The extremely rare and significant Napoleonic Wars Far East “China Fleet” Honourable East India Company Indiaman captain’s cased 50 Guinea Lloyds Patriotic Fund Sword awarded to Captain James Farquarson, Honourable East India Company, the commanding officer of the merchantman H.E.I.C.Ship Alfred, whose ship formed part of the famed merchant fleet under Commodore Nathaniel Dance, known as the “China Fleet”, an annual convoy of East Indiamen from China and other Far Eastern ports that carried millions of pounds worth of trade goods. Bound from Canton to Europe, on 14 February 1804 it had reached the Strait of Malacca when four strange sails were spotted. This was a French squadron commanded by Admiral Linois and comprising the 74 gun warship Marengo and three frigates. By daybreak on the following day, 15 February 1804, the ships were only about three miles apart with the British ships forming a line of battle. Linois had sailed to the Indian Ocean in 1803 before the Treaty of Amiens was repudiated, under orders to install garrisons in the French and Dutch colonies in the region and to prey on lightly defended British merchant shipping. One of the richest and most significant targets was the "China Fleet”, and Dutch spies at Batavia had alerted Linois to its movements. Dance knew that lookouts could, from a distance, mistake a large East Indiaman for a ship of the line. Dance ordered four of the largest ships to hoist blue ensigns which implied that they were warships, and indicated that his fleet included part of the Royal Navy squadron operating under Rainier's command, stationed in the Indian Ocean at this time. The British ships then headed for the Straits with the French in pursuit. Dance ordered his lead ships to come about and there followed a brief exchange of fire. Convinced that he was up against at least five 74 gun warships, and that he faced a far superior force, Linois then withdrew. Dance continued his ruse, pursuing Linois for two hours until the body of the convoy was safe. Linois later claimed that the unescorted British merchant fleet was defended by eight ships of the line, but Linois's own officers and the Emperor Napoleon personally castigated the French admiral for his failure to press the attack against a weaker and extremely valuable enemy. King George III knighted Dance for his courage and various mercantile and patriotic organisations awarded him large sums of money. Dance and his fellow captains were highly praised for saving the convoy which prevented both the East India Company and Lloyd's of London from likely financial ruin. With a cargo of tea, silk and porcelain valued at over £8 million at the time (the equivalent of £600 million today). By acting as they did, all were rewarded by various national and mercantile institutions and each captain received a sword of £50 value from the Patriotic Fund. In all 15 such swords were awarded for this event. These were the only Lloyd's swords presented to Merchant Navy Officer's and are unique in being the only swords of £50 value to have the ships name and the date engraved on the scabbard. James Farquharson was also rewarded with the sum of £500.
The hilt consists of a gilt pommel and back-piece in the form of a lion's skin. The quillon is shaped as a Roman fasces and the guard meets this at right angles in the form of a Hercules’ club with a snake entwining about it and is attached to a loop in the lion's mouth. There is a diamond knurled ivory grip with triangular langets and a rectangular plaque at the base on which is a group in relief of cannon, anchor, trident, etc., with a floral pendant beneath. With the remnants of its original gilt wire intwined wrist cord. The polished steel 78cm curved fullered blade has blued and gilt decoration, decorated with rose, thistle and shamrock supported by mermaids, crown surmounting monogram 'GR' (cypher for King George III) in wreath and palm branch, cherubs holding a wreath above a shield charged with an anchor, surrounded by guns and flags and Britannia seated. The blade has the following presentation inscription on one side: ‘FROM THE PATRIOTIC FUND AT LLOYDS TO I. FARQUHARSON ESQR. COMNG. THE H.E.I.COS. SHIP ALFRED ONE OF THE FLEET OF MERCHANTMEN WHICH ON THE 15TH. FEBY. 1804 DEFEATED & PURSUED A SQUADRON OF FRENCH MEN OF WAR UNDER COMMAND OF ADL. LINOIS IN THE MARENGO OF 84 GUNS. AS RECORDED IN THE LONDON GAZETTE OF THE 11TH. AUGT.’ the inscription is highlighted in gilt on a blued ground. Contained in its original fishskin-covered and ornate gilt panelled scabbard, the rim of the throat engraved with the maker's details, R. TEED SWORD CUTLER LANCASTER COURT STRAND, decorated with a series of three stands of arms on either side. Mounted in ormolu, the mounts with applied naval trophies and fouled anchors, the former framing respectively figures of Hercules with the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, and with a nude man wrestling a tiger on an anchored leash beneath the inscription: ’ALFRED 1804’.
