The name of Admiral Bligh will always be associated with that painful
episode in the history of the British Navy--the Mutiny of the
_Bounty_--and the settlement of the mutineers on Pitcairn and other
of the South Sea Islands; whence we still occasionally obtain news
of their happy and flourishing descendants--happier far than their
progenitors.[62] He is another example of a Cornish circumnavigator of
the globe; the first being a Michell of Truro, who went round the world
with Sir Francis Drake. Captain Samuel Wallis, R.N., of Lanteglos juxta
Camelford, also sailed round the world in the _Dolphin_ in 1766-68.
The Admiral was born, in all probability (though there has been some
uncertainty on the subject) on the Duchy Manor of Tinten,[63] in the
parish of St. Tudy, about half a mile south of the 'Church Town,' about
the year 1753,--the son of Charles and Margaret Bligh; although I am
aware that, according to another account, he is said to have been the
son of John Bligh, of Tretawne, in the adjoining parish of St. Kew. The
earliest connexion which I have been able to trace between this family
and the parish of St. Tudy is, that they acquired some property here
of the Westlakes, in 1680-81; but there was a John Bligh, or Blygh,
at Bodmin, who acted as an assistant to the Commissioners for the
Suppression of Monasteries, temp. Henry VIII. To this ancient town a
branch of the Bligh family contributed four mayors between the years
1505 and 1588--indeed, the Cornish Blighs may be traced back as early
as the reign of Henry IV. I am not sure whether or not Admiral Sir
Richard Rodney Bligh, G.C.B, (who died in 1821), was a member of this
family; but he was a Cornishman, as were some other naval officers of
the same name.
Young Bligh--often called 'Bread-fruit Bligh,' from his having
accompanied Captain Cook,[64] as sailing-master in the _Resolution_,
on his second voyage round the world, in 1772-74, (in the course of
which the fruit associated with his name was first discovered at
Otaheite)--became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy; and, having obtained
a high reputation as a skilful navigator, was appointed by George
III. to command the _Bounty_, of 250 tons, on a voyage to Otaheite,
in December 1787. After one or two ineffectual attempts to round Cape
Horn, she arrived at her destination ten months after leaving England,
and remained there for five or six months, the crew revelling in the
natural beauty of the place, and enjoying an intercourse (which appears
unfortunately to have been totally unrestricted) with the soft savages,
its interesting inhabitants. On the homeward voyage, however, laden
with plants and specimens of the bread-fruit, which it had been the
object of the voyage to secure, with a view to its acclimatization in
the British West India Islands, Bligh--who had made himself, by his
irascible and overbearing disposition, obnoxious to many of those who
sailed with him--was secured and bound by the majority of his crew;
and, together with eighteen luckless sailors, was cast adrift on the
28th April, 1789, in an open boat only twenty-three feet long, and
deeply laden within 'eight inches of the water's edge,' in which small,
frail craft they sailed 3,618 miles. They had on board 32 lbs. of pork,
150 lbs. of bread, some wine, some spirits, and some water--but NO
CHART:--
'The tender nautilus, who steers his prow,
The sea-born sailor of his shell canoe,
The ocean Mab, the fairy of the sea,
Seemed far less fragile, and, alas! more free.'
Not until nearly twelve months afterwards, did they reach England;
after having touched at one or two islands, where they got a few
shell-fish and some fruit, and at the Dutch settlement of Timor, to the
east of Java, which they reached on 14th June, 1789, and where they
obtained a schooner. Bligh arrived home on the 14th March, 1790, with
twelve of his companions; the remainder having died on their weary,
miserable passage.[65] To Bligh's skill, resource, and courage, were
due the lives of all who were saved.
So astounding a voyage was, of course, the theme of conversation
throughout the country; Bligh was immediately promoted to the rank of
Commander, and soon afterwards to that of Post-Captain; shortly after
which he got appointed, in 1791, to the command of another ship, the
_Providence_, which was sent on a similar expedition to the Society
Islands. On this occasion fortune was more favourable to the brave; he
did not linger so long amongst the luxurious islets of the Pacific; and
having entirely succeeded in the object which he had in view, on his
safe return to England received the gold medal of the Society of Arts
in 1794. The practical result of this voyage was, however, a failure;
the quick-growing plantain being preferred by the West Indians to the
somewhat insipid bread-fruit. As regards the mutineers, the _Pandora_
was sent out to punish the ringleaders, some of whom her captain
brought back to Portsmouth (notwithstanding having lost his ship on the
return voyage near the north point of Australia); and at Portsmouth
three of them were executed. Many of the mutineers, however, hid in
the islands, whose charms, in the beauty of its scenery, climate,
and 'gushing fruits,' and in the hospitable offers of its chiefs, and
still more in the winning ways of the fairer sex, 'Nature and Nature's
goddess--woman,' had proved too attractive to insure their allegiance
to their duty. Byron's poem of 'The Island' is based partly upon the
sailors' adventures, and partly on 'Mariner's Account of the Tonga
Islands.'
Bligh also displayed great courage at the mutiny at the Nore, in 1797;
on which occasion he was deputed to negotiate with the rebellious
seamen, and is said to have performed that dangerous duty with singular
intrepidity and address.
