Ahoy Matey, Life aboard Man-O-War, HMS Victory #2 Quiz

Answer: Spain

Spain was already a sympathizer with France and became an ally in 1804, adding 32 ships of the line. The Dutch fleet was also arrayed against the Royal Navy. Austria and Russia were allies of England, and Prussia was neutral in 1805. The American Revolution ended in 1783, and the War of 1812 was still in the future. Prussia was not at war in 1805.

Answer: Bowmen of a launch or cutter (oarsmen of a small boat)

The bowmen of the launch or cutter, the sailors that manned an oar in one of the small boats, were the most easily spared members of a ship's crew. It was the bowmen who hauled condemned men to the yardarm to be executed. The ship's most undesirable members were given the bows oar duty. By having them involved in executions, they were warned what could happen to them. Being the coxswain and oarsmen of the Admiral's barge, on the other hand, was an honor as these men were handpicked.

Answer: An opening in the platform halfway up a mast.

A lubber's - another name for a landsman or rookie - hole was in the fighting platform halfway up a mast. Experienced seamen clambered onto the platform over the outside edge. Those feeling insecure used the lubber's hole next to the mast. From the fighting platform sailors could continue climbing aloft, or in times of battle, marines would be stationed there as sharpshooters.

Answer: Ship worms

Ship worms, tendeos or "termites of the sea" (teredo navalis) or "cappanus" as seamen called them, aren't worms but marine mollusks similar to clams, that bore into wood. The holes get bigger as the ship worm grows. Ship worms could eat out the bottom of a vessel in a few weeks. Gribbles or 'roly polies' (limnoria lignorum) are marine animals that are related to the terrestrial pill bugs, and also eat wood. Before copper sheets were introduced, broad headed iron nails (filling a ship's bottom) lead sheets and thin wooden sheathing, were used to protect wooden hulls against marine borers. Barnacles slow a ship down and reduce maneuverability.

Answer: A chain pump

A chain pump was the most powerful form of older pump. Leather washers were attached to a looped chain that sucked water out of the bilges into a "pump dale" or wooden gully that crossed the gun deck and back to the sea. If struck by a cannonball below the waterline, the pumps had to be manned night and day until the carpenter could fix the hole. Two men could pump out a ton of water in 55 seconds. An elm tree pump, bored from an elm tree trunk, brought water up from under the ship, near the keel.

This water was used to put out fires and for cleaning.

Answer: 720.54 tonnes (aprox.)

304.8 tonnes of fresh water, 121.9 tonnes of cannonballs, 50.8 tonnes of beer, 50.8 tonnes of fuel for galley stove, 45.7 tonnes of biscuits, 35.6 tonnes of gunpowder, 30.5 tonnes each of salt pork and salt beef, 20.3 tonnes of spare lumber, 15.24 tonnes of dried peas, 10.2 tonnes of flour and 2.1 tonnes each of butter and cheese.

Answer: Soldiers

Seamen called soldiers "grabbies". I`ve tried to find out why - your guess is as good as mine. Marines were also called "Cheeks", because of the tails of their coats. They were granted the title "Royal" in 1802. Marines were stationed on ships to shoot at and board enemy vessels, also to maintain order, guard duty and enforce disicpline aboard their own ships. Marines were sometimes used for press gang duty.

They were paid 1 pound, 8 shillings, 0 pence per lunar month, the same as per the army. While at sea the only recieved 19 shillings, 3 pence to take into account their free room and board.

There were 146 marines from the Chatham division aboard HMS Victory in Oct. 1805, commanded by Captain Charles Adair. There were 3 Lieutenants, 7 Noncommissioned officers, 132 Privates, 2 Drummers and 1 Trumpeter.

Answer: Played music and sang sea chanteys.

A chanteyman played a fiddle or other musical instrument and sang sea chanteys (work songs) that had a very strong beat that the crew would work to. They would heave on the beat, especially when hauling up the anchors. The chanteyman would make up songs as he went along, often rude ones about an officer and the crew would sing the chorus.

This was one of the few job that a one legged sailor could preform.

Answer: Aloft, in the rigging.

"Away aloft" sent the best hands high up into the rigging, loosing sails, ("Let fall"), or furling sails. Furled a sail neatly was difficult and dangerous to do quickly, especially in poor weather and was visible to everyone in the fleet. Sails were unfurled first at the yardarm - the tips of the yard (the wooden horizontal beam that the sail hangs from), and only then at the "bunt" or middle. If the bunt was loosened first,the sail would fill with wind too soon and rise above the yard, easily knocking off seamen at the yardarm.

