abaft. In the direction of the stern.
aft. Toward the stern of a ship.
alee. When the helm is put over to leeward.
astern. Bearing of an object 180 degrees from ahead; behind or to the rear of.
back. When the wind shifts counterclockwise; opposite of veer.
backstay. A line bracing a mast from aft and leading from the mast or masthead to the rail. See stay.
bar shot. See shot.
bateau. (pl. bateaux). Double-ended, flat-bottomed boat designed to be sailed as well as rowed; used in the Lake Erie campaign to transport army troops, artillery, and supplies across the lake.
beam. Width of a ship at its widest part.
bear down. To approach from windward.
bear up (present tense of bore up). Turn a vessel toward the wind.
beat to windward. Make progress in the direction of the wind, often by tacking back and forth.
belaying pin. Wooden pin about twelve inches in length that slides into a rail on the main deck bulwark and is used for securing running rigging.
blocks. Wooden housing for one or more pulleys.
boom. A spar used for extending the foot (bottom) of a fore-and-aft sail.
bow. Forward part of a ship.
bow chaser. Long gun mounted forward on either side of a ship.
bowline. Line attached to the side of a square sail to hold the sail into the wind when a ship was close-hauled.
bowsprit. Heavy spar extending forward from the stem, serving as support for the foremast standing rigging and carrying gear for the headsails.
brace. Line employed to pivot or traverse yardarms upon which sails are set in order to achieve maximum advantage from the wind.
brail (v.). To temporarily haul in a sail using the brails, which are the ropes on aftmost ridges of a sail.
brig. Two-masted, square-rigged sailing vessel.
brigantine. Two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the mainmast.
broadside. Discharge of all guns on one side of a ship.
bulkhead. Transverse or longitudinal partitions separating portions of a ship.
cable’s length. 120 fathoms (720 feet) in the American navy, 100 fathoms (600 feet) in the British navy.
caliber. Internal diameter of the bore of a gun.
camel. Wooden float placed between a vessel and the dock to fend off the vessel. At Erie, Pennsylvania, Noah Brown built specially adapted camels to raise the Lawrence and Niagara over the harbor bar.
canister shot. See shot.
captain. (1) Highest rank in the U.S. Navy, equivalent of an army colonel, normally the rank of the commander of a vessel of twenty or more guns. (2) Courtesy title of the commander of a vessel regardless of holder’s official rank; e.g., O. H. Perry was “captain” of the Lawrence even though his rank was master commandant.
catted. Weighing the anchor using the cat-heads, two strong wooden beams that project almost horizontally over each side of the ship’s bow. To cat an anchor is to hook and draw the anchor securely to the cat-head via a system of pulleys. The machine formed by this combination of pulleys is called the cat, which serves to pull the anchor up to the cat-head without tearing the ship’s side with the flukes. In early sailing days the outboard end of the wooden beam was often ornamentally carved in the shape of a cat’s head.
chain shot. See shot.
clew. Lower corner of a square sail or lower after corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
close-haul. Brace the sails as close, or as near as possible to the direction of the wind (about 70 degrees for square-rigged vessels).
commander. Royal Navy counterpart of the American rank of master commandant, equivalent to the army rank of lieutenant colonel; e.g., R. H. Barclay was an acting commander at the battle of Lake Erie.
commodore. Courtesy title given a navy officer commanding a squadron or more than one vessel. The title customarily continued to be applied to its holder even after he ceased to command a squadron at sea. Both Captains Isaac Chauncey and Sir James L. Yeo were commodores of their respective Great Lakes squadrons. American commodores wore a star on each epaulet strap.
compass bearing. There are 32 points, or bearings, to the compass. Dead ahead is 0, the starboard beam is 0, dead astern is 0, and larboard beam is 0. Starting dead ahead and working clockwise, 0 to 4 is on the starboard bow, 4 to 0 is on the starboard quarter, 0 to 4 is on the larboard quarter, 4 to 0 is abaft of the larboard beam, 0 to 4 is forward of the larboard beam, and 4 to 0 is on the larboard bow. For relative bearings, each point denotes a direction; e.g., if the ship were pointed due north and the vessel itself was considered a compass, dead ahead is 0, or north. Moving clockwise 1 is N by E, 2 is NNE, 3 is NE by N, 4 is NE, 3 is NE by E, 2 is ENE, and 1 is E by N, and 0 is the starboard beam, or east, and so on around the compass. A sample relative bearing would be three points abaft of the starboard beam, or SE by E.
