by Smith, Skye
THE PISTOLEER
INVASION
(Book Six of the Series)
By Skye Smith
Copyright (C) 2013-2015 Skye Smith
All rights reserved including all rights of authorship.
Cover Illustration panels are from:
“Consort Henrietta Stuart” by George Jameson (1633)
"Admiral Tromp's Aemelia” by Reinier Nooms (1639)
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Revision 0 . . . . . ISBN: 978-1-927699-17-1
Cover Flap
In the winter of 1642/43, while King Charles was hiding in Oxford, his wife Henrietta was in The Hague pawning the English crown jewels, buying an army, and chartering ships to invade England. Two of the leading Reformers, Admiral Rich and Colonel Waller, moved quickly to secure all of the ports along the south coast.
Denied the south coast, the invasion convoy sailed up the North Sea coast. They were first spotted off the coast of Lowestoft by the crew of a small patrol ship. The crew included Daniel Vanderus, his clansmen, and a dragoon captain named Robert Blake.
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The Pistoleer - Invasion by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-15
About The Author
Skye Smith is my pen name. In 1630 some of my Manchester Puritan ancestors sailed away to Massachusetts on one of Robert Rich's ships. The Pistoleer is a series of historical adventure novels set in Britain in the 1640's. I was encouraged to write them by fans of my Hoodsman series.
This is the sixth of the series, and you should read at least the first novel 'HellBurner' before you read 'Invasion' because it sets the characters and scene for the entire series. The sequence of the books follows the timeline of the Republic of Great Britain. The chapter headings identify the dates and places.
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The Pistoleer - Invasion by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-15
Prologue
This adventure is as historically accurate as I could make it, however I have not included my endless references because the main character, Daniel Vanderus, is fictional. As a rule of thumb, if the character is a parliamentarian, or has a title, or has a military rank of captain or above, then they and their families are non-fictional. Otherwise the character is fictional.
In the 1640's England was still using the old Julian calendar rather than the new Gregorian one. I have used the same dates for battles as are used by popular Civil War timelines. They use old fashioned Julian dates, rather than the modern (add 10 days) Gregorian dates, but treat January 1 as the start of a new year rather than March 25 as was used in the 1640's. In the 1640's Christmas day still fell on December 25, but the shortest day of the year was December 11, not December 21.
Note that at the end of this book there is an Appendix which is organized like an FAQ. There you will find answers to dozens of questions such as:
- What are the differences in dates between Julian and Gregorian calendars?
- Why was the Sack of Brentford such a turning point?
- Who were the Clubmen?
- Why were there so many officer defections to the king?
However, the next few paragraphs will set the scene enough for you to begin reading the novel.
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Late in 1642, Parliament's reformers were being split three ways between the "peace” party, the "war” party, and the "middle” party. The Stuart Regime had by then shown themselves to be brutal in battle, and vicious with anyone who would not bend to their will, especially womenfolk. Many of parliament's reformers were by then so fearful of how vicious the royalists were being, that they wanted something more than they wanted reform; they wanted a ceasefire and peace. The common folk who had been swept up into the battles and suffered the viciousness also wanted something more than they wanted reform, but it was not peace. They wanted those who had been vicious to be punished ... in kind.
This novel begins just after the battle for London in November 1642. That battle had many skirmishes, but only once did both of the full armies line up against each other. That was at Turnham Green near to Chiswick. Although in terms of overall numbers it was the second largest battle of the Civil War, in terms of casualties it was smaller than the previous day's skirmish, the infamous Sack of Brentford.
The viciousness of the Devil Prince Rupert at Brentford was fully reported in London's newssheets, so the day after the slaughter it wasn't just Parliament's army that was marching out to face the King's army at Turnham Green, but a mob of ten thousand Londoners. While the two regular armies faced each other under a truce while the rules of engagement were being discussed, the angry mob became impatient and chased the Devil Prince and his flying army from the field.
The battle of Turnham Green, or rather, the Sack of Brentford became a pivotal event. The mob made Charles realize that London was lost to him due to what Rupert had done at Brentford. Worse, Rupert had been seen by all on the battlefield to be a coward. Meanwhile the news of Rupert's savagery at Brentford raced across the kingdom and everywhere towns began their own preparations to ward off the armies of either side. Thus a third side in the war reared up ... the Clubsmen. These were armed locals who were organizing themselves to protect them and theirs against all comers.
With his wealth and munitions used up, and his infantry deserting him, Charles retreated to Oxford for the winter. His flying armies under Rupert and various Earls and Sheriffs, rode from town to town looting and raping on the excuse of gathering supplies, men, and munitions. Meanwhile Charles' queen, Henrietta, had stolen the crown jewels and was in the pawnshops of the Dutch republics trying to raise funds enough to send a mercenary army to help her husband. Henrietta was well connected to do this for she was a daughter of the Medici banking family, the sister of King of France, the sister-in-law of the Queen of Bohemia, and the mother of the crown princess of Holland.
