|
The disposition of officers on the lower and upper gun decks and on the forecastle and quarter decks.
|
|
Lower gun deck
|
M. de Beauquaire and M. de Ribies1 commanding the gun deck.
|
|
|
M. de Costebelle2 at the second division on stern; 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. D’Orsin3 at the first gun station on the bow; 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. de Combault,4 midshipman, acting ensign at the last gun station on the stern; 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. de Chouin,5 major of the infantry, between the first gun station on the bow and that of the center; 3 pieces of ordnance.
M. de Lafitte,6 midshipman, at the foot of the stairway to receive and carry orders and to prevent all sorts of congestion on the stairwell.
|
|
Jean-Bte.
Gromelly, sergeant;
Pierre Vincent, corporal;
Antoine Joly, corporal
|
M. de Simony,7 midshipman, to accompany M. de Beauquaire
M. de Salvere fils,8 volunteer, to accompany M. de Ribies.
|
|
Upper gun deck
|
M. de Cabanous,9 commanding the gun deck.
|
|
|
M. de Cambis10 at the second division on the stern, 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. de Castillon11 at the first gun station on the bow, 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. de Lomenye12 at the last stern gun station, 4 pieces of ordnance.
M. de la Croix,13 between the first gun station on the bow and the center station, 4 pieces of ordnance.
|
|
Guillaume Millau, sergeant, carrying orders passed from speaking trumpet
|
M. de Barthon,14 midshipman, at the foot of the stairwell to receive and carry orders
|
|
Jacques le Long, sergeant; Claude Samouzly, corporal
|
M. Bartheon,15 midshipman
M. de Jourdain,16 volunteer
Accompanying M. de Cabanoux, commanding the gun deck
|
|
Quarter deck
|
M. de Pleville,17 commanding the gun deck
|
|
|
M. Gauttier,18 Captain of infantry engineers, at the stern, commanding 5 guns of which he will have more details
M. d Beurrier,19 acting lieutenant de frégate at the bow, commanding 5 guns of which he will have more details and specially charged to watch over the maneuvers.
|
|
Forecastle
|
M. de Chateaubourg,20 ensign, responsible for the gun deck
|
|
|
M. Rabatteau,21 acting lieutenant de frégate, responsible for watching over the maneuvers
M. Pleville fils,22 responsible for communicating with his father concerning the maneuvers, to receive orders from the quarter deck and to carry them to M. de Salvere,23 to prevent congestion on the gangway, and to watch over the promptness of swivel gun fire and the musketry of the foretop.
|
|
Officers’ Stations
On the lower gun deck
|
The two gun commanders having at their side the midshipmen assigned to pass their orders will be stationed as far as possible behind the guns toward the center of the ship:
|
|
|
The first gun commander in front of the fifth piece of ordnance counting from the stern and the second behind the tenth piece. They will have behind them them two patrols; one responsible for the stern and the other for the bow. These patrols will begin their rounds as soon as they are given the order.
Each ensign will be stationed between the second and the third gun that they command for those that have four pieces of ordnance, and for those that have but three, behind the second
|
|
On the upper gun deck
|
The commander, having at his side the midshipman and volunteer that accompany him, charged with passing his orders, as well as the named military sergeant, will be stationed as far as possible behind the guns toward the center of the ship. Behind him will be two patrols of which one will be responsible for the bow and the other for the stern. They will begin their rounds as soon as they are given the order.
Each ensign will be stationed between the second and third piece of ordnance that he commands.
|
|
Quarterdeck
|
M. d’Estaing24
|
|
|
M. de Boullainvillers25
M. Le Cher. de Borda26
Two aides not having fixed stations
M. Le Mauff,27 without a fixed station but most ordinarily toward the mainmast.
M. de PuySegur,28 without a fixed station but ordinarily toward the gallery
M. de Closnard,29 without a fixed station but most ordinarily on the forecastle, communicating with the stern gallery and reporting to M. Le Mauff.