A fall from high up in the rigging usually meant death or very serious injuries. Safety nets and harnesses weren't used. "Waisters" were crew members that worked in the "waist of the ship" and implied less experience or abilities. Rookie crew members killed and trapped rats deep within the ship's hold - just one of their fun and stimulating pastimes.

Answer: 6

Six sailors made up a six-man gun crew, who were known by numbers, thereby simplifying orders. #1 The gun captain, primed, aimed and fired the cannon. He wasn't an officer but a rating and not a member of the gunner's crew, (the gunner, gunner's mate, amourer,etc. aboard ship). #2 Raised and turned the cannon's barrel. #3 Loaded the cannon. #4 Damped down sparks before reloading. #5 Helped move the cannon's barrel and passed ammunition. #6 Was the 'powder monkey', often a boy or sometimes a woman, who fetched fresh ammunition from the handling chamber deep within the ship's hold.

Answer: Blood shot

Grape shot were usually 9 iron balls, each about the size of a tennis ball held together by a central bolt. Metal plates or rings divided the balls into 3s. The balls were bound in canvas bags, usually dipped in pitch or tar. Grapeshot was used against enemy crews. Canister shot were very effective at close range against enemy crews.

They were cylindrical cases filled with pistol balls. Chain shot were heavy metal balls joined together with a length of chain. They were very good at tangling up in enemy rigging and tearing it down. Cannonballs were heavy round balls of iron (or sometimes stone or lead) which were stored on gun decks in "shot garlands" or wooden racks on the decks around hatches and besides cannons. Rusty cannonballs were scraped and greased regularly.

After a battle, one of the first things to be done was to restock the shot garlands so the cannons would have plenty of ammunition if needed.

Answer: A ship on the verge of a mutiny.

"Shot rolling ships" were often ships whose Captains had ordered too many punishments. Cannonballs were rolled along decks by discontented crews in an effort to knock unwary officers off their feet.

Answer: Raising the anchors.

The huge anchor cable was made of hemp which was extremely heavy when it became wet. The crew used a gaint capstan or winch with heavy wooden capstan bars to haul in an anchor. The anchor cable was stored on a special slatted floor that allowed air to circulate and water to drain off it into the bilges.

There were two capstans, (winches), on the Victory, the jeer capstan, used to lift supplies, boats and guns, as well as raising masts and yards, and the main capstan, used to raise the anchors. The main capstan, (upper and lower, connected vertically), could have up to 14 bars fitted into the drumhead on the middle gun deck, and 12 bars could be used with the trundlehead on the lower gun deck. Six men pushed each bar, (although I found sources that said as many as ten men pushed each bar), making 144 men, (or possibly as many as 260), were needed to raise the anchors and another 40 men were needed to coil the heavy anchor cable when it was wet. HMS Victory's six anchor cables were each 24 inches in circumference and 600 feet long. The huge anchor cables were made of hemp which was extremely heavy when it became wet. Raising the anchors could take between 30 minutes and six hours, depending on the length of cable used. The anchor cable was stored on a special slatted floor that allowed air to circulate and water to drain off it into the bilges. Approximately 120 men were needed to "make sail".

Answer: To hide their palms which were blackened with tar from ropes.

In Nelson's time seamen showed superior officers respect by uncovering their heads. Queen Victoria introduced saluting with the hand to the Navy.

Answer: The Purser

The kindest nickname for the purser was "the sea grocer". The purser checked and recorded all supplies that came on board. He would sell, at a profit, food, drink, clothing and everyday items that the crew were forced, by necessity to buy from the Navy through him. Pursers would have had to be a Captain's clerk for a year (or longer if a more junior flag officer's clerk, before applying to become a purser.

This was so he could gain experience with Navy life and for him to have any credibility with the rank of Warrant Officer that a purser was classed as.

A purser had to lay out for a security bond, aproximately 400 pounds for a smaller ship and up to 1,200 pounds for a vessel the size of HMS Victory, a sizeable sum in 1805. This covered the goods and Navy property that he would be dealing with.

He was allowed one-eighth wastage on all items except meat. The purser served only 14 ounces to the pound and 7 pints to the gallon instead of, to protect himself from losses. (This was one of the grievances that provoked the Spithead and Nore mutinies in 1797).

He was also in charge of fuel and lighting supplies as well as keeping an account of the crew's pay. 67 year old Walter Burke was the purser and the oldest crew member on HMS Victory in 1805.

Answer: The cook and the mess cooks

Seamen were very superstitious and whistling on board a ship was thought to bring bad luck. Also orders were passed by a bosun's whistle and to avoid confusion, whistling was a punisable offence,(until 1910 in training estabishments). The cook whistled so he couldn't spit into the food.

