When I wrote my Napoleonic naval miniatures rules, BEAT
TO QUARTERS, I included data on the Bombay Marine with
the intention that gamers would include the "Bombay
Buccaneers" in their scenarios. Later, realizing that they
would have trouble finding information on the Marine, I was
prompted to write this rather limited background sketch to
further stimulate interest in that elite little force. just as the
British Honorable East India Company maintained private
armies, the Bombay Marine was the Company's naval arm.
Originally formed in 1613, to protect trade, the Bombay
Marine served "John Company" well until 1830 when it was
designated as the Indian Navy.
By the start of the Nineteenth Century the Marine existed for five objectives:
- 1) The protection of trade,
2) Suppression of piracy and general duties as vessels of war,
3) Transporting of troops,
4) Surveying and
5) Carrying of the overland mail.
The area of operation extended from the Red Sea to China. In this huge expanse of ocean, during this period, the Marine met and fought French, Dutch, American, and Spanish privateers and national navies, as well as a vast array of Indian, Chinese, Arabian, and Indonesian pirates. Nearly always victorious, usually outnumbered, the Bombay Marine's ensign was never dishonored.
ORGANIZATION
Administration The Bombay Marine was governed by a Marine Board comprised of a civilian Superintenclant, a senior captain acting as Master Attendant, a senior captain acting as Commodore, plus two senior captains acting as board members. Higher authority came from the Governor-General through the Governor of Bombay. The Marine, unlike the Company's Army, lacked "influence" with the company's hierarchy, and was denied the right to stand on its own. No code of law for the Marine existed, at this time, so its members could not expect to be tried by their peers. Marine medical officers were provided by the Company's Army; while its warship captains were considered inferior in rank to captains in the mercantile branch of the Company.
Officers The officer corps of the Marine was a highly professional group composed almost entirely of Britons. As in the Royal Navy, the attainment of rank was difficult, in spite of a state of almost constant martial action within the Marine's areas of operation.
As in the Royal Navy, a young gentleman would begin his service as a volunteer, the equivalent of midshipman. At a suitable age he would be tested for the rank of second lieutenant. If he passed, he would be rated as a master's mate until a commissioned opening occurred. Once in the commissioned ranks seniority, merit and survival would propel him to first lieutenant, then captain. As a captain he would stand a chance of becoming Master Attendant, Commodore of the Marine, or Commodore at Surat. In each case, commodore was only a courtesy title, but each position was more financially rewarding than captain.
In 1798, the Company confered on its Bombay Marine officers relative rank with their military arm for more orderly joint operations.
| Bombay Marine | Relative Army Rank |
|---|---|
| Commodore | Colonel |
| Captain (28 gun ship or more) | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Captain (ship under 28 guns | Major |
| First Lieutenant | Captain |
| Second Lieutenant | Lieutenant |
In 1802 the officer strength was as follows: 1 Superintendant (civilian), 1 Master Attendant (captain), 1 Commodore of the Marine (captain), 13 Captains, 33 First Lieutenants, 21 Second Lieutenants and 37 Volunteers (midshipmen).
The rank of commander was created in 1809. With this also came the distinction between senior and junior captains. This put the officer strength at the following: 1 Superintenclant (civilian), 1 Master Attendant (captain), 1 Commodore of the Marine (captain), 8 Senior Captains, 8 Junior Captains, 8 Commanders, 26 First Lieutenants, 24 Second Lieutenants and 48 Midshipmen.
In 1802, of the major vessels in commission, six were commanded by captains, eight by 1st lieutenants, and three by 2nd lieutenants.
At this time the officer's uniform was a blue frock coat with black velvet stand-up collar, black velvet cuffs, and buff lapels. Captains and commanders had gold lace bordering the lapels, while lieutenants had just the buff lapels.
Enlisted Men Only about half of the crewmen of ships of the Bombay Marine were Europeans; and less than half of these were British. The remainder of the crews were made up of Indian seamen (Lascars) and Marine Sepoys of the Bombay Marine Battalion. Even though seamen were under contract to the Company they could still be pressed by the Royal Navy during emergencies. This tended to make Marine vessels short-handed.
