AAR - Solo Scenario - April, 2015 - Ok, This Report Took a While

:embarass:Attachment 16649

After Action Report

To: Jonathon Young, Commodore
From: Lt. Thomas Truxtun, Commander of H.M.S. Cleopatra

Re: The Action of August 17, 1795

Sir:
As your orders instructed, I escorted the Spanish Merchantmen Argonauta and Heroe to Gibraltar safely and, except for the incident of August 17, 1795, without incident. During that engagement we captured both the Crimson Pirate and his ship the Crimson Revenge. The ship can be put in shape as a 74 fairly quickly. All together this was a profitable trip.

August 10, 1795

Commander John Rogers brought the merchant ships Argonauta and Heroe, both Spanish, to the rendezvous point agreed upon before the squadron left the Azores. Commodore J. Young ordered me to escort them the rest of the way to Gibraltar. I met that evening with Captains Raymond Ross, a Dutchman, and Joseph Cicero, an Italian, to discuss the coming voyage. We discussed prearranged signals, standing orders, and set strategies for any encounters we might have along the way. The Commodore had shared what information he had about the Crimson Pirate. No one knew his identity so he was hard to capture. As we all know now, we couldn’t know who “he” was because “she” was Dona Angelina Consuela, the wife of the Alcalde of San Galena.

Attachment 16650

My two companions and I set sail for Gibraltar the next day, 11 August 1795. We had a peaceful but frustrating trip with headwinds through the whole voyage, until the morning of the 17th of August when we had a bit of excitement.

The wind was from the northwest at 12 knots. The flotilla had been jibing to and fro for the past six days trying to move toward Gibraltar.

Attachment 16651

A sail was sighted by the lookout, 5 points off the starboard bow. The ship must have been plotting a course to intercept us as we tacked back and forth. An hour after she was sighted it was clear that we were going to meet the Crimson Pirate and it wouldn’t be a leisurely chat over tea. I asked that we beat to quarters.

I positioned our ship on the far side of our little flotilla so that we could conceal the true nature of HMS Cleopatra.

I ordered all ships to sail directly into the wind. As the wind began to push us backward we tacked to port so that we presented our starboard side to the on coming villain.

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I ordered that all ships keep their gun ports closed until the order was given to fire. I maneuvered Cleopatra so the turn to port gained us the wind quickly. We had hoped we would out distance him. It was not to be.

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The flotilla tightened itself into a more defensible position. I tried to make my ship look as much like a merchantmen as possible. The three of us sailed due west just on the edge of luffing until the Crimson Revenge came very close.

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Then we started our jibe. By plan, Argonauta began her maneuver just before the rest of the party. She cut a course just inside the firing arc of Revenge. Argonauta waited for my signal.

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As first Cleopatra, then Heroe made their turns I signaled for Argonauta and Cleopatra to fire and Heroe to do so as she bore. The Crimson Revenge opened up on the merchantman at the same time.

Attachment 16638

The Crimson Revenge gave Argonauta very little damage, but received a great deal more from the two of us.

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Then Heroe gave her a little gift from the Crown.

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Heroe and Revenge exchanged broadsides one last time and we were out of range until our next jibe.

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The Crimson Pirate chased us for three and a half hours before I made the turn that could bring us about a mile or two farther along our way than we were this morning.

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At that moment Revenge presented her port cannons to Heroe and fired. They killed or wounded many of the crew-members.

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As we completed our jibe, I decided to end this once and for all, and board Crimson Revenge.

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I pointed Cleopatra directly into the guns of Revenge and prayed that the coming raking broadside would not be too terrible.

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Praise God, their broadside was weak and too quickly done. Casualties were few and damage to Cleopatra was minimal.

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Argonauta, I, found out later, had fired a full broadside into Revenge.

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Seeing Cleopatra charging in so fearlessly, the wounding of the Crimson Pirate and she struck her colors.

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The flotilla stayed where we were over night. We locked up the pirates and made Dona Angelina Consuela, the wife of the Alcalde of San Galena, as comfortable as she could be with an anklet and chain attached to the bulkhead. We began mending both Revenge and Heroe, taking care of the wounded, and burying the dead. I manned the prize crew with officers and crew from the Agonauta and Cleopatra.

The next morning, the flotilla, now four ships not three, began jibing to and fro for the next several weeks trying to move toward Gibraltar.

Yours sir,

Lt. Thomas Truxtun,
Commander of H.M.S. Cleopatra



Lt. Truxtun: got both merchantmen off of the play area, captured Crimson Revenge and Dona Angelina Consuala, wife of the Alcalde of San Galena (the Crimson Pirate) for a total of 4, count them, 4 points. Wahoo!

Sorry about that. Decorum Tom, decorum.

Dona Angelina Consuala will probably get off with a slap on the wrist and be sent back to Spain. That kind of standard for the privileged gets my craw.
T. T.

Well done. Neatly done, even though you put your ship in harms way...it paid of hansomly.

:hatsoff: A very fine piece of ship handling Bob.
Sometimes a calculated risk is wort it, and in this case it certainly was.
Rob.