cutter. Double-banked, square-sterned ship’s boat used for general duty.
dirk. Long straight-bladed dagger.
draft. Depth of a vessel’s keel below the waterline.
fake a line. To circle, or coil a rope; the coils overlap and the rope is clear for running.
fleet-in-being. Strategic concept arguing for the preservation at all costs of a naval force as a bargaining counter, rather than risking it unnecessarily.
flemish down a line. To lay out a rope flat down on deck, each fake outside of the other beginning in the middle and all close together.
flying jib. See jib.
fore. Toward the bow of a ship.
fore-and-aft. In the direction of the keel.
forecastle (pronounced “foks’l”). The upper deck forward of the foremast. foremast. Mast nearest the bow of a ship with more than one mast. frame. Structural ribs of a sailing ship.
gaff. Spar to which the head, or top, of a fore-and-aft sail is secured. gig. Ship’s boat designated for the use of a commanding officer.
grape shot. See shot.
gunboat. Small vessel carrying one or two guns.
gun captain. Petty officer or seaman who is in charge of a gun crew.
halyard (or halliard). Line used to hoist a gaff or sail.
hamper (or top hamper). General term for masts, spars, and rigging.
headreach. To close in on in an attempt to get ahead of another vessel.
heave to (past tense hove to). Bring a vessel’s head to the wind and hold her there by use of sails; generic term for slowing down or stopping a vessel.
helm. Ship’s tiller or wheel.
hogging. Tendency of a ship to arch, or raise up in the middle and droop at the ends, often caused by overloading.
jeers (or jears). A system of blocks and tackles by which the lower yards of a ship are hoisted to their normal position on the mast or lowered from the mast.
jib. Second in a series triangular headsails set on a stay stretching from the bowsprit to the foremast. The flying jib is the first in the series of triangular headsails.
kedge. (n.) A small anchor. (v.) Move a vessel by alternately laying out a kedge anchor and hauling the vessel up to it.
keel. Fore-and-aft bar, or timber, that runs from the stem to the sternpost at the bottom of a ship; it forms the backbone of a vessel.
keelson. Longitudinal timber bolted on top of the keel in order to stiffen its framework.
langridge (or landrage). See shot.
larboard. Looking forward, the left side of a ship (later changed to port so as not to confuse with starboard).
lee shore. Land that lies off a ship’s leeward side. Being caught near a lee shore in a storm constitutes severe danger.
leeward. Side or direction opposite from which the wind is blowing. Opposite of windward.
lieutenant. Lowest commissioned grade in the navy, equal to the army rank of captain. Lieutenants were the principal assistants to the commanding officer, and depending on the vessel’s size, a ship could have as many as seven lieutenants, ranked as first lieutenant, second lieutenant, etc. Smaller vessels such as schooners and sloops would often have lieutenants as commanding officers.
lift. Line descending from the masthead and cap extending to the opposite extremity of the yard immediately under it. Lifts are used to square a yard, i.e., keep it perpendicular to the mast.
line. Name given to one of several ropes or cords of different sizes, used for various purposes at sea: ratline, marline, buntline, clewline, etc.
line of battle. The arrangement or order in which a fleet of warships are disposed to engage an enemy. The disposition of the line of battle depended upon a number of factors: number, types, and armament of the warships; number, types, and armament of the enemy ships; disposition of the enemy; amount of sea room available; roughness of the seas; direction and strength of the wind and current; etc. A line of battle could be a long, single line, staggered in echelon, side-by-side in line abreast, two parallel lines or two lines abreast, etc. The tactics available to a fleet commander were endless.
luff (v.). Bring the ship’s head nearer to the wind by putting the helm down.
mast. Vertical spar to which yards and rigging are attached. A mast is usually composed of three different sections: lower mast, top mast, and an upper mast, royal mast, skysail mast, or moonsail mast.
mast cap (or cap). Wooden block used for securing two spars together, such as the topmast to the lower mast, or the jibboom to the bowsprit.
master commandant. U.S. Navy rank between lieutenant and captain. Both O. H. Perry and J. D. Elliott were in this grade, which was equivalent to the Royal Navy rank of commander and the army rank of lieutenant colonel.
mast step. Frame on the keelson into which the heel, or base, of a mast is inserted. Placing a mast into a ship is called stepping the mast.
