Richard Castle and the USS Santa Barbara
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: Except for the true parts, this is fiction. Rating: K, mostly. Time: The turn of the 20th Century.
"That sounds fascinating. Could I watch from somewhere?"
"You can join me on the bridge if you like. You can even sleep in a bit since we have a lot to do before we weigh anchor. I'll ask Petty Officer Montgomery to knock on your door."
USS Santa Barbara
South China Sea
January 21, 1899.
0830 Hours.
"Ah, Miss Beckett. You're just in time. We're out of the drydock and into Manila Bay. We'll be out in the South China Sea in no time. Have you had breakfast?" Castle asked.
"Yes. Petty Officer Montgomery is amazing."
The other officers on the bridge nodded. They wished they had a steward like Montgomery, but rank hath its privileges.
Castle explained that they had taken on more coal that morning and more ammunition.
"I know." Beckett said. "I heard it coming aboard. The crew's language is quite…colorful."
Castle turned red.
"My apologies, Miss Beckett. I'll talk to the crew later and admonish them."
Kate laughed.
"Please don't. Some of the children I taught in New York City were equally colorful. I doubt if anyone could stop a sailor from cursing."
Castle quickly changed the subject and began describing what the sea trials consisted of.
Several hours later, they were on the vast ocean.
"First, we'll see how our engines are. According to the manufacturers, the Santa Barbara should do twenty-one knots. Now, from the old Spanish battery San Pedro to the white church at Bagalan, is almost five miles even. Ensign Potter, using the pelorus, will take a bearing on the battery and tell us when the battery is exactly ninety degrees off our bow and again when the church is ninety degrees off the bow. We'll use our stop watches to time the run. We'll be starting slowly." He turned to Potter. "Mr. Potter, please advise us when to begin."
It took two minutes, but finally Potter said, "Coming up on the battery, sir. Coming up…Now!"
"All ahead full, if you please." Castle commanded.
Beckett could feel the ship begin to move forward and she heard the ship's engines begin to roar. She could see the bow wave of the ship and could feel the Santa Barbara begin to cut through the waves.
"Coming up on the church….Now!" Potter yelled.
The stopwatches of three officers clicked in unison.
"I make it only nineteen point four knots, gentlemen." Castle said.
"I think we're a bit heavy by the bow, sir." Franklin said. "Might I suggest we move some of the Marines' gear amidships."
"And the coal heavers haven't gotten their rhythm." Someone else muttered.
Castle went to the speaking tubes.
"Mr. Peters, how are the engines?" He asked the engineering officer.
"They're beauties, sir. But they do take a bit of time to warm up."
Castle set the crew to restowing the Marines' gear and they tried again.
"Much better." Castle said after the next run. "Twenty point eight knots, but it's not twenty-one."'
Several more attempts were made before Castle was finally satisfied.
"Twenty-one point three knots. By God, she's the fastest ship in the Asiatic Squadron." He checked the chronometer. "We should head back to Manila Bay, gentlemen. The officers and men of Santa Barbara have done well."
That night, Castle ate alone in his cabin. He could hear the officers in the wardroom chatting and laughing. In particular, he could hear the voice of Miss Kate Beckett. He sighed. They said command was lonely and they were right. He thought.
They sailed the next morning to test the weapons.
"We'll be headed for what they call Cruiser Rock, Miss Beckett." He explained. "Although it looks nothing like a cruiser, it's about the length of a cruiser. The Navy has painted it white so that hits will show up better."
"We'll exercise the five-inch guns first, then the 57mm guns. We have four one-pounder pom poms aboard, as well as two tubes for Whitehead torpedoes, but we won't be exercising them today."
Arriving at Cruiser Rock, the Santa Barbara cruised back and forth, firing its main guns at a range of between five thousand and two thousand yards. After an hour, Castle ordered a cease fire and the ship closed in to see what kind of damage was done.
"There don't seem to have been that many hits for the number of shells fired." Beckett said.
"I'm afraid that's so." Castle said. "At the Battle of Manila Bay, we only hit the Spaniards about two percent of the time. That was better than the Navy did at the naval battle of Santiago, off of Cuba, however."
"Why?" Beckett asked.
"It's difficult to shoot at another ship. I know about how fast my own ship is going and can guess how fast the other ship is going. I know my own course, but the other ship might be moving slightly away from me or slightly towards me. I have to guess how far the enemy is from me, and all the time my own ship is pitching, rolling and yawing. Pitching is when the bow rises and the stern falls, the ship rolls from side to side and yaws in a semicircular motion. All of this effects the fall of shot."
"Dear me. It's a wonder anyone gets hit."
Castle could only smile and nod.
They made several more passes at Cruiser Rock before Castle called it a day.
As they entered Manila Harbor, the speaking tube from the crow's nest whistled.
"Yes?" Castle asked.
"Sir, I can see our dock from here. There's a whole lot of soldiers in khaki and a big line of carts. Looks like they're waiting for us."
Indeed, they were as Captain Waller came aboard at once. With him was a swarthy fellow in what had apparently once been a Spanish uniform.
"Captain Castle, this is Captain Javier Esposito. He's brought us a message from General Rios. A large force of Moros is besieging Marviles City. So far, he's holding them off, but he needs help. Captain Ryan and his battalion are here and need to be loaded at once along with their gear. We've gathered up some Spanish Mauser rifles and some Remingtons, as well as ammunition for General Rios. Captain Ryan's unit has plenty of ammunition and they have their own Colt machine gun."
