Hannah

Hannah was a merchant sailing ship launched at Bombay Dockyard in 1811. Although the supplied subject name resembles a commercial brand, the canonical historical entity is an early nineteenth-century vessel rather than a contemporary consumer or corporate brand. The ship was built in British India and entered the commercial system linking Bombay, London, Calcutta, and China. Her career illustrates the role of Bombay-built merchant vessels in the maritime economy associated with the British East India Company and the wider British imperial trading network. Under Captain William Denniston, Hannah made a passage from Bombay to London in 1813. She departed Bombay on 11 March, called at Point de Galle on 30 March, reached St Helena on 9 June, and arrived at The Downs on 11 August. On 16 September 1813 she was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain. Lloyd's Register recorded her with M'Quaker as master, Buxton & Co. as owner, and London–Bombay as her trade. These registrations indicate that, after her construction in Bombay, she was incorporated into British commercial shipping and operated under British ownership and registry. Hannah became notable for a single-ship engagement during the War of 1812. On 14 March 1814, while sailing near latitude 39 degrees 15 minutes south and longitude 20 degrees 41 minutes west, she encountered the American privateer Jacob Jones, reportedly armed with sixteen guns and carrying approximately seventy men. The engagement lasted about three and a half hours. Hannah repelled the privateer, although one member of her crew was killed and two were wounded, one seriously. American accounts stated that Jacob Jones had exhausted its ammunition and would have continued the fight otherwise. Hannah later reached Portsmouth from Bombay in early December 1814. The vessel continued trading after the engagement. Captain Andrew McQuaker died aboard Hannah in April 1816 while the ship was sailing from Bombay to Calcutta. By the end of the decade, the ship's role had expanded beyond ordinary merchant voyages. In 1819–1820 she was used as a transport in a British punitive expedition against the Joasmi, or Al Qasimi, forces based at Ras al-Khaimah in the Persian Gulf. The operation combined naval, military, and transport assets and targeted fortifications and vessels along the coast. Hannah carried troops and supplies as part of that force. After the destruction of Ras al-Khaimah and related coastal operations, Hannah sailed to China. Her owners had tendered the ship for transport service while she was still en route from London, and on 13 December 1820 they successfully tendered her for a second punitive expedition. The available account does not establish the details of that later service, nor does it identify a final voyage or precise date of loss. Hannah was last listed in 1833, after which the surviving record no longer tracks her operational career. Her historical significance rests on her Bombay construction, British merchant service, armed encounter with an American privateer, and use in British expeditionary logistics in the Persian Gulf.

Hannah was launched at Bombay Dockyard in 1811 and subsequently entered the British commercial shipping system. Her first documented long-distance voyage was from Bombay to London under Captain William Denniston. The ship left Bombay on 11 March 1813, stopped at Point de Galle, continued to St Helena, and reached The Downs on 11 August. She was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain on 16 September 1813. Lloyd's Register listed her with M'Quaker as master, Buxton & Co. as owner, and a London–Bombay trading pattern. In March 1814 Hannah encountered the American privateer Jacob Jones in the South Atlantic near the Cape of Good Hope. The vessels exchanged fire for roughly three and a half hours. Hannah ultimately repelled the privateer. Contemporary accounts differ in emphasis: American reporting indicated that Jacob Jones had run out of ammunition, while the account associated with Hannah recorded one crew member killed and two wounded. Hannah arrived at Portsmouth from Bombay in early December 1814. Captain Andrew McQuaker died aboard the vessel in April 1816 during a voyage from Bombay to Calcutta. Hannah later took on a military-support role. In late 1819 the British government organized a joint naval and army expedition against the Joasmi, or Al Qasimi, forces at Ras al-Khaimah in the Persian Gulf. The fleet included warships, East India Company cruisers, gunboats, mortar boats, and numerous transports. Hannah was one of the transports carrying personnel and supplies. After the destruction of Ras al-Khaimah, British forces conducted further operations against coastal forts and vessels during December and early January. The ship then sailed to China. Her owners had offered her for transport service while she was still traveling from London, and they successfully tendered her for a second punitive expedition on 13 December 1820. The surviving account does not provide a complete narrative of that second deployment. Hannah was last listed in 1833, and no definitive final fate is supplied in the referenced material.

• 1833

  Last listed

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Hannah was last listed in 1833; the available reference does not state her final fate.

• 1820

  Tendered for a second expedition

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Her owners successfully tendered Hannah for another punitive expedition on 13 December.

• 1819

  Joined the Ras al-Khaimah expedition

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Hannah served as a transport in a British joint naval and military expedition in the Persian Gulf.

• 1814

  Engagement with Jacob Jones

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Hannah repelled the American privateer Jacob Jones in an action near the Cape of Good Hope.

• 1813

  Voyage from Bombay to London

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Under Captain William Denniston, Hannah sailed from Bombay to London, arriving at The Downs on 11 August.

• 1813

  Admitted to the British registry

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Hannah entered the Registry of Great Britain on 16 September and appeared in Lloyd's Register as a London–Bombay trader.

• 1811

  Launched at Bombay Dockyard

  [1]Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Hannah was launched at Bombay Dockyard, beginning her career as a Bombay-built merchant vessel.

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• 1820

  Acceptance of a second transport contractStrategy

  Background

  Following the first Persian Gulf expedition and a voyage to China, the owners offered Hannah for another government expedition.

  Action taken

  The owners successfully tendered the vessel on 13 December 1820.

  Aftermath

  The available sources do not document the full outcome of the second expedition.

  Source

• 1819

  Shift from merchant trading to expeditionary transportStrategy

  Background

  After years in commercial service between Britain and India, Hannah was included among the transports assembled for the British punitive expedition against Ras al-Khaimah.

  Action taken

  The ship carried troops and supplies in support of the combined naval and military operation.

  Aftermath

  Hannah continued in transport-related service and was later tendered for a second punitive expedition.

  Source

1. 1Hannah (1811 ship)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Bombay Country Ships, 1790–1833routledge.com
3. 3Ships of the East India Companyworldcat.org