Dawn of Steam: First Light

by Jeffrey Cook

  As of yet, we have no definitive sign of the opposition to our voyage, which I know you have asked after. Should I find any verifiable news of them, I shall be sure to report it in my letters when I am able to send these home. Given that once we leave the Colonial East, most of the land before us is unsettled, or settled only by forces not necessarily friendly to England, such opportunities may be few and far between, but I shall report as I have occasion to do so.

  Yours,

  Gregory Conan Watts

  (13) Benjamin Franklin, Professor Emeritus of Cambridge, who was sent as an envoy from the colony and got distracted by a library. His works were collected in various volumes, all published by both Cambridge and Harvard presses. This particular paper is dated August 27, 1783 and regards the catastrophic eruption of Laki, in Iceland. – C B-W

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  August 4th, 1815

  Mississippi

  32º10'N 089º26'W

  While we have undertaken the mission given us, I find myself growing more and more concerned. The spirit of this adventure was not originally intended to be one of military nature. Despite this, it is understandable in light of recent events that the British crown should be very concerned about the threat from the Spanish colonies bordering our own lands. Likewise that they should be interested in using whatever resources came to hand to first safeguard our own lands, and then to end the threat of the Spanish promoting piracy as a means to aid their claims on English territory.

  Napoleon is dead and the French crown beholden to our rulers. Many of the Dutch colonies held for a time by the French are also quite eager now to discuss treaties and compromise. The Dutch have always claimed that they are interested almost solely in trade, and with their militaries decimated by being forced into the war by Napoleon as he grew desperate, they are willing to cede much in the spirit of cooperation. This leaves the Spanish as our primary rivals within the world of the Americas, and I understand that forces are being gathered from among the victorious armies of England, Scotland, and Ireland to move to support the colonies now as they aided us, and we will soon have the forces needed in America to protect English colonial soil. Should Spain's colonies press a military engagement, the locals will have the leadership and forces necessary to not merely defend themselves, but take the conflict to Spanish territories as needed.

  There is some concern amidst our efforts to rally the troops in the region. With many of the locals so recently having owed their loyalties to the French, and with New Spain being so close, there is concern there may be spies among the people being recruited. Certainly there will be any number who cannot be guaranteed to have any strong loyalty to England. Still, if we are going to be able to recruit an army capable of succeeding at our task and defending this region, we have little option but to cast a wide net. The rest of the troops here are just as aware of this, making maintaining morale and solidarity among the troops an additional problem.

  Regardless of this shift from our original ambition as purely explorers, two among our number made their fame and fortune from military careers. Likewise, the Captain and first mate remain military men to the core, and all these are proud to serve without question for the benefit of the British Empire. I have more than once passed by Eddy's quarters to find him and Mr. Taylor engaged in discussion of strategy, and seen Eddy cleaning and oiling his armaments to be sure they are in best working condition.

  Sir James can now be found almost constantly to be going over his maps, the cards put away for most of this voyage. For the moment, we are united by common cause and loyalty to the crown, not by games and diversion, and his speeches and efforts to keep the crew hanging together have focused almost solely on this, to the motivation of most.

  There are exceptions, primary among them Miss Bowe. While willing to serve, she continues to have reservations about the actions in Florida in particular, and she continues to try to persuade Sir James that the attack is a poor idea. Regardless of her cause, she has largely kept herself to her quarters, or keeping the company only of the ornithopter. Likewise, she has refused continually to begin working with guns, despite offers of the remaining pepper-box pistol granted to our company. Even Eddy has not been able to get her to budge in this regard.

  Mister Franzini claims no loyalty to England in particular, but continues to firmly state that he is quite indebted to our party, and will do his part to support our efforts. Indeed, he seems quite certain that he may be able to help rally some of the locals to the effort that otherwise might not be so willing to quickly go to another war for the British cause. He says that he has significant contacts within that city that may be persuaded to our cause. We are also hopeful that many of the freed slaves and returned soldiers will gladly take up arms again, for a military economy guarantees jobs. Time will tell, but for now, our only engagement is to be with a single Spanish fort, their nearest fortification to New Orleans, after which we shall be sure it is occupied and fortified once more to aid in the protection of northern Florida and passage to New Orleans, and from there we shall continue our voyage north. I am somewhat more heartened by this last, for it seems that once we leave Florida, the whole of the American experience from there should be exploration, beginning with attempting to find the sea route by which one may sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific that we may have other routes by which to trade, to settle the Pacific Northwest should we find the means for eventual expansion from the colonies to the west, and likely for the eventual opposition to Spanish rule of California.

  As we travel, the skies grow darker still, and only the experience of our pilot and his skill with his instruments are keeping us on course, although I have heard him muttering at the skies while attempting sextant readings. Sir James has had to turn no small part of his energies and enthusiasm to motivating the crewers, for among those who feed the engines, and help maintain the basic functions of our ship, former sailors for the most part, and uneducated men given to superstition, each morning brings a new ill omen.

