Flags as a Means of Signalling--Army Signalling--the Morse
Alphabet--Navy Signalling--First Attempts at Sea Signals--Old Signal
Books in Library of Royal United Service Institution--"England expects
that every man will do his duty"--Sinking Signal Codes on
defeat--Present System of Signalling in Royal Navy--Pilot
Signals--Weather Signalling by Flags--the International Signal
Code--First Published in 1857--Seventy-eight Thousand different Signals
possible--Why no Vowels used--Lloyd's Signal Stations.
We propose in this, our final chapter, to deal with the use of flags as a
means of signalling; a branch of the subject by no means wanting either in
interest or in practical value.
The flags used for army signalling are only two in number if we consider
their design, though, as each of these is made in two sizes, the actual
outfit consists of four flags. The large size is three feet square, and the
smaller is two feet square; the larger sizes are clearly more visible, but
on the other hand the smaller save weight and consequently labour; and with
good manipulation and clear weather their messages can be followed by
observers, with ordinary service telescopes, up to a distance of twelve
miles or so. The poles are respectively five feet six inches long and three
feet six inches, and the flags themselves are either white with a blue
horizontal stripe across the centre, or wholly blue. Only one flag is used
at a time, the first being used when the background is dark and the second
when light, so as to ensure under all circumstances the greatest
visibility.
The person sending the signals should hold the flag pointing upwards to the
left, and with the pole making an angle of about 25°, with an imaginary
vertical line passing down the centre of his body. The signals are based
upon the dot and dash system of Morse. The dot or short stroke is made by
waving the flag from the normal position to the corresponding point on the
right hand, while for the dash or long stroke the flag is waved till the
head of the pole nearly touches the ground.
The Morse alphabet is so constructed that the letters of most frequent
occurrence are represented by the shortest symbols, and no letter requires
more than four of these for its expression, while figures are all
represented by five signs. {128}
The letters of the alphabet are thus represented:--
A ·-
A (æ) ·-·-
B -···
C -·-·
D -··
E ·
F ··-·
G --·
H ····
I ··
J ·---
K -·-
L ·-··
M --
N -·
O ---
O (oe) ---·
P ·--·
Q --·-
R ·-·
S ···
T -
U ··-
U (ue) ··--
V ···-
W ·--
X -··-
Y -·--
Z --··
Ch ----
The following code is adopted to represent figures:--
1 ·----
2 ··---
3 ···--
4 ····-
5 ·····
6 -····
7 --···
8 ---··
9 ----·
0 -----
A space about equal in length to the dash is left between each letter, and
a time interval of about three times the duration between each word. This
alphabet, once learned, it is evident can be utilized in many ways.
Steamers, by means of short and long whistles, can spell out messages to
each other; seamen, across a harbour, can communicate by waving their arms;
prisoners by opening and shutting their hands. It is also utilised in the
light-flashes of the heliograph, in telegraphy again, and in various other
directions.
Classes are held at the School of Army Signalling at Aldershot, and from
thence the knowledge permeates the Army and the Auxiliary Forces.[84] The
requirements are steadiness, intelligence, quickness of eye-sight and of
action, and the power to spell correctly; and it takes a man from fifteen
to twenty days, at five hours drill a day, to learn the alphabet and the
proper manipulation of the flags. The standard of efficiency is ten words a
minute with the large flag or sixteen with the small. If our readers will
take the trouble to count the letters in the first sixteen words in this
present sentence they {129} will find that they are sixty-nine in number,
and they will further find, if they take the additional trouble to
translate these letters into Morse, that it will take 105 dots and 60
dashes to do it. Our readers will probably then go on to conclude that as
it takes one hundred and sixty-five motions of the flag, plus sixty-eight
intervals between the letters to signal these sixteen words, a speed of ten
words a minute is a very creditable performance either for the sender to
work off or for the receiver to read.
