The quarter-deck officers—The captain—The lieutenants—The master,
second master, and master’s mates—The midshipmen—The midshipman’s
berth
The captain[16] of a man-of-war, on receiving his appointment to a
ship, at once repaired on board her, wherever she then lay, first
obtaining from the master-attendant of the dockyard a new narrow
pendant, a swallow-tailed piece of red-and-white bunting to hoist
at her masthead. Having repaired on board, and hoisted his pendant,
the captain read his commission, or “read himself in,” before the
caretakers and old seamen aboard the ship. He then set about fitting
her for the sea (if she were a new ship) with all possible dispatch;
and an Admiralty Order forbade his sleeping ashore, without express
permission from his superiors, until his ship was paid off. He had to
examine all guns, gun-carriages, muskets, cutlasses, and small-arms
when they were hoisted on board, and to reject any faulty weapon. He
had to keep inventories of all stores sent aboard, and counterparts
of the inventories of his warrant officers—such as those of the
boatswain and gunner. He kept an account of the ship’s provisions,
showing the daily expenditure of junk and spirits. He had “to use his
best endeavours to get the ship manned,” by the dispersal of alluring
placards all over the town near which he lay, promising “quick
promotion, heaps of prize-money, free rations,” etc. etc. to all who
would enter. He was also expected to open a rendezvous at a sailor’s
tavern, where the master-at-arms and coxswain could blarney sailors
into joining. Sometimes he was able to offer a bounty or money-reward
to every seaman who entered. If neither sugary announcements nor
the offer of a piece of gold could lure men to the living death of
a gun-deck he had to have recourse to the press. He would send his
boats ashore after dark, in command of lieutenants or master’s mates,
to search the dockside brothels and sailors’ taverns. Any sailors or
seafaring folk discovered in these haunts were dragged from the arms
of their trulls and taken aboard. Often the press-gangs had to fight
to bring off their men, for the women and bullies sometimes rallied
to the rescue. Many a bold lieutenant had his cheeks scratched or his
hair pulled out, and many a bold tarrybreeks got his head broken in
these encounters. The gangs never took firearms on these excursions,
but contented themselves with stretchers and cudgels (such as wooden
belaying pins). They generally carried cutlasses, but “more for
their majesty to astonish the enemy,” than for actual use.
Press-gangs made great havoc among watermen and dockside labourers.
They were expected primarily to capture sailors and seafaring people,
but “a man-of-war, like a gallows, refused nothing,” and any landsmen
served their turn. They were, at least, “mortal men,” and did as well
as any others to stop a bullet or to feed powder. Marryat mentions
a ship which was manned by the men of nineteen nations, professing
among them, some fifty-seven different trades. Tailors, little
tradesmen, street loafers, all were fair game. They were taken to the
boats and sent aboard, and cracked across the heads with a cudgel if
they protested. When once on board they were shoved down below-decks,
under a marine sentry who had orders to shoot them if they attempted
to escape. When convenient the captain examined these wretches, as
to their fitness for the sea-service. He had them examined by the
surgeon, to make sure that they were not infested nor infected. Any
man who appeared to be too sickly for the work was discharged. A
dirty man was cleaned, and his clothes fumigated. Apprentices who
could produce their indentures, or merchant-sailors who could claim
exemption, were dismissed. All the others were carefully retained.
Many pressed men made the best of a very hard bargain by offering to
ship within a fortnight of their impressment. Those who acted thus
were allowed the King’s bounty, and won for themselves (to some
extent) the good opinion of the officers.
This way of impressing folk was but one of the ways by which a
captain could get his fleet manned. Men condemned at the sessions
were sometimes offered the hard alternative of the gallows or
service afloat. Often they chose the greater of the two evils.
Absconding debtors, and those pursued by the redbreasts, or Bow
Street Runners, were frequently eager to ship to avoid capture. A
number of men shipped because they had had their heads turned by
sea-songs or similar cant, describing the beauty of life afloat,
etc. Large numbers were sent from London by the Lord Mayor. These
were generally young bloods or bucks, who had been found drunk in
the streets or bawdy houses, and feared to see their names in the
police-magistrates’ lists, and police-court reports. They were known
as “my Lord Mayor’s men,” and very bad bargains they generally were.
It was reckoned that one-third of each ship’s company was composed of
landsmen, and that one-eighth of the entire number of men serving in
His Majesty’s ships were foreigners.
Having got a crew together by these gentle means, the captain had
to see to it that each man’s name was entered in the ship’s books,
particularly the muster book, in which a sort of prison record was
kept to enable the officers to identify deserters. The colours of a
man’s hair and eyes were noted. His chest measurement was taken. His
tattoo marks were described. If the man deserted, these particulars
were sent to the Admiralty, with an account of the escape. The
muster books were kept with great care, and submitted every month or
two months to the Admiralty. They contained among other matter the
records of any deductions to be made from the pay of the members of
the crew.
