Allston [Alston]	Commander William Thompson
Armed Sloop	-18 April 1777
South Carolina Privateer Sloop

Commissioned/First Date:	[March] 1777
Out of Service/Cause:	18 April 1777/captured by HM Frigate Galatea

Owners:

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Battery:

Date Reported: Number/Caliber  Weight        Broadside Total: Broadside: Swivels:

Crew:

Description:

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Cruises:

(1) Charleston, South Carolina to sea, [April] 1777-18 April 1777

Prizes:

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Comments:

South Carolina Privateer Sloop Allston¹ or Alston² (Commander William Thompson) sailed from Charleston about mid-April 1777 bound for Philadelphia with a cargo of salt, rum, tea and coffee. On 18 April she was about twenty-four miles southeast of Cape Fear. About 0800 Allston was sighted by HM Frigate Galatea (Captain Thomas Jordan) who gave chase. He began firing at Allston at 1430 and she surrendered after five shots.³

High Court of Admiralty records exist for her trial and condemnation. She is referred to there as an American merchant vessel.⁴

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¹ Coker, Charleston’s Maritime Heritage, 300

² NDAR, "List of Vessels seized as Prizes...," 8,, 1053-1063

³ NDAR, "Journal of H.M.S. Galatea, Captain Thomas Jordan," 8, 370-371 and 371 note; "List of Vessels seized as Prizes...," 8,, 1053-1063

⁴ HCA 32/266/13/1-7