1809:8 × 6-pounder guns + 2 × 9-pounder guns "of the New Construction" + 6 × 12-pounder carronades[8]
Notes
Two decks
Orpheus was launched at Chester in 1794. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She also served briefly as a transport in two military campaigns, and traded with the West and East Indies. She was last listed in 1838 but may well have been sold for breaking up in 1828.
Orpheus enters Lloyd's Register in 1794 with G. Bowen, master, St Barbe & Co., owner, and trade London—India.[4]
EIC voyage #1 (1794–1795): Prior to her EIC voyage apparently Young measured her.[1] Captain George Bowen acquired a letter of marque on 29 April 1794.[5] Captain Bowen sailed from Plymouth on 22 June 1794, bound for Bengal and Madras. She arrived at Calcutta on 16 November. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 30 January 1795 and Madras on 4 March. She reached St Helena on 24 May, but then sailed back to Simons Bay, which she reached on 26 June. She then reached St Helena on 11 July. She returned to Simons Bay on 5 August, and the Cape on 19 September. The to-and-fro done, Orpheus reached St Helena on 8 October and arrived at the Downs on 23 November.[1]
The reason for the to-and-fro was that Orpheus supported the invasion of the Cape Colony. The EIC charged the British government for demurrage for the delay in her homeward voyage, insurance for the extension, freight for the transshipment of her goods on other vessels, and cost and freight for sugar transferred to the British Navy. The total amounted to £6,228 18s .[9]
One report has Batson, Limehouse, building Orpheus in 1798 for Cristall & Co.[2] However, EIC records in the British Library simply have Bateson repairing her.[1]
EIC voyage #2 (1798–1800): Captain John Cristall acquired a letter of marque on 30 July 1798.[5] Captain Cristall sailed from Portsmouth on 4 October 1798, bound for Madras and Bengal. Orpheus reached the Cape on 14 January 1799, Madras on 9 May, and Coringa on 17 June. She arrived at Calcutta on 13 July. Homeward bound, she was at Culpee (an anchorage towards Calcutta, and just below Diamond Harbour on 3 October and Saugor on 23 October. She reached the Cape on 15 January 1800 and St Helena on 12 February. She then arrived at the Downs on 30 May.[1]
After her return Orpheus sailed as a London-based transport. However, she leaves the body of the 1802 Lloyd's Register, and reappears in the supplemental pages with J. Beavens, master, Mill & Co., owner, and sailing between London and Jamaica.[10]Lloyd's List reported on 28 January 1803 that Orpheus, Bevans, master, had to put into Bearhaven because of the loss of her maintopsail yard. she had been sailing from Cork to Jamaica at the time.[11]
The 1809 volume of Lloyd's Register shows the master of Orpheus changing from R. Groves to T. Findlay.[8] Captain Thomas Findlay acquired a letter of marque on 19 September 1809.[5]
In 1813, the British East India Company (EIC) had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.[12]Orpheus's owners applied for a licence on 18 October 1814, and received the licence the next day.[7]
Circa 1817 Mills sold Orpheus to Captain Findlay. She is listed in the 1818 volume of Lloyd's Register with T. Findlay as master and owner, and with trade London—Bombay.[13] The 1819 Lloyd's Register shows the owner of Orpheus as J. Terrington, and trade London—Bengal.
On 5 May 1826 Orpheus, R. Duff, master, Terrington, owner, sailed for New South Wales. She was at Rio de Janeiro on 22 June and arrived at Sydney on 16 September. She brought some 213 passengers, comprising the men of the three New South Wales Veterans Companies, and their wives and children.[Note 2]
Year
Master
Owner
Trade
Source
1828
Dutt
Findlay & Co.
London—Van Dieman's Land
Lloyd's Register
1828
Duff
J. Mills & Co.
London—New South Wales
Register of Shipping
Fate
One report has Orpheus being sold in 1828 for breaking up,[6] and the Register of Shipping no longer lists her after 1828. However, she apparently continued to sail under a slightly new name.
