Across to America: A Tim Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 9) (5 page)

With the disparate elements of the population, it could be almost assumed there would be people reporting to both French national sources as well as Spanish. Until Forsythe had made contact with the rebel group, it was not desirable to have knowledge of their mission leak out.

Mister Gould was of the opinion the encounter with the Spanish frigate had destroyed any chance of succeeding in their mission and they should immediately proceed to Antigua to report and re-supply.

Listening to the others, Phillips decided to follow the envoy’s advice. They were not much more than a hundred miles away and would look very foolish returning to a British port, only to learn they had missed an important opportunity.

Sailing on up the coast, they saw the smoke miles before coming in sight of the port. Numerous small craft of all types were escaping the harbor, many so loaded with refugees there was little freeboard. One small fore-and-aft rigged craft they approached and asked for the news.

This was a well-appointed boat, probably a sort of yacht to some wealthy person. A prosperous looking individual on her foredeck announced in excellent English the town had fallen to government forces and he himself, Señor Simon Bolivar, was now on his way to Cartagena in New Grenada.

Apparently, the plan was to re-constitute his forces there and then continue the struggle for the independence of Venezuela.

Phillips enquired if Señor Bolivar would wish to travel to New Grenada in HMS Andromeda, but the rebel leader assured him he was comfortable in his present craft, but he would welcome an escort if that were possible. HMS Andromeda escorted the vessel to Cartagena, where Lord Forsythe decided to leave the ship and put himself in the hands of Bolivar. Phillips had some misgivings about leaving the rather helpless individual alone in a torn country, but the fellow was an envoy and had his job to do.

Promising Forsythe he would mention his situation to the British authorities at any station he touched at, they made their farewells and Andromeda put out to sea.

The mission now complete, Mister Harding set sail. The first order of business was to secure water. The men had been on short rations for too long and their welfare must be considered.  Of course, in the absence of Spanish shore installations or ships of war, it ought to be possible to land the ship’s boats in either Cartagena itself or in some shore-side creek mouth on the mainland and load water there.

However, fever was prevalent in these regions, and Aruba, a former Dutch island close by was another possibility. It had a drier climate and British forces had taken the island soon after the war resumed when the Treaty of Amiens had ran its course. Phillips knew there was now a British presence on the island, and he should at least be able to obtain water.

With no encounters with anything larger than small fishing vessels, the ship made her way to Fort Zoutman on the western side of the island. There, Phillips reported to the British garrison commander. He learned there had been no serious obstacles to the British occupation of the island since its seizure from the Dutch after the renewal of the war. There were some dis-affected citizenry in the area but they had presented no major problems so far. Water was available, and the crew members were given their fill the first day from the quantities of fresh water brought aboard.

With limited shore leave granted for the hands, there was a chance for the men to remove themselves from ship’s discipline for a few hours. Mister Gould wondered about the wisdom of giving the men the opportunity to desert, but Phillips reasoned any men who drifted away could be easily gathered up again with the assistance of the Army garrison.

Actually, the ship gained a few men. A small, dilapidated fishing boat came alongside the anchored Andromeda just before dawn, a day after anchoring, its Black crew wishing to join. These were all slaves of a local owner. Only one of the newcomers could speak English. This individual was a servant of the fishing boat’s owner who had been purchased on one of the British Windward Islands, and could speak the English dialect prevalent there.

An investigation found these men fished for their Dutch owner who had the catch salted down to feed his other slaves. They were required to be out daily in their flimsy boat in all kinds of weather with the hurricane season now upon them. These men had, of course, no formal education, but all were careful seafarers. They knew the sea and the winds and some were able to make educated guesses of tomorrow’s weather. Nevertheless, the owner insisted they go out to sea in fair weather or foul.

After some debate amongst themselves, it was concluded if they must go to sea, it would be better to do so in a well-built ship. There was a certain amount of hesitation, but some felt their lives were forfeit anyway, so they might just as well test their fate on a King’s ship.