Together with its original Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund Case for a 50 Guinea Sword, this complete with its carrying handle, and now a replaced soutache, this true to form in that it has been engraved in a correct manner: ‘From the Patriotic Fund Lloyds of London to Captain James Farquharson of the H.E.I.Cos. ship Alfred 1804’.
The ivory contant in this sword has a SITES Registration Number V4ARG2M8 issued through the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Centre for International Trade, and is registered and therefore legal to sell.
Condition: some partial fading to both bluing and gilding on sword blade, also small areas of surface rust - some of which has left trace patches after cleaning, the guard retaining most of original gilding, this however rubbed on the high-points, ivory grip also lightly tarnished, all conducive with age and handling by the recipient and over the last 200 years, the scabbard similarly showing light rubbing to the gilding on metalwork, and the fishskin also rubbed and with slight ageing and minor loss. Overall condition is Fair and conducive with age and handling.
Provenance: This exact same 50-guinea sword, awarded to Captain James Farquharson, was sold by John Nicholson Auctioneers at Fernhurst, 5-6 April 2011. The estimate price (£10,000 to £15,000) was exceeded and the sword realised £38,000. At that time it was sold to an Australian collector.
Another similar 50-guinea sword for this action, awarded to Captain Robert Torin of the merchant ship Torin, sold in Bonhams on 30 November 2011. The sword realised £43,250.
One, awarded to Captain Henry Wilson of the merchant ship now resides in the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
On the 31st. January 1804 a convoy of sixteen East India Company merchant ships and a number of smaller vessels under Commodore Nathaniel Dance sailed from Canton for Europe. On the 14th February they had reached the Strait of Malacca when four strange sails were spotted. This was a French squadron commanded by Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois and comprising the Marengo (74) and three frigates. Understanding the importance of the Indian Ocean trade and seeking to threaten it from the start of the inevitable war, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a squadron to sail for India in March 1803. Linois had sailed to the Indian Ocean before the Treaty of Amiens was repudiated, under orders to install garrisons in the French and Dutch colonies in the region and to prey on lightly defended British merchant shipping. One of the richest and most significant targets was the "China Fleet", an annual convoy of East Indiamen from China and other Far Eastern ports that carried millions of pounds worth of trade goods. Although these large vessels were accompanied by numerous smaller merchant ships, news of the outbreak of war had only just arrived in the Pacific and the only warship available to defend the fleet was the small HEIC armed brig Ganges. Dutch informants notified Linois of the fleet's destination and date of departure from Canton while he was anchored at Batavia on Java, and he sailed in search of the convoy on 28 December 1803, eventually discovering it on 14 February 1804.
By daybreak on the following day, 15 February 1804, the ships were only about three miles apart with the British ships forming a line of battle. Dance knew that lookouts could, from a distance, mistake a large East Indiaman for a ship of the line. Dance ordered four of the largest ships to hoist blue ensigns which implied that they were warships, and indicated that his fleet included part of the Royal Navy squadron operating under Rainier's command, stationed in the Indian Ocean at this time. The British ships then headed for the Straits with the French in pursuit. Dance ordered his lead ships to come about and there followed a brief exchange of fire. Alfred was one of the Indiamen that actually exchanged fire with the French, in her case for about 15 minutes, and that at long range. Convinced that he was up against at least five 74 gun warships, and that he faced a far superior force, Linois then withdrew. Dance continued his ruse, pursuing Linois for two hours until the body of the convoy was safe. King George III knighted Dance for his courage and various mercantile and patriotic organisations awarded him large sums of money.
