''Atlas'' was a 501-ton sailing ship that was built at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and launched in 1811. In 1814 she successfully defended herself in a

single-ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

with an American privateer. In 1816 she transported

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and afterwards disappeared off the coast of India in 1817.

Career

''Atlas'' entered ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' in 1812 with W. Parker, master, changing to Fairclough, T. Barrick, owner, and trade London transport. On 9 January 1813 ''Atlas'' was at Lisbon when she lost an anchor in a gale. A number of other transports were either lost or seriously damaged in the same gale. The number of transports involved suggests that they were their in connection with the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. The transport ''Atlas'', Fairclough, master, arrived at

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 19 August 1814. She had on 17 August repelled an attack by the American privateer ''York'', of 14 guns and 150 men. ''Atlas'' had only 10 guns and 27 men and boys on board, including three passengers. Convict voyage (1816): Under the command of Walter Meriton, she sailed from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England on 23 January 1816, and arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

on 22 July. She embarked 194 male convicts, seven of whom died on the voyage. A detachment of 34 men of the 89th Regiment of Foot provided the guard. ''Atlas'' left Port Jackson on 12 September bound for Batavia.

Loss

On 29 July 1817, ''Atlas'' dropped the pilot at Sandheads, at the mouth of the River Ganges, as she sailed from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

to London. She was not heard from again. ''Lloyd's Register'' continued to carry ''Atlas'', with Meriton, master, and trade London—Botany Bay, to the 1821 volume. The ''Register of Shipping'' carried the same information to the 1822 volume.

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References

* * * {{italic title 1811 ships Ships built in Whitby Convict ships to New South Wales Ships of the British East India Company Maritime incidents in 1817 Age of Sail merchant ships Missing ships Ships lost with all hands