Maritime record MWX1966 - Alexander

'Melancholy loss of the ALEXANDER East Indiaman and all her crew! Weymouth, March 27 - It has blown a hard gale the whole of yesterday and last night from the SSW and it is with heartfelt regret I inform you of the loss of the ALEXANDER, East Indiaman, Captain O-, from Bombay, bound to London. She was driven on shore on the beach during the gale of last night, about two miles west of Portland; and, I am sorry to add, that the captain and all the crew and passengers are lost, except four Lascars and a woman. The ship is gone to pieces; and very little of her cargo can be saved.' (1)

`The ALEXANDER, Auldjo, from Bombay to London, was totally lost on Sunday night, about two miles west of Portland, during a violent gale of wind at SSW, and all the crew and passengers, except four lascars and a woman, drowned. Very little of the cargo expected to be saved. (2) `...sixty black people and servants were buried in one grave in St. George's churchyard, close by the south gate, at Portland. Several others were buried at other places. She had sailed from Bombay in October 1814, and was lost on Easter Monday. No one saved could speak any English. (3) `...only four Lascars out of a large crew, and one woman out of twenty passengers, more than 140 perished. A tablet on Wyke church tower commemorates the wreck. By 4am, she was a complete wreck. The female passenger saved was Persian; E Henning Esq. gave survivors clothing and refreshments at Passage House. (4) Source (4) gives the date of loss as 27-MAR, but sources (1) and (2) prefer 26-MAR. Master: Auldjo (4); O- (1) Crew Lost: 95 Lives Lost: 140+ (4)


[Col.5]: Melancholy loss of the ALEXANDER East Indiaman and all her crew!

Weymouth, March 27 - It has blown a hard gale the whole of yesterday and last night from the SSW and it is with heartfelt regret I inform you of the loss of the ALEXANDER, East Indiaman, Captain O-, from Bombay, bound to London. She was driven on shore on the beach during the gale of last night, about two miles west of Portland; and, I am sorry to add, that the captain and all the crew and passengers are lost, except four Lascars and a woman. The ship is gone to pieces; and very little of her cargo can be saved.' (1)

'The ALEXANDER, Auldjo, from Bombay to London, was totally lost on Sunday night, about two miles west of Portland, during a violent gale of wind at SSW, and all the crew and passengers, except four lascars and a woman, drowned. Very little of the cargo expected to be saved.' (2)

'...sixty black people and servants were buried in one grave in St. George's churchyard, close by the south gate, at Portland. Several others were buried at other places. She had sailed from Bombay in October 1814, and was lost on Easter Monday. No one saved could speak any English.' (3)

'...only four Lascars out of a large crew, and one woman out of twenty passengers, more than 140 perished. A tablet on Wyke church tower commemorates the wreck. By 4am, she was a complete wreck. The female passenger saved was Persian; E Henning Esq. gave survivors clothing and refreshments at Passage House.' (4)

'The ALEXANDER, East Indiaman, Capt. Ogle, from Bombay to London, was totally lost on Sunday last, on Portland Beach, near Wyke, in thick weather and a hard gale. Only 5 of the crew saved.' (5)

NB: Source (4) gives the date of loss as 27-MAR, also indicated by source (3); sources (1)(2) and (5), however, indicate the date of loss as 26-MAR.

There was clearly some confusion over the name of the vessel lost, since this account appears to coincide with the account of the ABERCROMBIE [see SY 66 NE 126 / 1046694]. No ABERCROMBIE or ALEXANDER is in fact listed as a wreck at the right period in lists of English East India Company ships. The vessel may have been a private East Indiaman; alternatively neither name is correct. (6) The following may indicate that the vessel was recovered, but was too severely damaged to continue in use:

ALEXANDER, built 1803, 614 tons, in use 1804-17. She had a change of master after 1815, with a new master 1816-17, but was sold in 1817 on condition she be used as a hulk or broken up. (5)

Weymouth, March 29 - Very little of the cargo of the ALEXANDER East Indiaman has been saved. (7)

