CLEWLINE line used to pull the lower corner, of clew, of any sail above the course up to the yard above.
CLOSE HAULED point of sail in which a ship is sailing as directly into the wind as she is able. A square-rigged ship could sail at best about forty-five degrees toward the wind, a fore-and-aft-rigged ship somewhat better.
COURSE the lowest square sail on a mast.
CROSSJACK YARD the lowest yard on a ship’s mizzenmast. Pronounced cro’jik.
CROSSTREES short, horizontal timbers running side to side at the base of an upper mast which spread the base of the shrouds supporting that mast and used as a place for a man aloft to stand.
END FOR END to run a piece of rope in the direction opposite of how it has been run to more equally distribute the wear.
FIFE RAIL a three-sided, freestanding pin rail at the base of a mast where running rigging from that mast is belayed.
FORE in or toward the forward part of the ship.
FORE AND AFT running along the centerline of a ship, the opposite of athwartships. Also used to denote the entire expanse of the ship.
FORECASTLE the compartment in the bow of the ship. In merchant vessels it was traditionally where the sailors lived. Pronounced fo’c’sle.
FOREMAST JACK colloquial term for a common sailor.
FREEBOARD the part of a ship or boat’s hull from the waterline to the edge of the deck.
FURL the act of pulling a sail up to a yard and tying it in place.
FUTTOCK SHROUDS short ropes extending from the edge of the top to the mast below. These secure the upper shrouds and are used by sailors to climb around the edge of the top.
GAFF a spar that supports the upper edge of a trapezoidal sail such as a spanker.
GIRTLINE a line extending from the deck to the top of a mast and back to the deck, used for hoisting aloft whatever needs hoisting. Also called a gantline.
GREAT CABIN the captain’s cabin at the very after end of the ship. It generally runs the full width of the ship and features windows in the after wall looking astern.
GRIPE special line used to secure a ship’s boat to the deck. Also, the process of setting up gripes.
GUNNEL corruption of gunwale. The upper edge of a ship’s side, where the bulwark and deck meet.
HALYARD line used to raise a sail. The halyard is attached to a yard in the case of a square sail, or to the sail itself in the case of a jib or staysail. The line on which flags are raised is also called a halyard.
HANDING stowing a sail by means of pulling the sail up in bunches by hand and securing it. The same as furling.
HANDSPIKE a wooden bar used as a lever to turn a windlass or to lever a cannon from side to side.
HANGING KNEE a heavy, right-angle bracket that reinforces the junction of a ship’s frame and the deck beam above.
HAWSE the situation of a ship’s anchor cables when she is moored by two anchors. Thus a ship riding correctly at anchor might be said to have a clear hawse. Also denotes the distance from the ship’s bow to where the anchors are set.
HAWSER a large rope used for various purposes such as warping.
HEADSAIL any of the fore and aft sails set on stays forward of the foremast.
HEADSTAY a heavy rope, or stay, running from some point of the foremast down to the deck, bowsprit, or jibboom to support the foremast.
HEAVE TO to adjust the helm and sails of a ship in such a way that she will remain stopped in the water, making no headway or sternway.
HELM the machinery by which a ship is steered, including the wheel, tiller, and rudder.
IN IRONS when a ship is caught pointing directly into the wind and is unable to make way.
JACK colloquial term for a sailor.
JIBBOOM an extension to the bowsprit.
KEELSON a timber sitting on top of the keel on the inside of a ship and running the full length of the ship, a sort of inner keel.
KEVEL a large cleat, generally in a V shape, used for tying off large ropes.
LARBOARD archaic term for the port or left side of a ship when looking forward.
LEAGUE a distance of three miles.
LEECH the vertical edges of a square sail.
LEEWARD downwind.
LIGHTERING to take cargo or supplies on or off a vessel by means of placing it in another vessel, called a lighter, which moves between the ship and shore.
LINSTOCK a wooden staff on which is carried a smoldering match used for igniting a cannon’s priming powder to fire the gun.
LOWERS shorthand term for lower masts, the lowest part of a ship’s mast extending from the keelson up to the junction with the topmast.
MAINMAST the largest mast on any ship. On a three-masted, square-rigged vessel it is the mast in the center.
MAINSAIL the lowest and largest sail on a ship’s mainmast.
MAINTOP a platform on the mainmast located at the junction of the main lower and main topmast. The same platform on the foremast is the foretop and on the mizzen the mizzentop.
MAIN-WALE plank on a ship’s side that is thicker than the rest and serves as a sort of fender. A ship might have more than one wale, the main-wale being the most prominent.
MIZZENMAST the smallest, aftermost mast on a three-masted ship.
ORDINARY the intermediate rating a sailor might achieve, between boy and able-bodied.
PIN RAIL a shelflike structure mounted on the inside of a ship’s bulwarks and pierced with holes into which belaying pins are set.
QUARTER the aft corners of the ship.
RAMMER a wooden pole with a wooden head used to push the gunpowder cartridge, ball, and wadding down a cannon’s barrel.
RATLINE thin lines tied horizontally to the shrouds to form a rope ladder used by sailors to climb aloft.
RELIEVING TACKLE block and tackle hooked to the tiller in heavy weather to take pressure off the wheel and to steer the ship in case the wheel suffers damage.
