COMMISSIONING A SHIP.
Most people are curious to know how, from a state of total inaction,
or what is called "laid up in ordinary," a ship is brought forward
into real service. I have therefore thought it right to "begin with
the beginning," and tell how a man-of-war is first commissioned. This
leads to the fitting-out; that is, getting in the masts, putting the
rigging overhead, stowing the holds, and so on. The next obvious point
to be considered in the equipment of a ship is, the force she is to
carry, which brings us to the very curious question of naval gunnery.
Finally, if we suppose a ship equipped, armed, manned, and
disciplined.
As soon as an officer receives official intimation that he is
appointed to the command of a ship, he proceeds either to the
Admiralty or to the dockyard at the port where the ship may happen to
be laid up in ordinary, and takes up his commission. In the first
place, however, he must wait upon the admiral commanding at the
out-port where the ship is lying, and having reported himself, he
proceeds to the admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, to whom he
communicates his commission; he has the exclusive charge and
responsibility, having the care of the ships in ordinary, of all the
moorings, and generally of all the vessels, and every description of
stores in the naval arsenal.
The first thing to do is to get hold of one of the warrant-officers to
"hoist the pendant," which is a long slender streamer, having a St.
George's cross on a white field in the upper part next the mast, with
a fly or tail, either Red, White, and Blue, or entirely of the colour
of the particular ensign worn by the ship; which, again, is determined
by the colour of the admiral's flag under whose orders she is placed.
The pendant being hoisted shows that the ship is in commission, and
this part of the colours is never hauled down day or night. At sunset,
when the ensign is hauled down, a smaller pendant, three or four yards
in length, is substituted for the long one, which, in dandified ships,
waves far over the stern. Ships in ordinary hoist merely an ensign.
The boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, who are called the
warrant-officers, always remain on board, even when the rest of the
officers and crew are paid off, and the ship laid up in ordinary.
These valuable personages, under the general superintendence of the
captain of the ordinary, an old officer of rank, and assisted by a few
lads to row them to and from the shore, keep the ships clean, and
guard against fire and pillage, to which they might otherwise be
exposed at their moorings in the different creeks.
The next step, after the ship is commissioned, is to open a
muster-book. The requisite blank books and other papers are supplied
to the captain by the superintendent of the dockyard, in order that
the names of the officers and men may be entered as they assemble. The
admiral being then informed that the ship is in commission, he orders
the commandant of marines to embark the proper complement of men from
the barracks.
The master-attendant, in the mean time, is applied to for a
receiving-ship or hulk, alongside of which the ship may be placed, and
in which the crew may live while she is fitting out. The same officer
will likewise give the boatswain a "note" for one or more of what are
called harbour boats--strong affairs, but good enough to perform the
rough sort of work required in fitting out. The boatswain's demand for
scrapers, buckets, and junk for swabs, is made out and approved, that,
from the first moment to the last, the hulk may be kept clean.
The officers of the newly-commissioned ship take possession of the
hulk assigned them, the purser gets from the victualling-office
provisions enough for present use, and draws from the same quarter a
quantity of slop clothing, as well as bedding and haversacks, for the
marines, who are generally the first men on board. They are supplied
by the boatswain with hammocks, and thus the Jollies soon feel
themselves at home. The captain's clerk having prepared what is called
an "open list," he enters the names of the officers and men as fast as
they arrive. Hammocks and bedding, as well as blankets and shoes, are
issued to those sailors who may come on board without any kit, which
is too often the case. The senior lieutenant ought, if possible, to be
one of the very first persons who joins, and the sooner he establishes
himself on board the hulk the better. The marines, being a standing
portion of the service, are always ready, and, if necessary, they may
be sent on board at a few hours' warning. On this account, as well as
many others, they are a most invaluable body of men. When there is no
particular hurry, however, they will be embarked in two or three days
at the furthest from the time they receive orders.[8] Application
should also be made for boys, who are supplied as soon as possible; a
certain number being sent from the flag-ship, while the remainder are
enlisted from the shore. A boat's crew of sailors will very soon be
picked up from the stray hands lounging about the Common Hard and
Jack's other well-known haunts.
