The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence

GLOSSARY

OF NAUTICAL AND NAVAL TERMS USED IN THE TEXT

(This glossary is intended to cover only the technical expressions actually used in the book itself.)

Aback. A sail is aback when the wind blows on the forward part tending to move the vessel astern.

Abaft. Behind, towards the stern.

Aft. See "Bearing."

Ahead. See "Bearing."

Astern. See "Bearing."

Beam. The width of a vessel, so used because of the cross timbers, called beams.

Bear, to. To be in a specified direction from a vessel.

Bear, to. To change the direction of a vessel's movement.

To bear down, to move towards; to bear up, or away, to move away, from the wind or from an enemy.

Bearing. The direction of an object from a vessel; either by compass, or with reference to the vessel itself. Thus, the lighthouse bears north; the enemy bears abeam, or two points off the port bow.

Bearing, Line of. The compass bearing on which the vessels of a fleet are ranged, whatever their bearings from one another.

Bearings, with reference to the vessel.

Abaft the beam, starboard or port, weather or lee. To the rear of abeam, to the right or left, to windward or to leeward.

Before (or forward of) the beam (as above). Ahead of abeam, etc.

Broad. A large angle of bearing, used ordinarily of the bow. "Broad off the bow" approaches "before the beam."

On the bow, starboard or port, weather or lee. To one side of ahead, to right or left, to windward or to leeward.

On the quarter, starboard or port, weather or lee. To one side of astern; to right or left, to windward or to leeward.

Bearings, by compass. The full circle of the compass, 360 degrees, is divided into thirty-two points, each point being subdivided into fourths. From north to east, eight points, are thus named: North; north by east; north-northeast; northeast by north; northeast; northeast by east; east-northeast; east by north; East.

From East to South, from South to West, and from West to North, a like naming is used.

Beat, to. To gain ground to windward, by successive changes of direction, called tacks.

Boom. See "Spars."

Bow, or head. The forward part of a vessel, which is foremost when in motion ahead.

On the Bow. See "Bearing." To head "bows-on": to move directly towards.

Bow and Quarter Line. See pp. 84, 200.

Bowsprit. See "Spars."

Braces. Ropes by which the yards are turned, so that the wind may strike the sails in the manner desired.

Bring-to. To bring a vessel's head as near as possible to the direction from which the wind blows; usually with a view to heaving-to, that is, stopping. See heave-to and luff.

Broadside. The whole number of guns carried on one side of a vessel; starboard or port broadside, weather or lee broadside.

Cable. The heavy rope which was attached to the anchor, and held the ship to it. Cables are now chains, but in the period of this book were always hemp. To veer cable, to let more out, to let the ship go farther from the anchor. To slip the cable, to let it all go overboard, releasing the vessel. Cable's length: 120 fathoms.

Chase, General. A chase by a fleet, in which, in order to more rapid advance, the places of the vessels in their usual order are not to be observed.

Close-hauled. See "Course."

Column. See "Line Ahead."

Come up. A ship comes up, when her bow comes more nearly to the direction of the wind. Used generally when the movement proceeds from some other cause than the movement of the helm. See "Luff."

Convoy. A body of unarmed or weakly armed vessels, in company with ships of war.

Convoy, to. To accompany a number of unarmed vessels, for their protection.

Course. The direction of a vessel's movement, with regard to the compass or to the wind.

Compass course. The point of the compass towards which the vessel heads.

Wind courses:

Close-hauled. As nearly in the direction from which the wind blows as is compatible with keeping the sails full; for square-rigged vessels six points. (See "Bearings by Compass.") For a north wind, the close-hauled courses are east-northeast and west-northwest.

Free. Not close-hauled.

Large. Very free.

Off the wind. Free.

On (or by) the wind. Close-hauled.

Courses. The lowest sails on the fore and main masts.

Cruise, to. To cover a certain, portion of sea by movement back and forth over it.

Cruiser. A general term for armed ships, but applied more specifically to those not "of the line," which therefore are more free and wider in their movements.

