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.
EIC voyage #1 (1785-1787): Captain Alexander Gray sailed from Portsmouth on 22 March 1785, bound for Bombay and China. Duke of Montrose reached Madeira on 9 Aprirl, Johanna on 13 July, and Bombay on 6 August. She was at Tellicherry on 28 October, and she returned to Bombay on 26 November. She was at Anjengo on 31 March 1786 and Tellicherry on 8 April, but then returned to Bombay on 17 May. Sailing to China, she reached Malacca on 21 July, and arrived at Whampoa anchorage on 9 August. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 16 November, reached St Helena on 14 March 1787, and arrived at Long Reach on 19 May.[4]
EIC voyage #2 (1788-1789): Captain Joseph Dorin sailed from Portsmouth on 5 April 1788, bound for Bombay and China. Duke of Montrose reached Bombay on 5 August and Batavia on 25 November; she arrived at Whampoa on 8 February 1789. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 11 March, reached St Helena on 14 March, and arrived at Gravesend on 1 September.[4]
EIC voyage #3 (1792-1793 ): Captain Dorin sailed from The Downs on 8 March 1792, bound for Bombay. Duke of Montrose reached Bombay on 4 July. She then visited Tellicherry (3 October), Calicut (21 October), Anjengo (2 November), Calicut (13 November), and Tellicherry (17 November). She returned to Bombay on 8 December. Homeward bound, she reached St Helena on 13 March 1793, and arrived at Long Reach on 19 June.[4]
The EIC inspected the East Indiamen as they arrived and on 15 October fined Doren and eight other captains £100 each for having not stowed their cargoes in conformance with the Company's orders. The money was to go to Poplar Hospital.[lower-alpha 1]
EIC voyage #4 (1794–1795):War with France had commenced shortly before Duke of Montrose had returned to England on her last voyage. Captain Patrick Burt acquired a letter of marque on 20 January 1794.[2]
The British government held Duke of Montrose at Portsmouth, together with a number of other Indiamen in anticipation of using them as transports for an attack on Île de France (Mauritius). It gave up the plan and released the vessels in May 1794. It paid £1,291 13s 4d for having delayed her departure by 62 days.
Captain Burt sailed from Portsmouth on 2 May, bound for Bombay. Duke of Montrose arrived at Bombay on 4 September. She was at Calicut on 31 October, Anjengo on 12 November, Cochin on 24 November, and Tellicherry on 10 December. She returned to Bombay on 25 December. Homeward bound, she was at Tellicherry on 21 January 1795, reached st Helena on 18 March, and arrived at Long Reach on 25 July.[4]
West Indies expedition (1795–1796):Duke of Montrose had no sooner returned to England when she joined Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian's expedition to the West Indies. [7] The Government chartered Duke of Montrose and a number of other EIC vessels, as transports.
The expedition sailed on 6 October, 16 November, and 9 December, but weather forced the vessels to put back. The fleet finally successfully sailed on 20 March to invade St Lucia, with troops under Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby. St Lucia surrendered to the British on 25 May.[8] The British went on to capture Saint Vincent and Grenada.[lower-alpha 2]
On 27 July 1796 Duke of Montrose, from Martinique to London, joined the Jamaica Fleet.[10] She arrived at Gravesend on 2 September.[11]
EIC voyage #5 (1797–1799): Captain Burt sailed from Torbay on 22 September 1797, bound for Madras and Bengal. Duke of Montrose reached Madras on 3 February 1798, and arrived at Calcutta on 27 March. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 15 December and Pointe de Galle on 22 February. She reached St Helena on 18 May, and arrived at Gravesend on 1 August.[4]
EIC voyage #6 (1801–1802): Captain Burt sailed from Portsmouth on 31 March 1801, bound for Madras and Bengal. Duke of Montrose reached Madras on 26 July, left on 11 August, and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 20 August. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 11 January 1802, reached St Helena on 14 June, and arrived at Long Reach on 22 August.[4]
EIC voyage #7 (1804–1806): Captain John Paterson acquired a letter of marque on 25 June 1804.[2] He sailed from Portsmouth on 10 July, bound for Madras and Bengal, and Duke of Montrose arrived back at her moorings on 17 February 1806.[4]
EIC voyage #8 (1807–1808): Captain Paterson sailed from Portsmouth on 26 February 1807, bound for St Helena, Bengal and Penang. Duke of Montrose reached St Helena on 15 May and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 2 October. She was at Saugor on 24 November, and Penang on 15 December. She was back at Kedgeree on 9 February 1808. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 25 March, reached St Helena on 10September, and arrived at Long Reach on 23 December.[4] On 28 December, however, she was off Dover, having lost her anchors and cables.[12]
Troop transport
