Social order in the Navy was produced vertically through formal institutions and professional practices that usually assured good governance. It was also produced horizontally through informal mechanisms that knitted seamen to one another, provided leadership and enabled cooperation. This social order could be fragile, however. Poor governance fomented grievances and incidents of misrule focused existing grievances on commanders. As grievances mounted, the informal groups that gave coherence to seamen’s lives provide a basis for protest. The challenge for seamen was coordinating a response and attaining the solidarity necessary to achieve their collective goals.