The Mary Rose is the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world. Built between 1509 and 1511, she was one of the first ships able to fire a broadside,

During the 18^th century warships were classified or rated on a six point scale according to their combat capability. Only the First, Second, and Third-Raters were classified as "ships of the line;" battle ships. The other, smaller ships served many functions in the Navy. From guard ships to scout ships. What ever their classification each ship had a mission to fulfil.

First-Rater

The Flag Ship of the line. She was crewed by 875 men whose gunners ate and slept next to their cannons on the two lower gun decks. The decks were cramped with barely a six foot clearance from deck to upper beam. The only windows were the gun ports and these never let in enough air to erase the scent of cramped men who could not scrub clean, or the smells of the livestock holding area.

Life on board the "First-Rater" for ordinary crewmen was harsh and not many men volunteered for duty. The crewmens day began at dawn. At 0600 hours a slight reprieve, sounded off by the boatswains pipe, was offered for their morning meal. The morning meal often times was only burgoo (gruel made of water and oatmeal) and Scotch coffee ("coffee" made of burned biscuits dissolved in hot water). The rest of the meals consisted of salt port or beef, biscuits, a pease pudding, beer, and on a rare occasion, butter and cheese. "Hearty and not wholly unappetizing-- until the later stages of a patrol when the salt beef became so hard that it could be carved into mahogany-colored trinkets and the cheese filled with long red worms. As for the biscuits, they were not so bad when infested with maggots; this was only the first stage of decay. The maggots did not deter a hungry man. In fact, they were regarded with a certain relish. As one midshipman described them, they were "very cold when you eat them, like calfe's foot jelly." But later, when the weevils took over, the biscuits crumbled into powder and lost all their nourishment. At this point, the men would eat the ship's rats-- if they could catch them."⁽¹⁾

There were approximately 50 officers on board who fared much better. They were allowed on the quarterdeck and ate their meals in the wardroom. The Captain and Admiral had their own dining cabins and were served fresh meat and wine for their meals.

1. Whipple, A.B.C. The Seafarers. Fighting Sail. (Alexandria: Time Life Books, 1978), 16.

This page was created by Debbie Davis. Information contained in this page is true to the best of my knowledge. However, I encourage anyone who is looking for more information or is just interested in Naval History to go to their local library where you will find a plethora of information. This page was last updated on February 09, 2003 15:37.

This page has been visited times since 1999.