Chapter 15: Commissioning

April 1803

A week after getting the news, Dido received the first 76 petty officers and ratings. Will had seen the posted recruiting notifications by the commander in chief, letting volunteers know that the Royal Navy was commisioning two sixth-rates and that openings existed for petty officers and seamen. The approach seemed to work well, for enough old Royal Navy ratings volunteered to give barebones crews to all six nine-pounder frigates, without alerting the public.

Dido was one of the ships officially being readied, and Will received orders to take provisions for four months. Dido and her sister ship Aurora were moved downriver from their moorings and to Devonport. Lighters were sent from the victualling yard, and both ships filled their holds, before they sailed back into the River Tamar. There they met the other ships and distributed the provisions equally amongst them, giving them all enough for a month at the least.

More ratings were recruited and distributed amongst them over the next week, whilst the crews worked to effect the necessary repairs to the standing rigging. Percy Montgomery arrived next, announcing that he would be Dido’s first lieutenant, and taking charge of the efforts. He was followed two days later by James Muir who hoped to remain second. This was confirmed when Mister Evan Evans reported for duty whose commission dated from early 1801. Excepting for Peter Murdoch and Cliff Matthews, the old wardroom was complete again when on April 17, Captain D’Arcy came aboard and read himself in.

Will was not surprised when shortly after the ceremony, he received a summons from his old and new captain.

“Ah, there you are, Mister Potter. How quickly d’ye think we can victual the ship?”

Will thought briefly. They were two thirds down on stores, as planned, but he knew that the victualling yard was well stocked.

“Four days if we rush everything, Sir. Only...”

“Yes?”

“If we seem in too much of a rush, the yard will likely try to foist their rejects onto us, Sir, and I wouldn’t have the time to examine the foods. It might also alert people to our commissioning.”

“They’re likely to do that?”

“I know the people in the yard, Sir. With a little time, I can get better stores for us. The other five frigates will get the oldest if we let them go first.”

“Well, we should go anchor up in a week’s time. Think that’s enough time for you to strike a good deal for the ship?”

“Yes, Sir! I’ll get started right away, Sir. May I ask the destination, Sir?”

D’Arcy looked satisfied. “Cruiser warfare in the Bay of Biscay. It’ll be rough weather, but still, better than lying at anchor idly.”

“Thank you, Sir. I shall stock up accordingly.”

“Please do so.”

Mister Parry received Will after a half hour wait.

“A good day to you, Mister Potter! How may I help you?”

“I was given orders to victual my ship, Sir,” Will said in a bored tone of voice. “We may have to sail a short patrol soon.”

“That’s not going to be a problem. Dido has a small complement, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, Sir, two-hundred. I have brought a list of what I’ll need. It’s only the usual needs, Sir.”

Parry made a negligent gesture. “Show that list to one of the clerks. You know your way around the yard, after all.”

“Yes, Sir, I can do that. Is Mister Dancer free, Sir? He examined my books when we decommissioned and should be able to help.”

“Oh, of course. He’s familiar with your ship. Find him and let him help you.”

“Thank you, Sir! With your leave?”

“Of course.” Parry answered, already focussing on a document on his desk, and Will left the room quietly.

He found Dancer in the clerks’ room and found him eager enough. Within ten minutes, Will was on his way to the yard where he presented his list to James Corver, one of the foremen he knew from his time at the yard. The worthy man scratched his head.

“We’ve plenty of those dry goods, Mister Potter. Should be no problem, but I’ll warn you. Word from Mister Parry is to slip in a few bad meat casks with the good ‘uns. Just so you know.”

“How many?”

“One in ten’s the word, Mister Potter.”

“And you can tell the bad ones?” Will grinned.

“Aye, Mister Potter.”

“Then you should be able to mark them in a way I can tell them, too, shouldn’t you?” Will said, still grinning and slipping two crowns into Corver’s hand.

“I should think so, Mister Potter. They’re freshly scrubbed from the outside and stand right out from the grubby ones.”

“Neat!” Will nodded. “Kindly have some extra casks ready for when I’ll reject one or two.”

“I’ll see to it, Mister Potter,” Corver grinned. “Who’s the clerk handling your account?”

“Mister Dancer. He shouldn’t be too alert.”

Corver grinned again. “Aye, Mister Potter, I figure he owes you too much.”

