Oliver Cromwell - which one? - attempt of an overview

Uwek

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Based on the information given in the building log by Lawrence @Canoe21 I started to make some research in the web, in order to get more familiar with this vessel "Oliver Cromwell".
Until now I did not look into my books, so in moment a pure web-research.


According the web-page American War of Independence at Sea by Ken Kellow there were four privateers Oliver Cromwell´s sailing under the American flag in 1777 / 1778
http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/Privateers_O.html


1)
Oliver Cromwell

Massachusetts Brig/Ship
[Commander Coles Simmons Barr Bray]
Commissioned/First Date: 29 April 1777
Out of Service/Cause: 7 July 1781 / captured by HM Frigate Maidstone
16-gun sloop of war Brigantine/Ship

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Massachusetts Brig-Ship [Coles Simmons Barr Bray].html

2)
Oliver Cromwell

Massachusetts Sloop
[Commander Tiley]
Commissioned/First Date: 15 October 1776
Out of Service/Cause:
10-guns Armed Sloop

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Massachusetts Sloop [Tiley].html

3)
Oliver Cromwell

Pennsylvania Ship
[Commander Courter]
Commissioned/First Date: 7 February 1777
Out of Service/Cause: 19 May 1777 / captured by HM Sloop Beaver
24-guns frigate

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Pennsylvania Ship [Courter].html

4)
Oliver Cromwell

Rhode Island Ship
[Commander Chace / Chase]
Commissioned/First Date: 21 November 1776
Out of Service/Cause: 27 August 1777 / driven ashore and burned by HM Sloop Kingsfisher
22-guns Armed Ship

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Rhode Island Ship [Chace].html


to be continued .....
 
If we take a look at "threedecks" we can find 5 US-ships with the name Oliver Cromwell at this time

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=ships_search

screenCapture_335813328_3936156634_0.jpg

Here are the links to the different ships mentioned in Threedecks:

20-guns https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=13315 -> not mentioned in first post (web-page American War of Independence at Sea)
this will be our new number 5)

10-guns https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19092 -> number 2) in first post Massachusetts Sloop
22-guns https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19094 -> number 4) in first post Rhode Island Ship
24-guns https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19093 -> number 3) in first post Pennsylvania Ship
16-guns https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19091 -> number 1) in first post Massachusetts Brig/Ship

to be continued ......
 
Let us take a look at the different vessels and summarize the knowledge

1)
Oliver Cromwell
Massachusetts Brig/Ship

[Commander Coles Simmons Barr Bray]
Commissioned/First Date: 29 April 1777
Out of Service/Cause: 7 July 1781 / captured by HM Frigate Maidstone
16-gun sloop of war Brigantine/Ship

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Massachusetts Brig-Ship [Coles Simmons Barr Bray].html

At threedecks:
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19091 -> number 1) in first post Massachusetts Brig/Ship

The tonnage is given different between 150 tons to 200 tons

Armament
29.4.1777
Broadside Weight = 48 Imperial Pound ( 21.768 kg)
Gun Deck 16 American 6-Pounder

The ship made 6 cruises
(1) Boston, Massachusetts to Bilboa, Spain, [20] July 1777-[20] August 1777
(3) Bilboa, Spain to [Salem, Massachusetts], [1 October] 1777-[December] 1777
(4) Salem, Massachusetts to Salem, Massachusetts, [1] September 1779-30 September 1779
(5) Salem, Massachusetts to the West Indies and return, February 1780-
(6) Salem, Massachusetts to the West Indies and return, June 1780-
(7) Salem, Massachusetts to sea, -7 July 1781

and all together she made 19 prizes during this time

In January 1781 she was sold to another owner,
Oliver Cromwell was soon on her maiden voyage, sailing north and east. On 7 July 1781 she had the misfortune to be captured by 28-gun Coventry-class frigate HMS Maidstone (1758 - 28) (Captain William Parker) on the Newfoundland coast,151 while dogging a Quebec convoy

