The New Hampshire Gazette

Piracy and Murder.—George Mitchell, a mulatto, was on Wednesday night brought to the Police Office in this city, suspected of being one of the pirate crew of the privateer brig General Rondeau. On his examination yesterday morning, he says that he left this port about three years since in the ship Fidelia, belonging to Jacob Barker, bound to New Orleans at which place he left her, and worked at his trade as ship carpenter. About the month of April, 1817, he went to Bordeaux, in the ship Cecilia, from New Orleans. From Bordeaux, they went to Buenos Ayres—left the ship there—went on shore about a week, and then entered on board the patriot privateer Gen. Rondeau, Captain David M. Miles. They sailed from thence about the 18th of December, 1819, on a cruize. The crew consisted of the following men : —D. M. Miles, master, from Baltimore;— Mallard, 2d officer, an American; Lieutenant M'Sweeny, an Irishman; Mr. Latteman, next officer, an American; — Smith, prize master, an American; — Riley, do. an Irishman. The agent for prizes, was an American, a stout fat man ; Davis, Purser, an Englishman. [Here follows a list of all the names of the crew, amounting to about 160. His examination is very disconnected and irregular; but we have gathered and put together, as many particulars as our time and limits will permit.] Lieut. Sweeney, he states was killed off Grenada. They had been ashore at Grenada—returned, all drunk—left George Perkins on shore drunk, at which the sailors complained. Sweeney ordered the men to get under weigh. Some difficulty arose, and he was killed and thrown overboard. After this affray, they robbed and plundered all Spanish property, and sent the prisoners ashore.

They were out five months—took five prizes, manned them, and sent them all for Margarita. After the death of Sweeney, the Captain, Mr. Davis the Doctor, Master's Mate. (Samuel Wright, from Philadelphia, with one arm) the Captain and Sergeant of marines, John Duck and several others, (marines) left the vessel in a boat. They were sent off by Tom Brush, captain of the forecastle, who assumed the command. The first land they made was an island near Savannah. Then a division of the property was made by Tom Brush, Robinson, Rider, David Lyell and Charles Nelson. $214 was given to the prisoner, (deponent) but the marines, he says, did not get any thing. The whole of the money on board, before the captain left, he said, amounted to $10,000.

About the 1st of June, instant, the prisoner left the vessel with 15 others, chiefly blacks. about a day's sail from Savannah. They were sent on board of a schr. then in sight, and Brush told the captain of the schr. to land them north of Philadelphia. They were landed at Falmouth, Mass. Deponent, with John Green and John Peters, came to this city, and left the others at Falmouth. They arrived here yesterday. Green and Peters are not yet taken.

Mitchell states that about 80 of the crew were Americans; the rest 'out-landish.'—Com. Adv.
We find in the Norfolk Herald of June 19, a development of the mutiny and murder on board the Patriot brig General Rondeau, whose crew have lately landed on our coast. There were five persons examined at Norfolk, viz. Thomas Jones, John Radcliffe, Charles Rogers, alias Nicholas Wilcom, Philip Pierce, and Nathan Smith. The last named person was a native of Belfast, in the state of Maine, and went from this port in the ship Curiaza. He stated on oath the particulars of the cruise of the General Rondeau, and we take that part only which relates to the mutiny and murder. N. Y. Col.

"The captain (Miles) used the men very ill, and the day after we passed the Island of Barbadoes, the crew mutinied, and rose upon the officers. I was below at the time the mutiny took place, being a little intoxicated. I heard a great noise upon deck, as of a number of people in a scuffle, and now and then the clashing of swords.

"It immediately occurred to me that the crew were engaged in massacring the officers, and on going on deck the next morning I had but too good grounds for suspicions. The deck was sprinkled with blood, and six officers, viz. Capt. David Miles, second lieut. McSweeney, the captain of marines, sergeant of marines, purser, master's mate and four privates of marines, were missing, and several of the crew on board severely wounded. I was informed that the officers and marines who were missing, were sent away in a boat. This happened about 12 miles from an island, the name of which I was ignorant of.

"The crew then took charge of the privateer and appointed Robinson, the gunner, captain. Bailed the prize brig, which was still in co., and told the prize master to go where he pleased. Shifted our course for the United States, and in two days made land. We then stood for Charleston, and three days after put three men on board an English brig, and paid the captain for their passage to England, twenty bags of sugar. Three days after spoke a sloop bound to New York. Wanted to put some of our men on board of her, but the wind blew too hard. Two days after, spoke an American schooner from Savannah for Boston, and put 14 or 15 more of our men on board of her, giving 20 bags of sugar for their passage. Next day made the land again, which proved to be the coast of North Carolina, when 15 or 16 of the stoutest men remaining on board, turned to and plundered the privateer of every thing valuable, which they carried ashore with them in a boat, and abandoned the G. R. leaving me and 13 more on board.

"Robinson, (the captain) then proposed to run into Wilmington and give the privateer up to the United States, which was determined on. Off the bar we were boarded by a pilot who remained on board two days, when he left us and went ashore with Robinson and five of the crew. We were then chased two days by a U. S. revenue cutter, and escaped in a heavy blow. The G. R. leaked very badly for two or three days after the blow, and as soon as we got her within 20 or 30 miles of land, we scuttled her and took to the boat, bringing with us only our clothes. We landed on Currituck beach at night, where we found lodgings, and the next morning proceeded on to Backwater in a boat, and there hired 3 carts to fetch us on to Norfolk."

The money which these men had, they say was taken out of one of the feluccas captured up the Straits. One states the sum taken to have been $600; and another $14000; but the whole was divided amongst the crew after the mutiny. A few bales of Cochineal were also taken out of the feluccas, which were on board the G R when they abandoned her. The amount found upon the prisoners is $927 25, which has been deposited in the U. S. Bank. There are two more of the party who came ashore at Currituck, but they were left on the road from Black Water, being too unwell to travel.

After a patient examination of nearly 5 hours, the prisoners were all committed to jail. Smith, whose deposition is given above, is the only American of the party. The rest are all English men. It is also stated that the crew of the brig was composed chiefly of English and Spaniards, or natives of S. America.

We have neither time nor room at present for any remarks on this atrocious transaction; we shall therefore dismiss the subject by briefly informing our readers that Robinson and his 5 companions, who left the privateer off Wilmington bar, have been apprehended at Smithville, N C. and that 4 of the 15 or 16 who had previously left her, are also in custody at Wilmington, N. C.

Several persons have been arrested, examined and committed to prison at Wilmington, Georgetown and Charleston, on strong suspicion of being concerned in the above transaction. Trunks containing money and many valuable articles were found in their possession. Their statements are very contradictory. Seven or eight men were also arrested and committed to prison in Boston on Friday and Saturday last. They are supposed to be part of those landed at Falmouth.