Linois later claimed that the unescorted British merchant fleet was defended by eight ships of the line, a claim criticised by contemporary officers and later historians. Linois's own officers and the Emperor Napoleon personally castigated the French admiral for his failure to press the attack against a weaker and extremely valuable enemy. Although he remained in command of the squadron for another two years and had some minor success against undefended merchant ships, he suffered a string of defeats and inconclusive engagements against weaker British naval forces. Ironically, Linois was captured at the Action of 13 March 1806 by a numerically superior British battle squadron that he mistook for a merchant convoy.
The British losses were just one man killed and another wounded but the action saved a convoy with a cargo of tea, silk and porcelain valued at over £8 million at the time (the equivalent of £900 million as of 2024). Also on board were 80 Chinese plants ordered by Sir Joseph Banks for the royal gardens and carried in a specially designed plant room. Dance and his fellow captains were highly praised for saving the convoy which prevented both the East India Company and Lloyd's of London from likely financial ruin. They were all rewarded by various national and mercantile institutions and each captain received a sword of £50 value from the Patriotic Fund. These were the only Lloyd's swords presented to Merchant Navy Officer's and are unique in being the only swords of £50 value to have the ships name and the date engraved on the scabbard.
It is interesting to note that, before the convoy had set sail, Dance had consulted his captains as to the action to be taken should they be attacked by the French. The HEIC Select Committee in Canton had been very concerned for the safety of the unescorted convoy, and had debated delaying its departure. Henry Meriton, captain of the Exeter, and Robert Torin, captain of the Coutts, had been in a similar situation off Brazil in 1800 and had masqueraded as ships of the line. In fact Meriton had actually captured a French frigate, the only time a warship struck its colours to a merchant ship. Meriton’s ship Exeter had captured this French frigate during what became known as the action of 4 August 1800, a disastrous French attack on a convoy of East Indiamen off Brazil. For his part, James Farquharson was also a distinguished veteran of a scrape with the French. Back on 28 January 1797 he was the Commodore of the “China Fleet” Indiamen and off Java when they encountered six French frigates. This became known as the Bali Strait Incident. Farquharson proceeded to organise a bluff, something that Nathaniel Dance would them emanate. Farquharson’s bluff had been to give the impression that the convoy consisted of the powerful ships of the line that the Indiamen resembled, and he had ordered his ships to advance in line of battle, and the French retreated, convinced they were facing a superior force. The East India Compay thanked Farquharson and awarded him 500 guineas on this occasion. When Nathaniel Dance had consulted his officers, Meriton had advised that the convoy was powerful enough in both appearance and reality to dissuade any attack. Farquharson, despite having pulled off this ruse before, had opposed Meriton, arguing that the crews of East Indiamen were so badly trained they would be unable to mutually defend one another if faced with a determined enemy. Eventually the Committee decided it could delay the convoy no longer. There is no doubt that this action of the above three officers encouraged Dance to proceed as he did.
The China Fleet was a large annual British merchant convoy that gathered at Canton in the Pearl River during the winter before sailing for Britain, via India. As the convoy passed through the East Indies, it was joined by vessels sailing from other European ports in the region on the route to India, until it often numbered dozens of ships. The 1804 fleet departed in late January, and by the time it reached the approaches to the Strait of Malacca it had swelled to include 16 East Indiamen, 11 country ships, a Portuguese merchant ship from Macau and a vessel from Botany Bay in New South Wales. Although the HEIC had provided the small, armed brig Ganges as an escort, this vessel could only dissuade pirates; it could not hope to compete with a French warship. There was no military escort: news of the outbreak of war had reached Canton before reinforcements had arrived from the squadron in India.
