Deposition of John Fletcher

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<symbol> John ffletcher late of London merchant, duly sworne & examined before vs by vertue of his Maiestyes Comission directed to vs or any two or more of vs etc: deposeth & sayth that vpon the two & twentyeth of May last, he he lost was robbed he lost & forceably despoyled of his Shipp & goods to the seuer all values following vizt worth three thowsand five hundred fifty two pownds
Of a thousand barrells of wheat worth to the value (at the port of Dublin whither he was bound) of one pownds six shillings per barrell at least; which amounts to the summe of one thousand three hundred pownds. Of seau’n t un of Spanish Iron, worth per tun eighteene pownds, which comes to the su m me of one <A> hundred twenty six pownds. Of fou fiue tun, of ropes at thirty six pownds per tun, wh ic h comes to one hundred & eighty pownds. Of six peices of small plate, to the value of two & twenty pownds. Of ready mony to the summe of fower hundred fifty fower pownds. Of seaunty eight Diamonds to the value of three hundred ninety fiue pownds. Of one tun of pruins, to the value of fowerteene pownds. Of a tun of Aquavita to the value of twenty fower pownds. Of a tun of vinegar to the value of twelue pownds: <Of two barrells of horse-shoos to the value of twenty pownde. Of paper to the value of twenty pownds./> Of apparell & books & sea - Instruments to the value of one hundred, & fifty pownds. Of his shipp and fower peices of ordnance with ammunition & appurtenances to the value of seau’n hundred & fifty pownds. Of a suit of new sayles, together with a certayne parcell of sayle-canuas to the value of eighty fiue pownds. The totall of his losses amounts to the value of three thousand fiue hundred fifty thirty two pownds. The deponent further sayth that he was despoyled of the aforesaid particulars by the hands & means of Teig O driscall of, or nere Baltimore Esquire, Thomas Copinger of Ringolisco Esquire Dermod O Mahon of Skehanore Castle gentleman ffinin Oge O Mahon ofgentleman Donnogh Oge O Megan of Crookhauen gentleman together with the number of eight more rebbells whose names this deponent cannot remember. He further sayth that Himselfe ship & goods were tak’n after this manner.
It was so, that On the two & twentyeth of May last aforesaid, the deponent being at sea, & bound for Dublin, as Master Merchant & owner of the ship called the John of London, was then driu’n by crosse winds into Crook Hauen in the Southwest part of Ireland, where the deponent with fiue of his men going onshore for fresh water to refresh themselus, were then besett with an ambush of at least three hundred rebbells, of which the aboue named were cheife commaunders, who wounded this deponent, and tooke him prisoner, and his fiue men hauing mortally wounded two of them namely Mathew Thomas his Gunner and John Cannon his prentice: this don the said rebbells proferred to this deponent, quarter for himselfe and his men, together with said shipp & goods if so be, he would giue vp vnto them his ordnance with all the ammunition in his shipp, which the deponent being in a strayte was faygne to yeild vnto the which quarter the forenamed rebbells confirmed vnder their hands, with many fearefull execuccions & oathe swearing vpon the masse booke three or fower times for the true performance of the same. These things, as ordnance etc were no sooner deliuered vp by the deponent

