“I have been informed – by one of the young ladies in the kitchen who I happened to come into converse with, sir – that the hamlets in the hills were almost untouched by the plague, sir.”
Frederick removed the knowing leer from his face, responded with courteous interest.
“Did the young lady – which one was it, by the way? Did she say why that might be?”
“Bella, I believe her name to be, sir. She told me, in passing conversation, no more, that an ‘auntie’ of hers was skilled in the use of local plants – herbs and such – to cure sick folk in the villages. She would be willing to sell me some of her preparations; in the absence of better, sir, I doubt it can do harm…”
A few silver shillings produced many earthenware jars of unguents and a number of coconut shell carriers of variously coloured powders; money was rare up in the hills. Morris spent a very enjoyable month in experimentation on the crew members who remained in his care, reporting back to Frederick with a request for another twenty shillings.
“The great bulk of the lady’s medicines do no obvious good at all, sir, but the brown powder when mixed with clean water and a tablespoon of sea salt will rapidly close sores on the skin and will reduce boils as well. The greenish ointment, with the coarse fibres in it, will help any open wound to knit cleanly. Both are medicines of the most valuable sort. The powder that seems to be no more than dried clay – but must, I doubt not, contain other rare substances – will, when swallowed with a little of laudanum, cause an over-active bowel to cease its straining, greatly to the ease of the sufferer. These are medicines which I would wish to add to my chest, sir. I much regret that I am unable to discover just how they are made, but the lady will not divulge her secrets except to say that the ingredients are rare and grow only locally. Bella thinks that the skin of the papaya fruit is used in the green ointment, sir.”
It was rare that any medicine could be demonstrated to be effective; Frederick produced the money from his own purse.
“What are our final figures, Doctor Morris?”
“For the squadron, sir, primarily from Trident and Arnheim, the three smaller vessels much less affected: ninety-three dead and forty-one, at the present count, to be discharged from the service as incapable of further employment at sea. More than one in five of the frigates’ complements, sir. One lieutenant from Arnheim; Mr Bayliss from Trident and one other midshipman from Wallsend; two master’s mates and three senior petty officers among the dead but the great bulk of those lost coming from the newer recruits. Proportionately far more of landsmen than of seamen among the dead, sir.”
“In some ways a relief – skilled seamen are of so much greater value, after all… Why, Doctor Morris?”
“Nutrition, sir, that I have no doubt of. The Irish were especially badly hit, sir, not taking many more infections but far fewer surviving – because, I suspect, they had eaten poorly for the whole of their lives.”
“A shame if that be so; literally, sir, England’s shame I am coming to believe. One hundred and thirty-four men who must, if at all possible be replaced. Wallsend will provide seventy, perhaps. We must recruit most vigorously, I fear.”
There were no seamen to be picked up in Antigua and only a very few landsmen, the local population having learned over many years to avoid the navy with its habit of signing on in the Sugar Islands and then discharging the men possibly a decade later and thousands of miles distant.
Doctor Morris did not know where they might find the men they lacked and Frederick chose not to enlighten him.
Arnheim returned to harbour with a few prisoners taken from a small and sunk picaroon, little more than a rowing galley, and no more prize hulls, reporting that the sudden upsurge in privateers seemed to have subsided again.
“You will, however, sir, be interested to hear Mr Vereker’s report,” Jackman informed Frederick.
“Off Aruba, sir, sent out by Captain Jackman on a beat along the Main, we were attracted by gunfire to a small action between a privateer and a Dutch merchantman. We rounded a point on the island to discover the merchantman had struck – no claim for prize there, sir, we were not in sight. The private man of war was English, called herself Durdle Dor, of all things…”
“It is a feature of the Dorset coast, Mr Vereker. She would hail from Poole or Weymouth perhaps.”
