HMS Aphrodite (Sea Command Book 1) (2 page)

The convoy Havoc was to join, had already left. The dozen merchant ships filled with provisions and other supplies for the Mediterranean Fleet were already out in the Channel, under escort by the third-rate 74 gun liner, HMS Pontus, assisted by HMS Belligerent, a frigate of 28 guns.

Sir Roger Morris, a very senior post captain, commanded the line-of-battle ship. Not the most patient of commanders, Morris had been irritated when he learned Havoc had not yet made her appearance at the Nore when he was ready to leave. Feeling that his liner along with the frigate were more than enough protection for the merchants, he gave the order to sail.

Both escort and convoy had their difficulties as they worked their way out to sea. The merchants had the very minimum of crew aboard, for reasons of economy. It was difficult for the individual ship masters to immediately obey ship-handling and course corrections from the escort commander with the few men available.

HMS Pontus had just returned from the Caribbean where she had picked up a remarkable weed growth on her bottom. Originally scheduled to be breamed, with her bottom cleared of marine growth and new copper applied, she was instead turned around and ordered sent to the Med, where this cleaning might be done at a more convenient time.

With her old crew having been scattered to other ships, her captain was forced to sail with new hands, a large percentage of them landsmen, with not the slightest knowledge of seamanship. Now in the channel, half his crew was prostrate with seasickness, while the others were being berated by bosun’s mates for their ignorance of their duties.

HMS Belligerent was in a better state, with a competent crew and a clean bottom. She was still not a fast ship however, and her captain did not believe in frequent gunnery practice. Wishing to keep his white decks pristine, he avoided firing his guns so as to avoid the scarring that would result.

Passing Land’s End and approaching the Scilly Isles, a masthead lookout in Belligerent was the first to notice their pursuers. Two ships and a schooner, probably out of Brest, were coming up behind them. The ships were small, probably British sloops of war or French corvettes. With nothing like the schooner in British service though, most probably these were French national ships or privateers. Sighted, at first light, barely hull up, it would be a while before they could interfere with the convoy.

Sir Roger, in Pontus though, was beginning to regret sailing without a larger escort. The missing brig, of course was of no consequence. She was much too small to influence any action. It was just that she could have acted as a shepherd, keeping the convoy in order, while the big ships handled the enemy.

Following on the same course, Havoc was far behind. Mullins was not at all unhappy to have been left behind. He would obey orders, of course, and report to the Governor in Gibraltar for further instructions. At least he would not need to harry recalcitrant merchant captains for the entire voyage.

Soon after dawn, with Havoc sailing close to the French coastline, in the hope of finding a fat French merchant vessel, the lookout spotted a pair of corvettes coming from the direction of Brest. Two corvettes at once were more than Mullins wished to face, so he changed course to the north. The corvettes followed him in a desultory manner for a bit, then sheered off as they approached Plymouth.

A schooner, coming up from the south, then joined up with the corvettes. When the trio steered westerly, Havoc followed. Mullins had the idea he might be able to get a chance at the schooner, if the cards fell his way.

Well into the afternoon watch, Havoc’s captain listened to the blandishments of his steward and went to his cabin for his dinner. He invited Mister Lassiter to lunch with him and the deck was left in the hands of Master’s Mate Waters. After a leisurely meal, during which a pair of claret bottles were emptied, the officers went out on deck.

Mullins was startled when he saw how close they were to the enemy. All three vessels were French of course, all flying the tri-color. Their details were clearly visible through his glass, and he saw one corvette was pierced for twenty-two guns, while the other carried twenty-four. The schooner, farther out on the flank seemed to have ten small guns.

Turning to Waters, Mullins asked him sharply why they were so close to the enemy. Waters replied, “Captain, I think they are chasing something. I sent Mister Wallace to the masthead with a glass and he thinks he saw tops’ls on the horizon ahead of the corvettes.”

“Very well, Mister Waters, I expect you did right. Do not close any farther though until we see what we have ahead of us. If the enemy has a convoy in sight, perhaps we may join its escort and have a bash at them.”

