On board the British ship HMS Guerriere, women helped carry powder to the guns. USS Constitution sailor Moses Smith witnessed this and wrote, “The women they had with them were engaged in passing powder, and other munitions of war. Amid such activity on the decks of the enemy, courage and prudence demanded that we should be active on our own.”
Royal Navy regulations officially forbade women on warships, but it is well documented that many warrant and petty officers took their wives to sea with them. The women on board Guerriere included Mrs. Rutledge, the wife of a gunner; Mrs. Henderson, wife of a boatswain; Mrs. Spry, the wife of a Marine private; and Mrs. Johnson, the wife of the boatswain’s mate.