For the Honor of the Flag: A John Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 2) (11 page)

Enemy shipping
having seemed to have disappeared, Phillips brought Alacrity back to Brest and relieved Rook, sending Adams and his gun brig off to patrol the coast. Alacrity’s crew settled down to another boring session of blockade. Weeks went by, and the Rook returned. She had been involved in an action with a French 32 gun frigate which damaged her enough that she had to return to port for refit. From Adam’s report, the frigate was lucky to break off when it did.

These new brigs were armed with 32 pounder carronades and more than a match for much larger warships at close range. Phillips invited Adams to a meal and they discussed the patrol. The only activity Rook had been involved in was with the frigate. Rook’s 32 pounder carronades severely damaged the frigate, but it was able to claw its way out past carronade range, and return the favor with long range fire from its 18 pounder long guns.

Both vessels took their chance to return to port. It was Adam’s belief that French national

ships would begin to engage its adversaries at long range, to avoid the deadly carronade fire.

After much discussion, Phillips decided to leave Rook watching Brest, and go back on patrol himself. He was going to have to water the ship also, as most of the big tuns were empty. Calling Mister Howard, the sailing master, aside, he asked if Howard was aware of any place they might safely water.

As a matter of fact, he did. Pulling out a chart, he pointed out an island off the coast. “I’ve visited here a few times. When I landed, the island was uninhabited, although people have lived there at one time. There were the remains of stone and turf huts near the watering pool. A stream comes off the central peak and comes out on the seaward side of the island. On that side, there is a harbor of sorts, which would protect us from anything but a westerly gale. Near the shore, the stream widens out, and that is a good spot to water. There are sheep and goats gone wild there, so not a lot of vegetation.”

“A few trees that are big enough not to have been bothered by the goats are there. When I was there last, there was plenty of driftwood on the beach, which we could use, if it’s still present. Bear in mind it was peacetime when I last visited. There could be a big French fort now, for all I know.”

Leaving Rook on her own again, Alacrity sailed east, the lookouts keeping an eye for suspicious traffic. The effort was without result though. The coasting trade along the coast had long since learned their lesson; and at first sight of a British warship or privateer, they tended to duck into the nearest protected anchorage. Had he not needed to replenish his water supply, Phillips might have been tempted to abandon his cruise, but since they were close to the island Mister Howard had recommended, he decided to continue. The wind had become fitful, and Phillips used the occasion to exercise the men at the guns. He had exhausted his private supply of powder and shot, so there was no live fire. Any live fire would necessarily be directed at the enemy, and be paid for by Admiralty.

There was no sign of recent activity on the island. A few large trees were present, but numerous feral goats and sheep had eliminated much of the other vegetation. Alacrity came to anchor, and Phillips ordered a cable be passed from the capstan out a stern port, then ran forward to be seized onto the anchor cable. Mister Crawford put some men on the capstan. They pulled the ship around so her starboard broadside was directed at the channel into the anchorage. Hatches were removed, and empty barrels swayed up from the depths of the hold and deposited into the sea. The launch towed them to the beach, where each barrel was cleaned with sand and seawater.

The beach was covered with windrows of sheep bones that had apparently washed up months ago. There was no odor of death near the beach nor around the large pool in the creek, and the ship’s surgeon pronounced the water safe.

The Marine officer, Lieutenant Randolph, was ordered to take a party of men and make a brief reconnaissance of the island. No human presence was found but several flocks of sheep, and some goats were discovered. Phillips did not feel he could leave the ship, but he did loan Mister Baker his rifle and sent him out with Randolph to see what fresh meat they could collect. A few of the more useless crewmembers were sent with them to serve as bearers in case they harvested any game.

While much of the crew remained on the ship performing needed maintenance, many others worked on shore, scrubbing out the insides of barrels, rolling them to the pond for filling. One of the bosun’s mates had rigged a boat pump to pump water from the pond to each barrel. When full, they were rolled to the beach, into the water. Fresh water being lighter than salt, the barrels floated, and after several barrels were strung together, the launch towed each batch out to the ship.

During the day, the people heard shots from the hunting party in the distance, and in the evening the party returned, with the carcasses of half a dozen sheep. No one would have described these animals as fat, but as fresh meat they were a treat to men living off salt beef and pork for months at a time. Phillips took a quarter of one of the beasts, the wardroom getting a whole sheep, and the gunroom receiving a half. The rest went to the ship’s cook to be boiled for the crew on the next day, which was supposed to be a banyan day. On these days, Admiralty did not issue meat to the crews.

At the beginning of the morning watch next day, the men sanded down the decks with holystones and bibles. At false dawn the ship was cleared for action and lookouts sent aloft. As the main lookout reached his perch, he shouted, “Deck there, sail off the starboard beam close in.” Phillips grabbed the night glass the officer of the watch had left on the binnacle and looked out to sea. There, in the upside down field of view appeared a hull-up frigate. It was approaching in light airs under topsails alone. He snapped at the watch officer beside him, “Get the men to action stations, as quietly as may be. Find a French ensign in the flag locker and get it hoisted.”

As the watch below swarmed up, tossing their rolled up hammocks into the nettings, Phillips kept his eye on the stranger .It was approaching slowly in the gathering light of dawn with no hint of alarm. At first he thought perhaps her lookout was asleep, but then he watched a tricolor climb to the top, perhaps in response to the French ensign Alacrity was now flying. Phillips motioned Crawford and Baker over to him on the quarterdeck.

He told them, “Gentlemen, we need to be ready for anything. Apparently, that frigate doesn’t suspect Alacrity’s real nationality. She was a French corvette a year ago, and still looks like one. If we can continue to keep them believing that we will have a chance. As long as the frigate is approaching us bows on, we will not open the gun ports. When I determine she has come close enough, at my command, we will lower the French ensign, raise ours, open the ports, run out the guns and fire as rapidly as possible. She is larger than Alacrity, with more and heavier guns. Hopefully, she will not be as prepared as we will be.”

