IOR/L/MAR/B/175G

The journal of the East India Company ship Phoenix by Captain William Moffat Esq from 24 February 1800 to 24 July 1802. The journal contains:

• A ‘List of Ships Company Phœnix 6th Voyage 1800’ (ff 2 and 3)
• Lists of Troops belonging to His Majesty’s Regiments, Women and Children accompanying the Detachments, and Recruits belonging to different Regiments in India (ff 2-3 and ff 4-6)
• List of Private Passengers for India embarked on board at Portsmouth (f 3), Lists of Invalids embarked on board for Bombay, those embarked on board for England (ff 6-7), and List of Discharged Soldiers received on board at St Helena (f 7)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Deptford to Gravesend (23 March 1800), Beachy Head (7 May 1800), Mother Bank (8 May 1800), Torbay [Tor Bay] (25 May 1800), the Lizard (29 May 1800), Saint Anthony [Ilha de Santo Antão] (24 June 1800), Table Bay (6 September 1800), Island of Apaluria (20 October 1800), Great Nicobar (1 November 1800), Car Nicobar (5 November 1800), Little Andaman (7 November 1800), South Channel (22 November 1800), Kedgiree [Khejuri] (25 November 1800), Culpi [Kulpi] (6 December 1800) and Diamond Harbour (7 December 1800)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Diamond Harbour to Culpee [Kulpi] (7 January 1801), Saugor [Sagar] (9 January 1801), Point Palmiras (15 February 1801), Trincomalie [Trincomalee] (24 February 1801), Point de Galle (27 February 1801), Columbo [Colombo] (5 March 1801), Cape Cormorin [Kanyakumari] (7 March 1801), Calicut [Kozhikode] (14 March 1801), Mangalore [Mangaluru] (18 March 1801), Pigeon Island [Netrani Island] (22 March 1801), Goa (26 March 1801) and Bombay [Mumbai] (2 April 1801)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Bombay to Cape Gardafui [Guardafui] (11 July 1801), Mount Felix (13 July 1801), Cape St Peter (14 July 1801), Burnt Island (20 July 1801), Aden (2 August 1801), Babel Mandel Island [Jazirat Mayyun] (14 August 1801) and Mocha (24 August 1801)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Mocha to Pilot’s Island (21 September 1801), Cape Aden (23 September 1801), Black Point (25 September 1801), Reiden [Raida] (2 October 1801), Halabi Island (7 October 1801) and Bombay (17 October 1801)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Bombay to St Mary’s Rocks (20 November 1801), Tellicherry [Thalassery] (23 November 1801), Anjanga [Anchuthengu] (4 January 1802) and Quillon [Kollam] (5 January 1802)
• The daily entries for the voyage from Quillon to Anjanga (21 January 1802), Cape Cormorin (24 January 1802), Cape Lagullas [Cape Agulhas] (20 March 1802), False Cape [False Bay] (21 March 1802); St Helena (5 April 1802), Island of Ascension (18 April 1802); St Mary’s Island (21 May 1802), Praule Point [Prawle Point] (6 June 1802), Beachy Head (7 June 1802), Dungeness (8 June 1802), the Nore (9 June 1802), Gravesend (11 June 1802), Halfway Reach (24 June 1802) and Deptford (25 June 1802).

The journal contains daily entries in six printed columns: H [Hour], Courses, K [Knots], F [Fathoms], Winds & c., and Week Day, Calendar Date and Observations. The entries consist of remarks only when the ship is at anchor. The journal provides navigational information, notes on sightings of other vessels, and other observations during voyages. The journal records the Phoenix’s capture of the French privateer General Malartic on 10 November 1800. It describes the Malartic as sailing ‘close to us, her Tops and Rigging manned for boarding’, but that having given her ‘part of our starboard broadside... they called out they had surrendered’ (f 56 verso). Moffat later took on board Major General David Baird and his staff at Sagar in Bengal (f 63 verso). Baird and his staff transferred to the gunboat Wasp bound for Bombay on 25 March 1801 (f 73 verso). Moffat subsequently met with the Griffin and part of the 80th Regiment of Foot at Aden, learned about the arrival of the expeditionary ships the Anna Maria, Wellesley and London at Socotra, and news that ‘the whole French Army near Cairo have surrendered to the British' (f 95 verso). He later ‘gained intelligence of the preliminaries of peace between France and England being signed 10th October last [i.e. 1801]’ (f 119).

Crew List, Passenger List; Soldier List