“But what do we do then, they will still blast us when we try to get away” I asked. Cochrane looked at me with a wolfish smile and I realised that I had not yet appreciated the full horror of his plan.
“Why we board of course. They won’t be expecting that.” He paused to beam at us and then laughed. “Look by then they will know it is the Speedy and they know that I have more tricks than a box of monkeys. We will have kept them off balance. They will think that it would be suicidal for us to attack them unless we had some tricks up our sleeve and so they will be looking for a trap.”
“Do you have some tricks up your sleeve?” asked Archie sounding concerned.
“Of course” said Cochrane airily. “Look lads have I ever let you down before? I tell you we can take this ship. Our small size is not a disadvantage but an advantage for we will be below her guns. We can pound her with impunity. When we get aboard they will be weakened and frightened of whatever tricks we have in store. They will be looking for reasons to back off and we will give them some. You are the Speedy, the terror of the Spanish on this coast. Think lads if we take this ship, we will be the talk of the fleet. You will never have to buy a drink again in a naval town again when you tell them you were on the Speedy when she took the Gamo. Think of the prize money too lads, for she will make us all rich.”
In the romantic novels everyone huzzahs at this point and runs off to the guns but on the deck of the Speedy there was a second’s silence as every man there absorbed the enormity of what Cochrane had just said. He was asking us to take on massive odds in a death or glory attack. I suspect that everyone there, like me, was weighing up the alternatives and realising that there weren’t any. We were committed to the attack from the moment the Gamo emerged from the mist. It was that or being taken prisoner and as we were viewed as virtual pirates by the Spanish and after the attack at Estepona, we could expect little mercy. I remembered with a chill that Abrantes awaited me if I was taken prisoner. A flicker of concern started to cross Cochrane’s expectant face as he must have wondered if we would take on this insane challenge. But before he could say any more it was the big seaman Eriksson that broke the silence, “I don’t want to die chained to a galley or dangling from a rope so I say we attack. We either die like Vikings with weapons in our hands or we become heroes that men will talk about for years.”
“Fight like Vikings” someone shouted in agreement and suddenly we were all cheering and so help me, I was joining in as enthusiastically as the rest.
Perhaps in the same situation now in my old age I would think more about trying to talk my way out of being a prisoner, but I doubt it. The dagoes are proud as Lucifer when they have prisoners and treat them like dirt. There would be little chance of any mercy there. Having fought with them in subsequent years in Portugal and Spain I also now know that Cochrane was right in saying they don’t hold up well in a fight. In both their army and navy there is a huge social gulf between the officers and men. The officers, often nobility, generally feel that actual fighting is something for the lower orders to do. They would rarely condescend to even speak to common soldier or sailor and expect obedience as a birthright. The men on the other hand have no wish to die for officers they don’t know or for reasons they do not understand and often look for an excuse to give up. Why at Talavera a whole Spanish regiment broke and ran at what they thought was the sound of a single musket shot. Look it up, it is in the history books now. A whole Spanish regiment guarding Wellington’s right flank broke and ran, stopping only to loot the British baggage in their escape. What the history books don’t tell you is that it was not a musket shot but a loud horse’s fart that set them off, and I should know as I was sitting on the horse at the time. But that is another story.
We were close enough to the stern of the Gamo to see faces now. Whether they recognised Cochrane for I saw someone pointing at us and shouting, or whether it was the renewed cheering that alarmed them, I don’t know but suddenly they went on the attack. A broadside from the great frigate crashed out, but it was too late. We were already past their stern most guns and in any event the range had not been adjusted from when they first sighted us and so the balls went high and wide. It brought Cochrane back to the task in hand though. “Right gun crews double shot the port guns and run out. Fire as you bear and rake their stern. Topmen, man the braces as I want to go tight round their stern.” The deck was alive with activity as we only had a hundred yards to go before we would be level with the stern of the frigate. Looking up I saw the United States flag coming down to be replaced by the big Royal Navy white battle ensign.
From the back, the Gamo was even more intimidating than from the side as the stern rose up in a huge and ornately gilded shape overhanging the rudder and housing the doubtless luxurious officers quarters. I had noticed that the gun deck of the Gamo did not extend all the way to the rear of the vessel as it would in an English warship, probably to avoid disturbing the cabins when they cleared for action. As we had been level with her stern this had helped us avoid the first broadside. Now I looked anxiously for stern chaser guns that would be able to fire at virtually point blank range as we crossed their stern but none were to be seen. A crowd of Spanish officers and some of their marines appeared at the stern rail to watch as the Speedy pulled round the back of the ship. Puffs of smoke appeared as the marines opened fire, but to no effect. They evidently expected us to try and escape in the opposite direction but the Speedy heeled in the wind while making the turn pointing the guns upwards. One by one the little four pounder guns spat out their double loads of shot. At short range the effect was devastating. At least one set of balls smashed through the stern rail sending iron and splinters into the men standing at it. We subsequently discovered that this killed both the captain and the boatswain. Other balls crashed through the huge stern windows of the rear cabins and then proceeded to smash their way down the crowded gun deck bringing more death and destruction.
