Distant Gunfire

by David O'Neil

  The threat of invasion effectively past, the frigates HMS Furious, Roister and Pharos were detached to join the frigate-starved fleet of Vice Admiral Nelson, currently seeking the French fleet that had escaped from Toulon under Vice Admiral Villeneuve. Under the command of Robert, the three frigates departed for Gibraltar and the search for the French fleet.

  The situation between the newly promoted Captain Jean Leclerc and Mr.s Margaret Yorke had progressed to the point of the announcement of their engagement.

  Captain Leclerc had already decided that the cottage currently owned by Margaret would be too small to accommodate them when married and he had found an attractive three-story house in a square in Knightsbridge which he was hoping would be agreeable to his new fiancé. They were accompanied to the viewing by Barbara who had found the house in the first place. Both Margaret and Jean were delighted with the property and since it was well within his pocket, Jean bought the house on the spot. It was then the self imposed task of Barbara to arrange the wedding. Neither was interested in a grand ceremony, both having been through the process before, and the resultant quiet marriage conducted by the Parish Priest from Tamar House was attended only by the close friends and relatives of the happy couple.

  It was at serious meeting with Captain Willet that Jean found he was expected to give up his beloved sloop Delft to command a new frigate Hebe building in Deptford at the moment. Willet had been given the rank of Commodore and taken overall control of the Preventive service. Admiral Keith had been posted back to active rank in the Admiralty.

  For Jean and Margaret Leclerc the time taken for the new ship to be completed was just what they needed to learn to live together, David Yorke was a quiet friendly lad and he took to the thoughtful warmth of his new father, who was delighted to accept his readymade family.

  The appointment of his First Lieutenant gave them the freedom to explore their new relationship fully and the as the building of the Hebe progressed they settled into an acceptable routine that suited them both.

  The news from the fleet was sparse, letters brought by the swift sailing sloops had been collected at different times, and sometimes they were intercepted by enemy action.

  For Robert the search for Nelson was frustrating. The frigates had been intercepted by a Spanish ship in their travels, the declaration of war was only three months old and the Spanish ship was clearly not enthusiastic about the conflict because she immediately demonstrated her superior sailing capabilities by turning and running for the Spanish coast. Although Furious and Roister gave chase, the Spaniard was too fast for them and they were obliged to break off the chase before they ran under the guns of the fort at the entrance to Cadiz. As they beat to windward once more HMS Pharos signalled three ship sailing south. She followed her signal with a second identifying the ships as French of the line. Robert ordered the frigate to give chase and shadow the enemy ships, hoping that they will lead him to the main French/Spanish Fleet. Furious and Roister gradually caught Pharos only to be frustrated by sea mist that persisted most of the day, causing them to lose contact with the French ships. When they finally caught up with the fleet, Admiral Nelson called all three frigate Captains to attend him on the flagship. The Captains were piped on board the Victory and greeted by Nelson’s Flag Captain Thomas Hardy who conducted them below to the great cabin.

  Nelson greeted Robert with a smile. “Delighted to see you, Graham; please introduce your companions?”

  Robert managed the introductions and turned to the little Admiral. “Sirm I am happy to be here and hope to be a part of the forthcoming conflict when we find Villeneuve. I understand that the Spanish have joined forces with the French and confess a Spanish frigate we encountered showed us a clean pair of heels. We did in fact contact three French ships of the line but sadly lost them again in the sea mist that hung around for most of yesterday”

  Nelson commented, “We have actually been lucky in the capture of three Spanish frigates which proved to be excellent sailors and a welcome addition to the fleet. I understand it was probably the reason for the declaration of war in December. Mind you, I have no doubt they would have declared war anyway, it has been threatened for some months. Now, gentlemen, here is what we are doing and I wish you to screen the fleet between here and the Spanish coast. I need time to form lines of battle and it is up to the frigates to give me the time.

  “Once the fleet is in contact with the enemy I expect you to stand off and let us do our work. You will be free to tackle the enemy frigates if the chance arises.

  “Are we all clear gentlemen, I do not deny any of my Captains the opportunity place his ship in harm’s way, I only expect it not to be a foolish or pointless action!”

  The three Captains made their farewells and left the Admiral poring over the chart on his desk.

  Graham did not realise that this was the last time he was to see Nelson alive.

  The three frigates covered a considerable area of sea as they sailed spread out in line abreast. They had been spared the frustrations of the fleet that for months had been forced to wait and watch and sail back and forth seeking the opportunity to bring the enemy to battle. For Robert the sight of the massive ships of the line sailing in close order was inspiring, though he would not have exchanged his Furious for the Victory for a step in rank. They were apparently pursuing the combined fleet under Villeneuve southwards though they had not sighted a ship for days. It was on the 21st October that the first sighting of the returning enemy fleet was made by Pharos. Archer’s signal was passed as the frigate came about to reverse her course, Furious maintained her heading to establish that it was the full fleet approaching before he reversed course and joined the others racing back to warn the British fleet.

