Another Letter and Loan Note

Monday, November 16, 2009

Another Letter and Loan Note

Here is another letter / loan note. I assume they are written by the same person as they are on adjacent pages and in the same hand. You may click on the images below to enlarge them.

The first part of the letter reads as follows:

Sir I cant but condole your unhappy Condition and as I had

the happiness to Participate in your Prospearity So give me

leave leave to Share with you as a friend and bear a part

As much as may be in your Sufferings and I intreat you.

How grievous So ever Such a restrain may Proove to So noble

And generous a Sole as yours that you would not afflict

yourself but bare with your wanted Patieunt and bravery

This your misfortune and as a true Christan what

Cannot at Preasent be helpt or redressed Considering

That Such Casualies and mischances frequently befall

Mankind and let it move immediately Sir be your

Comfort and Consolation that it happens by any

Neglect or Extravagance of your own that your

Fortune and Circumstances are Sunk thus low but

By Ineveitable loses and mischances that have Even

Concerned your Diligence and baffled your Industry

Insomuch that I think I may Say that fortune

her Self Strives against you however be not any

Ways Cast Down but think that you may yet live

Not only to overcome the Storm of adversity but to

See many Prosperous Days Remember the Eclips

holy jobe Sufferred and with him also be Comforted

That your healp is in the lord and that god will

Not leave nor for Sake those that trust in him

These things Eye thought fit to Put you in mind of

In hopes they may Establish you in an Unconquerable

Resolutions to undergo what is layd upon you till it

Cant be Redressed and So till I have the opportunity to

Pay you a Visit I take leave to Subscibe myself Sir

Your Constant and faithful friend to serve you

Quite the letter of lament. This person must have been in pretty bad shape to have been compared to "holy jobe".

The second, adjacent letter, in the same hand reads:

Acquittance in full for money in the way of of trade

or lent without any obligation may the 3 – 176?

Then Received of mr John Jones the Sum of ten

Pounds Due from him to me upon account and

Is in full of all in all manner of Debts Dues

Or Demands Due from him to me or any ways

Depending between us which in law or Equity

I Cant justly or lawfully Demand or lay Clame

In witness thareof I have Set my hand the Day

of the Date and year above mentioned

Witness Alexander Summuels

I do not know if these letters are really related. I am also not sure of the actual date of the second letter, but it does not appear to be in the 1770's. If not, why was it included in this book? I do not know of an Alexander Summuels (Or Alexander Samuels).

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Overview

The hellhole of Mill Prison England where hundreds of American sailors are held for high treason and most probably the noose; John Paul Jones' bloody but victorius battle between Bonhomme Richard and Serapis; the Captain Queeg-like French captain of the American Frigate Alliance whose insanity finally drives the crew to mutiny; this is the story chronicled in Jacob Nutter’s journal covering the span of 1776 to 1780 during America’s battle for independence. This journal is actually fictional as Nutter documented very little of his experience during these 4 years; rather this is a compilation written from Nutter's perspective based on first hand accounts of others, historical documents and the many books written about this important part of America's early navy.

Jacob Nutter was my ancestor. He enlisted on the privateer Dolton in Portsmouth NH in November of 1776, expecting to cruise for 3 months with a crew of 120, capturing British merchant ships. Instead, on Christmas Eve 1776, off the coast of Spain, the Dolton was taken by the HMS Raisonable. Nutter and the Dolton's crew were taken to Plymouth England where they were committed to Mill Prison for piracy and treason. In early 1779, after nearly two years of imprisonment Benjamin Franklin obtained a prisoner exchange and roughly 100 of the Mill Prison inmates were set free and sent to France. Most had no money, no clothes and no way home and therefore enlisted on American ships then recruiting mariners. Nutter enlisted on the new American Frigate Alliance, commanded by Pierre Landais, as a quartermaster thinking that this ship would soon be returning to America with supplies for the war. Instead, Franklin re-assigned the Alliance to John Paul Jones' small flotilla. The Alliance participated in the famous battle between Jones' Bonhomme Richard and the HMS Serapis. Due to Landais' poor conduct during the battle he was subsequently removed from command by Jones when the flotilla arrived in the Netherlands. In early 1780 after cruising along the coast of France and Spain, and after a near mutiny by the crew, Alliance made her way to L'Orient France. While Jones basked in his glory in Paris, the crew remained at L'Orient suffering for want of clothing, food and money. In Jones' absence Landais made his way to L'Orient and convinced much of his former crew that he was rightful commander of the Alliance. After a showdown between Jones and Landais in which the Alliance was nearly fired upon by a French fort to prevent her departure, Alliance finally made sail for America. During the 2 month cruise home, the crew mutineed when Landais informed them he would cruise to Philadelphia instead of Boston. Landais began acting irrationally and the officers were forced to take command. Finally, in August of 1780, Alliance raised the American coast and Jacob Nutter was home after nearly four years away from his family and country.

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Monday, November 16, 2009