Phillips had to consider the situation. Of course, the protests of the Dutch owner need not necessarily be given much weight, but the British commander of the garrison might not wish to incur antagonism with his subjects and decide to order him to return the slaves to their owner. A discussion with Mister Harding followed. The forthcoming weather was debated and it was the sailing master that predicted a blow would manifest itself soon.

Accordingly, Mister Gould read the new men in and they were assigned to watches. No one expected the new hands to be especially useful for a period. All were exceedingly thin, almost emaciated. All were horribly scarred with lash wounds. Doctor Baynes, who had remained on the ship after losing his prime patient, pronounced himself outraged at the condition of the men, and refused to allow them to do any physical work for at least a week. They were committed to Doctor Baynes’ care and were not permitted to appear on deck while in harbor.

The barest mention of the voluntary recruitment of the men was entered into the log, with no mention made as to their previous condition of servitude and no mention was made to the garrison commander or the slaves’ owner. Each of the new hands was given a new English-sounding name which was entered in the log. Hopefully, there would not be more than a cursory inspection of the log months later at the end of the voyage.

Andromeda’s launch was hoisted over the side and set out under sail on the early land breeze, towing the empty fishing boat to sea. Out of sight of land, the craft would be cast loose and left to the whims of the current.

There were very limited resources for ship repair on the island. But a few island cattle, small and thin, were purchased for consumption by the crew. Salt was available, and the hands, except for the former slaves, were set to work butchering and salting down the meat. Then it was time to depart. The only mention made of the missing slaves or their boat was a comment by the military commander to be on the lookout for a missing fishing boat and crew, feared lost in the recent blow.

Making their way up the chain of islands, they came to Antigua where Captain Phillips saluted the flag of Governor Eliot and learned the admiral of that station was at sea.

Reporting to Government House, he had his audience with Eliot and handed over all the documents concerning his last mission. Eliot, who had known Lord Forsythe previously, was concerned about the envoy’s safety, and assured Phillips he would endeavor to determine the safety of Forsythe, whenever possible.

In the meantime, he informed Phillips, the United States had declared war against Britain, and he should govern his actions accordingly. For now, Governor Eliot thought HMS Andromeda should be sent to Halifax where her further use could better be assessed.

Several American merchantmen were encountered on the voyage north. He had no instructions as to his actions against the new adversary. He was well aware of the pre-war tensions between the two nations and realized the indiscriminate pressing of seamen from American shipping was a prime cause of the discontent. Of course, the harboring of deserters from the Royal Navy aboard the same shipping was another. Deciding not to do anything that might tend to inflame the situation, he remained clear of the merchantmen and continued on.

Off New York, a large schooner approached, flying the American flag, with her guns run out. She was to windward, to the west of Andromeda, and was free to do as she wished. She was situated so that she could run with the wind, almost surely outpacing Andromeda.

Phillips ordered his own guns run out. His ensign was flying as was his commission pennant, so the stranger could have been in no doubt as to his status.

The schooner immediately put herself about, sailing several points into the wind closer than Andromeda could be expected to manage. She nimbly dodged Andromeda and sailed back toward New York. Phillips ignored the stranger. He guessed this to be a privateer, rigged out hastily on the declaration of war. Until he could get some guidance for his actions however, he decided to let her go. It was doubtful he could come up to her anyway, and he had no wish to become tangled in the near shore coastline of the United States, of which he had insufficient charts.

It was with some relief they saluted the flag of Admiral Sawyer on entry to Halifax. Phillips was pulled ashore to the admiral’s shore side office where he spent an hour being briefed upon the situation.

He learned that not all Americans were vehemently in favor of the war. Many people, especially those in the shipping trade, were opposed to it. Much of the food exports from the United States, especially grain and beef, were being shipped up the New England coast to Canada or across the Atlantic. Wellington’s forces, now fully engaged with the French on the Iberian Peninsula, were largely being fed by these imports from America.

