For the Honor of the Flag: A John Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 2) (15 page)

The new hands went in front of Phillips and Harrison, who took down their pertinent data and had each individual sign the muster book. It was necessary to assign each man to his watch and station for every eventually that might occur. For now though, the station bill was mostly set aside until later, when more time would be available. Men rated already as able seamen, probably proficient at most any skilled task about the ship, were in fact, assigned to their stations at sail handling. Many of the men were rated as ordinary seamen, however, and a few were still landsmen. These were the people who would have to wait until they found what permanent duties would be assigned to them.

A pair of lighters from shore came up alongside and began disgorging the bags of biscuit and the barrels of salt beef and pork which would sustain the crew for the next few months. A water hoy then appeared and unrolled her long hose. A few of the great tuns below were empty, so the hose was led down through the hatches and the water was pumped to them.

A talk with Hanlon convinced Phillips his servant could be trusted not to run, so a small purse was entrusted to the fellow and he was sent ashore to purchase such necessities for the cabin as he might decide. The ship’s surgeon, Mister Danton with nothing else to do at the moment, asked to go ashore to replenish the wardroom’s wine stock.

Phillips agreed, handing over another purse and asking the good doctor to purchase what wines were available for his own stock. Both men returned in due course with the expected purchases. The doctor delivered cases of some excellent wines, while Hanlon, in addition to the spices and savories he thought would be needed for the captain’s table, also obtained an inordinate amount of snuff, which the captain did not use but Hanlon was partial to.

By now, the carpenter was well along with his construction of cabinetry in the captain’s quarters, and the sailmaker had been given the task of sewing up a mattress, using old, worn thin sailcloth for the material. It was stuffed with raw wool the purser had acquired for him. The captain’s quarters were now assuming the lived-in atmosphere of similar cabins in other ships he had commanded.

When the orders arrived for Blanche to sortie, she was as prepared as she was ever likely to be. Her orders were to enter the Mediterranean and proceed to Minorca, where she was to join Admiral Hotham’s fleet.

Blanche sailed for Minorca but found Hotham’s fleet was now at Fiorenzo, taking on stores. Blanche reported by signal on arrival but since she was reasonably well fitted out was told to remain offshore while the others took on water. She was subsequently ordered to join a small fleet commanded by Captain Nelson of the HMS Agamemnon, 64 on a cruise to the north-western Italian coast where they were to support Austrian General Devins who was attempting to halt the flow of supplies to the French Army of Italy. Before reaching their destination however, they fell in with the French fleet Hotham had been searching for and were forced to return to Fiorenzo, pursued by seventeen French line-of-battle ships.

Returning ahead of the pursuing French, Nelson began firing his guns in an attempt to alert the British fleet in harbor. Seeing the superior British flotilla at anchor, the French fleet went about and left, abandoning any possibility of savaging the British ships while they were at their moorings.

Hotham was delayed getting his ships out to sea in pursuit and it was hours later that the enemy fleet was spotted to leeward in a heavy gale. Hotham first ordered his ships to form line then signaled ‘General Chase”. As Hotham’s fleet closed, some of his van ships, including the Blanche and Captain Nelson’s Agamemnon drew away from the main body as the wind dropped to more moderate levels. A few of the British liners in the van were able to engage the trailing French 74 gun ship Alcide, Captain St. Hilaire. Victory, Culloden and Cumberland began their bombardment of the French ship-of-the line and after a fierce engagement, accepted her surrender after a memorable struggle. Blanche was tersely ordered to remain clear of the action and was relegated to repeating signals to and from the flag, HMS Britannia, well in the rear. Unfortunately, Alcide caught fire shortly after her flag was hauled down and she exploded with a tragic loss of men.

With a wind change from north-west to east, it now became more difficult for the French fleet to evade their pursuers. Admiral Hotham saved the day for the French however, when from his position miles to the rear, he was unable to see the exact positions of the various ships, decided his ships were coming too close to land and ordered the pursuit abandoned.

When the fleet had regrouped, Blanche was ordered to approach the flag and for her captain to come aboard. He was met by the flag lieutenant who informed him that Admiral Hotham and Captain Nelson were having a discussion. As the admiral’s flag lieutenant went off to see if the coast was clear, one of the ship’s officers alluded to today’s retreat. “Don’t Captain Nelson wish he was an admiral too? There would really be a discussion then.”

