How midshipmen learned command during battle

Midshipmen were distributed through the ship during combat rather than kept in one sheltered training role. Smoke could make hand signals impossible to read, so a captain needed young officers to carry spoken orders to distant stations. Midshipmen could also be posted in the foretop to provide officer supervision aloft or assigned to support gun crews. Frigates in particular did not have enough lieutenants to place one everywhere command was needed. These duties exposed future officers to seamanship, gunnery, communication, and responsibility under battle conditions. They also show how the judgment required for the lieutenant's examination developed in practice.