Wallace was sent back up to the masthead and he soon called down that numerous ships were ahead, coming hull up. His next announcement was that one of them was a third-rate. As the situation became clearer, Mullins became certain this was their own convoy. As such, he felt it his duty to give it what assistance he could.

Closing now upon the convoy, the trio of pursuers separated, with the corvettes swinging out to either flank, while the schooner went for the rear-most ship, a slow, fat merchantman carrying salt beef and biscuit to the Mediterranean Fleet.

When Havoc ran up her commission pennant and her Union, a sigh of relief could almost be heard aboard HMS Pontus from her captain. When the trailing brig had first been sighted, it had been taken for another Frenchman. Of course, by herself, Pontus was more than a match for all of the enemy at once. None of them, singly or together, could do the battleship any harm.

But, it would be very difficult for her and her consort to protect each individual member of the flock. The brig coming up from behind, was too small to influence the coming action, but she might help to save one or two of the merchants.

Mullins had hoped the schooner might abandon her pursuit of the convoy to make a try at his brig, but the enemy would not be influenced. She remained on course right on the merchant’s stern. As Havoc closed though, the corvette coming up on the convoy’s starboard flank abandoned her pursuit when the convoy veered to port.

Deciding the little brig coming up behind would make a profitable prize, she hauled her wind to allow Havoc to close. Mullins would much rather have been somewhere else at this moment. The corvette lay there, broadside to, awaiting him. He knew she was probably armed with long eight-pounders, which greatly outranged his broadside carronades. Granted, he did have his long-twenty fours, but his gun crews were not yet well worked up, and should his first two shots miss, then, where would he be?

It may have been the corvette’s captain might have the same doubts as Mullins. After all, she had very recently left port and her crew also may have had little training. She did not fire, instead allowing Havoc to approach. Lying broadside to her enemy, she seemingly was in command of the coming action. Her captain might have imagined the brig would likely only have four or six-pounder guns up forward.

The corvette ‘Jeune Fille’, had eleven of the eight-pounder guns on her broadside and she was positioned to deliver those balls right down the throat of her foe. The captain of that corvette was a former seaman who had found himself an officer after the recent ravages of the Terror had almost eliminated the old professional officer class.

Citoyen Pierre Dupret, while a decent seaman, had very little knowledge of his guns and gave the command to fire prematurely. The result was somewhat less than spectacular. Two guns failed to fire, while one that did ejected a cloud of brownish smoke which indicated a problem with the powder. The ball from that gun did little more than clear the muzzle before dropping into the sea. The other eight erupted satisfactorily, but only one ball struck Havoc.

That ball impacted high on Havoc’s starboard bow, narrowly missing the big long gun ready for use there. Mullins watched the action on the Frenchman’s deck closely through his glass. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of confusion as her crew attempted to clear the misfired guns and make the others ready.

Continuing his approach as long as he dared, he finally ordered his 24’s to fire then came about to present his broadside to the enemy. One of the twenty-four’s connected solidly with the hull of the corvette and then it was the turn of the eighteen-pounder carronades.

In order for the small brig to stand the shock of firing these big guns, the carronades used small charges of powder to propel the projectiles at reduced velocity. This actually was advantageous since the low velocity balls generated quantities of splinters when striking the wooden target ship.

While only half of the balls did serious structural damage to the enemy, all produced clouds of splinters that were deadly to the crew. This first broadside the enemy received was so devastating that the corvette was unable to respond immediately.

Havoc’s carronades were much faster to reload than the enemy’s long guns, and the second broadside went out before the corvette could respond. This was enough. The quarterdeck officers were cut down and someone cut the halyard to the tricolor.

As Mullins stood there, trying to remember what he must do to take command of the prize, he noticed someone pointing and here was HMS Pontus, thrusting her way through the scattering convoy, with her guns run out, and signal flags streaming. Sir Roger immediately took charge, sending a prize crew aboard the corvette, while HMS Belligerent fended off the other corvette. The enemy schooner had apparently decided she was too small to play with these big boys and had set course for Brest.

Mullins was hearing some derogatory comments from near-by crew members concerning Sir Roger’s actions. There was suspicion he was attempting to take their prize for himself. To quell the unease, he gave a little speech from the quarterdeck, explaining how the Royal Navy handled prize money.