Phillips was not quite sure he knew what the Britannia’s third officer was referring to, but Lieutenant Dawson enlightened him. “Hotham had two chances to smash the French fleet and Nelson knows it. Through inaction and uncertainty, neither came to pass. If Nelson had been in command, we would all be counting our prize money right now.”

Phillips well knew of the difficulties an officer could find himself into when caught disparaging a senior. He had only seen his limited view of the battle and was well aware that the admiral may have had legitimate concerns that caused him to withdraw the fleet. He decided his proper course would be to keep his mouth shut.

Captain Nelson came stamping out of the Admiral’s quarters, his face red, and called for his boat. Flags followed him out and told Phillips the admiral was ready to see him right then. At first sight, Admiral Hotham did not appear to be a healthy man. However, he was greeted courteously and offered a glass of Marsala before being handed a heavy wrapped parcel and ordered to deliver it to Gibraltar. Hotham returned to a paper he had been studying and Phillips was at a loss as to whether he had been dismissed or not. After a few moments of silence, he put down his glass and rose. As he was leaving, his wine only tasted, Hotham looked up from the paper he was studying and remarked, “If you see Flags, tell him to signal the fleet to send their mail to you.”

As his boat closed the Agamemnon on the way to Blanche, an officer leaned over the rail and shouted down. “Pull around aft will you? Captain Nelson wants to tell you something.”

As the boat pulled up by the stern, Nelson’s hear appeared through his stern window. “What are you up to, Captain?” he asked.

“I have orders to deliver dispatches to Gibraltar, sir.”

“Can you come aboard and wait a glass while I dash off a few lines myself?”

“I think so, captain. I have to wait until the fleet’s mail bags come aboard Blanche, at any rate. It could be a few hours before I leave.”

“Well, never mind then. I’ll send over my messages with the other mail. Just do not leave before my boat delivers it.”

It was nearer three hours than two before Blanche got under way. Along with the bags of mail from the fleet, was an individually wrapped parcel from Agamemnon as well as additional orders from Britannia. After making his deliveries at Gibraltar, he was to take on needed stores and then he was ordered to cruise the western Mediterranean, raiding what enemy commerce he came across. This task was only to be attempted after delivering the mail. This mail and the dispatches were not to be endangered unnecessarily.

HMS Courageous, upon taking the fleet’s mail aboard, was released by the flag and the captain ordered his sailing master to set course for Gibraltar. Mister Raines was an elderly man who by dint of his long service should probably be serving on a first rate line-of battle ship. He had been on the beach for years however, recovering from a serious injury suffered long before, and it had only been recently that he had been able to summon sufficient ‘interest’ to be placed aboard this frigate.

Despite those years on shore, Raines was a remarkably proficient Mediterranean pilot. His captain, after observing him for a few weeks, would have wagered the man knew every sounding in the Med. He kept tight rein over his midshipmen students, who he was trying, with variable success, to educate into becoming passable navigators. With Raines standing beside the helm, Phillips knew he need not be concerned of the safety of the ship.

Entering his cabin, his clerk approached him, requesting his attention to various reports that needed to be signed. Phillips had inherited Drayer from the previous captain. Drayer had beautiful copperplate handwriting and could make the simplest requisition for ship’s biscuit look like it was a royal decree. There was rumor the clerk had once been employed by an influential High Court judge, before being apprehended with sterling plate in his possession that was actually owned by his employer.

The captain, not feeling at all like he wished to spend the remainder of the day poring over dry statements of condition, sent Drayer away. With the taste of the admiral’s wine still in his mouth, he called for his servant and bid Hanlon to break out a bottle of his own Marsala.

Picking up a volume of Gibbon’s Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Phillips had most of a bottle of wine in his belly when he heard his first officer’s voice outside his cabin door. Harrison was there, wishing to report a pair of sails ahead. The lookout had reported them to Mister Peabody, who had called Harrison. With a warm glow from the wine, Phillips followed the officer to the quarterdeck.

A glance aloft at the sails, the helm and the commission pennant flying in the fresh breeze indicated Blanche was on the port tack.

His eyes followed the officer’s telescopes directed forward where he saw two sail hull down.

Raines was still on deck, standing by the rail with his glass open. Doffing his hat, Raines approached and made his report. He had sent a midshipman with good eyes to the main t’gallant top to see what he could. The lad had reported the sail to be a pair of corvettes or maybe small frigates, on an interception course.