Commander at Surat As the result of a 1759 agreement, each year the Bombay Marine would appoint a senior captain to act as the Admiral of the Mogul. The official Company title was Commodore at Surat. The appointment was for a year only and consisted of overseeing the collection of tariffs and convoying the Mogul's merchantmen. The squadron averaged one brig or large ketch, as the Commodore's flagship [H.C.S. Rodney (14) was used in this capacity for a time] and eight galivats (4-8 guns) commanded by lieutenants, each having about twenty European seamen, the remainder being natives. During the North-East Monsoons four to six ketches and brigs were added to convoy duty.
BOMBAY MARINE ENSIGN: Red and white stripes. Red cross of St.
George quartering. Union Jack in upper left canton.
The Commodore flew the Bombay Marine ensign at the peak of his flagship and the Mogul's flag at the main. For his troubles the Commodore was paid no less than 10,000 pounds from the revenues. This was at a time when the Superintendant of the Marine received only 4,000 pounds a year. This post thus enabled senior officers to retire with quite a lot of money to augment their pensions.
FLAG OF GRAND MOGUL AT SURAT: Yellow swords on dark green field.
The Bombay Marine Battalion In 1777 a marine battalion was raised to act in the same capacity aboard Bombay Marine warships as the Royal Marines did aboard Royal Navy vessels. Prior to this time Sepoys from the Bombay Army performed the Duties of marines. By 1796, the battalion was composed of ten companies, and was commanded by a British major. Each company consisted of the following: 1 Subadar (native captain), 2 Jernadars (native lieutenants), 6 Havildars (native sergeants), 6 Naiques (native corporals), 2 Drummers and fifers, 1 Waterman and 117 Marine Sepoys.
Each warship had a detachment of Marine Sepoys which seems to have averaged nearly 20% of the crew. In addition, whole companies of marines could be used as landing forces in combined operations with the Army.
The record shows that the Marine Battalion was certainly a cut above the Company's military forces, and that it well deserved the many medals and cash rewards with which it was honored.
Prior to 1818, the uniform of the Bombay Marine Battalion consisted of a red coat with blue facings, with silver buttons. Their hat feather was black, and they wore a blue anchor device under the number of their battalion.
The Marine's main claim to fame was in combating piracy. The small, shoal-draft, carronade-armed Marine vessels were much better suited to this kind of warfare than were the ships of the Royal Navy. Many accounts have servived of fierce boarding actions where crews of Marine cruisers were out-numbered by pirate boarders by as much as fifteen to one, Death or victory was the only solution in each case.
Bureaucratic Rivalry and Pettifogging Not only did the Marine have to fight countless enemies with tiny, undermanned vessels, but they had to suffer attacks from their naval bretheren and the Governor-General as well. Admirals Rainier and Pellew both complained about the fact that half of the crews of the Marine wee composed of natives. Individual naval officers repeatedly neglected to grant Bombay Marine support vessels any credit in their official reports. Captain F. Marryat, a Royal Navy officer and novelist wrote, "The merchant ships of the Company are men-of-war; the men-of-war of the Company are - what shall I call them? By their right names - they are all Bombay Marine ... the vessels and the crews are equally contemptible."
Perhaps the fact that pay and benefits were better in the Marine had something to do with the prejudice. Governor-General Wellesley wished to disband the Marine because of the difficulty in manning the vessels. Happily, his sucwssor, Lord Minto did not share his views, and the Marine prospered for a time.
It is beyond the scope of this article to include a full account of the Bombay Marine's actions during this period. Let it suffice to say that the Marine aided the Royal Navy in capturing all of the French and Dutch possesions in the East Indies. The small vessels of the Marine were usually no match for the powerful privateers and national warships employed by the European powers, but whenever the odds were close to even the Marine always triumphed.
TYPES OF SHIPS EMPLOYED BY THE BOMBAY MARINE
Most ships of the Marine were extremely small for their classes. This was probably due to the need for shallow draft vessels which would not need large crews.
Frigates The only two frigates in the Marine, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, were the 4th rate H.C.S. (Honorable Company's Ship) Cornwallis (56) and the 5th rate H.C.S. Bombay (38). Both were sold to the Royal Navy in 1805. The Cornwallis was renamed the H.M.S. Akbar and rated as a 44. The Bombay war renamed H.M.S. Ceylon and rated as a 32.
