Boyd (1783 ship)
The gunpowder stores blowing up on Boyd, painting by Louis John Steele (1889)
| |
History | |
---|---|
Great Britain | |
Name | Boyd |
Owner |
|
Builder | Hill, Limehouse,[1] River Thames[2] |
Launched | 1783 |
Fate | Captured January 1797 |
France | |
Acquired | January 1797 by capture |
Fate | Sold 1802–03[a] |
Great Britain | |
Name | Boyd |
Owner | Boddington |
Acquired | 1802–03 by purchase |
Fate | Burnt December 1809 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen | 392,[3] or 395, or 400,[4] or 407,[2] or 42554⁄94[1] (bm) |
Length | 109 ft 8 in (33.4 m) (overall); 87 ft 0 in (26.5 m) |
Beam | 29 ft 8 in (9.0 m) |
Propulsion | Sail |
Complement | 28[3] |
Armament |
|
Boyd was a
Career
Boyd first appears in the supplemental pages of Lloyd's Register for 1783. Her master was James Young, her owner, "Capt. & Co.", and her trade London — St Kitts.[4]
Lloyd's List reported on 19 September 1794 that Boyd, Young
EIC voyage (1795–97)
In 1795, Lloyd's Register reported that Boyd's master was G. Sargent, her owner Boddington, and her trade London — St Kitts. An addendum to the entry showed her master changing to R. Young, and her trade to London — E. Indies.[5]
She underwent a good repair in 1795, and before the EIC chartered Boyd as an "extra" ship they had her inspected and measured. The EIC records describe her as a three-decker vessel with ten gun ports on each side.[2]
Her captain for the voyage was Robert Young. On 25 March 1795, he received a letter of marque.[3]
Captain Young left Portsmouth on 8 July 1795, bound for
French ownership
Between 1797 and some point during the period of the Peace of Amiens, Boyd was in French hands. Her name and career during this period is currently obscure.
British merchantman
Boyd, 20 years old, Thames-built, and of 392 tons (bm), reappears in Lloyd's Register in 1803. Her master is Dickson, her owner Boddington, and her trade is London—Grenada.[10] At this remove one can only conjecture that Boddington purchased her during the Peace of Amiens.
In 1804 she received a new master, "Litson". He was sailing her to Grenada when she lost a rudder. She was part of a convoy under the escort of HMS Peterel. The convoy went on to Barbados, leaving Boyd at 13°34′N 51°0′W / 13.567°N 51.000°W, some 600 miles east of Barbados.[11] Shortly thereafter, a French vessel captured Boyd. However, on 19 May HMS Galatea recaptured the "English ship Boyd", which was carrying "plantation stores".[12] Galatea took her into Antigua.[13]
On 12 November, still under Litson's command, Boyd arrived at
In 1805 Laughton (or Loughlon) replaced Litson as master. Also, Boddington now armed her. Her trade remained London — Dominica.[6]
In 1809 Thompson replaced Laughton as master.
Convict transport
Under the command of Captain John Thompson, Boyd sailed from Cork, Ireland on 10 March 1809. She stopped at the Cape before she arrived at Port Jackson on 14 August 1809.[15] She transported 139 male convicts, of whom five died on the voyage.[16]
Fate
Boyd sailed in October 1809 from Port Jackson to
The Maori towed Boyd up the harbour to where they looted her. They accidentally detonated her gunpowder, which killed ten of them, and resulted in her burning to the waterline.[b]
In March 1810, half-a-dozen whalers gathered in Bay of Islands and launched a retributionary attack on the Maori. The whalers killed an estimated 16 to 60 Maori and burnt some structures. One sailor was accidentally killed. The vessels involved in the attack were Atalanta, Inspector, New Zealander, Perservernce, Speke, and Spring Grove.[20][21]
Notes
- ^ Hackman has Boyd being purchased from her captors and converted into a South Seas whaler, but leaves the timing ambiguous.[1]
- ^ One account dates the destruction to 10 July 1810.[1] However, that is the date of the mention of the loss in Lloyd's List, which does not provide a date.[19] Other accounts suggest the destruction happened within days of the massacre.
Citations
- ^ a b c d Hackman (2001), p. 225.
- ^ a b c d British Library: Boyd.
- ^ a b c d Letter of Marque, p. 53,"War of 1812: UK sources for Privateers". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015. - accessed 14 May 2011.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1783), Supplemental pages seq no. B458.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1795), seq. no. B280.
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1805), seq. no. B383.
- ^ Lloyd's List, n° 2648.
- ^ Lloyd's List, №2896.
- ^ Report 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, p.977.
- ^ Lloyd's Register (1803), seq. no. B364.
- ^ Lloyd's List n° 4466.
- ^ "No. 15735". The London Gazette. 8 September 1804. p. 1121.
- ^ Lloyd's List, n° 4475.
- ^ Lloyd's List, n° 4505.
- ^ Bateson (1959), pp. 88–89.
- ^ Bateson (1959), p. 326.
- ^ "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891. 3 January 1891. p. 16. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 24, pp.107-8.
- ^ Lloyd's List 10 July 1810, n° 4474.
- ^ "The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842) - 28 Apr 1810 - p2".
- ^ McNab (1908), p. 301.
References
- OCLC 3778075.
- Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0905617967.
- McNab, Robert, ed. (1908). Historical Records of New Zealand. Vol. 1.