Current.

Lee Current. One the movement of which is away from the wind.

Weather Current. One which sets towards the wind.

Ebb, ebb-tide. See "Tide."

Fair, wind. A wind which allows a vessel to head her desired compass course.

Fall Off. A vessel falls off, when, without the action of the helm, her head moves away from the wind. See "Come up."

Flood, flood tide. See "Tide."

Fore and Aft. In classification of vessels, indicates those whose sails, when set, stretch from forward aft; more nearly lengthwise than across. Opposite to square-rigged.

Foremast, fore-topmast, etc. See "Spars."

Foresail, fore-topsail, etc. See "Sails."

Foul, to. To entangle, to collide. A foul anchor, when the cable gets round the anchor.

Foul, wind. A wind which prevents the vessel heading the desired compass course, compelling her to beat.

Free, wind. A wind which allows the vessel to head the course desired. The amount to spare from the close-hauled course is sometimes designated. E.g., the wind four points free; the wind would allow the vessel to come four points nearer the wind than her course requires.

Frigate. See "Vessel."

Gage, weather and lee. A vessel, or fleet, is said to have the weather gage, when it is to windward of its opponent. Lee is opposite to weather.

Haul, to. To haul (to) the wind is to change the course to that nearest the direction whence the wind comes.

To haul down the colors: to strike, to surrender.

Heave Down. To incline a vessel on one side, by purchases at the lower mastheads.

Heave-to. (Hove-to.) To bring-to, (which see), and then to lay some sails aback, in order to keep the ship without movement ahead or astern.

Heel, to. To incline a vessel on one side by shifting the weights on board, such as guns. "On the heel": to be thus inclined.

Helm. The tiller, or bar, which like a handle turns the rudder, and thus changes the course of the vessel.

Port the helm. To put the tiller to port, which turns the vessel's head to the right; to starboard the helm is the reverse.

Helm down. Tiller to leeward, vessel's head to windward; helm up, the reverse. See "Rudder."

Hull. The body of a vessel, as distinguished from the spars, or engines.

Hull, to. (Hulled.) A cannon ball striking the hull of a vessel is said to hull her.

Jib. See "Sails."

Jib-boom. See "Spars."

Keep, to. To keep off, or away, is to change course away from the wind or from an enemy. See "To bear up."

Large. See "Course."

Lee. The direction toward which the wind blows. "Under the lee of," protected from wind and sea by land, or by a vessel, interposed.

Lee Tide. See "Tide."

Leech. The vertical side of a square sail. The upper and lower sides, horizontal, are called head and foot.

Leeward (pronounced looard). Direction of movement, or of bearing, opposite to the wind.

Lie-to, to. To bring the vessels head on, or near, the wind, and remain nearly stopped. Usually in heavy weather, but not always.

Line Abreast. See p. 122.

Line Ahead. See p. 85.

Line of Battle. In the line of battle the vessels are ranged on the same straight line, steering the same course, one behind the others, so that all the broadsides are clear to bear upon an enemy. The line preferred is one of the close-hauled lines, because on them the movement of a vessel in the line is more easily regulated by backing, or shaking, some of the sails.

Line of Bearing. See "Bearing, line of."

Line, Ship of the. A vessel fitted by its force for the line of battle. Opposite generically to "cruiser." The modern term is "battleship."

Luff, to. The movement of changing the course to nearer the direction whence the wind comes, by using the helm.

Mast. See "Spars." "To the mast." A sail is said to be so when aback.

Monsoon. A trade wind, in the China and Indian seas, which blows uniformly from the northeast in winter, and from southwest in summer.

Neap. See "Tide."

Off—the wind. See "Course."

On—the wind. See "Course."

Pennant. A flag, indicating either the rank of the senior officer on board, or a signal applicable to a particular vessel.

Point. See "Bearings, by Compass."

Port. To the left hand, or on the left side, of a vessel, looking from aft forward. Opposite to Starboard.