Waller looked past Castle.
"The collier Anthracite will be loading you with coal and we have ammunition for your guns. Oh, and Captain Esposito has brought a pilot along to get you through the shoals around Marviles City." He gestured to a rather villainous looking man, dressed in a ragged suit and sporting a bowler hat about three sizes too big for him.
"Don't worry about Don Fernando, Captain." Esposito said. "He may not look like much, but he knows the waters around the Marviles better than any man alive. He can navigate in about ten languages, including English, but knows little else of any language except Cebuan." He noticed Castle staring at his uniform. "Yes, Captain Castle, I was once in the Spanish Army. I was born in Cuba to a Spanish officer, a peninsulare, from Spain itself, and a Cubana mother. They say that a peninsulare in Cuba can do anything but one thing. Do you know what that is?"
"Not a clue, I'm afraid."
"He cannot have a son that's a peninsulare. All of the jobs in Cuba, military and civilian are reserved for peninsulares. "Esposito smiled. "As you can tell by my coloring. My mother was not entirely Spanish, but of mixed blood. I have been in your country and at one time thought to stay there, but I couldn't leave my family. My father got me a commission in the Spanish Army. No, not one of the elite Spanish regiments, but with a unit in the Philippines, Native Regiment Number 72. The other officers treated me like a native, so when you defeated us, I offered my services to General Rios."
"Glad to have you with us, Captain Esposito."
"Ah, Castle." Said Waller. "Here's our other captain, Kevin Ryan."
Ryan, wearing a khaki uniform as did all of his men, came aboard shouldering a pack and a rifle. He was shorter and slighter than Castle. He had blond hair and blue eyes and a smile.
He saluted Castle.
"Captain Castle. I'm Captain Kevin Ryan, First Battalion, 31st US Volunteer Infantry."
"Welcome aboard, Captain Ryan. I am a bit surprised that your battalion got here from the US so quickly."
Ryan laughed.
"The truth is, we didn't. Almost all of my lads were in State Volunteer regiments that were being disbanded and sent home, but decided to stay here and go into the US Volunteers. I myself was discharged from the 71st New York last August but found myself itching for something other than New York City. I paid my own way to the Philippines, hoping to find work with the native scouts being formed. But I did better than that."
"How large is your battalion?"
"The regiment is supposed to have twelve companies of 109 men each, divided into three battalions. I fear my companies number a bit over ninety men apiece and I only have three companies. I do have a machine gun section of ten men and one Colt machine gun, and twelve men in the battalion headquarters."
"Captain Castle, we need to get the battalion aboard and headed for the Marviles as soon as possible." Waller interrupted.
"Of course." Castle said. As he turned away, he saw Kate Beckett approach. She suddenly stopped and stared.
"Kevin Ryan?" She said angrily.
Ryan turned about.
"Miss Beckett? What are you doing here?"
But, Beckett turned around and walked away as fast as she could.
"Do you know Miss Beckett?" Castle asked.
"Not personally, but I know of her family. What's she doing here in the Philippines?"
"She's a schoolteacher, hired to teach in the Marviles. And she doesn't seem to like you,"
Ryan nodded.
"I suppose not. Captain Castle, my family is in politics in New York. Are you familiar with the city?"
"I'm from Manhattan."
"Then you know that the Democratic Party is run from Tammany Hall. My oldest brother is an assemblyman in Albany and the next oldest is an alderman in the city. Miss Beckett's father, James, being a good Irishman, is a Democrat, of course. But he ran for office as a reform candidate, wanting to clean up politics. Hah! As if politics had never been corrupt before Tammany Hall. I'm afraid we spread some rumors about him and his family that might have upset Miss Beckett. It was nothing personal, it was just politics. I do feel I need to apologize to her, though."
"I suggest you might wait a while and send her a note of apology." Castle told the Irishman.
Castle, Ryan, Esposito and Waller, as well as everyone else got busy preparing the ship for war.
It was not until later that night when the ship was under weigh that Castle was able to call on Miss Beckett. He knocked on her door.
"What?" She demanded.
"Miss Beckett, it's me. Are you alright?"
"I suppose. It's just that seeing that awful man and remembering all of the things those other horrible men said about my family…"
"Captain Ryan wishes to apologize."
"I am not interested." There was a brief pause. "Will Captain Ryan be eating in the wardroom with the other officers?"
"Yes. He is a commissioned officer."
"In that case, I should like my meals served here in my quarters from now on."
"Miss Beckett, there's very little room…"Castle began.
"I don't care. Those people said that my father worked for wealthy landlords both in America and Ireland. They said he delighted in throwing widows and orphans out into the streets. They also said my mother was a common woman of the streets, and that she had never married my father. I refuse to associate with that man."
"Miss Beckett, will you do me the honor of dining with me until we reach the Marviles?"
"I thought captains dined in splendid isolation."
"We usually do, but in this case an exception is in order."
"In that case, I'll be glad to dine with you, Captain Castle."
TBC
Author's note. The New York Highlanders, so named because their ballpark was on the highest point of Manhattan, changed their name to the New York Yankees and have done well.