Lord Byron dogs into the water, each with an arm in the ship Captain’s new scarlet waistcoat, to the annoyance of the Captain and the amusement of the crew. Byron had a great love of animals, most notably for a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him, albeit unsuccessfully, without any thought or fear of becoming bitten and infected. Although deep in debt at the time, Byron commissioned an impressive marble funerary monument for Boatswain at Newstead Abbey, larger than his own, and the only building work which he ever carried out on his estate. In his
Boatswain famous for their heroism in the Barbary Wars and are namesakes of the ships USS "Reuben James" and USS "Wiley". Medal of Honor recipients Francis P. Hammerberg and George Robert Cholister were U.S. Navy boatswain's mates, as was Navy Cross recipient Stephen Bass. Victoria Cross recipients John Sheppard, John Sullivan, Henry Curtis, and John Harrison were Royal Navy boatswain's mates. There are also a handful of boatswains and boatswain's mates in literature. The boatswain in William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is a central character in the opening scene, which takes place aboard a ship at sea, and appears again briefly in