Chapter 6

While the war of 1812 does occur, it is quite different to the original. America, its power and influence growing, challenged Britain's supremacy of the high seas, passing even the French as England's chief rival. Animosity had grown between the new nation and their former master, neither looking on the other with respect. The English, despising their cowardly tactics, believe the Americans are cowards and without honor, while the Americans see the English as a country that is trying to bully them into withdrawing to their own waters. Pirate attacks sponsored by the British bolster anti-British sentiment in the United States. As tensions mount, it becomes an unlit powder keg that will eventually go off. While off the coast of France, in a surprising move a Captain Reginald Hall launches a successful attack against a British trade convoy, and withdraws with little losses, while sinking two English ships. It will be the opening shots of war. While Captain Hall is recalled to Washington D.C., English ships counterattack against American ships who do not withdraw fast enough. Several American warships are lost, while the British lose only one ship.

Docking his ship, Captain Hall, or "Reggie" as his friends called him, reported to the Admirals of the fleet. Standing in a large room, he faced the Admirals before a U-shaped grouping of tables.

"In light of open hostilities, it has been decided to put aside any charge that you might have broken the peace, in hopes that all military vessels protect our coasts from British attack, as our army mobilizes to fight, and we watch the western and northern borders of our nation." Admiral Wallace said from the head table, sitting directly across from Captain Hall.

Wallace is an older man, and is head of the American Navy. He has risen up through the ranks, just like Hall, with no political help. The same can not be said for all the admirals in attendance.

"I do not deny such charges, in light of the evidence of piracy by the British that any naval officer who has served on the high seas knows to be true. If that is the reason I have been brought here, then I'll accept the consequences of my actions as a loyal captain of the United States Navy. It is in that spirit of loyalty that I say your decision to withdraw would be a mistake." Hall said.

Some of the admirals were infuriated by his daring, but Wallace ordered them to be quiet and asked Hall, "What brings you to that conclusion?"

"That is what the British expect. If I were them, I would want to contain us in our own waters. They could then attack us at their leisure, or effectively blockade us from trading with other nations." Hall said.

"And you would have us do what, expend our navy in a war against them?" Wallace asked.

"Have I not shown that the English can be beaten? If I can do so, why not others?" Hall said.

"Perhaps you were just lucky." Another admiral said.

Hall recognized him as Admiral Lawson, a political appointee, who in his view did not deserve his rank.

"So using explosive cannon balls was luck? Aiming for their bridges and sails was lucky? If this is mere luck, then I must be doing something wrong, I thought I was planning carefully and insuring victory against our country's enemy." Hall said.

"It is clear that you did not win by simple luck. I would not have said such a thing before you spoke. You do not strike me as a fool, so that is why I was surprised by your actions, but I will allow you a chance to prove yourself." Wallace said.

"I thank you, sir, for your confidence, allow me to show you how I did it." Hall replied.

Curious, Wallace and the other admirals follow him out to USS Hound, and saw a new invention of Hall's own making. While the guns below deck were the standard compliment on other ships its size, the deck guns could be adjusted. A small crank handle at the base of each cannon allowed gunners to raise and lower their weapons, which gave them the ability to aim their weapons for maximum effect. With the added locking mechanism, it provided a stable firing platform.

"Not only can I aim the cannon at any part of the enemy ship from the deck up, but my men can fire from a greater distance. Even without explosive cannonballs, this is gives us a distinct advantage. I recommend that other ships, and perhaps land based guns also, use this modification." Hall said.

"This is how you were able to defeat two British ships of the line?" Wallace asked, impressed.

"That, and using maneuverability. With devices like this, almost any ship can become a warship, with a proper captain and crew." Hall answered.

"I'd like to see the plans to this device of yours. Who designed it?" Wallace asked.

"I did sir." Hall replied, standing at attention.

Raising an eyebrow as he looked on the young captain, Wallace said, "Thinking of quitting military life to become another Benjamin Franklin?"

