In the Navy
Copyright© 2005/2020 to Argon
Chapter 57: Misconduct
August 1813
Two days later, Tony received a billet from Rear Admiral Brown, asking him to report. He found the commander in chief in a poor condition, still suffering from the after effects of his bout with the trots.
“I am rather slow recovering, Sir Anthony. Might I ask you to fill in for me until I’m able to perform my duties again?”
“Of course, Sir. Shall I have to take your squadron to sea?”
“No, no, just keep everything moving. I shouldn’t be too long recuperating. Manchester is informed, and I sent a message to Bermuda to inform Sir John. I am just not hardened against the local food. You grew up here. They should think about such matters at the Admiralty.”
“There is this Negroe healer here in Port Royal, Cubah Cornwallis, Sir. The locals and many Navy men swear by her. Word is, she once healed Clarence; Nelson, too.”
“I do not believe in witch craft, Sir Anthony.”
“Some call her a witch doctress, Sir, but she’s mostly a herbalist.”
“No, no, I just have to overcome these ailments and harden myself against them, but thank you. Flags will show you what needs to be decided. I trust you to make sound decisions, Sir Anthony.”
“I shall do my best. I shall remain in Saturn and come over in my barge every morning, if this fits your wishes?”
“Yes, no need for upsetting the cart.” Brown pulled a bell rope, and Mister Minie, the flag lieutenant showed. “Commodore Sir Anthony Carter will act for me for a few days. Help him with the current issues. He has temporary but full authority.”
“Aye-aye, Sir!”
“Well, that’s it. I’ll lie down again and suckle down teas. Thank you for coming, Sir Anthony, and for your help.”
“Not at all, Sir. Thank you for the trust in my abilities.”
Brown nodded, getting up and fairly tottering from the room.
“Well, Mister Minie, what are the current issues and problems?”
“Ahem, just a few acting appointments and commissions, Sir Anthony. There are also court martial proceedings against Lieutenant Monroe, of the Menai frigate, on his own volition.”
Tony raised his eyebrows, indicating his wish for information.
“Well, Sir Anthony, Mister Monroe was accused of conspiring against Acting Captain Bush. Apparently, he had misunderstood a command. He wants his name cleared.”
“I believe I feel an ague coming myself,” Tony sighed. Those cases were always a mess, with everybody emerging tainted. “I want all the facts by tomorrow, Mister Minie. Please, see to it. Have Captain Bush report to me soonest.”
“Not Mister Monroe, Sir Anthony?”
“No. I’ll hear the commanding officer first.”
“Sir Anthony, Mister Monroe is the second son of Lord Monroe.”
“Not in the Navy, Mister Minie. Here he’s one of many officers under my temporary command. Leave the documents for my perusal and get Captain Bush ashore!”
“Aye-aye, Sir Anthony!”
Now this was a fine mess, indeed. Tony began to suspect that Brown was using his indigestion to evade the need to make a decision regarding a sprig of the nobility. Cursing under his breath, he looked at the reports and at Monroe’s request.
Monroe was the senior lieutenant in Menai, with just over two years seniority. Bush had been appointed acting captain by Vice Admiral Stirling, but had not seen his name in the London Gazette yet. He had transferred from the Robust third-rate, a very old ship, reactivated after years of harbour service, and now part of Brown’s squadron, where he had been 1st lieutenant and instrumental in saving the ship when a fire broke out, whilst the captain was ashore.
Tony could imagine that an ambitious 1st lieutenant from the nobility might resent an upstart officer from a veteran ship being placed as his superior. That would cause frictions for certain. He really had to find out more.
Captain Bush reported before noon, an older man, likely in his late thirties, wearing a simple uniform with pinchbeck buttons and epaulettes.
“Acting Captain Adam Bush, Sir Anthony, reporting as requested.”
“Thank you, Captain, for responding so promptly. As you may suspect, this is about Lieutenant Monroe’s request for a court martial. Can you perhaps give me your own account of the events which led to that request?”
“Certainly, Sir Anthony. I took over Menai almost four months ago, appointed by Vice Admiral Stirling, after Captain Woodrow relinquished his command.”
“Do you know Captain Woodrow’s motives?”
“No, Sir Anthony. I only met him when I read myself in, and he was less than cordial. He remarked that he could not see a reason for my appointment, given that Mister Monroe had been an excellent second-in-command.”
