HMS Weymouth (1804)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Wellesley |
| Namesake: | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington |
| Owner: | Lambert & Co. |
| Builder: | Hugh Edwards, Jonathan Gillett, & Michael Larkins, Calcutta |
| Launched: | 7 June 1796 |
| Fate: | Sold 1804 |
 UK
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| Name: | HMS Weymouth |
| Acquired: | May 1804 |
| Reclassified: |
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| Fate: | Sold on 2 July 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 44-gun fifth rate |
| Tons burthen: | 826 bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 37 ft (11.3 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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HMS Weymouth was a 44-gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy. She was previously the country ship, i.e., India-built, merchantman Wellesley, built in Calcutta in 1796. She successfully defended herself against a French frigate, and made two voyages to Britain as an East Indiaman for the East India Company. The Admiralty purchased her in May 1804; she then became a storeship in 1806. On her last voyage for the Royal Navy, in 1820, she carried settlers to South Africa. She was then laid up in ordinary. In 1828 she was converted to a prison ship and sailed to Bermuda where she served as a prison hulk until 1865 when she was sold for breaking up.
In late 1799 the Commissioners of the Navy engaged Bellona and Wellesley to "convey stores, &c. to the different Settlements in India, on account of Government."
Wellesley was under the command of Captain Peter Gordon on 9 August 1800 when she encountered the French 36-gun frigate Franchise off the coast of Brazil. Wellesley was carrying provisions and stores for the fleet at the Cape and India; her crew consisted mostly of lascars and Chinese. The French frigate was the sole survivor from a surprising defeat of a French squadron in the Action of 4 August 1800. Captain Pierre Jurien, of Franchise, attacked Wellesley, but Gordon succeeded in driving him off. Gordon had about ninety men, including passengers. The engagement lasted about an hour and although the frigate had 12-pounder guns to Wellesley's 9 and 6-pounders, the British suffered no casualties. The frigate tailed the British for some two days, but then gave up.
Wellesley's insurance company presented Gordon with a sugar bowl. tray, and pair of candlesticks, all inscribed, "Presented by the Bengal Phoenix Insurance Society to Capt. P. Gordon of the Wellesley for defending that ship against a French Frigate of 36 Guns on the coast of Brazil, the 9th of August 1800".
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Wikipedia