John Lort Stokes E T I M S

A reprint from American Scientist the magazine of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

This reprint is provided for personal and noncommercial use. For any other use, please send a request to Permissions, American Scientist, P.O. Box 13975, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, U.S.A., or by electronic mail to [email protected]. ©Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society and other rightsholders H.M.S. Beagle, 1820–1870

“She belongs to that much-abused class, the ‘10-gun brigs’ ... notwithstanding which; she has proved herself, ... in all kinds of weather, an excellent sea boat.” n Sc a ie ic n r —John Lort Stokes e t i m s

classic t

• Keith Stewart Thomson 1975 •

“After having been twice driven back by idea of the ship, of the conditions un- A bark has three masts: fore, main, and heavy southwestern gales, Her Majesty’s der which Darwin and others worked, mizzen. The first two carry square ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the com- and, thereby, a further measure of their sails, whereas the mizzenmast carries mand of Captain FitzRoy, R.N., sailed from immense achievements. only a driver. The word sloop is used Devonport on the 27th of December 1831.” rather loosely to describe any small The Origin of the Beagle man-of-war of fewer than 20 guns. ith these words, Charles In order to present a full description The Royal Navy, during the peri- Darwin began his ac- of the Beagle, we must first give brief od of “transition” in the first half of count of one of the most attention to the general nature of naval the 19th century, changed from fleets important voyages made ships of the time—their design and the dominated by many large ships of the Win the 19th century. More than 100 purposes for which they were used. line—three-deckers or more, armed years later we know a great deal about the voyage and about Charles Darwin, and we have learned quite a lot about Editors’ note: American Scientist occasionally revisits articles from the maga- Robert FitzRoy. But about the Beagle zine’s archive to tie present research to its history. To complement this issue’s herself—a tiny vessel only 90 feet long articles on evolution (“On the Trail of the First Placental Mammal,” page 190) which made three enormously impor- and conservation (“War and Redemption in Gorongosa,” page 214), we are tant surveying voyages between 1826 reprinting a classic investigation into the story of the H.M.S. Beagle, the ship and 1843—very little is known. that carried Charles Darwin on his famous voyage to the Galapagos Islands. I first began to read about the Beagle This article is also the first written for American Scientist by Keith Stewart Thom- in the course of my work as an evo- son. He followed this endeavor with a nearly 30-year run as a regular contributor to lutionary biologist, and as I learned American Scientist’s Marginalia column. Many of Keith’s columns, including several more and more, I was struck by the on Darwin, are available on American Scientist’s website. Keith recently retired, and fact that so many statements about we take this opportunity to highlight his glowing career at the magazine. her, in works on Darwin and others Thomson recounts: “I had been delving into Beagle history ever since chancing connected with the second voyage, upon the lost original plans for the ship at the National Maritime Museum in Lon- contradict each other. For example, don. My essay touches upon all my favorite subjects: biology, evolution, Darwin, in one book we read that the Beagle exploration, and the history of science. I hope we now know much more about the was sold to Japan and used as a train- conditions under which Darwin and his shipmates labored and also have captured ing ship. In another we find that she at least a little of the romance of discovery, whether in the field or the library.” ended her days at Southend—or was it Since the article’s publication in 1975 several new pieces of scholarship regarding Paglesham—in Essex. She was nomi- the Beagle have come to light. Keith published a full book about the ship in 1995. nally a 10-gun brig but for most of her Studies in the early 2000s may have found the Beagle’s resting place after it was career was rigged as a three-masted scrapped, along with some of her repurposed timbers incorporated into nearby bark. Why the conversion? Authorities onshore buildings. And beginning in 2012, the Nao Victoria Museum in Chile began cannot even agree when the change construction of a full-size replica of the ship. That replica is now nearing completion. was made. No plans of the Beagle were Keith Stewart Thomson is Executive Officer of the American Philosophical So- known to exist, and there are few con- ciety and professor emeritus of natural history at the University of Oxford. Email: temporary illustrations. [email protected]. The aim of this article is to bring together for the first time some important information about the Beagle, A vessel is defined as a ship if it is mainly with long guns—to those in together with an outline of her career fully squarerigged (with transverse- which the smaller brigs and frigates and some notes on her sailing charac- ly set square sails) on three masts predominated. The reasons were mani- teristics. I hope that these pages will or more. A brig has two masts, both fold. First, there was a change in the provide students of Darwin and of square-rigged but with a fore-and-aft pattern of naval warfare during the 19th-century exploration with a clearer driver on the main (after) mast as well. wars with France, when the major Brit-

