HMS Falcon: A Charles Mullins novel, Sea Command 7

by Richard Testrake

  HMS Falcon

  Richard Testrake

  010517

  Copyright © 2016

  Richard Testrake

  All rights reserved

  Dedicated to my wife Peggy, my daughter Lisa and my son, Charles.

  Table of contents:

  `

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Additional works available

  Chapter One

  Captain Charles Mullins was at leisure for the time being. After completing a mission along the French coast for the Admiralty, he had left HMS Falcon, an aged post ship of which he had been given temporary command, at her mooring in Portsmouth Harbor and taken lodging ashore.

  He supposed he was still in command of his previous ship, HMS Hector, which had been left in the hands of Lieutenant Persons, its first officer. That frigate however, was nowhere to be seen in the harbor and he had received no orders concerning her. It had been late when he had finished his work aboard Falcon and been pulled over to the flagship. The flag captain had retired to his quarters and the duty officer said he dared not wake him for a matter such as this.

  Mullins left his reports with the officer of the deck and went ashore. His room at the George Inn was satisfactory and he retired to it with a bottle of claret and a newspaper which he read, learning that Bonaparte had withdrawn from the Brittany coast the remnants of an army previously placed there, as a possible precursor for an invasion. It was theorized that the French Emperor had in mind adventures farther afield, where he might have more immediate use for those troops.

  Careful perusal of the newspaper gave him no useful information of this troop movement and eventually Mullins finished his wine and blew out his light. Next morning, he planned to visit the flag to determine what his duties might be in the near future. He had hopes he would have time to take the mail coach to London where his wife and son lived in the family home.

  The cries of the street peddlers woke him early the next morning, and after a brief wash from the tepid water a servant had left on the nightstand, he donned his uniform coat, and left the inn. He had no appointment to see either the port admiral or the flag captain, but decided his best course of action must be to take a boat to the flagship and see what might be arranged.

  He could have signaled for a boat by way of the signal tower on shore, but elected to hire a shore boat to deliver him to the flag. Delivered to the starboard entry port, he was given the proper welcome for a post captain and invited to walk the quarterdeck with the duty officer while a midshipman was sent to announce his presence.

  There was only a short wait before Admiral Montague sent for him. The admiral had already read a copy of his report that had arrived previously by dispatch cutter and was familiar with the details. Wasting no time on this, he immediately went on to a new situation.

  A newly-posted captain had reportedly been cruelly misusing his hands aboard the post-ship HMS Thorn on the Brest blockade. Of course, life at sea was no bed of roses, and harsh discipline was expected, but the offense was first reported by the squadron commander and it was thought more investigation was warranted.

  Admiral Montague informed Captain Mullins what little was known about the affair. The senior captain of the squadron reportedly witnessed the savage flogging of a hand for a minor offense. Upon investigating, he learned such floggings were an almost daily occurrence on the ship. Not feeling he had the authority to relieve the captain, he decided to pass his recommendation to higher authority. It was the commodore’s belief mutiny could very well erupt if the situation was not resolved.

  Mullins was tasked to investigate and take care of any difficulties. Most especially, he must discover whether the accusations of cruelty to the crew of Falcon were accurate. If possible, the present captain might be admonished and left to continue his duty. Only if the offenses seemed egregious, should the captain be relieved and the ship sent into port.

  Mullins boarded the cutter Hermes and, as a passenger, travelled to the scene of the difficulty, off the Brittany coast. HMS Thorn was a member of the Inshore Squadron separated from the remainder of the fleet. Commodore Duncan, commanding the squadron, indicated his disgust for the actions of Thorn’s commander but said his hands were tied.

  While visiting the ship, he had witnessed a topman drop a marlinespike from the mizzentop, narrowly missing the officer of the watch. Captain Arnold, who was conversing with the commodore by the taffrail, immediately ordered the man to the deck, where he summarily sentenced him to a hundred lashes at the grating. When Commodore Duncun demurred, saying he thought the marlinespike incident was a simple accident, Arnold went into a tirade, saying his men were trying to kill him and he was going to flog every last one of the crew until this mutinous spirit stopped.

  Commodore Duncan thought he could see signs of incipient mutiny among the crew and attempted to convince Captain Arnold to moderate his views. Unable to do so, he resolved to keep Thorn away from the remainder of the squadron to keep any infection from spreading. Commodore Duncan did not believe he had the authority to relieve the officer, but was fearful the actions of Thorn’s captain could very well incite her crew to mutiny.

  With no more than the complaints of a few seamen, there was little he felt he could immediately do to discipline Captain Arnold. Of course, his reports to the Admiralty would ultimately doom Arnold’s career, but that would do little to solve this present problem.

