Naval Officers & Crew

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Admiral of the Fleet: the most senior flag rank; commander-in-chief. After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the new rank of Admiral of the Red (formerly Admiral of the Fleet) was created as a reward for senior admirals, and as a tribute to the Royal Navy's successes.

Admiral of the Red, White, Blue: The three (3) squadrons into which a British fleet was divided historically were distinguished by colour. The order of precedence was red, white, and blue and the admirals commanding the squadrons flew corresponding coloured ensigns. The squadrons were also each subdivided into three subdivisions.

The senior (red) squadron was generally placed in the centre of the line of battle, and always led by the commander-in-chief, ranked Admiral of the Fleet. His van division was led by the Vice Admiral of the Red, his rear division by the Rear Admiral of the Red.

The white squadron, ranked second and generally placed in the van would be commanded by the Admiral of the White, and its subdivisions would be led by a Vice Admiral of the White (van), and a Rear Admiral of the White (rear); the blue squadron, ranked third or junior, was similarly commanded with an Admiral, Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral of the Blue, each flying a blue ensign.

On first achieving flag rank, and officer became a rear-admiral of the blue; his next step up was to rear-admiral of the white, then rear-admiral of the red; thereafter he became a vice-admiral of the blue, and so on up the colour divisions. Promotion was by seniority, and hence advancement was automatic as vacancies occurred.

Admiralty: the office responsible for the administration of the affairs of a navy, and in particular the Royal Navy. Headed by a Lord High Admiral whose duties were discharged by the Board of Admiralty, comprising civilian politicians, senior sea officers and a secretariat.

B

Boatswain: a noncommissioned warrant officer in charge of the ship's rigging, boats, and associated equipment (one of the four warrant officers). Usually had risen from the ranks of seamen. Regulations specified that he serve at least one year as a petty officer in the navy. He was also, under the captain and first lieutenant, responsible for discipline on board ship.

Boatswain's Mate: a petty officer assisting the boatswain in matters relating to rigging and discipline. In flogging punishments he would deliver the lashes.

C

Captain: the form of address of the commanding officer of any armed ship or vessel.

Captain of the Fleet: a captain or rear-admiral assisting the commander-in-chief.

Carpenter: responsible for the maintenance of the hull and masts of the ship (one of the four warrant officers).

Commander: (1) the commanding officer of any armed ship or vessel; (2) the captain; (3) an officer of the rank of master and commander (1674-1794); (3) an officer of the rank of commander (from 1794-); (4) the senior officer commanding a squadron of ships.

Commander-in-Chief: a senior officer appointed to command a squadron or station.

Commanding Officer: (1) the senior officer of a squadron of warship; (2) the officer commanding a ship in the absence of her captain.

Commissioned Officer: a sea officer apppointed by Admiralty commission: a captain, commander or lieutenant.

Commissioner: (1) a member of the Navy Board; (2) a member of the Victualling, Sick and Hurt or Transport Boards.

Commodore: a post-captain appointed commander-in-chief of a squadron or station, having the temporary rank of a rear-admiral; (2) a senior post-captain ordered by the commander-in-chief to take command of a squadron or station; (3) the senior master commanding a convoy of merchant ships, especially East Indiamen.

Complement: the total ship's company authorized for her size or Rate.

Cooper: (1) an artificer skilled in making and repairing casks; (2) a rating employed to assist the purser in dispensing beer, rum and other liquors to the ship's crew.

Coxwain (or Cox'n): a noncommissioned petty officer charged with piloting a small boat.

D

E

F

Flag Captain: the captain of a flagship.

Flag Officer: an admiral, vice admiral or rear admiral, i.e. any senior officer entitled to denote his presence at sea by flying a flag ( in distinction to a Commodore who flies a broad pennant).

Flag Rank: the rank of Admiral.

First (Second, Third etc.) Lieutenant: a lieutenant ranking first (second, third etc.) in seniority after the captain.

G

Gun Captain: a rating commanding a gun's crew.

Gunner: a noncommissioned warrant officer charged with the maintenance of the ship's armament, including the ammunition supply system (one of the four warrant officers).

H

I

Idlers: men who did not stand watches, and, except in an emergency or in action, worked by day and slept by night. In the C18th the word 'idler' did not carry derogatory connotations. Warrant officers who were 'idlers' included: the surgeon, purser, chaplain, carpenter, sailmaker, armourer, master-at-arms, ropemaker, caulker and cook. Junior petty officers who were 'idlers' included: the carpenter's mate, gunner's mate, yeoman of the powder room, armourer's mate, ship's corporal, caulker's mate, trumpeter, carpenter's crew, gunsmith, clerk, and steward.

J

K

L

Landman (or Landsman): an unskilled member of a ship's company.

Lieutenant: a commissioned sea officer immediately junior to the captain. All candidates for promotion to lieutenant were required to have spent six years at sea, including at least two as a midshipman.

Lieutenant Commander: a lieutenant commanding a small warship.

M

Master: (1) the commanding officer of a merchant ship; (2) a warrant sea officer responsible for the navigation and pilotage of a warship.

Master and Commander: a quasi-rank intermediate between lieutenant and post-captain (1674-1794).

Master's Mate: a petty officer assisting the master; usually a senior midshipman awaiting promotion to lieutenant.

Mate: (1) second in of a merchant ship; (2) petty officer assisting a warrant officer or more senior petty officer (usually used in compound form, e.g. boatswain's mate, master's mate, quartermaster's mate).