“Poole, sir. She is a brigantine of some two hundred tons – four guns on the broadside, nine-pounders perhaps – and a brass chaser much the same. Eighty men in the crew, I would guess. Her master, sir, a very young man with only one working leg, a crutch shipped to hold him up, a bandoleer of pistols to show that he was no cripple. Well-spoken and courteous, sir.”
“And his name was Mr LeGrys, I assume.”
“It was indeed, sir. I gather the gentleman is known to you.”
“He was my captain’s clerk before you supplied his successor. A midshipman of mine, once upon a time, and injured in my service. I had a suspicion that he had purchased a private man of war, but he never told me as such, for fear I might attempt to dissuade him, I imagine. Was the Dutchman a good prize?”
“I believe so, sir – deep in the water, four hundred tons I would estimate. Plantation goods I suspect.”
“Good; I would like to see David make his fortune – he deserves some good luck in his life.”
“He is a fighting man, sir,” Jackman added. “He wished always to make a name at sea. He may well do so.”
The hurricane season came to its theoretical end – the date on which all agreed that they could not remember a hurricane before – and the house was given up, to the regret of all of its denizens, and the squadron made ready for sea. Admiral Makin begged that they might consider an investigation of the coast of Cuba, an attempt to discover any invasion fleet that might be forming.
Wallsend remained in her role of harbour defence, to an extent superfluous now that the great guns were emplaced, and Raven took her position as third in line.
They swept northwards, perhaps a distance further than might have been thought the best course for Cuba, not too far from the coast of Florida where they found a number of American merchantmen, as was not unexpected. The instructions were sent to Nimble and Speedy to stop and search all neutrals, taking care to examine the crews for English deserters.
Frederick had already informed their captains that it was reasonable to assume that any man with an English or Irish accent must have deserted from a British ship, while, of course, a tattoo of a ship’s name was conclusive proof.
“What if they say they sailed in the last war, sir, and then were discharged?”
“Then they cannot be deserters of course, Mr Akers. All they must do is show their discharge papers and there can be no question of taking them up.”
The probability that an illiterate seaman would keep a piece of paper was not high.
“They may show American citizenship, sir.”
“There are very many forgeries, Mr Akers. You must be quite certain they are genuine. In any case, many American consuls are quite corrupt and will sell such papers for as little as five guineas.”
In less than a week they had taken forty deserters from American ships and the frigates were crewed comfortably again.
Murray was disturbed by the process, asked if it might not bring the Americans to war.
“Their choice, Mr Murray. They have built no line-of-battle ships and can offer no threat as a result. Their Lordships will not be too disturbed by American bluster, because it is based on weakness. The world is an unkind place for small, insignificant countries.”
"That accepted, sir, they may nonetheless be rather unhappy with us."
"So be it, sir. We cannot be too tender of American susceptibilities while we are short-handed. I shall pass the word to be a little less urgent in our discovery of deserters in future."
"What are we intending in this cruise, sir - apart from to replenish our crews?"
"An inspection, from a safe distance, of The Havana. There wi
ll be a substantial fleet sat in the harbour, as is generally the case; many of the ships will be ancient and others will be in poor repair, but the word is that there will often be as many as six or eight line-of-battle ships in condition to sail, first and second rates among them. I have no desire to fall foul of one of their four-decked leviathans of one hundred and fifty guns and more and so we shall peer through telescopes from the topmasts, most circumspectly! If we observe a fleet of troopships then we must take word instantly to Antigua and will no doubt then carry the good news to Jamaica. In the absence of the rumoured invasion then we shall proceed to the Dutch islands and institute a blockade in preparation for the invasion fleet due to arrive from England in the immediate future."
"Tedious work, I am told, sir."
"Very much so. We shall seek to identify beaches suitable for a landing and will probably ourselves send out small expeditions to take and destroy awkwardly placed batteries if we are to wait any great time offshore."
Murray thought that he might be of some use in such endeavours, possibly speaking with the soldiers and local residents to discover whether it might be possible to take the islands without a destructive invasion and sack of their towns.
