NEW! FUN FACTS ABOUT
(Originally
published in the January 2003 "No Quarter Given;" Shown here with
permission)
N So you’ve got a ship and a crew
assembled, and suddenly you realize you’re not entirely sure what to do as a
Quartermaster, or what to do with a Quartermaster if you’re a Captain. Here’s a handy guide for you:
N Like the Captain, Quartermaster is an elected
position on board a ship; being voted on by a majority of the crew, at least as
a pirate. Naval officers were usually
appointed.
N Despite being the “number two”
position, the Quartermaster is in charge of the ship far more often that the
Captain. In fact, the Quartermaster
oversaw all day to day operations and decisions of the ship, except for
navigation. The Captain is in charge in
times of battle, mostly due to the fact that the Quartermaster is often in
charge of leading the raiding or boarding party.
N The historical abbreviation for
Quartermaster is “QT,” not “QM” as one might think. There is no particular logic to this, but it seems to have
originated in the British Navy, which has never been known for it’s logic.
N The two main functions of the
Quartermaster are counting and distributing booty, and administering punishment
to the crew. As such, the Quartermaster
(and only the Quartermaster) decided what of value was to be taken, and what
was to be left behind.
N As the “ship’s accountant,” as it were, the QT had to be an
educated man, as well as fair. This was
particularly important on privateering vessels wherein a percentage of all
booty had to be given back to the crown.
Meticulous (if not sometimes doctored) records had to be kept. An ‘educated man’ may not have always been
available, but the QT had to at least be able to count and write. He took in to account all “merchandise”
brought aboard and divided it up according to the ship’s articles. The Quartermaster often got the same or
one-half share less than the Captain, with other officers getting less than the
QT and the crew receiving but a single share each. If you’re fixing to set up your own pay roster, I’ve included as
an example the pay schedule for the La Villa A Broka (the ship on which
I am sailing), which is based on a compilation of historical ship’s articles
available online and in other sources.
SHARES: OFFICE:
5 shares The
Ship (A full five shares goes back in to repair and maintenance of the ship)
3 shares The
Captaine
2½
shares Quartermaster (That’s me)
2 shares Commanding
Officers (Boatswain,
Navigator, Capt. of the marines, Gunnery Sgt.)
1½
shares Tradesman-Officers (Cook,
Carpenter, Blacksmith, Surgeon, etc.)
1 share Crew,
marines, gunners & trade-assistants
½ share Powder-monkeys,
cabin boys & ship’s entertainment
Other ship’s pay rates ranged from
5 shares for the Captain and only 2 for the QT, with 1 each for the rest, and
were sometimes divvied down as far as quarter shares (Captain Lowther’s,
Captain Defoe’s, and other articles from the 1700’s.) But many times (such as on Defoe’s ship) the Captain & QT got
the same amount (usually around 2 or 3 shares.) The average of which I’ve posted above seeming to be the
standard, (and very fair, I might add.)
N Punishment was something else
entirely. Punishments were largely
spelled out in the ship’s articles, which were signed (or marked) by every
crewman on board. The Quartermaster was
the only person on board allowed to administer punishment, and only on the
orders of the Captain and usually by a majority vote of the crew. Thusly, not too much power resided in one
man. Again, what was standard for
pirate ships was different on both navy & private privateering
vessels. In those cases, punishment was
usually delivered in accordance to that nation’s military law, or by the whim
of the owner of the vessel.
N All crew were required to be present
during the administration of punishment, signaled by the Bos’n’s call “All
hands witness punishment, Ahoy!” This
was done on both naval and pirating vessels, as watching a punishment meted out
or an execution was not only a reasonable determent from committing the same crime,
but also served for entertainment purposes as well (much in the same way as a
public hanging did on land.)
N The Quartermaster kept his trusty whip,
the “Cat o’ nine tails,” in either a red bag (British Navy) or a green one
(U.S. Navy.) General pirates and
privateers either kept them in the Quartermaster’s cabin or a plain canvas bag
or sturdy wooden box. The expression:
“Let the cat out of the bag” came from the ‘ceremony’ of removing the whip from
it’s storage place.
N There is some speculation that the
expression “Cat got your tongue?” came from prisoners silently awaiting their
punishment, but I was not able to find documentation for this. Another idea that did spring from
Quartermasters is the phrase “No room to swing a cat,” which originated from
the need to have plenty of room for both the swing of the whip and to have the
entire crew assembled. The ship’s
surgeon (sawbones) also had to be present.
