18/06/2026
Mess Cooks
May 31, 2026 | 0
During the Morning Watch (4 a.m. – 8 a.m.), usually at four bells ( 2 rings, pause, then 2 rings), a member of each “mess” would meet the purser at a designated place on the ship. The man sent to get the mess’s rations was known as the mess cook. For landlubbers, four bells on the Morning Watch is the equivalent of six a.m.
Each mess consisted of six, or in some instances, eight sailors. One of whom was designated as the mess cook, who was responsible for collecting the rations and ensuring the purser gave him the proper quantity of each item. For items like meat that needed weighing, the purser had a scale.
The food would be placed in a small wooden bucket called a kid, and each mess had two or three kids. The mess cook would then take the rations to where the ship’s hearth (or later stove) was located, which was usually just forward or aft of the foremast.
On smaller ships such as sloops, brigs, and frigates, passing out the daily ration would take less than an hour. On larger ships, the messes were given their rations at two or three locations to minimize the time needed.
The members of each mess slung their hammocks together, their sea chests were lashed to the deck in the same area, and they ate together. There were no benches or tables on the gun deck where the crew ate and slept. Some ships had tables that dropped down from the overhead. Others were planks that rested on top of either sea chests or empty crates.
One by one, the mess cooks would dump their mess’s rations into the kettle, where they would be boiled. If they were cooking meat, a mess tag was attached to the meat that was placed in a burlap bag. At the end of the string, stick with the number of the mess hung over the edge of the kettle.
When the meat was “cooked,” the mess cook lifted out his bag and took it along with the other food back to his mess, where it would be divided equally among his messmates.
For the side dishes like boiled peas or oatmeal, the mess cooks would take turns ladling out the food in the proper amounts to carry back to their mess. Often, a member of the mess would join the mess cook to bring the meal back to the mess. Each sailor was allowed to have a wooden plate, bowl, spoon, a mug (tankard), and a small knife. After the meal, these items were not cleaned before they were put back into the sailor’s sea chest.
Until the Royal (and U.S. Navy) equipped their ships with iron stoves, the area where the food was cooked was a brick or stone hearth with a structure to hold several large copper kettles. Depending on the ship’s size, the kettles could easily hold 50 or as many as 180 gallons.
Iron stoves changed the way meat was prepared. Instead of boiling, meats could be roasted or even grilled. Puddings could be baked rather than boiled, and breads could be baked.
Fuel used to heat the kettles was either coal, scrap lumber from the ship, or a combination of both. When ships were clearing for action, one of the tasks of the mess cooks was to disassemble the frames that held the kettles, store them, and ensure that the fire was out.
For those of us living in the 21st Century, the food sounds unappetizing and unsanitary. And it was. However, to those living in those times, one of the advantages of being a sailor in either the Royal, Continental, or U.S. Navy was that you were fed three times a day, paid, could earn a pension, and had a modicum of medical care, which was something that those ashore could not count on.
1800 engraving by George Cruikshank called The Sailor’s Mess
Posted in Blog, Miscellaneous, Navy and tagged Sailor's mess in th 18th Century
