9. Charles Barnard: The Kindly Sea Captain Marooned by those he rescued.
In 1812, Captain Charles Barnard completed a mission of mercy that he would later regret. Barnard was the captain of an American ship, the Nanina, which was hunting for seals off the coast of Argentina. However, as he passed the Falkland Islands, he noticed a shipwreck off Eagle island. Barnard investigated and found that most of the crew had survived. However, it seemed that the ship, the Isabella was a British one. It was an awkward situation because, in 1812, Britain and America were at war with each other. However, Barnard did the decent thing and took the survivors on board his ship.
Barnard soon discovered that the Nanina did not have enough provisions to accommodate her new passengers. So he took a party out to hunt for meat on nearby New Island. However, while he was gone, the crew of the Isabella took over the Nanina, which they turned over to the British navy as a spoil of war. As for Barnard and the rest of his provision party, they marooned on New Island in the middle of winter. They were left to fend for themselves for 18 months on New Island.
Two whalers finally rescued Barnard and his men, the Asp and the Indispensable in November 1814. Somewhat ironically, it tuned out that Barnard’s rescuers were British. Whether or not this in anyway made amends for the ingratitude of their fellow countrymen is unknown. However, after traveling to England to reclaim his ship, in 1829, the Captain published his account of the whole misadventure entitled A Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures of Captain Charles Barnard.”