Warley (East Indiaman)
Encyclopedia
The Warley 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.
. 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.
having broken out, Wilson took out a second letter of marque, this one dated 20 June 1803. She left Britain on 6 May 1803 with destination China. It was on the return leg of this voyage that Warley had her greatest moment of glory.
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.
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.
Warley played a significant part and the Patriotic Society voted him 500 guinea
s 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.
Warley arrived back in Britain on 14 August 1804.
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
'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
Battle of Pulo Aura
The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large squadron of Honourable East India Company East Indiamen, powerful and well armed merchant ships, intimidated, drove off and chased a powerful French naval squadron...
. 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 YardBlackwall Yard
Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...
. Perry built her predecessor in 1788; in 1795 the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
sold the first of Perry's Warleys to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, which renamed her HMS Calcutta
HMS Calcutta (1795)
HMS Calcutta was an East Indiaman converted to a Royal Navy 56-gun fourth rate. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia in a voyage that became a circumnavigation of the world. The French 74-gun Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805...
.
Warley
Voyages 1, 2 & 3
Warley sailed under a letter of marque dated 1 January 1797, which named Wilson as the captain.- Voyage 1: The destination was the coast of India and China. Warley left on 19 March 1797 and arrived back in British waters on 22 October 1798.
- Voyage 2: The destination was China. She left on 18 June 1799 and returned on 2 October 1800.
- Voyage 3: The destination was China. She left on 19 May 1801 and returned on 9 September 1802.
Voyage 4: the Battle of Pulo Aura
The Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
having broken out, Wilson took out a second letter of marque, this one dated 20 June 1803. She left Britain on 6 May 1803 with destination China. It was on the return leg of this voyage that Warley had her greatest moment of glory.
Nathaniel Dance
Sir Nathaniel Dance was an officer of the Honourable East India Company who had a long and varied career on merchant vessels, making numerous voyages to India and back with the fleets of East Indiamen...
, 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
Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois
Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linois was a French admiral during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. He won a victory over the British at the Battle of Algeciras in 1801 and was reasonably successful in a campaign against British trade in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea in...
, who hoped to seize as many of them as he could.
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
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
escorting the convoy. A skirmish ensued with the result that Linois, somewhat inexplicably, withdrew.
Warley played a significant part and the Patriotic Society voted him 500 guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
s 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.
Warley arrived back in Britain on 14 August 1804.
Voyages 5 to 9
- Voyage 5: Wilson sailed Warley to China. She left on 25 April 1805 and returned on 7 September 1806.
- Voyage 6: Captain William Augustus Montague took over command. He sailed Warley to Madras, Ceylon, Bombay and China. She left on 22 June 1807 and returned on 10 December 1809. Her itinerary was Portsmouth, Simons BaySimon's TownSimon's Town , sometimes spelled Simonstown; is a town in South Africa, near Cape Town which is home to the South African Navy. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. For more than two centuries it has been an important naval base and harbour...
, Cape of Good Hope, Madras, Colombo, TellicherryThalasseryThalassery , also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India. This is the second largest city of North Malabar in terms of population. The name Tellicherry is the anglicized form of Thalassery. Thalassery municipality has a population just less than 100,000. Established...
, ManagaloreMangaloreMangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, Bombay, Penang, WhampoaWhampoaWhampoa is the old English transliteration of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, in China.From there, it derives its other meanings, and can also refer to:* Relating to the Whampoa district:...
, St Helena, and Blackwall.
- Voyage 7: Captain John Collins left Portsmouth on 8 April 1811 for China via Simons Bay and Penang, arriving at Whampoa on 22 October. She left the Pearl RiverPearl River (China)The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...
on 12 January 1812 and returned on 14 May, having stopped in St Helena.
- Voyage 8: Collins left Portsmouth on 18 March 1813 for Madras and China. She sailed via Tenerife and JohannaAnjouanAnjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...
(Comoro IslandsComoro IslandsThe Comoros Islands form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. They are divided between the sovereign state of Comoros and the French overseas department of Mayotte...
), arriving at Madras on 9 August. She then sailed via Penang and Malacca, arriving at Whampoa on 25 October. She left on 22 February 1814 and by 6 August was in the Downs, having stopped at St Helena on the way.
- Voyage 9: Collins left the Downs on 3 April 1815 and reached Whampoa on 11 September. She left on 3 December and on 29 April arrived at the Downs, having stopped at St Helena. This was her last voyage.
Notable passengers
- The first academic director of the Royal Naval CollegeRoyal Naval AcademyThe Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, education and admission.-Training:In 1773, a shore side...
, PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, when it commenced operations in 1808, was Professor James InmanJames InmanJames Inman was an English mathematician, professor of mathematics at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth.He was born at Tod Hole in Garsdale, the younger son of Richard Inman and Jane Hutchinson. He was educated at Sedbergh Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge, graduating as first...
, who had returned to Britain from Port JacksonPort JacksonPort Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
on the Warley. He was on board during the Battle of Pulo Auro and commanded a party of Lascar pikemenPike (weapon)A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
.
- The marine painter Clarkson Stanfield joined the merchant service under the name "Patrick Bland" as a seaman on board the Warley and sailed for China in 1815. He made numerous sketches on the voyage, which gave him material for his subsequent career.