Chapter 28 Summary

On the return passage from the detached cruise during which the events recorded here occurred, the Bellipotent engaged a French ship, "The Atheist." Captain Vere is hit with a musket ball and is wounded; he is taken to shore and dies shortly afterward. His last words are "Billy Budd."

Chapter 28 Analysis

Melville is using irony again to make his point. Captain Vere is killed in a battle with a ship named "The Atheist." Perhaps God would have approved of the death of Billy Budd. Perhaps the good captain should have taken a stand for what he knew in his heart was right instead of what was right according to the rules laid down by the British navy.