Chapter 1
SsgtC
Banned
A/N: This is a vignette/part of a much longer timeline I'm currently writing. I'll be posting it in three parts (so maybe not really a vignette). The POD for the story here is the Continental Congress adopts a stronger version of the Articles of Confederation. Mainly, Congress is directly charged with the defense of the Nation and is given power to raise taxes as needed. Any and all comments and/or criticisms are more than welcome and appreciated!
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October 17th, 1798
Vice Admiral John Barry stood on the quarterdeck of his flagship, the 90 gun USS Independence. It was not yet dawn and already the day promised to be a warm one. "In more ways than one," he thought. For Vice Admiral Barry was sailing for the island of Hispaniola under orders from President Adams to seize it. For this task, he commanded the most powerful American fleet to ever put to sea. In addition to his flagship, the Independence, the fleet consisted of eleven more sail-of-the-line, six frigates and four sloops. Then there were the transports carrying three regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry and six artillery batteries under the overall command of Brigadier General Andrew Jackson. Not to mention the Marines that were aboard his ships. His young country had come quite a long way since she had declared her independence.
And now, that independence was being threatened. Not by the United Kingdom. But by their own ally, France. Of course that was almost to be expected considering how badly France had gone to hell ever since The Directory took control and launched The Terror. Still, the fact that the United States was now at war with France and allied with the United Kingdom was jarring. And all because the United States had refused to join France in their insane war against the world. If anyone had approached him in 1783 and told him that in only fifteen years the United States and the United Kingdom would be fighting side-by-side against France, he would have laughed in their face. He guessed it was true after all, that fact is often stranger than fiction.
As he stood on his quarterdeck, John Barry listened to the sounds of the ship around him. The creak of her timbers as she shouldered her way through the swell, the humming of the rigging as the wind moaned through it, the slap and crack of her canvass as it filled to the wind. And the sounds of the 800 officers and men as they began to go about their daily routine. From forward, he could see the smoke from the cook's galley fire as the men's morning meal was prepared. Salt pork today. Hopefully it hadn't been in the casks for too long. The men would need all the nourishment they could get. Just before sunset yesterday, one of his frigates that was out ahead of him scouting, the USS Chesapeake under Captain James Barron, had signaled that they had sighted strange sails to the Northwest. Based on intelligence he had gathered, and his own gut feeling, he felt sure that those sails would be French.
Beside him stood Thomas Truxton, his Flag Captain and Captain of the Independence. He had drilled his men hard. And the results showed. His crew could clear for action is eight minutes flat. They could also fire two full broadsides every two and a half minutes. And the sail handling was impeccable. In a strong wind, Independence could outsail a frigate.
Part of that was due to her designer, Josiah Fox. A Quaker, he nevertheless had an outstanding eye and mind when it came to building a man-o-war. Externally, Independence resembled a 74 gun ship, having only two gun decks. But this ship was spar decked. And where on a British or French man-o-war there were only gangways, this ship had a complete deck mounting 30x42 pounder carronades. Her lower gun deck mounted 30x32 pounders with her upper gun deck mounting 30x24 pounders. That gave her a fearsome broadside of over 1,400 pounds. The ship was also built ridiculously strong with the ship's ribs spaced no more than twelve inches apart. In all, her hull was over three feet thick, solid oak. There wasn't a ship afloat that could match her. Of course, he didn't just build the ship strong. He built her fast. She had very fine lines below the water while inside the hull, he had fitted a new device that he called a diagonal rider. It not only let the ship carry her massive armament, but kept her from hogging as well. When she had first commissioned two years ago, Independence had been recorded running at nearly 14 knots. Two others of her class were also with him today. The nine remaining ships of the line were all 74 gun ships. While he, and the rest of the Navy's Flag Officers, had argued strongly to build more 90 gun ships, Congress, and the budget, had won out in the end and the bulk of the battle line was made up of these smaller ships. Not that they were weak, mind you. Those ships still mounted 32x32 pounders on their lower gun decks, 32x24 pounders on their upper gun decks and 10x42 pounder carronades on their fo'c'sle and quarterdecks. Of all the ships in his fleet though, the best of the bunch, other than the Independence, was Captain Samuel Nicholson's 90 gun Constitution. And she flew the Flag of Rear Admiral John Paul Jones.
