The Letter of Marque

by Patrick O'Brian

  The Surprise had been the French frigate Unite, built at Le Havre in 1794, and rated as a ‘corvette’ in the French Navy. In April 1796 she was captured by the 38-gun frigate Inconstant in the Mediterranean. She was renamed Surprise, because there was already a Unite in the British fleet, and registered as a 28-gun ship, though she actually carried twenty-four 32-pounder carronadçs on her main deck, and eight 32-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and forecastle, with two or four long 6-pounders on the quarter deck and forecastle. It was a very powerful armament for a frigate, but with remarkably few long-range guns. There was some difficulty about how to rate her—28-guns normally meant a sixth rate, but she was regarded as fifth rate from 1797 to 1798 and as sixth rate for the rest of her career. She was only of 579 tons, but carried the mainmast of a 36-gun ship (norrnally,of about 950 tons), with the foremast and mizzen of a 28. According to one authority, ‘thus rigged, the Surprise appears not to have been complained of as a sailor.’ (James, The Naval History)

  She sailed for Jamaica in July 1796 under Captain Edward Hamilton and stayed in the West Indies for several years. She was involved in the capture of several privateers before her exploits with the Hermione, but returned home after that. Here reality departs from fiction. The real Surprise was sold at Deptford in February 1802 and presumably broken up. The short-lived Peace of Amiens had begun and the govern ment believed it had no immediate need for such ships.

  The fictional Surprise was to continue for many years, appearing in several Jack Aubrey novels. It is worth describing her in some detail, both for herself and as a representative of ships of the period. In this we are helped by the fact that her plans, drawn by dockyard shipwrights some time after her capture, survive in the National Maritime Museum.

  She was 126ft long on the gundeck. This measurement did not give the full length of the ship, for it excluded the projecting gallery of the stern, and the figurehead and the knee of the head at the bows, not to mention the long projection of the bowsprit. But it was a useful way of measuring the ship, for it gave a real indication of the size of the hull, and the space that was available for fitting guns and accommodating men. At her widest point in midships she was 31ft 8in. broad, though under the planks she was only 31ft 2in. Using a standard formula, these figures could be used to calculate the tonnage of the ship, which was 578 73/94 tons. This gave no real indication of her weight or displacement, but was a useful comparison of her size with other warships.

  The hull of a warship was a stout wooden structure. The straight keel formed the very lowest part and the backbone of the ship. At the forward end rose a curved piece, known as the stem. Aft rose a piece called the stern-post; this was made straight so that the rudder could be hinged to it. The three-dimensional shape of the ship was formed by the timbers, or ribs. Each of these was made up of several pieces of curved timber, called futtocks. In the midships, the ship had the characteristic ‘tulip bulb’ section, with a narrowing above the waterline known as ‘tumblehome’. This was more pronounced on French ships than on British ones by this time, and is noticeable on the plans of the Surprise. At the bow and stern the structure was rather different. For most of the length of the ship the timbers ran across the keel, but at the bows they ran parallel to it—these were known as hawse pieces. Aft, horizontal timbers, called transoms, formed an essential part of the structure of the lower stern. Above the transoms, almost all ships of the time had a very weak structure pierced with windows. Aggressive captains like Jack Aubrey dreamed of ‘raking’ an enemy by firing their broad side through these stern windows.

  The timbers were covered by planks of varied thickness, both inside and outside. On the outside the thickest planks, known as wales, were fitted under the level of the decks. British ships of this period had single wales—those under the upper deck of a frigate would be about 7in. thick and 3ft 6in. deep. On a French ship like the Surprise the upper wales would be double, with two thick planks and thinner planks between them. The rest of the planking on a ship like the Surprise would be about 3in. thick. The underwater planks were covered by copper plates to protect the ship from weeds and shipworm.