On the web-page we can find a longer information of the taken prizes, but no more information about the ship itself or any drawings, paintings etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Maidstone_(1758)
 
2)
Oliver Cromwell

Massachusetts Sloop
[Commander Tiley]
Commissioned/First Date: 15 October 1776
Out of Service/Cause:
10-guns Armed Sloop

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Massachusetts Sloop [Tiley].html

At threedecks:
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19092 -> number 2) in first post Massachusetts Sloop

There are not many information available about this ship

Massachusetts Privateer Sloop Oliver Cromwell was commissioned on 15 October 1776 under Commander John Tiley of Boston, Massachusetts. She was listed as having a battery of ten guns and as having a crew of sixty men. Her Continental bond was signed by Tiley and by Charles Sigourney and William Foster, both of Boston
 
3)
Oliver Cromwell

Pennsylvania Ship
[Commander Courter]
Commissioned/First Date: 7 February 1777
Out of Service/Cause: 19 May 1777 / captured by HM Sloop Beaver
24-guns frigate

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Pennsylvania Ship [Courter].html

On threedecks:
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19093 -> number 3) in first post Pennsylvania Ship

Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric - Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 88' 0"Imperial Feet - 26.8224
Length of Keel - 73' 0"Imperial Feet - 22.2504
Breadth - 25' 6"Imperial Feet - 7.6505
Depth in Hold - 13' 0"Imperial Feet - 3.9624

The former history of the Oliver Cromwell is not certain. She was said to have been built in Philadelphia. She measured 88' length on the deck, 73' length on the keel, 26'1" extreme beam, 13' depth of hold, 5'4" height between decks, and was later called “very handsome” by the British, with ports for all guns and able to fight her entire crew under cover.6 As converted Oliver Cromwell was a miniature frigate. She was said to measure 248 tons

The ship made one cruise
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the West Indies and various cruises around the West Indies, 17 February 1777-19 May 1777
with seven prizes

On 19th May 1777 the 24-gun Oliver Cromwell was captured off St. Lucia by the smaller sloop HMS Beaver (1761 - 14)

A detailed description of this action you can find here:
http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Pennsylvania Ship [Courter].html


Her captor described Oliver Cromwell as a very handsome ship, well found, with ports for all her guns and able to fight her crew under cover. Her battery was noted as twelve (or fourteen) 9-pounders, six 6-pounders, and six 4-pounders. She had sailed with 150 men aboard, but only had 125 aboard at the time of her capture. In a report to the Admiralty on 20 June 1778, Vice Admiral Young listed her as a 220-ton ship, armed with twenty-four guns and with a crew of 135 at her capture.

By 25 May the prize had been brought into Grenada, where the prisoners were landed. Jones was highly praised for capturing a vessel so much stronger than his own. On 12 June 1777 Vice Admiral James Young suggested to the Admiralty that the Oliver Cromwell be taken into the Royal Navy as a 6th rate and giving the command to Jones. He also reported that the prisoners were being sent to England on HM Frigate Hind. On 14 June Oliver Cromwell was escorted into English Harbor, Antigua by HM Sloop Cygnet. Four days later she was tried and condemned, in the Vice Admiralty court at Grenada. On 23 July 1777 Young proposed to the Admiralty that she be made into a 16-gun sloop-of-war, noting that he would have to send her to England to be armed. On 19 August 1777 Young had her surveyed: she was valued at £2000 and was taken into the Royal Navy as HM Sloop Beaver’s Prize. Meanwhile the Admiralty had ordered, on 27 August, that she be bought as a 24-gun 6th rate, to be named the Convert, and ordered Young to appoint Jones to command her, he being promoted to post captain. By 10 October 1777 the Admiralty had changed its mind: she was not to be a 6th rate, but her purchase was approved


And these are the two drawings available at the NMM of the HMS Beaver´s Prize

Beaver's Prize (captured 1777)
American privateer captured by HMS Beaver on 19 May 1777. The proposal to name her 'Convert' was cancelled.

Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...essel;vesselFacetLetter=B#GUY3EbCmKXVBszcC.99

large.jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, stern board outline with some decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Beaver's Prize (captured 1777), a 14-gun Ship Sloop. The plan illustrates her as taken off at Sheerness in March 1778, and the proposed alterations. Signed by George White [Master Shipwright, Sheer ness Dockyard, 1773-1778]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84087.html#Q7AOpiiHKMUS5hMI.99
Date made: Post March 1778


large (1).jpg
Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the quarterdeck, forecastle, upper deck, and lower deck for Beaver's Prize (captured 1777), a 14-gun Ship Sloop. The plan illustrates her as taken off at Sheerness in March 1778, and the proposed alterations. Signed by George White [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1773-1778]
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/84088.html#9FCmk6wKuRQgEx28.99
Date made: Pre 28 March 1778

The two drawings shown on the web-page of awiatsea named "Reconstruction of the lines of the Oliver Cromwell. From Millar, American Ships of the Colonial & Revolutionary Periods, 207" were 100% taken over of the NMM contemporary drawings!

screenCapture_355244171_1139514097_0.jpg


At threedecks we can find the information of HMS Convert / HMS Beavers Prize with the following data:

Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 85' 9"Imperial Feet - 25.9537
Length of Keel - 69' 0"Imperial Feet - 21.0312
Breadth - 26' 0"Imperial Feet - 7.9248
Depth in Hold - 12' 5"Imperial Feet - 3.7211
Burthen - 248 10⁄94Tons BM

Armament
Date 8.1777
Broadside Weight = 84 Imperial Pound ( 38.094 kg)

Gun Deck 12 American 9-Pounder
Gun Deck 6 American 6-Pounder
Gun Deck 6 American 4-Pounder
Date 5.1778
Broadside Weight = 44.5 Imperial Pound ( 20.181 kg)

Gun Deck 14 British 6-Pounder
Gun Deck 10 British 1/2-Pound Swivel

and this was her final career in the Royal Navy

28.8.1777 Established as a 24-gun Sixth Rate
10.1.1778 Refitted as a 12 gun Unrated Sloop
10.1.1778 Renamed Beaver's Prize
18.1.1778 Arrived at Sheerness
3.1778 Began fitting at Sheerness Dockyard
13.5.1778 Refitted as a 14 gun Unrated Sloop
6.1778 Completed fitting at Sheerness Dockyard at a cost of £3525.7.9d
2.12.1778 Refitted as a 16 gun Unrated Sloop
11.1779 Began fitting at Sheerness Dockyard
1.1780 Completed fitting at Sheerness Dockyard at a cost of £2263.16.5d
11.10.1780 Wrecked in a hurricane off St Lucia, only 17 survivors

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=7491
 
4)
Oliver Cromwell

Rhode Island Ship
[Commander Chace / Chase]
Commissioned/First Date: 21 November 1776
Out of Service/Cause: 27 August 1777 / driven ashore and burned by HM Sloop Kingfisher
22-guns Armed Ship

http://www.awiatsea.com/Privateers/O/Oliver Cromwell Rhode Island Ship [Chace].html

at threedecks:
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=19094 -> number 4) in first post Rhode Island Ship

Dimension
Burthen 160Ton
(no other Dimensions available)

Armament
Date: 27.8.1777
Broadside Weight = 71 Imperial Pound ( 32.1985 kg)

Gun Deck 20 American 6-Pounder
Gun Deck 2 American 3-Pounder
Gun Deck 16 American Swivel

Rhode Island Privateer Ship Oliver Cromwell was commissioned under Commander Samuel Chace, Jr. on 21 November 1776. Her owners were listed as Nicholas Brown and William Russell. She seemed to have been a new ship, of about 160 tons, and was fitting out up the Taunton River when the British invaded Rhode Island in December 1776 and occupied Newport.

