User:Lstaub/sandbox

Sources:

Rodger, N. A. M. The wooden world: an anatomy of the Georgian navy. London: Folio Society, 2009.

Nelson's Navy, Revised and Updated: The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1793-1815

1812 : the Navy's war / Daughan, George C.

Toward "the maritime war only": the question of naval mobilization, 1811-1812 / Kastor, Peter J

Powder monkeys : brave lads on the sea / Mike Estel.

Ponies, patriots, and powder monkeys : a history of children in America's armed forces, 1776-1916 / Eleanor C. Bishop.

Ships of oak, guns of iron : the War of 1812 and the forging of the American navy / Ronald D. Utt.

Goals for editing Page:

My goal for editing this page is to write more about the history of the powder monkey. Answering questions like how they were integrated into being powder monkeys from such a young age? Why they were so young? And if women and older men were actually chosen for the job?

I think that the current page holds a good description of what powder monkeys did but more could be added about why they were so important. I would also like to make the point that it was mainly the British Royal Navy who used these powder monkeys. There are very few records of other navies using these powder monkeys during that time.

I would also like to see if I can write a nuanced story about a powder monkey from the words of Mike Estel. I think that writing a historically accurate story will greatly benefit people's understanding of what powder monkeys did.

What I have so far:

I want to add a sentence about how the powder monkeys held no official rank on the warships that they sailed on. I Think that completes the intro paragraph very well. Then I want to start a new paragraph in which I will go into as much detail as my sources will allow me about powder monkeys.

I added a second paragraph about the reasons why powder monkeys joined the navy. Some joined because it was their only option for survival as their families were too poor to raise them and others joined because they were tied to a sense of adventure because of the tales that their families had told them.

I added a third paragraph about the history of the United States Navy and powder monkeys. It is hard to do this without adding personal anecdotes. Most of the sources I had for this section were persona accounts or stories of young sailors aboard US ships.