This was a puzzler. Ordinarily, he would not have hesitated a moment before clearing for action and going after the pair. Although theoretically two corvettes were probably superior to his frigate, Phillips knew the French ships were lightly built with smaller caliber guns. He was certain he could smash the fragile ships with his heavier weapons. If only he could catch one of the enemy for a few moments by itself, before engaging the other, he was sure Blanche would emerge as the victor. Sailing into Gibraltar harbor with two prize warships at his heels would spare him any distress for disobeying those orders from Admiral Hotham requiring him to refrain from combat while carrying the mail.

Should an unforeseen event happen though, perhaps a lucky ball from an opponent crippling the ship, there could well be a possibility that it would be the Blanche who would be the prize. In that case, his career would likely be in ruins if his subsequent court martial decided he had been remiss.

Without explanation, he told Raines to evade the approaching corvettes. There were some glances exchanged among the officers on deck as he said this, but Raines put the ship about. The wind on her beam, the ship was now sailing for the North African shore, a course she could not hold for too long. Phillips considered that if he must come about, no one could fault him then for engaging the enemy. However, the enemy did not pursue and altered course themselves to a northerly direction. Days later, her voyage proceeding without event, Blanch entered Gibraltar Harbor and fired off her salute.

After sending the dispatch pouches and mail ashore, Phillips remained on board to see to oversee necessary shipboard maintenance. He wished to see the ship would be properly stowed with the stores to remain at sea for a lengthy period, without the need to return to port. While observing the sailing master directing some bosun’s mates where to store some newly arrived supplies, a shore boat came alongside with a message for the captain.

It was a note from Captain Hancock inviting him to a repast at the Convent at two o’clock. Phillips donned his best coat and hat and took his gig ashore some hours before the appointment. He spent his time wandering through the little shops and made some purchases for his family back home.

With the appointed time approaching, Phillips went to the Convent and was admitted. He was accompanied by a servant to Captain Hancock’s office where he was announced and admitted. He was then informed the Acting Governor would partake of the promised collation with them. Over a variety of local specialties prepared by the Gibraltar cooks, Phillips found he was expected to comment to Governor Rainsford on the reasons why the French fleet had managed to escape.

Phillips tried to beg off, saying that as a very junior captain, it was not for him to criticize the tactics of Admiral Hotham. Captain Hancock agreed, and said, in any event, they had the report of Captain Nelson.

Grumbling, Rainsford let the matter drop, and the rest of the meal was spent discussing fox-hunting back home. As he left the building, Hancock wished him luck on his cruise and said he would give up his other leg if only he could have one more similar foray against the foe.

Mister Harrison had the ship ready when he boarded and pronounced Blanche ready to sail. Mister Baker, on a visit to shore, had returned with two new members of the crew. He had boarded ship with a small, young dog. No particular mention was made of this until his exasperated captain wondered just who was going to follow the cur around cleaning up after him. Phillips hated to deputize a crew member to do the honors, since that might lead to ill-feeling.

Baker had the answer. Pointing over the side to the boat that had brought him to the ship, he indicated a small, undernourished Gibraltar lad. He looked much the size of an English boy of ten, but was told later the urchin was almost fourteen. His parents dead from the fever which had struck Gibraltar recently, Baker had taken the boy, Pedro, in and would give him the task of caring for the animal. He could also function as one of the ship’s boys.

Shaking his head, Phillips reluctantly agreed to the plan. With the wind, the ship loosed her headsails and they slowly eased their way from the harbor. Seeing Mister Raines had the ship on course, Phillips watched the new additions to the crew scampering about the deck. He had Pedro summoned and tried to tell him what would be expected of him, but found the boy spoke no English. “This was going to be a trial”, he thought as he entered his cabin.

Once at sea, with lookouts posted, the men, who had learned of their cruise, were avidly awaiting a sighting. Some men on their watch below, nevertheless came up on deck and lined the rails, hoping to see a prospective target. As they began interfering with the working of the ship, Mister Harrison sent them below. Sails were indeed sighted in plenty, but only of small fishing craft.

As they passed a covey of Spanish vessels, some men petitioned their division officers to implore the captain to attack them.

While Britain was at war with Spain, thus making the Spanish fishing fleet vulnerable, Phillips felt taking the war to those small craft would not be an economical use of his power. First, the individual boats and their perishable cargo would be worth little, and it would not be practical to dissipate his crew to man the prizes in order to sail them back to Gibraltar. The only other course would be to burn the vessels, which would cause unnecessary outrage in the Spanish fishing ports. It would be better to just save their energies for the merchant craft that surely would appear.

