Neptune (1780 ship)

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Convict ship Neptune00.jpg
Neptune
History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameNeptune
Owner
  • Voyage #1:Andrew Moffat
  • Voyages #2-4:Thomas Loughman
BuilderDudman, Deptford, [1] or Barnard [2]
Launched7 February 1780 [1]
FateDestroyed by fire and explosion in 1796
General characteristics [2]
TypeShip
Tons burthen809, or 80970⁄94 [1] (bm)
Length144 ft 0 in (43.9 m) (overall); 116 ft 4 in (35.5 m) (keel)
Beam36 ft 2 in (11.0 m)
Depth of hold15 ft 2 in (4.6 m)
Sail planShip rig

Neptune was a three-decker East Indiaman launched in 1780 at Deptford. She made five voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), the last one transporting convicts to Port Jackson as one of the vessels of the notorious Second Fleet. This voyage resulted in a private suit against the master and chief officer for wrongful death. A fire and explosion in 1796 at Cape Town destroyed Neptune.

Contents

EIC voyages

EIC voyage #1 (1780-1783)

Captain Robert Scott left Portsmouth on 3 June 1780, bound for Madras, Bengal, and Bombay. On 29 September she reached Rio de Janeiro, and arrived at Madras on 10 January 1781. From there she sailed to Bengal, arriving at Kedgeree on 12 March. On 7 May she was at Barrabulla, also in the Hooghli River, before returning to Kedgeree on 20 May. Leaving Bengal she was at Barrabulla again on 15 September. On 6 October she reached Madras, on 21 October Negapatam, on 17 December Bombay, on 11 April 1782 Tellicherry, on 27 April Calicut, on 6 May Tellicherry again, and on 28 May Bombay again. Homeward bound, on 31 January 1783 Neptune was at St Helena, and she arrived at The Downs on 8 August. [2]

EIC voyage #2 (1784-1785)

Captain George Scott left The Downs on 26 March 1784, bound for Bombay. By 29 July Neptune had reached Johanna, and she arrived at Bombay on 24 August. She arrived at Tellicherry on 23 October, before returning to Bombay on 9 November. Homeward bound, she reached Cochin on 7 April 1785, and St Helena on 5 July, before arriving at The Downs on 5 September. [2]

EIC voyage #3 (1786-1787)

Captain George Scott left The Downs on 13 March 1786, bound for China. Neptune arrived at Whampoa on 28 August. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 25 December, reached St Helena on 28 April 1787, and arrived at The Downs on 5 July. [2]

EIC voyage #4 (1788-1789)

Captain George Scott left The Downs on 14 April 1788, again bound for China. Neptune arrived at Whampoa on 6 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 20 December, reached St Helena on 6 May 1789, and arrived at The Downs on 12 July. [2]

Second Fleet to Australia

Captain Thomas Gilbert started the voyage on 17 November 1789, bound for Botany Bay and China. [1] In company with Surprize and Scarborough, Neptune finally sailed from England with 421 male and 78 female convicts on 19 January 1790. At some point on the voyage Gilbert died and his replacement as master was Donald Traill; [1] the surgeon was William Gray. She arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 13 April 1790, and spent sixteen days there, taking on provisions, and twelve male convicts from HMS Guardian, which had been wrecked after striking an iceberg. heavy weather resulted in Neptune and Scarborough parting from Surprize, with Neptune arriving at Port Jackson on 28 June, 160 days out from England. During the voyage 147 male and 11 female convicts died, for a total death rate of 31%; [3] 269 (53%) were sick when landed.

The treatment of convicts aboard Neptune was quite harsh. Convicts suspected of petty theft were flogged to death and most convicts remained chained below decks for the duration of the voyage. Scurvy and other diseases were endemic and the food rations were pitiful. [4] Neptune had the second highest death rate among all convict voyages. [5]

Neptune returned to Britain on 27 October 1791. [1]

Trial

Well after their return to England, on 9 June 1792 Donald Traill and Chief Mate, William Ellerington were privately prosecuted for the murder of an unnamed convict, along with a seaman named Andrew Anderson and a cook named John Joseph. After a trial lasting three hours before Sir James Marriott in the Admiralty Court, the jury acquitted both men on all charges "without troubling the Judge to sum up the evidence". There were no public prosecutions as public prosecutions in Britain did not exist until 1880. [6] Later, the lawyer who brought the charge was struck from the Rolls. [1]

Notable arrivals

Amongst the arrivals on this voyage was D'Arcy Wentworth. He had made one of the convicts, Catherine Crowley, pregnant and subsequently William Wentworth was born on Norfolk Island. [7] John Macarthur, his wife Elizabeth, and their son Edward Macarthur left England on Neptune but transferred to Scarborough after a quarrel with the captain. A photograph of Edward Macarthur exists, and is the only known photo of a passenger on Neptune. [8]

Sarah Cobcroft (née Smith), de facto wife of convict John Cobcroft, also arrived aboard Neptune. She was a midwife and later pioneer farmer of Wilberforce, New South Wales.

Molly Morgan, born Mary Jones, was another convict who sailed to Australia on the Neptune. [9]

Fate

Neptune was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1796 with T. Gilbert, master, and Calvert & Co., owners. [10]

Neptune sailed from Portsmouth on 6 March 1796. She was bound for India to serve there in the coastal trade. However, at Cape Town a fire and explosion destroyed her. [1] She was not carrying any cargo on behalf of the EIC. [11]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hackman (2001), pp. 161–2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 British Library: Neptune (4).
  3. ↑ Bateson (1959), p. 111.
  4. ↑ Bateson (1959), p. 31.
  5. ↑ Bateson (1959), p. 253.
  6. ↑ Re public vs private prosecutions.
  7. ↑ Persse, Michael (1967). "Wentworth, William Charles (1790–1872)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2. Melbourne University Press. pp. 582–589. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Edward Macarthur.
  9. ↑ Guilford, Elizabeth (1967). "Morgan, Molly (1762–1835)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Vol. 2. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  10. ↑ Lloyd's Register (1796), Seq. №143.
  11. ↑ House of Commons (1830), p. 977.

Related Research Articles

The Second Fleet was a convoy of six ships carrying settlers, convicts and supplies to Sydney Cove, Australia in 1790. It followed the First Fleet which established European settlement in Australia in the previous year.

<i>Surprize</i> (1780 ship)

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<i>Northumberland</i> (1780 EIC ship)

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<i>Lord Hawkesbury</i> (1787 EIC ship) Ship of the British East India Company

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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.

Europa was launched in 1781 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was probably broken up in 1798.

General Eliott was launched in 1782 as the East Indiaman Fletcher, but was renamed before completion to honour General Elliott's defence of Gibraltar. Under the ownership of Robert Preston, 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.

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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.

Grenville was launched at Deptford in 1764 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before her owners sold her in 1777 to the Royal Navy, which renamed her HMS Tortoise and employed her as a transport. She foundered in 1779.

References

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