Rules: Form Line of Battle Figures: 1/1200 Napoleonic ships Situation: Three American merchants escorted by the sloop Ajax andthe schooner Crab risk slipping by a harbor packed with Barbary pirates (four zebecks and eight small gunboats). Little do the pirates know, but the American convoy is not alone; the Constitution and the Essex lurk just beyond the horizon. Outcome: Action began with adverse winds preventing the Constitution and the Essex from closing to support the small convoy; thus, the larger ships never really threatened the pirates. When what winds there were backed and dropped, the pirates simply switched to oars. The fight for prizes came down to the ability of the pirates to maneuver in light airs or calm, Action began with one zebeck's (Dan Smith) attempt to take the Crab (Anthony Ates) by boarding; the zebeck dropped boats which endured two broadsides at close quarters before successfully grappling with their intended target. Stiff resistance by the Crab's crew threw the boarders into the sea and cost the Zebeck its entire boarding party. Another zebeck (Carl Arseneault) raked the Ajax (Scott Wadyko) before continuing on to concentrate on the merchants. Despite inferior guns and poor gunnery, the pirates managed to take all three merchants by boarding or forcing them to strike, then putting prize crews aboard, While two zebecks (Dan) assisted by the pirate gunboats that had finally closed shot two masts off of the Ajax and kept her busy, the crews of the other zebecks (Carl) took the St Mary and the St George and began sailing them back to port as the wind picked up. One of Dan's prize crews took the St. Thomas to complete the Barbary triumph, The appearance of the Constitution and the Essex forced the pirates to run for port, taking their merchant prizes with them. The American escorts were left to affect repairs and join the closing American squadron. Analysis: The wind prevented the American frigates from closing and prevented them from interfering with the capture of the merchants. The two smaller escorts and the merchants put up a good fight. Both of Carl's zebecks suffered moderate damage; one even lost its starboard oars as it slammed into the side of the St. Mary. Both of Dan's zebecks suffered significant crew losses, losing five of six crew parties (three alone in the failed boarding of the Crab). Despite strong American resistance, the pirates prevailed because they could take advantage of the lack of wind or light airs that blew against the American frigates, Both Ajax and Crab took damage to their rigging (three lost masts), but left their fighting ability significantly intact. With the right wind, they could have delayed the Barbary prizes enough to allow the larger American warships to close. But as the pirates remarked, "The dice gods showed the infidels which side they favored." Back to Dispatch September 2002 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com