“I see. He wanted to leave his ship to his Nº1,” Tony nodded. “I begin to see clearer. Did Menai excel in any action prior to your appointment?”
“No, Sir Anthony. To be honest, she’s in a poor shape. The crew is rather dispirited, and the wardroom is engaging in internal squabbles. Vice Admiral Stirling tasked me with bringing her back to standard performance. I’ve had her careened to get rid of the weeds and barnacles, and I instituted rigorous sail and gun drills, but my orders were subverted time and again by Mister Monroe. At the latest instant, I admonished Mister Monroe strongly to refrain from undermining my command, and the next thing I knew, he raised a complaint with Rear Admiral Brown and asked for a court martial. I’m only an acting captain, Sir Anthony, and my posting has been delayed ever since. I don’t have interest at court or in parliament, Sir Anthony, and Mister Monroe is well connected. A court martial may word its findings in a way that will destroy my ambitions.”
Tony could certainly feel with Captain Bush.
“Can you quote your reprimand of Mister Monroe verbatim, Captain?”
Bush nodded. “I said: ‘Mister Monroe, I gave you clear orders. Stop subverting my command!’ I admit to saying that on the quarterdeck and in hearing of several officers. We were at all hands, after all.”
“You did not report him for insubordination?”
“No, Sir Anthony. He always manages to pretend that he had not correctly understood me, and even that was meant to belittle me. I’m from Middlesbrough, you see, and people can hear it.”
“Nothing wrong with that, Captain. I’m a Kingston native myself, which people can hear, too. Who of your wardroom might give an honest account, too?”
“They’re mostly cowed, Sir Anthony, and afraid of Monroe.”
“I see. I must thank you for your time, Captain. I shall mull the issue, but you may expect a decision this week. Mister Monroe is still on board the Menai?”
“Thank you, Sir Anthony. No, he’s ashore whilst the matter is pending.”
“Keep drilling your crew and set your Nº2 to task filling in for Mister Monroe!”
“Aye-aye, Sir Anthony! I’ll make her a crack ship, I promise!”
“You do that, Captain. I shall inform you of my decision.”
When Bush had left, Tony returned to Saturn, there to have dinner with Andrew, and he told his brother-in-law about the new situation.
“Brown is afraid to handle the situation,” Andrew said immediately. “He drops it into your lap and washes his dainty hands of it.”
“Very likely, but I don’t plan to play along. I am currently commanding the Jamaica Station and my own squadron. What do you think? How would Mister Monroe fit in as third lieutenant in Saturn? I believe Uxbridge would make an admirable Nº1 in Menai.”
Uxbridge’s commission dated from 1810, and he was decidedly senior to Mister Monroe. Andrew made a face, but then he shrugged.
“We can handle him; Monroe, I mean. Macallis has become a very good Nº1, and Walsh is sturdy enough to keep the whippersnapper at bay.”
“See, problem solved. I’ll refuse appointing a court martial and separate the warring parties. Bush gets a reliable Nº1, and Monroe is appointed to a flagship.”
“You are crafty, Tony. Yes, that sounds like a good solution. I’ll give the ambitious young man a good talking-to, to let him know of the changing wind.”
“Thanks, Andy. I’ll have to get back at Brown somehow, but not urgently.”
Tony did not return to the shore and rather had his own scrivener write the orders which he signed and had sealed before sitting down at his desk himself to work on his latest letter to Harriet. From her last letter, Tony had learned that Harriet had ‘loaned’ Emily to Lucy, who employed the young girl as a scrivener of sorts. Lucy served the Benevolent Society of the St. Albert Hospital, a charity, chaired by Lady Wheeler, which funded the care for poor people at the hospital where Jonathan was the newly appointed chief surgeon. Lady Wheeler was well meaning and generous, but unwilling to shoulder the tedious aspects of a chairwomanship. Instead, she had appointed Lucy as secretary to the board, letting her organise the charity and the necessary fundraising.
Being who she was, Lucy embraced that task with fervour, needing a secretary of her own. Harriet wrote that Emily was elated to be tasked with helping, leaving early for the Wilkes’ house and returning barely before supper time. Tony had to smile. This was an excellent idea on Harriet’s part, and Emily would learn from a resolute and competent woman, Lucy. Therefore, he praised Harriet’s idea in his answering letter, expressing the hope that the new task would satisfy Emily’s ambitions.
