[Archive] [British Navy] Bursar's Log And Orders Re Victualling French Prisoners, 1743-1744 John Pitman, Commander Aldborough History & Military

Manuscript; 13" x 8 ¼" bound unfolded letter and log in olive green stiff paper folder; log is inserted between 2 pages of letter. Letter in good condition with fold lines and wear clear on outer surface of fold and lower outside corner of letter; foxing present along fold lines. Log in very good overall condition with darkened areas along bound edge of back of last page of log; ink and writing legible and clear.~~The HMS Aldborough, captained by John Pitman, was a 20-gun sixth-rate ship of the Royal Navy, launched in February 1743 as part of the British home fleet patrolling the English Channel. 12,000 French troops launched from Dunkirk in February 1744 with the goal of restoring the exiled Stuarts. Due to storms, many of the ships were wrecked or driven back. As this log shows, on February 21, 1744, the Aldborough took 16 French prisoners while at sea. While not explicitly stated, the timing suggests that the Aldborough's captured French men were rescued from a sinking vessel that was part of the invasion attempt. ~~The letter which forms the first and last page of this record contains orders for Victualling the French prisoners at two thirds allowance, and contains a table kept by the Aldborough Burser, Edward Campbell, which lists the names of the men, the ship they were taken from, the type of victual, and the date of their discharge to Plymouth Prison. ~The rest of the bound pages are the Order to Victual the Supernumeraries from the 8th of February, 1743 through the 28th of September, 1744, followed by a table showing the date, crew's names, type of victual (D, DD or Rum), time of discharge, year, and number of days "victuald". ~.