rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* ...
within the early
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. Both the
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Ad ...
, started in 1775, and the United States Navy created by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
, in 1796, had just two commissioned ranks,
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
and
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. Master commandant, who would command smaller vessels, was used, unofficially, as early as 1799. The rank was made official in 1806. The name of the rank was changed to "
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
" in 1837.
The early U.S. Navy had three "grades" of officer who were typically placed in charge of warships: captain; master commandant; and lieutenant, commanding (which was not a distinct rank, but a title given to an ordinary lieutenant). That structure remains largely in place in the modern American Navy, with the distinct ranks of captain, commander, and
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
.
Master commandant was roughly equivalent to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
rank of master and commander, which itself was shortened to "commander" in 1794. When he was in command of a ship, such as a
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
or
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
, a master commandant would be addressed as "captain" by the sailors on board.
Contemporary paintings show a master commandant's uniform main difference from a captain's uniform was that while a Captain wore an epaulet on each shoulder a master commandant's uniform had a single epaulet on the right shoulder, and a lieutenant commandant wore a single epaulet on the left shoulder.
American naval hero
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unit ...
notably never held the rank of master commandant. After leading a daring raid to destroy the captured U.S.
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...
in Tripoli Harbor in 1804, Decatur returned to the U.S. as a national hero and was given a direct promotion from lieutenant to captain.
Also in 1804, Master Commandant
Richard Somers
Richard Somers (September 15, 1778 – September 4, 1804) was an officer of the United States Navy, killed during an assault on Tripoli during the First Barbary War.
Early career
Born at Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey, he attended the Episc ...
led a dozen volunteer sailors on USS ''Intrepid''— loaded with explosives—toward the pirate fleet in the harbor of Tripoli, Libya.
In 1825 a master commandant was paid $60 per month, while a captain of a ship with 20–32 cannons was paid $75 per month. A lieutenant commandant was paid $50 per month, while a lieutenant or a sailing master earned $40 per month. Midshipmen earned $19 per month. Captains of ships with more than 32 cannons earned $100 per month.