The above men are station'd in the Ships Tender
Upon a Calculation The Council of Safety is indebted to the Ships Company better than two months pay which amounts to £1028 The Pursers wages not included
[Endorsed] Defence's Campy Jno Proctor
[July 31, 1776]2
1. Revolutionary Papers, Box 12, Md. Arch.
2. The date of this return is approximated. John Thomas Boucher was the original first lieutenant of the Defence. He resigned on March 28, 1776. Hence the crew list must have been prepared after that date. As James Nicholson, who had been appointed to the frigate Virginia in the Continental Navy, left the Defence upon her return from the Potomac at the end of July, it is probable that the list, showing "better than two months pay due, " was prepared at that time.
