Esther (1794 ship)

Esther was launched in 1783 and entered British hands as a French prize of 1793. She took part in a notable single-ship action in 1794 in which she repelled a French privateer. Between 1801 and 1805 she made four slave trading voyages. A French privateer captured her in a sanguinary single-ship action in 1805.

Career
Esther entered Lloyd's Register in 1794. Her owner was Daniels, her master was Devonish, and her trade Bristol to Barbados. On 20 February 1794 John Perrott Devonish received a letter of marque for Esther. 

On 5 September 1794, Esther, Devonish, master, encountered Républicaine, which Devonish described as being armed with twenty 6-pounder guns and 18 swivel guns, and having a crew of 100-150 men. At 5p.m. a four-hour engagement commenced, that resumed the next morning, when after two-and-a-half hours Républicaine withdrew. Esther had one man fatally wounded, her mate, out of a crew of 18 men and three boys.

As Esther was returning from Barbados, she overset in the Avon River at Bristol and filled with water.  Esther was refloated on 9 October and in November sailed again.

Although there was a report that the French had succeeded in capturing Esther in 1795 as she was sailing from Jamaica to London, that was a different Esther.

In 1799 her master became T. Goodall and her owner T. Allan & Co. She also underwent repairs. In 1800 her master changed from T. Goodall to Stephen Bowers.  Bowers received a letter of marque on 30 April 1800. In 1801 ownership of Esther changed to Caldcleugh.

Under Bowers' command Esther sailed to the Windward Coast to gather slaves, and then delivered her slaves to Jamaica.

Captain Duncan Stewart attempted to sail to Africa in 1802, but in early September 1802 he and Esther grounded on "The Flatts" and she had to return to Gravesend with damage. He then received a letter of marque for Esther on 2 September 1803. He sailed her on two slaving voyages, the first in 1803 and the second in 1804. On both he sailed to West Central Africa and St. Helena to gather the slaves. On his first voyage Esther was reported on 29 October 1803 to be "all well" at . Stewart delivered the slaves to British Guiana. On the second voyage he delivered them to South Carolina.

Captain Georg Irving received a letter of marque on 17 October 1804. Like Stewart he gathered his slaves in West Central Africa and St. Helena, and delivered them to South Carolina.

Fate
On 13 December 1805, Lloyd's List reported that a privateer had captured Esther, Irvin, master, as she was leaving Charleston for England. "Irvin", his two mates, and eight to ten men had been killed, and several men were wounded.

She had left Charleston on 28 October under the command of Captain Wood, in company with the transport , Ariel, and a schooner, all under the escort of . However, Minorca developed leaks and turned back, joined soon after by Esther, which too had developed leaks. They arrived at the Charleston bar on 3 November and took on board pilots, who informed them of the presence of the French privateer Creole.

The next day Creole attacked Esther. Creole, of Barracoa, was armed with six or seven guns of various calibers and had a crew of 111 men under the command of Captain Pierre Burgman. The two vessels exchanged fire for about an hour and then the privateers, taking advantage of the lack of wind, used their sweeps to come alongside. The fight continued for another 45 minutes, before the privateers could board. The fight then continued for another 20 minutes. Esthers officers and crew resisted until Irving was wounded and retired to his cabin, telling his third mate to strike. The privateers killed Irving in his cabin and proceeded to massacre a number of the other crewmen. A pilot boat from Charleston came out and took off the survivors. Two died on the boat, Mr. Ashton, the first mate, died on the wharf, and two more men died in the hospital. Two seamen at the hospital and 13 others were so terribly cut up that most were not expected to survive. Three of Esthers crew, a Venetian and two Portuguese, joined the privateer, though they had fought well during the action. Creole lost six killed, seven wounded, and had several men missing, believed to have been knocked overboard and drowned.

Esther had loaded a cargo of sugar, but was apparently in a leaky state, making 16 inches of water an hour in her hold. There was some question as to whether she would make port. Minorca was reported to have put in to Charleston on 9 November in distress.

Creole and Esther arrived at St. Marys, Georgia, on 11 November.

Notes, citations, and references
Notes

Citations

References
Duncan, Archibald (1806) The British trident, or, Register of naval actions: including authentic accounts of all the most remarkable engagements of sea in which the British flag has been distinguished from the ... defeat of the Spanish Armada to the present time ... (J. Cundee).
Powell, John Williams Darmer (1930) Bristol privateers and ships of war. (Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith).

Category:1783 ships
Category:Ships built in France
Category:Captured ships
Category:Maritime incidents in 1794
Category:Slave ships
Category:Age of Sail merchant ships
Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom