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Le Gerard Le Gerrard

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Le Gerard Le Gerrard Le Gerard [ Le Gerrard ] Armed Brig Commander James Josiah Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine 1 August 1778- Commissioned/First Date: 1 August 1778 Out of Service/Cause: Owners: (1) John D. Mercier and Joseph C. Fisher & Co., all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; (2) George Henry & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tonnage: Battery: Date Reported: 1 August 1778 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 6/ Total: 6 cannon/ Broadside: 3 cannon/ Swivels: Date Reported: 6 September 1778 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 10/ Total: 10 cannon/ Broadside: 5 cannon/ Swivels: Date Reported: 24 December 1778 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 10/ Total: 10 cannon/ Broadside: 5 cannon/ Swivels: Crew: (1) 1 August 1778: 26 []total (2) 24 December 1778: 31 []total Description: ©awiatsea.com-posted July 2019 Officers: Cruises: (1) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, Pennsy;vania, 6 August 1778- September 1778 (2) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, Pennsy;vania, December 1778-February 1779 Prizes: (1) Sloop Active , 6 September 1778, with American prisoners aboard the Active and Pennsylvania Navy Brig Convention Actions: Comments: Pennsylvania Privateer Brigantine 1 (or Brig; 2 Sloop) 3 Le Gerard (Le Gerrard ) was commissioned on 1 August 1778 under Commander James Josiah of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was listed as being armed with six guns and as having a crew of twenty-five men. Her $10000 bond was signed by Josiah and by Joseph C. Fisher and John D. Mercier, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 4 Other reports indicate that, in September 1778, she carried ten guns. 5 It was necessary to borrow munitions from the state of Pennsylvania before Le Gerard could sail. When these were provided she sailed 0n 6 August 1778. 6 On 6 September 1778 Josiah was at sea, cruising with the Pennsylvania Navy Brig Convention (Captain Thomas Houston). The pair met a suspicious sail, and the privateers soon closed on her. She proved to be the sloop Active , which had been seized by American prisoners aboard. Josiah escorted the recaptured Active into Philadelphia. 7 Although the prize court awarded Le Gerard a portion of the prize, that was overturned on appeal. The case lasted for years, and Le Gerard never got any money. Josiah was re-commissioned to Le Gerard on 24 December 1778. She was then listed as having ten guns and a crew of thirty men. Her new $10000 bond was signed by Josiah and George Henry 1 NRAR, 371 2 Maclay, History of American Privateers , 116 3 Claghorn, Naval Officers of the American Revolution , 171 4 NRAR, 371 5 Maclay, History of American Privateers , 116 6 Clark, William Bell, “James Josiah, Master Mariner,” in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Vol. 79, No. 4 (Oct., 1955), pp. 452-484 7 Maclay, History of American Privateers , 116-117 ©awiatsea.com-posted July 2019 of Philadelphia. 8 In February 1779 Josiah brought her back to port, and left her. 9 She does not seem to have been re-commissioned. 8 NRAR, 371 9 Clark, “James Josiah, Master Mariner,” 462 ©awiatsea.com-posted July 2019.
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