The focus of Ms. Quinones earlier article was that a certain number of men from Berks County, PA died on board the frigate South Carolina during the chase and ensuing engagement with the three British men-of-war, the HMS Diomede, the HMS Quebec, and the HMS Astrea. The two earlier posts on this blog site have indicated that these men probably did not die during the exchange of gunfire between the frigate South Carolina and her three Royal Navy pursuers. More than likely, they perished on the prison "hulks" moored in Wallabout Bay, NY to which the captured crew and marines of the frigate South Carolina were consigned. This has all been addressed in both of the earlier posts, dated "09/28/2014" and "01/01/2015". The post submitted by Diana Quinones indicates that there were twenty-one men from Berks County, PA for whom letters of administration were filed, primarily in 1794, by surviving family members. Again, this has also been addressed in one of the earlier posts cited above.
Yet, the names of only seven of these twenty-one men turn up on one of the captive lists of the three British men-of-war which carried them onto New York City harbor as prisoners-of-war on December 23-24, 1782. All seven of these men perished on board of one of the several British prison "hulks" that rode silently at anchor in the still waters of Wallabout Bay, NY. With the passage of so much time and also due to poor British record-keeping practices concerning prisoners-of-war and their dispositions, we may well never know which of the prison "hulks" these men died on. But, we do catch a glimpse of one of these men and, as a result, gain a bit more information on this man and his life.
The man is George Schultz. The letter of administration for him was filed in Berks County, PA on July 4, 1794. It was filed by his widow, Juliana Schultz. But, Juliana Schultz also went on to file a claim against the state of South Carolina for compensation for services rendered while her husband, George, served on board the frigate South Carolina. The citation for George Schultz and his service on board the frigate South Carolina appears in Moss's work, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, page 862, and reads as follows:
George Schultz - he married Juliana -------. He served as a marine aboard the frigate South Carolina under Commodore Gillon. A.A.6977A.
George Schultz is the sole representative of Berks County, PA for whom a claim was filed against the state of South Carolina after his death. His filing was only the result of the industriousness of his widow, Juliana Schultz. Two other men that we know of from Berks County, PA also filed claims against the state of South Carolina but, they were still alive at the time of their filing. These were Jacob Fleisher (Moss, page 316) and Henry Lotz (Moss, page 581). In his later life, John Fox, another man from Berks County, PA who served as marine on board the frigate South Carolina, did file a pension application, "Pension Application of John Fox S2219" but, did not file a claim against the state of South Carolina for recompense for his services on board the frigate South Carolina.