fore, forward, toward or associated with the front of a vessel.
fore-and-aft, trending along a vessel’s centerline. Fore-and-aft hat: a bicorn worn with the points to the front and rear.
frigate, a fast SHIP of war usually armed with 28 to 50 GUNS that were carried, in theory, on a single deck, and which was meant to cruise alone as a scout or marauder.
furl, to STOW a sail by rolling it up and tying it to its YARD.
fusilier, in French armies, an ordinary infantryman.
gaff, a SPAR to which the HEAD of a FORE-AND-AFT sail is attached.
gig, a small ship’s boat often reserved for the CAPTAIN’S use.
grape shot, an artillery projectile made of small shot in a bag or wired around a dowel.
great gun, a piece of artillery firing shot of at least three pounds.
grenadiers, elite infantry, used to lead assaults.
grog, watered-down booze.
Guadeloupe, a French island in the Lesser Antilles.
gun, a cannon; GREAT GUN.
gunner, specifically, the senior WARRANT OFFICER charged with the maintenance of a ship’s artillery and small arms.
gunroom, the cabin where the junior WARRANT OFFICERS ate.
gunwale, the topmost part of a vessel’s side, so called because guns were once mounted there.
halyard, or halliard, a rope used to lower or hoist a sail on its YARD, GAFF, or STAY, or for raising and lowering a flag.
hand, reef, and steer, the minimum skills expected of an able seaman: to FURL the sails, to shorten sail, and to steer the ship.
handsomely, gently.
handspike, a wooden bar used to move a GUN laterally or turn the CAPSTAN.
hanger, a short curved sword designed to hang comfortably at the side of a man on foot; it was the edged weapon of choice among sea officers.
haul, to pull. To haul one’s wind: to sail to WINDWARD, particularly to avoid an enemy to LEEWARD.
hawse, the place between a vessel’s BOW and where its anchor CABLE enters the water. To cross someone’s hawse: to provoke unwisely.
hawse-hole, a hole in the bow through which a mooring CABLE passes.
hawser, a three-strand rope of three-quarters to nine inches in circumference; hawser-laid rope is used in the RIGGING.
head, the foremost part of a vessel, and by extension a toilet, because sailors relieved themselves from the head. Also, the upper edge of a sail.
headsail, a sail set between the BOWSPRIT and the forward mast.
heave-to, to hold a ship in place by setting one or more of its sails ABACK; past tense is hove-to.
hermaphrodite, a two-master rigged as a BRIG on the FORE and a SCHOONER on the main.
Hispaniola, the large island lying between Cuba and Puerto Rico and containing the colonies of SAINT-DÓMINGUE and SANTO DOMINGO.
hogshead, a barrel holding about 63 U.S. gallons.
hoist, to raise aloft. In a flag, the part attached to the HALYARD.
jack, Jack Tar: a naval sailor. Every man jack: everyone present. Foremast jack: a navy enlisted man.
jackass, combining aspects of otherwise dissimilar things, as a jackass brig: HERMAPHRODITE.
jib, any of the outer FORE-AND-AFT HEADSAILS.
jib-boom, a moveable SPAR extending from the BOWSPRIT.
Johnny Crappo, U.S. Navy slang for a Frenchman. From Jean Crapaud ( “John Toad” ).
jolly boat, a small rowboat with a wide stern, carried aboard a sailing vessel and used for light work.
keel, the main FORE-AND-AFT timber of a ship, to which the STEM, sternpost, and ribs are attached.
keelson, an internal KEEL to which the true keel and floor-timbers are bolted.
knot, an analogous measurement of a ship’s speed, calculated by letting out a LINE knotted at certain intervals (usually 47 feet three inches) for a certain amount of time (usually 28 seconds).
ladder, a stairway aboard ship.
ladder of promotion, the theoretical route by which a COMMISSIONED OFFICER rose in rank.
larboard, to the left of a vessel’s centerline when facing FORWARD; loosely, to the left.
lead, a lead weight attached to a LINE used for measuring depth; also the entire apparatus. Often it had a concave tip that could be loaded with tallow or clay for determining the composition of the sea floor.
