In the Navy
Copyright© 2005/2020 to Argon
Chapter 42: A Clerical Error
London, March 1809
For the third time, Captain Sir Anthony Carter was perusing the order he had received that morning, trying to read between the lines.
Sir Anthony Carter, KB,
Captain, R.N.
Sir, you are hereby requested and required to give testimony before a Court of Inquiry on the 20th instant, on board HMS Asia, concerning the circumstances that led to the grounding of HMS Asia on the 24th of January, off Santander, Spain. You are furthermore requested and required to present said Court of Inquiry with any such evidence as will shed light on the events on January 24th.
Wm Wellesley-Pole,
Secretary to Their Lordships
Tony smirked. A court of inquiry was only a step shy of a court martial, and quite often it was a prelude to one. They had made it back in the damaged Asia ship of the line with all men at the pumps, had even reached Portsmouth, against the earlier plans to seek safety in Falmouth. The dry docks were all busy, but it was decided by the port admiral to float the half-finished HMS Malta, Asia’s sister ship, out of the dock. In all haste, Asia’s ordnance and ammunition stores were removed, and her water casks emptied, lightening her by over 600 tons before she was docked.
Once the dock was drained, Tony had viewed the damage himself. It was not pretty. Over a length of twenty-two feet the copper sheathing and the outer layer of planks had been ripped off. It was only owed to the excellent workmanship of the French shipwrights that the inner planks had held. Three of the starboard side knees had also cracked, causing the groaning noises of the hull in heavy seas.
The work was halted then, and a commission was appointed to assess the damage and to make recommendations for Asia’s future. After weighing the repair costs against the value of the ship it was finally decided to refit her. She was paid off, however, and effective the 1st of March, Tony was on half-pay for the first time in his Navy career. Asia’s crew was transferred to receiving ships to await their next posting. There was nothing Tony could do in Portsmouth, and he travelled to his home at High Matcham, Berkshire, to await the next stages of the drama.
He was a restless man, though, worrying about his immediate future. Repercussions were more than likely given the damage Asia had sustained. Sitting out in the countryside, he was cut off from information and that worried him. Thus, he and Harriet decided to open their city house in Camden Court, London, where he would be closer to where decisions were made. It was the first time that he ever spent a night in the house which had been the hated Rupert Palmer’s, his wife Harriet’s first husband, and this fact unsettled him further.
Now he had to face a court of inquiry. His father-in-law, Admiral Lambert, had tried to calm him, telling him that such a procedure was inevitable. It was also true that he bore no responsibility for sailing the Bay of Santander in the middle of a violent winter storm. That was for Maynard to explain. However, the condition of his ship was his responsibility, and that included the sails. Ultimately, the failure of the mizzen topsail was the cause for the grounding. Could he have prevented that? Had there been time to control the condition of the canvas?
True, he had planned to give up his command, to devote more time to Harriet and the children, but to be beached in infamy would be an altogether different story.
His one consolation was his wife Harriet. She was finely attuned to her husband’s feelings and anxieties, and she had done her very best to distract him. Every night she had given herself to him, letting him know of the unconditional love she felt for him. In her soothing embrace Tony had found some peace of mind. Yet, during the next days, she would not be able to help him for he had to travel to Portsmouth to face the Court of Inquiry.
A “friend”, a fellow captain handling the defence, would not be required, as this was not a court martial. Still, he had received encouraging notes from various places. Rear Admiral Maynard, his former squadron commander, had given Tony a copy of his own report in which he stressed the tactical necessity for leaving Santander and the unexpectedly strong gale force winds which they encountered in the outer bay. It would also help that seven of Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cotton’s ships had suffered severe damage in the same storm. Only, they had sailed the open sea, and the damages were restricted to masts and rigging.
“Do not fret, my dearest,” Harriet’s warm voice interrupted his train of thoughts. “The court of inquiry is only held to fully exonerate you. I have that from my mother, and you know how well she is connected.”
His mother in law, Lady Lambert, was the wife of Admiral of the White Sir Richard Lambert, and befriended important men in the ministry and even at court.
Tony forced himself to smile. “I know, believe me, but such courts can be tricky things. True, I want to take a leave, but I don’t want to be beached under a cloud.”