N A cat o’ nine tails was commonly made
from a thick hemp rope, being first unwound from the “handle” in to three
strands, which were then further unwound in to three smaller strands each and
then knotted, making nine whipping strands, or ‘tails.’ “Cats” were sometimes made of leather or
even chain, and were usually made by the QT.
Sometimes, though, the condemned were forced to make their own using the
rope method listed above.
N Another whip favored by more brutal
Quartermasters was the “Captain’s daughter” (sometimes called the “gunner’s
daughter.”) It had 32 lashes instead of
nine, and despite the name was still only brandished by the QT. In the famous sea shanty “What do you do with a Drunken Sailor?”
the line commonly sung as “…throw him in bed with the Captain’s daughter” was
originally sung as: “…give him a taste of the Captain’s daughter,” a much more
befitting punishment for being drunk on duty.
N Whipping, however popular, was not the
only punishment administered by Quartermasters. Marooning, keelhauling, the slitting of the nose and ears or just
plain being tossed overboard were all administered or overseen by the QT. Any crewman caught taking justice in to his
own hands was severely dealt with. No
one, including Captains, were exempt from this. It is strange to note, though, that in the accounts of Captain
Kidd striking his gunner William Moore on the head with a bucket during an
argument (later causing him to die), no mention is made of any punishment
issued by the crew & QT. He was,
however, charged with Mr. Moore’s murder during his piracy trial and duly
hanged. The striking of Moore by Kidd
was during his tenure as a pirate hunter, though, so it is possible that the
crew had no quartermaster at that time nor suitable recourse to redress the
captain for his fatal loss of temper.
N There were many reasons a Quartermaster
could issue punishment beside on-duty drunkenness, largely written out in the
ship’s articles. Some more common
nautical crimes included sodomy, deserting your post during battle, stealing
from your fellow crew or withholding booty all were offenses that would bring
you up before your Quartermaster. Other
pirates (though not all) list taking a woman aboard a ship, cheating while
gambling with other crew, and leaving the crew or ship (deserting) without
permission as punishable offenses.
Almost all articles listed punishments for taking a lit match, candle,
pipe or cigar in to the hold (for obvious reasons), and many included “shaving
the watch” as a flogging offense.
(‘Shaving the watch’ involved the turning over of the hourglass while on
watch duty just a bit early so as to make the time pass quicker. It was once found that a ship’s hourglass
was off by nearly 6 hours as a result of shaving the watch over the course of a
three month voyage.)
N “Walking the plank,” a punishment made
popular by author J.M. Barrie in Peter
Pan and featured in almost every pirate book and movie since then, was not
likely done often, if at all. Pirates
had no real use for ceremony, and if someone was to be thrown overboard it was
simply done, sometimes with shot around their neck & feet to hasten their
decent. It is possible, however, that
walking the plank was used as a means of persuading prisoners to give up the
location of some hidden treasure, with the length of the plank giving them
plenty of time to reconsider their noble silence at the prospect of an unplanned
swim. Another pirate friend of mine
also pointed out that many pirates were a sadistic lot, looking to entertain
themselves on long voyages. Thusly, it
is possible the practice arose out of boredom.
But this, too, is speculation.
N The patron saint of Quartermasters is
St. Martin de Tours, the only saint to always
be portrayed with a sword. In addition
to being the patron saint of Quartermasters, he is also the patron saint of
France, equestrians & cavalry, hotel & inn keepers, alcoholism,
vintners & wine makers, and you can invoke him to ward off poverty. His given feast day is November 11th,
(throw a Quartermaster Feast for your friends and crew!) and though goose is
traditionally served, I think something rum-based might be more appropriate.
N
So much more could be written
about nautical Quartermasters; punishment alone (over 14 ways to whip someone,
plus the 20 or 30 documented ways to punish your crew) would take up several
pages. So, reluctantly, I digress. I’m looking next to do an article on
Quartermasters of famous pirates, (who kept Blackbeard’s crew in line? Or Calico Jack’s?) so keep a weather eye
out. This here particular article could
not have been written without the support of my Captaine and his Clan Darksail
Library, or the Quartermaster of the Indigo Rose (Caspian “the Lash”
Blackrune), and fine publications such as “No Quarter Given.” Some of the books cited in this here article
(which make for fine further reading, if you’re so inclined) include: “The Crimson Book of Pirates” by Peter
Newark (Jupiter 1978), and “Under the Black Flag” by David Cordingly (Harvest
1995). Articles used for research
include Caspian Blackrune’s ‘Quartermaster’ and ‘So what DO you do
with a drunken sailor?’ for the Barony of Angel’s newsletter the Seraph;
and Joe “the Knotnut” Schmidbauer’s ‘Scourge of the Sea’s: The Cat O’ Nine
Tails’ in the November 2000 issue of No Quarter Given.