  While I am not a man given to such wild theories, I would be remiss now if I did not mention that I am most disturbed now by Miss Penn. Shortly after our departure from New York, while Sir James was putting his cards away in favor of studying maps and treatises on tactics, Miss Penn was again taking her cards out. But hers are of a different sort entirely, of the sort that gypsies and hucksters use to claim to glean hints as to the future. Though Sir James and myself have both warned her against stirring up the crew, she has been quite firm in stating that this is a part of the purpose for which she was recruited, in addition to her wide knowledge regarding occult matters and superstitions of the larger world as they are known to Europeans.

  Though the Coltranes, Miss Wright, and myself have not given any credence to her wild theories of prognostication, and the less educated members of the crew have been forbidden from visiting her, Miss Bowe and Eddy have both shown great interest in her claims, and have visited her repeatedly, the latter under close supervision of course, both by convention and at Mrs. Fisher's insistence regarding the precise and exacting etiquette of the ship. She has likewise been most firm about Matthew not being permitted to visit the gypsy at all when she is about her false arts, though he has often shown great interest in what she is about.

  Of all of us, Giovanni Franzini, unsurprisingly, seems the most comfortable with her practicing her card tricks and weathers her claims of precognition and omens lying ahead casually. I do not believe he gives any more weight to her claims than I do, but he is used to it, and accepts that she should practice her gypsy ways so long as she follows the rules of the ship. I have confirmed that in her time with the traveling company, she acted as a mysterious fortune teller when she was not earning her keep through other means or as assistant to Franzini, so it is no surprise he takes the matter in stride.

  And while I certainly give her art no place in my beliefs, I would be remiss in accurately reporting the events of our journey if I did not report that he
r most common claims for the near future are ones first of disaster and a loss, and a time of great darkness ahead. What rubbish. On a mission such as ours, matters such as these seem easy to predict, for we will certainly encounter many things which can be tied to these claims. I remain certain that we are now writing our part of the path for the future; it is not written for us.

  August 10th, 1815

  New Orleans

  29º57'N 090º04'W

  Dear Sir,

  I am certain you will be most interested to hear of the events upon our arrival in New Orleans. As there is no proper mooring post or supply station, we had to restock our wares in Philadelphia, which has seen rudimentary development in capacity to support a dirigible, and from there proceeded south, where we had to make even more rudimentary arrangements near New Orleans. Sir James and Miss Bowe, via his suit's ability to deploy from an airship in flight and assistance from the mechanical companion she obtained from Dr. Michell's island, descended to the ground and were able to make reasonable accommodations for the dirigible to descend, though it was a lengthy and difficult process. Still, it should be secure enough that the airship is in no danger, though we have set guard on it at all times even so, and the connection is limited enough that it could launch quickly if needed. Those remaining on board have instructions to do just this should any threat be presented and we will make arrangements to meet them later.

  When all was finished, Sir James and Mr. Franzini, each in his own time, journeyed into the city to make appeal for massing of new forces to seize Spanish territory that threatens British holdings. Sir James carried the orders from the English Crown, authorized by the governors, with the expectations that payment from England will be following us in order to maintain the local armies. Along with this payment, it is expected that eventually reinforcements will arrive from England in order to help protect the region from Spanish ambitions in the longer term. Originally, Jillian Coltrane had also planned to visit some friends she had occasional correspondence with to aid in arranging financial and community support for the plans – but the long journey and living with conditions on the airship have fatigued her sufficiently that she felt she needed to spend some additional time at rest instead. As such, she is contributing via her pen and parchment entreaties to her contacts, rather than making rounds in person at this time.

  Significant forces have been gathered from the expected sources. Many are former soldiers who fought recently in the Napoleonic Wars for the defense of England, returned home to find that they were ill suited to return to other work, and are now proud to once again serve. Sir James has taken direct command of these, for they form our most disciplined and experienced body of troops.

  The second largest body is that of former slaves, freed for their service in wartime, who have since found no other occupation and have not wished to depart their home regions for service to the railroad and its hard labor, or resettlement to the western reaches. While many of these have wartime experience, they are poorly armed and their morale is questionable at best. Certainly the locals do not have a great deal of trust for them, but Sir James has been most willing to accept them into service, as we need any able men we can gather on short notice if we are to succeed now against a fortified Spanish location.

  After those larger groups, the remnants are mostly either local landowners, a few boys who did not serve in the Napoleonic wars but would have done so had they been of age then, and a handful of local mercenaries who typically provide protection for those venturing into Florida to do business. Expansion may not be the aim of the venture, intended to secure our own holdings, but if we have sufficient forces coming, and if the reports of Spanish conspiracy with pirate powers are proven true, it may well be the result. At the very least, it ensures the cooperation of many of the locals of a trade town like New Orleans, where coin is often a more powerful loyalty than country. Many of these hope that should we have the opportunity, England will see fit to take Florida, as it took much of France's territory here during the war, and the railroad might expand there to access many of the port towns currently held by the Spanish, where they see rich trade opportunities.

