Career
EIC voyage #1 (1798-1799)
Captain Peter Sampson acquired a letter of marque on 15 February 1798. [3] He sailed from Portsmouth on 24 March, bound for Madras. Dover Castle reached the Cape of Good Hope on 5 June and arrived at Madras on 21 August.Homeward bound, she was at the Cape on 3 January 1799 and reached St Helena on 8 February. She left St Helena on 9 May and arrived at The Downs on 13 July. [2]
EIC voyage #2 (1801-1803)
Captain Sampson sailed from Portsmouth on 31 March 1801, bound for Madras and Bengal. She reached Madras on 20 July and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 20 August. [2]
Macao Expedition: During the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the British Government and the EIC feared that the French would capture one or more of Portugal's colonies of Goa, Damam, Diu, or Macao and use it as a base for operations against Britain's possessions. Because Portugal was a British ally the British could not invade the colonies, it could only offer assistance in the form of extra troops. In 1801 the Admiralty asked Admiral Peter Rainier, the commander-in-chief of Royal Navy operations on the East Indies Station to assist the Portuguese at Macao.
Governor-General Warren Hastings decided to charter two East Indiamen, Dover Castle and Asia, to carry troops to Macao and offer the troops to the Portuguese as an augmentation of the garrison. A third vessel, the transport Rainier, would accompany the expedition. [lower-alpha 1]
The troops consisted of a company of the 78th Regiment of Foot, 500 men of the Bengal Marine Battalion, a company of European artillery, and a number of field and carriage guns, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton. HMS Romney was to provide an escort as far as the straits of Macassar.
Dover Castle was at Saugor on 29 October. The expedition set out on 10 November. It stopped at Penang to exchange the Marine Battalion for soldiers there and at Malacca who would be better suited to the task at hand.Dover Castle was at Penang on 26 December. Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton then had the expedition stop at Amboina to take on water so that there would be sufficient on hand if the troops could not land at Macao.Dover Castle was at Amboina on 5 February 1802, [2] and the expedition sailed on 15 February; HMS Arrogant provided the escort.
The expedition arrived at Lintin Island on 18 March. [2] The Governor of Macao refused on 24 March to give permission for the troops to land, absent orders from his superiors at Goa. [2] Ultimately, permission was not forthcoming. Dover Castle was at "Sambroke" on 23 April, and Lintin again on 14 May. [2] On 3 July Dover castle and Asia sailed from Macao to return to Bengal. [6] Dover Castle arrived at Diamond Harbour on 22 October, [2] as did Asia.
Homeward bound, Dover Castle was at Saugor on 19 December and Madras on 25 February 1803. She reached St Helena on 15 May and arrived at The Downs on 31 July. While she was on her homeward voyage, war with France resumed. Captain Sampson acquired a letter of marque on 20 June 1803, [3] in absentia. [2]
EIC voyage #3 (1804-1805)
Captain George Richardson acquired a letter of marque on 2 March 1804. He sailed from Portsmouth on 8 May, bound for St Helena and Bengal. Dover Castle reached St Helena on 6 August, and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 28 November. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 4 February 1805, reached St Helena on 2 June, and arrived at Long Reach on 13 September. [2]
EIC voyage #4 (1806-1807)
Captain Richardson sailed from Portsmouth on 18 June 1806, bound for St Helena, Madras and Bengal. She reached St Helena on 27 August. [2]
Lloyd's List reported that the Indiaman Dover Castle had retaken Admiral Rainier, country-ship, at 3°N89°E / 3°N 89°E / 3; 89 , on 30 December 1806. According to the account, Admiral Rainer had been captured by a corvette. [7] The officers and men of the Indiamen Lord Keith and Dover Castle received salvage money in October 1810 for the recapture of Admiral Rainier on 31 December 1806, [8] as did Ocean. [9]
Dover Castle arrived at Diamond Harbour on 22 January 1807. She visited Madras on 20 March, and was back at Diamond Harbour on 22 April, and at Calcutta on 10 May. Homeward bound, she was at Diamond Harbour on 18 June, Saugor on 9 August, and Vizagapatam on 12 September. She was again at Madras on 3 October and the Cape on 30 December. She reached St Helena on 25 January 1808, and arrived at Long Reach on 10 April. [2]
EIC voyage #5 (1809-1810)
Captain Richardson sailed from Portsmouth on 28 April 1809, bound for Bombay. Dover Castle reached Johanna on 24 August and arrived at Bombay on 19 September. Homeward bound, she was at Point de Galle on 20 February 1810, reached St Helena on 3 May, and arrived at Long Reach on 9 July. [2]
EIC voyage #6 (1811-1813)
Captain Richardson sailed from Torbay on 30 May 1811, bound for Ceylon, Bengal, and Madras. Dover Castle was at Madeira on 19 June and Colombo on 13 October. She arrived at Diamond Harbour on 15 December and Calcutta on 10 January 1812. She was at Diamond Harbour on 6 March and Saugor on 16 April, before returning to Calcutta on 7 June.
Dover Castle had run aground at Saugor on 25 May 1812 and had been severely damaged. She was later refloated and taken in to Calcutta for repairs. [10]
Homeward bound, she was at Vizagapatam on 8 October, Madras on 15 October, and the Cape on 29 December. She reached St Helena on 26 January 1813, and arrived at Long Reach on 16 May. [2]
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.
Airly Castle, was 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.
Ann was launched at Rotherhithe in the River Thames in 1801. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter, between 1801 and 1817. After 1817 she traded with India for some time and she was last listed in 1826.
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.
Asia was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She competed four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and wrecked on her fifth. During the second she transported EIC troops to Macao to augment the Portuguese forces there, but the authorities there refused them permission to land. She was wrecked in 1809 on the outbound leg of a voyage to Madras and Bengal.
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.
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.
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.
Union was an East Indiaman that made eight apparently uneventful voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between her launching in 1803 and her sale for breaking up in 1819.
City of London was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1800 and 1814 when she was taken up as a troopship for one voyage. She made one more voyage to India under a license from the EIC and then was broken up circa 1817.
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.
Duke of Montrose was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then briefly became a troop transport, sailing to the West Indies. She was sold in 1811 for breaking up.
Rose was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages between 1787 and 1800 for the British East India Company (EIC). She also participated as a transport for a military expedition to the West Indies. She then made one more voyage for the EIC, bringing rice back to England from Bengal. Next she sailed as a general trader, but also made one voyage seal hunting. She was last listed in 1820.
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.
General Stuart was launched in 1801 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1801 and 1814. She then sailed between England and India under a license from the EIC. In 1819 she transported convicts from England to New South Wales. She continued to trade with Australia and was last listed in 1825.
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.
Devaynes was launched in 1802 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made one more round-trip to India, sailing under a license from the EIC. She was condemned at Bengal in 1817 on a second licensed voyage to Bengal.
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British East India Company