'Mr Peckover, what number of men did you see under arms?' Rare copy of minutes of court martial of HMS Bounty mutineers revealed after 221 years

• Gang of disgruntled sailors commandeered 90ft Bounty in 1789, rebelling against captain William Bligh after research voyage to Tahiti to collect plants
• Testimony includes that of ship's gunner, William Peckover - and Bligh's written testimony
• Front cover of 80-page document names 10 defendants and charge they face
• Following the trial, three of the mutineers were hanged, four were acquitted and three were pardoned
• 10in by 7in document expected to fetch £30,000 at auction
  

By NICK ENOCH

Published: 13:13 EST, 22 May 2013 | Updated: 03:06 EST, 23 May 2013

Standing before the court in Portsmouth, in 1792, a question was put to William Peckover, gunner of HMS Bounty...

'What number of men did you see under arms in any part of the ship?'

He replied: 'Burkitt, Mills with a cartouch box [containing charge or shot for a gun] round him, but whether under arms I cannot say, Christian [Fletcher] upon deck with a bayonet, and Sumner and Quintal below.'

The testimony of Peckover, who remained loyal to the ship's captain, William Bligh, would help to shed light on the events on one of the most notorious incidents in British naval history.

Now, a rare copy of the minutes of the court martial of the mutineers of the Bounty has come to light 221 years after they famously cast Bligh adrift in the Pacific.

A rare copy of the minutes of the court martial of the mutineers of the Bounty has come to light 221 years after they cast Captain William Bligh adrift in the Pacific. The front cover of the document (above) names the defendants and the charge they face. It also features an appendix (right) containing a 'Full Account of the Real Causes and Circumstances of that Unhappy Transaction, the Most Material of Which Have Hitherto Been Withheld from the Public', which includes Bligh's written testimony

Part of the testimony given by William Peckover, a gunner who was loyal to Bligh, heard in court at Portsmouth in September 1792

A gang of disgruntled sailors commandeered the 90ft Bounty in 1789, rebelling against their captain following a research voyage to Tahiti to collect plants.

Led by ship's mate Christian Fletcher, the mutineers cast Bligh and 19 of his loyal sailors adrift in a rowing boat before escaping to Pitcairn Island where they planned to settle.

They set fire to the Bounty to cover their tracks.

But their crimes caught up with them two years later when, after news of the mutiny reached Britain, a ship was dispatched to arrest the mutineers.

After rounding up 14 out of 23 of them, they were imprisoned in a makeshift cell on the deck of HMS Pandora.

Four died along with 31 crewmen when the ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, but the remaining ten prisoners were returned to Britain to face court martial in Portsmouth.

The fascinating 80-page document, written by lawyer Stephen Barney, features an appendix containing a 'Full Account of the Real Causes and Circumstances of that Unhappy Transaction, the Most Material of Which Have Hitherto Been Withheld from the Public' - which includes Bligh's written testimony.

An illustration of the mutiny on the Bounty of 1789

Witnesses for the prosecution mentioned in the minutes include John Fryer, William Cole, William Purcell, Thomas Hayward, John Smith, John Hallet and the aforementioned William Peckover, who appeared before the court in person.

Following the trial, three of the mutineers were hanged, four were acquitted and three were pardoned.

The front cover of the document names the defendants and the charge they face.

It states: 'On a charge of mutiny on the 28th April 1789, on board his Majesty's ship Bounty, for running away with the ship, and deserting his Majesty's service;

'Against Joseph Coleman, Charles Norman, Thomas McIntosh, Peter Heywood, James Morrison, John Milward, William Musprat, Thomas Burkitt, Thomas Ellison and Michael Byrne.'

The first witness account is the letter written by Bligh. He revealed the chilling moment Fletcher Christian seized him and tied him to the mast.

The 1962 film, Mutiny On The Bounty, starring Marlon Brando (left, as Fletcher Christian) and Trevor Howard (centre, as Captain Bligh)

It reads: 'A little before sunrise, Fletcher Christian, who was mate of the ship and officer of the watch, came into my cabin while I was asleep, and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord, assisted by the others who were also in the cabin, all armed with muskets and bayonets.

'I was now threatened with instant death if I spoke a word... I was forced on deck in my shirt with my hands tied, and secured by a guard abaft the mizzen mast.

'I now demanded of Christian the cause of such a violent act, but no other answer was given but "Hold your tongue, Sir, or you are dead this instant".

'Holding me by the cord which tied my hands he often threatened to stab me in the breast with a bayonet he held in his right hand.'

Captain Bligh then recalled how he was forced to get into the small rowing boat with some of his men.

The letter continues: 'The boatswain was ordered to hoist the launch out, and while I was kept under a guard with Christian at their head abaft the mizzen mast, the officers and men not concerned in the mutiny were ordered into the boat.

'This being done, I was told by Christian, "Sir, your officers and men are now in the boat, and you must go with them".

'I was at last forced into the boat and we were then veered astern, in all nineteen souls.'

Once adrift, Bligh made for nearby Tonga but his problems were far from over.

Two days after he and his party stepped ashore on the tiny island of Tufoa, they were attacked by natives.

Bligh's testimony states: 'When the natives discovered we had no fire arms, they attacked with clubs and stones, in the course of which I had the misfortune to lose one very worthy man, John Norton.

'But getting into our boat was no security, for they followed us in canoes loaded with stones, which they threw with much force and exactness.

'Happily, night saved the rest of us.'

William Peckover, who was loyal to Bligh, gave evidence in person at the trial.

The minutes read: 'I was awaked out of my sleep by a confused noise; directly after, I thought I heard the fixing of bayonets.

'I jumped out, and put my trousers on. At the door I met Mr Nelson the Botanist, who told me that the ship was taken from us.

'Mr Nelson answered, "It is by our own people and Mr Christian at their head".

'When I came upon deck I saw Captain Bligh, and Mr Christian standing alongside of him with a naked bayonet.

'Then I went down into the boat; the sentry saw me down. Then I believe there was about ten or twelve in the boat.

'In about four or five minutes after this, the remainder with Mr Bligh came into the boat.

'Mr Cole at different times asked Captain Bligh to cast the boat off, or cast her loose, that he was rather dubious of their firing into us.

'I cannot say the answer that Captain Bligh made him, but the boat was cast adrift, but by whom I can't tell.'

Luke Batterham, book specialist at auctioneers Bonhams, said: 'This document is of great historical significance and it is very rare it should come on the market.

After having been cast adrift, Bligh and his crew were hospitably received by the Governor of Timor

'It is a scarce item that could be seen as the founding stone of the episode involving Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the Bounty.

'It is an incident which still captures the imagination and in which there is an enormous interest.

'This is the official account as it was first told at the time.'

Bligh survived the mutiny after navigating his tiny rowing boat 3,600 miles to Timor, an island in south-east Asia, before returning to Britain.

He later faced a court martial himself for the loss of his ship but was acquitted and eventually rose to the rank of Admiral.

Christian Fletcher and the surviving mutineers stayed on the Pitcairn Islands where their descendants live to this day.

The document, measuring 10in by 7in, is tipped to fetch £30,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams in London on June 19.

The book has been listed for auction by a private seller for reasons unknown. It was once owned by George Forbes, 6th Earl of Granard.