It was desirable to refrain from angering these potential allies by ill-considered actions. On the other hand, American privateers were fitting out by the hundreds, and the West India convoy was expected to be approaching Bermuda soon. This convoy must be protected at all cost. A serious loss from that convoy, could bring financial disaster to London. Therefore, Andromeda was to be hurriedly supplied with needed provisions, water and other needed gear and sent on her way to locate the convoy and provide such protection as possible.

Any privateers met should be prosecuted, but he must not go haring off on long chases if that might interfere with locating the convoy. Any merchantmen encountered should be examined closely to determine their destination. If bound for a French port, they were certainly to be seized. However, any sailing to a port controlled by Wellington or the Spanish Regency in Spain or in Portugal or any British port were to be sent on their way without hindrance.

The mizzen damaged in the encounter with the Spanish frigate was to be replaced. Spars were available in plenty here, and although it was not considered an emergency repair, it was decided to do the task now rather than wait until it did become an emergency. The dockyard superintendent indicated replacing the mast, along with setting up the standing and running rigging along with other necessary repairs would take a week, all men working to capacity.

While the work was in progress, Phillips decided to wander about the shops here to see what was available and stock up on cabin stores. He had negotiated a bill of exchange while in southern waters and now possessed a satisfactory store of Spanish dollars, such coin being in demand in a specie starved port such as Halifax.

He took with him one of the former slaves taken aboard in Aruba. This man Nero, had been savagely whipped at one time, which had so injured his body he was no longer capable of heavy work about ship. Phillips was using him as his servant, a task which he performed well. Hiring a two wheeled cart and driver, the two went off to do their shopping. It was a fine day and all seemed well. A chandler’s shop offered all the cabin stores Phillips needed, and Nero directed the staff in stowing the articles in the cart. Among the supplies purchased was a store of Spanish cigars, of which Phillips secured several before sending everything else back to the ship, escorted by Nero.

Phillips found a light for his cigar, and began strolling about the town. Passing a weather beaten building with a sign above the door proclaiming it sold fine guns, he went inside. The proprietor was a young Scottish gun maker, recently come to the new world. His inventory was small, but Phillips was drawn to a pair of pistols on the counter. Their rather plain, outward appearance was unlike any other firearm he had ever seen. The ordinary assemblage of pan, cock and frizzen was missing. Instead, a small, discrete hammer-like affair was present and little else.

Mister Campbell explained. He told Phillips how a Scottish clergyman had invented a new ignition system for firearms using fulminate of mercury. This substance, when struck sharply, exploded and was capable of firing the powder charge in a firearm. The inventor had been having difficulty in utilizing the highly explosive substance though.

As a journeyman gun maker, Mister Campbell was employed by the clergyman to do much of the skilled work. One of his tasks was to find a better way to utilize the new ignition system in a safer manner.

Early on, Campbell had made a simple swage into which he could place little sheet copper disks and with a sharp rap from a hammer, form tiny cups into which he could place small amounts of fulminate. Sealed in with a drop of varnish, the little cups were nearly waterproof.

Expanding on his invention, he then developed a steel nipple upon which the cap could be placed. The nipple would be screwed into a forging at the breech of the gun. A passageway communicated through the forging to the weapon’s powder charge. The weapon’s hammer, which replaced the cock on a normal flintlock gun, upon striking the cap, exploded it, the flash then entering the weapon’s chamber via the passageway and firing the main charge.

The ignition was faster and more certain than the old flintlock system. The clergyman had not been available much of the time Campbell had been working on the device, and had no great expectations for it.

He was available however, when a stern-faced father approached the workshop with a sobbing daughter in trail and demanded to know what Mister Campbell had to say to explain why his daughter’s clothing was now much too tight.

The clergyman, of course, could not have one of his employees engaging in such licentious behavior, and dismissed him on the spot.

