Rocks and shoals, p.31
Rocks and Shoals, page 31
Now for the even better news. Dartmouth will be taken into the dock tomorrow for her bottom to be scraped, caulked and payed. There are a few minor repairs to be carried out then I expect to be ready for sea by the middle of December. Whoever suggested that old Clevland at the Admiralty is an unfeeling automaton is way off the mark. He knows my family situation and has given me a convoy again, to Savannah and then to Hampton Roads where I will gather ships from all over the Chesapeake and take them north. That will be at least a week, possibly two weeks, while the ship is doing nothing more active than swinging around an anchor just a day’s ride from the twin objects of my affection. With good fortune, when this letter reaches you by the packet, it will be less than two months before I see you again.
I must close now; there is a cutter sailing for Falmouth on the tide. With this easterly wind she can be there late tomorrow and catch the Thursday packet.
Give my regards to my father and to Barbara and Cranmer.
I reserve all my love for my dearest wife and son.
Dartmouth
At Portsmouth
27th November 1759
◆◆◆
Historical Epilogue
Quebec
Quebec was a close-run thing. If Wolfe had been thrown back from the Plains of Abraham, it’s difficult to see how he could have mounted another attack before the short Canadian campaign season ended. In that case, Quebec would have had to wait for the next year, and by then, King Louis might have been able to find enough men and resources to reinforce New France. Nevertheless, by luck or superb generalship – the odds will be argued for as long as people study military matters – Wolfe won his victory, at the cost of his own life, and the French had to withdraw upriver for the remainder of the year. It meant a hard winter in a shattered city for Murray and his soldiers, and another winter in Halifax for Commodore Colville. Meanwhile, the French in Montreal, with their supply line to France severed and their best general dead, could have been forgiven for thinking it was all over for New France. Yet, with commanders such as the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the Chevalier de Lévis and the Chevalier de Bougainville, and the remains of an army still in Montreal, there was still hope. As the Saint Lawrence thawed in 1760, it would be a race between a British relief force and the advance of the French downriver from Montreal.
Quiberon Bay
The threat of invasion in 1759 was very real. King Louis was gathering armies at Vannes, Le Havre and Dunkirk and the British navy was stretched to blockade all those places as well as the French naval bases. By far the most dangerous was the Duc d’Aiguillon’s army of seventeen thousand men and his transport ships which were waiting in the Gulf of Morbihan for a naval escort. With Britain’s defending armies stretched across England, Scotland and Ireland, it only needed Conflans’ fleet to bring out the French army and escort them to the Channel, for the landing to be a reality. The French had no intention of occupying England; they wanted only to hold an important piece of land to divert Britain’s attention from Europe, the Americas and the East Indies, and to use as a bargaining chip in the peace negotiations. At Quiberon Bay Admiral Edward Hawke, in his dramatic attack in a rising gale on a lee shore ended those invasion fears.
Quiberon Bay also ended the life of the gallant Comte de Kersaint whom we met in The Jamaica Squadron. He took his seventy-four gun Thésée to the aid of his admiral in Soleil Royale and in a squall, with the lower ports open, she capsized and sank. Kersaint and two of his sons died along with all but twenty-two of his six-hundred-man crew.
Annus Mirabilis
1759 became known in Britain as the Annus Mirabilis, the Wonderful Year. In North America, the French had been defeated at Quebec and Fort Niagara. In Europe, the Battle of Minden had secured Hanover for another year. In the West Indies, the important sugar island of Guadeloupe had been captured. While at sea, the Battles of Lagos Bay and Quiberon Bay had ended French dreams of invasion of England and had reduced the French navy to a hollow shell. The sea routes of the world were in the hands of the British navy. The seemingly endless succession of triumphs led to the famous remark: ‘Our bells are worn threadbare with ringing for victories.’
French Despair
The loss of Quebec was a financial disaster for France, with the government cancelling its debts and the merchants losing heavily. Not only was the future of New France hanging by a thread at the end of 1759, but in response to the financial crisis, the budget for the French army fighting in Europe was cut by more than a third. Saunders and Wolfe achieved effects far beyond North America when they mastered the Saint Lawrence and beat the French army on the Plains of Abraham.
Saunders and Wolfe
Admiral Saunders is one of the unsung heroes of the great age of sail. His achievement in bringing Wolfe’s army to the gates of Quebec and sustaining it through a long campaign is without equal. He stands almost alone as a self-deprecating figure in a time when self-promotion was the norm. Despite leaving such a small historical footprint, it’s possible to perceive much of the character of the man, and I trust that I have done him justice.
In contrast to Saunders, General Wolfe was not afraid to blow his own trumpet, and since his dramatic death on the field of battle, his life has been dissected by many, many writers. I have just this to add. With the ebb and flow of fortunes in a long campaign, we should do well to remember that it’s the result that matters. By that measure, Wolfe stands among the greatest of Britain’s generals. And it’s well-documented that Wolfe recited lines from Gray’s Elegy on the eve of battle.
