Leagues Lattd Obsd. 42..10 No [PM] [at] 1 Calm & Cloudy the Diamond set fire to the Schooner Prize [at] 4 Light Airs & hazy Wr [at] 7 Filld Mn Top Sail & Set fore Sail in 1st & 2d reefs fore & Main Top Sails. Cape Codd W½No 7 Leagues Punished Benjn Goddard Peter Malone H G Crosby Jno Eaton Robt Wills Seaman with 12 lashes each for neglect of duty & Robt Sparing with 12 Do for mutinous Expressions at 8 Modt & Cloudy with rain & lightning to the NE
D, UkLPR, Adm. 52/1938, fol. 151.
1. H.M. frigate Diamond, Capt. Charles Feilding, commander.
2. Schooner Fly, master unknown, owned by Ebenezer Stocker. Howe’s Prize List, 30 Oct. 1778, UkLPR, Adm. 1/488, fols. 487–88. It was credited a joint prize of Raisonable and Diamond.