#first rate

For instance: a first-rate ship of the line would have 100+ guns. These could be any configuration of actual firepower and weight of metal for benefit of structural integrity and weight distribution (fifty 18-pounders, thirty 12-pdrs, eighteen 6-prds, and two long nines for instance), and later ships of course were built strong enough to employ greater guns, or else were making use of the much lighter, much closer-range and smaller-crewed carronades.

All of this is context for the question I'm now asking:

could a sloop-of-war or corvette (more or less the bottom of the rating system, though not the VERY bottom) of the end of that period have held its own against a first rate of the beginning?

Sure, the USS Constellation of the 1850's might not have as much armor just by dint of less decking, but in turn being made at such a time that larger guns were being used, would she not have had stronger planking that might guard against the smaller/less powerful guns of the Napoleonic era? Let's take HMS Victory, which was built around 90 years prior but updated at the turn of the century and utilized throughout the Napoleonic Wars.

Add in the greater speed and maneuverability of the Constellation and the fact that it would be difficult to fire effectively down from the higher gun decks of the Victory --- not to mention SIZE! The 22(ish) gun Constellation was about the same length on deck as the Victory, about twice the length (and proportionately around 3x the size/displacement) of a similarly rated ship from Victory's era. (The USS Wasp of 1814 is a good comparisson.)

So, our too-tiny-to-be-rated Constellation is extraordinarily large compared to its similarly-rated Wasp, and well-armed with its parrott rifles and howitzers, pitted against the Victory with four times as many guns and decks but of inferior firepower and build just by dint of progress over time...

I'm not at a point of calculating rate of fire, explosive power, or actual weight of metal, nor even sailing advantages, but...

I think Constellation could take her.

Genres:

• Fiction, Contemporary, New Adult

Rating:

• Teen and Up, Adult

Topics and Tropes:

• quarter life crisis, fame, found family, mental health, classical music, rich people doing rich people shit

Status:

• Very loosely in progress (currently not being worked on)

Summary

Merlot Maxwell is bitter. He’s bitter that his father decided his life for him and had to go and die before he could even see it finished. He’s bitter at his mother, god bless her, for needing a break from raising his three younger brothers all alone, and he’s bitter at himself for taking on the load instead. And, deep down, a part of him is bitter that his childhood best friend, Eden Clarefield, wasn’t there for any of it. So what does he do when Eden shows up at his front door in the middle of the night, broken down and emotionally exhausted? Takes him in too, of course, on one condition. No piano.

Characters

Merlot Maxwell- Born and raised in the extremely rich town of Greenwich, Connecticut, Merlot Maxwell is used to a standard of excellence, especially at home. As the oldest son, he’s spent his life doing what his father wanted him to do, what his father had planned for him. He went to Yale, he went to law school, he became a lawyer- but deep down, Merlot never wanted it. Now an adult, he’s trying his best to come out his deceased father’s shadow and make a life for himself, while also taking care of his younger brothers. Merlot is fiercely loyal of his family and the people he loves. He can also be bitter and cynical, stubborn and strong willed. He takes it upon himself to carry the burden. When Eden comes back into his life, Merlot takes it upon himself to help put his best friend back together, even if there’s a rift between them. Can he handle it? That’s another question he doesn’t want to answer.

Eden Clarefield- Eden Clarefield can be described as many things. A child prodigy. The modern day Mozart. The most famous classical musician in the world. Merlot’s childhood best friend. A depressed, overworked, deeply troubled young man whose past and problems are finally catching up with him. Eden has spent his entire life in the spotlight. A divinely gifted piano player, he’s been playing professionally since he was a child, and is regarded as the best piano player of his generation- perhaps his lifetime. He travels the world, he opens for renowned orchestra, he writes his own symphonies. He has a career aspiring musicians would kill for. But deep down, Eden believes he will never achieve the perfection he- and his manager mother- strive for. One night, he can’t take it anymore, so he does what any sane person would do- show up crying at his former best friend’s doorstep- the only place where he ever felt at home. At the beginning of the story, Eden is exhausted, a little insane, and most of all, sorry.

Indiana “Indie” Maxwell- Merlot’s teenage brother. Although there is a ten year gap between them, Indie is the brother that Merlot feels closest to. He’s the person Merlot relies on to take of the boys when he’s at work in New York City. He’s easygoing, but still responsible and cares about his family. He’s also the only brother who remembers what life was like when their father was alive, and when Eden and Merlot were best friends.

Walter “Walt” Maxwell- The first in the pair of the younger Maxwell boys, Walt is usually bored because he’s too smart for his own good. He enjoys getting a rise out of Merlot, who he resents for one simple reason: he’s not their father, no matter how hard he tries to act like he is. He wants summer to be over so life can return back to normal. He also enjoys dragging his brother Henry into doing things they shouldn’t do.

