Coromandel (1793 ship)

For other ships of the same name, see Coromandel (ship) and HMS Coromandel.
History
United Kingdom
Name: Modeste
Namesake: Coromandel Coast
Owner: Hogg, Davidson, and Co.,[1] or Reeve & Co.
Acquired: 1793
Renamed: Coromandel
Fate: Foundered 1821
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 522, or 52222⁄94[1] (bm)
Length: 125 ft 0 1⁄2 in (38.1 m) (overall)[2]
Beam: 32 ft 0 in (9.8 m)[2]
Depth of hold: 16 ft 0 in (4.9 m)[2]
Propulsion: Sail
Complement: 47[3]
Armament: 14 × 9 and 6-pounder guns[3]

Coromandel was the French prize Modeste, captured in 1793 and refitted at Chittagong, British India (now Bangladesh). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Port Jackson, the first for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1805 but she was retaken some years later in 1810. An American privateer captured her in 1814 but the Royal Navy recaptured her within days. She foundered in Indian waters on 6 February 1821.

Career

Convict transport

On her first voyage transporting convicts, under the command of Alex Sterling, she sailed from Portsmouth, England on 8 February 1802, and Spithead, on 12 February, in company with Perseus, and arrived at Port Jackson on 13 June 1802.[4] Coromandel transported 138 male convicts, of whom one male convict died on the voyage.

Coromandel left Port Jackson on 22 July bound for China.[5] On the way she sighted the islands of Nama, Losap, Murilo, and Nomwin in the area of Truk.[6]

She arrived at Whampoa anchorage on 17 September. From there she sailed to "Capshee Bay", which she reached on 12 October, before she returned to Whampoa on 21 November. She left in company with Hercules, and on 5 January 1803 she was at Lintin Island. From there she sailed to St Helena, which she reached on 17 April, and then on to Long Reach, arriving back in Britain on 14 June.[7]

On her second voyage she was under the command of John Robinson. The Napoleonic Wars had commenced so Robinson applied for and received a letter of marque on 16 September 1803.[3] Coromandel sailed from England on 4 December 1803, with 200 male convicts, and 32 officers and men of the New South Wales Corps, who provided the guards. She left in company with Experiment. While sailing in the Bay of Biscay Experiment suffered damage during a gale and had to limp back to Cowes for repairs. Robinson died off St. Salvador, and George Blakely took over command. Coromandel arrived at Port Jackson on 7 May 1804.[4] No convicts died during the voyage.

Coromandel left Port Jackson on 10 July bound for China.[5]

French capture

The French privateer Henriette captured Coromandel on 15 March 1805 as she was sailing from China to London, and sent her into Mauritius.[8] The British recaptured Coromandel on 3 December 1810, following their invasion of Isle de France, and returned her to her owners.[1][Note 1]

Misadventures

There was a Coromandel that was reported to have been totally lost in the Carimata Passage, together with the Abercrombie, the first coming from Bengal bound for Batavia and the second from Bombay to China.[10][Note 2] Apparently Coromandel was badly stranded in the Karimata Passage in 1812, but salved and repaired.[1]

American capture

The next notable event occurred on 2 August 1814. The American privateer schooner York (or Yorktown), captured Coromandel, a "country ship" of 500 tons (bm), as she was sailing from Batavia to London.[Note 3] Lloyd's List reported that the Coromandel, Cameron, master, from St Helena, was missing from "the Fleet" on 13 August.[13] HMS Eridanus recaptured Coromandel on the 12th.[Note 4]

Ongoing service

On 12 January 1816 Coromandel stopped at the Cape on her way to Madras and Bengal; she was still under Cameron's command.[15]

What connects this Coromandel with that of the voyages to Australia is that a Coromandel appears in the Lloyd's Register for 1818 and 1819. The registry described her as a teak-built vessel of 503 tons (bm), launched in 1793 in the East Indies. Her master is given as "A. Cameron", her owner as "Campbell", and her trade as London to India.[Note 5]

Fate

Coromandel foundered on 6 February 1821.[1] Coromandel, W. Butler, master, was sailing for Malacca when her crew had to abandon her off the coast of Borneo as she was in a sinking state. The crew took to three boats and all were saved. Butler and 39 officers and men arrived at "Kemanlie", the second boat with an officer and 12 men arrived at Sourabaya, and the third boat arrived at Samarang.[16]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes
  1. ↑ Unfortunately, she is not listed among the vessels the British captured there.[9] The question of how she returned to British control and ownership is therefore clouded.
  2. ↑ Abercrombie was a new ship of 1200 tons (bm), out of Bombay. The account that describes the Abercrombie is a listing of vessels that were wrecked in the Carimata passage and does not include Coromandel.[11]
  3. ↑ An American source gives the captor as the 14-gun and 120 ton (bm) schooner York, E. Staples, master. Apparently Coromandel was armed with only two guns and had a crew of 66 men.[12]
  4. ↑ A first-class share of the prize-money was worth £788 19s 2d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £7 13s.[14]
  5. ↑ This last means that her port of registry was now London, which may explain why she does appear in earlier issues of Lloyd's Register.
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hackman (2001), p.229.
  2. 1 2 3 Howard, A.J. "Bert" (2006) The Coromandel Files. - Accessed 24 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Letter of Marque, - accessed 14 May 2011.
  4. 1 2 Bateson (1974), pp.288-9.
  5. 1 2 "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.17. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  6. ↑ Hezel (1994), p.82.
  7. ↑ National Archives - Accessed 13 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Lloyd's List n°4234 - accessed 9 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Lloyd's List, 15 February 1811 - accessed 23 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Lloyd's List, no. 4771, 18 May 1813, - accessed 11 December 2014.
  11. ↑ The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany. (October 1825), Vol. 20, p.420.
  12. ↑ Emmons (1853), p.196.
  13. ↑ Lloyd's List, 9 August 1814, - accessed 11 December 2014.
  14. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 16990. p. 425. 7 March 1815.
  15. ↑ Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany, Volume 1, p.40.
  16. ↑ The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and ..., (September 1821), Vol. 12, p.308.
References
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