It was the lookout station and the
Captain's post in battle from where he directed the action.
There was only one smokestack on any battleship and no bridge or
superstructure or any inflammable material above the waterline, and the
officers and men eat at the same tables and partake of the same food. If
any officer or private objected to it or violated this rule, he was
dismissed the service, for it was considered injurious to the service on
board ship to keep any discontented person. The crew consisted of two
hundred privates, fifty corporals, five sergeants, ten lieutenants, ten
captains, one chief engineer with two assistants, one lieutenant
commander and the commander, who was captain of the ship and had the
same rank and pay as a colonel in the army.
The gunner and assistant gunners held the same rank and pay as captains
and lieutenants in the army. The chief engineer received the same as the
commander and took orders only from him, and his assistants received the
same pay as majors in the army, and the sergeants, corporals and
privates the same pay as in the army. The gunners and assistant gunners
were chosen from among the crew for the best shooting, for it was justly
held that victory in a naval battle rested mostly on the shooting
qualities of the man behind the gun.
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