Ranger	Commander Peter Roberts
Schooner	27 September 1776-
Massachusetts Privateer Schooner

Commissioned/First Date:	27 September 1776
Out of Service/Cause:

Owners:

Jonathan Titcomb & Co. of Newburyport, Massachusetts

Tonnage:

52

Battery:

Date Reported: 27 September 1776 Number/Caliber  Weight        Broadside 6/3-pounder       18 pounds   9 pounds Total: 6 cannon/18 pounds Broadside: 3 cannon/9 pounds Swivels: ten Date Reported: 27 September 1776 Number/Caliber  Weight        Broadside 2/ Total: 2 cannon/ Broadside: 1 cannon/ Swivels:

Crew:

(1) 27 September 1776: 41 [total] (2) 27 September 1776: 31 [total]

Description:

Officers:

(1) First Lieutenant Jeremiah Parsons, 27 September 1776-; (2) Master John Robinson, 27 September 1776-

Cruises:

Prizes:

(1) Brigantine Billy [Billey] (Elias Warren), [November] 1776

Actions:

Comments:

Massachusetts Privateer Schooner Ranger was commissioned on 27 September 1776 under Commander Peter Roberts of Newburyport, Massachusetts.¹ Roberts is sometimes referred to as “Roger Robbins” in contemporary records.² In the petition for her commission, dated 27 September, Ranger is described as a 52-ton schooner, armed with six 3-pounders and ten swivels, and with a crew of forty men. Her officers were Jeremiah Parsons as First Lieutenant and John Robinson as Master.³ In the bond she is listed as being armed with two guns and as having a crew of thirty men. Her $5000 Continental bond was signed by Roberts and by Jonathan Titcomb, Tristram Dalton, Thomas Thomas and Ebenezer Parsons, all of Newburyport.⁴

Roberts captured at least one prize in Ranger, the brigantine Billy ⁵ [Billey] (Elias Warren).⁶ She was taken in to Newburyport.⁷ Billy was libeled on 28 November 1776, with her trial set for 17 December 1776.⁸ On 31 December, in a list of prisoners, her mate is listed.⁹ Her master, Elias Warren, petitioned for release on 23 January 1777.¹⁰

¹ Allen, Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution, 249

² NDAR, “British Shipmasters’ Petition to the Massachusetts General Court,” VII, 1023-1024

³ Force, American Archives, Series 5, 2:796

⁴ Allen, Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution, 249

⁵ NDAR, “A Return of the Prisoners Confind at Newby port Decr 31. 1776—,” VII, 637

⁶ NDAR, “British Shipmasters’ Petition to the Massachusetts General Court,” VII, 1023-1024

⁷ NDAR, “A Return of the Prisoners Confind at Newby port Decr 31. 1776—,” VII, 637

⁸ The Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser [Boston], Thursday, November 28, 1776

⁹ NDAR, “A Return of the Prisoners Confind at Newby port Decr 31. 1776—,” VII, 637

¹⁰ NDAR, “British Shipmasters’ Petition to the Massachusetts General Court,” VII, 1023-1024

Posted 11 February 2011

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