218 American Scientist, Volume 102 © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction with permission only. Contact [email protected]. One hundred and seven 10-gun brigs were built between 1808 and 1838; the Beagle, laid down in June 1818 and completed on May 11, 1820, was the 41st. They were small vessels of 235 tons “burthen” (in the old-fashioned sense of the builder’s measurement of displacement), 90 feet long overall, and 73 feet, 7 inches at the keel. The maxi- mum breadth was 24 feet, 6 inches, and the depth of the hold was 11 feet. Little Figure 1. Sail plan of a typical 10-gun brig. This is possibly how the Beagle’s sails were workhorse ships built to an inferior de- Figure 2. Sail plan for the Beagle rigged as a rigged before she was converted to a bark. sign, they were scorned by those who bark. Compare with Figure 1. sailed in greater ships and detested— ish vessels were tied up blockading the or at best viewed with an affectionate she did gain one mark of fame. In July French fleets in their home ports. Prin- alarm—by those who sailed in them. 1820, Great Britain celebrated the coro- cipally, however, the emergence of the The proponents of the “big ship” nation of King George IV, and among smaller “cruisers” can be traced to the school, to whom the change was anath- the festivities was a review of naval ves- invention of a new lightweight gun, the ema, felt that “the substitution of car- sels on the Thames. The spanking new carronade, which allowed even small ronades for long guns” increased “the Beagle was included in this great parade vessels to carry an immense firepower numerical strength of a man-of-war ... and, in passing up the river, became the deliverable at short range. The carron- at the expense of her fighting efficien- first man-of-war to pass fully rigged ade is named for the town of Carron, cy.” William James, in his Naval History, under the (old) London Bridge. It is a Scotland, where they were manufac- flatly states that “as little judgment has minor distinction, and certainly no one tured. They were light in weight, with been employed in modelling the hull would then have guessed that the name a short broad barrel. A heavy charge as in establishing the armament.” Al- of this little brig would be known the was carried, but the effective range was though the new small brigs gave good world over 150 years later. short, less than 100 yards. Even a small service in the wars with France, they For many years it was thought that sloop could now take on a large mer- were considered too frail to be risked the original plans of the Beagle no lon- chantman or a moderate-sized man-of- against the powerful American frigates ger existed—they had either been lost war or privateer. during the War of 1812. or destroyed before the present vast col- With the enthusiastic endorsement In the Pax Brittanica that followed lection of ships’ drafts was assembled of the carronade by Lord Melville (First 1815, policy centered around an open at the National Maritime Museum in Lord of the Admiralty, 1808–1827; 1828– world trade which was principally London. One’s disappointment was, of 1830), new classes of smallish sloops- seaborne. To permit safe commerce, course, somewhat lessened by the fact of-war, armed almost exclusively with the Royal Navy set about putting that the Beagle never sailed as a brig. carronades, quickly came into exis- down piracy and slaving and tackled But unfortunately, the plans for her tence. They were cheap to build, easy to the mammoth task of accurately chart- conversion to a bark are also missing. handle with a small crew, could operate ing the oceans and coasts of the world. When I became interested in the Bea- in shallow waters as well as deep, and The resulting maps were made freely gle, my first task seemed to be to exam- were restricted in oceanic operations available through the Admiralty. Dur- ine the plans of her sister ships in order only by their limited capacity to carry ing this period, the 10-gun brigs were to try to reconstruct what the Beagle stores. These vessels, armed with 10 to pressed into a variety of services, prin- might have looked like when she was 18 guns, were used in escort duties, re- cipally routine naval patrolling in the first built. I decided to look at plans of connaissance work, routine patrols, as eastern North Atlantic and as packets. the first of the brigs and, quite mistak- packets, and even as troop ships. Several were used in extensive over- enly (as I later discovered), thought The increase in smaller vessels began, seas surveying. Such work offered the that this must have been the Cadmus naturally enough, with relatively large most interesting challenges to young (launched February 26, 1808). Half an ship-rigged sloops of 18 guns. But very naval officers, and some of the best hour after I entered the museum, I had soon the brig-sloops came into service, men available took part, including the plans for the Cadmus in my hands, one of the most successful being the 18- Robert FitzRoy. The Beagle was one of and to my great surprise I was able gun brig armed with two 6-pounder the brigs used for this purpose, and, to make out, among many scrawled long guns and 16 32-pounder carron- like her sister ships, she was not at all corrections and notes, the following ades. These were followed by 16- and well designed for the task. words: “16 July 1817. Copies ... to 14-gun brig-sloops. In 1808, a new class, Woolwich for the Barracouta, Beagle ...” the 10-gun brig-sloop, designed by Sir The Beagle as a Brig A note on the back of the plans states Henry Peake (Surveyor to the Navy, H.M.S. Beagle was launched on May 11, that these are the original drawings 1806–1822), came into being and was 1820, at Woolwich naval dockyard on of the 10-gun brigs, and there follows given the class name Cherokee. The the Thames. As it was peacetime, there a complete list of vessels constructed Achates was the first to be launched, on was no immediate call for her service, from them or from copies of them. February 1 of that year, and orders for and for the first five years she lay “in or- (These annotations seem mostly to the Parthian, Cherokee, Cadmus, and Rolla dinary” at Woolwich, some of her tim- have been made in 1817, when the were sent out in the same period. bers already starting to decay. Even