Complement of HMS Bounty facts for kids

HMS Bounty's commander, Lieutenant William Bligh, painted in 1775

The crew of HMS Bounty was made up of 46 men when the ship left England in December 1787. This famous Royal Navy ship is known for a historic mutiny that happened in the South Pacific on April 28, 1789. By the time of the mutiny, there were 44 men on board, including the ship's leader, Lieutenant William Bligh.

Almost everyone on board was part of the Royal Navy. The only exceptions were two civilian botanists. Their job was to look after the breadfruit plants that Bounty was supposed to take from Tahiti to the West Indies.

When the mutiny happened, 19 men (including Bligh) were forced into the ship's small boat and set adrift. The other 25 men, a mix of mutineers and those who were held against their will, stayed on the ship under the command of Fletcher Christian. Bligh bravely led his loyal crew 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) to safety in the open boat, eventually making it back to England.

The mutineers split up. Most of them settled on Tahiti. They were later found and captured by HMS Pandora in 1791 and sent back to England for trial. However, Christian and eight other mutineers managed to hide on Pitcairn Island and were not found for many years.

Who Was on Board the Bounty?

The British Admiralty considered Bounty a small warship called a cutter. This meant it was led by a lieutenant, not a captain. There were no other high-ranking officers or Royal Marines on board. Marines usually helped ship commanders keep order.

Right below Bligh in the chain of command were the warrant officers. These officers were chosen by the Navy Board. The most important warrant officer was the sailing master, John Fryer. Other warrant officers included the boatswain, the surgeon, the carpenter, and the gunner.

Two master's mates and two midshipmen were considered petty officers. There were also several "young gentlemen" who wanted to have careers in the navy. They signed up as able seamen but lived with the midshipmen and were treated like them.

Choosing the Crew Members

Most of the men on Bounty were chosen by Bligh or recommended to him. Some people who were first listed for the crew did not actually sail, including two men who were forced into service but likely ran away.

Two crew members, William Peckover (the gunner) and Joseph Coleman (the armourer), had sailed with Bligh before. They were with him when he was Captain James Cook's sailing master on HMS Resolution during Cook's third voyage (1776–80).

Several others had sailed with Bligh more recently. This included Christian, who had traveled with Bligh twice to the West Indies on a merchant ship called Britannia. Bligh and Christian had a teacher-student relationship. Christian became a very skilled navigator. Bligh gave him one of the master's mate positions on Bounty. In March 1788, Bligh promoted Christian to Acting Lieutenant, making him second-in-command.

Another young gentleman recommended to Bligh was 15-year-old Peter Heywood. He was from the Isle of Man and a distant relative of Christian's. Bligh's father-in-law, who was a friend of the Heywood family, recommended Peter.

The Botanists and Young Sailors

The two botanists, also called "gardeners," were chosen by Sir Joseph Banks. He was the president of the Royal Society and a main supporter of the expedition. The head botanist, David Nelson, had also been on Cook's third voyage. He had learned some of the Tahitian language. Nelson's assistant, William Brown, was a former midshipman who had fought in naval battles against the French.

Banks also helped two of his young friends, Thomas Hayward and John Hallett, get midshipman positions. Overall, most of Bounty's crew was quite young, with most men under 30. When the ship left, Bligh was 33 years old, and Fryer was 34.

Some of the older crew members included William Peckover, the gunner, who had sailed on all three of Cook's voyages. Lawrence Lebogue, who used to be the sailmaker on the Britannia, was also older. The youngest on board were Hallett and Heywood, both 15 when they left England.

The Crew List

Michael Byrne: The Fiddler

Michael Byrne was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1761. He started working on ships as an able seaman when he was 19. By 1787, he had served on five navy ships. That year, Captain Bligh hired him for the Bounty, mainly because he could play the fiddle. Bligh once wrote that it was hard to find a violin player. He even chose someone "two-thirds blind" rather than go without one. Bligh described Byrne as being "5 feet 6 inches high. Fair complexion and is almost blind. Plays the fiddle."

