Battle - 1721 - May 16 - Hot Work at Riding Rocks

Ships in Action:
British Fleet

Captain Sir Leo Davis - HMS Unicorn, Mercy-class 5th-rate

Captain Robert Middlemore - HMS Fearless, Mercy-class 5th-rate

Captain James Castor - HMS Predator, Tigre Mastercraft-class 5th-rate

Captain Nathan Blatchford - HMS Javelin, Tigre Mastercraft-class 5th-rate

Captain Johnny P. Jones - Hercules Sleek-class 5th-rate

19 other British ships, consisting mostly of medium to heavy frigates, some 4th-rates and one Prince 1st-rate.

Pirate Fleet

21 Pirate ships, mostly heavy to medium frigates, one 3rd-rate and one Couronne 2nd-rate.

Action Setup:
The battle took place on the Havana Harbour map, Britain was defending.

After cruising the waters off Riding Rocks, I recieved orders to rendezvous with the Fleet preparing to defend said port. Admiral Blackheart had been flying the signal All captains repair aboard flagship for some time when the Javelin joined the mass of ships taking part in the defence, and after jumping into my gig I was quickly raced across. As I entered the Admiral's great cabin, I was happy to see that four other Squadron captains were present.

The Fleet was then organized into Green, Red and White as frigate groups, and Black as the heavier group with our 4th-rates and one 1st-rate. The Javelin was assigned to Black Group under the command of Commodore Jonathan Archer.

The Action Itself:
The wind was blowing in the NE as the Fleet formed two lines astern, just S of the Fort of Riding Rocks. The pirate fleet was quickly sighted to the N by the forward British ships, and it was reported that the Fleet clearly outnumbered and outgunned them. The pirates set course SW, hugging the shore of the island to their starboard, and halted when they were some thousand yards from the Fleet. The Admiral ordered the Fleet to make sail, and when the pirates were seen to do the same the Fleet set course W in order to bring our broadsides to bear upon the advancing enemy. The pirates headed W aswell, and soon the first shots were fired between Red Group and the foremost pirate ships. Black and Red, being at the front of the two British lines, formed one line astern and began concentrating our fire on the pirate line that was now two hundred yards to our starboard. Burning chunks of wood came raining down on the Javelin's decks as a nearby pirate frigate erupted in flames, and looking ahead I saw several other pirates scrambling for their boats as their vessels began sinking. The sound of another huge explosion right behind us drew my attention, and looking over my stern I was shocked to see the shattered hull of Captain Jones' ship, in Green Group, sinking rapidly. The pirates had split into two groups and had successfully split our line in half with their rearmost group. Green and White, the British groups that was now cut off from the rest of the Fleet, was now in total chaos, the pirates ramming their line and firing both broadsides, and I was grieved to see several British frigates sink, including the Predator.

A loud crash forward brought me back to the current situation with Black and Red, and it became clear that the pirates to our starboard was charging into our line in imitation of their fellows behind us. Suddenly, the pirates were everywhere, completely breaking our line and coming up on both our starboard and larboard sides. While manouvering to get the Javelin's broadsides to bear, my guncrews were firing both sides, flinging roundshot furiously at every enemy that crossed their sights. Even though our line was broken, the Group Commodores were still able to have the ships under their command to concentrate fire on spesific enemies, and as the smoke cleared, the water was full of destroyed hulls, floating debris and Rats swimming for the shoreline. Without the loss of a single British ship, it had been a swift and total destruction of the forward enemy group, and Captain Middlemore could later report seeing no fewer then seven pirate ships go down under the brisk firing of his gruncrews.

As Red and Black tacked E to reinforce the rearmost groups, Green and White had managed to form a line W to E and was firing on the enemy that was now jumbled together to their starboard. The pirates managed to sink three other British captains before the remaining ships in Green and White were able to rejoin Black and Red. As Black and Red bore down on the enemy, several pirates were swiftly sunk, and with the combined Fleet on their sterns the enemy fled SE then S towards the town of Riding Rocks. The signal The whole Fleet to Chase was emphasized with two guns from the British flagship, and after a quick chase every enemy ships except one had disengaged from the battle. The remaining pirate, fleeing E with all available canvas flying, was quickly chased down by Red group, but managed a narrow escape.

The Result:
British victory.

The British lost 9 vessels, the Pirates lost 16.

Lessons Learned:
The main lesson here must be that concentraded fire works, and that having the Fleet split as it was during this battle can be fatal. Green and White groups suffered heavy casualties, and if the pirate charge on Red and Black had succeeded aswell, the battle could have gone the other way around.

Battle Schematic:


''The Fleet formed two lines astern, just S of the Fort of Riding Rocks. The pirate fleet was quickly sighted to the N by the forward British ships. The pirates set course SW, hugging the shore of the island to their starboard, and halted when they were some thousand yards from the Fleet.''



''The Admiral ordered the Fleet to make sail, and when the pirates were seen to do the same the Fleet set course W in order to bring our broadsides to bear upon the advancing enemy. The pirates headed W aswell, and soon the first shots were fired between Red Group and the foremost pirate ships.''



''The pirates split into two groups and split our line in half with their rearmost group. Green and White, the British groups that was now cut off from the rest of the Fleet, was now in total chaos, the pirates ramming their line and firing both broadsides. The pirates to starboard of Red and Black was also charging and coming up on both their starboard and larboard sides.''



Several ships from White and Green were sunk, and the remaining ships from those groups managed to form a line W to E. Black and Red, without the loss of a ship, defeated the foremost pirate group.



As Red and Black tacked E to reinforce the rearmost groups, the pirates managed to sink three other British captains before the remaining ships in Green and White were able to rejoin Black and Red.



''As Black and Red bore down on the enemy, several pirates were swiftly sunk, and with the combined Fleet on their sterns the enemy fled SE then S towards the town of Riding Rocks. After a quick chase every enemy ships had disengaged from the battle''.