Under Enemy Colors (52 page)

“And what was the result of this? What did Captain Hart do? Were the men punished?”

“Men were flogged, sir, but I was not aboard when it happened, as I was on the prize at the time.”

“You have been most fortunate in your absences, Mr Hayden,” Bainsbridge commented. “What you are telling us, sir, is that at the time of both the incidents you have just mentioned, the
Themis
was under your command.”

“No, sir. Captain Hart was in command; I merely performed my duties as first lieutenant.”

“You are making a very fine distinction, I believe. Captain Hart was incapacitated and you were, in all but title, in command of the ship.” Bainsbridge turned to Duncan. “I have heard all I need to hear from this man.”

There was a moment’s pause. “If there are no questions at this time,” Admiral Duncan then said, “I shall have Mr Hayden stand down…?”

A general shaking of heads.

“Thank you, Mr Hayden; you may resume your place.”

The judge-advocate looked up from his papers. “Shall I enter Mr Hayden’s name among the officers being tried for the loss of HMS
Themis
, sir?”

The admiral was caught off guard by this question, and for a moment looked bewildered.

“Certainly he should take his place among the men being tried here,” Bainsbridge said forcefully. “The man had command of the ship for almost three months before the mutiny took place and was only by the greatest stroke of good fortune not aboard when the crew rose up against their officers. Justice demands he take his share of responsibility for these events.”

“It is, I believe, without precedent to try a man who was not aboard a ship when a mutiny took place,” Gardner countered, squaring off against Bainsbridge. “And I have no doubt it would be a dangerous precedent to set. Shall we have officers trying to shift the responsibility for events to some poor soul who had command of the ship in the past? It is clear from Lieutenant Hayden’s account that there was disaffection aboard the
Themis
before he was given his commission—men murdered and beaten near to death are not signs of harmony, we all must admit.”

This set off a heated debate, but Admiral Duncan raised his voice above all others and restored order to the cabin. “I shall take this recommendation—that we include Lieutenant Hayden among the men being tried—under consideration, for as Captain Gardner has rightly stated, such a decision should not be undertaken lightly. However, if, in the course of this court-martial, more evidence comes to light proving Lieutenant Hayden contributed greatly to the discord among the
Themis
’ crew, I will be forced to place Mr Hayden among the officers being tried.” Duncan nodded to the judge-advocate. “Let us proceed, Mr Sheridan.”

Hayden was allowed to resume his place between Wickham and Muhlhauser. There was a brief pause in the proceedings, and Mr Muhlhauser leaned near. “Well said, Mr Hayden,” he whispered.

Landry was next called, and the little lieutenant took his place, his account of the mutiny held in a faintly trembling hand.

“Mr President and gentlemen,” he began, his voice as quavery as his fingers. “On the evening of October sixth I was asleep in my cabin when midshipman Hobson burst into the gunroom and hollered that the crew was in a state of mutiny. I leapt from my cot and stumbled out to question Hobson when I heard the report of a musket, followed by another. Mr Hawthorne, the lieutenant of marines, woke at the same time, and finding a pistol and cutlass in his cabin, rushed out of the gunroom. The midshipmen all came into the gunroom then, and I sent one of them to rummage all the officers’ cabins to look for arms. A pair of pistols were brought from the cabin of Third Lieutenant Archer, and a marine joined us then with his musket. Almost immediately we were beset by mutineers, who began firing muskets at us. We piled all the furniture and bedding before the gunroom door and before the bulkhead, which had been constructed only of thin dealboard. Bashing holes in the bulkhead, we returned fire as long as our powder lasted, at which point the mutineers, who had gathered in numbers, charged and after a skirmish succeeded in forcing their way into the gunroom. We fought with cutlasses and clubs made of furniture legs, but were soon subdued, many of us wounded and two killed—midshipman Albert Williams, and the marine corporal Davidson. We were then much beaten and kicked before being forced onto the deck. Many of the crew had been made to lie on the gangways, where they suffered much at the hands of the mutineers, whose blood was up from the recent fight, and much revenge was taken on us for our resistance and for killing their comrades. An argument ensued between the mutineers as to what was to be done now that they had taken the ship. As this went on, Bill Stuckey and several others seized the captain to a grating and proceeded to flog him without mercy. They had just laid their hands upon my person, and were about to treat me the same, when Able Seaman Peter Aldrich came on deck and ordered them to stop. We were, soon afterward, put into the boats and cast adrift.”