During the mutiny on April 28, 1789, Byrne was loyal to Bligh. However, he stayed on the ship with the mutineers. This was likely because his poor eyesight made him confused. Fletcher Christian later put him ashore on Tahiti.

Byrne willingly gave himself up when the Pandora arrived in 1791. He survived the shipwreck of the Pandora. He was found not guilty of mutiny at his naval trial in 1792. Later, he served with Bligh's nephew, Francis Godolphin Bond, on another ship. What happened to him after that is not known.

Thomas Ellison: A Young Sailor's Story

Thomas Ellison (1772 – October 29, 1792) was an able seaman. He was part of the mutiny but stayed in Tahiti instead of going to the Pitcairn Islands. In 1791, he willingly gave himself up to the crew of HMS Pandora. He wanted to face justice in England. He was tried by the navy in September 1792 and sentenced to death. He was executed on October 29. People still wonder how much he was truly to blame for the mutiny.

Ellison was only 15 years old when he joined Captain Bligh's ship Bounty. It sailed from Spithead to Tahiti. Even at that young age, he was an experienced sailor. He had worked in the merchant navy under Bligh in the West Indies. He was short, about 5 ft 3 in, 1.60 m tall, with dark hair and fair skin. Bligh wrote that the boy was "improving" and "a very good Boy." Bligh also told his clerk to teach the young, uneducated sailor how to read and do math.

During the Mutiny on the Bounty on April 28, 1789, Ellison was steering the ship. This gave him a clear view of the argument between Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian. Ellison said he kept following the captain's orders. But then, he gave control of the steering wheel to a mutineer, John Mills. He left to ask a loyal crewman, Lawrence LeBogue, for advice.

When Ellison told his story at his naval trial, he tried to show he was loyal. But LeBogue, who was put in the boat with Bligh minutes later, was not helpful. He told Ellison to "go to hell and not bother him." Ellison said this made him too discouraged to ask anyone else for help.

He willingly surrendered when HMS Pandora arrived in 1791. He was put in chains as a mutineer. He survived the shipwreck of his prison ship. He was then sent to England as a prisoner for his trial. Ellison faced his judges in September 1792.

At the trial, the loyal midshipman Thomas Hayward said he saw young Ellison among a group of mutineers. They were making fun of their former captain. Ellison was a common sailor, and Hayward had become a high-ranking officer. Ellison could not hire a lawyer or challenge Hayward's strong words. As a last hope, the young man wrote a paper for the judge. He pleaded his case and described the mutiny from his side. He wrote, "I hope, honorable Gentlemen, yo'll be so Kind as to take my Case into Consideration as I was No more than between Sixteen and Seventeen Years of age when this of [sic] done."

This plea seemed to be Ellison's own writing. It had misspellings that showed his Cockney accent. But it did not save him. He was found guilty of mutiny and executed on October 29, 1792.

John Fryer: The Sailing Master

Quick facts for kids John Fryer
Born	(1753-08-15)15 August 1753 Wells, Norfolk, England
Died	26 May 1817(1817-05-26) (aged 63) Wells, Norfolk, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Service years	1781–1812
Rank	Sailing Master
Notable event	Mutiny on the Bounty

John Fryer (August 15, 1753 – May 26, 1817) was the sailing master on the Bounty. He often criticized both Lieutenant William Bligh and the mutiny leader Fletcher Christian. At one point, he even accused Bligh of treating Christian better than others. Despite his anger at Bligh, Fryer did not support the mutiny.

Fryer was born in Wells-next-the-Sea, England. After his time in the navy, he returned to Wells. His grave is clearly marked in the churchyard there. In 1787, Fryer was made master of HMS Bounty. Fletcher Christian served as his master's mate. On January 10, 1788, Bligh divided his crew into three watches, giving one to Christian. On March 2, Bligh promoted Christian to acting lieutenant. Some people think this caused bad feelings between Fryer and Bligh. However, as a master, Fryer would not have been promoted to lieutenant at sea. He never did become a lieutenant.