At sea the captain was responsible for the ship, and for all on
board her. He had to see that the lieutenant made out his quarter
bills allotting the hands to their stations. He kept the keys of
the magazines, and saw to it that sentries guarded those places, to
prevent the entry of unauthorised persons. He had to be vigilant to
prevent all possibility of fire, by forbidding candles in the cable
tiers or at the breaking out of spirits from the spirit-room. He
was to order all lights out at 8 P.M. each night. He was to forbid
smoking “in any other place than the galley.” He was to see the men
exercised at the great guns, and with their small-arms. He had to see
that the colours were “not kept abroad in windy weather.” He had to
keep a journal in duplicate, for the benefit of the Admiralty; and at
the end of a cruise he had to send an account “of the qualities of
his ship” to the commissioners. He had charge of the sea-stores known
as slops, such as bedding and clothing, which he sold to those of the
crew who needed them. He had to keep his ship clean, dry, and well
ventilated, by having the decks swept and scrubbed, the ports opened,
the wells and bilges pumped, and windsails (or ventilators) fitted
to expel the foul air from the hold. He was to punish transgressors,
discourage vice and immorality, defend his country’s honour, keep
secret the private signals, and “burn, sink, and destroy” as much of
the enemy as he could. These are but a few of the forty-eight duties
required of him.
The captain’s share of prize-money was “three-eighth parts” of the
value of the prize. His pay varied from about 6s. to 25s. a day,
in accordance with the importance of his command. The captain of
a 74 received 13s. 6d. a day. Until 1794, he was allowed to have
four servants for every 100 men aboard his ship, a regulation which
afforded him an opportunity to provide for his friends and poor
relations. A captain in the old time frequently put to sea with a
little band of parasites about him. They stuck to him as jackals
stick to the provident lion, following him from ship to ship, living
on his bounty, and thriving on his recommendations. When one reads
of a distinguished naval officer having been “a captain’s servant,”
it does not mean that he blacked the captain’s boots, mixed his
grog, and emptied his slops, but that he entered the service under
a captain’s protection. Nelson was a “captain’s servant” to Captain
Maurice Suckling on the guard ship at Chatham, but he was very far
from being Captain Suckling’s flunkey. The system was bad, and much
abused, but it lingered until 1794, when it was abolished, and a
money compensation paid to the captains. It had been attended with a
curious privilege. A captain removing from one ship to another was
allowed to carry with him not only his servants, but his boat’s crew,
his coxswain, some of his warrant officers, his clerk and purser, and
a number of able seamen. From a first-rate ship he could take, in
all, 80 men; from a second-rate, 65; from a third-rate, 50; from a
fourth-rate, 40; from a fifth-rate, 20; and from a sixth-rate, 10.
Those who have trembled under the command of a sea captain will not
need to be told of his powers and dignities. A captain of a ship at
sea is not only a commander, but a judge of the supreme court, and
a kind of human parallel to Deity. “He is a Leviathan,” says the
scurrilous Ward, “or rather a kind of Sea-God, whom the poor tars
worship as the _Indians_ do the Devil.” There was no appeal from a
sentence pronounced by such an one. His word was absolute. He had
power over his subjects almost to the life. That he could not touch,
without the consent of his equals, but he had the power to flog a man
senseless, and authority to break some of his officers and send them
forward. He had power to loose and to bind, and perhaps no single man
has ever held such authority over the fortunes of his subordinates
as that held by a sea captain over his company at sea during the
Napoleonic wars. He lived alone, like a little god in a heaven,
shrouded from view by the cabin bulkheads, and guarded always by a
red-coated sentry, armed with a drawn sword. If he came on deck the
lieutenants at once shifted over to the lee side, out of respect to
the great man. No man on board dared to address him, save on some
question relating to the duty of the day. No sailor could speak to
him with his hat upon his head. One uncovered to one’s captain as
to one’s God. When he came aboard, after a visit to the shore, he
was received with honour. The “side-boys,” dressed in white, rigged
the green or red side-ropes to the gangway, and stood there, at
attention, to await his arrival. The boatswain, in his uniform, went
to the gangway to “pipe the side”—that is, to blow a solemn salute
upon his whistle—as the august foot came on to the deck. The marine
sentry stood to attention. A number of midshipmen and other officers
and men fell in upon the quarter-deck. As the captain stepped on
board, all hands uncovered. The ship became as silent as the tomb,
save for the slow solemn piping of the boatswain. The captain saluted
the quarter-deck, and passed aft to his cabin, generally paying not
the very least attention to the assembled worshippers. The same
ceremony was performed when the captain left the ship.
The captain stood no watch, and did not interfere with the ordinary
working of the ship until something went wrong. He lived alone in his
cabin, eating in solitude, save when he desired his lieutenants and
midshipmen to dine with him. On these occasions he graciously unbent.
Smollett has painted for us a brutal captain, and Marryat and Mitford
have shown us a type which was, we trust, more common in the service.
Some captains were, perhaps, the most cruel and tyrannical fiends
ever permitted on the earth. There were never very many of this kind,
but there were enough to make a number of our ships mere floating
hells. They could single out and break the heart of any man whom they
disliked. They could make life a misery to every man under them.
They could goad a crew to mutiny, and then see them hanged at the
yard-arm. It was a little thing to captains of this stamp to cut the
flesh off a man’s back with the cat-o’-nine-tails, swearing placidly,
as the poor fellow writhed at the gratings, that, “by God, he would
show them who was captain, that he would see the man’s backbone, by
God.” We know that other captains were respected and loved, and we
read of ship’s companies putting their shillings together to purchase
silver plates, as keepsakes for such commanders, at the conclusion
of a cruise. It must, however, be borne in mind that the sailors
really preferred a man who was, in their terms, “a bit of a Tartar.”
