HMS Hector: A Charles Mullins Novel (Sea Command Book 6)

by Richard Testrake

  Mullins reminded him that Sarah’s father had also received a welcome sum so neither man could be considered destitute. Mullins advised the youth to prepare as best he could for his examination. If he passed, he would then receive a much larger sum from the Royal Navy every quarter. Enough so that Sarah could take rooms for herself in Portsmouth and wait for her husband’s return. Flowers was also strongly advised to maintain the utmost deference toward Mister Drummond aboard ship.

  The coach ride to Portsmouth was long and tiring but they eventually arrived. Mullins arranged a local vehicle to take them from the posting inn to the quay where they signaled for a boat. While waiting, Mullins gave a little speech.

  “Until you are married, Sarah will be in the hands of her father. It will be his duty to provide for her support and housing. It would be infinitely better if you two remained apart except in Mister Drummond’s presence until the wedding. I have convinced him that a marriage would be best for everyone involved. Drummond will be your superior aboard ship Flowers, so I must insist you treat him with proper respect and avoid causing any dissention. In due course, this wedding will take place and you will assume the post of head of your family.”

  The boat came to take the pair out to Hector. At his request, the boatmen took a turn about the frigate so that all could see her from every side. Mullins was very impressed with the sight of the ship. Either the present officers were not such a band of unskilled louts, or Mister Drummond had himself done an amazing amount of work for the single day he had been aboard.

  Drummond stood on deck by the accommodation ladder while the ship’s Marines went through their ‘Stamp and Clash.” After exchanging salutes, Mullins was introduced to the ship’s other lieutenant remaining on the ship, as well as the standing warrants. Asking about the two missing officers, Drummond said, these men had gone ashore before he came aboard and had not been seen since. As for the remaining officer. Drummond said, he could find little cause for complaint. Lieutenant Persons had been the third officer until the departure of the others. Drummond reported the man had worked like a slave to ready the ship for his new captain’s inspection. Although the port admiral had recommended the complete replacement of all of the lieutenants, Drummond thought it a mistake to remove Persons.

  Lieutenant Hanson, their Marine officer had reported aboard just minutes before Mullins made his appearance. When Mullins had a chance to interview the young man, he was impressed by his appearance and knowledge. This would be his first deployment after leaving the training barracks, but Captain Mullins thought he would be a welcome addition the ship’s wardroom/

  After a thorough inspection of the ship, it was determined there were absolutely no cabin stores on the ship, even the wardroom stores had been greatly depleted by the withdrawing officers. Unless they were to go hungry tonight, they would have to make do with the seamen’s fare.

  The careful ship’s cook had taken it on himself to set aside some salt beef to soak early in the day. By now, much of the preservative salt had leached out and the beef was put on to boil with bags of dried peas. The meal that night was not quite what the newcomers were used to, but they would survive.

  No signal from the flag had been seen, but next morning the master’s mate of the watch reported the flag was signaling for Hector’s captain to report. Together, Drummond and Mister Persons had arranged for a boat crew for the gig, and Mullins dropped into it as soon as he scraped his face clean. The admiral was away, but the flag captain greeted Mullins with all courtesy and asked about his comfort aboard his new command.

  Listening to the report, Captain Harris readily gave Mullins a few days to lay in cabin stores and furnishings. The two went over the frigate’s manning requirements. Hector was now short a lieutenant, as well as some twenty hands.

  Captain Harris reported, “We can give you twenty men from the receiving ship, but I must warn you that those aboard that hulk are mainly felons who have been passed over by more careful captains. As to the officer you need, at this moment I do not have one that you might find suitable. Your best strategy might be to return to London and haunt the Admiralty waiting room in hopes of finding such a man waiting for a ship. I must also tell you that you are losing Mister Devlin, your sailing master. Devlin will be going to another ship, a third-rate, I believe. In his place, word has come to me that another man, only recently receiving his warrant, is now on his way from London and probably will be with you tomorrow.”

