Tale of a Patriot Part Three

By Grandpa Casey

Part three of this four part series has Joe's ship preventing a mutiny of the transport ship they are escorting from England to the Colonies. After parting company with the transport ship Joe's ship is attacked and his captain is injured. After Joe's ship limps into port and prepares to sail again Joe gets orders to join General Washington in Yorktown, where he joins in the final battle of the war. When Cornwallis surrenders his Army the hostilities stop. Finally Joe is sent to France, as an aide to General Lafayette. After months of negotiations, the English and Americans sign a Peace Treaty, which officially ends the war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Grandpa Casey
• Release date: Feb 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311895523

Grandpa Casey

I'm a retired Grandfather who likes telling stories to my Grandchildren. Now that they are older I want to share them with everyone. My books are my credentials. A percentage of the profits, from all my books, will go to ZFRF, a nonprofit organization that helps families of people with cancer. For more information on ZFRF visit www.zfrf.net

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TALE OF A PATRIOT

PART THREE

By Grandpa Casey

Smashwords Edition

This story is fictional resemblance of a real person or actual incident is purely coincidental

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER ONE

The trip to Boston was tense.  Captain LaMon blamed the crew for Captain Jones being able to take control of the Allegiance.  He believes that they should have refused to obey any of Jones’s orders.  Captain LaMon, punished them for the slightest infraction of the rules, from being too slow to come to attention to not saluting him properly. Even the Marine contingent, that he uses as his personal bodyguards, were not spared.  Ebenezer was the only one spared. I don’t know if the Captain liked Ebenezer’s cooking or he just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t poisoned.

With two weeks left before we dock in Boston, I say to the Captain, Sir, you should go easier on the men; it’s not their fault that Jones publicly humiliated you. They had to obey his orders; short of mutiny there was nothing else they could do. If you recall, the Dutch were forcing us to sail. Also, if we tried to turn around, they would surely turn us over to the British.

Just when I thought that I got thru to him, LaMon hollers, GUARD, GUARD, GET IN HERE.  Then he grabs a sword and while pointing it at me, says, Lieutenant, you maybe my temporary Second in Command, but you have just crossed the line.  That maybe your twisted version of the events. But I recall something different. While I was on that dock, all I saw was my ship sailing away. As I desperately pleaded for it to return, I did not see anyone pleading with Jones? NOOO! I saw the crew pointing at me and laughing.  As the guard enters, LaMon tells him, GUARD, take this poor excuse of an Officer away and throw him in the brig. As I’m being escorted away, the Captain says, Lieutenant, during the rest of this trip you’ll not see the light of day. 

As for me, being in the brig was not so bad. When the Captain slept, Tom would let me out, so I could get some fresh air. Unfortunately, my late-night strolls ended when the Captain woke up and saw me talking to Ensign Tom. This outraged him so much he had us both arrested and ordered the guard to take us to the brig. When the guard hesitated, to prevent him from also being thrown into the brig, Tom and I walked towards the cell. 

In the morning, LaMon visits us and, in a cheerful tone, says, I’ve decided to hang you both at noon.  So, pray to your maker, you’ll be seeing him soon.  As your feet dangle in the air, the others will see I mean what I say, While walking away, he laughs as he continues, Until then, enjoy the rest of the day. 

When the crew hears of this, they decide they’ve had enough of the abuse, even the Marines refused to take part in this insanity. Except for the ones on duty, the crew talked about what they should do. They came up with ideas, which ranged from rioting to throwing the Captain overboard. Finally, they accepted Ebenezer’s plan; it’s the only one that solves the immediate problem and gives them time to think about what to do with the Captain.   

Most of the men, nervously wait for the Noonday Sun, while the others have nothing but anger it their hearts, for the way LaMon has treated them. As the

When the Sun aligns itself with the top of our main mast, Captain LaMon, decked out in his dress uniform, struts out of his cabin. He sashays his way to the Poop Deck and patiently waits for the guards to bring Tom and I to him. After a few minutes, he starts getting impatient. No guards, no Lieutenant Joe, and no Ensign Tom. Tired of waiting, he approaches the hatch to the Cargo Hold. As he looks into the cargo hold, some men sneak up behind him. Before the Captain realizes what’s happening, he’s subdued and put in irons (handcuffed). After some celebration, the sailors escort the Captain down the cargo hold, free us and shove the Captain into the brig.   

As they close the door and fasten the lock, Tom with revenge in his eyes, says to me, Now that we have the Captain where we want him; maybe we should make him walk the plank and see how long he can swim.

I reply, NO!  We can’t do that.  We have to take him to Boston, to stand trial for what he’s done to us; murdering him isn’t justification for what he did. 

One sailor asks, Sir, he gave me ten lashes for not saluting him fast enough. Can I at least shoot him in the foot? 

I answer, NO, we need him to be alive, unmarked and in one piece. Before they can disagree with me, I sternly say, now all of you get out of here.  When no one moves, I holler, GO ON, GET." 

As we start to leave, LaMon, with his eyes bulging and looking like a deranged fool, says, YES, YES, take me to Boston.  The Admiralty knows how to treat mutineers like you.  NOW, I order you to open this door. 

As three men turn around, to silence the Captain; I block their path. Men don’t listen to him.  He’s just trying to save himself; you did the right thing by not hurting or killing him.  Yes, the Admiralty will know what to do.  I continue as I point to LaMon, I can assure you; after they hear our account of this trip they’ll punish him, not us.  

The crew doesn’t like it, but they agree to turn the Captain over to the proper authorities. We are at least five days away, and I fear that LaMon might somehow talk someone into setting him free. If that happens, I’m positive that LaMon would have no qualms about making us walk the plank. To prevent this, after I have the Captain’s Cabin cleared of everything except his bed and bedpan, before transferring Captain LaMon, I inspect the cabin. While walking around, I think, let’s see, the windows are too small for him crawl out of and the door, which opens outward onto the main deck, is boarded shut. Good, they removed a lower panel from the door. Now, no one has to enter the room to give him his meals. I wonder how he’ll like eating without utensils.

All the way to Boston, the guards, had to listen to LaMon promising them money and promotions if they’ll set him free. In case you’re wondering, since his cabin is under the poop deck, he can empty his own bed pan.

While I’m having a snack, the Marine Officer, comes in, sits across from me and says, I’ll be glad when we dock. The Captain’s constant rambling is starting to get to my men.

I smile to him and say, The winds have been favorable, we dock tomorrow.   

After docking, we escort the Captain to Base Headquarters and immediately present our case to the Base Commander. After hearing both sides, until he gets instructions from the Commodore, who is the Commander of the Navy, the Base Commander has everyone put under house arrest; yes, even Captain LaMon. At first the men weren’t happy about the situation, but changed their minds when they heard that they’ll get two meals a day, a warm place to sleep and no work details.

After reading the Base Commander’s request, the Commodore realizes this is a