Besides the ordinary spelling out of the words, various arbitrary signs are
used, thus a continued succession of dots ······ is used to call attention
to the fact that a message is going to be sent, and a series of dashes
------ means that it is finished. G means "go on," R is a request to "move
more to the right" and L to "shift a little to the left"; B means "use the
blue flag," and W "use the white flag," K.Q is "say when you are ready,"
F.I means that figures are coming, and F.F indicates that the figures are
finished. Those who have to receive the message may see that the background
behind the transmitter is not quite satisfactory for the due observation of
the flags, and they may then flash back H or O, meaning either "higher up"
or "lower down," as the case may be, and in case of any misunderstanding,
they will signal I.M.I, which means "please repeat," and as soon as all is
clear, they will signal R.T, meaning "all right."
As our man-of-war's-men are also instructed in this system of signalling,
communication can be established during an expedition between the ships and
the troops on shore. The signal for communication is a white pendant with
two black X.X on it. Should this special flag not be forthcoming, the X.X
-··--··- (see code of letters) is flashed at night or waved by the flag by
day, and as soon as the preparative dots ······ have been acknowledged, the
message is dispatched. When the message is of a general character, nothing
more need be done, but when it is intended for a particular vessel, the
communication is preceded by the special sign apportioned to that vessel.
Though the Morse system has its place, as we have seen, in the drill of our
blue-jackets, it does not altogether meet naval requirements. A man waving
flags on board ship would be a scarcely conspicuous enough object, and
intermediate vessels in a squadron would block out all view of him from
those farthest off, hence naval communications are ordinarily made by means
of flags exhibited from the mast head or other clearly visible position.
Instead of one flag being used, our men-of-war have over forty, and these
are all conspicuously distinct from each other. The messages are not spelt
out, as in land operations, but the flags are used in various combinations,
and the meaning of the signal is found by reference to a {130} code-book.
These flags, it is arithmetically evident, can be transposed and grouped in
some thousands of different ways, and the code-book contains questions and
answers to meet the very varied requirements of naval service, and the
special signal hoist for each.
The first real attempt at sea-signalling was made during the reign of
Charles II., when a series of signs of the most arbitrary character was
devised, consisting for the most part of flags hoisted in various parts of
the ship, and altering their significance as their locality was changed.
The system was a very cumbrous one, and in 1780 Kempenfeldt, the Commander
of the ill-fated _Royal George_, improved to some extent upon it, but even
then the result was not very brilliant. Lord Howe, in 1792, could only make
a total of one hundred and eighty-three signals. As yet, however, it had
never struck anybody how much simplicity and advantage would be gained by
employing numbered or lettered flags, and then using them in the thousands
of combinations that such a system rendered possible. It is stated by
various authorities--and even authorities have a way of copying from each
other--that flags were numbered for the first time about the year 1799, but
in the Library of the Royal United Service Institution may be seen "An
Essay on Signals, by an Officer of the British Navy," bearing the date
1788.[85] The flags were numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, and
they are represented in our illustrations by Figs. 287, 288, 289, 290, 291,
292, 293, 294, 295, and 296. It will be seen that they are all of a very
clear and distinct character. When such a number as 444 was required, it
would appear to be necessary to have three flags like Fig. 290--the No. 4
of the series--but to avoid this multiplication of identical flags, a red
triangular flag called a decimal, a white triangular called a centenary,
and a blue triangular called a millenary, were used, and these were placed
as required before the unit to be repeated. By this plan 444 would be
expressed by the yellow flag, the No. 4, having below it the red and white
pennants. Sometimes these flags really meant numbers, and then the required
number was hoisted, plus a yellow swallow-tailed flag. Thus in answer to
"How many guns does she carry?" if the response should be fifty, the five
and the nought flags, Figs. 290 and 296, plus the swallowtail or cornet, as
it is technically called, would be hoisted, while the same five-nought
signal, without the cornet, would signify "whole fleet change course four
points to starboard."