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The Pistoleer - Invasion by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-15
Table of Contents
Title Page
Cover Flap
About the Author
Prologue
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - The Siege of Farnham in November 1642
Chapter 2 - Marlborough sacked by Royalists in November 1642
Chapter 3 - Saving a regiment in Andover in December 1642
Chapter 4 - The Seige of Winchester in December 1642
Chapter 5 - The Seige of Arundel in December 1642
Chapter 6 - The Situation at Chichester in December 1642
Chapter 7 - The Wrecking Crew at Chichester in December 1642
Chapter 8 - The Seige of Chichester in December 1642
Chapter 9 - The Surrender of Chichester in December 1642
Chapter 10 - Riding to Farnham with Gunners in January 1643
Chapter 11 - The Wrecking crew in Farnham in January 1643
Chapter 12 - Blake arrives in Chichester in January 1643
Chapter 13 - Rushing Blake to Wellenhay in January 1643
Chapter 14 - Yule in the Fens in January 1643
Chapter 15 - The Fens freezes over in January 1643
Chapter 16 - A Blizzard in the Fens in January 1643
Chapter 17 - Oregano in Cambridge in January 1643
Chapter 18 - Icebridge t
o the Valiant Sailor in January 1643
Chapter 19 - Toll trouble in Lynn in January 1643
Chapter 20 - The Alice sails from Lynn in February 1643
Chapter 21 - Sighting the Invasion off Yarmouth February 1643
Chapter 22 - With the Swift at Great Yarmouth in February 1643
Chapter 23 - With Diplomats in London in February 1643
Chapter 24 - An Ambush in The Hague in February 1643
Chapter 25 - Delivering a Pouch from The Hague in February 1643
Chapter 26 - Sighting the Invasion off The Wash in February 1643
Chapter 27 - Letters from the King in the Humber in February 1643
Chapter 28 - The Invasion lands at Bridlington in February 1643
Chapter 29 - Appendix FAQ
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The Pistoleer - Invasion by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-15
Chapter 1 - The Siege of Farnham in November 1642
Daniel groaned, again. The more he saw of how Colonel Waller was preparing for his regiment's march from Windsor to Farnham, the more he was certain that Waller was planning to lose that fight and thus gain an excuse to switch to the king's side. Not that there was anything solid to point to. Nothing that could be proven. The first clue for Daniel was that Waller was taking only a mounted force of his regular cavalry and some scout-skirmishers. He was not taking any infantry so who would storm any breach he could make in the walls of Farnham Castle.
Not that there would be a breach, for Waller was taking no cannons capable of breaching the gates or the walls. They wouldn't even need much of a cannon, because unlike castles on the continent, English castles had yet to be updated into the age of gunpowder. Other than the fortresses that protected the ports, of course. Even a six pound field gun should be fire power enough to breach Farnham's gate, and they were light enough on their axles to travel country roads at a trot. And yet, Waller had not requisitioned any cannons from General Essex's artillery commander in Windsor.
The cherry on the pudding, however, was Daniels direct orders from Waller. At the Earl of Warwick's suggestion, Waller had placed Daniel in charge of the scout-skirmishers. Waller had given him his orders to ride ahead of the main force out of earshot of all his other officers. His orders were to lead the skirmishers to Farnham and warn the royalist garrison there that Waller's army was on his way, and that he expected them to surrender as soon as he arrived. With no cannons, no infantry, and no surprise, the chances of Waller taking Farnham were slim to none. It surely seemed like Waller was planning a disaster.
Under his breath he cursed the bloody Earl of Warwick, now Admiral Robert Rich. This was all his fault. It had been Warwick's idea to send Colonel Waller to lay siege to Farnham Castle, even though Warwick himself was returning to the safety and comfort of London. It had been Warwick's distrust of Waller's faithfulness to the 'good ol cause' that had worried him enough to attach Daniel to Waller's army, as his eyes and ears. It had been Warwick who had suggested to Waller that there was no better man to lead his skirmishers than Captain Daniel Vanderus, the veteran pistoleer trained by the Dutch. His being at Farnham right now was all bloody Warwick's doing.
Daniel and his thirty skirmishers had galloped ahead of the army to reach Farnham first. Except for the young ensign assigned to him, his men were all tradesmen ... apprentices riding their masters' work horses. All were wearing boiled leather buff coats instead of armour, as was Daniel. They were big men because apprentices ate well, and muscular because apprentices did all the grunt work for their masters. The ensign, on the other hand, was a snot nosed eighteen year old son of a gentleman riding his father's horse that was bred for show rather than work. Snotnose had the most irritating haughty voice and he brayed his words half through his nose and half from the back of his throat.
"Why are we stopping here?” Snotnose scolded Daniel. Once Farnham was in sight they had dismounted in a copse of trees and then had kept low while making their way to the edge of the road. The last few paces they had crawled to stay to the cover of some low bushes. "Your orders were clear. You are to ride up to the castle gate and warn them that Colonel Waller will arrive shortly and that he expects them to surrender."
