Transport vessels for the British expedition to the West Indies (1795)

In 1795 Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian mounted an expedition to the West Indies.[1] The expedition sailed on 6 October, 16 November, and 9 December, but weather forced the vessels to put back. The fleet finally successfully sailed on 20 March to invade St Lucia, with troops under Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby. St Lucia surrendered to the British on 25 May.[2] The British went on to capture Saint Vincent and to put down Fédon's rebellion in Grenada.

Among the transport vessels of the expedition were 16 chartered from the British East India Company (EIC).[3]

Ship Master Notes
Britannia Barrow
Contractor Whyte Sailed from the Cape of Good Hope
Duke of Montrose Burt
Dutton Sampson Wrecked on 26 January 1796 at Plymouth
Ganges Pile
General Eliott Langhorne
Houghton Robert Hudson
King George John Fam Timins
Middlesex Ramsden Returned via Barbados where she picked up a cargo; wrecked in August 1796 coming up the Thames
Phoenix Wemys (or Wemyss) Orrok
Ponsborne James Clifford Wrecked after landing her troops
Raymond Henry Smedley
Rose Smyth
Sir Edward Hughes Urmston James Urmston was Commodore for the EIC contingent
Sulivan (or Sullivan) Sampson Hall
Valentine Henry Hughes Sold for breaking up on her return

In addition to the vessels hired from the EIC, the expedition used a number of vessels belonging to the Transport Board on either long-term or short-term contracts.

  • Alexander
  • Betsey
  • Brothers
  • Catherine
  • Concord
  • Countess of Trautsmansdorff
  • Crown
  • Eagle
  • Elizabeth
  • Enterprize
  • Fowler
  • Galatea[a]
  • Golden Grove
  • Hardy's
  • Hope
  • Horn
  • Polly
  • Rambler
  • Sally
  • Somerset
  • Success
  • Swan
  • Swansea
  • Thomas & Mary
  • Three Sisters
  • Travellor
  • Ulysses
  • Vine
  • William Beckford

Other

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Mentioned in The Times:[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Galatea, of 332 tons (bm) was launched at Whitby in 1793. She became a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in 1801 in sight of Jamaica.

Citations

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  1. ^ Lloyd's List №2790.
  2. ^ "No. 15265". The London Gazette. 7 June 1800. p. 623.
  3. ^ Hardy (1800), p. 225.
  4. ^ "Yesterday a Court of Directors was held at the India House, for the purpose of opening the packets." Times, 24 July 1795, p. 2. The Times Digital Archive. Accessed 14 May 2019.

References

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  • Hardy, Charles (1800). A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce. Charles Hardy.