Parker raised his head. 'Possibly it might now be time—'
'Ain't no way we c'n back-water on this'n,' Davis broke in. 'Our necks 're in a noose soon's we give it in. I reckon there's only one course t' steer. We show we means what we says. An' goes at it hard, like.'
'That's what we do, no doubt about it. It's the only way we're going t' get them to see we're not f'r turnin',' Kydd agreed vigorously.
Parker gave a ghost of a smile.
Sailors began landing in numbers, each with a red cockade in his hat. The processions started again but there was no festive mood, no hilarity. Instead it was a march of grim-faced seamen preceded by a huge red flag, damp and streaming in the oppressive drizzle.
Townsfolk watched apprehensively, sensing the mood of anger and frustration. Some called encouragement but for most it was a disturbing, frightening sight - jolly Jack Tar in an ugly mood.
Aboard Sandwich a meeting was called. Parker, pale-faced but resolute, addressed the Parliament. 'We need to step up our vigilance, keep a strong hand in our discipline.' The assembled delegates waited. 'I have here a list of proposed regulations that we—'
'Enough of yer soddin' regulations! Let's 'ave some action, blast yer eyes!'
'The chair recognises Brother Blake, Inflexible? said Parker warily.
'Are we sittin' around here while they waits us out? Be buggered we are! Look, I heard there's soldiers on th' march fr'm Chatham, comin' over King's Ferry now. So how about some regulations fer that, Mr President?'
The news caused a buzz of dismay, but the fire-breathing Blake stood up and challenged, 'Strike Admiral Buckner's pennant, an' hoist the Bloody Flag fr'm the masthead instead. Every fuckin' man-o'-war t' do the same and be damned t' any who stand in th' way of justice an' our rights!'
In the animated discussion that followed, Parker rapped on the table. 'It's more serious than that. If they are moving troops against us, when we have always been peaceable, we are betrayed, brothers. And we can do only one of two things. Surrender without a pardon, or resist. I leave it to this meeting to decide.'
Kydd laid down his quill while argument raged. Soldiers, sent to Sheerness Fort no doubt. Did this mean a deliberate act of encirclement or was it something more innocent? Whatever the reason, Parker was right: their alternatives were few. Their only chance now was a showof strength to persuade the Admiralty that negotiation was in their own best interest. He raised his voice stoutly over the din. 'We take steps t' secure the fleet.'
'An' what's that supposed ter mean?' Blake stared at him suspiciously. Kydd was not a delegate and had no right to speak, but he was given a hearing.
'All ships t' shift moorings t' the Great Nore, ground tackle down so's we're in a defensive circle, that sort o' thing. Then f'r sure they can't come close without we c'n greet 'em with a broadside. They'll never try that, so we'll be safe 'n' snug.'
'Um, intelligent,' Parker mused. 'They can't accuse us of an offensive action, no provocation, but by this we render ourselves quite beyond their power to harm us.'
'What about th' standin' force o' gunboats?' Hulme had made little contribution so far, but this idea was good. Sheerness as a naval port had its local defences, and these included a small squadron of gunboats.
'We helps ourselves, in course,' said Blake warmly. 'An' then we has th' buggers around us t' see off any cuttin' out tricks b' boats.'
'Er, it sounds a useful move, I'll admit,' said Parker doubtfully. 'We must suppose that if we leave them, they may well be used against us. Very well, we make our plans.'
One by one the men-o'-war of the Nore took up their positions; concentrated in a double crescent their combined broadsides were a fearsome threat. Every vessel in Sheerness that could sail was brought out to join the fleet. Some were fearful of the way things were shaping, and a certain amount of coercion, sometimes forceful, was employed.
The column of soldiers made their appearance on the Queenborough road - two full regiments — but they turned out to be militia, and succumbed quickly to the antics of the seamen ashore, who ran alongside taunting or striking up patriotic songs. The soldiers straggled into their barracks in disarray.
In the dockyard the sailors found allies among the shipwrights. In sympathy with the wronged seamen they resolved never to take any vessel for repair unless it was flying a red flag at main. Blue Town loyally urged on the sailors they had taken to their hearts, and when a flotilla of armed boats from the fleet swept round the point they were roundly cheered.
