What is "merchantmen"

Usage examples of "merchantmen".

Slowly drifting merchantmen would be perfect targets for the Diamond batteries.

Taking a dozen merchantmen from Barbados to Grenada and waiting a week while they drum up business, and then take the mules on to St Vincent and St Lucia, and the same there, and an even more infuriating sail up to Antigua with them dropping astern at night and French privateers scurrying out of Martinique to snap 'em up.

But even then they're sometimes between the devil and the deep blue sea: if they stay offshore and there's any west in the current they get swept out into the Caribbean, and even when they get out to the lee they're too far to the west for merchantmen to stand a chance of beating back to Fort Royal.

To Ramage's most important question his answer had been vague: as far as he knew there were two French frigates in Fort Royal, both stripped of their yards, and five merchantmen, none of them ready for sea.

If he forced too many French merchantmen so far to the west that they ended up across the Caribbean at Port de la Paix at the western end of Hispaniola, there would soon be complaints to the Admiralty from the Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica that the French forces there were being heavily reinforced with supplies.

If there were five merchantmen it gave the Juno and Ramage battery gunners three minutes for each ship in theory but they would not change target like that: they would concentrate on one ship, and continue firing until she was disabled.

It was eleven miles from Pointe des Salines to the Diamond and that would take the merchantmen a couple of hours to cover.

Ten of our men can get one of those merchantmen to Barbados, even if it blows a gale of wind.

That told Ramage much of what he wanted to know: the French were not expecting trouble, otherwise the merchantmen would be bunched up.

The land covered the eastern side of the convoy from attack, and would continue to do so all the way up to Fort Royal, so one frigate would probably be ahead, one abreast the leading merchantmen, another abreast the last one, and the fourth astern.

A few moments later he realized that the second signal must have been to the convoy because the merchantmen were now beginning to bunch up, the outside ships closing in on the centre column.

Four French frigates had only to keep two British frigates at bay for three hours - less, if they could persuade the merchantmen to set more canvas - and they would all be safe and have carried out their task of getting provisions to Martinique.

There were seven fat merchantmen almost at his mercy once he got to windward.

Aitken obviously wanted to make a leisurely job of the merchantmen, but Ramage hoped he would not forget the two remaining frigates.

There would be as much again for the seven merchantmen and two schooners.