ROLLING TACKLE block and tackle used to steady the yards when the ship is rolling in heavy seas.
SCANTLINGS the thickness of a given piece of timber, in particular those that make up a ship’s sides.
SCUD to run before a gale with little or no sail set.
SCUTTLE any hole cut in a ship’s deck, such as a hatchway.
SCUTTLEBUTT a cask with a hole cut in it, kept on deck and filled with water for general use. The equivalent of a modern watercooler, hence “scuttlebutt” meaning casual talk.
SHEER the curve fore and aft of the upper edge of a ship’s side as seen from a broadside view.
SHROUD heavy, tarred ropes running from the head of a mast at an angle athwartships to keep the mast from falling over. Lower masts, topmasts, and topgallant masts each have their own sets of shrouds.
SLUSH fat skimmed off the surface of water after meat is boiled. It was used for various purposes such as lubricating the masts so the yards would travel up and down more easily. Cooks would often sell slush to the crew as a butter substitute, hence the term “slush fund.”
SLUSHING DOWN to rub slush on the masts to allow the yards to slide more easily. Not a pleasant job.
SNOW a type of two-masted, square-rigged vessel.
SOUNDINGS water shallow enough that the depth might be measured.
SPANKER a fore and aft trapezoidal sail, attached to a gaff on the upper edge and often to a boom on the lower, that is set behind the mizzenmast.
SPAR general term for all masts, booms, yards, any of the poles in a ship’s rig.
SPRITSAIL a small square sail carried under a ship’s bowsprit.
STAY 1. A line running from a mast forward to prevent the mast from falling back. The foremast is supported by a forestay, the mainmast by a mainstay, etc. 2. To turn a ship’s bow through the wind in order to change direction. The same as tacking.
STAY TACKLE a heavy block and tackle hanging under the mainstay used for lifting objects in and out of the hold.
STEP to put a mast in place. Also, the slot into which the base of a mast fits.
STRETCHER a pole lashed to the lower end of a set of shrouds.
STROP a piece of rope spliced around a block to hold it together and to attach it to something.
STUDDINGSAIL pronounced stuns’l. Light sails set on the edges of a ship’s square sails ton increase sail area in light wind.
SWAB a wooden pole with sheepskin or the like wrapped around the end. It was dipped in water and run down a cannon’s barrel to extinguish any sparks left over from firing.
SWORD MATS a type of mat woven from old rope and secured in certain places to prevent chafing.
TAFFRAIL a rail around a ship’s stern.
T’GAN’SLS standard pronunciation of topgallant sails.
TILLER a horizontally mounted bar, attached to the head of the rudder, by which a ship is steered. A tiller is either turned directly by the helmsman or is attached to the ship’s wheel by means of ropes.
TOMPION a plug to stopper the mouth of a cannon, chiefly to keep water out.
TOP a platform at the junction of a lower mast and a topmast.
TOPGALLANT SAIL the sails above the topsail. Used in light to moderate wind. Pronounced t’gan’sls.
TOP-HAMPER general term for all the masts, spars, sails, rigging, and other gear that comprise a ship’s rig.
TOPMAST the second highest mast, mounted on top of a lower mast, in a mast made up of multiple parts.
TOPSAIL the second sail up from the deck of a square-rigged ship, just above the course. By the eighteenth century the topsails were the primary sails used to propel a ship.
’TWEEN DECKS corruption of “between decks”: the space between any two decks of a ship.
WARP to move a vessel by means of running a hawser to a fixed point and hauling the ship up to it. Also the line used in warping.
WARPING POST a piling some ways from a dock to which a vessel is warped.
WEAR to alter a ship’s course by turning her stern through the wind.
WEATHER 1. To windward of something. 2. To pass to windward of something.
WORM a corkscrew-type device set on a long pole and used to pull wadding or cartridges from a cannon’s barrel.
YARD horizontal spars from which square sails are suspended.
YARDARM the outer ends of a yard.
About the Author
JAMES L. NELSON has published sixteen works of historical fiction and nonfiction, and has won the prestigious ALA’s W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, as well as the Naval Order’s Samuel Eliot Morison Award. He has lectured around the country and has appeared on the Discovery Channel, the History channel, and C-SPAN’s Book TV. He lives in Harpswell, Maine, with his wife and four children. You can sign up for email updates here.
ALSO BY JAMES L. NELSON
FICTION
The Only Life That Mattered
By Force of Arms
The Maddest Idea
The Continental Risque
Lords of the Ocean
All the Brave Fellows
The Guardship
The Blackbirder
The Pirate Round
Glory in the Name
Thieves of Mercy
Fin Gall
Dubh-linn
The Lord of Vík-ló
NONFICTION
George Washington’s Great Gamble
George Washington’s Secret Navy
Benedict Arnold’s Navy
Reign of Iron
With Fire and Sword
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Diagram of the Armed Merchant Ship Abigail
Map of the Caribbean
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Glossary
About the Author
Also by James L. Nelson
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
THE FRENCH PRIZE. Copyright © 2015 by James L. Nelson. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com
Map by Cameron MacLeod Jones
Cover design by James Iacobelli
Cover illustration © Peter Rindlisbacher
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978- 1-250-04661-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-4702-6 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466847026
First Edition: July 2015
The French Prize Page 37