Landry raised his eyes from his written account, and gazed up at the captains, his customary look of a dog about to be whipped even more pronounced here.

“Mr Landry,” Bainsbridge began, “were you satisfied with the conduct of all the men you had with you in the gunroom? None shirked in their resistance to the mutineers?”

“Quite the opposite, sir. They all fought with great courage and energy. We killed a goodly number of the mutineers and I believe we would have been able to hold the gunroom for some time longer had we not run out of powder. Williams and Hobson were particularly courageous, as was the marine corporal, Davidson.”

“Can you tell us who was with you in the gunroom during this fight?”

“Mr Barthe, the sailing master; Davidson, whom I have just mentioned; Dr Griffiths; and the midshipmen Hobson, Madison, and Albert Williams, who was killed. Oh, and Mr Muhlhauser, who was from the Ordnance Board.”

“Eight of you in total?”

“Yes, sir.”

Gardner did not seem much interested in this line of enquiry and broke in. “You have stated that Able Seaman Aldrich came on deck and ordered the flogging stopped. Can you recall his precise words?”

“Not exactly, sir. I believe he said that they should flog no more of the ship’s people, and certainly flog no one on his account.”

“But did he
order
them to do it, or did he
desire
them to do it?” Gardner asked.

Landry looked uncomfortable and glanced at Sir Hubert, who sat stony-faced. “I suppose it was somewhere in between, sir.”

“Did he implore them to flog no more of the ship’s people, then?”

“Yes, sir, I should say that ‘implore’ is what he did.”

“And then he collapsed; is that correct?”

“It is.”

“Are you of the opinion that Aldrich was one of the leaders of the mutiny or that he was even involved in the mutiny, and if so, why do you hold such an opinion?”

“I suppose I held this opinion because Bill Stuckey would not allow Aldrich to come away in the boats, when the middies asked for him. Stuckey said that Aldrich was one of them.”

“But Aldrich himself was never asked if he wished to come away in the boats?”

“Not to my knowledge, sir.”

“Then it is impossible to know how he would have answered, is it not?”

“That is true, sir.”

Admiral Duncan, who had remained silent until now, looked up from his clasped hands. “Pray tell us, Mr Landry, what was your part in the defence of the gunroom?”

Landry shifted from one foot to the other. “We had not enough firearms to go around, sir, so I loaded guns for the men who were firing.”

“Very commendable. Who fired the guns?”

“Davidson, Williams, and Hobson, to begin, sir, and then Mr Barthe and Dr Griffiths.”

“I see. Was this how Mr Williams lost his young life and the marine corporal suffered the same end?”

“It was, sir.”

“So firing the weapons would seem to have been the more dangerous task?”

Landry nodded.

“Permit me to ask, Lieutenant Landry, why you, as senior officer, were not at the forefront of this defence? Would this not be the usual place for an officer, rather than, say, a midshipman or the ship’s surgeon?”

Landry had the decency to appear embarrassed by this line of questioning. “It was simply how things arranged themselves. I was busy collecting the furniture to make a barricade thick enough that we would not all be killed, and when that was done the guns were already in the hands of others. I then did what I could to aid the men firing. When the mutineers broke into the gunroom I took up my cutlass and fought alongside the others. I believe the men who were in the gunroom will say that I did my duty and did not shirk, sir.”