If we want to find the English equivalent of some German word, we turn to
the German-English half of our dictionary, but if we {131} required the
German equivalent of our English word, we should refer to the
English-German part of the book, and signal codes are in like manner
divided into flag-message and message-flag. By the system we are at present
discussing, we should find by referring to the flag-message half of our
book, that the three flags 7, 3, 6, meant, "recall cruisers," while 8, 3,
6, signified "sprung a leak." On the other hand, if we wished ourselves to
send such an order we should turn to the message-flag half of our code
book, and under the heading of "Cruisers," find all the references that
could concern the management of such vessels until we presently found
"Cruisers, recall--7, 3, 6," and then at once proceed to hoist those
particular flags. Only fourteen flags, the ten numerals, the three
pennants, and the cornet, suffice for sending many hundreds of messages,
but the anonymous author adds, "exclusive of this arrangement, I would
propose to have the most current signals in battle made with one flag only,
and these should be used on the day of battle only. A similarity between
these and the flags used as the numerical signals ought as much as possible
to be avoided." Figs. 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, and 286, are
illustrations of some of these. The striking design of the rising sun
signifies "engage the enemy." Fig. 280 is an order for "close action." Fig.
281 is an instruction to "invert the line of battle by tacking," while Fig.
282 is a direction to "force the enemy's line." It is needless to
particularise them all, suffice it to say that each and all are of stirring
significance. Many minds were at work on the urgent problem of an adequate
system of sea-signalling, and numerous plans, therefore, were suggested. It
does not appear that the one we have just referred to as an example of
these endeavours to solve the difficulty was ever adopted.
The official "Signal Book for the Ships of War," compiled by the Admiralty
in 1799, and afterwards amplified in 1803 by Admiral Sir Hope Popham, is of
immense interest, as it was introduced into the Navy for the first time in
the fleet of Nelson, and it was therefore the code of Trafalgar. In the
copy preserved in the Library of the Royal United Service Museum is
written, "this is a copy of the signal book by means of which the battle of
Trafalgar was fought." All signals are by numbers. In the book in question,
those given have been pasted over others, but some of those underneath are
still visible: thus the flag that once represented one here stands for
five, and the flag that heretofore was three is now seven. "If the
Admiral"--an instruction in the book says--"should have reason to believe
that the enemy has got possession of these signals, he will make the signal
for changing the figures of the flags. The figure, which by the new
arrangement each flag is to represent, is to be immediately entered in
every ship's signal-book," and it is {132} evident that one of these
transpositions has been made here. The ten flags of the code are
represented in Figs. 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, and 278.
It is very difficult to say really how the flags were arranged for the
world-famed "England expects that every man will do his duty," as the
numerical significance of the ten flags was so often changed during the
exigencies of war. The book we have referred to makes Fig. 270 stand for 1,
Fig. 278 for 2, Fig. 275 for 3, Fig. 273 for 4, Fig. 269 for 5, etc.; and
while it declares that it was by this code Trafalgar was fought, we have no
evidence as to who wrote this statement. It may have been the authoritative
statement of some one at the time in full possession of the facts, or a
mere surmise added a dozen years afterwards by some irresponsible
scribbler. On turning to the "Naval History" of James, Vol. IV., p. 34, we
read "there is not, that we are aware of, a single publication which gives
this message precisely as it was delivered. The following is a minute of
the several flags, as noted down on board more than one ship in the fleet."
He then proceeds to give them, and the arrangement that he follows is that
of our illustration, his 1 being Fig. 269; 2, Fig. 270; 3, Fig. 271; 4,
Fig. 272; 5, Fig. 273; 6, Fig. 274; 7, Fig. 275; 8, Fig. 276; 9, Fig. 277;
and 0 Fig. 278. If he may be accepted as a reliable authority, "England"
was expressed by the flags 2, 5, and 3; "expects," by 2, 6, and 9; "that,"
by flags 8, 6, and 3; "every," by flags 2, 6, and 1; "man," by 4, 7, and 1;
"will," by 9, 5, and 8; "do," by 2, 2 and 0; and "his," by 3, 7, 0, those
being the code numbers assigned to those words in the vocabulary. This
necessitated eight distinct hoists, one group of flags for each word, but
singularly enough the code contained no signal for "duty," so that it was
necessary to spell this out letter by letter, making four hoists more, flag
4 being for "d"; 2 and 1 for "u"; 1 and 9 for "t"; and 2 and 5 for "y." As
given in one or two French historical works the signal is equally short and
expressive: "L'Angleterre compte que chacun fera son devoir." The story of
Nelson's signal is best told in the words of the _Victory's_ Signal
Lieutenant, Pasco, the officer who received Nelson's orders to make it.
