On this day the East Indiaman Stafford was wrecked in Calcutta. It had been launched in 1769 and made two complete voyages to India and China for the British East India Company.
During its third voyage, it sailed from Portsmouth in May 1778, bound for Madras and Bengal. It delayed its departure to allow Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, who was arriving as Commander in Chief of the company’s forces in India, on board.
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In November, it got news of hostilities in Coromandel Coast and Bengal. Stafford sailed on to Bombay and anchored in Madras in December.
On March 19, 1779, it sailed for Bengal with Coote. It was wrecked totally on a Hooghly sandbank on 29 August. But no life was lost.