In the Navy
Copyright© 2005/2020 to Argon
Chapter 55: Change
June 2013
As Saturn was gliding over the calm Caribbean waters, close to the weak breeze and under all plain sail, Amanda Trusk was keeping to the lee side of the quarterdeck, her face relaxed and showing her enjoyment over the impressive tropical sunrise. Her head wound had healed completely, and her regrowing hair was already disguising the remaining scar. Tony, who was slowly walking up and down the windward side planning his day, had bid her a friendly Good Morning which was answered by a smiling ‘Good Morning, Sir Anthony!’ from her side.
George Uxbridge had the morning watch, and that might have contributed to her good mood. The evening before, she and her sister had taken supper in the wardroom, and it had been Uxbridge who had led them back to the main cabin. The fact that Angelina had entered the cabin first, with her sister coming in almost a quarter hour later, told Tony that something a little more serious was developing between the third lieutenant and the dark-haired American beauty.
Even now, with Uxbridge the officer of the watch, the two could not help their eyes meeting every so often, always causing Miss Trusk’s cheeks to flush. If what he thought was correct, young Uxbridge was seriously jeopardising his Navy career. A Royal Navy officer with an American bride would have a hard time finding employment. Love was a strange emotion, often showing up unexpectedly, he mused, his own romance with Harriet a very good example. He shrugged then. Uxbridge did not need employment. He was the heir to his late uncle’s possessions, and Sir Pierce Fallon had been well off.
As if echoing his thoughts, Uxbridge approached him a little while later.
“Sir Anthony, may I have a word with you?”
“About Miss Trusk?”
“Y-yes, Sir Anthony. May I ask what plans you have with her and her sister?”
“Why, to set them ashore in Kingston and let somebody else organise a cartel,” Tony gave back with a smile. “What happens after they are ashore, is not under my control.”
“Would you tolerate me wooing Miss Amanda?”
“I’ve made it a rule not to get mixed up in other people’s private lives, Mister Uxbridge. You are of age and a young man of means. Do as your heart or your reason tells you.”
“Might I have a brief furlough after arriving at Port Royal, Sir Anthony?”
Tony grinned openly. “Not for me to decide. You’ll have to ask your captain.”
It took them three days of sailing with the trades on their starboard beam to reach Port Royal. After the ships cast anchor, Tony had his brage readied and made for Port Royal and the Royal Dockyard to report to Vice Admiral Stirling. It was a short walk from the landing to the headquarter of the Jamaica Station before Tony announced himself to a Royal Marines sentry.
“Commodore Sir Anthony Carter for Vice Admiral Stirling!”
“Aye-aye, Sir, only, Rear Admiral Brown commands the station now. I’ll announce you, Sir Anthony.”
Now, that was a little strange. Stirling had not served the usual two years yet, and there had been no indication of his relief when the squadron left, almost two months ago.
“Rear Admiral Brown will see you, Sir Anthony,” the sentry announced, and Tony made his way to the commander-in-chief’s office.
The man receiving him was familiar to Tony. He had met him once in 1805 when dining in Vice Admiral Calder’s flagship, before Clyde was detached to the inshore squadron watching Rochefort. Brown had commanded the Ajax third-rate.
“It is good to see you again, Sir Anthony,” Brown welcomed him. “We met at one of Calder’s dinners, right?”
“Yes, Sir, in June ‘05.”
“You were likely expecting to see Admiral Stirling. I regret to say that he was recalled to England and that I had to be the bearer of those orders.”
“Did you bring orders for me, too, Sir?”
“No, Sir Anthony. I do not know the reasons for recalling Admiral Stirling, but they must have preceded your arrival on the station. Your orders still stand, and I was given directions to let you have a free hand to execute them.”
“Admiral Stirling and I had an understanding that we could call upon the other for assistance, Sir.”
“Yes, but this is quite understood. Perhaps it would be best if you could give me an account of your recent exploits. We already heard of your attack on New Orleans, but the details were sketchy.”
Tony proceeded then to recount their activities, describing their negotiations with both Haitis, the wishes of the Haitian sides, and the uneventful cruise afterwards. He went into more detail describing their foray into Lake Pontchartrain, the destroyed American shipping and the success of the landing party. Here, he also mentioned the prisoners, the Trusk sisters in particular and his own reasoning for taking them along, at least until Amanda Trusk did not look violated anymore. Brown perked up at this point.
“I trust the young women have recovered, Sir Anthony?”
“You can verify that yourself, Sir. The elder sister had a head wound which fortunately healed very well. The younger one suffered a broken arm, which also mended well. They have also reconsidered their initial animosity and are indeed pleasant company now. Miss Amanda may just refuse being sent back under cartel.”
“Is that so? Oh, dear. We must find proper lodgings for them. The Governor’s aide-de-camp may help us with that. So, if I understand correctly, you continued your cruise chiefly to give those women time to heal, to avoid nasty rumours?”
“That, and my orders to search for American men-of-war and privateers, chiefly the former. Saturn was built to engage the big Yankee frigates, after all. We visited the Caymans, but did not glean any information. I then ordered my squadron to sail for the former Dutch islands, Aruba and Curaçao chiefly. At Aruba, Rear Admiral Crewes made me aware of suspected piratical activities along the route to Antigua. We laid a false trail for possible spies amongst the Aruban population, luring them into waiting for a merchantman brig, and then surprised them at Cochila Island. They ran the schooner aground under fire, but we caught the four survivors and contrived to make them reveal their receivers and informants. The authorities at Aruba and Curaçao apprehended those and put them to trial. I have copies of the reports for your perusal, Sir.”