Fryer remained loyal to Bligh. He traveled with Bligh in the open boat to Timor. Bligh's story of the mutiny spoke badly of Fryer. But Fryer gave fair information at Bligh's naval trial. Edward Christian, Fletcher's brother, got help from Fryer to publish a different version of events than Bligh's. Fryer was never promoted, but he served in the Royal Navy until 1812.

John Fryer has been played by three actors in movies about the Bounty mutiny. DeWitt Jennings played him in the 1935 film. Eddie Byrne played him in the 1962 version. Daniel Day-Lewis played him in the 1984 film The Bounty.

John Hallett: The Young Midshipman

John Hallett (1772–1794) was a midshipman on the Bounty. He was only 15 when he joined the ship and 17 when the mutiny happened. He went with Captain William Bligh on his long open boat journey to the Dutch East Indies. After returning to England, he was promoted to lieutenant. He died on December 1, 1794, in Bedford, England, at the age of 22.

Thomas Hayward: Another Midshipman

Commander Thomas Hayward (1767–1798?) was a sailor present during the mutiny. He was born in Hackney. His father was a well-known doctor. Hayward's oldest sister was a close friend of Betsy Betham, who married William Bligh. Through Betsy, Hayward got a job as a midshipman on the Bounty. His work on the Bounty seemed to be average. But he remained loyal to Bligh and strongly disliked Fletcher Christian, who also disliked him. He was the second person ordered into the boat with the loyal crew, after Bligh himself.

After returning to England with Bligh, Hayward became a third lieutenant. He served under Captain Edward Edwards on HMS Pandora. They found some of the mutineers on Tahiti, and Hayward seemed to do well. But it was a difficult journey. The Pandora was shipwrecked. For the second time in a few years, Hayward found himself without a ship, in an open boat, trying to reach safety. He eventually returned to England with other survivors from the Pandora. What happened to his career after that is not clear. Some suggest he commanded a ship called HMS Swift. If so, he drowned when that ship was lost in a typhoon in the South China Sea in 1797 or 1798.

Hayward is often confused with Peter Heywood, another Bounty midshipman, because their names sound similar.

William McCoy: A Mutineer on Pitcairn

William McCoy (around 1763 – April 20, 1798) was a Scottish sailor. He traveled with Fletcher Christian from Tahiti to Pitcairn Island. He settled there in January 1790. McCoy had a partner, Teio, and they had two children, Daniel and Catherine. After three years, a conflict started between the Tahitian men and the mutineers. This led to the deaths of all the Tahitian men, Fletcher Christian, and four of the Englishmen. McCoy was one of the survivors.

He died on April 20, 1798, after falling from a cliff.

William Muspratt: The Tailor Sailor

William Muspratt (1759–1797) was an able seaman (AB) on His Majesty's Armed Ship Bounty. He took part in the mutiny. He was tried by the navy in September 1792 and sentenced to death. However, his conviction was overturned after he appealed. He returned to active service in the British navy. He likely died in 1797 aboard HMS Bellerophon.

On the Bounty records, Muspratt was listed as an able seaman and the ship's tailor. Being a craftsman did not give him special treatment. Like other able seamen, Muspratt was under the strict rules of Captain William Bligh. When the Bounty arrived in Tahiti in late 1788, Muspratt soon got into trouble with his officers. In December, he was sentenced to a dozen lashes for "neglect of duty." It seems he tried to run away from the ship after this. On January 5, 1789, he ran off with two shipmates. All were caught, and Muspratt was sentenced to four dozen more lashes.

Soon after the Bounty sailed for the West Indies in early 1789, the mutiny happened. Witnesses later said that Muspratt had a musket during the takeover. But he never used or fired it. The mutineer left the Bounty when it stopped at Tahiti again.

