The Threat in the Baltic (The Merriman Chronicles Book 5)

by Roger Burnage

  “Well Merriman, here are your new orders posted from London, you are off to the North Sea I believe, later this year, with your friend Mr Grahame. But I have been told that he will not be here for several weeks yet. Off on some busy spy hunting somewhere I suppose. Meanwhile, you will join a small force gathering to attack Dunkirk where we know the French have gathered together a squadron of four frigates which escape when they can to destroy British coastal shipping. Of course the biggest ports are blockaded by our ships of the line but we don't have enough ships to blockade all the small ports completely, so this forthcoming attack has been ordered by their Lordships of the Admiralty”.

  “Captain Henry Inman of the frigate HMS Andromeda will be in command of the force being put together including HMS Nemesis, the sloop HMS Dart and numerous smaller vessels which include four fireships. The force is nearly all assembled so Captain Inman will be calling all Captains to his ship tomorrow morning to meet you and explain his proposals for the attack. You will come back here after the attack to collect Mr Grahame who should be here by then. Is all of that clear Captain? Your orders will be given to you on your way out. Good luck to you Sir”.

  Back on board the Lord Stevenage Merriman found his clerk Tomkins arranging documents on the desk for his signature. These were reports from all departments of the ship from the Bos'n to the Gunner, the Carpenter, the Purser and others regarding the contents of the store rooms and the condition of the various stores, food and water, powder and shot, spare cordage and canvas in them and all the other hundreds and hundreds of other things needed to keep a ship of war ready for anything, especially as the ship could be far from a friendly dockyard and had to be self-sufficient.

  Merriman knew that Tomkins was assiduous in checking all the reports, going below to check every total before bringing it to his Captain. In fact he had a running battle with the Purser, a man named Grummage. As the Purser was not paid by the Admiralty, it was expected that the Purser on every ship would make his own income and try to feather his own nest by recording a lower amount of rum, the slop chest containing spare clothes for the crew, and as many other items he could sell to the crew at a profit. Tomkins had found many discrepancies in the Purser's totals and reported them to the Captain. With the result that the man had received a severe reprimand - not for the first time - from Merriman who had tried to find a replacement for the man, but without success.

  Merriman had to trust Tomkins so he signed the papers without delay. Tomkins had been a seaman aboard the flagship Queen Charlotte and was severely injured in the Battle off Ushant called The Glorious First of June. When Merriman was a Midshipman, Tomkins had saved him from a severe fall from aloft and when he found the man begging outside the Admiralty he had promised him a berth on the Lord Stevenage . He was not fit for active or heavy duties but when he told Merriman that he could read and write and do sums, he quickly became an ideal Captain's clerk. “Old Miss Dawkins beat all that into us with 'er cane Sir”, he had said.

  Up on deck again he announced to his officers that in half an hour he was going to do a Captain's Inspection of every part of the ship. The delay meant that all members of the ship's company had a last chance to put anything right that needed it before the Captain found it. From experience they knew that Merriman never missed a thing so there was an instant bustle as they tried to ensure that everything was in order. He went below to change out of his best uniform into his normal seagoing rig, more suitable for visiting every part of his ship.

  The First Lieutenant was waiting for him, touched his hat and reported “All ready for inspection Sir”. “Very good Lieutenant, but tell me what the dockyard did to the ship? Amongst all the reports I found nothing from them”. “No Sir, I have asked them repeatedly for their complete report but there is nothing yet. They did a good job of it though, new standing and running rigging, some new copper plates below and they did more thorough repairs than the carpenter was able to do at sea. We have been given two new eighteen pounder guns to replace two that were considered too worn to be used much longer and you will have seen the two extra smashers on the foredeck I'm sure. Everything has been repainted and the decks cleaned of the rubbish that the dockyard people left behind Sir, I hope you will be pleased. They will have seen you come aboard and maybe that will speed up their report. The only problem we have is cleaning the deck under the pens where we keep the pigs and hens you sent aboard. An ideal punishment for any defaulter I think”.

