Vice-Admiral William Bligh

[chad_farrell]

Looking for others that have a direct line to Vice-Admiral William Bligh for general discussion and some fact checking on a few points.

Cheers

[Viktoria]

Would this be The Captain Bligh of The Bounty?
He was quite a martinet, a stickler for detail ,however he did a good job when in Australia, as Governor of a state I think ,but this was uncomfortable for the Army top brass who were seemingly pretty corrupt ,and her was released from his duties .
Sorry I can’t be more exact , but I only thought of him with regards to The Bounty ,but misjudged him, and a RootsChatter gave me a fuller picture of his character.
Sorry if it is not the man you are researching .
Viktoria.

[CaroleW]

Welcome to Rootschat

Somebody has a tree on Ancestry which includes him.

[chad_farrell]

Thanks, I've tried reaching out on Ancestry but had no replies.. Ancestry.com can be a bit like that

[q98]

A man much maligned by Hollywood!
Navigator: In 1789, during command of HMS Bounty, Bligh and 18 loyal men were set adrift in an overloaded ship's launch. They were supplied with four cutlasses, no firearms, about one weeks supply of food and water, and very basic navigation equipment but no charts or a marine chronometer. A pocket watch was used to regulate time. Bligh and 17 men reached Timor alive, a journey of 3,618 nautical miles (6,700 kms) and thence to Batavia (Dutch East Indies). During this epic journey, only one of his men died, being killed by natives at Tofua.
Disciplinarian: In comparison to his peers, Bligh could be described as sparing in his punishments, scolding when others whipped and whipping when others hanged. An educated man, he was interested in science and knowledgeable that good diet and cleanliness were necessary for crew welfare. He was finicky about the quality of their food and insisted upon the Bounty being kept very clean.
Governorship of New South Wales: His administration provoked the anger of several influential individuals and, more importantly, senior officers of the New South Wales Corps who, in defiance of British government regulations, were engaged in private business for profit, which Bligh was determined to end. Several hundred soldiers of the New South Wales Corps marched on Government House and arrested Bligh following which a rebel government was installed. Subsequently, these actions were declared illegal and mutinous by the British Government.
Personal Courage: At the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797, Bligh engaged three Dutch vessels. While the Dutch suffered serious casualties, only seven of Bligh's crew were wounded. He captured the Dutch flagship and their fleet commander, Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter.
Bligh also served under Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. He was praised by none less than Nelson for his contribution to the victory.
Edit 1: I believe the former Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, is related.
Edit 2: Another individual maligned on film ("Zulu") was Private Henry Hook VC, portrayed as a waster fond of the drink. In life, he was teetotal and had been awarded good-conduct pay just prior the battle.

[KGarrad]

William Bligh married Elizabeth Betham at Onchan, Isle of Man on 4th February 1781.
Her father was Collector of Customs at Douglas.

[Viktoria]

Yes,an amazing feat of navigation , we don’t hear of the characters of the mutineers really ,unless we research.

I took him at face value ,( Hollywood as you say mostly) and I had to realise that on a ship there has to be such strict discipline ,the Captain is the ultimate authority .
It was interesting to be corrected .
Thank you for the detailed information.
I am not sure of dates but would some of the crew be men who had been  press ganged ?If so they would be pretty bolshie I can imagine .

I think you can be proud of him .
Viktoria.
PS .

Conversely I don’t like John Newton ,who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace.
A slave trader,those horrendous ships !
He had not ceased his trading nor given up  his plantation when converted .
He did eventually .
Would have to look dates up to be more accurate.

Viktoria.