so, plans were brought up to date by Sir www.americanscientist.org © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction 2014 May–June 219 with permission only. Contact [email protected]. Robert Seppings.) There is another draft, dated July 1817, that shows a modification of the construction of the frames and floors and a raising of the height of the bulwarks. This also bears the annotation that a copy was sent to Woolwich for the construction of the Beagle. Therefore, the master plans from which the Beagle was constructed do exist, and we can get a clear idea of the ship as she was first designed. Like all brigs, the Beagle originally had two masts: the mainmast carrying a large fore-and-aft driver, or spanker, in addition to a full set of square sails comparable to those on the foremast (Figure 1). The squaresail complement was typically a mainsail, topsail, and topgallant, but possibly royals were added, and there was one large jib. She was, of course, built of oak; the main wale measured 4 inches thick, and the bottom planking, 3 inches. The Beagle was no doubt painted in the standard navy fashion of the time—black sides with a broad yellow stripe around the upper parts and touches of gold and scarlet outlining the beak and possibly the stern. There was a minimum of external decoration; none of the elabo- rate scrollwork seen on ships of the line graced the appearance of a lowly 10- Figure 3. The Beagle as she probably looked after 1825. Among the changes, a mizzenmast, gun brig. There was no figurehead. large poop cabin, and fo’c’sle were added. The lower rigging reproduced here follows that of The Beagle was originally flush- a sister ship, the Barracouta. The plan of the main deck shows: A, sky lights; B, main hatch; C, decked, with only two tiny cupboard- fore hatch; D, poop deck; E, fo’c’sle [forecastle]. (Hull based on Admiralty Drafts 3976, Box 56, like enclosures at the stern containing a and 4052, Box 56; courtesy of the National Maritime Museum.) flag and signal locker and a water closet. Also, there were two hatches—a main battened down. It is hard to imagine access to the spirit rooms, the well, and and fore hatch—companionways just which would be worse: being bat- the gunner’s storeroom were grouped in front and behind the mainmast, bits, tened down in the penetrating cold of near the main mast. the chimney from the galley, a scuttle a North Atlantic winter gale or in the The main part of the lower deck to the bread room in the stern, and a stifling heat of a tropical storm. was taken up with a large sailroom, couple of winches. Of course, the guns The general picture of crowding and the carpenter’s and boatswain’s stor- were also carried on the main deck, so discomfort is not alleviated by close age bins, and the general sleeping and the tiny space would not have been un- examination of the arrangement of eating area for the crew. The galley crowded! The Beagle was designed to the lower deck. The height between was forward of the fore hatch, and the carry eight 18-pounder carronades and decks at midship was only 63 inches! boatswain’s, carpenter’s, and gunner’s two 6-pounder long guns. Her bulwarks The captain’s cabin was at the stern, cabins were right at the bow. The hold were pierced with six gunports on each and above and beside it, in the oddly was reached via the main and fore side and two at the stern. In normal shaped space where the stern quarters hatches, and individual scuttles pro- times, the carronades were mounted rose up, was the storage for bread. Im- vided access to several separate areas. down the sides, and the long guns were mediately forward was a small pas- Given the fact that some 65 officers, used as stern or bow “chasers.” sageway with a scuttle to the magazine men, and boys lived in these close The landlubber would notice the to- and armory below; a marine sentry quarters, it is evident that some highly tal lack of skylights to the lower deck. would have stood guard there. Along structured social organization was nec- Apart from any light and air that may the port side of the passage leading essary. The social code, applied rela- have reached the lower deck via the forward, sleeping spaces were marked tively easily on ships of the line, was companionways and hatches, it must off for the master and surgeon. The rigorously enforced on these smaller, have been pretty dark and dismal messroom was in the center of the ves- cramped vessels; indeed, it was vital down there. In fine weather a system sel, and it led, on the starboard side, to for iron discipline. The captain dined of canvas screens was doubtless erect- sleeping spaces for the first and sec- separately from the rest of the officers, ed in order to direct fresh air below, ond lieutenants. Sleeping space for the except when he invited them to share but in stormy weather, everything was purser, the steward’s room, and the his table. The other officers ate in the

220 American Scientist, Volume 102 © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction with permission only. Contact [email protected]. messroom, as did the purser, surgeon, and chaplain. There was no separate gunroom, no marines’ quarters, no separate messes for the warrant officers (the gunner, carpenter, and boatswain); a complex arrangement for the division of space available, and probably also the time of eating, must have been necessary in order to maintain the delicate hierarchy among the noncom- missioned officers, crew, and servants. Each person on board came to know his fellows extremely well, and during the second voyage—the one we know most about—although there were the cus- tomary desertions and transfers during the first weeks of the cruise, there was an impressive loyalty to the Beagle. Figure 4. Conrad Martens, an official artist on the second voyage, did this drawing of the We have some idea of the stores car- Beagle laid ashore at the mouth of the river Santa Cruz in Southern Argentina. When repairs ried on a fully equipped 10-gun