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

by Richard Testrake

  Phillips returned to his bed with the thought in his mind, just what were these people up to with these guns. Next morning, he believed he had an answer. From one of the formerly empty embrasures of the fortress, there now appeared the muzzle of a gun.

  Later, that same afternoon, a half dozen native canoes set out from the village, taking them to visit every ship in the harbor. At length, one of those canoes reached the brig and a dignitary aboard shouted up a proclamation. This was shouted out in several different languages, none of which the messenger could speak well. After the matter was discussed with the various deck officers, it was determined unless a ship could pay 10 gold pieces every day to the prince holding the castle, guns in that castle would open fire on that ship.

  It was Fellowe’s opinion the prince of the fortress had demanded two guns from the former frigate as the price of her stay in the harbor. Having no desire to enter into a dispute with a local potentate, HMS Mastiff pulled up her anchor and set sail.

  She cruised offshore for a few days, before learning from another departing ship that the big frigate, having loaded every last slave aboard that she could, was also about to sail. Now well out of sight of land, she launched the longboat.

  Giving the command to Mister Fellowes, its lugsail was set and it commenced a southerly cruise just within sight of the African coast. HMS Mastiff ran farther out, just within signaling range of the boat. Nothing was seen for the next day, then the launch opened its dark lantern that night. Only a sharp-eyed lookout spotted the tiny flicker of light from that lantern. Mastiff edged to port and picked up her boat the next morning. It was then a tiny notch was seen ahead in the horizon. This Phillips suspected might be their quarry. The ships seemed evenly matched at first, then it seemed as though the brig might be slowly gaining.

  There were plenty of other ships in these waters, some of whom Phillips was sure were slavers. He did not pay undue attention to any of them and the chase seemed unconcerned. By noon sights, it was evident the chase was indeed the former frigate. As Mastiff spread her canvas, the chase alerted to her pursuer. She too, hoisted all the sail she could bear, but was unable to sail away from the brig.

  To gain an extra half knot speed increase, Phillips decided to get rid of some of his water. Accordingly, some of the big water butts were opened and the water allowed to pour into the bilges. Then, relays of men on the pumps sent that water overside.

  Water also was seen coming out of the scuppers of the chase, but Mister Burns shook his head and gravely announced, “They cannot pump too much water overside, not with hundreds of slaves packed below decks.”

  The words had hardly escaped his lips when the chase proved him wrong. Through his glass, Burns could see the mass of men struggling on the deck of the chase. Apparently, a dozen captives, their shackles connected by a chain, had been brought up on deck. Now, the slaver’s crewmen were herding them at the points of cutlasses and pikes to the rail. The first few fell over, their weight pulling down their comrades with them. A moment later, all were overboard, with no sign of any bodies on the sea’s surface. The weight of the chain and shackles had drawn the victims right down.

  As they watched, another group of shackled slaves came on deck. This time, Phillips ordered the ship put about. He was not about to be involved in a mass murder just to capture a slave ship.

  The crew of Mastiff watched as the slaver continued on her way, unhindered. Phillips summoned Mister Devons, his master’s mate and Mister Fellowes, his quartermaster’s mate and local expert and asked them into the cabin.

  “Gentlemen, I am open to suggestions on finding the slaver that escaped us today. Now, both of us pumped overboard a significant amount of water. I believe it will be more significant to the slaver, since she has a long voyage ahead of her and many more people. Where will that ship go to fill her water butts?”

  Neither man had any input. As Fellowes said, “Sir, there are any number of rivers and streams coming to the sea along this coast. Granted, there are few enough anchorages that will take that frigate, but he can stand off and send a boat in to fill casks. I just could not guess where we might find him.”

  Deciding to tend to his own ship, Phillips checked the charts and set course for the mouth of a nearby river. It was apparent there had once been a sizeable community there but now the huts were empty and falling in, with the fields well overgrown.. Fellowes guessed that a slave hunting party had visited this area and captured or frightened off the whole population.

  At any rate, the boat crew that towed the empty water casks to the site found an unlimited supply of fresh water. The casks were scrubbed out with sand and freshwater, then filled and towed back out to the ship. When she left on the second day, Mastiff had all the water she would need for the next few months.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  With an adequate supply of water on board, the brig resumed a southerly course off the coast. The master’s mate was still busy in the hold jamming pieces of firewood between the barrels. He was attempting to wedge those barrels into a single, immovable mass, which could not come loose to damage the ship in even the worst storm.

  While this important task was being taken care of, Captain Phillips stood on deck. It was just short of dusk when the lookout spotted the sail ahead. This appeared to be a slow, fat merchant vessel on the same course as themselves. He fully expected the ship to be gone by morning, but for some reason, there it was, right in front of them, perfectly visible as the morning sun rose.

  She was ship rigged, sure enough, but carried a many patched and worn suit of sails. The ship displayed no flag and refused to answer when challenged. Phillips ordered a gun fired ahead of the ship’s bows. The stranger immediately turned ahead of them and touched off her own guns. It appeared she was armed with a half dozen six pounders on each beam and was not at all shy of using them. The balls mostly went high, into the rigging, but a few struck the hull.

