The Wooden World, Part 21.
The next prize taken by the Valiant was too small to confer any special promotion for Rothwell. She was a sloop, diminutive even by pirate standards, and probably best used for fishing. However, they did capture her, and with no loss of life since all of the pirates gave up at once, and so she had to be sailed back to Port Royal and turned over to the Navy for its use.
Rothwell was made Commander of the Dingy Strumpet, and he was given twenty men to crew her, including a carpenter for seaborne repairs and a gunner's mate to manage the six guns on board. He really didn't need much else since his entire commission, if it could be called that, was to follow the Valiant back to port. He did ponder about how the sloop got her name, and the only thing he could properly guess was that she was named for the pirate captain's sweetheart - a woman who had jilted him. Likely, he would neither get the opportunity to ask, nor the inclination of the captain to answer.
This was not the first sloop he'd commanded and the sailing went without incident, other than the fact that the sloop was very undermanned and therefore none of the crew, including himself, got very much rest in order to maintain the watches. Sleep was made even less possible because the berths hadn't been cleaned in ages, and he found himself not wanting to touch anything unless there was some critical reason to do so.
Once in port, his status as a Commander was ended and he was back to the First Lieutenant of the Valiant. Rothwell expected that he would remain in that position for quite some time further. Though his father’s old patron, Admiral Norris, had been pushing along for his career’s best interest, he was serving in Parliament and didn’t have as direct an influence as might have been wished. Therefore, Rothwell was completely surprised by Commodore Peyton’s orders.
He’d never properly met the Commodore, since the man was somewhat reclusive and preferred to do a large portion of his work through his secretaries. Thus it was that he was simply handed the following dispatch while standing at watch:
**************
18 May 1735
Lt. ROTHWELL,
Take command of the frigate Worthy, 28, to commence immediately. Her captain faces court martial for dereliction of duty, in other words, for the allowance of the crew to fall into diſarray. Imperative that you reſtore diſcipline and bring the Worthy in line with her nameſake as benefit to the Crown. No additional recruitment poſſible for your crew until next ſpring, as the Admiralty has need of men to ſhip to the Eaſt Indies, ſo make do with what you have.
Congratulations &c.,
COMMODORE PEYTON
Fort Charles, Port Royal
*************
Attached to the dispatch were his papers of commission to the position of Post Captain. Rothwell gazed at them for a long time, unable to formulate his thoughts out of raw emotion for endless seconds. Finally, one consideration did emerge.
He was going to have to pay for new clothing again.
Rothwell was made Commander of the Dingy Strumpet, and he was given twenty men to crew her, including a carpenter for seaborne repairs and a gunner's mate to manage the six guns on board. He really didn't need much else since his entire commission, if it could be called that, was to follow the Valiant back to port. He did ponder about how the sloop got her name, and the only thing he could properly guess was that she was named for the pirate captain's sweetheart - a woman who had jilted him. Likely, he would neither get the opportunity to ask, nor the inclination of the captain to answer.
This was not the first sloop he'd commanded and the sailing went without incident, other than the fact that the sloop was very undermanned and therefore none of the crew, including himself, got very much rest in order to maintain the watches. Sleep was made even less possible because the berths hadn't been cleaned in ages, and he found himself not wanting to touch anything unless there was some critical reason to do so.
Once in port, his status as a Commander was ended and he was back to the First Lieutenant of the Valiant. Rothwell expected that he would remain in that position for quite some time further. Though his father’s old patron, Admiral Norris, had been pushing along for his career’s best interest, he was serving in Parliament and didn’t have as direct an influence as might have been wished. Therefore, Rothwell was completely surprised by Commodore Peyton’s orders.
He’d never properly met the Commodore, since the man was somewhat reclusive and preferred to do a large portion of his work through his secretaries. Thus it was that he was simply handed the following dispatch while standing at watch:
**************
18 May 1735
Lt. ROTHWELL,
Take command of the frigate Worthy, 28, to commence immediately. Her captain faces court martial for dereliction of duty, in other words, for the allowance of the crew to fall into diſarray. Imperative that you reſtore diſcipline and bring the Worthy in line with her nameſake as benefit to the Crown. No additional recruitment poſſible for your crew until next ſpring, as the Admiralty has need of men to ſhip to the Eaſt Indies, ſo make do with what you have.
Congratulations &c.,
COMMODORE PEYTON
Fort Charles, Port Royal
*************
Attached to the dispatch were his papers of commission to the position of Post Captain. Rothwell gazed at them for a long time, unable to formulate his thoughts out of raw emotion for endless seconds. Finally, one consideration did emerge.
He was going to have to pay for new clothing again.