Chapter 3

Michael was at sea. He had been promoted and was the most junior Lieutenant on his Majesty’s ship Revenge. A thirty-eight-gun frigate, the Revenge had speed to burn. Michael ached to get a chance to steer her since she seemed as fast as any sloop that he had seen. It’s unusual qualities were from a new designer. Originally French, it had been captured intact while in a harbor waiting to be provisioned. The French had gotten involved in the colonial war and had made things much more difficult. That the rebels had won a battle or two had been bad enough but with the French as their allies, these rebels had been given real hope that they might succeed.

Three years had passed since his marriage. Sally seemed to be pregnant all of the time. He had two more children and knew she wanted more. He loved her but all she thought about were the children. His Aunt Jennifer had gotten pregnant! After all of those years Uncle Tom must have gotten it right. She had a little boy and Michael was relieved that he wasn’t the heir to the estate and title. Brenda had also been busy and she was nursing a little one, which added another boy to their family. One of his sister-in-laws, Katherine had found a husband. Michael thought she was too young but the new couple had a premature child. Yet she appeared to be quite healthy and of good size. Another one of his sister-in-laws, Abigail, was engaged to be married.

He refocused his attention to his duty and asked those aloft to straighten up some sail. They had been at sea for two months now and would need to re-provision the ship soon. The Mediterranean assignment was not always pleasant but today it was beautiful. He heard the call of ‘sail ho’ and immediately inquired about its origins.

“Seems to be of French design Sir!”

“Confirm that as soon as you can. Alert the Captain that we may have a Frenchman bearing down on us.”

“Aye sir it’s French and it appears to be a big frigate or a small ship-of the-line.”

The Captain had appeared and went to the aft deck. He was casually dressed but soon asked for his battle jacket. Captain Keller had little quirks that all captains seemed to have. His was a favorite coat he used in select circumstances. Michael had been posted to his ship with the new appointment. Michael thought him a fair man and wondered how this first engagement with the new captain would go.

“Get the men ready for engagement Mr. Conover.”

Michael had the crew issued a cup of grog since they had just had their midday meal. Then they had spread the sand and cleared the decks for the upcoming engagement. Captain Keller issued the orders for ball and chain shot. The entire crew quickly understood the way he was thinking. The second biggest asset that the ship had was speed and the only way that a ship the size of the Revenge could beat a ship of the line was to strip them of enough sail so that they could cross the stern of the larger ship and subdue them. Michael walked down the gun deck and made sure that his crews were ready. He heard the cry for all officers to report to the aft deck to see the captain. Michael turned and started to walk. He had been all the way to the bow chasers and now had to make his way back. A couple of the midshipmen were walking with him. Michael was anxious since they were getting close enough that cannon fire could begin at any minute. As he reached amidships the sound of cannon fire and explosions reached his ears. They had been hit in the aft section. He hurried and was horrified to see the ship had lost steerage. The fact was the ship had lost everyone that had been on the aft deck. The carnage was severe. Included in that group the captain and both lieutenants had lost their lives. Pieces of them were scattered all over the deck. He slid in the blood but managed to get to the wheel. The ship had veered away from the previous course and he got the wind back into the sail. He yelled his orders to the remaining midshipmen. He quickly saw that despite the loss his captain had set the course beautifully. He told the gun captains to fire when they saw the stern section going by. He told the bow chasers to aim for the masts. His starboard guns would be firing first. He had the port guns reload for double shot. The chasers were amazingly effective. The mizzenmast was snapped in two and the main mast lost a good deal of sail. The ship of the line suddenly had a make shift anchor of sail dragging in the water. A cry of ‘sail ho’ was heard and the crew wondered what the lieutenant would do since this could be another French ship. The Revenge turned quickly and crossed the stern of the French. As the cannon fire ripped through the weakest part of the ship, one of the lookouts reported that the ship was a British sloop. The crew of the Revenge heard screams of the French crew who were dying under their fire. Michael ran the ship out and turned her back to enable his port guns to fire. The French had chopped some of the trailing sail away but enough was still there to inhibit a turn away from the coming onslaught. Each cannon fired into the stern section. The double shot drove deep into the very heart of the ship. Small explosions and fires broke out. Every other time the cannons fired one of the shot would hit a small keg of powder used to recharge their cannon. As the last cannon fired on the port side, a larger explosion occurred on the lower gun deck near amidships. Most of the crew could see a seven-gun section from the French lower gun deck explode and blow a gaping hole at the water line. At that time a large fire was also seen.

