Kilgorman: A Story of Ireland in 1798

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.

  THE FAMOUS FIGHT OF OCTOBER THE ELEVENTH.

  My readers do not, I hope, expect from me a full, true, and particularaccount of the glorious sea-fight of October 11, 1797, off Camperdown;for if they do, they will be sadly disappointed. Indeed, it seems tome, the worst person to describe a battle is one who has fought in it.For if he does his duty, he has no eyes for any business but his own;and as to seeing what is happening along the entire line at any time, itwould take an eagle poised in mid-air, with eyes that could penetrate acloud of smoke, to do it honestly. I am no eagle, and my eyes can carryno further than those of any other plain mortal. I can tell only what Isaw. For the rest, the eagles have written their story in books, whereany one can read all about the famous victory--and more than all.

  There was little time to observe anything in the bustle of our puttingout from Yarmouth. The ship was not yet clear of the confusion of herhurried refitting and revictualling. Stores lay about which neededstowing; there were new sails to bend and old ropes to splice; therewere decks to swab and guns to polish, hammocks to sling, and ammunitionto give out. Yet all worked with so hearty a will, and looked forwardso joyously, after eighteen weeks' idleness, to a brush with the enemy,that before sundown all was nearly taut and ship-shape. If anythingcould help, it was the kindly nod and cheery word of our admiral himselfas he paced to and fro among us. A beautiful man he was--a giant tolook at, and as gentle as he was tall; yet with a flash in his eye, ashe turned his face seaward, that told us that there was not a man in theship who looked forward with more boyish eagerness to the brush aheadthan he. Though it was but for a week, I hold it to this day somethingto be able to say that I have served under Duncan.

  Had I been in the mood to stand on my dignity, I might have feltaffronted to find myself set to do ordinary seaman's work on board the_Venerable_. For in the hurry of our setting out from Yarmouth therewas time neither to report myself nor to choose my work. I was nosooner on board than I was hurried forward to set the fore-courses; andno sooner was that done than a mop was put into my hands to swab themain-deck; and no sooner was that done than I was told off to carrystores below. At any rate, it was better than a Dutch prison, and,thought I, a common sailor under Duncan is better than a lieutenantunder Mr Adrian. Time enough when prizes were towed into port to standout for dignities.

  The next day, the tenth, despite the strong north-wester, our fleet,which numbered fourteen sail of the line, held well together for theTexel, picking up one or two fresh consorts during the day, and beatingabout now and again in expectation of news of the longed-for enemy. Wesaw nothing but a few merchantmen; and the admiral was beginning to fearthat, after all, the Dutchmen had given us the slip, and made off tojoin forces with the French fleet at Brest, when an armed lugger, flyinga signal, hove in sight, and reported that the Dutch admiral was only afew leagues away to the south.

  The joy on board was indescribable; and as night closed in, and we stoodout on the starboard tack, the certainty that daybreak would discoverthe enemy was almost as great a cause for jubilation as if we hadalready won our victory.

  Eager as we were, however, the admiral ordered all of us who were not onthe watch below, charging us to get sleep while we could, and layprovender on board, for we had hungry work before us.

  The first lieutenant called me to him as I was turning in.

  "Mr Gallagher," he said, "I have only just had time to go over thenames of the last comers in the ship's books. I see you hold rank as awarrant-officer."

  "I was boatswain to the _Zebra_, sir," said I.

  "So I see. It does you credit that you have worked so cheerfully at thefirst work that came to hand. But to-morrow we shall want our best menat their right posts. The _Venerable_ has a boatswain already; butCaptain Fairfax has ordered me to look up double hands for the helm. Begood enough to report yourself to the sailing-master at daybreak. Wehave our work cut out for us, I fancy, and much will depend on thesmartness with which the admiral's signals are read and his shiphandled. So you may take the duty as a compliment, Mr Gallagher; andgood-night to you."

  I turned in that night still better pleased with the service than ever.

  At daybreak, as we came on deck, the first thing we spied to leeward wassome of our own ships bearing down on us with signals flying of an enemyin sight; and not long after, the line of the enemy's fleet, stragglingnortheast and south-west, came into sight, hauled to the wind andevidently awaiting us. We counted over twenty of them; and with theadditions that had joined us in the night, we were just as many.

  The sea was rolling heavily, and a good many of our ships were lagging.So, as we were already near enough to the Dutch side, the admiralordered sails to be shortened till the slow coaches came up, which theydid not too smartly.

