Name of Vessel:

Chance

Master of Vessel:

Alexander Wiley

Rig of Vessel:

Brig

Date of Capture:

[January] 1781

Place of Capture:

Off Charleston, South Carolina

Captor:

Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine Ariel

Home Port:

From What Port:

Lisbon, Portugal

To What Port:

Charleston, South Carolina

Cargo:

Lemons, raisins, figs

Tonnage:

Battery:

Crew:

Owners:

Prize master:

Prize crew:

Ordered Into:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Into What Port:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date Arrived:

8 February 1781

Date Tried:

14 February 1781

Date Sold:

Action:

No

Recaptured:

No

Comments: Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine Ariel (Commander Matthew Lawler) was returning to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the West Indies about January 1781. She was hanging about the approaches to Charleston, South Carolina in January 1781. Here Ariel captured the brig Chance (Alexander Wiley), bound from Lisbon, Portugal to Charleston, with a cargo of lemons, raisins, figs and other items. Chance was sent into Philadelphia, where she arrived on 8 February 1781. Chance was libeled on 10 February, with her trial set for the 14th.

[The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Saturday, February 17, 1781; Saturday, February 10, 1781; The American Journal And General Advertiser [Providence], Saturday, March 3, 1781, datelined Philadelphia, February 14]