Action of July 7th, 1794
My lord,
I regret to inform you of the loss of HMS Terpsichore. We were proceeding with your orders to carry out a patrol and arrived at Latitude 22 deg. and 59 minutes north, longitude 75 deg. west, where we fell in with a French frigate. After a short time running we came to close action at 2 bells into the first watch. We fired a broadside from our port guns and did major damage to the enemy frigate. She returned in kind and we only suffered minor damage. Captain Reid then made a most excellent maneuver, turning us into the wind, where we were taken aback and able to bring our starboard battery to bear. The French ship suffered terribly. By this time the french fired another broadside into us from extremely close range. Both Lt. McWilliams, and Darby were fell by a single shot. The french then tried a boarding action which we repelled with major losses to our crew. Our marines were fighting well within the tops, but so were the Frenchmen. Unfortunately, Cap. Reid was shot through the heart by a musket ball and died immediately on the quarterdeck. I assumed command of the ship as the most senior midshipman. The French then bore around and boarded us. Our ships were locked close together, and both crews fought desperately near to the last man. I was forced at sword point to haul in our colors. Only when taken aboard the Frenchman as a prisoner did I see the damage we caused her and her crew. Neither, ship barely had enough crew to make it safely to port. I am truly sorry for the loss of our ship. The men put up a gallant fight to the very end in the tradition of the service.
Your humble servant,
Midshipman Whyte.
This was the first battle with my son. He was really excited to get the game yesterday. So we decided to start playing immediately with the two small frigates in the starter set. I thought I had him from the very beginning. However the chits were not on my side. I did some really horrible damage to his ship with my broadsides. Then when things got close, his musket fire did terrible things to my crew. It came down to the very last man and we both had to draw musket fire chits. He got a 0 and I struck my colors. It was a great fight. It took the better part of an hour to figure everything out. I think this game is even better than wings, and I love wings. It certainly has a place on our shelf and will probably be played very often. Hopefully, we have time today for another match so I can regain my honor.
Reply With Quote
Thanks for posting. 
Originally Posted by Berthier
Bookmarks