Le Cap, CAP FRANÇAIS.
leeward, downwind.
leg, the distance sailed on a single TACK. To make a leg: to bow deeply with the forward leg extended.
letter of marque, a document authorizing a private armed vessel to seize the vessels and goods of an enemy in retaliation for alleged wrongs: a PRIVATEER. In full, letter of marque and reprisal.
lieutenant, in the U.S. Navy, a COMMISSIONED OFFICER ranking between a MASTER COMMANDANT and a MIDSHIPMAN. Also, a MARINE or army officer ranking immediately below a CAPTAIN.
lieutenant de vaisseau, a French grade of SEA LIEUTENANT.
line, a ROPE that is attached to something.
loo’ard, LEEWARD.
lubber, an ignorant or clumsy person.
magazine, a room where gunpowder was stowed and where CARTRIDGES were made.
main, the chief thing, as mainsail, MAINMAST. Also, SPANISH MAIN.
mainmast, the chief mast when there is more than one, or the second from the bows when there are more than two.
man-of-war, a ship belonging to a national navy and usually carrying more than 20 guns.
marine, a light infantryman belonging to a navy.
master, the commander of a MERCHANTMAN; also, SAILING MASTER.
master commandant, a sometime rank in the U.S. Navy between LIEUTENANT and CAPTAIN, akin to the British rank of commander.
master’s mate, a senior MIDSHIPMAN or PETTY OFFICER, often but not necessarily an assistant to the SAILING MASTER.
mate, an officer’s assistant, as a BOSUN’S MATE or a surgeon’s mate; in the merchant service, an officer analogous to a LIEUTENANT. Also a shipmate, a pal.
mechanic, an artisan or machinist.
merchantman, a private trading vessel.
mess, a cabin where food was eaten, or a group that customarily ate together. The officers’ messes often contributed a set amount toward making large purchases, as for livestock or liquor.
midshipman, a naval cadet. The typical American midshipman during the Quasi-War was 17 years old.
mizzen, of the sternmost mast in a SHIP.
mizzenmast, the one behind the MAINMAST.
monkey jacket, a short-tailed coat worn by junior officers.
moor, to fix a vessel in place by means of a ROPE or ropes.
mulatto, a person of mixed race, specifically half European and half African.
noncommissioned officer, an enlisted man, similar to a sergeant or corporal, appointed to his rank by the commander and charged with the regular execution of particular tasks.
paw-paw, a fruit native to eastern North America and related to the custard-apple and the soursop; also the unrelated papaya.
petty officer, a NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER, such as a BOSUN’S MATE or QUARTERMASTER, akin to an army or MARINE sergeant and usually specializing in a particular type of task.
picaroon, a West Indian PRIVATEER of questionable legality, particularly one operating in French waters.
piece of eight, the Spanish silver dollar, or peso, which circulated widely in the Americas and was worth eight reales. In early colonial times it was commonly chopped into eight BITS, each in theory worth twelve and a half cents American (hence “two bits,” a quarter dollar), but coins worth one-half to four reales were being minted by 1800.
point, the compass was divided into 32 points: north, north by east, north-northeast, northeast by north, northeast, northeast by east, east-northeast, east by north, east, and so on.
Port-Républicain, Port-au-Prince (or Pòtoprens), Haïti, during the French Revolution.
