But, the names of other junior officers that served aboard the South Carolina also appear in the pages of some of these records but, do not appear anywhere else in the documentation of the officers and crew of the South Carolina. One is the other "Captain of Marines" who served alongside of Michael Kalteisen. His name is John Spencer.
The writer of this blog has run across very few references to John Spencer in his research, thus far. Dr. James A. Lewis in his work, Neptune's Militia, mentions him as being a second "Captain of Marines" along with Michael Kalteisen. He includes few other brief references to him in his work. John Spencer is cited in Ross's book, South Carolina Patriots as "...served as an officer aboard the frigate South Carolina". The works and documents associated with Michael Kalteisen do not mention him at all as a additional captain of marines serving along with Kalteisen. But, we do have proof that he did survive the war and filed a claim against the state of South Carolina.
There are a couple of possibilities for these lack of references to John Spencer. Firstly, John Spencer could have been a part of the officers of the South Carolina for a short period of time. There does exist a list of thirteen individuals who accompanied Commodore Gillon to Europe in search of ships for the South Carolina state navy. John Spencer's name does appear on this list. Of course, he may have been one of those who became disillusioned with Gillon or with the delays entailed in securing the South Carolina and left Europe for home. But, there are two instances that may negate this possibility. First, Dr. Lewis cites him as being one of the Captains of Marines who served with Kalteisen. Therefore, he must have been aboard the South Carolina when she set sail from Texel, Holland. Secondly, and a more distinct, plausible possibility, is that he was one of the crew members who departed the ship when she docked in Corunna, Spain after having left Holland. Dr. Lewis's book, Neptune's Militia, cites numerous individuals who left or deserted the ship in that port. But, John Spencer is not specifically mentioned as leaving the South Carolina at this point in time while the ship was still on the European side of the Atlantic. Another author, Aileen Moore Topping, states that John Spencer was still with Commodore Gillon and the South Carolina when she reached Havana, Cuba, just before the South Carolina participated in the Spanish seizure of the Bahamas. The writer of this blog feels that if Spencer had served long enough to reach the port of Philadelphia and then left the ship for any number of reasons, then this would have been cited in some other officer's pension application or another official document. But, there always exist the possibility that this John Spencer, Captain of Marines aboard the frigate South Carolina, may be one of those innumerable individuals who have "slipped through the cracks of time" and the memory of whom has been lost or almost completely obscured by the passage of time.
All of this is pure conjecture on the part of this writer. But, what the citation in Ross's book, South Carolina Patriots, does prove beyond a doubt is that John Spencer did exist and served as an officer aboard the South Carolina for a some period of time. Yet, finding further, solid evidence of him, his life and his service in the cause of American independence may prove elusive.
As far as this writer knows, one last mention of John Spencer does occur. In The Statutes at Large of South Carolina, Vol. 5, 1784-1814, an entry is found, dated 1812. An attorney, Asa Delozaa, is referred to as being awarded a monetary settlement by the state of South Carolina. He received this monetary award for acting as the attorney for a list of twelve individuals, among whose names the name of John Spencer appears. The entry that follows this award reads as "...to receive $1500.00, or so much thereof as will pay the interest of 6% on the sums appearing to have been due them on the portage bill book of the frigate South Carolina, to be ascertained and settled by the Comptroller-General". Again, this reference to John Spencer proves that he did indeed serve aboard the South Carolina but, there is no reference as to when he served and for how long. With this reference, he disappears into time.
(Note: Interestingly enough, the name of the attorney, Asa Delozaa, does turn up once again in reference to the frigate South Carolina. In the pension application of George Fisher, "The Pension Application of George Fisher S46036", a mention is made that must surely be a reference to this individual. Towards the end of his pension application, Fisher mentions that when he was searching for documentary proof of his service on board the frigate South Carolina in the Controller General's Office in Columbia, SC. He was told by that office that "...there were no books or papers relative to the South Carolina Frigate, except some papers in an old Box relative to the claim of one Delosier, against the South Carolina Frigate, the declarant knows nothing of this Delosier..." The transcription of names during the 18th century was rather "loose" and frequently the name of the same individual would be spelled in many different ways by different sources. It may well be that these are the same person and that Fisher would have had no way of knowing anything about Asa Delozaa, or Delosier as it may be, because he was an attorney seeking settlement for claims made by his clients against the State if South Carolina for their service on board the frigate South Carolina.)