  Mullins replied, “Sir, I have a mid aboard who served me as acting lieutenant on my previous ship. He is in every way suitable for a commission but he has not been able to take his boards yet. I was told in London there might be opportunity to do this here.”

  Harris looked dubious. “We do have enough captains sitting around to convene such a board, but you know when such is announced, every midshipman in Portsmouth will appear, perhaps along with his sister. Your lad’s chances may be minimal in such competition.”

  “With respect sir, if possible I should like to see Mister Flowers take his boards. If he should fail, I suppose I could always give him another acting appointment.”

  “Very well, Captain Mullins. I will see what kind of schedule we can work out.”

  The next few days were hectic. Mullins, in the short time he had been aboard, had not become well acquainted with the sailing master and in any event, he had departed by the time Mullins had returned from the flag. The new sailing master was not aboard on the next day, nor the day after that either, but finally a shore boat came alongside and a young man with an unfortunate face came aboard.

  Mister Cummings seemed to be a well-trained man and had been recommended for his warrant by Sir George Montague himself, the Portsmouth port admiral. An otherwise well-built man, he had a large growth on his face which was quite distracting.

  In addition to taking aboard those last-minute stores, Drummond and Persons took out a recruiting party in hopes of locating some badly needed men. One of the bosun’s mates reported a nearby fishing cove, noted for its multitude of smuggling craft, had seen its fleet hit hard recently by an enterprising Revenue cutter, with several smuggling craft taken and others retired from the smuggling trade.

  With so many men now on the beach, Drummond could influence a dozen seamen to take the King’s shilling. Mister Persons, recruiting at a farming village a few miles inland was able to gather up nearly as many. Now of year, the harvest was mostly in and there was little work for the farm hands. Of course, these men were not seamen, but they were strong, healthy men who would soon be able to do unskilled work aboard the frigate.

  With his ship now adequately manned, Mullins received further good news when the flagship hung out the flag indicating the midshipmen’s boards were being held. Flowers set out in the jolly boat, his head stuffed with obscure knowledge gleaned from the other officers. The harbor was soon filled with boats making their way to the flag, each with one or two midshipmen on board hoping for the best.

  It was late before the boat came back, Mister Flowers sitting dejected in her stern. Mullins thought at first the lad had failed his examination but not so. The lad had indeed passed but had not been assigned to a ship. Not being assigned to any particular ship, he would remain a ‘passed midshipman’ until a captain took pity upon him and actually took him into his wardroom.

  What Flowers had been thinking, Mullins could not imagine. He himself had neglected to remind the flag captain that Flowers would be appointed lieutenant into Hector should he pass his boards. Thus, unlike those others, immediately assigned to a ship, Flowers was designated a ‘Passed Midshipman’ and returned to duty aboard Hector.

  At any rate, he had Mister Drummond take the lad ashore to the naval outfitter where he would purchase needed uniforms and equipment. Drummond assured him in the boat he was indeed a commissioned King’s officer qualified to wear the new coat. Before returning to the ship, they stopped at the widow’s home where Sarah had taken rooms and told her the good fortune. As the prospective brid
e’s father, Drummond deputed the widow Davis to begin the necessary steps, in his own absence, for the couple’s matrimonials, which might take place upon the ship’s return.

  In the rush to make the ship ready to sail, Hector gained some additional people. Mullins was not a believer in a gunroom filled with midshipmen. Most of that species he regarded as more or less useless, the younger ones especially. However, he could be convinced that older ones, who had a commission or two under their belts, might indeed be handy to have onboard.

  While ashore tending to ship’s business, Mullins fell in with a former officer he had known for a few years.

  Captain Hardesty, of the brig-sloop Terror, had brought his vessel in to pay-off. He was destined to assume command of an elderly post-ship whose captain was retiring from the sea. Since his new ship already had most of its complement, he could take few of his favorites with him. He was especially interested in find a position for one of his mids, a ‘Young Gentleman’ by the name of Sawyer.