“Darling, the court will comprise senior captains. Do you earnestly believe that they will hold you accountable for storm damage? That shoe can be on the other foot in no time. I cannot believe that they would want to set such a precedent.”
That made more sense than any other thing he had thought up. His smile was genuine when he put his arms around Harriet. “I have a very prudent wife. Be patient with me when I have self doubts.”
“I have them too, but as a rule, I do not doubt you,” Harriet smiled back, relieved over his reaction. “Oh, we shall have a visitor for dinner. Again.”
Tony suppressed a groan. ‘No good deed goes unpunished,’ he thought. As it had turned out, the Spanish Envoy in London was reluctant to accept the Princess Isabella, whom the squadron had rescued from the advancing French troops, as his house guest. Tony could understand that now. He had offered her temporary accommodations — with Harriet’s enthusiastic agreement — and now not an evening went by without some Spanish expatriate grandee inviting himself to dine with the princess. Those dinners were invariably stiff affairs, with a constant need for translations and explanations. Tony did not begrudge the young princess who had shown herself to be of a very pleasant and amiable disposition, but he resented many of her countrymen.
“Who is it today?” he asked listlessly, and his worst fears became true.
“The Conde de Alcalosa,” Harriet smirked.
She shared Tony’s dislike of the man. A little over forty years old, portly and with the face of a degenerate, he showed an interest in the young girl that was revolting given her youth and beauty. Even so, he was a leading if self-appointed voice among the Spanish expatriate community in London and slated for ‘greater things’ as Harriet had heard. Now Tony’s groan was open.
“Not him again!” he protested sotto voce. “I swear, Harriet: Another of his tactless remarks to you, and I’ll carve him up like the fat Christmas goose he is!”
On the occasion of his last visit, the Conde had remarked that Harriet was hardly a fitting dueña for a royal princess, given her low birth. Tony had not been present then and had only heard about the remark second hand, or he would have issued a challenge and let the man have a taste of the finest Toledo steel, diplomatic complications be damned.
“Let me ask Isabella whether she really appreciates his visits. Perhaps we can claim that she is indisposed at his next call.”
That was what they settled on, and in the evening Tony and Harriet had to bear the presence of the Conde. Thankfully, the princess claimed indisposition immediately after the main course and the Conde left shortly thereafter. Once he had left, the princess came back down and asked for a talk.
“My dear Sir Anthony and Lady Carter, I must apologise for the inconvenience I am causing. I have perceived your lack of enthusiasm for the Conde’s frequent visits. I expect, however, that my guardian and uncle, Don Eduardo Villa y Cortez, will have me join him in Colombia. Since the Conde has been appointed by His Majesty’s Crown Council to succeed Don Alonso as governor of Cartagena, his suit for me will not be opposed by my uncle.”
She looked anything but enthusiastic and Tony fought the temptation to offer a comforting embrace to this young girl who was destined to be a pawn for her uncle’s ambitions. Harriet had no such compunctions and she hugged the princess with feeling.
“This is not to offend you, my dear, but should you decide to refuse any such schemes you can count on our support. I was married against my will once, and no girl should suffer such a violation.”
“It is my duty,” the princess said sadly. “It has been explained to me by my dueña. I was waiting for the summons in León when the French approached. My flight to Gijón was but a deferral of what must happen.”
“So you were promised to the Conde already?” Tony asked.
“I did not know him then. Now that I do ... I fear that my preferences have no bearing.”
“Regardless, Your Highness can always claim our hospitality,” Tony said with emphasis, totally forgetting in this moment that his own position may well be in peril in a few days.
Harriet cast him a grateful smile and nodded her assent. “My husband speaks for me, too.”
The young princess smiled shyly and blushed. “You have been gracious hosts. My poor mother died when I was but a small girl and I have barely a clear memory of her. Living with you in the last weeks, Lady Carter, has given me a notion of what I have missed.”
With that, the girl retired, leaving Tony and Harriet at a loss of how to handle the situation.
At least, the Conde did not call upon them again during the following days. Three days later, Tony took a coach to Portsmouth, two days ahead of the court of inquiry. He lodged in the George inn, not far from the dockyard and spent most of the next day on board the Asia going over the logbook, the written orders, the charts and over the duplicates of Maynard’s reports. Maynard had been absolutely loyal to his flag captain, making it clear that he had ordered to sail from Santander and that he had weighed the weather conditions against the necessity to leave the port before it might fall to the French.
