At dawn on board the Elephant - now Nelson's Flagship - the signal halliards were busy with instructions to the ships-of-the-line to weigh anchor and proceed into the channel in the pre-determined order with Agamemnon in the van. However she ran aground before entering the channel as did both Russell and Bellona. This involved a change in plan and the next ship took the lead. Nelson's plan called for all his ships to sail in line ahead with the first one anchoring by the stern near the first Danish ship and each ship passing the one ahead and anchoring in turn abreast of a Danish ship only about two hundred yards away. As soon as the first ship reached its allotted place firing broke out at about eleven thirty and with only a gentle breeze the gun smoke hardly cleared, which became denser as each pair of ships in turn opened fire.
To the south of the fleet and in the screen of frigates and smaller ships Merriman knew that the fleet was attacking Copenhagen. Merriman paced up and down the quarterdeck, not made easy because of the number of sailors and marines at their posts there and all the activity as the guns were loaded. Trying to keep to his pose as the imperturbable Captain, he was nonetheless desperate to see what was going on and he finally yielded to the need to see more and slowly climbed up the Mizzen shrouds with his own glass. It was hopeless, great clouds of smoke only slowly clearing from the southern end of the line meant that he could only see the first two British ships and their opponents and of course the three grounded ships, which were engaging the southerly Danish batteries but at extreme range.
Merriman had been in many ship to ship actions and he knew what damage, death and destruction would be happening between the two lines of warships at what was point-blank range with the men half-blinded by gun smoke and deafened by the noise of the cannon. Between decks it would be a scene of horror as men were cut down by cannon balls or lethal splinters of wood. The dead were dragged to the centre of the deck and the wounded sent down to the orlop to the tender mercies of the ship's surgeon. On the various upper decks the officers were the targets of opposing sharpshooters and daren't stand still for a moment, with many huddled corpses showing the success of the enemy marksmen.
On Merriman's ship all the officers were vainly trying to see what was happening and the gun crews were peering out of the gun ports. Certainly the frigate Captains had been told to stand off, but they had been told to help where they could. But it was no part of a frigate's duties to tangle with a bigger enemy and one would be blown to splinters under the broadside of a big two or three deck ship. Suddenly he saw an opportunity and called the First Lieutenant Andrews to him. “David, you can see those grounded ships trying to get their boats away to take reinforcements across to the big ships. It is a long row for them and I think we can help. If we go alongside one of them but not too close because of the shoals we can take men off her to add to the reinforcements. We will anchor by the stern while our boats are filled and then we can tow them all to the line of our ships. Give the orders Mr Andrews” said Merriman, becoming formal again now that he had something to do.
The plan worked, the Lord Stevenage approached the nearest of the grounded ships, the Agamemnon and dropped a stern anchor which had involved heavy work for some of the crew to get the heavy cable through the ship. Merriman hailed her Captain, Robert Fancourt and explained his plan. Fancourt was the senior officer but he readily agreed and Merriman's boats were soon being loaded from the Agamemnon and ready to be towed. Merriman ordered the stern anchor cable buoyed and cut and the ship slowly gathered way with her own boats behind and collecting Agamemnon's boats as well, with Merriman in the first boat.
Closer to the line of battle the damage to the ships became more apparent. The worst damage seemed to be on the Danish ships, masts down with all the yards lying across the decks and streams of blood running down the side. That was the first one, the guns had ceased and British marines could be seen on her deck. Merriman ordered a boatload of men to be cast off to go to the aid of the British ship, then they passed slowly along the line to the next British ship which was still firing at its opponent and cast off another two boats. An officer on the quarterdeck waved his hat in acknowledgement and then they reached the next ship the Elephant, Nelson's Flagship which was heavily engaged with another Danish ship.
