His vigilance and presence of mind are necessary to seize every favourable opportunity that his situation may offer to prosecute his principal design to extricate himself from any difficulty or distress to check unfortunate events in the beginning, and retard the progress of any great calamity. His skill should be able to counteract the various disasters which his squadron may suffer from different causes. He ought to have sufficient experience to anticipate all the probable events that may happen to his squadron during an expedition or cruise, and, by consequence, to provide against them. A lee-shore, and injudicious engagement with an enemy greatly superior, may be equally fatal to both. A sudden change of climate, a rand and infectious air, a scarcity or unwholesomeness of provisions may be as pernicious as the former, as tempestuous weather or dangerous navigation to the latter. The health, order, and discipline of his people are not less the objects of his consideration, than the condition and qualities of his ships. A train of dangerous incidents necessarily arise from those situations. His squadron is unavoidably exposed to a variety of perplexing situations in a precarious element. The ADMIRAL, or commander in chief of a squadron, being frequently invested with a great charge, on which the fate of a nation may depend, ought certainly to be possessed of abilities equal to so important a station, and so extensive a command. But since no certain conclusions have been deduced from these elaborate researches, and as it rather appears the province of this work to give the reader an idea of the office and duty of an admiral at sea, than to furnish an historical or chronological detail of the rank and power with which admirals have been invested in different nations, we shall contentedly resign this talk to the ingenious lexicographers, who have so repeatedly entertained us with such critical investigations. Some have borrowed them from the Greek, others from the Arabic, while a third sort, with greater probability, derive both the title and dignity from the Saracens. The origin and denomination of this important office, which seems to have been established in most countries that border on the sea, have given rise to a great variety of opinions. Also an officer who superintends the naval forces of a nation, and who is authorized to determine in all maritime causes. In the establishment of our young navy, the most skilful and experienced among us must acknowledge, that recourse for precedents and examples, to some maritime European nation, in very many points, will be found highly necessary, to secure a good organization of it and as our customs and manners in the sea service are very familiar to those of the English, under whom many of us received our nautical education, I have selected from their system the general outlines of duty for all descriptions of officers, in a ship of war, with such additions and alterations as I found necessary to make: And notwithstanding the prejudice that exists in our nation against the British government, for their spoilations and many unprovoked cruelties exhibited on our citizens, yet I think none can be so much so, as not to acknowledge them, at this time, the first maritime power on the globe, with respect to naval tactics, discipline, and the general management of ships of war they are therefore a proper example for us to imitate in our infancy, in all those points of duty and regulation, in which precedents are wanting: and by a steady attention to their general naval system, we shall very early have our ships of war and marine affairs in good order, and our internal government on board the different ships, in the navy (of the United States of America) similar to each other, which must be very desirable to every officer but what from the distance we are from each other in conferring, building, and equipping, cannot without some pains be reasonably expected.ĪDMIRAL, ( amiral, Fr.) an officer of the first rank and command in the fleet, and who is distinguished by a flag displayed at his main-top-mast-head. By the act of Congress for providing a Naval Armament, there are neither quarter-masters, a boatswain's yeoman, nor several other petty officers (absolutely necessary) mentioned which, if not provided by an amendment of the said act, should be made out of the different ships' crews, to act nominally.
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