He was present at the memorable battle off the Dogger Bank, 5th August,
1781; fought under Lord Howe at Gibraltar in 1782; commanded off Ushant
in 1794, the _Warrior_, of 74 guns; at Camperdown, 1797, when he was
captain of the 64-gun ship _Director_; and also at Copenhagen, on 21st
May, 1801, when he commanded the _Glatton_, of 54 guns (a ship's name
still perpetuated in the British navy)--
'When to battle fierce came forth
All the might of Denmark's crown.'
At the close of this fight Nelson sent for our Cornish hero, and
personally thanked him for the gallant part which he had taken in
that glorious engagement. In the same year, in consideration of his
distinguished services in navigation, botany, etc., he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1805 he was appointed Captain-General and Governor of New South
Wales, and took up office in the following year; but his very
arbitrary disposition and harsh notions of discipline, imbibed on the
quarter-deck, and which, indeed, distinguished his character throughout
life, were strongly resented by many of his subordinate officials,
both civil and military; and, notwithstanding that his efforts (which
were approved by Lord Castlereagh) seem to have been mainly directed
towards preventing the unlimited importation of ardent spirits into the
colony, on the 26th January, 1808, Bligh was deposed from his authority
by Major George Johnston, of the 102nd Regiment, and those who served
under him, and was imprisoned by them until March, 1810.[66] In that
year he returned to England in H.M.S. _Porpoise_, as to the command of
which he had a painful squabble with her captain--Kent. He obtained
on 31st July, 1811, his flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue; proceeding
by the usual steps of promotion until he became Vice-Admiral of the
Blue, in June, 1814. This dignity, however, he did not long enjoy at
his quiet rural retreat at Farningham, in Kent, as he died in Bond
Street, London, on the 7th December, 1817, and was buried (by the side
of his wife--a Miss Elizabeth Betham, of the Isle of Man) at Lambeth,
in the east part of the ground enclosing the church, and abutting on
the Tradescant tomb. Mrs. Bligh was a woman of superior attainments;
and her father is described as being the son of the Principal of some
(unnamed) university, and himself a literary man, the friend of Hume,
Black, Adam Smith, and Robertson. Bligh left six daughters and three
sons, William, Henry, and Richard (the latter a barrister-at-law and
author of several legal works) who sold the Tinten property, and thus
terminated the connexion of this family with the county of Cornwall.
Admiral Bligh's epitaph records that 'he was that celebrated navigator
who first transplanted the bread-fruit tree from Otaheite to the West
Indies; bravely fought the battles of his country; and died beloved,
respected, and lamented.'
He seems to have been a lenient and benevolent despot in his dealings
towards the poor, of which many instances are recorded by J. D. Lang,
Jas. Bonwick, R. Therry, and other colonial writers; and--a good
sign--he was very fond of little children.
Dr. Alfred Gatty, tells us how, when he went as a boy to Farningham,
Admiral Bligh used to take him on his knee, and let him play with a
bullet that hung on a blue ribbon round his neck--the same bullet which
he used as a weight for doling out the daily portion of bread to his
crew and to himself during their long boat-voyage of nearly 4,000 miles.
The Admiral's hasty temper, his room full of books, and his sea
curiosities, of course attracted the boy's attention, and more
especially a scar on his cheek, about which the old gentleman told him
the following story. When George III. at a levée asked him in what
action he had been wounded, Bligh was obliged to acknowledge, with some
confusion, that it was not a battle-wound; but that his father, in
throwing a hatchet to turn a horse which they were both trying to catch
in an orchard, accidentally struck him on the cheek.
As regards his family, the following additional remarks may prove not
unacceptable:
Lady O'Connell, one of Bligh's daughters, seems to have inherited some
of her father's spirit, for she is said to have defended him on one
occasion with a pistol 'against rebels,' in Van Diemen's Land. Frances
and Jane were twins. Ann was a beauty, but mentally afflicted. On one
occasion the young ladies were followed home from Farningham Church
by a stranger, who was the subject of a little hoax played upon him
by the Misses Bligh. He had advertised for a wife, and they replied
to the advertisement by requesting him to appear, blowing his nose
demonstratively, in the aisle of the church; by which process he was to
be recognised. But so were also Frances and Jane Bligh; for they found
it impossible to conceal their laughter at the would-be Benedict's
performance, and their dupe accordingly followed them home after the
service. Here, however, he was received by the Admiral himself with
such emphatic broadsides that the wooer very quickly 'hauled off.'
Bligh's House at Farningham was, and is still known as the Manor
House; and having heard that it still contained a picture of one of
the Admiral's sea-fights, I asked my obliging correspondent, Mr. H. G.
Hewlett (then living at Mount Pleasant, Farningham), to ascertain the
facts for me, with the following result:
'I sent over to the Manor House yesterday to obtain a report upon the
picture; but, unfortunately, it is hung in the chamber of a maiden
lady, who demurred to admitting visitors. They could only learn that
it is a naval battle-piece, in which several men-of-war take part;
that the scene is off the coast, and that several figures are wading
to shore. Its size is about 3 ft. by 2 ft.; the carving round the
picture, which is let into the wall, is said to be fine. The room is
called Admiral Bligh's, and is supposed to be haunted by his ghost,
which stumps about on a wooden leg! Miss K----, however, is not
superstitious, it appears, and has not heard or seen the ghost!'
[Illustration: (end of chapter vignette.)]