To the fourth and fifth Interrogatorys,
That he, this Deponent, knows the Vessel or Snow called the St. Anne in the Interrogatory mentioned and now riding in the Port of Philadelphia; That the said Snow being laden with Divers Wares and Merchandizes at Cape Francois Sailed from thence in Company with the said Ship Louis Joseph and was afterwards taken by the said two English Privateers who took the said Ship Lewis Joseph or one of them as this Deponent hath heard and believes, and was brought into the Port of Philadelphia along with the said Ship, as the Prize of and belonging to the said Privateers but when or where the said Snow was Attacked or taken, or who was the Captain and Commander of her this Deponent knows not, but hath heard and believes that the Captain, Mariners and Owners of the said Snow were all Subjects of the French King; and to the Rest of these Interrogatories cannot Depose.
Jacque Piegnon.
[1] Records of the Admiralty Court held in Philadelphia, 1735-1746, in volume preserved in the office of the clerk of the U.S. district court, pp. 213-216. The judge was Thomas Hopkinson, who qualified in January, 1745.
[2] I.e., 1745, N.S.
[3] The story of the capture is also related in Benjamin Franklin's paper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, Jan. 22, 1745: "On Friday [Jan. 18, arrived] a Ship and Snow, from the Warren Privateer, Alexander Kattur, and the Old George Schooner, William Dougall, Commanders, who sailed from this Port about six Weeks ago in Consort. Seven Days after they left the Capes, in the Latitude of 31, they met with the Ship.... She is a Frigate built Ship, of 18 Carriage Guns, belongs to St. Malo's, and was thither bound. She is called the Lewis Joseph. The Captain's Name was Piedsnoirs.... She maintained an obstinate Fight for Five Hours, and did not surrender, till she had received near Fifty Shot in her Hull, and was at last boarded, and the Captain, his second Lieutenant, and four Men killed, and several of the Gentlemen Passengers wounded. The Captain had the Character of a Gallant Man, and, as the Prisoners say, always declared, that he would never part with the Ship but with his Life.... The Snow is called the St. Anne, Pierre Dalheu Master, bound to Bourdeaux, and was taken two Days after the Ship. [The rich cargoes are described.] We are daily expecting the two Privateers in."
[4] Now called Lorient.
[5] Now Cap Haïtien.
[6] The Warren; see [note 3], above, and Pa. Mag. Hist., XXIV. 350.
[7] The king of France (Louis XV.) declared war on Great Britain on Mar. 15, 1744, N.S.