{"id":"01KG8AME7AMMYSJS9G8G2KQD5X","cid":"bafkreidky3b5opcwfj4d6y3adyug27tvgo42ip4ugtnx66g3unjrb56qra","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":13288,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:36.278Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 2","source_file":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","start_line":13221,"text":"His studies at West Point had thoroughly grounded him in a knowledge of\r\ngunnery; and, as he was not a little of a pedant, it was sometimes\r\namusing, when the sailors were at quarters, to hear him criticise their\r\nevolutions at the batteries. He would quote Dr. Hutton’s Tracts on the\r\nsubject, also, in the original, “_The French Bombardier_,” and wind up\r\nby Italian passages from the “_Prattica Manuale dell’ Artiglieria_.”\r\n\r\nThough not required by the Navy regulations to instruct his scholars in\r\naught but the application of mathematics to navigation, yet besides\r\nthis, and besides instructing them in the theory of gunnery, he also\r\nsought to root them in the theory of frigate and fleet tactics. To be\r\nsure, he himself did not know how to splice a rope or furl a sail; and,\r\nowing to his partiality for strong coffee, he was apt to be nervous\r\nwhen we fired salutes; yet all this did not prevent him from delivering\r\nlectures on cannonading and “breaking the enemy’s line.”\r\n\r\nHe had arrived at his knowledge of tactics by silent, solitary study,\r\nand earnest meditation in the sequestered retreat of his state-room.\r\nHis case was somewhat parallel to the Scotchman’s—John Clerk, Esq., of\r\nEldin—who, though he had never been to sea, composed a quarto treatise\r\non fleet-fighting, which to this day remains a text-book; and he also\r\noriginated a nautical manoeuvre, which has given to England many a\r\nvictory over her foes.\r\n\r\nNow there was a large black-board, something like a great-gun\r\ntarget—only it was square—which during the professor’s lectures was\r\nplaced upright on the gun-deck, supported behind by three\r\nboarding-pikes. And here he would chalk out diagrams of great fleet\r\nengagements; making marks, like the soles of shoes, for the ships, and\r\ndrawing a dog-vane in one corner to denote the assumed direction of the\r\nwind. This done, with a cutlass he would point out every spot of\r\ninterest.\r\n\r\n“Now, young gentlemen, the board before you exhibits the disposition of\r\nthe British West Indian squadron under Rodney, when, early on the\r\nmorning of the 9th of April, in the year of our blessed Lord 1782, he\r\ndiscovered part of the French fleet, commanded by the Count de Grasse,\r\nlying under the north end of the Island of Dominica. It was at this\r\njuncture that the Admiral gave the signal for the British line to\r\nprepare for battle, and stand on. D’ye understand, young gentlemen?\r\nWell, the British van having nearly fetched up with the centre of the\r\nenemy—who, be it remembered, were then on the starboard tack—and\r\nRodney’s centre and rear being yet becalmed under the lee of the\r\nland—the question I ask you is, What should Rodney now do?”\r\n\r\n“Blaze away, by all means!” responded a rather confident reefer, who\r\nhad zealously been observing the diagram.\r\n\r\n“But, sir, his centre and rear are still becalmed, and his van has not\r\nyet closed with the enemy.”\r\n\r\n“Wait till he _does_ come in range, and _then_ blaze away,” said the\r\nreefer.\r\n\r\n“Permit me to remark, Mr. Pert, that ‘_blaze away_’ is not a strictly\r\ntechnical term; and also permit me to hint, Mr. Pert, that you should\r\nconsider the subject rather more deeply before you hurry forward your\r\nopinion.”\r\n\r\nThis rebuke not only abashed Mr. Pert, but for a time intimidated the\r\nrest; and the professor was obliged to proceed, and extricate the\r\nBritish fleet by himself. He concluded by awarding Admiral Rodney the\r\nvictory, which must have been exceedingly gratifying to the family\r\npride of the surviving relatives and connections of that distinguished\r\nhero.\r\n\r\n“Shall I clean the board, sir?” now asked Mr. Pert, brightening up.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 2"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJVWWWFZ0PAGZX8HNA4ZW","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AME7KK0S3PCA1082QB4WY","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AME7K36J62C3JRNTJBRJQ","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:37.098Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:54.277Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}