Porcher (1799 ship)

''Porcher'' was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her ''Ville de Bordeaux''. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her ''Cambridge''. As ''Cambridge'' she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The British Royal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1841 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.

''Porcher''

Captain Benjamin Blake sailed ''Porcher'' from Calcutta on 5 February 1800. On 17 February she passed Kedgeree. She reached Madras on 31 March and St Helena on 24 June. She arrived at the Downs on 23 September.

''Porcher'' entered ''Lloyd's Register'' in the supplemental pages to the 1800 issue. It shows B. Blake as owner and master, her origin as Calcutta, and trade as London-India.''Lloyd's Register'' (1800).
/ref> ''Porcher'' was admitted to registry in Great Britain on 21 January 1801.

On 28 January 1801 Blake sailed ''Porcher'' for Calcutta. She left Calcutta on 18 February 1802 for England. On the way, the French privateer ''Bellone'' intercepted her on 24 February 1802 and captured her. ''Porcher'' arrived at Île de France on 9 April as a prize to ''Bellone''.

In August, an American ship brought letters reporting that ''Bellona'' had captured ''Porcher'' in the Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, though both captor and captive had copies of the "Preliminaries of Peace", the expectation was that ''Porcher'' and her cargo would be condemned. ''Lloyd's List'' reported on 13 August that ''Bellona'' had captured ''Porcher'', ''Tay'', and ''Highland Chief''.''Lloyd's List'' №4281.
/ref>

In June 1802, sailed to Île de France having on board a number of French prisoners, who had been detained in Bengal. The prisoners were under the charge of Mr. Campbell, whom the Bengal Government had also charged with negotiating with the Governor of Île de France for the release of ''Tay'', ''Highland Chief'', and ''Porcher''. The vessels and their cargoes were estimated to be worth £100,000.

Blake and the master of ''Tay'' protested the seizures. ''Lloyd's List'' reported on 28 December 1802 that ''Highland Chief'', ''Porcher'', and ''Tay'' had been condemned.

''Porcher'' arrived at Bordeaux on 18 February 1803. There she was again condemned and sold to local buyers who named her ''Ville de Bordeaux''. In 1804 the British recaptured her and she reverted to the name ''Porcher''. She then continued in private trade in India.

In 1809 she sailed to England. In March 1810 ''Porcher'' sold some lots of ebony wood that remained unclaimed in the EIC’s warehouse in London and that in 1817 the EIC stated that it would sell if not immediately reclaimed.

In London new owners renamed her ''Cambridge''. In London, Pitcher & Co. measured her in 1810 for charter to the EIC. ''Cambridge'' was admitted to the registry of Great Britain on 30 May 1810.

''Cambridge''

On Friday 9 October 1810, the EIC chartered ''Cambridge'' from "Lestock Wilson, Esq." for one voyage at a rate of £33 7 s 6 d per ton (burthen).

On 1 March 1811 Captain Charles Morlock received a letter of marque against the French for ''Cambridge''. Mortlock sailed ''Cambridge'' from Torbay on 12 May, bound for Madras and Bengal. She reached Madeira on 2 June, and Madras on 26 September. She arrived at Diamond Harbour on 13 November. Homeward bound, she passed Saugor on 4 January 1812 and reached St Helena on 12 May. She arrived at Long Reach on 27 July.

Captain James Toussaint received letter of marque №284 against America. Under his command, ''Cambridge'' left China on 15 March 1815, reached St Helena on 5 July, and arrived at the Downs in September.

Captain John Freeman sailed ''Cambridge'' from Plymouth on 20 March 1816, bound for China. She reached St Helena on 28 May, and Batavia on 5 September. She arrived at Whampoa on 29 October. Homeward-bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 22 January 1817, reached St Helena on 10 April, and arrived at Long Reach on 8 June.

In 1818 Thomas Heath purchased ''Cambridge'' for use as a licensed ship sailing to the Far East.

The table below uses data from ''Lloyd's Register'' and the ''Register of Shipping''. It is clearly inaccurate in many details. The entries were only as accurate as owners chose to keep them.

Between 1825 and 1827 ''Cambridge'' made two more voyages for the EIC, both one-way.

On 1 June 1825 Captain James Barber sailed ''Cambridge'' from Portsmouth, bound for Bombay. She arrived there on 13 October.British library: ''Cambridge'' (2).
/ref>

Captain James Barber sailed from Plymouth on 6 July 1826, bound for Madras and Bengal. ''Cambridge'' reached Madras on 8 November and Penang on 23 December. She arrived at Kedgeree on 19 January 1827.

Chinese warship

''Cambridge'' is no longer listed in ''Lloyd's Register'' after 1840. The reason is that Douglas sailed her from Bombay to Canton with a cargo of opium and cotton. On the way he stopped at Singapore and purchased twenty-eight 6-pounder and four 12-pounder guns to add to the six carronades that she already carried.

At Canton, Douglas convinced Charles Elliot, the chief superintendent at Canton, to charter ''Cambridge'' as a ''de facto'' warship to protect British shipping in the Pearl River delta. As soon as he could, Elliot ended the hire of ''Cambridge''.

An American trading house in Canton purchased ''Cambridge'', and renamed her ''Chesapeake''. However, Elliot had insisted that Douglas ship her guns back to India before he sold her.

The Americans then sold ''Chesapeake'' at the onset of the First Opium War. The Qing Dynasty purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. Because ''Cambridge/Chesapeake'' was unarmed, the Chinese armed her with a motley collection of local guns.

Fate

On 27 February 1841 a British Royal Navy flotilla sailed up the Pearl River and attacked Chinese artillery batteries on First Bar Island. ''Cambridge'' and a fleet of Chinese War Junks sailed out of Canton to counter them.

In the ensuing Battle of First Bar, ''Cambridge'' engaged the British, but her crew abandoned her when British cannon fire overwhelmed her. Seamen and marines from boarded ''Cambridge'' and set her on fire. Eventually the ship's magazine detonated, creating a sound so loud British dispatches reported that it "must have been heard in Canton."

Notes, citations, and references

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcher (1799 ship)
1799 ships
British ships built in India
Ships of the British East India Company
Captured ships
Age of Sail merchant ships
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Merchant ships of China
Maritime incidents in February 1841
Merchant ships of France
Merchant ships of the United States