Porto Rico, the U.S. name for Puerto Rico.
post-
captain, an officer holding the rank of CAPTAIN and entitled to command a SHIP of more than 20 GUNS.
privateer, a private armed vessel authorized by a government to commit certain acts that would otherwise be considered piracy; a LETTER OF MARQUE.
quarter, clemency, as in not killing a defeated opponent. Cry for quarters: beg for mercy. Also, either of the after quadrants of a vessel.
quarters, the place where a man sleeps or fights, depending.
quarterdeck, the after part of the WEATHER DECK, from which the CAPTAIN and his officers CONN the ship.
quartermaster, a senior PETTY OFFICER who helps to CONN a vessel.
quarter-gunner, a PETTY OFFICER who assists the GUNNER; in theory one was allowed for every four GUNS.
rate, status assigned to a man according to his skills.
ratlines, horizontal ropes strung between the shrouds and used as footholds for going aloft.
real, an eighth of a Spanish silver dollar. See PIECE OF EIGHT.
reef, a lower part of a sail that can be rolled up to reduce the area exposed to the wind; to shorten a sail by taking in a reef. Close-reefed: with all the TOPSAIL reefs taken in. Also, a chain of rocks or coral lying just beneath the ocean’s surface.
reefer, a MIDSHIPMAN, whose duties included attending at the reefing of the TOPSAILS.
rigging, the general term for the ROPES used to hold the masts and SPARS up and to trim the sails; see STANDING RIGGING, RUNNING RIGGING.
rope, a LINE that isn’t attached to anything.
round hat, a hat with a brim all around, rather than turned up as in a tricorne, which it began to replace around this time; it often looked like a low-crowned top hat.
round jacket, a short coat without tails.
round shot, a solid ball of iron used as a projectile.
royal, the mast, YARD, or sail immediately above the TOPGALLANT.
running rigging, ROPES used to control the sails and SPARS.
saber, a long and heavy cavalry sword, sometimes but not always curved.
sailing master, the WARRANT OFFICER charged with a vessel’s navigation, equal in rank but subordinate to a LIEUTENANT.
sailmaker, the WARRANT OFFICER charged with the care of the ship’s canvas.
Saint-Dómingue, the French colony on the island of HISPANIOLA. Now the Republic of Haïti.
Saint Croix, the southernmost of the Danish VIRGIN ISLANDS.
Saint John’s, or Saint John, American names for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Saint John is also the name of one of the VIRGIN ISLANDS.
Saint Kitts, or Saint Christopher, a British island in the Lesser Antilles, where there was a large naval base.
Saint Thomas, the principal island of the Danish VIRGIN ISLANDS and containing the colonial capital of CHARLOTTE AMALIE.
San Domingo, American name for SAINT-DÓMINGUE.
Santa Cruz, SAINT CROIX.
Santo Domingo, the Spanish colony on HISPANIOLA. Now the Dominican Republic.
schooner, a FORE-AND-AFT-rigged vessel with a narrow hull and usually two masts, common to the North American coast and the Caribbean. Navy schooners usually carried a SQUARE SAIL on the foretopmast, and often on the maintopmast as well, to be handier before the wind.
scuttle, a porthole.
sea daddy, an experienced seaman who teaches a younger one the ropes and divulges to him a wealth of sea-lore, much of which is true.
sea lieutenant, “sea” to distinguish him from an army or MARINE lieutenant, whom he outranks.
servant, a seaman who cooked and served an officer’s meals, cleaned his cabin, and tended to his clothes; also, a euphemism for “slave.” MARINES might serve as MESS attendants on formal occasions.
sheet, a LINE attached to a CLEW and used to HAUL a sail taut.
ship, a SQUARE-RIGGED vessel with three masts; loosely, any vessel large enough to carry a boat.
shroud, a piece of STANDING RIGGING in lateral support of a mast.
sloop, a single-masted sailing vessel. Sloop-of-war: a warship of usually fewer than twenty guns.
snow, a sailing vessel similar to a brig except that the GAFF mainsail was hooped to a vertical spar or heavy rope, called a snow-mast or jack-mast, that was stepped immediately ABAFT the MAINMAST. The sail was usually set loose-footed.
sojer, soger, a derogatory word for a soldier, specifically a MARINE. To sojer: to perform a repetitive and often pointless task, as for punishment.