Smiling at Wallace's joke, Hall said, "No sir, I'm just trying to do everything to keep my men alive and do my duty sir."

"Good man. Get those plans to me before you set sail, I'll see that they'll be put to good use." Wallace replied.

"Yes sir, I'll see it is delivered to you within the hour." Hall said, saluting the admiral.

Returning his salute, Admiral Wallace disembarked, and the other admirals followed. Sending the plans to the admiral as soon as they were found in his study, Hall began preparations to cast off.

When the last crew man was aboard, they threw off the mooring lines and cast off. As the wind filled the sails, Hall gave his helmsman a heading, as he watched the horizon for any enemy ships. It was unlikely that the English would send any so close to the American coast, but Hall didn't believe in assuming anything. Hearing commands being shouted across the deck, he didn't even have to watch his men to know they were hard at work. They were a good crew, from many different walks of life, all of them were loyal and knew how to do their duty. Each of them had witnessed signs of Hall's unconventional thinking and tactics, and had come to respect him as an officer. He cared for people, and gave them shore leave whenever he could, but when they were back aboard ship they were hard at work, just as he expected of them. It was only a few days before they spied an enemy warship, and Hall's watchfulness had paid off, since he expected to be farther out before running into the British.

"Orders, captain?" The commander asked, his face young and well shaved.

The commander's name was O'Donell, and he represented the typical officer aboard the Hound: young and eager to prove themselves. The enlisted men tended to be older, and had prior combat experience before coming aboard ship. The commander had red hair and a boyish grin that charmed many a lady back in his hometown of New York. It was clear, as Hall looked through his spy glass, that the enemy hadn't seen them yet.

"Bring them within range of our deck guns, and aim high so we take out their main mast. I want that ship crippled before we move in." Hall said, monitoring his gun crews as they prepared to fire.

"Fire!" Hall shouted, and heard the roar of the deck guns as they fired on the enemy.

Cannon balls exploded in the air, ripping into the canvas sails and shredding them to pieces. Two more volleys shattered the wood of the main mast and brought it crashing down. The crew men of the English ship had to either scramble out of the way or be crushed underneath.

Satisfied that the enemy ship was severely hampered, Hall called out, "Bring us in behind them, and have our main guns fire."

The helmsman quickly obeyed, and the ship swung around until the bow was facing straight in, to close the distance. When they were close enough, they swung out to starboard and gave them a volley, before swinging back out of range so the British didn't have a target. The large man-of-war was at the mercy of the smaller ship. After a few more volleys, the English ship was forced to strike it colors, as it couldn't run and couldn't fight back. Sending a prize crew aboard in a long boat, he had the officers and a few other crewmen come aboard his own vessel as his prisoners, and the guarantee of the good conduct of the enemy crew. Returning to an American port, Hall offloaded the prisoners, and with a skeleton crew aboard both ships, he sailed them back to the capital to present to Admiral Wallace.

Wallace was in his office when an officer entered, "What is it?"

"Captain Hall has returned with two ships sir; his and an English Man-of-War." The middle aged officer said.

"What? Show me!" Wallace ordered, and followed the officer out to the shipyards.

Wallace watched dumbfounded, as Hall disembarked from the newly repaired warship and saluted the admiral when they came face to face, "I hope the Admiral is pleased, sir, It was quite a pain to bring both ships back to port, especially given the damage I dealt this one."

"I'm very pleased. I never imagined that you could do this." Wallace said, looking up at the captured ship.

"We were quite lucky this time sir, normally I would have had to sink her, but we caught them with their britches down." Hall said.

"I would say so. Obviously your new inventions have more than proven themselves. I also noted that there seems to be a formula attached to your plans. What exactly is it?" Wallace replied.

"That would be a new type of gunpowder I've been working with. It has been a pain to produce, since I'm doing it on my own. The mining company I own gathers the materials necessary as a side product. Until now, its use has been limited to my ship, but the good news is that it produces considerable more power, allowing it to be used in more limited quantities to get the same effect." Hall said.