The French raised a white flag and abandoned ship. The decks cleared of the men and within ten minutes the ship blew up. Other than the loss of most of their officers, the crew of the Revenge had won a stunning victory. The wounded were few and most were from the initial hit on the aft deck. They tried to save as many of the French as they could but most drowned. Only fifty survived.

The sloop Hummingbird had arrived and assisted in the effort to save some men. Afterwards the Lieutenant in command was piped aboard. Peacock had seen the entire engagement. He had climbed into the top and saw the finishing phase of the battle.

“Welcome aboard the Revenge, Lieutenant. I’m Lieutenant Conover, currently in command of this ship. To whom may I have the pleasure of welcoming?”

“I’m Lieutenant Peacock of the Hummingbird. But where may I ask is the Captain?”

“He and the rest of the lieutenants were killed in battle. I had to take command during the battle.”

“Aye sir. He took command before we got a chance to fire. He was incredible. He knew just how far he had to run out and turn back so that we could finish those bast-”

“Mr. Gail? Didn’t I ask you to clear the decks? Please gather what remains there are so that we can conduct a funeral service. And no more embellishments Gail!”

“Aye sir. Sorry sir. I just hope that I can always serve under you sir.”

“I am sorry Peacock. It must be the excitement of battle. Please, Come to the- uh- captain’s quarters and we shall talk without interruptions.”

“Look Conover, is it true that all of them were dead before you took over?”

“Peacock, it is true but the course had been set and-”

“Conover, I saw the damn battle. Your Midshipman was right. It was a masterful job of sailing and destruction. If that port side hadn’t done the trick I bet you could have beat around and hit him with the starboard. I saw it and I’m impressed. I needed to hand these orders to your captain but I see him in front of me. So take these orders for the ship. Oh, and some personal mail for the crew. I see there is one letter for you on the top.”

“Thank you. The crew will be most appreciative for the letters. You know how lonely it can get.”

“Aye. I still can’t get over your skill Conover. Imagine! Sinking a ship-of the-line with a small frigate! Oh this is fantastic. The fleet will all know about you by the time you set your sail today.”

“Peacock, please don’t do this. It was only my duty and you know it.”

“Aye, remind me to never get on your bad side.”

Michael watched as Peacock was piped off deck. With the sloop away he turned to the captain’s mail first and decided to have the crew receive their mail first before the funeral service. He instructed Poindexter the other midshipman that was left to execute those orders and went below to read.

His orders were to sail back to port for refitting. It left to the captain’s discretion whether to take on objects of opportunity. He set aside his personal letters for later reading. He sucked in his stomach and found the bible. Captain Keller had it dog-eared for the proper passages to read for the commitment of the bodies to the deep. The captain’s steward interrupted him.

“Sir, this may be presumptuous of me but you may wish to have a sip of brandy. Captain Keller requested me to ready him a glass each time he had to do the service.”

“Yes, thank you Bernard. Captain Keller always had good things to say about you Bernard. I would wish that you stay with me as steward until we get to harbor.”

Michael took the brandy and relished its warming nature. He then went on deck to conduct the service. He remarked to the crew how privileged that they all had been able to serve under such able and good leaders. He said the service and bowed his head as the canvas holding the remains of the men slowly slid off the board and into the sea.

He made his first entry into the logbook. After due consideration he thought it gave credit to those who did an exemplary job of their duty. He had looked back on the items that Captain Keller had put in the log and put those items down. He noted the promotions that had been made due to the battle.

His orders for the next day had the Revenge sailing with only the lower sections of sail and closer to shore than usual. He had met with the newly promoted officers and detailed his plan of using the top most area of his main mast as a vantage point for getting close and surprising French shipping. That they were to sail for provisions and refitting was only mentioned in closing as if it was the last thing on the agenda for their ship.

“Sir, as quartermaster, I need tell you that we do need those provisions. I estimate that we have two months left. It may be less with spoilage.”

“Thank you for the heads up Stewart. I will keep that in mind.”

Sometimes it surprised him that he was able to remember names and people the way he could. He had seen a couple of captains who had a hard time remembering their own name. He quickly thought about the time he had amnesia and had not remembered his own name.