brig, to the hull were necessary after the ship had struck a rock, the ship was beached and the work and they are not impressive. The ship was performed between high tides. (Image courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manu- could carry 19 tons of water in iron script Library, Yale University.) casks, which had been generally introduced into the navy in 1815 and stormy weather. It was not long after firmation of the difficulty of handling were a vast improvement over wood- the first ships of the class were in ser- the 10-gun brigs is given in the reports en casks, whose contents were usually vice that they acquired the sobriquet of those who served in them and in the completely fetid in a few days. She car- “coffin brigs.” Another name for them silent testimony of the wrecks. Of the ried about six tons of coal and wood was “half-tide rocks.” Admiral Sir B. 107 ships of the Cherokee class, none for the galley and could take on only J. Sulivan, who served on the Beagle were directly lost to enemy action, about six and a half tons of provisions, as a midshipman and lieutenant on one—the Redpole, of 1808—was sunk spirits, and slops (crew’s clothing). For the first two voyages (1830–1836), de- by the pirate ship Congress in 1828, a fighting ship, the weight of the gun- scribed them in a letter dated Decem- but 26 were lost at sea by wrecking ner’s stores—powder, shot, cases, and ber 12, 1884 to Francis Darwin, son of on rocks, by foundering, or through so on—amounted to another 10 tons. the naturalist, as “very deep-waisted, unknown cause. Also on board were about 2,000 yards that is, had high bulwarks for their The following observations by of spare canvas for sails, and some two size, so that a heavy sea breaking over Charles Darwin in his Diary, dated July tons of spare masts, yards, and gear them was the more dangerous.” 10, 1832, probably may be taken as typi- were lashed to the main deck. Typi- Because the 10-gun brig had no cal of the performance of a 10-gun brig. cally, a brig would carry three bower fo’c’sle [forecastle], it had a tendency Almost a gale ... we first lowered anchors (two with iron cables), one to ship any really big sea taken over the top-gallant yards and then stream anchor, and one kedge anchor. the bow. A great weight of water could struck the masts ... The Beagle glid- The 10-gun brigs were not capable become trapped in the very high bul- ed over the waves, appearing as if of cruises of more than three months warks on the main deck, and the brig by her own choice she avoided the away from well-established bases of would wallow and lose steerage way, heavy shocks. As the night came supply. When these little vessels came with the resulting danger that it would on, the sky looked very dirty, and to be used for survey work in the 1820s turn broadside to the weather. With the waves with their white crests to 1840s, the lack of range was a great the bulwarks only 6 feet from the wa- dashed angrily against the ship’s problem. On her first survey cruise, to ter line, a second wave shipped before sides. In the little watch, however South America, the Beagle was accom- the first had cleared the deck could the wind fell and was succeeded panied by a mother ship, the Adven- bring it to a standstill; a third would by a calm; this is always the worst ture, which carried more ample stores. have it completely at its mercy, and it part of a gale, for the ship, not be- On her second and third voyages, the would probably founder. Therefore, ing steadied by the wind pressing Beagle worked alone, and the supply very careful sailing was necessary in on the sails, rolls in a most un- problem added a major burden to the bad weather. comfortable manner between the responsibilities of her captains. FitzRoy, after some initial close troughs of sea. The main disadvantage of the 10 shaves, mastered the art of maintain- gun brigs was not their accommoda- ing a minimal press of sail in order In a full gale off Tierra del Fuego, he tions, size, or range. After all, no one to keep under way and thereby man- wrote in a letter dated March 30, 1833: entered the Royal Navy in those days aged to establish a record of great safe- expecting a comfortable life at sea, es- ty over his two voyages. It is easy to I was remarking that a gale of wind pecially in a small ship. The problem imagine that a less vigilant captain and was nothing so very bad in a good was the handling characteristics; they less dedicated officers and crew would sea-boat: the captain told me to were fundamentally dangerous in have had a different fate. Ample con- wait until we shipped a sea; it was www.americanscientist.org © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction 2014 May–June 221 with permission only. Contact [email protected]. pathetic; for at noon we shipped Bark Rig and First Voyage 18-gun brigs, which, like the 10s, had a great one, and it is a sight for a The Beagle’s first surveying voyage the mainmast rigged aft of the center, landman to remember, one of our was to South America (1826–1830) in reports that these brigs sailed much boats was knocked to pieces and an expedition led by Captain Philip better with a mizzenmast: “It then be- was immediately cut away; the wa- Parker King in the H.M.S. Adventure, came the fashion to rig our ships as ter being deep on the deck. a large transport brig. The Beagle was barques ... the government thought it commanded by Lieutenant Pringle was better for surveying purposes.” The account is continued better in Stokes, who committed suicide at the Also, it was found that the bark rig his diary for that day: “The same sea Strait of Magellan on August 12, 1828; could be managed by a smaller crew. filled our decks so deep that if another Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy was then The modification to a bark rig re- had followed it, it is not difficult to appointed to the command. This voy- quired removing the boom and run- guess the result. ... At last the ports