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to the said Rebbells, but instantly they with three hundred men at least, boarded the shipp with their boats, & seazed on the same, and tooke away <B> all their loading with the said shipp from this deponent who & attempting to murder all his men they leapt into the ships longboat, and so for refuge made out to sea, the rebbells pursuing them, but could not ouertake them: so that & what is become of those men, he knoweth not. In the meane time the deponent was stript pinioned & imprisoned in his shipp together with one of his men, called Dauid Williams. the next day after being the twenty third, the deponent with his said man was brought a shoare & conuayed into a Castle hard by Crook hauen & there kept prisoner three dayes; vntill McCarty Reah came thither who tooke away the deponents quarter in writing, and warranted the said rebbells in their said action about eight dayes which McCarty told this deponent <hand> that he had authority from the King to seaze in all English shipps who could not shew him their warrant from his Maiesty; calling all those English shipps Pirats, that were warranted by the Parliament, affirming that he had a commission from his Maiestyes to take vp arms, calling himselfe his Maiestyes Colonell for the Baroney of Carbray in the County of Corke Eight dayes after the deponent was conueighed away from theme by Teig O Driscall aforesaid with a guard of ten rebbells muskettiers to MaCrome Castell, in the possession of the Lord of Muskry; and vpon the the <C> way the said Teig rayling vpon the English, did oft’n say to this deponent that it was determined, neuer English man should beare any commaund in Ireland agen; calling himselfe the Kings Seriant Mayor for the Baroney of Carbray, the said Teig Leading the deponent vp & downe for the a weekes space before he came to MaCrome, as a spectacle to the Country, deriding the deponent, & calling him english traytour; and boasting, where he came, how he tooke this deponent; the aforenamed Tho: Copinger being one of the quarterbreakers being vpon the way in Company with the said Teig & the deponent said, in some seeming affection to the English that whatsoeuer the Irish did pretend, it was the determinacion of the said Irish to take away root & braunch of the English nacion saying also to this deponent that he entended to make an Escape, and to fly to his Brother Dominick at the citty of Corke. afterwards when this deponent was brought to the Castle of MaCrome, he was there put in a most loathsome lodging for the space of eight dayes vntill such time as the Lord of Muskry came thither from taking of the Castle of Limrick; then was this deponent brought before his Lordshipp, beseeching from his Honor some redresse for the quarter-breack, & wrong sustayned by him from the quarter breakers; at which his Lord ship answered, that they (meaning Irish) had a commission to vse any policy for the taking of English; but being so tak’n, they had no comission to performe any quarter so promised vnto them. the said Lord of Muskry together with McDonough, O Callahane, O Suilliuan Beere, O Suilliuan Moore & Mc ffinnine and in discourse with this deponent told him, that they all had a Commission from the King to take vp armes for the subuersion {of} the English, calling them puritan rebbells, & calling themselus his Maiestyes Catholick army for the Prouince of Munster. 3 dayes After this the deponent besought his Lordshipp, that he would be pleased to conuaygh but him by his means to Corke; his Lordshipp sayd he would, one conditionall
<The deponent also sayth that at Macrom aforesaid one Walter Baldwine of Templemartin gentleman with diuers others English protestants prisoners by the Lord of Muskry at Macrome Castle, told this deponent that in a castle hard by Macrome some protestants there were, who were threatned to be killd vnless they would turne papists, and as soone as t he y had turn’d their throats were cutt & throwne ouer the castle walls: the rebbells then telling those that were newly turn’d; that before they were hereticks but now they should dy good Christians./>

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that the deponent would acknowledge such his conueighance to be an act of his fauour & affection; & with all that the deponent would giue him a letter of Atturny thereby to call the said quarter-breakers to account & to be responseable to his Lordshipp together with a bill of perticulars of what he had Lost, all which for the safety of his life was accordingly performed by the deponent, and on the same day that all this was <D> don, his Lordshipp promised by many oaths his present conueighance to Corke and immediately vpon that, his Lordshipp caused the deponent to be carryed (insteede of to Corke) to Kilcree Castle, 7 miles short of Corke and there kept prisoner in a most Loathsome roome from the Last day of June last, to the fourteenth of this instant September the deponent hearing then & there the Captain of the said Castle of Kilcree called Donnogh O Leary much repenting & cursing himselfe, for not killing euery English man, that whose life was in his hands since the begining of this action, & when this deponent told the said Captain of the basenes of his vsage, he told him, that he was vsd too well, wishing that he had fiue hundred of such like prisoners of his nation vpon with their goods upon the like tearms and the warders of the said Castle oft’n telling this deponent, that the Lord of Muskry would be at Corke before Michaelmas next, and keepe a Parliament there. At length the Lord of Muskry came to Kilcree, and then this deponent so farr vpon his Instance preualyed with his Lordshipp, the he should be conuayed to Corke, his Lordshipp telling this deponent that he had sent his drummer before to Corke for a conuay to meete him at such a place; at Last on the fourteenth of this present month, the deponent came away from Kilcree aforesaid, with a conuoy of three men, who instead of conueighing him towards Corke led him along in the way to Bandon wherefor the space of two miles, and th there leauing the deponent, & his seruant in the sight of an Ambush of theirs consisting of about forty pikes & muskettiers, which he conceiues there lay to stripp him of his life & cloathes in the Instant, some horsemen of the English appearing nere at hand as they were going betw’n Bandon & Corke, the ambush shruncke, & the deponent by the greate prouidence of god escaped them, & came safely to Corke Bandon, where he mett with the Commissions for this his Examination. And further he cannot depose.

John ffletcher
Jurat coram nobis 16o Sept.
1642
Tho: Graye Dec:
Phil: Bisse

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John ffletchers
Exam:
519
C
Mc Carty Reagh &
Lo: of Muskery
Hand
Reu