H.M.S Valor: Treachery And Triumph: A war time adventure on the high seas by Cal Clement (best contemporary novels txt) 📕

open a gap before our next move against her.” Grimes instructed, the opening salvo of the French bow guns confirming his predictions as he spoke. Their first shots fell slightly short and Grimes knew they would now have their range. Before Cobb could even respond, Grimes reissued his orders, “Run up every auxiliary sail, top gallants and royals on main and fore and get every bit of slack from the sheets, we must make every knot we possibly can.”

Cobb went about setting his Captain’s conditions while Grimes looked back over the fantail of the Valor. He could see the French gun crews readying their bow guns. The other French ship, the one Cobb had originally heard in the dark, had come about also and joined the pursuit of the Valor. With all her sails flying, the Valor rapidly created a gap between herself and her pursuers. The only hit she took was to the aft castle, wounding one sailor and killing another from the wooden debris caused by the ball. It took only forty minutes for Grimes and the Valor to create enough of a gap for the Captain’s planned maneuver. Grimes ordered the quartermaster to come about hard, turning with the wind until it was close reach off her starboard bow. This put the large Frenchman on her larboard side and just as Valor hit her heading, within range. The Marines fired swivel guns and muskets as they came about, causing the French sailors to scramble for cover. Valor’s larboard battery fired their guns, loaded with sail and line destroying chain shot. Without rear wheels though, the guns only recoiled a fraction of what they normally would, making reloading painstakingly slow.

The Valor’s salvo of chain shot ripped through much of the French line ship’s sails, shredding her main and topsail on the mainmast, severing many of her brace lines and breaking the larboard side yard for her mainsail. French sailors scrambled away from falling debris, several jumping overboard to escape the hail of fire from the Valor’s marines. Captain Grimes immediately ordered a hard-larboard turn again bringing them dangerously close to the massive French ship who was now severely disabled and in chaos on deck. The Valor’s quick turn was not as tight as her Captain had hoped she could make though, and she momentarily came into the field of fire of the French warship’s larboard battery. Grimes recognized the danger they were in immediately and began ordering crew to take cover. The French broadside sounded with a thunderous, deafening roar. Impacts along the starboard rail of the Valor sent jagged wooden debris flying and several brace lines flailing. Below deck, the forward most gun on the starboard battery took a direct hit next to their gun port, the impacting round destroyed the cannon, killed the gun crew and wounded several men from the adjacent gun crews. William himself was struck by a shard of wood, the jagged piece lodging high into his cheek by his left eye.

The Valor, wounded but still maneuvering smartly, passed out of the line of fire and crossed the bow of the line ship. Captain Grimes went below himself and ordered the remaining starboard battery to open fire. The volley of fire impacted on the bow and larboard side of the French line ship to deadly effect. Several holes were smashed into the French hull making the conditions for the already disabled ship desperate. She started listing heavily onto her larboard beam and smoke was pouring from all of her gun ports.

Captain Grimes ordered the quartermaster to maintain course westward and went about seeing to his wounded while assessing the damage Valor had taken. There was still another French warship approaching, this one considerably faster and more maneuverable than the line ship that was now fighting to stay afloat and extinguish a fire. Grimes arrived on the gun deck to William holding a wound on his face while he worked to restore order from chaos. He had already ordered all guns reloaded and run out, so Grimes began reorganizing gun crews to compensate for the dead and wounded. Once the gun smoke and confusion had settled, Grimes and Pike assessed damages to their ship and crew. Several sections of the starboard rail were shot away and the large hole by the forward gun port on the starboard side was the worst of it. The severed brace lines were already being replaced and the damage to the aft castle could wait for repair until a more convenient time and condition.

When the Captain and his first Lieutenant returned to the quarterdeck, the remaining French sloop had overtaken her countrymen on the line ship and were pursuing the Valor about half a mile off her stern. Far in the background William noted the line ship was struggling to battle their fire as thick black smoke bellowed up through her rigging and plumed high into the sky.

“They are unlikely to recover her.” Grimes stated, he paused momentarily staring at the struggling enemy vessel, “I intend to run us west and south. Mr. Pike get the crew organized. When that sloop comes close enough, we are going to come about on her and take her as a prize. We can take her to Nassau and let Admiral Sharpe do with her as he pleases. Perhaps she will be your first command.” The mention of command surprised William, who was not sure how to respond. His mind still reeled from the first part of their engagement and he was baffled how they had come out of it as well as they had. Captain Grimes had led his ship against two enemy vessels one of far superior firepower and size and one of near equal speed and maneuverability, leaving both in their wake, soundly beaten. Having witnessed Johnathan Grimes’ decisiveness and conviction in combat, William now understood more of the reputation the daring Captain held.

“Oh and Mr. Pike.” Grimes started again.

“Yes Captain?” William said.

“Have that wound attended to, you can’t carry