Bellisarius (1762 ship)

Bellisarius was built in South Carolina in 1762 or 1779, possibly under another name. Between 1789 and 1799 she made six complete voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. Afterwards she sailed as a merchantman. She was last listed in 1809.

History
Great Britain
NameBellisarius
Launched1762, or 1779,[a] South Carolina
FateLast listed 1809
General characteristics
Tons burthen300, or 326[1] (bm)
Complement26[1]
Armament
  • 1793: 10 × 6&4-pounder guns[1]
  • 1796: 8 × 4-pounder guns
  • 1799: 4 × 4-pounder guns
  • 1805: 4 × 6-pounder guns

Career

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Bellisarius first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1789.[2] James Mather purchased her to use her as a whaler.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1789 Anderson James Mather London–Southern fishery LR; lengthened 1777 and good repair 1788

1st whaling voyage (1789–1790): Captain Thomas Anderson sailed from London on 29 June 1789. Bellisarius returned on 26 April 1790.[3] Bellisarius was mentioned in the Protection List in 1790.[4]

2nd whaling voyage (1790–1791): Captain Anderson sailed on 29 July 1790. Bellisarius returned on 27 September 1791.[3]

3rd whaling voyage (1791–1792): Captain Anderson sailed on 11 November 1791, bound for Peru. Bellisarius let the coast of Peru in November 1792.[4] She returned to England on 2 June 1793 with 148 tuns of sperm oil and 25 tuns of whale oil.[3]

After the outbreak of war with France, Captain Thomas Anderson acquired a letter of marque on 29 August 1793.[1][4]

4th whaling voyage (1793–1795): Captain Anderson sailed from England in 1793. In December 1793, she called in at Rio de Janeiro needing food.[4] Bellisarius returned from Peru on 29 November 1795 with 107 tuns of sperm oil, 98 tuns of whale oil, 75 cwt of whale bone, and 3800 seal skins.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1796 T.Anderson
W.Dagg
James Mather London–Southern fishery LR; lengthened 1777, good repair 1788, & new deck 1791

6th whaling voyage (1797–1799): Captain William Dagg sailed from England on 16 November 1797. Belissarius was reported to have been "all well" at Walwich (Walvis) Bay on 6 August 1798.[4] She returned to England on 8 February 1799 with 75 CWT of whale bone, and 3,700 seal skins.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1799 G.Tayler Mathers London–Southern fishery
London–Dantzig
LR; lengthened 1777, good repair 1788, & new deck 1791
1800 G.Taylor Morley London–Baltic Register of Shipping; repairs 1799
1801 Chapman Morley London–Dantzig Register of Shipping; repairs 1799 & good repair 1800
1802 W.Scott Morley London–Oporto Register of Shipping; repairs 1799 & good repair 1800
1805 W.Scott Morley Belfast LR; repairs 1799 & good repairs 1800 & 1801
1806 D.Moore G.Taylor Shields–Copenhagen Register of Shipping; good repairs 1800 & small repairs 1803 & 1804
1807 W.Scott
J.King
G.Taylor Be
Liverpool–Baltic
LR; repairs 1799 & good repairs 1800 & 1801
1809 G.Taylor G.Taylor Liverpool–St Johns Register of Shipping; small repairs 1803, 1804, & 1807

Fate

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Bellisarius was last listed in Lloyd's Register and the Register of Shipping in 1809.

Notes

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  1. ^ Lloyd's Register gave the year of launch as 1762. The Register of Shipping amended the year to 1779.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d "Letter of Marque, p.52 – Retrieved 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. ^ LR (1789), Seq.No.B491.
  3. ^ a b c d e British southern whale fishery database – Voyages: Bellisarius.
  4. ^ a b c d e Clayton (2014), p. 71.

References

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