Thus, in a very few days, the foundation of a ship's company is laid;
and under good management, with a little patience and cheerfulness,
the superstructure will advance rapidly. A rendezvous should be opened
at a public-house in some street frequented by the seamen; and a flag,
with the ship's name on it, exposed before the door; while bills,
containing the ship and captain's name, should be stuck up and
distributed in the proper quarters. If her destination be India, South
America, the Mediterranean, or any other favourite station, that
circumstance will of course be sufficiently noticed in these cards of
invitation. The master-at-arms, the captain's coxswain, or some old
and steady hand who has an interest in getting the ship manned, will
be usefully employed at the rendezvous, to talk to the sailors as
they drop in to consider the _pros_ and _cons_ of the new enterprise
in which they are invited to engage. The captain himself, and the
first lieutenant also, will generally find it worth their while to
look in occasionally, perhaps periodically, at the rendezvous,
ostensibly to speak on some business, but chiefly to show themselves,
and by a word or two of encouragement, to decide the waverers. It is
of great consequence, on these occasions, to keep clear of anything
which, by possibility, can be construed into false pretences; for the
moral impropriety of such enticements, their impolicy very soon
betrays itself, and when the men detect the fallacy, the result shows
itself in the paucity of volunteers. The truth is, Jack, with all his
vagaries, possesses a quick discernment in such matters, and is very
seldom deceived by chaff. It will seldom, if ever, retard the proper
manning of a ship to be very fastidious in choosing amongst the
volunteers who offer. The best men will not enter for a ship where
sailors are received indiscriminately; and the lower order of mere
working hands are easily picked up to complete the crew.
The men are always carefully examined by the surgeon before being
received; but it would not be a bad rule that no volunteer should be
finally entered until he has been seen and approved of by both captain
and first lieutenant. It is, indeed, of great consequence to the
eventual comfort of the ship, which always turns upon her good and
consistent discipline, that the first lieutenant and captain should be
cordially agreed on so material a point as the choice of the
individual seamen forming the crew.
During the short visits which the captain pays to his ship at this
time, he will seldom find it useful to supplant his first lieutenant,
by taking upon himself the conduct of the ship's detailed operations.
The peculiar duties of the captain, when his ship is fitting out,
necessarily require him to be absent from her every day during a
considerable portion of the working hours. He has to wait on the
admiral to receive fresh instructions; he has to carry on a
correspondence with the Admiralty on the various equipments of the
ship; he has representations and applications to make to the
port-admiral, respecting officers and men, and to the
admiral-superintendent of the dockyard, respecting stores. In short,
whether at the rendezvous, at the dockyard, at the admiral's office,
or at his own lodgings, the captain will generally find ample
employment on shore for most of the best hours of his day, in really
co-operating with his first lieutenant afloat, by seeing those duties
properly executed which lie beyond that officer's reach. If these
multifarious and important obligations, out of the ship, be fully
complied with by the captain, he will seldom have more time left than
is barely necessary to go on board--- just to see what is doing--to
learn what has been done--and to give his orders, in a general way, to
the first lieutenant, for his further guidance.
As a captain has not always the choice of his first lieutenant, it may
sometimes happen that a person unfit to fulfil the duties of that
office will be appointed. Filling this station well implies not only
knowledge and talents, but a disposition to enter cordially into the
views of the captain, as well with regard to the general system of
discipline, as to all the details of managing the ship. When an unfit
person is appointed, it is much better for the lieutenant, as well as
the captain, that they should part; and certainly this is more
conducive to the discipline of the ship, and therefore to the good of
the service, than if they went on for ever like cat and dog. This,
indeed, is so well understood, that the Admiralty throw no obstacles
in the way of officers exchanging.
