I represent Henry Pascal. I was servant to the Purser on HMS Mentor. (A purser in the 18th century Royal Navy was in charge of ship’s supplies, like food, water, and other sundries used by the sailors at sea.) The Mentor was a sloop built in Maryland in 1778. It spent between April 1780 and May 1781 – the height of Spanish hostilities – patrolling the waters near Pensacola, and at times our crew would go ashore to help the army shore up defenses. Sometimes we’d cruise out to take Spanish prizes. In March 1781, our captain realized the Mentor couldn’t hold out against the much larger Spanish convoy and our guns, ammunition, and men were better spent defending Pensacola on shore. The ship was taken up the Blackwater River, where it capsized and was burned to keep from falling into enemy hands. Those of us that survived the siege of Pensacola were sent to New York as prisoners of war.
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