Not to be denied, the insistent parent followed Campbell from the shop where Campbell assured him he would marry the young woman, however without a livelihood now, he had no idea of how to support her. The now mollified father, relieved at the prospect of securing a husband for his daughter, questioned Campbell at some length about his qualifications in the gun-making trade. Assured, he offered to pay the passage of the couple to Canada, where his skills would likely be in demand.

Campbell was indeed successful, and soon had a shop of his own, along with a new daughter, after his bride came to term. He repaired weapons for hunters and military officers and made a few new ones based on the new ignition system. These were not as successful as he had hoped. He himself was the only source of the necessary percussion caps, and hunters or officers might find it difficult to replace the item when needed. Flints for the old system were available anywhere.

The new system intrigued Phillips when it was explained to him. It could be an embarrassing situation when a firearm refused to fire in the heat of an engagement, and this seemed to make that event more unlikely.

To that end, he purchased the pair of pistols on display and ordered a thousand of the special caps made up. Campbell assured him he would put his newly appointed apprentice to work on the task immediately, and have the stock ready before Andromeda sailed.

Elated to have sold the pistols he had formerly feared would remain on his inventory for months, he made an additional attempt at another sale. Months before, a British officer had brought a weapon into his shop for repair. The officer had been serving with Sir Isaac Brock, and had been based in Upper Canada. Serving with Native American tribes in disputed territory to the south, he had brought back a strange rifle. He had traded a dozen blankets and two pounds of gunpowder to a Shawnee warrior for it. It had been taken from an American settler in one of the incessant raids of those days.

Originally made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by a local gun maker there, it was a rather handsome piece. With an exceedingly long barrel and figured maple stock, it seemed a strange weapon for the rigors of combat in the wilderness. The lock of this weapon was broken, and the bullet mold missing. In this condition, the rifle was of no immediate use to the officer.

The officer wondered if repair was feasible. Campbell had assured him it could be done, but not in the time frame the officer required. The officer, who was destined to leave in a week in a convoy back to England, traded the weapon for a pair of pocket pistols and left the rifle to Campbell to do with as he wished.

Still believing he could make a success of his new ignition system, the gun maker made a new lock of that persuasion and fitted it to the rifle. The gun barrel, with its worn rifling, was bored out to a slightly larger caliber and re-rifled. With fresh balls cast from a new bullet mold, the rifle was in all important respects a new piece. With no buyers apparent, he made a pitch to sell the weapon to this new customer. Leading Phillips out the rear door, he pointed to a block of crumbling rock nearly two hundred yards distant.

Campbell explained the loading of the rifle. From a leather hunting bag he produced a paper cartridge containing a measured charge of powder, a greased patch and a single lead ball. He opened the little packet and poured the powder down the muzzle. Discarding the paper remnants, he placed the patch over the muzzle and centered the ball on that. Pushing the ball and patch into the bore with a short rod, he removed the longer ramrod from under the barrel. Pressure applied to this pushed the charge all the way to the breach.

With his finger, he opened a little brass door on the side of the buttstock and extracted a single cap of his own manufacture and placed it on the ignition nipple.

He explained to Phillips the rifle was now ready to fire. He indicated he was intending to fire at the distant rock and asked his potential customer to watch for the impact of the ball on the rock.

Phillips was not un-familiar with rifles, his father owning one that he had fired frequently in his youth. However, he observed as Campbell took careful aim and squeezed off his shot. With his father’s weapon, there would have been a noticeable delay between the flash of the powder in the pan and the discharge of the weapon. There was no such delay with this rifle. At the fall of the hammer, the rifle cracked almost instantly and a puff of rock dust flew from the stone down range.

Phillips loaded and fired a few rounds himself and pronounced himself satisfied. Back in the shop, he counted out the Spanish dollars required for the purchase of the pistols and the rifle and placed an extra order for the necessary caps and balls to fit the new weapons.

Campbell promised to have everything aboard Andromeda before the week was out. Leaving the rifle behind for cleaning, Phillips took his pistols with him and returned to the ship.