History, Politics And Current Affairs

“I still don’t see that we had to do this.”
Allen shrugged, then realized the gesture was invisible in the darkness of the ship’s quarterdeck.
“It seems that our commission as a privateer authorized by the Continental Congress allows them to commandeer us from time to time. In any event it was too late in the year to sail for England and they will pay us.”
“I suppose.”
The men shivered and their breath formed frosty mist in the night air. In the darkness new fallen snow made the New Jersey shore a ghostly line. Fifty yards away, Mary Jane also lay anchored on the still waters of the inlet. A light flashed briefly on the shore.
“They’re coming Cap’n.”
“I saw it, thank you Mr. O’Reilly.”
Allen strained his eyes in the dark. A moment later he could see the small flashes where oars met the water. The small boats they had been told to expect were coming out to carry powder and shot to shore. Few knew it, but the Allen’s were aware that the army was in desperate need of ammunition.
“Well gentlemen, if it makes you feel any better, we’re bringing the army its Christmas present.”
“I had not thought of that, Christmas is only a few days away.”
“Doesn’t seem like much of a holiday, does it?” O’Reilly said.
###
“It will take us a few minutes to get their Cap…excuse Major Allen.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gus Allen answered, “I’ll only be a Major for about half an hour.”
Just one more piece of lunacy in a life that had become a nightmare. A ship could only have one Captain, so while he was on this maritime mission he’d been bumped up one level. Instead of a captain commanding the remains of a company that now had a grand total of fifty-three men, he was a major in command of a flotilla of small boats; for this one night.
But Colonel Lee had personally asked him to command this mission because “you know something about boats,” so he had accepted.
He had also been told that something big was coming. It needed to, because at the rate they were going the Continental Army would soon cease to exist. After being run out of New York the army had been chased across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, shedding deserters, the sick, the wounded and men whose enlistments had expired along the way. Now he was cold, tired, hungry, frightened and paddling around on a boat in the middle of the night.
He looked up from his reverie. They were coming up alongside the quarterdeck of one of the ships.
“Permission to come aboard,” he called up, not too loudly for fear the sound would carry over the water. The response startled him.
“Gus, is that you?”
He practically flew up the boarding ladder and clasped his brother.
“Well, what is my little brother doing out here in the middle of the night, running errands?”
“I will have you know I’m a major in the Continental Army.”
As he said it, Gus braced himself, worried that he would hear laughter from his own men. If they heard him, they kept silent. Thank God for small favors.
“Well, clearly some one made a mistake.”
This time his men laughed.
While the barrels of powder were loaded into the small craft, the two brothers talked; a brief chance to exchange stories of their adventures. All too soon it was time for Gus to return to shore.
“I wish I could see Father,” he said plaintively, “will you say hello to him for me?”
John Allen pointed toward the other ship.
“Why don’t you tell him yourself on your way back to shore?”
“He’s here?”
“I forgot to tell you in the rush. Yes, that’s Mary Jane, his ship.”
The two embraced and Gus climbed back down the rope ladder to his now laden craft.
“I want to go to yonder ship,” he said, “my father is her master.”
John watched from the rail as the boat rowed toward Mary Jane.
“Good luck and God speed,” he called down.
“Good hunting to you,” his younger brother called back.
Allen turned to Garibaldi, “make ready to sail. We need to be well away before light.”
“Aye aye.”
###
“I should have asked my brother if he needed an infantry Major,” Gus said quietly. Beside him sergeant grunted.
“I would prefer to keep my feet on dry land.”
Gus laughed quietly, “If I understand what we are to do tonight, you won’t be getting your wish.”
“True, I wonder what crazy person came up with this idea,” one of the men lined up behind the two men said.
“General Washington,” Gus answered curtly.
The men fell silent, Washington’s name was sufficient to induce silence in almost any crowd. Had the men not been willing to follow him, the Continental army would have ceased to exist.
Gus looked at the river in front of him. Half a mile of ice choked water that needed to be crossed in the dark of night. To top things off the rain was freezing into hail and a wind was blowing. It would be hard on the men. Many of them had no coats, more than a few had rags on their feet rather than shoes.
But they were going to cross the river and attack the enemy in his camp. As always rumors had been flying around the encampments. It was Christmas night, the Hessian mercenaries would be drunk; no they were expecting an attack they had been patrolling vigorously, no the officers had run away. No one knew, at least not the common soldiers, but they did believe Washington had a plan.
Gus hoped fervently that they would strike the enemy hard.
Shortly, it was his companies turn to enter a boat. They half rowed, half poled their way through ice flows. Eventually they reached the far side. In the darkness they began marching. It was several miles to the enemy camp. Gus was fairly sure that they were falling behind schedule. The freezing rain began to change to snow. It was nearly impossible to see, and the white blanket muffled the sound of marching feet.