The gun crews moved to quickly reload their guns. The one advantage of such small weapons was that they were much easier and quicker to load and train than the 12 pounders that formed the main armament of the frigate. Having crossed the stern of the Gamo the course was changed to sail alongside it on the leeward side. Cochrane kept as close to the big ship as possible as we gained on it to move close alongside. The front of the Speedy moved past the shattered wreckage of their stern which literally towered above us. As we moved further alongside their starboard side another broadside crashed out. Their balls parted ropes and burst through the foremast mainsail but otherwise passed harmlessly overhead.
As we gradually got level with the big Spanish ship Cochrane moved closer still so that our rigging became entangled with theirs. Our little broadside crashed out again and at point blank range you could see splinters flying where the balls smashed through the enemy planking. Again the Spanish fired their guns which were now directly over head. You could hear a tearing sound as the balls tore through the air but apart from some more holes in sails and broken cordage no damage was done.
This was my first, but sadly not my last sea battle. You may see them in paintings and try to imagine what they are like but nothing prepares you for the noise and the smoke. While our guns went off with sharp crack and relatively small puffs of smoke, their cannons boomed out literally just above our heads and sent out plumes of smoke across our decks. You could hear the cries and shouts from the crews of both ships and now there was a crackle of musket fire from marines on their deck and I saw one of our sailors go down, hit in chest, and be swiftly taken below. The worst part of most sea battles is the long wait as formations of slow ships move to engage but in this battle we barely had time to think before the guns started and the time flew by.
The only damage we were taking was from some Spanish marines who were shooting down onto our decks. I heard a second man scream but did not see him as quickly the smoke became too thick leaving them firing blind. So began one of the craziest hours of my life, for that was how long we staye
d pounding the Gamo with our little guns from just a few feet away. Only half of the crew were involved in firing the cannons and many of the rest of us got muskets from the store. While Cochrane paced the quarterdeck in open view, I was happy to crouch behind a bulwark and take shots at where I knew their deck to be. I have no idea whether I hit anyone but it gave me something to do. The rigging of the two ships was intertwined but as our lower sails and rigging was gradually shot away we got a grappling hook caught in their bows. This was tied it to a capstan so that we did not fall behind and could move our ship up and down the length of theirs. We were well aware that if the Spanish were able to stand off and blast us, then the tables would be turned.
As our shots tore up their decks and theirs went high of ours the Spanish decided that the easiest way to resolve the battle would be to board the Speedy. However I could clearly hear the orders being given in Spanish on the nearby deck to prepare for boarding and warned Cochrane. We slackened the bow rope and moved a few yards away from the Gamo. Thus when they came to board there was a gap between the two hulls too big to jump. They stood peering through the smoke looking for the Speedy’s deck and seeing a dark mass at their rail we gave them a fusillade of musket shots while they hesitated. Twice more they tried to board, twice more we did the same thing. They lost a few men each time, mostly to muskets but one man tried the jump and fell screaming into the sea.
After an hour Parker sent one of the younger midshipmen up from the gun deck to report that they were starting to run low on ammunition. Some of the guns had been triple shotted and the light guns could be fired nearly once a minute so we were getting through balls at a fast rate. The passage of the battle was also taking us closer to the Spanish coast and the gunboats that we had seen the previous day had come out to watch but had so far not interfered. We could not sail away, it was time to bring things to a conclusion.
I saw Cochrane give some orders for Parker to the midshipman and the boy’s astonished reaction. I could not hear what was said but Cochrane laughed and repeated the orders and sent the boy on his way. Having learnt a lesson from us hearing the Spanish bellowing for boarding parties he called down to the deck and shouted that we should get ready for the second stage of the plan. We all knew what this meant and my guts started to churn. It was one thing to take pot-shots from the relatively safe deck of the Speedy but we now had to climb across the gap between the two moving ships and up their side to be met with well prepared Spanish sailors and marines at odds of six to one. The boarding party started to gather on the main deck where they were exchanging muskets for cutlasses, boarding pikes and other weapons more suited to close quarter fighting.
Cochrane called out encouragingly to the group. “Wait for the command, a few minutes energetically employed will decide this matter in our favour.” I noticed that our guns had stopped firing, we would need the gun crews for the boarding party but they did not appear on deck. I was standing next to the Eriksson, who was hefting his favourite weapon, a might Viking style war axe. I was planning to stick close to him when we boarded as it would be a brave Spaniard that got close to the big Dane. I had two pistols in my belt and a cutlass in a hand that was trembling with apprehension. The only comfort was the fact that the group of seaman around me while tense, seemed confident and determined. This small comfort was about to be taken away as Cochrane called me over.
