British authorities hired several transport vessels for the invasions of Isle Bonaparte and Isle de France in 1810. Most of the hired vessels were "country ships", British merchantmen which were registered in British Indian ports such as Bombay and Calcutta and traded in the East Indies but did not sail to Europe without special authorisation from the East India Company (EIC). The rest consisted of a mixture of EIC East Indiamen and "extra ships"; East Indiamen were on a long-term contract with the EIC, and extra ships were vessels the EIC had chartered for one or more voyages.
The data in the table below comes primarily from an 1814 report from a Select Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, which provided the data only on country ships, giving the names of a large number of vessels, and their burthen (bm). Also, transliteration of non-English names shows no consistency across sources, making it extremely difficult to try to find more information about the vessels in question. The British government chartered some nine of these vessels as cartels to carry back to France the French troops that they had captured in these campaigns. An asterisk after the name in the table below designates the vessels.
Country ships Name Burthen Where built Notes * 684 Calcutta "Bengal Anna"; lost 1811 500/520 Calcutta Borneo 365/382/400 Built at Pegu; Lost on Madagascar in 1814Phipps (1840), p.141. Cape of Good Hope / Good Hope* 388 Calcutta, 1806Phipps (1840), p.102. Aboukir, captured in 1808,Phipps (1840), p.139. of Calcutta again in 1809. Later renamed. Castlereagh (or *) 750 Cochin, 1803 Charlotte 248 Foundered in Madras Roads October 1818 500 Built at Chittagong; Foundered 1821 802/795 Howrah (Calcutta), 1810 * 440 Calcutta Serving as a "Government armed ship", Captain Street. Hamoody / Harmoody 415 Helen* 300 Pegu,Reports and Papers... (1809), p.240. 1807 Lost at Fultah, 1817Phipps (1840), p.180. General Wellesley 430 Calcutta, 1803 Captured December 1814 and sank January 1815 * 420/450 Pegu/Rangoon, Broken up at Calcutta, 1822 350 Calcutta, 1800 Palmer 184 / 200 Chittagong, 1810Phipps (1840, p.176. Lost 1812Phipps (1840), 141. * 320 Calcutta Last listed 1844 * 500 / 620Reports and Papers... (1809), p.241. Calcutta, 1803 Captured 1808; William Burroughs of "1000 tons" (bm) was recaptured at Île de France on 3 December 1810. Troubridge 804 Union 300 Possibly the French privateer that captured on 5 July 1808 off Ceylon.Asiatic Annual Register (1811), Vol. 10, p.68. * 627 Bombay Burnt 1817 250 / 350 Chittagong Captured by in 1815; later returned to British ownership
The report in Lloyd's List of the cartel ships states that there was another vessel of unknown name that had also arrived at Morlaix as a cartel. The vessel was probably the transport , which the French had captured on 23 August and the Royal Navy had recaptured on 4 September. On 17 June 1811, Ranger had arrived at Plymouth. She had come as a cartel from Mauritius and Morlaix.
East Indiamen Name Burthen Master Notes Cobbett's Political Register, Vol. 19, pp.476-7. 820 Joseph Yates Yates died on shore on the first day of the invasion 596 Philip Herbert Sailed to Bengal, then back to Madras and Mauritius, and then to England 821 John Wood Returned to India and then participated in the invasion of Java (1811)Taylor (2007), pp.333-4. 547 William Nesbitt Returned to India and then participated in the invasion of Java (1811) 861 John Ramsden Returned to India and then participated in the invasion of Java (1811)Taylor (2007), pp.333-4. 671 Henry Sturrock Returned to India and then participated in the invasion of Java (1811)Taylor (2007), pp.333-4. 608 Captain James Hay Returned to Madras and then resumed journey to Britain
Non-European vessels Futteh Romer Grab Naseery Solomunshaw
Precedent In 1794 the British government had contemplated an invasion of Mauritius but had cancelled the plan in May. It had intended to use East Indiamen about to sail from England to India and China. One suspects that the logistics of such an operation proved too daunting.
Notes
Citations
References 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). (London:Blacks and Parry).