Thunder On the Sea: A Tim Phillips novel (War at Sea Book 11) (4 page)

“Captain Phillips, will you remain for a few minutes? All other captains are dismissed.”

After the others had left, Horner turned to Phillips. “You said your ship was ready to sail. Is that still the case?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Very good. My clerk outside will have your new orders to take with you. You are at this moment cleared to make the best of your way to Gibraltar. The previously arranged voyage to Spanish America is cancelled, at least for now. The immediate priority is to secure Bonaparte and I must tell you privately, Their Lordships do not necessarily share my expressed positive feelings. This new French king has made a shambles of his new reign and there is resentment, especially in the ranks of the French Army. If Bonaparte can find a receptive unit, he might well be able to return to power. I am sure you will do what you can to put a spoke in his wheel. I have nothing specific to put to you. The situation is certain to change long before you arrive on scene. Just do your best, Captain.” 

Aboard Prince Rupert, all was ready. Lieutenant Fitzhugh, although young for his position, was a man of varied experience who had taken hold right away. Learning the watch and station bill had not been completed, he had sat down with the Master and, between the two, had cobbled up a reasonable facsimile.

A simple ‘Make sail, set course to Gibraltar’, was all that was needed to get the ship on its way. Ship traffic was heavy on their way, including many flying the French Fleur de Lys. The lookouts were told to look out for any shipping flying the tricolor, but Phillips suspected it was too soon for this banner to be used just yet.

Prince Rupert made a fast voyage toward Gibraltar and was met by the cutter, HMS Periwinkle outside the Straits. She carried supplementary orders from Captain Sir Henry Benson, now in temporary command of what remained of the Mediterranean Fleet, Vice Admiral Lord Exmouth currently being back in London. In addition, she carried a passenger, Major Bentley of the Royal Marines, who asked permission to come aboard.

Phillips gazed at the activity aboard the cutter, as the major’s gear was loaded aboard the boat. From what he could see, it appeared Major Bentley was planning to stay a while. Phillips decided he would look at the major’s orders carefully. After all, he outranked the Marine officer. He was not about to allow a presumptuous officer to take any advantage.

When the major’s face appeared in the entry port, he already had his hand at the salute. Phillips returned the salute by removing his hat and waited for the Marine to re-arrange himself. Bentley thrust out a sheet of parchment which proved to be his orders. The signature at the bottom appeared to be that of Lord Exmouth himself.

Of course, there could be no arguing with orders from the Mediterranean Fleet commander, so Phillips welcomed the officer aboard and took him into his quarters. Once inside, Bentley inquired as to the presence of other Royal Marines on board.

“Major, I am afraid Lieutenant Haynes is our only other Marine. His people never made it down from their depot before we were ordered to leave.”

“Captain Phillips”, Bentley began. “If you will read through my orders, you will see I am to take passage aboard your ship to Gibraltar, then on to Italy. Somewhere off Leghorn, we are to meet up with transports from home and I am to ask you to cram aboard this ship all of the Royal Marines it can possibly hold. I suspect your own orders will give you the reasons for this.”

A careful reading of his new orders revealed, after taking aboard the major, he was to proceed directly to the port of Livorno, popularly termed ‘Leghorn’ in the Royal Navy, without delay and there take aboard the Royal Marines that Major Bentley so designated. Should lack of space on the ship prohibit taking aboard the required Marines, Captain Phillips was permitted to purchase or hire some local small craft that would serve. The British consul in that port would handle the financial details.

Major Bentley explained further. “Napoleon is now known to have escaped Elba in his own vessel, the brig ‘Inconstant’, landing on the mainland near Cannes in early March. Although having only a small number of troops at the beginning, his numbers increased as troops sent to apprehend him, joined him instead. I learned just before sailing that he has now entered Paris and Louis XVIII has fled.”

Captain Phillips digested this intelligence. “Major, what are the chances of Napoleon pulling this off?”