Daniel ignored him and passed his kijker, his Dutch looker, along the line of crouched tradesmen so each could have a good gander at the castle and its main gate. "What d'ya think lads?” he asked them. They were well hidden in the bushes from the guards on the castle wall, and far enough away that without the looker's magnification through the spectacle lenses, they would not have seen much. Through the looker they saw enough to make some good guesses.
"Why haven't I had a turn with your looker yet?” Snotnose complained as the looker was passed around him. "I am educated while they are just trades louts."
"Aye, trades louts like stone smiths and bricklayers and carpenters who have all set their hands to building walls and gates just like those."
"They've been fixin' the wall,” one of the louts pointed out. "That is why there's piles of stone and sand beside the draw bridge."
Another pointed out, "They's not stoopid. They've got that damn draw bridge workin' again and likely the lift-gate too. Most of them old bridges are seized up from years of not being used, but you can see from the smears of grease on the chain and around the footing lip that they've been freeing it up and gettin' it workin' again. All they need do is close the gate, lower the lift gate, and raise that bugger bridge and Waller'll never get in. An' if'n we tell 'em he's comin' that's exactly what they will do. Ten minutes it'll take 'em. Ten minute's warnin' is all they need. Then they'll just laugh down at Waller from the top o' the wall."
"That is Colonel Waller to the likes of you,” Snotnose scolded. "And the word is portcullis, not lift-gate."
Another tradesman crawled up to the front and borrowed the looker. "It looks like both sides of the bridge are lifted by a single windlass. That's good news for us."
"How so?” Daniel asked.
"If we can weigh down one of the outside corners, just one mind yee, then they won't be able to lift the bridge all even like. If they force it using the power of the windless then the bridge will twist all cockeyed and seize up."
"He's right ya know,” another lad agreed. "If ya weigh the lifted edge down evenly you can still winch it up, but if you weigh down only one corner, then they'll have to run out and clear the deck off before they can winch it up.” He took a turn with the looker. "Oye, Jake, did ya see the carts they's usin' to move the stone and the sand.” He handed the looker back to his friend Jake.
"They must have a master mason workin' on the walls,” Jake replied. "Them's tipper carts."
"What is a tipper cart?” Daniel asked.
"To save time and men's backs durin' the unloadin' you just pull two pins up near the horse tongues, and the front of the cart tips up, the back bed tips down, and the load slides out'a the back. Whoosh, done and without having to take the time to unharness the horses. I wish the cheap bastard I work for would buy one."
"So what you are saying,” Daniel stared between the apprentices, "is that if some of us ran over to that cart of sand, and backed the horse and cart up to the corner of the bridge, and pulled two pins, that the corner of the bridge would be weighed down enough that they couldn't lift it?"
"Yep, but you'd want to do the rock cart not the sand cart. With the sand they'd just run out with a few shovels and clear the sand off the bridge. Each of them stones would need at least two men workin' together to lift them. Sendin' a few carbine balls their way will stop that nonsense right quick."
"I'm game for a try,” Jake volunteered with a grin. "I'll need three others to come with me. We'll have to move fast before they can sound the alarm. Cap'n, you just make sure that any bugger what charges through them gates gets a carbine ball up his nose."
"Not so fast,” Daniel hissed. "What about the lift-gate?"
The men crouched down again and looked at each other without speaking. Jake eventua
lly said, "It probably don't work anymore.” The silence resumed. "All right, I'll do it."
"Do what?” Snotnose asked.
"I'll run forward while we's tippin' the cart and jam a pole into the slide groove on one side of the lift-gate. That will stop them from lowering the damn thing. If they do lower it, it will jam on one side and then go all cockeyed in the slider and jam up."
Daniel nodded to four of the six volunteers. They gathered their breath and their courage, nodded to each other, and then got to their feet and ran low and fast along a hedgerow to get close to the tipper cart loaded with stone. When they could go no further without breaking cover and being seen, Daniel led the rest of the men along the hedgerows to get within carbine range of the castle gate.
That many men moving fast were sure to be seen by the guards on the walls, and they did. The call of the guards raising the alarm was the four men's signal to race across open ground to the horses and cart. Each horse suddenly had a man working his bridle and forcing him to back up. The other two men were standing on each side of the horses hind quarters close to the tipping pins, and were pushing on the cart to get the great weight of it moving backwards.
Two musketeers fire down on them from the tower above the gate, but the four men were protected by the bulk of the cart. Another two musketeers fired from further along the wall, but though they had a better angle to aim at the four men working the cart, they were out of accurate range. The cart was now moving slowly, heavily, towards the bridge. A small door in the main gate opened and men with swords ran through it, but changed their mind when a volley of balls came at them from small groups of men running down the road to help the men at the cart.
"She's there! Pull the pins!” Jake yelled out, and the two men did so and then pushed up on the cart bed to speed its tipping motion. The weight of the stone in the back of the cart did the rest of the work. There was a grinding, screeching noise as the undressed stones slid down the timber bed of the cart, followed by the whumping and cracking noises as they tumbled onto the corner of the bridge. It was done. The now empty but steeply tipped cart perfectly protected the four men and two horses from an increasing number of musket balls that were raining down on them from the high walls.
