The Happy Return (Beat to Quarters in the US) was the first of the Horatio Hornblowernovels published by C. S. Forester. It appeared in 1937. The American name derives from the expression "beat to quarters", which was the signal to prepare for combat.
The story begins in June of 1808, with Hornblower in command of the 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia and sailing off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, with orders to form an alliance with a local landowner desiring to revolt against the Spanish (at this time Spain was allied with Napoleon), to find a water route across Central America, and to take down the 50-gun ship of the lineNatividad, all while carrying a female passenger Barbara Wellesley.
General Quarters is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle.
While the term 'General Quarters' is used in navies such as the United States Navy, other navies, such as the Royal Navy use the term 'Action Stations'.
He calls a beat to quarters and the process is displayed with the readying for battle as the Captain comes up for his own post.
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