Patrick Redmond of the Parish of Kingston in the said Island Mariner maketh Oath & Saith that he is Commander of the Sloop Kingston, in which Vessell he made a Voyage to Quebec, last Summer, having Sail'd from Bluefields in Jamaica on the Seventeenth day of June in the present Year of our Lord 177 6, in Company of a Fleet of between Thirty & forty Sail of Merchant Vessells, under Convoy of His Majestys Ship the Antelope, William Judd Esquire Commander — Saith that on Sailing towards the West End of Jamaica several more Vesels bound for England Joined the said Convoy & that some of the Vessels in Company were tolerable good Sailors, and some very bad -Saith that the said Fleet having Scatter'd themselves a great distance, from one another the said William Judd having Endeavourd by all possible means to keep them together, and finding it Impracticable so to do, He Hail'd the Sloop Kingston on Saturday the 22nd June (she being a remarkable fast Sailing Vessell) and order'd this deponent to hoist a pendant and keep a head of the fleet, and to order such Ships as were a head, to keep a Stern of the said Sloop, And that whenever he wanted to give this deponent any further Instructions he would hoist his pendant at the foretopmast head -This Deponent further Saith that there was Several of the said Convoy a head at the time last mention'd, and that in particular one Vessel was between two & three Leagues a head of the rest, — Saith he this deponent made Sail Immediately after her until Sun Sett, but could not come up with her, although this deponent was then two Leagues a head of the rest of the Fleet, upon which this deponent fired two Guns to bring said Vessell too which she paid no regard to. Saith he this deponent then lay too until the fleet came up, and that the next Morning being the 23d June at 3 AM; he came up with the Ship he had been in Chase of, the preceeding Evening, and advised her Master to keep in the fleet, and told him the orders this deponent had received from the Commander of His Majestys Ship the Antelope,

Saith he this deponent received for Answer from said Ship "Do not you see my Poop Lanthorn, I am my own Commander" This deponent Saith the next day another Vessell who wore a Short Red Pendant kept out of the Fleet, and upon being hail'd & order'd into the fleet by this deponent; answer was made "that the Ship Steer'd so very bad, he was afraid to keep in the fleet for fear of running foul of some of them" This Deponent Saith that Captain Judd constantly hoisted Signals & fired Signal Guns from the Antelope according to the Instructions he had given the Fleet, to keep them together, & Saith that many of them did not Obey such Signals & Signal Guns — Saith that some more Ships from the North side of Jamaica joined the said Fleet at Cape St Antonio, which made the whole to consist of about fifty Sail, — Saith that near the Havannah the fleet Straggled at a great distance in the Mornings, but were brought too in the Evening by Captain Judd, in the best manner he could, Saith that notwithstanding Captain Judds unwearied endeavours to keep the Fleet together, some of them were so farr a head between the Havannah & the pan of Matanzas, as to be scarce discern'd, And that between the pan of Matanzas and the Martiers part of the Fleet went out of Sight — Saith that to the best of this Deponents Knowledge and belief, the said Captain Judd did all he possibly could, to keep the said fleet in order, and in every other respect behaved as became the Commander of a Convoy but that it was out of the power of any one Single Ship to keep so large a fleet, with so many unruly Masters together This Deponent further Saith that Captain Judd continued with, & Convoy'd such of the Fleet as he was able to keep together until the Sixth day of July 1776, when this Deponent parted with in Latte 31 : 20 North and soon after lost Sight of him.

Sworn before Me
this 10th day of Decr 1776
Philip Prideau

[Endorsed] In Vice Admiral Gayton's Letter 8th January 1777