She was re-commissioned on 4 August 1777, again under Chace (now spelled Chase). Her owners are now listed as Nicholas Brown et al, but in fact still consisted of Nicholas Brown and William and Joseph Russell of Providence. Oliver Cromwell was a new vessel and “well fitted.” Oliver Cromwellwas armed with twenty 6-pounders on the gun deck, two 3-pounders on the quarterdeck and carried sixteen swivel guns. Although she was designed to carry between 190 and 200 men as her regular crew, she had only twenty-three men aboard on the night of 26 August


The action with HMS sloop Kingfisher is known as Action in Narragansett Bay on 27th August 1777

Description of the action W027

The Oliver Cromwell and the Continental Navy Brigantine Hampden both attempted to breakout past the British blockade in Narragansett Bay on the morning of 27 August. It was a very dark night, with a heavy fog. The chosen route was out of the Taunton River and down the Sakonnet River, guarded only by HM Sloop Kingsfisher.
At 0400 the British battery at Fogland Ferry discerned a brig passing by. She was almost past the battery before any shots were fired. The gunners managed to fire at her twice before she made off. The gunfire awakened the sleeping Kingsfisher, which discovered a large ship near her, with a full press of sail set. Kingsfisher slipped her anchor and got under way, firing her bow chaser at the Oliver Cromwell. Chace, with no men aboard to fight back, altered course and ran the ship hard ashore to the north of Sakonnet Point. Kingsfisher hustled up and anchored nearby. Kingsfisher then began firing into the ship, which forced the Americans to abandon ship and row ashore in their boats.
Kingsfisher sent her boats to the Oliver Cromwell. Ashore the American crew rallied and kept up a “continual” but ineffective fire on the British boarding party. The British intended to refloat the ship. However it was ebb tide, she was driven hard ashore and all her sail was set. The boarding party found a light burning in the light room of the magazine. Unable to float their prize, the British set her on fire and she blew up about 0500. Not a single shot had been fired from the Oliver Cromwell.
The fight with the Oliver Cromwell effectively covered the Hampden, which got away. The British thought that "The want of spirit on the part of the Rebels was very conspicuous. It is probable she had not less than 150 or 200 men on board; and for a vessel of that force to run ashore from a Sloop of War of 14 Guns and about 90 men, without firing a shot, was perfectly scandalous."


about the sloop Kingfisher:
  • Kingfisher was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1770 and burnt to avoid capture in 1778.
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=4999
 
this will be our new number 5)
20-guns
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=13315
-> not mentioned in first post (web-page American War of Independence at Sea)

Oliver Cromwell (13315)
Nominal Guns 20
Nationality United States of America
Operator Connecticut State Navy
Ordered 1.1.1776
Acquired 13.6.1776
Shipyard Saybrook
Category Unrated Ship
Type Brigantine
Captured 6.6.1779

Dimensions
Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Keel - 80' 0"Imperial Feet - 24.384
Breadth - 27' 0"Imperial Feet - 8.2296
Depth in Hold - 12' 0"Imperial Feet - 3.6576

3 Commanding Officers
Dates Rank Name
8.1776 - 4.1777 Captain William Coit
11.4.1777 - 12.1777 Captain Seth Harding
12.1777 - 6.6.1779 Captain Timothy Parker

Service History
Date - Event
1.8.1776 Struck by lightning, which did considerable damage to her main and mizzen masts
18.8.1776 Left the Connecticutt River
20.8.1776 Arrived at New London for fitting
6.8.1777 Took the Privateer Brig Queen of Portugal (18)
6.6.1779 Taken by Daphne (1776 - 20)

Data about the Daphne:
https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=3808


This ship is the same ship wikipedia is refering to under
Oliver Cromwell (ship)
Oliver Cromwell was the largest ship in the Connecticut State Navy from her launch on 13 Jun, 1776, until the British Royal Navy captured her in a battle off the coast of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on 6 June 1779. The Royal Navy renamed her HMS Restoration.[1]