They liked to sail with a smart and strict seaman who knew his duty,
and made his men do theirs. They disliked slack captains as much as
they disliked what they called “rogues,” or tyrants. When a mild
and forgiving captain came aboard a ship, either on a visit or to
command her, there was little interest displayed. But when a “rogue”
or a “taut hand” came alongside there was a general rush to the ports
to see the man.
The state of the ship, the happiness of her crew, and the success of
her voyage depended on the captain. In those days “every ship was a
separate navy.” Each captain had his own theories, and to some extent
his own routine. He had also his own whims and fancies, with power
sufficient to enforce them. Some captains took a delight in causing
their crews to dress uniformly, in the slops supplied by the purser.
Others took a great delight in inventing fancy uniforms for their
coxswains and gigs’ crews. A smart captain liked to dress his gig’s
crew in some distinctive dress—such as scarlet frocks, white hats,
blue trousers, and black handkerchiefs; or white-and-blue guernseys,
with white jackets and small-clothes. Some captains went to strange
lengths to gratify their tastes. We read that the gig’s crew of
H.M.S. _Harlequin_ were dressed up as harlequins, in parti-coloured
clothes, to the great delight of the rest of the ship’s company. We
are also told of a gig’s crew in kilts, with Scottish bonnets on
their heads and worsted thistles on their jackets.
The captain’s uniform varied a good deal during the forty-seven
years of Nelson’s life. At first it was a blue coat, with lace at
the neck, blue lapels, white cuffs, and small flat gold buttons.
A white-sleeved waistcoat, white knee-breeches, and white silk
stockings completed the dress. The hat was a three-cornered black
hat edged with gold lace, and bearing a cockade. At the time of
Trafalgar, the lapels were white, the cuffs were striped with gold,
the collar was stiff instead of drooping, and the waistcoat was
no longer sleeved. A black cravat was worn about the throat. A
straight dress-sword was worn, but its form was not prescribed by the
regulations. The hat was the ordinary cocked hat worn athwartships.
The hair was worn long, in a queue, tied with black silk ribbon.
Powder or flour was used to dress this queue. It must be borne in
mind that many captains wore pretty much what uniforms they pleased.
Epaulettes came into use towards the end of the eighteenth century.
They were of heavy gold stuff, hanging down in tassels from a central
gold pad. Captains of over three years’ rank wore them on both
shoulders.
The lieutenant, “the officer next in power and rank to the captain,”
commanded in the captain’s absence. A ship of the line carried
from three to eight lieutenants, who took precedence according to
the dates of their commissions. The first lieutenant was a sort of
captain’s proxy, who did all the work, in order that the captain
might have the glory. He was responsible to the captain for the
working of the ship, for the preservation of discipline, and for
the navigation of the vessel from point to point, according to the
captain’s orders. He stood no watch at night when the ship was at
sea, but he was expected to pass his days about the decks, and to
come up in times of danger during the night watches. A lieutenant of
the watch had to see that the helmsmen kept the ship to her course,
that the log was duly hove every hour, and that the rate of sailing
was marked on the board. He had to see that the men were alert and
smart, at their proper stations, and ready for any sudden order. He
had to keep the midshipmen and master’s mates to their duty. He had
to muster the watch, to keep the ship in her station, and to report
strange sails and shifts of wind. He was to see that the look-out men
at the mast-heads and elsewhere were awake, and were not kept too
long at their stations. If at night, in war time, a strange sail was
sighted, he had orders to send a midshipman to the captain with the
news. While the captain dressed he got the ship ready for action,
keeping her out of gunshot of the stranger till all was ready. In
the night he had to take particular care that the master-at-arms
and corporals made their regular half-hourly rounds of all parts of
the ship “to see that there is no disturbance among the men; that
no candles nor lamps are burning, except those which are expressly
allowed; and that no man is smoking tobacco in any other place than
the galley.” Twice in each watch a lieutenant had to send one of
the carpenter’s mates to sound the ship’s well, and to see that
the lower gun-deck ports were securely closed and barred. At the
same time he had to send the gunner’s mates to examine the lashings
of each gun and to reeve double tackles or breechings if the guns
were straining. In the morning he had to receive reports, from the
boatswain as to the state of the rigging, and from the carpenter as
to the state of the masts and yards. Any defects had to be reported
to the captain. In addition to all these duties he had to keep an
eye on the admiral’s signals, to answer them directly his signalman
reported them, and to record them carefully in the ship’s log. At
night he had to see that lanterns were lit, and unshotted guns
loaded, in case night signals had to be made. He had also to see that
the cabin windows and other ports were closed so that the ship’s
lights might not be seen from a distance. In foggy weather he had to
order the fog-signals, such as the firing of guns, beating on the
drum, or striking of the ship’s bell. He had to keep a log-book in
the prescribed form, which volume he had to sign, and submit to the
Navy Board, when he wished to receive his pay.
In action he commanded a battery of guns, and saw to it that the men
kept at their quarters, and fought their guns with spirit. He had to
take especial care that no loose powder was strewn about among the
guns, and that the gun-captains took good aim at the enemy before
firing. At all other times he had to “prevent all profane Swearing
and abusive Language; all Disturbance, Noise, and Confusion.”[17] He
was to see that the men kept themselves clean “by washing themselves
frequently,” that the hammocks were often scrubbed, and the frocks
and trousers washed. Junior lieutenants had charge of the ship’s
muskets, and exercised the seamen in musketry; for about 80 out of
every 100 sailors had to be instructed in the use of the musket,
to fit them for fighting ashore, should the service require it. In
the absence of the captain, the lieutenant commanding might put
an officer under arrest, or confine a man in irons, but he might
not release nor punish any officer or man so confined, unless the
captain were absent “with leave from the Admiralty”—_i.e._ for some
considerable period, during which the lieutenant held his power.
