Vancouver Expedition
On 15 December 1790, Mudge joined HMS Discovery as 2nd Lieutenant; after the Nootka Crisis, he became her 1st Lieutenant and George Vancouver captain. In addition to his other duties, Mudge had been asked to look after the 16-year-old (and future Baron) Thomas Pitt, but was compelled to flog him when the latter used ship stores to purchase romantic favours in Tahiti.
In 1791, they voyaged to Tenerife, Cape Town, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai'i and North America. In 1792, they spent a season of exploring the west coast of America, and then put into Nootka Sound to implement the Nootka Sound Convention.
The British and Spanish Commanders had been given conflicting instructions, and the primary purpose of the mission could not be completed. Vancouver therefore sent Mudge back to England with dispatches, botanical samples and a request for further orders. He crossed the Pacific to China in the Portuguese-flagged trading vessel Fenis and St. Joseph, a 50-foot open boat carrying 14 men, and from there proceeded home via East Indiaman.
In 1795, Mudge joined HMS Providence as first lieutenant, under William Robert Broughton. They were sent to assist Vancouver but, reaching Monterrey, determined that he had left for England. They then surveyed the east coast of Asia.
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Famous quotes containing the word expedition:
“It is a sort of ranger service. Arnold’s expedition is a daily experience with these settlers. They can prove that they were out at almost any time; and I think that all the first generation of them deserve a pension more than any that went to the Mexican war.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)