White Jacket Chapter III - A Glance At The Principal Divisions

In which the manifold divisions of duty aboard a man-of-war are carefully delineated, from the veteran sheet-anchor-men to the foppish after-guard, illustrating a complex and unyielding system designed to tame the chaos of many hands on deck. It is here revealed how a raw sailor, newly embarked and assailed by a storm of sounds and orders, must wrestle with an intricate array of numbers and stations, learning a language of discipline as alien as any foreign tongue.