QUARTERMASTER
By Lord Caspian Blackrune
A few years ago, I had the good fortune to become Quartermaster aboard the SCA
"ship" Indigo Rose, moored right here in our fair (albeit landlocked)
Barony. After I sobered up I began to have the inevitable questions. What would
the Quartermaster on a privateering vessel in the early 1500's have done? What
were the duties and perks? What would I have needed to know? And of course
those most vital of questions, what's it pay? And whom do I get to boss around?
The supply function of the Quartermaster (QM) must be nearly as old as the
origin of organized sea travel. Logic suggests a need for someone to have taken
responsibility for the dispensation of supplies and hopefully booty. Derived
from the old French "quartier" and the Latin "quartarius"
the term literally means master of quarters. This was probably derived from the
QM’s role in navigation, which required their presence on the quarterdeck where
the ship's wheel was located. Today the QM rate in our modern Navy is one of
the 4 "right-arm" rates: the oldest rates in the Navy.
Due the jaded nature of the men and women who crewed most privateering or
pirate ships, they were unwilling to let too much authority reside in one
person. Therefore they would split the power between officers, with those
officers having authority in their respective areas. Generally the captain
would lead the ship in battle and make decisions regarding destination and
which ships to attack. The QM was in charge of supply and kept custody of all
booty. He also traditionally led the way on boarding parties.
The QM's duties were an interesting mix of the administrative and the violent.
His main purpose was to distribute things. He distributed rations, powder,
prize and punishment. He would supervise the acquisition and delivery of all
manner of supplies. Of vital importance were food, water, hemp, sailcloth, powder,
pitch and of course rum. The QM would oversee the stowing of supplies in
the hold and any adjustment of the ballast. Upon completion of a successful
engagement the QM would decide what items were worth taking. This decision
would be made based on available time and room remaining on the ship. Often,
valuable but bulky cargoes were burnt or sunk rather than stolen.
The QM would watch over the treasure until it was divided among the crew. He
also did the dividing under the crew's supervision. In most of the ship's
articles I've found, the Captain & the QM each receives 2 shares of a
prize, the Master Gunner & Boatswain 1 1/2 shares, other officers 1 1/4
shares, & private gentlemen of fortune 1 share.
The QM was the only man who could dole out punishment. The Captain could order
punishment, but only the QM could administer, which made it the will of at
least 2 people before any punishment (and there were some NASTY ones) could be
delivered. Even then in many instances the crew could insist on a vote first.
The QM would arbitrate individual quarrels & act as liaison officer in
disputes between the captain & the crew. He would also supervise any duels
to ensure that they were fair & just.
The patron saint of Quartermasters is St. Martin, whom I believe is the only
saint to always be portrayed with a sword. I assume this is a reflection of the
dualistic nature of the Quartermaster's position. There's alot more I could
write on the disciplinarian aspect of the job, but I'll save that for another
article when I'm feeling kinky sometime. Documentation available on request.
Thanks to Damashi of Tora, Quartermaster of the La Villa A Broka for his input.
And if any of you Royals happen to have an extra Letter of Marque lying
around...
So what DO you do with
a drunken sailor?
Lord Caspian (The Lash) Blackrune
Violence at sea, both the organized and the chaotic, has
been relatively commonplace throughout most of history. So much so even, that certain
ideas and phrases have passed into our language and world view. This is the
1st of a few articles on the topic of maritime violence, with an emphasis
on pirates and privateers.
Given the harsh conditions aboard ships and the sort
of person who forsook the land to sail on a leaky wooden vessel, it was
necessary for ships to have established codes of conduct; conformity to which
was vital to make life bearable for groups of ruthless persons living in close
quarters. In fact a desire to escape from the rigid and sometimes arbitrary
discipline of the Royal navies attracted as many converts to piracy as did the
allure of quick money. It is important to remember that in the Royal navy
at sea the Captain was the law and could hand out punishments as he saw
fit. This was also true of many of the merchant ships of the day. The
punishments could range from stoppage of pay or especially heinous duty for
minor offenses, to what was effectively a death sentence.
