They were returning to the house, with Brooks at the reins, when a mounted Marine sergeant rode up to the house, just as they arrived. Mullins hailed the rider and asked if he had any message for him. The sergeant pulled out a packet from his case and presented it to the captain.
Inviting Brooks into the house, Mullins took the packet into his study. While occupied with this, Doris came to investigate who had come to her door. Taking offense at a stable hand in her entry, she began giving Brooks a piece of her mind.
Hearing the commotion, Mullins, having read the document, came out of the study, greeted his wife absently, and said, “Come along Brooks, we may have a ship waiting for us!”
Paying not the slightest heed to the sputterings coming from the outraged Doris, they both left the house and were off in the chaise, before she could catch her breath.
Captain Mullins must first report to the Admiralty to find what they had in mind for him. Unlike some of his recent visits to the institution, this time he was directed to no specific official. The message just delivered had mentioned no particular ship, or any specific duty. Knowing he would doubtless be spending time waiting to see someone, he gave Brooks money and told him to take the horse and chaise to a nearby livery. Brooks should drop by every hour or so too see if his captain was available yet.
He spent most of the day in one of the hard chairs in the waiting room, spending the time memorizing the pages of the newspaper someone had left behind. Several times, he got up and went outside where he had to tell Brooks he had no news. Finally, late in the afternoon, a harried porter took him to a minor official who had forgotten to call him for his appointment. It had been intended for him to meet with Lord Mulgrave, but when Mullins failed to appear at the designated time, the First Sea Lord had by now left for his club.
There was a flurry of activity as several people tried to decide what to do with the captain. Finally, one noted that Captain Mullins, if he accepted the command, was intended to report to his new ship immediately. There was a packet of private papers intended for the captain, but neither of these people would take responsibility for handing them over. It was decided to issue Captain Mullins a travel warrant and send him on his way to Portsmouth, where perhaps the port admiral there might take responsibility of explaining the mission.
When Mullins emerged from the building, the long-suffering Brooks was still waiting. The officious clerk had refused to furnish a travel warrant for him, so Mullins must pay for that. The night coach would soon be leaving and they must hurry to the house to collect Mullin’s sea chest as well as Brooks’ few belongings, then make their way to the coaching inn.
There were the usual explanations to be made at home to the furious Doris, and then they were off. Mullins had paid for the last inside seat for Brooks, but at the last minute, as they waited to board, a portly old gentleman arrived, also demanding an inside seat. Not wishing to argue with the gentleman, Brooks climbed up with the driver and they were off.
By the dim light of the lantern inside the coach, Mullins took the opportunity for the first time to look over his orders. It seemed he was to report to the Portsmouth port admiral where he would learn of a possible mission and indicate his willingness to accept.
As always, the coach trip from London to Portsmouth was a grueling ride. There were a few moments of excitement. During the trip, well after sunset, a pair of mounted highwaymen made their attempt upon the coach. One was waiting near a bend in the road that forced the driver to slow the coach to make a turn. Another waited on the summit of a nearby hill. The sharp eye of the driver spotted their peril in the moonlight and he applied the whip. The closest rider charged up abreast of the racing team, threatening to shoot one of the horses. The second rider came galloping off the hill, clods of turf flying from the iron-shod hooves of his mount. While the coach’s driver handled his frightened team, Brooks, up on the box, took over the driver’s gun. This was a battered old blunderbuss, with a bell-shaped muzzle, loaded with swan-shot. As the first rider neared, Brooks fired off the single shot. Only one of the cloud of shot that emerged from the muzzle did its job. That shot struck the shoulder of the highwayman’s mount, sending the terrified horse, now out of control, racing off into the meadow.
The trailing rider, coming from behind, approached from the opposite side. Brooks was forced to reload his weapon on the top of a jolting coach. Taking the powder flask which the busy driver passed to him, he dumped an enormous charge into the bell-muzzle of the gun, followed by a generous dollop into the pan. A handful of shot dumped into the muzzle completed the business.
Meanwhile, the bandit, now alongside the leading horses, tried to disable the coach by killing or injuring one. The rider had but two pistols, of which he fired one at the team. The ball struck a leader high on his shoulder, but did not disable the animal. Before the highwayman could do further harm, Brooks fired the blunderbuss again. The excessive powder in the pan caused a slight delay while the powder burned off, but when it did fire, a substantial number of the large shot caught the felon in the head. Fired from very close range, the heavy charge nearly obliterated the felon’s head.
Dead when he struck the ground, the incident was almost over, save for calming the team and persuading them they could now slow their headlong flight.
Time had to be wasted at the next village where they had to report the attempted robbery and a dead highwayman beside the road. The magistrate took their statements and sent them on their way, complimenting them on a job well done.
Their obligations fulfilled, they continued their journey and reached Portsmouth, late but well.
Mullins took rooms at an inn, where he left Brooks. He felt it important to keep Brooks out of sight, until he definitely was given command of a ship. An obvious seaman was in jeopardy when in public in this busy naval installation, unless accompanied by an officer. Nearly every ship captain was desperate for hands and few would refrain from poaching another captain’s seamen when available.