Of course they were seen in spite of all the gun smoke and a hail came of “What ship?” Andrews yelled back “British you damned fool, Lord Stevenage, got some men for you if you need them”. An officer appeared at the ship's rail and shouted “Thank you, send them over, we do need them. Is that Captain Merriman there? Sir, the Admiral thought he saw you and asks that you join him”. Merriman detached another two boats full of men and moved on with the remaining four boats and delivered the men to the next two British ships and then had managed to anchor Lord Stevenage before having himself rowed back to the Flagship, a little apprehensively
He climbed aboard to be met by a severely depleted side party and he was escorted by a Midshipman to the quarterdeck where Nelson was pacing up and down. He stared at Merriman for a moment and then said “Disobeyed my orders didn't you? I'll speak to you later, stay here”.
The wind was too light to sail back to where they started from so Merriman had ordered Lieutenant Andrews to have an anchor dropped and the ship slowly swung round and stopped near to and screened from the enemy by a British warship. By then, according to plan the bombships were moving down outside the British line to be able to lob their shells over the British ships and on to the Danish ships behind. Once the destruction of the Danish ships at the south end of the line had been completed they would be able to approach within range of the city, hopefully forcing negotiations with the enemy.
At the height of the engagement, Admiral Parker with the reserve was unable to see clearly because of the smoke and thinking that Nelson's squadron had been forced to a standstill, ordered his Flag captain to have a signal hoisted, a signal to recall all ships. When it was reported to him Nelson ordered that the signal should not be repeated and he raised his telescope to his blind eye and said to the Flag captain “I really don't see any signal Foley, what about you Merriman?” Merriman dutifully replied “What signal my Lord? I can't see one”. Nelson nodded and turned back to the battle.
By now the British had gained the upper hand and at least a dozen of the southernmost Danish ships had fallen silent owing to damage and gradually the fighting proceeded northwards until all the Danish ships fell silent. The battle was over apart from dealing with the many corpses of the dead and the hundreds of wounded, both English and Danish.
Nelson, standing apart from all the people striving to report about the state of the ship to Foley the Flag Captain, beckoned the still waiting Merriman to him and said sternly “Captain, as I said before, you disobeyed my orders to form a screen to the south, why?”
“Sir, the orders also said that if we saw a way to help we should do so, so I did Sir. And there were plenty of other ships in the screen”. Nelson stared at him for a moment then he smiled, “By God Mr Merriman, you remind me of me at your age, when I commanded a frigate. That was well done” and he punched Merriman playfully on the arm. “Now, as soon as there is enough wind I want you to proceed southward again and take two sloops with you and see if you can find the Russians and the French ship which passed by here some days ago. Wait until my clerks can draught your orders and orders for the sloops before you go”.
Chapter 18 - Merriman reports Russian fleet in Kronstadt
Two days later, Merriman's small squadron had all sail set and making their best speed to find the Russian fleet or maybe the French ship although the sloops had to reduce sail a little to allow the frigate to keep up. At dawn, with the ships at action stations as usual there was no sign of any other ships and the crew stood down for breakfast although extra lookouts were sent aloft. Fortunately the wind had increased to a stiff north-easterly and the three ships were making good time.
Merriman walked over to speak with the ship's Master, Tom Henderson. “How long do you calculate it wi
ll be before we are near Tallinn Mr Henderson”. “Mebbe two more days Sir, less if this wind holds, though the sloops could do it in less if they were sent ahead”. Merriman thought about it for a moment then said “Right Mr Henderson, we will heave to, see to it please while we signal to the sloops to do the same and for their Captains to come aboard”.
Lieutenant Upton, the Captain of the Zephyr and Lieutenant MacKinley of the Otter were both eager young men and urging their boat's crew, racing to see who would be aboard Lord Stevenage first. Upton's boat crew won by only a few minutes and Merriman welcomed both of them aboard. “I'm glad to meet you Gentlemen, now come below and I'll tell you what I want you to do”.
