Wager Mutiny The Wager Mutiny was the mutiny of the crew of after she was wrecked on a desolate island off the west coast of Chile in 1741 . The ship was part of a squadron commanded by George Anson and bound to attack Spanish interests in the Pacific . " Wager " lost contact with the squadron whilst rounding Cape Horn , ran aground and wrecked on the west coast of Chile in May 1741 . The main body of the crew mutinied against the captain , David Cheap , abandoned him and his loyal crew members , and returned in a modified open boat to England via the Strait of Magellan . Though most died on the journey , some survived , including the ring - leaders . Captain Cheap and a smaller group , guided by natives , made their way north to an inhabited region of Chile . Most of them died on the journey , but Cheap and three others survived and eventually returned to England in 1745 , two years after the mutineers . The adventures of the crew of the " Wager " were a public sensation . They inspired many narratives written by survivors and others , including the novel " The Unknown Shore " ( 1959 ) by the celebrated 20th - century author Patrick O ' Brian , who based his account on John Byron ' s memoir , published in 1768 . HMS " Wager " . " Wager " was originally an East India Company ship , an armed trading vessel built mainly to accommodate large cargoes of goods from the far east , but also capable of carrying significant firepower for self protection on the open seas . The vessel was bought by the Admiralty in 1739 to form part of a squadron under Commodore George Anson to attack Spanish interests on the Pacific west coast of South America . Commodore Anson ' s squadron . The total squadron consisted of some 1 , 980 men ( crew plus infantry ) , of which only 188 would survive the voyage . It was one of the most terrifying , challenging , heroic and adventurous circumnavigations of the globe ever completed . The squadron , including " Wager " , consisted of six warships and two victuallers ( supply ships ) : The two merchant vessels , which carried additional stores , were " Anna " ( 400 tons , 16 - men ) , and " Industry " ( 200 tons ) . The squadron also comprised an additional 470 invalids and wounded soldiers from Chelsea hospital , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Cracherode . Most of these men were the first to die during the hardships of the voyage . Their inclusion in place of regular troops , was severely criticised as cruel and ineffective . Spithead to Staten Island . After taking 40 days to reach Funchal , the squadron replenished supplies of water , wood and fresh food before making the Atlantic crossing to Santa Catarina . Two weeks into this leg of the journey , the store ship " Industry " signaled to the Commodore that it required to speak to him . The Captain of " Industry " told Anson that his contract had been fulfilled and the ship needed to turn back for England . The stores from " Industry " were distributed amongst the remaining ships , with a large quantity of rum sent aboard " Wager . " " Wager " therefore held three main classes of cargo aboard ( aside from her own allocated stores ) namely ; rum , trading goods for use with the local Indians up the coast of South America , which were to be traded for supplies required by the squadron and used to subvert Spanish rule ; and finally , small - arms with powder and ball to arm shore - raiding parties . Progress of the squadron to Staten Island on the Atlantic side of Cape Horn was remarkable only for the time that was taken to reach Funchal . At the time this was considered an inconvenience . But , this delay , coupled with the impressment of many sailors in England who had recently been at sea for some time , and had not fully restored their bodies to a fresh food diet , resulted in many of the men in the squadron dying of scurvy , due to lack of fresh citrus fruits or meats . The high contingent of invalids in the squadron , coupled with the outbreak of scurvy , meant that Anson ' s squadron was in poor condition for the arduous rounding of the Horn . Captain Dandy Kidd was moved from " Wager " to the " Pearl , " and Captain Murray moved to command " Wager " . Kidd died on the voyage after the squadron left Santa Catarina and before they reached the straits of Staten Island . On his death bed , he predicted success and riches for some , but death and devastating hardship for the crew of " Wager " . For the notoriously superstitious sailors on board " Wager , " this was awful news . As it turned out , it was an accurate prophecy . Kidd was replaced by Captain Murray , who left " Wager " to take command of " Pearl " . Lieutenant David Cheap was moved from the small sloop " Tryal " and promoted to Captain of " Wager " . Cheap was placed in command for the first time of a much larger vessel , crewed by sick and dispirited men who had not had the benefit of a long - serving captain . Cheap compounded these handicaps by denigrating the technical abilities of many of the officers , and being easily moved to fits of rage . In Cheap ' s favour , he was a capable seaman and navigator , a big man who feared nobody and , possibly most importantly , a loyal and determined officer . The importance of the " Wager " and her role in the mission was pressed on Cheap by Anson as he assumed command ; the squadron would draw on " Wager ' s store of small arms and ammunition to attack shore bases along the west coast of Chile . T The rounding of the Horn . The delays of the voyage were most keenly felt when the squadron rounded the Horn . The weather conditions were atrocious ; high sea states and contrary winds meant that progress west was very slow . Added to this was the deteriorating health of the crew because of scurvy , few able - bodied seamen were available to work the ship and carry out running repairs to the continually battered rigging . After many weeks working westwards to clear the Horn , the squadron turned north when navigational reckoning suggested enough westerly had been made . At this time latitudinal determination was relatively easy with the use of a sextant ; however , longitudinal determination was much harder to predict : it required accurate time - pieces or a good view of the stars on stable ground , neither of which were available to the squadron . Longitude was predicted by dead reckoning , an impossible task given the storm conditions , strong currents and length of time involved . The intention was to turn north only when Anson was reasonably certain that the Horn had been cleared . The result was nearly a complete disaster . In the middle of the night , the moon shone through the cloud for a few minutes , revealing to diligent sentinels aboard " Anna " towering waves breaking onto the Patagonian coastline . " Anna " fired guns and set up lights to warn the other ships of the danger . Without this sighting , the whole of Anson ' s squadron would have been wrecked , with the likely loss of all hands . This was a severe disappointment . The ships turned around and headed south again into huge seas and a foul wind . During one particularly severe night , " Wager " became separated from the rest of the squadron , and would never see it again . The wrecking of the " Wager " . As " Wager " , now alone , continued beating to the west , the question remained , when to turn north ? Do it too early and the risk of running the ship aground was very high ; which the crew already realized . But , they were severely depleted with scurvy - every day more victims were going down with the condition – and there was a shortage of seamen to handle the ship . The dilemma became contentious when Captain Cheap stated his intention to make for Socorro Island ( now Guamblin Island ) . The gunner , John Bulkley , objected strongly to this proposal . He argued to make the secondary squadron rendezvous , the Island of Juan Fernandez , their primary destination , since it was not as close to the mainland as Socorro and was less likely to result in the wrecking the ship on a lee shore . Bulkley was recognized as probably the most capable seaman on the ship ; as gunner , he had officer rank . Navigation was technically the responsibility of the master , Thomas Clark , but he , along with most of the officers on board , was held in thinly - disguised contempt by Cheap . Bulkley repeatedly tried to persuade Cheap to change his mind , arguing that the ship was in such poor condition that the crew ' s ability to carry the required sails to beat off a lee - shore or come to anchor was compromised , making Cheap ' s decision to head for Socorro too hazardous , especially given that the whole area was poorly charted . In the event Bulkley was to prove exactly correct , but Cheap refused to change course . On 13 May 1741 , at 9 am , John Cummins , the carpenter , went forward to inspect the chain plates . Whilst there he thought he caught a fleeting glimpse of land to the west . The lieutenant , Baynes , was also on deck but he saw nothing , and the sighting was not reported . Baynes was later reprimanded at a Court Martial for failing to alert the Captain . The sighting of land to the west was thought to be impossible . But , " Wager " had entered a large uncharted bay , now called " Golfo de Penas " , and the land to the west was later to be called the Tres Montes Peninsula . At 2 pm land was positively sighted to the west and northwest . All hands were mustered to make sail and turn the ship to the southwest . During the frantic operations which followed , Cheap fell down the quarterdeck ladder and dislocated his shoulder and was confined below . There followed a night of terrible weather , with the ship in a disabled and worn - out condition , which severely hampered efforts to get her clear of the bay . At 4 : 30 am , the ship struck rocks repeatedly , broke her tiller , and although still afloat was partially flooded . The invalids below who were too sick to move were drowned . Bulkley and another seaman , John Jones , began steering the ship with sail alone towards land , but later in the morning the ship struck again , this time fast . Shipwrecked on Wager Island . " Wager " had struck rocks on the coast of what would subsequently be known as Wager Island . Some of the crew broke into the spirit room and got drunk , armed themselves and began looting , dressing up in officers ' clothes and fighting . Aside from this , 140 other men and officers took to the boats and made it safely on shore ; however , their prospects were desperate . They were shipwrecked far into the southern latitudes at the start of winter with little food , in an uncharted and desolate land with hardly any natural resources to sustain them . The crew were dangerously divided , with many blaming the captain for their predicament . On the following day , Friday 15 May , the ship bilged amidships , and many of the drunken crew still on board drowned . The only members of the crew eft on board " Wager " were the boatswain , John King , and a few of his followers . King was a rebellious character , and , as events would prove , an extremely dangerous and difficult individual . Some of the ship ' s additional cargo was to prove useful . The crew used the Indian trading goods , mostly bolts of cloth , to add to improvised shelters . The other trinkets were largely useless , as were the small arms and ammunition and powder . No human enemies were nearby and little wildlife to hunt . The large quantity of extra rum was a problem , as many of the crew were perpetually drunk and very difficult to control . Mutiny . Cast ashore in dreadful conditions , the crew of " Wager " were frightened and angry with their captain . Dissent and insubordination soon became increasingly common . King fired a four - pounder cannon from " Wager " at the captain ' s hut to induce someone to collect him and his mates once they began to fear for their safety on the wreck . Checking rebellious thoughts of the crew was British Naval law . Dissent by seamen or officers within the contemporary Royal Navy was met with a brutal and energetically - pursued vigour . Anyone found guilty of mutiny would be pursued for the rest of their lives across the globe . To be found guilty required very little insubordination by today ’ s standards . Once convicted , a man was rapidly sentenced to death by hanging from the yardarm . The crew knew they were playing an extremely dangerous game , and worked to build a narrative to justify their rebellious actions . Full mutiny would likely not have occurred had the captain agreed to a plan of escape devised by Bulkley , who had the confidence of most men . He proposed that the carpenter , Cummins , would lengthen the longboat and convert it into a schooner which could accommodate more men . They would make their way home , via the Strait of Magellan , to Portuguese Brazil or the British Caribbean , and then home to England . The smaller boats , the barge and the cutter , would accompany the schooner and be important for inshore foraging work along their journey . Bulkley was skilful enough to give the plan a chance of success . Despite much prevarication , Captain Cheap finally would not agree to Bulkley ' s plan . He preferred to head north and try to catch - up with Anson ' s squadron . If discipline for ordinary seamen was brutal , the officers were no better off . The importance of doing one ' s utmost to complete a mission was implicit . Aware that he had lost his ship , Cheap was in a predicament . He would automatically be subject to court martial and , if found guilty , he could be thrown out of the Navy and into a lifetime of poverty and isolation at best . At worst he could be found guilty of cowardice and executed by firing squad . This was demonstrated by the 1757 execution of Admiral John Byng . Cheap wanted to head north along the Chilean coast to rendezvous with Anson at Valdivia . He had concluded to exert unremitting zeal to try to salvage his first command . His warrant officers had warned him against some of his actions , which would reflect badly on him when the Admiralty investigated the loss of his ship . This impasse led to the mutiny . The mutineers justified their actions based on other events , including the shooting by Cheap of a drunken insubordinate midshipman called Cozens . Cheap shot the man in the face at point blank range without warning , immediately after arriving at a reported altercation in a rage . Cozens was refused medical aid on the orders of the captain , and took ten days to die in agony . The carpenter continued modifying the boats for an as - yet undecided plan of escape , and until this was complete , outright mutiny would remain only a possibility . Once the schooner was ready , events would happen quickly . Bulkley set the wheels in motion by drafting the following letter for the captain to sign : Baynes was presented with the letter to read , after which doing so he made the following comment , which astonished the mutineers : As expected , Cheap refused to sign Bulkley ' s letter . On 9 October , armed seamen entered Cheap ' s hut and bound him , claiming that he was now their prisoner and they were taking him to England for trial for the murder of Cozens . Lieutenant