"Engagement off Cape Ann, Massachusetts – April 3, 1814 " Topic

Engagement off Cape Ann, Massachusetts – April 3, 1814 between USS CONSTITUTION versus the British Frigates JUNON and TENEDOS

Rules: Post Captain Models: War Artisan 1:900

This is a scenario recommended to me by Blutarski

Background
At around 7am on April 3rd 1814 and only some forty miles ENE of Cape Ann, the American 44-gun frigate Constitution, homeward bound after a lengthy West Indian cruise, discovered the British frigates Junon and Tenedos approaching on her starboard bow about eight miles to windward and threatening to cut her off from her destination of Marblehead. With his ship worn from six months at sea and laden with prize cargo, Captain Charles Stewart was not anxious to risk an engagement against such odds. In the historical event, Captain Stewart was able to take advantage of the very misty weather to slip by his opponents and reach safety.

This scenario assumes that the British were able to force an action…

Link to AAR

link

I used Sails of Glory to fight Constitution against frigates, and the US ship was like Bismarck against Hood and Prince of Wales!- but easier!

Hi RTR – Very interesting fight and, once again, a terrific AAR.

Hope that you enjoyed the scenario!

B

Nice report. I really like the Post Captain rules.

Joe

Wonderful report!

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Blutarski, fun scenario very different from the last scenario I played.

It could have gone very differently, if either of the British ships had managed to slow the Constitution a little they would not have needed to go to Easy sail and would have been less vulnerable. However, that shot from Constitution that took out the Junon was a perfect storm of a shot!

Nice AAR. Kind of curious though as to why it is harder to hit with 18 pdr guns vs. 24 pdr guns. Penetration and damage will be different sure but hitting at 600 yds should be no different. Do the rules factor weight of shot into the to hit roll then?

Also it would be very difficult if not impossible to repair dismounted guns whilst in battle. I hope the rules reflect this.

BTW – the chains are the metal pieces underneath the channel (platform outside of the bulwarks) that the deadeyes for the shrouds connect to. I have a great close up photo of the Constitutions fore chains if I could only figure out how to insert it here from a usb stick!

Hi DeRuyter thanks for the comments,

yes, the to 'hit process' in the game reflects a shots' damage potential, so I imagine as many 18 pdr shots hit as 24 pdr but fewer caused significant damage. The 'to hit' number in the game factors in three variables; the weight of shot fired, the distance, and the rate of ship targeted.

So in this game a 18 pdr shot at 400 yards at a 5th rate ship will cause damage on a roll of 1-2, whereas a 24pd shot would cause damage on a 1-3.

As to the guns being dismounted that is just my florid interpretation of what had happened. In the actual game system a gun box that is crossed out can be repaired, although it is a time intensive task. The actual damage caused to the guns to knock them out could be anything from ropes being broken to the guns being put out position.

Agree with DeRuyter re practical accuracy, perhaps with the exception of ricochet fire, although, even in that case, I am skeptical that the difference in likelihood of hitting would be so dramatic as apparently presented in the rules. Hard to draw a final conclusion, though, without knowledge of the line(s) of thought underlying the rules.

Re striking energy, 'tis true that the heavier shot will deliver energy at any range, with the relative degree of advantage increasing with range. But, OTOH, maximum splintering effect (hence likelihood of inflicting casualties) occurred when the striking energy just slightly exceeded the resistance of the hull side. Projectiles striking with great force tended to simply punch through the ship's side(s) with a minimum of splinter effect.

Without knowing the exact definition of a "gun hit" within the rules, it is difficult t comment on what it is supposed to represent. My personal view is that it <should> represent gun crew casualties and/or the dismounting of the gun and/or the destruction of the gun carriage. None of these sorts of damage should IMO be considered repairable within the confines of a tactical battle. For example, the weight of a gun tube alone would range anywhere from 1,000 lbs to 5,000 lbs or thereabouts. Lifting such a weight "on the fly" so to speak would not have been a trivial exercise in the chaotic heat of battle

FWIW.

B

Hi Guys,

Always an interesting discussion. I don't know the full rationale behind the damage system in the game.

From the rules, ‘Equivalent Damage Rolls Damage from cannons is expressed in Equivalent Damage Rolls (EDRs). This may be the result of several smaller shot or several damage rolls
may reflect the effect of larger shot and its resulting splinters on a smaller target.

On the ‘to hit' table it can also state P, R or G. These represent: personnel, rigging and guns. Guns at various ranges against various rates may only effect one or several of those categories. The weight of shot being such that greater damage may not be caused.

