A

CORRECT

NARRATIVE

OF THE LOSS OF THE

EARL OF ABERGAVENNY,

EAST INDIAMAN,

J. WORDSWORTH, ESQ. COMMANDER,

WHICH FOUNDERED IN

WEYMOUTH ROADS,

On Tuesday Night, February the 5th, 1805.

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BY G. A. BURGOYNE, ESQ.

Cornet in the 8th Regiment of Light Dragoons

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Weymouth:

PRINTED BY M. VIRTUE,

FOR J. HARVEY, AT THE LIBRARY, ESPLANADE.

Price Sixpence.

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==

CORRECT

NARRATIVE, &C.

=====

As two or three pamphlets of the loss of the
Abergavenny have been published, which
I know to be erroneous, and having been myself
one of those who were so providentially saved by
gaining the mizen top, I flatter myself, that the
public will credit my Narrative before those that
have already circulated.

The Earl of Abergavenny, Capt. Wordsworth,
was one of those ships that so gallantly beat off

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Admiral Linois, in the China seas; she was fitted
out in the river for Bengal, there to load with
Cotton for the China Market, which had she
reached, she would have made the Captain's for-
tune ; but unfortunately, there was a fatality at-
tended this ship from the time of her sailing from
the river. She arrived at the Motherbank about
the latter end of January; about the 27th or 28th
the King's and Company Troops were embark-
ed, under the command of Lieutenant Gustavas
Hippisley, of the 8th Light Dragoons. On Fri-
day the 1st of February, we sailed under convoy
of the Weymouth Frigate, Captain Draper, with
the following ships, Wexford, Henry Addington,
Bombay Castle, Royal George and two Whalers.
The Warren Hastings having received most ma-
terial damage by running foul of us in the Downs,
was obliged to stop behind to repair her damage ;
we also was much hurt by our cat head and head
rails being carried away; but our damage being
such as was easily repaired, did not hinder us from
pursuing our voyage. We got thro' the Needles
late at night, and then lay too to put the Pilot on
board his sloop, but she not having returned from
Portsmouth with Mr. Baggot, the Chief Mate,
Mr. Wordsworth, 3d Mate, Ensign Whitlow, of

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the 22d Foot, and Lieut. Hippisley, of the 8th
Light Dragoons, who had gone in her to Ports-
mouth to purchase some things, we therefore
were under the necessity of putting the Pilot on
board of another boat, for his passage to Cowes.
In the night several blue lights were observed,
supposing them to be from the Frigate, but prov-
ed afterwards from the Wexford; we lay too best
part of the night, and in the morning the Frigate
was not to be seen; Captain Clarke, of the Wex-
ford, being the oldest Captain, was of course
Commodore, we therefore were under his com-
mand, and obeyed his signals accordingly. From
having a fair wind, it unfortunately changed foul,
and blew extremely hard from the southward and
westward, with a heavy sea — made several tacks
in expectation of overtaking the Frigate, but all
in vain. On Sunday the 3d, it got more mode-
rate, and being off the Race of Portland, saw a
sloop steering towards the ship, — lay too for her,
and observed Mr. Baggot, Mr. Wordsworth and
Mr. Whitlow, on board, they having paid forty
guineas to regain their ill fated ship; Lieutenant
Hippisley luckily lost his passage. - At 11 A.M.
made sail ; in the evening it blew hard, reefed the
topsails. On Monday the 4th, strong gales and

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squally — furled the mizen topsail — struck top-
gallant masts and got the jib boom in — wind W.
— lost sight of the Indiamen — soldiers and pas-
sengers sea sick — a heavy rolling sea. On Tues-
day, the fatal day, strong breezes and cloudy —
saw the Indiamen — at one the Wexford made the
signal for those ships that had Pilots on board to
proceed to the nearest port, our ship being the
sternmost, was the last who got a Pilot; between
two and three a Pilot came on board, we then
steered for Portland Roads, let the reefs out,
loosed the mizen topsail and got the jib boom
out. About the hour of five the wind died
away, and the ebb tide setting fast on the
Shambles, drove us to the westward; a sea struck
the ship on her quarter, and broached her too
with her head to the northward, she then struck,
and kept striking violently until she had beat
over the shoal which was about half past seven
o'clock — fired many guns as signals of distress.
While on the Shambles she had four feet water
in her hold, and kept it to that height for a con-
siderable time, when the large pumps broke, and
while the carpenter was repairing them, the wa-
ter gained so fast on the other pumps, that even
bailing as well as pumping, I saw was in vain. —

