Investigation into the 1799 capture of the Spanish sloop *Mercedes* by a British squadron in the Gulf of California (Anglo-Spanish War). *See expanded Entry A below.* The balandra *Mercedes* (Bernardo Suárez), San Blas→Guaymas with country produce + passengers (José Gonzáles, Cristóbal Salas, 9 Guainamota Indians for the Islas Marías carey/turtle-shell fishery), found English traces at the Marías (cut wood, salt taken, a barraca, papers in English ink, English gunflints), then boarded & seized by an English frigate (29–31 May). The 'Presidente de la escuadra' claimed a fleet of frigates detached from Cabo San Lucas hunting the ship that left San Blas 20 May and awaiting the Manila galleon ('la nao de China'); they had a fortified sick-camp with cannon on San Juanito island; refused a $1,000 ransom, taking instead cattle/onions/hens + sugar, chocolate, panocha, a bell, etc. transferred from the prize. Named ships/captains: frigate 'Tester' [Vesta?] 18 guns + 14 carronades, Cmdt. Clark[?] (squadron chief); frigate 'Net-siut' 24/16 guns, Capt. Moss[?]/Moore; frigate 'Viñas' [Venus?] 18 guns; 'Pájaro' [Bird] 14 guns, Capt. Powell[?] (who had flown American colors at Banderas valley). They claimed 22 prizes off Peru (incl. a 12-gun brig at Paita) & to have robbed the warehouses of Sonsonate. Bombshell close: they did not fear San Blas even with 60 cannon, might raid it on their December retreat, and planned to winter at San Diego — 'instruidos por los planos de [Clower?] de Nutka' and carrying men who two years prior [c.1797] in two frigates near San Diego had, one moonlit night, entered in their boats, sounded the whole harbour, and knew its approaches.' Sloop recovered 16 June at the ensenada de Cerralvo by Sargto Javier Aguilar; depositions taken (escribano José Mariano Urrutia); copia legalizada by Arrillaga. Orig. pp.481–504.
| Date | 1799-06-28 (exact) |
|---|---|
| From | Tte.-Gob. (under Gov. Borica) |
| To | Tte. Luis Pérez Fernández |
| Place | Loreto |
| Series | Provincial State Papers, Benicia (Military) |
| Tomo | XIV |
| Original tomo page | 481–504 |
| Savage copy page | 264–274 |
| Scan leaf | n270–n280 |
| Document type | verbatim/investigation |
| Source | verbatim transcription |
Read this leaf on the Internet Archive ↗ · leaf n270–n280
Tte.-Gob. (under Gov. Borica) to Tte. Luis Pérez Fernández, Loreto, 1799-06-28, Provincial State Papers, Benicia (Military), XIV, 481–504, Archives of California, C-A 15, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.Cite the document by series, tomo and original tomo page, as the literature does; the C-A number locates it in the repository. To cite this catalogue entry itself, use https://archivesofcalifornia.com/record/ca15/ca15-d392.html