Across to America: A Tim Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 9) Read Free

the escort herself being taken. It would be well to remember, these escorts have, perhaps, forty merchantmen to protect. When they scatter, the escorts have the devil’s own time protecting them.”
     
    “I intend to try to close one of these vessels. With our efforts, along with those of the escorts, I hope to repel the attack. Perhaps if we are fortunate, we may indeed be able to take one of them, or possibly cause some important damage. If we can at least disable one, the rest of us should be able to negate the other.”
    “If you wish, Milord, you are welcome to go up on the mizzen top and engage any close targets with your fowling piece, should we close.”
    Lord Forsythe glanced up at the little platform far above the deck and slowly shook his head. “I am afraid I have a poor head for heights, Captain. Perhaps I should remain here on deck.”
    “You would indeed be welcome to remain here, Milord. However, for the record, let it be said I have asked you to go below for safety. There may be shot flying soon, and I would not want it said that I prevented you from going to a place of safety.”
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Matters were more complex than the captain had related to Lord Forsythe. He had not had occasion to obtain his usual private stock of powder and shot for training his gun crews. Many of the ranking officials in the hierarchy of the Royal Navy believed it was not necessary to practice live fire. After all, all that needed done was to place your ship up against the enemy, fire a couple of broadsides into her at close pistol shot range and board her in the smoke.
    With senior officials of the Admiralty regarding actual firing of the guns in practice to be almost pointless, there were strict limits to the use of the ammunition. Only a small fraction of the issue charges were allowed to be expended in the first six months of the voyage, unless fired into a legitimate military or naval target.
     
    At any rate, most of the gunnery practice of the ship’s crew had been just the daily practice of running the guns up to the ports, simulating firing, then hauling them back to simulate loading. Phillips had ordered his officers to question members of the crew to find any long-service hands who may have had training from another captain in the past.
    A dozen men turned up claiming to have served under men whom Phillips knew believed in proper training at firing guns accurately from a distance. These men were stationed at the two forward guns on the ship. Since there were insufficient gun crew to serve the guns of both sides at the same time, the crewmen of a particular gun would also serve the corresponding gun on the opposite side of the ship in case there was need.
     
    While the ship approached the convoy, the gunner went around the ship with the captain, explaining to the gun crews, what was about to happen. The crew was not entirely ignorant of their expected duties. They had all spent at least an hour every day, sometimes much more, practicing simulated gun drill. But, Phillips knew, it would not be until the men heard the great guns crashing and men screaming from their horrible wounds that they could hope to understand what they would be facing
    With all guns loaded and the tompions that prevented spray from entering the gun’s bores removed, the midshipmen went down the row of guns, inspecting the gun locks for sharp flints and dry priming powder.
     
    Approaching the convoy, Phillips had time to examine the current situation. HMS Stately, a perfectly respectable line-of-battle ship, was up forward on the windward van. Many of the merchants had clustered around her. The frigate was also to windward, but farther back the convoy was steadily shredding, with individual masters going in their own way.
    The escort brig, Ferret, was in the rear attempting to protect a pair of merchants that had run aboard each other in panic and were now trying to extricate themselves.
    The privateer brig, about the same