Hamilton of the Marines was also confined , the mutineers fearing his resistance to their plan , which confirmed the fact that this was indeed a mutiny . Cheap was completely taken aback , having no real idea how far things had gone . The bound Cheap turned his attention to his Lieutenant , Baynes , terrifying him with the words , " Well ' Captain ' Baynes ! You will doubtless be called to account for this hereafter . " The voyage of the " Speedwell " . At noon on Tuesday , 13 October 1741 , the schooner , now named the " Speedwell " , got under sail with the cutter and barge in company . Cheap refused to go , and to the relief of the mutineers , he agreed to be left behind with two marines who were earlier shunned for stealing food . Everyone expected Cheap to die on Wager Island , making their arrival in England much easier to explain . Bulkley assumed this by writing in his journal that day , " this was the last I ever saw of the captain " . In the event , both would make it back to England alive to tell their version of events , Cheap some two years after Bulkley . Initially the voyage got off to a bad start . After repeatedly splitting sails , the barge was sent back to Wager Island , where there were additional stores . Two midshipmen , John Byron and Alexander Campbell , formed part of the nine who returned . Once back at Wager Island , they were greeted by Captain Cheap , who was delighted to hear of their wish to remain with him . By the time Bulkley sailed back to Wager Island in search of the now missing barge and men , all had disappeared . The " Speedwell " and the cutter turned around and sailed south . The journey was arduous and food was in very short supply . On 3 November the cutter parted company ; this was serious as she was needed for inshore foraging work . By now Bulkley was despairing of the men in the " Speedwell " . Most were in the advanced stages of starvation , exposed in a desperately cold , open boat , and had lapsed into apathy . Some days later they had good news , sighting the cutter and rejoining it . Soon after , at night , she broke loose from her consort ' s tow line and was wrecked on the coast . Of the eighty - one men who had departed about two weeks before , ten had already perished . As food began to run out , the situation became desperate . Ten men were picked out and forced to sign a paper consenting to being cast ashore on the uninhabited frozen bog - ridden southern coast of Chile , a virtual death sentence . Sixty men remained in the " Speedwell " . Eventually the improvised vessel entered the Strait of Magellan , in monstrous seas which threatened the boat with every wave . Men were dying from starvation regularly . Some days after exiting The Straits , the boat moved closer to land in order to take in water and hunt for food . Later , as the last of their supplies were being taken on board , Bulkley made sail , abandoning eight men on the desolate shore 300 miles short of Buenos Aires . Three of those he had abandoned made it back to England alive . Only thirty - three men remained in the " Speedwell " . Eventually , and after a brief stop at a Portuguese outpost on the River Plate , where the crew were fleeced by the locals for meagre provisions and cheated by a priest who disappeared with their fowling pieces ( shotguns ) on the promise of returning with game , the " Speedwell " set sail once more . On 28 January 1742 , it sighted the Rio Grande , southern Brazil , after a journey of over two - thousand miles in an open boat over fifteen weeks . Of the eighty - one men who set off from Wager Island , thirty arrived at Rio in a desperate condition . Captain Cheap ' s group . Twenty men remained on Wager Island after the departure of the " Speedwell " . Poor weather during October and November continued . One man died of exposure after being marooned for three days on a rock for stealing food . By December and the summer solstice , it was decided to launch the barge and the yawl and skirt up the coast 300 miles to an inhabited part of Chile . During bad weather , the yawl was overturned and lost , with the quartermaster drowned . There was not enough room for everyone in the barge , and four of the most helpless men , all marines , were left on the shore to fend for themselves . In his account , Campbell describes events thus : Fourteen men were left in the barge . After repeated failed attempts to round the headland , they decided to return to Wager Island and give up all hope of escape . The four stranded marines were looked for but had disappeared . Two months after leaving Wager Island , Captain Cheap ' s group returned . The thirteen survivors were close to death , and one man died of starvation shortly after arriving . Back at the island Captain Cheap took more food than the others and did less work . Fifteen days after returning to Wager Island , the men were visited by a party of Indians , astonished to find them . After some negotiation , with the surgeon speaking Spanish , they agreed to guide the castaways to a small Spanish settlement up the coast , using an overland