Bombay Castle was launched in 1792 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1807 for breaking up. In addition to carrying cargo for the EIC, she transported troops in one campaign, participated in a naval action in which she helped capture a French frigate, and played a leading role in an encounter between the French Navy and a fleet of East Indiamen in which the East Indiamen succeeded in bluffing the French to withdraw.
Captain Alexander Montgomerie sailed from The Downs on 14 January 1793, bound for Bombay and China. Bombay Castle was at Madeira on 6 February and reached Bombay on 14 May. She was at Malacca on 22 August and arrived at Whampoa anchorage on 12 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 6 November and reached St Helena on 11 April 1794. She was at Galway on 19 July and arrived at Long Reach on 31 August.[2]
EIC voyage #2 (1795–1797)
War with France had commenced shortly after Bombay Castle had left on her first voyage. Captain John Hamilton acquired a letter of marque on 26 February 1795. He sailed Bombay Castle for Bombay and China.[2] She was part of a convoy of Indiamen that were bringing General Alured Clarke and his troops for the invasion of the Cape Colony.
Bombay Castle sailed on 13 July, together with the other Indiamen, and under the escort of Sphinx. However, Sphinx ran into Warren Hastings and both vessels returned to port, Exeter accompanying them.[4]
After her service at the Cape was over, Bombay Castle resumed her voyage and reached Bombay on 4 January 1796 Bombay. She visited Calicut 29 January and Colombo on 12 February before returning to Bombay on 21 March. She then sailed for China, reaching Malacca on 16 June and arriving at Whampoa on 6 July. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 12 November, and was at Macao on 2 January 1797. She was at Penang on 27 January, the Cape on 4 April, and St Helena on 28 April. She arrived at Long Reach on 28 July.[2]
In March 1806 the commander, officers, and crew of Bombay Castle shared in the award of prize money for the capture on 16 September 1795 of the Cape, and the capture on 16 February 1796 of Columbo.[5]
EIC voyage #3 (1798–1799)
Captain Hamilton sailed from Portsmouth on 17 February 1798, bound for Bombay and China. Bombay Castle reached Bombay on 4 June and arrived at Whampoa on 15 October. She crossed the Second Bar on 4 January 1799, was at Malacca on 22 February, reached St Helena on 17 May, and arrived at Long Reach 1 August.[2]
EIC voyage #4 (1800–1801)
Captain John Hamilton sailed from Torbay on 27 May 1800, bound for China.[2]Bombay Castle was part of a convoy that also included Exeter, Dorsetshire, Coutts, and Neptune, the Botany Bay ships Royal Admiral and Anne, and the whaler Seringapatam.[6] Their escort was the small ship of the lineHMSBelliqueux. On the morning of 4 August they encountered French squadron consisting of the frigates Concorde, Médée, and Franchise. The French commander was concerned that he had encountered a fleet of powerful warships so he turned to escape. The British commander, Captain Rowley Bulteel, immediately ordered a pursuit. To preserve the impression of warships he also ordered four of his most powerful East Indiamen to join the chase. First Belliqueux captured Concorde. Exeter and Bombay Castle set out after Médée and succeeded in coming up with her after dark and tricking her into surrendering to what Médée thought was a ship of the line.
Belliqueux and the Indiamen reached Rio de Janeiro on 12 August. They sailed on to the Cape, which they reached on 23 December.[2] They sailed to China via the Pacific. On 21 January 1801 they touched at Merir. There four tattooed natives came out to trade, but the British could not persuade the natives to come on Neptune's deck.[7] The British reached Whampoa on 23 February. Homeward bound, Bombay Castle crossed the Second Bar on 30 March, reached St Helena on 21 September, and arrived at Long Reach on 8 December.[2]
EIC voyage #5 (1802–1804)
Captain Archibald Hamilton sailed from The Downs on 23 December 1802, bound for Bombay and China. Bombay Castle reached Bombay on 30 May 1803. She was at Malacca on 28 August, and arrived at Whampoa on 1 October.[2]
Bombay Castle crossed the Second Bar on 23 December.
Defeat of Adml. Linois by Commodore Dance, Feby. 15th. 1804, by William DanielBombay Castle can be seen in this printed key for a view of the Battle, showing the China Fleet a painting by Francis Sartorius, the younger after a drawing by an officer on board the Henry Addington
She was part of a convoy of returning East Indiamen and other vessels, all under the command of Captain Nathaniel Dance. The Royal Navy was unable to provide an escort and the captains of the EIC's China Fleet debated about setting out for home. Still, the China Fleet crossed the Second Bar on 31 January 1804 and left China on 6 February.
As they were passing through the Straits of Malacca on 14 February, they encountered a French squadron under Rear-Admiral the Comte de Linois, who hoped to seize as many of them as he could.[8]
Dance sent the brig Ganges and three Indiamen, one of them Bombay Castle, to approach the strange vessels and investigate. It quickly became clear that the strange vessels were enemy warships.