Lastly, the lieutenant had to keep all boats from coming alongside or
leaving the ship without his express directions.
A lieutenant was often despatched on a press-gang to rout out the
watermen and the sailors in the merchant vessels. “When the Ship has
been sufficiently depopulated by ill-Usage,” says Edward Ward, “my
Spark is detached ashore, with some choice Hounds, to go hunt out a
fresh Stock ... he and his Bandogs together make a woeful Noise in
all the Sea Port Towns round the Kingdom; he beats up all Quarters,
and rummages all the Wapping Ale-houses, as narrowly as he would a
Prize for the Indies. In fine, he’s a perfect Hurricane in a little
Town, and drives the laggard Dog along the Streets with as much Noise
and Bustle, as Butchers do Swine at Smithfield.”
The uniform of a lieutenant at the time of Trafalgar was as
follows:—A coat of a rather bright blue, with white cuffs, white
lapels, gold anchor-buttons, and long tails, was worn over a white
cloth waistcoat, white knee-breeches, and white stockings. The
sword was slung in a belt worn over the shoulder. The hat was a
three-cornered black hat, with a cockade. It was generally worn
athwartships.
Though this was the prescribed costume it was often departed from.
Lord Dundonald mentions a first lieutenant, who received him on his
joining the navy. He “was dressed in the garb of a seaman, with
marline-spike slung round his neck, and a lump of grease in his hand,
and was busily employed in setting up the rigging.” Captain Glascock
mentions another who “was dressed in a blue white-edged coat, which
displayed here and there a few straggling anchor-buttons of different
dies; to which was added a buff, soup-spotted vest, a pair of
tarred nankeen trousers, and an old battered broad-brimmed leathern
hat.” This “homely habit” was splashed with pitch and whitewash.
Michael Scott mentions another, as wearing “a curious _wee_ hat
with scarcely any brim,” a worn old coat, “a dingy white Kerseymere
waistcoat” and a pair of “ancient duck trousers.”
Next in rank to the lieutenant, and in early days his superior, was
the master. His chief duty was to “conduct the ship from port to
port” under the direction of the captain. He controlled the sailing
of the ship, the trimming and setting of her sails, and the guidance
of her movements during a battle. He had, moreover, the charge of
the stowage of the hold. He had to repair aboard his ship before she
shipped her “iron and shingle” ballast, for it was one of his duties
to see that the ballast put aboard was sweet and clean, and properly
stowed. He had to superintend the shipping of the coals and firewood,
and to note that a sufficient quantity was shipped to last the vessel
for the period for which she was victualled. When provisions came
on board he had to examine them to prove their soundness. He had to
stow old provisions on the top, so that they might be eaten first.
He had the care of the cable-tiers and spirit-room, and had strict
orders not to allow a naked light to be carried into the latter
place, lest the fumes of the rum and brandy should take fire. On no
account whatsoever was he to quit the after hold while it was open.
He had charge of the water-casks, but he was not allowed to pump out
fresh water, for the use of the crew, without the captain’s express
commands. Every evening he had to examine all beer and water-casks,
in order to report to the captain the quantity of water and beer
remaining. He had to examine the cables to see that they were dry
and clean, and clear for running. He had to keep the anchor clear
when the ship rode to single anchor. He had to see that the standing
rigging was well set up, and in good condition. He had to check the
boatswain’s and carpenter’s accounts. He had to overhaul the sails in
the sail-rooms to see that they were dry, in good order, not damaged
by rats, etc.
Every day he had to find the ship’s position, both by dead reckoning
and by the altitude of celestial objects. When in foreign waters,
near a coast, it was his duty to survey the inlets, from one of the
ship’s boats, keeping a most careful record of all soundings and
bearings taken. He was to compare his own observations with those
marked on the printed charts supplied to him. At noon, when he took
the height of the sun, he had to call up his mates, with a proportion
of midshipmen, with their quadrants, both to assist him and to teach
them their business. He had to superintend the writing of the log
book by his mates, who entered up all details of the weather, ship’s
position, expenditure of stores, and daily happenings, etc. etc.,
from the reports and records of the ship’s officers. When the ship
was in need of rope it was his duty to attend at the rope-walk to
see the rope made, in order that the rope-maker should not waste his
rope-yarns. Many masters sought to improve their pay by qualifying as
pilots for some of the home and foreign ports.
First, second, and third rate ships carried what were known as second
masters; while ships of all rates carried “master’s mates” to assist
the master in the dirtier parts of his business. These master’s mates
had to write up the log book, keep the fore yards trimmed, heave the
log each hour, or half-hour, and keep the rates of the chronometers.
They had also to attend in the hold when casks were being shifted.
They were responsible for the discharge of various minor duties
during their night-watches. In port they sent the midshipmen on
periodical tours round the ship, “to attend to the hause,” and to
keep the men from lounging along the gun-decks. At night, at sea,
they generally called the relieving lieutenant at the end of a watch.
