Sylph (1791 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Sylph (ship).

Great Britain
Name	Sylph
Namesake	Sylph
Owner	W. Reynolds, Will. Holt, and Nath. Langborne, the latter in trust for Geo. Langborne, a minor[1]
Builder	Reynolds and Co.[1]
Launched	1791
Fate	Captured 1798
General characteristics
Tons burthen	312,[2] or 320,[1] or 328[3] (bm)
Complement	28[3]
Armament	10 × 6-pounder guns + 5 swivel guns[3]

Sylph was launched at Whitby in 1791. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to New South Wales and China. However, a French privateer captured her in 1798 as she was returning to England.

Career

Sylph shifted her registration to London and entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1792 with A. Ward, master, J. Jackson, owner, and trade London–Saint Petersburg.[2]

Lloyd's Register for 1796 showed Sylph's master changing from A. Ward to J. White. Her owner changed from J. Jackson to P. Faith, and her trade changed from London–Saint Petersburg to London–Botany Bay.[4]

Captain John White acquired a letter of marque 14 June 1796.[3] On 10 June he sailed for Botany Bay and China.[5]

Sylph arrived at Port Jackson from England with merchandise on 12 November. She left for China on 6 December.[6]

Fate

Lloyd's List reported on 20 March 1798 that Sylph was homeward bound from China when she parted from the convoy to the west of Cape Clear. It was believed that she had been captured.[7] The French privateer Buonaparte captured her on 3 March at 51°18′N 21°00′W.[8][a] The EIC valued the cargo it had lost on Sylph at £32,542.[10]

Notes

1. Buonaparte was probably a 75-ton (bm) brig from Bayonne, commissioned in June 1797 under Louis Boulanger with 10-13 officers, 62-67 men, and 14 guns.[9]

Citations

1. Weatherill (1908), p. 91.
2. LR (1792), Seq.№S504.
3. "Letter of Marque, p.88 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
4. LR (1796), Seq.№S460.
5. Hackman (2001), p. 244.
6. "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday. 3 January 1891. p. 17. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
7. Lloyd's List №2988.
8. Lloyd's List №2988.
9. Demerliac (1999), p. 275, No.2435.
10. House of Commons (1830), p. 979.

References

• Demerliac, Alain (1999). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-24-1.
• 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 (1830). Reports 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. Vol. 2. Printed by order of the honourable court of directors, by J.L. Cox.
• Weatherill, Richard (1908). The ancient port of Whitby and its shipping. Whitby: Horne and Son.