midshipman. Entry or apprentice level for young men seeking commissioned rank in a navy. Midshipmen were warranted into the navy, not commissioned. Because of the scarcity of commissioned officers, Midshipman George Senat was named acting sailing master and commander of the sloop Porcupine at the battle of Lake Erie.
oakum. Material used for caulking the seams of vessels; made from loose fibers of old hemp rope.
painter. Short piece of rope attached to the bow of a ship’s boat used for making it fast to a bollard, cleat, etc.
planking. Longitudinal boards used to cover the frames or deck of a ship both inside and outside.
point. See compass bearing.
powder monkey. Ship’s boy who, during battle, would be assigned to constantly shuttle gunpowder from the magazine to the ship’s guns.
quarterdeck. Part of the upper deck usually reserved for officers; in a sailing ship this is normally by the helm.
ratlines. A short piece of rope that runs horizontally across the shrouds, providing footholds for sailors going aloft.
reeve. Pass the end of a rope through any lead, such as a sheave or fair-lead; pass a line through an aperture.
relative bearing. See compass bearing.
rigging. System of cordage and blocks that support the masts and control the sails. Running rigging is the part of a ship’s rigging that is movable and controls the yards and sails. Standing rigging is the permanent part of a ship’s rigging that secures and supports the masts and yards.
round shot (or solid shot). See shot.
running rigging. See rigging.
sailing master. Noncommissioned officer charged with navigating the ship under the direction of her commander and keeping the log, charts, and navigation instruments. Many sailing masters were former merchant captains or mates who possessed considerably more sailing experience than junior lieutenants. Given the scarcity of commissioned officers, some sailing masters, like Daniel Dobbins, were given command of Perry’s smaller ships.
scarph (or scarf). Method of tapering the overlapping end of two timbers so they join smoothly.
schooner. A two-masted fore-and-aft-rigged vessel. Schooners were occasionally fitted with a square yard on the foremast, or on both the foremast and mainmast for better speed and maneuverability, making it either a topsail schooner or a two-topsail schooner.
sheer. Longitudinal curve of a ship’s deck or sides.
sheet. When a ship sails with a lateral wind and the yards are braced over, the lower corners of the main and fore sails are fastened with lines called tacks and sheets; the tacks are to the windward and the sheets to leeward. If the ship is sailing with the wind directly from astern, the tacks are not used, whereas a sail is never set without using one or both sheets. When the sail is furled, the tacks and sheets are let go and the sail is hauled up to the yard by the clewgarnets and buntlines.
shot. Projectile fired from a cannon. Bar shot is a barbell-shaped projectile that, when fired, spins through the air. It is primarily used against sails, spars, and rigging. Canister shot is a tin can, crimped at both ends, encasing smaller balls or shot. When fired the can splits apart, hurling the smaller shot in a wide pattern. Canister turned a cannon into a giant shotgun. Chain shot is two cannonballs attached by a length of chain; it follows the same principle as bar shot. Grape shot is a projectile resembling a bunch of grapes, usually consisting of four circular pieces of metal or wood, which created three tiers of small shot between the four pieces of wood or metal. Depending on the size of the cannon, grape shot could be the size of large grapes or large plums. Langridge (or langrage) is a mixture of bolts, nails, iron bars, or other pieces of scrap metal sewn up in canvas or otherwise formed into a cylinder to correspond to the bore of the cannon. Langridge was devastating against masts, sails, rigging, and, of course, personnel. Round or solid shot is spherical shot made from solid iron. A cannon was designated by the weight of the round shot it fired: 12-pounder, 24-pounder, 32-pounder, etc.
shrouds. Side stays running diagonally from the mast and masthead to the ship’s rails. The shrouds support the mast, and through the vertical shrouds are woven the horizontal ratlines. Combined they form the rope ladders for climbing the masts.
sloop. Small single-masted, fore-and-aft-rigged vessel. Not to be confused with a sloop-of-war, which was a three-masted warship in a category just below a frigate.
snow. Two-masted merchant vessel rigged as a brig, but with a trysail mast immediately abaft the mainmast from which a trysail with boom was attached.
spar. Generic term for a yard, mast, boom, etc.
sponge (or spunge). Long wood staff with a larger cylindrical portion slightly smaller than the bore of a cannon at one end. The end portion was covered in sheep’s wool or flannel-like material, and when dampened it was used to extinguish sparks in the bore of a cannon after it was fired. If sparks remaining in the bore were not extinguished, the powder charge could explode when the gun was being loaded, severely injuring the loader. Shipboard sponges often used thick rope instead of a wood shaft. The rope was pliable, making it easier to use in the cramped spaces of a ship, but when twisted clockwise inside the bore, the rope became rigid, just like a wood shaft.