He informed his crew that all Royal Navy ships in sight would share in the prize, no matter whether they had taken part in the action or not. In this case, both Pontus and Belligerent had been in sight and would surely share.  He told his people they might as well let these ship share in the work since they would share in the proceeds. Mullins called for his boat crew and was pulled over to the prize, where he met with Sir Roger on its quarterdeck.

The liner captain was gracious to Mullins and apologized for taking over his triumph. “This is your prize, young man. This is my first action since the American War years ago and I just could not help intruding. Why do you not send over your prize-master. I know you have few men to spare, so I will leave some of my boat crew here to assist your men. I will make a most favorable report on your behalf when we get to Gibraltar.”

Havoc fired off her salute to Sir John Jervis’ ship, HMS Victory, when she joined the Mediterranean Fleet off Toulon. Mister Wallace read off the flag’s signal to them and turned to his captain.

“Sir, Flag signals, ‘Take station astern, captain to repair onboard.’”

Expecting this, Mullin’s cox’n had already brought up the boat towing behind, and the boat crew were dressed in their finest, so as to make a good impression on the flag’s crew.

Mullins turned the brig over to the first officer and went down the battens into the boat, careful to avoid being tripped up by his sword.

Making the long climb up the tumble-home of the three-decker, he was given a brief nod by the flag captain and turned over to a junior lieutenant. Sir John was standing aft, by the taffrail, conversing with a portly post captain. Mullin’s escort diplomatically stopped well clear of the pair, but it was evident the conversation was not going well for the post captain. Jervis’ voice was not loud, but it was certainly penetrating, and the captain’s face was seen to be covered with sweat when he passed them on his way to his boat.

Mullin’s escort whispered to him forcefully, “Take your hat off when you report to Sir John. He becomes very irate with officers who only touch their hats in salute.”

Before reaching the admiral, Mullins put his hat under his left arm and approached Sir John with the sail-cloth packet of documents he had brought from Gibraltar. Jervis greeted him cordially and handed the package to a servant who appeared at his side. Other servants swiftly brought a small desk and some folding chairs.

While waiting for the package to be opened, wine and glasses were brought to the table. Admiral Jervis complemented Mullins on the appearance of his brig, before glancing through some of the papers.

Knowing better than to speak before be spoken to, Mullins sat quietly sipping a very nice Marsala while Jervis read. Finally, Sir John handed the papers to his servant and addressed Mullins.

“I believe I know your father young man. Lords isn’t he?”

“Yes he is Sir John.”

“It appears to me that you are very young to have a commission as well as a command. Did your father have anything to do with that?”

“Sir, I expect he did, although I certainly did not ask him for help.”

“Young man, you will understand I have little use for promotion due to family influence. The only reason I am not relieving you of command of your brig is I have just read through the report Captain Morris sent concerning your capture of a twenty-two gun French National corvette. He assures me, you sailed right at her, suffering a raking broadside, then turning to and giving her yours in return. He informs me that, while you may be a bit impetuous, no one witnessing that action, could ever doubt your courage.”

“Now, will you tell me about the action?”

Mullins went over the battle, shot by shot for the admiral. When finished, Jervis wondered, “Was that not a bit foolhardy, approaching the beam of an enemy ship armed with twice as many guns as yourself?”

“Sir, I felt it my duty to assist the other members of the convoy escort as best I could. I suspected the corvette had just left Brest and perhaps was not well worked up yet. I thought her gunnery practice might be deficient. I hoped to test out her capabilities by approaching and seeing what she could make of the opportunity. I knew if I could get within the effective range of my carronades, I could teach her a lesson.”

“You did indeed, Captain Mullins. It is too bad you handled her so roughly. I can always use another sloop of war. But, she had to be patched before being sent back home, all pumps working. I expect it will be months before we see her again. Tell me, did the other escorts assist you in any manner?”