"His Lordship," Lieutenant Pasco says, "came to me on the poop, and, after
ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, said, 'Mr.
Pasco, I want to say to the fleet "England confides that every man will do
his duty."' He added, 'You must be quick,[86] for I have one more to add,
which is for "close action."'[87] I replied, 'If your Lordship will permit
me to substitute "expects" for "confides" the signal will soon be {133}
completed, because the word "expects" is in the vocabulary, and "confides"
must be spelt.'[88] His Lordship replied in haste, and with seeming
satisfaction, 'That will do, Pasco, make it directly.' As the last hoist
was hauled down, Nelson turned to Captain Blackwood, who was standing by
him, and said, 'Now I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer
of all events, and the justice of our cause; I thank God for this great
opportunity of doing my duty.'" And Great Britain that day did not call
upon her sons in vain, nor was the appeal to the God of Battles unheard,
though the rejoicing of victory was turned into mourning at the loss of him
who had so nobly done his duty in the nation's service.
In the Royal Navy of the present day, a special code, requiring forty-five
different flags, is employed. Figs. 254 to 267 inclusive, are examples of
some of these.[89] This code, we need scarcely say, is of a confidential
nature, and is not published anywhere for all the world to study. The
Commercial code of International signals being now recognised by the
principal maritime States of the world, is, by Queen's regulations, made
use of by our men-of-war when communicating with foreign war-ships, or with
merchant vessels whether British or foreign. The signal codes of the Royal
Navy, when not actually in use, are kept in perforated metal cylinders, so
that in case of capture of the vessel they may at once be thrown overboard.
In the Library of the Royal United Service Institution may be seen the
Signal book of the U.S. frigate _Chesapeake_, with bullets attached to it
for the purpose of sinking it. In the confusion incidental to the capture
of the vessel by H.M.S. _Shannon_,[90] it fell into the hands of the
Britisher. Besides these regulation signals of the American Navy, a second
set, supplied to privateers, was also captured, marked "Strictly
confidential. The commanders of private armed vessels are to keep this
paper connected with a piece of lead or other weight, and to throw the
whole overboard before they shall strike their flag, that they may be
sunk." This also, instead of going to the bottom of the Atlantic, may be
seen within half a mile of Charing Cross.
Landsmen have a notion, remembering possibly that Nelson went into action
with the signal for close action flying, that when a signal is made it is
to be instantly obeyed, but the present system of signalling is on somewhat
different lines. The hoisting of a signal on the flag ship is preparative.
The ships leading the other columns repeat the signal, hoisting their
colours three-quarters of {134} the way up the mast. The other ships each
hoist their "answering pennants" to show that they have seen and understood
the order. Then when the repeating ships notice that all the other vessels
have answered, they hoist the signal right up as an intimation to the
Admiral that this is the case. Then it is that on the Admiral's ship the
signal is hauled down, thus giving the executive order for its purport to
be obeyed, so that the signal is cautionary of what is coming, and the
manoeuvre is only executed when to the eye no instructions at all are to be
seen. The answering pennant has vertical stripes--red, white, red, white,
red.
Fig. 268 is the flag used by any vessel that wishes to communicate with a
coastguard station, or hoisted when one coastguard station wants to send a
message to another. Thus when Beachy Head has any notification to make to
the neighbouring post away down at Burling Gap, the first thing to be done
is to hoist at the masthead Fig. 268. When the men on duty at Burling Gap
see this they hoist the answering pennant, meaning "all right, talk away,"
and then the arms of the Beachy Head semaphore work vigorously, or the gay
signal flags flutter in the breeze and send their message across the downs.