Port, to. Applied to steering. To move the tiller, or helm, to the left, which moves the rudder to the right and causes the vessel to change course towards the right hand.

Quarter. Either side of the after part of a vessel;—as starboard quarter, port quarter; weather quarter, lee quarter. Quarter deck: one side of the after upper deck, reserved for the officer exercising command, and for ceremonial purposes.

Quarters. A crew is at quarters when at the stations for battle.

Rake, to. To fire the broadside from ahead or astern of an antagonist, so that the shot may sweep the length of the vessel, which at the period of this book was about four times the width.

Random Shot. The extreme range to which a gun could send its shot, giving very uncertain results.

Reef, to. To reduce the surface of a sail.

Rudder. A solid framework, pivoted at the stern of a vessel, which being turned to one side deflects her course. See "Helm" and "Wheel."

Sails. Sails are of two kinds: square, and fore and aft. Square sails spread more across the vessel, in the direction of her width. Fore and aft sails more in the direction of the length. Square sails are better for a free wind; and also for large vessels, because they can be more readily subdivided. Fore and aft sails trim nearer to the wind, and so are convenient for coasters, which generally are smaller.

Vessels carrying square sails are called square-rigged. They have always two masts, usually three; each carrying three or four sails, one above the other. These are named from the mast on which they are carried (see "Spars"); e.g., main sail, fore topsail, mizzen topgallant-sail; and also from their positions on the same mast. Thus, from lowest up, main sail, main topsail, main topgallantsail; and main royal, if there be a fourth. The fore and main sails are called also courses.

The topsails were the chief battle sails, because the largest, except the courses, and more manageable than the courses.

All square-rigged vessels carry fore and aft sails, three cornered, stretched between the bowsprit and jib-booms, and the fore topmast. These sails are called jibs.

Fore and aft vessels also carry jibs; but on each upright mast they have one great sail, the size of which makes it less easily handled in an emergency, therefore less fit for fighting. Above the big sail they have a small, light, three-cornered topsail, but this is merely a fair weather sail, useless in battle.

Vessels of war were almost all square-rigged, with three masts.

Sails, Studding. Light square sails, for moderate weather, extended beyond the other square sails, to increase the normal spread of canvas. Set only with a free wind, and never in battle.

Scantling. The size, and consequent weight and strength, of the timbers of a vessel's hull.

Schooner. See "Vessel."

Shake, to. So to place a sail that the wind blows along it, neither filling nor backing. The sail is thus neutralized without taking in.

Sharp-up. A yard is sharp-up, when turned by the braces as far as the rigging of the mast will allow. A close-hauled course requires the yards to be sharp-up, in order that the sails may be full.

Ship. See "Vessel."

Slip. See "Cable."

Sloop. See "Vessel."

Spars. A spar is a long piece of timber, cylindrical, tapering, in masts, towards one end, and in yards towards both. Spars serve for spreading the several sails of a vessel.

The names of spars vary with their use and position. Chiefly, for ships of war, they divide into masts, yards, and booms.

A mast is an upright, and is in three connected pieces: the lower mast, the topmast, and the top-gallant-mast. Most ships of war had three such masts: fore, near the bow; main, near the centre; mizzen, near the stern.

The bowsprit is also a mast; not upright, but projecting straight ahead from the bow, approaching horizontal, but inclining upwards. Like the masts, it has three divisions: the lower, or bowsprit proper, the jib-boom, and the flying-jib-boom.

Across the masts, horizontal, are the yards, four in number, lower, topsail, topgallant, and royal. Yards are further designated by the name of the mast to which each belongs; e.g., foreyard, main topsail yard, mizzen topgallant yard, main royal yard.

The bowsprit formerly had one yard, called the spritsail yard. This has disappeared. Otherwise it serves to spread the three-cornered sails called jibs. These sails were useful for turning a vessel, because their projection before the centre gave them great leverage.

Fore and aft vessels had no yards. See "Sails."

Spring. See p. 65, note.

