His Magesty's Brig Alert: A Tim Phillips Novel

by Richard Testrake

  Haynes, the sword in one hand, tried to secure one of the muskets with the other. When he clumsily knocked both to the floor, he started toward the judges with just the blade. A Marine captain there merely to observe, drew his own weapon and slashed Haynes leg as he passed. Hamstrung, the prisoner fell to the deck with a severed tendon and found himself with a dozen swords at his neck.

  There was a recess while the ship’s surgeon bound the fellow up and servants set right the overturned benches and cleaned the spilled blood. The defense submitted the trial should be delayed while the prisoner healed. The president of the court, with a cursory glance at the other judges, disposed of that plan. Captain Houze decreed, “The man has been treated and should not bleed to death during the trial. We will finish this and settle matters as soon as possible.”

  Since he had finished his testimony, Phillips was sent away with other witnesses and spectators and retired to the wardroom. An hour later, the wardroom servant entered and handed him a message from the flag captain. He was to report the flag captain on the liner’s quarterdeck.

  There, Captain Howze informed him the trial judges had decided to throw out all the charges pending except for the one filed by Captain Phillips regarding the prisoner’s disrespect while another relating to the attack on Lieutenant Wilkerson had been added. Since the trial was still in the very early stages, the judge advocate had decided it was permissible to add the extra charge, rather than hold an entirely new court martial on that charge.

  Having heard all the testimony they wished to hear, this proceeding was nearly over and the next case would begin shortly.

  He did not know what to make of the dismissal of most charges. Surely the judges would not find Haynes ‘Not Guilty’?

  Captain Houze reassured him. “This fellow Haynes was certainly a bad bargain. It is the high jump for him! The admiral wishes to apologize in advance for having the execution on the flagship rather than your brig.”

  “Sir, then the man has been found guilty?”

  “Oh, not yet. We will let the sentencing go for a while. The admiral wants us to get some of the minor cases out of the way. We hope to have those completed by this afternoon, then Haynes will be brought back. We will hear a little more testimony considering the latest attack, then he will be found guilty and sentenced to hang. Admiral Curtis will sign the order immediately and the prisoner will be taken on deck and the noose will be placed around his neck.”

  “It was thought we could use Wilkerson’s injury as the excuse to delay the trial until the other cases had been decided. The fellow has apparently lost a lot of blood and can barely stand. That does not signify, however. He can be tied to a chair in court and for that matter sit until he is hauled up to the main yard. The surgeon has him below now, but says he will be able to testify later this afternoon. Then we can pass sentence and take the prisoner on deck immediately to hang. The admiral feels this scenario will make a deeper impression on the men.”

  “We want you to return to Alert and send over a party of a dozen men, who will actually do the honors.”

  “If he wishes, Haynes may have a moment with the chaplain, then your party will tail onto the rope and walk off with it. His body will be left hanging from the main yardarm for the remainder of the day, so others may think twice before they violate the Twenty First Article of War.”

  “You understand, normally he would have been executed aboard your brig, since that is where most of the offenses occurred. In this case, Haynes actions were so infamous the admiral wished to impress others with the gravity of the offense by executing him on the flag, immediately after sentencing.”

  “This additional charge was levied against the man after you left the court. This is the charge on which he will be found guilty. The others, except for the insolence charge you filed were dismissed so the court need not waste its time hearing testimony on a man it will hang anyway. You may go back to Alert now. You will muster your crew on deck when the time of execution draws near. Admiral Curtis wishes the men of every ship in harbor witness the execution. Your men will be returned after they have done their duty”

  “Crews should muster on deck facing the flag when the court martial flag is seen to dip. The execution will follow shortly.

  *****

  Phillips was in his cabin going through the list of bosun’s store that were needed. It seemed excessive and knowing the habits of some bosun’s, he wondered if some of these stores might be sold off the ship some dark night to a shoreside speculator.

  He decided he must soon give a clear warning to the crew of the penalties of such behavior. When Midshipman Akers breathlessly reported the court-martial flag had dipped, Phillips impulsively decided to make that announcement while both watches were drawn up on deck to witness the hanging. This might make a lasting impression on the men. He had no desire to see another man from the brig run up to a main yard.

  Everyone in the harbor saw the smoke gush from the gun aboard the flag and saw the bundle soar into the air aboard the flag, twisting and bending as it was hauled up. After several minutes, movement stopped and Phillips addressed the crew. He reminded them of the consequences of thoughtless folly and assured them that such could happen to men who committed common offenses, such as the theft of Crown property aboard ship.

  He assured the crew that the mere theft of a few fathoms of line from ship’s store could bring a man to court martial. With that, he dismissed the watch below and summoned Mister Wainright into his cabin.

  “Lieutenant, as soon as the mail bags and dispatch pouches come on board, I expect we will be ordered to sail for the Baltic.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Alert remained at anchor in Portsmouth Harbor, seemingly forgotten by the authorities. A few crewmen were sent aboard the brig, one of the more welcome additions being Master’s Mate Wilcox, who would serve as the brig’s sailing master. In addition, Doctor Fletcher’s warrant had been approved and he was now officially the brig’s surgeon.