“Sir John, the situation was, there were two other escorts, Captain Morris had the Pontus, while Captain Harris commanded HMS Belligerent. There were the pair of corvettes as well as a ten-gun schooner on the French side. The other escorts were fully occupied fending off the schooner and the other corvette, both being very nimble. Pontus came up to us as my opponent hauled down her flag. In fact, that is probably the reason she surrendered in such a precipitous manner.”

“Captain Mullins, Captain Morris did not see the action in quite that light. He reports you savaged your opponent, superior in men and number of guns, in such a manner that a full half of her crew were casualties. What was your butcher’s bill?”

“Sir John, I lost two men killed with another three wounded. My surgeon tells me one of these will not likely survive.”

Admiral Jervis nodded. “Captain Mullins, at this point I am well satisfied with you. In fact, had you brought me this French corvette in seaworthy condition, my benevolent nature might well have raised you to commander and placed you in command.”

“As it happens though, I really have more use for someone of your temperament in command of your brig.”

“For now, you will return to your command and have your people list all of your brig’s deficiencies. This list should be promptly transmitted to my flag captain who will see what may be done to satisfy your requirements. I will bid you good day now and allow you to return to your brig. Hopefully, the next time we meet, you will have further victories to discuss.”

Havoc was ordered to proceed to the current supply transport, which was towing behind HMS Caesar, an eighty-gun third rate. She was directed to send a boat to the transport, which returned laden with provisions, including a store of fresh lemons. When another transport arrived from North Africa a few days later, she received a pair of thin, undersized bullocks and a few sheep.

With her needs satisfied, a boat from HMS Victory delivered a packet of orders. He was to proceed to the Ligurian coast of Italy and do what he could to disrupt the French advance into that area. Following this activity, he should continue his cruise to interdict the French coast itself. Before departing, he was to report aboard Victory for possibly updated instructions.

Expecting another audience with Admiral Jervis, Mullins was exceedingly careful as to his dress. Reporting aboard Victory, however, he found Sir John was involved with a delegation from Livorno and unable to receive him. Captain Robert Calder, Victory’s flag captain, took him in hand and discussed the realities of the mission.

Mullins learned the British position in the Med was becoming tenuous, with Spain possibly coming into the war on the side of the French. Nevertheless, the Fleet was to do what was possible to slow the French advance into the Italian peninsula. Calder reminded him that half his mission consisted of the rapid reporting of French intelligence and dispositions.
It was extremely important that any intelligence must be promptly reported, even if that meant the foregoing of a promising
prize.

With no additional instructions, Havoc took her departure from the fleet and set course for the Ligurian coast.

Following the French coastline, well off-shore, Havoc met up with a small convoy, made up of various small craft and escorted by a privateer brig. Once Havoc showed her teeth, the privateer departed for safer waters, while the convoy itself began to scatter. Mullins ran down a tartane, riding low in the water and after some noisy confrontation, brought her to heel. Her cargo consisted of part of the supply train of an invading French army division and while not inherently valuable in itself, would prove most useful in the defense of the region.

By the time he had a prize crew aboard, the other members of the scattering convoy were well on their way to making an escape. It was not until well into the mid-watch when an alert deck lookout spotted the loom of a ship crossing her stern. The watch officer put the ship about and notified Captain Mullins.

The crash of a carronade brought the ship to heel and the ship ‘Directoire’ let fly her sheets and wallowed to a halt. Midshipman Wallace took a boat crew across and took command of the prize, but it was not until daylight that a thorough survey of their capture was made.

There was a welcome surprise. She was a large one, ship-rigged and low in the water. Immediately visible was her deck load of spars and mast sections. Down below though, she had a deadly cargo of gun powder, tons of the substance, in the small casks used for such materiel. Since this ship had a rather large crew to safeguard, as well as a small cargo of muskets and accoutrements in a forward compartment, Captain Mullins elected to escort the prize to the nearby port of Livorno.

The British consul there took matters in hand and assured Mullins the prize would be sent to Gibraltar with the next British warship or fleet sailing in that direction. Mullins, concerned about his crew’s lack of training at the guns, proposed to purchase, with his own funds, a quantity of the captured powder for use in training up the crew.

