Revised Jun 6 2021

No. 15 Mr. P. Heywood to Rich'd. Betham Esq'r.

Gorgon Spithead June 20th. 1792

Honor'd Sir.

Impressed with a high sense of Gratitude for your former Kindness to me, Jun 19, 1792 I think it a Duty incumbent on me to make you acquainted with my Arrival here on the 19th. Inst. a Prisoner on board H. M. S. Gorgon from the Cape of Good Hope.

Alas! dear Sir how unfortunate hath that Voyage been to me! Prospects from which appeared so sanguine when your Goodness was the Means of placing me under the Care & Protection of Mr. Bligh, who I fear hath upon his Arrival in England put a Misconstruction on my Conduct when that unhappy Mutiny happened, to which Misrepresentation I must attribute my severe & undeserved Confinement. I have already in a Letter to my Widowed Mother from Batavia, fully explained my Conduct on that fell Day, & my reasons for it, which I hope she has communicated to you: but lest she may have omitted that point, or that the Letter may by any Means have miscarried, I shall again Sir give you a short sketch of it, and sincerely hope it may be the Means of eradicating out of the Mind of all my Friends any undeserved ill Opinion they may have conceived of me, & of reinstating in their wonted Favor & Esteem, the Loss of which wou'd equal Death!

{He then proceeds with an Account similar to that contained in his Letter from Batavia to Mrs. Heywood, till the Boat in which Mr. Bligh was, quitted the Ship, — then continues in these Words, —

Thus my dear Sir you may suppose my Conduct must have appeared unaccountable to Mr. Bligh who naturally imagined me to be a Coadjutor in the Mutiny — but Alas! that God who knows the Integrity of my Heart, judge how little I have deserved that Aspersion, & how undeservedly I am now suffering this close Confinement! — I have only to add, that I got ashore at 'Taheite as soon as it was in my Power, & when I had permission; Mar 26, 1791
Aug 29, 1791 after being about nineteen Months amongst those Indians, on the 26th. March 1791 on the Arrival of H. M. S. Pandora, I immediately went on board & made my Case known to Captain Edwards, who made me a Prisoner, & such I have continued till the present Hour: — At the Loss of her on the 29th. of August I narrowly escaped shipwreck, & again in a Dutch Indiaman. — My sufferings have been great, but that Providence who hath ever protected me, & on whom alone I rely for succour, will to the Innocent still continue his Protection. — Believe Sir, this is the true Cause of my remaining on board the Bounty, & my Thoughts that Mr. Bligh hath misrepresented me arise only from my being kept so close a Prisoner, & not from any Consciousness that I ever deserved it, or even ever to be suspected of so heinous a Crime; but I still flatter myself that he can have said none other of me, than that I was always dutiful to him & all my superior Officers, & ever dilligent & obedient in executing any Duty imposed on me: — therefore, may I hope dear Sir, that this may serve to turn your Censure of me (if any has yet taken place) & my Conduct into Pity, for my Youth, Inexperience, & Misfortunes; & once more be assured I have done my Duty both to my Maker & Mankind.

With the most profound respect believe me my dear & honor'd Sir, your ever dutiful & most obliged

but unhappy servant

    Peter Heywood

P:S: May I beg of you Sir to favor my unhappy Mother with a Sight of this Letter – & if you will honor me with a Line of Comfort, let it be conveyed to me through her Hands as I have given her Precautions relative to my present Situation.