Thinking of Jones, he frowned a little. Jones had covered himself with glory during the Revolution. And had proved to have no small skill as an organizer. But he was also stubborn and headstrong and didn't work well with others. It had taken a private meeting between the two of them where he had had to threaten Jones with a Court Martial to finally get the man in line. While he had some questions in his mind that Jones would promptly follow his orders when he issued them, he had no doubts that if and when they met the enemy fleet, Jones would fight them to the best of his ability. Which is why he had placed Jones' squadron in the vanguard. A stubborn man was just what he needed when the fleets would meet.
Behind him, Commodore Richard Dale flew his Broad Pennant in the 90 gun United States. Commanding the United States was Edward Preble. Like the Independence and Constitution, she had been well drilled. Dale was an effective officer, if uninspired. As a second in command or part of a larger fleet, he was more than up to the task. But privately, Barry shuddered to think of what he would do in an independent command. But for this mission, he was more than capable.
As the sunlight touched the masthead, he looked up and saw the lookout perched on the crosstrees, more than two hundred feet off the deck. As he watched, he saw the man stiffen before he turned and yelled down to the deck bellow. "Deck there! Sail on the Starboard Bow!" Followed a few short minutes later by, "It's the Chesapeake, Sir!"
As Vice Admiral Barry watched, the ship's First Lieutenant, Lieutenant Francis Bright, climbed aloft with a telescope slung across his back. Minutes later, Bright called down to the deck, "Deck there! Signal from Chesapeake! Enemy in sight! Ten sail of the line!"
Captain Truxton, standing beside him, turned to the Officer of the Watch and told him, "Acknowledge the signal, Lieutenant."
"Aye, Sir," replied Lieutenant Stephen Decatur Jr, the officer of the watch and the 5th Lieutenant on the Independence. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr was also with the fleet, serving as Captain of the 74 gun USS President. His younger brother James was also with them. He was a Midshipman on the frigate USS Essex. It was strange to think that, for a country and a Navy so young, there was already a solid tradition of families serving in the fleet. Yet the Decaturs were not alone in that regard.
As the signal flags broke to the wind, Vice Admiral Barry ordered Captain Truxton to send the hands to breakfast. Once they had eaten he ordered his Flag Lieutenant, Lieutenant David Porter, to signal the fleet to clear for action and form line of battle. Once that was accomplished, he ordered five of his frigates and all his sloops to protect the transports. The sixth frigate, USS Chesapeake, he ordered to sail to windward and act as a repeating frigate for his signals.
All that was left to do now, was wait.
_____________________
Vice Admiral John Barry stood on the quarterdeck of his flagship, the 90 gun USS Independence. It was not yet dawn and already the day promised to be a warm one. "In more ways than one," he thought. For Vice Admiral Barry was sailing for the island of Hispaniola under orders from President Adams to seize it. For this task, he commanded the most powerful American fleet to ever put to sea. In addition to his flagship, the Independence, the fleet consisted of eleven more sail-of-the-line, six frigates and four sloops. Then there were the transports carrying three regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry and six artillery batteries under the overall command of Brigadier General Andrew Jackson. Not to mention the Marines that were aboard his ships. His young country had come quite a long way since she had declared her independence.
And now, that independence was being threatened. Not by the United Kingdom. But by their own ally, France. Of course that was almost to be expected considering how badly France had gone to hell ever since The Directory took control and launched The Terror. Still, the fact that the United States was now at war with France and allied with the United Kingdom was jarring. And all because the United States had refused to join France in their insane war against the world. If anyone had approached him in 1783 and told him that in only fifteen years the United States and the United Kingdom would be fighting side-by-side against France, he would have laughed in their face. He guessed it was true after all, that fact is often stranger than fiction.
As he stood on his quarterdeck, John Barry listened to the sounds of the ship around him. The creak of her timbers as she shouldered her way through the swell, the humming of the rigging as the wind moaned through it, the slap and crack of her canvass as it filled to the wind. And the sounds of the 800 officers and men as they began to go about their daily routine. From forward, he could see the smoke from the cook's galley fire as the men's morning meal was prepared. Salt pork today. Hopefully it hadn't been in the casks for too long. The men would need all the nourishment they could get. Just before sunset yesterday, one of his frigates that was out ahead of him scouting, the USS Chesapeake under Captain James Barron, had signaled that they had sighted strange sails to the Northwest. Based on intelligence he had gathered, and his own gut feeling, he felt sure that those sails would be French.
