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New Orleans Squadron

A Tale of the Morton Brothers and The War of 1848

Episode Four

December 12, 1848, New Orleans Squadron Headquarters

New Orleans, Louisiana

Early morning.

After another steamy night with Lydia, Achilles was returning to duty. The Squadron was fairly well ready for the Yankees, so there was little in the way of activity. The Louisiana was tied up at the landing with her fires dumped. The boilermen were fussing over the firebox and Achilles had no intention of stopping them so he stopped by headquarters. There he saw his old friend Billy Jeff Spangler outside the headquarters.

"Billy Jeff! What are you doing up this early?"

Billy Jeff was not his ebullient self.

"'Killies, this ain't a social call. There's a feller lookin' to call you out."

"Call me out? Who?"

"Cotton spec'lator name a Charles Wild. Sez you an' yore brother done ruint him."

"You know what happens to people who think they can fleece Lysander."

"Yah, ah know all too well. He skinned me once. I just learned to do my business elsewhere. This Wild feller isn't too smart. I skinned him purty good about six months ago. Ahm surprised he's still a-tryin'. All the same he is a-lookin' for you."

"Thanks for the warning, Billy Jeff. I pretty much travel with an escort these days anyway."

"Wal, ah jus' wanted to warn ya."

Billy Jeff wandered away and Achilles went into the headquarters. Achilles was plowing through paperwork for the Louisiana and thinking the nation was only six months old and has the paperwork of an ancient empire.

There was a ruckus at the front desk.

"Where is that thief Morton?"

"I am Captain Morton. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"You thieving cur! You have stolen my money and I am here demanding satisfaction."

With that, he whacked Achilles with a riding glove and threw it on the yeoman's desk.

Stunned and angry, Achilles picked up the glove.

"If it is satisfaction you want, it is satisfaction you'll get. Where and when?"

"Old North Landing at dawn tomorrow. Your choice of weapons?"

"Pistols and cutlasses at twenty paces."

"So it is." And the man stomped off.

The Commodore had seen all of this.

"Captain Morton, my office. Now!"

"Close the door."

"What's this all about?"

"Remember when the Confederate Navy bought the Gramercy off me?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I was paid in cotton futures. Well rather than sell them for scrip, I traded them for some October futures. Mr. Wild thought there would be a blockade sooner and traded me some futures at a deep discount."

"How deep?"

"Eight cents on the dollar."

The Commodore whistled.

"At any rate my brother was in port in October and I exercised my options and got cotton at a rock-bottom price. When my brother left, he did so loaded to the gunwales with my cotton, which he sold for gold in Jamaica to a British factor."

"Maybe you should leave the Navy and be Secretary of the Treasury. We'd have more money to fight the war with."

"You want my brother. Put some capital behind him and you'd own Wall Street."

"What am I going to do? One of my Captains fighting a duel with a ne'er-do-well."

"The fool accepted my weapons of choice. Dueling pistols at twenty paces would be doing well to hit the Mississippi. And midshipmen learn the cutlass fairly early on. I must face him. Not so much for myself but at this time for the fighting spirit of the Navy. I cannot be seen to back down from a fop. My crew would mutiny rather than be led by a man they see as a coward."

"I could order you to not fight him."

"Yes sir you could, and I would of course obey, but then I would be posted as a coward and the whole Squadron would be disgraced."

"If the Yankees were not at the doorstep, I'd order you to stand down, but unfortunately you are right. If you backed down, even under orders of a superior, he would indeed post you as a coward. The squadron needs all the fighting spirit it can muster right now. Can you take him?"

"One is never certain, but I like my chances."

December 13, 1848, Old North Landing

New Orleans, Louisiana

Dawn

The Old North Landing was once the main riverboat landing, but in 1848 was only used by flatboats. Since the dry season upriver there were no flatboats around. The landing was deserted and still occasionally used for duels. Dueling was officially against the law but in a place and time where honor was so highly valued only in the cases of the most egregiously mismatched duels was the law enforced.

Achilles arrived with Ike Henderson as his second. Ike went over to discuss possible reconciliation with Wild's second, a man named Ezra Gordon. Ike and Gordon were not able to affect any softening of the principals' positions. All they could agree on was the selection of a master of the duel, Edward Carleton. Carleton was a planter and in his younger days a feared duelist in his own right.

Finally, Carleton stepped forward and took charge.

