by Griff Hosker
“I was worried at first but once we got started it was fine. A real change eh sir?”
“How do you mean?”
“Well sir, when you first saw me in the inn I was like a frightened little rabbit; I was scared of my own shadow. I’d like to thank you sir. You have made me a different person.”
“No Alan, I have just helped you become the man you were meant to be. We all have different roads to take. Yours just took a little longer to reach your destination.” I reflected that but for Jean, Albert and Pierre I might have taken a different direction too. Everyone who touched us affected us in some way. I suppose that was why I was the officer I was. I knew that even a casual word from me could have a profound effect on someone else. I had learned to choose my words carefully.
The sentry at the camp entrance snapped his heels together smartly and smiled at me. “You had us all worried again sir. The General will be glad to see you.”
The General was in his tent and I was ushered in immediately. He gestured to a seat and poured me a glass of brandy. I told him of the events of the past few days. He shook his head, “A total disaster. Couldn’t have gone any worse.” He looked up as though suddenly aware of the implied criticism. “Not you, of course. If you hadn’t sent the message then we wouldn’t have got those troops off. They might not be much use but at least we have a couple of thousand men to begin to build an army.” He leaned back. “I had been ready to take my men over but now…”
I nodded, “The pass and town could have been held but General de Damas made the mistake of assuming that the French would be put off by mountains.” I drank some of the brandy. It burned as it went down. I was not used to spirits. “May I speak frankly sir?”
“Of course.”
“The Neapolitans are brave lads. I gathered some of their cavalry on the retreat and they fought as well as my lads. The problem is that they don’t seem to have any training. They are all for show. They have dirty muskets and they can barely fire two rounds a minute. If you want my suggestion get the king to agree to let some of our sergeants drill and train their men.”
“That is a good idea. We will not be getting any reinforcements soon. This is a forgotten war. England is not being threatened from here and the politicians are trying to save money, as they always do.” He suddenly seemed to notice my appearance. “You look tired. Get back to your camp and take a day or so off. It will take me time to come up with a plan for his majesty. If you could write a report then I can send it to England.” He stood as I did.
“You will have it by evening sir.”
He leaned across and shook my hand. “By the way thank you for Sergeant Seymour. He translated quite well. I have Lieutenant Stuart learning the language now.” He shook his head, “It is about time he started earning his pay over here.” He smiled, “I have even learned a couple of words too. It’s funny; they seem to think it is a good thing. They are strange these foreigners.”
As I rode back to the camp I wondered what he would say if he knew that I was a foreigner.
We spent the next two days in camp. The horses needed recovery as did the men and I had reports to write. I also had mail. There was a letter from Colonel Selkirk. It had some misinformation for me to use in my next report for Bessières. I had almost forgotten that I was still working for the enemy. I used the time given to me by the General to encode my second report.
I was summoned, three days after my return, to Messina. I took the opportunity of visiting the port. I found Captain Dinsdale’s ship in port but he was not on board; he was at the estate. I left a message with the deck watch that I would return to see him in the evening.
General Stuart had convened a meeting with the senior officers. Along with Captain Sillery I was the most junior there but, ironically, the only one who had fought the French or had any experience of Calabria. Lieutenant Stuart was at his side with pen and paper, taking notes and there was a map on the wall.
The General stood and smiled, “Could I mention, before we start, the sterling service performed again by Captain Matthews. His action was the only positive point in the whole debacle of the recent retreat.”
There was a rumble of approval and smiles from the other officers. Captain Sillery patted my back and said, “Well done. Next time I shall come with you!”
“Now I have been asked by both Horse Guards and the King of Naples to begin to plan for a return to Calabria. Gentlemen we are not ready yet. We need more information about the terrain and the disposition of the enemy. Captain Matthews has suggested that we use our sergeants to train up the Neapolitan soldiers who fled Italy. There are now three thousand of them. I think that this is a good idea. I would like one sergeant from each of the three branches to be sent to me tomorrow. They will be detached for a month.” I heard a murmur run around the others. The General held up his hand. “That should tell you that I do not intend to do anything for at least a month.” I sensed the frustration around the room. The rest of the force had been cooling its heels for months now and they had another month to try to occupy their soldiers.
There was a hubbub of noise and the General rapped the map irritably with his hand. “Gentlemen!” Quiet descended. “Captain Matthews, would you be so good as to come here and point out the route you took when you retreated and give us your views on the terrain. Yours are the only eyes which have seen the land and we would all value you your opinion.”
I walked to the front and stood next to the map. “This is a land filled with tiny valleys and high mountains. Unless you have mountain guns of good horse artillery it will take you forever to get anywhere. It takes forever to get from one place to another. Reggio is a handy port for Messina but not for anything else.” I pointed to a spot some hundred miles north and close to the narrow part of the country. Here is a better base for operations, the Gulf of Sant'Eufemia. The lower part of Calabria; the toe can be cut off…”
Before I could go any further a marine lieutenant burst in, “Sir, the admiral sent me. It is urgent.”
I could see that Sir John was irritated but he waved at the man, “Go on then. Tell me.”