Spanish Main, the mainland of South America, and by extension the Caribbean Sea and its islands.
spar, a stout wooden pole such as a mast or a YARD.
splice the mainbrace, to have a TOT of GROG.
square-rigged, fitted primarily with SQUARE SAILS.
square sail, actually trapezoidal, but set “square” to a vessel’s center-line.
standing rigging, LINES used to support masts and SPARS.
starboard, to the right of a vessel’s centerline when facing forward; loosely, to the right.
stay, a FORE-AND-AFT piece of STANDING RIGGING in support of a mast.
staysail, stays’l, a FORE-AND-AFT sail set to a STAY.
stem, the upright timber at a vessel’s BOW.
stern, the rear of a vessel.
stow, to lade a ship with cargo and make sure it is packed away in a manner that prevents its shifting; loosely, to put something in its proper place.
stuns’l, studding sail, a sail set outboard of a SQUARE SAIL in light weather.
subaltern, an army or MARINE officer below the rank of CAPTAIN.
surgeon, a ship’s chief medical officer. Surgeons of the day were not usually physicians, who held a much higher social rank.
swivel gun, a small GUN mounted on a BULWARK and used to discourage boarders.
sword knot, a soft, braided rope wrapped around a sword’s hand guard for decoration, and looped over the bearer’s wrist in combat.
tack, to come about with the wind across the BOW. Also, the lower corner of a sail’s leading edge. On a (STARBOARD or LARBOARD) tack: sailing with the wind on that side.
taffrail, the rail at a vessel’s stern.
throw weight, the amount of metal that a gun could fire, or the amount that a vessel could fire from all of its guns in one go.
tomahawk, a narrow-bladed hatchet with a straight shaft, used as a sidearm; also, BOARDING AX.
topgallant, t’gallant, pertaining to the gear above the TOPMAST and below the ROYAL
topmast, a mast’s second section above the deck.
topsail, a square sail carried on a TOPMAST: tops’l. GAFF topsail: a FORE-AND-AFT topsail.
tot, a small serving of booze.
traverse board, a wooden disk pierced with holes set in concentric circles along each of eight points of the compass, and eight pegs attached to the center of the compass by twine; a peg is inserted in the board every half-hour to show the direction sailed.
Virgin Islands, a Danish colony composed of SAINT THOMAS, SAINT JOHN, and SAINT CROIX or SANTA CRUZ, and numerous smaller islands, lying east of Puerto Rico in the Leeward Islands. Also a British colony in the same group, consisting of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, ANEGADA, and other islands.
wardroom, the cabin where the senior officers ate.
warrant officer, an officer who held his rank by warrant rather than commission, meaning he was off the LADDER OF PROMOTION. Senior warrant officers included the SAILING MASTER, SURGEON, BOSUN, and GUNNER. Inferior warrant officers included the COOK and SAILMAKER.
watch, a stint on duty, usually four hours. See DOGWATCH.
watch below, the men off duty.
watch on deck, the men on duty.
wear, to come about with the wind across the STERN.
weather deck, a DECK exposed to the elements.
winch, a spindle set horizontally or vertically, used for hoisting or hauling, and stopped with clicks and pawls.
windlass, a large horizontal WINCH.
windward, in the direction of the wind.
Windwar
d Passage, the channel between HISPANIOLA and Cuba.
yard, a SPAR used to spread the head of a sail.
yarn, a long and often intentionally preposterous story.
yellow fever, an acute infectious viral disease that occurs in the warm regions of Africa and the Americas and is spread by mosquitoes, so-called because of the jaundice that sometimes accompanies it.
BROOS CAMPBELL’S articles and short stories have been published in alternative newspapers and literary magazines. He was also a crew member of the Lady Washington, a restored tall ship. He currently works as a book editor and lives in Los Angeles.
Visit him at www.brooscampbell.com.
McBooks Press, Inc
520 N. MEADOW ST.
ITHACA, NY 14850
www.mcbooks.com
To receive a free McBooks Press historical fiction catalog, call 1-888-BOOKS11 (1-888-266-5711).
Peter Wicked Page 33