Anson's voyage into the Great South Sea and round the world

18 Feb 2011

A manuscript account of Anson's voyage, 1740-44, written by Laurence Millechamp who joined the squadron as a purser of the Tryal sloop.

A Narrative of Commodore Anson's voyage into the Great South Sea and Round the World Perform'd between September 1740–June 1744. Archive and Library ref: MSS JOD/36.

In 1740, Lord Anson was given charge of a squadron of six ships and ordered to the Pacific where his orders were 'to take, burn, sink or otherwise destroy the ships and vessels belonging to the Crown of Spain'. The ships involved were the Centurion, Gloucester, Severn, Pearl, Wager, Tryal and two storeships the Anna and Industry. Anson had great difficulty in manning the fleet and the crew was supplemented with 500 invalids, out-patients from Chelsea Hospital who all died during the voyage.

The author of this account of Anson's voyage was Laurence Millechamp who joined the squadron as a purser of the Tryal sloop. He transferred to the Tryal's Prize with the rest of the officers when the Tryal was condemned. The Tryal's Prize was in turn ordered to be destroyed as there were not enough men to man more than the Gloucester and the Centurion, and Millechamp was transferred to the Gloucester. Once again this ship was condemned and Millechamp finished his voyage in the Centurion. 

The narrative contains interesting remarks on the destroying of the above ships (which made a great deal of difference to the ship's companies share of prize money), Millechamp's experiences during the voyage and also to the prevalence of scurvy:

The Gloucester being thus Destroyed and all her officers and crew taken out and put on Board the Centurion we made the greatest despatch we possibly could in the prosecution of our Voyage, still bending our Course (as we thought) toward Guam; but as we were some time before we got to any Land we Buried a great number of our Men, who being deeply Afflicted with that almost incurable Distemper, the Scurvy perished Dayley.

Terrible Situation of the Ships in going round Cape Horn. Pincht with Cold, we  have no refreshments even for our Sick Men but Salt Meat which in some of the Ships could not be Boil'd for many days…Our men almost all sick and those were Dying as well as many of the rest almost devoured by Vermin insomuch that I have frequently seen by a modest Computation above a Peck of Lice on a Man even after he was dead.

When we crost the Equinoctial Line and there as is customary, such Persons as had not Crost it before were Oblig'd to pay their Bottle and Pound or be Duckt. The Bottle and Pound is a Bottle of Brandy or Rum and a pound of Sugar with which forfeitures the Seamen makes Merry and the Ducking which is inflicted on those who either through Poverty cannot, or being able, Obstinately, refuse to pay the Forfeit is perform'd by Hoisting the Man from the Deck to the Main or Foreyard (by Lashings & Tackle prapr'd for that purpose) and letting him fall Over head and Ears in the Water & this they repeat five or Six times till the Offender is as wet as a Drownded Rat.

Millechamp also wrote about and illustrated with charming watercolours the wildlife encountered on the voyage. Of the Island of Santa Catherina (Brazil) he writes:

Some of the Inhabitants informed us that their woods abounded with Beasts of Prey, as Lyons, Tygers etc the truth of which I must doubt, and rather imagine they spread that Report to deter our People from Disturbing their Cattle than to save them from those Voracious Animals…Our men met with none of these Beasts though many of them straggled far into the Woods and met with great numbers of Monkeys, Parrotts and Flamigoes, the two first of which want no Description, the other being the greatest Stranger in England I have given the Picture of…

…we continued sailing pleasantly along shore amidst great quantities of whales and saw Numbers of Sea Fowl as Penguins which is a Fowl much larger than a Goose and may justly be said to be half Fish half Fowl, for instead of Wings it has only two Scaly Finns and it legs grow directly out of its Tail, in all other respects it is a mere Fowl and it is Webb footed and Swims under water with an incredible swiftness.

The only things we met with remarkable here are the Armadilla's or what the Seamen call Hogs in Armour, they are about the size of a large Catt, their Nose like a Hogs with a thick Shell like a Tortoise only thst it seems to move in joints like Armour in which they Draw up their Head, Feet and Tail when they are Attack'd and it serves them instead of Armour being hard enough to resist a Strong Blow with a Hammer or any other thing.

The squadron was ultimately reduced to one ship, the Centurion – with Anson still in command she captured the treasure ship the Nuestra Senora de Covadonga in June 1743. This Spanish ship was sold as a prize in Canton and the remnants of the expedition – over 1300 men had perished – arrived back in England in June 1744.

 Liza, Information Specialist, Archive and Library