At 08:00 on 14 February 1804, with the island of Pulo Aura within sight to the south-west near the eastern entrance to the Straits of Malacca, the Indiaman Royal George raised a signal describing three sail approaching the convoy from the direction of the island. This was Linois's squadron, which had been cruising in the area for the previous month in anticipation of the convoy's arrival. Dance ordered the brig Ganges and the Indiamen Alfred, Royal George, Bombay Castle and Hope to approach the strange vessels and investigate, rapidly discovering they were enemy warships. By 13:00, Dance had readied his guns and reformed his convoy, with the large Indiamen formed up in line of battle to receive the French attack as if they were warships. During the late afternoon, Linois's squadron fell in behind the slow line of merchant ships and Dance expected an immediate attack, but Linois was cautious and merely observed the convoy, preferring to wait until the following morning before engaging the enemy. Dance made use of the delay to gather the smaller country ships on the opposite side of his line from the French, the brig Ganges shepherding them into position and collecting volunteers from their crews to augment the sailors on board the Indiamen. Linois later excused his delay in attacking the merchant convoy by citing the need for caution: ‘If the bold front put on by the enemy in the daytime had been intended as a ruse to conceal his weakness, he would have profited by the darkness of the night to endeavour to conceal his escape; and in that case should have taken advantage of his manoeuvres. But I soon became convinced that this security was not feigned; three of his ships constantly kept their lights up, and the fleet continued to lie to, in order of battle, throughout the night. This position facilitated my gaining the wind, and enabled me to observe the enemy closely.’ — Linois, quoted in translation in William James ‘The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Volume 3, 1827.
At dawn on 15 February, both the British and the French raised their colours. Dance hoped to persuade Linois that his ships included some fully armed warships and he therefore ordered the brig Ganges and the four lead ships to hoist blue ensigns, while the rest of the convoy raised red ensigns. By the system of national flags then in use in British ships, this implied that the ships with blue ensigns were warships attached to the squadron of Admiral Rainier, while the others were merchant ships under their protection. Dance was unknowingly assisted by the information that had reached Linois at Batavia, which claimed that there were 23 merchant ships and the brig in the convoy. Dance had collected six additional ships during his journey, and the identity of these were unknown to the French, who assumed that at least some of the unidentified vessels must be warships, particularly as several vessels had been recently painted at Canton to resemble ships of the line.
At 09:00 Linois was still only observing the convoy, reluctant to attack until he could be sure of the nature of his opponents. Dance responded to the reprieve by reforming the line of battle into sailing formation to increase his convoy's speed with the intention of reaching the Straits ahead of Linois. With the convoy a less intimidating target, Linois began to slowly approach the British ships. By 13:00 it was clear that Linois's faster ships were in danger of isolating the rear of the convoy, and Dance ordered his lead ships to tack and come about so they would cross in front of the French squadron. The British successfully executed the manoeuvre, and at 13:15 Linois opened fire on the lead ship—Royal George—under the command of John Fam Timmins. The Royal George and the next four ships in line, the Indiaman Ganges, Dance's Earl Camden, the Warley and the Alfred, all returned fire, Ganges initially attacking Royal George in error. Captain James Prendergrass in Hope, the next in line, was so eager to join the battle that he misjudged his speed and collided with Warley, the ships falling back as their crews worked to separate their rigging. Shots were then exchanged at long range for 43 minutes, neither side inflicting severe damage.
Royal George had a sailor named Hugh Watt killed, another man wounded, and suffered some damage to her hull. None of the other British ships or any of the French reported anything worse than superficial damage in the engagement. At 14:00, Linois abandoned the action and ordered his squadron to haul away with the wind and sail eastwards, away from the convoy, under all sail. Determined to maintain the pretence of the presence of warships, Dance ordered the ships flying naval ensigns, including his flagship Earl Camden, to chase the French. None of the merchant ships could match the French speed, but an attempt at a chase would hopefully dissuade the French from returning. For two hours, Dance's squadron followed Linois, Hope coming close to catching Aventurier but ultimately unable to overtake the brig. At 16:00, Dance decided to gather his scattered ships and return to his former heading rather than risk attack from other raiders or lose sight of his convoy in the darkness. By 20:00, the entire British convoy had anchored at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca.
