| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Melpomene |
| Namesake | Melpomene |
| Builder | Joseph Wales & George Dobson, King's Lynn [1] |
| Launched | 18 November 1815 [1] |
| Fate | Abandoned 27 April 1833 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | |
Melpomene was launched in 1815 at King's Lynn. She traded with North America, the West Indies, the East Indies, and South American. She was wrecked in 1833 while in the North Atlantic, forcing her crew to abandon her.
Melpomene first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) with Vidal, owner, and trade Lynn–London. It did not gave the name of her owner, noting only that she was owned in London. [2] Her next voyage was to Philadelphia.
In 1813 the British East India Company (EIC) had lost its monopoly on the trade between Britain and India. British ships were then free to sail to India, the Indian Ocean, or the East Indies under a license from the EIC. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820 | Watts | Johnson | London–Batavia | LR; |
| 1825 | Barclay | Johnson | London–Jamaica | LR; lengthened 1818 |
| 1830 | Johnson T.Berridge | Johnson | London–Montevideo | LR; lengthened 1818, and thorough repair 1829 |
| 1833 | Beveridge | Morrison | Greenock–Quebec | LR; lengthened 1818, and thorough repair 1829 |
Heavy seas took Melpomene's mast and caused extensive damage on 24 April 1833 as Melpomene was on a voyage from the Clyde to Quebec City. Her crew abandoned her three days later; Isabella rescued them. [4] [5]
Minstrel was launched at Hull in 1811. She transported convicts to Australia in 1812 and again in 1825. Between these voyages she traded east of the Cape of Good Hope under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1829 she brought immigrants from England to the Swan River Colony. She then traded widely, including across the Atlantic. Minstrel foundered in March 1851.
Milford was built at Bombay in 1786 for Pestonjee Bomanjee and John Tasker. She was a country ship that traded around India and between India and China, though she also traded with England. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost at Calcutta in August 1829.
Several ships have borne the name Caledonia for Caledonia:
Welton was launched at Hull in 1809. She first traded between Hull and Quebec and then later with South America and the Caribbean. Lastly, she traded with India. She was lost in 1817 at Bengal.
Earl of Lonsdale was launched at Whitehaven in 1810. She sailed as West Indiaman. She next made one voyage to the East Indies in 1814, and then returned to the West Indies trade. A gale at Jamaica in October 1815 destroyed her.
Busiris was launched at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1814 as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage as an East Indiaman and then returned to the West Indies trade. She was wrecked in May 1826.
True Briton was launched at Pont Neuf, Quebec, in 1811. Her primary trade was sailing between Britain and New Brunswick, but she also sailed to Jamaica, and made two voyages to India. Her crew abandoned her in the Atlantic in 1822.
Sir James Henry Craig was launched at Quebec in 1811. She sailed to England and made three voyages as a West Indiaman. The British East India Company (EIC), in 1813 lost its monopoly on the trade between Britain and India. In 1817 she sailed for India but was condemned at Calcutta after she sustained extensive storm-damage at the start of her homeward-bound voyage.
Blenheim was launched in 1790 as West Indiaman, and spent almost all of her career as a West Indiaman. In 1818 she made one voyage to Bengal under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). On her return from Bengal she reverted to the West Indies trade. Later she traded between London and Quebec. She was wrecked in November 1836 and refloated. She was last listed in 1837.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1810 at Rochester, or equally, Chatham, as a West Indiaman. She made at least one voyage to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then made a voyage to New South Wales transporting female convicts from England and Ireland. She was lost in December 1822 off Denmark while sailing from Saint Petersburg to London.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1811 in Montreal. She became a London-based transport that made one voyage to India in 1819 under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Afterwards she continued to sail to the Baltic and North America. She was last listed in 1829.
Waterloo was launched in 1815 at Plymouth. She made two voyages to India. Heavy seas in October 1820 so damaged her that her crew had to abandon her in the North Atlantic.
Stentor was a British transport and merchant vessel launched in 1814 at Sunderland. In 1820 she transported settlers to South Africa. She made several journeys to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). As a transport she carried troops and supplies to such destinations as Sierra Leone, Fernando Po, Ceylon, and the West Indies. She was wrecked in November 1846.
Woodford was launched in 1815 at Whitby as a West Indiaman. Between 1816 and 1817 she made two voyages to the Indian Ocean or the East Indies, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked at Laeso in November 1837.
Braddock was launched in 1815, at Workington or Maryport. She spent most of her career sailing to the United States and the West Indies. In 1828 she made a voyage to Calcutta under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Her crew abandoned her in a sinking state on 21 January 1829, as she was returning to England from Bengal.
Boyne was built in 1822 in Newcastle upon Tyne as a West Indiaman. In 1824–1825 she made one voyage to Bengal for the British East India Company (EIC)). She next made one voyage to Bombay under a license from the EIC. She then returned to the West Indies trade. Her crew abandoned her on 18 August 1830 in a sinking state as she was sailing from Jamaica to London.
Sir Edward Hamilton was a merchant ship launched at Rotherhithe in 1800. The British East India Company (EIC) chartered her in 1800 to bring rice from Bengal. She then proceeded to sail as a West Indiaman and later across the Atlantic, finally to the Baltic. She grounded in December 1853 and was so damaged that apparently she never sailed again.
David Scott was launched at Bombay in 1801. She was a "country ship", i.e., she generally traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1802 and 1816 she made five voyages between India and the United Kingdom as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she traded between Britain and India under a license from the EIC. A fire destroyed her at Mauritius on 12 June 1841.
Cyrus was launched in 1811 in Whitby. She spent her early career as a transport. Then after the war she made one or more voyages to Bengal and Ceylon under a license from the British East India Company. After her return she traded between Great Britain and North America. She was wrecked at Quebec in November 1844.
Indus was launched in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1817, or Newbury, Massachusetts in 1814. She first appeared in the British registries in 1823. Throughout her career she remained owned in the United States, and sailing under the United States flag. She may have briefly traded between Great Britain and Batavia, Dutch East Indies, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company. Thereafter, she sailed between Liverpool and New York. She was probably the Indus wrecked on 24 September 1829; she was last listed in 1833.