  Chapter twenty eight

  From the sidelines it was an impressive sight; seeing the two fleets coming together. Once the battle had commenced, however, the smoke and viewpoint made the battle one of complete confusion for the watchers in the frigates, the general situation with guns firing and smoke billowing made Robert restless and seeing the enemy frigates hovering around the fringes of the battle was enough to cause Richard to decide to take action himself. Signalling his two consorts to follow him he turned Furious towards the nearest French frigate. Ordering the battle ensigns to be raised, he had the drummer beat to quarters and with all guns loaded and ready to run out, he sailed into battle. The Frenchman turned to face him and the two ships manoeuvred to take the best advantage. Furious had the weather gauge and was best placed to fire first; the French had to endure the first broadside before having the chance to reply. The three other enemy frigates, seeing the action beginning, came to support their ally. Seeing this, Robert—rather than concentrating on the first frigate—ran down the line and fired her reloaded guns into the next frigate in line.

  “Oh, well done, Billy!” Lieutenant Walker cried as the Roister followed suit and fired her first broadside into the first frigate, which had commenced turning to re-engage the Furious. Captain Archer in the Pharos, seeing what was happening, followed suit and, despite taking the remnants of the broadside from the first ship, put the whole of her broadside into the shattered ship, that was now contending with a broken mainmast and several dismounted guns, her ensign was lying hanging over the side to the remnants of the mizzen mast; effectively out of the battle. The second was already suffering a similar fate as all three British frigates poured their fire successively into her. The last in range was a 44 gun frigate, the Captain of which seemed undecided whether to take part in the action or not. The sight of the three British ships descending on him bristling with guns made up his mind for him; the British ships all had the weather, making it a case of fight to the death, or yield. She fired her bow chaser, the ball skipping across the water across the bow of Roister. She then struck her colours. The other two French ships were still reeling from the hammering they had received and when the Furious and Roister came about to renew the attack, the two ships—one dismasted, the other trying to make s
ail for the bulk of the enemy fleet—the fugitive was caught by Phoebe and struck her colours thus the captives plus the dismasted French ship were all secured as prizes.

  The casualties on the Frenchman were horrific, she had lost half her complement and, being undermanned to start with, was very poorly off. Leaving prize crews aboard the three frigates, Robert returned to the main battle area, trying to see what was happening. Furious came up with the battle between a British 74 lying between two enemy battle ships Sending as many riflemen as he could into the tops, Robert ordered them to clear the Quarterdeck of the nearest ship. The withering fire put up by the riflemen was sufficient for the battle ship to pay attention to the little frigate lying off her stern. The stern windows opened and two guns were run out preparing to fire upon the annoying ship, however the guns could not be depressed enough to effectively harm the frigate. Then a group of men armed with muskets appeared and were promptly shot by the riflemen. With men keeping the stern windows clear, a group of men under Lieutenant Ogilvie ran along the main yard and jumped aboard the French ship. Grapples were hooked on and more men boarded, the stern rail had been swept with fire from the swivel guns mounted in the tops, so a party of riflemen made the climb up ropes to the stern rail where they crouched and slipped their rifles through the rails made sure the quarterdeck was clear before climbing over the rail and securing the wheel. The balance of the rifles went to the break of the poop where they lay down to open a withering fire on the gunners serving the guns along the main deck. The party within the main cabin below seeing the deck being cleared came out from the cabin and joined with the Quarterdeck party in shooting at anyone that moved. The survivors from the main deck ran below to escape the deadly fire. Ogilvie called down to the Furious below, “We have secured the deck, boarders away?”

  Robert turned. “Signal Roister, close and assist! Away boarders,” He ran to the shrouds where he climbed to the main yard and boarded the ship through the stern windows. Rallying the boarders, he went through to the main deck. The dead and injured were piled everywhere. The boarders went to the main hatch to the gun deck, and two bold souls leaped down the stairs into the inferno of noise and confusion of guns being run out and fired, withdrawn and reloaded. A group of men followed the first two down, and then Robert appeared. “Take aim!” He called “Fire!” and the collection of rifles and his own pistol cleared two guns of their crews. The officers in charge of the guns realised something was wrong at that point, and turned to organise resistance. Effectively it was too late as more men had boarded the ship and joined the boarders below deck swords swinging, pistols firing. The boarders on deck had already begun the process of extracting the ship from her position broadside to the British ship. The French flag was cut down and the union flag was raised.

  The combined efforts of Furious and Roister had taken a French 74 gun line of battle ship. Importantly, the Frenchman had been plucked from occupying its place in the line and the gap made allowed more room for manoeuvre for the British ships. The need for prize crews caused Robert to stand off from the immediate action once more, allowing temporary repairs to be made and permitting the surgeons to work on the wounded. By transferring the prisoners to the dismasted frigate, it allowed the captive 74 gun Agen to be used for the care and treatment of the bulk of the casualties both French and British, the four surviving surgeons working together.

  By the evening, all six ships had worked clear of the battle that was still raging. From the maintop Robert was able to see many of the ships in sight were without masts, the smoke from the guns was creating a huge cloud rolling across the surface of the water obscuring many of the ships. The crash of guns was followed by red highlights in the smoke. It was impossible to tell who was winning, the flags of many of the ships were tangled and wrapped around the rigging. He could just make out the string of signal flags which indicated the position of the Victory, though it was too far away to read what it said.

