Name of Vessel:

Billy and Mary [Billey and Mary, William and Mary]

Master of Vessel:

John Burrows

Rig of Vessel:

Ship

Date of Capture:

28 April 1777

Place of Capture:

Southeast of Cape Henry, Virginia

Captor:

HM Frigate Phoenix

Home Port:

From What Port:

Maryland

To What Port:

Bordeaux, France

Cargo:

Tobacco

Tonnage:

Battery:

Crew:

Owners:

Prize master:

Officer

Prize crew:

15 [total]

Ordered Into:

Into What Port:

New York, New York

Date Arrived:

New York, New York

Date Tried:

[17] May 1777

Date Sold:

Action:

No

Recaptured:

No

Comments: HM Frigate Phoenix (Captain Hyde Parker, Jr.) was patrolling the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in late April 1777. On the early morning of 28 April, in fresh, breezy weather, she saw a sail at 0430 and gave chase. At 0800 Phoenix overhauled and captured the ship Billy and Mary [Billey and Mary, William and Mary] (John Burrows), bound from Maryland to Bordeaux, France with a cargo of tobacco. Burrows and his crew were removed to the Phoenix and an officer and fourteen men sent aboard as a prize crew. Phoenix raised sail at 1100 with the prize in company. Billy and Mary arrived at New York about 17 May 1777.

[NDAR, VIII, 459 and note, 997, 1053-1063]