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A little before eight o'clock, the wind veered
round to the eastward — eleven feet water in the
hold — crew, troops and passengers pumping and
bailing — having some hollands on board, I served
each man pumping and bailing, with a dram to
cheer their drooping spirits. At eight a sloop
sent her boat, and took Mr. and Miss Evans,
Miss Jackson, Mr Routledge, Mr. Maxwell and
Mr. Taylor, a Cadet, on board, and promised to
return and take the passengers out, but was pre-
vented by the short lop of the sea, the wind
still blowing very hard. Mrs. Blair, who was
going out to India to settle some affairs of her
husband's, was entreated to go in the same boat,
but in vain, she thought herself, as well as many
others, safer on board than in the boat; by which
she lost her life. Put the helm hard a starboard,
but the ship being water logged, would not an-
swer her helm — lowered down the main and miz-
en topsails, and made sail forward to pay her
head off in shore — found the ship settling fast —
fired more guns, and hoisted four lights at the
mizen peak.

It is mentioned in a late pamphlet, that they
could not hoist the boats out without laying the

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main topsail a back, which would have hindered
her progress in getting on shore. This was not the
case; for as I have mentioned before, the after
sails were lowered down, by which the main yard
might have been squared, and the boats got out.
I myself having been at sea for several years, must
know, and will appeal to any person that is a sea-
man, that if you want to pay a ship's head round
off, you must square your after yards, therefore
instead of impeding her, it was assisting her; be-
sides, there was a cutter hanging to the starboard
quarter which was never attempted to be lowered
down, that boat went down with the ship.

At half past nine the loss of the ship was evident,
it was then time to think of saving one's life. —
I was at the time the ship was sinking, close to
the Captain, when Mr. Baggot, the Chief Mate,
 came to him and said, “Sir, the ship is going
down, we have done every thing to save her.” To
which the Captain answered, “It cannot be
helped.” — She then gave a heavy heel to port and
sunk like a stone. I shall not quote any lines
from authors to make the tale more melancholy,
or add the losses of other ships to enlarge my
Narrative, but shall leave it to the reader to pic-

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ture to himself the horror and confusion the ship
must have been in at the time. Just as she was
going down, I observed the boat on the quarter
was full of men, so that I was sure their lives were
in danger, I therefore did not attempt to get into
her, but asked the Pilot (who was then on the
poop), What water there was? - he replied
eleven fathoms; I then thought it was possible to
save myself in the tops, I therefore ran up the
rigging, and so preserved my life. I think it was
about ten, or a little after that hour when the ship
went down. Shortly after she had settled, I ob-
served two or three sloops passing our stern, we
hailed them, when they answered they would
come and pick up us; however, they did not
come immediately, for very good reasons, they
were more humanely employed in saving those
who were clinging to the wreck in the water. I
remained in the top till near one o'clock, when a
sloop that had anchored near our quarter, sent
her boats and took the men from the tops; the
men behaved uncommonly well, for they did not
jump into the boats at once as was natural to sup-
pose from their perilous situation, but went in as
they were desired by the master. When all were

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in the boats, Mr. Mortimer, the 6th Mate, ob-
serving a man in the cat harpings, desired the boat
to wait, when he directly ascended the shrouds
and found Serjeant Heart, of the 22d Foot, al-
most frozen to death, he took him down and put
him in the boat, and when the sloop landed the
men in the morning, he was taken to the Globe
Public House, apparently dead; Mr. Bryer, me-
dical assistant to the humane society, being then
on the spot, applied the means that are used
by that society in suspended respiration, and so
far succeeded as to recover the circulation of blood,
even to open his eyes and to swallow liquids, but
after five hours most attentive care, he had the
mortification to see him expire. — This was the
man who had so earnestly attempted to save his
wife's life, and who in the last agonies of death,
 had fastened her teeth to his left hand, the mark
of which were very evident.