“Permit me to ask, Mr Landry,” Bainsbridge began, “if you felt the disaffection among the crew of the
Themis
existed before Mr Hayden came aboard or did the discord that later led to mutiny begin after Lieutenant Hayden took up his position?”

Landry pulled his tiny chin down into his collar, looking neither left nor right. “I should say it began during the weeks that Mr Hayden had command of the ship in Plymouth, sir.”

Hayden experienced such a flash of outrage that he broke a sweat. And he’d thought Landry had, finally, made a decision to find his manhood!

“If you please, Mr Landry,” Admiral Duncan broke in, “would you speak up so that those of us no longer in the bloom of youth might hear?”

“My apologies, sir. I believe the discontentment began after Mr Hayden took control of the ship at Plymouth.”

There ensued much muttering and shifting among the crew of the
Themis.

“If I may say so, Admiral Duncan,” Gardner said peevishly, “Mr Hayden is not on trial here. I believe this is merely a tactic to shift attention from the gentlemen who are actually being court-martialled.”

“It remains to be seen if Lieutenant Hayden will be subject to the same charges, Captain Gardner,” Duncan countered, to the obvious satisfaction of Bainsbridge and several other captains.

Gardner only glanced up at the deckhead, then back to Landry. “Then let me ask you this, Mr Landry—how do you explain the murder of a member of your crew some weeks before Mr Hayden came aboard, and then the beating of the foretop-man the very day Lieutenant Hayden took up his position?”

“The murder was a personal affair, regrettable, but such things are not unheard of in the service. As to the beating, we do not know who was responsible, sir.”

“Mr Hayden has stated that the two unfortunate men were involved in circulating a petition and attempting to convince the crew not to sail. It is Mr Hayden’s opinion that the future mutineers perpetrated both these attacks.”

“That is Mr Hayden’s opinion, sir, but I believe otherwise.”

For a moment the panel seemed stymied, but then McLeod pivoted slightly toward the second lieutenant. “Did you believe, Mr Landry,” he asked, “that there existed among your crew people with mutinous intent?”

Landry hesitated.

“Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ Mr Landry,” the admiral ordered.

“No, sir, I did not.”

“Even after the troubles with the crew when quitting Plymouth and later at Brest?” Gardner asked quickly.

“Yes, sir, even after those troubles.”

“But it was you who then reported that Mr Aldrich had been reading pamphlets that espoused revolutionary ideals to the crew?”

“It was, sir.”

“Certainly this concerned you, lest you would not have reported it?”

“It did concern me, sir.”

“How did you learn of this, Mr Landry?”

“I don’t remember, sir.”

“A man was flogged upon your informing on him, Mr Landry; surely you remember how you learned of his transgression?”

“I believe Mr Hayden told me, sir.”

“Mr Hayden claimed he did not tell you, sir.”

Landry hesitated.

“Mr Landry…?”

“I believe Mr Hayden was mistaken in this, sir.”

“Ah. Was Mr Hayden often forgetful of conversations, Mr Landry?”

“I don’t believe he was, sir, but only in this case.”

“And what became of the pamphlets?”

“I don’t know, sir. Mr Hayden claimed to have taken them from Mr Wickham, but they were later found to be missing from Mr Hayden’s trunk where he had placed them.”

“Perhaps they disappeared to the same place as the master’s log?”

“I know nothing of that, sir.”

The panel of captains fell unhappily silent. Landry’s evidence seemed a mass of contradictions. Hayden found it difficult to read the reaction of the captains on the panel, all of whom were gentlemen well used to keeping their own counsel and guarding their emotions from their crews.

“If there are no more questions at present, I shall allow Mr Landry to step down for the time being?”

The captains all agreed they had nothing more to ask.

“Thank you, Mr Landry,” Duncan said. “You may resume your place, though you might yet be recalled to answer questions, and you shall be allowed a chance to speak in your own defence, should that be necessary. Let us hear from Lieutenant Archer.”