  “I have a few other mids you may have if you want them, but this Sawyer has served me well and I wish to find a berth for him.”

  Hardesty explained that Sawyer was a former seaman who had been elevated when a previous ship had been afflicted with fever. Few captains were anxious to take on a mid coming up from the lower-deck, so he was doing his best for the young man.

  Mullins was not quite sure about taking on any of these midshipmen, but his gunroom was nearly empty, and at least all of these young gentlemen knew port from starboard. Eventually, he agreed to take them into his frigate.

  Now it was time to sail. Their mission would last only a few weeks, in effect, it would be a short shakedown cruise to insure the ship, with its officers and crew could function in its professional capacity. As soon as both officers were aboard, the ship was warped out to a secluded portion of the harbor where the powder came aboard. In addition to the King’s powder, Mullins had purchased a private stock of powder which he would use to train up the gun crews. He was a believer in accurate, rapid fire which could rapidly beat down an opponent’s defenses and assure a quick victory with minimal losses aboard his own ship.

  Easing her way from the harbor, Mullins left the deck to his officers to sort out problems without his interference. He secluded himself in his cabin with his clerk, a former clergyman who had come to the sea for reasons of his own. It was necessary to go over all the ship’s papers with a careful eye. The previous captain, with his illness, had not been as careful with the paperwork as he might have been, and his officers had done little to ease his load.

  Remaining in his cabin for most of two days, he listened to the exhortations of his officers as they attempted to make the hands do their tasks in the navy way, rather than what they might have learned aboard some old merchant schooner. The hands practiced sail drill constantly and gun drill twice every day. After the first session at gun drill, they began firing live practice rounds to induce the gun crews to shoot accurately.

  It was during one of these practice firings when Mister Fitzhugh, one of his mids, came running to the cabin to report enemy warships approaching from behind a headland on the nearby French coast.

  Hector was on the port tack, beating against an easterly wind coming off the mainland. There were three ships coming at them, two corvettes and a big frigate of 38 guns or so. One of the corvettes was a small one of sixteen guns, but the other was a larger ship that would have been classed as a post ship in British service. This one would have 24 guns, although only eight-pounders.

  The frigate was going to be the ship to beat. Some of her guns might be eighteen-pounders, although many would probably be eights. The more lightly built Frenchmen were fast but had their problems of ‘hogging’ with the weight of their heavy guns aboard. Sometimes, these weights at bow and stern caused the lightly supported mid-section to warp under the load.

  The oncoming Frenchmen did not seem to be overly concerned about this enemy’s approach. With the wind on their quarters, they were coming at speed right at the single British frigate. Mullins took a moment to discuss matters with Mister Flowers. Although a newly minted officer, he had previously handled the guns aboard Vigilant and Mullins knew he was prepared to control the guns for this engagement.

  The oncoming French warships were in a close, line ahead formation, with the frigate in the fore, then the larger corvette, followed by the smaller one. Had Mullins been in command of the French force, he thought he would have steered wide of his enemy, to avoid the heavy carronades his opponents would be likely to have. Mullins knew that the French, although having a few of their own version of these weapons, were often not armed with them, preferring to rely on their long guns. In this event, of course, it would seem to be necessary to remain well clear of any enemy possibly armed with large carronades.

  This enemy commander apparently was not to be concerned about this possibility. Perhaps he had a reason. In any case, Mullins believed Hector was as well prepared as he could make her. All of his guns were loaded with round-ball shot. After firing into the lead frigate, the gun crews were instructed to load the long guns with ball while the carronades were to be reloaded with grape, for its anti-personnel effects.

  With the enemy frigate’s wind on her quarter as it was, it would be easy enough for her to veer away a few points to get farther away from the approaching British guns. No one was going to give this French commander a white feather though. He stayed right on course, enough so that Hector was forced to move away a bit to avoid crashing into his bow.

