Free HMS Aurora: A Charles Mullins Novel (Sea Command Book 3) by Richard Testrake

French invasion fleet.
    Determined to take or destroy the French flotilla of small craft moored before Boulogne, the boats of the fleet were manned and, accompanied by Lord Nelson’s bomb vessels, made for the enemy invasion craft.
    Aurora’s boats, placed in Captain Somerville’s division, pulled toward the shore with spirit. Unfortunately, as they neared their objective, they met a strong current, which pushed them off course to the east. Unable to make his attack as ordered, Captain Somerville released the boats under his command to make for the shore and cause as much damage as possible, independently.
    Now far from the designated target area, Mullins led his ships’ boats close into shore. Seeing no targets worthy of spending lives upon, he continued on back in a westerly direction. Passing a creek mouth, a small fleet was observed moored upstream. Somehow, the crews on this shipping had not been alerted by the conflict farther to their west. Mullins led his flotilla into the inlet and grounded their boats on a little beach down steam from their target.
    Leaving a few boat keepers with the boats, the rest loaded themselves with equipment, and filed up a narrow trail toward the enemy craft. Most of the invasion craft were moored together just off a beach. Closer to them, however, was an armed brig. Most of her crew seemed to be onshore, watching a pig being turned on a spit over a fire, seemingly disregarding the popping sound of musketry coming from the attack to their west.
    Probably a half mile away, the commander of these people perhaps judged the fighting to be too far away to concern them.
    A quick council with his officers produced a plan. Dividing the force, Mullins sent the greater part under his first officer to attack the main part of the flotilla. Since the armed brig seemed to have few men aboard, he elected to attack with the few men he had with him. Upon gaining control of the brig, he intended to stand offshore a bit and punish any resistance with fire from the brig’s battery.
    The attack force separated silently and Mullins led his people to the brig. Moored bow and stern to a dilapidated pier jutting out from the shore, the anchor watch on the brig was huddled up forward about a charcoal brazier, drinking wine and telling stories.
    Almost casually, the Auroras’ bounded onto the brig’s deck and took the anchor watch into custody. By now, those enemy crewmembers on shore had seen the attack develop and were seen looking about for a leader to tell them what to do.
    Mullins ordered the bowline cast off, and a fore staysail set, flatted out to catch the wind. The slight breeze was enough to push the bow out into the stream. As it did so, Mullins ordered the stern line cut. As the brig slowly moved out into the current, a body of enemy seamen on shore gained their nerve and advanced on the retreating ship. The brig was now far enough from shore for the enemy crew to have a good excuse for not persevering. A few had loaded weapons, and these were fired with no results.
    The brig was armed with ten eight-pounder long guns along with a pair of twenty-four pounder captured British carronades. Mullins had insufficient people to handle the brig and man the long guns, but he could manage to put a few hands on one of the carronades.
    Loaded with grape, the port carronade made a bloody swathe in the crowd of enemy seamen onshore. Looking upstream, the glare of blue lights was seen on the decks of some of the targeted small craft. For those craft judged unsafe to make a safe crossing of the channel, their attackers had been issued incendiary blue lights. These were a mixture of chemicals in a wooden dish that would burn fiercely with a blue glare. Placed strategically aboard the craft to be sacrificed, these would insure efficient destruction.
    With all hands that had ventured onto this expedition having a solid deck under him, the flotilla set back out to sea. Early on, the hands were pleased when another