by V. A. Stuart
It was brief, telling him only that Admiral Lyons was about to leave for Balaclava in order to attend a conference at Lord Raglan’s Headquarters on the Upland, with both the British and French military Commanders-in-Chief. The receipt of his report was acknowledged and Cleeve assured him that it had been placed in the Admiral’s hands.
“The Admiral wishes you to attend him immediately on his return to this anchorage,” the letter ended formally, but Lieutenant Cleeve had added a postscript, signed with his own initials, which read: “Welcome back! We had feared you lost. Your Huntress is at Eupatoria, in case you have been looking for her in vain, and the Banshee will be proceeding to that port within the next two days, with despatches for Captain Hastings.”
The following evening, Phillip was summoned aboard the Agamemnon and Sir Edmund Lyons received him with gratifying warmth.
“My dear Phillip, I cannot tell you with what pleasure and relief I welcome you back from the dead! Yours was a loss I could ill have sustained, believe me, my dear boy. And this”— the Admiral’s tired blue eyes lit up, as he gestured to the report, lying open on his desk—“this report of yours came in the nick of time. I was able, with its aid, to convince even General Canrobert that a second naval bombardment of the port of Odessa would be a waste of powder and shot, while serving no useful purpose in the prosecution of the war with Russia.”
“I am glad of that, sir,” Phillip answered, all his fears concerning the delay set at rest.
The Admiral smiled at him. “And so, I assure you, my boy, am I! My proposal for a spring offensive against the enemy’s lines of communication in the Sea of Azoff has been put forward by Admiral Bruat and myself. We propose its occupation by a flotilla of vessels under our joint command and we have requested military co-operation, to the extent of twelve thousand men, for a limited period of, perhaps ten days or a fortnight. We have even set a date, early in May, for the expedition to sail … and General Canrobert has promised to give the matter his careful consideration. I fancy he will have to agree, now that we have—thanks to your most comprehensive report—robbed him of Odessa as a possible alternative.” He talked on with enthusiasm, despite his evident weariness, of his plans for the spring offensive and then said, with a swift change of mood, “We expect another attack on Eupatoria, Phillip. Your Huntress is there and I shall send the Lynx and the Arrow and possibly also the Curlew and Dauntless, to reinforce Captain Hastings’ squadron, if necessary.”
“May I be permitted to rejoin my ship at once, sir?” Phillip asked anxiously.
“Of course, my dear boy. Your passage shall be arranged aboard the first ship to leave this anchorage,” the Commanderin-Chief agreed readily. “And touching on the matter of your First Lieutenant … you requested his replacement some time ago, didn’t you?”
Phillip reddened. This was the question he had been dreading, yet had known that he would be called upon to answer. He had dealt with Quinn’s part in his capture very ambiguously in his report, aware that—whatever accusations he might make—he had no proof and had made up his mind, resignedly, that he would deal with the man himself when he resumed command of the Huntress, in the best way he could. But now, it seemed, the Admiral was offering to replace him and he hesitated, aware that he could not let Ambrose Quinn go to any other ship with a clean sheet. “Sir,” he began, “I regret to say, sir, that Lieutenant Quinn is—”
Quietly, the Admiral cut him short. “Lieutenant Quinn is, at this moment, under arrest and awaiting court martial on two very grave charges, Phillip.”
Phillip expelled his breath in an astonished gasp. “Two charges, sir?”
“One of causing the death of your predecessor as Captain of the Huntress, Commander Francis Willoughby, and of giving false evidence at the court of inquiry into his death,” Admiral Lyons told him distastefully. “And the other of mast-heading a cadet of yours, whose name eludes me, but Frederick Cleeve can give you chapter and verse. I understand that Surgeon Fraser of the Trojan, who attended the lad, was a witness to his fall and that both he and the cadet will give evidence on this second charge. The other witnesses are two seamen, who deserted the ship in Constantinople and claim …” The Admiral sighed. “It’s not a pleasant story, Phillip, and as I said, Frederick can give you the sordid details. But it would appear that when the two deserters were picked up, they claimed to have jumped ship because of threats made against them by your erstwhile First Lieutenant, which put them in fear of their lives. Both say that they were on deck when Francis Willoughby was supposedly washed overboard— or fell overboard—whilst in a state of insobriety and both state that the unfortunate fellow was perfectly sober. The charge they are to bring against Lieutenant Quinn is a capital one and it seems that the cadet—ah, yes, I recall his name now—Cadet Lightfoot is to support their testimony. He, too, witnessed the unhappy incident but was afraid to say so, until now. It’s a bad business, Phillip, a thoroughly bad business, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed, sir,” Phillip agreed with restraint.
The Admiral laid a hand on his shoulder. “You are a good judge of character, my boy. If my memory serves me aright, you requested a replacement for Mr Quinn over two months ago. Well”—he smiled—“I’ve granted your request. You have a new First Lieutenant, who is temporarily in command of the Huntress and I fancy the appointment will please you.”