Henry Maxwell- The youngest brother. Henry is a precocious boy and thrives off routines- even though Merlot is the adult, Henry’s schedule is what keeps the house running. He struggles with making friends, preferring to spend his time in the library reading about astrology or seashells. When Eden comes to live with them, Henry is fascinated by him, seeing a piece of himself in the man who was also once a kid too smart to relate to anyone else.

Marcia Maxwell- The matriarch of the family, Marcia Maxwell is a kind, nurturing woman who only wants the best for her boys- including Eden Clarefield. After the sudden death of her husband, Matthew, Marcia kept going until recently, when she was forced to take a break. She’s currently living at the Maxwell family’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida, for rest and relaxation.

Constance Clarefield- Eden’s mother turned manager, Constance has spent her life making sure Eden became the famous musician she never was. She uses her son’s fame to her advantage by teaching students “the Clarefield way,” passing off her son’s natural talent as something she created. Constance is arrogant, overbearing, and selfish. She wants what’s best for Eden’s career, not life. Naturally, she and Merlot have never liked each other. Especially now that Merlot is giving Eden shelter and support instead of forcing him back into performing his now cancelled summer tour.

Luca Carbone- Eden’s accompanist, a talented, Italian violinist he met while studying at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Luca filled the Merlot shaped hole in Eden’s life, but they always had more of a partnership than a friendship. Now, he arrives in Greenwich, looking for Eden and for answers about what to do with his career now that the summer tour is cancelled.

Playlist:

Taglist:

Religion in a sailor (I mean by the term, a common seaman) is more of an active than a passive feeling. It does not consist in reflection or self-examination. It is in externals that his respect to the Deity is manifest.

— Frederick Marryat, The King's Own

Santísima Trinidad

The Santísima Trinidad (officially named Santísima Trinidad by Royal Order on 12 March 1768, nicknamed La Real) was a 4,950 tons Spanish first-rate ship of the line of 112 guns, which was increased in 1795–96 to 130 guns by closing in the spar deck between the quarterdeck and forecastle, and around 1802 to 140 guns, thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail. As the only ship with four gun decks, she was reputed to be the largest warship in the world, for which she was nicknamed El Escorial de los mares by the Spanish, until surpassed in sheer size by the new type French 120-gun ships such as the Océan (1790). The weight of the additional guns, so high above her waterline, made her sail poorly, leading to her nickname, El Ponderoso. It was even suggested by some naval officers that she should be restricted to defending the Bay of Cádiz. Santísima Trinidad remains famous as one of the few four-decker ships of the line ever built.

Trafalgar Day: HMS Victory

Last September I visited the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth which is home to not only HMS Victory but also HMS Warrior, the Monitor HMS M33 and the preserved Mary Rose as well as historic Royal Navy Dockyard buildings containing museums and exhibitions. With today (21st October, 2019) being Trafalgar Day and the 214th anniversary of the momentous Napoleonic Naval Battle I thought I’d post some of the photographs I took during my visit to Victory - Admiral Nelson’s flagship and the last surviving ship of the line to take part in the battle. 

Victory is currently painted as she would have been during the Battle of Trafalgar following research into just how she would have looked. Rather than her original red, the much later black and white or the famous bright yellow and black (with the black gun ports of the so-called Nelson-chequer) she is painted in a paler yellow/orange with a dark grey. 

Some of Victory’s long 12 pounder guns on her maindeck with a carpenter’s chest open on display.

A view down one of Victory’s three gun decks which contain 32, 24, and 12 pounder guns. If memory serves these are some of the 32 pounders one the lower gun deck. 

It is interesting to contrast the next few photos showing how officers and then ordinary seamen slept aboard Victory.

The hammocks slung here represent a small portion of how packed the deck would have been.

Some information about the ship and a beautifully painted Royal Coat of Arms above it. 

Another shot of Victory’s main gun deck.

The stern window in HMS Victory’s Great Cabin on the upper gun deck. These would have been Nelson’s quarters.

The Victory had a crew of over 800 and were fed by a large galley. Each man received one hot meal per day. This is Victory’s large Brodie stove. 

When Nelson was shot and mortally wounded on the quarterdeck of Victory at around 1pm, by a French marksman aboard Redoutable. Nelson was quietly carried below dying three hours later. The wreath and lantern mark where he spent his last hours in the ship’s cockpit on the orlop deck, below the waterline. 

One of Victory’s 68 pounder carronades on her forecastle aiming out over some of the historic dockyard buildings. Carronades were short, relatively lightweight guns for their calibre. They were invented in the late 1770s and packed a huge short-range punch. 

Finally here’s a look at the hydraulic jacks which support Victory in dry dock. 

I’ve written more about the historic 1805 battle previously, find that here.