It was early afternoon when the first lighter with stores made fast along Dido’s side. Will watched whilst cask after cask was lifted from the lighter and lowered into the hold, but he had a few casks lowered on deck first for inspection. He picked a few weathered casks, too, for show, but he found and rejected the three with spoiled contents, much to the admiring consternation of Mister Dancer.

He also rejected three cheese wheels that were mouldy and smelled on the bread sacks, too, to detect mould and moisture. All in all, he was confident that he and the crew were not cheated too badly on the taking of provisions. Mister Dancer countersigned the bills of transfer, and it was a smiling Will who returned to his home in the late evening hours.

A new surgeon showed on board on the next morning. Mister Emanuel Hookham was perhaps even younger than Will, well built, and with an open smile. He admitted to having received his warrant only a week earlier, and Dido was his first seagoing posting. He looked a bit lost when he inspected his sickbay and showed his lack of experience when tasked by Percy to prepare his list of needs. Therefore, with Percy’s agreement, Will asked Samuel McSwain for a few hours of his time to give the young colleague advice, and the veteran surgeon spent a day on board to give his young colleague a leg up.

With the provisions on board, other supplies were loaded, such as ammunitions, spare timbers, extra cordage and sailcloth. Will and Abigail were granted four more nights together, but after the last night, she accompanied him to the quay to kiss him good-bye, bravely suppressing her tears.

Officers and crew spent the whole day getting the last items stowed and inspecting the rigging, but in the next morning, at sun rise, Dido went anchor-up. The small frigate made good speed in a fresh north-eastern breeze, and by evening, they were past Ushant and entering the Bay of Biscay, with the wind now coming two points from astern. The small frigate tumbled unsteadily over the sizeable Atlantic rollers, testing the stomachs even of seasoned sailors, and Somers, who had been one of the first ratings to volunteer, served the wardroom a light supper.

Sun rise found them off Saint-Nazaire and the River Loire estuary. D’Arcy steered his ship along the coast line keeping out of range of the coastal defences whilst the midshipmen were ordered into the mast heads to count what shipping they could see in the river mouth and in the protected bay.

They continued their patrol in southerly direction along the French coast, probing the French ports of La Rochelle and Rochefort, as well as the River Charente estuary. D’Arcy kept his ship barely out of French waters, thus avoiding to show their flag, leaving the French to guess at their nationality. When they reached the small fishing village Biarritz, they turned west, sailing past the northern Spanish coats in the same manner until they reached La Coruña and Ferrol, tha main Spanish naval base on the north coast. Here, they counted masts again for their reports, before they headed north again.

With a full wind, Dido raced a full 150 leagues in a NNE direction, heading for the approaches to Brest, the main French naval port on the Atlantic coast. Here, Captain D’Arcy hoped to meet with the British frigates which kept a watch over the Goulet de Brest, mainly to receive information about the current state of affairs between Britain and France. They had been without news since leaving Plymouth three weeks earlier, and it was crucial to be alerted to a state of war as soon as possible.

They arrived off Brest three days later, but it took them another day to make contact with the Najad frigate and her Captain Edwardson. D’Arcy visited, but returned to Dido none the wiser.

Nevertheless, they stayed in Najad’s vicinity for the rest of the day. That proved fortuitous, for late in the afternoon, a two-masted sloop appraoched the frigates from Northwest, and when she came closer, signals rose on her halliards.

“HM sloop Badger, Sir; 16 guns,” Mister Barton, the signal midshipman reported, and after a pause, “Badger to Najad, have dispatches.”

“Mister Montgomery, kindly have my gig swung out!” D’Arcy ordered immediately, and before the boat from Badger reached Najad’s chains, Dido’s gig was already on the way.

Meanwhile, Dido’s officers watched the proceedings from the quarterdeck, speculating about the news the sloop had brought.

“I wager a week’s pay that we’re at war with the frogs,” James Muir offered.

“No takers,” Percy answered curtly. “Will, let’s wait for the captain before you dole out the grog. We don’t want the hands drunk when we’ll have them in the rigging.”

“D’ye think we’re at war?” Hookham, the surgeon, asked worriedly.

“Likely as not,” Angus Donovan said gravely. “Why else would they send yon sloop?”

Will kept silent. He was a married man and a father, soon of two. Chances were he would not see his family for many months, even years, if at all. True to his form, Captain D’Arcy would do his best to make a name for himself soonest. Will had come through two actions unscathed, but he knew that the odds of that streak holding would go down with each enemy encounter. Then he shrugged. He had declined a clerkship at the victualling yard claiming his wish to help overthrow Mister Buonaparte. Now it was his turn to uphold that claim. Determined, he found his steward.