War vessels signal to each other at night by means of the Morse system of
short and long flashes,[91] and all the large steamship lines have night
signals peculiar to themselves, thus the night signal of the Orient Line is
red and blue lights burnt alternately. Any vessel seeing this, knows that
they are dealing with this special Line and similarly report themselves,
and after this due introduction proceed to dot and dash to their heart's
content.
The last two rows of flags on plate XXIII. are signals for pilots. These
are either the two flags standing for P. and T. in the International Signal
Code, a system we have yet to deal with, or it may be a single flag, the
special pilot flag of each nation. Fig. 297 is the pilot flag of the
Argentine Republic; Fig. 298, that of Brazil; Fig. 299, that of Ecuador.
Fig. 300 is the pilot flag of Greece; 301, that of Japan; and 304, that of
Spain. France, Mexico and Chili all adopt a flag like Fig. 278, a white
flag with broad blue border, while Great Britain, Fig. 104, Germany, Fig.
302, Belgium, Fig. 303, Denmark, Fig. 305, Holland, Fig. 306, Sweden,
Austria-Hungary, Italy, all fly the national flag of the country with a
broad white border to it. Russia takes the Jack, Fig. 215, for the same
purpose, and places this {135} white band around it, while the United
States of America takes the star-bestrewn azure canton from the national
flag, Fig. 146, and similarly surrounds it with the broad band of white.
Penalties are recoverable, as they clearly should be, if any ship uses or
displays signals which may be mistaken for either pilot calls or signals of
distress.
The United States uses flags for its weather signals at the various
meteorological stations. A violent storm is prognosticated by a red flag
with a black centre. A red pennant signifies "storm approaching station,"
while a yellow pennant signifies "call at station for special information."
A plain white flag betokens fine weather and a plain blue one rain or snow,
and there are various combinations of other flags that indicate direction,
intensity, velocity and so forth. It is evident that this employment of
flags could be made a very valuable one.
Another instance of its use with which we are acquainted, is at the London
office in St. Paul's Churchyard of the _Draper's Record_, one of the
largest in circulation of any trade paper in the world. The citizen of
London may see displayed from its roof by private enterprise the whole of
the forecasts issued by the Meteorological Office, viz., the 11 a.m., the
3.30 p.m., and the 8.30 p.m. for the South of England, which officially
includes St. Paul's Churchyard. A white flag is hoisted for clear weather,
a blue one for rain, while local showers are prognosticated by a flag half
blue and half white. Changeable weather is indicated by a flag like Fig.
267, and a coming fog by a yellow flag with black ball in its centre, like
Fig. 258. Snow is foretold by a flag like Fig. 278, and squally weather by
a swallow-tailed flag, having its upper half black, and the lower white. A
plain red triangular flag is used to indicate temperature; when this is
hoisted above other flags, it indicates rising temperature; when placed
below, falling temperature; and when omitted we are to conclude that things
are stationary. Thus the red flag, then below it the white one, and then
the blue hoisted together, would mean that we might expect warmer weather,
at first fair, but succeeded by rain, while the blue flag above the red
would indicate that wet weather was before us, and a fall of temperature.
At the 1894 meeting of the National Rifle Association at Bisley a system of
this kind was inaugurated, in order to give those in camp an idea of the
weather that might be expected for the ensuing twelve hours, the hoisting
of a blue flag indicating fine weather or moderate wind, a red one
foretelling stormy weather or strong wind; green, pointing to unsettled
weather or gusty wind, and a yellow flag indicating thunder or rain storms.
For shooting purposes a knowledge of the strength of the wind is very
valuable. {136}
The development of a code of flag signals seems to have exercised a great
fascination on many minds, and the result has been that until the general
adoption of the International code things had got into a somewhat chaotic
state. Some systems had many excellent points in them, while others broke
down under the strain of practical use. In some cases, too, the claims of
patriotism influenced the choice, it being difficult for an Englishman or
an American to believe that the scheme of a Frenchman or German could
possibly be better than the home-grown article.