In case the unfitness of the first lieutenant arises from absolute
incompetence or negligence of his duties, it will soon appear in some
palpable instance, for which he must be accountable before a
court-martial, unless his captain permit him to quit the ship to avoid
that alternative. On the other hand, it will sometimes happen, that an
officer who is both competent and zealous, is rather too fond of
having his own way, and interpreting the rules and customs of the
service in his own particular fashion, in opposition to the views of
the captain. This pertinacity detracts from his efficiency as an
officer, and more particularly from his fitness for the arduous and
delicate situation of first lieutenant, by preventing the
establishment of a hearty co-operation with his superior. But if the
considerate line of conduct before suggested be acted upon by the
captain, unless the lieutenant be a very pig-headed person, who
mistakes opposition for zeal, he will readily see that the true way of
forwarding the service is to enter heartily, cheerfully, and
attentively, into the peculiar plans of his chief. If he does not do
this, he will only find his duties become more and more irksome to
himself, and all his zeal will often be thrown away in ineffectual
efforts.
When a ship is fairly commissioned, the first proceedings of the
captain, in respect to her equipment, must be determined by the
particular state in which she happens to be. The ship may be in dock,
or in the basin, or riding at the moorings--masted or unmasted; she
may have only just been launched, or may have been "paid off all
standing." In any case, one of the first points to be attended to is
the stowage of the ballast. If the ship has been in commission before,
a record of her sailing qualities, and the plan of stowage which was
found to answer best, will be supplied by the superintendent of the
dockyard, together with her draught of water, forward and aft, light
as launched and in ballast; and, lastly, when completely equipped for
sea, with guns, powder, provisions, and men on board. If the ship be
new, the captain will be furnished by the Surveyor of the Navy with
every particular respecting her trim, and the manner in which he
conceives her hold should be stowed. If this very important part of
the ship's economy be one that has occupied its due share of the
commanding-officer's attention, he will carefully examine the
conformation of the ship's bottom, and be enabled to tell whether or
not the former plan of stowing the ballast agrees with his own
theoretical views, and his experience in such matters, and then
putting the ship's recorded sailing qualities by the side of these
actual observations, he will be enabled to decide how the ballast
shall be distributed.
The Signal Books, Printed Naval Instructions, the Admiralty Statutes,
and other works of reference and guidance, are supplied by the
port-admiral, while a copy of all the Port Regulations and Orders
should be made, and so carefully perused by the captain and officers
as to be almost got by heart. A minute attention, indeed, to the
injunctions contained in these written orders, is absolutely
necessary to keep the officers of a ship out of eternal hot water with
admiral, flag-captain, secretary, and first lieutenant of the
flag-ship, all of whom are put out of their way by any neglect on the
part of an officer fitting or refitting a ship.
I remember once a grand row which I, in common with three or four
other commanding officers, got into. A signal was made from the
flag-ship at Spithead, the Royal William, or the Royal Billy as she
was universally called. The order was, "The ships at Spithead are to
send boats to assist the vessel in distress." On looking round, we
could see nothing but a collier aground on the end of the spit. One
boat, or perhaps two, were sent from some of the ships--but not enough
to save her; so poor Jock lay on the shoal till he capsized, and there
was an end of him; for it came on to blow, and the shore, from South
Sea Castle to Blackhouse Point, was a complete beach of coal shingle.
Next morning out came a swinging reprimand to all of us, ordering a
"report in writing to be made forthwith of the reasons why the signal
made at four P.M. to send boats to the collier had not been obeyed." I
recommend folks fitting out, therefore, as they value their peace, to
trifle with anything rather than the port orders. For it is well to
consider, that a scold resembles a snow-ball--it always gathers weight
as it rolls along. Thus the Admiralty send down, by post or by
telegraph, a rap on the knuckles to the old admiral--very moderate as
naval things go, but such as, in civil life, would make a sober
citizen frantic, though it merely squeezes out a growl from the
venerable commander-in-chief. Straightway he rings for the secretary,
and issues a smartish general order, in which the wretched captain of
the offending ship catches the reprimand, with a most usurious
allowance of interest. Off goes the said skipper to his ship, in a
great fume and hurry, carrying a whole sail in the gig, though on
ordinary occasions he chooses to have a reef in. Souse comes the
wigging on the hapless first lieutenant; and he, in turn, only waits
till the captain goes below, that he may open a volcano of reproaches
on the long-suffering middies, who, though they probably now hear of
the offence for the first time, know much better than to make any
reply.
