Vigilant, 1856
Type: Gunvessel ; Armament 4
Launched : 25 Feb 1856 ; Disposal date or year : 1869
BM: 680 tons
Propulsion: Screw
Machinery notes: 200
Notes:

23 Apr 1856 present at Fleet Review, Spithead ; White Squadron ; Commander Armitage

1860 Portsmouth.

13 Fob 1863 Sheerness. Commissioned.

1 Jan to 30 Sep 1864 Cape of Good Hope and East Indies station. Medical report : fever, and small-pox onboard : number of Cases of Disease and Injury.

8 Apr 1867 has been at Bombay having her boilers repaired for the last 6 months, and is now ready for sea.

10 Aug 1867 arrived at Tamatave, and proceeded with Commander Brown, the Consul, to visit the Queen of Madagascar, at Adeveranto, her country quarters. Then proceeded to Vohemar to meet the Governor, who assured the Consul that no Slave Trade was carried on, whereas reports received by Commander Brown clearly showed that the opposite was the truth.

7 Sep 1867 at Seychelles, where Commander Brown wrote a letter stating that Augmey, Vohemar and Diego Suarez, are places were slave trading on a small scale is carried on. In addition he pointed out that the masters of many dhows often attempted to give the illusion of carrying on a legal trade by outwardly dealing in cotton goods and hardware, but at the same time the crews of their dhows consisted of far more men than were required and the extra hands were sold when the occasion arises. He also pointed out that certain parts of Madagascar are inaccessible during certain periods of the monsoon, since the dhows would only be able to round Cape Amber in October, after the change of the monsoon. Thus one only need send cruisers to that part of the island during that month.