Lot 299
1780 Petition For Prize Money From Taking A British Sloop. Partly-printed Document signed by John Gilliland, the surgeon of the privateer sloop "LeGerard," giving power of attorney to Doctor Joseph Gardner to recover and receive several shares of prize money arising from the taking of a British sloop "Active" and another unnamed brig, 1p, 13¾x8½" (Philadelphia), 28 Mar. 1780. Very good; toning and some edge chips. A rare document naming claimants of an American privateer for prize money, made even rarer by the Supreme Court case involving the "Active's" seizure and possession.
In May 1778, an American seamean from Connecticut named Gideon Olmstead and three others were taken prisoner by the British. After being confined in Montego Bay, Jamaica, they were put aboard the British sloop "Active" bound for New York with a cargo of arms and supplies for the British army of occupation. On September 6, the four American men mutinied and took control of the ship. They were bringting the ship into Little Egg Harbor (near Cape May, NJ) when the "Active" was recaptured by the American brigs "Convention" and "LeGerard" even though Olmstead told Captain Thomas Houston of the "Convention" that no help was needed or wanted. The "Active" was conveyed to Philadelphia and Capt. Thomas filed a suit claiming the "Active" as the prize of the two American privateers. Seaman Olmstead promptly filed his own suit and there ensued a 30-year lawsuit which was finally settled by the Supreme Court in Olmstead's favor. Accompanied by a photocopy of American Revolution Naval records that list the ship "LeGerard" and a 1976 article published by the Supreme Court Historical Society entitled "The Case of the Mutinous Mariner" that describes in detail this case.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,200.
Mary Gardner estate.
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| Realized $1,035 |
