As portrayed in the quite authentic 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, it really was common for 18th and 19th-century naval vessels to have children serving aboard. In fact, one of the youngest midshipmen (equivalent to a petty officer) in American naval history was nine-year-old David Farragut, who at 12 became a prize master. As also portrayed in the film, these boys absolutely were on the firing line and could be hurt or even killed. What wasn’t depicted, because it would have rightly been viewed as ridiculous and never happened, was the adult officers screaming at an enemy, “Why are you firing at us!? There are kids on this vessel!”

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