The change…to the loose duck trousers, checked shirt, and tarpaulin hat of a sailor…was soon made and I supposed that I should pass very well for a Jack tar. In his book Two Years Before the Mast, published two decades before the Civil War, Richard Henry Dana offered up his experiences of being a new Landsman, in an account that would no doubt have felt familiar to many who followed in his footsteps after 1861: ![]() Their lack of experience and maritime knowledge often marked them out for disdain and ridicule from more experienced crewmen. Landsmen were the dogsbodies of Civil War crews. If they stayed in the Navy long enough, the passage of years and the acquisition of skills could eventually lead to their promotion to ratings like Ordinary Seaman and eventually Seaman, which we will look at in a later post. They could usually expect to undertake the most menial of tasks, including things like moving heavy loads, physically maintaining the vessel and cleaning the decks. As a result, the lot of Landsmen on board wartime vessels could be an extremely difficult one. ![]() Officially, as the name implies, it was assigned to men who had no prior maritime experience or skills of relevance to naval life. To start, we are taking a look at one of the most common-and most important- the rating of Landsman.įor adult white-men (over 17), the Landsman rating was the bottom rung of the shipboard ladder during the American Civil War. The aim of these posts is to explain the roles and responsibilities of men who held a particular rating, and how that may have changed during the conflict. Our new “Ratings Focus” series takes a look at the different ratings you are encountering on the American Civil War Muster Rolls.
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