Normally, the captured powder would be sent to a British powder mill, where it would be re-manufactured to British specifications. The Royal Navy would never supply undocumented, captured powder to its warships, but if a ship’s captain wished to supplement his own ammunition with captured materiel, at his own expense, little would be said from official sources.

The purchase depleted Mullin’s store of guineas, but now the brig had a well-stocked magazine. The gunner’s mate and his crew were kept busy filling cartridges for practice. While the brig had been well stocked with ammunition for combat, only a trifling quantity was allowed for practice.

No sooner had Havoc left port when the crew was put to work assembling targets which they might bombard. Some of the captured powder casks, emptied now of their powder, were rolled over the side for this use.

Out at sea now, with a long line of casks bobbing in the sea behind her, Havoc put about and sailed down the line, addressing each cask. After a few days, her gunnery practice had greatly improved, loading speed halved and accuracy much better. Mullins finally had to call a halt to the practice. While she did still have plenty of the extra powder on board, she was forced to use the ball originally issued to her and these were becoming few. Somehow, Mullins would need to replace these, or at least find a way to account for their loss.

It was in this state she encountered a fleet of merchants sailing eastward toward Italy. This was another French supply fleet for the invasion of Liguria, but this was no privateer escort. Indeed, it was guarded by a twenty-eight gun frigate, rather old now, but a frigate for all that. This sole escort stood right out on the windward flank where she could come down upon any predator threatening her flock like an avenging angel.

Mullins considered it his mission to interfere with the shipping rather than run up scores with escort ships. Nevertheless, he was not quite certain how he wanted to accomplish this. Unlike many convoys he had encountered, this one was well spaced, with plenty of room for the frigate to dash through her charges to repel any attacker. He knew very well this one would fall upon him like a load of bricks, if he interfered with that convoy at all.

In doubt if he could accomplish anything against this convoy with just his lone brig, he nevertheless decided Admiral Jervis would at least expect him to make an attempt.

The wind was in the enemy’s favor, meaning he must work against the wind to close any ship in the convoy. Sure that he was making a major mistake, Mullins gave his orders and Havoc closed the convoy. There was confusion among the closer merchants, with each ship’s master attempting to escape this ravening predator.

. Clouds of smoke drifted away in Havoc’s lee as the brig closed on the convoy, her guns pounding the nearby merchants. Every gun captain had been warned to fire at any enemy ship within range that his gun bore on. As Mullins was about to give the order to go about, thinking he might just survive this impetuous foray, two merchants on his starboard beam separated and there was the frigate, all sail set, coming right at him.

Her commander obviously intended to close to pistol shot range, come around on his beam, and deliver a devastating broadside, which would likely finish the little brig. Havoc’s men, already jubilant with their success so far, did not hesitate. Having been ordered to fire at any ship within range, they did just that. The starboard twenty-four pounder in the bow was the first to fire.

The heavy ball struck the frigate’s forward hull, low, doing troublesome damage. An eye-blink later, the eighteen-pounder carronades on her beam began firing into her. At the first shot, the frigate attempted to come about, but it was too late. She was savagely bow-raked as the impacting balls struck her about the bow, the balls then ranging aft, destroying anything they came in contact with.

One ball took out her helm, and for the moment she was helpless. The guns were ordered to change to grape or case shot and the carnage kept mounting. A blast of grape took out many of the shrouds and the forestay of her foremast.

A big eighteen-pounder ball had made a big notch in that foremast in the last exchange, and now, with the supporting shrouds and forestay severed, the fore came crashing down.

The enemy guns were still thundering away, although slowly now that so many of her crew were casualties. The frigate drifting helplessly now, Havoc made her way around to her quarter where none of her guns could reach her. She sat there, her guns silent, while she waited to see what the enemy commander wished to do.

In Mullin’s eye, surrender was the only possible option, but the frigate captain did not view it that way. Only fathoms away from the crippled warship, Havoc’s crew could see a party of seamen hauling a nine-pounder gun to an empty port. Mullins waited as long as he felt he possibly could, but then ordered a sections of carronades to fire on the enemy quarterdeck. The ensuing blast eliminated all on that quarterdeck, including the captain and the crew of the gun.