  The dismasted frigate was jury rigged with some sail giving her steerage way. The others were all able to sail, so the Phoebe was left to escort the damaged frigate, while Robert sought to give assistance where he could to the other ships in the fleet.

  They learned of the death of Nelson from Captain Rutherford of the 74 gun Swiftsure.

  The voyage home was a sombre affair, the people stunned by the loss of their little Admiral, the atmosphere in Plymouth affected everyone and despite the resounding victory there was little celebration. For the navy the war went on. Although Napoleon appeared to have ignored his fleet, the ships of the British fleet continued with the daily grind of the blockades mounted at the various ports that still sheltered French warships. The escape of the Brest fleet in December that year with its five ships of the line made it clear that while threat of invasion was over, there was still work to be done.

  For Robert, the return home and seeing his family was everything, Tamar House was alive with the sound of young people, Jenny and Peter Stephens were renewing their acquaintance, and newly promoted Lieutenant Alan Dawson who spent most of his time with the Grahams, was also to be heard as he carried a struggling David Graham on his shoulder through to the Garden room where he dumped him on the settee. “That will be enough out of you, young man, just you wait until I get you on the deck of my ship, your feet won’t touch the ground!”

  “You’re a bully, Alan Dawson,” said a soft voice from the door.

  “Oh, am I? I’ll show you a bully.” He turned and ran to the door while Jenny Stephens ran, skirts flying, down the garden with Alan in pursuit.

  Barbara smiled to herself as she heard the exchange; it was as she had thought, Alan and Jenny were getting on nicely, they were good for each other. She had been told by the doctor that David would be her only child, but looking and hearing the noises through the house, she considered herself blessed.

  In the garden, Alan caught Jenny in the copse of trees at the far end. He did not realise that she had allowed him to catch her. Having caught her he was at a loss with what to do with her.

  “Let me go, bully!” She laughed he held her in his arms.

  Without thinking, he laughed and said, “I demand a forfeit; an apology and a kiss!” He almost let go as he realised that he may have spoiled everything, gone too far.

  “Very well then,” she said seriously, “I’m sorry.” She leaned forward and kissed him carefully on the lips, melting against him and slipping her arms round his neck. They stood seemingly for a long time. He could feel her body trembling up against him; neither seemed to want to stop. Then a voice from the trees called “I see you. You’re kissing.” There was a peal of laughter and David ran up the garden shouting that Alan and Jenny were in love.

  In the trees Alan uncertain stood back. “Well we’ve been found out.”

  Jenny replied, to his surprise, “It was bound to come out sooner or later. Let’s face the music together.” She took his hand and together they walked up the garden to face the rest of the family.

  For Alan it was a complete revelation, he had not realised that Jenny felt as he did. Looking back, he could see it had always been there, when there were problems they always sought each other out to discuss them. It was with a full heart that he endured the teasing of the others in the family, openly holding Jenny by the hand in public.

  Robert, at thirty-six, was now a full captain for over two years and on the list for promotion to Flag rank, though with the war now largely confined to the land he considered the prospect distant. Furious was in the dockyard getting yet another few replacement timbers, the frigate was not the most well-constructed ship in the fleet. Jaipur was also in Plymouth, which was why Peter was at Tamar House with Jenny, Alan and David.

  Adam Tamar had been invited to join Sam Callow and Abel Jackson at the Half Moon for a few days. Martin Walker had been reported in the company of, of all people, Amelie Porter, who was staying with friends in Plimpton, just over a mile along the coast. Lieutenant Ogilvie had charge of the ship while she was under rep
air.

  Robert and Barbara went with the family to London for the funeral of Lord Nelson after the subdued celebration of Christmas and the New Year.

  They stayed at the house in Knightsbridge and prepared for the ceremony in two days time. As one of the Captains under command at Trafalgar Robert would walk behind the carriage, after the crew of the Victory who would follow the coffin.

  The two days in London were overshadowed by the occasion, and despite the appearance of Billy and his wife and son, Mathew, were staying with his aunt the Countess, it was no time for good cheer.

  The occasion of the funeral was a time of extraordinary preparation and the crowds started to gather in the streets during the night, gathering together for warmth and comfort. Wherever the procession was due to pass the streets filled with people, but it was the quiet that impressed Robert most, as he returned from a meeting at the Admiralty, he was astounded by the behaviour and the discipline of the silent crowd.

  The cortege travelled through the streets of London from its resting place in the Painted Hall at Westminster where it had lain for three days. Robert was filled with pride as he walked through the streets in the train of his hero.

  During the week that followed Robert and Barbara stayed close to home with their family, the pall of gloom that hung over London seemed to them to have stopped all normal social life.

  For Robert it was the realisation that their family so recently brought together was now about to separate once more. Alan now a Lieutenant would soon be off to sea once more, Jenny would be here but Peter her brother would also be off to sea.