Such is naval discipline! a strange mixture of justice and injustice,
severity and indulgence--frankness and wrong-headedness, encouragement
and unfair dealing; but still we may be sure, that talents, industry,
perseverance, and, above all, resolute cheerfulness, with an absence
of the litigious habit of self-justification, must ensure success and
happiness, or, at least, give the best chance for them.
The first lieutenant of the ship fitting out will do well to have by
him a sheet of paper, ruled according to some tabular form, in which
he may insert the names of the men who enter, that he may form some
idea, when he comes to station them, what part of the ship each is fit
for.
A watch bill should be commenced at once; and the men, as fast as they
come on board, appointed, as near as may be, to the stations which the
officers think they will ultimately occupy. This lets a man know at
once what duty he will be required to perform, and makes him feel at
home. Some crack sailors will not volunteer unless they can be made
reasonably sure of being placed in a station they like; and although
it would be highly injudicious to make such absolute stipulations
without some previous trial of the candidate's abilities, it may be of
great advantage to the service to enter men more or less on this
principle. For instance, it is of the utmost importance to obtain
steady petty officers, that is to say, quarter-master's, gunner's,
boatswain's, and carpenter's mates; captains of the forecastle, of the
hold, and the tops; sail-makers, armourers, caulkers, and coopers;
with others of less consequence, but all valuable in their respective
departments, and contributing to make up the singular population of a
man-of-war. The following list contains the peace establishment of the
Conway, a ship of twenty-eight guns, which I fitted out in the
beginning of 1820. The document may perhaps interest persons who like
to inquire into the details of a community and _ménage_ so differently
constructed from any they are likely to meet with elsewhere.
_A Scheme of the Establishment of His Majesty's Ship Conway, with a
Complement of 125 men._
Brought forward 18
Captain 1 Schoolmaster 1
Lieutenants 3 Master at Arms 1
Master 1 Caulker 1
Second Master 1 Armourer 1
Purser 1 Sailmaker 1
Surgeon 1 Carpenter's Mate 1
Boatswain 1 Gunner's Mate 1
Gunner 1 Boatswain's Mates 2
Carpenter 1 Quarter-masters 3
Master's Mate 1 Captain's Coxswain 1
Midshipmen 4 Capts. of the Forecastle 2
Assistant Surgeon 1 Cooper 1
Clerk 1 Capts. of the Foretop 2
--- ---
Carry forward 18 Carry forward 36
Brought forward 36 Brought forward 58
Capts. of the Maintop 2 Barber 1
------------- Afterguard 1 Purser's Steward 1
------------- Mast 1 Captain's Steward 1
Ship's Cook 1 Captain's Cook 1
Volunteers, First Class 3 Gun-room Steward 1
Gunner's Crew 5 Gun-room Cook 1
Carpenter's Crew 4 Steward's Mate 1
Sailmaker's crew 1 Able Seamen }
Gunner's Yeoman 1 Ordinary Seamen } 29
Boatswain's ditto 1 Landmen }
Carpenter's ditto 1 Boys, Second Class 5
Cook's mate 1 ----- Third Class 5
--- Widows' Men 3
Carry forward 58 ---
107
Marines:-- 1 Lieutenant; 1 Serjeant; 1 Corporal;
1 Drummer; 14 Privates. 18
---
Total 125
The last odd entry of three widows' men was an official fiction (now
abolished) by which the pay of so many imaginary persons was
transferred to a fund for the relief of the widows of commissioned and
warrant officers. Real men are now allowed in their places.
If any other ship be paying off at the same time, it is well worth
trying to get some of her best men to enter for the ship fitting out.
