The East Indiaman Saint Vincent saving the crew of the East Indiaman Ganges, 29 May 1807, William John Huggins, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich | |
History | |
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Name: | Earl St. Vincent |
Namesake: | John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent |
Owner: | John Pascall Larkins |
Builder: | Barnard, Deptford |
Launched: | 13 December 1799 [1] |
Fate: | Sold 1813 for breaking up |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen: | 808, [2] or 81865⁄94, [1] or 860, [3] or 868 [3] (bm) |
Length: | 146 ft 1 in (44.5 m) (overall); 118 ft 7 1⁄2 in (36.2 m) (keel) [2] |
Beam: | 36 ft 0 1⁄4 in (11.0 m) [2] |
Depth of hold: | 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m) [2] |
Propulsion: | Sail |
Complement: | |
Armament: | |
Notes: | Three decks |
Earl St Vincent was launched on the Thames in 1799. Between 1800 and 1813 she made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), primarily to India, though on one voyage she reached Canton. In 1813 she was sold for breaking up.
Captain John Brook Samson acquired a letter of marque on 14 January 1800. [3] He sailed from Portsmouth on 17 March 1800, bound for Madras and China. Earl St Vincent reached Madras on 17 July and Penang on 29 August, and arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 3 November. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 14 January 1801, reached St Helena on 15 April, and arrived at Long Reach on 17 June. [2]
Captain Samson sailed from Portsmouth on 13 April 1802, bound for Bombay, which she reached on 13 August. On 3 October she was at Anjengo, before returning to Bombay on 12 November. Homeward bound, she reached 10 Jan 1803 Tellicherry on 10 January 1803 and St Helena on 19 March, before arriving at Long Reach on 1 June. [2]
Captain Samson acquired a letter of marque on 9 March 1804. He sailed from Portsmouth on 8 May 1804, bound for Bombay, which he reached on 14 September. Earl St Vincent then visited several ports in the region, stopping at Cannanore on 30 October, Severndroog on 7 December, and Bancoot on 12 December, before returning to Bombay on 17 December. Homeward bound she was at Tellicherry on 22 February 1805, Anjengo on 6 March, and St Helena on 27 June. She arrived at Northfleet on 15 September. [2]
Captain Charles Jones acquired a letter of marque on 28 January 1806. [3] He sailed from Portsmouth on 30 March 1806, bound for Bombay. Earl St Vincent reached Bombay on 19 August. She was at Goa on 2 December, and Bombay again on 15 December. Homeward bound, she was at Tellicherry 7 February and Anjengo on 28 February, before deviating to Point de Galle on 7 March. [2]
On 29 May 1807 Ganges was off the Cape of Good Hope when she sprang a leak. She sank at 38°22′S19°50′E / 38.367°S 19.833°E , almost due south of Cape Agulhas. Fortunately there was no loss of life. Earl St Vincent, which was in company, managed to get all 203 or 209 persons on board Ganges off, including a number of soldiers from the 77th regiment of Foot. [4] [5] When Captain Harrington finally left Ganges in the last boats from Earl St VincentGanges had ten feet of water in the well and was wholly ungovernable by the helm. She foundered at noon the following day. [6]
Earl St Vincent reached St Helena on 16 June, and arrived at Long Reach on 9 September. [2]
Captain John B. Samson acquired a letter of marque on 11.3. March 1808. He sailed from Portsmouth on 8 May 1808, bound for Bombay. Earl St Vincent reached Madeira on 30 May, and arrived at Bombay on 18 September. On 19 November she was at Goa, but returned to Bombay on 25 November. Homeward bound she was at Pointe de Galle on 8 February 1809. [2] On 15 February she sailed from Point de Galle as part of a fleet of 15 East Indiamen under escort by HMS Culloden and HMS Terpsichore. [7]
On 14 March, off Mauritius, a gale developed. Four of the ships, Bengal, Calcutta, Jane, Duchess of Gordon, and Lady Jane Dundas, parted company with the main convoy. They were never heard of again. Huddart was the last to vessel to see Bengal and Calcutta; Hugh Inglis was the last vessel to see Jane, Duchess of Gordon and Lady Jane Dundas. [8] The hull of one of the four missing vessels was sighted overturned off Mauritius the following October, but sank before it could be identified. [9]
Earl St Vincent was at the Cape of Good Hope on 10 April, and St Helena on 30 April. She arrived at Long Reach on 17 July. [2]
Captain Samson sailed from Portsmouth on 11 May 1810, bound for Madras, Ceylon, and Bengal. Earl St Vincent was at Madeira on 17 May, and reached Madras on 12 October. She was at Trincomalee on 24 October and Colombo on 5 November, before arriving at Kedgeree on 7 December. Homeward bound she was at Saugor on 26 January 1811 and Colombo again on 7 March. She reached St Helena on 30 May and arrived at Long Reach on 14 August. [2]
Capt William Larkins Pascall acquired a letter of marque on 4 January 1812. He sailed from Portsmouth on 10 March 1812, bound for Madras and Bengal. Earl st Vincent reached Madras on 13 July, and arrived at Diamond Harbour 28 July. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 14 September, Vizagapatam on 1 October, and Coninga on 6 October. She was again at Madras on 12 October, the Cape on 25 December, and the St Helena on 26 January 1813. She arrived at Blackwall on 21 May. [2]
In 1813 her owners sold Earl St Vincent for breaking up. [1]
Citations
References
Ceylon was an East Indiaman launched in 1803. She performed four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). On her fourth voyage the French captured her in the Action of 3 July 1810; she then took part in the Battle of Grand Port. The British recaptured her at the invasion of Île de France. She completed her fourth voyage and her owners then sold her. She became a transport until her owners sold her in 1815 to new foreign owners.
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.
Experiment was launched in 1802 and was immediately taken up by the British East India Company (EIC), as an "extra ship" on a multi-voyage charter. She made three voyages for the EIC and disappeared without a trace while homeward bound on her fourth voyage in the same storm that claimed two other East Indiamen.
King George was launched in 1784 and made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1785 and 1798. She also participated in the invasion of St Lucia. In 1798 her owners sold her and she became a West Indiaman. An accident in 1800 at Jamaica destroyed her.
Retreat was launched in 1801 and briefly sailed as a West Indiaman between London and Jamaica. She then made five voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) as an "extra ship", that is, under charter. She was broken up in 1814.
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.
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.
Bengal was launched in 1811 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage for the EIC, but was burnt on the inbound leg of her second voyage.
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.
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.
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.
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.
General Eliott was launched in 1782 as the East Indiaman Fletcher, but was renamed before completion to honour General Elliott's defence of Gibraltar. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and one voyage as a transport for a naval expedition. She then became a West Indiaman until she was sold for breaking up in 1802.
Travers was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made four complete voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked near the end of the outward-bound leg of her fifth voyage.
Deptford was launched in 1781 as an East Indiaman. She made six apparently uneventful voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1807 for breaking up.
Devonshire was launched in 1804 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and was wrecked on her fifth while still outward bound.
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.
Charlton was launched in 1798 in Liverpool as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made five voyages to India for the EIC. A French naval squadron captured her in 1809 on her sixth voyage and she became a prison ship a Mauritius util the Royal Navy recaptured her at the end of 1810. She became a country ship, trading east of the Cape of Good Hope, but was lost in the Red Sea in 1812.
Sovereign was launched at Rotherhithe in 1800 as a West Indiaman. The British East India Company (EIC) then took her up as an "extra" ship on several contracts; in all she made seven voyages as an East Indiaman for the EIC. After she left the EIC's service in 1817 she continued to trade with India, but under a license from the EIC. She was broken up in 1822.
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.