Ordinary seaman (rank): Difference between revisions

Ordinary seaman was the second-lowest rank of the 19th century [[United States Navy]], ranking above [[LandmanLandsman (rank)|landsman]] and below [[Seaman (rank)|seaman]]. Promotion from landsman to ordinary seaman required three years of experience or re-enlistment. An ordinary seaman who gained six years of experience and "knew the ropes", that is, knew the name and use of every line in the ship's [[rigging]], could be promoted to seaman. An ordinary seaman's duties aboard ship included "handling and splicing lines, and working aloft on the lower mast stages and yards."<ref>{{cite journal|last = Williams | first = Glenn F. |date=April 2002 | title = Uncle Sam's Webfeet: The Union Navy in the Civil War | journal = International Journal of Naval History | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | url = http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_williams.pdf | access-date = 16 September 2012 }}</ref>