  In the hold the thicker planking, the thick stuff, was arranged to cover the places where the futtocks joined. Thick planks, called clamp, were also placed on the sides where they supported the decks. That between the gundecks was known as spirketting. The deck beams supporting the decks rested on the clamp. They were curved slightly upwards to give a camber which allowed water to drain to the scuppers in the sides of the ship. The beams were braced against the sides of the ship by L-shaped timbers known as knees. If fitted vertically, they were hanging knees; if horizontal, they were lodging knees. Between the deck beams were lighter timbers called carlines and ledges, and the plank of the deck was about two inches thick.

  Like all frigates of the period, the Surprise had two complete decks running the full length of her hull. The lower deck was completely unarmed for it was just below the water line—though perversely it was, for historical reasons, some times called the gundeck. It was used entirely for accommodation, with the men living forward of the main mast and the officers aft, in an area known—equally perversely as the gun-room. The Surprise was slightly unusual, in that this deck was not continuous. About halfway between the mainmast and the mizzen it dropped by about a foot, thus increasing the headroom for the officers. Natural light and fresh air on the lower deck were minimal, coming in through gratings in the hatchways of the upper decks.

  Above the lower deck was the upper or main deck. Each side of the ship was pierced with 12 gun-ports for firing the main armament so the upper deck had to be strong enough to support these guns which with carriage and fittings weighed about two tons each. The central part of the upper deck—known as the waist—was largely open and was therefore useless for accommodation. Forward, the upper deck was covered with a short deck known as the forecastle. Under that, on the fore part of the upper deck, was an iron stove used to prepare all the crew’s provisions, and stout pieces of timber—known as the main bitts—used to fasten the cables when the ship was at anchor.

  The after part of the upper deck, as far forward as the main mast, was covered by the quarterdeck. Situated under that, right in the stern, was the captain’s cabin. It had a row of windows aft to give good light. A quarter galley projected from each side, one of which was used as toilet accommodation for the captain. Forward of the captain’s cabin was an open but covered area, used as shelter for the crew on watch. It also included the lower part of the main capstan used for raising the anchor, lifting guns and other heavy duties. The heads of the ship’s pumps were situated abreast of the mainmast. They reached down into the hold, and their most important duty was to empty the water from the lower part of the ship.

  Both the quarterdeck and the forecastle carried guns; for reasons of stability, these were of lighter calibre than those on the upper deck. The quarterdeck of the Surprise appears to have had six guns and carronades per side, and the forecastle had two per side. The quarterdeck was fitted with the steering wheel and the binnacle containing the compass. It also had the upper part of the capstan. This was operated by putting a dozen bars into the holes in the ‘drumhead’. Up to six men could push at each bar and the pressure of these men was used to haul at a rope wound round the drum. The quarterdeck was the main recreation area of the officers, but the crew had plenty of reasons to go there in the course of duty—for steering, operating the capstan, hauling on numerous rigging lines, or for working the guns.

  The forecastle also served as the base for some rigging lines, mostly those associated with the foremast. It had a copper chimney for the galley stove on the upper deck, and it served as a station for much of the work to be done in raising the anchor.

  The area under the lower deck was almost entirely devoted to storage. Right aft below the gun-room, the structure of the ship tended to rise and create an area slightly clearer of bilge water. This was the breadroom which was used to store the ship’s b
iscuits. Just forward of that, still under the gun-room, was the magazine used to store powder in barrels and cartridges made up from paper or canvas. There was another small room forward of that, probably used for either alcoholic spirits or fish which were isolated from the rest of the provisions for reasons of security or smell.

  The greatest part of the space under the lower deck made up the hold of the ship. Here the necessities of life—beef, pork, cheese, butter, peas, water and beer—were stored in wooden casks on top of iron or shingle ballast. In a sixth rate like the Surprise, the anchor cables, made of thick rope, were stored on planks placed on top of these casks.

  Forward of the hold, three decks under the forecastle, were the warrant officer’s stores where the bosun, the carpenter and the gunner kept supplies of timber, tar, blocks, rope, gun-carriage parts, tools, and hundreds of other items that were needed to keep the ship afloat and independent of the shore for months if necessary.

