Stevens and Smith Captured the Venus of London in 1778

Confirmation! 

In the last post, I argued that two brothers-in-law of Abraham Davis — David Stevens and Micajah Smith — may have been the privateers who captured the massive British merchant vessel, the Venus of London.  (Click HERE to read.)

Here is the relevant passage —

The most valuable prize taken by Chestnut Neck privateers during the entire war was the Venus of London.  The ship and its cargo were reportedly worth £16,000, which calculates to about $3 million today.  Its capture was a significant event, and is believed to be one of the factors prompting Gen. Collins to attack Chestnut Neck.  The Venus of London was captured in August 1778 by the sloops Chance and Sly.

Could this Chance be the same vessel that David Stevens and Abraham Davis operated that summer?  I would think so.

After drafting that article, I received a book I ordered called A Nest of Rebel Pirates by Franklin W. Kemp.^[1]Franklin W. Kemp, “A Nest of Rebel Pirates,” 2nd edition (Batsto, New Jersey: Batsto Citizens Committee, 1993); 1st edition published 1966.  I should have waited for the book.  It’s the most thorough treatment of the Battle of Chestnut Neck and the privateering that caused it that I have read.^[2]Another key resource is William S. Stryker, The Affair at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, 15 October 1778 (Trenton: Naar Day & Naar, 1894).

The book confirms my hypothesis that Stevens and Smith were the captains who captured the Venus of London in the summer of 1778.

The VENUS of London, under the command of Thomas Chowne, and bound from London to New York was brought into Chestnut Neck in the summer of 1778 by Captain David Stevens.  Her capture had long been attributed to the privateer CHANCE and Captain David Stevens, but testimony in a Gloucester County lawsuit of 1780 showed two privateers were involved, the CHANCE and the schooner SLY commanded by Chestnut Neck’s own Micajah Smith.^[3]Kemp, “Rebel Pirates,” 7.

I hate being right all the time!

Actually, I was not quite right on the valuation of the ship and its cargo.  I stated the sale generated £16,000 pounds sterling, but according to Kemp, it was a lot more than that:

Stokes began the sale of the VENUS and her cargo on September 14, 1778 at both Chestnut Neck and The Forks.  The sale  continued for several days … broadcloths, fine and coarse linens, calicoes, chintzes, lawn and cambricks, silks and satins, silk and thread stockings, men and women’s shoes, a great variety of medicines, books, hardware, beef, pork, butter, cheese, porter and a vast assortment of other merchandise.  The VENUS herself was sold for 17,609 pounds sterling to a syndicate that included Colonel John Cox and Joseph Ball, owner and manager respectively of the iron works at Batsto.^[4]Kemp, “Rebel Pirates,” 8.

This is a mind-boggling amount of money.  An online currency calculator shows £17,609 in 1778 to be worth over $3.6 million in 2025.  I imagine the cargo would have generated many more thousands of pounds, so you can see why George W. Davis stated in his Autobiography that “the two commanders, Davis and Stevens, each made handsome fortunes.”^[5]George W. Davis, “Autobiography;” letter, circa 1835 (Gonzales, Texas), 1; privately held by Daniel Spitler, Phoenix, Arizona, 2024. [Typewritten transcript, date unknown, of hand-written letter … Continue reading

The other issue I raised was the identification of the privateer Sly.

As for the Sly, there is no such vessel listed in the well-known compendium Naval Records of the American Revolution, 1775-1788.

I wonder if Sly is a misidentification or typo.  Could Fly be the correct name instead?  In 18th century cursive writing, the letters S and F were similar looking and modern readers often mistake them.  As noted above, Abraham Davis became master of the schooner Fly in 1779.  He probably acquired it from his brother-in-law Micajah Smith, (his wife’s brother) who received Letters of Marque for it on 31 July 1778.  The timing seems exquisite.  In other words, if the Sly is actually the Fly, then it is conceivable that Abraham’s two brothers-in-law were the captains who captured the Venus of London, which in turn argues for Abraham’s presence as well.

Kemp actually produces a picture of the original bond for the Letter of Marque issued to Captain Micajah Smith on 31 July 1778, duplicated below.^[6]Kemp, “Rebel Pirates,” 200.  Look at the hand-written name of the ship.  Does it read Sly or Fly?  It’s hard to say.  I can see why Kemp thought it was an “S” because the small-case “S“ in schooner on the same document looks the same.  But names of vessels would normally be capitalized and the capital “S” in Smith is completely different looking.  Moreover, Charles Henry Lincoln identifies the privateer assigned to Micajah Smith on 31 July 1778 as the Fly in his authoritative Naval Records of the American Revolution, 1775-1788.^[7]Charles Henry Lincoln, Naval Records of the American Revolution, 1775-1788 (Washington: Library of Congress, 1906), 295.  I think the name, therefore, is Fly and not Sly, but maybe an expert in late 18th century cursive writing can settle this.

To recap, 5GG Abraham Davis was the brother-in-law of both David Stevens and Micajah Smith, known privateer captains of Chestnut Neck, New Jersey in 1778, and lived in the same neighborhood.^[8]Stevens was married to one of Abraham’s sisters, name unknown; Smith was the brother of Abraham’s wife Ruth.  Abraham Davis himself became a privateer in 1779, captain of the Fly and Hornet.  Based on his grandson’s Autobiography, Abraham initially began his privateering career as a lieutenant under David Stevens.  The Autobiography unfortunately never names any of the privateer vessels, but there is good reason to suppose that Abraham Davis was the lieutenant of the Chance when it captured the Venus of London in August 1778.

• 16 Jul 1778    David Stevens obtains Letter of Marque for sloop Chance
• 31 Jul 1778     Micajah Smith obtains Letter of Marque for schooner Fly
• August 1778     Chance and Fly capture Venus of London
• 14 Sep 1778     Venus cargo sold at auction at Chesnut Neck and the Forks
• 6 Oct 1778     Battle of Chestnut Neck

TheVenus of London, by the way, still lies off Chestnut Neck at the bottom of the Mullica River.^[9]Kemp, “Rebel Pirates,” 92-93.

NEXT UP: Why does the Autobiography claim that Abraham Davis participated in the battles of Princeton, Redbank, and Monmouth?