Commodore Nathaniel Dance received £5,000 from the Bombay Insurance Company (approximately £338,000 in present-day terms), a pension of £500 a year (approximately £34,000 a year in present-day terms), plate worth 200 guineas from the Honourable East India Company, a ceremonial sword worth £100, and a silver vase. Captain John Fam Timins, who had commanded the Royal George that had been engaged the longest for some 40 minutes and suffered light damage, with one man killed and one man wounded, received £1000, a sword and plate, while the other captains each received £500, and a sword and plate. Each captain under Nathaniel Dance, received a sword of £50 value from the Patriotic Fund. In all 15 such swords were awarded for this event. These were the only Lloyd's swords presented to Merchant Navy Officer's and are unique in being the only swords of £50 value to have the ships name and the date engraved on the scabbard
As can be seen from his involvement in the consultation with Nathaniel Dance prior to the departure from Canton, James Farquharson was already a long serving, distinguished and experienced merchant captain working for the Honourable East India Company by the time he fought the Battle of Pulo Aura.
He had been born on 11 June 1764 in Little Sampford, Essex, the son of William Farquharson, and Mary Ann Gordon, though his father went by the name of John, and his mother by that of Anne. He had an elder sister, Mary Ogilvie Farquharson (who later took the surname of Fendall on her marriage, who was born circa 1762, and a younger sister, Elizabeth Farquharson, born on 29 April 1765. His father, who was born in 1720 in Yateley, Hampshire, would also be in the employ of the Honourable East India Company, and died out in India at Fort William, Calcutta in 1789. His mother was born in 1723 and died in 1800. His parents were married on 26 June 1861 at Keith in Banff. Scotland. It is interesting to note that his elder sister, later became known as Mary Ogilvie Fendall “of Yateley”, this being the location that her father had been born in. He husband whom she had married in 1790 was in Holy Orders, being documented on the India Office Ecclesiastical Establishment.
James Farquharson’s vessel, Alfred, was also a “China Fleet” veteran, having been launched back on 16 October 1870, when built by Todd and Pitcher of Northfleet. She was a full-rigged ship of 1,211 tons. As of 1804 she had a crew of 135, and was armed with 28 12-pounder guns.
Farquharson had command of Alfred for her first through sixth voyages with the “China Fleet”, the sixth voyage being the one that witnessed the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15 February 1804.
On her first voyage when she sailed from Torbay on 2 February 1791, bound for St Helena and then on to Madras, and China. Alfred reached St Helena on 28 March, St Helena on 13 June, and Penang on 17 July. She arrived at Whampoa anchorage in China on 25 August. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 23 October, reached St Helena on 22 February 1792, and arrived at Long Reach on 18 April. Long Reach.
For her second voyage, War with France had broken out in 1793, so following the East India Company’s standard operating procedure on 22 February 1794 Farquharson received a letter of marque. The British government held her at Portsmouth, together with a number of other Indiamen in anticipation of using them as transports for an attack on Isle de France (Mauritius). It gave up the plan and released the vessels in May 1794. It paid £241 17 shillings and 6 pence for having delayed her departure by 9 days. Farquharson sailed on 2 May 1794 from Portsmouth, bound for China. Alfred arrived at Whampoa on 6 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 23 December, reached St Helena on 13 April 1795, and arrived at Long Reach on 25 July.
For her third voyage, Farquharson sailed from Portsmouth on 17 May 1796 bound for China. Alfred reached the Cape on 2 August, Madras on 11 November and Colombo on 28 November. There she gathered five other Indiamen, Boddam, Canton, Ocean, Taunton Castle, and Woodford. As the senior EIC captain, Farquharson was the commodore of the fleet. Together they sailed for Canton. On 28 January 1797 the Indiamen were off Java when they encountered six French frigates. This became known as the Bali Strait Incident. Farquharson proceeded to organise a bluff. To give the impression that the convoy consisted of the powerful ships of the line that the Indiamen resembled, Farquharson ordered his ships to advance in line of battle, and the French retreated, convinced they were facing a superior force. The Indiamen sailed east and then up towards China. Ocean wrecked in a storm the next day. Alfred was at Amboina on 9 February 1797 where she advised that Ocean had wrecked. Alfred arrived at Whampoa on 8 April; the other four surviving East Indiamen also arrived that day or the next. Homeward bound, Alfred crossed the Second Bar on 9 June, reached the Cape on 2 December and St Helena on 3 January 1798, and arrived at Gravesend on 3 April. On his return, the EIC thanked Farquharson and awarded him 500 guineas.
