Hello Everyone,
I am writing a middle grade novel that takes place on the USS Wabash during the Battle of Hatteras Inlets and the Battle of Port Royal, 1861. My main character is a 13-year-old powder monkey on the Wabash.
The manuscript is written but I am concerned that I do not use the correct language. I want the book to be historically factual even though it’s a work of fiction so I am in the process of layering in the correct details/wording. I’m looking for actual dialog/terms/language of situations.
I’m less interested in the strategies of the battles but I am confused with ranks that seem to change depending on what resource I use. It seems that captain, flag officer, and commodore are interchangeable which I don’t think is true but I don’t know.
I know how many men were on a gun crew and what they did but I don’t know the commands that were given. The only one I found is – tackle-men, position the gun – which the men would then move the cannon forward to the bulwark.
I also cannot find specifics as to how many charges a powder monkey ran from the magazine to his cannon. Some references say there was a charge box on the wall near the cannon that they filled with a dozen charges. Another reference said that the charges were kept on the caisson, which I’m not sure a cannon on a ship sat on. I can’t imagine a large number of charges were piled anywhere. One hit would be disastrous.
And mess assignments. I know what they ate and that there were several men to a mess and a powder monkey would be the orderly. He would get the food from the paymaster, set up using items from his mess chest, and cook the food. I don’t know where the chests were stored. I made a guess that, like the sailor’s hammocks, they’d be on the top deck behind netting so they didn’t roll around. I don’t know where the food was prepared or where the sailors ate – at tables or sitting on the deck.
When the Wabash encounters the storm on the way to Port Royal, I don’t know what commands would have been given. The sails had to come down but I’m not sure what else needed to be done or any of the language of the situation.
These are some of the problems I’m running into. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
p.s. top deck – I’m talking about the deck like you’d see in pirate movies. Where the pirate captain is looking through his scope at another ship. I don’t know if that is the correct term/deck. I know the cannons are on the gundeck and that the men slept on the berth(ing) deck but I need to learn my decks so please excuse my deck ignorance – I’m working on it.
I am writing a middle grade novel that takes place on the USS Wabash during the Battle of Hatteras Inlets and the Battle of Port Royal, 1861. My main character is a 13-year-old powder monkey on the Wabash.
The manuscript is written but I am concerned that I do not use the correct language. I want the book to be historically factual even though it’s a work of fiction so I am in the process of layering in the correct details/wording. I’m looking for actual dialog/terms/language of situations.
I’m less interested in the strategies of the battles but I am confused with ranks that seem to change depending on what resource I use. It seems that captain, flag officer, and commodore are interchangeable which I don’t think is true but I don’t know.
I know how many men were on a gun crew and what they did but I don’t know the commands that were given. The only one I found is – tackle-men, position the gun – which the men would then move the cannon forward to the bulwark.
I also cannot find specifics as to how many charges a powder monkey ran from the magazine to his cannon. Some references say there was a charge box on the wall near the cannon that they filled with a dozen charges. Another reference said that the charges were kept on the caisson, which I’m not sure a cannon on a ship sat on. I can’t imagine a large number of charges were piled anywhere. One hit would be disastrous.
And mess assignments. I know what they ate and that there were several men to a mess and a powder monkey would be the orderly. He would get the food from the paymaster, set up using items from his mess chest, and cook the food. I don’t know where the chests were stored. I made a guess that, like the sailor’s hammocks, they’d be on the top deck behind netting so they didn’t roll around. I don’t know where the food was prepared or where the sailors ate – at tables or sitting on the deck.
When the Wabash encounters the storm on the way to Port Royal, I don’t know what commands would have been given. The sails had to come down but I’m not sure what else needed to be done or any of the language of the situation.
These are some of the problems I’m running into. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
p.s. top deck – I’m talking about the deck like you’d see in pirate movies. Where the pirate captain is looking through his scope at another ship. I don’t know if that is the correct term/deck. I know the cannons are on the gundeck and that the men slept on the berth(ing) deck but I need to learn my decks so please excuse my deck ignorance – I’m working on it.