Warley (1796 ship)

For other ships of the same name, see Warley (East Indiaman).
The East Indiaman 'Warley', Robert Salmon, 1801, National Maritime Museum
History
East India CompanyGreat Britain
Name: Warley
Owner:
  • Voyages 1-6:Henry Boulton
  • Voyages 7-9:Martin Lindsay
Builder: Perry & Co., Blackwall
Launched: 15 November 1796[1]
Fate: Broken up 1816
General characteristics
Type: East Indiaman
Tons burthen: 1498, or 14706094[1] (bm)
Length: 176 ft 5 in (53.8 m) (overall); 143 ft 5 58 in (43.7 m) (keel)
Beam: 43 ft 9 in (13.3 m)
Depth of hold: 17 ft 6 12 in (5.3 m)
Complement: 140[2]
Armament:
  • 1st letter of marque:34 x 18-pounder guns + 12 x 6-pounder guns.[2]
  • 2nd letter of marque:32 x 18-pounder guns + 12 x 6-pounder guns.

The Warley, launched in 1796, was a 1475-ton East Indiaman and one of the East India Company's larger and more famous vessels. She made nine voyages to the East between 1796 and 1816, most direct to China. In 1804 she participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. In 1816, the company sold her for breaking up.

Origins

She was the second East Indiaman under that name that John Perry built at his yard in Blackwall Yard. Perry built her predecessor in 1788; in 1795 the East India Company sold the first of Perry's Warleys to the Royal Navy, which renamed her HMS Calcutta.

Warley's captain for her first five voyages was Henry Wilson, who had also been captain of the first Warley for her two voyages.[3]

Voyages 1, 2 and 3

Warley sailed under a letter of marque dated 1 January 1797, which named Wilson as the captain.[2]

Voyage 4: the Battle of Pulo Aura

The Napoleonic Wars having broken out, Wilson took out a second letter of marque, this one dated 20 June 1803.[2] Warley left Britain on 6 May 1803 for China.[7] It was on the return leg of this voyage that Warley had her greatest moment of glory.

Defeat of Adml. Linois by Commodore Dance, Feby. 15th. 1804, by William Daniel

Wilson, in Warley, was second in command to Nathaniel Dance, who commanded the East Indiamen that were sailing in convoy back from China. As they were passing through the Straits of Malacca, they encountered a French squadron under Rear-Admiral the Comte de Linois, who hoped to seize as many of them as he could.[8]

Dance ordered his fleet to form a line of battle, while creating a bluff that four of his Indiamen were a squadron of ships of the line escorting the convoy. A skirmish ensued with the result that Linois, somewhat inexplicably, withdrew.[8]

Warley played a significant part and Lloyd's Patriotic Fund voted Wilson 500 guineas and a piece of plate worth 50 guineas. All the other captains received similar awards, with the officers and crews also receiving awards. Dance refused a baronetcy but was subsequently knighted.[8]

Warley arrived back in Britain on 14 August 1804.[7]

Voyages 5 to 9

Fate

Warley was sold on 26 July 1816 at Lloyd's Coffee House for breaking up.[1]

Notable passengers

Citations and references

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Hackman (2001), pp.211-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Letter of Marque, - accessed 15 May 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Archives
  4. Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.183.
  5. Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.198.
  6. Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.211.
  7. 1 2 Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.228.
  8. 1 2 3 Hardy and Hardy (1811), pp. 119-125.
  9. Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.245.
  10. Hardy and Hardy (1811), p.246.
  11. Dickins (2007), p.47.

References

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