Cruising up the Spanish coat north-easterly, the first vessel spotted that Phillips thought was worth-while was a tartane, flying the Tricolor. An old-fashioned looking small craft with its lateen mainsail, it came to as a gun was fired. Loaded with Spanish olive oil, it was destined for Toulon, and was a legitimate prize. When asked if any of the crew would like to volunteer to serve in the Royal Navy, all but one refused. This one, a native of the Balearic Islands, accepted the offer and was sent aboard Blanche. The other crewmen were secured, and the vessel set out for Gibraltar under command of a midshipman and some hands. This capture would not alter the course of the war, but would earn a little prize money for the crew and keep their minds occupied.

Now up into French waters off-shore, a fore and aft rigged schooner type vessel sailed into their arms one morning. She was of a type Mister Raines called a goélette. She was also flying the French flag. The sailing master went aboard to see what they had caught. With a cargo of Sicilian raw sulphur, she was a valuable prize and would be an easy sale at a prize auction.

Phillips did not wish to entrust the valuable prize to one of his mids, so asked the sailing master if he would take the prize in. This was, of course unusual, but it so happened he had a master’s mate who was almost as well versed on the Med as Mister Raines was. He considered giving command of the prize to the lad, Mister Landry, but considered him a little too young to handle the responsibility, so Raines would have to handle the chore.

Parting company with the prize, Blanche left the coastal waters and went out to sea, hoping to find bigger prey. Searching for a week with no worth-while sightings the maintop lookout reported a sail off the port bow at three bells in the forenoon watch. Hearing the hail, Phillips went out on deck to see for himself. There was no sign of the ship from deck level, but Mister Atlee, a nimble midshipman, scampered up the shrouds with a glass and reported a ship-rigged vessel hull down.

Remaining on deck, the captain was rewarded by another hail, hesitant this time. Atlee, searching with his glass, thought he had spotted another sail just behind the first, climbing over the horizon. By the time for noon sights, it was definite, two ship-rigged vessels were ahead of them, and Mister Peabody, with his sharp vision, thought they were corvettes, very possibly the same ships they had encountered on the voyage out.

The strangers, at first separated, now began coming together, as well as aggressively closing Blanche. At two bells into the afternoon watch, there was no longer any doubt. These were the same corvettes they had met before and they were serious. Hands were called to stations and the frigate prepared for battle. The officers were called aft, and Phillips explained his plans.

“I intend to put the ship about and see if we can entice those corvettes to give chase. We will do what we can to give the impression that we are fleeing, but will try to allow them to overtake us. I have no doubt we can overcome both corvettes at once, but I think we will have fewer losses if we can fight one ship at a time. If one corvette closes earlier than the other, we will turn on that ship and smash her, before engaging the second.”

As the pursuit continued into the afternoon, one of the corvettes did prove to be just a little speedier than the other. Landry, the master’s mate temporarily replacing Mister Raines, was informed of the plan and soon showed he had a flair for the drama. Landry was busily employing himself on deck by explaining to the seamen how to be just a bit lubberly in their sail handling. It was easy enough to trim the sails to spill a little wind. At one point, Landry asked if he could tack ship. This was not necessary, since she was sailing on a soldier’s wind, but by altering course, it could be seen as an attempt to sail closer to the wind than their pursuers.

Accordingly the course was slowly changed to allow the ship to sail closer to the wind. The corvettes had no difficulty in following and gradually crept closer. The sight of an island up ahead, one of the Balearic’s, gave Blanche a reason to tack ship.

With forewarning of the proposed maneuver, Phillips sent messengers to the gun captains on each beam. On his signal, he wished four guns only on each beam to be run out. Two forward guns and two aft were to be run out. The other gun ports were to remain closed. On the next signal, all ports would be opened and the remaining guns run out.

Sometimes frigates were used as transports or store ships and under those circumstances, guns were often left on shore to provide extra space. Phillips aimed to give his pursuers some extra drama by posing as one of the lightly armed transports.

At the proper moment, Mister Landry went through the motions of putting the ship unto the other tack. The ship missed stays in the apparent cack-handed maneuver and did not come around, her sails all aback.

With the leading corvette coming up with a bone in her teeth, Landry got some way on the ship and then brought her around sweetly to meet her pursuer. As she prepared to meet the corvette, Phillips signaled and the four guns of her port battery emerged from her ports. The entire port battery of the corvette emerged in turn.