Harry Peglar is a character in AMC's The Terror. He is captain of the foretop on HMS Terror.
In The Show[]
He is first seen in episode 1 having dinner on the main deck of Terror and later operating a saw alongside William Strong and another sailor trying to cut the ice once the ship has gotten stuck.
In episode 2, he is sent out on Lt. Graham Gore's sledge party, but just before he leaves, fellow petty officer John Bridgens gives him the book "The Vicar Of Wakefield". Peglar is present when the party's marine Sgt. David Bryant shoots a Netsilik Shaman mistaking him for a polar bear and soon after Gore is killed by the Tuunbaq.
He appears briefly in episode 4 when Private William Heather gets his skull ripped open by the Tuunbaq and is later screen scrubbing the deck alongside Robert Golding.
In episode 6, he meets with Bridgens where he receives a book about Xenephon and "The March of the Ten Thousand" to prepare Peglar for an upcoming 800 mile overland journey south to safety. He later attends a carnivale thrown by Captain James Fitzjames to celebrate the first sunrise of the new year. A mentally unstable Dr. Stephen Samuel Stanley sets fire to the carnival and himself killing many but Peglar survives and is reunited with Bridgens.
By episode 8, Peglar begins showing symptoms of scurvy to which Bridgens examines. He assures Peglar there is still time and hope for him and that he and Doctor Henry Goodsir are there for him.
In episode 9, Peglar continues to tow sledges but eventually collapses due to exhaustion and his scurvy. Bridgens comforts him and camp is set up but Peglar dies soon after due to his scurvy. Bridgens reads his journal then goes out into the hills to commit suicide via starvation and exposure out of grief for losing his love.
In The Novel[]
Peglar first met John Bridgens during Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle. Peglar, who was illiterate, looked up to Bridgens, who taught him how to read and write. The two men eventually entered a romantic relationship.
After the remaining crew leave King William Island, Peglar is in the whaleboat party following a lead which ends in a huge lake in the pack ice. The boat is intercepted by Tuunbaq who kills the party with the exception of Peglar, who is found curled up naked on an iceberg. Tuunbaq's footprints surround him, suggesting the monster watched him die of hypothermia.
Trivia[]
- Peglar's wallet and its contents were found by Francis McClintock in 1859.
- Like a few other characters in the show, Peglar served in the military during the First Opium War.