Ahoy Matey, Life aboard Man-O-War, HMS Victory #1 Quiz

Answer: Pressed

The British Navy had trouble recruiting new sailors, especially in wartime. A press gang was a group of 8 to 12 sailors that was sent into a port to "persuade" likely candidates to enlist, (you were going with them whether you wanted to or not). "Scuttle" has several different meanings, 1. an entrance with a hatch between ship decks,(or wall or roof of a house), 2. to sink a vessel on purpose, 3. a wide mouthed container for holding coal, 4. to move about hurriedly.

A scuttlebutt was a tub of drinking water with a tin mug chained to it.

The scuttlebutt was the 1800's version of the office water cooler. A scallywag was an American civil war term for a deceitful, white, southern scoundrel.

Answer: You're a sailor in the Royal Navy

A "blue" was a soldier's slang name for a sailor and "the Andrew" or Royal Navy, comes from an over zealous press gang officer, Andrew Miller, who was said to have pressed so many men that it wasn't the Royal Navy but his navy.

Answer: 63,176 Pounds (1765 pounds)

In 1765, a laborer made about 6 shillings for a 10 to 12 hour day, or a little less than 100 pounds a year.

Answer: 100 acres

90% of the lumber used to make Victory was oak. Oak, elm and fir were used for the hull. Fir, pine and spruce were used for the masts and yards. A giant piece of teak, a very hard tropical wood, 150 feet long and 20 inches square, was used for the keel.

Answer: Acker

Acker is a slang term for any foreign currency. It's used by Egyptian beggars when pleading for baksheesh, (piastres or Egyptian currency). Landsman, lubber and waister, (among others), meant that you now joined the ranks of the lowest of the low and will carry out general, domestic type duties. Had you known carpentery, sailmaker or better yet, had experience in steering the ship, firing the guns or setting sails, then your days would have been a bit easier with slightly higher pay.

Answer: Thomas Masterman Hardy

Thomas Masterman Hardy was the 18th Captain of HMS Victory since she was commissioned in 1778. Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, the 16th Admiral to choose HMS Victory as his flagship, (sinced she was commissioned in 1778) was the Commander-in-Chief of the entire English fleet of 27 ships, (Oct. 1805). Lieutenant William Bligh was in command of the HMS Bounty, when, on April 28th, 1789, Master's Mate Fletcher Christian and 25 crewmembers mutinied. Bligh and 18 of his supporters, adrift in a 23 foot launch, sailed 3618 miles back to civilization. James T. Kirk, was, (will be?), Captain of the Starship Enterprise.

Answer: 821

9 commissiond officers, 98 non-commissioned and warrant officers, midshipmen and petty officers, 43 supply, supernumeraries and Admiral's retinue, 492 landsmen, able and ordinary seaman, 31 boys,(1st, 2nd and 3rd class) plus 135 marines led by 11 officers and non-commissioned officers.

Answer: 12

Thomas Twitchet was 12 years old in Oct.1805. Samuel Robbins was 13. William Huchinson was 14. James Ludford was 15. There were a total of 31 boys aboard, the oldest being 19 year old George Smith. In some cases, a boy was a 'young gentleman apprentice', hoping to become an officer himself.

These boys acted as servants to the officers. Commissioned officers were entitled to 1 or 2 servants. The captain was allowed 4 servants for every 100 members of the ship's crew. There were 21 midshipmen aboard, young naval officers in training.

Some boys were "powder monkeys" ,the 6th member of a 6 man gun crew, who rushed dangerous gunpowder cartridges from the handling chamber deep inside the ship, back to their guns. During battle, all nonessential crew, including any women aboard, helped with this task.

Answer: 67

Walter Burke was a 67 year old purser warrant officer. William Russell was a 59 year old AB,(able seaman). William Mitchell was a 56 year old AB. There were at least 11 crew members 50 years of age or older. Nelson was 47 years old in Oct. 1805.

Answer: "Gee Willikers!"

"Gee Willikers" or "Gee Willikens" dates back to 1857,(still 52 years to go before anyone will be saying "Gee Willikers/Willikens"). It means the same as Gee Whiz, "Gee" standing in for God ... a minced oath. "Breadcrumbs" meant that the Midshipmen should put their fingers in their ears so their seniors could talk in private. "Fishbones" meant that they should close their eyes and "Matchboxes" meant they should close their mouths and keep quiet. Must have been fun when they got all 3 orders at once.