In 1809 Duke of Montrose William Masson hired her out as a troopship.[1] She appears in Lloyd's Register in 1810 with Micahel, master, Mason, owner, and trade London–Martinique.[3] The Register of Shipping for 1811 has her master as Connor, her owner as Massen, and her trade as London–Guadeloupe.[5]
Fate
In 1811 her owner sold Duke of Montrose for breaking up.[1]
Notes
↑ There was a second assessment, on 30 July 1794 of a fine, but whether this was a restatement or a separate assessment is unclear.[6]
↑ One source states that Duke of Montrose sailed on 6 October from Plymouth for Martinique because the British government had "chartered her as a transport for the West Indian expedition to capture Martinique and Guadeloupe."[1] Admiral Sir John Jervis captured Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe in March and April 1794.[9] The French recaptured Guadeloupe and St Lucia by mid-1795.
Royal Admiral was an East Indiaman, launched in 1777 on the River Thames. She made eight trips for the East India Company (EIC) before she was sold. She then continued to trade. She made two trips carrying convicts from England to Australia, one as an East Indiaman in 1791, and a second in 1800. On this second voyage as a convict transport she was present at a notable naval action.
Albion was an East Indiaman of the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold to the British government in 1810 for service as a troopship. She was lost at sea in 1816.
Northumberland was launched in 1780 to serve as a regular ship of the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the EIC between 1780 and 1797. She was sold in 1797 for breaking up.
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.
Rockingham was launched as an East Indiaman in 1785. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1786 and 1802 before she was sold for breaking up.
Ponsborne was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the EIC before she was wrecked in 1796 at Grenada after having landed troops there.
Woodcot was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made four voyages for the EIC. The French captured her in 1798 at Tellicherry as she was homeward bound from her fifth voyage. American owners purchased her, renamed her Berkshire, and sailed her to Bombay in 1799.
Britannia was launched by the Bombay Dockyard in 1772, and was rebuilt in 1778. The British East India Company (EIC) apparently acquired her in 1775. Between 1779 she made eleven complete voyages as an East Indiaman for the EIC. She also participated in three naval campaigns, during the first of which she was deployed as a cruiser off Sumatra. There she engaged and captured a French ship. In the other two she served as a transport. She set out for her twelfth EIC voyage but was lost in 1805 during the third naval campaign.
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.
Lord Hawkesbury was launched in 1787 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold in 1808 for breaking up.
Contractor was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage as a transport for a military expedition before her owners sold her in 1800 for use as a transport.
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.
Earl of Wycombe was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1800 she became a general trader, trading across the Atlantic to the West Indies and Canada. She was lost without a trace c.1803.
Essex was launched in 1780 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). On her first voyage she was present at an inconclusive battle with the French, and later at a second inconclusive engagement with a French frigate. In 1798 she was sold to be hulked or broken up.
Manship was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). In June 1795 Manship shared with several other Indiamen and the Royal Navy in the capture of eight Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena. 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.
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.
Walthamstow was launched in December 1799 in Rotherhithe. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold in 1814 for breaking up.
London was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1780 and 1798. She was sold for breaking up in 1799.
Warren Hastings was launched in 1781 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the EIC before being sold in 1797 for breaking up.
Carmarthen was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman. She made eight round voyages as an "extra" ship for the British East India Company (EIC). On her first voyage she participated in an experiment in bringing variolation to India and other British possessions to combat smallpox. After leaving the EIC's employment, she took one more voyage to India, sailing under a licence from the EIC. She was last listed in 1820.
References
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
Proceedings Relative to Ships Tendered for the Service of the United East-India Company, from the Twenty-sixth of March, 1794, to the Sixth of January, 1795: With an Appendix.
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