  Individual seamen aboard Thorn would doubtless swear to the alleged brutality of their captain, but the ships’ officers were unanimously refusing to admit any responsibility or cast any blame for what now appeared as an incipient mutiny. When interviewed by the commodore, Captain Arnold readily admitted to the unfortunate situation on Thorn, but he proposed to flog every seaman aboard the ship, until this sullen behavior by the crew ceased. He was adamant that severe punishment was the only way to bring the men back to their duty.

  Hermes delivered Captain Mullins to HMS Thorn. Once Mullins was on the scene, he immediately invited Captain Arnold over to the cutter for a discussion of the problem, while Hermes’ commander, Lieutenant Akers, volunteered to go over to Falcon to see what he could learn from the crew. That evening, Mullins and Akers discussed their findings aboard Hermes. After his determination that there was cause to send the post-ship back to Portsmouth for further investigation, Mullins visited her at daylight on the next morning.

  Captain Arnold had a reputation among the fleet as having an explosive temper, and a few minutes after Mullins boarded HMS Shorn, he proved it. When Mullins showed Arnold his orders and said he was sending the ship back to port, Arnold erupted! Shouting, he threatened to call Mullins out. After being told he would surely be beached should he do anything of the kind, Arnold ordered Mullins from his ship.

  After Arnold’s refusal to cooperate, Mullins warned the officer he was prepared to relieve him. Captain Arnold was now visibly incensed, again ordering Mullins from his ship.
When Captain Arnold then left the deck to arm himself. Mullins took that opportunity to pull out his orders and read them to members of the ship’s crew nearby. The orders included authority for Mullins to assume command of HMS Thorn. When Arnold came back, he had his sword on his belt as well as a pair of pistols. He shouted for the Master-of-Arms, who was standing nearby.

  After Arnold ordered his Master-at-Arms to take Mullins into custody, the petty officer, who had just heard Mullins read aloud his orders from the Admiralty, instead clamped his huge hand around the pistol in Arnold’s hand. Mullins, when asked what should be done with the officer, replied, “For now, disarm him and secure him in his cabin. Place a guard at the door.”

  The former captain and his officers were later sent aboard Hermes. Mullins was not comfortable with his own decision to assume command of Thorn but felt he had little choice. There could well have been a serious disruption among the crew, since the former captain still refused to admit Mullin’s authority to displace him.

  They spent a week searching for the flagship before locating her, at which time their unwelcome passengers were passed over to the squadron commander, to do with as he would.

  Admiral Montague was not one to be profligate with praise and passed over the episode lightly with a curt ‘well done!’

  He assured Mullins the matter would be dealt with circumspectly, so that as little damage to careers would be done as possible. Captain Arnold would be sent ashore on half-pay with his records marked so that he would never again receive command of a ship.

  The lieutenants involved would all go back to sea again, but none of them would be eligible for a command for several years.

  Moving on to his next concern, Admiral Montague asked about the state of HMS Falcon and her crew. Captain Mullins could assure the admiral the ship itself was in good condition, save for needing provisions and of course, her allotment of powder and shot. The dockyard had done a fine job of repairing the aging ships’ many faults, and had been pronounced ready to sail again.

  The admiral steepled his hands and stared at Mullins intently. “Captain, I am embarrassed to tell you that I have already done you one disservice and am about to do you another.”

  “First of all, I had need of a good frigate while you were away on this duty, so I gave Hector to another captain and she is now on her way to the Med. As to the next disservice, it seems one of Bonaparte’s generals is making somewhat of a nuisance of himself along the Brittany coast.”

  “Information received from our agents on the continent indicate this officer may be trying to impress his master by showing some initiative. General Renaud is the commander of a military district whose main function is to process conscripts, give them a little training and then send them off to Bonaparte’s legions. The reports we have received indicate that Renaud is planning on loading some of his recruits onto confiscated fishing boats and sending them to the shores of Ireland. There, it seems, they are to enlist Irish rebels into their ranks and cause as much mischief as they can. Of course, there is no chance for them to be successful, although the confusion sown in our own ranks could have some benefit to the French side.”

  “The limited number of troops that can be ferried across will soon evaporate and our own troops, once brought to the field, should soon prevail. With our fleet preventing reinforcements and supplies from reaching the enemy, his troops ashore will soon be in the bag.”

  “However, it would be to our benefit to nip this plan in the bud, before the enemy forces come ashore in Ireland. The feeling among the populace there is fragile and it is imperative that calm should prevail.”

  “We have had no indication that Bonaparte knows anything of General Renaud’s plans. On the face of it, we might welcome discord in the French ranks, however not with any great cost to us.”

  Mullins shook his head doubtfully. “This scheme sounds like something only a fool could dream of. How would this Renaud hope to believe he could survive once Bonaparte gets wind of it?”