Calling the sailing master over, Phillips repeated his intentions, and added, “Mister Howard, at the moment, our broadside is facing the enemy. We will open fire while she is bows on, and unable to reply immediately. Hopefully, she will remain thus until she approaches much closer. At the moment, our spring to the anchor cable is holding us in position to savage the enemy. At some point though, we must free ourselves from the cable and spring. I want you to station men at the bow and stern to cut the cable and spring with sharp axes. At the same time, we will need seamen and sail trimmers to get the ship before the wind. If my plans are defective, we may be taking a lot of punishment during this process. What are your thoughts?”

“Sir, I believe we can take the frigate. She is bigger, and has probably a dozen more guns, but with surprise, we should even the odds in the first few broadsides of the action. Should we have some guns reload with grape after firing off their initial loads?”

“We only have ten guns in our broadside. We’d better fire off several broadsides of nine pounder shot, before we go to grape. I’ll give the order for that.”

he enemy frigate continued forward, almost as though she aimed to ram Alacrity. Phillips saw her men bracing the topsails around as if she was preparing to turn. He ordered, “Drop that tricolor, and raise our ensign.”

When the British ensign was at the peak, he noticed an officer on the frigate pointing at it. At that moment, he ordered, “Open your ports, and run out.”

An instant later, after the rumble of the gun carriage trucks had ceased, he ordered, “You may fire as your guns bear.”

Several guns fired almost instantly as he voiced the order. Others delayed a moment as the gun captains checked their aim. All balls hit the frigate though, as close as it was to Alacrity. The gun crews went into their much practiced drill, reloading every gun on the starboard side with cartridge and ball. Every gun crew had been instructed to fire as soon as the reload was completed. In a few moments, there was a continuous roar of explosions, as every gun fired at its own cadence. Thus far, the frigate had not fired a single shot. Phillips had just ordered four of the starboard guns to switch to grapeshot, when the frigate’s foremast fell. The frigate, under the drag of the wreckage swung around enough that a few of her guns bore. They fired; being twelve pounders, the damage inflicted upon such a small ship with thin scantlings, the effects were serious, but not fatal.

Phillips saw Howard staring at him, and nodded. Almost immediately, axe men began chopping at the anchor cable in the bow, as well as the spring in the stern. Both cables snaked out into the water, and the ship was free. Seamen loosed the topsails which were braced around to catch the wind. Suddenly, amid all the commotion, Alacrity was free. Phillips sailed her shoreward a few cables to get her away from the few shots periodically fired from the frigate. After picking up a little speed, he tacked ship, and brought her about, coming back to cross the frigate’s bow. As he approached the stricken ship, her ensign came flapping down in surrender.

Passing by the frigates port beam, he brought Alacrity to behind the frigate. Seamen and Marines tumbled down into the launch, and Mister Crawford took it over to the frigate to accept her surrender. An hour later, the shocked first officer was back with a report. The only officers left aboard the prize were a junior lieutenant and a couple of aspirants or midshipmen. Half the crew were killed or wounded, and more medical attention was desperately needed. Phillips ordered a mid to go down to the cockpit and ask the surgeon how long it would be before he could go over to the prize and assist there.

The surgeon reported personally, “Sir, we have eight people dead, and a dozen seriously wounded. I have done all I can for them, and am willing to leave them in the care of Wilkins, a very able loblolly boy.  If I can have a hand or two to help carry my equipment and medicaments, I can leave promptly. With the ship anchored by the spare bower anchor, Phillips went over to the frigate with his carpenter and bosun along with a boatload of seamen to inspect the damage. Her name, he saw as they went round the counter was
Galathée
, a thirty two gun frigate.

Secretly, Phillips was appalled by the carnage aboard the ship. However, he told himself this was his profession, to cause hurt to his King’s enemies, and in this case, he had certainly done his duty. A conference with Crawford brought forth the information that the
Galathée
’s captain had been below, recovering from a late homecoming celebration the night before.

The ship was returning from a long cruise where she had made several captures, leaving some of her officers and crew in the prizes. The ship’s first lieutenant was also suffering below, with a junior lieutenant left in charge of the deck.

This lad thought to gain favor by bringing his ship to anchor in a protected bay, knowing his captain wanted to beautify the ship before entering port. He thought nothing of the apparent corvette he saw anchored there. After all, it was flying the French flag.

At the first shot, the captain and first officer came storming on deck, but the captain was soon nearly cut in half by a shot, while a few minutes later, the first officer lost a leg, from which he later expired due to blood loss. The young lieutenant was unable to get his ship under control after losing his foremast, and eventually decided to haul down the flag.

He was delayed doing so when a blast of grape brought down the men he had sent over to pull it down, and he could find no other men willing to do it. He finally pulled it down himself.

Phillips opted to set the able members of the French ship’s crew ashore on the island. He had a tremendous amount of damage on both ships he needed to repair before the weather changed, or another French ship appeared. It would be difficult to do the necessary work while guarding prisoners, also. They left a dozen large bags of biscuit, several barrels of salt beef from the
Galathée
’s provisions, an axe, and a musket with a hundred cartridges to harvest sheep or goats. Deciding he had done his duty to the former crew of
Galathée
, Phillips left them to their own devises, and set his mind on the needed repairs to the ships.

Galathée
’s foremast had been broken halfway to the top, but they were able to salvage the topmast and the topgallant from the waters of the bay. On shore, the carpenter reported there was a stand of pines near the creek. One of which might be suitable as a replacement for the old lower foremast section. A party of men went ashore to harvest the tree, but the former prisoners took exception, considering it was their property.