"Gentlemen, draw nigh. Observe that the sun is now fully risen and it is dawn, the agreed upon time of this business. This duel shall be fought under the rules set forth by Governor Wilson. (See Note 1) Principals and seconds will please note that I am armed with a loaded Colt Dragoon revolver and it is my duty and intention to enforce the Governor's rules."

"Principals move toward me. Bearer, bring the cutlasses. Both of you are right-handed, I presume."

Achilles and Wild nodded.

"Mr. Morton has provided the weapons, therefore Mr. Wild gets first choice of the cutlasses. I have inspected the cutlasses and found their edges and points to be keen and the blades appear to be properly tempered. Mr. Wild, please take the cutlass of your choice and hold it in your left hand with the point toward the earth."

Wild took one of the cutlasses. Achilles took the other.

"Principals will now choose pistols. Pistols are currently unloaded and will be loaded by seconds under my supervision."

Again Wild took a pistol and handed it to his second. Achilles took his pistol and handed it to Ike.

"Principals please withdraw three paces."

"Seconds… please load the pistols before me."

As this process unfolded, Achilles watched Ezra Gordon load the pistol. He seemed to know what he was doing. Achilles had confidence in Ike. Achilles knew that Ike had survived two duels in his younger days. The loading was accomplished.

"Principals, the pistols are fairly loaded. Mr. Wild, do you wish to apologize?"

"I do not."

"Captain Morton, do you wish to back down?"

"I do not."

"Very well, the business will proceed."

"Principals to your marks."

The two men walked to scratches on the ground about five feet apart. Mr. Carleton drew his Colt and held it barrel pointed straight up.

"The duel will proceed fairly. About face. Seconds, give your principal his pistol. Principals shall stand with pistols pointed upwards as mine is and cutlasses held parallel to the ground."

Both men were fully armed, and the seconds withdrew.

"I will count out ten paces. You will turn on my command and may fire at your pleasure. A misfire is considered a shot. After both have fired you will await my command."

Achilles thought to himself: "This old boy must have been in the Army or something. He gives clear commands."

"One, two, three, four…"

The two began pacing away.

"…eight, nine, ten. Turn!"

Both men turned, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

Achilles gun hung fire. Wild's gun fired but he missed by at least three feet.

"Mr. Wild, shots have been fired. Do you wish to apologize?"

"I do not."

"Captain Morton, do you wish to apologize?"

"I do not."

"Very well, toss your pistols aside. You may proceed until one of you is blooded."

The two men moved toward each other. As he watched, Mr. Carleton thought: "Wild is a dead man."

Wild fought bare-handed and ran toward Achilles with his cutlass waving above his head. Achilles fought Navy-style wearing a pair of what casually looked like riding gauntlets. Other than an extra layer of leather around the wrist the right one was similar to riding gloves, but the left glove had four layers of leather in the palm and an extra layer on the fingers and thumb. This extra padding allowed him to grab the edged cutlass at the base for a strong jab. Achilles advanced very deliberately to a piece of dry ground and stood in an en garde stance to receive Wild's attack.

Wild slashed downward and Achilles used his cutlass to parry. Wild carried on past and he nearly fell down in the slippery ground. Achilles held his high ground. Wild spun around and slashed a horizontal blow at Achilles' neck.

In a move that dated to Roman times (at least) Achilles ducked and grabbing his cutlass with both hands drove the point into Wild's belly upward through the diaphragm and into the left lung. A quick half-twist and Achilles pulled out as Wild still spun on his own momentum.

As Achilles pulled his cutlass out and retreated a step Wild dropped his cutlass and fell to his knees, bright red arterial blood gushing out in spurts. He looked at the blood then Achilles, then fell over on his face.

Carleton and Gordon came to Wild and turned him over. Wild could only rasp and blood was pouring from his mouth. In a few moments Wild began to convulse.

Carleton stepped back.

"I declare that honor has been satisfied."

"Captain Morton, you are quite adept with a cutlass."

"Naval officers learn the cutlass as midshipmen. A bosun's mate on the USS North Carolina taught me how to stay alive in a boarding party."

Hearing Wild's death rattle, Carleton holstered his Colt.

"I would suspect no one in New Orleans will ever again call you out with the arme blanche."

"I would hope not."

The next day the following item appeared in the Picayune.

"Mr. Charles Wild and Captain Achilles Morton met yesterday on the field of honor at the Old North Landing. Honor was satisfied, but Mr. Wild died of injuries sustained. Captain Morton was unharmed. Mr. Wild was a trader of commodities and it is believed he died impecunious. Funeral arrangements are pending. Captain Morton is the Captain of the CSS Louisiana."