Bougainville and Cook
It’s a fascinating coincidence that two of the greatest names of the age of exploration fought against each other in the Quebec campaign of 1759. Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a soldier first, but something in the campaigns of 1759 and in his voyage to France and back wrought a sea-change in him. His later expedition to the Pacific and his circumnavigation added substantially to the sum of our knowledge of the world.
James Cook was an unknown master’s mate in 1759, and it was his skills at surveying and cartography in the Saint Lawrence and later in Newfoundland that brought him to the attention of the Admiralty. He was one of the few sailing masters that achieved a King’s commission, and his legacy is written large in Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the Pacific.
The Pilots of Bic
Unlikely though it may sound, the incident at Bic where the French pilots were lured on board the British ships and persuaded to help their invaders really happened. One can hardly exaggerate when writing about the exploits of the navy in the eighteenth century!
Old Killick
And finally, for those who’ve read and enjoyed Patrick O’Brian’s books, Old Killick really was the name of the master of the transport Good-Will at the siege of Quebec. His casual dismissal of the terrors of the Great Traverse has been recorded for posterity in the journal of Lieutenant Knox of the Forty-Third Regiment. Who could resist adding that incident to the story? I couldn’t.
Books By This Author
The Colonial Post-Captain
Book 1 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
Captain Carlisle of His Britannic Majesty’s frigate Fury hails from Virginia, a loyal colony of the British Crown. In 1756, as the clouds of war gather in Europe, Fury is ordered to Toulon to investigate a French naval and military build-up.
While battling the winter weather, Carlisle must also juggle with delicate diplomatic issues in this period of phoney war and contend with an increasingly belligerent French frigate.
And then there is the beautiful Chiara Angelini, pursued across the Mediterranean by a Tunisian corsair who appears determined to abduct her, yet strangely reluctant to shed blood.
Carlisle and his young master’s mate, George Holbrooke, are witnesses to the inconclusive sea-battle that leads to the loss of Minorca. They engage in a thrilling and bloody encounter with the French frigate and a final confrontation with the enigmatic corsair.
The Leeward Islands Squadron
Book 2 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
In late 1756, as the British government collapses in the aftermath of the loss of Minorca and the country and navy are thrown into political chaos, a small force of ships is sent to the West Indies to reinforce the Leeward Islands Squadron.
Captain Edward Carlisle, a native of Virginia, and his first lieutenant George Holbrooke are fresh from the Mediterranean and their capture of a powerful French man-of-war. Their new frigate Medina has orders to join a squadron commanded by a terminally ill commodore. Their mission: a near-suicidal assault on a strong Caribbean island fortress. Carlisle must confront the challenges of higher command as he leads the squadron back into battle to accomplish the Admiralty’s orders.
Join Carlisle and Holbrooke as they attack shore fortifications, engage in ship-on-ship duels and deal with mutiny in the West Indies.
The Jamaica Station
Book 3 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
It is 1757, and the British navy is regrouping from a slow start to the seven years war.
A Spanish colonial governor and his family are pursued through the Caribbean by a pair of mysterious ships from the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. The British frigate Medina rescues the governor from his hurricane-wrecked ship, leading Captain Edward Carlisle and his first lieutenant George Holbrooke into a web of intrigue and half-truths. Are the Dutchmen operating under a letter of marque or are they pirates, and why are they hunting the Spaniard? Only the diplomatic skills of Carlisle’s aristocratic wife, Lady Chiara, can solve the puzzle.
When Carlisle is injured, the young Holbrooke must grow up quickly. Under his leadership, Medina takes part in a one-sided battle with the French that will influence a young Horatio Nelson to choose the navy as a career.
Holbrooke's Tide
Book 4 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
It is 1758, and the Seven Years War is at its height. The Duke of Cumberland’s Hanoverian army has been pushed back to the river Elbe while the French are using the medieval fortified city of Emden to resupply their army and to anchor its left flank.
George Holbrooke has recently returned from the Jamaica Station in command of a sloop-of-war. He is under orders to survey and blockade the approaches to Emden in advance of the arrival of a British squadron. The French garrison and their Austrian allies are nervous. With their supply line cut, they are in danger of being isolated when the French army is forced to retreat in the face of the new Prussian-led army that is gathering on the Elbe. Can the French be bluffed out of Emden? Is this Holbrooke’s flood tide that will lead to his next promotion?
Holbrooke’s Tide is the fourth of the Carlisle & Holbrooke naval adventures. The series follows the exploits of the two men through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.
The Cursed Fortress
Book 5 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
The French called it La Forteresse Maudite; the Cursed Fortress.
