Diamond (1798 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain
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| Name: | Diamond |
| Owner: |
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| Launched: | 1798, Quebec |
| Captured: | October 1805 |
| Notes: | Clayton has some discrepant information re Diamond's career as a whaler, but the information in the other sources is more compelling and consistent across sources. |
 France
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| Name: | Diamant |
| Acquired: | October 1805 By capture |
| Decommissioned: | January 1809 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Full-rigged ship |
| Tons burthen: |
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| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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Diamond was launched in 1798 at Quebec. French privateers captured her three times, the third time retaining her. In between she carried slaves. Her third capture occurred while she was on a whaling voyage. Her last voyage took her from Île de France to Bordeaux where she was decommissioned in January 1809.
Diamond enters Lloyd's Register in 1800 with Anderson, master, Beatson, owner, and trade London-Halifax.
The French privateer Grand Décidé captured "The Diamond Transport, from Halifax to Portsmouth" around end-October 1800. On 1 November the Royal Navy Cutter Viper recaptured Diamond.Viper sent Diamond into Falmouth.
In 1801 Diamond's ownership changed. The entry in Lloyd's Register is illegible, but the entry in the 1802 issue shows her master as Clark, her owner as Parry & Co., and her trade as London-Africa.
On 24 August 1801 Captain James Clark received a letter of marque.Diamond then made two slave trading voyages under Clark. In 1802 Diamond delivered slaves to Trinidad. Then in 1803 she delivered a cargo to Cuba. As Diamond was returning from Havana on 9 August she encountered the French privateer Bellona, which took her captive. However, HMS Goliath recaptured Diamond on the 12th and sent her into The Downs. A few days later Diamond ran on shore a few miles below Gravesend and bilged.
Next, Diamond became a whaling ship for J. Hill & Co. with destination the South Seas. Captain Mark Munro (or Monro) received a letter of marque on 31 August 1804, and sailed her from Britain on 17 September 1804 with destination Isle of Desolation. She was at Desolation on 25 February 1805. She was also reported to have been "all well" there on 5 May.
On 10 November, the French privateer Napoléon captured Diamond in the Mosambique Channel, after a three-day chase. Then on 10 December Napoléon captured Hercules. The capture occurred off Cape Agulhas as Hercules was returning to England from Bombay, and Napoléon sent her into Port Louis. At her capture, Hercules was carrying a cargo of cotton.. In November 1805, Napoléon brought the prisoners from Hercules and from Diamond into the Cape Colony, then in Dutch hands. There Alex Tennant, resident in the Cape, arranged at his own expense for the prisoners to be sent to St Helena. The Danish ship Beshriermerin arrived at St Helena on 6 January 1806 with the British crews.
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Wikipedia