The mess cooks whistled while they perpared their messmate's food so they couldn't eat anything. Sailors ate together in small groups of 8 to 12 for an entire voyage. They would lower a simple table between two guns and eat around it.

They took turns being the mess cook, whose job it was to draw rations from the steward (the purser's assitant), take the rations that needed to be cooked to the galley and prepare the food once cooked. At mealtimes, one of the mess would turn his back and decide who got which plate so as to ensure that everyone got a fair portion. Each mess's piece of meat was maked with a metal tag so it could be identified when it came out of the ship's stove. During bad weather everyone ate cold food because the stove`s fire was put out. Cooking on board a wooden sailing ship only took place during calm weather due to the danger of fire.

Answer: 6

HMS Victory carried 6 boats: 1 launch(34 feet in length), 1 barge(32 feet), 1 pinnace(28 feet), 3 cutters(25, 25 and 18 feet each). The boats conveyed supplies and personnel, helped with anchoring and mooring, were used to tow the Victory when lack of wind becalmed the ship, to communicate with other ships, to take soundings in shallow water channels, to attack and seize enemy ships in harbors - "cutting out" an enemy ship - and to land troops in amphibious assaults.

The launch was used for anchor work mostly,(it was equipped with a small crane and windlass). 16 oarsmen rowed "double banked", 8 per side.

It could also be sailed with 2 masts if needed. The barge was used to convey the Admiral ashore or to other ships with 12 handpicked oarsmen, dressed in identical uniforms.

The barge was painted more elaborately. The pinnace was used by the captain and officers with 8 oarsmen, it could be rowed "single banked" with 4 oarsmen, 2 per side. It would also carry supplies and equipment. The cutters were the ship`s work boats, manned with 12 or 6 oarsmen.

The also had two masts if needed. They were hung on davets so they could be lowered quickly if needed. None of these boats would have been considered "lifeboats" during Nelson`s time: there wasn't enough capacity for the entire crew and they took far too long to lower, especially if they weren't hung from davits but stored onboard. Except for the barge, these boats could be armed with half or 1 pounder swivel guns, a 6 pounder cannonade or even a 24 pounder cannonade on the lager boats. Often poultry in wooden pens were stored in the boats under canvas.

Answer: "Accursed be he who thinks evil of it"

Carved in 1801 by George Williams at a cost of 50 pounds, the design is the royal coat of arms, surmounted with the royal crown and with a cupid on each side supporting the coat of arms. The starboard cupid wears a blue sash and the port cupid wears a red sash, representing Cherubim angels, the second order of angels representing wisdom and Seraphim angels, the highest order of angels representing love of God. 17 year old Midshipman William River's personal account of the battle of Trafalgar states that the starboard cupid had its leg shot away and the port cupid lost its arm.

Answer: The captain

The captain and other high ranking officers slept in a boxlike cot that hung from the deckhead (ceiling). If the captain died he was nailed inside with some cannonballs and buried at sea. All the crew slept in hammocks, 14 inches wide that they hung from overhead beams.

At sea, sailors got no more than 4 hours sleep at a time, but there was more room in the gun decks where most of the crew slept. In port however, few sailors were needed to stand watch and it could become very stuffy and crowded below decks. Sailors complained that they felt like they had slept with a mouthful of copper coins or "fat headed". Almost the entire crew of 800+ had only 15 minutes in the morning to roll up their hammocks and store them in nets on the upper deck. The hammocks must first pass through a metal ring to make sure they were tightly rolled up. Seamen had two hammocks, one to sleep in while the other was being washed. Soap was not issued to seamen until 1825 so laundry was soaked in urine and rinsed in water. Clothes rinsed in seawater never dried properly so rainwater was collected,(drinking water couldn't be spared on long sea voyages). Only the purser and surgeon were supposed to sleep on the orlop deck but it was often used despite their being no natural light or little air because there was more room and less noise than the decks above. High ranking officers had their own cabins at the stern of the ship.

Answer: Latrines

High ranking officers had their own private latrines attached to their cabins that overhung the sea. "Respectable" officers could use the officers' wardroom quarter gallery unless the captain thought an officer wasn't a "gentleman" and didn't deserve the privilege. Junior officers could use one of the 2 "roundhouses", enclosed cubicles at the bow of the ship, overhanging the water. Approximately 694 ratings and marine privates had to share 6 latrines or heads that were also at the bow of the ship and overhanging the water.