Beside him stood Thomas Truxton, his Flag Captain and Captain of the Independence. He had drilled his men hard. And the results showed. His crew could clear for action is eight minutes flat. They could also fire two full broadsides every two and a half minutes. And the sail handling was impeccable. In a strong wind, Independence could outsail a frigate.
Part of that was due to her designer, Josiah Fox. A Quaker, he nevertheless had an outstanding eye and mind when it came to building a man-o-war. Externally, Independence resembled a 74 gun ship, having only two gun decks. But this ship was spar decked. And where on a British or French man-o-war there were only gangways, this ship had a complete deck mounting 30x42 pounder carronades. Her lower gun deck mounted 30x32 pounders with her upper gun deck mounting 30x24 pounders. That gave her a fearsome broadside of over 1,400 pounds. The ship was also built ridiculously strong with the ship's ribs spaced no more than twelve inches apart. In all, her hull was over three feet thick, solid oak. There wasn't a ship afloat that could match her. Of course, he didn't just build the ship strong. He built her fast. She had very fine lines below the water while inside the hull, he had fitted a new device that he called a diagonal rider. It not only let the ship carry her massive armament, but kept her from hogging as well. When she had first commissioned two years ago, Independence had been recorded running at nearly 14 knots. Two others of her class were also with him today. The nine remaining ships of the line were all 74 gun ships. While he, and the rest of the Navy's Flag Officers, had argued strongly to build more 90 gun ships, Congress, and the budget, had won out in the end and the bulk of the battle line was made up of these smaller ships. Not that they were weak, mind you. Those ships still mounted 32x32 pounders on their lower gun decks, 32x24 pounders on their upper gun decks and 10x42 pounder carronades on their fo'c'sle and quarterdecks. Of all the ships in his fleet though, the best of the bunch, other than the Independence, was Captain Samuel Nicholson's 90 gun Constitution. And she flew the Flag of Rear Admiral John Paul Jones.
Thinking of Jones, he frowned a little. Jones had covered himself with glory during the Revolution. And had proved to have no small skill as an organizer. But he was also stubborn and headstrong and didn't work well with others. It had taken a private meeting between the two of them where he had had to threaten Jones with a Court Martial to finally get the man in line. While he had some questions in his mind that Jones would promptly follow his orders when he issued them, he had no doubts that if and when they met the enemy fleet, Jones would fight them to the best of his ability. Which is why he had placed Jones' squadron in the vanguard. A stubborn man was just what he needed when the fleets would meet.
Behind him, Commodore Richard Dale flew his Broad Pennant in the 90 gun United States. Commanding the United States was Edward Preble. Like the Independence and Constitution, she had been well drilled. Dale was an effective officer, if uninspired. As a second in command or part of a larger fleet, he was more than up to the task. But privately, Barry shuddered to think of what he would do in an independent command. But for this mission, he was more than capable.
As the sunlight touched the masthead, he looked up and saw the lookout perched on the crosstrees, more than two hundred feet off the deck. As he watched, he saw the man stiffen before he turned and yelled down to the deck bellow. "Deck there! Sail on the Starboard Bow!" Followed a few short minutes later by, "It's the Chesapeake, Sir!"
As Vice Admiral Barry watched, the ship's First Lieutenant, Lieutenant Francis Bright, climbed aloft with a telescope slung across his back. Minutes later, Bright called down to the deck, "Deck there! Signal from Chesapeake! Enemy in sight! Ten sail of the line!"
Captain Truxton, standing beside him, turned to the Officer of the Watch and told him, "Acknowledge the signal, Lieutenant."
"Aye, Sir," replied Lieutenant Stephen Decatur Jr, the officer of the watch and the 5th Lieutenant on the Independence. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr was also with the fleet, serving as Captain of the 74 gun USS President. His younger brother James was also with them. He was a Midshipman on the frigate USS Essex. It was strange to think that, for a country and a Navy so young, there was already a solid tradition of families serving in the fleet. Yet the Decaturs were not alone in that regard.
As the signal flags broke to the wind, Vice Admiral Barry ordered Captain Truxton to send the hands to breakfast. Once they had eaten he ordered his Flag Lieutenant, Lieutenant David Porter, to signal the fleet to clear for action and form line of battle. Once that was accomplished, he ordered five of his frigates and all his sloops to protect the transports. The sixth frigate, USS Chesapeake, he ordered to sail to windward and act as a repeating frigate for his signals.
All that was left to do now, was wait.
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