__TOC__ ''Paragon'' was launched at Whitby in 1800. Between 1803 and 1805 she served as an armed defense ship protecting Britain's coasts and convoys. She then served as a transport on the 1805 naval expedition to capture the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

. Next, she returned to mercantile service and in 1814 a French privateer captured her, but the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

recaptured her the next day. She sailed to India in 1818 under a license from 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), and was wrecked in March 1819 while inbound to

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 ...

Career

''Paragon'' first appeared in the registers with an entry in the 1800 ''Register of Shipping''. Her master and owner was Woodcock, and her trade Whitby coaster.''Register of Shipping'' (1800), "P" supple. pages.
/ref> Her subsequent trades were Newcastle–Baltic (1801), and London–Hamburg (1801–1802). Following the resumption of war with France in early 1803, concern developed in Britain about

Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of southeast England. French attempt ...

. The British government's response took many forms including the reactivation of

Fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

regiments and the

Sea Fencibles The Sea Fencibles were naval fencible (a shortening of ''defencible'') units established to provide a close-in line of defence and obstruct the operation of enemy shipping, principally during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The ea ...

, a program of the construction of

Martello Towers Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

along the coasts of Britain and Ireland, and the commissioning of a number of armed defense ships. The British

in November voted to underwrite 10,000 tons (bm) of armed transports to protect Great Britain's coasts. The vessels were existing, but not EIC, merchantmen that would receive an upgrade in armament and in some cases a naval officer as captain. The vessels were: ''Albion'', , , ''Aurora'', , , , ''Helder'', , , ''Lord Nelson'', , ''Paragon'', , , ''Sir Alexander Mitchell'', , and ''Triton''. On 21 November 1803 ''Paragon'', of 400 tons (bm) and 16 guns, was ready but yet to be allocated to her station.''Naval Database''.
/ref> ''Paragon'' was reported at various times at the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

and Hull. On 29 January 1805 "the Paragon armed ship" was at Deal. One of her boats overturned near Sandown Castle while coming to shore. Soldiers from the castle were able to save all but one man. The Royal Navy returned the armed defense ships to their owners in the second half of 1805. In the fall of 1805 a small naval squadron under the orders of Commodore Sir

Home Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishme ...

escorted a fleet of transports, including ''Paragon'', and

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

carrying some 5000 soldiers under the command of Major-general Sir David Baird to attack the Dutch at the

. The fleet assembled at

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and touched at St. Salvador to replenish supplies. The expedition sailed again on the 26 November, and on 4 January 1806, in the evening, anchored to the west of

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

, preparatory to taking the Dutch colony. After the invasion, on 7 February, ''Paragon'' sailed for

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour c ...

with troops to load lumber for military works. ''Paragon'' disappeared from the registers between 1811 and 1814, and may have served as a government transport. She reappeared in the 1815 ''Register of Shipping'' (published in 1814), having undergone repairs. Her master was R. Miller and her owner Woodcock. On 22 May 1814 the French privateer ''Hirondelle'' captured ''Paragon'', Woodcock, master, near Wight as ''Paragon'' was sailing from Malta to Hull.''Lloyd's List'' №4465.
/ref> The next day recaptured ''Paragon'', and sent her into Portsmouth. The ''Register of Shipping'' for 1818 showed ''Paragon'' with R. Miller, master, changing to J. Keene, Woodcock & Co., owners, changing to Read & Co., and trade London– Île de France. A list of ships sailing under license from the EIC showed ''Paragon'', G.B. Keane, master, Read & Co. owners, sailing from England on 31 August 1818, bound for Bencoolen.

Loss

''Paragon'' was wrecked on 24 March 1819, when she was driven ashore at

Saugor Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...

Sands, while on a voyage from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to the

and Calcutta. One crew member drowned, but the pilot vessel ''Sophia'' rescued all other crew and passengers. Captain Keene, who had been ill for some time, nevertheless died the next day. A later report stated that ''Paragon'', Keene, master, had run aground on the night of the 24th and subsequently sunk; no property had been saved.''Lloyd's List'' №5426.
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* * {{italic title 1800 ships Ships built in Whitby Age of Sail merchant ships of England Hired armed vessels of the Royal Navy Captured ships Maritime incidents in 1819