Guardian

On board warships , free guards are those crews who do not keep watch because they perform special duties, for example clerks, cooks, waiters, etc. In a broader sense, this means everyone who is on free watch .

Freiwächter were also called teams in the Prussian army who were on leave under certain conditions . There it became customary around 1770 for company and squadron chiefs to take crews off on condition that they did not leave the garrison and waived their pay . They were now allowed to run a civil trade, but had to give the company commander some of their earnings . For this they were released from guard duty and were therefore called Freiwächter. The bosses used this acquisition as an addition to their meager salary (see company economy ). This deficiency was only remedied by the Prussian army reform .

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition from 1888 to 1890.

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