#MB75
1855
Small Folio (ca. 29 x 20cm). One page pp. Brown ink on light blue wove paper. With fold marks and remnants of mounts on recto and verso, but overall a very good letter in a legible hand.
The original letter had been written by United States consular agent Thomas Sprague, addressed to "the commanding officer of any American Man of War." Sprague complained that "General Blancarte has seized the American whale-ship Rebecca Adams, removed the officers and crew on shore, and put them in prison, without any lawful cause. I have demanded their release, but as yet have not been able to procure it. There are also several females among these sufferers. The presence of an armed vessel is required instantly at this Port." The Rebecca Adams had left San Francisco in April 1855, and Starbuck makes no note of this incident or the vessel's eventual return to port (page 532). Farragut's clerk copied out the present copy at the Mare Island Navy Yard in California April 1st 1856, where it was signed by Farragut and forwarded to another officer for response.
