Redcoats' Revenge: An Alternate History of the War of 1812 by Fitz-Enz David

Author:Fitz-Enz, David [Fitz-Enz, David]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.
Published: 2008-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Delancey Seaborne

Strictly speaking, transporting Wellington, his personal staff, and the household was the responsibility of the expedition’s quartermaster department under Delancey. To Delancey’s great joy, First Sea Lord St. Vincent intervened. He offered his newest ship of the line, the HMS Caledonia, the largest ship in the Royal Navy at 201 feet long, displacing 2,600 tons, and armed with 120 guns. Nothing on the high seas could match her. It wasn’t her armament that made her attractive to Wellington, but her size. The duke had sailed a great deal, as had most soldiers, to India, Portugal, and the Mediterranean coast. He had crossed under both the Horn of Africa and the dreaded sea below South America. For all that, he was a notoriously reluctant sailor. He had weathered some of the worst storms recorded and had suffered intensely from mal de mer until an officer who had served in China told him that fishermen there chewed gingerroot. The duke was familiar with the flavor from his time in India, where he enjoyed the local cuisine. His batman always made sure that a box or two was packed with the mess kit.

In the third week of July, Delancey was on hand at Greenwich to ensure a safe embarkation and to receive last-minute instructions before parting from Wellington’s traveling headquarters. The great ship had been decked out in flags on the stationary rigging. The ten massive forty-two-pound carronades, each weighing more than two thousand pounds, had been removed from either side of the quarterdeck to allow the staff considerable space to take exercise during the long voyage. There was no need to worry about the loss of firepower, since the remaining 110 long guns were at the ready on the three decks below the one for passengers.

Delancey was relieved to watch the masts disappear on the ebbing tide downriver into the fog. No speedster, the great ship would wallow its way across the Atlantic slightly faster than the slowest merchantman. The hold of the Caledonia was large enough to store not only a fine selection of victuals for the field marshal’s table but also his mess party’s needs for the duration of the fall campaign season.

During negotiations with the Royal Navy for escort vessels, Delancey requested a favor that the liaison officer of the Halifax northern fleet, responsible for protection of the convoys of troop carriers, granted with a wave of the hand. He had asked for a fast frigate to carry him and his staff to Canada so that they could proceed as quickly as possible to meet the arrival of the troops and provisions bound for Montreal. Delancey and the quartermaster staff would enjoy less space per person but a much-swifter crossing, and in all likelihood, they would arrive ahead of Wellington. A sailing voyage in 1814 across the central Atlantic in the heart of hurricane season was a gamble at best, and a warship was a better choice than a merchant vessel. But speed was of utmost importance.

Delancey’s batman

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