Margaret (1804 Ship)

''Margaret'' was launched at Calcutta in 1804 and cost 59,000 sicca rupees to build. Shortly after her launch she sailed to England for the British East India Company (EIC). Captain Benjamin Fergusson sailed from Calcutta on 3 December 1805. She was at Saugor on 14 February 1806. She reached Saint Helena on 29 April and arrived at The Downs on 24 June.

In England she was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain on 6 August. A government report states that she became a West Indiaman, but there is no confirmatory evidence. Despite having been admitted to the British registry, ''Margaret'' does not appear in ''Lloyd's Register''. She does appear in the ''Register of Shipping'' in 1809 with Ferguson, master and owner, and trade London–India.''Register of Shipping'' (1809), Seq.№M80.
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The French captured ''Margaret'' in the Persian Gulf in 1808. Captain H. Wilson reported that the French naval felucca ''Entreprenante'' (or ), Lieutenant Pierre Bouvet, captured ''Margaret'' on 9 February 1808. The felucca initiated the chase the day before at point about 63 miles SSW of Bombay as ''Margaret'' was bound for Basra. and after a long chase and an exchange of fire, Wilson struck to ''Entreprenant''.''The Asiatic Annual Register, Or, A View of the History of ..., Volume 10'' (1811), pp.188-9.

The French immediately put their captives on ''Entreprenant'', and took over ''Margaret'' (or ''Marguerite''), which they then sailed to Île de France. When he switched his vessels, Bouvet called his prize ''Entreprenant'' as well.

''Margaret/Entreprenant'' arrived at Port-Napoleon, Île de France, in April. One French source describes her as a brand new 10-gun brig of the British East India Company. Her fate subsequent to her arrival at Île de France is blurry. She may have been sold into commerce in November.

When Bouvet put Wilson and his crew on board the felucca, Bouvet did not mention that the felucca also had on board the crew of a local vessel ''Entreprenant'' had captured off Kutch. After the French left, these men came on deck armed and forced Wilson and his men into the forecastle, where they remained in captivity for six days on minimal rations of biscuits and water. Eventually their captors left Wilson and his men at Danou.

Note: It is possible that the sources are conflating two ''Margaret''s. The British Library gives ''Margaret''s origin as Chittagong, her managing owners as Downie & Maitland, and her burthen as 250 tons, but her master as Benjamin Fergusson. The other sources, which are not entirely independent of each other, give her owner and master as Benjamin Fergusson, her origin as Calcutta, and her burthen as 275 tons. Phipps is in the second group, but also reports that there was a ''Margaret'', of 300 tons (bm), launched at Chittagong in 1794. A report from 1809 lists a ''Margaret'', of 250 tons, owned by Downie and Maitland, with John Kitson, master.''Reports and Papers...'' (1809), p.241.

Citations

References

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*''Reports and Papers on the Impolicy of Employing Indian Built Ships in the Trade of the East-India Company, and of Admitting Them to British Registry: With Observation on Its Injurious Consequences to the Landed and Shipping Interests, and to the Numerous Branches of Trade Dependent on the Building and Equipment of British-built Ships''. (1809). (Blacks and Parry).
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* {{cite book, last1=Winfield, first1=Rif, last2=Roberts, first2=Stephen S., year=2015, title=French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates, publisher=Seaforth Publishing, location=, isbn=978-1-84832-204-2

1804 ships
British ships built in India
Ships of the British East India Company
Age of Sail merchant ships of England
Captured ships
Brigs of the French Navy