“I’m most grateful, sir. May I ask his name?”
“It is the same as your own, my dear Phillip—Hazard.” The Admiral chuckled. “Contrary, I must confess, to my expectations—though not to my hopes—Their Lordships have graciously restored your brother’s commission to him, his senority to date from when he rejoined the Service. Well … does that please you?”
“Nothing in the world could please me more, sir,” Phillip assured him. “Permit me to thank you, sir, on my brother’s behalf and my own. I feel sure that your recommendation must have influenced Their Lordships’ decision and—”
Again Admiral Lyons cut him short. “You have both deserved well of me, Phillip—you most of all. After reading between the lines of your report on Odessa’s defenses, I have some notion of what it cost you to compile. But I’m not going to ask you how you contrived to make so thorough an inspection, nor shall I expect to be told how you prevailed upon the enemy to release you. Like the orders I gave you, it shall remain a confidential matter, of which no official mention can ever be made. Before I let you go, however, there is one question I feel bound to ask you. Have you any charge or charges to bring against Lieutenant Quinn at his trial?”
Phillip hesitated only for an instant. “No, sir,” he answered quietly. “None that, in the circumstances, I could substantiate, sir.”
“The mills of God grind slowly …” Sir Edmund Lyons quoted. “But in Mr Quinn’s case, I fancy they will grind exceeding small.” He held out his hand. “You may rejoin your command, Phillip. Good night and God go with you!”
Phillip drew himself to attention. “Aye, aye, sir,” he acknowledged and added softly, “And God go with you too, sir.”
BOOKS CONSULTED
ON THE CRIMEAN WAR
GENERAL
History of the War Against Russia, E. H. Nolan (2 vols.,1857)
History of the War With Russia, H. Tyrell (3 vols., 1857)
The Campaign in the Crimea, G. Brackenbury, illustrated W. Simpson (1856)
The War in the Crimea, General Sir Edward Hamley (1891)
Letters from India and the Crimea, Surgeon-General J.A. Bostock (1896)
Letters from Headquarters, by a Staff Officer (1856)
The Crimea in 1854 and 1894, Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood (1895)
The Destruction of Lord Raglan, Christopher Hibbert (1961)
Battles of the Crimean War, W. Baring Pemberton (1962)
The Reason Why, Cecil Woodham Smith (1953)
Crimean Blunder, Peter Gibbs (1960)
The Campaign in the Crimea, 1854–6: Despatches and Papers, compiled and arranged by Captain Sayer (18
57)
Letters from Camp During the Siege of Sebastopol, Lt.-Colonel C.G. Campbell (1894)
The Invasion of the Crimea, A.W. Kingslake (1863)
With the Guards We Shall Go, Mabel, Countess of Airlie (1933)
Britain’s Roll of Glory, D. H. Parry (1895)
Henry Clifford, V.C., General Sir Bernard Paget (1956)
BIOGRAPHIES
The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde, Lt.-General L. Shadwell, C.B. (2 vols., 1881)
A Life of Vice-Admiral Lord Lyons, Captain S. Eardley-Wilmot, R.N. (1898)
NAVAL
The Russian War, 1854 (Baltic and Black Sea), D. Bonner-Smith and Captain A.C. Dewar, R.N. (1944)
Letters from the Black Sea, Admiral Sir Leopold Heath (1897)
A Sailor’s Life Under Four Sovereigns, Admiral of the Fleet the Hon. Sir Henry Keppel, G.C.B., O.M. (3 Vols., 1899)
From Midshipman to Field-Marshal, Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C. (2 vols., 1906)
Letters from the Fleet in the Fifties, Mrs Tom Kelly (1902)
The British Fleet in the Black Sea, Maj.-General W. Brereton (1856)
Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, Sir G. Gifford (1892)
The Navy as I have known it, Vice-Admiral W. Freemantle (1899)
A Middy’s Recollections, The Hon. Victor Montagu (1898)
Medicine and the Navy, Lloyd and Coulter (Vol. IV, 1963)
The Price of Admiralty, Stanley Barret, Hale (1968)
The Wooden Fighting Ship, E.H.H. Archibald, Blandford (1968)
Seamanship Manual, Captain Sir George S. Naes, K.C.B., R.N., Griffin (1886)
The Navy of Britain, England’s Sea Officers, and A Social History of the Navy, Michael Lewis, Allen & Unwin (1939–60)
The Navy in Transition, Michael Lewis, Hodder & Stoughton (1965)
Files of The Illustrated London News and Mariner’s Mirror
Unpublished Letters and Diaries
The author acknowledges, with gratitude, the assistance given by the Staff of the York City Library in obtaining books, also that given by the Royal United Service Institution and Francis Edwards Ltd.
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Alan Lewie Naval Adventures
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Alexander Sheridan Adventures
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IRV C. ROGERS
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RAFAEL SABATINI
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WILLIAM CLARK RUSSELL
___ The Yarn of Old Harbour Town