Eight gunboats were boarded and carried, with most crews joining the mutineers. Without delay, they set out to join the fleet.
'Should be comin' in sight any minute,' said Kydd to Parker, clamping his telescope against a shroud.
'And I'd never have considered Blake the man to do it,' Parker said.
Kydd looked out over the low-lying fortifications. 'He's a short-fused beggar, I know, but he's the kind o' man y'd like next to you in a boardin'.' He saw the masts. 'Here they come, thanks be.'
The gunboats drew abreast of Garrison Point. Then came a jet of smoke and the thud of a gun. The next vessel passed; it also fired. And the next took its turn. There was no mistaking this time: an untidy scatter of black fragments leaped skywards. 'Jesus!' shouted Kydd. 'They're bombardin' the fort!'
Chapter 9
‘Kind in you, Dundas — my own shed a wheel this morning, most aggravatin'.'
The Secretary of State for War did not appear particularly communicative, staring out of his carriage window at the sunset traffic on the Thames as they passed over Westminster Bridge.
'Billy Pitt must be hell-bent on some adventure, callin' a cabinet meeting at such a notice,' Windham, leader of the Commons, offered.
'He has much to consairn him.' The burr of a lowland Scot had not entirely left the secretary, but Windham knew that, of all men, Dundas was closest to the beleaguered prime minister. 'Know it for a fact that Lord Moira is tappin' his friends with a view to bringing him and his gov'ment down — wants Northumberland as premier an' Fox to be a minister.'
'Fox! The wily beggar — you know he waited on the King?'
'Aye, he did, and His Knobbs saw him, would you credit it? Didn't say a word to him, I'm told.'
The carriage clattered off the bridge at New Palace Yard, passing the twin flambeaux at its entrance crackling in the gathering dusk. It swung right into Parliament Street with a loud creaking of leather springs, then slowed and came to a stop.
Dundas thumped on the roof with his stick. 'Dammit, man, we have to be in—'
A caped coachman leaned down. 'The mobility, sir,' he said heavily. Dundas leaned out of the window. A straggling, noisy crowd was astride the road: some of them bore crude banners, others were supporting an effigy.
'Drive on!' Dundas snapped, and withdrew inside.
He hefted his stick — it was capped with a heavy silver embossing. Windham loosened his sword, a paltry spadroon. Neither man spoke as the coachman urged the carriage forward with cracking whip.
'No war! Down with Pitt!' came angry shouts.
Dundas leaned out of the window again. 'Don't stop!' he roared. The driver plied his whip, but the horses were now shying at the ugly crowd ahead, flicking their heads to the side, eyes bulging white.
The mob fell back sullenly before the charging carriage, with its scarlet and green coat-of-arms, but as it plunged among them, some beat at the sides, screaming. A stone shattered a window to the front, then another. More blows drummed on the side of the carriage as it thundered through the mob.
The horses whinnied in terror, but the impetus now was to get away, and in a terrified clatter of hoofs the wildly swaying carriage was through to the safety of the White Hall precinct with its redcoat guard.
'Thank you, gentlemen, for your prompt attendance — you will find your celerity is amply justified by events.' Pitt rubbed his eyes in weariness, staring at the new Corinthian columns as though they were on the point of dissolving.
They filed i
n: Grenville, the stern and principled Foreign Minister; the Duke of Portland, Home Secretary; the Secretary of State for War and the War Minister, still pale from their experience in the carriage. The big oval table was bare except for a small sheaf of papers and a glass of port before the Prime Minister.
'Do be seated. A muzzier, Henry? I heard you were accosted by the mob.'
'If you please, Prime Minister.'
'Good. Now, this is the essence.' Pitt's pale, noble face was slashed with lines of strain.
Windham wondered how any single person could take the whole weight of this utterly new kind of war, let alone keep aloof from the fierce political brawling in the Commons every day.
'The situation abroad is critical.' Taking up his port Pitt gestured to Grenville to continue.
