Career
Ranger first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1796. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & note |
|---|
| 1796 | Campbell | W. Boyd & Co. | London–East Indies | LR |
|
Captain Patrick Campbell sailed from Portsmouth 11 August 1796, bound for Bengal. She reached Vizagapatam on 12 January 1797 and arrived at Calcutta on 11 February. Homeward bound, Ranger was at Diamond Harbour on 5 April 1797. Captain John Kingston Bythewood replaced Campbell on 24 April 1797 in command of Ranger. She reached the Cape of Good Hope on 29 July. A French privateer captured Grenville Bay, J. Mann, master on 28 October. The captors abandoned their prize and her crew as the vessel was in great distress. Ranger rescued the crew and took them into Shannon. [3] [lower-alpha 1] Ranger arrived at the River Shannon on 10 November, and the Downs on 15 January 1798. [4]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & note |
|---|
| 1798 | Campbell
Ranny | W. Boyd & Co. | London–India
St Domingo | LR; good repair 1796 |
|
Captain Samuel Ranney acquired a letter of marque on 16 March 1798.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|
| 1799 | Ranney
T.Gouch | Smith & Co. | W. Boyd & Co. | St Domingo
London–Smyrna | LR; good repair 1796 |
|
On 11 January 1799 Captain Thomas Gooch acquired a letter of marque on 11 January 1799.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|
| 1800 | Gouch
E.Grundy | W.Boyd | London–Smyrna | LR; good repair 1796 |
| 1801 | E.Grundy | Smith & Co. | London–Gibraltar | LR; good repair 1796 |
| 1804 | J.Couuts | Branford | London transport | LR; good repair 1796 |
| 1811 | J.Coutts | Branford | London transport | LR; good repair 1796 |
|
Fate
Ranger sailed from Gravesend on 26 May 1810, bound for the Cape of Good Hope (the Cape). She arrived at Table Bay on 10 June.
Three French frigates captured the transport Ranger as Ranger was carrying stores and provisions from the Cape to Isle of Bourbon. [5] The capture occurred on 23 August.
On 4 September HMS Boadicea, Staunch, and Otter shared in the capture of Ranger. [6] [lower-alpha 2]
On 17 June 1811, Ranger arrived at Plymouth. She had come as a cartel from Isle de France (Mauritius) (after the British had captured the island), and Morlaix. [8] The British government chartered some a number of vessels as cartels to carry back to France the French troops that they had captured in these campaigns. The list mentioned one vessel, of unknown name, that too had at Morlaix. [9]
Ranger's subsequent disposition is currently obscure as she disappeared from the registers. She may have been broken up, or have been sold only to reappear under another name. One plausible candidate is Catherine, [10] but it would require original research to support or refute the conjecture.
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 condemned in 1818 as leaky and sold.
Brook Watson was launched in 1796, probably in Holland but possibly in Denmark. She became a prize in 1801 and by 1802 was a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. She made two whaling voyages between 1802 and 1806. She then became a West Indiaman and was last listed in 1809 or 1810.
Brilliant was launched at Whitehaven in 1807. Initially, she was a West Indiaman. Then from 1816 she started sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She grounded in February or on 10 March 1821 at Coringa while sailing from London to Bengal. She was refloated, repaired, and sold locally.
Benson was launched in 1794 in Liverpool as a West Indiaman. She sailed under a letter of marque and in December 1798 engaged in a notable single-ship action in which she repelled an attack by a French naval corvette of superior force. Benson was wrecked on 23 March 1811.
Recovery was launched at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1802. She transferred her registry to Quebec City, Quebec in 1806, and to London in 1807. She traded to the Cape of Good Hope and the West Indies. In January 1812 she was condemned at Nevis after she had sustained damage at sea.
Surat Castle was launched at Surat in 1788 as a country ship, that is, a vessel that traded around and from India, staying east of the Cape of Good Hope. She originally was intended for the cotton trade with China. From 1796 to 1817 she made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made one more voyage under a license from the EIC. She made one more voyage to India, this time under a licence from the EIC and then disappeared from easily accessible online sources after her sale in 1819.
