THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090233
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Olde Towne Journal
SOURCE: Alan Flanders
LENGTH: 84 lines
On the morning of May 7, 1691, Christopher Thurston, ship master of the Little John, rose to read his complaint against John Porter Jr., justice of the Court of Lower Norfolk County, in a special session of the court.
At the same time crew members of Thurston's ship Little John were landing at the waterfront under a storm of oaths swearing to get revenge. Carrying knives, belaying pins from the ship's rigging and brandishing their swords, they joined members of the Experiment, commanded by Captain John Jennings, a friend of Thurston, and headed straight for the Norfolk County Court. To call them anything but an angry mob would have been a gross understatement.
What was about to happen still remains one of the darkest days of the court's 359-year history, the court having first opened its doors to the otherwise peaceful pursuit of justice on May 15, 1637.
Little is known about the exact issue that brought about the trial, except that it was called by Justice William Crawford to convene out of schedule in consideration for the Little John's departure for England as part of a tobacco convoy. Apparently Captain Jennings may have influenced the scheduling since he was acting as commodore of all royal merchant ships in Virginia waters and thus commanding officer of the convoy which was ready to sail. Just as the gang of crewmen arrived on the scene, Thurston finished his declaration. Almost to the minute John Porter stood to defend himself, the courtroom doors burst open. Suddenly it was pandemonium.
As stunned officials and guests looked on, Captain John Jennings grabbed Porter by the hair of his head. As Crawford stood to restore order, ordering the bailiff and the sheriff, George Newton, to bar the door, Jennings threw Porter to the floor and began to kick him.
Assistant Sheriff Anthony Jackson in a later testimony left an eyewitness account of the incident. The combined crews now numbering 20 were armed with ``Guns, Swords, Clubbs, and Baggonetts (short sword resembling a bayonet),'' he wrote, and when he tried to restrain Captain Jennings, Jennings ``Layd his hand to his Sword and halfe drew it,'' causing him and other members of the court to retreat.
As the scuffle continued between court officials and sailors, Porter was dragged out of the courtroom. Once outside, Jackson said they threatened anyone coming to Porter's aid with ``Great Clubbs and Ax or Axes.'' After they made it to the waterfront, they loaded Porter into a small boat from the ship Experiment.
Crawford finally cleared the court and rushed to the river to find Porter bound and gagged in the boat and surrounded by his assailants.
``You have broken the King's Peace,'' Crawford shouted at them. Upon which Captain Jennings is said to have answered with a less than polite oath. Realizing the sailors were not about to recognize the legal wrongs they had committed, Crawford offered to trade places with Porter and ``to be bound body by body for the said Porter's appearance before the Governor and the council.''
But Jennings ignored the offer and sailed away.
In what has to be a classic understatement in court record keeping, the clerk of county court wrote that the Court was called ``Butt nothing done by reason that Porter was taken from the barr by Captain John Jennings. . . the Court was adjourned.''
But that was hardly the end of the matter.
Depositions describing what had happened in hand, representatives of the Norfolk County Court led by Crawford rushed to James City to register a complaint with the Royal Governor and Council.
Whatever the reason for the complaint, High Sheriff George Newton's testimony perhaps sheds more light on what set off the brawl within the courthouse. Apparently Thurston and Porter were getting along with some degree of ``civility'' until Captain Jennings accused the court of assembling ``A company of Rascalls'' for a jury. He then turned to Porter and called him a ``Rascall,'' and further threatened him with bodily harm. Then Jennings carried out the attack.
The above testimony and depositions caused the governor to issue a warrant for Captain Jennings to appear before them and demanded the immediate release of Porter. However, the matter was also referred to the House of Burgesses, where a decision was made to pass legal responsibility over the matter to the Admiralty Court in London once Jennings arrived there with his convoy.
Fortunately, Jennings had the good judgment to release Porter without further harm before sailing. As to the matter of the original complaint with Thurston, the record is silent. Porter returned safely to his home in Norfolk County devoting his time to the area's legal and political matters, while Thurston continued on as master of the Little John.
And even though the Admiralty Court did receive the charges against Jennings, he continued to serve as commodore of convoys to Virginia without further trouble. Apparently cooler heads decided among themselves that justice was somehow served. by CNB