  Admiral Montague added, “This Renaud fellow is a former officer of the Imperial Guard, newly promoted. Little is known of him in Whitehall. It may well be that he is a rash fool who will soon be challenged by Imperial authorities. In the meantime, I have been ordered to develop a plan to thwart any of this fellows’ ambitions.”

  “Now to the disservice I have thrust upon you. I want you to deliver a small party to the coast of France where they will endeavor to put a spoke in Renaud’s wheel. Of course, as a post captain with several years of distinguished service behind you, you rate the command of a good frigate such as your Hector. Since she is no longer available, I will ask you to again take command of the Falcon post-ship and do your best with her. It may seem an insult to ask an officer of your service to command a miniscule sixth-rate for the second time, but she is available and suitable for the task. Admiralty realizes there is much risk in this undertaking and it is thought the possible loss of a worn-out old post ship would be of little importance to the war effort.”

  “The only other option would be the Thorn, and I would not feel comfortable sending that ship and crew off to the French shore where they so recently flirted with mutiny.”

  “My secretary will provide you with copies of all intelligence received thus far and advice on profitable targets that might be attacked. This would include the small craft intended to deliver the enemy force across the Channel as well as the armory of the training facility that will supply weapons to the enemy troops. One bit of intelligence that will make your task easier. One of our agents on the enemy shore reports that General Renaud finds it difficult finding rations for the conscripts that come in daily. He has established small depots in his district to temporarily place these troops where more access to produce of the area may be found. Some of these depots may house only a few hundred troops, making attacks easier.”

  The admiral continued. “Horse Guards have offered us a detachment of light infantry troops from the 95th Regiment of Foot. These men have been trained as skirmishers and will be armed with the Baker rifles issued to that regiment. It is thought they may be more useful than the same numbers of Redcoats armed with muskets. Your Marines will remain behind and the riflemen will assume the Marines’ duties aboard your ship.”

  “Your prime purpose in this affair is to get those troops across and safely ashore. They will be under the command of their own officers, who have been briefed on the operation.”

  “In the event of unforeseen circumstances, there well may be necessity for you to go ashore and take personal command. This is not considered likely, but must not be ignored.”

  Chapter Two

  On his return from the flag, Captain Mullins had been away from HMS Falcon for only a few hours but when he returned, he saw a swarm of boats and lighters alongside, awaiting their turn to unload their contents. After his ceremonial welcome aboard, he noticed an officer in a strange green uniform standing discretely behind Lieutenant Morison, his first officer.

  Morison introduced the officer as Captain Drover of the 95th Regiment of Foot, informing his captain that Drover would be commanding the riflemen that would be sailing on HMS Falcon. Mullins had been served some oysters at the admiral’s table that did not quite agree with his digestion, so it was imperative that he visit his quarter gallery immediately.

  Offering the new officer a brief welcome to the ship, he hurried aft, leaving Morison to make any necessary apologies.

  After the tumult in his belly had subsided, he took a brief nap then called for the midshipman of the watch. Learning that Captain Drover was still on the quarterdeck, he extended an invitation to dinner to both the army officer and Mister Morison. He realized that his cook would have to prepare an edible meal at short notice, but as ship’s captain, he could harden his heart to the man’s trouble.

  Mullins, still unsure of his gut, ate little, but learned from Drover that his troops had not yet departed their training barracks and he felt required to travel to London to learn more of th
e delay. Since the funds to pay for the coach trip were coming from Army coffers, Mullins decided to accompany the officer to London, where he could visit his wife and child. He felt it was only fitting for the Crown to pay for his visit home.

  The coach journey from Portsmouth to London and return was always a challenge but Captain Drover was an interesting companion and the trip seemed to be faster than either expected. Once in London, Drover was dropped off at Horse Guards while Mullins went directly home. His wife Doris, had not known he was even in the country, but her joy was muted when she learned he was on the fly, sailing soon to the enemy coast.

  All too soon, Captain Drover was at the door, his problems noted by his superiors. Learning that her guest was single, Doris Mullins invited an attractive woman friend over for supper and the party lasted late into the evening. Drover took the lady home in his hired carriage and did not return to the house until after the sun was up. Trouble with a lost linchpin, it was said.

  It would be a few days before the soldiers could set out on their march to Portsmouth so Mullins took his family and Drover out to his father’s estate. Little Alfred remembered the pond on the estate and demanded to go fishing with his father. The two men took Mullin’s son out in the old punt that was a fixture there, and the men talked while Alfred fished and dabbled in the water.

  Mullins had a small collection of weapons which he had collected in his travels, many of which he kept in his father’s gun room. One weapon that got Drover’s eye was a long rifle Mullins had taken from a pirate off the east coast of the United States some years before. A beautifully made weapon, it was nearly new when he took it and had seen little use since. A longer firearm than the Baker rifles that Drover’s men carried, it was also of a smaller bore diameter.