Bligh had returned to England and written descriptions of the mutineers. From this, we know Muspratt was "5 feet 6 inches high. Dark complexion, brown hair, slender made. Very strong black beard under his scarred chin. Tattooed in several places." When HMS Pandora arrived in Tahiti to find the mutineers, Muspratt was among those captured. He was sent back to England for trial.

A key part of his trial was that Muspratt, even though he was a common sailor, found a lawyer to defend him. Even though witnesses said he was armed during the mutiny, and he was found guilty and sentenced to death, he successfully appealed his conviction. He was able to return to the navy. However, his service was short after that. His will, made public in January 1798, showed that his service ended aboard HMS Bellerophon, a large warship.

Matthew Quintal: A Troublesome Mutineer

Matthew Quintal (born March 3, 1766, in Padstow, Cornwall – 1799, Pitcairn Island) was a Cornish able seaman. His last name was probably a misspelling of "Quintrell". He was the last of the mutineers to die on Pitcairn Island. He was killed by Ned Young and John Adams. This left Young and Adams as the last two mutineers alive on the island.

Quintal was the first crew member punished by whipping for being "Insolent and Contemptuous." He quickly joined the mutiny. Five days after landing on Pitcairn Island, Quintal burned the Bounty. He did this before the settlers could take everything valuable from the ship. This was also a safety step to prevent the ship from revealing their location to the British Navy. It is not known if he did this on his own or if he was told to. He led the others in treating the Polynesian people badly. On September 20, 1793, the four remaining Polynesian men took guns and killed Christian, Mills, Brown, Martin, and Williams. Quintal barely escaped by hiding in the mountains with William McCoy.

Descendants of mutineers John Adams and Matthew Quintal on Norfolk Island, 1862. From Left to right: John Adams (1827-1897), son of George Adams; John Quintal (1820-1912), son of Arthur Quintal; George Adams (1804-1873), son of John Adams; Arthur Quintal (1795-1873), son of Matthew Quintal

After McCoy died in 1799, Quintal became more and more difficult. He demanded to marry Isabella, Fletcher Christian's widow. He threatened to hurt Christian's children if she refused. Ned Young and John Adams invited him to Young's home. They overpowered him and then killed him.

Quintal's family members still live on Norfolk Island today. One of his descendants, Malcolm Champion, was a swimmer in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He became New Zealand's first gold medalist.

Ned Young: The Island Leader

August 1849 Edward Gennys Fanshawe sketch of Susan Young, the only surviving Tahitian woman on Pitcairn Island

Edward "Ned" Young (around 1762 – December 25, 1800) was a British sailor and a mutineer. He was also one of the people who started the mutineers' settlement on Pitcairn Island. Young was born on the West Indian island of Saint Kitts. He seemed to come from a poor family but did go to school. A navy report from 1825 says he was the nephew of Sir George Young. He joined the Bounty crew as a midshipman.

Young was asleep during the mutiny. He did not wake up until it was over. So, he did not take part in the mutiny or fight against it. He also could not join Bligh and the others who left the ship in a small boat. Young was the only crew member to sleep through this whole event. However, he soon announced that he fully supported Christian and the mutineers. He said he would never try to return to England. He joined Christian on the journey to Pitcairn.

In October 1793, a conflict broke out between the mutineers and the four remaining Tahitian men. Young slept through most of this fight too. A Tahitian woman who supported the mutineers protected him. Young did help to hunt down and kill Neho, one of the Tahitian men. The other three mutineers who survived were Matthew Quintal, William McCoy, and John Adams. Young was accepted as the leader of the island. Adams became his friend and helper, though some sources say they had equal power. After McCoy and Quintal died, Adams and Young were the only two mutineers left alive.

In 1799, Young started to suffer from asthma. Around the same time, he became more religious. The other islanders became Christian, and Young taught Adams and some of the children to read and write. Young's health got worse, and he eventually died from asthma. But Adams continued his work of educating the women and children. He took over leadership of the island. He lived to see the island found again by American and British ships.

Many of Young's and the mutineers' family members still live on Pitcairn Island or Norfolk Island.