Nautical Research Journal


eyes. Usually, the addressee’s name is written in the lower leſt -hand corner of the fi rst page rather than its customary modern position. Broadcast letters to multiple addressees lists them all in the leſt margin, with Admiralty clerks copying the letter for each recipient.


When John Clevland became Admiralty Secretary in 1751, he began folding over the lower right- hand corner of letters and making notes about the Admiralty’s response. T ese can be a bit cryptic but be sure to examine the back of a letter for a “turn back” comment and other address information it may contain.


Searching for Swift Documents


For our Swiſt 1777 example, searching the TNA website from afar returns Masters’ Logs, a possible Muster book, and seven letters. T e results are shown in Table 3.


All of these results are candidate documents for viewing at the archives. T ey have been added to the Swiſt 1777 timeline in Figure 2. T is is the timeline you should take to the archives to guide your searches.


Even if the results seem a little meager, recall that our Swiſt had a relatively short active life. In fact, the results found are actually optimistic. T e master’s logs will tell you where Swiſt was on every day of its active life and many facts about its daily operations. T e musters will tell you exact dates of the command tenures for the four captains, who the other offi cers were, and the names of all the crew. From these resources alone, you will be able to learn much about the ship’s short active life and the people who served on it, updating your timeline accordingly.


Understanding Royal Navy structure and information flow


T e primary division of responsibility in the eighteenth-century Royal Navy was between the Admiralty and the Navy Board. T e Admiralty


Figure 2.


constituted the fl eet through ship construction, maintenance and retirement orders to the Navy Board, assigned commissioned offi cers and warrants to commissioned ships, and issued sailing and operational orders to the fl eet. T e Navy Board ran the Royal Dockyards, built and maintained the fl eet, coordinated work at commercial dockyards, provided operational materials and supplies for the fl eet, managed non-combatant personnel, warrant offi cer certifi cations, ratings, pay and the civil administration of the Navy. Other component organizations—such as the Victualling Board, Sick and Hurt Board, and Ordinance Board— were instantiated by the Navy Board but operated


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