There are altogether
thirty-three ships; but two of them, the _Utrecht_ and the
_Gelykheid_, were used as temporary receiving ships for newly
raised men.[61] The names on their lists are, therefore, merely
those of men who were passed on to other ships, in whose muster-books
they appeared again. There remained thirty-one ships which, as
far as could be ascertained, account for the additional force
which the Government had decided to put in commission, more than
two-thirds of them being ships of the line. As already stated,
their total complements amounted to 17,234, and the number of the
'blue-jackets' of full age to at least 11,500. The muster-books
appear to have been kept with great care. The only exception
seems to be that of the _Victory_, in which there is some reason
to think the number of men noted as 'prest' has been over-stated
owing to an error in copying the earlier book. Ships in 1803
did not get their full crews at once, any more than they did
half a century later. I have, therefore, thought it necessary
to take the muster-books for the months in which the crews had
been brought up to completion.
[Footnote 61: The words 'recruit' and 'enlist,' except as regards
marines, are unknown in the navy, in which they are replaced by
'raise' and 'enter.']
An examination of the books would be likely to dispel many
misconceptions about the old navy. Not only is it noted against
each man's name whether he was 'pressed' or a volunteer, it is
also noted if he was put on board ship as an alternative to
imprisonment on shore, this being indicated by the words 'civil
power,' an expression still used in the navy, but with a different
meaning.
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