2/23/2024 0 Comments Civil War U.S. Navy enlisted ranksIllustrations from the 1886 uniform regulations of a first class petty officer (master-at-arms, left) and a second class boatswain's mate (right). Although seaman branch first class petty officers had the word "chief" in their titles, as did the chief musician (second class grade), these were not chief petty officers in the present day sense. It will be noted that the different classes of petty officer were more like the pay grades of today, and each rate had a unique title. The chevrons of period examples usually measure between 2¼ and 2½ inches wide. The dimensions of the 1886-pattern chevrons were not mentioned in the regulations except for the specialty mark, which was to fit in a one-inch diameter circle. It appears that the new rating badges with chevrons were intended to be comparable in size to the previous eagle and anchor petty officer badge, which was roughly three inches high. The rating badges were redesigned in 1894, but an eagle, specialty mark and chevrons still make up the navy's rating insignia today. This was comparable to the insignia of a marine sergeant major, to which master-at-arms had been classified as equivalent. One petty officer, master-at-arms, wore an arch of three stripes above the chevrons. There was no one-chevron rank in the marines at that time. First class petty officers wore three chevrons with a lozenge above, like a first sergeant, second class petty officers three chevrons like a sergeant, and third class petty officers two, like a corporal. The chevrons were inspired by those of the US Army and Marine Corps. The eagle that had been used in rating badges since the 1830s was retained, but was combined with chevrons to indicate grade and a mark to indicate specialty. In the Uniform Regulations of 1886, 2 a new system of insignia was introduced for the new ratings.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |