Ganges (1792 ship)

Ganges was a 700-ton (bm) merchantman launched in India in 1792. She made one voyage under contract to the East India Company (EIC), and one in 1797 transporting convicts from England to New South Wales. She disappears from the registers after 1802.

For other ships with the same name, see Ganges (Age of Sail merchant ship) and Ganges (East India Company ship).

History
Great Britain
NameGanges
NamesakeGanges
OwnerThomas Patrickson
BuilderIndia
Launched1792[1]
FateNo longer listed in Lloyd's Register for 1803
General characteristics
Tons burthen617,[2] or 700[1] (bm)
Complement80
Armament12 x 6 & 4-pounder guns,[2] or 12 × 6-pounder guns[3][4]
NotesTeak-built[3]

Career

EIC voyage #1 (1796)

Ganges, under the command of Thomas Patrickson, left Bengal on 1 February 1796. She was carrying rice on behalf of the British government, which was importing grain to address high prices for wheat in Britain following a poor harvest.[5]

See also: Transport vessels for the British Government's importation of rice from Bengal (1795–1796)

Ganges reached St Helena on 7 April, and arrived at Long Reach on 10 June.[6][Note 1]

On 17 September 1796 Thomas Patrickson received a letter of marque for Ganges.[2]

Convict transport (1797)

Ganges appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) of 1797 with Patrickson as master and owner, and trade London–Botany Bay.[3]

Patrickson sailed Ganges from Portsmouth, England, in early 1797, and she arrived at Port Jackson on 2 June 1797.[7] She transported 203 male convicts, 13 of whom died on the voyage.[8] This was despite Sir James Fitzpatrick, the Home Department's surgeon-general, having ordered the installation of ventilators and water purifiers, and the stocking of fumigants and medicines. Patrickson had asked for 300 convicts, but the request was refused.[9] The guards were a detachment from the New South Wales Corps.

Ganges left Port Jackson in December 1797 bound for China.[10]

Lloyd's Register for 1799 shows Ganges, Patrickson, master, Captain and company as owners, and with trade London-Botany Bay. This entry continued unchanged through 1802, even though there were changes in reality.

Notes
  1. The British Library entry combines this Ganges's voyage and one by Ganges (1799 ship).

Citations
  1. Hackman (2001), p. 232.
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.44 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. LR (1797), Seq.№G13.
  4. Lloyd's Register (1799), Seq. №12.
  5. House of Commons (1812), Appendix 34, p.502.
  6. British Library: Ganges (2).
  7. Bateson (1959), p. 139.
  8. Bateson (1959), p. 153.
  9. Bateson (1959), p. 152.
  10. "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.16. Retrieved 4 February 2012.

References
  • Bateson, Charles (1959). The Convict Ships. Brown, Son & Ferguson. OCLC 3778075.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
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