''Milford'' was built at Bombay in 1786 for Pestonjee Bomanjee and John Tasker. She was a country ship that traded around India and between India and China, though she also traded with England. She made one voyage for the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

(EIC). She was lost at

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 ...

in August 1829.

Career

''Milford'' was among the country ships (British ships sailing between India and China) reported at Canton in 1789. Captain William Henderson acquired a letter of marque on 16 July 1796. ''Milford'' appears in ''

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'' in 1797 with Henderson, master, R. Bruce, owner, and trade London—East Indies.''Lloyd's Register'' (1797), Seq. №M448.
/ref> This entry continued unchanged, except for the substitution of "India" for "East Indies", through the 1803 volume. Henderson remained ''Milford''s master in 1799–1800. during this time he apparently sailed her to China. The government engaged ''Milford'' as a transport to support General Sir David Baird's expedition to the Red Sea, which in turn had the objective of supporting General Sir

Ralph Abercrombie Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...

at the

battle of Alexandria Battle of Alexandria, Raid on Alexandria, or Siege of Alexandria may refer to one of these military operations fought in or near the city of Alexandria, Egypt: * Siege of Alexandria (169 BC), during the Syrian Wars * Siege of Alexandria (47 BC), ...

. ''Milford'' was next listed in ''Lloyd's Register'' in 1806 with Douglas, master, Bruce & Co., owners, and trade Bombay—

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 ...

.''Lloyd's Register'' (1806), Supple. Seq. №M25.
/ref> EIC voyage (1805–1806): Captain George Douglas sailed from Bombay on 21 October 1805, bound for England. ''Milford'' reached

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on 22 January 1806 and Cork on 6 April; She arrived on 27 April in the Downs. In 1810 ''Milford'' carried cotton and hemp to England. The next year she carried 7,978 piculs of cotton to China. The ''Register of Shipping'' (''RS'') for 1815 showed ''Milford'' with J.Douglas, master, Bruce & Co., owners, and trade Cork–India.''RS'' (1815), Seq.№M1068.
/ref> On 20 December 1815 ''Milford'', Bowles, master, was returning to London from Bombay when she ran onshore on the south end of Deal. In doing so she lost her rudder and sustained some damage. The deal boatmen got her off and took her into the Downs. On 5 March 1816, ''Milford''s owners applied for a licence from the British

to trade between the United Kingdom and India. They received the licence on 6 March. In 1820 her owners tendered ''Milford'' for an expedition to the Persian Gulf. She did not participate. In 1823 she was registered at Bombay with R. Horwood, master.''India Office...'' (1823), p.345. In 1828 Lieutenant Grant, assistant to the Master Attendant at Surat, saved ''Milford'' from wrecking. Also in 1828, the ''East India Registry and Directory'' showed ''Milford'' with T.J.Jackson, master, and Dadabhoy & Co. owner.''East India Registry and Directory'' (1828), p.346. The ''Registry'' for 1829 carried the same information.

Loss

On 3 August 1829 ''Milford'', Jellico, master, went onshore on the Long Sand near

Kedgeree Kedgeree (or occasionally ) is a dish consisting of cooked, flaked fish (traditionally smoked haddock), boiled rice, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, curry powder, butter or cream, and occasionally sultanas. The dish can be eaten hot or cold. Other ...

. She had been sailing from Bombay to Calcutta; she was totally wrecked and the 100 horses she was carrying drowned. When ''Milford'' wrecked, several hundred letters washed ashore. Many of these had obliterated addresses and the finders opened them. The contents of a number of them, both confidential government correspondence and private, came to be published.''Asiatic Journal'' (1830), pp.199–200. The ''Register of Shipping'' continued to list ''Milford'' until 1832, and ''Lloyd's Register'' continued to list her until 1833.

Citations

References

* * * *''The India Office and Burma Office List'' (1823); H.M. Stationery Office. * * {{1829 shipwrecks 1786 ships British ships built in India Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the British East India Company Maritime incidents in 1815 Maritime incidents in August 1829