"The merchants and planters, sir, might well be out of sympathy with the French who have in effect conquered Holland. If they are in truth Orange loyalists then they might well be inclined to surrender."
"A noble ambition, Mr Murray - but if they were to ask terms instantly then there might well be a shortage of prize-money for all concerned. Was Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao all to beg to be treated as loyal Dutchmen and enemies of the French then the army and navy both might be more than a little upset with us for our so humane initiative."
Murray was taken aback - he had not allowed for human greed in his calculations.
"There is Dutch Guiana, sir, the part they call Surinam. You will remember that we had some expectation of a Dutch vessel or two to call there."
"Ah, yes! Reinforcements from the Low Countries and hence no opportunity for the local men to turn traitor, therefore a good and profitable campaign to hand. The land area much greater than a few pokey little islands and so the opportunity for the army to engage in martial manoeuvres such as they delight in and which allow brigadiers to write long and self-flattering despatches."
Murray was given permission to land on the islands if the opportunity arose.
The winds favoured the squadron, as was only to be expected at that time of year, and they were able to hover off The Havana, telescopes extended and midshipmen arguing exactly what they could detect.
They hauled well offshore and huddled together to debate what they had actually seen from the tops, Trident’s and Arnheim's midshipmen in two camps.
"With yards crossed, sir, and thus ready for sea, one First Rate of four decks and not less than one hundred and forty guns."
"One hundred and thirty-six, sir." Fox offered the correction with an air of innocent helpfulness, being very junior.
"Two three-deckers, sir, First Rates of about one hundred and ten guns."
"Agreed, sir."
"Four two-deckers of eighty or ninety guns, sir."
"Beg pardon, sir,” Fox smugly interrupted. “Mr Kelly and me both counted one of eighty, two of ninety and one of ninety-two, sir."
"Very precise, thank you, gentlemen. What else?"
"Six frigates, sir, of thirty to forty guns. A dozen at least of sloops and schooners and brigs, sir." Arnheim’s older midshipman presented the figures, staring at Fox, willing him to utter a word of denial.
"Agreed, sir." Fox decided that caution was the wiser course; he had thought there were thirteen.
"What of troopships?"
"No flutes, sir, and no way of telling if any of the merchant ships in harbour were to be used for the purpose."
Fox agreed, adding that they estimated eighty at least of commercial hulls.
"No merchant ship was of greater than three hundred tons, sir," Arnheim’s boy said.
"Good, that is very clear. What of ships laid up in ordinary or derelict?"
Between them they detailed some twenty of ancient vessels, including, all four swore, a galleon of olden days with great poop and forecastle.
"Like the old treasure ships, sir, out of the pirate stories."
All of the boys were young enough to have been reading those stories very recently.
"Is there a fleet preparing for an invasion of Jamaica?"
"No, sir." Arnheim’s two were dismissive of the possibility.
"Perhaps, sir," a very high-pitched little voice argued.
"Why 'perhaps', Mr Kelly?"
"If they were to load the soldiers on the big first rates, sir, then they could do without merchant ships as troopers, sir."
"Possible, but unlikely, Mr Kelly. They would be unable to work their guns if they did so and I do not believe they would wish that. The Dons value their great ships above all others and would be far more likely to sacrifice frigates than line-of-battle ships. I accept your point that they might not use merchantmen, but believe that if they did so we would see frigates as flutes."
Kelly expressed his thanks for being corrected. Midshipmen did not argue with commodores; he had learned that very early in his career.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Captain Murray?"
"What, sir, if the Spanish were to send troops from Cadiz, say? Would they then leave room aboard their troopships to pick up, as it were, the extra bodies brought to the colours in Cuba?"
