Nelson & His World

Does anyone have any information on the Speke hired hospital/transport ship in 1776? I believe she sailed from Plymouth/Cork to Quebec in May/June 1776.

More generally, when the Navy hired ships, did it hire both ship and crew? Did the owner pay the crew? If so, how were any Navy officers onboard paid? A search of the National Archives catalogue for admiralty records relating to the Speke has drawn a blank.

SPEKE -
built by William Wells at Deptford, launched 8 Dec. 1764 726 tons; 3 decks.
Owner:1764-1773 Thomas Pattle; 1773-1775 Robert Brooke; 1775 - 1782 James Adams.

Employed in the service of the East India Company 1765-75 one voyage to China and three to India between 1765 and 1775. From late 1775 in use a timber transport, bringing timber from North America.

By March 1776 hired as a hospital for use at Quebec - 11 March 1776 stated have been ordered from the Thames to Cork for convoy; failed to make the rendezvous and instead stopped at Plymouth; sailed Plymouth at noon 8 May 1776 with 4 transport ships under convoy of HMS Tartar; off Halifax 12 June. Her Master at this time was Harris Hatch. Evidently returned to England in 1777 - in December 1777 she was reported as arriving at Antigua in convoy, then in use as an Ordnance Board Storeship.

11 Jan.1782 foundered in the north Atlantic with all hands, whilst in the convoy of HMS Hyaena, from the West Indies for England

I have not found any specific details relating to hospital ships, usually those merchant ships hired for use as transports or store ships were chartered, usually by renting the cargo space onboard, so a ship would be hired to take stores from port A to port B "at a rate of £x per ton, for such quantity as shall be put aboard". The crew etc. would be provided by the owners and there would not be a naval presence onboard.

One would presume that if planned for use as a hospital, then a Surgeon and supporting team would have been provided (by the Sick & Hurt Board?)

If used as a troop transport then the agreement would be to take men from A to B at £x per head - usually the navy would provide beds & bedding, but the merchant owners would have to provide "..water, good new provisions, bowles, platters, cans, spoons, coals, candles and utensils for cooking and dressing of the victuals.."

As an aside, this evidently led to overcrowding, or at least in did in the 1776-82 period "...men were packed in like herring; a tall man could not stand upright between decks nor sit up straight in his berth..."

Where hired ships were intended for use as a warship, then naval officers would usually be assigned, I believe

re: SPEKE - I can now confirm that she was back in England later in 1776; reported arriving at Portsmouth 26 September

Many thanks, PhiloN, for the wealth of information you have provided.

My query related to William Morshead Mansfield, eldest brother of my ancestor. He passed for lieutenant on 6 March 1776, and was discharged from the Boyne on 28 March. I can next locate him on 12 Aug 1776 as Acting Lieutenant in the Isis (Captain Charles Douglas) at Quebec. In the muster he is in the list of supernumeraries borne for victuals only, but with a note that he was to be paid the same allowance as he had received while superintending the Speke hospital ship. The dates fit with what you have provided, but from what you say, I imagine the Speke only needed 'superintending' once it was in use as a hospital ship at Quebec.

I wonder where his pay or allowance while in the Speke might be recorded.

As an aside it is interesting that William was 'lent' to Lake Champlain from 30 August, returning to the Isis on 10 October, so it seems he was sent back to the Isis after the British had finished building their fleet on the lake, but missed the battle. - If anyone here hasn't read up on it, it's a fascinating episode in naval history.

He returned to England in the Isis and finally got his commission as a Lieutenant in the Pegasus sloop. It was an unlucky posting, as the Pegasus suffered a similar fate to the Speke, disappearing without trace in a storm off Newfoundland the following year, along with the frigate Vestal. The last few months' musters were lost with the sloop, but the last surviving muster taken in Spithead is very poignant. She had sailed from Sheerness with only about half her complement, and the remainder were entered at Spithead in a single day, including a long list of pressed men - a fateful day for them.

Just came across this old post and not sure if there is still interest, however, I came across a passage journal/log kept by “Francis Goring” from onboard the Speke Transport ship bound for Quebec March 1776. A beautifully hand written log of the passage which essentially confirms the afore mentioned. It makes no mention of ‘hospital ship’, and there is no surgeon listed as onboard. The crew were recorded as recorded:
Capt: Harris Hatch
1st Mate: Wadey
2nd Mate: Revely
3rd Mate: Wetely
Stewart: Robinfon (I assume to be steward)
Carpenter: Blakey
Bowswin: Goodall (I assume to be boatswain)

I cam across the journal as it was handed down to a close associate of mine whose Great Great Great Grandfather was ‘Francis Goring’ Some points of interest:

An interesting record showed that on Thursday 4th April after leaving Gravesend for the Hope the Speke “touched the middle ground but got off without damage at noon” and “the pilot went ashore at Deal”. Interesting that they went aground and had a pilot onboard. Surprising she should run aground with a pilot onboard.

Friday 5th April, at 10:00 am embarked. Pilot for anchoring at Spithead at12:00 noon.

Saturday 6th April, Rich Mills, David Grace ‘Shipwrights’ and David Wallace and David Wallace ‘House Carpenter’ “went away from the ship at Portsmouth’. There may have been onboard to asses condition of the Speke or is she required work.

Thursday 11th April at 11:00 got underway for Plymouth.

Friday 12th April at 5:00 pm anchored in the ‘Plymouth Sound.

Thursday 18th April Carpenter John Mills carpenter left the ship. My thoughts are it is interesting how/why the ship was delayed and all the activity of Shipwrights and Carpenters, and could there have been concerns as to the seaworthiness of the Speke?

It was not until Wednesday 8th May 1776 that the Speke finally set sail for Quebec with HMS Tartar in convoy with other transport ships; recorded a “Two ___ ships, two Briggs, and one Snow”.

Friday 10th May at 10:00 pm ”the frigate fired seven guns” and I assume this was training but an odd time.

Sunday 12th May at 9:00pm becalmed “The Ships Head all roused. the Clergyman performed Devine Service.” This was recreated each Sunday.

Monday 27th May “one of our ships hoisted a signal of distress the Windward of us”. Conditions sere a great sea from the W.N.W.

Tuesday 11th Jun at 8:00 pm “Saw several islands of ice floating” and later that day “Saw a ship to the N.W of us. Bore down to her, she proved to be the Eagle Man of War 64 guns’.

Sunday 23rd June “entered the river Lawrence”.

Sunday 30th June at 8:00pm arrived and anchored Quebec.

The journal is more log in places and accounts for the weather and sail management throughout the passage. There were a few more events of interest and too many to list here, but a very accurate account of the journey.

I have included a couple of scanned pages as examples from the log/journal, and hope this is of interest.