Golconda (1815 ship)
Golconda was launched at Calcutta in 1815. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from India to England in 1819. She spent the bulk of her career as a country ship, trading in the East Indies until she wrecked in September 1840 while carrying troops to Canton. Career. EIC voyage (1819): Captain James Edwards was at Madras on 20 April 1819. "Golconda" reached Simon's Bay on 6 July and Saint Helena on 10 August. She arrived at Greenhithe on 23 October. At the time her owner was F. J. I. Edwards & Co.  Golconda in the "East India Registry and Directory": On 20 September 1835, "Golconda" sailed from Singapore for Canton in company with , "Sulimany", "Duke of Lancaster", "Mermaid", and the Danish ship "Matadore". On 16 October during bad weather north of , "Golconda" ran into "Matadore" and almost cut her in half. "Matadore" sank after "Golconda" was able to rescue her crew. "Golconda" was herself badly damaged and her crew had to man her pumps and jettison 700 bales (of cotton) forward where she was leaking in order to lighten her. On 20 October "Golconda" reached Asses Ears and Whampoa anchorage five days  later. By 1840 or so, "Golconda" was still registered at Bombay, with Bell, master. Fate. On 20 August 1840, the 37th Madras Native Infant Regiment sailed from Madras aboard "Golconda", "Minerva", "Sophia", and "Thetis", all bound for Canton, China. The last three arrived safely. "Golconda" disappeared. She was the headquarters ship for the regiment and carried its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel William Isaacs, 13 other officers, and some 350 soldiers and camp followers. "Thetis" last saw "Golconda" on 13 September. "Golconda" had exited the strait and was entering the China Sea. "Thomas King", Rounce, master, coming from Manila, saw "Golconda" on  18 September at , "all well". Between 22 and 24 September there was a major typhoon that peaked on the 24th. On 29 September 1841 the Government ruled that all aboard "Golconda" had perished with an effective date of 24 September 1840. Post script. A program that aired on the BBC in 2000 described the fortuitous discovery of the wreck of "Golconda" on the Panagatan Cays (), south of the Penagatan Atoll) in the Spanish East Indies. The identification was based on a belt buckle that identified the unit as one of the EIC's Madras regiments. This, and a musket butt  plate with an inscribed GR (Grenadiers), identified the unit as the 37th Madras Native Infantry. (A British government document refers to the unit as the 27th Madras Native Infantry.) Notes, citations, and references. Notess Citations References