Matross
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
A matross was a soldier of artillery, who ranked next below a gunner.
The duty of a matross was to assist the gunners in loading, firing and sponging the guns. They were provided with firelocks, and marched with the store-wagons, acting as guards. In the United States Army, a matross ranked as a private of artillery.
The word is probably derived from French matelot, a sailor.[1] The OED states that the word is borrowed from the Dutch matroos ('a sailor of the lowest rank'), and is cognate with similar terms in German, Danish and Swedish.[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Britannica 1911
- ^ Matross at Oxford English Dictionary
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