“Flashman I don’t want you to join the boarding party.” He shouted this as another salvo of enemy fire crashed out above us. For a moment I felt relief wash over me and then a second later a slight feeling of hurt as though I had been excluded from the crew. I thought perhaps I would be needed to man the wheel of the Speedy then I saw that Guthrie the surgeon was already there. But Cochrane was not planning to leave me out of the fun. “Don’t look so upset Flashman, I have special plans for you. Right now the Spanish are probably waiting for us to try and board but I have a diversion planned. In a few minutes Parker will take the gun crews up over the bows to attack their reception committee in the rear. I have told them to black their faces up and yell like banshees when they attack. They will signal when the Spanish reception committee has been distracted and then the main boarding party will attack until the Spanish colours are hauled down.”
“You seem confident that they will haul down their colours” I said, now very worried that he was over confident.
“That is where you come in Flashman, I want you to haul them down.”
“What?” I was thunderstruck, surely he did not expect me to fight my way through a Spanish crew and then hold them off while I hauled down their colours on my own.
“It has to be you as it is not in accordance with the rules of war. If asked I can honestly say that none of the ship’s officers or crew was responsible.”
“But how can I do it, they will cut me to pieces?”
“It will be easier than you think. All attention will be focused on the black faced devils coming over the bow and then the main boarding party. You will need to climb up the stern and when I give you the signal, three blasts on my whistle, haul down their colours. With luck most will throw down their weapons and surrender before they realise that their officers did not give the order.”
This seemed to be optimism of the highest order said so casually that it made hauling down the flag of an enemy’s battleship sound as easy as picking an apple. I felt suddenly a massive weight of responsibility as I at last understood that Cochrane’s whole plan for capturing an enemy frigate seemed to depend on the delicate reed that was the courage and fighting ability of one Thomas Flashman esquire. We were doomed.
But before I could say anything, not that I could think of anything to say, we were both distracted by an astonishing sight. Coming out of the forward hatch were around 20 men looking like chimney sweeps with black hands and faces but white spaces around their eyes and armed to the teeth.
We had pulled our bows level with theirs earlier with the rope attached to the capstan and with a wave Parker led his men over the side and into the bows of the Gamo. If he encountered any resistance there he dealt with it quickly and quietly. Some of the main boarding party now slackened the capstan so that we began to slide back down the Gamo until our stern was level with theirs.
As we listened for our black faced crew to charge across their decks I looked at the rest of the pitifully small main boarding party that was waiting on our main deck. Amongst them were our two younger midshipmen, aged twelve and thirteen who were armed in the regulation manner. All they held in their hands were naval dirks, daggers to you and me with blades about eight inches long. Maybe arming them in this way was some callous naval tactic to instil courage in sailors. For what man will shirk when a small boy is willing to fight alongside you armed with nothing more dangerous than a kitchen knife. Well probably me for one if I could get away with it.
Christ, I have had letter openers that are more lethal than those dirks and I went to one of the weapons chests and rummaged about. I found the old rapier sword I had discarded on my first day aboard and a small pistol. A cutlass would be too heavy for a boy but the light rapier would serve. I told them both to put their dirks in the belts and gave the rapier to the tallest and told him to use it only as a stabbing weapon. The 12 year old who was a scrawny runt and yet to fill out got the pistol, which I checked was loaded and primed.
This sounds like kindly old Flashy helping the pups but in truth it was also to keep me occupied because by then I was in a hell of a funk. If I had been standing waiting doing nothing I think my nerve would have broke. Sure I was not with the boarding party that would meet their main onslaught but they at least had comrades around them. I had to enter that towering vessel on my own and likely with the lives of all of us resting on my efforts.
The Spanish would have noticed that we had stopped firing and must have expected us to try boarding. They were probably gathered on the main deck and may have been wondering what the scraping sound presaged as our ship slid back down their side. As they star
ed through their own gun smoke at the Speedy they can’t have been expecting the black faced banshees that charged them from their own bows. Parker’s small band of men were outnumbered more than ten to one initially and after the initial attack they retreated to the bows where they could not be outflanked and drawing the enemy away from the side. One of the black faced crew must have pulled a bosun’s call from his pocket and gave the whistle for piping the Captain aboard. Cochrane took the cue and led the main boarding party over the rail.
From my position far below on the main deck of the Speedy I could not see what happened next. Cochrane had been worried about being repulsed at the rail which is always the hardest part of boarding but the black faced diversion had done its work and I saw the thirty members of the main boarding crew climb up the side of the Gamo and disappear without loss to their number. While Cochrane should have led the charge it was the massive Eriksson that managed to get on the enemy deck first and I heard his massive below of “Vikings” and then a blood curdling shriek. I am pretty sure that I saw a fountain of blood up above the rail which from the angle I was looking at must have meant that someone was near decapitated by the mighty axe that Eriksson was carrying. That was the last distinct sound I heard from the melee which dissolved in a mass of shouts and cries.
Guthrie and I now stood alone on the deck of the Speedy. A pitched battle was raging yards away but we were in an oasis of calm as none of the Spanish on the Gamo were paying attention to us
Guthrie looked across at me and shouted above the noise of screaming and yelling from nearby “What has he got you doing?”
“Oh nothing much, I shouted back. “Just hopping across to this enemy frigate and hauling down their colours when they are not looking.”
Guthrie laughed “is that all? He wants me to send across the marines.”
Flashman and the Seawolf Page 15
