This is the final post on the account of the quite frankly shockingly unbelievable voyager of HMS Wager and its shipwreck followed by the treacherous mutiny and terrible suffering all round as stragglers make their way home from the other side of the planet.
Proceedings for a full court martial to inquire into the loss of Wager were initiated once Cheap had returned and made his report to the Admiralty. All Wagersurvivors were ordered to report aboard HMS Prince George at Spithead for the court martial. On hearing this, John Bulkley arranged to dine with the Deputy Marshal of the Admiralty (the enforcing officer of the Royal Navy command) but kept his true identity concealed.
He wrote about his prepared conversation with the Deputy Marshal at the Paul’s Head Tavern in Cateaton Street:
“Desiring to know his opinion in regard to the Officers of the Wager, as their Captain was come home; for that I had a near relation which was an Officer that came in the long-boat from Brazil, and it would give me concern if he would suffer: His answer was that he believ’d that we should be hang’d. To which I replied, for God’s Sake for what, for not being drown’d? And is a Murderer at last come home to their Accuser? I have carefully perused the Journal, and can’t conceive that they have been guilty of Piracy, Mutiny, nor any Thing else to deserve it. It looks to me as if their Adversaries have taken up arms against the Power of the Almighty, for delivering them.”
At which point the Marshal responded:”Sir, they have been guilty of such things to Captain Cheap whilst a Prisoner, that I believe the Gunner and Carpenter will be hang’d if no Body else.”
John Bulkley revealed his true identity to the Marshal, who immediately arrested him. Upon arrival aboard Prince George, he sent some of his friends to visit Captain David Cheap to gauge his mood and intentions. Their report gave Bulkley little comfort. Understandably Captain Cheap was in a vindictive frame of mind, telling them:Gentlemen, I have nothing to say for nor against Villains, until the Day of Tryal, and then it is not in my Power to be off from hanging them.”
Upon securing the main players, the date of the trial was set for Tuesday 15th April 1746, presided by Vice Admiral of the Red Squadron James Steuart. Much of what happened on the day land was first sighted off Patagonia as recounted here came out in sworn testimonies, with statements from Cheap, Byron, Hamilton, Bulkley, Cummins and King (who had also returned to England, under unknown circumstances) and a number of other crew members.
Captain Cheap, although keen to charge those who abandoned him aboard Speedwell with mutiny, decided not to make any accusations when it was suggested to him that any such claims would lead to his being accused of murdering Cozens. None of the witnesses was aware at this point that the Admiralty had decided not to examine events after the ship foundered as part of the scope of the court martial proceedings.
After testimony and questioning, the men were all promptly acquitted of any wrongdoing, except for Lieutenant Baynes. He was admonished for not reporting the carpenter’s sighting of land to the west to the captain or letting go the anchor when ordered.
The mutineers argued that, since their pay stopped on the day their vessel was wrecked, they were no longer under naval law. Captain Stanley Walter Croucher Pack, in his book about the mutiny, describes this and the Admiralty’s decision not to investigate events after Wager was lost in more detail:
“Their Lordships knew that a conviction of mutiny would be unpopular with the country. Things were bad with the Navy in April 1746. Their Lordships were out of favour. One of the reasons for this was their harsh treatment of Admiral Vernon, a popular figure with the public… The defence that the Mutineers had was that as their wages automatically stopped when the ship was lost, they were no longer under naval law. Existence of such a misconception could lead, in time of enemy action or other hazard, to anticipation that the ship was already lost. Anson realised the danger and corrected this misconception. As Lord Commissioner he removed any further doubt in 1747. An Act was passed “for extending the discipline of the Navy to crews of his majesty’s ships, wrecked lost or taken, and continuing to receive wages upon certain conditions… The survivors of the Wager were extremely lucky not to be convicted of mutiny and owe their acquittal not only to the unpopularity of the Board, but to the strength of public opinion, to the fact that their miraculous escapes had captured the public fancy.”
Captain David Cheap was promoted to the distinguished rank of post captain and appointed to command the forty-gun ship Lark, demonstrating that the Admiralty considered his many faults secondary to his steadfast loyalty and sense of purpose. He captured a valuable prize soon after, which allowed him to marry in 1748. He died in 1752. His service records, reports, will and death are recorded in the National Archives.
John Byron was promoted to the rank of master and commander, and appointed to command the twenty-gun ship Syren. He eventually rose to the rank of vice admiral. Byron had a varied and significant active service history, which included a circumnavigation of the globe. He married in 1748 and raised a family. His grandson George Gordon Byron, better known as Lord Byron, became a famous poet. He died in 1786 and his descendant wrote the first modern travelogue whilst travelling with the father of one of my tour guides!
Baynes’ service records exist from prior to the sailing of Anson’s squadron.Upon his return to England after the Wager affair, he never served at sea again. Instead, in February 1745, before the court martial, he was given a position onshore running a naval store yard in Clay near the Sea, Norfolk. Apart from some reports he made of thieving from his yard, his life did not create other records. He remained in this capacity until his death in 1758.
Shortly after the court martial,John Bulkeley was offered command of the cutter Royal George, which he declined, thinking her “too small to keep to the sea”. He was right in his assessment, as the vessel subsequently foundered in the Bay of Biscay, with the loss of all hands.
Campbell completed his narrative of the Wager affair by denying he had entered the service of the Spanish Navy; however, in the same year his book was published, a report was made against him. Commodore Edward Legge (formerly captain of Severn in Anson’s original squadron) reported that whilst cruising in Portuguese waters, he encountered a certain Alexander Campbell in port, formerly of the Royal Navy and the HMS Wager, enlisting English seamen and sending them overland to Cadiz to join the Spanish service so perhaps one way or the other, the earlier suspicions about him were correct.
I hope you found this largely forgotten escapade as fascinating as I did. If like myself you are now eagerly await the apparent film by Martin Scorsese then perhaps you might enjoy the new book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, by David Grann.
What an amazing and terrible ordeal and by everyone involved for good and ill. I may well try and find a copy of John Byrons and having just checked, it is easy to find but there is also a book that includes the narratives of both sides of the event. The Loss of the Wager: The Narratives of John Bulkeley and the Hon. John Byron.
For now though, it’s hard not to be in awe of the exploits of Captain David Cheap and the officers and crew of HMS Wager.
Stephen Liddell 