'We are sorry to announce the loss of the ALEXANDER country ship, from Bombay, which was driven in shore in the course of Monday night last, close by the village of Wyke, near Portland. All on board unhappily perished, with the exception of four lascars, and a woman.' (8)

A monument in the churchyard at Wyke Regis reads: 'THE SHIP ALEXANDER. This monument is erected by C Forbes Esq, MP London, and the owners of said ship, which, on her voyage from Bombay to London, was totally lost in the West Bay, on the night of the 26th March 1815, when all of the crew and passengers, consisting of more than 140 souls unhappily perished, with the exception of five Lascars. The following are the names of the persons whose bodies were found, and buried immediately adjoining this spot: Lewis Auldjo, Commander; Mr Brown, Chief Officer; Major Jackson. Captain Campbell, Lieutenant Wade, Mrs Auldjo, Mrs Dunbar, Miss Torajo, two Misses Deverels, Miss Jackson, Master Russel, Master Jackson and Miss Elphinstone'. (9)

'It is with infinite concern that we have to announce that the violent gale at SW on Monday morning, caused the heart-rending catastrophe of the total loss of the ALEXANDER, homeward-bound East Indiaman, Captain Auldjo, in Portland Beach, laden with a cargo of cotton, coffee, sugar &c. from Bombay. She struck on the ridge of pebbles, about two miles from thence to the westward, at two A.M. and at four she was a complete wreck, and every soul on board (150 in number, passengers included) were consigned to a watery grave, excepting four Malays and one Persian. The whole line of coast from Portland to Abbotsbury has been completely strewed with the vestiges of the hull, dead bodies &c. and a very small part only of the cargo is saved... the remainder being totally destroyed and and scattered in fragments on the shore'... (11)

There appear to have been two ship's named ALEXANDER in service of the East India Company at this time. The vessel described by this record was built in Bombay in 1803, for her owner Charles Forbes. The other ALEXANDER was also built in 1803, in Liverpool, for George Clay. (10)

It would appear that it is the fate of the Liverpool built ALEXANDER which is stated in source (5) above - sold in 1817 on condition that she be used as a hulk or broken up. (12)

The ALEXANDER, built in Bombay, 746 tons, was Lost upon the Bill of Portland, 1814-1815. (13)

Master: Auldjo (4); O- (1); Ogle (5) Lewis Auldjo (9)
Crew Lost: listed as 95 (4); all but 4 (1)(2)(4); all but 5 (5)
Passengers: 20 (4)
Passengers Lost: 19 (4); all but 1 (1)(2)
Lives Lost: 140+ (4)
Built: 1803 (10)
Where built: Bombay (10)
Owner: Charles Forbes (9)(10)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
Sh.Merc.03.04.1815®

<1> Various, Lancaster gazette, 01-APR-1815 (Serial). SWX5168.

<2> 1745 onwards, Lloyds list, 28-MAR-1815, No.4958 (Serial). SWX8434.

<3> 1976, Dorset magazine : the county magazine vol. 50, p18 (Article in serial). SWX4560.

<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> http://www.eicships.info/ships/shipdetail.asp?sid=819, > accessed on 27-JAN-2009 (Digital archive). SDO20663.

<7> Morning Post, Friday 31-MAR-1815, No. 13,789 p2 (Serial). SDO20132.

<8> Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, Friday 31-MAR-1815, No. 2,736 p3 (Serial). SDO20664.

<9> Grocott, T, 1997, Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras, 379-381 (Monograph). SWX4795.

<10> http://www.weymouthlunarsociety.org.uk/, alexander.htm Accessed 17-MAR-2016 (Digital archive). SDO20665.

<11> Salisbury and Winchester Journal, Monday 03-APR-1815, No. 4,071 LXXX p4 (Serial). SWX6825.

<12> NRHE Compiler's comments, 17-MAR-2016 (Verbal communication). SDO19863.

<13> Phipps, John, 1840, A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India, 188 (Monograph). SDO20666.

<14> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 059 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<15> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 6 (Monograph). SDO16406.

<16> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1144791 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:37PM