Sea life in Nelson's time

The civilian and warrant or standing officers—The surgeon—The surgeon’s assistants—The chaplain—The boatswain—The purser—The gunner—The carpenter—Mates and yeomen—The sailmaker—...

The ships in which Nelson went to sea were designed by master-shipwrights, in large sheds or studios known as “mould-lofts.” There was a mould-loft in all the royal dockyards, n...

The cannon with which Nelson’s ships were armed were made of brass or iron. The iron guns were cast in a mould, and then bored, or tubed by the insertion of a powerful cylindric...

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 d...

The civilian and warrant or standing officers—The surgeon—The surgeon’s assistants—The chaplain—The boatswain—The purser—The gunner—The carpenter—Mates and yeomen—The sailmaker—...

There were various ways of entering the Royal Navy, “through the hawse-holes.” The greater number of our seamen were pressed into the fleets from merchant-ships, or sent aboard...

The punishment most in use in the fleet was flogging on the bare back with the cat-o’-nine-tails. The cat was a short, wooden stick, covered with red baize. The tails were of to...

At the first sight of a suspicious ship, all hands were called, and the drummer of the marines beat to quarters. The roll to quarters was short, quick, and determined, being the...

The day of a man-of-war’s man began at midnight, or at four in the morning, according to the alternation of the watches. If he had the middle-watch, from 12 P.M. till 4 A.M., he...

When a ship came into port after a long absence at sea or on a foreign station, with several years of pay due to her crew, she was surrounded by boats from the shore containing...