Brigadier General William Smallwood, Continental Army, to William Augustus Atlee, April 4, 1778

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Wilmington. [Del.] April 4. 1778

Dear Sir.

By Capts. Norwood,¹ I send you thirty five prisoners of war agreeable to the list below, all British seamen and officers. You wrote me the jails were full, but I have no other expedient but to forward them to your care, as it would be precarious to keep them at this post or in this Government. I hope you will supply the party with provision for their return, and give Capt. Norwood all the dispatch in your power, which will much oblige, Your obedient [&c.]

W. Smallwood.

1. Hugh Congleton, 3^d Lieutenant		8. Thomas Benney, Marine.
Of the Roebuck.²		9. Thomas Smith, Marine
2. James Donavin, Mate of		10. William Chritic, Sailo
the Schooner Reed.³		11. John Fowler, do. Roebuck.
3. Samuel Wischam, mate of		12. Thomas Maloney,	do.
the same schooner.		13. Richard George,	do.
4. Windsor Donavin, 2^d mate of		14. George Lacho,	do
the same schooner.		15. William Ketterick,	do.
5. Thomas Soltar, Sailor		16. Walter Williamson,	do.
6. Thomas Pusey, Marine		17. Walter Guthridge,	do.
7. Thomas Lowe, Marine		18. Thomas Whitten,	do.
19. James Watkins, do
20. Thomas Brown, do
21. Edward Hongchurch. Sailor of the Schooner.⁴
22. William Sprackett,	do
23. Francis Carroll,	do
24. John Mitchell,	do died at Lancaster. 26th April, 1778.⁵
25. Joseph King,	do
26. James Hamilton,	do
27. John Richards,	do
28. Richard Pierce, returned, being a soldier Col. Green's regimento⁶
29. Benjamin Bearnes,	Sailor
30. Dennis Coakley,	do
31. Peter Adick,	do
32. Peter Johnson,	do
33. Charles Branson,	do
34. John Thomas,	Marine
35. Charles Kelley,	Sailor

Tr, DLC, Peter Force Transcripts, Miscellaneous Letters A-B. Notation at top of transcript: "4866/Gen. Smallwood/to William Atlee." Notation at foot of page: “W. Atlee, Esq.” Atlee was Deputy Commissary General of Prisoners.

1. Capt. Edward Norwood, Maryland Continental line.

2. H.M. frigate Roebuck, Capt. Andrew Snape Hamond, commander. As seen in a report published in The Pennsylvania Packet of 8 Apr., below, a tender of H.M. frigate Roebuck had run ashore at Cape Henlopen on 22 Mar. and its crew of twenty-one men had been captured. Hugh Congalton must have been an acting lieutenant as he was not commissioned until 6 June 1778. UkLPR, Adm. 6/21, p. 562.

3. On 5 Apr., Gov. Caesar Rodney of Delaware wrote Smallwood requesting that he return the “Captain of the Schooner Reed," whom Rodney had sent to Smallwood's camp. Rodney added: “The veshell is Libeled in the Court of Admir [alty] and the Judge requests his being sent down here. ... it seems the Veshell can't be [con]demned without him." Rodney Letters, 258.

4. This was the first line of the second page of the letter.

5. The entry reporting Mitchell's death must have been added later.

6. Col. Christopher Greene, First Rhode Island Continental Regiment. It is probable that this notation was added later.

Document Information

Date

1778 April 4

Volume

Volume 12

Series

American Theatre from April 1, 1778 to May 31, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

Brigadier General William Smallwood, Continental Army, to William Augustus Atlee, April 4, 1778

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