During the daytime a master’s mate took charge of the lower-deck,
and forbade “wrangling in the galley,” or disorderly bawling about
the waist, and the washing of clothes on days not set apart for that
duty. He had to see that the cables and cable gear were in good
order; that the wash-deck buckets were in their places; and that
sand-boxes or tin spittoons were always placed in the galley for the
convenience of smokers. Another master’s mate kept watch upon the
main-deck to keep the deck as clear as possible, and to superintend
all duty done in the waist. He had to keep the top-sail sheets clear
for running, to attend the serving out of the beef, and the mixing of
the wine and spirits.
A master’s mate kept a record of the messes, for the assistance
of the first lieutenant. He had to see to the numbering of the
hammocks, the fixing of the hammock battens, the lashing and slinging
of the hammocks, and the carrying of the scrubbed hammocks to the
clothes lines on deck. He had to attend the “early dinner” at
half-past eleven in the forenoon, when the helmsmen, sentries, and
look-out men, who came on duty at twelve, had their food served out
to them half-an-hour before the rest of the crew. Lastly, he was
in command of the port-lids, and had to see them properly sloped,
closed, or opened, according to the state of the weather; with the
port-sills clear of sailor’s property, such as hats or handkerchiefs.
A master’s uniform was practically the same as the captain’s, save
that the lapels and cuffs were blue, instead of white. A master’s
mate wore a plain blue frock, with gold anchor buttons. The white
knee-breeches, and white kerseymere waistcoats, were supposed to be
worn by both ranks. Master’s mates were often too poor to obey the
strict letter of the regulation. They wore what clothes they had, and
were not ashamed to purchase seamen’s gear from the slop-chest.
Midshipmen, who were a step lower in the ship than master’s mates,
were generally taken aboard ships of war by the captains commanding.
They owed their appointments to interest. The captains took them
to oblige their relations, or in return for the cancelling of a
tradesman’s bill, or to curry favour with an influential family.
As a rule, a midshipman was entered directly aboard the ship, as
a “first-class volunteer,” in which case he had to serve two years
before he became full midshipman. But by passing two years at the
Naval Academy at Gosport, the young man was enabled to ship as a
midshipman on his first going to sea. In Nelson’s time midshipmen
sometimes began their sea-service at the age of eleven, or even
younger. After 1812, no boy was borne on a ship’s books until he
was thirteen. An exception was admitted in favour of the sons of
officers, who were allowed to be entered at the age of eleven.
A first-rate ship carried 24 midshipmen; a second-rate, 18; a
third-rate, 12; and fourth and fifth rates a proportionate number.
The midshipmen of sixth-rates, and unrated vessels, were despised,
and looked down upon, as a low lot, not to be recognised by those in
crack ships.
Until the age of fifteen, the first-class volunteers, or midshipmen,
were called “youngsters.” They slung their hammocks in the gun-room,
and messed, as a rule, by themselves, under the supervision of the
gunner, who kept their clothes in order, and catered for them. In
frigates it would seem as though they went at once to the steerage,
to mess with their seniors. Those of them who were not perfect
in their navigation, nautical astronomy, and trigonometry, were
taught, every forenoon from nine till twelve, by a duly certificated
schoolmaster, who drilled them very carefully in the sea-arts and
sciences. The schoolmaster was expected to reprove and repress
the slightest immoral tendency his pupils displayed. He had also
strict orders to report the idle and vicious to the captain. The
schoolmaster was nearly always the ship’s chaplain, who received £5
from every midshipman he instructed. In those ships which carried
neither schoolmaster nor chaplain the captain himself taught the
youngsters, and made them bring up their quadrants to take the sun
at each noon; and refused to let them sup until they had worked out
“the ship’s position” by dead reckoning or the altitude of the sun.
When the school hours were over, and the ship’s position found,
the youngsters were sent on deck, in their respective watches, to
learn their duty. They were looked upon as the slaves of the first
lieutenant, who generally used them as messengers. They were usually
employed on boat service, and sent to and fro in the ship’s boats
when the ship was in port. When at sea they had to mix much with the
men in order to learn their duty. They were expected to keep order
when the men were at the braces or aloft, or at general quarters,
and to report those who were idle, noisy, or absent. They had to
stand their watch at night like the lieutenant, but as the officers
were divided into three watches, which had eight hours below to
every four hours on deck, this was not a very terrible hardship.
They had to see the hammocks stowed in the morning, and to report
those sailors whose hammocks were badly lashed. They had strict
orders not to lounge against the guns or ship’s sides. They were
not allowed to walk the deck with their hands in their pockets.
Some captains made the midshipmen responsible for the working of
the mizzen-mast, and sent them aloft to furl the mizen-royal and
mizzen-topgallant-sail whenever sail was shortened. The midshipmen
were expected to go aloft with the men to learn how to furl or reef
a sail, how to bend and unbend canvas, how to set up rigging, and
all the other arts of seamanship. Midshipmen were always stationed
in each top when sails were being furled, in order to cheer up the
men to a lively performance of their duty. Other duties given to them
were the supervision of the hoisting in of stores; the command of
watering parties; mustering the men at night; watching the stowing
or cleaning of the hammocks—and generally fetching and carrying for
their commander and tyrant the first lieutenant. In the night-watches
they had to keep awake upon the quarter-deck, “to heave the log and
mark the board,” and to be ready to run any errand for the officer of
the watch.