“Sir, the French have occupied Reggio!”
Every eye swivelled towards me as though I was some sort of fortune teller. Sir John said, “Thank you lieutenant. You are dismissed.”
“Well gentlemen that makes things interesting. At least we know where we stand now; alone. Carry on with your assessment Captain Matthews.”
“The French are still besieging a city in the north of the country, Gaeta, and they have limited men available to control Calabria. They will be spread out thinly. There is a plain here. We saw it when we escorted the Queen south. It makes movement easier and then the narrow passes around the plain,” I pointed with my finger at each one, “give us the option of moving in many directions and keeps the French guessing where we are.”
I quickly sat down before I could be asked any further questions. Colonel Kempt stood, “An excellent assessment.” He strode to the map and jabbed a large finger at the plain. “What we need is more intelligence about the French here. Since the captain rode through, the French may have fortified the area. We cannot land where French soldiers are dug in. Can’t be done!”
“Perhaps we could send in a frigate?” Colonel Cole obviously felt he ought to make a contribution.
Sir John shook his head, “It would only be able to report on the coast and we need to know what sort of defences they have inland. No, we need eyes on the ground.”
It was uncanny. Every face turned towards me.
Sir John smiled, “I think there is only one person for this task. How many men would you need Captain Matthews?”
I sighed, “Just four, sir, including me.”
“Good. You have a month but I suspect it will not take you that long. We will send you in a frigate or some other small ship and land you at night. It will take me a day or so to arrange that. Should give you plenty of time to organise your troop eh?”
“Sir, with re
spect, a sloop or a brig would be better. Frigates tend to be high profile and the Navy never has enough of them. The boat which drops us would need to come back regularly at particular times in case we need picking up.” Sir John’s face was blank. “Sir, they have Reggio and I would need to return to Sicily.”
The penny dropped, “Quite. I can see we have the right man for the job. You have thought this through well and quickly too.” I did not tell him that I had done this sort of thing before and knew the pitfalls and problems that might present themselves.
“And it might be better if we did not travel in uniform.”
“A little risky, Captain Matthews. If you are captured you will be shot as a spy.”
“As opposed to being kept prisoner by a half starved army. I think we will take our chances in civilian clothes.”
“So you will be asking for volunteers?”
“That is the way I work, sir.”
“Extraordinary.” He shook his head. “Well, you do as you think best and I will try to get you a sloop.”
Riding back I mentioned our mission to Sharp. “Well you have one volunteer sir, me.”
“Are you sure, Alan?”
He laughed, “The first time we did this sort of thing I was petrified but the more times we do it the more confident I get. You’ll need to have two more men who can speak a bit of Italian.”
“That will restrict the number of potential volunteers.”
In the end it didn’t. I had twenty men who all swore that they could speak Italian if not like a native then as near as made no difference. Sergeant Seymour was very keen but I pointed out that he would have to train up the Neapolitan cavalry. He looked like he might argue, “Listen sergeant, the very qualifications you say you have for this mission are exactly the ones I need for the Neapolitan cavalry. Sergeant Grant’s Italian isn’t good enough yet and so it has to be you.”
I also chose Troopers Rae and Cartwright. Trooper Rae’s wound had healed and they had both shown themselves to be level headed. I rode to my cousin Cesar’s house and took some of my old clothes. He found some others for my three men. I handed him the report for Colonel Selkirk and asked it Matthew Dinsdale could drop it in at one of the three ports.
He smiled, “That will not be a problem. He has found a ready market for our goods in those ports. He just has to avoid the customs officials. This Continental blockade works in our favour.” He took the letter and placed it in his locked chest. “What will you do for horses Roberto?”
“I don’t know yet.”
He took a piece of paper and a pen. He began to draw a simple map. “The place you are landing is roughly here?” I nodded. “Then about two or three miles inland, on a small ridge is the village of Maida. One of my old friends and business associates lives there. He has a villa overlooking the town.” He handed me his spare signet ring, the one formerly worn by Sir John. “I should have given you this before; you are joint heir. Show this to Vincente and he might be able to get you some horses.” He smiled, “You may have to pay….”
“Don’t worry I have funds.”
“You should not be using your own money.”
I laughed, “It isn’t!”
Two days later I was summoned to Sir John Stuart’s headquarters. “We have a sloop for you, the Heron. She is captained by a young lieutenant who seems keen for action; name of Hill. I believe he is related to General Rowland Hill although why he should join the navy is beyond me. You have him for three weeks. He is waiting for you right now in Messina harbour. I could not manage to persuade the Royal Navy to let me have it for longer. It seems they are in great demand. I only managed to get it for three weeks when I said it was for you. You have made somewhat of an impression on the admiral.” He handed me a bag of silver coins. “You may need to cover some expenses over there. Try to keep an account eh?”
As I headed back to Giuseppe’s farm I could not help contrasting the two systems. Bessières gave you a generous amount of money to get the job done while the British gave you pennies and expected you to account for each one. If we ever defeated Napoleon it would be because of the calibre of the men and not the pay.