Again, I am not exactly sure what repairing damaged guns entails – only that it takes a long time and has a low chance of success.

it <should> represent gun crew casualties and/or the dismounting of the gun and/or the destruction of the gun carriage.

A gun with broken tackle, or the crew of which has been scattered or stunned by the impact of a roundshot and the resultant shower of splinters is just as "out of action" as one with its barrel dismounted. These conditions, however, may be remedied during the course of a battle by splicing ropes or rallying gunners . . . both difficult, admittedly, and time consuming, but not as impossible as replacing a shattered carriage.

Hi War Artisan,
A lot depends upon how one views the consequences of hits.

A gun dismounted from its carriage or whose carriage has been broken by a shot is not IMO remotely likely to be repaired or restored to service while the ship remains in action.

Crewmen physically struck by a shot or grape are highly unlikely to dust themselves off and return to their stations, even if they may have survived the wound.

With respect to crewmen struck by splinters: some will be killed outright, most will suffer wounds ranging from incapacitating to light. Judging from contemporary British reports of casualties, there were on average two men reported as wounded for every crewman killed. Men suffering 'minor wounds' (presumably those not requiring the services of the ship's surgeon) typically went unreported; my semi-informed guess is that there was probably one light wound case for every death.

Men might be thrown off their feet and/or stunned into inaction while remaining more or less unwounded by a heavy collision or perhaps the concussion of a powder charge accidentally exploding elsewhere on the gun-deck (any such men nearby would suffer burns or possible worse). Massive concussions with lengthy effects upon crew did indeed occur as a result of the impact of a very heavy projectile (Weehauken vs Atlanta, for example) or the explosion of a shell inboard, but such events were rare to non-existent during the period covered by the rules.

Keeping in mind (as I understand it) that each gun factor in Post Captain is equivalent to three guns, it is hard for me to imagine an event that would simultaneously affect three guns and up to 30 to 40 gun crew in the manner described by the rules. A broken breeching or gun tackle is highly unlikely to affect three guns simultaneously.

Question – Are all gun hits eligible to be redeemed by repair rolls?

The above is strictly my personal opinion, of course.

B

Hi Blutarski,

In the rules only one gun repair may be attempted at a time, it takes a minimum of 3 full turns to complete. At the end of the third turn you can see if the repair has been successful, requires a 1-2 on a D12.

During the battles I have fought gun hits are not generally repaired as it takes too long, uses up a crew factor and have a low chance of success. At most during a battle you could conceivably repair one gun hit but the probability of repairing more is very low.

I am currently putting together a couple of War Artisans 74 gun ships for the battle on the 25th September 1806 between the British 74's Monarch and Centaur and the French frigates, Gloire, Minerve and Armide. I will let you all know how that goes…

RTR

Hi RTR – As a compulsive unpublished game designer, this kind of thing (attempting to repair guns with a highly unlikely chance of success over multiple turns) strikes me as unnecessary "chrome" that interferes with flow of game play.

Strictly my opinion, of course.

- – -

Re your intended next scenario involving two British 74's versus three French frigates: very tall odds indeed (unless there are some unusual game conditions). If I were the French player, I'd immediately flee for my life under normal circumstances.

Just sayin' ……

B

Yes it looks like an interesting situation. The quality of Post Captain scenarios is very good – here is part of the scenario information for this battle:

The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic War off the French Biscay port of Rochefort as part of the Atlantic campaign of 1806. The security of the French Caribbean was under severe threat during the wars, as the Royal Navy dominated the region and restricted French movements both between the islands and between the West Indies and France itself. This dominance was enforced by rigorous blockade, in which British ships attempted to ensure that no French military or commercial vessel was able to enter or leave French harbours both in Europe and in the French colonies. In the Caribbean, this strategy was designed to destroy the economies and morale of the French West Indies in preparation for attack by British expeditionary forces. To counter this strategy, the French government repeatedly sent convoys and individual warships to the French Caribbean islands with supplies of food, military equipment and reinforcements. These resupply efforts ranged from small individual corvettes to large battle squadrons and were under orders to avoid conflict wherever possible. In the event, many were intercepted by British blockade forces, either in the Caribbean or off the French coast itself.

