Names Carved in Patagonian Ruins

On the night of 14 May 1741, HMS Wager - a converted merchant vessel pressed into service as a Royal Navy warship - struck rocks off the desolate coast of Patagonia during a violent storm. Of the roughly 250 men aboard, only 145 reached the barren, unnamed island that would bear the ship's name. What happened next was not merely a survival story. It was a slow unraveling of command, loyalty, and l...