摘要：The story goes that when his fellow Lords of the Admiralty objected to a naval reform that he advocated, Winston Churchill replied, "You say that I am ignoring the time-honored traditions of the Royal Navy. And what might they be. I shall tell you in three words. Rum, buggery, and the lash! Good morning, Sirs!" This apocryphal story highlights the stereotypical image of sailors: intoxicated, sexually promiscuous, and mutinous, kept in line only by draconian discipline. The U.S. Navy drew many of its traditions from the Royal Navy, the subject of the apocryphal quotation; even so, the U.S. Navy in the age of sail has a social history unique to itself. Alcohol, sex, and discipline in the sailing Navy of the United States are worthy topics of inquiry, and historians have frequently revisited these subjects. Other aspects of the social history of the sailing navy that have received more than cursory study include recruiting, patronage in officer appointments, race relations, promotion, dueling, medical care, and education
