In flogging, the most common means of enforcing discipline in the early U.S. Navy, a cat-o-nine-tails, a whip composed of nine knotted ropes, was applied to the bare back. Its defenders considered flogging swift and effective, while, in contrast to confinement, it quickly returned a sailor to duty. The majority of naval officers, and probably most enlisted as well, believed that flogging was the only practical means of enforcing discipline on board ship.
On September 28, 1850 Congress abolished flogging in the Navy but failed to substitute another system of discipline. In 1855 Congress provided a new system of discipline based on rewards and punishments.
The cat-o-nine-tails was usually kept by the boatswainâs mate in a bag. Thus the CAT WAS LET OUT OF THE BAG for punishment.
MILITARY HISTORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
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