George Miller Bligh Captain George Miller Bligh ( 1780 – 1834 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy , who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , eventually rising to the rank of Captain . He was present aboard at the Battle of Trafalgar , and was badly wounded during the action . He was taken below and was present in the cockpit during the death of Vice - Admiral Horatio Nelson . Family and early life . Bligh was born in 1780 , the only son of Richard Rodney Bligh , who was later to become an Admiral , and his first wife Ann Worsley . The younger Bligh followed his father into the navy , joining his father ' s ship as a midshipman in 1794 . Shortly after this the " Alexander " was captured by a French squadron in an action on 6 November 1794 . Bligh became a prisoner of war at Brest , spending six months there until he was able to escape and return to England . He went on to serve aboard a number of ships , including , , and . He was promoted to lieutenant while serving aboard the " Endymion " in 1801 . He returned to serving aboard the " Brunswick " after this , before being transferred aboard Nelson ' s flagship HMS " Victory " in 1804 . Trafalgar . Bligh was present at Trafalgar as commander of " Victory " s forecastle , where he was wounded in the head and hit by a musket ball in the breast , becoming one of the high proportion of officers to be killed or wounded in the battle . " Victory " s signal Lieutenant John Pasco was also wounded in the battle , while Lieutenant William Ram was killed . Bligh was carried below to be seen by the surgeon William Beatty . He was in the cockpit during the last hours of the mortally wounded Nelson ' s life , and was depicted in Arthur William Devis ' s painting " The Death of Nelson , 21 October 1805 " . Bligh is depicted apparently dazed from a head wound , and with his left hand over the wound in his side . Bligh survived the battle and recovered in time to be present at Nelson ' s funeral . He was in a mourning coach on the morning of 8 January , along with Captain Henry William Bayntun , who had commanded at Trafalgar , and Captain Thomas Hardy , of the " Victory " , as well as fellow " Victory " lieutenant Andrew King . Bligh was promoted to commander on 25 January 1806 , in the rewards bestowed to those who had fought at Trafalgar . He was appointed to command the sloop and despatched to escort a convoy from Falmouth to the Mediterranean . Command . Bligh remained in command of the " Pylades " for the next three years , distinguishing his time aboard her with the capture of the French privateer " Grand Napoleon " on 2 May 1808 . He was promoted to post - captain on 27 December 1809 and by early 1810 he was aboard , escorting a convoy back to England from Malta . He was then appointed to the 18 - gun sloop , which was part of the British squadron protecting their base on the island of Lissa . When three suspicious sails were sighted early in the morning of 28 November , the British squadron put to sea , leaving Bligh in the " Acorn " , in charge of the station while an action was fought the next day , resulting in a British victory . Bligh was appointed to the frigate in 1814 , and sailed her to serve on the Jamaica station . He returned to Britain in July 1816 , where the " Araxes " was paid off and Bligh went ashore . He does not appear to have been actively employed again at sea . Personal life . Bligh married Catherine Haynes on 2 December 1817 . He died at Southampton in 1834 and was buried at Alverstoke .