  By now Mullins thought he had deciphered the enemy plan. He thought the big Frenchman planned to force her way past Hector, thundering his broadside into her. The large corvette following was probably meant to also fire her full broadside into Hector, while the small corvette trailing was probably tasked with holding the ruined British ship at bay while the first attackers came back and finished the frigate off.

  Having not had an opportunity to read the enemy plans though, Mullins felt no need to follow their lead. Instead, even while receiving the full attention of the enemy frigate, Hector was able to volley her thirty-two pounder carronades into the enemy hull. Seven of the big guns on each broadside gave the frigate a fearsome punch and inflictrd desperate damage t the ene y.

  While each ship received its share of punishment, the Frenchman came away with the most important injury.

  Now the big corvette was coming right up to Hector’s bow. Not all of the long guns had been reloaded yet, but the carronades had. A perfect storm of iron grape hit the enemy ship as she came alongside. The Frenchmans’ gunners did their best with her tiny eight-pounders, but they caused little enough damage compared with what was received.

  This corvette was dead in the water, with her foremast down and the main topmast shot away when Hector passed her by, heading to the last corvette. This fellow’s nerve was not quite up to that of his predecessors, and he began to come about to escape the storm, to no avail. Again, the guns thundered and the little ship took the full brunt of the discharge. The lightly built ship was just not capable of withstanding the fire of her big guns. Her port beam beaten in and her guns out of action, the little ship began to fill and she was now out of the picture.

  Those hands without specific tasks were set to work, knotting and splicing, Drummond put the ship about and there was that first corvette again. Her mainmast was down now and half her crew either dead or horribly disabled. She was flying no flag now, but someone on her quarterdeck was furiously waving a bloody white shirt in surrender. A small boarding party went over to take command and Hector continued on.

  Now it was the turn of the big frigate again. Better able to withstand the coming onslaught than the corvettes, she had still suffered deadly damage from the previous attack. Large holes had been beaten through her hull, some at the waterline and water was pouring from her scuppers. Mullins could not imagine the thoughts of her captain. After losing her two companions and his own ship being shattered, it would take a brave man
to return to his country to explain how he had allowed a single frigate to do this damage. Doubtless, the officer could expect severe punishment for his failure.

  A game one, the enemy frigate put her sails to the wind and came at Hector again. Mullins noticed she was heavy with water coming aboard and was not as agile as she had been earlier. She had probably lost a number of her crewmen, with many hands performing unfamiliar tasks. When she ran out her guns, it was easily seen that some ports remained empty.

  A quick word to Mister Drummond put the frigate across the Frenchman’s bow. The enemy put his yards over in an attempt to match the turn. The waterlogged frigate refused to turn and Hector’s undamaged starboard broadside was peering right down the enemy throat. This would be a bow-raking shot, with little means of escape for the enemy.

  An intelligent enemy would have realized it was time to end the fight immediately. This commander was stubborn and all could see his hands on the braces straining to get the yards over so the ship could come alongside Hector. They were slow, much too slow and Mullins reluctantly gave the order to fire. Every shot from the starboard broadside struck, with most careening down the length of the enemy ship, tearing and rending as they went. The foremast was the first to go, followed minutes later by the sagging main. This fight was now over.

  The only prize that could be taken home was the big corvette, although Mullins doubted that she was worth repairing. The small corvette was a shattered, sinking wreck and the frigate, dismasted and close on a rocky shore, had taken fire. All the ships’ boats were put in the water to save as many of the French sailors as possible, but the fire was nearing the magazine and it was soon necessary to pull away.

  The frigate exploded in a fiery cataclysm and it was all over. The French captain had not been rescued and Mullins did not know whether he had died in the fighting or in the explosion afterward. With enemy seamen from three ships to control, it would be a puzzle to find a place to put all these people. When no good idea came to him, Mullins merely ordered the healthier prisoners be taken into boats and conveyed to a nearby rocky island, there to be set free. Some might find their way to the mainland and disappear into the local population. The remainder might again appear behind the guns of a new opponent.