Career
EIC voyage #1 (1800–1801): Captain Abraham Green acquired a letter of marque on 14 April 1804. He sailed from Torbay on 27 May, bound for Bengal and Madras. City of London was at the Nicobars on 14 November and arrived at Calcutta on 6 December. Homeward bound, she was at Kedgeree on 4 January 1801 and Madras on 13 March and Colombo on 6 April. She reached St Helena on 6 August and arrived at Long Reach on 9 November. [2]
EIC voyage #2 (1803–1804): Captain Samuel London sailed from The Downs on 31 January 1803, bound for St Helena and Bengal. City of London was at St Helena on 3 April, the Cape of Good Hope on 22 May, and Madras on 11 July. She reached Diamond Harbour on 23 July. She was at Saugor on 8 December and left on 10 March 1804. She reached St Helena on 29 June and arrived at Long Reach on 15 October. [2]
EIC voyage #3 (1805–1806): War with France had resumed and so Captain London acquired a letter of marque on 14 April 1805. He sailed from Portsmouth on 25 April 1805, bound for Bombay. City of London arrived at Bombay on 11 August. She left on 8 February 1806 on 14 February stopped at Tellicherry. On 2 March she was at Quillon. She reached St Helena on 14 May and arrived at Long Reach on 22 July. [2]
EIC voyage #4 (1807–1808): Captain Joseph Yates acquired a letter of marque on 24 January 1807. He sailed from Portsmouth on 4 March 1807, bound for Madras and Bengal. City of London reached Madras on 5 July. She arrived at Diamond Harbour on 20 July, and Calcutta on 23 August. Homeward bound, she was at Diamond Harbour again on 24 November and Saugor on 23 December. She reached Point de Galle on 7 March 1808 and St Helena on 8 June. She arrived at Long Reach on 17 August. [2]
EIC voyage #5 (1809–1811): Captain Yates sailed from Portsmouth on 28 April 1809, bound for Madras and Bengal. City of London was at Madeira on 8 May, reached Madras on 15 September, and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 22 October. She then traded in the region. She was at Saugor on 13 December, Vizagapatam on 31 December, Masulipatam on 9 January 1810, Madras on 13 January, Benkulen on 20 March, Kidderpore on 24 June, and Saugor on 9 September. The voyage ended on ended on 2 October 1811. [2]
What happened was that the British government hired a number of transport vessels for the invasions of Île Bourbon and Île de France (Mauritius). Most of the transports were "country ships". Country ships were vessels that were registered in ports of British India such as Bombay and Calcutta, and that traded around India, with Southeast Asia, and China, but that did not sail to England without special authorization from the EIC. In addition, some of the vessels the Government hired were EIC ships such as City of London.
Yates landed with the invasion force, bringing many of his crew with him, as did Captain William Nesbit of Huddart. The seamen contributed in the "laborious duty of hauling the cannon". However, Yates died of exhaustion on shore on the first day of the invasion. [4]
City of London arrived back at Gravesend on 1 October 1811, "From Bengal". [5]
EIC voyage #6 (1812–1813 ): Captain Thomas Jenkins acquired a letter of marque on 8 April 1812. He sailed from Portsmouth on 8 April 1812, bound for Madras and Bengal. [2] On 30 April City of London, Sovereign, Harriet, and Sir William Bensley were at 25°40′N23°5′W / 25.667°N 23.083°W / 25.667; -23.083 and under escort by HMS Hotspur, which parted from them and returned to England. [6] City of London reached Madras on 1 August and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 8 September. On 6 October she was at Kidderpore and on 4 November Calcutta. Homeward bound, on 10 December she was at Saugor. She was Vizagapatam on 17 January 1813 and Masulipatam on 27 January. She was again at Madras on 3 February. She was at Colombo on 3 March, reached St Helena on 8 June, and arrived at Purfleet on 13 August. [2]
Licensed ship
In 1814 the Government took her up for one voyage as a troopship. On 23 June City of London, Hammond, master, sailed from Portsmouth for Madeira. [7]
Hackman states that at the end of that contract she was sold for breaking up. However, she was not.
A list of ships sailing under a license from the EIC shows City of London, Jenkins, master, sailing from London on 18 May 1815, bound for Île de France, Madras, and Bengal. [8] She arrived at Bengal on 11 November. She was also reported to have sailed from Bengal on 27 January 1816 for Madras and London. On 11 July she was at Deal, having sailed from Bengal (29 January) via Madras (26 February), the Cape (4 May), and St. Helena (17 May). [9] On 14 July City of London arrived at Gravesend.
