Landman (rank)

Landman (or, in the United States Navy, Landsman) was a military rank given to naval recruits.

In the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom in the middle of the 18th century, the term Landman referred to a seaman with less than a year's experience at sea. After a year, the landman was generally considered an Ordinary Seaman. Later, the term evolved into a more formal rating for a seaman.

Landsman was the lowest rank of the United States Navy in the 19th and early 20th centuries; it was given to new recruits with little or no experience at sea. Landsmen performed menial, unskilled work aboard ship. A Landsman who gained three years of experience or re-enlisted could be promoted to Ordinary Seaman. [cite journal|last = Williams | first = Glenn F. | year = 2002 | month = April | title = Uncle Sam's Webfeet: The Union Navy in the Civil War | journal = International Journal of Naval History | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = | id = | url = http://www.ijnhonline.org/volume1_number1_Apr02/article_williams_navy_civilwar.doc.htm | accessdate = 2006-10-27 ] The rank existed from 1838 to 1921. [cite web |last=Malin |first=Charles A. |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq78-3.htm |title=Compilation of Enlisted Ratings and Apprenticeships, U.S. Navy, 1775 to 1969 |publisher=Naval Historical Center |date=19 May 1999 |accessdate=2008-01-01]

References

*N.A.M. Roger. "The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy." W.W. Norton and Company, 1986.