General Baird (1801 ship)
General Baird was built in Rangoon in 1801 or 1802 as a "country ship", that is, a British ship that traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. Her master was W. Fleming, and her owner Fairlie, Gilmore and Company.[2]
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | General Baird |
| Namesake: | Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet |
| Builder: | Rangoon |
| Launched: | 1801,[1] or 1802[2] |
| Fate: | Destroyed by fire 29 October 1803 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 550,[2] or 650[3] (bm) |
General Baird was a troopship in the same squadron as Anstruther, which had been lost a month earlier, and was carrying troops to Balambangan Island.[4] Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India, had decided upon the resettlement of Balambangan and instructed R. J. Farquhar, the British Resident at Amboina, to manage the expedition.[5] Farquhar reestablished the settlement at Balambangan by the end of September 1803.
A fire on 29 October 1803 destroyed General Baird, Captain Fleming, master, in the harbour at Balambangan.[6][7]
Post script: The British burnt the fort and village and withdrew from Balambangan on 5 December 1806.
Citations and references
Citations
- Phipps (1840), p. 179.
- East-India register and directory (1803), p.97.
- Phipps (1840), pp. 127 & 179.
- Grocott (1997), p. 157.
- Hall (1981), p. 540.
- "India News". The Times (6151). London. 13 October 1804. col C, p. 2.
- "Ship News". The Morning Post (11240). 13 October 1804.
References
- Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN 1861760302.
- Hall, D. G. E. (1981). A History of South-East Asia. Macmillan Press.
- Phipps, John (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ... Scott.