The Marks of a Nineteenth-Century Sailor
_I. Walking the walk
II. Talking the talk
III. Dressing the part
IV. Leaving a mark
II. Talking the talk
III. Dressing the part
IV. Leaving a mark
I. Walking the walk
_ When sailors disembarked from a long journey and left the dock to spend what little time and money they had in town, they were clearly distinguishable from other men by their gait. On ship, they had to learn to deal with the ship’s movement as it rolled and pitched over the waves. They gained stability by widening their stances, which gave them a distinctive bow-legged appearance (Bennett, 30), and learned to rock with the rhythm of the waves (Independent, 112). Once the vestibular system of the inner ear (i.e. the system responsible for balance) had adjusted to the constant motion of a ship, it had a difficult time readjusting to land, meaning that when sailors returned to land, they felt off-balance because the ground was no longer moving beneath their feet and as a result, they continued to sway (Steingraber, 11). Thus, sailors could be told apart from others on land by their sea-legs, which gave them a widened stance, and a swagger of sorts.
_ Being a sailor incurred many risks. Many injuries and fatalities resulted from falls from the rigging, slips (whether onto the deck or overboard), drownings, or getting caught in a rope (Smithsonian). Minor cuts could easily result in infections, which often went untreated and thus resulted in amputations, many of which were not successful. (Channel 4). Several diseases – some of which resulted from deficiencies in diet – were commonplace as well. For example, scurvy – a vitamin C deficiency that causes exhaustion, pale skin, irritability, swollen gums, joint pain, and bone loss – was prevalent until the mid 18th century when James Lind discovered that fresh fruit or citrus juice could prevent scurvy (NHS; Lambert). Osteomalacia (vitamin D deficiency), tetanus, and venereal diseases (gonorrhea and syphilis in particular, likely caught from time spent with prostitutes at port) were not uncommon to whaler or merchant crews either (Virtual Museum; Smithsonian).
__The damp conditions aboard ship allowed viruses and bacteria to
flourish; as a result, colds, pneumonia, and tuberculosis were familiar
illnesses to sailors. The damp conditions and presence of food also
attracted rats (which would chew through books, bedding, and even bite
sleeping sailors) and insects (which would crawl into everything,
especially food). These vectors of disease enhanced the pervasiveness of
sickness. Poor air quality – especially below deck – caused by smoke
from candles and tobacco, mold, mildew, vapors from tar and waste in the
bilges, and hydrogen and carbonic acid gases from the ventilation
systems, contributed to the long-term poor health of sailors who often
developed permanent lung problems (Bennett, 30-32).
Whaling ships had their own set of hazards, as evidenced in Moby Dick by the leg Captain Ahab lost to the whale, and Ahab’s eventual death during the pursuit and harpooning of Moby Dick (Melville).
The integration of steam machinery into ships introduced new jobs with new dangers. Firemen and coal heavers were responsible for the engines. Firemen managed the fires in the boilers that powered the ship via steam, and coal heavers filled the boilers with coal. These jobs put them in close contact with fire, scorching hot metal, and smoke; as such, common injuries involved serious burns and lung problems (Bennett, 35).
Whaling ships had their own set of hazards, as evidenced in Moby Dick by the leg Captain Ahab lost to the whale, and Ahab’s eventual death during the pursuit and harpooning of Moby Dick (Melville).
The integration of steam machinery into ships introduced new jobs with new dangers. Firemen and coal heavers were responsible for the engines. Firemen managed the fires in the boilers that powered the ship via steam, and coal heavers filled the boilers with coal. These jobs put them in close contact with fire, scorching hot metal, and smoke; as such, common injuries involved serious burns and lung problems (Bennett, 35).
II. Talking the talk
Sailor vernacular was one of transience and tangible experiences. In order to understand it clearly, you must be immersed in the culture, lifestyle, and daily activities of a sailor. A life away from home, from the safety of land, and one full of dangers and perils what was expected to be lived by sailors. Thus, a new form of language was created to accommodate such living habits. This language adopted many of the rigors and apparatuses of sailing which spurred the creation of new phrases, and a change in the meaning of others. The sailing vernacular became so embedded on the ships that any significant divergence would confuse any sailor on the ship. It was almost as if a new dialect of English was created to stand the tests of the seas. This dialect was geared towards delivering concise, clear, and specific instructions as quickly as possible to avoid, and deal will, the perils of sea. Likewise, words were also manipulated to serve a generic purpose in order to avoid the complexities of specifics in certain situations. It was an art form devised to create an easily adaptable language that could serve multiple purposes when the time called for it. Although foreign and alien to most, to the sailors their language was both the salvation and by product of the sea.