When they had reached the age of fifteen, and had been duly rated
as midshipmen, they became “oldsters,” with increased pay, freedom
from the schoolmaster, and an allowance of grog. At this stage
they shifted from the gun-room into the midshipmen’s berth on the
orlop deck, in the after cockpit, where they messed with the past
midshipmen (who had qualified as lieutenants and awaited promotion)
and with the master’s mates. After another two years they were
qualified to take the examination for master’s mates, provided they
had perfected themselves in navigation and in seamanship. At the
age of nineteen, if they could prove that they had had six years
of sea service, they were allowed to go before the Navy Office
examiners (or a quorum of three sea-captains) to be examined as to
their fitness for the post of lieutenant. It was not essential that
they should first have passed the examination for master’s mate, but
many midshipmen took this preliminary step, as it qualified them to
navigate prizes into port.
The pay of a midshipman varied in the different rates. Aboard a
first-rate, he received £2, 15s. 6d. a month; aboard a third-rate,
£2, 8s.; and aboard a sixth-rate, a bare £2. A first-class volunteer
received £9 a year, from which £5 were deducted for the schoolmaster.
It was essential that a first-class volunteer or midshipman should
have private means. For a volunteer some £30 or £40 per annum was
considered sufficient. For a midshipman the necessary annual sum
ranged from £70 to £100 according to the station on which his ship
served. Foreign stations, owing to the ruinous exchange, were more
expensive than the Channel or the Mediterranean. The sum, whatever
it was, was paid in advance to the captain’s agent, particularly
in the case of the youngsters, so that the captain was able to
check extravagance among the boys, and to keep them from “vice and
idleness” when the ship was in port.
A midshipman wore a dirk or hanger, when in uniform. His working
coat was cut short, like the round blue jacket of a man-of-war’s
man. His uniform was a blue tail-coat lined with white silk. It was
of good blue cloth, ornamented with small gold anchor-buttons, and
with a white patch on the collar, known as a turn back, or a “weekly
account.” His breeches and waistcoats were of thin jean or white
nankeen. His hat was three-cornered, high and smart, with a gold
loop and a cockade. For foul weather he had a glazed hat. Round his
neck he wore a black silk handkerchief. His shoes were black. His
shirts were of frilled white linen. In heavy weather he wore a frieze
overall, known as a watch-coat, and waistcoats of scarlet kerseymere.
This was the ideal, or prospectus, midshipman, of the sort the poor
child imagined before he came up a ship’s side. There were other
kinds.
After a long absence from port, when the lad’s clothes were worn
out or stolen, or “borrowed,” he had to purchase clothes from the
slop-chest or go in rags. The boys seem to have been treated with
the utmost laxity. In many ships they were allowed to be slovenly.
We read of a midshipman coming on to the quarter-deck with only one
stocking, with a dirty shirt, torn coat, and wisps of straw in his
shoes. For the rough sea service this attire was quite fine enough,
and a down-at-heel appearance was not reckoned disgraceful. When
asked to dine with his captain, the mid. took greater pains with
his appearance, and borrowed from all who would lend, in order
to appear neat. In battle, and when at sea, he wore his oldest and
dirtiest rags. For boat service he was required to dress with greater
nicety, in order that the honour of the ship might be maintained
among the shore-goers.
[Illustration: A MIDSHIPMAN’S FIRST INTRODUCTION TO THE BERTH]
A midshipman’s mess was not a pleasant place. It was generally below
the water, in the after cockpit, in a dingy den, lit partly by a
lantern, and partly by a thick glass scuttle, crusted with filth,
let into the ship’s side. From deck to beam it measured, perhaps,
5 feet 6 inches, so that its inhabitants had to uncover as they
entered it to avoid crushing their hats against the ceiling. Twelve
feet square was reckoned fairly large for a berth. Any berth big
enough for a fight when the chests had been cleared away was looked
upon as roomy. The atmosphere so far below water and the upper air
was foul and noisome. The bilges reeked beneath the orlop in a
continual pestilential stench, unlike any other smell in the world.
Near the berth, as a sort of pendant to the bilges, was the purser’s
store-room where the rancid butter and putrid cheese were served out
once or twice a week to the ship’s company. Farther forward were the
cable-tiers, with the tarry, musty smell of old rope always lingering
over them. In many ships a windsail or ventilator led from the deck
to the berth to relieve the midshipmen with a little fresh air.
There was not much furniture in the midshipmen’s mess. Nearly all had
a table, not from any generosity of the Government, but because the
table was wanted for the surgeons in their operations after battle.
This table, at meal-times, was covered with a cloth or old hammock,
which had to last a week. The cloth was used at meal-times as a
dish-cloth and knife-and-fork cleaner. At meals the table was lit by
tallow dips or purser’s glims, stuck in beer or blacking bottles.
After meals, and for state occasions, “the green cloth,” a strip of
dirty baize, was substituted. For seats the “young gentlemen” used
their chests. There was no decoration on the walls or bulkheads
of a berth. Nails hung with clothing, quadrants, boxing gloves,
single-sticks, hangers, etc. etc., were the only decorations ever
known there. Some berths may have had lockers to contain their gear,
bread-barge, table utensils, and sea-stores. Some may have had a
tank to hold the allowance of fresh water. The berth was kept clean
by a mess-boy, a dirty, greasy lad, unfit for anything else. This
worthy washed the weekly table-cloth, and saw to the cooking. All
midshipmen were blessed with other servants, known as “hammock men.”
