Lieutenant William Bligh diary leaf recounting his uncomfortable journey to London (for surveying the Coast near Dungeness in preparation of the Napoleonic Wars), 1803

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16499,William Bligh diary leaf, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.03 Cubic Feet 1 letter folder
Creator:
Bligh, William, 1754-1817 and Barrett, Clifton Waller, 1901-1991
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16499,William Bligh diary leaf, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

Lieutenant William Bligh diary handwritten leaf recounting his uncomfortable journey to London (for surveying the Coast near Dungeness in preparation of the Napoleonic Wars)in 1803. He writes, Friday 16, 1803 "[Dear Wm?] At 4 this morning I got into the [Balloon] Coach [ ] Passengers [two] ladies, sisters called Miss Wear's.

Very much [destroyed?] by the frequent stopping of the coachmen.

Saturday 17, 1803 "D. [Wm] After a tedious & unpleasant nights traveling and equally so through the day I did not get home until [11] at night. This conveyance is cheap but very tiresome. We [might to have?] in London about 1/2 past 3 in the afternoon."

There is a note on the back of the leaf indicating that "this leaf is cut out of Admiral William Bligh's diary when sent to survey the coast when threatened with invasion by Bonaparte."

Biographical / historical:

The name of William Bligh (1754-1817)

"will for all time be associated with the incident of the Bounty Mutiny during his first mission of transporting the Bread Fruit to the West Indies. This was, however, but one episode in his eventful career in the Royal Navy. At various times he took part in scientific expeditions and voyages of discovery, commanded fighting ships, etc. Between 1797 and 1803 he fulfilled the duty of hydrographic surveyor and carried out a number of surveys of limited areas in the British Isles and adjacent coasts of Europe. These examinations, of which the River Humber, Dublin Bay, Dungeness and the mouth of the River Schelde are the most detailed, were valuable additions to hydrographic knowledge, coming as they did before organized surveying as we know it today had fully established itself."

Source: Robinson, A. H. W., "CAPTAIN WILLIAM BLIGH, R.N., HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYOR" Empire Survey Review, 1952. 11:85, 301-306, DOI: 10.1179/sre.1952.11.85.301

Acquisition information:
This collection is a gift of Clifton Waller Barrett to the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 11 January 1946.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Names:
Barrett, Clifton Waller, 1901-1991