“Quite. Excellent, my dear Sir Anthony! I shall indeed read your reports carefully. Governor Crewes had already alerted Admiral Stirling of possible pirate activity, and it is good to learn that this threat was removed. What are your plans now?”
“Victualling the squadron, reading the mail for possible orders, but also conferring with you about the next steps.”
“Yes, that might allow us to coordinate our planning. I trust that I can have you and your officers for dinner in one of the coming days?”
“We are looking forward to it, Sir.”
“Splendid. Let us say, two days hence? I shall send billets to your captains, too. Well, since you are already here, I may as well explain the current state of affairs here at Port Royal.”
Over the next hour, Tony learned about the news from Europe, but also from the North American war theatre. Most interesting and welcome was the capture of the American Chesapeake frigate by the equally sized HMS Shannon just two weeks before, on June 1st. British Captain Broke was wounded grievously, but his counterpart fell in the fierce encounter off Rockport. It was one less concern for British commerce and a much needed success for the Royal Navy after earlier, humiliating losses to the American frigates.
On the Niagara front, a small British force under Brigadier John Vincent had routed superior American forces in a nightly attack at Stoney Creek, Ontario, driving them back to Fort George and stabilising the front at least for the moment.
On the European continent, Prussia had declared war on France, aligning itself with Russia and Britain, after being a puppet state of France for years. This would change the balance further in favour of the anti-French coalition and might be a severe blow to France’s military power, weakened already by the disastrous failure of the Grande Armee in the campaign against Russia.
Tony made note of all that news, to inform his officers, and the two men agreed to meet again in the next morning to discuss their next moves. Brown would involve his senior captains, and Tony would also bring Andrew and Captain Stanfell. Walking back to the landing, Tony mused about Admiral Stirling and what had occasioned his recall. To him, Stirling had acted and sounded like a good commander in chief. He resolved to write to his father-in-law and ask him for information.
Back on board the Saturn, he then asked Andrew to join him for a bit of planning. His brother-in-law had almost as much experience as Tony himself, and he did not want to go into a meeting the Brown without having some plans of his own to offer. They sat for almost three hours going over their original orders but also listing their commitments to the Kingdom of Haiti; at least those that did not require a placet from Whitehall.
They also went over the sea charts to discuss targets for the squadron, but also, which targets would require cooperation with Brown’s forces. He had five third-rates lying at anchor off Port Royal, four fifth-rates, all of them elderly 32-gun, 12-pounder frigates, and seven unrated ship-sloops. None of the frigates could face off against the bigger American frigates, but at least the sloops were the equal of smaller American men-of-war. The third rates were not the newest, and both had been on the Jamaica station for well over three years, and without dry dock time during that time. Chances were that they were sluggish sailors.
Moreover, Brown’s was a defensive command, protecting Jamaica and nearby British islands and the trade between Jamaica and the homeland. For him to venture towards the Carolinas would be hard to justify, as those were the hunting grounds of the Bermuda station and Vice Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren. The best Tony could expect would be the loan of a vessel or two from Brown’s squadron.
Tony and Andrew concluded that Mobile, recently taken from the Spanish by American troops, would be a good target for the next pin prick against the rather spread-out American forces. They had reconnoitred the bay in the first cruise, but now might be the time to do some damage there. Tony knew that Brown had two bomb ketches, Stromboli and Hound, and he might be talked into loaning them to Tony’s squadron.
That settled, they agreed on finding lodgings in Kingston for Amanda and Angelina Trusk, and Tony sent his barge with John Little to find a proper boarding house. Both could still be counted as American patriots, and to have them lodge at Port Royal, an important Royal Navy base, would not be wise. Tony would then ask the governor’s staff to organise a cartel for them. Mister Uxbridge would be dismayed, but that could not be helped. To not return two American women into the care of the American authorities would cause quite some uproar, with the Yankee propaganda making full use of it.
At supper that evening, Tony already informed the sisters of their new, shore-based lodgings in the boarding house of Missus Dutton, the respectable widow of a shipowner. Amanda Trusk was a little dismayed, but when Tony explained his plan to have the governor’s staff arrange for a cartel, she shook her head resolutely.
“Sir Anthony, I do not wish to sound ungrateful for your well-meant efforts on our behalf, but I cannot return. Mister Uxbridge has asked for my hand, and I accepted his courtship and consider myself betrothed.”
“If it helps to quell any ill-founded rumours, I shall return to New Orleans or any other American port, and I shall not fail to report the unfailing courtesy you showed us and the excellent care we received,” Angelina Trusk added. “I ask, however, to let me stay long enough to witness my dear sister’s wedding.”
“I shall convey your wishes to the governor’s staff, and I shall ask Captain Lambert to make arrangements for Mister Uxbridge to have shore leave,” Tony answered, albeit with a rueful shake of his head. “I hope that you are aware of the distrust you will encounter at first, Miss Amanda.”
“If George ... I mean, Mister Uxbridge, is willing to jeopardise his career in the Royal Navy for me, I shall face those suspicions and prove them unfounded over time.”
With her head held high and her grim determination showing in her even features, Amanda Trusk was a truly beautiful woman, Tony thought.
“Mister Uxbridge is a fortunate man, Miss Amanda,” Andrew said with conviction.
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