The systems best known in this country are the Admiralty codes of 1808,
1816, and 1826, Lynn's in 1818, Squire's in 1820, Raper's in 1828,
Philipps' in 1836, Eardley Wilmot's in 1851, the code of Rogers, the
American, in 1854, the French code of Reynolds in 1855, and the system
devised by Marryat in 1856, all being superseded by that of the Board of
Trade.
The International code of signals was prepared and first published in
April, 1857, in accordance with the views and recommendations of a
Committee appointed by the Lords of the Privy Council. Three members,
Admiral Beechey, Captain Robert Fitzroy, and Mr. J. H. Brown, the
Registrar-General of Seamen, were named by the Board of Trade; one member,
Admiral Bethune, by the Admiralty; an elder brother, Captain Bax, was
appointed as a member by the Trinity House; Mr. W. C. Hammett and Captain
Halstead were the members named by Lloyds; while the Liverpool Shipowners'
Association, and the General Shipowners' Society, each, by the nomination
of a member, had a voice in the discussion.
After a deliberation of more than a year, the examination of the thirteen
then existing codes and due attention to any practical suggestion made to
them, a mature and valuable scheme was promulgated. Eighteen flags in all,
viz., one burgee, four pennants, and thirteen square flags, were employed,
and these represented the consonants of the alphabet. These are depicted in
the three upper rows on plate XXIV. Figs. 307 to 324, the letter it stands
for in the code being placed by each flag. These flags are combined in
various ways, either in twos, threes, or fours, and are always read
downwards, thus Fig. 325 must be read B.D.T.F; if we read it the reverse
way, as F.T.D.B, it would have an entirely different significance.
Of the two-flag signals we have three varieties. Should the burgee, Fig.
307, be uppermost it constitutes what is termed an attention signal; thus
the hoisting of B.D signifies, "What ship is that?" If the upper flag be a
pennant C.D.F. or G it is a compass signal; thus G.F means
west-north-west-half-west. If a square flag be uppermost it is an urgency
signal; thus, N.C signifies "am in distress," or N.J "am driving, no more
anchors to let go." {137}
Signals made with three flags are not classified according to the upper
flag; they relate to subjects of general inquiry or communication of news.
In the lower portion of Plate XXIV. we have given five examples of these.
Fig. 330, flags B.P.Q, asks "Do you wish to be reported?" while the
hoisting of P.D.S, see Fig. 332, replies, "Report me to Lloyds' Agent."
Fig. 333, H.V.F, asks, "Do you want assistance?" while Fig. 334, G.B.H,
enquires, "Has any accident happened?" Fig. 331, made up of flags V.K.C,
gives the reassuring answer to both enquiries--"All safe." As weather
signals, we find "barometer rising" indicated by G.F.W; "barometer falling"
by G.H.B; and "barometer standing," by G.H.C. Fine weather is
prognosticated by the group H.M.S; a breeze off sea is foretold in the
combination H.S.V; and a breeze off land by H.S.W.
Signals composed of four flags are divided into different sections again,
according to the form of the uppermost flag employed. If this upper flag be
either of the pennants C.D or F, it indicates that the signal is what is
called vocabulary. If the upper be the burgee--the letter B of the code--it
is a geographical signal; thus, any vessel beating up channel and seeing
Fig. 325, made up of B.D.T.F, hoisted from a lighthouse, would, even if
uncertain before, know their position, as this signal is the one specially
assigned to the Eddystone. Fig. 326, the letters B.D.P.Q, signifies that
the vessel flying it hails from the port of London, while B.F.Q.T. is
Edinburgh, and so on. All names of ships are expressed by four letters,
thus N.V.B.Q is the code signal (Fig. 327) of the steamship _Germanic_;
M.N.D.L (Fig. 328) that of the _Hesperus_; and Fig. 329, made up of
G.R.C.T, is the special grouping assigned to H.M.S. _Devastation_. All
these names are recorded in the Shipping List, so that two vessels passing
each other in mid-ocean are able at once to determine each others' names if
within sighting distance of the flags run up. Should we see a stately liner
coming to port, flying M.T.L.Q, we recognise that it is the _Australia_ of
the great Peninsula and Oriental Line, but if she runs up L.H.T.B then she
is the Orient Company's boat _Orotava_. Some names occur frequently, thus
other _Australias_, belonging to various owners, are distinguished by the
code signals R.L.H.V, J.T.G.K, M.P.F.C, M.Q.N.G, M.T.W.D, W.F.T.N, etc.,
etc. Figs. 355, 356, 357, 358, 359 are all code signals of various
_Australias_. While the Peninsular and Oriental Company has also a
_Victoria_, K.M.Q.F., they have no monopoly of the name. There are numerous
other boats of that popular designation, but even when vessels have the
same name no two vessels ever have the same code letters assigned to them.
