Earl of Mornington (1799 ship)
Introduction
East India Company It is not clear for which Earl of Mornington she was named, but it was probably Richard Wellesley.One contemporary source states that ''Earl of Mornington'' made only one voyage for the EIC. Her captain was George Simpson, who received a letter of marque on 7 October 1799.At the time her armament was recorded as eight 12-pounder guns. ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1800 records ''Earl Mornington'', 253 tons (bm), Simpson, master, East India Company, owner, and trade London-India. This description continues unchanged through 1804.She left Britain on 20 November 1799 and arrived at Calcutta on 22 April 1800.She left Kedgeree on 5 November. By 12 May 1801 she had reached Simon's Bay, but then on 8 August she was back at Calcutta. On 11 March 1802 she left Culpee, an anchorage towards Calcutta and closer than Saugor. From there she reached St Helena on 28 June and arrived at the Downs on 19 August.Apparently ''Earl Mornington'' sailed again in 1802.She was reported to be at St Helena on 10 June 1803, returning from the South Seas.
Naval service In 1804 the Admiralty purchased her for the Royal Navy and named her HMS ''Drake''. She was commissioned in October 1804 under Commander William H. Drury. ''Drake'' formed part of Commodore Hood's squadron at the capture of Surinam River in 1804.The squadron consisted of Hood's flagship , ''Pandour'', , , , , and transports carrying 2000 troops under Brigadier-General Sir Charles Green. British and Dutch casualties were light. ''Drake'' sailed to Jamaica on 12 April 1805.On 1 November 1805 William Furlong Wise was promoted to Commander into ''Drake''. He was the nephew of James Richard Dacres, the admiral commanding the station. In April Wise transferred to .In 1806 ''Drake'' came under the command of Commander F. Mere. However, she was under the command of Robert Nicholas when on 26 October she assisted in cornering the French privateer ''Superbe'', which the schooner , under the command of Lieutenant Michael Fitton was engaging. ''Superbe''s captain then drove her ashore at Ocoa Bay, enabling he and his surviving crew members to escape.Nicholas's replacement in November 1806 was Commander John Parish. In October 1807 Commander George Bell replaced Parish; by 1808 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Fleming (acting)
Fate She was broken up at Sheerness in 1808.
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