One such resupply effort was the expedition under the command of Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil. Soleil was provided with seven ships: four large modern 40-gun frigates, a smaller, older 36-gun frigate and two small 16-gun corvettes. All of the ships were heavily laden with supplies and men, but it was hoped that their size and speed would allow them to defeat any force smaller than them and to escape any force larger. Soleil's squadron departed Rochefort on the evening of 24 September, hoping to bypass Commodore Sir Samuel Hood's Royal Navy squadron in the dark. However at 01:00 hours on 25 September, with the wind coming from the northeast, lookouts on HMS Monarch spotted sails to the east. Hood's squadron was spread out, tacking southeast towards the Chassiron Lighthouse at Saint-Denis-d'Oléron with HMS Centaur in the centre, HMS Revenge to the east and Monarch to the west. HMS Mars was also close by, with the rest of the squadron spread out towards the rear. Hood's immediate reaction was that the sails must belong to a squadron of French ships of the line, and ordered his ships to form a line of battle in anticipation. Even as the signal was raised however, lookouts on Monarch identified the strangers as frigates and Hood abandoned his previous orders and raised a new signal ordering a general chase, confident that his ships could destroy the convoy without the power and defensive capability of a line of battle.

As soon as Soleil realized that he had been spotted he gave orders for his ships to sail to the southwest as fast as possible, hoping to outdistance the British squadron. However his heavily laden convoy was slower than they would normally be, while the heavy swell and strong winds favoured the large ships of the line. The chase continued throughout the night, until by 04:00 Monarch was clearly gaining on the convoy, with Centaur eight nautical miles behind. By 05:00, Captain Richard Lee was close enough to fire his bow-chasers at the rearmost French frigate, Armide. Captain Jean-Jacques-Jude Langlois returned the fire with his stern-chasers and the French ships raised the Tricolour in anticipation of battle. Recognizing that he was facing an overwhelming British force, Soleil split his ships, sending Thétis and the corvettes Lynx and Sylphe southwards and Infatigable to the north. This had limited success in achieving the desired effect of dividing the pursuit, with Captain William Lukin taking HMS Mars out of the British line in pursuit of Infatigable while the slow HMS Windsor Castle was sent after the three south bound ships. But, the main body of the Royal Navy squadron remained on course.

At 10:00, Soleil accepted that his remaining ships would rapidly be overhauled by Monarch and drew them together, forming a compact group with which to receive the British attack. He also ordered his captains to focus their fire on the enemy sails, rigging and masts, hoping to inflict enough damage to delay the pursuit and allow his force to escape. Within minutes Monarch was heavily engaged with Armide and Minerve but Captain Lee found himself at a disadvantage; the heavy swell that had suited his ship of the line during the chase also prevented him from opening his lower gun ports for fear of flooding. This halved his available cannon and as a result his isolated ship began to suffer severe damage to its rigging and sails from the frigates' gunnery. Within 20 minutes, Monarch was unable to manoeuvre, but Lee continued fighting until Centaur could reach the melee, the flagship opening fire at 11:00. Hood passed the battling Monarch and Minerve, concentrated his fire on Armide and the flagship Gloire. For another 45 minutes the battle continued, Centaur suffering damage to her rigging and sails from the French shot and taking casualties from musket fire from the soldiers carried aboard. Among the wounded was Commodore Hood, who was shot in the right forearm, the ball eventually lodging in his shoulder. Hood retired below and command passed to his second in command, Lieutenant Case.

At 11:45, Armide surrendered to Centaur, followed 15 minutes later by Minerve. Both ships had suffered heavy damage and casualties in the unequal engagement and could not hope to continue their resistance with the rest of the British squadron rapidly approaching. To the north, Infatigable had failed to outrun Mars and Captain Lukin forced the frigate to surrender after a brief cannonade. With three ships lost and the other three long disappeared to the south, Soleil determined to flee westwards, hoping the damage he had inflicted on Centaur's sails was sufficient to prevent her pursuit. However, Gloire had also been damaged and could not distance herself from the British flagship sufficiently before support arrived in the form of Mars. With his ship undamaged, Lukin was able to easily catch the fleeing frigate and opened fire at 14:30, combat continuing for half an hour before Soleil surrendered, his frigate badly damaged. To the south, Windsor Castle had proven far too slow to catch the smaller French ships, which had easily outrun the second rate and escaped. It took some time for the British squadron to effect repairs on their ships and prizes in preparation for the journey back to Britain. They had suffered light casualties, but among the more seriously injured was Hood, whose arm had been amputated during the battle. French losses were much heavier but are unknown. All four of the captured frigates were large new vessels that were immediately commissioned into the Royal Navy; Gloire and Armide retaining their names while Infatigable became HMS Immortalite and Minerve became HMS Alceste.