These were either old sailors or marines, who compounded to lash and
stow, and carry down and unlash, the “young gentleman’s” hammock for
the sum of a glass of grog, payable each Saturday night. For further
considerations of grog or tobacco the hammock man sometimes washed
the young gentleman’s shirts while the ship was at sea. In port, the
linen went ashore to some reputable, or disreputable, washerwoman,
who was lucky indeed if she saw the colour of her money.
The berth was the home of the elder midshipmen, the master’s mates,
the captain’s clerk, and, at times, the assistant surgeons. As some
of the midshipmen, in nearly all ships, were nearer forty than
twenty, and as many of the master’s mates were grey-headed men, the
berth was not the place for little boys, especially when the rum
was flowing towards 8 P.M. The elders seem to have understood as
much, for they had a custom of sticking a fork in the table, or in
the beams above it, directly the first watch was set. As soon as
the fork was in its place every youngster and youth at once retired
to his hammock, so that the old grizzled veterans had the board to
themselves. Probably they were good-hearted fellows in the main, if
a little rough from the life, and a little soured by their long and
unrewarded service. But, if one or two writers may be trusted, their
conversation was not well calculated to improve the mind. Indeed, in
one or two ships, the veterans had a rule that no one should join
their nightly rum-drinkings till he had passed an examination in
vice. Youngsters who disregarded the signal of the fork were given
a few minutes’ grace, after which the signal was repeated. If “the
geese” remained “in the berth” after the second signal, they were
colted (or whipped with a knotted cord) and flicked with twisted
handkerchiefs till they scattered out to their hammocks.
The food served out to the young gentlemen was the same as that
issued to the men. The King’s provisions were generally supplemented
by little niceties, purchased in port by the caterer of the mess.
This worthy was usually a master’s mate of some authority in the
berth. Each member of the mess paid him from £3 to £5 on joining
the ship, and about £1 a month while the ship was in commission.
The caterer expended this money as he thought fit. Before leaving
England he used to lay in a great supply of potatoes and onions,
which he stowed in the lockers, or under the table, or in strings
dangling from the beams. Dutch cheeses, for the manufacture of a
midshipman’s luxury called “crab,” were also purchased, together
with tea and coffee and small stores, such as pepper and sugar. In
port the caterer purchased “soft Tommy” (or shore bread) and boxes
of red-herrings. The ship’s allowance of spirits was so very liberal
that it was not necessary to add to it. A pint of navy rum a day was
sufficient, or should have been sufficient, for any man.
Captain Chamier, Captain Marryat, Jack Mitford, Captain Sinclair,
Captain Glascock, Augustus Broadhead, and the author of “The Navy
at Home,” have all painted vivid pictures of the life in the
midshipmen’s berth. It was rough and ready, and sufficiently brutal.
There was a good deal of noisy horseplay, a good deal of vice and
cruelty, and a little fun and sea philosophy, to allay its many
miseries. A midshipman lived on “monkey’s allowance—more kicks than
halfpence,” and had to put up with bullying and injustice unless
he was strong enough to hold his own. A weakling was robbed of his
fair allowance of food, and imposed upon in other ways, as by tardy
relief at night, after keeping his watch on deck, etc. A thin-skinned
or sensitive boy was out of his element in such a place. There was
no privacy aboard a man-of-war. A student or scholar had little
opportunity for reading. Down in the berth, during the daytime, there
was a continual Dover Court (“all talkers and no hearers”) so that
study there was out of the question. A midshipman was continually
fighting, quarrelling, or playing the fool. The berth was a sort of
bear-garden, a kind of “sea-Alsatia,” which not even the captain
would control or keep in order. From the central darkness of the
steerage many cutting-out expeditions were organised against the
captain’s steward or the purser, or anyone with anything eatable or
drinkable. The berth was always the noisiest and most lawless place
aboard. With fiddling, singing, shouting, and fighting[18] the mid.
passed his leisure. He was careless of all things save his dinner
and his sleep. As for his duty one has but to consult the authorities
to see how he regarded that.
According to Lord Cochrane’s lieutenant there was no “such a thing
as a faultless midshipman.” According to others the breed thought of
nothing but gormandising, and were so greedy that “though God might
turn their hearts, the very devil could not turn their stomachs.” The
young gentlemen were seldom out of hot water. The usual punishment
inflicted on them was mast-heading, by which a lad was sent to the
top-mast, or topgallant cross-trees, for several hours at a time.
This punishment was often the cause of the loss of a meal, for no
member of the berth thought of the absent one at the division of the
meat or soup at dinner. In some cases a mid was mast-headed for a
full twenty-four hours, during which time he had to depend on the
topmen for his meat and drink, if he failed to steal down privily to
lay in a stock. The punishment of mast-heading in sunny latitudes
was not very severe. Most midshipmen used to look upon it as a
pleasant relaxation. They could lash themselves to the cross-trees
and fall asleep there during daylight in fine weather, while at night
they could creep down unobserved to the top, to take a nap on the
studding-sails, after telling the topmen to answer for them if hailed
from the deck. Some lieutenants took a shorter way with midshipmen.
They would lash or “spread-eagle” the offender in the weather
rigging, some half-a-dozen ratlines above the hammock nettings.
In this position, with his face to windward, and his arms and legs
widely stretched, the midshipman cooled in the wind for an hour
at a time, with the spray sprinkling him at brief intervals. This
was severe punishment, usually given for sleeping while on watch.
