:Caldicot Castle (1794 ship)
Caldicot Castle (or Caldecot Castle, or Caldecott Castle) was built in 1794 at Caldicot, Monmouthshire. The French captured her twice; the second time she engaged her captor in a single ship action. She also survived the perils of the sea in 1803, 1807, and 1819. She was wrecked in October 1828 and was last listed in 1832.
Career
Caldicot Castle appears in the 1794 volume of Lloyd's Register with P. Driscoll, master, and trade Bristol—Quebec.
On 18 March 1795, as Caldecot Castle, Driscol, master, was sailing from Barcelona to Guernsey, a French squadron of six ships-of-the-line, two frigates, and a corvette captured her off Cape St. Vincent. However, on 30 March, {{HMS|Robust|1764|2}}, of Admiral Colpoy's squadron, recaptured her and took her into Falmouth.{{London Gazette|date=14 April 1795|issue=13770|page=339}}Lloyd's List [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015050998221?urlappend=%3Bseq=65 №2706.] Ten British warships, {{HMS|Astraea|1781|2}}, {{HMS|London|1766|2}}, {{HMS|Colossus|1782|2}}, Robust, {{HMS|Hannibal|1786|2}}, {{HMS|Valiant|1759|2}}, {{HMS|Thalia|1782|2}}, {{HMS|Cerberus|1794|2}}, and {{HMS|Santa Margarita|1779|2}}, shared in the proceeds of Caldicot Castle{{'}}s recapture on 28 March.{{London Gazette|page=1210|issue=13960|date=13 December 1796}}{{London Gazette|issue=13956|pages=1159–1160|date=29 November 1796}}
In January 1803 Caldicot Castle was returning to Liverpool from Quebec when she had to put in at Crookhaven. She had lost her mizzen mast and rudder, and sustained other damage.[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005721504?urlappend=%3Bseq=11 Lloyd's List №4314.]
Lloyd's List reported on 4 May 1804, that privateers had captured {{ship||Sarah|1797 ship|2}}, Cannell, master, Caldicot Castle, Skerrett, master, and {{ship||Hector|1781 ship|2}}, Williams, master, and taken them into Guadeloupe.[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005721504?urlappend=%3Bseq=281 Lloyd's List №4450.]{{efn|Sarah and Hector were slave ships. Hector had disembarked her captives and was returning to Liverpool when she was captured. Sarah was captured on her way from Africa to Demerara.}} Captain Richard Sherrat wrote a letter from Barbados on 14 April in which he described the attack. He had sailed Caldicot Castle from Demerara on 27 February, and by 8 March was about 200 miles east of Guadeloupe when at 8 pm two privateers, a schooner and a ship, came up and opened fire. After about 15 minutes, the schooner had sustained damages and had sheered off. By 9:20 the ship also sheared off but remained in sight. Next morning at 6am the ship recommenced the engagement. After about 15 minutes Sherrat had to strike. Caldicot Castle{{'}}s rigging had been cut to pieces and he and two other men had been wounded, one mortally. The privateer was Grand Decide, which was armed with twenty 9-pounder and two 12-pounder brass guns, and had a crew of 160 men.{{sfnp|Williams|1897|pp=390-1}}{{efn|Grand Décidé was a privateer under Mathieu Goy, commissioned in Guadeloupe in January 1804. She had a crew of 220 men and was armed with twenty-two 8-pounder guns.{{sfnp|Demerliac|2003|loc=№2745|p=321}}}}
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| 1796
| Thompson | M'Iver | Bristol—London | 10 × 4-pounder guns |
| 1797
| Thompson | M'Iver | London—Jamaica | Captain Thomas Oxton acquired a letter of marque on 24 April 1797{{Cite web |url=http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.pdf |title=Letter of Marque, p.54 - accessed 25 July 2017. |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020052005/http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.pdf |archive-date=20 October 2016 |url-status=dead }} |
| 1798
| Oxton | Litt & Co. | Liverpool—Jamaica |8 × 6-pounder guns + 8 × 4-pounder guns |
| 1799
| T. Oxton | Timperon | Liverpool—Jamaica | Captain John Williams acquired a letter of marque on 25 February 1799 |
| 1800
| Williams | Timperon | Liverpool—Jamaica | |
| 1801
| Williams | Timperon | Liverpool—Jamaica | Captain William Smith acquired a letter of marque on 18 October 1800 |
| 1802
| W. Smith | Timperon | Liverpool—Jamaica | |
| 1803
| W. Smith | Timperon | Liverpool—Jamaica | |
| 1804
| R. Skerrett | Jones & Co. | Liverpool—Barbados | |
Caldicott Castle returned to British hands, though how is not clear. Her entry in Lloyd's Register for 1805 is marked "captured", but also shows a change of master.
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| 1805
| R. Sherrad | Jones & Co. | Liverpool—Barbados | Six guns |
| 1806
| A. M'Neil | Dowson & Co. | London transport | |
On 18 November 1817 Lloyd's List reported that Caldicot Castle had arrived at Portsmouth, having sailed from Malta via Gibraltar in company with several other transports until heavy weather had separated them.[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015005778173?urlappend=%3Bseq=210 Lloyd's List №5230.]
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| 1816
| Carr | Dowson | London transport | |
| 1817
| | | | Lloyd's Register unavailable/not published |
| 1818
| Carr | Dowson & Co. | London transport | |
| 1819
| Carr | Dowson & Co. | London transport | |
On 4 December 1819, Caldicott Castle ran aground and was severely damaged at Sunderland, County Durham."Ship News". The Hull Packet and Original Weekly Commercial, Literary and General Advertiser. 14 December 1819.
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| 1820
| J. Hart | Capt. & Co. | Hull-"Kanda" | Large repair 1820 |
| 1821
| J. Hart | Capt. & Co. | Hull-"Kinda" | |
| 1822
| J. Hart | Captain & Co. | Hull—"Kinda" | |
| 1823
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1824
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1825
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1826
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1827
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1828
| Charlton | Laings | Plymouth-Quebec | |
| 1829
| Hicks | S. Keene | Dublin—Dantzig | |
| 1830
| Hicks | S. Keene | Dublin—Dantzig | |
Fate
It was reported on 20 October 1828, that Caldicot Castle had struck a rock and sunk at Milford but by 15 October, had been raised and pulled up on Laurenny Beach."SHIP NEWS", 20 October 1828, Morning Post (London, England), issue: 18049. Caldicot Castle was last listed in 1832.
Notes
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Citations
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References
- {{cite book | last=Demerliac | first=Alain | title=La marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: nomenclature des navires français de 1800 à 1815 | publisher=Éd. Ancre | year=2003 | isbn=2-903179-30-1 | oclc=162449062 | language=fr | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dBZGQAACAAJ}}
- {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Gomer | year = 1897 | title = History of the Liverpool Privateers and Letters of Marque: With an Account of the Liverpool Slave Trade | publisher = W. Heinemann }}
{{1804 shipwrecks}}
{{1819 shipwrecks}}
{{1828 shipwrecks}}
Category:Age of Sail merchant ships
Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Maritime incidents in 1803
Category:Maritime incidents in 1804