Jenkins may have intended to sail from London for Île de France, Madras, and Bengal on 15 November. [10] However, there is no sign of any such voyage in the Lloyd's List SAD data.
Ocean was launched in 1802 at Quebec. She made five voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1804 and 1814. Her owners then sold her and she continued to sail between Britain and India under a license issued by the EIC. In 1815–1816 she made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She was last listed in 1825.
Northumberland was launched in 1805. She made six voyages as an extra ship of the British East India Company (EIC), between 1805 and 1818. In 1810 and 1811 she served as a transport in the British invasions of Mauritius and Java. She was sold for breaking up in 1819.
Lord Keith was launched in 1804 by and for Peter Everitt Mestaer. He chartered her to the East India Company (EIC) for six voyages, and she then went on to make another two voyages for the EIC. On her second voyage, and unusually for an East Indiaman, she participated in the proceeds for the recapture of a former British Royal Navy brig and possibly in a skirmish with a French ship. On her third voyage she participated in a notable action. She was broken up c.1820.
Dover Castle was launched in 1798 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the EIC. During the second she transported EIC troops to Macao to augment the Portuguese forces there, but the authorities there refused them permission to land. In 1814 Dover Castle was sold and she served for a half-dozen years as a London-based transport. She was hulked c.1820 and finally broken up in 1826.
Bengal was launched in 1799 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made four complete voyages but foundered in 1809 with no trace while homeward bound from the fifth.
Lord Melville was launched in 1803 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the company before she was sold for a hulk in 1817.
Huddart was launched in 1803 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1803 and 1818. In 1810-1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. In 1818 new owners deployed her in sailing to Canada. She was wrecked there in 1821.
Hugh Inglis was launched in 1799 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1800 and 1817. In 1810 and 1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. She was sold for breaking up in 1817.
Phoenix was launched in 1804 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1805 and 1819. In 1810 and 1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. She was broken up by 1821.
William Pitt was launched in 1805 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1805 and 1819. In 1810 and 1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. She was sold for breaking up in 1820.
Busbridge was launched in 1782 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages for the EIC before she was broken up. In June 1795, during her sixth voyage, she participated in the capture of eight vessels of the Dutch East India Company. She was laid up for several years on her return from her seventh voyage and sold for breaking up in 1805.
Sir Stephen Lushington was launched in 1796 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). During this period she took part as a transport in two military campaigns, the cancelled attack on Manila in 1797, and the capture of Mauritius in 1810. In 1812 she became a West Indiaman, thought around 1816 she made another voyage to India. Thereafter her ownership and trade becomes ambiguous: she either traded with Spain until 1822, or with South America until 1825.
Lord Camden was launched in 1783 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. She made five voyages for the EIC before her owner sold her.
Dublin was launched in 1784 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), to India and China. On her last voyage for the EIC she recaptured a country ship. Her owners sold Dublin in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman, but apparently was lost on her first voyage.
Manship was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). Her owners sold her in 1801 and she then made one voyage for the EIC as an "extra ship" on a voyage charter. Her owners sold her to the British government in 1803 for use as a powder hulk. In June 1795 Manship shared with several other Indiamen and the Royal Navy in the capture of eight Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena.
Calcutta was launched in 1798 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and disappeared while homeward bound from Bengal on her fifth voyage.
Lady Jane Dundas was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and was lost in 1809 on the homeward-bound leg of her fifth voyage. She and three other Indiamen parted from the homeward-bound convoy during a gale on 18 March 1809 and were never seen again.
Lady Castlereagh was launched in 1803. She made six apparently uneventful voyages to India and one to China for the British East India Company (EIC). She left the EIC's service and made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She was returning from having delivered her convicts to Port Jackson and Van Diemen's Land when she was damaged in October 1818 a gale at Madras. she was surveyed there, condemned, and sold for breaking up.
Berrington was launched in 1783. She made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a West Indiaman before again making a voyage under the auspices of the EIC to bring rice from Bengal to England for the British government. She returned to Indian waters and was last listed in 1807.
Diana was launched in 1799 as a West Indiaman. From 1805 she made four voyages as an East Indiaman under charter to the British East India Company. She made a fifth voyage to India in 1817 under a license from the EIC. She ran into difficulties in the Hooghly River while homeward bound and was condemned in Bengal in June 1818.
