nothing is sure in a sea fight above all.

The most impressive career of all the female sailors is that of William Brown, a black woman who spent at least twelve years on British warships, much of this time in the extremely demanding role of captain of the foretop…. Brown was a married woman and joined the navy around 1804 following a quarrel with her husband. For several years she served on the Queen Charlotte, a three-decker with 104 guns and one of the largest ships in the Royal Navy. The Queen Charlotte had a crew of 850 men and usually served as the flagship of the fleet. Brown must have had nerve, strength and unusual ability to have been made captain of the foretop on such a ship.