A Ship of the Line
by C. S. Forester
May 1810, seventeen years deep in the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblauer recently commanded the seventy-four-barreled HMS Sutherland, the first ship of the line, and considers it "the ugliest and least desirable double-decker on the Navy's list." "Moreover, it lacks 250 people from the full crew, so the Hornblower must recruit and train poachers, bigaments, sheep and other farmers. When Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalan coast of Spain, the crew is able to conduct five surprising single raids against the French. But the terrible prospect of defeat and admiration arises for both the captain and crew when Sutherland alone captures four French ships.
