Sentence:  Several days passed away, and at length down came an order for [Harry] Bartlett to go on shore and take up his <WSD>warrant</WSD> for a sloop of war that was then round at Plymouth, to which place he was to make all haste to join. [...] "Well, my man," said Sir w:Joseph Sydney Yorke 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A certificate of appointment given to a warrant officer.