For her fourth voyage,Farquharson sailed from Portsmouth on 2 April 1799, bound for Madras and China. Alfred reached Madras on 31 July, Penang on 18 September, Malacca on 10 October, Balambangan on 6 December, and Sulu on 25 December. She arrived at Whampoa on 16 February 1800. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 27 February, reached St Helena on 15 July, and arrived at Northfleet on 30 September.
For her fifth voyage, Farquharson sailed from Portsmouth on 19 May 1801, bound for China. Alfred was at Rio de Janeiro on 31 July, Penang on 31 October, and Malacca on 25 November. She reached Whampoa on 31 January 1802. Homeward bound she crossed the Second Bar on 20 March, reached St Helena on 10 July, and arrived at Northfleet on 17 September.
Farquharson’s experiences on his third voyage would stand him in good stead for his sixth voyage. Captain Farquharson sailed from the Downs on 6 May 1803, bound for China. War with France had resumed so Farquharson required a new letter of marque. He received one on 1 July 1803, i.e., in absentia. Alfred arrived at Whampoa on 13 October. The Royal Navy was unable to provide an escort and the captains of the East India Company’s China Fleet debated about setting out for home. Farquharson in particular opposed sailing without an escort. Still, the Fleet crossed the Second Bar on 31 January 1804.
On 15 February 1804, the China Fleet, under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance, intimidated, drove off and chased a powerful French naval squadron at Pulo Aura. Dance's aggressive tactics persuaded Contre-Admiral Linois to retire after only a brief exchange of fire. Dance then chased the French warships until his convoy was out of danger, whereupon he resumed his passage towards British India. Alfred was one of the Indiamen that actually exchanged fire with the French, in her case for about 15 minutes, and that at long range. This action became known as the Battle of Pulo Aura.
Alfred reached Malacca on 19 February. On 28 February, the British ships of the line HMS Sceptre and Albion joined the Fleet in the Strait and conducted them safely Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Alfred was at Penang on 1 March, and reached St Helena on 9 June. HMS Plantagenet escorted the convoy from St Helena to England. Alfred arrived at Northfleet on 16 August. On their return to England Nathaniel Dance and his fellow captains were highly praised. Saving the convoy prevented both the EIC and Lloyd’s of London from likely financial ruin, the repercussions of which would have had profound effects across the British Empire. The various commanders and their crews were presented with a £50,000 prize fund to be divided among them, and the Lloyds Patriotic Fund and other national and mercantile institutions made a series of awards of ceremonial swords, silver plate and monetary gifts to individual officers. Lloyd's Patriotic Fund in particular gave each captain a sword worth 50 pounds. James Farquharson was one of those who was rewarded with the sum of £500, and piece of plate, and the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund sword of £50 value.
This was James Farquharson’s last voyage in command of the Alfred. A change of captain necessitated a new letter of marque. Captain George Wellstead received one on 23 December 1806, and this officer then commanded her on two further voyages to China and back, one between 26 February 1807 and 14 September 1808, and a second between 19 February 1810 and 13 August 1811. Alfred was sold at Lloyd's Coffeehouse on 29 January 1812. She became a storeship and later was hulked.
James Farquharson left the employ of the Honourable East India Company circa 1805, and by 1841 was residing on Southgate Street in the parish of St. Thomas in Winchester, Hampshire, he being then aged 75 and of independent means. He died in Winchester circa 1844.