M. Auzanne,30 naval architect, without a fixed station but to proceed to the galleries and everywhere else his knowledge might be necessary
|
|
Forecastle
|
M. Perier de Salvere,31 second captain
M. Saqui d’Estours,32 lieutenant, without a fixed station
|
|
Poop deck
|
M. de Grimaldy,33 ensign, as near as possible to the breastwork, will command the maneuvers, the musketry and watch over the rapidity of fire of the swivel guns on the poop deck, mizzen top and main top as well as the musketry from these two tops
M. Deschamps,34 captain of the infantry, on the stern
M. de Bouquier,35 midshipman, at the flagstaff
|
|
Gangways
|
M. de Leuziers,36 sub-lieutenant of infantry, charged with the musketry and the gangway swivel guns
M. de Berge,37 in charge of the musketry fire of the volunteers
|
|
|
Details Concerning the Duties of the Officers
The lieutenants will be in ultimate command of the gun decks with which they are charged. During the combat they will proceed everywhere they believe their presence to be of use; the second lieutenant on the lower gun deck will in general have total command, yielding only to the opinion and orders of his senior but both will mutually communicate at the same instant every order so that the second lieutenant will not have to wait for the approval of his senior to execute that which he believes necessary.
Every commander of a gun division will have control over the men attached to each gun; he will do his best to become personally acquainted with all his men; he will note those who show the most zeal and intelligence during exercise and those who distinguish themselves in combat. He will watch to see if the gun captain, second captain, and the mess captain have been well chosen relative to the different functions with which they are charged; they will be rewarded, changed, or punished as determined from the observations of the division commanders and after the approval of the lieutenants commanding the gun deck, with the grounds for the action being passed to the two captains and the first lieutenant.
Ensigns and division commanders will be specially and directly charged with the responsibility for the men attached to the division of guns they command. They will watch over and assign others to watch over the health and cleanliness of their men, their clothing, sea bags, and hammocks, their promptness in reporting to their duty sta- tion, the manner in which they role or unroll their hammocks before stowing them in the netting while clearing the ship for action, and at the stairwell, the route by which they bring their hammocks to the nets to insure that it is the shortest and without obstruction.
The ensigns will be responsible for the exercise of the guns as they judge proper and as often as possible notifying only the officer who commands the watch.
The General, while expecting the zeal of the gun crews to result before long in the gunnery exercise being equally well performed by everyone, desires nevertheless that a rivalry be established among the different divisions; he hopes this will promptly procure the satisfaction of giving the most striking advantages to one and all.
Independent of the exercises under the command of the master gunner, there will be a man chosen by each division capable of commanding the exercise of the guns. Ensigns who in the case of an exercise want to command the guns themselves will act as master gunners. They are asked to pay attention to the way in which the exercise is taught; to eliminate all needless time spent which overtaxes the memory of the gunner being instructed and is not useful to the handling of the piece of ordnance. All exaggerated and ridiculous procedures will be suppressed. Silence will be observed; one uniform but not unpleasant station will be required. After several days of practice the shortest procedure will be chosen and the officers will communicate in writing a statement of their ideas concerning each maneuver so that a simple and easy decree on gunnery practice allowing for no unnecessary movement can be promulgated to the entire squadron.
The small shot locker, half tubs, swabs, all other articles used for charging the guns will be inspected and visited by each division commander.
The gun captain will have the same authority over the men of his gun as the quartermasters or sergeants over the sailors and soldiers. The assistant gun captain and the mess captain will have over the men of their gun or mess the same authority as the boatswain’s mates or corporals over the sailors or soldiers. They must give account to the ensign commanding the division of guns of everything that happens to the men under their charge, whether in reference to health, punctuality, food, cleanliness, and upkeep of clothing: They will be severely punished if they do not instantly notify their officer concerning the discomfort of one of the men in their mess and if they do not make a man on leaving his watch change out of wet clothing.
The second gun captain will be most specially charged concerning the punctuality of the men reporting to their battle station and the transport of hammocks.
Each second gun captain and the senior member of the gun crew will replace the gun captain in his functions if he is found at fault. They will immediately give an account to the ensign commanding their division.