“Alwyn, let’s wait with the grog for now; we may have to set sail shortly,” he ordered in a carrying voice. “The hands’ll get their grog, just not right now.”

“Aye-aye, Sir!” Alwyn answered smartly. “I’ll let them know, Sir.”

Alwyn was a good man, and Will relied on him increasingly. He was also learning his letters and numbers and could keep the Victualling Book. He would have to sound the man out to see whether he had the ambition to move up the ladder.

“The captain’s gig just shoved off, Sir!” the lookout cried, and indeed, the gig’s crew was bending their backs to give the gig its best speed.

“All hands! All hands!” Percy ordered. “Man the tops’l yards, man the braces!”

If D’Arcy wanted to sail soonest, Percy held the crew ready. Indeed, Captain D’Arcy cut short the piping coming aboard.

“Let’s get under way, Mister Montgomery! Course, south-southeast! Tops’ls first, then the t’gallants. Prepare to set the courses, too!”

Literally within a minute after coming aboard, D’Arcy saw his ship turn to the wind, with the topsails beginning to draw. The topmen were already climbing up to the topgallant yards, and five minutes later, those sails were drawing, too.

“Well done, gentlemen!” D’Arcy told his officers. “Kindly come to my cabin in fifteen minutes. I have news.”

Fifteen minutes later, Dido was on course under a full press of sails, and her wardroom officers were assembled in the small after cabin. Outside, the grog hour was starting for the hands, whilst in the cabin, the officers sipped on the offered wine. D’Arcy waited until everybody was comfortable before he spoke up.

“Gentlemen, as of day before yesterday, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is at war with the so-called French Empire. On May 13, Lord Whitworth left France and on the eighteenth instant, His Majesty declared war on France for her continued breaches of the peace treaty.

“Today is the twentieth; therefore we shall try to catch French shipping in the morning. It is doubtful that the state of war has been made known all over France, and we may reap the benefit.”

Sun rise found them passing Belle-Isle at two miles distance. The captain ordered a course due east then and had an early breakfast served for the crew. Indeed, shortly after, the hands were called to quarters as Dido neared the River Loire estuary and Saint-Nazaire. By luck they caught a decent-sized chasse maree, a coastal fish trader, who had given the Pointe du Croisic a too-wide berth and could not make the protected coast quickly enough.

As it turned out, the small two-masted vessel carried not only fresh fish, but also cider, cheese and smoked meats from the Belle-Isle. Dido’s officers and crews would indulge in fresh food for a week or more. Whilst the French crew was allowed to row their side boat to the shore, the small ship was sent on its way to Plymouth with a prize crew of five under Midshipman Livesey, the senior midshipman.

Meanwhile, two small men o’war were coming out from Saint-Nazaire, bravely flying their Tricolour flags. D’Arcy had his topsails braced, and whilst the prize was beating feet, Dido sailed closer to the shore to meet the enemy ships.

The Frenchmen kept their course for another five minutes and even fired their bow chasers — six-pounders at the most — but then they wore ship and made their way back into protected waters. D’Arcy chased them for a few more minutes before he had Dido go about again. The French coastal batteries tried their luck, but Dido was still comfortably out of range and heading towards south-south-west, to further follow the coastline.

After months of inactivity, the capture of the coaster raised the spirits considerably. It might only fetch a thousand pounds on sale, giving the hands perhaps thirty shillings a head, but they were spending those thirty shillings in their minds already. The wardroom members could expect considerably more, lifting the mood and prompting a toast or three to be drunk at noon meal. Dido’s reputation as a lucky ship was holding.

Sailing further south, they caught a large brig transporting sugar and rum from Martinique to France. This was a major catch; the cargo alone would be worth over £4,000, and the sturdy brig not much less. Considering the value of the prize, Dido escorted her past Ushant before turning around again.

Off the Ile de Groix, south of Lorient, on the southern coast of Brittany, they surprised another French West Indiaman, this one outbound with a cargo of wines and spirits. Again, a prize crew was detached to bring the valuable vessel to Plymouth. By now, Dido was seriously short of her complement, what with three prize crews sailing for Plymouth, and D’Arcy decided to return to port, escorting their latest prize.

