Portsmouth harbor, England,
April 1, 1800
Collection on deck
In the spring sun, the new crew of the British frigate HMS Leer were standing listening to their new captain,
John Wilson, swear himself in. Captain Wilson, recently Lieutenant Wilson, knew that on the other ships in the harbor, eyes will be trained on him. After the ceremony was over he made an attempt to meet his officers and petty officers, there was his 1st lieutenant,
Freeman who was from a long line of sailors. Then there was 2nd lieutenant,
Hill, then the ever so young and innocent Midshipmen
Moore, Hunter, and Ford. The captain of the marines,
Dan Fort, the Master,
Rex Baxter, who has been sailing for his whole life, and the Surgeon,
Chet Page. As Wilson looked to his hands he saw the seamen with weathered features, and those unlucky enough to be pressed, with their clean faces. Soon enough they will be like the others.
Rumor has it that orders will be arriving soon.
The HMS Leer
The Leer is a 28 gun frigate. She is made of live oak and still gleams with fresh wood, She was launched 2 weeks ago. Her armament consists of: 28 9 pounder long-guns on the gundeck, 4 6pounder guns and 4 18 pounder carronades on the Quarterdeck, and 2 18 pounder carronades on the forecastle. She has a crew compliment of 200 men and officers. She has a drought of 11ft. Tip to tip she is 124 ft long. And she has a beam of 23 feet
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