Prince Blucher (1815 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
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| Name: | Prince Blucher |
| Namesake: | Prince Blucher |
| Owner: | C. Blaney |
| Builder: | Chittagong |
| Launched: | 1815 |
| Fate: | Wrecked 1821; broken up in 1824 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ship |
| Tons burthen: | 691, (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Notes: | Teak-built |
Prince Blucher was launched at Chittagong in 1815. She made one voyage for the British East India Company. She participated in two and possibly three rescues, one particularly notable, and was wrecked in 1821. Condemned, she was laid up and later broken up in 1824.
First rescue – Frances Charlotte: Frances Charlotte left Batavia on 18 September 1816 bound for Bengal, carrying the 78th Highlanders regiment, together with their wives and children. On 5 November she struck a sunken reef off Preparis. On 10 November Prince Blucher, Captain Weathrall, was sailing in the vicinity when she spied wreckage. Weathrall investigated and when he saw a signal fire and stopped to render assistance. Between 11 and 14 November Prince Blucher was able to rescue some 316 men, women, and children before bad weather forced her to leave. She took the survivors to Calcutta, where the Bengal Government dispatched two cruizers to rescue the 130 or so remaining survivors.
At Calcutta, Weathrall and his men received great praise for their efforts. The Governor-General, on behalf of the government of Bengal, awarded Weathrall 5000 sicca rupees for plate. It also awarded money to his officers and crew. The merchants of Calcutta too awarded Weathrall with an engraved silver plate.
EIC voyage (1817): Captain M. T. Weathrall sailed from Calcutta on 1 February 1817. Prince Blucher reached the Cape of Good Hope on 29 April, and arrived at Portsmouth on 30 June. She had carried some of the surviving 78th Highlanders.
Second rescue: Captain Weathrall sailed Prince Blucher from England on 23 August and Madeira on 21 September. On 21 January 1818 she encountered at 20°00′N 87°56′E / 20.000°N 87.933°E a boat of pilgrims that had been driven out to sea from Saugor some nine day earlier. They were completely without food or water. Eight had died, two died after Prince Blucher got them aboard, and one more died thereafter. Still, Weathrall was able to bring safely into Calcutta, "eight Brahmans, four women, and twenty-six Bengalees".
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Wikipedia