These latrines were also simple benches with holes but they were completely exposed to the elements. Sailors who couldn't get to the heads made do with a bucket that was dumped over the side of the ship not facing the wind.

Answer: No

Women were carried aboard English fighting ships usually because of a charter or transporting an offical and his family to some English outpost. Printed orders from 1587 forbade women on board ships at sea with the threat of severe punishments for those who disobeyed.

A 1756 article stated, "no woman ever be permitted on board but such as are really the wives of the men they come to, and the Ship not to be too much pestered with them. But the indulgence is only to be tolerated in Port and not under Standing Orders." However, over the next 250 years, these rules seem to have been bent or ignored. Prostitutes were brought on board while in port (the boatmen that brought them out to the ship got 3 shillings for each woman he transported on top of his regular fare).

By the 1800's, officers and even seamen took their wives on voyages and some lived on board permanmently, but still unoffically. After Nelson was seriously wounded at the battle of Santa Cruz, he asked to be transfered from the flagship "Seahorse" so as not to offend Captain Freemantle's wife, Betsy.

There are numerous accounts of females aboard fighting ships: in 1815 when "Horatio" struck a rock and all hands were called to man the pumps, 5 women appeared and at the battle of the Nile in 1798, John Nicol of the "Goliath" said, "The women behaved as well as the men. Some of the women were wounded and one woman from Leith died of her wounds. Another woman bore a son in the heat of the action: she belonged to Edinburgh..." After the battle of Trafalgar, Jane Townshend of the "Defiance" applied for her medal,"presenting strong and highly satifactory certificates of her useful services during the combat." Some women masqueraded as seamen or marines, such as Hannah Snell who served for at least 5 years but was discovered after being wouned at the battle of Pondicherry in 12 different places, even removing one bullet herself so as not to be discovered. In 1807 Elizabeth Bonden served 8 months aboard the "Hazard". In 1815, "William Brown", a negress, served aboard the "Queen Charlotte" for eleven years, reportedly an excellent seamen, even filling the prime position of "Captain of the Main Top" for many years. A "William Prithero" served as a marine private aboard the "Amazon" before being discovered to be a Welsh girl of 18 who followed her lover to sea. Still offically, women were usually not aboard English Man-of-Wars and certainly not as crew members.

Answer: "England expects that every man will do his duty."

Originally the message was "England CONFIDES that every man will do his duty" but his signal lieutenant, Mr. Pasco suggested that "confides" be changed to "expects" as "confides" was a difficult word without it`s own number code and would have to be spelled out letter by letter. "Expects" was code #269 and only required three flags.

Answer: 7.72 tonnes of gunpowder and 28.45 tonnes of cannonballs

17,100 pounds of gunpowder,(150 whole barrels, 80 half barrels and 2 priming barrels) were used to fire 62,432 pounds of shot or 2,669 rounds were used at Trafalgar. Gunpowder barrels came in three sizes to reduce the risk of explosion - 100 lbs, 50 lbs and 25 lbs.

Answer: That England should care for his mistress and their daughter, Horatia.

Nelson's Monument in Trafalgar Square will forever honor Nelson and delight pigeon lovers but Nelson's last request was that the nation should look after Emma and Horatia. "These are the only favors I ask of my King and country at this moment when I am going to fight her battle." Married to Frances Nesbit in 1787, the couple separated after Nelson began an affair with the real love of his life, Lady Emma Hamilton.

Their relationship caused a scandal. Horatia was born in 1801 but her birth was kept a secert because Nelson and Emma were not married, although Emma was treated as his wife.

After Nelson`s death, his brother William was granted an earldom, 99,000 pounds, and an annual pension of 5,000 pounds a year. Frances, his legal wife, was granted 2,000 pounds a year. Nelson's last request was ignored. Emma and Horatia got nothing. Emma, famous for her extravagance, became poor, even spending time in prison for debt.

She went to live with Horatia in Calais where she died in Jan. 1815.

Answer: She is still around, manned by officers and ratings of the Royal Navy.

HMS Victory is the world's oldest commissioned ship. Berthed since Jan. 12th, 1922 at Dock No.2 at Portsmouth Dockyard, England. She was refloated on April 8th, 1925 for the last time, to adjust her cradle so that her waterline was level with the top of the dock.

She was named the flagship for the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command in 1889 and remains so today. HMS Victory was also the flagship of the Second Sea Lord till the post was abolished in 1964. She is the only surviving warship to have fought in the American War of Indepedence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic wars.

In 1831, she was listed for disposal but First Sea Lord Hardy, former Captain of HMS Victory at Trafalgar, refused to sign the warrant at his wife's request. Thanks for playing this quiz.