Seated in the Great Cabin and each with a glass of wine in hand, the two officers listened keenly to Merriman's orders. “With this wind and your fore and aft rig both of you can sail faster into the wind than my ship can although she can show a good turn of speed. So I want you to sail far ahead, you Mr Upton towards Tallinn and you Mr MacKinley to go as far as you can to Kronstadt. I am hoping the Russian ships there will still be icebound, but you must keep out of the ice yourselves. When you have seen enough report back to me. I shall keep sailing on this course as far as possible so you should have no trouble finding me. Is that clear Gentlemen?”
It was not long before both sloops, heeling far over in the wind, were only specks on the horizon, leaving Merriman in a fever of impatience waiting for them to come back. Knowing it would be at least another day before he saw them again he settled down in his cabin to read some Shakespeare, but he couldn't concentrate on the words. His mind kept on wandering to thoughts of home, his wife and little boy Robert William Edward. That thought made him wonder if he had left his wife bearing another baby, they had certainly been trying hard enough. He smiled at his thoughts.
After eating his solitary meal he went on deck for his usual last look round, checking the compass and sniffing the weather. Having full confidence in his officers and men to keep the usual shipboard duties done and to keep him informed of any change in the weather or sighting of any other ship he turned in.
It was ten o'clock in the forenoon watch before there was a hail from the lookout in the fore-top. “Deck, there” he said, pointing ahead to starboard, “A sail Sir, a sloop, the Zephyr I think”. It was indeed the Zephyr, closing rapidly under full sail until she rounded to in the lee of the frigate and her Captain, Upton, was hastily rowed across to report.
“Captain Merriman Sir, on your orders I got as close as possible the harbour at Tallinn, the ships there are still iced in and there was no sign of preparations for sea Sir, no yards crossed and as far as I could see, with not many men aboard.”
“Well done Lieutenant, but I see that your ship has suffered some damage, what happened?” “A French seventy-four Sir, that's what happened. I had the Zephyr under well reefed sails so as not to go too quickly to let me see everything I could and as we rounded the eastern headland there was the French warship under full sail coming towards us. Naturally I brought the ship round and crowded on all the sail I could. We were faster than the Frenchman Sir, but before we were out of range it fired a bow-chaser and the ball passed through the taffrail, killed two men, holed a sail and splashed into the sea. By then it was nearly dark and so I held that course until I was able to give the Frenchie the slip in the dark before I came looking for you Sir. I hope I did right as I didn't want to give away your position Sir”.
“You did Lieutenant, you did. Now we know for certain that there is at least one French ship of war loose in this part of the Baltic Sea. As soon as the Otter comes back I will send her back to the fleet to report to the Admiral whilst we will try and find it. She was sailing westward when you first saw her wasn't she. While she was chasing you did she do any more than follow you back past Tallinn?” “No Sir, she kept right on past there heading west. Of course I am sorry Sir, I couldn't see what she did after I changed course to escape in the dark”.
“Don't apologise Lieutenant, it isn't part of a sloop's job to face up to a frigate never mind a seventy-four. You would have been smashed to firewood. Remember the old saying 'Discretion is the better part of valour'. We will turn west and sail under reduced sail in the hope that the Otter can find us. If we are to follow the Frenchman I don't want to go further east than I have to. So then, back to your ship and see to the repairs and follow me.
But it was late in the afternoon watch that Otter was seen astern, closing rapidly under all the sail she could carry before reducing sail to allow her way to fall off. “Mr Small, signal to both ships, 'Captain to come aboard' and be quick about it. Mr Merryweather, bring both of them down to my cabin when they are here”.
“Now then Lieutenant MacKinley, what about the Russian fleet in Kronstadt?” asked Merriman impatiently as Peters bustled round serving wine. “All safely bottled up by ice Sir. I couldn't get very close because of the ice but as far as I could judge there seemed to be nothing happening there. Only a few ships had their yards crossed but with that thick ice I don't think they will move for some time. But there is something else Sir, something that I believe to be of some importance. We stopped a small Russian trading ship well out at sea and the Captain said that he had heard that the Tsar of Russia was dead. Perhaps if that is true maybe the Treaty of Armed Neutrality will collapse”.
