John Frazer and James Taylor to the New Hampshire General Assembly, June 5, 1776

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To the Honl the Council & the House of Representatives for the Colony of New Hampshire ー

The Petition of John Frazer and James Taylor late Master & Cheif Mate of the Ship Susannah Humbly Sheweth ー

That your Petitioners sail'd from London on the 9 of December last, bound to Boston & the Moskitto shore, that on the 6 of March following the sd Ship was taken, & themselves made Prisoners, by four of the Continental armed vessels under command of Comr Manly & bro't into the Port of Piscataqua,² that after they were discharged from sd Ship, they were by the agent & several other Gent advised to prefer a Petition to his Excely Genl Washington (under whose direction those armed vessels were,) the Prayer of which his Excely was pleased to grant, & gave your Petitioners leave to Purchase a vessel, that they might proceed wherever their Business called them, that after obtaining this leave from his Excy (which he was also pleased to signify to the agent here) your Petitioners in Comp'y with Capt Richard Emms³ did Publickly purchase a Small Sloop fitted her for sea & provided themselves with stores, intending to proceed directly to the Moskitto shore where one of your Petitioners has much of his Interest laying in which proceedings your Petitioners were countenanced & encouraged by many Gent. of this Colony & when they applyed to the Colony Collector were by him advised to proceed, & assured they should meet with no delay on acco of the necessary Papers ー That afterward on application for clearance the Collector informed them he had received orders from the President of the Council & Committee of Safety to Prevent their further proceedings ー Your Petitioners afterward made application to the Honl the Committee of Safety of this Colony, for leave to proceed on their intended voyage, & were by them informed that nothing further could be done till your Honours were met in Genl Assembly.

Your Petitioners now Pray your Honrs will take their case into Consideration and be pleased to grant them such allowance for their support during the time they have been, & may be detained in this Colony, & as your Petitioners can with sincerity assure your Honours, they have not the most distant desire to injure the Colonies in any way, they Pray your Honours would please to give them leave to depart from this Colony whenever a convenient oportunity offers for them to get to their Respective places of abode. And your Petitioners shall ever Pray ー

John Frazer James Taylor

Portsmouth June 5th 1776

1. Isaac W. Hammond, ed., The State of New Hampshire: Rolls and Documents Relating to Soldiers in the Rev. War (Manchester, 1889), IV, 51-52.

2. The cargo of the Susannah was coal, cheese an, d porter.

3. Emms had been master of the ship George with a cargo of 1,900 barrels of flour. She had blundered into Portsmouth harbor in October, 1775, and had been seized,

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Date

1776 June 5

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Volume

Volume 5

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