  I reported myself to the sailing-master as directed, and soon foundmyself one of four in charge of the helm. After that I saw very littleof the famous battle of Camperdown, for I had no eyes or ears foranything but the admiral's signals. We waited for our ships to get intotheir proper stations till we could wait no longer.

  "Confound them!" growled the quartermaster, a fresh, cheery salt at myside, as one or two sail still dawdled on the horizon, "These lubberswill spoil all. The Dutch are shallow sailers, and they'll have us onthe flats before we are ready to begin. What is the ad-- Ah, that'sbetter. Up she goes! Smart now and have at them!"

  This jubilant exclamation was in response to a signal to wait no longer,but bear down on the enemy, every vessel being ordered to engage heropponent as best she could.

  Up went the helm, round went the yards, and away sped the _Venerable_,and with her the rest of the British fleet, full tilt at the Dutchmen.I learned more of the battle from the ejaculations of the quartermasterat my side than from my own observation.

  "Confound the mist!" growled he as we reached out for the line. "Theywon't see the signal to cut the line and get to leeward. Take my wordfor it, mate, those Dutch dogs will pull us in on to the shallows beforewe know where we are."

  Suddenly the thunder of guns on our right proclaimed that the action hadbegun in good earnest.

  "That's the vice-admiral," said the boatswain, "at it already, and he'smaking a hot corner down there. Ease her up a bit now. There's theDutch admiral's ship the _Vryheid_. It's her we're going for."

  A sudden order came astern.

  "Run under her stern?--right you are," said the quartermaster. "Keepher down more, my lads.--Lie as you are, my beauty," said he,apostrophising the _Vryheid_, "and we'll blacklead you somehow."

  "What's that ship astern of her about?" said I. "She's closing up."

  So she was. Before we could slip through and get under the _Vryheid's_stern, she had neatly swung up into the gap, blocking us out, andleaving us to put our helm hard a-port to avoid running in on the top ofher.

  "Neatly done, by the powers," said the quartermaster; "but Duncan willmake her smart for it. Ah, I thought so," as the _Venerable_ shook fromstem to stern and poured the broadside intended for the _Vryheid_ intothe stern of the intruder instead. "Take that, my lass, and don't pushin where you're not wanted again."

  It was a tremendous thunder-clap; and the _States-General_--that was thename of the intruder--with her rigging all in shivers, and her stern-guns knocked all on end, was glad enough to bear up and drop out of linebefore she could get a second. This suited our admiral excellently, forit enabled him to cut the enemy's line and bring the _Venerable_ snuglyround on the lee-side of Admiral De Winter's ship, his originally chosenantagonist.

  Then all was thunder and smoke. The _Venerable_ shook and staggeredunder the crushing fire which struck her hull. But for every broadsideshe got she poured two into the masts and rigging of her opponent. Morethan once, as the two ships swung together, with yards almost locked, wehad to duck for our lives to escape the falling spars of the Dutchman.I can remember once and again, as the _Vryheid_ lurched towards us,seeing her deck covered with dead
and wounded men; and every broadsideshe put into us left its tale of destruction among our fellows.

  Presently, with a crash that sounded even above the cannon, down cameher mainmast by the board, and the British cheers which greeted the fallwere even louder still.

  But if we reckoned on having done with her, we were sorely mistaken; forthree other Dutchmen just then hove up to their admiral's help, and fora quarter of an hour the _Venerable_ had as hot a time of it as shipever lived through. There was not much for us at the helm to do butstand and be shot at; which we did so well that when at last (just asthe mizzen-mast of the _Vryheid_ followed the example of her mainmast)the order came to haul off and wear round on the other tack, I foundmyself the only one of four to answer, "Ay, ay," and ram down the helm.The quartermaster, poor fellow, lay at my feet, shot nearly in two;while of our other two mates, one was wounded, with an arm shot away,another stunned by a falling timber.

  It was a job to get the ship round; and when we did, there was the_Vryheid_, with her one mast left, waiting for us as saucy as ever.After that, all passed for me in even a greater maze than before; for abullet from the enemy's rigging found me out with a dull thud in theshoulder, and sent me reeling on to the deck. I was able after thefirst shock to stumble up and get my hands upon the helm; but I stoodthere sick and silly, and of less use than the poor quartermaster at myfeet.

