The Bomb Vessel (30 page)

Following
Elephant
were
Glatton, Monarch, Defiance
and
Ganges
, weathering the south end of the Middle Ground, while Riou's frigates, led
by Amazon
, were in line ahead for the entrance to the King's Deep.

Rose's little gun brigs each with their waspish names:
Biter, Sparkler, Tickler
, were shaking out their topsails; seemingly as anxious to get among the enemy fire as their larger consorts. Fremantle's flat-boats were also active, three or four of them clustered around
Agamemnon
's bow assisting in carrying out her anchors, and converging on
Bellona
and
Russell
who were under fire from the
Provesteenen
and howitzer batteries on Amager.

‘Hullo, old Parker's on the move.' The levelled telescopes swung to the north where the Commander-in-Chief's division were beating up to re-anchor at the north end of the Middle Ground.

‘I wonder if he can see
Bellona
and
Russell
aground?' asked Easton.

‘He'll have a damned fit if he can, two battleships out of the line is going to have quite an effect on the others,' offered Rogers.

‘Your fire-eating brothers in Christ will have their whiskers singed, Mr Rogers,' said Lettsom philosophically. ‘Here is a quatrain for you:

‘See where the guns of England thunder
Giving blow for mighty blow,
Who was it that made the blunder,
Took 'em where they couldn't go?'

Rogers burst out laughing and even Drinkwater, keenly observing the progress of the action, could not repress a smile. He walked across to the deck log and looked at Easton's last entry: ‘10 o'clock, van ships engaged, cannonade became general as line of battle ships got into station.'

To the north of them most of Parker's squadron were re-anchoring. But four of his battleships were beating up towards Copenhagen against wind and current to enter the action.

Astern of the bomb vessels,
Jamaica
and the gun brigs were having a similar problem. The crowded anchorage had not allowed all the ships to get sufficiently to the south to weather the Middle Ground in the wind now blowing, and though Drinkwater thought that the shallow draught gun brigs could have chanced slipping inside
Cruizer
, it was clear that Parker's caution was now epidemic in the fleet.

‘
Explosion
's signalling, sir, “Bombs General, weigh and form line of battle.” '

The noise of the cannonade reached Mr Jex as he bent down in the hold. He was outboard of the great coils of spare cable, in the carpenter's walk against the ship's side. He had left the deck on the pretext of checking the sea inlet cock. From here water was drawn on deck by the fire engine, to spout from the two hoses his party had laid out on the deck. The spigot had been opened hours earlier and Jex merely crouched over it. His fear had reduced him to a trembling jelly. He could hear above the still distant sound of cannon the distinct chuckle of water alongside a hull under way:
Virago
was going into action.

For five minutes Jex huddled terrified against the ship's side before recovering himself. Standing uncertainly he began to make his way towards the spirit room.

Drinkwater stared through the vanes of his hand compass at the main mast of
Cruizer
.

‘Damn! She won't weather
Cruizer
, Mr Easton, can you stretch the braces a little?'

Easton looked aloft then shook his head. ‘Hard against the catharpings, sir.'

Rogers came and stood anxiously next to Drinkwater as he continued to stare through the brass vanes. He was swearing under his breath.

‘Keep her full and bye, Tregembo!' Drinkwater could feel the sweat prickling his arm pits. He took his eye off
Cruizer
for a second and saw how the stern of the grounded
Russell
was perceptibly nearer.

‘
Hecla
's having the same trouble, Nat,' Rogers muttered consolingly.

‘That's bloody cold comfort!' snapped Drinkwater, suddenly venomous. Were they to go aground ignominiously after all their tribulations? He snapped the compass vanes shut and pocketted the little instrument.

‘Set all sail, Mr Rogers, and lively about it!'

Rogers did not even bother to acknowledge the order. ‘Tops there! Aloft and shake out the t'gallants! Fo'c's'le! Hoist both jibs . . .'

Easton had jumped down into the waist and was chivvying the waisters onto the topgallant halliards.

‘Get those fucking lobsters to tail on, Easton. You there! Aloft and let fall the main course . . .'