age ended with the well-known kid- ning rigging for the main driver from were knocked open and she again rose napping of three Fuegians, who were the mainmast and adding a small miz- buoyant to the sea.” transported to London for education. zenmast, which then bore a smaller A further problem with the sailing FitzRoy was also the captain of the driver. Although we do not have any of the Beagle was that, like any square- Beagle on her second surveying voy- plan to show the exact placement of rigged vessel, even when converted age, which took her around the world the mizzenmast in the Beagle, it must to a bark rig, she could not sail close- (1831–1836). This is, of course, the ex- have been in the same place as in the hauled into the wind. Thus, on both pedition that Darwin accompanied. Barracouta—a sister brig converted for South American voyages, the east- The third voyage, to Australia and the survey work—for which plans have ern entrance to the Strait of Magellan East Indies (1841–1843), was under the survived and have been used here to posed a serious problem: a narrow command first of Lieutenant John Cle- make drawings for the Beagle as a bark dangerous channel to be tackled with ments Wickham and then, from 1841, (Figure 3). The new sail plan would very strong, directly contrary winds. under John Lort Stokes (no relative have been as depicted in Figure 2. The rebuilding of the Beagle also included the addition of two most important features: a large poop cabin and a fo’c’sle. Such additions to a brig 4 were less common but very sensible. The design of naval ships of the period 2 still emphasized flush decks; however, 3 5 6 fewer guns were needed for the survey 1 service, and, as the decks were rarely if ever “cleared for action,” arguments in favor of flush decks did not apply. Also, the poop cabin was highly de- sirable because there was no spacious Figure 5. Although this side-elevation of the Beagle by Philip Gidley King, midshipman on cabin or well-lit area in the 10-gun brig the second voyage, is not in correct proportion, it does give an idea of the organization of some of typical design where charts could be of the crew and storage areas below deck. 1, Darwin’s seat in the captain’s cabin; 2, Darwin’s drafted, notes worked up, and sketch- seat in the poop cabin; 3, Darwin’s drawers in the poop cabin; 4, azimuth compass; 5, captain’s es turned into finished drawings. The cabin skylight; 6, gunroom skylight. (Image courtesy of Sir Geoffrey Keynes.) captain’s cabin was poorly suited to such work, even if a large skylight were Also, the Beagle could not be handled of the first captain of the Beagle). J. L. installed. The addition of the poop easily close to shore under many con- Stokes is the author of the only pub- cabin—10 by 11 feet—gave room in the ditions. The official Narrative of the lished account of this final expedition. Beagle for a large charting table as well first two voyages is full of accounts Many people have assumed that the as accommodations for the extra sur- of how the ship, unable to find a safe Beagle was modified from a brig-sloop veying officers (and supernumeraries anchorage at night, was forced to keep to a bark especially for her second sur- such as Darwin). It was well lit and, for out to sea under way. For these rea- veying voyage. However, the records a ship of that size, extremely spacious. sons FitzRoy liked to work with aux- make it perfectly clear that she was Furthermore, the poop deck provided iliary schooners—borrowed, hired, or converted to bark rig for the first voy- an excellent high platform from which bought outright. The Admiralty, hav- age. For example, not only does the observations could be made. ing sent out what they considered a Narrative state flatly that the Beagle was The addition of the fo’c’sle made the fully adequate ship, looked upon these a bark, but Sulivan, who joined the ship safer to handle and the main deck adventures with disfavor and refused Beagle a few weeks after FitzRoy took much drier, because it tended to deflect to reimburse him. FitzRoy’s methods over command, notes in his diary for large seas shipped over the bow. It also proved sound, however; almost none December 11, 1827: “Exchanged num- provided additional storage space for of his detailed inshore surveying was bers with H.M. Barque Beagle: 0.40 equipment and a place where the men made directly from the Beagle, but A.M., anchored near H.M.B. Beagle.” could get out of the elements. much of the detail of his work from In fact, such modification was com- The fourth major change in the Bea- auxiliary craft survives in South Amer- mon at the time. The naval explorer gle was the addition of a large skylight ican charts of recent vintage. Sir Edward Belcher, referring to the for the gunroom, which must have

222 American Scientist, Volume 102 © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction with permission only. Contact [email protected]. made conditions below considerably more pleasant. An additional skylight was also provided for the captain’s cabin. The ship’s wheel remained in front of the mizzenmast, but the addition of the poop deck made life more comfortable for the helmsman because it was constructed with a large over- hang, or break, protecting the wheel and two binnacle compasses. A large azimuth compass was mounted on the break of the poop. A new source of information about the Beagle is a contemporary plan of the Figure 6. Map of the Essex coast, showing the last mooring place of the Beagle, on the River poop cabin, with annotations in Dar- Roach, as a Watch Vessel in the Coastguard service. win’s hand, that was found recently in the Darwin archives at Cambridge innate conservatism of the men, who However, when examined, the Chanti- University. It was probably drafted for preferred their salt beef and hardtack. cleer proved unfit, and the second obvi- Darwin during the voyage by either W. H. B. Webster, the surgeon of the ous choice was the Beagle. Unfortunate- John