(MARITIME) Extensive file on the merchant ship Pacific twice

Sale 2646 - Lot 202

Price Realized: $ 3,000

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

(MARITIME.) Extensive file on the merchant ship Pacific, twice captured in the Indian Ocean during the Quasi-War with France. 49 manuscript letters and documents, sleeved in one binder with a later manuscript inventory and research notes; condition generally strong, a few items with foxing or wear. Various places, bulk 1798-1805

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Capt. Charles Rockwell (1768-1826) of Norwich, CT sent the ship Pacific to Calcutta in May of 1798. In March 1799, it was captured by a French privateer, and then en route to the Isle of France was pursued again by a British man-of-war. The French beached the ship and escaped, leaving the British to seize the cargo and burn the ship. Offered here are the papers from Capt. Rockwell's attempts to gain redress through the French Spoliation claims process. Included are several original 1798-1799 accounts and letters from this Indian trade vessel, including a long and detailed invoice of the 94 bales and 3 chests of miscellaneous goods, plus 696 bags of sugar, shipped from Calcutta in February 1799. Legal papers include a deposition made by the Pacific's captain at Isle de France in the Indian Ocean, June 1799. The great bulk of the papers are dated 1798 to 1805, with a handful relating to the adjudication and settlement of the claim through 1886.