with carrying it into battle was called the chaplain or cloak bearer. Chaplain comes from the French word  “chapete” —a short cloak. Later, priests or chaplains,  rather  than  field  officers,  were  charged with  the  care  of  the  sacred  cloak. Chaplains  served  aboard  warships  of  many nations. In the British and American Navies they collected  4  pence  per  month  from  each  member of   the   crew.   In   return,   they   rewarded   every seaman  who  learned  a  psalm  by  giving  him  6 pence. Besides  holding  divine  services,  chaplains  were charged with the instruction of midshipmen and the moral guidance of officers and enlisted alike. It  wasn’t  until  the  eighteenth  century  that chaplains were permitted to dine in the wardroom. Previously,  they  dined  in  their  own  cabins, although  they  were  frequently  invited  to  dine  with the  captain. The second article of  Navy  Regulations  was adopted  by  the  Continental  Congress  on  28 November  1775.  This  article  made  provision  for divine services afloat. We quote from the article: “The  Commander  of  the  ships  of  the thirteen United Colonies are to take care that divine services be performed twice a day on board, and a sermon preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other ex- traordinary  accidents  prevent.” Although  chaplains  are  not  specifically  mentioned in this article, it is obvious that Congress intended that the clergy be placed on board naval vessels to  conduct  worship  services. A  Congregational  minister,  the  Reverend Edwards Brooks, was the first chaplain to serve in  the  Continental  Navy.  He  reported  aboard  USS Hancock  in  the  spring  of  1777  and  was  subse- quently  captured  by  the  British  in  May  1777. Sometime later he was exchanged for a captured British chaplain. The  Reverend  William  Balch  was  commis- sioned a chaplain in the United States Navy on 30 October 1799. He is considered to be the first commissioned  chaplain  of  the  United  States  Navy. However,  there  is  clear  evidence  that  William Austin  was  serving  as  a  chaplain  without  a commission  aboard  USS  Constitution   nearly  a year before Reverend William Balch reported for duty. Since the practice of using unordained men as chaplains was common in the early days of the Navy,  it  is  not  known  whether  Mr.  Austin  was an  ordained  minister.  However,  since  he  per- formed duties as a chaplain and was listed in the official  records  of  the  ship,  it  appears  that  the distinction of being the first United States Navy chaplain  belongs  to  him. During  this  period,  Navy  chaplains  were expected to serve as teachers of various subjects as  well  as  to  perform  ministerial  functions.  In answer   to   an   inquiry   made   by   a   member   of Congress  regarding  the  duties  of  a  Navy  chaplain, on 21 February 1811, the Secretary of the Navy wrote  the  following: “The duties of a chaplain in the Navy are to  read  prayers  at  stated  periods;  to perform all funeral ceremonies; to lecture or  preach  to  the  crew  on  Sundays;  to instruct  the  midshipmen  and  volunteers in   writing,   arithmetic,   navigation,   and lunar observations, and when required, to teach  other  youths  of  the  ship.” This statement summarizes the regulations that were  set  forth  in  1802.  Therefore,  it  is  obvious that the main burden of preparing junior officers for  their  future  duties  rested  upon  chaplains.  This trend  continued  until  the  government  established the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis  in  1845. After   the   establishment   of   the   Naval Academy, chaplains began to devote more atten- tion to their ministerial duties and less to teaching midshipmen.  However,  the  regulations  of  1939 shown  in  figure  1-2  clearly  indicate  that  the chaplain  was  expected  to  assist  personnel  who were deficient in certain academic subjects (item 5 in the figure). The duties of the chaplain were not significantly modified during World War II. Navy  chaplains  have  distinguished  themselves in several professional areas throughout United States history. The foregoing account shows the importance that has been placed on the chaplaincy in  the  Navy. Three   correspondence   courses   provide   a detailed history of the Chaplain Corps. They are History  of  the  Chaplain  Corps,  Part  I,  which presents the history of the Chaplain Corps from the days of the Continental Navy to 8 September 1939;  History  of  the  Chaplain  Corps,  Part  II, which  continues  the  history  of  the  Chaplain  Corps through  1949;  and  History  of  the  Chaplain  Corps, Part  III,  which  presents  the  history  of  the Chaplain Corps during the Korean War. The per- sonnel  in  the  command’s  educational  services office  will  order  these  courses  upon  request. 1-2