Will (1797 ship)

Slave trading

Captain James Locke received a letter of marque for Will on 4 July 1797. A database of slave voyages by Liverpool-based vessels shows Will, James Lake, master, sailing to the Bight of Biafra and the Gulf of Guinea islands, and then going on to Jamaica.

The Lloyd's Register (1798) entry for Will gives her master's name T. Dodson, changing to H. Crow. The database of slave voyages shows Crow making four voyages to the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands, and then to Jamaica, in 1798, 1800, 1801, and 1802.

Will, left Liverpool on 30 July 1798 with a crew of 46 men, bound for Angola, but ended up stopping at Bonny River. Crow had three men die on Will. Will arrived on 29 December at Kingston, Jamaica, with 420 slaves. In Jamaica, Crow lost 31 crew members—10 died, the Royal Navy pressed 15, and six deserted—forcing him to bring on 13 new crew members. Will left Jamaica on 14 February 1799 and arrived in Liverpool on 9 April, with a crew of 23, apparently having lost two more crew members en route.

For her second slaving voyage, Will left Liverpool on 25 July 1799, with a crew of 42. She again sailed to Bonny. Near Cape Palmas a French privateer schooner fired on Will, but sheered off on meeting resistance. Then after Will had been at Bonny for some three months gathering slaves, Hugh Crow's brother Will, captain of Charlotte, brought the intelligence that there were three French frigates in the area. Next day, three frigates and a schooner came up and anchored some four miles away. They then sent their boats to attack Will. However, the tide was at half-ebb and the boats did not push over the Barleur bank, which stood between them and their target. After a two-hour long-range exchange of fire, Will cut her cables and returned to Bonny. There the nine ships in the harbour organized themselves under the command of Captain Latham of Lottery and sallied forth, anchoring in a line about four miles from the French vessels, which after a week gave up and sailed away.

On 2 February 1800, a French privateer attacked Will. Crow fought back, driving the privateer off, though not without suffering casualties and a great deal of damage. In the engagement, Will had three crewmen wounded, two slaves killed, and ten slaves wounded. Crow estimated that had the French vessel attacked once more he would have been forced to strike.

Will arrived at Kingston on 7 March, with 405 slaves on board. Crow had six crew members die and four desert. When she arrived, boats from eight warships arrived and pressed many of Will's crew. Then on 12 April, during a celebration in honour of Rodney's victory, the crew on board a nearby sloop fired a gun that was still loaded with a double-headed shot. The projectile hit Will's doctor, killing him; the doctor and mate had been drinking coffee on the quarterdeck. Will left for Britain on May 19.

Prior to leaving on his third slaving voyage, "Crowe" received a letter of marque on 28 August. Will sailed again in October, but did not reach Bonny for some 10 weeks. There she took on the captain and crew of Diana, which had wrecked. Lloyd's List reported that Diana, of Liverpool, Ward, master, had wrecked on the Bonny Bar, but that the crew was saved, and that Will and Lord Stanley had brought them into Jamaica. Will reached Jamaica without the loss of a single man. On 21 May 1801 she left Port Royal in convoy, under the escort of HMS York. Captain John Ferrier, of York, appointed Crow a senior captain of the convoy, and placed Will at the rear of the convoy as "whipper-in". Will encountered Hector, Blackie, master, of Liverpool, which was not part of the convoy but was in a sinking state. Hector capsized before Crow could get her crew off, but he was still able to save all but one man on her, a passenger who drowned as she capsized and went under.

After his return to Liverpool Crow received two pieces of silver. The merchants and underwriters of Liverpool gave him a silver plate worth £200 and engraved, commemorating him on his feat of driving off three French frigates on 16 December 1799. Also, the Lloyd's underwriters gave him an engraved silver cup commemorating Crow's defeat of the French privater brig on 21 February 1800.

Crow left on his fourth slaving voyage on Will in November 1801. She was delayed for some time at Cape Palmas] due to an absence of wind. After collecting a cargo of slaves at Bonny, Crow sailed for the Portuguese island of Saint Thomas (probably São Tomé and Príncipe) to resupply. There one of Will's officers fell overboard and was eaten by sharks before the crew could rescue him. Also, there Crow found the master (Wright), crew, and some slaves from the brig John Bull, which had wrecked on the coast of Africa. Crow took them aboard, including some 60 slaves. Disease broke out among the rescued men and after Crow landed them some time later at Barbados, most died. Crow then sailed on to Kingston. Will and Crow arrived back at Liverpool in October 1802, narrowly missing being shipwrecked on the coast of Wales. Aspinal & Co. had Will repaired and laid up, and Crow moved to a new ship, Ceres.

Captain John Brelsford received a letter of marque on 21 June 1804. That year he sailed to the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands, and then to Jamaica.

Fate

For her last slaving voyage, in 1806, Will's captain was Thomas Livesley (or Lievesly). He sailed the same circuit as his predecessors, but apparently without a letter of marque. Lloyd's List reported that Will, of and for Liverpool, had been upset by a squall after leaving Kingston and that four crew members had drowned.