The ensign instructing them or the lieutenant commanding the gun deck will report to the General and two captains by way of the most senior midshipman stationed on the gun deck and when they are in want of a man at a gun, one will be immediately provided from the reserve corps as proposed by the first lieutenant following the orders of the captain in command and with the approval of the General.
When this man leaves the sick mess, he will return to his former gun station or be attached to the reserve corps as will be judged proper.
The three midshipmen or gentlemen volunteers performing duty as garçon major38 and stationed on each gun deck under the orders of the lieutenants; in addition to the general station bill of the gun deck, of which they will be entrusted with copies, they will be more particularly posted on the gun deck in the following order.
|
|
For the lower gun deck
|
M. de la Fitte, midshipman, will be the garçon major responsible for the first 5 pieces of ordnance on the stern
M. de Simony, midshipman, will be the garçon major of the fifth piece to the tenth inclusive
M. de Salvere fils, volunteer, will be the garçon major of the tenth to the 15th piece inclusive
|
|
For the upper deck M. de Barthon, midshipman, will be garçon major of the first five pieces on the stern
|
M. de Batheon, midshipman, will be garçon major of the fifth piece to the eleventh, inclusive
M. de Jourdain, volunteer, will be the garçon major of the eleventh to the sixteenth piece of ordnance.
These gentlemen are warned that the General will frequently ask them the names of the gun captains, of their seconds, and of the mess captains assigned to them.
|
|
|
M. de Closnard and M. de Pleville fils will be the garçons majors of the four pieces of ordnance on the forecastle under M. Chateaubourg commanding the gun deck.
M. Gautier and M. de Beurrier in charge of the pieces of ordnance on the quarter deck will report to M. de Pleville, to M. de Boullainvilliers, and to the General, who wishes not to ignore the details concerning his guns, neither the clearing for action nor the maneuver of rapidly changing the guns from one side to another in the great cabin; movement of which will be supervised by M. le Mauff and M. de Puysegur. This particular function will be subordinate to the squadron staff duties of these gentlemen. They will be assisted by M. de Bouguier, ensign, who will be garçon major of the pieces of ordnance on the stern. They will be responsible for a large part of the particular details that the General asks them to accept.
|
|
Note: The functions of garçon major that M. de Bouquier is asked to perform on the quarter deck will not divert him during the combat from his principal and the most important duty of watching over the king’s colors. He will not leave them during the action, but the working of the quarter deck guns during the campaign will give him a personal contact with the General.
|
|
Reserve Corps
Note: This detachment will be formed as soon as possible and be composed of a maximum of five men from each gun who will be designated by the same number as their gun; they will be chosen as soon as the officers have time to get to know their men, to go aloft in the event of boarding.
|
The Reserve Corps will be divided into several numbered sections. Each section will be of a fixed number of men and proportioned in such a manner that when one asks for the first section, the detachment will be ready to go aloft.
Independent of the Reserve Corps, there will be two men designated by gun to go aloft at the first order; these men will be known by the numbers one and two so that if the first detachment is called all those designated by the number one, warned in advance, will immediately go aloft; without the need of another call. If the two detachments are called at the same time, the two men designated by the numbers one and two will immediately go aloft. These two men will be chosen among those known for being the nimblest and fitting to be employed in a prompt maneuver.
|
|
|
When firing two broadsides, the men of the odd numbered guns will stay on the side where the combat began or go to the starboard side if the combat has not already begun. And all the men serving the even numbered guns will go to the broadside where the combat has not yet begun or to the port side before the action. The second gun captain of every piece of ordnance will become the gun captain of every gun without a gun crew being supplied with men from the Reserve Corps, or as many as can be spared to strengthen the gun crews in case reinforcements are limited. They will be divided into four gangs of which two will be allotted to each broadside; one coming from the stern and the other from the bow. Advancing toward the center, they will progressively assist in running out the guns. A simulated sending of the reserve corps detachments numbered one and two, the division of the men into port and starboard gun crews, and four gangs of reinforcements will be executed from time to time during the major exercises so that this practice will become easier in case of need./.
Note: There will be chosen four steady and trusty men, able to act as an example, who will be stationed at each hatchway to obstruct anyone from descending below decks.
|
|