Dance ordered his fleet to form a line of battle, while creating a bluff that four of his Indiamen were a squadron of ships of the line escorting the convoy. A skirmish ensued with the result that Linois, somewhat inexplicably, withdrew.[8]
On 18 February the Indiamen were at Malacca. On 28 February, the British ships of the line HMSSceptre and Albion joined the Fleet in the Strait and conducted them safely to St Helena.[9]
Bombay Castle was at Penang on 1 March. She reached St Helena on 9 June and arrived at Gravesend on 16 August.[2]
On the fleet's safe return, the EIC voted rewards to all the officers and seamen involved in the battle. The 12 captains whose vessels did not engage in combat, including Hamilton, each received a reward of 500 guineas and a piece of plate worth 50 guineas. The Lloyd's Patriotic Fund gave each captain a sword worth 50 guineas, and one worth 100 guineas to Captain Nathaniel Dance, who had been the commodore of the fleet. Dance refused a baronetcy but was subsequently knighted.[8]
EIC voyage #6 (1805–1806)
Captain Archibald Hamilton acquired a letter of marque on 17 December 1804. Bombay Castle left from Portsmouth on 1 February 1805, bound for Bengal and China. She sailed with four other Indiamen and two whalers. The four Indiamen were Royal George, Henry Addington, Wexford, and Earl of Abergavenny. HMSWeymouth, herself a former merchantman, provided the naval escort. No sooner had they sailed than bad weather set in and on 5 February the fleet made for PortlandRoads, some 10 leagues away. As they did so, Earl of Abergavenny struck on the Shambles off the Isle of Portland and then sank in Weymouth Bay with the loss of 263 lives, including her captain, out of 402 people on board.[10]
Hamilton sailed from Portsmouth again on 17 February, bound for Bombay and China. Bombay Castle reached Bombay on 21 June. She was at Penang on 25 September and Malacca on 10 October, and arrived at Whampoa on 27 December. Homeward bound, she left Whampoa on 1 March 1806, reached St Helena on 2 July, and arrived at Long Reach on 6 September.[2]
Fate
Bombay Castle was sold in 1807 for breaking up.[1]
Exeter was a three-decker East Indiaman built by Perry and launched in 1792. She made eight voyages to the East Indies for the East India Company (EIC). More unusually, on separate voyages she captured a French frigate and participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. She was sold for breaking up in 1811.
Ganges was a large, three-decker East Indiaman, launched in 1797. She made three complete voyages between Britain and China for the British East India Company. On her third she participated in the singular Battle of Pulo Auro. Unfortunately, she sank on the homeward leg of her fourth voyage, but with no loss of life.
Coutts was launched in 1797 and made eight voyages to India and China for the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in two notable engagements, the action of 4 August 1800, and the battle of Pulo Aura. She was broken up in 1815.
Perseverance was launched in 1801 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), before she was sold in 1819 for breaking up.
Alfred was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold. She participated in two notable incidents in which East Indiamen bluffed superior French naval forces from engaging. In January 1797, on her third voyage, in the Bali Strait Alfred and five other Indiamen sent off a French squadron of six frigates without a shot being fired. In February 1804, at Pulo Aura, during her sixth voyage she participated in a notable engagement with a French squadron. After her last voyage for the EIC Alfred served as a storeship and a hulk.
Woodford was launched in 1790 and made nine voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1797 her captain was commodore of a small group of East Indiamen that managed to bluff a French squadron of warships into sailing away to avoid an engagement. In 1812 Woodford was sold for breaking up.
Henry Addington was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages for the EIC before she was sold in 1815 for breaking up. She was one of the vessels at the Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804.
Wexford was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman in the service of the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages to India, Persia, and China for the EIC, on the first of which she participated in the battle of Pulo Aura. Her last voyage ended in 1817 and she was broken up c. 1819.
Hope was launched in 1797 on the Thames River. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold for breaking up in 1816. She was one of the East Indiamen at the battle of Pulo Aura.
Airly Castle, was built by William Barnard at Deptford and launched in 1787. She made eight voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1788 and 1808. In 1795 she participated in the capture of seven Dutch East Indiamen near St Helena. After her eight voyages she may have served briefly as a general transport before she was sold for breaking up in 1810. She was not broken up but instead served as a transport for several years.
Boddam was built by William Barnard at Barnard's Thames Yard at Deptford and was launched on 27 December 1787 on the River Thames. She made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). Her fourth voyage was particularly notable as she participated in an encounter between six Indiamen and six French frigates in which the Indiamen succeeded in bluffing the French into withdrawing. During that voyage she also survived several typhoons. Her owners sold her in 1803 and her subsequent deployment and fate is currently unknown.
Taunton Castle was launched on the River Thames in 1790 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was broken up in 1813. In 1797, on her third trip, she was one of a fleet of six East Indiamen that bluffed a squadron of six French frigates into fleeing.
Canton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1791 and 1811. She was sold and served for a while as a West Indiaman, transport, and storeship. Her hulk was sunk in 1829 to form a dry dock at Limehouse. She was finally broken up in 1898.
Scaleby Castle was launched in 1798 at Bombay. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) under charter. At the end of the first she changed to British Registry. Her owners sold her in 1806 to William Moffat, who then entered into a four-voyage contract with the EIC as a regular ship. The EIC purchased Scaleby Castle outright in 1816. She proceeded to make 10 more voyages for the EIC. In all, she made 17 voyages for the EIC, a record. In 1833-35 the EIC ended its commercial activities and sold its vessels. New owners continued to sail Scaleby Castle to China and India. She was last listed in 1841. In 1847 her owners sold her as a hulk.
Brunswick was launched in 1792 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made five complete voyages for the EIC before the French captured her in 1805. Shortly thereafter she wrecked at the Cape of Good Hope.
Ceres was launched in 1797 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), before she was hulked in 1816.
True Briton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost without a trace in 1809 during her eighth voyage.
Dorsetshire was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In each of her first, second, and third voyages she was involved in a notable action. The remainder of her voyages appear to have proceeded without incident. She ceased sailing for the EIC in 1823 and was broken up c.1827.
Neptune was launched in 1796 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was broken up in 1819. On her second voyage, in 1800, she was present at a notable action.
Worcester was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages to India and China for the EIC and participated as a transport in two naval expeditions before she was sold in 1809 for breaking up.
References
Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN1861760302.
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
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