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Midshipmen and Quarterdeck Boys in the British Navy, 1771-1831
A fascinating study of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", outlining their social background, career paths and what life was like for them.
Officer recruits - "young gentlemen" - entered the Royal Navy with dreams of fame, fortune and glory, but many found promotion difficult, with a large number unable to progress beyond lieutenant. Recent scholarship has argued thatduring the wars of 1793-1815 there was greater social diversity among naval officers, with promotion increasingly related to professional competence. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the social backgroundof around 4,000 "young gentlemen" a term which includes midshipmen and various other categories, including captains' servants, volunteers and masters' mates. It concludes that in fact high birth became an increasingly important factor in the selection of officer candidates, and that as the Admiralty grip on the appointment and management of officer aspirants increased, especially after 1815, aristocratic presence in the ranks of young officers increased significantly as a result of deliberate Admiralty policy. The book also discusses the assertion that the increase in elite sons led to a dramatic increase in cases of indiscipline and insubordination, concluding that although therewas a marked increase in courts martial for insubordination during and after the French Wars there is no evidence that such cases related more to the elites than to young aspirants in general". The book includes many case study examples of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", illustrating what life was like for them and how they themselves viewed their situation.
S.A. CAVELL is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and Louisiana State University and completed her doctorate at the University of Exeter.
Officer recruits - "young gentlemen" - entered the Royal Navy with dreams of fame, fortune and glory, but many found promotion difficult, with a large number unable to progress beyond lieutenant. Recent scholarship has argued thatduring the wars of 1793-1815 there was greater social diversity among naval officers, with promotion increasingly related to professional competence. This book, based on extensive original research, examines the social backgroundof around 4,000 "young gentlemen" a term which includes midshipmen and various other categories, including captains' servants, volunteers and masters' mates. It concludes that in fact high birth became an increasingly important factor in the selection of officer candidates, and that as the Admiralty grip on the appointment and management of officer aspirants increased, especially after 1815, aristocratic presence in the ranks of young officers increased significantly as a result of deliberate Admiralty policy. The book also discusses the assertion that the increase in elite sons led to a dramatic increase in cases of indiscipline and insubordination, concluding that although therewas a marked increase in courts martial for insubordination during and after the French Wars there is no evidence that such cases related more to the elites than to young aspirants in general". The book includes many case study examples of midshipmen and other "young gentlemen", illustrating what life was like for them and how they themselves viewed their situation.
S.A. CAVELL is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and Louisiana State University and completed her doctorate at the University of Exeter.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 21, 2012
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September 2, 2025
An enlightening book covering little known ups and downs of the role of Midshipmen and Quarterdeck Boys during times of the American Wars (Revolutionary & the 1812 War) and the French Wars (which mostly the Napoleonic Wars), with background that shows the beginnings of both of these roles in the Navy.
This is a well researched book, that really does cover the waterfront, on the sea and the ways a young gentleman could become an officers, although few did. There was even a College of sorts to train these young men in the ways of navigation, mathematics and deportment, until 1837, when the Admiralty closed it down.
After the French Wars, the glut of men still waiting for their examinations or a posting dropped significantly.
Back in 2015 I was fortunate enough to hear this author as she gave a talk on this subject on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans. I put this book on my reading list and was lucky to get the copy from our ILL department from Tulane University.
Well documented. If you're interested in reading about the British Navy in the Age of Sail, thesis the book to read.
This is a well researched book, that really does cover the waterfront, on the sea and the ways a young gentleman could become an officers, although few did. There was even a College of sorts to train these young men in the ways of navigation, mathematics and deportment, until 1837, when the Admiralty closed it down.
After the French Wars, the glut of men still waiting for their examinations or a posting dropped significantly.
Back in 2015 I was fortunate enough to hear this author as she gave a talk on this subject on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans. I put this book on my reading list and was lucky to get the copy from our ILL department from Tulane University.
Well documented. If you're interested in reading about the British Navy in the Age of Sail, thesis the book to read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review