I was not worried about French spies watching us leave and reporting. They would have no idea where we were going. Our goodbyes were brief. There was nothing more to tell either Lieutenant Jackson or Sergeant Grant. I left my Austrian sword in my tent and took a French one we had captured. I also took two French pistols. We rode to the harbour escorted by the four men who would return with our horses. Corporal Richardson led them. “Make sure Badger eats well and gets plenty of exercise.”
“Don’t you worry, Captain Matthews. He is a pleasure to look after. I envy you. He is the best horse in the regiment” That was the biggest compliment he could pay.
Lieutenant Hill must have been watching for our arrival. He waved us on board. “You must be Captain Matthews?”
“Yes Lieutenant and you must be Hill.”
“Let’s get you below and we can cast off.” He looked at our uniforms. “Are you going ashore dressed like that?”
I laughed. “No, we will change once we are under way.”
I had almost forgotten how small sloops and brigs were. We were given the Lieutenant’s cabin, the largest on the boat and we still had to take it in turns to change. Sicily was a dot on the horizon when we reached the deck. The First Mate was steering. He was an ancient sailor who looked old enough to be my grandfather. His features looked to have been chiselled out of oak. The Lieutenant, by contrast, made Lieutenant Jackson look old.
He grinned when he saw me appraising him. “Don’t worry sir. I am old enough! I just look young.”
“Sorry Mr Hill; that was rude of me.”
“Not at all. I get it all the time.”
“Someone told me that your father is a famous general.”
“He is, Daddy Hill.”
“Then why the Navy?”
“If I had joined the army I would never have known if I was treated well or badly because of my father. The Navy is different. I am viewed as a sailor and judged accordingly. Is your father in the army?”
“My father never served in the British Army or the Royal Navy. I am the first.”
“Then you have done well to achieve so much without a sponsor.” I kept silent; Colonel Selkirk was my secret. “Tell me is it true that you rescued the Queen of Naples and had to fight through a French Division?”
I laughed, “Don’t believe everything you hear. I did rescue the Queen but there was only one squadron of French Cavalry chasing us.”
“Still… exciting eh?”
“You could say that. Now let’s get down to details. You know that you will need to return to the place you dropped us?”
“Yes sir but they didn’t say how often.”
“Every three days should be sufficient. If you come after dark we will try to be on the beach at midnight. We will signal with a lamp. We will flash the light three times with a pause between, three times.”
“Nine flashes?”
“That’s right. We will count to a hundred and repeat. If you are there then just flash three times. We will see it. Do not wait more than an hour. If an enemy ship comes and you are in danger then flee.”
“Don’t you worry Captain, since Trafalgar the French had nothing bigger than a rowboat south of Toulon. That is why Sicily is as safe as the Isle of Wight at the moment.”
“Good, then everything is in order. You can store our uniforms for us until we return.”
He looked a little embarrassed, “Er, what if you haven’t returned after three weeks?”
I saw the First Mate watching and listening. I said, flatly, “Then we will either be dead or captured and in these clothes that amounts to the same thing.”
“Oh. And I thought that this was going to be an exciting adventure.”
“It will be. It is just that there is a great deal of risk involved. How long will it take us to get there?”
“We are a fast l
ittle boat. We could be there by nightfall. If not we will wait offshore.” He pointed to the masthead pennant. “The wind is with us. Bigger ships would take a couple of days and a convoy, three days. I will try to get you there as soon as possible.”
I nodded. I was glad that I had asked for a sloop now. “We will go below, if you don’t mind and I will consult our map. We all need to memorise it.”
The four of us stood in the cramped captain’s cabin. “The map stays on board the ship. You need to memorise it. We will have to remember what we see and, when we return, we will add to this map with any details.” I explained the signalling system. “If anything untoward happens to me then Sergeant Sharp is in charge and I want the three of you to get back with the crucial information.” They looked dubious. “That is an order! This mission is more important than any one man.”
I took out the bag of coins given to me by the general and I divided it up between the three of them. “Here are some Italian and French coins. Use them if you need to. While we are together I will pay for any necessities but we may be separated.” I looked at them all in turn. “You have been chosen for your linguistic abilities but, more importantly for your ability to think for yourself and not panic. They will be vital over the next week or so.”
When we were changed I checked the weapons we would have. I made sure they each had a couple of knives as well as a short sword. We had no holsters in the civilian get up but we each jammed one in our belts. We looked more like pirates than soldiers.
We spent the next couple of hours poring over the map. I felt happy that I could draw it again from memory. “Now we will head for this Maida place and try to find a villa and someone called Vicente. He may be able to help us. If not then we will be walking.”
I heard the call of ‘Land Ho’. “Well lads let’s go on deck. We are here.”
The air was wafting warm breezes from the shore and the land was in darkness. As we stepped on to the deck I saw the setting sun behind us. I turned to see the last rays touching the beach of the deserted Gulf of Sant'Eufemia. Once again we were stepping into the lion’s den. This time, however, we were without the protection of a uniform. I hoped I was doing the right thing.