  The Surprise, like all true ‘ships’, had three masts. The largest one—the main mast—was situated near the centre of the keep to give a balanced rig. The foremast was slightly smaller, and was placed just aft of the end of the keel. The mizzen mast was considerably smaller than the other two and was further from the stern than the foremast was from the bows, so that the gap between the fore and the main was very large. Each of the masts was made up of three sections. The lower part—the mast proper—passed through the decks to have its ‘heel’ fixed securely above the keel of the ship. As it passed through each deck it was secured by pieces of timber known as partners.

  Above the mast were the topmast and the topgallant mast. Each overlapped slightly with the one below and was held close to it. At the head of the lower mast was a platform known as a top; at the head of the topmast were the ‘cross trees’. Like the top, this too could serve as a base for the seamen working aloft and as posts for lookouts.

  Forward of the hull, projecting at an angle pf about 12 degrees from the horizontal, was a spar known as the bowsprit. It was extended by the jibboom and the flying jibboom in the same way that the masts were extended by topmasts and topgallants. The bowsprit could carry sails but its main function was to provide an anchorage for the rigging which supported the foremost from ahead.

  Attached to the masts were the yards which spread the sails. In general, there was one yard for each mast and this took its name from the mast — thus, for example, the main mast had the main yard and the fore topmast had the fore topsail yard. The exception was the mizzen yard, which was for a fore and aft rather than a square sail. The foot of the mizzen topsail above needed a special yard — the crossjack — to extend it.

  A ship like the Surprise needed about 30 miles of rope to support and control its sails and, apart from manning the guns in action, the operation and maintenance of it was the main task of the crew. The standing rigging supported the masts. It was thicker and stronger than the running rigging which controlled the sails and it was virtually fixed in pos ition, except for maintenance purposes. It consisted of sev eral types of rope. The stays supported the masts from ahead. The shrouds supported them from behind; the lower ones were fixed in ‘channels’ which projected from the ship’s sides. Backstays went from the head of a topmast or top gallant to the channels, while ‘futtock shrouds’ supported the lower end of the backstays of the upper masts. Certain specialised ropes, such as gammoning and bobstays, kept the bowsprit in place against the upwards pull of the fore stays.

  Even a relatively small ship carried more than an acre of sails. They came in two basic types. Square sails were the dominant ones on a ship and were so called because in t neutral position they hung square to the line of progress of the ship. Fore and aft sails, on the other hand, were fitted fore and aft when not in use. Square sails were ideal with the wind behind; fore and aft were best when trying to make way into the wind. The square sails were lashed to the yards, while the fore and aft sails, with the important exception of the mizzen course, were attached to the stays. All sails were made of strips of canvas sewed together, with rope sewed round them for strength. Reef-points were lines of rope fitted to certain sails, so that they could be reduced in area in a strong wind.

  The running rigging was used to control the sails and it too consisted of many different types of rope: the braces controlled the angles of the yards with the wind; sheets con trolled the lower corners of the sails; buntlines and clewlines were used to furl the sails; and bowlines were needed to hold the leading edge forward when sailing close to the wind.

  The basic art of ship handling was to deploy the sails most effectively. Too much sail in a given wind would be dangerous and inefficient, so some sails would be furled, others reefed. In very light winds, light studding sails were used to extend the normal sails. The sails also had to be braced to the correct angle, at about 15 degrees to the apparent wind. No square-rigged ship could sail closer than six points, or 67 degrees to the wind, so a ship could only go directly to windward by zigzagging or ‘beating to windward’.

  Two basic manoeuvres were stacking’ and ‘wearing’. In the former, the ship was turned to bring the wind on her other side by turning her bows through the wind. The helm was put down to begin the turn and the sails on the main and mizzen mast were braced round, to the opposite side. The foremast was kept in its original position to help the bows through the wind and then braced round too. Wearing was the opposite manoeuvre—the stern was turned to the wind. It was easier than tacking and the ship did not need as much speed to carry it out, but it took up more time and space. Another manoeuvre was ‘heaving to’ when the sails were adjusted to cancel each other out so that the ship was held almost stationary in the water without the use of anchors.

