HMS Hindostan (1795)
The East Indiaman Hindostan, by Thomas Luny, National Maritime Museum
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History | |
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British East India Company | |
Name | Hindostan |
Owner | Robert Williams, M.P., managing owner |
Builder | William Barnard, Deptford |
Launched | 3 November 1789 |
Fate | Sold to the Royal Navy in 1795 |
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Hindostan |
Acquired | 1795 by purchase |
Fate | Lost following fire, Rosas Bay, Spain , 2 April 1804 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type |
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Tons burthen | 124875⁄94[a] (bm) |
Length |
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Beam | 42 ft 2 in (12.9 m) |
Depth of hold | 17 ft 1 in (5.2 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Armament |
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HMS Hindostan (later variously Hindustan) was a 56-gun
East India Company
She was launched by William Barnard of Deptford on 3 November 1789 as Hindostan. From 17 January 1790 to 29 June 1791, under Captain William Mackintosh, she made one round trip for the East India Company to China.[3]
She left
The British Government then chartered her to take Lord Macartney to China in an unsuccessful attempt to open diplomatic and commercial relations with the Chinese empire. The voyage lasted from 1 October 1792 to 30 September 1794.[4] Hindostan traveled in the company of the 64-gun HMS Lion under Captain Sir Erasmus Gower, and the brig Jackall.
Hindostan left Torbay on 1 October 1792, arrived at Madeira nine days later, and Tenerife 11 days after that. She next stopped at
While Hindostan was at
On her return trip Hindostan crossed the Second Bar on 4 February 1794, reaching St Helena on 18 June and the Downs on 7 September.[3]
The Admiralty bought Hindostan on 9 March 1795. Barnard fitted her for service with the Royal Navy at a cost of £11,062. In April, Captain Robert Moorsom commissioned her for service in the North Sea.[1] Captain Thomas Bertie took command in November.
On 28 January 1796, a gale of wind at Cork caused Hindostan to run into Santa Margarita, causing Santa Margarita to lose her masts, bowsprit, and rigging.[7] Hindostan nevertheless sailed for Jamaica on 24 February 1796.[1]
In the West Indies she participated in the operations against
In December Captain Joshua Mulock commissioned her as a 28-gun
Hindostan sailed for the Mediterranean on 18 January 1800. On 20 May, she and
Hindostan refitted at Deptford between November 1800 and January 1801 (for £10,292) before sailing for the Cape of Good Hope in March.[1] By 6 May 1801 she was a storeship again, and under Captain Samuel Mottley.[1]
On 17 September 1801 she arrived at Cape Town from Rio de Janeiro, together with
In December Lieutenant William Fothergill took command.[1] Although a storeship, Hindostan shared with Diomede, Jupiter and Braave in the capture of the Union on 27 May 1803.[12]
Then in 1804 Commander John Le Gros replaced Fothergill. On 12 February 1804 Le Gros sailed Hindostan for the Mediterranean to carry supplies to Horatio Nelson, who was at the time Commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet.[1]
Loss
Arriving at
On the morning of 2 April, while about 30 miles to the south-east of
Captain Le Gros had the boats prepared and hoisted out in case it became necessary to abandon ship. He also had the marines parade with loaded muskets to prevent anyone from fleeing in panic. The crew either threw overboard or dampened whatever gunpowder they could reach.[13]
After struggling to fight the fire for about 7 hours, but when they were still 15 miles (24 km) from shore, flames suddenly erupted from the hatchways. The crew was able to run Hindostan aground in
Spanish launches ferried survivors from the ship's boats to the shore. The order of rescue was women and children, ship's crew, officers, and the captain. The evacuation was orderly and no more than three men were lost of her 259 people on board, including passengers.[14]{{|efn|One of the surviving passengers was Claudius Rich, who became an Assyriologist, business agent, traveller, and antiquarian scholar.}}
Aftermath
On 19 April a court martial on board Royal Sovereign honourably acquitted Captain Le Gros, his officers, and the ship's company. The board praised Le Gros for his actions in saving so many of Hindostan's crew and passengers. Nelson himself remarked that the preservation of the crew seemed little short of a miracle.[15] The board recommended Hindostan's acting lieutenant, Thomas Banks, to Nelson for promotion for his conduct during the wreck; his promotion to lieutenant was confirmed on 23 June 1804.
The cause of the fire was much debated. It was suggested that the fire may have been due to spontaneous combustion of hemp cordage or sails being stored when not completely dry. Nelson later wrote of the incident, "the fire must have originated from medicine chests breaking down or from wet getting down which causes things to heat. I have never read such a journal of exertions in my whole life."[14][15]
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Winfield (2008), p. 111.
- ^ Naval Chronicle Vol.2, pp.310–311.
- ^ a b c d British Library: Hindostan (1).
- ^ Robbins (1908), p. 355.
- ^ Anderson (1795), p.448.
- ^ Pagani (2001), p. 104.
- ^ Lloyd's List №2791 - accessed 19 September 2019.
- ^ Lloyd's List №2924 - accessed 19 September 2019.
- ^ "No. 15278". The London Gazette. 22 July 1800. p. 844.
- ^ "No. 15518". The London Gazette. 25 September 1802. p. 1040.
- ^ Government of the Cape Colony (1899), Vol. 4, pp.76-7.
- ^ "No. 15736". The London Gazette. 11 September 1804. p. 1149.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 105.
- ^ a b c Gosset (1986), p. 42.
- ^ a b Gilly (1850).
References
- Anderson, Aeneas (1795) Narrative of the British Embassy to China in the Years 1792, 1793 and 1794. (J. Debrett).
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Gilly, William Octavius Shakespeare (1850). Narratives of shipwrecks of the Royal navy between 1793 and 1849. London: John W. Parker.
- Gosset, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
- Government of the Cape Colony (1899) Records of the Cape Colony from February 1793, Vol. 4.
- Hepper, David J (1994). British warship losses in the age of sail, 1650-1859. J. Boudriot. OCLC 36739466.
- Pagani, Catherine (2001). "Eastern magnificence & European ingenuity": clocks of late imperial China. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-472-11208-1.
- Robbins, Helen H (1908). Our first ambassador to China : An account of the life of George, Earl of Macartney, with extracts from his letters, and the narrative of his experiences in China, as told by himself, 1737-1806. London: J. Murray.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.