Lloyd's Register for 1829 has Orphew, Findlay & Co., owner, built at Chester in 1795, sailing between Cork and Antwerp with Duff as master.[15]
Lloyd's List reported on 11 March 1828 that Orpheus, Duff, master, had gotten into Antwerp after grounding on the Van Warden Bank. Then on 9 May, it reported that she had been brought off the Goodwin Sands and brought into Dover.
The information for Orphew continues unchanged until 1834. From 1834 to 1838 there is an entry for Orpheus, of 417 tons (bm), J.F. Duff, master, and home port London. The entries contain no other information.
It is quite possible that her owner(s) sold her after the mishap on the Goodwin Sands and that all the subsequent listings in Lloyd's Register represent stale information.
Notes
↑ Based on calculation using the dimensions from the records in the British Library.[1] This burthen is inconsistent with the burthen as given in the same records, and with any of the burthens that Hackman reports.[2][3]
↑ The New South Wales Veterans Companies was a military unit of about 150 men. It was made up of veterans who agreed to join what would be a garrison unit in New South Wales. After the unit arrived in Sydney in 1826 it performed guard and other light duties until it was disbanded in 1833.
Alligator was launched in 1793 at London. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a general trader crossing the Atlantic. She was wrecked in 1820.
Georgiana was launched in 1791. She served as a merchantman, packet ship for the British East India Company (EIC), a whaler, a warship of the navy of the United States of America, and a merchant vessel again. She was sold after being condemned in 1818 as leaky.
Queen was launched at Quebec in 1795. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and then became a West Indiaman, trading between London and West Indies. She was last listed in 1813.
Echo was launched at Hull in 1792. She originally sailed to Greenland and Saint Petersburg. Then between 1794 and 1795 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1799 a French privateer captured her.
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.
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.
Indian Trader was launched in 1791. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She was on her second voyage when a French privateer captured her. The British recaptured her and she returned to merchant service, sailing to the Americas. She was lost c. 1830.
Coverdale was launched at Whitby in 1795. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a West Indiaman. She foundered in 1806 on her way back to England from Jamaica.
Princess of Wales was launched at Stockton in 1795. She made three voyages as an "Extra ship", i.e., under charter, for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she became a West Indiaman. A privateer captured her in 1803 as she was coming back to England from Jamaica, but British privateers immediately recaptured her. She continued sailing to Jamaica though later, under a new owner, she traded more widely. She probably foundered in 1828, and is last listed in 1830.
Mercury apparently was launched in 1786 at Topsham, but her career prior to 1790 is obscure. She initially traded with Virginia and then with the "Straits". In 1794-1795 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she became a West Indiaman. She was lost in 1802.
Sir Stephen Lushington was launched in 1796 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). During this period she took part as a transport in two military campaigns, the cancelled attack on Manila in 1797, and the capture of Mauritius in 1810. In 1812 she became a West Indiaman, thought around 1816 she made another voyage to India. Thereafter her ownership and trade becomes ambiguous: she either traded with Spain until 1822, or with South America until 1825.
Lord Macartney was launched in 1782 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC0 before she was sold in 1798. She then traded across the Atlantic to North America and was last listed in 1811.
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.
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.
Rose was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages between 1787 and 1800 for the British East India Company (EIC). She also participated as a transport for a military expedition to the West Indies. She then made one more voyage for the EIC, bringing rice back to England from Bengal. Next she sailed as a general trader, but also made one voyage seal hunting. She was last listed in 1820.
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.
Sarah Christiana was launched in 1798. She made one voyage as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made a voyage to Jamaica. On her return, the EIC engaged her for four more voyages as an East Indiaman. In 1810 she was sold and became a West Indiaman. She was broken up in 1828.
Berrington was launched in 1783. She made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a West Indiaman before again making a voyage under the auspices of the EIC to bring rice from Bengal to England for the British government. She returned to Indian waters and was last listed in 1807.
Marquis of Lansdown was launched in 1787 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as an "extra" ship for the British East India Company (EIC) before the EIC declared her worn out. Her owners sold her in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman. The French captured her in 1805 when they captured Dominica.
References
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1816). Parliamentary Papers. Vol.10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Low, Charles Rathbone (1877). History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863). R. Bentley and son.
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