United States vs England, Solitaire AAR

[Salem Vendari]

Mr. President,

It gives me great honor to be able to report, on this the evening of September 21, that two English frigates, His Majesty's Ships Meleager and Cleopatra, now rest at the bottom of the Atlantic. From the decks of my ship, the USS Constitution, I spotted the pair sailing south-westward toward Virgina and moved to intercept them.

They veered southward to do battle, and the HMS Meleager pulled in close enough for a long-range shot, which my lookout confirmed to have hit below the waterline. I then circled northward in an attempt to line up another shot, and low and behold that same ship turned her nose right into our broadside and we raked her bow. I saw the foremast topple with my own eyes and many men lose their lives all the while our shot pelted the hull. I gave the order to reload the starboard broadside with double shot, and my Well-Trained Gunners got it into the cannons in half the normal time.

We pressed forward, steering with the wind as it shifted toward the north-west, seeking to maneuver into position to empty our double-loaded broadside into the other ship, the Cleopatra. But their course was on the same plane as ours and before either of us could turn away, we found our forward yardarms tangled together. We were just barely able to bring out forward guns to bear and let loose. We knocked out their rudder, knocked over a mast, and in the musketry cross-fire took out several of their crew. My men took down three of theirs for every one they took.

Managing to quickly untangle ourselves, both ships managed to avoid another collision. Another volley of blackpowder fire dropped some more of their men, but we also lost several our own from chainshot fire.

We circled around, and the poor men of the Meleager caught yet another long-range shot from out tail, opening yet another leak which soon caused the hull to collapse and sink to the bottom.

For the time being, as both we and the Cleopatra circled around, I took the opportunity to distribute rum to the men and make any possible repairs to the ship before our next encounter with the Cleopatra. We maneuvered into long-range, and I was tempted to open fire, but decided to wait until we got a little closer, in the hopes that the damage we could deal at close range would be sufficient to end this battle. And sure enough, Mr. President, our solid shot tore the Cleopatra's hull apart.

It is not a surprise that we achieved our victory almost completely untouched, but I do mourn the loss those several men who lost their lives.


Sincerely,
Captain Charles Stewart, USS Constitution.

[Salem Vendari]

[Naharaht]

A good AAR, Salem. May I ask which system you were using to control the British ships, please?

[Salem Vendari]

I was using the solo-play movement chart from the files section. I really enjoy it, though it is sometimes difficult to determine which quadrant a ship is actually in.

Just some after-action thoughts:
-The USS Constitution plays really well. I really like the maneuverability she has over 3rd rate SoLs as well as better cannons than 5th rate frigates. A very nice, all around ship. Now to just figure out how to incorporate her into regular games, though I suppose America has allied with France or Britain against the other at one point or another, so it doesn't really matter.
-I'm not too sure about the single 1 and 9 maneuver cards. Honestly, I feel like those (as well as the single 2 and 8 from HMS Victory) were designed to be used with the basic game, rather than standard or advanced. Just my two cents there.
-The custom solitaire rules mentioned above are fantastic, but it's still a little difficult when it comes to broken masts. I've basically resorted to having the ship follow the Backing Sails track. They don't make up for the lack of an opponent, but at least they provide some level of intelligent challenge to practice maneuvering and shooting at moving targets.

[Bligh]

A very neat action Salem.
I have been thinking about getting a Constitution and flagging her as an HEIC. Frigate for convoy protection duty in the Indian Ocean.
Rob.

[Salem Vendari]

She will certainly do a great job of that, Rob. I quite enjoyed sailing her around.

[Union Jack]

Damnation Sir. We can't have lost another 2 ships to that devil of the 7 seas Constitution. Damn her black heart. Send out the fleet and don't come back until she's sunk!

Great AAR Salem. Dare I break out my Constitution........dare I risk breaking her out!

[Salem Vendari]

Well, as I'm sure you've seen in my latest AAR, France sent the Constitution to her watery grave.

[Bligh]

Nope, I'm afraid not me hearties.
The one I ordered is on the High seas at this very minute heading for sweet haven in my model box.
Bligh.