Billy Budd, Sailor characters

Also known as Baby Budd

Appears from the start

A young, strikingly handsome merchant sailor whose good nature and physical grace make him popular with his shipmates. Innocent of social calculation and generally unable to imagine malice in others, he has one conspicuous difficulty: strong emotion can bring on a disabling stammer.

Appears from the start

Master of the merchant ship Rights-of-Man, from which Billy is taken for naval service. He values Billy as a peacemaker among the crew and protests the loss, though he has no power to resist the impressment.

Appears from the start

The naval lieutenant who boards the Rights-of-Man to impress sailors for the warship Bellipotent. He selects Billy and responds with amused practicality to the merchant captain's attempt to keep him.

First appears in chapter 7

Captain of the Bellipotent, a cultivated and highly disciplined naval officer. He is devoted to duty, thoughtful about history, and respected for sound judgment, though his intellectual reserve separates him from the men under his command.

Also known as Jemmy Legs

First appears in chapter 10

The Bellipotent's master-at-arms, responsible for order below decks. His pale, controlled manner and official position give him quiet authority among the crew, while his inner response to Billy is far less straightforward than his outward civility suggests.

First appears in chapter 12

An old foretopman whose long naval experience has made him wary and indirect. He takes a liking to Billy and offers terse warnings about dangers that the younger sailor has difficulty understanding.

First appears in chapter 12

A corporal subordinate to Claggart. He helps enforce discipline below decks and quietly assists his superior's scrutiny of Billy.

First appears in chapter 20

The Bellipotent's senior medical officer. Experienced and observant, he is called into the captain's cabin after a sudden crisis and is unsettled by Vere's intense response to it.

First appears in chapter 25

The naval chaplain sent to Billy before the sentence is carried out. He finds the sailor calm and receptive but recognizes that conventional theological instruction has little purchase on Billy's untroubled nature.