To Thomas Jefferson from David Leonard Barnes, 8 February 1804
From David Leonard Barnes
Providence Feby 8th 1804
Sir—
In compliance with my promise in my letter of the 10th ultimo, I will now endeavour to state the principal matters in Capt. Ingraham’s case
John West Leonard commenced two actions in the District Court of Rhode Island, one against James D’Wolf as owner, the other against Nathaniel Ingraham as Master of a vessel employed in the slave trade—The action against Ingraham was for receiving on board Seventy slaves—The action against D’Wolf came on first—The Atty produced the Depositions of Thomas Cook and and Samuel Arnold, copies of which are hereto annexed—The Deft then produced Capt Ingraham, who swore that he had no written orders from the Deft—and that his verbal orders from him were, if he took gold dust, ivory, camwood &c, to go to Havanna to market—but if he took slaves, to go to Savannah—that having taken slaves, he was absolutely on his way to Savannah, when he was captured by a British Privateer, off the hole in the rock, & carried into New Providence, and condemmed—Several Masters of vessels swore, that it was not uncommon to make the hole in the rock, in a passage from Africa to Savannah—On this evidence the Deft was acquitted—The cause against Ingraham was continued on the motion of the Atty to obtain from New Providence, a copy of what Ingraham had sworn to in his protest there, and in his answers to the standing interrogatories, as well as a copy of his log-book if it could be obtained—Having received a Commission as District Judge before the next Term, I certified the cause to the Circuit Court, in which it was tried at the November Term, 1801, at Newport—The Commission sent to New Providence was returned executed, at a very considerable expence to the Atty—I have extracted from the papers annexed to the Commission, such parts as serve to show the real destination of the vessel, & send them hereto annexed—I send also annexed copies of the Depositions produced on the part of the Atty—These Depositions, and the papers from New Providence, contain nearly if not quite all the evidence used in the cause—The Jury returned a verdict for 14,000 dollars, on the only count in the declaration, which was for receiving seventy slaves on board, with which the Court, & all disinterested men seemed to be content—Judgment was rendered and execution issued, and at the return Term the next Spring, Ingraham was committed to the prison at Bristol, where he resided—In conformity to the law on that subject, he obtained the liberty of the prison yard, which includes the Court-House, the Church, and a very considerable tract of land in a pleasant part of the Town—but I believe he has not the liberty of going into any private home—He has but little if any property—has a wife and four or five children, the oldest a boy about 13 or 14 years old, the youngest is quite small—His Mother lives at Bristol in a house with another of her sons, who has some property, though not more than is necessary for his own family—
Having stated the proceedings & evidence in the cause, I hope my having been concerned as Attorney, will be a sufficient apology for not giving an opinion as to the propriety or impropriety of granting the prayer of the petition—
To prevent all mistakes relative to the papers before refered to, I have annexed them under my Seal—
With Sentiments of the Highest Respect I have the Honour to be, Your most Obedient Servant
David Leonard Barnes
RC (DNA: RG 59, GPR); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ on final page of enclosures as received 19 Feb. and so recorded in SJL with notation “Ingraham’s case.” Enclosures: (1) Deposition of Thomas Cook, a “Mariner of Lawful age” of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey, given at Providence, Rhode Island, 10 Jan. 1801, in the case of Leonard v. D’Wolf; at Newport, Rhode Island, in January 1800, Cook joined the sloop Fanny, owned by James D’Wolf, on a voyage to the coast of Africa; D’Wolf said the vessel was going for ivory and camwood, but on the morning of the sloop’s departure, Cook learned that the Fanny was going for slaves; D’Wolf refused to discuss the cargo and threatened to jail the crew if they did not board; the Fanny sailed to Africa, picking up slaves at the Galinhas and water at Sierra Leone, and then sailing for Havana; on its return, the sloop was taken by a British privateer and carried to New Providence; once in port, the Fanny’s captain told the crew that they would have to provide for themselves; Cook subsequently made his way to New York; in response to questioning by the plaintiff and defendant, Cook affirmed that Nathaniel Ingraham was captain of the Fanny during its entire voyage; the sloop reached the coast of Africa in March 1800, but Cook could not say when it sailed from there; the Fanny took 73 black slaves on board, of whom 66 remained at the time the sloop was taken to New Providence; Cook understood that Ingraham owned 4 of the slaves and the mate owned 2, and that 15 were “on freight marked on the Buttock with the Letters W.D.,” which Cook understood meant they belonged to “William Dalton a trader on the Coast”; the remainder were “Cargo Slaves” who had been purchased with the proceeds of the outward cargo; before leaving Bristol, Cook neither saw D’Wolf on board the Fanny, nor heard him give directions regarding the voyage; the Fanny left Bristol with a cargo of rum and tobacco as well as a number of irons “for both hands & feet,” which were used on “the greater part of the Men slaves” acquired in Africa; Ingraham handled the business of purchasing and receiving the slaves; at New Providence, Cook received no wages from Ingraham; at New York, Cook joined the crew of the revenue cutter Governor Jay under the command of Captain John West Leonard; Cook had traveled to Rhode Island on his own business with Captain Leonard, Lieutenant John Wade, and Samuel Arnold; Cook