  “Maybe David, maybe. After I have inspected the ship I will have go ashore again and see what I can do about that report. So now let us be about it”. Merriman went through the ship from stem to stern below followed by the various responsible people and then up to the gundeck where the men were standing to their guns and then with his telescope he inspected the new rigging. He found little wrong however, small things such as one of the hammocks in the nettings not rolled tightly enough and one gun carriage wheel needing some repair which had been disguised by paint. He returned on deck to find a worried man from the dockyard waiting for him with the tardy report. Merriman scowled at him and took him below to wait whilst he read it. “Thank you, that seems to be complete. You have done a good job, except for a wheel on one of the guns which needs replacing. If you will send some men to fix it right away I will then sign your report and send it back to you”.

  “Thank you Sir, I'm sure you will find everything done satisfactorily, your officers checked everything as we did it”. Merriman dismissed the man with a nod, reminding him that the wheel should be dealt with immediately. Only then did he sit down to read his orders from the Admiralty in detail. He was to be ready to leave as soon as Captain Inman arranged it, who would explain exactly what was expected of them all.

  Chapter 7 - French ships attacked in Dunkirk harbour

  All was ready by the 17th of June but for ten days adverse winds and tides prevented the operation starting. When the squadron arrived off Dunkirk they realised that the French were expecting them, and they had anchored their frigates in a line across the harbour from east to west, with gunboats patrolling the harbour. Some of the frigates could make their escape into channels in the Braak Sands if too hard pressed, where Inman's ships dare not follow. Captain Inman knew that his biggest ships Andromeda, Nemesis and Lord Stevenage drew too much water and could even be a liability in the narrow harbour.

  Therefore he ordered all three to wait offshore and disperse some of their crews into the smaller ships. The attack was led by the Dart under Commander Campbell with the other ships that would lead the attack being followed the fireships HMS Wasp, Comet, Falcon and Rosario followed by two brigs, the Biter and Boxer and other ships. The squadron approached the harbour in the late evening in line ahead with Dart leading. Some of the ships had men aboard pressed from smuggling vessels so they were able to act as guides among the sandbanks as they neared the harbour.

  Merriman and his officers watched what followed with keen anticipation. HMS Dart was unusual in that she was heavily armed with thirty 32-pounder carronades to a new design which were faster to reload. The sloop quietly passed the French ships until she was level with the last frigate but one. Alerted by something, that ship opened fire. Campbell responded, knowing his heavy carronades were devastating at close range and had ordered them to be double shotted. Therefore each gun carried double the ordinary number of missiles and the casualties and severe damage before the frigate could reply meant that the sloop was past and firing again and again into the last frigate in the line the Desiree'. In the darkness it was difficult for the watchers outside the harbour to see exactly what was going on but the repeated flashing of cannon fire did give some indication of events.

  “I'd like to be there Sir,” said Shrigley, “I can't see it but I expect our ships are firing twice to the enemies once and look there Sir, the fireships are attacking the other end of the line”. Merriman studied what the fireships were doing and then suddenly exclaimed “The French were expecting that and three of them have slippe
d their anchor cables and are sailing into the channels in the sandbanks”

  “Surely our ships are shooting at them Sir” asked Midshipman Green. “Indeed they are Mr Green, and doubtless causing much damage, especially the carronades on the Dart but they have reached the main channel to the harbour I think”. Merriman turned his attention to the four blazing fireships. Abandoned by their crews they were drifting aimlessly until one by one they exploded without causing the results hoped for.

  Meantime Commander Campbell in HMS Dart had been busy. He laid his ship alongside the Desiree and after hard hand-to-hand fighting the ship was captured. Merriman, and all who could, had been following these events as well as they could in the darkness but it was not until a lookout aloft hailed “Deck there, I think Dart has captured one of the frigates Sir, it's leaving the line and moving to sea”. Cheering broke out from the crew with excited chattering which Merriman felt like joining but he remembered in time that he should not show his feelings openly, a Captain should hold himself aloof.