While addressing a mug of ale in the inn, he listened to a group of junior officers nattering about a new arrival in the port. It seemed shortly after a medium frigate had sailed into port last week, her captain and officers were ordered to report to the Admiralty immediately. Her captain was reported to be in some sort of difficulty concerning the ships’ books, and he and his three officers had left for London, their sea chests accompanying them. Some of the more seasoned officers opined this frigate would soon be getting a new captain and officers. Not a few of the unemployed officers present hoped to be one of the those selected.
Outside, a dockside lounger pointed the subject ship out to Mullins. Officially, of course, HMS Achilles was no concern of Mullins. Probably, her presence had nothing to do with his being here. A seemingly seaworthy frigate, riding in the harbor as she was of course, could be bound on some duty having nothing at all to do with what the Admiralty had planned for him. Still, he could not help thinking, if the Admiralty did wish to give him a command, here was one most convenient, apparently already without a captain.
He had planned to have the signal tower address the flag and request a boat, but a passing shoreboat caught his eye. The boatmen pulled over and they gave him a good price to take him to the flag. He was taken to the starboard entry port where there was a bustle as the proper number of sideboys and the Marines had to be brought out. The first officer met him, explaining the flag captain was occupied with shaving at that moment.
When Mullins expressed his desire to meet with the admiral, Lieutenant Drake thought there would be no problem. Admiral Montague was closeted with some military gentlemen, at the moment, and afterward he was to meet with a company of merchants. Drake thought he could just insert Mullins into the schedule before the merchants and all would be well.
Chapter Twenty-One
Captain Mullins had not seen Admiral Montague since the court martial weeks before. That subject was ignored, but Montague asked for news about Mullin’s family. After the pleasantries were o
ver, Mullins recounted the confusion occurring in London, where his appointment with the First Sea Lord had been overlooked and Mullins was sent to Portsmouth without any inkling of the reason.
Admiral Montague chuckled. “Your provisional orders are here, Captain, sent by overnight dispatch rider. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when the offending official in Admiralty had to explain to Lord Mulgrave why they had not admitted an officer that had been sent for purposely. The orders were on my desk this morning and we may now discuss them.”
“The communication I received from Lord Musgrove this morning explained that he had wished to go over your proposed mission. Due to misread signals however, your meeting did not take place. Instead he has placed the burden upon myself to discuss the matter with you.”
“I am asked to inform you this proposed mission has not been definitely approved at this time. It may well never take place. The purpose of this discussion is to determine whether you may be interested in the command and what force you might require, should the plan go forward.”
“Because of your previous experience attacking French training ships, it is thought you may already have some insight into this present duty. We believe the French are becoming frustrated with our interdiction of their coastal shipping and are attempting to do something about it. As you know, they have great difficulty transporting heavy loads along their internal roads. It is much easier to deliver bulk cargo by sea. Of course, a single small coastal vessel can carry more than a whole train of ox carts.”
“But, our blockade has become so adept at intercepting such shipping that little is getting through. Their people have arrived at a new method of delivery. The shipbuilders along the French coast have long been busy with constructing naval ships of various sizes to replace their losses to us. It has done them little good, since they have few trained men available to man them.”
“Since most of the blockading vessels of the Inshore Squadron are smaller warships capable of operating in the shoals prevalent here, the enemy is now doing what they can to man a few of their newly constructed ships-of-the-line, using conscripted fishermen and army recruits. Their plan is to use these powerful-appearing warships to over-awe our little sloops-of-war and get the valuable cargoes moving again. Since they do not anticipate combat with our own line-of-battle ships, they will not need the large crews those ships usually carry. Indeed, they can even carry a certain amount of cargo in addition to what the transports carry.”
Mullins thought about the problem of the French. “I am very glad I do not have to navigate one of those ponderous third-rates in inshore waters with a raw crew!”
Admiral Montague indicated he too had sympathy for the French captain responsible for sailing a liner through the shoals and shallows. “Of course”, he added, “at present, these new third-rates are of little use to the French. Doubtless their command feels if they can use one or two to fend off our Inshore Squadron with their threat, they may be able to get a few cargoes past our noses.”
“Now then, would you be interested in a command where you will be tweaking Monsieur Bonaparte’s nose?” Mullins was interested and when asked what force he might need to be successful, he suggested that a frigate of medium force might be enough. “Even if we are brought to action by one of these liners, I should be able to lead it in a merry chase among the shallows.”
The admiral cautioned, “You recall your recent action when a larger French ship caught Falcon in similar shoal water and smashed her to kindling?”
There surely was a risk, but Mullins thought the risk would be managed if he was could maneuver his ship close in to the enemy shore. With competent navigating and a well-trained crew, be would have an excellent opportunity to defeat a blundering third-rate with a raw crew.
“Very well, Mullins. are you familiar with Captain Decker of Achilles?”
Replying to Mullin’s negative, Admiral Montague informed him that said captain had recently brought HMS Achilles in to Portsmouth Harbor, and she was moored here at this very minute.