  I was dimly conscious of a din and smoke, like the opening of the gateof hell. Then, through a drift in the smoke, I could see the tall formof the Dutch admiral standing almost alone on his quarter-deck, as coolas if he were on the street at Amsterdam, passing a word of commandthrough his trumpet. Beyond him I caught a glimpse of the low Dutchsand-hills, not two leagues to leeward. Then, away to our right, camethe faint noise of British cheers above the firing. Then some one nearme exclaimed, "Struck, by Saint George!" and almost directly after thefiring seemed to cease, and our fellows, springing on to the yards andbulwarks, set up such a cheer that the _Venerable_ shook with it. Itried to get up my head to see what it was all about, but as I did so Itumbled all in a heap on the deck--and the battle of Camperdown wasfinished for me.

  It was nearly dark when I came to between decks, with a burning pain inmy shoulder and my mouth as dry as a brick. The place was full ofgroaning men, some worse hit than myself, and one or two past the helpof the surgeon, who slowly went his round of the berths. By the time hereached me I did not much care if he were to order me overboard, so longas he put me out of my misery.

  But, after all, mine was a simple case. There was a bullet in mesomewhere, and a few bone-splinters were wandering about my system.Apparently I could wait till my neighbour, whose thigh bone was crushed,was seen to. So while he, poor fellow, was having his leg cut off, andbeginning to bleed to death (for he didn't outlive the operation anhour), I lay, with my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth, groaning.

  "Ah, Mr Gallagher," said the first lieutenant, as he came the round,"they picked you out, did they? Nothing much, I hope? It's cost us apretty penny in dead and wounded already."

  "And we beat them?" groaned I.

  "Beat? We made mincemeat of them! Haven't we the Dutch admiral aprisoner on board this moment, playing cards with Admiral Duncan in hiscabin as comfortably as if he was in his own club at the Hague?"

  "Could you give me some water?" I asked, with a sudden change of thesubject.

  "Surely; and, Mr Gallagher, I'll see you again before we land, andwon't forget to put your name forward."

  When at last the doctor came, I saved him a good deal of trouble byswooning away the moment he touched my wound, and remained in thatcondition, on and off, till I heard the anchor running out at the bows,and understood from those who lay near that we were at the Nore.

  Had I wanted any further proof of our arrival in English waters, theshouting and saluting and bustle and laughter all around left no doubtof it.

  "Come, lad," said the lieutenant, standing over me, while two sailorsset down a stretcher beside my berth, "the tender's alongside to takeyou poor fellows ashore. The doctor says you must go to hospital, andthey'll have another look for the bullet there. So keep up heart, man.Here are your papers, and a good word thrown in from the admiralhimself, bless him!"

  The pain of being lifted on to the stretcher and carried on deck wasalmost beyond endurance, yet I could hardly help, as I passed thecheering crowd of our fellows, giving a faint "hurrah" in time withtheirs. For our noble old admiral stood on the gangway, with a kindword for every one, especially the wounded.

  "Never say die, my brave lad," said he, as I was carried by; "you stuckto your post bravely.--Steady, men," added he, as the two bearers brokestep for a moment; "the poor boy has had jolting enough without you.--God bless you, my fellow!"

  And so I parted company with the bravest and kindliest gentleman I evercame across.

  Every one ashore was wild with the news of the great victory, and wepoor cripples were escorted to the hospital like heroes. I wished, formy part, I had been allowed to get there quietly, for the horses of ourwaggon started and winced at the noise of the shouting and music, sothat my poor shoulder was all aflame long before I got to our journey'send, and I myself in a high fever.

  The doctors had a rare bullet-hunt over my poor body; and when it wasfound, there were bone-splinters still harder to get at. The result wasthat when I was at last bound up and left to mend, I was so weak andshattered that for weeks--indeed, for nearly three months--I lay,sometimes in a fever, sometimes recovering, sometimes relapsing,sometimes recovering again, till I found myself one of the veterans ofthe hospital.

  What, during those weeks, were my fevered dreams you may guess. Infancy I was hunting through the world for Miss Kit; and as sure as Ifound her, Tim appeared and claimed my help; and ere Tim could behelped, my little mistress had vanished again and a new search wasbegun--now in Ireland, now in Paris, now in Holland, now up and down theblood-stained deck of the _Zebra_. But it all ended in naught; and Iturned over wearily on my pillow, sick in body and mind, and longing, asprisoner never longed, for wings.

  Glad enough I was when one day, early in January, the doctor pronouncedme cured, and put me on board a ship for Dublin, there to report myselfto the Admiralty, and take my new sailing orders.

  "But first," said I to myself, "cost what it may, I will have a peep atFanad."