  “Well Gentlemen” he said eventually, “It appears to be over”. Sure enough the flashes and thunder of cannon fire had died down to almost nothing and the British ships were withdrawing. In the darkness it was hard to be sure but all seemed to be safe though probably damaged to some extent. “That will show the Frogs who is master Sir, they can't hide from the Navy” said Lieutenant Andrews. “It's a pity we couldn't do more than lend some of our men to strengthen the crews. We have been useless out here Sir”.

  “Not exactly useless David” replied Merriman, We are here to stop any of the French from escaping, and anyway I think you will get your fill of fighting, we haven't finished with Bonaparte yet”. The fifty men lent to the other ships returned full of tales of their experiences, chattering to their mates until Merriman said to the officer of the watch “I'll have the deck cleared Mr Merryweather, it's like being in a crowd of washerwomen”,

  Eventually the squadron re-assembled out at sea and Captain Inman sent Lord Stevenage back to Portsmouth with his reports. The captured frigate was already nearly there.

  Reporting to Admiral Fitzherbert he was told that Mr Grahame was waiting for him ashore and a messenger would be sent to find him. “When he is back on board Captain, your earlier orders will take effect and you will sail for the North Sea”.

  Chapter 8 – Sailing to the Baltic

  The early light of dawn found the Lord Stevenage on the larboard tack, heading down the Solent and Spithead where there was a good deep water anchorage well sheltered from winds except from the southeast, taking the easterly exit to the English Channel and leaving the Isle of Wight to starboard. Of course Spithead was where the infamous Spithead Mutiny took place in 1797.

  Mr Grahame had come aboard late last night and so as soon as there was enough light to see the signal from the Admiral to set sail, there was immediate bustle as the men dashed to their places. All had gone well and as the first rollers began to be felt beneath the ship Merriman saw the Bos'n checking the tension of the new shrouds, the main ropes holding the masts up. They were all new and he knew that they would be expected to stretch at sea and would have to be tightened up several times as would the forestays and backstays.

  Merriman had watched keenly the actions of the few new men sent to his ship and was pleased to see that they were all experienced seamen. The new Lieutenant was watching everything closely and the two new Midshipmen were wisely keeping out of the way, looking wide eyed at all that was happening around them. As the ship moved out into the Channel the ship was already at action stations, after all the country was at war with France and who knew but that they would encounter some venturesome Frenchman close inshore, but they saw no French ships only small English coasters as they turned east so action stations were un-necessary.

  Merriman turned to the officer of the watch and said “The ship is yours Lieutenant Merryweather”. And then he went below. Peters his servant arrived in the cabin a few moments later. Long experience told him that the captain would want to shave and change his clothes before breakfast and he would be hungry and Peters had everything ready. The cook's assistant arrived with a big jug of warm water and Merriman was washed and shaved very quickly. As he finished dressing the cook's boy arrived with his breakfast. At this stage of things there was fairly fresh bread with butter from a tub kept below, bacon and eggs and a big jug of fresh coffee.

  As he expected, a rather bleary eyed Grahame put in an appearance. He sniffed the air and said “Good morning James, I'm sure the smell of that coffee woke me up and I'm ravenous. What have you got for me Peters?” The same as the Captain Sir - bacon, eggs and bread and butter. I'll fetch it right away”. He poured out some coffee for Grahame and fled. As they finished their leisurely breakfast they discussed the details of their next task. “It's really much the same as we did in Ireland, the West Indies and in India, James. I will tell you where I have to go to find our agents. You will take me there and I will go ashore”.

  “Very well Sir, we have good charts of the Danish and Norwegian coasts and I foresee no difficulty about that. My officers do not yet know where we are going so I am proposing, with your permission, to invite some of them to dinner this evening so that we can tell them what our orders are”. “Let us do that then James. Now I'm off to my cot again to try and catch up with some sleep, it has been a busy few days for me and I have missed a lot”.

