Wager Mutiny - The Survivors of Captain Cheap's Group Return To England

The 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 now spent seven months in Chaco. Nominal prisoners of the local governor, they were actually 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, but finally he left for Chaco itself, amidst many tears. Once in Chaco, Byron was also offered the hand in marriage of the richest heiress in the town, although according to her beau "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, whereupon Cheap and Hamilton removed to St Jago given that they were officers who had preserved their commissions, but Byron and Campbell were unceremoniously jailed.

Campbell and Byron were confined in a single cell infested with insects and placed on a starvation diet. There quickly built a continual stream of locals visiting their cell, paying officials for the privilege of looking at the 'terrible Englishmen', people they had heard much about, but never actually seen. However, the barbarity of their confinement 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, so good in fact that they stayed there on parole for the rest of 1743 and 1744. Exactly why becomes clearer in Campbell's account:

"The Spaniards are very proud, and dress extremely gay; particularly the women, who spend a great deal of money upon their persons and houses. They are a good sort of people, and very courteous to strangers. Their women are also fond of gentlemen from other countries, and of other nations."

After two years, the group were offered passage on a ship to Spain, all of whom agreed to this option except Campbell, who preferred 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 however deeply resented the fact that when Captain Cheap distributed a cash allowance from a sum he drew on the English consul in Lisbon, he gave Campbell half that handed to Hamilton and Byron, because he was suspected, not of cavorting with Spanish ladies - this was fine - but edging toward marrying one, which was against the rules of the British Navy at that time. Campbell was furious at this treatment and he probably felt that the long and dangerous overland journey to Argentina worth it to avoid nine months cooped up with Captain Cheap on the voyage home. Campbell's exact words were:

"...the misunderstanding between me and the Captain, as already related, and since which we had not conversed together, induced me not to go home in the same ship with a man who had used me so ill; but rather to embark in a Spanish man-of-war then lying at Buenos Aires."

On 20 December 1744, Cheap, Hamilton and Byron embarked on the French ship Lys, which hastily returned to Valparaiso after the ship sprung a dangerous leak. On 1 March 1744 Lys once again 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. Here panic swept the crew after abandoned barrels from British warships were sighted floating in the sea, since 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 immediately made for the Admiralty in London with his version of events. A court martial was duly organised. After all he had been through and survived, Bulkley's life was once again in real danger, this time from judicial killing.