The world of the sailor’s vernacular is very complex and needs to be practiced and experienced in order to fully understand its meaning. However, the analysis of a couple of phrases will allow us to begin to understand the structure of the vernacular. For a terrestrial based citizen, the definition of a rope would be simple. However for sailors, due to the rigors of their trade, the type of rope would have to be extremely specific. They would have differentiate between knots, hitches, bends, and splices. Furthermore, knots would also have to be specifically pegged as either bowline (those used to form a loop) and knob knots (when a knob or bunch is formed in a rope to prevent unreeving or fraying to provide a handhold) (Smith 17). The rope itself would also have specific parts that would only be understood by those familiar with the sailing vernacular. Furthermore, the functions of the rope also spurred the creation of diction specific to sailing tasks. A “lashing” now secured one object to another with rope, a “seizing” bound ropes together or to other objects, “worming” is the laying-in of small stuffs between the strands of a rope to fill up the spaces, and “parceling” is the process in which a strip of canvas is wound spirally around the rope with the lay, and heavily tarred. Clearly we can see how the meanings of everyday words were manipulated to serve a clearly distinct and specific purpose within the realm of work for the sailor. Without these changes in meaning, their work would be much harder to do since the lack of vocabulary would lead to much disambiguation. However, with the change of meaning, sailors created their own lexicon while providing their work space with the proper language tools to be one conducive to success.
In turn, this work related lexicon was then incorporated into everyday speech. Phrases concerning parts on the ship and new slang phrases were fused to create a new form of dialogue. As the 1890 New York Times article portrayed, a common sailor would speak like the following: “’Mind yer fuff, you soger,’ sings out th’ old man, an’as he says this one of the jib guys parted and sprung the boom, for ours were swinging booms and had the for’d guy and the after guy fittt in one with a cuckhold’s neck around the boom end. Are yer a following of me, ser? (New York Times).” As we can see, there is a fusion of both the work related vernacular and everyday diction. The fusion of the two is what makes what can be called the sailor vernacular so interesting. The complete fusion of work related words and everyday plebian language is the essence of the sailor’s dialogue. As is shown through this excerpt the use of words like jib, sprung, and boom may not make sense to an common citizen, however due to the use of these words in reference to the pieces of a ship, any sailor would easily understand the meaning of this excerpt. The emergence of the sailor vernacular would soon cause a language barrier and separation between the sailing class and the rest of the population. The sailors would soon become a class of their own
III. Dressing the part
_Depending on the type of maritimer, clothing varied. However, there was little variation between various countries, especially Americans and English. Most navies and merchant ships published specific requirements often referred to as "slop contracts," which are the most specific evidence for what was worn in the era (Rankin). Other than these documents, artists' renditions of maritime scenes provide portraits of other seafarers such as pirates and merchants.
In the 16th century, wide, puffy trousers, or "slops", came into fashion as a seaman's garment of choice due to their lack of restriction on movement (Lovette). At first the knee bands were left open, but by the early 17th century they were removed altogether, speaking to the essential need for comfort and functionality needed aboard. In the 17th century, the English navy was the first to adopt uniforms for officers and a "slop" system, after which all sea clothing were referred to as "slops." In both England and the United States, non-officers supplied and wore their own slops until the early 19th century, when non-officer uniforms were standardized (Hill).
In the 16th century, wide, puffy trousers, or "slops", came into fashion as a seaman's garment of choice due to their lack of restriction on movement (Lovette). At first the knee bands were left open, but by the early 17th century they were removed altogether, speaking to the essential need for comfort and functionality needed aboard. In the 17th century, the English navy was the first to adopt uniforms for officers and a "slop" system, after which all sea clothing were referred to as "slops." In both England and the United States, non-officers supplied and wore their own slops until the early 19th century, when non-officer uniforms were standardized (Hill).
Navy uniforms did not vary too much from
their landsmen counterparts, and included symbols of rank and
achievement just like any other military uniform. Most included some
scheme of buttons and epaulets to identify rank. However, external
needs and limitations changed the uniforms, such as during the Civil
War in the United States. During the war, a greeter need for
practicality and ease of rank identification yielded the creation of
additional insignia and other various identifiers, as well as a
shortening of the coat to conserve material (Tily).
Pirates and other unofficial sailors' clothing were well within the
trends of the time. Many pirate captains are artistically depicted as
wearing such common items as a tricorn hat, buckled shoes, trousers or
knee breeches, and a neckcloth. The key difference was in the coat,
which tended to be a shorter, more civilian style cut, rather than the
garish, embellished version of their Navy counterparts.