“In my opinion, Captain, very slim indeed. The majority of the troops he commanded last year have scattered to the winds. While the new French king did have an army, it was only a fraction of what Bonaparte controlled as Emperor. The few royalist troops have gone over to Napoleon en masse and he must now call to the colors the thousands of disbanded veterans. Some of these are now in the depots, but Bonaparte will have his hands full equipping them and preparing them to take to the field.”

“The major powers are now preparing to fight. Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria and Spain are all preparing to engage him. The forces the new coalition can bring against him far outnumber anything he can raise in the limited time he has. We can assume he will win some initial battles, but soon the overwhelming armies arrayed against him will wear him down.”

“I think Napoleon believed if he could raise a credible army, his opponents, tired of war, would offer peace if he were to promise to keep France tranquil. Of course, he miss calculated. No one in France trusts the word of Napoleon.” 

“Very well, Major. We will proceed directly to Livorno to pick up your men. Are you permitted to disclose your plans to me?”

“Sir, all I can say is, there being no likelihood of any naval engagements, it is unlikely there will be any action for us at sea. Therefor my instructions require me to be as much of a nuisance ashore in the various ports as possible. Should we see warships being readied for sea, and suspect they will be used to support Bonaparte’s forces, then we have free rein to commandeer or destroy such. Of course, you will have your own orders covering your actions.

HMS Prince Rupert reached Gibraltar without incident, but found all the King’s ships had sailed. Several of the big casks of salt pork had proved bad on the voyage out, so Captain Phillips took the opportunity to obtain new provisions. In addition to the pork, he found a few Spanish seamen looking for berths. The ship had nearly a full crew, so these men were examined closely before they signed on. Those taken aboard had to prove their seamanship abilities.

Jacobs, the new captain’s steward had done an exemplary job of selecting and purchasing supplies for the cabin back in Portsmouth, but as he pointed out to his captain, the circumstances were now different.

He assured his captain he had assumed there would not be much entertaining on a voyage of discovery. Now that they were being sent to the Med though, circumstances might be different. Jacobs wondered if it might not be opportune to take on a supply of Spanish wines while they had the chance.

Phillips had come to trust and rely on his steward and had no qualms handing over a substantial sum to purchase the supplies.

The acting governor had no fresh information for them so the post ship set sail for the Italian mainland.

Now in the Med, proceeding on course for Livorno, the topmast lookout reported a sail ahead. Several more came into view, and as these sails were overtaken, Mister Drayer, the signal officer, reported flag signals flying from a little brig off to starboard of the little convoy. Eventually, he was able to read the signals and reported, “Sir, HMS Alastor, 12 gun brig, Captain Laynor, reports his convoy of three troopers bound for Leghorn.”

“Very well, Mister Drayer. Please inform Captain Laynor that HMS Prince Rupert will join the escort.”

Normally, the convoy escort commander would have then given the joining ship its instructions. In this case, since the commander of that little brig was actually a mere lieutenant, despite his courtesy title of ‘Captain’, there would be no possibility of his telling his superior where to place his ship. As the post ship closed the convoy, Phillips signaled he would assume the starboard position in the van. Alastor should take up the same astern.

A day outside of Livorno, a small vessel was seen approaching to starboard. Mister Fitzhugh identified it as a tartane, probably French. Large numbers of these vessels were used for coastal trading in the Med, but this one’s actions made it suspicious. It seemed inordinately curious, as if trying to determine the make-up of this small convoy.

Just to amuse the crew of the tartane, Phillips ordered the Union and commission pennant brought in. Seeing this, Alastor did the same. With no other sign of their martial status, the stranger could not be faulted if he assumed this convoy was a collection of various commercial craft on their own business.

For a short period, the tartane briskly approached, but at the last moment sheered off, as if she suspected all was not proper here. Mister Drayer, the second officer as well as handling signals wondered why they did not snap this fellow up. Surely they could outpace the little craft.

