Taken from the Yahoo Civil War Naval and Marine e-mail group. These were written by Steve Hesson who knows more about the day-to-day operations of the Union Navy during the war than most people.
BOYS--Usually officers' servants. First Class Boys could read, Second Class couldn't.
LANDSMEN-- unskilled labor with no prior service in the Navy. Essentially strong backs.
SEAMEN-- Skilled labor. Divided by skill and experience.
PETTY OFFICER-- Craftsmen
Only officers held rank. Enlisted sailors held rate. Today, it would be called pay grades.
ORDINARY SEAMEN-- had some nautical skills and had spent some time aboard ships. They were usually former landsmen.
ABLE SEAMEN-- knew their jobs well.
ENGINEERING GROUPS
These groups made up the men who ran the ship's engine.
COAL HEAVER-- No skills, strong backs, Landsmen
WIPERS-- wipe up oil drips (that figures) and kept eye on moving engine parts.
OILERS-- oiled moving parts (figures). They also could make adjustments and repairs.
FIREMAN FIRST CLASS-- considered a petty officer.
I imagine this system would also be on Confederate ships since the CS Navy was based on the US Navy.
So, Now You Know. --Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment