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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Naval Logistics, 1779 Style |
| 2004-07-05 |
| From strategypage.com : On 23 August 1779, the USS Constitution set sail from Boston, loaded with 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of water, 74,000 cannon shot, 115,000 pounds of black powder and 79,000 gallons of rum. Her mission: to destroy and harass English Shipping On 6 October, she made Jamaica, took on 826 pounds of flour and 688,300 gallons (???) of rum. Three weeks later, Constitution reached the Azores, where she provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 300 gallons of Portuguese wine. On 18 November, she set sail for England where her crew captured and scuttled 12 English merchant vessels and took aboard rum. By this time, Constitution had run out of shot. Nevertheless, she made her way unarmed up the Firth of Clyde for a night raid. Here, her landing party captured a whiskey distillery, transferred 13,000 gallons aboard and headed for home. On 20 February 1780, the Constitution arrived in Boston with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, and no whiskey. She did, however, still carry her crew of 475 officers and men and 18,600 gallons of water. The math is quite enlightening: Length of cruise: 181 days Booze consumption: 1.26 gallons per man per day (this DOES NOT include the unknown quantity of rum captured from the 12 English merchant vessels in November). Naval historians note that the reenlistment rate from this cruise was 92%. LOGISTICS LESSON LEARNED: Don't load up with too much water. |
| Posted by:Mike Kozlowski |
| #7 I think 5547 is incorrect, I received the same iformation last week in Power Point format - so it must be accurate. Regardless, bottoms up. :-) |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-07-06 12:18:05 AM |
| #6 688,300 gallons (???) of rum. That comes out to 5.74 million pounds, or 2800 or so short tons. That is one hell of a load of rum, cut or not. But we know that the Constitution was a man o' war and not a tanker. You sure that the author of this article wasn't heavily tapping into the grog himself? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-07-05 5:30:13 PM |
| #5 Another interesting fact. Fully loaded, the USS Constitution weighs more than a World War II Destroyer. But they weren't allowed any rum in WWII. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2004-07-05 5:20:36 PM |
| #4 The real lesson is.... don't drink the water unless it's cut with alcohol. Dysentry kills. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-05 4:39:29 PM |
| #3 It was cut grog 5547. Usually 12 to 1 as opposed to the British standard of 16 to 1. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-05 4:38:27 PM |
| #2 Better check the facts. President George Washington signed "an act to provide naval armament" in March of 1794. The reason for this was to provide protection to the large American merchant fleet from continous and increasing attacts by the North African "Barbary pirate" states. (Can you say Arabs?) The USS CONSTITUTION was launched in 1797 and did not put to sea until 1798. The dates don't work and the other numbers don't add up either. I've known some boozers, and have a bit myself. Try drinking a gallon of rum per day for 181 days. I don't think so. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5547 2004-07-05 4:32:23 PM |
| #1 ROFLMAO!!! Confirms everything I've always suspected!!! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-05 3:47:05 PM |