Two days later, Mister Carlton Monroe reported for duty in the Saturn. He was clearly unhappy about his new posting, but after his first interview with Andrew Lambert, he seemed to control his misgivings. Tony had not heard all that Andrew had told Monroe, but the gist was that his posting in the Saturn was meant to further his ambition to excel. Andrew must have told him the same as he had to the other wardroom members during their first dinner, namely that he could learn from an officer who had won each and every battle in his career. Tony could not help but notice the look of awe in the young man’s face when they first met on deck. Playing along with Andrew, Tony welcomed him, too, and assured him that the new posting was meant to avail Captain Lambert of a promising young officer. For the time being, the situation in the Menai frigate was resolved. Tellingly, Brown reclaimed the reins over his station and squadron immediately afterwards, after a miraculously short recuperation...
At least, this allowed Tony to take his squadron out to sea. He was worried about hurricanes, and therefore had Andrew sail south, for a cruise along the South American coasts. There was a lot of trade between the Portuguese Brazilian empire and Britain, and Tony would patrol those coasts for a while, to protect shipping and catch privateers and possibly American Navy ships.
Sailing moderately close to the trade winds, the squadron made good progress, and after eight days, passed Grenada Island and then followed the coastline in a line abreast, with the sloops close to the shore and Cossack farthest. This gave them a fifty-mile-wide range to look for other vessels. They progressed until Georgetown and New Amsterdam without sighting any noteworthy shipping.
When they reached Cayenne, the main port of the formerly French Guayana, now under Portuguese control, Tony made the decision to visit and collect intelligence from the Portuguese authorities. The prospering city was situated on the coast and wedged between two navigable rivers. Visiting was not without problems, since Portugal was a neutral in the war with the Americans, but it was a steadfast ally against the Emperor Napoleon. As long as Tony would not directly ask for information about American ships, he might still learn something.
Flying the White Ensign and his own broad pennant, Saturn approached the city and saluted the citadel, whilst his other ships were ordered to cruise up and down the coast, and to stay out Portuguese waters. Soon, a pilot boat came out from the roads, carrying a pilot and the harbour master, the former to direct them to a convenient — for their hosts — anchorage, and the latter to receive Andrew’s assertion that Saturn was free of disease. Once they were anchored, Tony then took his barge to the landing, wearing his Nº2 admiral’s uniform and his ceremonial honour sword.
At the shore, a coach was already waiting, and in but a few minutes, he was led into the governor’s residence, to be received by His Excellency, Colonel Dom Pedro Leyte. His Excellency had, until recently, served in the staff of General Beresford in the Peninsular war theatre, and he spoke excellent English.
“Welcome to Cayenne, Admiral,” he greeted his visitor.
“Thank you for the kind reception, Your Excellency,” Tony answered. “I am Commodore Sir Anthony Carter, commanding a Royal Navy squadron tasked with protecting British shipping. I could not pass Cayenne without paying my respect to our steadfast allies in the fight against the tyrant Bonaparte.”
“That is exceedingly thoughtful of you, Sir Anthony. I seem to remember your name and deeds, though. Were you not one of the able captains who helped with the landing in Mondego Bay?”
“Your Excellency is well informed. I had the honour to command the initial landing and to oversee the disembarkation of the Marquess Wellington’s troops.”
“Then you are doubly welcome, my dear Commodore. Will you be able to stay for a few days?”
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Dom Pedro.”
“Excellent! Please accept my invitation to a small soiree tomorrow. My officers will be delighted to meet you and your officers. The rest of your squadron will not visit?”
“I thought it better not to come with all my ships, given that my visit is entirely unannounced. They will make use of the time keeping a lookout for our enemies.”
“That is a slight concern for me. Portugal is not at war with the United States, and there is an American merchantman taking cargo as we speak.”
“Let me assure you then that we shall abide by the rules of visiting neutral ports. My flagship will also refrain from signalling my other ships should the American merchantman attempt to leave port. Far be it from me to cause an aggravation for Your Excellency.”
“That is good to hear. I shall pass your assurances to Captain Roscombe. Perhaps now would be a good time to enjoy a small repast and discuss our common goals?”
“I’d be delighted, Dom Pedro,” Tony smiled.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.