Sylph (1791 ship)

Sylph was launched at Whitby in 1791. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to New South Wales and China. However, a French privateer captured her in 1798 as she was returning to England.

For other ships with the same name, see Sylph (ship).

Great Britain
Name: Sylph
Namesake: Sylph
Owner: W. Reynolds, Will. Holt, and Nath. Langborne, the latter in trust for Geo. Langborne, a minor[1]
Builder: Reynolds and Co.[1]
Launched: 1791
Fate: Captured 1798
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 312,[2] or 320,[1] or 328[3] (bm)
Complement: 28[3]
Armament: 10 × 6-pounder guns + 5 swivel guns[3]

Career

Sylph shifted her registration to London and entered Lloyd's Register in 1792 with A. Ward, master, J. Jackson, owner, and trade London–Saint Petersburg.[2]

Lloyd's Register for 1796 showed Sylph's master changing from A. Ward to J. White. Her owner changed from J. Jackson to P. Faith, and her trade changed from London–Saint Petersburg to London–Botany Bay.[4]

Captain John White acquired a letter of marque 14 June 1796.[3] On 10 June he sailed for Botany Bay and China.[5]

Sylph arrived at Port Jackson from England with merchandise on 12 November. She left for China on 6 December.[6]

Fate

Lloyd's List reported on 20 March 1798 that Sylph was homeward bound from China when she parted from the convoy to the west of Cape Clear. It was believed that she had been captured.[7] The French privateer Buonaparte captured her on 3 March at 51°18′N 21°00′W.[8][Note 1] The EIC valued the cargo it had lost on Sylph at £32,542.[10]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

  1. Buonaparte was probably a 75-ton (bm) brig from Bayonne, commissioned in June 1797 under Louis Boulanger with 10-13 officers, 62-67 men, and 14 guns.[9]

Citations

  1. Weatherill (1908), p. 91.
  2. Lloyd's Register (1792), Seq.№S504.
  3. "Letter of Marque, p.88 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. Lloyd's Register (1796), Seq.№S460.
  5. Hackman (2001), p. 244.
  6. "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.17. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  7. Lloyd's List №2988.
  8. Lloyd's List №2988.
  9. Demerliac (2004), p. 275, №2435.
  10. Reports... (1830), Vol. 2, p.979.

References

  • Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-24-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Reports from the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to enquire into the present state of the affairs of the East India Company, together with the minutes of evidence, an appendix of documents, and a general index, (1830), Vol. 2.
  • Weatherill, Richard (1908). The ancient port of Whitby and its shipping. Whitby: Horne and Son.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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