Square-rigged. See "Sails" and "Spars."

Stand, to. Used, nautically, to express movement and direction, e.g., "to stand toward the enemy," "to stand out of harbor," "to stand down," "to stand south." The underlying idea seems to be that of sustained, decided movement.

Starboard. TO the right hand, or on the right side, of a vessel, looking from aft forward. Opposite to Port.

Steer, to. To control the course by the use of the helm and rudder.

Stern. The extreme rear, or after, part of a vessel.

Strategy. That department of the Art of War which decides the distribution and movements of armies, or of fleets, with reference to the objects of a campaign as a whole.

Strike, to. Applied to the flag. To haul down the flag in token of surrender.

Tack. A vessel is on the starboard tack, or port tack, according as the wind comes from the starboard or port hand. See p. 84, note.

Tack, to. When a vessel is close-hauled, with the wind on one side, to tack is to turn round towards the wind, in order to be again close-hauled, with the wind on the other side.

To wear is to attain the same object by turning away from the wind. Wearing is surer than tacking, but loses ground to leeward.

To tack, or wear, in succession, the leading vessel tacks, and those which follow tack, each, as it arrives at the same point; the order thus remaining the same. To tack, or wear together, all tack at the same moment, which reverses the order.

Tactics. That department of the Art of War which decides the disposition and movements of an army, or of a fleet, on a particular field of battle, in presence of an enemy.

Tidal Currents.

Ebb tide, the outflow of the water due to the tides.

Flood tide, the inflow of the water due to the tides.

Lee tide, the set of the current to leeward.

Weather tide, the set of the current to windward.

Tide. The rise and fall of the water of the oceans under the influence of the moon. Used customarily, but inaccurately, to express the currents produced by the changes of level.

High tide, or high water, the two highest levels of the day.

Low tide, or low water, the two lowest.

Neap tide: the least rise and fall during the lunar month.

Spring tide: the greatest rise and fall during the same, being soon after full and change of moon.

Trade, the. A term applied to a body of merchant vessels, to or from a particular destination.

Trade Wind. A wind which blows uniformly from the same general direction throughout a fixed period. In the West Indies, from the northeast the year round. See also "Monsoon."

Veer. See "Cable."

Vessel. A general term for all constructions intended to float upon and move through the water. Specific definitions applicable to this book:

Ship, a square-rigged vessel with three masts.

Brig, a square-rigged vessel with two masts.

Schooner, a fore and aft rigged vessel with two or more masts.

Sloop, a fore and aft rigged vessel with one mast. See pp. 9, 15, 17.

Vessels of War. Ship of the Line. A ship with three or more tiers of guns, of which two are on covered decks; that is, have a deck above them. See "Line of Battle Ship."

Frigate. A ship with one tier of guns on a covered deck.

Sloop of War. A ship, the guns of which are not covered, being on the upper (spar) deck.

Sloops of war were sometimes brigs, but then were usually so styled.

Wake. The track left by a vessel's passage through the water. "In the wake of": directly astern of.

Way. Movement through the water. "To get underway": to pass from stand-still to movement.

Wear, to. See under "Tack."

Weather. Relative position to windward of another object. Opposite to Lee. Weather side, lee side, of a vessel; weather fleet, lee fleet; weather gage, lee gage (see "Gage"); weather shore, lee shore.

Weather, to. To pass to windward of a vessel, or of any other object.

Weatherly. The quality of a vessel which favors her getting, or keeping, to windward.

Weigh, to. To raise the anchor from the bottom. Used alone; e.g., "the fleet weighed."

Wheel. So called from its form. The mechanical appliance, a wheel, with several handles for turning it, by which power is increased, and also transmitted from the steersman on deck to the tiller below, in order to steer the vessel.

Wind and Water, between. That part of a vessel's side which comes out of water when she inclines to a strong side wind, but otherwise is under water.

Windward. Direction from which the wind blows.

Yard. See "Spars."

North Atlantic Ocean. General Map to illustrate Operations in the War of American Independence