History
Construction

Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Connecticut General Assembly in July 1775 authorized Governor Jonathan Trumbull to purchase and outfit two armed vessels, the largest of which would be Oliver Cromwell.[2] Under the supervision of Capt. Seth Harding, ship builder Uriah Hayden began preliminary work for the project on 30 January. Work began in the Hayden family shipyard that sat on the Connecticut River in Saybrook (Essex), Connecticut, on April 2, and continued until the ship's launch on 13 June 1776.[3]

Capture of Admiral Keppel
In the spring of 1778 Oliver Cromwell set sail from Boston with Defence for the West Indies, stopping in Charleston, S.C., for refitting.[4] On April 15th, while sailing east of St. Kitts, the pair encountered two British ships, Admiral Keppel and Cyrus, and captured them. On board Admiral Keppel, and taken prisoner, was Henry Shirley, the former British Ambassador to Russia, and other bureaucrats, and their families, who were en route to Kingston, Jamaica, to relay instructions from London to the colony. Admiral Keppel was sailed to Boston and sold for £22,321, and, after some deliberation by Gov. Trumbull, Mr. Shirley and the other captives were permitted to continue to Kingston under a flag of truce.

History Name: Oliver Cromwell
Namesake: Oliver Cromwell
Operator: Connecticut State Navy
Ordered: January 1, 1776
Builder: Uriah Hayden
Laid down: April 2,1776
Launched: June 13, 1776
Completed: August 18, 1776
Captured: June 6, 1779
Great Britain
Name: HMS Restoration
Acquired: 6 June 1779
Fate: unknown
General characteristics
Type: corvette
Tons burthen: 300 (bm)
Length: 80 ft (24 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Depth of hold: 12 ft (3.7 m)
Complement: 180 officers and enlisted
Armament: 20 guns

References
  1. Jump up^ Middlebrook, Louis F. "History of Maritime Connecticut During the American Revolution 1773 - 1783 Vol. 1, Oliver Cromwell". langeonline.com. The Essex Institute. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  2. Jump up^ "Oliver Cromwell Launched – Today in History: June 13". connecticuthistory.org. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  3. Jump up^ "The Oliver Cromwell". CTMQ.com. Connecticut Museum Quest. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  4. Jump up^ Paullin, Dr. Charles O. (1906). "Connecticut State Navy in the American Revolution". The New England Magazine. Vol. 35. Boston, MA. p. 714.

When we search for HMS Restoration - according wikipedia the the new commission of the Oliver Cromwell
we can find at wikipedia - nothing,
but at threedecks this information for a ship which could be the only one ex-Oliver Cromwell:

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=20411

Restoration (20411)
Nominal Guns 14
Nationality Great Britain
Operator Private Owners
Acquired 1779
Shipyard Unknown
Category Privateer
Ship Type Sloop
Sailing Rig Ship Rigged
Bought by the Navy 14.11.1779
Becomes British sloop 'Loyalist' (1779) (14)

Dimensions
Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 99' 0"Imperial Feet - 30.1752
Length of Keel - 82' 5"Imperial Feet - 25.0571
Breadth - 27' 0"Imperial Feet - 8.2296
Depth in Hold - 7' 8"Imperial Feet - 2.3368
Burthen - 319 55⁄94Tons BM

Sources
British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792 by Rif Winfield

and

https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5178

Loyalist (5178)
Nominal Guns 14
Nationality Great Britain
Operator Royal Navy
Previously British Privateer sloop 'Restoration' (1779) (14)
Purchased 14.11.1779
Shipyard Unknown
Category Unrated
Ship Type Sloop
Sailing Rig Ship Rigged
Captured 30.7.1781

Dimensions
Dimension - Measurement - Type - Metric Equivalent
Length of Gundeck - 99' 0"Imperial Feet - 30.1752
Length of Keel - 82' 5"Imperial Feet - 25.0571
Breadth - 27' 0"Imperial Feet - 8.2296
Depth in Hold - 7' 8"Imperial Feet - 2.3368
Burthen - 319 55⁄94Tons BM