"Probably, sir. I think, however, that they would be very lucky to sail a convoy of any size from the Spanish ports. The blockade will be instituted again, I have no doubt, and although it is less rigorous on the Spanish coast it is still active. It is well feasible that a squadron of naval vessels might take advantage of an offshore wind to escape into the Atlantic, but less likely that they would be able to bring merchantmen with them. An Atlantic crossing demands rations and water for the soldiers that frigates en flute could hardly provide. I think as well that if there was an intention to provide regular Spanish troops then they would not go to lengths to recruit a force in Cuba. It is far more likely an event for a squadron to sail from Buenos Aires shepherding merchantmen carrying whatever battalions they could release from the garrisons of the colonies of the south."
"Then, sir, we are to investigate that possibility, one presumes?"
"A very good point, Captain Murray."
Frederick thought for a few seconds then dismissed the young men from the cabin, requesting Captains Murray and Jackman to remain.
"It occurs to me, gentlemen, rather belatedly one might say, that I have been given a deal of, flexibility shall we say, in my orders for this squadron. I am to lay the ground for the taking of the Dutch Islands. I am to take responsibility for bringing Tobago back into British hands where it belongs. That done, I am to assist the admiral in Antigua while inhibiting the Spanish along the Main. It is necessary to give the commander on any station room to interpret his orders as conditions demand, but I am free almost to write my own orders. Should Jamaica be lost to the Spaniards then I would have a number of questions to answer, even though I was given no instruction to prevent any invasion fleet from assembling from the south. The First Lord is no political friend, as we well know. Is it possible that I am to play the role of Admiral Byng?"
Jackman was unfamiliar with the politics of higher command - he could not imagine that the First Lord might indulge in duplicity. Murray could not imagine that he would not.
"To lose Jamaica would be seen as a disaster, would it not, Sir Frederick?"
"It would be. It is a valuable colony in its own right for its sugar and coffee and lesser products. Additionally it is placed to control the whole of the Southern Caribbean. It would be far less easy to protect the other islands without Jamaica."
"Then the government would require a prominent scapegoat if Jamaica was taken before the fleet they are putting together arrived, I believe."
"They would indeed!"
They contemplated Admiral Byng, shot by firing squad on his own quarterdeck as an example and also to whitewash the politicians who had given him ambiguous orders and too few ships.
"Let us assume, Sir Frederick, that the Spanish are to send ships of war, as their papers on Santiago suggested, from Spain. These must fall in the domain of the admiral at Antigua. If he still has only a few small ships then he must observe them; if the fleet has come from England then he may act against them, one presumes."
"So far, that is acceptable, Captain Murray."
"We must also assume that the bulk of the soldiery, the landing force, are to come from the ports of South America. I am right to assume that Jamaica cannot be taken except by a significant landing on its shores, sir?"
"A naval bombardment of the batteries and forts accompanied by at least a brigade of willing infantry to take Port Royal. I have not seen the island in recent years but I would imagine that with Port Royal taken it would be possible to gradually assimilate the whole colony."
Murray nodded his satisfaction.
"Then, Sir Frederick, to protect the island it is only necessary to intercept the landing force at sea!"
"That is rather large an 'only', Captain Murray."
Jackman shook his head despondently.
"Let there be but one first rate and say four thirds, and more than one or two frigates, as one might expect, protecting the convoy, then we could not touch them. Trident is powerful enough to sink a merchant flotilla, certainly. Arnheim with her carronades could butcher a brigade in short order. But neither could expect to live long enough to do so."
"Either frigate could destroy a convoy of troopers, you say, Captain Jackman?"
"Undoubtedly, sir, particularly if they were slow merchantmen rather than frigates en flute."
"Thus, gentlemen, the solution is straightforward - the squadron except for one frigate to draw the escort off, the remaining ship then to be the fox among the chickens."
"And also to be the sole survivor, Captain Murray. That I could decoy any number of Spaniards seems quite probable. That I would live through such an endeavour is far less likely."
Sugar and Spice (The Duty and Destiny Series, Book 6) Page 12