Essex (1803 EIC ship)

Last updated

History
Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg United Kingdom
Owner Henry Bonham
OperatorBritish East India Company
BuilderPerry, Blackwall
Launched7 February 1803
FateRegister cancelled 20 August 1821
General characteristics
Tons burthen1257, [1] or 12573094, [2] or 1352 [3] (bm)
Length
  • Overall:165 ft 7+12 in (50.5 m)
  • Keel:134 ft 0 in (40.8 m)
Beam42 ft 0 in (12.8 m)
Depth of hold17 ft 1 in (5.2 m)
Complement
  • 1803:130
  • 1807:129
Armament
  • 1803: 26 ×18-pounder guns + 10 × 18-pounder carronades
  • 1807: 36 × 18-pounder guns
NotesEssex was reputed to have had the greatest spread of sail of any East Indiaman. [2]

Essex was launched on 7 February 1803 by Perry, Blackwell as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) until on 20 August 1821 her register was cancelled as she had been demolished.

Contents

Career

1st EIC voyage (1803–1805): George Bonham acquired a letter of marque on 27 May 1803. He sailed from Portsmouth on 6 June 1803, bound for Ceylon and Bombay. Essex was at Rio de Janeiro on 16 September reached Madras on 2 February 1804. She was at Colombo on 24 February and Tellicherry on 14 April, arriving at Bombay on 30 April. Homeward bound, she reached St Helena on 4 November and arrived in the Downs on 7 February 1805. [1]

2nd EIC voyage (1806–1807): Captain Bonham sailed from Portsmouth on 18 February 1806, bound for Madras and China. Essex reached Madras on 28 June and Penang on 13 August, and arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 23 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 10 December, reached Penang on 23 January 1807, the Cape on 6 April, and St Helena on 17 April. She arrived in the Downs on 2 July. [1]

3rd EIC voyage (1808–1809): Captain Richard Nisbet acquired a letter of marque on 16 November 1807. He sailed from Torbay on 29 January 1808, bound for Bombay and China. Essex reached Bombay on 28 May and Malacca on 29 August, and arrived at Whampoa on 2 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 11 February 1809, reached Penang on 31 March and St Helena on 5 July, and arrived back at the Downs on 8 September. [1]

4th EIC voyage (1811–1812): Captain Nisbet sailed from Torbay on 2 February 1811. Essex reached Bombay on 8 June. Bound for China, she reached Penang on 22 August and arrived at Whampoa on 2 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 17 December, reached St Helena on 21 March 1812, and arrived back in the Downs on 13 May. [1]

5th EIC voyage (1813–1814): Captain Nisbet sailed from Portsmouth on 11 January 1813, bound for Madras and China. Essex reached the Cape on 8 May and Madras on 7 July. She reached Penang on 17 August and Malacca on 9 September. She arrived at Whampoa on 23 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 18 January 1814. On 18 February she was off Lintin Island. She reached St Helena on 26 May and arrived at the Downs on 6 August. [1]

6th EIC voyage (1814–1816): Captain Nisbet sailed from the Downs on 10 November 1814, bound for Bombay and China. Essex reached the Cape on 31 March 1815 Cape and Bombay on 17 May. Proceeding to China, she reached Penang on 8 August and Malacca on 19 August. She arrived at Whampoa on 22 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 27 November, reached St Helena on 23 March 1816, and arrived at the Downs on 10 May. [1]

7th EIC voyage (1819–1820): Captain Nisbet sailed from Torbay on 20 January 1819, bound for Bombay and China. Essex reached Bombay on 29 May and Malacca on 14 August. She arrived at Whampoa on 9 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 8 December, reached St Helena on 22 March 1820, and arrived at the Downs on 9 May. [1]

Fate

On 20 August 1821 her register was cancelled, her demolition having been completed. [2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 British Library: Essex.
  2. 1 2 3 Hackman (2001), p. 106.
  3. "Letter of Marque, p.62 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

Related Research Articles

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.

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.

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.

<i>Henry Addington</i> (1800 EIC ship)

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.

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.

<i>Scaleby Castle</i> (1798 EIC ship)

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.

<i>Bridgewater</i> (1812 EIC ship)

Bridgewater was launched in 1812 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages to India and China for the EIC. A hurricane dismasted her as she was homeward bound on her ninth voyage. She was surveyed at Calcutta in 1830, condemned, and sold for breaking up in 1831.

<i>Ceres</i> (1797 EIC ship) 1797 ship owned by the British East India Company

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.

<i>True Briton</i> (1790 EIC ship)

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.

<i>Winchelsea</i> (1803 EIC ship)

Winchelsea was launched in 1803 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made 11 voyages for the EIC before she was broken up in 1834.

<i>Atlas</i> (1812 EIC ship) UK merchant ship 1812–1831

Atlas was launched at Kingston upon Hull in 1812 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages to India or China for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1831 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.

Walmer Castle was launched in 1796 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made nine voyages for the EIC before she was sold in 1815 to sail as a troopship and supply ship for the British Army. She was broken up in 1821.

Thames was launched on the Thames in 1796 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold for breaking up in 1816.

David Scott was launched on the Thames in 1801 as an East Indiaman. Between 1801 and 1816 she made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold in 1816 for hulking.

<i>Cirencester</i> (1795 EIC ship)

Cirencester was launched in 1795 at Rotherhithe. Between 1795 and 1813 she made eight voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold in 1813 for a hulk.

Marquis of Huntly was launched at Rotherhithe in 1811. She made 11 voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1812 and 1834, when she was broken up.

<i>Castle Huntly</i> (1812 EIC ship) Sailing ship of the East India Company launched in 1812

Castle Huntly was launched at Calcutta in 1812. She then made 11 voyages for the British East India Company as an East Indiaman. After the EIC ceased its shipping business in 1833, new owners continued to sail her between the United Kingdom and China until October 1845 when she was wrecked in the South China Sea.

References