Another punishment for the same offence was dowsing, or drenching
the offender with a bucketful of water poured from a height. This
was known as “grampussing,” or “making him a soused gurnet.” Some
captains even went so far as to order the boatswain’s mate to rig
a grating in the cabin, and to lay the offending midshipman either
on that grating or on a convenient gun, and to give him a dozen
with a colt, or knotted rope’s end. Jack Mitford mentions a case
of this sort, and a case occurred on the Australian station in
the early forties. In the latter case the offending captain was
court-martialled, and severely reprimanded, “which was nuts to every
midshipman in the service.”
The midshipmen’s berth was governed partly by the strong arm and
partly by certain laws designed to give an air of justice to the
cruelty they recommended. Any member of the mess caught eating, or
drinking rum, in the berth, on the day on which he dined in the cabin
or ward-room, was sentenced to be firked or cobbed with a stockingful
of sand, a knotted rope, or a cask’s bung stave. In extreme cases
“faulty relief,” by which a lad was kept on deck after his watch was
out, was punished in the same way. Anyone caught taking an unfair
share of the rum was firked or cobbed, provided that he was not too
big a man to tackle.
As for amusements, one did not come to sea for pleasure. It
is significant that the chief amusement or game in use in the
midshipmen’s berth, was “able whackets,” a pastime in which cards,
blasphemy, and hard knocks were agreeably mingled. Other amusements
they had none, save that old one, mentioned by Cervantes, of laughing
at sea-sick persons. A green hand, or Johnny Newcome, was fair sport
for his first few days aboard, but tying knots in a lad’s sheets, or
putting a slippery hitch upon his hammock lanyard, or stowing round
shot and swabs under his blankets, soon failed to amuse the jokers.
Cutting a man down as he slept; hiding his trousers in the oven in
the galley; sending him to the top to gather gooseberries or to hear
the dog-fish bark, or to get the key of the keelson, or to find
Cheeks the marine—all of these little tricks were jests of the sea
humourist, designed to sharpen the wits of the greenhorn. Borrowing a
new chum’s clothes was a more questionable piece of humour, for the
lender seldom saw his gear again, unless he had sufficient strength
to back his claim. Making a newcomer drunk on navy rum and sending
him on deck, with a message to the officer of the watch, was yet
another jest. There were one or two others, which we will forbear to
mention.
A midshipman was expected to “turn out” of his hammock at half-past
seven every morning. If he hesitated, and lingered on the order, and
turned, like the sluggard, instead of showing a leg, he was very
promptly cut down and hauled from his blankets by main force. When
he had turned out he washed himself in a little tin basin, balanced
on the lid of his chest. He was allowed to wash every day, unless
the supply of fresh water was running short. He then dressed, and
blacked his boots, and cleared up his sleeping quarters, so that the
breakfast table should not be littered with blacking brushes, soap,
or wet towels. At eight he took his breakfast of tea and biscuit, or
cocoa and porridge. At nine he went to the schoolmaster.
Although many midshipmen were mere children they had “extraordinary
privileges, which they abused extraordinarily.” They were officers,
and therefore powerful. A midshipman had power to bully and
maltreat all those beneath him. Aboard H.M.S. _Revenge_, just
before Trafalgar, under a captain so strict and just as Robert
Moorsom, there was a midshipman who amused himself by climbing on to
gun-carriages, and calling to him the strongest and finest of the
sailors. It was this little devil’s pleasure to kick and beat the
poor fellows without cause. He was an officer, and to resent his
cruelty would have been mutiny. A midshipman had but to complain to
a lieutenant to get a man a flogging at the gangway. He had full
leave and licence to curse and misname any seaman who displeased
him. It was in his power to follow a man day after day, visiting him
with every oppression that malice could suggest. The seaman had no
remedy. Appealing to Cæsar, the captain, was worse than useless. The
man had to grin and bear it, and count himself lucky if he escaped
the cat-o’-nine-tails. “By the god of war,” said Sir Peter Parker to
his seamen, “by the god of war, I’ll make you touch your hats to a
midshipman’s coat, if it’s only hung on a broomstick to dry.” There
was no redress to be gained from men holding opinions of that kind.
FOOTNOTES:
[16] It is hardly necessary to say that a captain was junior to a
commodore, or senior captain, and to an admiral, or flag officer.
The admiral commanded squadrons of ships; the commodore, detachments
from those squadrons. The present work is of too narrow a scope
to allow of any consideration of their respective duties. We must
confine ourselves to an account of the usual officers aboard a ship
of war. Those curious to learn about commodore and admiral will find
plenty of information in Burney’s “Falconer,” and the various Naval
Histories.
[17] The lieutenant had perhaps improved in manners since Edward
Thompson’s time, when “a chaw of Tobacco, a ratan, and a rope of
Oaths,” were counted sufficient qualifications for a lieutenancy.
Still, as many lieutenants were mates pressed out of merchant ships,
there were many in H.M. ships who encouraged the chief faults
mentioned in this article.
[18]
“’Twas folly trying
To read i’ th’ _Berth_—for what with shying
Hats about—and playing flutes,
Backgammon—Boxing—Cleaning Boots,
And other such polite pursuits.
Skylarking—Eating—Singing—Swigging,
And Arguments about the Rigging,
‘This Mast how taut!’ ‘That sail how square’
All Study had been fruitless there.”
_Thus Jack Mitford from his gravel pit in Battersea._