People who have been for several years together in a comfortable ship
feel unwilling to part, and the prospect of continuing still
companions, often influences them to volunteer in considerable
numbers, if other circumstances appear suitable. When this takes
place, the men generally transfer their whole kit at once, see their
names placed on the new ship's books, and obtain what is called
"long-leave" of absence to visit their friends, after depositing a
portion of their ready money in the hands of the commanding-officer
until their return. These men almost always form a valuable part of a
ship's crew, and, I am convinced, the practice will become more
general of removing direct from one man-of-war to another, whenever
the system of frequent payments shall be established in the Navy. The
sailors will then learn the proper use of money, and will acquire, in
consequence, more orderly, decent, and rational habits.
By these and other means, if the captain and officers be at all
popular in their manners, or be known favourably in the service, or if
even without these advantages, the intended station to which the ship
is going be a favourite one, and ordinary pains be taken at the
rendezvous, the ship's company soon begins to assume a respectable and
business-like appearance. It then becomes of infinite importance, that
the first lieutenant should introduce a uniform and well-explained
system of discipline on board, especially as regards cleanliness and
neatness of appearance, which are best effected by frequent and
regular musterings, without too much fastidiousness in the first
instance, as this might only teaze the men, and prevent the effectual
establishment of those observances which it is the chief purpose of
good discipline to render habitual. Great efforts should always be
made to give to Sunday its true character of a day of repose; and in
the weekly mustering, in particular, a good deal may generally be
accomplished towards imparting to the ship and crew the appearance of
order, which in times more advanced ought to characterize them during
the whole week. The stock of clothes amongst the men will, it is true,
generally be scanty at first, but a portion of it may, with proper
management, be always kept clean, and a well-bleached shirt and
trousers, with a good scrape of the chin, and a thorough scrubbing
from top to toe, render poor Jack's toilet, if not the most refined in
the world, certainly very effectual towards its purpose. I have often
been amused to see the merry style in which they employed great lumps
of coarse soap and hard brushes, in vain endeavours to remove the
umber tints of tar from their hands, and the tanning of the sunshine
from their brawny arms. These indelible distinctions of their hard
service are rendered more striking at such moments by their contrast
with the firm and healthy whiteness of the skin round their shoulders
and chest.
An officer must be cautious how he issues slop clothing to newly
entered men, who have no pay due; and have a sharp, but reserved
look-out kept on doubtful characters as they go over the side on
leave, for there will ever be found at the great naval stations a
certain number of regular-built swindlers, who wander from port to
port expressly to pilfer. These vagabonds enter on board
newly-commissioned ships, make a great show of activity, and remain a
certain time to lull suspicion. They then take up slops, that is,
obtain from the purser as many shirts, trousers, shoes, and other
articles, as they can persuade the commanding-officer they are in want
of; after which they desert upon the first opportunity, only to run
the same rig in some other ship. When a character of this kind is
caught in the act of making off with his own or his messmate's
blanket, it is best to let him go on shore (minus the blanket, of
course), and the chances are he will not return again. You lose the
man, but you are rid of a knave.
It is a fatal error in an officer to court popularity by unworthy
means, or indeed by any means, except those of fair-dealing and strict
propriety, equal justice to all, and as much indulgence as the nature
of the service will admit of. But, at the same time, advantage may be
taken of accidental opportunities of putting the people into
good-humour during an outfit; and by indulging them in a
jollification, we may occasionally give them something to think of at
the moment, and to talk of for weeks afterwards.
When I was fitting out his Majesty's sloop Lyra at Deptford, in 1815,
to accompany the embassy to China, under Lord Amherst, it occurred to
me one cold morning, the 24th of December, that it might not have a
bad effect on the good name of my pretty little craft, if I gave the
ship's company a regular blow-out the next day. I communicated this
idea to the first lieutenant, who, seeing no objection, sent for some
of the leading men, and said each mess was to have a goose and a
turkey for their Christmas dinner. My steward was then told to arrange
the details; and presently he came to report that the men had taken it
into their heads, that, as the best poultry was to be procured in
London, they should like exceedingly to be allowed to despatch an
embassy to Leadenhall Market for that purpose; the first lieutenant
agreed also to this, and two seamen and one marine were forthwith
landed at Deptford to execute the mission. A cart being hired, off
they set, returning before sunset, with as noisy a cargo as ever I saw
packed together. It so happened, that while we lay on one side of the
hulk, I forget her name, another ship was lashed on the opposite side
for some temporary purpose. The crew of our neighbour dined on
Christmas-day on soup and beef as usual, and remained contented enough
till some of our fellows, waddling under the effects of double
allowance of solids, and perhaps with a trifle too much of fluids,
came singing and capering along the deck of their hulk. In the most
good-humoured way possible, they asked their neighbours how many geese
and turkeys they had discussed that day. The meagre answer called
forth shouts of merriment, and the poor fellows belonging to the other
ship were rather unhandsomely taunted with the scantiness of their
Christmas fare. "Look at that and weep, you hungry-faced rascals!"
