Allen, Gardner Weld. Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution, (originally published: Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1927. Republished by Heritage Books, Inc. of Westminster, Maryland, 2010.)
Kaminkow, Marion and Jack, compilers. Mariners of the American Revolution, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1967.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
Moss, Bobby Gilmer. Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1985.)
Revill, Janie, copier. Copy of the Original Index Book: Showing the Revolutionary Claims Filed In South Carolina Between August 20, 1783 and August 31, 1786, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969.)
Wates, Anne, Wylma, editor. Stub Entries to Indents: Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution, Books C-F, (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Archives Department, 1957.)
South Carolina Audited Accounts relating to John Brickford (Bickford) SC557
There appears to be a considerable amount of information concerning John Brickford. But, once again, this information needs to be carefully sifted due to the conflicting spellings of his last name. Yet, the writer of this blog is confident that in establishing the true, concrete identity of John Brickford, the true story of this man will emerge and be related in this post in full.
First, as is customary, the information should begin with that found in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 139. The following entry appears in this section of the work:
Name: Position:
Brickford (Beckford or Bickford?), John Carpenter's mate
In Moss's work, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, page 99, we encounter the following piece of information:
Brickford, John - he served as a carpenter's mate aboard the frigate South Carolina. A.A. 477B; C670.
A search within the same source for "John Bickford" finds the citation on page 68 as "See John Brickford". But, again in the same source, a search for "John Beckford" finds the following citation on page 58:
Beckford, John - he served aboard the frigate South Carolina. Revill, page 385.
The citations as found in Moss's work, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, reference two other independent sources, both which will be addressed now. The first referenced source indicates a "C670" as containing information concerning John Brickford. This refers to a stub indent found in Wates's work, Stub Entries to Indents, page 120 and is as follows:
No. 670
Book C
Issued the 31 of May 1785 to Mr. John Brickford for Seventy Nine Pounds four Shillings and three Pence Sterling for Ballance of Wages due him as Carpenter's Mate on Board the Frigate South Carolina as per Certificate from the Auditor General.
Principal: 79p/4s/3d
Interest: 5p/10s/10d
(Note: there is a footnote after the last name of "Brickford" and states "say Beckford".)
The second referenced source is found in the citation for "John Beckford" in Moss's work and refers to Revill's work, Copy of the Original Index Book, page 385. This information is as follows:
John Beckford - he was paid 79p/4s/3d on May 31, 1785.
The fifth and final source at the disposal of the writer of this blog is Kaminkow's work, Mariners of the American Revolution, respectively pages 15, 17, and 23. The pertinent information concerning John Brickford is found in three different citations, each one detailing an individual who has a different last name spelling of either Brickford, Beckford or Bickford. This information is as follows:
Beckford, John - he was on board the Fancy. He was captured in August 1777 and remitted to Old Mill Prison near Plymouth, England. He was later exchanged.
Bickford, John - he was a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. He served on board the Fancy. He was captured on August 7, 1777 and remitted to Old Mill Prison near Plymouth, England.
Brickford, John - he was remitted to Old Mill Prison near Plymouth, England. He was pardoned for exchange on December 11, 1779.
Relying on the last name of Brickford, these three separate pieces of information beautifully corroborate one another and dovetail into each other in the following manner:
Brickford, John - he was a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. He served on board the Fancy. He was captured along with the rest of the crew members on August 7, 1777 and remitted to Old Mill Prison near Plymouth, England. After almost a two and one half year incarceration on English soil, he was pardoned for exchange on December 11, 1779.
(Note: The Massachusetts ship that John Brickford served on, the Fancy, provides a bit of a conundrum. The only information concerning this ship is provided by Kaminkow's work, page 223, and states that the ship captain's name was John Lee and the ship was captured in August 1777. A search of sources available to the writer of this blog does not reveal anything of further substance concerning this ship. One source, Lincoln's Naval Records of the American Revolution, 1775-1788, does indicate that there were two privateer ships of Massachusetts by that specific name but, the dates of both of their commissions are too late to have been the Fancy upon which John Brickford served if indeed it was captured in August 1777. But, a search of Allen's work, Massachusetts Privateers of the Revolution, page 126-127, provides the following information:
Date of Commission: May 20, 1777
Fancy, brigantine
Commander: John Lee
Guns: 12
Men: 75
Bond: $10,000 Continental
Bonders: John Lee, of Newburyport, principal; John Tracy and William Titcomb, sureties.
Owners: Jonathan Jackson, John Tracy, and others, of Newburyport.
Witnesses: Samuel White and Timothy Foster
Note: the vessel's name is spelled Fancey.
This is almost certainly the proper ship due to the corroboration of John Lee as the ship's captain in Kaminkow's work and John Lee not only as the ship's captain but, also the principal bonder of the Massachusetts brigantine, Fancy, in Allen's work. Allen's work contains the sole reference to the ship's name being spelled as Fancey.)
A carpenter's mate on board of a seagoing, privateering ship-of-war is a skilled position, so it should be probable that John Brickford was already "following the sea" as his trade and manner of income prior to the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain. Massachusetts and her numerous port cities and towns lent themselves to privateering and naval endeavors by patriot forces during the American Revolution.
Also, it must be noted that John Brickford probably left the frigate South Carolina at some point after she docked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 25, 1782. This is due to the fact that his name does not appear on any of the three prisoner of war lists of the three British men-of-war that captured the patriot frigate on December 21, 1782. Most, if not all, of the enlisted men chose to leave the frigate South Carolina after she moored. Several of them, like John Brickford, were not from South Carolina and were trying to get home to their families after months or years in English prisons. They simply left or deserted from the patriot frigate while she lay in Philadelphia's harbor. They sought out other patriot ships currently in Philadelphia's harbor but, ultimately bound for their home states.
Thus, the short story of John Brickford and how he came to be a carpenter's mate on board the frigate South Carolina probably is as such:
John Brickford was a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts. At some point in 1777, he signed on board the Massachusetts brigantine Fancy. This ship sported twelve guns, probably six-pounders, and a crew of seventy-five men. The captain of the privateering ship as well as the principal bonder was John Lee, also of Newburyport. The brigantine began her privateering cruise at some undisclosed point during the summer of 1777. On August 7, 1777, while at sea, the Fancy was captured by an unnamed British man-of-war and her crew and marines were taken to England for incarceration. John Brickford was among those who were remitted to Old Mill Prison near Plymouth, England. He remained in British custody for almost two and one half years. He was pardoned for exchange on December 11, 1779. Either on this date or later, he travelled to France by means of a prisoner cartel. Once he had landed in France, he was instructed to reach home by seeking out one of the numerous American ships currently in French port cities yet ultimately bound for North American waters. He either was told of or had heard about the frigate South Carolina outfitting in Amsterdam, Holland and he travelled there. Once there, he signed on board the patriot frigate as a carpenter's mate. He served in this position as the frigate voyaged across the Atlantic Ocean, reaching Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 25, 1782. Either on this date of the patriot man-of-war's mooring in Philadelphia or later, John Brickford chose to leave the service of the frigate South Carolina and make his own way home to Massachusetts, most likely by means of another ship travelling that way. After the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain, on May 31, 1785, John Brickford was awarded 79 pounds/4 shillings/3 pence for his services as a carpenter's mate on board the frigate South Carolina by the Auditor General of the State of South Carolina.