Lort Stokes or Philip G. King. It Chanticleer, a sister brig engaged in sur- ly for the Lords Commissioners (and the shows bookcases on the starboard and vey work, offered a gastronomic criti- taxpayers), the Admiralty nonetheless after walls of the cabin, chests and seats cism of the new delicacies: “The pre- found itself in for considerable expense: on the port side, and chests of drawers, served mutton is excellent and makes The Beagle was also in poor condition, a cabinet for instruments, and a wash- an admirable pie; but the beef is insipid and a major rebuilding was required. stand on the forward wall. The cabin and overboiled. The soups are capi- According to the Admiralty Progress was dominated by the large drafting tal and afforded us many an excellent Book the total bill was £7,583—only table that was built over the steering meal; the sight moreover of fresh Eng- £220 less than her original cost. gear, and the mizzenmast rose through lish meat on the table went far to cheer The refit of the Beagle took a long time the cabin just in front of the table. us midst our gloomy solitude.” The and considerably delayed the start of For the first surveying voyage, ac- name Donkin Cove, given to a remote the voyage—so much so, in fact, that the cording to Commander King’s official region of Otway Water, off the Strait Admiralty became restive and demand- narrative, the Beagle carried six guns, of Magellan, evidently stems from ed to know why. The reason was that but it is not clear what the nature of Donkin’s brand of preserved meats! FitzRoy was personally supervising the these guns was. There must have been For relief of scurvy, the contemporary work. He wrote in his Narrative of 1839 at least one signal gun of small caliber, medicine chest included sulfate of qui- that he was “resolved to spare neither but was this one of the six? Probably nine (8 to 10 grains daily in a little port expense nor trouble in making our little the six were 18-pounder or 12-pounder wine) and lime juice. Although the new Expedition as complete with respect to carronades with perhaps one long gun. preserved foods were an improvement material and preparation, as my means The Adventure is listed as unarmed but, over the traditional diet, the paucity of and exertion would allow, when sup- again, probably carried a signal gun. supplies of both fresh and preserved ported by the considerate and satisfac- We are as equally uninformed about food—”a small half-pint canister of tory arrangements of the Admiralty.” the total number of small boats carried soup was a man’s allowance for two The Beagle (“almost completely rot- by the Beagle, although we know there days”—made illness the rule rather ten”) was stripped right down to her were several; the surveying work de- than the exception for vessels working timbers and carefully rebuilt. In the manded a largish cutter (carried amid- for long periods in the high southern process, by FitzRoy’s request, the up- ships) and two or three smaller whale- latitudes. The Beagle and the Adventure per deck was raised 8 inches aft and 12 boats for work in shallow waters. were relatively well supplied, but wide- inches forward. This “proved to be of We have little direct information spread sickness nearly brought the ex- greatest advantage to her as a sea boat, about the special internal fittings, pedition to disaster. besides adding so materially to the equipment, or stores of the Beagle for comfort of all on board.” A man could the first surveying voyage. The Ad- Modifications for the Darwin Voyage now stand upright in the lower deck! venture was the storeship for the ex- When the Beagle returned from the Her bottom was also reinforced with pedition, and we do know that she first surveying voyage, on October 14, 2-inch fir, a coating of felt, and new was well supplied with the relatively 1830, the crew was paid off, and she copper, which added about 15 tons to new preserved meats, soups, and veg- was cleared out completely and put in her displacement. etables. The use of preserved food was ordinary again at Devonport dockyard. There were many other modifications, just coming into wide acceptance in Here she might have stayed, because including a newly designed rudder; a the navy. Although the basic elements when FitzRoy finally managed to per- galley stove, recently patented, that did of the cause and cure of scurvy were suade the government to send out a not have to be put out in rough weather; known, most naval officers (FitzRoy be- second expedition to South America and lightning conductors of a design ing a notable exception) failed to use (among other purposes to return his that was the forerunner of modern con- dietary regimes adequate to prevent three Fuegian “charges”), the Admiral- ductors. All showed that FitzRoy was it. Perhaps this was in part due to the ty first intended to send the Chanticleer. completely on top of the latest develop- www.americanscientist.org © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction 2014 May–June 223 with permission only. Contact [email protected]. ments in nautical materials. The Beagle of them FitzRoy’s personal property— win had at his disposal in the cramped was rigged with extra-strong crosstrees and a dinghy. A curious note may be ship was a locker in the fo’c’sle where and heavier rigging “than is usual in a added about boat terminology. In the he stored specimens (see Figure 5). vessel of her tonnage. Chains were used naval jargon of the day, the term din- In his enthusiasm for his expedi- where found to answer and in no place ghy was not in general use. An Indian tion, FitzRoy wrote that “perhaps no was a block or sheave allowed which word, it was then in use only on ves- vessel ever quitted her own country did not admit the proper rope or chain sels of the East India Company. FitzRoy with a better or more ample supply (in freely.... Our ropes, sails and spars were is generally credited with introducing proportion to her probable necessities) the