Editing Yeoman (section)

=== United States Navy ===
{{anchor|USN Yeo}}
{{Main|Yeoman (United States Navy)|History of United States Navy ratings}}
In the modern Navy, a yeoman is an enlisted service member who performs administrative and clerical work.

The [[Continental Navy]] was established by the [[Continental Congress]] in 1775. The legislation called for officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men.<ref name=2019_Roland/> The roster of enlisted men was left open to each ship captain to fill as he deemed necessary. After the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], the Navy was considered unnecessary by Congress, and it was disbanded in 1785. The surviving ships were sold off.

The [[US Constitution]] (Article I, Section 8, Clause 14) granted the new [[US Congress]] the power to build and maintain a navy. It wasn't until 1794, when the worsening US relations with Great Britain and France, as well as the continuing attacks by Barbary pirates, forced Congress to appropriate funds to construct 6 [[frigates]]. The US naval hierarchy established followed the precedent set by the British Royal Navy. To which the US Navy added [[Petty Officers]], which included the jobs traditionally assigned to naval yeomen. The first US Navy yeomen were ''Yeoman of the Gunroom'' and the ''Captain's Clerk''. Petty officers were appointed by the ship's captain, and served at his pleasure. They did not retain their rank when they moved to another ship.<ref name=2019_Roland/>

As the US Navy transformed from sail to steam, and from wood to steel, the yeoman's duties gradually changed to more administrative tasks. The ''Gunner's Yeoman'' was eliminated in 1838, the ''Boatswain's Yeoman'' in 1864, the ''Engineer's Yeoman'' and the ''Equipment Yeoman'' in 1893. The ''Captain's Clerk'' of 1798 became a Yeoman in 1893.<ref name=NHHC/> Which makes today's Yeoman a descendant of one of the original rates and ratings in the US Navy.