was not promised money for coming to Rhode Island and he knew nothing of Leonard’s suit against D’Wolf until after he arrived there (Tr in same; in a clerk’s hand, including Cook’s signature by his mark and attestation by Caleb Harris, chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas, County of Providence). (2) Deposition of Samuel Arnold, a “Mariner of Lawful age” of Albany, New York, given at Providence, 10 Jan. 1801, in the case of Leonard v. D’Wolf; on 30 Jan. 1800, D’Wolf asked Arnold and others to ship in the Fanny, which D’Wolf stated was bound for the coast of Africa for camwood and ivory, or gold dust and ivory (Arnold does not recall which); on board the Fanny at Bristol, the crew discovered “a Grating for Locking down Slaves”; the sloop’s mate, William Richmond, told them the grating was for one of D’Wolf’s ships that was in the African slave trade; the Fanny sailed on 4 or 5 Feb. and arrived off the African coast after 25 or 30 days; the sloop took on slaves at the Galinhas and Cape Mount, then departed for Havana about 6 July; after 40 or 50 days, the Fanny was taken off Abaco by a British privateer and carried to New Providence; once in port, Ingraham advised his crew to “look out for ourselves” and Arnold subsequently shipped in a brig bound for Havana; before the Fanny left Bristol, Arnold saw “a number of Irons vizt Cuffs for the hands & feet” brought on board; when some of the crew refused to board if the sloop was going for slaves, D’Wolf threatened them with jail and declared that the sloop’s business was not their concern; in response to questioning by the plaintiff and defendant, Arnold states that he did not know the intended voyage of the sloop as described in the portage bill he signed, because he could not read; that Ingraham was captain on the Fanny during the entire voyage, that he transacted the business of purchasing and receiving the slave cargo, and that 73 slaves had been taken on board; Arnold understood that 4 of the slaves were Ingraham’s, 2 were Richmond’s, 15 branded with “W.D.” on their buttocks belonged to “William Dalton,” and the remainder were cargo slaves; the Fanny carried a cargo of rum and tobacco from Bristol, and almost all of the male slaves were put in irons during the sloop’s voyage from Africa; Arnold had no prior acquaintance with Leonard and came to Rhode Island only for his wages from the Fanny; Arnold is testifying at Leonard’s request and knew nothing of the suit against D’Wolf before yesterday (Tr in same; in a clerk’s hand, including Arnold’s signature by his mark and attestation by Harris). (3) “Extract from Nathaniel Ingraham’s protest at New Providence dated 23 August 1800,” stating that he sailed in the Fanny from Sierra Leone on 6 July 1800, bound for Havana with a cargo of slaves (Tr in same; in Leonard’s hand). (4) “Extracts from Nathaniel Ingraham’s answers to the Interrogatories in the Court of Vice Admiralty at New Providence,” in which Ingraham states that the Fanny was taken by the privateer schooner Jason on 21 Aug. 1800 near the “hole in the rock” on the island of Abaco; that the Fanny’s voyage began at Bristol, Rhode Island, and was to end at Havana, where Ingraham was to deliver up the vessel and cargo and discharge the hands; the Fanny sailed from Bristol on 2 Feb. 1800, bound for the Galinhas with a cargo of rum, tobacco, and flour, which was there to be discharged to “a Mr Dalton, a Mr Hall, and other British subjects residing there”; the Fanny took on board its cargo of slaves and proceeded to Sierra Leone for wood, water, and provisions, whence it sailed 6 July for Havana; “Walter Dalton,” a British subject residing at the Galinhas, was the shipper and owner of 15 of the slaves, and 4 slaves died on the passage; the remaining slaves were consigned to David Neagle of Havana “for the account risque & benefits” of James D’Wolf & Brothers as Dalton’s agents; the remaining slaves, “except the adventures,” were owned by the D’Wolfs and consigned to Neagle “for the real account, risque and benefit of said James D’Wolf & Brothers, and none else”; Ingraham swears that the slaves taken on board, “except the adventures,” belonged to D’Wolf; among Ingraham’s papers on board was a letter from Dalton to Neagle, which said the slaves, “except the adventures,” would become the property of the D’Wolfs once unloaded at Havana (Tr in same; in Leonard’s hand). (5) Copy of “Capt Nathaniel Ingraham’s directions,” ordering him to proceed to the coast of Africa and make the best trade possible on the windward part of the coast, touching first at the river Galinhas; Ingraham thereafter to proceed to Havana and deliver the vessel and cargo to Neagle and discharge and pay the crew; if trade is found to be bad on the windward coast, Ingraham is at liberty to proceed leeward (Tr in same; in Leonard’s hand). (6) Copy of “Capt. Nathl Ingrahams Orders,” extracted from the portage bill, or agreement, dated 13 Jan. 1800, between Ingraham and the crew of the Fanny, describing the sloop’s intended voyage as from Bristol to the coast of Africa, then to Havana and home (Tr in same; in Leonard’s hand). (7) Deposition of Cook, given at Providence, 10 Jan. 1801, in the case of Leonard v. Ingraham, repeating much of the information provided by Cook in his deposition in the suit against D’Wolf in Enclosure No. 1 (Tr in same; in a clerk’s hand, including Cook’s signature by his mark and attestation by Harris). (8) Deposition of Arnold, given at Providence, 10 Jan. 1801, in the case of Leonard v. Ingraham, repeating much of the information provided by Arnold in his deposition in the suit against D’Wolf in Enclosure No. 2 (Tr in same; in a clerk’s hand, including Arnold’s signature by his mark and attestation by Harris).
The hole in the rock, or Hole-in-the-Wall, was a navigation landmark on the extreme southern point of Abaco Island in the Bahamas (Edmund M. Blunt, The American Coast Pilot, 10th ed. [New York, 1822], 261-4).