  A ship of this period carried about four large anchors. Two of these anchors—the bowers—were in more or less permanent readiness in the bows. The other two—the sheet and the spare—were for emergency use. The anchors on the Surprise would have weighed about one and a half tons each. (William Falconer, An Universal Dictionary of the Marine) She also had two much smaller anchors, the stream and the kedge, either of which could be slung under a boat, rowed forward, dropped and used to haul the ship forward when there was no wind. The cable of each anchor was of thick rope. It was hauled up by means of the ship’s capstans. When not in use, the bower anchors were ‘catted’, that is they were hung from the catheads in the bows. They were also ‘fished’, in that their crowns, or pointed ends, were raised up to make the stock horizontal.

  A 28-gun ship was allocated four boats. All could be rowed or sailed, but some were more suitable for one than the other. The 10-oared 28ft long barge was mainly for rowing the captain ashore or to other ships. The 28ft launch was the heaviest boat of the ship and was used for carrying stores. There were also two cutters—24ft and 18ft long (the latter was often known as the jully boat). These boats were usually clinker-built, with overlapping planks. They were particularly good for sailing and were general purpose boats. (Brian Lavery, The Arming and Fitting of the English Ship of War)

  A ship of this size would normally carry a crew of about 240 men, though on one occasion at least she is recorded as having 197 men. (James, The Naval HIstory) She would have about 18 officers, including a captain, two lieutenants and the key warrant officers—the master, the surgeon, the purser, the gunner, the bosun and the carpenter—and four midshipmen. The rest of the men were the crew, or the ‘lower deck’. They slept in hammocks and ate their simple meals at tables, sitting on wooden benches. Some were marines (about thirty in the case of the Surprise) while, in a strong crew, the bulk of the rest were experienced seamen rated ‘able’ or ‘ordinary’. In a weaker crew there would be a large proportion of ‘landsmen’, adults who were unused to the sea.

  This large group of men had to be divided into teams for all the various manoeuvres that the ship might carry out. There were two or three watches, so that the ship could be sailed and all except the most major evolutions carried out while part of the crew rested.
Some men, such as servants and craftsmen, were known as ‘idlers’, and worked mainly in the daytime. Each watch was divided into six or so parts. The fore topmen, maintopmen and mizzen topmen worked up the masts and along the yards and included fit and skilled seamen. The forecastlemen, afterguard and waisters worked mainly on deck and were less skilled. The waisters, in particular, were the least skilled group of all. The marines might also be included in this organisation. A few were needed as sentries and wore full uniform, but most wore working clothing and helped the seamen about the decks. The organisation of the crew was the duty of the First Lieutenant, but Aubrey is professional enough to take a keen interest in the matter.

  Aubrey is proud of the sailing qualities of the Surprise, and works hard to improve them. Catharpins, for example, are fitted to tighten the shrouds and allow the sails to be braced round further to catch the wind. He also has her restored to her original rig, with the mainmast of a 36-gun ship. (James, The Naval History) Apart from his own skills, Aubrey attributes the sailing qualities of the Surprise to her French build. In this he reflect the prejudices of sea officers of his time. Modern research tends to suggest that British ships, though slower than French ones in fair weather, were more robust and sailed better in storms and gales.

  Aubrey’s other ships can be dealt with more briefly. The Boadicea which features in The Mauritius Command was a real 38 frigate, built by Adams of Bucklers Hard in 1797. She was not broken up until 1858. The Leopard, the ‘horrible old Leopard’ of Desolation Island was a 50-gun ship launched, after long delays during her building, at Sheerness in 1790. Unlike the Surprise and other frigates, she had two complete decks of guns with an unarmed orlop deck below the waterline, a quarterdeck and forecastle. She was one of an obsolete type, too small to stand with larger ships in the line of battle and too slow to be an effective frigate. The Java and the Shannon of The Fortune of War were also real ships and their encounters with American vessels are accurately described. La Fleche, on the other hand, is fictitious.