The death of an old Portuguese was most remark-
able : he was carried into lodgings with strong
symptoms of fever and debility, and being visited by
the aforesaid medical gentleman, he appeared daily
better until the Saturday, when he requested the
nurse to procure him a large wax candle, with the

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only shilling he possessed, and desired her to light
it and place it by his bedside, saying, “That she
was by no means to extinguish it, until he was
dead.” From that time, altho’ perfectly sensible,
he refused receiving any medicine or nourishment,
or even speaking a word, but continued fixing his
eyes on a Roman Catholick Prayer Book, until
Sunday morning, when he expired.

It is worthy of remark, that it was known at
Weymouth before eight o'clock, by an officious
gentleman, that the ship was on the Shambles,
who took care not to make it known to peo-
ple who might have used their endeavours to
save the ship and lives, — the reason for it is
best known to himself. I remained on board
the sloop until half after five, when a pilot row-
boat came on board, and took me on shore. —
At day light, the sloop that had the people on
board reached the shore and landed them. The
crew of the Three Brothers, deserves the highest
encomiums, they having given up every thing for
the comfort of those that were saved. When all
the people were landed, they put into the
Town Hall, and every comfort given them, as
cloaths, grog and victuals, to the great honor of

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the inhabitants. I must once more make men-
tion of that worthy man, Mr. Bryer, who dressed
all the men who were bruised or cut, and ad-
ministered medicine to a great many, without
demanding a farthing for the trouble or expence
he must have been at  Mr. Forbes, a Cadet,
previous to the ship going down, pulled his coat
off to swim, but alas! he was picked up almost
dead, and expired on board the sloop. The same
sloop as she was endeavouring to save those in the
water, observed twelve men on a spar, but unfor-
tunately a squall overtook the vessel and laid her
on her beam ends, the vessel went over the spar,
by which not one soul of the twelve was saved.

It has been stated at the India House, by the
Carpenter and another man of the ship, that as
they were clinging to a turkey coop, they hailed
a sloop to pick them up, when they received for
answer, “Hold fast until daylight, and then you
will be picked up." Several Masters of sloops
have been examined by Captains Carter and
Wilkinson, of the Greyhound Cutter, but no-
thing as yet has come out to convict any one of
them; I think that no one seeing the danger they
were in, would have been so inhuman as to have

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given them that answer, — however, every enquiry
will be made, and if the brute is found, he will
certainly be severely punished.

It would be needless for me to contradict many
insertions that were in a late publication, as the
public will perceive them both incorrect and im-
probable; one in particular, “That the cries of
the people were heard from the Hills at White-
noth, near Lulworth,” which is four miles from
the spot where the ship is, the wind was N. E.
which blew directly from that place, even when
I was in the top, I could scarce hear their cries.
It was also stated, “That Mr. Baggot, the Chief
Mate, lost his life in attempting to save Mrs.
Blair.” Mr. Baggot was on the poop when the
ship was sinking, and went down the ladder to go
into the long boat which was in the booms, but the
sea overpowered him so much that he was unable
to get to her, and he went down with the ship.
Captain Wordsworth was nearly saved, had he
not been entirely exhausted, for Mr. Gilpin, one
of the Mates, endeavoured to save him, but it was
in vain, he sunk to rise no more.

The cold was certainly severe, but not quite so

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bad as the late pamphlets have made it out; or were
there any persons washed from the tops or rig-
ging after she had settled, but were perfectly safe.
Many persons were frost bitten, and bruised ex-
tremely.

The ship was much crowded with Cadets
and Passengers: we sat down at the Captain's
table about 36, and at the Third Mate's mess
about 14. The Captain was certainly one of the
mildest men I ever observed, he justly deserved
the title of Philosopher. He had property on
board to the amount of twenty seven thousand
pounds, and I have heard, not more than ten
thousand insured. The ship's cargo was very
valuable; she had £70,000 worth of Dollars, a
great quantity of Lead and Wedgwood Ware.
Her crew was by no means a bad one, she was
much better off than many Indiamen that sail
from England in war time; there were 164, in-
cluding Officers, also 32 Chinamen, and 154
King's and Company's Troops.

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["A CORRECT LIST OF PASSENGERS" follows which is not transcribed.]