'Indeed. Since Rivoli the Austrians have lost heart. I now find they are dickering secretly with General Buonaparte for peace, their price Venice - which, of course, is now in his gift. We've been thrown out of the Mediterranean, not a ship further in than Gib, and we find that the French by autumn will be in occupation of the left bank of the Rhine. This is something that last happened a thousand years ago.' Grenville stopped, and looked grimly about the table. 'In short, we've not a single friend left. The coalition is finished.'
Pitt put down his glass with extreme care. 'The whole business of war has put an intolerable stress on our resources. The National Debt frightens me, and I won't hide it from you, gentlemen, that unless a miracle occurs or we can think of a radical new way of taxing, we shall be bankrupted.'
The Home Secretary muttered indistinctly; the others stared grimly.
'You will ask what more can happen — then I shall tell you. If our standing abroad is so sadly diminished, our domestic is worse. Those bad harvests leave us with precious litde to show for four years of war, we are balanced on a knife edge of economics, but our precious trade, the life-blood of our islands, this is to be guarded with all we have. And we nearly lost it all to those mutinous wretches at Spithead. Fortunately they've been appeased, and Dundas tells me the Channel fleet is now back at sea again. A damn near thing, gentlemen, for a run on 'Change would ruin us in every chancellory in Europe.'
His eyes glazed, and he made a visible effort to recruit his strength. 'Now, it seems, we have a new mutiny, this time at the Nore. I was assured — the Admiralty were confident — this would blow over just as soon as we'd acceded in the Spithead case. But now, far from returning to duty, they're making new demands and saying our general pardon doesn't cover them. The admiral in those parts — that useless ninny — says that guns have been fired at a king's ship, and the Sheerness fort has been bombarded.
'My friends, this is a far more serious matter altogether. Grenville has unimpeachable intelligence that the Dutch are preparing a major fleet challenge from the Texel at the goading of the French. If they succeed by our ships useless at their moorings, then they can within hours secure the Channel for a massed landing. If they get wind of this mutiny it will be all up with us, I fear.'
He finished his port in one and set down his glass. 'I — we cannot withstand a second mutiny and consequent concessions. This administration would certainly fall. Added to which, each hour the mutineers are free to strut about is encouragement to every crackpot radical in the land. As we talk, Sheerness is en fete for their mutinous heroes, and the garrison is now considered unreliable. What we are faced with must be accounted the worst crisis I have ever encountered.
'So, I want suggestions, plans, strategies, anything, but this rising must be stopped - now! Charmed or crushed, it has to be over speedily and the ringleaders punished, visibly. I trust I'll have your strongest recommendation for action.
'Oh, and quite incidentally, I have the Lord Chancellor's ruling on the applicability of the King's Pardon to the Nore. It is that the mutineers were right in the essentials, their offences are indeed not within the purview of the Spithead pardon.'
'Th' poxy, slivey, cuntbitten shicers!' Hulme would not be consoled.
'An' so say we all,' Kydd agreed, with feeling. 'Dick,
I owns y' was right. I'd never have thought 'em shabs enough f'r that grass-combin' move. If we'd accepted th' pardon we could all be— Well, we didn't.' It was a low blow, a cold-blooded act of policy. 'We stands fast,' Kydd said sturdily.
'Yes, Tom, the only thing we can do.' Parker seemed to find strength in Kydd's words, and raised his voice: 'Do you all listen! We know where we stand now. There's no going back, lads. We either win or die.
'The ancient Romans carried a bundle of sticks to show to all that one stick might be taken and easily broken, yet all taken together you may not break them. And when Benjamin Franklin put pen to the Declaration of Independence, he swore that "Now, indeed, we must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
'Now, there are some — we may hazard who - are, as one might say, lacking in zeal. There are some who would let others risk all to win for them while they keep in with the authority. Still more are thinking to desert their shipmates. These are a danger and peril to all of us. We have to take steps to prevent them loosening our unity — by any means. If necessary, by compulsion!
'Joe, I want you and your mate to spend your hours visiting each ship. See yard-ropes are rove and the Bloody Flag flies high and free! All hands to wear a red ribbon in his hat in token of our struggle.
'Cap'n Davis, every morning at sunrise, the men of Sandwich are to clear lower deck and give three rousing cheers. And you entertain on board every Thames pilot you can find - they shall not remain at large and free to navigate any foolish expedition the government thinks to send against us.
