Thomas McCargo of Halifax County, Virginia, sues the Merchants Insurance Company of New Orleans for the loss of his slaves. McCargo represents that, on November 17, 1841, he took a $15,200 policy with the Norfolk branch of the Merchants Insurance Company to cover the transportation of his nineteen slaves from Norfolk to New Orleans, aboard a vessel named The Créole. McCargo contends that, during the voyage, a slave insurrection erupted on The Créole, causing it to be diverted to the port of Nassau on the Island of New Providence, where his slaves were seized by the authorities of “her Majesty the Queen of England and Ireland.” McCargo claims that he has already informed the Merchants Insurance Company of his loss, which was squarely under the list of covered risks, made a “full and entire abandonment” of his slaves to the company, and demanded payment. He prays that the court will order the Merchants Insurance Company to pay him $15,200 with interest, at 5% per annum from judicial demand, to compensate him for the loss of his slaves.
Result: Granted; appealed; affirmed.
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Repository: University of New Orleans