As dawn broke the men were finally in position. The Hessian force was encamped in the town of Trenton. Washington had planned to hit it from several directions at once, a plan that fell apart as a result of the weather.
However, the storm had also provided the necessary cover. With a roar, a storm of cannon fire roared into the town. Gus and his company attacked an outlying line of skirmishers, no doubt posted to warn of an attack. They seemed to have succeeded in that part of their mission. But they could not hold in the face of a determined attack.
“They’re falling back in good order,” the sergeant said.
“Yes, I’ll give them that. And I don’t see any sign they’re drunk.”
As soon as they had fired a volley and reloaded the company advanced again; running through the streets of the town. Other Continental soldiers formed up on their flanks and advanced. The enemy fled through the town and reformed a line along a hill on the far side.
Gus saw a Hessian officer waving a sword over his head, leading his men on a counter attack. As he dashed forward, he was cut down by a bullet. The counter attack lost momentum and stopped. The Hessians began to raise their arms in token of surrender.
Incredibly, the fight had lasted barely an hour. Gus watched as a long line of prisoners was led from Trenton.
“We must have taken a thousand of them. How many did we loose?”
“Not many,” his sergeant answered, “none from our company. I heard a fellow froze to death crossing the river.”
Gus nodded.
“We have a victory. This is a good day.”
###
“Although I still wish to go to England, it’s the middle of winter. I don’t think we should attempt an Atlantic crossing just yet.”
“I agree, Father. But we need to do something, our contract with the Continental Congress expired as soon as we delivered the ammunition.”
The two were holding court aboard Mary Jane.
“We should have had something planned.”
“Son, when you first started in this business I told you to plan for everything you could think of, and be ready for things you didn’t think of. This is one of those things.”
John nodded. It was true.
“I know, we had no time, we were delayed refitting, the Continental Congress practically confiscated the ships. It all happened too fast. But we need to do something, we’ll lose the crewmen.”
“What would you like to do son?”
“I should think we ought to go to the Indies again. We’ve done well there, why fix that which isn’t broken? We could go there for a two or three months, perhaps take a prize. It would give us time and money to outfit properly for the cruise near England.”
“I agree.”
Josephus laughed.
“I don’t know why you need my agreement. I stand by my position that this is your squadron.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I feel better knowing we are in agreement.”
“So get back to Venus and take us south. Let’s go hunting again.”
###
“Tell me again why we thought this was a good way to make a living.”
“Mr. Cunningham, you’ve been at sea about as long as I have, I don’t recall that I had to twist your arm to get you to come with me.”
“I can’t win with you can I?”
“Of course not, that’s why I’m the Captain.”
Cunningham walked a few steps to the quarterdeck railing and surveyed Venus’ spar deck.
“And such a fine command it is.”
Allen had nothing to day to that. The deck was littered with broken rope, splintered spars and what was left of the main top mast. One of the guns had broken loose from it’s mounting and lay on the deck next to the overturned truck. Everything was soaked. The men were doing their best to clean up the mess and get the ship ready for sea again.
A pistol shot away Mary Jane was doing the much the same thing, only it was her entire foremast that was missing. Only good seamanship by Josephus Allen had kept her afloat through the storm. After a week of fighting the weather off Cape Hatteras, the two vessels had put in to Chesapeake Bay to make repairs. After the storm they had been through, the stiff breeze and slight chop of the bay seemed like calm weather.
Allen watched as a boat was lowered from Mary Jane. He saw his father climb in, the boat started for Venus. “Conference time again.”
“Would you like me to call O’Reilly and Cunningham to your cabin?”
“No, although you should accompany me. I believe that is Mr. Packard with him.”
A moment later father and son were shaking hands.
“How are you father?”
The older man cocked his head for a moment, thinking.
“Well, I’m on the right side of the waves.”
Several men within earshot laughed.
“I’m glad you’re well, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it after you lost your foremast.”
“I wasn’t either. I think we need to talk over our plans again.”
“Yes, I suspected you would.”
The men stepped down the companionway to the gun deck and aft to the Captain’s cabin.
Once seated at the table the Josephus began talking without preamble.
“It will be at least a month, perhaps longer before I can have Mary Jane ready for sea.”
John nodded, “True here as well.”
He thought for a moment and added, “that will put us into March.”
“That was the calculation I made. I think we should make some emergency repairs and get to Boston. Once we are really ready, we can sail for England.”
Allen nodded. He was still not entirely convinced of the need to cross the Atlantic, but every one else favored it. Perhaps something else would present itself while they were preparing the ships.
“Think of this voyage,” his father said, “as a little side trip on our way to England.”