best that could be procured.” In ad- the term to the Royal Navy to replace of every kind of useful provision and dition to the usual sail plan, FitzRoy jolly boat. During the second voyage, stores than the little ship.” He did not added “large trysails between the masts, FitzRoy also introduced the word port, spare the Admiralty in ensuring that made of stout canvas, with several reefs, in preference to larboard, a very useful the best instruments were obtained. and very useful we found them.” Extra change which eliminated the possibil- The hydrographer to the navy, Captain anchors were also included. ity of confusion in shouted orders. Francis Beaufort, stated: “Few vessels On the main deck, FitzRoy carried The poop cabin was the focal point will have ever left this country with a seven guns at first. These caused some for Darwin, being both his work area— better set of chronometers.” Chronom- trouble with the Admiralty. Not only whenever he could get space away eters were fundamentally important to did FitzRoy insist on carrying a pretty from the surveying officers—and his the expedition because only by having full armament, he also insisted that the sleeping quarters, which he shared with exact time could longitude be deter- mined with accuracy. One of the main scientific objectives of the voyage was to make a complete circle of observations around the world to fix exactly the positions of major navigational features. In their first leg, they found that contemporary French maps had the po- sition of what is now Salvador, Brazil, off by five nautical miles. FitzRoy took 24 chronometers with him; 3 were still working perfectly when the Beagle returned. Each was “suspend- ed in gimbals, as usual, within a wood- en box,” and then all were “placed in sawdust, divided and retained by parti- tions, upon one of two wide shelves” of the little locker set aside for them near the captain’s cabin. According to FitzRoy, they were completely free of vibration and shock, even when the Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia guns were fired. It has to be admitted, In 2012, construction began on a full-size replica of the Beagle at the Nao Victoria Museum however, that he fired the guns as in- in Chile. Updates can be seen at http://hmsbeagle.cl/. frequently as possible, because of the necessity of protecting the delicate instruments. When a signal or salute was guns be of brass so they would not in- Midshipman King. The two slung their called for, one of the six-pounders was terfere with the compasses. In the end, hammocks in the cabin, with only about used at the foremost gunport. faced with the refusal of the Admiralty two feet between their faces and the to comply completely with his request, deck above. Darwin was well over six The Third Voyage and Home Waters FitzRoy provided two ninepounders feet tall, and in order to have room for Despite the rather mixed record of the at his own expense, adding them at his hammock he had to take out the top Beagle on the first voyage, when sev- Rio de Janeiro. Actually, the guns were drawer from the set in the forward wall eral men were lost through drowning never fired in earnest, although they of the cabin; the hooks for attaching or sickness and her captain committed were run out for a display of intent on the hammock were inside. Because the suicide, and despite the known dangers at least one occasion, during an inci- poop cabin overhung the stern, every of working in the stormy uncharted dent at Buenos Aires in 1832. movement of the ship must have been waters around Cape Horn, five officers A full complement of small boats magnified. Darwin suffered dreadfully as well as the surgeon, boatswain, car- further cluttered up the decks, so much from seasickness throughout the whole penter, and several men and marines so that work during very bad weather voyage, and many times left his ham- who had completed the first voyage must have been difficult indeed. Amid- mock up during the day “when the sea with FitzRoy took part in the second. ships were two sizable boats, a yawl was at all rough, that he might lay in it When the third voyage, to Australia, of about 24 feet and a slightly smaller with a book in hand when he could no under Wickham’s command, was being cutter stowed inside it. In addition, the longer sit at the table.” Apart from the prepared, four officers and several men Beagle carried four whaleboats—one poop cabin, the only space that Dar- from the second voyage took part. We

224 American Scientist, Volume 102 © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction with permission only. Contact [email protected]. do not know of any major changes to When the Beagle was first estab- pecially the ship’s wheel, with Au- the Beagle during this third voyage. lished at Paglesham, she was stripped gust Earle’s painting of Neptune at After returning, the Beagle’s crew down and her upper masts and spars the center, or the “great table” of the was paid off for the last time, and she were taken away because she was not poop cabin where Darwin, Wickham, was removed to Sheerness dockyard expected to be moved again. However, Pringle Stokes, John Lort Stokes, Fitz- on October 20, 1843. Her career seemed in 1850 there was a small flurry of ac- Roy, Sulivan, and Philip Gidley King to be over. John Lort Stokes wrote in tivity: On June 12 a group of “Oys- all worked. But the Beagle, “not at all a his Discoveries in Australia of 1846, “I ter Company Captains”—merchants particular ship” (as Darwin had called naturally parted from her with regret. of the Burnham area—petitioned the her), was not destined for a special rest- Her movements, latterly, have been collector at Maldon that the Beagle ing place, and it is too late to look for anxiously watched, and the chances are be removed. She was moored in the her now, except in the pages of books. that her ribs will separate, and that she middle of a rather narrow river, and at will perish in the river where she was low tide vessels had difficulty getting Bibliography first put together.” The Beagle was now around her and often fell foul of her Barlow, N. 1933. Charles Darwin’s Diary of the 25 years old. Most of her sister ships moorings. This was confirmed by the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Cambridge: Cam- had long since left the service and had “chief officer of the Beagle” (actually bridge University Press. either been dispatched to the breaker’s a boatman), and it was suggested that Barlow, N. 1945. Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle. London: Pilot Press. yard or cut down for barge and storage she be moved to the shore. Eventu- Barsala, G. 1963. The voyage of the Beagle duty. But despite Stokes’s fears, the hull ally, after much correspondence, she without Darwin. Mariner’s Mirror 49:42–48. of the Beagle was relatively sound, and was tied up on the Paglesham side of College, J. J. 1969. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. there was one last role for her to play. the river. Five years pass before the 1, Major Ships. Newton Abbott: David and On June 14, 1845, the dockyard workers next reference to the Beagle. Although Charles. started to copper her bottom again, and an official agreement had been drawn Darling, L. 1960. The Beagle: A search for a lost on July 11 she set sail from Sheerness up for the use of the land adjoining ship. Natural History 69:5–13. on what was to be her last voyage. the ship, the fees had never been paid. Darwin, C. 1839. Journal and Remarks, 1832– 1836. Vol. 3 of Narrative of the Surveying It was a short trip. They headed out Lawyers for the landowner, Lady Ol- Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and of the Thames and passed cautiously ivia Sparrow, were naturally suing for Beagle between the Years 1826 and 1836. Lon- northeast along the Essex coast, past payment, which, after more delays, don: Henry Colburn. the tiny fishing village of Southend, was made. After this we learn no more Darwin, F. (ed.). 1887. Life and Letters of Charles past Shoeburyness, around Foulness from the customs records. Darwin. London: John Murray. Point into the mouth of the River In 1859 the navy took over the op- Douglas, H. P. 1932. FitzRoy’s hydrographic Crouch, and then south into the River eration of the Coastguard, and follow- surveys. Nature 129:200. Roach, which is the landward defini- ing this change, the watch vessels were Edye, J. 1832. Calculations Relating to the Equip- ment, Displacement, Etc., of Ships and Vessels tion of Foulness Island. When they stripped of the last vestiges of their of War. London: Richard Hodgson. came to the small arm of the Roach former individuality and character. On FitzRoy, R. 1839. Narrative of the Surveying Voy- called Paglesham Pool, which leads May 25, 1863, all watch vessels were ages of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle between north to the little village of Paglesham given numbers; H.M.S. Beagle became 1826 and 1836, Vols. 1 and 2. London: Henry sitting in the marshland of coastal Es- W.V.7. In 1870, even the decaying hulk Colburn. sex, they dropped the anchors (Figure of W.V.7 became superfluous, and on James, W. 1902. The Naval History of Great Brit- ain, Vol. 4. London: Macmillan. 6). The last phase of the Beagle’s career May 13 what remained of her was sold Lewis, M. 1955. The Navy in Transition, 1814– had begun; she was now the Beagle to Murray and Trainer for £525. After 1864. London: Hodder and Staughton. Watch Vessel, assigned to the Coast- that, her fate is unknown. (Some au- Morehead, A. 1969. Darwin and the Beagle. Lon- guard Service—nothing more than a thors state that the Beagle was sold to don: Penguin Books. stationary hulk to be used as an obser- the Japanese navy as a training ship. In Ritchie, G. S. 1967. The Admiralty Chart. N.Y.: vation post, for storage, and perhaps fact, this was the fate of the next ship American Elsevier. as quarters for the men of the service. in the history of the Royal Navy to Robertson, F. L. 1921. Evolution of Naval Arma- Luckily a small sample of the cus- bear the name Beagle, a paddle vessel ment. London: Constable. toms records for the region have sur- armed with two 68-pound mortars, Stokes, J. L. 1846. Discoveries in Australia. Lon- vived, which show that supplies and which saw service in the Crimean War don: T. and W. Boone. a new stove and hearth were provided in 1854. She was sold to Japan in 1863 Sulivan, H. N. 1896. Life and Letters of the Late Admiral Sir. Bartholomew James Sulivan KGB, for the Beagle. In September 1845, a and renamed Kanko. Of the nine ves- 1810–1890. London: John Murray. caboose—a small cookhouse—was in- sels to have borne the name Beagle, the Sulivan, N. A. 1951. Management of ships un- stalled, cluttering up the decks of which vessel in which Darwin and FitzRoy der sail. Mariner’s Mirror 37:243–44. FitzRoy had been so proud. Orders for sailed was the third.) Webster, W. H. B. 1834. Narrative of a Voyage to painting, headlights, and many minor Perhaps the Beagle was cut down the Southern Atlantic Ocean. London: Rich- repairs are quite frequent in the records to be used as a barge, but most prob- ard Bentley. for the next few years, but then men- ably the 50-year-old vessel was towed tion of the Beagle declines. Although from Paglesham around to the mud this is in part due to a change in the na- flats of the Thames estuary and there, For relevant Web links, consult this issue of American Scientist Online: ture of what was recorded in the letter alongside the ribs of a hundred other books, it no doubt also reflects a gradu- old ships, broken up for scrap. The http://www.americanscientist.org/ al decrease in attention paid to the ship, story would have a better ending if issues/id.108/past.aspx which was slowly rotting. some remnant of her still existed, es- www.americanscientist.org © 2014 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reproduction 2014 May–June 225 with permission only. Contact [email protected].