The Fox of France

Chapter 282: Interception

The "Liberty Trader" and the recently repaired "Constitution" sailed away from Port-au-Prince together. They first circled around the Cape of France, but they didn't spot any American warships there. Evidently, they had received a warning from Dussan Lucidur and left in haste.

The "Liberty Trader" and "Constitution" made a turn at the Cape of France, then set their course westward.

Over a week ago, the Americans in Santo Domingo had learned about the capture of the "Constitution." However, transmitting this news from Santo Domingo back to the United States would take time. At that time, Florida was still in the hands of the Spanish, so getting the message to the United States was a time-consuming task. According to Victor and Laulau's calculations, the Americans probably just found out about it. During this era, the U.S. Navy was relatively weak in Europe, with only six major warships. Though these six frigates were considered "super-frigates," they couldn't stand up to European naval powers in Europe.

However, in the Americas, the strength of these countries' regional fleets was quite remarkable. The flagships of these fleets were often fifth-rate ships (frigates), with other vessels usually less than 1,000 tons in displacement, armed with just over twenty cannons and even smaller sixth-rate or unclassified sloops.

Due to the weakness of these national fleets in the region, piracy was rampant in the Caribbean. At one point, even the United States had to pay protection money to these pirates. Establishing a navy was, in fact, the United States' initial response to avoid paying protection money to these pirates.

In an alternate timeline, the U.S. Navy, which later collected protection money around the world, started with these six "super-frigates." Interestingly, by the time the United States was collecting protection money globally, they only had six decent surface vessels left.

Victor estimated that after learning this news, the Americans would not sit idly by. They would certainly try to concentrate their forces, intercept the "Constitution," and regain military advantage in the Caribbean before it reached New Orleans.

In reality, the American response was much faster than Victor and the others had anticipated. The news about the "Liberty Trader" and the "Constitution" was not sent by ship but relayed through carrier pigeons. Nevertheless, it took some time for the Americans to gather their warships.

Only when they received the news of the "Liberty Trader" and the "Constitution" leaving Santo Domingo did the Americans manage to assemble three warships: the "USS America" super-frigate, the "USS Congress" super-frigate, and the former French warship "Light Breeze," recently captured by the "Constitution." It was renamed the "Lafayette," but this little ship had only 16 cannons.

Considering that the "Constitution" was not yet fully repaired and the French had not been able to recruit many sailors in Santo Domingo, it was safe to assume that the "Constitution" had navigational capability but lacked combat power. Therefore, the American navy's formation should have given them the upper hand in their confrontation with the French.

"Engage the steamship with two ships, and the remaining one will catch up with the 'Constitution' to regain it," said the captain of the "USS America" and the commander of this operation, Colonel Matthews.

However, this was only a theoretical plan. In practice, they had a major problem to solve: how to quickly locate the two French warships.

Today, there was no wireless communication. Once naval vessels left the harbor, if they dispersed, it was almost impossible for them to contact each other. If they gathered together, the area they could control would be much smaller, and the possibility of the enemy bypassing them from another direction would increase.

Of course, they could easily deduce the destination of the French ships (besides New Orleans, where else could they go?). So they could simply wait outside the New Orleans harbor for an ambush.

But there was a French fleet stationed near New Orleans as well. Although this fleet wasn't strong, it only had an ordinary sixth-rate ship and three small sloops. However, if a battle broke out near New Orleans between the French steamship and the American navy, this fleet could join in, becoming a force strong enough to change the course of the battle.

From this perspective, the interception point had to be set at a distance from New Orleans, but not too far, to prevent the target from slipping away.

Just as the Americans were pondering this issue, an unexpected ally suddenly appeared—a British fleet came looking for them.

The British colonies of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean weren't particularly prosperous, especially compared to Santo Domingo. However, Jamaica had a unique commodity to offer - enslaved people brought from Africa. So, it served as a relatively important trade point.

The British maintained a small fleet in the region, consisting of two frigates and three two-masted gunboats. They were rumored to have dealings with the Caribbean pirates.

The British fleet's commander, Colonel Wayne, sent an emissary directly to the Americans, offering their assistance in confronting the French. Of course, if they could sink or capture the French steamship, it would belong to the British.

Capturing the French steam frigate would be the most valuable prize. However, both the British and the Americans knew that the chances of capturing the ship in battle were slim. Moreover, the most enticing part of the ship was its advanced technology, but given the current scientific knowledge of the United States, they would likely not comprehend or utilize these innovations effectively.

This was akin to a scenario in the future where a market for unique bricks was set up by the Big Hare family. They allowed the White Elephant to inspect and touch the bricks freely, but the Big Hare was forbidden from looking and touching. Why? Because the White Elephant looking and touching wouldn't change a thing, but if the Big Hare did the same, it might end up pregnant.

Since the Americans had no use for the technology, Colonel Matthews readily agreed. Thus, a temporary alliance was formed.

Soon after, a joint fleet of four frigates and four gunboats appeared off the coast of New Orleans. The British and American fleets were not integrated as they had never fought together before, but the British ships flew the American flag from their masts.

According to their division of labor, the Americans were responsible for intercepting and attacking the incoming French steam frigate and reclaiming the "Constitution." The British, on the other hand, were tasked with diverting the French fleet in New Orleans Harbor.

"Could the British take the opportunity to bombard New Orleans while flying our flag?"" asked Lieutenant Thomas of the "USS America."

"The British might just do that," Colonel Matthews replied. "They want us to completely fall out with the French now, preferably declaring war. That way, whatever the outcome, it's beneficial for them."

"So what should we do?" Thomas inquired.

"We can't let the French establish a foothold on the American continent. Besides, do the French really have the resources to wage war with us while suppressing all of Europe? So, our differences aside, it shouldn't lead to an actual war. And, right now, we need their cooperation."

As they were conversing, a lookout's shout broke the silence. "Target spotted! At nine o'clock! Target spotted!"

Both men quickly raised their heads and looked in the nine o'clock direction, where a thick column of black smoke was rising slowly from below the horizon.

"French steam battleship!" they both immediately concluded.

Based on the information they had, French steam warships also had sails and primarily relied on them for movement, not their steam engines. However, the rising smoke indicated one thing - the French were prepared for battle.

Meanwhile, on board the "Liberty Trader," the atmosphere was far from tense. The steam engine was running, and they were not far from New Orleans. In fact, they were unaware that a fleet was waiting for them ahead.