Longitude2000

Lieutenant John Campbell:
I sailed in the company of 961 men, sir. 203 returned to England. Of the 760 who died, only 48 were killed by enemy action.

John Harrison:
And the rest?

Lieutenant John Campbell:
Disease. Despair. We were lost: weeks on end without sight of land, fresh food, water... Although much of the time we were within 6 hours' sailing of Juan Fernandez; but we mistook our position... didn't know it. I saw more men die than any Roman emperor. Men who you'll remember, and who remembered you: John Sprague; Lieutenant Draper; the messboys, Ned and Sed, didn't even make 14. We all heard about the Orford and how your machine performed, as we sailed hopelessly on, heaving man after man over the side.