Transport vessels for the British expedition to the Red Sea (1801)

For the British expedition to the Red Sea (1801) the British government hired a number of transport vessels. The transports supported Major-General Sir David Baird's expedition in 1801 to the Red Sea. Baird was in command of the Indian army that was going to Egypt to help General Ralph Abercromby expel the French there. Baird landed at Kosseir, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. He then led his troops army across the desert to Kena on the Nile, and then to Cairo. He arrived in time for the battle of Alexandria. Captain Hardie of Shah Kaikusroo was appointed Commodore of the fleet of country ships.

Most of the transports were "country ships". Country ships were vessels that were registered in ports of British India such as Bombay and Calcutta, and that traded around India, with Southeast Asia, and China, but that did not sail to England without special authorization from the EIC. In addition, some were "regular ships" of the British East India Company (EIC), and some were "extra ships". Regular ships were on a long term contract with the EIC, and extra ships were vessels the EIC had chartered for one or more voyages.

The data in the table below comes primarily from an 1814 report from a Select Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, which provided the data only on country ships, giving the names of a large number of vessels, and their burthen (bm).

Also, transliteration of non-English names shows no consistency across sources, making it extremely difficult to try to find more information about the vessels in question.

Country ships
Name Burthen Where built Notes
Admiral Nelson 122
Ann and Amelia 800 Whitby, 1781 Becomes HMS Mediator, 1804
Ann and Eliza 350
Anna Maria 450
Anstruther 450–654 Calcutta, 1800 Stranded 22 September 1803 in Balabac Strait[1]
Auspicious 400 / 462 British, 1798 Sold 1821
Bly Merchant 480
Byram Gore 456
Candidate 700 / 709 Calcutta, 1797 Foundered in the Bay of Bengal, 1804[2]
Cecilia 478 Contradictory information Wrecked at Madeira, 1803
Commerce 413 / 450 Rangoon? The French privateer Caroline captured her on 15 November 1805.[3]
Cornwallis 633 Surat, 1789 Burnt 1841 at Bombay
Cuvera 936 Calcutta, 1798 Broken up 1853
Brig Dundas 176 / 187[4] Probably Philip Dundas, built at Bombay Dockyard in 1798 for the Bengal Pilot Service[4] Newbiggin, master; lost at Foul Bay between January 1801 and June 1802[5]
Eliza 400 / 350 Rangoon Gibson, master; north of Jiddah between January 1801 and June 1802[5]
Expedition 70
Fancy brig 125 / 100
Fortune 182 Ketch; Jolliffe, master; near Mt. Agerib between January 1801 and June 1802[5]
Friendship 400 Rangoon
Friendship 872 Demaun, 1794[6]
Fyze Allum 700 Baird, master; Cape Orfin (or Cape Orsoy) on the coast of Africa,[5] 7 June 1801;[7]
Gabriel 825 Calcutta, 1794 Lost on the expedition; crew and passengers saved
Ganges 450
Griffin 400
Hercules 485
Hope 500 / 580 Calcutta, 1800
Jehanguire

Shaw Jehangire

 780 / 705 Deman
Julia Lost between January 1801 and June 1802[5]
London 350
Lowjee Family 926 Bombay, 1791[6] Destroyed by fire in Bombay Harbour, 1849
Milford 679 / 655 Bombay Dockyard, 1786 Wrecked in the Hooghly River in August 1829
Minerva 987 / 1057 Demaun, 1790[6] Launched as Amelia; captured 1808 by Al Qasimi pirates and almost the entire crew massacred.[8]
Mornington 450 / 458[4] Bombay Dockyard; 24 guns as HEIC warship; Sold at auction.[4] On 13 August 1804 captured by the French privateer Caroline, then recaptured by the British before being recaptured by a French privateer.[9]
Moorad Bux 279
Raheem Shah 270 / 275 Bombay[10]
Ruby 300 Calcutta, 1800 or 1797 Lost 1814 or later
Pearl 450
Serrah/Sarah 935 Bombay, 1792[11] "Lost in the French War"[11]
Shah Ardasheer
Shah Ardaseer		 868 Bombay, 1786,[6] or 1787[12] Burnt at Bombay Harbour on 14 September 1809[13]
Shah Kaikusroo 1046 Bombay, 1799 Broken up 1864
Shannon 90
Sophia
Sullimany, or Sulimanny 679 Demaun, 1797[6]
Superb 650 Calcutta, 1795[14] Lost 1814 or so
Susannah 244 Drysdale, master; lost between January 1801 and June 1802[5]
Taz Balish 436
Upton Castle 675 Bombay Dockyard, 1793 Burnt at Saugor, 1817
Warren Hastings 443 Calcutta, 1789
William 393 / 400 Bombay, 1800[6]

EIC naval vessels

The following vessels were listed in the 1840 report as country ships, but were actually vessels of the EIC's navy, the Bombay Marine.

Name Burthen Where built Notes
Fury 150[15] Calcutta, 1799[15] EIC schooner of 6 guns[16]
Strombolo 485 Bombay, 1793 EIC bomb ketch[17]/gun vessel of 12 × 3-pounder guns[18]
Wasp 150[15] Calcutta, 1799[15] EIC schooner of 6 guns[16]

Citations and references

Citations
  1. Phipps (1840), p. 116.
  2. Phipps (1840), p. 172.
  3. Roman (2007), p. 174.
  4. Wadia (1986), p. 336.
  5. The Asiatic Annual Register, Or, a View of the History of Hindustan and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia, (1804), Vol. 5. pp.15-6.
  6. Reports... (1809), p.242.
  7. Calcutta Monthly Journal, Nov. 1801, Vol. 7, №86, p.3067 & p.3069.
  8. Low (1877), p. 320.
  9. Roman (2007), pp. 167-8.
  10. East-India register and directory (1803), pp.269-70.
  11. Wadia (1986), p. 335.
  12. Wadia (1986), p. 334.
  13. Lloyd's List №4425.
  14. Hackman (2001), p. 244.
  15. Phipps (1840), p. 15.
  16. East-India register and directory (1803), pp.96-9.
  17. Hackman (2001), p. 341.
  18. Bombay Almanack and Register...for 1798, p.101.

References
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Low, Charles Rathbone (1877). History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863). R. Bentley and son.
  • 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.
  • Reports and Papers on the Impolicy of Employing Indian Built Ships in the Trade of the East-India Company, and of Admitting Them to British Registry: With Observation on Its Injurious Consequences to the Landed and Shipping Interests, and to the Numerous Branches of Trade Dependent on the Building and Equipment of British-built Ships. (1809). (London:Blacks and Parry).
  • Roman, Alain (2007). Robert Surcouf et ses frères [Robert Surcouf and his brothers] (in French). Preface by Olivier Roellinger. Editions Cristel. ISBN 978-2-84421-050-0. OCLC 159954380.
  • Wadia, R. A. (1986) [1957]. The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master Builders. Bombay.
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