“Captain Decker and his officers have posted to London, where they are to answer a few questions about irregularities found in the ships’ books.”
“Achilles is a frigate of thirty-two guns, with twenty-six six eighteen-pounders on her upper deck and six long six-pounders on the quarterdeck. In addition, she has four thirty-two pounder carronades on the quarterdeck and pairs of sixes and thirty-two pounder carronades on the foc’s’le.
“Captain Decker seems to have treated his command with reverence, since he has not challenged a single French warship during this commission.”
“The ship’s sailing master reports the ship is ready to sail now, with a full complement and all necessary stores. At this time, we are awaiting the results of the inquiry in London. Should matters proceed as I expect, I may consider you for the command of that same frigate. If you will leave an address where you may be contacted, you may be contacted in the near future.”
Lacking further instructions, Mullins went back to his inn, where he waited another week. Mullins and Brooks had just come down the stairs early one morning, when they heard the clatter and jingle as a coach pulled up outside. Both men were shocked to see Doris and Mary enter. The women had been travelling all night and were weary, but they still insisted upon sitting at a table with their men while the landlord assured them he would have something hot just as soon as the fire was ready.
Mary was distraught with her son leaving so abruptly and Doris wondered at receiving no word from her husband in the days they had been absent. Mullins attempted to explain the difficulty, their receiving no firm orders because of the mistakes made in London. “At this moment”, he assured Doris, “we have no firm knowledge of whether we will be proceeding on a mission or not.”
His wife has a way of making a dismissive sniff, that expressed her belief that she was being told an unlikely story. Mary Brooks was tearful, begging her son not to leave her alone, although Doris spoiled the effect a moment later, when she described all the gentlemen friends Mary had at her beck and call.
An hour later, the news had been discussed at length and the feminine suspicions were finally quelled when a splendidly uniformed Marine lieutenant came to the table. Initially puzzled with the scenario of a naval post captain seated at table with two women in fashionable attire and a Black seaman wearing ‘slop’ clothing, his training came to the fore, Ignoring the possibilities, he asked, “Captain Mullins, sir?”
Mullins admitted to being the culprit and held out his hand for the packet the Marine handed him.
After opening the packet, and scanning the contents, Mullins said, “Ladies, I am afraid these are the orders assigning me to a ship. I must report aboard now to make sure she is not about to sink at her moorings. I will leave Robert with you for now, in case you need him for anything. Brooks, our ship is the Achilles. If I have not come for you before, you should come aboard before tomorrow evening.”
“Doris, Mary, you should not send Robert out by himself. The Press is busy now and any seaman not accompanied by an officer is liable to find himself taken up and on his way to India by morning. If you do go out with him, if you are accosted, be sure and mention my name and assure the commander of the press gang that he himself will be at one of Achilles’ gratings, should any harm come to any of you. I will try to send a party of men for Robert tomorrow evening.”
Mullins walked to the dockside, then engaged a boat to carry him out to Achilles. The Master’s Mate of the watch hailed him, then stood by as he was piped aboard. No officers were present, except for the standing officers. Sailing Master Brewer had the ship and called all hands for his new captain.
Prior to calling the hands aft to have his orders read, Mullins asked Brewer if he had heard of any officers that might be joining. Brewer said he had not. All three of Achilles’ lieutenants had accompanied Captain Decker to London and nothing had since been heard of any of them.
Mullins elected to read his orders to the
crew himself, this gave him the chance to look closely at his crew’s faces as he read. Most merely looked curious. There were little furtive glances one might see on a ship where trouble was brewing, but these were absent on Achilles.
Brewer accompanied him to his cabin. The ships books and papers were displayed on his table and desk. The cabin had been cleaned and was immaculate. The master said the former captain had taken his own cabin stores to shore with him along with his personal possessions. The wardroom had been stripped in the same manner, so before sailing, Mullins and any new officers he was assigned must go ashore to secure the necessary requirements.
In all other respects, the ship was reported ready to sail. No hands had been sent ashore, and all provisions were aboard, although some of the biscuit was already infected with weevil. The previous captain had not been a man to spoil the perfection of his decks with the frequent practice of the great guns, so the full complement of powder and shot was aboard. No guns had been fired in the past year.
That gave Mullins an idea. “Mister Brewer, I will wish to see all heads of departments, of course. I will leave that for you to arrange. First though, I would like you to have the Master Gunner report to me. I will see the others after him.”
Mister Stuart, their gunner, was a massively built man. Mullins wondered how he managed in the tight confines of the magazine. Stuart confirmed Brewer’s report about the lack of gun drill and firing practice aboard Achilles. He confided, “When Captain Decker first reported aboard, we used to fire the great guns every week. Our old captain was a wealthy man who purchased the ammunition for us to use for practice. The first time we fired the guns after Captain Decker came, he was amazed at how the big carronades burned the frames of the gunports. After that, we stopped firing the carronades, then the long guns. Not a single gun has fired in the last year, save for the saluting gun.”
HMS Falcon: A Charles Mullins novel, Sea Command 7 Page 14