This was true for the most part of keelhauling. Keelhauling seems not to
have been a practice of pirates, but you can rest assured that such a
punishment drove many an honest man to piracy. The guilty party was stripped
and a rope was passed under the ship. The mans Hands were bound together to prevent
swimming. They weren’t weighted down in any way to increase the chance of them
hitting the bottom of the ship. They were then tossed overboard and a group of
men attempted to pull them out of the water by pulling them under the ship.
If they were pulled slowly they would most likely drown, forced to breathe by
the cold and the buffeting of the ships wake. If they were pulled quickly they
would hit the bottom of the boat which was covered with razor sharp barnacles,
and most likely bleed to death.. There was also the possibility of the rope
snapping. If by some chance they did survive, the Captain could always accuse
the crew of doing it improperly and order it done again.
In the French navy a sailor going ashore without leave would be fined on the first
offense and flogged on the second. A man found asleep on his watch was put in
irons for 15 days and any finding him asleep and not reporting it were
flogged. Striking the ship’s master and deserting the defense of the ship
were punishable by death. This extreme discipline drove many sailors to pirate
vessels where lashings were used infrequently and were voted upon by the crew.
Still even on the fiercest of ships the punishments were included in the ships'
articles. If the articles were broken, pirates would often vote for a flogging,
even of a friend, out of need to keep order among the unruly men.
The number of lashes administered varied depending upon the seriousness of the
offense. The most extreme instance however was what was known as “Moses’ law,"
or forty lashes less one. The term is an old biblical one in that 39 was the
maximum number of lashes deemed fair and just under Hebrew law. This was also
the number of lashes Christ received from Herod, thus it would have been
unchristian to flog someone more than that. Of course 39 lashes is more than
enough to kill someone, especially when delivered with the infamous Cat O’ Nine
Tails.
The cat was the common instrument of discipline on naval vessels of the time.
On some vessels the person to be punished would have to make it himself by
unwinding a rope into it's 3 strands, and then further unwinding and knotting
each strand. On British naval vessels they were made of horsehide and stored in
a bag until used. This is a possible origin for the expression “to let the cat
out of the bag”. The cat was also referred to as the Captain’s daughter or some
times the Gunner’s daughter. The verse of ‘what do you do with a drunken
sailor’ sung ‘throw him in bed with the captain’s daughter’ was originally
‘give him a taste of the Captain’s daughter’. A reference to being flogged and
a much harsher sounding punishment. Traditionally women were forbidden on board
ships except for special occasions such as socials. Sailors caught sneaking
women to sea disguised as men were punished by severance of the organ or death.
Other popular forms of discipline aboard pirate and privateering vessels were
marooning and throwing overboard. Marooning was basically a death sentence as
well, and the reason they were traditionally left with a pistol is so they had
the option of taking their own life. Contrary to the book Treasure Island, no
man would have been marooned on a big island covered with plant life and game.
Often the victim was left on a sand bar that might only be above water at low
tide. When the tide came in they might be in water neck deep or worse. Even if
they could sustain themselves it was unlikely that they would be rescued. When
an honest Captain came on a marooned man they would usually have nothing to do
with them, or clap them in irons and take them to the nearest port to be
hanged. For certain offenses such as stealing from another member of the crew,
they would have their nose slit and ears severed before being put ashore.
Throwing overboard would be done in some instances of mutiny. It is unclear how
often people would have been forced to walk the plank. There are few reliable
accounts of it, but planks were certainly available, being used for boarding,
and the planks would have certainly prolonged the event. In cases of
murder the accused was often tied to the victim and both thrown overboard. This
retribution was a custom the Royal navy practiced as well.
As barbaric as many of these punishments may seem to be, what Captains of all
sorts inflicted on their crews is nothing compared to what they inflicted on
their enemies. Next month more maritime violence when we look at popular forms
of persuasion used by those on both sides of the law.
Scourge of the Seas:
The Cat O'Nine Tails
By Joe "The KnotNut"
Scmidbauer
(Originally published in the November 2000 "No Quarter Given;" Shown
here with permission)