Pelican 1793
Wooden brig carrying 18 [or 20] carriage-mounted 12-pounder guns.
Registered Liverpool, owned Nicholas Ashton.
crew 94, passengers 40; 102 lost on 20 March 1793.
A parade on the River Mersey of two privateers, one spring afternoon in March 1793, ended in tragedy when one of them sank, leading to the deaths of over one hundred people on board.
Europe had been slowly descending into chaos since the French Revolution of 1789 and in 1793 France declared war on Great Britain, having already been fighting against Austria, Spain and Portugal.
At that time privateering was common practice in wartime, with governments granting Letters of Marque to individuals allowing them to attack enemy vessels and plunder their cargo. One of those to take advantage was Nicholas Ashton of Woolton Hall, who owned the Dungeon Salt Works in Hale. He quickly purchased a brig called the Pelican and fitted it out for this purpose.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 20th March, the Pelican, recently completed, was parading in the river alongside the Prince of Wales, which had been part of the First Fleet which took the first group of convicts to Australia in 1788. The two ships were displaying their eighteen guns which were ready for action. They had on board many women and children, family members of the sailors who were intending to leave the next day. It was a pleasant day, but the wind began to get up and when the Pelican made a turn opposite Seacombe, she keeled and the portholes [lee-ports] filled with water, causing her to fill with water and sink within 10 minutes. On the shore, an excise officer named Mr Starkie launched boats to mount a rescue but by the time they reached the vessel, most of those on board had drowned, although he saved many. The windy conditions had led to many going below deck, worsening their chances of escape.
The Chester Chronicle (of 22nd March) described the scene as "inconceivably shocking" as the "heart rendering shriek of death pierced the air." In addition to ninety-four crew members, there were forty civilians on board, including some wives and children of the ninety four crew. In total only 32 were saved, most of them crew members who were the stronger swimmers.
Those, who survived, stated that the tragedy happened due to the guns being loose, causing them to roll and break the portholes which filled with water. It was later revealed that one of those who survived lost his mother, father, wife and two children who had all come on board to wish him a long and last farewell.
Amongst the saved was James Creasey, the pilot of the ship, who was tried at the Lancaster Assizes for manslaughter, as it was said that the accident was the result of his negligence. He was, however, acquitted. The ship was never raised, and the top of her masts stood above the water for years after the fatal event.
The disaster did not stop the Prince of Wales (Captain Thompson), which was owned by Clayton Tarleton, from sailing. In a three week voyage, on 5th April she captured a French vessel, Le Fédératif bound for Bordeaux from St Domingo, and returned to Hoylake on 14th April with the vessel and a cargo valued at £32,000 (a huge sum in those days).
Mr Starkie was presented with a medal by the Humane Society to recognise his efforts in saving many lives (about 25) that may also have been lost. Nicholas Ashton returned to Liverpool to live in Clayton Square and died in 1833 at the age of 91.
Report of an attempt at salvage of the Pelican.
From: Chester Chronicle, Friday 30 November 1798:
On Monday se'nnight a person [mechanic in another report]
attempted to go down in a diving apparatus to the Wreck of the Pelican,
(overset in the Liverpool river upwards of five years since). He
descended about four fathoms and a half, but owing to one of the tubes
breaking, and a want of proper persons to work the air pumps, he was
obliged to be taken up immediately to prevent suffocation. He means to
repeat the attempt.
For the wreck of another Liverpool privateer: see Victory.
More about the history of Liverpool Privateers
For the report of a Liverpool Vessel captured and then escaping from French warships and privateers see Hiram