Louisbourg stood at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, massive and impregnable, a permanent provocation to the British colonies. It was Canada’s first line of defence, guarding the approaches to Quebec, from where all New France lay open to invasion. It had to fall before a British fleet could be sent up the St. Lawrence. Otherwise, there would be no resupply and no line of retreat; Canada would become the graveyard of George II’s navy.
A failed attempt on Louisbourg in 1757 had only stiffened the government’s resolve; the Cursed Fortress must fall in 1758.
Captain Carlisle’s frigate joins the blockade of Louisbourg before winter’s icy grip has eased. Battling fog, hail, rain, frost and snow, suffering scurvy and fevers, and with a constant worry about the wife he left behind in Virginia, Carlisle will face his greatest test of leadership and character yet.
The Cursed Fortress is the fifth of the Carlisle & Holbrooke naval adventures. The series follows the two men through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.
Perilous Shore
Book 6 in the Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures.
Amphibious warfare was in its infancy in the mid-eighteenth century – it was the poor relation of the great fleet actions that the navy so loved.
That all changed in 1758 when the British government demanded a campaign of raids on the French Channel ports. Command arrangements were hastily devised, and a whole new class of vessels was produced at breakneck speed: flatboats, the ancestors of the landing craft that put the allied forces ashore on D-Day.
Commander George Holbrooke’s sloop Kestrel is in the thick of the action: scouting landing beaches, duelling with shore batteries and battling the French Navy.
In a twist of fate, Holbrooke finds himself unexpectedly committed to this new style of amphibious warfare as he is ordered to lead a division of flatboats onto the beaches of Normandy and Brittany. He meets his greatest test yet when a weary and beaten British army retreats from a second failed attempt at Saint Malo with the French close on their heels.
Perilous Shore is the sixth of the Carlisle & Holbrooke naval adventures. The series follows Holbrooke and his mentor, Captain Carlisle, through the Seven Years War and into the period of turbulent relations between Britain and her American colonies in the 1760s.
Bibliography
The following is a selection of the many books that I consulted in researching the Carlisle & Holbrooke Series:
Definitive Text
Sir Julian Corbett wrote the original, definitive text on the Seven Years War. Most later writers use his work as a stepping stone to launch their own.
Corbett, LLM., Sir Julian Stafford. England in the Seven Years War – Vol. I: A Study in Combined Strategy: Normandy Press. Kindle Edition.
Strategy and Naval Operations
Three very accessible modern books cover the strategic context and naval operations of the Seven Years War. Daniel Baugh addresses the whole war on land and sea, while Martin Robson concentrates on maritime activities. Jonathan Dull has produced a very readable account from the French perspective.
Baugh, Daniel. The Global Seven Years War 1754-1763. Pearson Education, 2011. Print.
Robson, Martin. A History of the Royal Navy, The Seven Years War. I.B. Taurus, 2016. Print.
Dull, Jonathan, R. The French Navy and the Seven Years’ War, University of Nebraska Press, 2005. Print.
Sea Officers
For an interesting perspective on the life of sea officers of the mid-eighteenth century, I’d read Augustus Hervey’s Journal, with the cautionary note that while Hervey was by no means typical of the breed, he’s very entertaining and devastatingly honest. For a more balanced view, I’d read British Naval Captains of the Seven Years War.
Erskine, David (editor). Augustus Hervey’s Journal, The Adventures Afloat and Ashore of a Naval Casanova: Chatham Publishing, 2002. Print.
McLeod, A.B. British Naval Captains of the Seven Years War, The View from the Quarterdeck. The Boydell Press, 2012. Print.
Life at Sea
I recommend The Wooden World for an overview of shipboard life and administration during the Seven Years War.
N.A.M Rodger. The Wooden World, An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Fontana Press, 1986. Print.
About The Author
Chris Durbin
Chris Durbin grew up in the seaside town of Porthcawl in South Wales. His first experience of sailing was as a sea cadet in the treacherous tideway of the Bristol Channel, and at the age of sixteen, he spent a week in a tops’l schooner in the Southwest Approaches. He was a crew member on the Porthcawl lifeboat before joining the navy.
Chris spent twenty-four years as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, serving in all classes of ships from aircraft carriers through destroyers and frigates to the smallest minesweepers. He took part in operational campaigns in the Falkland Islands, the Middle East and the Adriatic and he spent two years teaching tactics at a US Navy training centre in San Diego.
On his retirement from the Royal Navy, Chris joined a large American company and spent eighteen years in the aerospace, defence and security industry, including two years on the design team for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Chris is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, the British Army Command and Staff College, the United States Navy War College (where he gained a postgraduate diploma in national security decision-making) and Cambridge University (where he was awarded an MPhil in International Relations).
With a lifelong interest in naval history and a long-standing ambition to write historical fiction, Chris has completed the first four novels in the Carlisle & Holbrooke series, in which a colonial Virginian commands a British navy frigate during the middle years of the eighteenth century.
