Executive Officer

The first lieutenant of the ship, or the officer next in rank to the commander. The executive officer is the hardest-worked man on board a man-o'-war, for it is his duty to station officers and crew for sail, spar and boat drill, exercise at the great guns, fire quarters, small arms, arrange the messes, look after the discipline of the ship day and night, keep a conduct book of the entire ship's company, a liberty and punishment book, suppress smuggling of liquor, gambling, fighting, take the ship in and out of port, stimulate a feeling of contentment among the crew so as to make a "happy ship," preserve a cleanly and orderly ship from keel to truck, receive all reports from officers for transmission to the commanding officer, listen to complaints from any member of the ship's company, always to be at the gangway when the captain leaves the vessel or returns to her, to receive the reports of the warrant and petty officers at 8 p. m. concerning the security of their respective departments for the night, and in fact to be on the alert all hours of the day and night, and to almost entirely forego the pleasure of a "run ashore," owing to the exactions of his duties.