This scenario covers the main action between the three French frigates (Gloire, Minerve and Armide) and the lead two British ships of the line (Monarch and Centaur).

Special Rules
Heavy Weather – Under normal conditions, Soliel's frigates would have easily outpaced the British ships of the line (even when heavily loaded). The weather in this case, however, was "Strong Wind" (Force 6) which gave the British heavy ships a speed advantage. Unfortunately, this also meant that the British ships of the lines' lower gundecks could not be used for fear of flooding. Use the speed and gunnery effects as outlined on the
Weather Chart and detailed in rule Section 17.5.

French Troops – The French frigates were originally carrying 200 soldiers (12 Troop factors) for reinforcement of the French West Indies. To reflect this, four Troop factors are added to each French frigate's fighting complement for this battle. These additional Troop factors are printed in brown on the Ship Cards.

French Crew Quality – French crew quality was generally low (rating Green or Raw) due to many factors but primarily due to lack of sea time for training and work-up. In this particular battle, however, the newly raised French crews performed exceptionally well (as noted in several post action reports). To reflect this, the French crews are rated as Regular.

RTR, excellent AAR. The "Post Captain" rules are my rules of choice also. So I had no problem reading your report and enjoying the action as it was happening. A very nice, fun and exciting read. Thank you!

From one of my "Post Captain" 1:1200 scale sea battles.

Again, thanks David.

God bless,
John T.

Hi RTR,
Thanks for posting the scenario details. If I am the French commander, I'm still running for my life. Even if the sea state precludes use of the lower deck batteries of the British 74s, they will still have approximately equal or better gun strength, twice the crew strength and probably about twice the defensive strength in game terms.

I took a look at the two British 74s circa 1806 (as tabulated by Lavery and Winfield)-

Monarch – 1600t – comm 1765 (old ship)
broadside = [14x32] + [14x18] + [9x9]

Centaur – 1800t – comm 1794
broadside = [14x32] + [15x24] + [2x24] + [7x32c]

Two French 40 gun frigates, properly coordinated, can probably fight Monarch with some hope of a favorable outcome.

Centaur will be equivalent to a deathstar to any French frigate within her reach – without her lower deck 32lbr battery, she will still approximate closely to USS Constitution in gun strength but with 50pct greater crew strength.

Whoa baby ….. I look forward to the AAR. It will be interesting to see how my prognostication matches up.

B

Hi RTR – As a compulsive unpublished game designer, this kind of thing (attempting to repair guns with a highly unlikely chance of success over multiple turns) strikes me as unnecessary "chrome" that interferes with flow of game play.

For games about squadron or fleet battles, I totally agree, but PC really shines with one ship per player, and I think it was meant to be entertaining with only a single vessel to command. I think allowing a captain the decision to attempt a repair of a gun box is a good application of chrome for that design goal.

- Ix

John, those model look good – makes me think I really must upgrade my dull blue cloth I use for the sea – yours look great!

Blutarski, here is the deployment details, as you can see the Monarch is quite some distance away and definitely not to be taken lightly. Here is another extract from the scenario:

'Deployment
The French squadron starts in the center of the playing area, heading South-East in line-ahead formation as follows: Gloire (flag), Minerve and Armide. The interval between ships is 200 yards.

Monarch is 800 yards North-East of Gloire, heading South-West. Centaur is 2,000 yards astern of Monarch.

Due to the nature of the British pursuit (a general chase), the separation between the ships of Hood's squadron had become very large. It would be several hours before Mars would arrive.'

My current plan is for the French squadron to maintain their course, target the Monarch who is at Full Sail, do as much damage as possible to her and then run before the Centaur engages.

Thanks Yellow Admiral, I agree a single ship per player works really well. I have Close Action rules also but currently am very happy using Post Captain – seems to give a good narrative and interesting decision points.

Hi RTR,
Allow me to suggest a tactical alternative for the French. Consider running directly away from Monarch with the French frigates line abreast or en echelon in close order.

1 – You will likely have at least two or perhaps all three ships able to collectively engage Monarch with their stern chasers while she can oppose only her bowchasers.

2 – Fire to dismast and switch to dismantling shot when the range permits. You will also probably be able to claim oblique fire and possibly a rake or two.

3 – Centaur's entry into the battle will be considerably delayed, since she will also be obliged to undertake a (lengthier) stern chase.

FWIW.

B