The loose canvas flopped downwards, billowed and filled.
Virago
heeled a little more. Here and there a knife flashed to cut a kink jammed in a sheave but the constant days of battling with gales, of making and reducing sail now brought its own dividends and the Viragos caught something of the urgency of the hour.

The bomb vessel increased her speed, leaning to leeward with the water foaming along her side.

‘Up helm and ease her a point.' Drinkwater had not taken his eyes off
Cruizer
's stern. Suddenly the men looked up from coiling the ropes to see the brig's stern very close as they sped past, with a row of faces watching the old bomb vessel going into action.

Brisbane raised his hat, ‘Tally ho, Drinkwater, by God! Tally ho and mind the mud!'

Drinkwater felt the thrill of exhilaration turn to that of fear as the deck heaved beneath his feet.

‘God damn and blast it!' screamed Rogers, beside himself with angry frustration, but suddenly they were free and a ragged cheer broke from those who realised that for an instant their keel
had struck the Middle Ground.

In a moment they could bear up for the battle . . .

‘Larboard bow, sir!' Drinkwater looked up. Coming round
Cruizer
's bow was
Explosion
, just swinging before the wind to make her own approach to her station. Drinkwater could not luff without colliding or losing control of
Virago
, neither dare he bear away for a little longer since
Russell
was indicating the bank dangerously close to his starboard side. He resolved to stand on, aware that Martin was screeching something at him through a trumpet.

‘Damn Captain Martin,' he muttered to himself, but a chorus of ‘Hear, hear!' from Rogers and Easton indicated the extent of his concentration. Martin was compelled to let fly his sheets to check
Explosion
's headway.

‘Up helm, Tregembo . . . reduce sail again!'

Astern Martin was still shouting as
Explosion
, closely followed by
Volcano, Terror
and
Discovery
weathered the
Cruizer
and the Middle Ground.

‘For what we are about to receive, may we be truly . . . Jesus!' A storm of shot swept
Virago
's deck. They had left astern
Désirée
, anchored athwart the Danish line with a spring straining on her cable, and
Polyphemus
was drawing onto the larboard quarter. She too was anchored, though by the stern. As
Virago
crossed the gap between
Polyphemus
and the next anchored ship, the
Isis
, a broadside from
Provesteenen
hit her, cutting up the rigging and sails and wounding the foremast. On their own starboard side they had already passed
Russell
, flying the signal for distress and with flat-boats heaving out cables from her bow and stern while cannon shot dropped all round them. As they passed
Bellona
a terrific bang occurred and screams rent the air.

Beside Drinkwater Lieutenant Tumilty wore a seraphic smile. ‘Gun exploded,' he explained for the benefit of anyone interested.
Bellona
's guns were returning the Danish fire and Drinkwater looked ahead. From this close range the enemy defences took on a different aspect. From a distance the exiguous collection of prames, radeaus, cut down battleships, floating batteries, transports and frigates had had a cheap, thread-bare look about them, compared with the formal naval might of Great Britain with its canvas, bunting and wooden walls. But from the southern end of the King's Deep it looked altogether different. Already
Bellona
and
Russell
were of little use, although both returned fire
and strove throughout the day to get afloat again. Against the remaining ships the massed cannon of the Danish defences looked formidable. Spitting fire and smoke, the blazing tiers of guns were the most awesome sight Drinkwater had ever seen.

The gaps between the British ships were greater now, occasioned by the loss of
Bellona
and
Russell
from the line. Shot whined over the decks, ripping holes in the sails and occasionally striking splinters from
Virago
's timber.

There was a scream as the bomb vessel received her first casualty, an over-curious artilleryman who spun round and fell across the ten-inch mortar hatch while his shattered head flew overboard.

The Danes were defending their very hearths, and kept up the gun-fire by continually sending reinforcements from the shore to relieve their tired men, and sustain the hail of shot against the British.

