Richard Hill, OS. So, What Is an OS?

Richard Hill is listed as an OS in the U.S. navy on his grave marker at Portland, Maine's Eastern Cemetery.  So, that got me to wondering, what is an OS, presuming it might indicate his ship rank.

I looked it up, and in today's Navy, OS stands for Operations Specialist. They are key members of the ship's combat team with jobs  ranging from navigation and plotting specialists, operations administrator,  warfare operator, electronics systems operator and combat air controller.

None of these would seem applicable to the U.S. Navy of the War of 1812.

So, what was an OS during the War of 1812?

More Research Needed Here.  --Brock-Perry

Master Rank in the U.S. Navy-- Part 2: So As Not To Get Confused

From Wikipedia.

Master, originally sailing master, was a historic warrant officer rank in the United States Navy, above that of a midshipman, after 1819, passed midshipman, after 1862 ensign, and below a lieutenant.

Some masters were appointed to command ships, with the rank of master commandant.  In 1837,  sailing master  was renamed master, master commandant was renamed  commander, and some masters were commissioned as officers, formally  "master in line for promotion" to distinguish them from warrant masters who could not be promoted.

I will write more about this rank in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog later today.

So, That's What a Sailing Master's Rank Was.  --Brock-Perry

What Is a Sailing Master? --Part 1: Now Lieutenant, Junior Grade in US Navy

From Wikipedia.

I have come across this term in both this blog and my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog (often there with the name acting master) and knew this rank was some sort of an officer or commander of a ship, but not sure exactly what the rank was.

In the last post, I mentioned Stephen Champlin being promoted to sailing master in 1812.  As such, he commanded the USS Asp.

MASTER (NAVAL)

The master, or sailing master,  was a historical rank not used anymore.  It was a naval officer trained in the operation of a sailing vessel.  The rank can be equated with that of a professional seaman and specialist in navigation.

In the British Royal Navy, the master was originally a warrant officer who ranked as a lower lieutenant.

When the United States Navy was formed in 1794, the master was listed as one of the warrant officer ranks and ranked between midshipman and  lieutenants.  It was also a commissioned officer rank until 1837 until it was replaced  with the current rank of lieutenant, junior grade in 1883.

--Brock-Perry

The Rank of U.S. Army Ensign

In the last four posts about George Ronan I have mentioned his rank as an ensign.  Now, before I started this blog I knew of the Navy rank of Ensign, which is the lowest of the officer grades, but I'd never heard of an ensign.  I know that the lowest Army officer rank is 2nd lieutenant.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has three meanings for ensign:

1.  A flag that is flown (as if by a ship) as a symbol of its nationality.

2.  An infantry officer  of what formerly was the lowest commissioned rank.

3.  A commissioned officer in the Navy or Coast Guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade.

Wikipedia says the ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished by the United States Army in the Army Organization Act of 1815.

So, George Ronan would be the second definition.  Today, he would have been a 2nd lieutenant.

In Case You're Wondering.  --Brock-Perry

U.S. Navy's Master Commandant Rank

From Wikipedia.

I keep coming across this naval rank which is not used anymore.  Just to be sure exactly what it was, I did some research.

It was a rank in the early U.S. Navy, slightly higher than that of a lieutenant.  Often the command of a warship that was too small to justify it be commanded by a full captain was commanded by master commandants.

The rank was later shortened to commander in 1838.

Generally, warships in the early U.S. Navy were commanded, descending in size, by captains, master commandants and lieutenants.

--Brock-Perry

U.S. Army Rank of Cornet

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned that Leonard W. Covington had entered the U.S. Army in 1792 as a cornet.  I was unfamiliar with this rank, so had to look it up in good ol' Wiki.

According to them, a cornet was originally the third and lowest rank of commissioned officers in a British cavalry unit after the captain and lieutenant.  It was abolished in 1871.

It would be the equivalent of today's second lieutenant.

Evidently, this rank was also used in the U.S. Army.

And Here I was Thinking Something About a Music Instrument.  --Brock-Perry

Army Ensigns in the War of 1812

Last week, I mentioned Ezra Dean being appointed an ensign in the 11th U.S. Infantry during the War of 1812.  I always thought an ensign was a Navy rank.

Using Wikipedia, I found that an ensign is a junior officer.  In olden times, this officer carried the flag, hence the name ensign.

The Army replaced ensigns with second lieutenant in the Army Organization Act of 1815.

In the Navy, the rank of ensign replaced Passed Midshipman in 1862.

So, Now I Know.  --Brock-Perry

Master Commandant: In Case You're Wondering

From Wikipedia. //// Everytime I see Thomas Macdonough's name, I also see him as a master commandant, a naval rank I am not very familiar with. Looked it up. //// A Master Commandant was a rank in the early U.S. Navy that was much higher that that of lieutenant and usually given command of warships much smaller than those for a full captain to command. In 1838, it was shortened to commander. (I had thought master comandant referred to the commander of a naval base.) //// The early U.S. Navy had tbree "grades" of officers in charge of warships: lieutenants, master commandants and captains. A master commandant was roughly the equivalent of a master or commander in the Royal Navy. //// So, Now You Know. --Brock-Perry