"What if I were to offer your company a contract? Could you produce enough of it to be used on our ships?" Wallace asked.

"If I hired on more people, and dedicated them to producing the smokeless gunpowder, yes, I could." Hall answered.

"Smokeless?" Wallace asked.

"The gunpowder I found does not produce a great amount of smoke, in fact it produces almost none at all, thus the name "smokeless". With it, our gunners will have increased visibility, allowing for greater accuracy." Hall said.

"I'll get you that contract, captain, and you get me that gunpowder. When you can, I want a production company near every one of our major ports, so our ships can quickly restock." Wallace said.

"Yes sir, I'll have my people get on it right away." Hall said, with a salute.

For Hall, this was great news, as it was exactly what he needed. He had started the company before joining the navy, and it had been experiencing financial losses thanks to having to provide the gunpowder for free, as it had no buyers until now. Hall had taken a chance, and he thanked God that it had paid off. His investors had been pushing him to consider firing employees, which Hall refused to do. Now, with this new contract, he could not only keep his current employees, but hire new workers, which would bring more business to local communities, and help the American economy under the pressure of the British blockade, unfortunately, in the eyes of his investors it was too little too late. When he learned of this development Hall asked for leave to deal with the problem. Gathering his capital, instead of allowing his investors to put him out of business, he sold his home and land, and used the money to start a second company, and borrowed the rest to pay off his investors. In the course of this process, Hall realized one thing: he couldn't stay in the navy, as he had too many duties that he could not trust anyone else to do when handling business matters.

Meeting with the admiral, he informed Wallace of his dilemma, "I must regretfully resign, sir. I have looked at all the options, and I believe I can provide for both my employees and this country better as a contractor."

"We are about to go into war. I need my most experienced officers in the fight. You alone have proven yourself against the British." Wallace said.

"Then if I may I propose a compromise, admiral. While I can't go off to war because of my responsibilities, I can train your officers in a series of war games that will be designed to teach them how to fight the British. We even have an English Man-of-War to practice with, should you agree." Hall said.

"If I can't have your as an officer anymore, I suppose this is the next best thing. Alright, I agree." Wallace said.

As the navy made preparations to run the war games Hall suggested, Reginald Hall himself prepared more test firings to be included in the war games. His long interest in rocket technology would come into play yet again. Using plans he had previously drawn up and built miniature models of, Hall built a more modern rocket launcher, along with high explosive rockets that would be easy to use. Loading the tubes from the back, they would fire in tight groups for maximum effect. Keeping it covered on a hill overlooking a harbor, he had crew waiting who had been given orders to fire on a dummy ship at the right moment. The war games went relatively well. The hard part was teaching gun crews to be accurately able to judge distance, and increase their loading speed. Experience was the key to overcoming these problems, so Hall was determined to drill each gun crew until they could do it in their sleep, as they fired at other dummy targets, with the Man-of-War as the acting enemy flagship for show. When the first war game was over, Hall watched with a smile, as his rocket crew fired on the one remaining dummy ship, and it was struck with multiple hits.

"What in the blazes!" Wallace cried out, as he and other officers jumped as the ship was hit and lit up in like a raging inferno.

"I've been working on designs for an advanced rocket system, and as you can see, I've made a major breakthrough." Hall said.

"You seem to be full of surprises, Mr. Hall." Wallace said, impressed with the devastation.

"I hope you consider them to be the good kind, admiral. Even if you couldn't mount these on your ships, I imagine a well trained crew could use them to defend our coasts." Hall said.

"Oh, I do, Mr. Hall. With advantages like these, I believe with training, Britain's supremacy of the seas will soon become a thing of the past." Wallace said with a confident smile.

"Then perhaps you could convince Congress to offer my company military contracts, not only to produce these rockets, but also allow my people to test and provide new weapon systems and defenses?" Hall offered.