IV. Leaving a mark
Tattooing has a rich and long history, originating in prehistoric times. The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word tattau, meaning "to mark" (Krcmarik). Records of tattoos in European and American sailing culture prior to the eighteenth century are scarce, with descriptions first appearing in association with voyages such as Captain James Cook's passage through Tahiti and New Zealand. However, evidence exists that the practice of marking the body with ink existed amongst American and European seafarers long before eighteenth-century contact with Polynesians ensued. (Dye 522). In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, documentation of American sailor's tattoos became much more detailed and complete when Congress passed an "Act for the Relief and Protection of American Seamen" in 1796. The act was passed in order to protect American seamen from impressment into the Royal Navy in the years that led up to the War of 1812 (Mystic). Each sailor who served on United States vessels applied for a certificate of protection and had a strong incentive to make sure that his description on the document was accurate, including the description of his tattoos (Dye 523).
These early descriptions in Seamen's Protection Certificate Applications (SPC-A) reveal a great deal about where, when, and why sailors of the eighteenth and nineteenth century were tattooed. In the surviving Philadelphia SPC-A records from 1796 to 1818, 979 out of the 9,772 men serving on U.S. vessels were marked with 2,354 tattoos (Dye 527). None of these reported tattoos are of Polynesian design or style. Simple tattoo designs were common practice, as the process of getting a tattoo was still a long and excruciating process until the end of the nineteenth century, when the first electric tattooing machine was patented by Samuel O'Rtiely (Krcmarik). Prior to 1891, tattoos were created by tying several needles together, dipping the needles into a colored material made of ink and gunpowder, stretching the skin as tight as possible, and piercing the skin with the needle bundle as deep as the dermis (Dye 530-531).
Most sailor's tattoos were line drawings done in black or blue ink by amateur sailor-tattoo artists (Dye 529). 38% of all reported tattoos on American sailors from 1796 to 1818 depicted initials, names, and dates; 21% depicted things of the sea; 9% patriotic symbols; 9% symbols of love; 8% religious symbols; and 4% depicted people and animals (Dye 533).
Although tattoo designs became more intricate with the invention of modern tattoo technology at the end of the nineteenth century, the subjects depicted in seamen's tattoos from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the start of the twentieth century changed little. Words and numbers continued to be the primary depiction in sailor's tattoos by 1900, with patriotic, love, and religious symbols remaining prominent. The number of female figures increased dramatically, likely due to the advent of the electric tattoo machine (Dye 533). Additionally, tattoos associated with sailor's superstitions and traditions grew in number during the nineteenth century. Tattoos of pig and a rooster were thought to protect a sailor from drowning. The words "HOLD FAST" were often tattooed on the knuckles of seamen in order to protect them from falling while aloft (Spilman). A cross tattooed on one's back was thought to protect a sailor from flogging (Dye 547). Bird tattoos grew in popularity to symbolize the completion of a voyage or a sailing milestone, such as the 5,000th mile sailed (Spilman).
The location of tattoos amongst nineteenth century seaman did change over the nineteenth century. 95% of seamen's reported tattoos from 1796 to 1818 were on the arms or hands. Tattoos on the hand became much less common by the beginning of the twentieth century, while tattoos on areas of the body that are more easily covered (chest, shoulders, back, and legs) increased in number (Dye 536).
The location of tattoos amongst nineteenth century seaman did change over the nineteenth century. 95% of seamen's reported tattoos from 1796 to 1818 were on the arms or hands. Tattoos on the hand became much less common by the beginning of the twentieth century, while tattoos on areas of the body that are more easily covered (chest, shoulders, back, and legs) increased in number (Dye 536).
The commonality of tattoos amongst American sailors as well as the common subjects depicted in sailor's tattoos suggests that tattooing persisted as an important part of sailing culture over the nineteenth century. Tattooing remained rare in the United States' general population over the course of the nineteenth century prior to the development of modern tattooing technology (Dye 554). The tattoo was a permanent mark to distinguish a sailor from non-sailors. The sailing occupation was so dissimilar from those on land that tattoos served as a means to preserve this difference, to identify it and make it known. The culture of tattooing amongst sailors also promoted kinship and a shared sense of experience between sailors. Tattoos served to commemorate their voyages, their hardships, and their shared values. Patriotic tattoos demonstrated sailors' patriotism and pride of country, especially when traveling to far removed parts of the world (Dye 552). Likewise, maritime-themed tattoos of anchors, mermaids, ship, and fish demonstrated a sailor's pride in his craft and his desire to both demarcate himself as unique from landsmen and unite himself with other sailors (Dye 553). Tattoos of names, initials, and love images suggest the value that nineteenth century sailors placed on their family at home. Other imagery reflected superstitions that members of the sailing community developed while at sea (Spilman). Although only a minority of seamen had tattoos according to SPC-A records of the early 1800s, tattoos remained an important part of the sailor's identity across several generations of sailors in the nineteenth century.
A sailor's mermaid tattoo in 1808, preserved from a skin specimen (!!!) (Dye 545).