Answer: 8

HMS Victory had a total of 8 decks. It was called a 3 decker because most of her guns were on those 3 decks. Starting at the bottom, (1) the hold - the warehouse of the ship where food, drink, cannonballs, sails, supplies, etc. were stored ... very dark and smelly. (2) The orlop deck ... got its name from a Dutch word meaning to "overlap" because it overlapped the hold. Used for storage and offices for crew, such as the purser and carpenter, that needed access to the hold. (3) The lower deck - the lowest gun deck. Along each side were fifteen 32-pounder guns (because they fired 32 pound cannonballs about the size of coconuts. Sailors hung their hammocks between the beams of this deck, but not during battles.

The ship's manger, where pigs and cows were kept, was also here, (for the captain's dinners). (4) The middle deck ... fourteen 24-pounder guns here.

Many sailors slept here. The kitchen (galley) was here and at the stern were the officer's cabins and wardroom. (5) The upper gun deck with fifteen 24-pounders along each side but this deck was open to the weather in the middle. Three of the ship's small boats sat on cradles that were over the open space in the middle.

The admiral had his day cabin here. (6) The forecastle ... the raised deck at the bow. Four guns here, 2 carronades or "smashers", used for short range heavy shot and 2 huge 68-pounder carronades. Many of the ships sails were controlled from here. (7) The quaterdeck - at the stern of the ship. Normally reserved for the officers. The captain slept in a cabin at the stern of this deck. Here the captain had a good view. The steering wheels were on this deck, underneath the poop deck. (8) Finally, the poop deck, the highest deck on the ship. There weren't any cannons on this deck. Used mainly by officers and the signal lieutenant, who hoisted his flags to signal other ships.

Answer: The Spanish Santissima Trinidad

The Santissima Trinidad was largest wooden ship in the Spanish navy and the largest warship of her day. She was a three decker with 130 guns. She sank the day after the Battle of Tralfalger. The French Royal Louis was built as a direct rival to the Santissima Trinidad.

She was a three decker with 120 bronze 48 pound guns. Our HMS Victory has only 104 guns and is the smallest ship listed here ...To tell the truth, I`m not sure how big the Goodship Lollipop really was(is)...but it comes in last place because there is no mention of it carrying cannons or that it even was a Man-of-War. If you still think the Goodship Lollipop was the largest warship, then I bet you haven't gotten many questions right so far.

Answer: The cook

The cook was often nicknamed "Slushy" after the 'slush' (yellow grease), that floated on top of the pan in which the fatty, salt meat was cooked. The cook often sold slush to the crew who would spread it on their biscuits,(hard tack). The butter which the navy supplied was often rancid.

The cook was often one legged, ("pegged legged"), as it was one of the few jobs a disabled sailor could do. The cook and his mates started their day at 5:30 AM. A cook (at 1 pound, 14 shillings and 6 pence per lunar month), got paid slightly more than an able seaman(at 1-13-6), but less than the captain's clerk (at 2-18-0) or the carpenter (at 3-1-0). (These figures are from 1815).

Answer: Disease

By far, the biggest threat to a sailor's life aboard a Man-O-War was disease. As many as 40 seamen died from disease for every 1 killed in battle. Conditions had improved since Vasco da Gama's day, when he lost more than three-quarters of his 170 men, in 1499, to scurvy.

In one year, out of 12,109 English sailors, 1,518 died from disease and another 350 became invalids. Tropical waters were the worst places to sail to. The worst year for disease fatalities was 1726, when Admiral Hosier's expedition lost 4,000 men out of 4,750. Sir Gilbert Blane, who was physician to the fleet, recommended lemon juice in 1793 to combat scurvy. By 1800 it was almost completely eradicated except on very long voyages.

Answer: Maggots

Ship's biscuits or hard tack were baked three times to completely dry them out and perserve them for up to five years. Insects found it hard to get at the soft center unless the biscuits got damp. If damp, and in hot and humid weather, the biscuits could become infested with maggots, the larvae of the cadelle beetle, tenebroides mauritanicus, up to 20mm long.

A dead fish was placed on top of the buscuit sack so that the maggots would crawl onto the fish instead. Fish were replaced on top of the sack as long as maggots covered it.

There were "weevils" also, not true weevils but a relative of the woodworm called the bread beetle, stegobium paiceum, which if present in large enough numbers could eat out the centers of bread so that they would crumble to dust. Apparently they tasted quite bitter. Sailors perferred to eat their hard tack in their hammocks after dark. Overall however, sailors ate better than the civillians back home.

