These men were vital to the proper functioning of an 18th century warship. They acted as the contact points between the overall commander of the vessel and the NCOs and enlisted men that formed the sections of the ship that was under their oversight. They were the commissioned individuals who knew what was going on among the crew members who worked, lived and fought in their portion of the ship. In the shortest terms, they had their finger on the pulse of the ship and, collectively, knew about the life's pulse of the vessel at all times.
These men are listed alphabetically according to their last names and their "position" is also listed after their names. Several of these men have more than one "position" documented after their names and this will be addressed in this post. These men are as follows:
Peter Ansiel 1st Lieutenant
John Bartlett Lieutenant of marines
Nicholas Bartlett 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant
---------- Bull 4th Lieutenant
Samuel Bullfinch Lieutenant
James Carpenter Lieutenant of marines, 2nd officer
---------- Clear Lieutenant
Robert Coram Lieutenant, 4th Lieutenant, 5th Lieutenant, midshipman
Thomas Fitzgerald Master, 3rd Lieutenant, 4th Lieutenant
---------- Frankis Lieutenant
James Grinnell Lieutenant
John Henderson Lieutenant, marine
Nathaniel Marston Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, midshipman
Luke Matthewman Lieutenant
John Mayrant 3rd Lieutenant, midshipman
Hugh Alexander Nixon Lieutenant, midshipman
---------- Powers 3rd Lieutenant
Henry Romer Lieutenant of marines
Henry Roymer Lieutenant of marines
Edward Scull Lieutenant of marines
John Stoy Lieutenant of marines, volunteer
William Thompson Lieutenant of marines
John Walters Lieutenant of marines
Thomas White 1st Lieutenant
Several of these individual men either filed pension applications or are mentioned as commissioned officers in the pension applications of others who served on board the frigate South Carolina. It was not at all uncommon for someone submitting a pension application to cite the name or name of all officers who they could recall as having served on board the same ship as they served on, in this case, the frigate South Carolina. This could improve the chances of validating their pension claim and their receiving the specified amount they were filing their claim for. Several of the above listed officers have their names cited or listed in the pension applications of men who claimed service on board the frigate South Carolina.
(Note: It is interesting to note that in the pension application of John Mayrant, Pension Application of John Mayrant S32390", there is a brief mention of Peter Ansiel whose name appears in the above citations as "1st Lieutenant" on board the frigate South Carolina. The citation simply states "...that when the Frigate was at Philadelphia just before the capture Thomas White was 1st Lieut. in place of Peter Anirel [Ansiel] who had been cashiered for holding a correspondence with Sir Joseph York [sic: Joseph Yorke] the British Ambassador at the Hague...")
For instance, in the pension application of Alexander Coffin, "Pension Application of Alexander Coffin W8617", a midshipman on board the frigate South Carolina, Coffin cites "...that the names of the principal officers belonging to the said Frigate at the time of his entering & subsequently were, to the best of his recollection & belief as follows, viz. Capt. John Joyner, Lieutenants Nicholas Bartlett of Marblehead & William Grinnell of Rhode Island, ------- White of Marblehead, Joshua Barney of Maryland, ------- Marston of Boston, John Morrant [sic, John Mayrant] of South Carolina..." This one pension application alone mentions Nicholas Bartlett, William Grinnell, who is cited elsewhere as an "officer" rather than a "lieutenant", ------- White who must be Thomas White, Joshua Barney who was technically a "passenger" on board the first voyage of the frigate South Carolina rather than being cited by his proper rank of lieutenant, -------- Marston who must have been Nathaniel Marston and John Mayrant.
The pension application of John Cushing, "Pension Application of John Cushing S16356", a surgeon's mate on board the frigate South Carolina, cites not only "...Commodore Alexander Gillon commander, John Joiner Capt.,...." but, also "...Nicholas Bartlett first Lieut...."
The pension application of George Fisher, "Pension Application of George Fisher S46036", a captain's steward on board the frigate, cites a "...Mr. John Marant of this State [South Carolina], who was a Lieutenant on board this Ship..." This is, of course, none other than John Mayrant, the 3rd Lieutenant on board the frigate South Carolina. Later on, in the same pension application, he mentions, "...Messrs Bartlett, Greenwell [Grinnell], White, and Marant [Mayrant], before mentioned, Lieutenants..." Lieutenant Grinnell's last name is alternately spelled as Greenwell while Mayrant's last name is misspelled in a typical manner.
Jacob Fleisher, in his pension application, "Pension Application of Jacob Fleisher S2214", a marine on board the frigate South Carolina, mentions one "...Lieut. Scull..." as being the individual who recruited him to serve on board the frigate. Lieutenant Edward Scull is listed above as a Lieutenant of marines.
In the pension application of Joshua Mersereau, "Pension Application of Joshua Mersereau S7224", a carpenter on board the frigate South Carolina, towards the end of his application, lists several of the serving officers among whom he cites ------ Marston, 1st Lieut., Wm White, 2nd do, ------- Fitzgerald, 3rd do, ------- Bull, 4th do..." All of this matches up with previous citations except the of William White. There is an individual by that name on board the frigate South Carolina but, he is listed as a "Landsman (midshipman), Legionnaire?" in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 170. This may be an individual who is being confused with Thomas White listed above but, Thomas White's "position" is listed as "1st Lieutenant". It would seem unusual to confuse a midshipman with a senior lieutenant on board a ship-of-war.
Now, we come to the issue of the numerous "lieutenant's of marines " that served on board the frigate South Carolina. There appears no less than nine of them on board the frigate. These men areas follows, along with their exact "position" citation:
John Bartlett Lieutenant of marines
James Carpenter Lieutenant of marines, 2nd officer
John Henderson Lieutenant, marine
Henry Romer Lieutenant of marines
Henry Roymer Lieutenant of marines
Edward Scull Lieutenant of marines
John Stoy Lieutenant of marines, volunteer
William Thompson Lieutenant of marines
John Williams Lieutenant of marines
The fourth and fifth individuals mentioned in the listing above may well be the same individual listed twice due a very slight alternate spelling of his last name. This seems like a large number of lieutenants for a smaller contingent of marines as those that served under Captains Michael Kalteissen and John Spencer. But, there is no indication of the actual size of the formation on non-Luxembourg marines that served on board the frigate South Carolina. The "Voluntaires du Luxembourg" constituted almost 300 marines as well as officers. These men could have been assistants or liaisons to the well-established officers of the "Voluntaires du Luxembourg". Or, more than likely, they served under Kalteissen and Spencer and helped with the management of the marines contingent that were not immediately under the command of Captain Francois Etienne Laurent D'Aubry, the French commander of marines on board the frigate South Carolina.
There is one, last point to be made here. These men may not have served on board the frigate South Carolina at the same time or even on the same cruise. This information all comes from the portion of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", pages 135-170, which is a compilation of all the personnel who served on board the frigate South Carolina from the time she sailed from the Texel on August 4, 1781 until her capture off of Cape Henlopen on December 20, 1782. Unfortunately, the appendix provides no information on exactly when each man served on board the frigate or for how long they served.