Calcutta, a ship launched in 1794 on the Hooghly River, was wrecked on this day with another ship Gabriel, in the 1801 British military expedition to the Red Sea, according to one account.
Another account, however, claims that the ship was wrecked in 1807 on the coast of New Guinea, but the crew survived.
Between 1797 and 1799, Calcutta had sailed to England on a voyage for the British East India Company. It was captured by the French Navy in 1799 but recaptured by the Royal Navy.
Calcutta of 700 tons appeared on a list of ships belonging to Calcutta, the city, with M’Donald, master, Haggey & M’Donald, owners, on January 1, 1801.
According to one set of records, the ship was used by the East India Company as part of General David Baird’s expedition to the Red Sea, which intended to support General Sir Ralph Abercrombie at the battle of Alexandria.
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