Adolphus Warburton - Trial of the Officers and Crew of the Privateer Savannah, on the Charge of Piracy, in the United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York

Q. Under whose direction did she sail?

A. By the direction of the prize-master.

Q. With a prize crew from the Savannah?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you recollect the name of the prize-master?

A. Evans.

Q. How many men did the crew consist of?

A. Six, with the prize-master.

Q. What did they do with the vessel?

A. Took her into Georgetown.

Q. What was done with you and the others of the crew?

A. We were taken to jail at Georgetown.

Q. What was done with the vessel?

A. I believe she was sold, from what I saw in the papers and what I was told.

Q. Where were you taken from Georgetown?

A. To Charleston.

Q. What was done with you there?

A. We were put in jail again.

Q. How long were you kept in jail in Georgetown?

A. About 2 months and 20 days.

Q. How long were you kept in jail in Charleston?

A. Three days.

Cross-examined by Mr. Larocque.

Q. You said that, while you were held as a prisoner at Georgetown, you saw something in reference to the sale of the Joseph in the papers?

A. Yes.

Q. What was the purport of it?

A. She was advertised for sale.

Q. Under legal process?

A. I do not know about that. I was also told of it by one of the prize crew that took us in.

Q. You saw in the newspapers an advertisement of the sale?

A. Yes.

Q. Was that of a sale by order of a Court?

A. It was a sale by order of the Sheriff or Marshal.

Q. As a prize?

Objected to by District Attorney Smith, for two reasons:

First —That it was a mere newspaper account; and,

Secondly —That the newspaper was not produced.

After argument, the Court decided that there was no foundation laid for this hearsay evidence.

Q. Did the advertisement state by whose authority the sale was to take place?

A. I do not recollect anything about that.

Q. Do you recollect the name of a judge as connected with it?

A. No, sir. There was no judge connected with the sale.

Q. Do you recollect the name of Judge Magrath in connection with it?

A. No, sir; I recollect his name in connection with some prize cases, but not in connection with the sale of the Joseph.

Q. Since your arrival at New York, you have been examined partially by the District Attorney, and have made a statement to him?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you not state on that examination that while you were in confinement the vessel was confiscated by Judge Magrath, and sold at Georgetown?

A. No, sir; I do not think I did.

Q. You were released at Charleston, after a confinement of three days?

A. Yes.

Q. How did you get out?

A. The Marshal let us out.

Q. While you were in confinement at Georgetown or Charleston was your examination taken in any proceeding against the bark Joseph, or in relation to her?

A. Yes, sir. In Georgetown.

Q. By whom was that examination taken?

Mr. Evarts suggested that there was a certain method of proving a judicial inquiry.

Judge Nelson : They may prove the fact of the examination.

Q. Before whom were you examined?

A. Before a man who came from Charleston.

Q. Did he take your examination in writing?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you learn what his name was?

A. I think his name was Gilchrist.

Q. Were you sworn, as a witness?

A. Yes.

Q. What proceeding was that, as you were given to understand, and what was the object of the examination?

A. The object of it was to find out what vessel she was, what was her nationality, and who owned the cargo belonging to her.

Q. And you gave your testimony on these subjects.

A. Yes.

Q. Was it in written questions put to you?

A. I think so.

Q. And you signed your examination?

A. Yes.

Q. And what came of it afterwards?

A. I do not know.

Q. Was it taken away by Mr. Gilchrist?

A. I expect so.

Q. Was there any other of the crew besides yourself examined? A. Yes; all of them.

Q. On the same subject?

A. I expect so.

Q. Were you present during the examination of them all?

A. No; only at my own.

Q. What newspaper was it that you saw that advertisement in?

A. I think in the Charleston Courier.

Q. Do you recollect its date?

A. No, sir.

Q. What had become of the vessel when you went to Charleston?

A. She was lying in Georgetown.

Q. Do you know in whose possession, or under whose charge, she was?

A. I do not.

Q. Was she in Georgetown, in the hands of the Marshal, to your knowledge?

A. No, sir; not to my knowledge. I was in prison at the time.

Commodore Silas H. Stringham , examined by District Attorney Smith.

Q. You are in the United States Navy?

A. I am.

Q. The Minnesota was the flag ship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron, off Charleston?

A. Yes, sir. I was the commanding officer.

Q. The Minnesota took the prisoners off the Perry?

A. Yes; on the 5th of June, in the afternoon.

Q. State precisely where the transfer from the Perry to the Minnesota was made?

A. I discovered, about mid-day, a vessel close in to Charleston. I stood off to make out what she was. A short time afterwards we discovered it was the Perry, and were surprised to find her there, as she had been ordered, some time previously, to Fernandina, Fla. She hailed us, and informed us she had captured a piratical vessel. The vessel was half a mile astern. Captain Parrott, of the Perry, came and made to me a report of what had taken place. I ordered him to send the prisoners on board, and sent a few men on board the Savannah to take charge of her during the night. The vessels were then anchored. The next morning I made arrangements to put a prize crew on board the Savannah, and send her to New York, and I directed the Captain of the Joseph to take passage in her. I took the prisoners from the Perry, and directed the Perry to proceed on her cruise, according to her previous orders. I then got the Minnesota under weigh, and took the privateer in tow, and brought her close in to Charleston harbor, within 3 miles, so as to let them see that their vessel was captured. Some slaves in a boat told me next day that they had seen and recognized the vessel.

Mr. Brady : The question you were called upon to answer is, as to the place where the prisoners were transferred from the Perry to the Minnesota.

A. The transfer was made about 10 miles from Charleston Harbor, out at sea. It was fully 10 miles off.

Q. State the design of transferring the prisoners to the Minnesota?

Objected to by Mr. Larocque.

The District Attorney, Mr. Smith, stated that he would prove that every thing done from that time onward was done in pursuance of a design then conceived of sending the prisoners, to the port of New York.

Mr. Larocque contended that the naked question of jurisdiction, or want of jurisdiction, could not be affected by showing that the prisoners were taken on board a particular vessel, with or without a particular design. All that affected that question was, the place where the prisoners were first taken to after they were captured. The only question their honors could consider was, whether, after their apprehension, the prisoners were or were not brought within the District of Virginia, so as to give the Court of Virginia jurisdiction, before they were brought to New York. The fact that Commodore Stringham did, or did not, entertain in his own mind a design to bring the prisoners to New York, was of no relevancy whatever. Their objection was based on the broad ground, that the statute had fixed the only District that was to have jurisdiction of these criminals, namely, the District within which they are first brought. If they were first brought within the District of Virginia, the design which the Commodore might have entertained made no manner of difference, and the fact could not be got rid of by any evidence to show that the design was not to put themselves in that dilemma.