  Miss Coltrane has been especially active on her brother's behalf as well. While at first, it would seem that talking to the wives of men of estate and power and the wives of those few officers to settle here would not have great impact, her brother credits her with rallying much of the support we have gotten from local businessmen and politicians. Her skill at diplomacy – and perhaps her perfect grasp of French – have earned us allies even her brother did not expect to turn, and she continues tirelessly to seek more aid.

  She has also sent out countless letters, drafted along the way, to dozens of contacts in the American colonies. It seems in her spare time, she corresponds with a wide variety of people all over the Empire, many of them people of influence, or at least the wives of people of influence. She has now turned all of that longstanding connection and her considerable personal persuasion to the aid of the Empire and New Orleans.

  Mr. Franzini has also begun to prove good to his word, stating that we have further resources available to us, including reports on enemy positions by people who still do some business with the Spanish colonies. As I stated, though Spain remains, technically, an enemy from wartime, for many here, coin is a primary motivator. As such, in order to secure such reports from these spies, Mr. Franzini has had to make some promise of coin. Seeing the value in this information, Sir James has reluctantly put forth the money from his own coffers, certain that the Crown will compensate him for his efforts on their behalf.

  In Sir James Coltrane, sir, have no doubt that you have employed one of England's most loyal and valorous sons. He has led us well so far, and though the troop we have gathered are a ragtag bunch, with only some few with uniform to speak of, and mismatched arms in various states of repair, he has excited the whole to be quite enthused about the prospects of serving England, and expanding the influence of the colonies within the British Empire. Whatever misgivings I may have expressed in previous communication, I now apologize for. I am, always, a proud citizen of the greatest Empire the world has ever seen, and am once again proud to do my country service, though in this case I have been armed with pen and camera, and have been asked to document our progress, for morale at home will excite more people to action and support of a new war effort in further lands than mere news of a single victory over Spain. With time and luck, and stringing enough such victories together, it is hoped that Spain might come to see the same light as the French have.

  Yours,

  Gregory Conan Watts

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  August 14th, 1815

  Bateria de San Antonio / Royal Navy Redoubt

  30º20'N 087º18'W

  I have seen many battles in my time, but had never before had the honor of serving under Sir James Coltrane. The Spanish seemed well prepared for us, not at all the surprise attack we had hoped for. At first advance, there was the pop of organized musketfire from the fortress, and the men were forced to fall back to the edge of range and take cover. There would be no organized lines of battle here. The men of New Spain have long since learned to use their forts and fight in the manner of the Americans.

  Sir James ably took command, the booming, metallic voice of his machine easily heard over the chaos. While many were obviously unused to it, even uncomfortable around so strange a thing as the mechanical monster, he has engendered enough respect and renown that he had the loyalty and response of everyone on the field. Men took to cover and organized into their divisions. Eddy took command of a unit of rifles, having hand picked men with experience at both battle and hunting, all armed with Browning rifles. Thankfully, while there are few men with any command training here, the one thing the Americans have in abundance, by comparison, is men whose accuracy, stealth, and ownership of one of the Browning weapons feeds their families.

  After the first assessment and contact, Sir James an
d Eddy conferred briefly, then Sir James began his first feint. He led a charge, the suit taking the brunt of the first fire without apparent harm, leading a group of soldiers large enough to convince the Spanish that it was a real attack, small enough to not endanger too many men, and allowing most to keep some degree of cover from Sir James. First appearing as a battering ram, Sir James brought with him an uprooted tree as well, preventing him from firing, but taking some of the shot and keeping the attention of the Spaniards. Instead, he dropped it some way inside, and the first few men with him took cover from it, taking up firing and cover positions inside the area the Spanish had cleared as a kill zone. Leaving them there with rifles covering the position, Sir James left the men pinned, repeating the process twice more. A few men were lost, injured by random shot, but we had a front and cover. We also managed to move up Eddy and some of the rifles in the last group.

  The fourth charge began much like the others, and by now, the Spanish were somewhat more wary. They had moved their cannons to better cover the area we were attacking from. The sound almost blunted the new rush, men hesitating to rush at cannons, but Sir James never faltered, even when shot splintered the section of tree he was hefting in his hands. This was no false rush, but an assault on the gates, and the enemy figured it out quickly enough. With so many fortified troops and limited space to attack from, Sir James might have made it on his own, but I cannot be certain. Instead, this was where the covered troops came in. Eddy and the American hunters peeked up from their cover long enough to find the cannon crews and began picking them off of the walls. I could almost pick Eddy's shots out from the rest, always the person with only the barest window to shoot down. This was particularly true when he was able to fire shot after shot, without the pause others needed to reload. They kept their rifle shot staggered enough to leave nothing predictable. Some of our foe took cover, surprised, while others continued to fire, and to try to replace their losses.