Name of Vessel:

Betsey

Master of Vessel:

Midshipman John Atkinson (HM Sloop Otter)

Rig of Vessel:

Sloop

Date of Capture:

15 December 1775

Place of Capture:

Boston Bay, Massachusetts

Captor:

Continental Army Schooner Lee

Home Port:

Norfolk, Virginia

From What Port:

Norfolk, Virginia

To What Port:

Boston, Massachusetts

Cargo:

Corn, oats, potatoes

Tonnage:

60

Battery:

Crew:

7

Owners:

Prizemaster:

Prize crew:

Ordered Into:

Beverly, Massachusetts

Into What Port:

Beverly, Massachusetts

Date Arrived:

15 December 1775

Date Tried:

17 April 1776

Date Sold:

25 May 1776

Action:

No

Recaptured:

No

Comments: Sloop Betsey (Midshipman John Atkinson) was one of the tenders of Dunmore’s Fleet in Virginia. Sailed from Virginia on 3 December 1775, with a small cargo, four Virginians being sent to Boston as prisoners, and Tory Colonel Moses Kirkland. A large amount of important letters and despatches were recovered from the sloop. Part of the cargo was used for the Continental Army, 20 December 1775. [Libeled 26 February 1776.] Sold before 11 June 1776 for £175.

[NDAR, II, 1239-1241 and notes; III, 145 and note, 147-148 and 148 note, 181, 192-193, 193 and note, 301 and note, 301-302, 552, 560-561 and 561 note, 572-573 and note, 601-602 and 602 note, 848-849 and 849 note, 1023, 1119 and note; V, 470-471; Clark, GWN, 231, 232]

Revised 10 August 2009