''Nancy'' was a schooner or ship launched at Bombay. In 1778 the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

(EIC) government at Bengal acquired her to use as a warship at

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. The EIC Board of Governors in London vetoed the idea and ''Nancy'' became an express

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

. She made two voyages from Bengal to Ireland between 1782 and 1784, and was wrecked on the second of these.

Career

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

, Governor-General of Bengal wanted to create a small navy at

like the EIC's Bombay Marine, in order to combat pirates and French privateers. He acquired four vessels, the smallest of which was ''Nancy''. Captain Heffernan was appointed her captain. Reportedly, Heffernan retired and sailed to Cork in 1781. When the Board of Governors of the EIC in London vetoed the project the EIC decided to use ''Nancy'' as an express packet. She sailed from

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

on 1 March 1782 under the command of Captain George Hifferman, and arrived at Cork on 15 July 1782. Records in the British Library state that Captain John Haldane left India on 1 April 1782, and left Cork on 19 January 1783.British Library: ''Nancy'' (1).
/ref> Hardy's information agrees that ''Nancy'' left Cork on 19 January 1783 bound for Bengal and under the command of Captain Haldane.

Loss

''Nancy'' was lost off the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

on 9 February 1784, or 24 February. ''Nancy'' struck the Gilstone in the Western Rocks and sank in deeper water near Rosevear Ledges. When she sank, she was carrying actress Ann Cargill and her young child; Cargill was Haldane's lover or wife. Some of the crew and passengers took to a small boat that was dashed on Rosevear killing all aboard. In total 36 crew, 12 passengers, and 1 prisoner drowned.

Post-script

In 2008 the Islands Maritime Archaeological Group (IMAG) fortuitously found what they believe is the wreck site, east of the Rosevear Ledges.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nancy (1778 EIC ship) 1774 ships Ships of the British East India Company Maritime incidents in 1784