Virago
's fore topgallant was shot away as she passed
Edgar
, engaged against the
Jutland
, an old, cut down two-decker. Rogers leapt forward, tempermentally unable to remain inactive for long in such circumstances. He began to clear the mess while Drinkwater concentrated upon the calls of the leadsman in the starboard chains. Beyond
Jutland
the odd square shapes of two floating batteries and a frigate were firing at both
Edgar
and the next ship ahead, Bligh's
Glatton
. The former East Indiaman which had once compelled a whole squadron to surrender to her deadly, short range batteries of carronades was keeping up a terrific fire. Most of her effort was concentrated on her immediate opponent, another cut-down battleship, the
Dannebrog
, flagship of the Danish commander, Commodore Olfert Fischer. But
Virago
did not pass unmolested, three more men were wounded and another killed as the storm of shot swept them.

‘Bring her to starboard a little, Mr Easton, and pass word to Mr Matchett, Mr Q, to watch for my signal to anchor; we are almost on our station abeam the admiral.'

The two officers acknowledged their orders.

Drinkwater studied
Elephant
for a moment. He could see the knot of glittering officers on her quarterdeck in the sunshine. Beyond the flagship lay the
Ganges
and then a gap, filled with boats pulling up and down the line. Just visible in the smoke were
Monarch
and Graves's flagship
Defiance
, and somewhere ahead of them, in the full fire of the heavy batteries of the Trekroner Forts
were Riou and his frigates.

‘Bring the ship to the wind, Mr Easton.'
Virago
began to turn. ‘You may begin your preparations, Mr Tumilty.' As they had closed
Elephant
the Irishman had been observing his targets and taking obscure measurements with what looked like a pelorus.

To his astonishment Tumilty winked. ‘And now, my dear Nat'aniel you'll see why we've brought all this here.' Leprechaun-like he hopped onto the foredeck and began to bawl instructions at his artillerymen.

Drinkwater felt the wind on his face and dropped his arm as the main topsail flogged back against the mast. ‘Bunt lines and clew lines there! Ease the halliards! Up aloft and stow!' Rogers paused, looking along the deck to see his orders obeyed. ‘You there, up aloft . . . Bosun's mate, start that man aloft, God damn it, and take his name!'

Virago
's anchor dropped just as the leadsman called ‘By the mark five!'

‘Perfect, by God,' Drinkwater muttered to himself, pleased with his positioning, and suddenly thinking of Elizabeth in his moment of self-conceit.

‘How much scope, sir?' Matchett was crying at him from forward.

‘Half a cable, Mr Matchett,' he called through the speaking trumpet. He felt
Virago
tug round as her anchor bit and she brought up. She lay quietly sheering a few degrees in the current.

‘Brought up, sir,' reported Easton, straightening up from taking a bearing.

‘Very well, Mr Easton.' Drinkwater looked round. Astern of them
Terror
was turning into the wind to anchor while
Explosion
and
Discovery
continued past
Virago
. Of
Volcano
there was no sign, though Drinkwater afterwards learned she had been ordered to anchor and throw shells against the howitzer battery on Amager at the southern end of the line.

He raised his hat to Martin as the commander went past, partly out of bravado, partly to mollify the touchy man. To the south the confusion caused by the groundings had resulted in
Isis
anchoring prematurely to cover
Bellona
and
Russell
. The consequence of this was a dangerous extension of the line of battleships north of the
Elephant
with the lighter frigates absorbing enormous punishment from the Trekroner Forts, the Lynetten, Quintus and other batteries, plus the guns of the inner line commanded by Steen
Bille. The whole area was a mass of smoke and fire while Parker's three relieving battleships,
Ramilles, Defence
and
Veteran
were making no apparent headway to come to Riou's assistance.

‘Mr Drinkwater! I'm ready to open fire if you can steady the ship a little.'

Drinkwater turned his attention inboard. Rogers had a gang of men aft, their arms extended above their heads where they prepared to whip up the shells; groups of artillerymen, stripped to their braces in the biting wind clustered round the mortars which, looking like huge, elongated cauldrons pointed their blunt, ineffective looking muzzles out to starboard, at the sky over Copenhagen.