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>The British navy had crew "establishments" for >everything. Transports and cutters were indeed >commanded by lieutenants. The lieutenant in command >would have been the only commissioned officer. >Watches would have been kept by the warrant officers, >such as the master and the boatswain, or by master's >mates or midshipmen if they had had enough experience. > >One famous ship commanded by a lieutenant was His >Majesty's Armed Vessel <i>Bounty</i>. If ><i>Bounty</i> had been rated as a "sloop," it would >have had a contingent of marines with a sergeant and a >corporal. However, the sponsors of the expedition >wanted William Bligh to command it for very good >reasons (he had been Cook's master on his last >expedition, was an expert navigator, and knew the >southwest Pacific as well as anyone in the Navy), and >Bligh was only a lieutenant. If <i>Bounty</i> had >been a sloop, his appointment to command her would >have constituted a promotion to commander at a higher >rate of pay. The absence of marines at Tahiti left >him without a reliable corps of armed men to suppress >the mutiny led by midshipman Fletcher Christian. > >The composition of the crew of <i>Bounty</i> would >give some idea of a lieutenant's command. I don't >have a complete list by rating at hand, but might get >one soon. Unfortunately, the <i>Bounty</i> has been >written about extensively, not always by authors who >understood the Royal Navy of the 1780's. Richard >Hough, <i>The Bounty</i>, gives a full crew list which >includes the following: >1 lieutenant (commanding officer) >1 master >1 boatswain >1 gunner >1 carpenter >1 surgeon >1 surgeon's mate >2 master's mates >2 midshipmen >2 "acting" midshipmen >2 quartermasters >1 quartermaster's mate >1 boatswain's mate >1 gunner's mate >1 carpenter's mate >1 carpenter's crew >1 sailmaker >1 armourer >1 master-at-arms >1 clerk and steward >19 able seamen >TOTAL: 42 >A botonist and botonist's assistant were >supernumeraries, not part of the regular crew. >In a vessel this size, the petty officers, such as the >mates and the sailmaker, would probably have had to >perform duties of seamen that they would not have had >to do on larger vessels. In wartime, a vessel with a >crew of only 42 would have had a mixture of able and >ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys. > >From Lyon, <i>Sailing Navy List</i>, most of the >cutters of the War of American Independence had >somewhat larger crews, up to 60, but some had as few >as 45—probably the same as <i>Bounty</i> with 3 more >seamen of varying abilities.

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