  What that captain was thinking of, Phillips had no idea, but he was not going to tolerate his actions for long. Not intending to let this fool to pound him with those six-pounder long guns, Phillips closed right in before unleashing the carronades. He ordered the guns to shoot high, to avoid causing un-necessary casualties among the slaves likely chained below, but even so, a few guns did shoot low. Most of their shot went high though and the slaver’s masts and spars suffered significant damage.

  The carronades were now ordered to reload with grape and bar shot. At the close range they were firing from, this ammunition almost stripped the rigging from the enemy. The foe, now helpless under the brig’s guns, lay to, unable to maneuver. Another broadside cleared the enemy quarterdeck and much of the people on her waist.

  She still continued firing individual guns until the last of these had been destroyed by accurate fire. With only a few men alive on her weather deck, someone on the ship waved a white shirt and the fight was over.

  This time, in addition to the Marines, Phillips sent over all the armed seamen he could spare, informing them to beware of any treachery. In due course, Mister Burns sent back Devons with a report of the situation.

  From what he was able to learn, there had been a mutiny aboard the ship, with the captain dropped overboard the previous week. The mutineers had decided they could increase their own division of the profits if they did not have to share with the captain, owners and investors. After the deed was done, the crew knew they would all be subject to the noose if apprehended, so had decided to fight this little brig. Somehow, the mutineers had gained the impression Mastiff was a slaver like themselves and might report their transgressions to the owners.

  A blind man could have accurately determined the ship’s cargo. She stank to high heaven of human excrement. Apparently, her slaves had already been aboard for a few weeks and obviously little attempt had been made to clean the vessel.

  Mister Davis had members of his armed boarding party accompany him on a brief inspection. When he returned, he was holding a rag over his face and look very pale,
indeed. The first mate of the slaver, who had organized the mutiny, had been brought over too, but he was already bound in his own chains and remained in the boat.

  Phillips was very reluctant to visit the slave ship, but felt it was his duty. If he was to send ship’s crew to the slaver, it must be apparent that he was willing to visit the obnoxious ship himself.

  The stench on board was so horrible, he actually found it hard to breathe. He found there were 40 crewmen aboard, with over 200 Africans. The slaves were all manacled to each other in such a manner they were hardly able to move. When Phillips ordered the slaves to be brought up on deck in relays, there was a problem. Some slaves had already died but were still chained to their neighbors.

  Deciding the first task needing to be done was cleaning the ship, he brought the mutineer’s leader back over to the slaver. The captain ordered Sergeant Henderson to parade the slaver’s crew before him. There, on the quarterdeck, he gave them the bad news. They would have the duty and responsibility of cleaning up all the foul matter below deck. These people had been accustomed to enforcing their orders to the slaves, by wielding long, wicked whips. The Marines supervising this workforce were issued these same whips to encourage faster and better work, by the old slaver crew.

  It was found to be more efficient, if they emptied out a hold and brought the people up on deck. The old slaver crew was then put to work cleaning the foul interior. Phillips would have liked to strike off the irons from the African captives, but decided that would be too dangerous. Many of the captives did not understand they were to be freed and were perfectly willing to fight any white man to the death.

  They did discover a way to communicate with some of the slaves. Mister Fellowes already knew a few words of several African languages. By spending time with prisoners that seem to be relatively nonviolent, he slowly increased his vocabulary. One day he came before his Captain and reported, “Sir, one of the slaves down below was once clerk to the factor of the barracoon. He seems to have done something to offend that factor and was put into the slave pens. The factor was a Frenchman and this clerk supposedly speaks French. I myself do not speak that language and do not know anyone on the ship that does.”

  As it happened, Captain Phillips did know someone on the ship who could speak the language. Mister Lewis, a 14-year-old midshipman had spent years being schooled by French tutors. While Lewis was not anxious for his peers to learn of this ability, the needs of the ship must come first.

  When Lewis was closeted with the former clerk, he found he could understand the man perfectly, notwithstanding a little difficulty with the accent. Accordingly, Lewis began explaining to the former clerk just what was about to happen with them. The native clerk, was then able to explain to some of the other captives. After being taken to Freetown in Sierra Leone, the people would be taken to shore, given food and their freedom.

  If they wished, and knew where to go, they could try to make it home. It was explained to the people, it would be extremely difficult to retrace their steps and return to their village. They, of course, could resettle in the colony of Sierra Leone and would receive further advice upon landing.

  For now, the ship’s crew would do their utmost to get the people to shore. Those who remained calm would be treated correctly. Any violence or attempted violence would be addressed as the situation called for.

  It took time for the announcement to be translated and passed down to the individuals in irons. Parties went below decks to make what explanations they could. Whenever a shackled individual expressed willingness to refrain from any violent action, he or she was released and was led by the compartment where their former guards were now confined.