Tartar was built in France in 1778, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1780. After a short career as a privateer, she made a voyage between 1781 and 1783 as an extra East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. After whaling she traded with the Baltic and then served as a London-based transport. She was probably lost in 1799, and was last listed in 1801. If Tartar is the vessel lost in 1799, in 1796 French warships captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her.
Westmoreland was launched in Yarmouth in 1783. Between 1800 and 1804 she made two voyages as a slave ship. A French privateer captured her during her second voyage but the Royal Navy recaptured her and she completed her voyage. The registers continued to carry her for a few years but with stale data; she actually made a voyage in 1805 to Demerara. On her way a privateer captured her.
Harriot was launched in Spain in 1794, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize in 1797. She made two voyages as a London-based slave ship. Under new ownership, she then made three voyages as a whaler. A privateer captured her as she was returning from her third whale-hunting voyage but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. After her recapture she became a merchantman. She was captured and condemned at Lima, Peru in late 1809.
Agreeable was launched at Bermuda in 1786, probably under a different name. French owners acquired her at some point and sailed her as Agréable. In 1793 the British captured her. Subsequently, she made six voyages as a slave ship between 1793 and 1808, alternating between slave trading and sailing as a regular West Indiaman. French privateers captured her between the second and third, and the third and fourth, but each time the British Royal Navy recaptured her. In the case of the second capture she was in French hands long enough for them to send her out as a privateer. She herself captured an American vessel in 1808 as she was returning to Liverpool from her last slave voyage. After the end of British participation in the slave trade Agreeable traded more widely, particularly to South America. She was condemned at Buenos Aires in 1814 after running aground in the River Plate. She was repaired and continue to sail to Brazil until she returned to Liverpool in June 1819.
Star was built in Calcutta in 1800. Between 1803 and 1811 she made three seal hunting voyages. From 1812 she sailed as a merchantman until she was wrecked on 18 December 1829 on a voyage to Jamaica.
Tigris was launched in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1802. She made six voyages between 1803 and 1815 as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). After her stint as an East Indiaman, Tigris became a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in December 1823.
Hart was a brig, possibly launched in America in 1809, and taken in prize. From 1809 on she sailed to the Mediterranean, particularly Malta. A privateer captured her in 1810, but she was recaptured. She burnt in 1811.
John Tobin was a ship launched in 1809 at Hull. In 1810 she recaptured a British vessel and in November 1812 she repelled an attack by an American privateer in a single ship action. From 1816 John Tobin made three voyages to India, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She then sailed to Calabar, West Africa. She left there on 28 November 1821 and was never heard of again.
Nimble was built in Folkestone in 1781, possibly under another name. In 1786 Nimble was almost rebuilt and lengthened. Between 1786 and 1798 she made nine voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. Between 1799 and 1804 she made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship. She was sold in 1804 at St Thomas after she had delivered her slaves.
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.
Beaver was launched in 1796 at Liverpool. She made seven complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. She was captured and retaken once, in 1804, and captured a second time in 1807, during her eighth voyage.
Ranger was launched in 1791 in New Providence and immediately came to Britain. She generally traded between Liverpool and New Providence. She underwent grounding in 1795 and in 1796 her owners had her repaired, lengthened, and converted from a brig to a ship. A French privateer captured her in August 1797 after a single-ship action. In a process that is currently obscure, Ranger returned to British ownership circa 1799. She then became a West Indiaman. From 1803 on she became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete slave trading voyage. Then French privateers captured her after she had embarked slaves in West Africa but before she could deliver them to the West Indies.
Ranger was built in London in 1796. Between 1796 and 1801 she made three complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. New owners in 1801 had her lengthened and sailed her as a West Indiaman. She was lost in 1802.
Sir Sidney Smith was a ship launched in 1802 at Dover. She was a West Indiaman. A United States privateer captured her in 1812.
Great Britain