Tony also went over the late Mister Chalk’s recordings — the 1st lieutenant had fallen overboard when they had their near grounding — and the minute details of when the sailmaker had inspected which sail for rot and tear. All this was listed in painstaking detail in poor Chalk’s clear handwriting. The mizzen topsail had indeed been inspected during the evacuation of Moore’s troops from Corunna, and no damage had been detected.
Tony went over the charts again, even using his magnifying glass, but there was not a hint of the submerged rocks in the passage. Gradually, he relaxed, arriving at the conviction that no blame could be attached to him. There were examples for captains who had run aground through no fault of their own; even Admiral Pellew — arguably the best sailor of whom England could boast — had run his Arethusa aground in ‘98 or ‘99, barely bringing her to port with all hands at the pumps.
Tony spent the evening in the common room of the George, studiously avoiding any places where he might run into the captains who would sit on the Court of Inquiry. He avoided any ardent spirits that evening, contenting himself with small ale. John Little watched him like a hawk all evening, but Tony had decided to stop worrying and he calmly read a book in his room by the light of an oil lamp until it was time to go to bed.
All reassuring facts aside, he was still nervous when he prepared himself the next morning. He forced himself to eat his breakfast in leisure, he drank three cups of the excellent tea the George offered, and he made like he was studying the morning papers. His inner excitement grew, however, and it cost him a great deal of effort to walk calmly towards the dockyard.
The pipes of the anchor watch shrilled when he stepped through the port, just as it was proper, and a sergeant of the marines bade him wait in the chart room. He could hear the pipes when the members of the court arrived and it was only shortly after that he was called into the after cabin where the court had assembled on one side of the table which Tony had purchased three years ago.
The court was headed by a vice-admiral, Sir Winston Piedmont, a veteran of the West Indian station, currently on half-pay, and likely retired from active service. He also recognised Captain Drummond whom he knew from his time in the Medusa. The other three captains were unknown to him, all senior to him, and all but one without current command. Piedmont started the questioning.
“Sir Anthony, we are here to establish the exact circumstances under which HMS Asia ran aground off Santander. We are given to understand by the written testimony of Sir William Maynard that he gave specific orders to leave port, in spite of the adverse weather conditions. Do you wish to comment, Sir Anthony?”
“Sir William made the decision, Sir Winston, but I agreed with his reasoning wholeheartedly.”
“In spite of the raging storm?” Captain Drummond asked.
“Sir, there was no way of telling how long the Spanish would be able to hold the French from taking Santander. Once the place was in French hands, it would have been almost impossible to escape from the inner bay.”
“Very well, Sir Anthony,” Piedmont nodded. “Now for the situation in which you decided to navigate the narrow passage between the island and the coast line. In your report you stated that the mizzen tops’l1 gave way. Had there been any indication of its weakening?”
“No, Sir Winston. As stated in the late Mister Chalk’s records, the sailmaker had inspected the sail in question during our brief stay at Corunna. There was no indication that it might be damaged.”
“Very well, Sir Anthony. Now, with the leverage of the mizzen tops’l lost, you could not keep your intended course, is that true?”
“Yes, Sir Winston. We had to sail close to the wind to pass the island safely on the windward side. To go about was now impossible without the leverage of the mizzen tops’l and there was not enough leeway to wear ship. I decided then to sail the passage instead. I planned to set the mizzen t’gallant2 in the shelter of the island.”
Now, Drummond spoke up. “Sir Anthony, did you study the charts of the entire bay, including that passage, before you sailed from Santander?”
There was a certain sharpness in that question, and the other members of the court looked at Drummond with surprise.
Tony had his answer pat, however. “Indeed, Sir, I did. The chart indicated sufficient depth and no rocks or shallows were charted. I had marked it as an emergency route.”
“Yet, Sir Anthony, you ran your ship against a rock. Is it possible that you may have overlooked the marked rocks in your chart?”
Thank God he had studied the charts again the day before, Tony thought. He could respond with decisiveness, therefore. “No, Sir, there was no oversight on my part. The chart showed no submerged rocks in the passage.”
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