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written by new jersey

the full text is divided into four chapters, this is the second chapter

two. naval officer promotion status

a royal navy officer usually joins the royal navy as a child. most of them went to sea before they were twelve years old. although nobles still controlled high-level positions at this time, the royal navy did not exclude ordinary people of low birth from joining their ranks. many of the most powerful figures in the napoleonic wars, such as thomas troubridge (alexander troubridge), alexander cochrane (alexander cochrane), and horatio nelson, were born in poor families.

captain nelson

since the royal navy officer promotion mechanism and military rank system were still in the development stage at this time, many military ranks had not been established at this time, so the specific situation was different from today.

if a child enters the royal navy, his career will be inseparable from a captain. the admiralty at this time did not attempt to directly control the channels for joining the navy, only the promotion channels for officers. many times, captains first bring these young men on board the warship as their own servants. to encourage newcomers, the captain will receive a reward of 12 pounds for every new person brought to sea. captains sometimes put the names of these young men on the books, but instead of sending them to sea, they funded them to receive a better education. however, this will also bring about a problem, that is, these young people did not get sufficient sailing experience during this time when they were supposed to go to sea. although the parliament has explicitly prohibited it, this practice has been banned repeatedly.

some volunteers and portsmouth naval academy students may also be on the path to officer promotion. before becoming midshipmen, these young men need to serve at sea for two years. if they serve on merchant ships, the admiralty also recognizes this sailing experience.

the navy encouraged these children to learn sailing and other knowledge. most captains attach great importance to the education of these future stars of the royal navy. st. vincent believed that "duckworth was the best educator in the royal navy." captain combe required his students to learn "timekeeping and longitude and latitude positioning", otherwise they would be considered unqualified. some captains personally taught his servants or midshipmen navigation knowledge and taught them how to install rigging. sir william parker even developed a class schedule for them. in addition, the captain and some other officers also valued their basic education. many of these young people could not read a word. the officers taught them literacy, provided them with books, and taught them about literature. and english history.

royal navy midshipman

generally speaking, those captains who are best at educating are on cruise ships. with the experience of constant cruising and operations, their officers and soldiers are recognized as elites. life on a battleship is much more boring. the daily task of many battleships is to monitor the enemy outside the enemy's port. moreover, the captains are also under great pressure and do not have much time and thought to devote to these young people.

after these young people have gone through many hardships at sea, they need to pass an important exam, the captain's qualification exam. in the 1870s, candidates would apply to the admiralty, which would review the exam's service record, and then have the exam reviewed by the naval board. to pass the examination, the following conditions must be met: he has served at sea for at least six years, of which at least two years have been served as an officer cadet; he needs to write a service log during his service; his tenure needs to be confirmed by the captain; he must pass the theory and practice of navigation practical examination; must be over 20 years old. in actual operation, there are still some unspoken rules, large and small, such as not being an officer's servant for too long. of course, if that candidate is nepotistic, the passing rate will be higher.

however, the royal navy at this time was already facing a problem, that is, the number of officers required was much smaller than the number of existing officers. a large number of lieutenants are facing the embarrassing situation of unemployment. during the peace of amiens from march 5 to december 23, 1803, more than 1,200 unemployed captains submitted applications for employment to the admiralty. since data for 1793-1805 cannot be found, i will quote figures from the later years of the napoleonic wars: in 1814, of the 4,920 officers on the list, only 50% served on 713 ships. in 1816, there were only 278 ships in service, a 61% decline in the number of ships in service, while the number of officers had increased to 5,937, of whom only about 17% were serving at sea. according to the half-pay system, idle officers can only receive half-pay while waiting for recruitment. but for the captain, half salary is far from enough to support his family. this will naturally cause some problems. for example, some captains have been idle after passing the exam. when some people are suddenly appointed, they have not been to sea for ten years!

there are many other ways for royal navy officers to serve outside of a warship or naval administration. although there is no bounty, captains in these positions can receive full salary, and they do not need to suffer inhuman torture at sea. these included transportation boards, coastal defense agencies, signal stations, and prison ships.

if a captain wants to be further promoted, his next step is to obtain the rank of lieutenant colonel. in 1794, the royal navy made it a mandatory requirement to obtain the rank of lieutenant colonel to become a captain. the promotion of lieutenant colonels and captains in the royal navy is very strict and is directly controlled by the admiralty. in nelson's day, the number of successful lieutenant colonels promoted each year varied, but was generally very small. the highest number was in 1798, when 20 people were promoted, and in 1801, only one person was promoted. generally speaking, it takes ten years for a captain to be promoted to lieutenant colonel.

the promotion of lieutenant colonel is different from that of captain. his promotion will not be based on his navigation ability, but on his competency as an officer. the most important factors for promotion to lieutenant colonel are heroic actions in combat and nepotism. but if a captain proves that he is different in daily operations, he is likely to be promoted. but many people don't want to be promoted. because compared to lieutenants, lieutenant colonels and colonels have a greater proportion of unemployment. it is very likely that a captain will not have a position to hold after being promoted to a school officer. he may even not be appointed to the sea for the rest of his life and will only be able to receive half salary for the rest of his life. generally speaking, the following circumstances will make a person more likely to be promoted to lieutenant colonel: serving on a flagship; being the son of a naval officer; being the son of a politician. during the napoleonic wars, most lieutenant colonels first served as captains of troopships as the cornerstone of their tenure on cruisers.

when a lieutenant colonel is promoted to captain, the types of ships he commands are linked to his seniority. the promotion of general officers generally seems to be far away. appointments to lieutenant commanders in the royal navy are based on seniority. the navy department has a table that ranks general officers and colonels based on their seniority and other information. when a senior general officer retires, resigns or dies, the more senior colonel will become the new general officer. even nelson served as a colonel for 16 years before being promoted to brigadier general in 1797.

(to be continued)