It was on May 1st when they dropped anchor, but no shore leave was given, as D’Arcy drove his officers and crews relentlessly to make Dido ready for the next cruise. The three prizes were given into the care of D’Arcy’s prize agents, and Will was too busy revictualling to make a call at his house and see Abigail. Instead, he sent her daily letters. He was in for a suprise, though.

The evening before putting to sea again, D’Arcy issued an invitation for a celebratory dinner in a public house on the shore. The wardroom officers and their wives were invited, but when Will asked for leave to alert Abigail to the invitation, a very smug D’Arcy told him not to worry.

Indeed, come the second Dog Watch, when the wardroom officers arrived at the inn, they found Abigail, together with Mistress D’Arcy, the captain’s young wife, and Mistress Hookham, their new surgeon’s wife. Abigail had never looked lovelier in Will’s eyes. She was wearing a new dress, one she’d had made to allow for her pregnant state, and she beamed at her husband with happiness.

Nobody in the wardroom excepting Percy had known that their captain had married Penelope Montgomery, and Percy had kept this to himself. Therefore, they celebrated the young couple and their successful cruise with excellent foods, but only with small amounts of wines and no spirits. D’Arcy wanted to celebrate, but he wanted to sail in the next morning, too. The enforced sobriety did not dampen the good mood, and they stayed until midnight. Will learned from Abigail that Clyde Barker had been posted to the Camilla, of 24 guns, an elderly post ship commissioned in ‘76 and stationed at the Isle of Wight. Belle was not happy to be alone soon, but she also saw the distinction for Clyde to be made a post captain. Will shared a long hug with Abigail when she left the inn together with Penelope Montgomery and Belinda Hookham to return to their home. By two bells in the middle watch, they were all back on board.

When they left Plymouth harbour in the next morning, they were escorting five merchantmen headed for Saint Peter Port or Saint Helier. It had to be expected that the French privateers from Saint Malo would swarm out to catch British ships returning from overseas and unaware of the reopening of hostilities. The small convoy reached Saint Peter Port by mid-morning of the next day and discharged three brigs to enter the small harbour. The remainder of their charges was safely delivered to Saint Helier where Dido anchored over night.

Come the morning, they set sail again and spent two days beating up against the western breeze until they rounded Ushant. With a full wind, they followed the Brittany coastline in south-eastern direction. Standing off Saint Nazaire at sunrise, they cut off another French merchantman from the River Loire estuary and forced her to strike. The brig was carrying a cargo of Spanish wines, but also olive oil, and was dispatched for Plymouth with a prize crew of six, whilst Dido continued in south-south-easterly direction.

By evening, they sighted the fleet that had assembled to blockade Rochefort, and Dido hove to close to the flagship, HMS Windsor Castle (98), to deliver dispatches. Captain D’Arcy was invited by Vice Admiral Sir John Maynard and spent over three hours in the flagship. It was night when he returned, and he immediately assembled the officers in his cabin.

“Gentlemen, Sir John gave me orders to take the command of a fifth-rate frigate, the Humber. Captain Conrad of the Triumph fell severely ill, and that set off a merry game of musical chairs. Commander Fitzsimmons of the Aurora sloop will take over Dido as acting captain. Dido will continue on her cruise as ordered whilst I shall spend the remainder of the war performing blockade duties.”

Percy cleared his throat. “Sir, the wardroom will miss your example, but we shall serve loyally under Captain Fitzsimmons.”

“That is nice of you to say, Mister Montgomery. I recommended you for the Aurora, but there were other candidates whom the admiral preferred.”

“I thank you nonetheless, Sir!”

“Gentlemen, prepare for the change of command! Mister Potter, please hand in your Victualling Book for my counter signature!”

“Aye-aye, Sir!” the officers chorused without much enthusiasm. D’Arcy had been an energetic and fair captain, not given to harsh treatment of his subordinates. Fitzsimmons might be as good or better, but also much worse as far as they knew. Anyway, Will hurried to present his Victualling Book for a final inspection by Captain D’Arcy.

“All hands, all hands, muster in divisions!”

The whole crew assembled hurriedly on deck whilst the side boys formed a line at the port. A boat was approaching them under sail, a cutter, and heading for their port. Captain D’Arcy appeared on the quarter deck, wearing his Nº2 uniform, and the wardroom members retreated towards the lee side of the deck. Then the boat made fast at the chains, and a rather old officer in a worn coat appeared on deck and saluted the quarter deck. D’Arcy stepped down into the waist and greeted his successor.