Sloops The sloops in the Marine were ship-rigged, but very small for their classes. Most Royal Navy brigs were at least as large, if not larger.
Brigs Again, the brigs were very tiny. Most were of similar tonnage to the very smallest classes of Royal Navy brigs.
Snows A snow was similar to a brig, but had the boom-mainsail hooped to a trysail mast close to the mainmast. Normally, they were armed with twelve to fourteen 6# long guns.
Grab Grabs were large, square-rigged, shoal-draft vessels with broad beams. They were usually two masted, but the Marine used three masters as well. They were armed with up to twenty 9# long guns.
Grab-Ketches Smaller grabs. Normally armed with six to twelve 3# or 4# long guns.
Galivats A large sailing rowboat, built like a grab, but smaller. Usually not more than 70 tons. They were armed with six to eight 3# or 4# long guns.
Schooners Smallest class except for H.C.S. Alert (14) which was an American-built French privateer captured and taken into service.
Bomb Ketches Extremely small for their class.
Pattamars A native grab-built vessel ranging from 60 tons (one mast) to 156 tons (two masts) with lateen reg. They were armed with six to seven 12#c (carronades.)
| BOMBAY MARINE VESSELS IN COMMISSION 1793-1815 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name/Guns | Type | Tons | Armament | Crew/Date of Commission |
| Cornwallis (56) | 4th rate | 1363 | - | 1800 |
| Bombay (38) | 5th rate | 639 | - | 340/1793 |
| Mornington (22) | sloop | 350 | 20-32#c 4-18# | 1800 |
| Malabar (20) | ship | - | - | 1809 |
| Swift (20) | ship | - | (prize in svc) | 1801 |
| Drake (18) | snow | - | - | 1787 |
| Les Freres Unis (16) | - | (prize in svc) | - | 45/1801 |
| Teignmouth (16) | sloop | 257 | - | 1799 |
| Ternate (16) | sloop | 257 | - | 1801 |
| Alert (14) | schooner | - | (prize in svc) | 45/1801 |
| Antelope (14) | brig | 199 | 12-18#c, 2-12# | 108/1793 |
| Aurora (14) | sloop | 247 | - | 1809 |
| Benares (14) | sloop | 230 | - | 1807 |
| Cornwallis (14) | snow | - | - | 1787 |
| Fly (14) | brig | 176 | - | 75/1793 |
| Mercury (14) | sloop | 185 | - | 1806 |
| Nautilus (14) | brig | 185 | 12-18#c, 2-12# | 100/1806 |
| Panther(14) | snow | 181 | - | 1778 |
| Prince of Wales (14) | sloop | 248 | - | 1805 |
| Princess Augusta (14) | grab | - | - | 1768 |
| Princess Royal (14) | grab | - | - | 1768 |
| Queen (14) | grab ketch | - | - | 1768 |
| Rodney(14) | ketch | - | - | - |
| Viper(14) | snow | - | - | 65/1768 |
| Ariel (10) | brig | 160 | 10-12#c | 83/1809 |
| Comet (10) | brig | 115 | - | 1798 |
| Intrepid (10) | snow | - | 10-6# | 80/1780 |
| Psyche (10) | brig | 180 | - | 1810 |
| Thetis (10) | brig | 185 | - | 1810 |
| Vestal (10) | brig | 159 | - | 1809 |
| Alert (8) | brig | 85 | - | 1795 |
| Lovely (8) | schooner | - | 8-12# | 40/1806 |
| Sylph (8) | schooner | 78 | - | 1806 |
| Zephyr (8) | schooner | - | - | 1811 |
| Mosquito (7) | pattamar | - | 7-12#c | 1807 |
| Bhowany (6) | pattamar | - | 6-12#c | 1811 |
| Fury (6) | - | - | - | 1808 |
| Vigilant (6) | - | - | 6-2# | 50/1797 |
| Thames (2) | bomb ketch | 102 | 2-18#, 1-13" mitr | 1814 |
| Stromboli | bomb ketch | 68 | 1-13" mtr | 1793 |
| Assaye | - | - | (prize in svc) | 1801 |
| Dart | gunboat | - | - | 1797 |
| Scorpion | brig | - | - | 1791 |
| Star | brig | - | (prize in svc) | - |
| Wasp | schooner | - | - | 1804 |
PIRATE ENEMIES
Joasmi Pirates Arab pirate tribes from the Oman Coast. They operated mainly in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Aden. Their chief base of operations was Ras-ul-Khymah. In 1809, they possessed 63 large vessels and 813 smaller vessels, manned by 19,000 men. Their chief vessels were baghalahs, dhows, batils, galivats, and trankies. Squadrons consisted of four or more vessels. They preferred boarding to gunnery, and they gave no quarter, nor expected any in return!
