The Fever Islands

The Game (Part 1)

Commander, Royal Navy

by Peter Lawson

Commander RN Briefing November 1802

You are Commander....of His Britannic Majesty's Royal Navy. Their Lordships of the Admiralty have considered it necessary to dispatch another small but sufficient task force to the West Indies to assist with the policing and containment of potential and active enemies of the Crown colonies.

You were, at first, reluctant to request a command on the Indies Station, but after a long and painful convalescense due to an injury sustained at Aboukir Bay in '98 (whilst in nominal command of a designated prize crew shortly after the battle, you fell from the entry port of HMS CULLODEN attempting to board your barge and suffered a compound fracture of your left leg) your monastic life on your ample Hampshire estates has not dulled your desire for an active command of your own. The West Indies are, by all accounts, an extremely, tiresome and inhospitable place, but after your bitter experiences aboard the hospital ship in Egypt, you now feel that the supposed horrors of the Caribbean coasts are wildly exaggerated.

You were initially surprised that their Lordships achieved a command for you so speedily (you are titled and monied enough not to have to survive on half pay unlike many of your immediate colleagues, and you have never considered it necessary to call on your father's old friend Sir Hyde Parker for advancement in the Service) but you correctly assumed that many hitherto available officers have taken advantage of the Peace of Amiens to request attendance to their estates after nine years of wartime service.

Your Orders of Expediency (dated November 1802) are thus:

"Having received due authority from His Britannic Majesty's Board of Ordinance and the Impress Service, you will greatly oblige their Lordships by proceeding forthwith to Port Royale situate to Kings Town, Jamaica, and presenting yourself to His Britannic Majesty's representative The Right Honourable Sir Percy MacDonald and performing your duties according to his pleasure."

The vessels assigned to your command are as follows:

    HMS BOURDELOIS (24 guns)
      6th. Rate Man o' war, and ex-East Indiaman (captured from the French) and purchased by the Royal Navy in 1795.
      Armament: 22 x 32lb. Carronades, 2 x 9lb.
      Complement: 212 officers and men.

    LYDIA - ARMED MERCHANTMAN

      Classified by Chapman as CAT (Merchant Vessel 4th Class)
      Armament: 6 x 6lb.
      Complement: 58 officers and men.

    SPEEDY - ARMED CUTTER

      Utilised for many years by the Revenue Service before being commandeered by the Royal Navy.
      Armament: 12x 4lb., 2x 12lb. Carronades (astern). 4 x Swivel Guns
      Complement: 72 officers and men.

    At present, there is a small detachment of Marines aboard BOURDELOIS.

Having received notification that your squadron has left Plymouth (under pilot command) for final victualling at Falmouth (space at Plymouth being at a premium this winter due to storm damage, you spend a profitable two days finalising details with your estates manager.

Duly satisfied that all your affairs are well in hand, you accompany your baggage, in your own coach, on the journey down to Falmouth, quietly musing over your incoming adventure.

Being at peace with France galls you somewhat, but surely the Machiavellian scheming of that self-proclaimed First Consul For Life, Napoleon Bonaparte, will shortly thrust the whole of Europe once more into turmoil? You will soon be on the quarterdeck of a small but capable warship, and you cannot imagine that you will never feel the shudder of her broadsides in anger....

You mellow your martial thoughts considerably with the stark realisation that, although you have been present at the significant fleet actions of Camperdown and Aboukir Bay, you were, on both occasions, sadly unable to participate. During October 1797, you were laid low with a severe bout of influenza and continued in that unhappy state for three weeks - present at, although unaware of, the battle of Camperdown on the 11th.

Naturally, your very presence at these magnificent victories did not impede your promotion to full Commander and your seamanship is beyond reproach; however, you cannot erase the nagging doubt in respect of your abilities as a "fighting" officer. (Endless tours of repetitive convoy escort and blockade duty whilst fully lit without the merest whiff of real action dampened your martial elan).

The Admiralty informed you that your crews were battle-hardened, experienced and almost at full strength; indeed, the exploits of the SPEEDY and her crew under the command of Thomas Cochrane are legendary in Town. Surely, with a good crew and a line fleet a deserving fellow can find a worthy 'cause celebre' or two upon which to cut his teeth, peace or no peace? Content at last, you settle back to savour the autumn countryside and bury yourself in your blankets....

Command RN Briefing ST. KITT'S FEBRUARY 1803

After a vicious squall in mid-Atlantic in early January 1803, it is with some relief that you make landfall at ST.KITT'S in February. Both the LYDIA and the SPEEDY received a battering in the storm and two valued topmen were lost overboard. The over-long voyage for the fleetest of vessels has depressed you, and the hairraising tales of those junior officers who have sailed the Caribbean before have done little to encourage your flagging spirits. To make maners worse, your injured leg is stiffening after a lengthy period on deck. you have tied to take regular exercise around the ship, but to no avail.

Your fellow officers are, for the most part, a jolly lot (especially the Soldier, who has recalled your service together aboard CULLODEN most fondly) but they appear distant and sullen when in the company of their Captain. The wardroom resounds to their laughter when you are on the quarterdeck; there is surely nothing untoward in this behaviour, this is merely the price of your office...Ah, well......

Your spirits soar as you survey the beauty of ST. KITTS, but depression reigns once more as the Governor informs you that the pestilence is rife in the town. You decided to suspend all shore leave and, after much grumbling 'tween decks, you dispatch an escort of Marines ashore with the water party, at the Soldier's suggestion. It is apparent that the crew are unhappy (the two topmen who were lost at sea were enormously popular) and they seem to resent the extra duties spent on the repairs to the LYDIA and the SPEEDY.

After a lacklustre attempt by yourself to rouse their enthusiasm for the duties ahead, you resign yourself to your cabin. You amuse yourself with your part time of cartography. Indeed, the ancient charts of the area are all but illegible, and, for the most part, principally in archaic Spanish.

Having taken on fresh water and an ample supply of limes and oranges, you pilot a course for PORT ROYALE, JAMAICA. Even the sighting of a sail on the horizon would instill a moment's curiosity amongst the crew, but the seas are ominously empty of all traffic. You are beginning to long for the boredom of Hampshire once again.

THE CHARACTERS

(with defererence to Patrick O'Brien et al)

Fever Islands Part 2: The Game

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