Midshipman: an inferior petty officer; (2) a boy or young man hoping to become a commissioned officer. Non-commissioned naval rank. In the late C18th the minmum age for rating as a midshipman was 15 years.

N

O

Officer: a person having rank and authority in a disciplined service.

P

Petty Officer: a senior rating; received higher pay and a higher share of prize money, but did not hold a warrant. In the late C18th the word 'petty officer' referred to all those members of the crew of a warship who held ratings above that of able seamen or who were specialists. The word 'petty' derived from the French 'petit', meaning small. Senior petty officers included: the quartermaster, quartermaster's mate, boatswain's mate, yeoman of the sheets, coxswain, quarter gunners. Junior petty officers included: captain of the forecastle, captain of the afterguard, captain of the foretop, captain of the maintop, captain of the waist, gun captain. Additional junior petty officers were known as 'idlers'.

Post-Captain: an officer of the rank of captain. In the Royal Navy any officer in command of a ship was accorded the honorific 'captain', but only a Post Captain could command a ship of one of the the six major Rates. His position differed from all other lower ranks in that his future was guaranteed by seniority. Promotion did not necessarily depend upon merit, but rather upon longevity. The highest rank in the Royal Navy below that of rear admiral, except that for a special duty a captain could be temporarily given the rank of commodore and would then rank above all other captains.

Powder Monkey: the member of a gun crew with responsibility for bringing powder cartridges up from the magazine.

Prize Agent: man of business taking charge of the captors' interest in a prize.

Prize Crew: the party sent aboard a prize vessel to sail her into port.

Purser: the noncommissioned warrant officer responsible for the procurement and distribution of supplies, including food, for the ship's crew, as well as keeping the ship's accounts (one of the four warrant officers).

Q

Quartermaster: a petty officer assisting the master in steering the ship.

R

Rating: one of the 'common men' of a ship's company having no rank.

Rear Admiral: a flag-officer of the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Red, White or Blue (C18th).

Ropemaker: one ropemaker was appointed by warrant to each ship – under the command of the boatswain. the ropemaker was to make rope wit hthe help of any of the ship's company 'directed to assist him'. He had no regular mates.

S

Sailing Master: the noncommissioned senior warrant officer responsible for the ship's navigation.

Sailmaker: one sailmaker was appointed by warrant to each ship – under the command of the boatswain; he had a mate in each rated ship (chosen from among the crew) and other seamen could be drafted to help the sailmaker if needed.

Sea Cunnies: helmsmen.

Sea Officer: a commissioned or warrant officer of the Navy.

Shipmate: a fellow-member of a ship's company.

Shipwright: a carpenter employed in shipbuilding.

Standing Officer: one of the four (main) warrant officers: purser, boatswain, gunner and carpenter.

Sub-Lieutenant: position of a midshipman or master's mate, passed for lieutenant but not commissioned, acting as watchkeeping officer of a small warship (1802-1814).

Supercargo [also supracargo]: an abbreviation of cargo superintendent, the owner's representative on board a merchant vessel responsible for the commercial transactions of the voyage.

Supernumerary: a member of a ship's crew additional to her established complement.

Surgeons: medical practitioners warranted to ships by the Navy Board, having qualified by examination at the Surgeons' Company. From 1796-1806 they were both examined and appointed by the Sick and Hurt Board, from 1806-1816 by the Transport Board, from 1817-1832 by the Vitualling Board, and thereaftere by the Admiralty.

T

U

V

Vice-Admiral: a flag-officer of the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Red, White or Blue (C18th).

Victualler: a victualling contractor or agent, responsible for the provisioning of a ship.

Volunteer: (1) a person volunteering to serve; (2) an unemployed officer serving unofficially in the hope of filling a vacancy (3) a pupil of the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth (1731-1812); (4) an officer cadet.

W

Warrant Officer: a seaman or subordinate officer appointed by warrant from the Navy Board, rather than the commission of the Board of Admiralty. Included all specialised officers, as well as men of lower status: master, surgeon, purser, chaplain, boatswain, carpenter, gunner.

X

Y

Yellow Admiral: a captain retired with the rank of rear-admiral.

Z

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Sources:

ADKIN, Mark. The Trafalgar Companion: a guide to history's most famous sea battle and the life of Admiral Lord Nelson. London: Aurum Press, 2005 pp.119-152 and 169-196.

HILL, Richard. The Prizes of War: the naval prize system in the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815. Phoenix Mill, Eng.: Sutton Publishing, 1998 pp.250-255.

LAVERY, Brian. Nelson's Navy: the Ships, Men and Organisation, 1793 -1815. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1989.

The Line of Battle: the sailing warship 1650-1840. (ed.) Robert Gardiner. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1992 pp.195-204.

LYON, David. The Sailing Navy List: all the ships of the Royal Navy - built, purchased and captured 1688 - 1860. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1993 pp.xi-xv.

LYON, David and WINFIELD, Rif The Sail & Steam Navy List: all the ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889. London: Chatham Publishing, 2004 pp.9-11.

The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea. (ed.) Peter Kemp. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976.

PADFIELD, Peter. Maritime Power and the Struggle for Freedom 1788-1851. London: John Murray, 2003 pp.389-400.

RODGER, Nicholas. The Command of the Ocean: a naval history of Britain, 1649-1815. London: Allen Lane in association with the National Maritime Museum, 2004 pp.745-771.

TILLEY, John A. The British Navy and the American Revolution. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1987 pp.308-312.

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