sponger. Gun crewman assigned to sponge out the bore of a cannon between firing.
squadron. A division of a fleet. At the battle of Lake Erie, Perry and Barclay commanded squadrons of their respective nation’s Great Lakes fleets.
square-rigger. Sailing vessel utilizing square sails.
standing rigging. See rigging.
starboard. Right side of a sailing vessel when facing forward. Opposite of larboard.
stay. Part of the standing rigging supporting a mast. A stay could run from the bowsprit fore-and-aft from mast to mast or from mast to a rail. See backstay.
staysail. A fore-and-aft sail that is set on a stay; e.g., the fore topmast staysail is the third headsail set between the bowsprit and the foremast, the main topmast staysail and the main topgallant staysail are set between the foremast and mainmast, etc.
stem. The timber at the extreme forward part of a ship. The stem is secured to the forward end of the keel and supports the bow planks.
stempost. Curved extension of the keel forward; the principal element in the construction of the bow.
stepping. See mast step.
stern. Aft end of a boat.
sternpost. Timber at the extreme after part of the ship. The sternpost is secured to the aft end of the keel and is the principal element in the construction of the stern.
stopper. Short lengths of rope secured at one end and used to secure or check a running rope; e.g., deck stopper, boat-fall stopper, etc.
strake. Continuous plank that extends end to end, stem to stern, on a vessel’s side.
sweep. Long oar used as auxiliary propulsion by some ships.
tack. (n.) See sheet. (v.) Change the course of a ship by putting the helm down. If a ship is on the starboard tack, the wind is blowing from the right side of the ship; on the larboard tack the wind is blowing across the left side of the ship. Changing a ship from the starboard to the larboard tack was a complex maneuver that involved letting go the tacks and sheets and putting the helm down (pushing the tiller to the left, in this case downwind, which would turn the ship to the right, into the wind). At the crucial moment, as the ship’s sails lost the wind, the order would be passed to let go the larboard braces and heave on the starboard braces, which should shift the yards and sails around from one oblique angle to an opposite oblique angle in order to catch the wind. If the maneuver was handled correctly, the ship’s momentum would be sufficient to turn the ship until the wind filled the sails on the opposite tack. The yards would then be trimmed, the tacks, sheets, and braces secured, and the ship would be sailing on the larboard tack. One small mistake and the ship would have missed stays, or be in irons, with the sails flapping helplessly, headway lost, and the ship out of control.
tackle (pronounced “tay-kel”). System of one or more ropes and blocks used to give a mechanical advantage in the raising or shifting of heavy weights, especially as regarding the rigging.
tompion. Wooden plug placed in the muzzle of a gun to keep out moisture.
top. Platform near the top of the lower masthead that supported the rigging and on which the heel of the topmast rested. In vessels where the top was not of substantial construction, it was referred to as a trestletree. In warships it was often called the fighting top because it was a convenient location for sharpshooters and swivel guns during combat.
top hamper. Spars, sails, and rigging above the decks.
topmast. See mast.
trenail (pronounced “trunnel”). Cylindrical oaken peg or pin used to fasten the exterior planking to the ship’s frame timbers.
trestletree. See top.
truck. Flat, circular piece of wood located at the topmost point of a mast or flagpole; wheel on a gun carriage.
truck carriage. Standard ship’s gun carriage.
van. Short for vanguard; at the forefront of a battle line or military action.
veer. Clockwise change of wind direction, opposite of back.
wale. Broad and thick strake of planking around the hull at approximately the level of the main deck.
wardroom. Commissioned officers’ living space, dining room, and lounge.
watch and quarter bill. Vessel’s station bill showing different watches to be stood, and duties of the crew for different evolutions, such as battle stations, abandon-ship stations, fire stations, etc.
wear (as in “wear ship”). Change from one tack to another by putting the helm up, i.e., turning the ship away from the wind instead of into the wind. The opposite of tack.
weather. To windward.
weather gauge. Situation of a vessel being to windward of another vessel. Any ship holding the weather gauge enjoyed a tremendous advantage, since it was easier to run downwind than to beat upwind toward an enemy.
windward. Side or direction from which the wind is blowing. Opposite of leeward.
yard. In a square-rigged vessel, the spar suspended horizontally from the mast to which the head of a square sail is bent, or attached.
yardarm. The outermost tip of a yard.