The Admiralty generally tried to honor it's stated policy that the navy "should be supplied with the best of everything in it's kind.

A "short ration allowance" was issued when the standard rations or equivalents could not be issued. To quote Samuel Pepys, "Englishmen, and more especially seamen, love their bellies above anything else and therefore it must always be remembered in the management of victualling of the navy that to make any abatement in the quality or the agreeableness of the victuals is to discourage and provoke them in the tenderest point, and will sooner rend them disgusted with the King's service than any other hardship that can be put upon them."

Answer: Ship sighted

"Avast" comes from the Italian word for enough - "basta".

Answer: "Our men."

Monday's toast was "Our ships at sea." Wednesday's was "Ourselves ... as no one else is likely to concern themselves with our welfare." Thursday's was "A bloody war" or "A sickly season." Friday's was "A willing foe and sea room." Saturday's was "Sweethearts and wives. May they never meet." Sunday's was "Absent friends."

Answer: True

According to Sir Gilbert Blane, Physician to the Fleet, there was one madman for every 1,000 seamen, or about 7 times higher than in the civilian population. The navy had its own mental hospital at Hoxton in London. In 1813, of the 140 inmates, there was 1 Captain, 4 Lieutenants, 3 Lieutenants of Marines, 1 Surgeon and an assistant Surgeon, 2 Carpenters, 1 Gunner, 1 Master's Mate and 1 Midshipman listed as inmates.

The rest were seamen. It was generally believed that one reason sailors went mad was because of frequently hitting their heads on low overhanging beams, especially when intoxicated.

Answer: Ordinary seamen in the Royal Navy didn't fund charities.

6 pence a month was deducted from every sailor's pay for the upkeep of the Royal Hospital in Greenwich. In addition, warrant officers paid 1 shilling a month and all officers paid 3 pounds annually for their own charities.

Answer: True

Article 10 of the Articles of War on board a Royal Navy ship stated,"If any person in the fleet shall treacherously or cowardly yield or cry for quarter, every person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death." There were eight crimes punishable by death under the Articles of War but because recruiting new seaman was so hard, the navy seldom condemned a sailor to death, except for murder and treason.

Answer: 7:00 AM

Usually 6 bells or 7:00 AM was the start of most of the crew's day. The boatswains mates blew their boatswain's whistles and calling "All hands ahoy." Followed by "Up all hammocks ahoy." Seamen who were slow to respond had their hammocks cut down with them still inside. Bells were rung so the crew would know what time it was. Two sandglasses were used, a 4 hour and a half hour glass.

At the start of a watch, both glasses would be turned. When the half hour ran out, a bell on the forecastle would be struck once and the glass restarted.

When it ran out again it was restarted and the bell rang twice. This continued until 8 bells, or when the 4 hour glass was turned, marking the end of a watch. Half hour sandglasses were still in use in the Royal Navy in 1850.

It was not uncommon to express time in "glasses" - 4 and a half glasses meant two and a half hours.

Answer: 12:00 Midday

Midday was when the ship's speed and the sun's altitude would be ascertained. The master, master's mate and midshipmen would use their sextants and quadrants to estimate the sun's highest point in the sky. The clock would then be put back or forward and the ship's day would start.

Answer: It's 11:00 am, so it must be punishments for serious offences.

The boatswain's mates tied the offender to a grating and took turns flogging with a whip made by the victim himself (later it was a standard whip). "A cat of nine tails" was a length of rope that was unraveled and fastened to a handle. The captain determined the number of lashes. All crew members were present as a warning to all. Boys were beaten with a cane instead.

Answer: A whip

Naval slang for "letting the cat out of the bag" meant the secret is out". "Room to swing a cat" meant the space required for any particular job. The knotted cat of nine tails was kept in a red baize bag until the offender was securely tied to a grating and there was no hope of a reprieve.

A test was done with an exact replica of a cat of nine tails, swung by a 150 pound man, of average build on various pieces of knot free pine. A three quarter inch by three quarter inch piece broken into 3 bits on the first blow.

A 1 inch by 1 inch on the second blow. Ouch!

Answer: His right arm

A Spanish musketball passed through Nelson's right arm, a little above the elbow, severing an artery. His arm was immediately amputated. Nelson's arm is rumored to be kept behind the altar at the Cathedral in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. If you're not sick of 1800's naval trivia yet and would like to know whatever happened to Nelson and the Victory, you can always play Part 2 of this quiz. Thanks for playing.