John Waldron

Posted by Jon Miller on Saturday 23rd of May 2026 12:00

London, 30 June 1722: By advice from South Carolina, dated May the 8th last, by way of Jamaica, there is the following account concerning the Greyhound, Captain Waldrup, man of war, stationed at New York, which ship arrived at Charles Town in South-Carolina on the 4th of that month, having been trading at Port Maria on the Island of Cuba, with the Spaniards of that Island, having [illegible] of them several thousand pieces of eight; after all was over, the Captain gave the Spaniards a handsome dinner, and they seeing that the [illegible] entire confidence in them and was no ways upon his guard, took the company by surprize and robbed the ship of the money, and what else was valuable. And the 19th, there being about 18 or 20 Spaniards on board secretly armed with daggers and pocket pistols, took the opportunity when all hands were at dinner, to stab the Captain, killed the Doctor, dangerously wounded the Lieutenant, killed 7 or 8 men more, secured all the arms that were in the cabbin, steerage, and quarter deck, from whence they fired upon the men and drove them down the hold, as they attempted to come on the deck, and in a quarter of an hour made themselves masters of the ship, and the first thing they did, they carried on shore all the money, some say, to the value of ten thousand pounds. The said Greyhound had a sloop to her as a tender, with 30 odd men on board, which came into the said Port Maria the very interim of this unfortunate accident, and the Spaniards taking it to be a sloop of force, obliged them to quit the said ship, and to go on shore, and the Greyhound made the best of her way to this port, where she arrived in the greatest extremity, for want of provisions and other necessaries. [Newcastle Courant, 7 July 1722]

Posted by RM on Friday 30th of June 2023 22:40

It *was* 19 April 1722; Winfield got it wrong. Source is ADM 51/4206, Greyhound captain's log for 1722 -- kept by Edward Smith, the lieutenant who took command after Waldron's death. The entry for 20 April 1722 (thus 19 April in civil reckoning) says:
"Fair weather between two & three this afternoon some Spaniards which were on board surpriz'd the ship, kill'd the Captn., Surgeon, James Manson, & Cezar Cotherington, wounded severall, in the morning early weigh'd and went out of the harbour, survey'd the provisions."

Posted by Cy on Tuesday 13th of June 2023 08:23

Hi
As shown above he was killed on 19th April 1721 (not 1722) when the Greyhound was, briefly, taken by the Spanish. Clearly the date of the letter has no bearing on the date of the event.

Posted by Richard Pennell on Monday 12th of June 2023 20:11

John Waldron (Captain of HMS Greyhound) was killed in Cuba in 1722. The Admiralty claimed he was 'murdered' by the Spanish while he had left his station 'directly contrary to Our Instructions and if he traded with the People on the Isle of Cuba it was a breach of those Orders which We have given to the Commanders of all his Majtys: Ships by which they are strictly forbade to trade in any wise whatever
ADM 2/267/ 354-355 Jennings, Cockburne and Pultney to Carteret Admiralty Office 2 July 1722