on 1/30/02 8:07 AM, Rudy Christian at [log in to unmask] wrote:

svantevit posted:
There were a lot of the monkeys on the Man o' war. Brass you just explain
but is there anyone to tell  us about "Powder Monkeys" ?







"Powder Monkeys where small children, usually orphans or children sold by
their parents, that were used to bring "loads" or "charges" (I forget) of
gunpowder from below deck to the cannons during battle. The powder was
stored in cloth socks that were portioned out for firing the cannon once.
Storing gunpowder on deck with cannons firing is risky business itself, but
the real reason for keeping it below the water line was so it could be
flooding if the ship were overtaken.

Since gundecks were fairly tight for space, it was advantageous to have
agile young children running for the socks between the firing cannons, and
if they misjudged a recoil, they were considered more "expendable". They
could be easily replenished at the next port of call.

Sorry for the somewhat morbid explaination, but the docent on the HMS Rose
was quite a bit more graphic. I actually like the story about "Grease
Monkeys" a lot better.

Rude


So Rudy what is the story about grease monkeys?

Bill