'There is a special service awaiting Brother Hulme. Word has been passed to us that in the Thames beyond Tilbury, at Long Reach, lies Lancaster sixty-four and others. We mean to set them free to drop down-river to join our company. You may use any measures to secure the ships against those who would wish to maintain their tyranny.
'And to all you brave hearts, it is now time to take courage. Let none doubt that we are resolved — at the cannon's mouth, if need be — to stay true to our cause.'
There was a breathless silence in the Great Cabin, then Blake scrambled to his feet. 'An' it's three times three fer our Pres-i-dent Parker! Let's hear it, y' shabs!' The cheers echoed deafeningly while Parker sat, red with pleasure, eyes sparkling.
'An' then we toasted like good 'uns damnation to their lordships 'n' Pitt 'n' his scurvy crew!' Kydd laughed.
Kitty did not join in. 'Thomas — please! Ye have to know, people are afraid. They know y’ don' have the pardon an' they're worried f'r what ye'll do now. An' some of y' sailors are takin' boats 'n' landin' in Whitstable 'n' Faversham t' kick up a bobbery. Honest folks now takin' agin you, m' love.'
Kydd's heart softened at the genuine worry in Kitty's face. 'M' dear Kitty,' he said sofdy, holding her tight, 'it'll all be over soon - we're united, see, and they has t' treat wi' us. An' the first thing we asks afore we talks is a right full pardon fr'm the King.'
She dropped her eyes and, in a muffled voice, said, 'I know you, Thomas. You'll be true t' the end, th' last one t' yield, an' then they'll take y' up as a ringleader, an' then — an' then .. .' She turned away and wept.
A cold wave stole over Kydd: women often had a second sight denied to men. 'Come, now, Kitty, that's a fine carry-on f'r a man t' take away. Mark my words, lass, I'll wager their lordships '11 be down here, and a-treatin' with us, like they did in Spithead, in only a day or so,' he said strongly. But the chill feeling stayed.
'Did he, by God!' Parker heard the seaman out, his face darkening. 'Is he not aware who is the power in this anchorage? Does he think to top it the mandarin in our presence? Pass the word for Bill Davis, if you please, Tom, we're going ashore to set straight our Admiral Buckner.'
The barge glided in to the steps, and the president of the delegates and his staff stepped ashore. They strode direcdy across to the fort gate, ignoring the sentry, and went s
traight to the commissioner's house. 'Mr Parker, president o' the delegates, t' see the admiral,' Kydd told the flag lieutenant at the door.
'He is not to be disturbed,' the officer replied, his face tight.
'He'll see Mr Parker now,' Kydd said, moving closer.
'Impossible. He's hearing charges at this moment.'
Parker stiffened. 'Why do you think we're here, sir?' He moved closer.
'Very well. I will tell the admiral.'
Parker did not wait. Following the lieutenant into the room, he stood, feet astride, surveying the occupants. 'Captain Hartwell,' he acknowledged to the dockyard commissioner. 'Captain Cunningham,' he added, seeing the captain of Clyde to one side. They glowered back at him.
'Yes, what is it, Mr Parker?' Admiral Buckner asked, obviously embarrassed.
'You have two marines in your custody, I understand, Admiral,' Parker snapped. 'Please to yield their persons to me.'
'I don't understand, Mr Parker. These men were taken up in the town drunk and riotous, and as they are members of the fleet it is of course my duty to detain them.'
'That, sir, is precisely why I am here,' said Parker, in hard tones.
'Sir?' Buckner's voice was weak and unsure.
Parker paced forward. 'Sir, your flag no longer flies and your authority is now gone. These are then my prisoners and will be disciplined by the fleet.'
The old admiral's face sagged. 'Mr Parker, my flag is struck, it is true, but, sir, consider my feelings.'
Around the room there were expressions of astonishment at this display of emotion from so senior a personage.
'I have feelings too, Admiral Buckner, and I do consider yours. I'm sorry to say it, but it's not in my power to change things.'
There was an appalled silence. Then a chair crashed to the floor as Captain Cunningham leaped to his feet and drew his sword. Kydd lunged across and seized his arm, smashing his wrist down on the chair back. The sword clattered to the floor.
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