exclaimed one of our jolly blades, holding up the drumstick of a goose
in one hand and that of a turkey in the other. He was answered by the
practical joke of having the two bones twisted from his hands and
shyed in his face, according to the most approved tarpaulin manners.
This was the signal for a general _mélée_, and the officers had enough
to do to separate the contending hosts.
A few days before the next Christmas-day came round, when we were
lying in the River Canton, my steward came to me and said,--
"The people, sir, have been talking for the last two or three weeks of
hardly anything else but the 'row' at Deptford this time twelvemonth,
when you gave them a feast on Christmas-day."
"Well, what of that?"
"Oh, nothing, sir; I only thought you might like to know it. There are
plenty of ducks and geese at the Chinese village close to us."
I seized the idea in a moment; and having, as before, consulted with
the first lieutenant, I bade my steward prepare a good stock
accordingly. I took no further charge of the matter; nor did I expect
to hear anything more of the dinner or its preparations. In this,
however, I was deceived; for when daylight appeared on Christmas
morning of 1816, such a racket was heard from our little vessel as
brought up all hands on board every one of the ten or a dozen huge
East India Company's ships amongst which we were anchored, at a place
called Second Bar. Our fellows had carried the whole of their
Christmas poultry aloft, and having perched themselves at the
yard-arms and on the cross-trees, gaff, and flying jib-boom ends, they
made each of the wretched birds fast with a string six or eight feet
long, in such a manner that they could flap their wings, but could not
escape. The great difficulty, as I afterwards learned, was how to keep
the ducks and geese from making a noise till the proper moment
arrived, and this was not effected without sundry bites and scratches.
As soon as broad daylight came, the word was given, and the whole
flock being dropped to the full length of their lines, they set up
such a screaming, cackling, and flapping, as could not fail, when
aided by the mingled laughter and shouts of their future demolishers,
to call the envious attention of the whole surrounding fleet!
It is very useful to keep the people in a good humour at all times;
though, as I have already suggested, the captain must avoid even the
appearance of courting popularity at the expense of his officers. Such
an unworthy course of proceeding strikes at the root of discipline. A
truly right-minded officer, therefore, at the head of any department,
whether it be that of a ship, a fleet, an army, or a cabinet, will
seldom, if ever, take into his calculations the effect which any
measure is to produce on himself or his own interests--but will
steadily seek to discover what is best for the public service. And if
such research be made in the proper spirit of generous self-devotion
to his duty, he may essentially advance the cause of good discipline,
by transferring the credit of success, which might be his own due, to
those with whom he happens to be co-operating, and without whose
companionship and attention to details, though unseen and unknown to
the world, he might never have gained his point. It is more difficult
indeed, but also more generous, and more useful in practice, for the
chief to bear manfully the brunt of failure; and in seasons when
measures of an unpopular character become necessary, to charge himself
with a large share of that loss of favour which he is best able to
afford.[9]
FOOTNOTES:
[8] By the recent regulations each ship also receives her complement
of seamen gunners from one of the gunnery ships, in the proportion of
a lieutenant and thirteen gunners to a line-of-battle ship, a mate and
ten men to a frigate, and eight men to smaller vessels. These are
passed gunners, and their duties are to instruct the crew in gunnery.
[9] The introduction of the system of registration of seamen has, of
course, been an admirable check upon desertion after receiving
advances, both in the naval and commercial marine.