“Well you may be right Lieutenant. I will write a report for you to take back to the fleet, to Admiral Nelson, together with your own report. Zephyr sighted a French seventy-four last night heading west which I will try and find so you must keep a careful watch for it yourself. Zephyr was faster and was able to escape and so will you if you keep your eyes peeled. We can't take on a seventy-four so I hope the Admiral will send one or two of ours to deal with it. Wait here until my report is ready. Tomkins, where are you?” he shouted. Almost as if he had appeared out of the woodwork Tomkins was there. “Tomkins, I want you to add to my report to the Admiral, it is ready I hope?” “Oh yes Sir, tell me what to add, it won't take me long”.
The completed report was given to Lieutenant MacKinley who left at once on his journey back to Copenhagen while Merriman and Upton prepared for their part in finding the French ship. “Lieutenant, we shall move west by south to see if we can find him. You must stay as close as you can to the shore but avoid any shore batteries and stay within signalling distance of me. Remember, we have captured Copenhagen but he may not know it until he is near to there unless he finds a fishing boat somewhere which can tell him, so it is unlikely that he will try to get out of the Baltic and will try to retrace his course back to somewhere east or north of us for shelter. So keep extra lookouts aloft all the time. Now let us begin the search”.
Chapter 19 - Search for French warship
Three days later after sailing down the length of the southern coast of the Baltic from the Gulf of Riga and past there to the anchorage and port of Gdynia nothing had been seen of the French ship. Those two places were the most likely places to find it because of the suitable depth of water, but Merriman had discounted those expecting the ship to be heading as fast as it could for the exit from the Baltic at Copenhagen. Lieutenant Upton with his small sloop had sailed closer in than could the Lord Stevenage but although there were plenty of small inlets there was nowhere for a big seventy-four to hide. Once they had reached the island of Bornholm, Merriman decided that he should turn north to explore the hundreds of islands along the coast of Sweden. Of course there were plenty of islands and bays on the east coast of Denmark where the French ship could be hidden but he thought that unlikely as Denmark might now be allied with England.
So he despatched Upton in Zephyr back to the fleet to report where he had gone and his reasoning why he was doing so. He hoped that the Zephyr might be sent back to find him with the news that reinforcements were on the way, two seventy-fours at least with other frigates and some fast scouting sloops. In the meanwhile he must continue his quest along and among the many islands off the Swedish coast although he knew it was im
possible for his ship to do more than watch the French ship if he found it. He couldn't attack it alone, the Lord Stevenage would be pounded to matchwood before he got close and even if he got close enough to board there would be far too many men aboard for his own crew to fight. No, finding it and keeping a watch on it was all he could do.
It was a slow and tedious business trying to find a ship among all those islands, made all the more perilous by the possibility of Swedish warships appearing to find out what an English ship was doing there. Of course, if the Treaty had broken down after the Tsar's death then Sweden would not want to antagonise Britain on her own but it must be borne in mind. As the days passed Merriman became more and more impatient and had his work cut out to try to appear calm and confident but his frowning face caused everybody aboard to keep away from him if they could.
The further north the ship went the colder it became and sudden fierce icy squalls would spring up out of nowhere meaning more work for the men first shortening sail to avoid damage aloft and then doing the opposite only minutes later. The Strait of Kalmar between the mainland and the island of Oland was still frozen so they were forced to sail round the island further out to sea. It was a cold, wet, miserable existence. The men were wet through with little chance of drying out between calls aloft and with all hatches battened down the air in the crews accommodation became more and more foul. Merriman had spent most of his time on the windward side of the quarterdeck clinging to the shrouds, cold, wet and shivering and he finally decided that they all deserved a chance of a rest so he determined to find a sheltered place where the ship could anchor and the men have a hot meal.
The Threat in the Baltic (The Merriman Chronicles Book 5) Page 10