route to avoid the peninsula . The castaways traded the barge for the journey . In his book , John Byron gives a detailed account of the journey to the village of Castro in Chile , as does Alexander Campbell . The ordeal took four months , during which another ten men died of starvation , exhaustion and fatigue . Marine Lieutenant Hamilton , Midshipmen Campbell , Midshipman Byron , and Captain Cheap were the only survivors . Bulkley & the " Speedwell " survivors return to England . The 30 mutineers had an anxious time before eventually securing passage to Rio de Janeiro on the brigantine " Saint Catherine , " which set sail on Sunday 28 March 1742 . Once in Rio de Janeiro , internal and external diplomatic wrangling continually threatened to terminally complicate either their lives , or at least their return to England . John King did not help . He formed a violent gang that spent most of its time repeatedly terrorising his former shipmates on various pretexts . They moved to the opposite side of Rio to avoid King . After many episodes of fleeing their accommodations in terror of King and his gang ( who referred to him as their ' commander ' ) , Bulkley , Cummins and the cooper , John Young , eventually sought protection from the Portuguese authorities . Captain S W C Pack describes these events : They eventually secured passage to Bahia in the " Saint Tubes " , which set sail on 20 May 1742 . They gladly left the boatswain John King behind to continue causing criminal havoc in Rio de Janeiro . On 11 September 1742 , the " Saint Tubes " left Bahia bound for Lisbon , and from there they embarked in HMS " Stirling Castle " on 20 December bound for Spithead , England . They arrived on New Year ' s Day 1743 , after an absence of more than two years . Events were also reported back to London from the British Consul in Lisbon , in a dispatch dated 1 October 1742 ( see images ) : SWC Pack ' s book describes a similar report : Lieutenant Baynes , in order to exonerate himself , rushed ahead of Bulkley and Cummins to the Admiralty in London and gave an account of what happened to " Wager " which reflected badly on Bulkley and Cummins but not himself . Baynes was a weak man and an incompetent officer , as was recorded by all those who provided a narrative of these events . As a result of Baynes ' report , Bulkley and Cummins were detained aboard HMS " Stirling Castle " for two weeks whilst the Admiralty decided how to act . It was eventually decided to release them and defer any formal court martial proceedings until the return of either Commodore Anson or Captain Cheap . When Anson did return in 1744 , it was decided that no trial would proceed until Cheap returned . Bulkley asked the Admiralty for permission to publish his journal . It responded that it was his business and he could do as he liked . He released a book containing his journal , but the initial reaction from some was that he should be hanged as a mutineer . Bulkley found employment when he assumed command of a forty - gun privateer " Saphire " . It was not long before Bulkley ' s competence and nerve found him success as he tricked his way around a superior force of French frigates which his vessel encountered when cruising . As a result , Bulkley found his successes being reported in popular London papers and gained some celebrity . He began thinking that it was would not be long before the Admiralty would offer him the coveted command of a Royal Navy ship . On 9 April 1745 , however , Cheap arrived back in England . Survivors of Captain Cheap ' s group return to England . By January 1742 , as Bulkley was returning to Spithead , the four survivors of Cheap ' s group had spent seven months in Chaco . Nominal prisoners of the local governor , they were allowed to live with local hosts and were left unmolested . The biggest obstacle in Byron ' s efforts to return to England began firstly with the old lady who initially looked after him ( and her two daughters ) in the countryside before his move to the town itself . All of the ladies were fond of Byron and became extremely reluctant to let him leave , successfully getting the governor to agree to Byron staying with her for a few extra weeks . He finally left for Chaco , amidst many tears . Once in Chaco , Byron was also offered the hand in marriage of the richest heiress in the town . Her beau said , although " her person was good , she could not be called a regular beauty " , and this seems to have sealed her fate . On 2 January 1743 , the group left on a ship bound for Valparaiso . Cheap and Hamilton removed to St Jago , as they were officers who had preserved their commissions . Byron and Campbell were unceremoniously jailed . Campbell and Byron were confined in a single cell infested with insects and placed on a starvation diet . Many locals visited their cell , paying officials for the privilege of looking at the ' terrible Englishmen ' , people they had heard much about , but never seen before . But , the harsh conditions moved not only their curious visitors but also the sentry at their cell door , who