Deaths were not unusual on warships, but a funeral always stopped the busy routine of Constitution. Before it began, a ship-mate sewed the dead man into his hammock, with a cannonball at his feet. The last stitch went through his nose, as a final test for life. Then, to a shout of “all hands bury the dead, ahoy!”
the crew gathered round. After the chaplain read the funeral service the dead man’s messmates tipped him into a watery grave.
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