  Finally, on a windy day that was threatening rain, a cutter made its way to the brig, hooked on about eight bells in the morning watch. A young midshipman clambered aboard and delivered a packet to the mid commanding the anchor watch.

  This was immediately sent to Lieutenant Wainright, who saw it had come from the port admiral and immediately took it to his captain. Phillips had been up much of the night with the bosun who was concerned with the condition of the standing rigging of the foremast.

  He had just dropped off to sleep when the package arrived. Cutting the twine with his pen knife, he opened the parcel and read the contents. He was directed to come ashore as soon as he had read the instructions and report to Admiral Curtis at the George Inn.

  There was a flurry of activity as the boat crew donned the clothing they reserved for that duty and the captain’s servant brushed his coat. Phillips climbed down the side of the pitching brig and made it into the boat without embarrassing himself. He took off his hat and put it under the boat cloak to prevent it from becoming soaked in the spray that was coming aboard.

  His boat crew were all long service seamen that had volunteered to join, so he decided to trust them not to desert. Normally, a captain coming ashore, might order the boat to return to the ship, or at least remain offshore to inhibit desertion. He hated to see the men subjected to the foul weather any more than necessary.

  They approached the lee side of the quay, where he handed the cox’n some money and told him to take the men to a nearby ordinary and stand them to a drink.

  “No man is to become incapable though. We have to make it back to the brig when I am finished at the George. You had better take turns watching for me. We may have to leave in a rush. Someone will have to stay with the boat, also.”

  As the boat tied up and the crew began to disembark, the rain that had been threatening, finally came in a downpour. A single enclosed chaise stood under an overhang at the ordinary. As the men ran inside with a whoop, Phillips engaged the driver of the chaise to take
him to the ordinary. The fellow was reluctant to leave his shelter, but agreed when Phillips offered to pay him half again what the fare was worth.

  The horse drawing the chaise was also reluctant also to go out into the rain, but a touch of the whip encouraged him.

  Phillips felt like a drowned rat when he entered the inn. Despite his boat cloak, his hat and coat was drenched and the inn’s porter busied himself taking his outer garb and placing them before the fire. He took Phillips sword also, promising to dry the weapon so it would not rust.

  The landlord came to him and led him to the room where Admiral Curtis was entertaining some local officials. The admiral appeared reluctant to go into any explanations while his civilian guests were present, so Phillips sat there drinking port, while everyone exchanged pleasantries.

  It was an hour before the civilians called for their cloaks and departed. Phillips by now had found he was going to need to visit the ‘jakes’ soon, but decided he could forbear a little longer, when the admiral called for cigars and got down to business.

  “Captain Phillips, my flag lieutenant will give you dispatches for Admiral Saumarez in the Baltic, which you will deliver. After that, you will place yourself under the admiral’s orders and join his fleet. You will find we are still at war with the Danes and nobody knows which way the Swedes will go. Bonaparte is pressing them to declare war on us, but they enjoy our trade. Russia also is at war with us, but there are signs they may be moderating their views. The czar is not happy with the insults he has received from Bonaparte.”

  “Admiral Saumarez will be the arbiter there as how you should act. He is the local authority and will decide which enemies we will prosecute vigorously and which we will treat with some moderation. I think you will find the admiral, while he may be lenient toward a country we may nominally be at war with, will expect a similar leniency in return.”

  “Of course, we would not wish to drive a presently neutral country into enmity with us unnecessarily. Until Admiral Saumarez gives you appropriate guidance and orders, you will not unilaterally attack vessels flying the colors of Sweden or Russia. Should such vessels fire at you, you are, of course, free to respond accordingly.”

  “There is, of course, no doubt of Denmark’s hostility. You may attack any Danish ships as you have occasion to do so.”

  “Earlier this year, we took the Danish island of Anholt, in the Kattegat in order to return the light there to operation. On your way to the Baltic, you will stop at Anholt and determine any needs of the garrison.”

  “Now, Mister Andrews should be outside with the dispatches. If you have no questions, you may return to your brig and sail as soon as wind and tide permit. You may just be able to beat out of the harbor with the wind we have now. I will not keep you longer.”

  Alert made her way up the channel without coming into contact with any enemy vessels until she sailed past the Dutch coast. Two strangers came out to look at her. They both appeared to be privateers and were flying the colors of the Batavian Republic, an ally of France. One was a brig, smaller than Alert. The other though, was a ship rigged corvette pierced for sixteen guns.

  She would be a serious foe and Captain Phillips decided it would be folly to engage her while the brig was in the picture. According, he put the westerly wind on Alert’s quarter, hoisted every scrap of canvas the brig could carry and flew off to the north east. The corvette had no trouble staying with her, but the little brig was having trouble, falling back farther every hour. When her topsails dropped before the horizon, the corvette too, hoisted everything she could carry. It soon became evident Alert could not outrace the slender corvette, so she came to, stripped down to fighting sails and waited for her foe.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Phillips would rather not engage this enemy, but he did not see any means to avoid it. He was carrying dispatches and knew Admiral Saumarez would have words with him if he thought Alert could have avoided the fight. With that in mind, he decided to open fire with his long guns when the corvette came in range. He thought the captain of that corvette might have assumed the brig was an unarmed trading vessel. Perhaps finding her quarry had teeth would cause her to sheer off and seek easier prey.

  The two long six pounders at bow and stern erupted, without the enemy taking notice. The gun crews had not been properly worked up, so their accuracy was poor. They continued banging away with no apparent distress to the enemy. Mister Wainright had been taking sightings of her masthead with his sextant and when he reported she was within range, Phillips ordered the new carronades readied.

  Most regarded the light, short barreled weapons to be inaccurate, only useful in close range fighting. Phillips had studied the guns though and found, while the range was shorter than long guns throwing the same weight ball, the ball did fit more closely in the bore of the gun, eliminating some inaccuracy there and utilizing the small powder charge more efficiently. In addition, the carronades had at least rudimentary sights, with an elevation screw, rather than relying on a wooden quoin to adjust elevation, as was necessary with the long guns.

  Thus far on the short voyage, he had not had a chance to give the new crew much chance to work with the new guns, merely running them in and out a few times every day. There had been no opportunity to lay in a store of privately owned ammunition for the crew to use for live fire practice.

  He did, however, have a gunner’s mate, who claimed to have served with his own father, Captain John Phillips and was supposedly well versed on the carronade. Orson was ordered to go from gun to gun on the broadside, firing each carronade individually, taking especial care with the aim.

  Orson stood at the number two carronade, starboard side and waited for the order. Phillips nodded at Mister Wainright and at his signal, Orson looked down the sight, waiting for the brig to rise on a swell. As it did, he yanked on the firing lanyard and the gun fired, recoiling back on its slide.

  Phillips was watching through his glass and saw the brief plume of spray when the ball hit the sea close aboard the corvette. Orson had immediately gone to the next gun and fired that. The ball from this shot struck the sea just short of the corvettes bow.

  Shot after shot went toward the enemy, as she approached. Finally, one ball did not produce a splash. It had evidently struck the target ship. Phillips could make out a flurry of activity on her forward deck, as though the high angled shot had hit her deck. More shots began hitting the corvette, which became tired of this treatment and came about to fire her own broadside. Only one round of the eight fired struck and that had ricocheted from the surface of the sea and struck the brig’s beam under the quarterdeck.

  Phillips was close to the impact site and saw the eight pound ball adhering in the timber for a moment before it fell back into the sea.

  The brig’s guns on the starboard side were all firing now, under the control of their own gun captains and the heavy balls were doing serious damage to the corvette. The enemy gunners were having difficulty hitting the brig and their small eight pound balls did much less damage when they did strike.

  As the thirty two pound balls kept impacting the enemy at a furious rate, he noticed some of the loaders were tiring from handling the heavy ammunition. He sent Mister Akers around to each gun, telling the crews to change positions. Men standing by the unused port guns were brought over to spell the starboard gunners.

  In the midst of this, a glance at the enemy showed men scrambling into the tops to take in sail. While occupied with this, the enemy’s mainmast was seen to begin to lean, then it fell with a rush over the side. The enemy tried to get herself under control, leaving the men in the water behind clinging to the wreckage with the ship turning to port in an effort to escape.

  Phillips now had the opportunity to leave the enemy behind and continue on his voyage, which he knew would meet with the approval of the Admiralty. However, he considered the corvette was within easy reach of several ports on the continent and should she make one of them safely, could be repaired and be back preying upon Br
itish commerce within a few weeks.

  With that in mind, he ordered Alert put on a course to intercept the corvette and came up on her bow. The enemy vessel was still trying to get herself in some kind of order. Her starboard fore chains had been struck and her shrouds were loose there. Without proper support and the foremast starting to lean, she was in serious trouble.

  Ordering all guns to load with grape, Phillips eased the brig closer and fired a single blast of grape at the crewmen working on the rigging. A swirl in the crowd left a half dozen men on the deck. There was quiet for a moment. The enemy had no guns that would bear and Alert was waiting. Finally, the tricolor came fluttering down and the fight was over.

  Phillips told his first officer, “Mister Wainright, I would like you to take a party over and take command of the corvette. Have all small arms laid on the deck or thrown over the side with the men sent below. I’ll send over some swivels that you can direct at the hatches in case any of them changes their mind. Better take Able Seaman Harder with you. He’s probably one of the best seamen we have on Alert. When you are prepared to sail, we will part company and you may take her back home. Try not to lose Harder to another captain when you make port.”

  Alert’s captain waited a glass for word to come back. Finally, Mister Akers came back in the jolly boat and reported.

  “Sir, there has been fearsome damage done to the corvette. Mister Wainright has the French carpenter’s crew working at patching the worst shot holes, but wishes you to send over our own carpenter. He does not trust the Frenchmen to do a proper job.’

  Leaving Mister Wilcox in charge of the brig, Phillips went over to the corvette with the carpenter and his crew, as well as the bosun. The ship had received some serious damage, but the French carpenter’s crew, warned they would go to the bottom with the ship should they not get her wounds repaired, had already made great strides in getting her seaworthy.