allowed food and money to be taken to them . Eventually Cheap ' s whole group made it to Santiago , where things were much better . They stayed there on parole for the rest of 1743 and 1744 . Exactly why becomes clearer in Campbell ' s account : After two years , the group were offered passage on a ship to Spain ; they all agreed except , Campbell . He chose to travel overland with some Spanish naval officers to Buenos Aires and from there to connect to a different ship also bound for Spain . Campbell deeply resented Captain Cheap ' s giving him less money in a cash allowance than he gave to Hamilton and Byron . Campbell was suspected to be edging toward marrying s Spanish colonial woman , which was against the rules of the British Navy at that time . Campbell was furious at this treatment . He wrote : On 20 December 1744 , Cheap , Hamilton and Byron embarked on the French ship " Lys " , which had to return to Valparaiso after springing a leak . On 1 March 1744 " Lys " set out for Europe , and after a good passage round the Horn , she dropped anchor in Tobago in late June . After managing to get lost and sail obliviously by night through the very dangerous island chain between Grenada and St Vincent , the ship headed for Puerto Rico . The crew was alarmed at seeing abandoned barrels from British warships , as Britain was now at war with France . After narrowly avoiding being captured off San Domingo , the ship made her way to Brest , arriving on 31 October 1744 . After six months in Brest being virtually abandoned with no money , shelter , food or clothing , the destitute group embarked for England on a Dutch ship . On 9 April 1745 they landed at Dover , three men of the twenty who had left in the barge with Cheap on 15 December 1741 . News of their arrival quickly spread to the Admiralty and Buckley . Cheap went directly to the Admiralty in London with his version of events . A court martial was duly organised . After all he had been through and survived , Bulkley was in danger for his life , and at risk of execution . Abandoned survivors of the " Speedwell " group return to England . Left by Bulkley at Freshwater Bay , in what is today the resort city of Mar del Plata , were eight men who were alone , starving , sickly and in a hostile and remote country . After a month of living on seals killed with stones to preserve ball and powder , the group began the 300 - mile trek north to Buenos Aires . Their greatest fear , correctly as it would transpire , were the Tehuelche natives , who were known to live in the area . After a 60 - mile trek north in two days , they were forced to return to Freshwater Bay because they were unable to locate any fresh water . Once back they decided to wait for the wet season before making another attempt . By May they were starving for lack of food . They became more settled in Freshwater Bay , built a hut , tamed some puppies they took from a wild dog , and began raising pigs . One of the party spotted what they described as a ' tiger ' reconnoitering their hut one night . Another sighting of a ' lion ' shortly after this had the men hastily planning another attempt to walk to Buenos Aires ( they saw a jaguar and a cougar ) . One day , when most of the men were out hunting , the group returned to find the two left behind to mind the camp had been murdered , the hut torn down , and all their possessions taken . Two other men who were hunting in another area disappeared , and their dogs made their way back to the devastated camp . The four remaining men left Freshwater Bay for Buenos Aires , accompanied by 16 dogs and two pigs . They did not get very far , and for the third time , were forced to return to Freshwater Bay . Shortly afterwards a large group of Indians on horseback surrounded them , took them all prisoner , and enslaved them . After being bought and sold four times , they were eventually taken to the local chieftain ' s camp . When he learned they were English and at war with the Spanish , he treated them better . By the end of 1743 , after eight months as slaves , they eventually told the chief that they wanted to return to Buenos Aires . He agreed but refused to give up John Duck , who was mulatto . An English trader in Montevideo , upon hearing of their plight , put up the ransom of $ 270 for the other three and they were released . On arrival in Buenos Aires , the governor out them in jail after they refused to convert to Catholicism . In early 1745 they were moved to the ship " Asia , " where they were to work as prisoners of war . After this they were thrown in prison again , chained , and placed on a bread and water diet for fourteen weeks , before a judge eventually ordered their release . Then Midshipman Alexander Campbell , another of " Wager " s crew , arrived in town . Midshipman Alexander Campbell ' s overland trek to Buenos Aires . On 20 January 1745 Campbell and four Spanish naval officers set out across South America from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires . Using mules , the party trekked into the high Andes , where they faced precipitous