Maritime record MWX1845 - Aeolus 17/11/1795

Wreck of an English naval transport which stranded at Passage House, Chesil Cove, in a storm, en route from London for Jamaica with a cargo of timber, masts and naval stores. Part of Christian's Fleet, 17 Nov 1795.

The Aeolus was built in 1777 in Philadelphia, a sailing transport with 18 crew, owned by Miller and Co., registered in Whitby with a gross tonnage of 153. It was lost on Chesil Beach on 17 Nov 1795 under Captain William Lloyd, whilst carrying a cargo of wood, masts and naval stores from London to Jamaica. 9 crew lost (4). Other sources report 9 crew lost (1) and 10 (2).

`A Lieutenant, one midshipman and seven seamen drowned; the master and eight saved' (4). Source (4) states that the above is from source (2), which actually reads: `The Aeolus (transport), Duck, is on shore on Portland Beach. 10 men drowned. A gale appears to have occurred, both from the number of vessels lost, and a mention of other vessels `safe in Weymouth and Portland Roads after the gale' (2).

`The ship Aeolus belonging to Whitby (a transport), Isaac Duck master, bound to the West Indies with masts and other naval stores. A Lieutenant of the Navy, a midshipman and 7 seamen drowned. Master and 8 seamen saved. The ship sets a whale on Portland beach' (5) .

`Letter to the Sh. Merc. dated 07.12.1795 - Sirs, having had the misfortune to be wrecked on Portland beach in the Aeolus transport, and being informed of the appearance of a scandalous paragraph in the papers concerning the Portland people, stating that they have not only plundered the property of the distressed seamen, in spite of the soldiers, but were instrumental to their death! In gratitude, we do hereby assure you, Sir, of the contrary, but that we have experienced the most hospitable treatment we could have experienced in any part of the world, and that they actually hazarded their lives to preserve those who were in danger. Signed:- William Lloyd, Master; James Hannah, carpenter; Samuel Lock, seaman.' (4).

`The worst instance, within historic knowledge, both of wreck and wrecking on the Dorset coast occurred in 1795. Rear-Admiral Christian with a squadron of men-of-war and upwards of 200 transports with 16,000 troops on board left St. Helens for the West Indies on 16 November; on the 17th they were caught west of Portland in a terrible gale, and on the 18th six transports went to pieces on the Chesil beach where 234 dead bodies were immediately thrown up, a number increased to 1,600 by the 26th. The worst part of the story was the behaviour of the people ashore, mostly Portlanders, who are always praying for wrecks on their coast and whose whole attention was devoted to plunder instead of the rescue of the drowning. They were soon reinforced by a considerable mob from different parts solely intent on plunder, until soldiers brought on the scene dispersed them with volleys of musketry... `...they distinctly perceived the three masts of the supposed frigate appearing over the stony ridge; but which were in fact the masts of the AEOLUS Merchant Ship, laden with timber on account of Government. There perished Lieutenant Mason of the Navy, (who was also an Agent for Transports) and his Brother a Midshipman. A number of men were also drowned, which it is supposed would not have happened, had these unfortunate people understood the signals made by the men of Portland who now crowded down to the scene of desolation, and meant to express by signs, and by throwing small pebbles at them (for to make them hear was impossible), that they should remain on board; because they foresaw, what actually happened, that the ship would drive so high on the bank, that they would soon be able to leave her with less hazard - those who continued on board were saved, though many were dreadfully bruised... (Taken from Ann. Register, Account of an Eyewitness; Smith (Charlotte), Narrative of the Loss, and. Lond. 1796.) (Found under the headings of `Details of a few shipwrecks and `Dorset Maritime History on this website.) (6)

The vessel type is given as a transport in (2), in the contemporary sense, which included the transport of ordnance.

<1> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index, Extracted 23 November 1992 (Index). SWX5030.

<2> 1745 onwards, Lloyds list, 20-NOV-1795, No.2769 (Serial). SWX8434.

<3> 1975, Dorset magazine : the county magazine vol. 48, p15 (Article in serial). SWX4573.

<4> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<5> Sherbourne Mercury, p4, 30-NOV-1795 (Serial). SWX4820.

<6> World Wide Web page andlt;http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval.htmlandgt; [Accessed 24-Mar-2003] (Digital archive). SWX4879.

<7> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 457 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<8> Smith, 1796, A Narrative of the loss of the Catherine, Venus and Piedmont transports etc. (Article in monograph). SDO1.

<9> Boult, E, 2003, Christian's Fleet, A Dorset Shipping Tragedy. (Monograph). SWX8136.

<10> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 5 (Monograph). SDO16406.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:37PM