Navy·Technology obsolescence·In Memoriam
Coal Passer / Coal Heaver
Black Gang
Served: c.1842–1917
Shoveled coal from bunker to furnace, hour after hour, in fire rooms that ran above 130°F under combat steaming conditions.
The Story
NHHC quotes ex-coal passer Frederick Wilson calling it "that most humble, but necessary, evil, the lowest rating in the service." Aboard USS Oregon, men in the engine rooms were "carried from the fire rooms insensible."
Epitaph
“Shoveled the Navy from sail to steam. Got carried out for the trouble.”
Sources
- NHHC — Coal in the US Navywww.history.navy.mil