mountains , severe cold and , at times , serious altitude sickness . First a mule slipped on an exposed path and was dashed onto rocks far below , then two mules froze to death on a particularly horrendous night of blizzards , and an additional 20 died of thirst or starvation on the remaining journey . After seven weeks travelling , the party eventually arrived in Buenos Aires . Campbell and the Freshwater Bay survivors return to England . It took five months for Alexander Campbell to get out of Buenos Aires , where he was twice confined in a fort for periods of several weeks . Eventually the governor sent him to Montevideo , which was just 100 miles across the Río de la Plata . It was here that the three Freshwater Bay survivors , Midshipman Isaac Morris , Seaman Samuel Cooper and John Andrews were languishing as prisoners of war aboard the Spanish ship " Asia ' , ' along with sixteen other English sailors from another ship . Campbell had finally converted to Catholicism , which helped him . While his fellow shipmates were treated harshly and confined aboard the " Asia " , Campbell wined and dined with various captains on the social circuit of Montevideo . All four " Wager " survivors departed for Spain in the " Asia " at the end of October 1745 , but the passage was not without incident . Having been at sea three days , eleven Indian crew on board mutinied against their barbaric treatment by the Spanish officers . They killed twenty Spaniards and wounded another twenty before briefly taking control of the ship ( which had a total crew of over five hundred ) . Eventually the Spaniards worked to reassert control and through a ' lucky shot ' , according to Morris , they killed the Indian chief Orellana dead . His followers all jumped overboard rather than submit to Spanish retribution . The " Asia " dropped anchor at the port Corcubion , near Cape Finisterre on 20 January 1746 . The authorities chained together Morris , Cooper and Andrews and put them in jail . Campbell went to Madrid for questioning . After four months held captive in awful conditions , the three Freshwater Bay survivors were eventually released to Portugal , from where they sailed for England , arriving in London on 5 July 1746 . Bulkley had to confront men he assumed had died on a desolated coastline thousands of miles away . Campbell ' s insistence that he had not entered the service of the Spanish Navy , as Cheap and Byron had believed , was apparently confirmed when he arrived in London during early May 1746 , shortly after Cheap . Campbell went straight to the Admiralty , where he was promptly dismissed from the service for his change in religion . His hatred for Cheap had , if anything , intensified . After all he had been through , he completes his account of this incredible story thus : Court martial into the loss of " Wager " . 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 " Wager " survivors were ordered to report aboard HMS " Prince George " at Spithead for the court martial . Bulkley on hearing this reacted in his typical style of being overly clever and devious . He arranged to dine with the Deputy Marshal of the Admiralty ( the enforcing officer of the Royal Navy command ) but kept his true identity concealed . Bulkley wrote about his prepared conversation with the Deputy Marshal at the Paul ' s Head Tavern in Cateaton Street : At which point the Marshal responded : Bulkley told the Marshal of his true identity , who immediately arrested him . Upon arrival aboard " Prince George " , Bulkley sent some of his friends to visit Cheap to gauge his mood and intentions . Their report gave Bulkley little comfort . Cheap was in a vindictive frame of mind , telling them : Upon securing the main players , trial was set for Tuesday 15 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 . Cheap , although keen to charge those who abandoned him in the " 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 Midshipman 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 were promptly acquitted of any wrong - doing , 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 . Aftermath . The mutineers argued that , since their pay stopped on the day their vessel was wrecked , they were no longer under naval law . Captain S W C Pack , in his book about the mutiny , describes this and the Admiralty ' s decision not to investigate events after the " Wager " was lost in more detail : Captain Cheap was promoted to the distinguished rank of post captain and appointed to command the forty - gun ship , 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 . Midshipman 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 became a famous poet . He died in 1786 . Robert 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 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 Bulkley 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 . Alexander Campbell completes 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 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 , enlisting English seamen and sending them overland to Cadiz to join the Spanish service .