Phillips was about to answer but Fitzhugh replied first. “It’s like this Andy.  So far, she has done nothing inappropriate. If she would only fire at us or just run up the bloody flag, we could take action, but as it is, her captain could have us up on charges if we found no sign of evil aboard her.

Nodding agreement, Phillips turned away and looked forward. A flotilla of innocent looking fishing boats were spread out before them. As if remembering his duty when he saw his captain eying the horizon ahead, the lookout shouted, “Deck there, fishing boats ahead. Too many to count!”

Fitzhugh addressed the second officer. “Andy, you’d better say something to Dawson up in the tops. He needs to keep his mind on his duty rather than eavesdropping on his officers below.”

Off Livorno, another lookout spotted a two-decker flying a broad pennant. thrashing along with a frigate in company. As they flew their numbers, the liner was identified as HMS Odin, 74 guns, Captain Wilson. She signaled the convoy to join and ordered the captain of the post ship to come on board.

Commodore Wilson greeted Phillips at the entry port and invited him below. After ascertaining the health and well-being of the joining ships and crews, Wilson got down to business.

“You have probably already heard Bonaparte is in Paris and there is not much this fleet can do to get him out.”

“There is much unrest along the French coast though, so I am going to release your Major Bentley to raise as much mayhem ashore as he may. I have requisitioned a brig from a French owner here, who has been just a bit too vocal of his support for Bonaparte, and we will use that brig to transport the major and his troops where they must go. I will advise him he is free to ask you for assistance in case of need, and of course, you are permitted to give such aid when possible.”

“However, I have a different task for you, which must be given priority. At the end of the previous war, there was a French frigate, up on stocks in a nearby shipyard, having some work done on her hull. When peace was announced her officers and crew vanished. She sat there for several months when a citizen, who had made a large sum operating privateers against British supply ships here in the Med, came forward and paid the owner of the shipyard to make the frigate ready for sea again.”

“When a fisherman I was paying for information reported to me that the ship was almost ready to sail, I put two frigates off the mouth of the harbor. I had intended to seize the ship if she armed herself and put to sea.”

“However, one of my frigate captains did not quite understand his orders, and the ship did slip out last week. We have not seen or heard from her since. We do know there are vast quantities of arms on shore, left over from the previous war. I believe that frigate’s captain, a M. Henri Touffet, would have had no trouble re-arming his ship. The ship itself is a 36 gun 18 pounder frigate named Aphrodite. I should say she was designed as such during her career in the regular French Navy. Exactly how her civilian owner armed her is a matter of conjecture.”

“Her crew is another story. During the peace, many of the trained seamen took berths on merchant vessels. I suspect her captain was forced to hire many unemployed and untrained hands from the docks. He will probably need to spend weeks training his crew. I have already sent out the two frigates who allowed him to sail out of port. Now I wish to do the same with you. I realize you only command a post ship with 24 nine pounder guns. Hopefully, should you locate this frigate, you may be able to stay out of her reach. I want you, should you happen across her, to follow her. If you encounter another King’s ship of sufficient force, you will assist such ship to bring Aphrodite to action.”

“This Aphrodite is a great danger to all the supply ships we have in this area. At this moment none have been taken yet and I hope this luck continues.”

Phillips wondered, “What about my Marines? As it stands now, I only have a lieutenant of Marines, besides my major, of course. Will there be any chance of getting a few Marines from your transport?”

Commodore Wilson replied. “I will try to get you a few dozen men. At this moment I have no idea of the actual numbers available. Actually, your Major Bentley is in charge of all matters on this station regarding Royal Marines. Hopefully, you will be able to retain your lieutenant of Marines, but I can make no promises.”

After some ship-visiting and negotiations, Major Bentley determined he could spare twenty Marines for Rupert and still have sufficient men for his mission on-shore. Their original Marine officer, Lieutenant Haynes, would remain aboard Prince Rupert and assume command of the ship’s Marines.