December 13, 1848, New Orleans Squadron Headquarters

New Orleans, Louisiana

Early afternoon

Morton reported to the Commodore.

"Achilles, I see you survived the duel."

"Yes sir."

"The other man…"

"The other man should have backed down after we exchanged gun fire. The master gave him two chances."

"I see. Landsmen do not often appreciate that naval officers are quite handy with swords."

"Achilles, I have done a little looking into this and it seems you and your brother have made quite a few enemies among the speculators."

"Like Mr. Wild, they thought me an easy mark. They found different."

"All the same, I don't think your cutting this man down did much to mollify them. You watch your back."

"I will sir."

"I know you will for the next few days, at least. Yeoman! Show Mr.Cateaux in."

A rather elaborately dressed man came in.

"Captain Morton this is Emil Cateaux. Mister Cateaux is a sketch artist who knows a bit about ships. I have just received a report that blockaders have reappeared at the Passes. Tom Shelby seems to think your brother got away thanks to those Baltimore clippers of his, (See Note 2) but he did hear gunfire. Tom knows the river but naval vessels are not his strong point. I want you two to take the White Rose to Tom's camp at the Passes and have a look. Mr. Cateaux can sketch up the ships and I need a professional's eye on them. We may have to curtail blockade running, at least for the slower ships."

The Commodore got up and dragged a case out.

"Achilles, take this telescope for your observations. I picked this up while stationed in Europe a few years back. A young optics maker named Zeiss gave me a deal on it. Maybe he hoped to get some sales from the US Navy. It is too big and powerful to use on a rolling ship but would work well if you can find a solid place to stand."

"Thank you sir."

"Get moving, you two. The White Rose is waiting for you."

Achilles borrowed a messenger's horse and rode home and got his sea bag and rode back to the headquarters and got quickly to the commercial landing. Cateaux was there and the White Rose - a small packet - was waiting.

December 16, 1848, Riverboat White Rose, Course: None, Speed: Zero

Middle Pass, Mouth of Mississippi River

Late afternoon

Achilles, Mr. Cateaux, and Tom Shelby took turns eying the two blockaders through the Commodore's powerful telescope. It was screwed to the texas deck of the little White Rose, giving them an elevated perch to view the two ships.

"Yes, the smaller one, operating inshore is the Cyane. She is doing exactly what she was designed for. The bigger one looks like the Constitution but she has lost some of her guns and some of her rigging. They may have downgraded her some to make her more weatherly and tough enough for blockade work."

"She wasn't a tough ship before?"

"She was overloaded. Too many guns and a lot of canvas to make her fast. She needed a big crew. She wasn't really a frigate but more of a junior ship of the line. As a result her carpenter's gang stayed busy. Losing some guns - there don't seem to be any guns on her weather deck - and a little sail means she is still fast and can ride out prolonged periods of rough weather. That is the life of a blockader. Also, I'd wager she's got a good deal smaller crew."

Achilles and Tom looked at Cateaux's sketches. He had captured the nature of the ships they had seen.

"I think it is time we got back to the Commodore. Tom I expect you should pull all but your fastest tugs back to New Orleans. There won't be any big ships getting past these two. It cannot be long before the Yankee invasion fleet comes. They've been in Galveston for a month. They won't sit there forever. You don't want to get caught up by an invasion fleet."

"Yer right 'Killies. Ah'll git the big boys headed upriver tomorrow mornin'."

"There's big moon tonight. Maybe you shouldn't wait. We are starting upriver soon as you go to the tugs."

"Mebbe ah will. They have to raise steam, but they ain't doin' anythin' here with no big ships a-comin' in."

As Tom rowed back to his tugs, the White Rose turned upriver. Along the way, Achilles' practiced eye noticed some of the Commodore's other preparations.

Notes

1.In 1838 Governor John Wilson of South Carolina updated and Americanized the Code Duello commonly used by European and American duellists prior to that time. The celebrated duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr was conducted according to the Code Duello.

2.The Commodore is mistaken about Lysander's ships. Lysander's ships are not Baltimore clippers but pure schooners. A Baltimore clipper has a topsail and a topgallant sail on her foremast and fore-and-aft rigging aft of there. Both are fast, but a schooner is more of a coaster, built for lighter and more variable winds one would experience in the lee of the North American continent. With partially square rigging, the Baltimore clipper is a schooner with oceanic capabilities. Both types are fine blockade runners.