  There was much difficulty dealing with all the pent-up anguish from the freed people, and some were not able to remain passive. Although some care had been taken to fire high, still some of the slaves had been killed or injured. The brig and her prize were on a direct course toward Freetown, but continually suppressing outbreaks of hostility among the passengers took much effort from the crew. All, both crew and passengers, were happy to reach port. The mutineers, were perhaps, not quite so happy. They soon found they had an appointment to meet with the colony’s executioner.

  There was a quick turn-around and HMS Mastiff resumed her voyage down the African coast. Before leaving, the French-speaking interpreter, accompanied with Mister Lewis, came before Captain Phillips. Standing behind them were a half-dozen tall, ebony-colored African natives. One had been designated as a sort of auxiliary guard to assist the ship’s crew to keep peace and held his half-pike by his side.

  Mister Lewis addressed his captain. “Sir, Henri here tells me these men are all from a tribe very far away and they do not know how they will find their way back. They walked for months to reach the barracoon on the coast. Their tribe has been enemies with some of the other people of other tribes on the ship. They feel they will have to fight to stay alive if required to remain on shore.”

  “Henri says they now feel safe on the ship and wish to join with the crew. He says they promise to fight very hard for you.”

  That was a puzzler. His brief was to free captured natives, not enlist them in the Navy. It did suggest a remedy for a troubling problem. It had taken weeks from their patrol to return to Freetown to deliver their freed Africans. If he could have supplied the prize with a decent crew, he could have sent that back and continued the patrol. However, he had not felt he could afford to weaken the ship by sending back an adequate crew to man her and secure both the African captives and the captured slaver crew.

  Here was a possibility though. The next small slaver he took, he could man with enough seamen to sail her, and use these volunteer native guards to maintain order. Accordingly, he summoned Mister Davis to enter these natives into the ships books. Davis was further required to determine if any future freed Africans might wish to enter into the Royal Navy.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  HMS Mastiff continued on her patrol. She early on captured a small brig that had a varied cargo. Out of Boston and now bound from the Ivory Coast for New Orleans, she had a load of elephant tusks, as well as a quantity of tropical wood. Somewhere, she had taken twenty African captives on board and had them in irons on the orlop deck.

  The Yankee skipper made a great commotion over being detained by a British warship, but Phillips reminded him that both Britain and the United States had outlawed the importation of slaves and that he was operating outside the law. The Yankee assured him that he did not normally traffic in slaves but he had been offered these at a good price and had not been able to refuse.

  The American captain was told if he had restrained his greed, he could now be on his way home with a profitable cargo. As it was, his ship and cargo was now a prize and he and his crew were to face trial.

  Mastiff’s volunteer African guard crew were sent aboard the prize and sent its captives up on deck, while her former crew were secured in irons in their place. There was the usual expressions of emotion and fear when the captives were assured they were now free. Several of them spoke no language known to anyone on board and could not be calmed.

  The former captives who could understand what they were told, were assured they would soon be on land and free. Those unable to communicate with their rescuers had to remain in uncertainty.

  The African guard unit set aboard the prize was rather impressive looking. Originally armed with half pikes, the Africans did not care for the short hafts of their weapons. Instead, these were removed and full-length hafts secured from the carpenter were fastened to the blade.

  When the Africans boarded the prize, with their long spears, elaborate headdress, and bodies gleaming with oil rubbed into their skin, anyone observing them must be impressed with their appearance.

  The former members of the crew of the slave ship, certainly were impressed. Some were actually gibbering in fear as they were put below.

  The prize, Sarah Jones, sailed off to the north. Hopefully, her crew would be retrieved ne
xt time Mastiff made port. The warship continued her patrol to the south.

  Making her way slowly down the African coast, the brig inspected every little bay or inlet she thought an oceangoing vessel might enter. Weeks later, as she was coming out of the Gulf of Guinea, her lookout reported ship's spars visible inside an inlet.

  When questioned, Mr. Fellowes informed his captain, that while he had never actually visited this place, he suspected there might be a slave market of some sort there.

  The ship remained on course, as if she had not noticed the stranger. Everyone with a glass had made their own observations and when the ship had passed by and went back out to sea, the officers began comparing notes.

  It was Mr. Davis who approached Captain Phillips and told him there was something familiar about that ship’s masts. Her hull was obscured by jungle growth and she had no rigging aloft. Some thought her spars looked much like that of the former French frigate they had pursued earlier.

  Captain Phillips called for a council of war in his quarters. He commented, while there was no proof this was their former chase, it was unlikely she was an innocent trader. Mr. Fellowes had already assured him there was little potential cargo in this area other than human slaves. If it was their old friend the Minerve class frigate,, it was likely the ship had completed her original voyage and had returned for another cargo.

  Whether or not this was the same actual ship that had eluded them earlier, or even whether the ship had the same captain that had dropped living humans overboard, Phillips assured his men they would not make the same mistake twice. They would not pursue this ship openly, to avoid the same tragedy happening again.