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Junior non-commissioned officer aboard Naval vessels. Essentially an apprentice officer, often brought aboard by the [[Post Captain (rank)|Captain]] as a favor to a fellow officer, family member or in exchange of patronage with some government official such as a Member of Parliament or House of Lords.

As a "young gentleman," a midshipman was usually from the upper or middle classes, though occasionally promising young seamen could be appointed as midshipmen by the captain. Despite their youth, they could command much older men in divisions. A midshipman spent his time learning as much seamanship, navigation and command presence as possible until he became old enough with sufficient time to be examined for [[Lieutenant]].

== In the Canon ==

The following is a list of midshipmen that have served with [[Jack Aubrey]] through his various commands:

* ''[[Master and Commander (novel)|Master and Commander]]''
:: [[William Babbington]]
:: [[George Lucock]]
:: [[Charles Rickets]]

* ''[[Post Captain (novel)|Post Captain]]''
:: William Babbington
:: [[Parslow]]

* ''[[HMS Surprise (novel)|HMS Surprise]]''
:: [[Braithwaite]]
:: [[Callow (1)]]
:: [[William Church]]
:: [[Joliffe]]
:: [[Lee (1)]]

* ''[[The Mauritius Command]]''
:: [[Lee (2)]]
:: [[Dick Richardson]]

[[Category Naval life]]
[[Category:Petty Officers]]