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Providence galley

William Rhett's Carolina galley, captured in Bahamian waters, taken over by John James after a mutiny and renamed Alexander.

LaunchedCarolina vessel taken in April 1699Torenamed Alexander in 1699

William Rhett's Carolina galley, captured in Bahamian waters, taken over by John James after a mutiny and renamed Alexander.

What the record establishes

The register entity Providence is a ship, the 'Providence galley' of 1699, not the island of New Providence (Nassau); the island appears in the record only as a landmark1

She was an English-built, square-sterned ship rated a galley, a Carolina vessel, commanded before capture by Capt. William Rhett of Carolina2

About the latter end of April 1699 the Providence galley was taken from Rhett by the sea-rover named 'Hind' or 'Hynde', in Bahamian waters, not near Barbados3

After the taking, the mixed crew mutinied; the English party prevailed and marooned Hind and fifteen comrades on the Berry Islands with three small arms and a bottle of gunpowder; John James then took command4

Under John James the ship was renamed the Alexander; the two names are one vessel5

The ship's armament is reported at three figures: twenty-two guns as built under Rhett, twenty-six guns under Bellomont, and about thirty guns in the Virginia Council minutes; the complement under the pirates was about 150 men6

On 26 July 1699 (Old Style) the ship entered Lyn-Haven (Lynnhaven) Bay, Virginia, took the merchantman Maryland Merchant, and fought H.M.S. Essex Prize (a frigate of 16 guns and 70 men, Capt. Aldred) about four hours, the guardship disengaging7

The Essex Prize was reported to have lost about forty men in the action; the figure is second-hand and, since the ship escaped, very likely exaggerated8

The pirates boasted the ship carried three million pounds sterling in gold and silver; this is a brag recorded by a frightened master, not a treasure record9

What the evidence does not settle

Her ownership before capture, the relation between the different gun totals and her fate under the name Alexander remain unsettled.

What the evidence does not settle

Ownership

  • Providence galley's owners before capture

Armament

  • How the different gun totals relate to the same vessel

Later fate

  • What became of her under the name Alexander

Each line is one question with its own grade, taken from the register where a claim carries it. Nothing here is graded as a whole.

Sources for this record

Every statement above that rests on a checked claim carries a small number; the numbers lead here. Each entry gives what is claimed, how far the record supports it, and where it comes from.

  1. The register entity Providence is a ship, the 'Providence galley' of 1699, not the island of New Providence (Nassau); the island appears in the record only as a landmark Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Colonial state paper: The Earl of Bellomont to the Council of Trade, with enclosed depositions (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 746, encl. X, XVI, XVII); Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802); Index to CSP Colonial, America and West Indies, Vol. 17 (entry Alexander, cross-referencing Providence, ship)
  2. She was an English-built, square-sterned ship rated a galley, a Carolina vessel, commanded before capture by Capt. William Rhett of Carolina Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Colonial state paper: Minutes of the Council of Virginia (CSP Colonial, America and West Indies, Vol. 17, no. 693); Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802)
  3. About the latter end of April 1699 the Providence galley was taken from Rhett by the sea-rover named 'Hind' or 'Hynde', in Bahamian waters, not near Barbados Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Colonial state paper: Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802)
  4. After the taking, the mixed crew mutinied; the English party prevailed and marooned Hind and fifteen comrades on the Berry Islands with three small arms and a bottle of gunpowder; John James then took command Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Colonial state paper: Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802)
  5. Under John James the ship was renamed the Alexander; the two names are one vessel Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Colonial state paper: The Earl of Bellomont to the Council of Trade, with enclosed depositions (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 746, encl. X, XVI, XVII); Index to CSP Colonial, America and West Indies, Vol. 17 (entry Alexander, cross-referencing Providence, ship)
  6. The ship's armament is reported at three figures: twenty-two guns as built under Rhett, twenty-six guns under Bellomont, and about thirty guns in the Virginia Council minutes; the complement under the pirates was about 150 men Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Colonial state paper: Minutes of the Council of Virginia (CSP Colonial, America and West Indies, Vol. 17, no. 693); The Earl of Bellomont to the Council of Trade and Plantations (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 740); Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802)
  7. On 26 July 1699 (Old Style) the ship entered Lyn-Haven (Lynnhaven) Bay, Virginia, took the merchantman Maryland Merchant, and fought H.M.S. Essex Prize (a frigate of 16 guns and 70 men, Capt. Aldred) about four hours, the guardship disengaging Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Colonial state paper: Minutes of the Council of Virginia (CSP Colonial, America and West Indies, Vol. 17, no. 693); The Earl of Bellomont to the Council of Trade and Plantations (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 740); Account of Richard Burgess, master of the Maryland Merchant of Bristol (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 711)
  8. The Essex Prize was reported to have lost about forty men in the action; the figure is second-hand and, since the ship escaped, very likely exaggerated Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Colonial state paper: The Earl of Bellomont to the Council of Trade and Plantations (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 740); Samuel Day (Bermuda) to the Council of Trade, forwarding the account of the brigantine Larke (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 802)
  9. The pirates boasted the ship carried three million pounds sterling in gold and silver; this is a brag recorded by a frightened master, not a treasure record Speculative An inference, not a finding. Colonial state paper: Account of Richard Burgess, master of the Maryland Merchant of Bristol (CSP Colonial, Vol. 17, no. 711)