1
Worcester, quoting from Falconer's Marine Dictionary, defines "Grommet" as "a small ring or wreath, formed of the strand of a rope, used for various purposes."
2
J. R. Soley, The Blockade and the Cruisers, 1883. Scribner's, Navy in the Civil War.
3
This statement when written rested on my childhood's memory only. A few months later there came into m
1
Worcester, quoting from
2
J. R. Soley,
3
This statement when written rested on my childhood's memory only. A few months later there came into my hands a volume of the publications of the British Navy Records Society, containing the Recollections of Commander James Anthony Gardner. 1775–1814. Gardner was at one time shipmates with Culmer, who it appears eventually received a commission. By Gardner's reckoning he would have been far along in the forties in 1790. The following is the description of him. "Billy was about five feet eight or nine, and stooped; hard features, marked with the small-pox; blind in an eye, and a wen nearly the size of an egg under his cheek-bone. His dress on a Sunday was a mate's uniform coat, with brown velvet waistcoat and breeches; boots with black tops; a gold-laced hat, and a large hanger by his side like the sword of John-a-Gaunt. He was proud of being the oldest midshipman in the navy, and looked upon young captains and lieutenants with contempt."