Ganges (1798 ship)

History
Franco-American
NameGanges
BuilderPhiladelphia
Launched1798
FateSold or transferred to France in 1802
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameGange
OwnerLouis De Baecque
CommissionedSeptember 1803
HomeportDunkirk
CapturedLate 1803
United Kingdom
NameGanges
OwnerVarious
FateEither captured and sunk 1806, or released and still sailing until 1814
General characteristics
Tons burthen
  • French:310 tons (French; "of load")[1]
  • British: 243,[2] or 280[3][4] (bm)
PropulsionSail
Armament12 × 9-pounder guns[3]

Ganges was a ship launched in 1798 at Philadelphia, probably for French owners. During the Peace of Amiens her registration and homeport became Dunkirk. Her (possibly new) French owners sent her to engage in whaling at Delagoa Bay, where the British letter of marque whaler Scorpion captured her in 1803. She then made one whaling voyage to Isle of Desolation before a French squadron captured her in 1806 during a second whaling voyage. Accounts differ as to whether her captors sank her, or released her and she continued to operate as a merchant vessel until 1814.

  1. ^ Demerliac (2007), p. 331, №2851.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ganges was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Lloyd's register of British and foreign shipping". Lloyd's Register. Supplement Seq.№G33. 1804. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105233704.
  4. ^ Clayton (2014), p. 127.