Major Bentley had been ruthless in his selection of men, and the Marines allotted to the post ship were not what one might expect. In any draft of men, there were always those people that no other unit would accept. Bentley had intuitively selected those he felt might fit into this category. The selected individuals were all men that had been in more than their share of trouble back in the depot, and one would hope to have an experienced sergeant and corporal to keep them in order. He would gladly hand these people over to any superior insisting on his right to some of the men.

Of course, Captain Phillips’ request fell into this area and in Bentley felt no shame at all delivering his miscreants to HMS Prince Rupert.

Unfortunately, Bentley had kept all of the non-commissioned officers for himself save for one corporal he sent to Prince Rupert.

Corporal Henderson was old for his age, mostly toothless, with a body ravaged by the effects of drink and a dissolute life. Haynes learned the man had once been a sergeant but repeated charges of being drunk on duty had him reduced to private.

Now, years later, he was a corporal, but from the look and smell of him, it appeared likely he was about to slide back to the ranks again. The disconsolate Lieutenant Haynes sought advice from Captain Phillips that evening.

He explained, “Sir, with the men I have to work with, I need a good corporal and sergeant who will be able to keep them under control. Most of them were troublemakers in civilian life and their abbreviated training in depot was not enough to instill discipline. I am afraid we are in for trouble with this lot.”

“What about this Corporal Henderson? I could furnish one or two of my own people to help him instill order among your people.”

“Sir, Henderson is one of the worst of the lot. He is a drunk, and is strong enough to bully some of the weaker people out of their ration of grog.”

Phillips thought about the matter a moment, then advised, “Lieutenant the very next time this corporal steps out of line, you will notify the first officer. I will have a few words with the fellow at captain’s mast.

There was the normal confusion getting the new Marines on board. Phillips was surprised when he first laid eyes of the new draft. Normally Royal Marines looked professional at all times, even when not in full uniform and dressed in the same slop clothing as a seaman, one would normally not regard them as such.

These troops came aboard in their dress uniforms, but for all that, looked like a band of ruffians. Items of uniform were missing or askew. Lieutenant Haynes met them at the entry port and attempted to get them into formation with little success. In the end, Captain Phillips ordered them sent below under the supervision of the ship’s master at arms.

A short time later the first officer rapped on the side of his door, there being no marine sentry posted there yet.

“Sir”, he began. “Lieutenant Haynes has requested I put one of his men on report.”

“Let me guess. Will the man on report be Corporal Henderson?”

“He is the one indeed, Sir. Mister Haynes requests captain’s mast for the corporal.”

“Well, while it is late in the day, I do not like to keep my officers waiting. We will hold mast on his fellow right away. If you will get matters going, I will get dressed and appear on the quarterdeck in a few minutes.”

It was gathering dusk in the harbor, when Captain Phillips appeared in full uniform on his quarterdeck. The ship’s company was drawn up on deck and Lieutenant Fitzhugh produced Corporal Henderson in the custody of a pair of burly master at arm’s mates.

Lieutenant Haynes read off the charges against the corporal. Drunk on duty and insolence to his officer. As required, Captain Phillips read off the articles of war, especially those concerning the prisoner.

When he asked Henderson if he had anything to say for himself, Henderson remained mute. None of his fellow Marines had anything to say for him, either.

Phillips announced, “This would seem to be an easy case to pass judgment upon. Normally, I would reduce this man to the ranks, and set him to some sort of extra duty in addition to his normal work. In this case however, I will make an exception. It seems to me drink is the culprit here. Therefore, I am going to deprive this man of drink until such time as he can demonstrate his ability to control himself.”

“For the time being, he will remain a Corporal of the Royal Marines, and will be treated as such. However, he will no longer receive his ration of grog and any man, seaman or Marine, who supplies him with rum shall receive a similar sentence. Corporal Henderson, following these proceedings, you will report to me in my quarters.”