Ajax by George Edwardson

Author:George Edwardson [Edwardson, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Armed with naval hangers and pistols in their belts, Lieutenant Johnnie Wharton and Midshipman Hughes settled in the stern of one of HMS Ajax’s cutters, waiting for the signal to push off for the shore of Aboukir Bay, Egypt.

As the sun came up that March morning in 1801, every ship in the British fleet was surrounded by many small boats crammed with troops and sailors. To Wharton, they looked like so many mallards with dozens of ducklings bobbing in the water around them. It had taken hours to get them all into position. He knew from Moore and Cochrane’s plans that some of the flatboats had been in the sea since just after midnight.

A single cannon shot from the flagship Foudroyant started the biggest amphibious invasion of a foreign shore in the country’s history.

First to strike out for the long sandy beach were the 58 flatboats being rowed by hundreds of sailors drawn from every one of the transports. Aboard them, the red coated soldiers sat in disciplined rows with empty muskets raised in the air, relieved to be off the confines of the ships but nervous of the French cannon and musket fire which surely awaited them.

Wharton looked on with satisfaction as the wave of flatboats struck out together. He had been so involved with the minutiae of the preparation for the landings that only at this moment did it strike him that he too had to face the dangers that awaited them all on the beach.

A wave of nausea swept over him, and he had to grip the handle of his naval hanger to steady his nerves. He dared a glance at the faces of the sailors pulling the long oars and saw the strain in their faces as well, many unnaturally pale. He took a deep breath and turned away to look around and see the dozens of other cutters preparing to set out for the shore. He hoped the brief sensation of panic was not obvious, especially to young Hughes beside him. Back in control, he called out a quite unnecessary ‘Pull together, lads’ as a second gun was fired from the flagship to signal the 80 cutters on their way.

His cutter, with 20 jacks, was to follow the eastern section of the low flatboats in the second wave of the attack. Under direct orders from Captain Cochrane, he and Hughes were to establish a naval base up the beach where a signals mast was to be erected to ensure ship to shore communication. A young officer from HMS Monarch would be the first ashore, get a mast raised as a priority and send back a signal to Foudroyant to confirm everything was in place and working.

It was Hughes’s job to steer the launch and ensure there was a 50 feet gap between the boats on either side of them. This was stipulated by General Moore in case of French artillery fire. Boats bunched together would provide too easy a target for their gunners.

As the

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