  And so Merriman invited Lieutenants Andrews, Shrigley, and Bristow, the Marine Captain Edward St James and one of the two new midshipmen and the Sailing Master Mr Henderson and Mr Grahame and the Doctor to join him in the great cabin and a pleasant evening ensued. The meal was served by Peters, helped by Tomkins. Merriman had ordered the cook to slaughter one of his pigs and the cabin was filled with the aroma of roast pork. Edwards the midshipman, still only thirteen years old and somewhat abashed in the company of his seniors, nevertheless managed to eat a huge meal and fortified by a glass of good claret made a reasonable attempt at proposing the Loyal Toast. The table was cleared and then Peters served coffee and some of Merriman's best brandy.

  All were relaxed and full of good food when Merriman said “Gentlemen, Mr Grahame and I wish to tell you what this commission is all about., so listen carefully”. He rapped on the table and said loudly “Mr Edwards, if you will kindly keep awake, you will learn something”. The boy, well fed and under the influence of the claret, had been struggling to keep his eyes open and was almost asleep but quickly recovered to find all the rest of the assembly watching him. “S-sorry Sir”, said the embarrassed and red faced Midshipman, “It's a long time since I enjoyed such a good meal Sir, a Midshipman doesn't get the chance very often”. Lieutenant Shrigley was grinning all over his face and Merriman said “It is not so very long ago that you could eat like that Alfred, you had a prodigious appetite when you were a Midshipman as I recall. I remember one occasion Gentlemen when our Mr Midshipman Shrigley fell into the hold of a fishing boat, he was so eager to find fish for his tea. He emerged covered in fish scales”. All roared with laughter and Shrigley by now well used to being teased about the incident merely smiled weakly and said “You all know that I was pushed by one of the fishermen”.

  Merriman brought the hilarity to an end by saying “Gentlemen, down to business. What we are to do is much the same as we have done before in Ireland and India, to put Mr Grahame ashore where he needs to go to try to contact our agents and Embassy people in Denmark-Norway and Sweden. Perhaps you would care to amplify my remarks Sir” he said turning to Grahame. “Thank you Captain” he said and he proceeded to recount to them all that was known about the League of Armed Neutrality and what it would mean for Britain. “I'll leave it to you Captain to discuss the naval preparations”.

  Merriman began, “The Admiralty is proposing to put a squadron together to sail to the Baltic and Copenhagen with a view of persuading those countries by diplomacy if possible and force if necessary, to abandon the whole idea of the League. As you will know Gentlemen, the Cha
nnel Fleet under Earl St Vincent has to cover the whole East coast and South coast of our island, down through Biscay and the French coast and Spain. It is a huge area and it will be difficult to spare enough ships from there or anywhere else to form another fleet. It could be early next year before enough are assembled. Meanwhile we are to take Mr Grahame wherever he wishes to go and then report back home with any information he may collect. Any questions Gentlemen?”

  “Are we likely to form part of that squadron Sir?” asked Lieutenant Bristow. “We have no orders to that effect as yet but I certainly hope so” replied Merriman. Conversation continued for a while then the party broke up for some of them were needed on deck for the change of Watch.

  Chapter 9 – Trouble at Merriman's home

  A very upset Helen was sitting in front of her mirror while her maid Jennifer combed her hair for her. She was sure that she was pregnant again and must write to James to tell him, although she knew that it could take months for her letter to reach him, maybe not until after the baby was born. And should she tell him about the villains who had attacked her? It would only worry him and doubtless he had enough to worry him without that, so she decided not to.

  She went over the events again in her mind. She had been returning home after visiting one of the estate farms. The coachman was ill and so her small carriage was being driven by one of the experienced stable hands by the name of George. As they approached the gate onto the driveway up to the Manor she saw three rough looking men standing there, one of whom grabbed one of the two horses’ bridles to stop it. One of the other two men reached for the carriage door, saying to his mate “We've got a live one 'ere Joe, wotcher fink we should do wiv 'er” He got no further, with his whip her driver laid open the cheek of the man holding the horse who screamed and staggered back releasing his grip and with the second blow of his whip George struck one of the other two men who cowered away from the blow. George then cracked his whip over the heads of the horses and they bolted, leaving the men behind. One of them was shouting something about getting even with her and the boy but then they were out of earshot.