Sangarian Pirates Made up of pirates from four petty states on the northwest coast of India: Aramra, Piffootra, Comte, and Beyt. In 1797 they possessed 30 vessels, manned by 2,000 men. Their chief vessels were baghalahs, galivats, and batils.
Magandanao Pirates These were Indonesian pirates who were active in the areas bordering the South China Sea. Their chief vessel was the proa. They usually attacked in large groups of up to 50 proas.
PIRATE VESSELS
Baghalah A two-masted, lateen-rigged vessel with a high poop deck and long pointed bow. Joasmi craft had a range of displacements of 200-300 tons, carried six to eight 9# long guns and had a complement of 100-300.
Batil A two-masted, lateen-rigged vessel with a fiddle-headed bow and flush deck. Joasmi batils typically displaced 55-85 tons, carried three 9# long guns and were manned by a crew of 100-150.
Dhow A one or two-masted, lateen-rigged vessel with a long overhang forward, an open waist, and a high poop deck. The dhows used by the Joasmi and Sangarian pirates were usually one-masted, displacing 150-250 tons, carrying four to eight 9# long guns and had a crew of 100-250.
Galivat A two-masted, fore and aft-rigged large sailing rowboat. The galivats used by the Sangarian pirates generally displaced 40-70 tons, carried one 9# gun forward and two 6# guns aft, and had a complement of 50-85.
Proa A two-masted, square-rigged, large Inclonisian sailing rowboat. Maganclano proas displaced about 35 tons, carried one 8# or 6# gun and were manned by 60-80 men.
Trankie A two-masted, lateen-rigged large sailing rowboat. The trankies used by the Joasmi pirates displaced 40-50 tons, were unarmed and crewed by 80-150 men.
WARGAMES WITH THE BOMBAY MARINE
First, use a set of rules which allows for the use of small vessels. If not using BEAT TO QUARTERS give the Bombay Marine British or elite morale, gunnery, and boarding capability. When fighting natives, the Bombay Marine will die rather than surrender! Modify G.H.Q. brigs to be sloops, G.H.Q. schooners to be brigs and snows, and Valiant ship's boats for schooners and pattamars. Marine vessels should be slower than native craft.
Give the natives poor morale, gunnery, and boarding capability. They should have very large crews, and should travel and attack in groups intent on boarding. Modify Valiant xebecs to be baghalahs and dhows, and ship's boats to be batils, galivats, trankies and proas.
FICTIONAL ACCOUNTS
Ellis K. Meacham wrote a trilogy of novels covering the career of Captain Percival Mereweather of the Bombay Marine during the period of 19)806-10. The books tend to stray a great deal from historical fact, but the stories are the best naval fiction I've read to date: The East Indiaman; On the Company's Service, For King and Company.
All three are in hardback only and out of print, but most public libraries should still carry them. They are worth the search!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Cotton, Evan, East Indiamen, Batchworth, 1949
Landstrom, Bjorn, The Ship. Doubleday & Co., New York, 1961.
Lee, Ida, Commodore Sir John Hayes His Voyage and Life 1767-1831.
Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1912
Low, C.R., History of the Indian Navy. London, 1877.
Parkinson, C. Northcote, Trade in the Eastern Seas 1793-1813. London,1937.
Parkinson, C. Northcote, War in the Eastern Seas 1793-1815. George, Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1954.
Richmond, Admiral Sir Herbert, The Navy in India 1763-1783. Ernest Benn, Ltd., London, 1931.
Periodical
National Geographic (Washington, D.C.), Octovber, 1917.
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