Captain Robert Nicks commanded several sailing ships. Records indicate he Captained vessels from the 1757-1772 time period, and perhaps much longer.
One vessel he was known to command was the ship "The King of Prussia".
On the 16 Aug 1757 an English navy ship called
"The Devonshire" attempted to board the "King of Prussia" to impress some of its sailor's into the English navy.
Apparently this did not sit well with the Captain of the "King of Prussia", as Lt. Barrow of the "Devonshire" later reported, the Devonshire "Encountered opposition" and
Barrow went on to request reenforcements. Lt Barrow also noted that the "King of Prussia" was sailing under Letters of Marque from Virginia. This means
This indicates the Captain of the ship was a pirate! Letters of Marque were issued by the kings of Europe and allowed ships that
flew under their flag and carried these letters to attack at will the vessels of enemy nations.
A document from 29 Nov 1757, shows The King of Prussia, under the command of Capt Robert Nicks departed Virginia bound for London carrying a cargo of tobacco. So the pirate Captain
who resisted the English impressment gangs taking his men must have been Captain Robert Nicks.
From 1758 onwards, the "King of Prussia" would sail under various other Captains, and exactly which vessell Captain Robert Nicks commanded after 1758 is unclear. However, in 1772 his wife Lucy testified in a court case in London involving the theft of some of her silver. She names her husband as Robert Nicks, a sea captain. Presumably he is at sea at this time, since he does not testify in the case.
Shipping records indicate the "King of Prussia" was built somewhere in the American colonies in 1744. It had various owners and captains over the years. Clarke (Parke) and Knox of Virginia were the owners when Captain Nicks commanded her. An interesting note in some English registration papers indicate the vessel was originally called the "Mollie" but the Captain claimed the original registration papers had been "mislaid". Considering her past as a pirate vessel, its quite possible her acquistion may not have been entirely above board.
Robert Nicks was later charged with smuggling goods from the Caribbean to the American colonies.
Sources:
Virginia Archives, Survey Report SR 02469, Public Record Office Class ADM. 1/2245, Captains' In Letters, 1757, Lists and Indexes, Admiralty XVIII, p. 21
Virginia Archives, Survey Report SR 08348, Public Record Office Class ADM. 2/708, Secretary's Common Letters, 28 June - 11 Oct 1757, Lists and indexes, Vol XVIII, p. 64
Virginia Archives, Survey Report SR 05345, Public Record Office Class ADM. 7/90, Admiralty - Miscellanea, Register of Passes, 1757-1761, Lists and Indexes XVIII, p. 96
Virginia Archives, Survey Report SR 07088, Custom House, Liverpool Class Plantation Registers, 1755 to 1765 Register Plantation etc (shelf back), R.C. Jarvis: Liverpool Statutory Register of British Merchant Ships. (Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire Vol 105, 1953, pp. 107-122)
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 29 Apr 1772; Ref: t17720429-43