Armament
Date: 11.1779
Broadside Weight = 28 Imperial Pound ( 12.698 kg)

Upper Gun Deck 14 British 4-Pounder

3 Commanding Officers
Dates Rank Name
16.11.1779 - 5.1781 CommanderJohn Plummer Ardesoif (1737-1790)
5.1781 - 5.5.1781 CommanderMorgan Laugharne
5.5.1781 - 30.7.1781 CommanderRichard Williams (d.1814)
1 Petty Officer
Dates Rating Name
1780 - 1781 Midshipman Charles Bullen (1768-1853)

Service History
Date Event
14.11.1779 Purchased at New York at a cost of £2883.3.5d
30.7.1781 Taken by french L'Aigrette (30) off Cape Henry



about the Loyalist 1779 we can find something also in wikipedia:

HMS Loyalist (1779)
HMS Loyalist was the 14-gun sloop Restoration, which the Royal Navy purchased in North America in 1779. In May 1781 her captain was Morgan Laugharne.[1]

In 1780 Admiral Arbuthnot placed John Plumer Ardesoife in command of Loyalist. He immediately proceeded to terrorize the inhabitants of the Sea Islands, arousing opposition to the British.[2] Around this time Loyalist took the sloop George, of 25 tons burthen, William Stein master. George was condemned at the vice admiralty court in Savannah on 23 August 1780.[3] While under Ardesoife's command she also took some prizes at George Town.[4]

She was under the command of Captain Richard Williams when the French captured her in the Chesapeake on 30 August 1781. According to French sources, Loyalist and the frigate Guadeloupe were on picket duty when they encountered the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse. Guadeloupe escaped up the York River to York Town, where her crew would later scuttle her.[5] The English court martial records report that Loyalist was returning to the British fleet off the Jersey coast when she encountered the main French fleet. The French frigate Aigrette, with the 74-gun Glorieux in sight, was able to overtake Loyalist.[6]

The French took her into service as Loyaliste in September. On 15 September she arrived at Yorktown, De Grasse having detached her to escort in some grenadiers and chasseurs.[7] Her commander, briefly, was lieutenant de vaisseau Pascal Melchior Philibert de Barras-Saint-Laurent, son of Admiral de Barras.

Shortly thereafter, in November, the French gave her to the Americans. In her brief French service she is described as carrying 22 guns, probably 14 guns plus eight swivel guns.

Citations and references
Citations
  1. Jump up^ "NMM, vessel ID 370602" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol ii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  2. Jump up^ Jenkinson (2006), p.71.
  3. Jump up^ Olsberg (1973), p.228.
  4. Jump up^ "No. 12592". The London Gazette. 2 September 1784. p. 3.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Demerliac (1996), p.75, #.481.
  6. Jump up^ Hepper (1994), p.65.
  7. Jump up^ Gallatin (1931), p.47.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Loyalist_(1779)
 
Last edited:
Look like you have opened a hugh arrays of choices with your net search Uwe.
Interesting to see what will comes from this one.
Havagooday mate and happymodeling
Greg
 
Hello Uwek
Thank you very much for your very interesting and confusion web and book search of the ship or should I say ships. My first thought is it must have been A American propaganda issue in trying to make the British crazy, with 4 or 5 ships of the same name being in different places at the same time, I do believe that this would cause a stir.
My Oliver Cromwell, a Philadelphia Privateer 1777 is # 3 on your list and after her capture, she was renamed Beavers Prize. I for one will hash all of this information around to see if I can come up with a clearer understanding of just why this was done.
I am sure that some of my Ship Mates already know the answers to these strange occurrences.
I would be very interested to see just what Didit Dave has to say about this strange matter, chances are that he already is aware of the whole situation, so I for one will sit on the edge of my chair to see what the outcome will be, ENJOY.
Regards Lawrence
 
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