History of United States Navy ratings
Encyclopedia
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
era to the current age of the 21st century United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Navy ratings in America were first created in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, for use by the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
. After securing independence, the fledgling United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was without an operational Navy for nearly in decade. In 1787, the first three frigates of the United States were formally launched, bringing about new regulations concerning enlisted seaman ratings
Continental Navy
The structure, ranks, and enlisted ratings of the early Continental Navy were direct carryovers from the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
hierarchy of uniforms, ranks, and insignia
Royal Navy uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries
Royal Navy uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries were the original effort of the Royal Navy to create standardized rank and insignia system for use both at shore and at sea...
. The first American Naval ranks consisted of simply Captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, and Midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
. Shipboard warrant officer ranks, such as Sailing Master
Master mariner
A Master Mariner or MM is the professional qualification required for someone to serve as the person in charge or person in command of a commercial vessel. In England, the term Master Mariner has been in use at least since the 13th century, reflecting the fact that in guild or livery company terms,...
, Boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
, Carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, Gunner
Gunner
-Military:*Any individual operating an infantry support weapon, such as an artillery piece, anti-tank guided missile launcher or automatic grenade launcher...
, and Purser
Purser
The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
were also copied from the British system.
The earliest form of U.S. Navy enlisted ratings may be traced to the Petty Officers assigned as assistants to the shipboard warrant officers. The oldest such rating, still in use today, is that of Boatswain's Mate
Boatswain's Mate
A Boatswain's mate is a job classification in Navies and Coast Guards.*Boatswain's mate , a job classification in the United States Navy*Boatswain's mate , a job classification in the United States Coast Guard...
. The rating of Armourer was also in use as an assistant to the Gunner as was the rating of Carpenter's Mate for member's of the Ship's Carpenter's Crew. Informally, the shipboard title of Yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
was also frequently used, even though this would not be an official rating of the United States Navy until 1835.
The remainder of a Continental Navy ship's crew were simply referred to as "Seaman
Seaman
Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
", who were "signed on" to the ship for the duration of a campaign and "paid off" once the ship had returned to the portNot until the 1850s did the U.S. Navy adopt the practice of a permanently assigned ship's company