Other _Victorias_, for example, are differentiated, as W.Q.M.N., L.S.H.R,
K.P.G.Q, M.K.C.H, M.S.P.B, M.Q.C.J, L.D.F.H, T.R.B.N, K.J.H.P, T.D.R.F,
etc., etc. Figs. 350, 351, 352, 353, {138} 354 are all _Victorias_; and
Figs. 360, 361, 362, 363, 364 are the flag-signals of various _Britannias_.
Our readers will see at once how distinctive they are. Figs. 335 to 349
inclusive are the special flags of well-known steamships of the Peninsular
and Oriental, the Orient Line, and the _Compagnie Générale
Transatlantique_.
Should the vessel be a yacht, it is the _Aline_ if she shows the flags
P.W.N.D; the _Star of the Sea_ if her signal is T.N.B.H; but if it is the
_Meteor_ we shall be aware of the fact from her hoisting the four flags
L.C.T.P. The flag signal of the _Valkyrie_ is L.F.M.G.
Applications for the allotment of a code-signal, for the purpose of making
ships' names known at sea, should be made, if of the United Kingdom, to the
Registrar General of Shipping, Custom House, and, if belonging to a Colony,
to the Registrar at the port to which the vessel belongs. If a ship to
which this International Code Signal has been alloted is reported wrecked,
lost, or sold to a foreigner, and her register is in consequence cancelled,
the signal letters allotted to her are also cancelled, so that if the ship
is afterwards recovered or re-purchased from foreigners, either in her
original or some other name, new signal letters will be necessary, and the
owner must make application anew for another allotment, as the signal
letters the vessel originally bore may have been in the interval
re-allotted.
The flags to be hoisted at one time never exceed four, and it is an
interesting arithmetical fact, that, with these eighteen flags, never using
more than four at a time, over seventy-eight thousand different
combinations can be made. With these flags, only using two at a time, 306
different arrangements can be made, while by using three at a time we get
4,896 possibilities, and by using four at a time, we can make 73,440
changes; a total in all of 78,642 variations made from these simple
elements. Marryat's code, prior to the introduction of the International,
being the one most in use, twelve out of its sixteen flags were, to save
expense, incorporated in the new code. Their significance was, however,
entirely changed. Marryat's flags, too, were numerals, while the
International code, as we have seen, has its flags named after the letters
of the alphabet.
Proposals are in the air to add eight new flags to the code, the X, Y, and
Z, and the five vowels, since it is held that even the great number of
combinations now possible may in time not suffice. The reason for the
absence of the vowels is a somewhat curious one. Directly vowels are
introduced we begin to spell words, and it was found that amongst the
thousands of combinations possible, would be presently included all the
profane, obscene, and otherwise objectionable four-letter words of the
whole world. To hoist D.B.M.N could offend no one's susceptibilities, but
to {139} run up the signal D.A.M.N in response to an enquiry is quite
another matter, and it must be remembered that as this code is used by all
civilised nations, a word that is merely meaningless in one country might
be most offensive in another. An English Captain might hoist as a necessary
signal J.A.L.P. or F.L.U.M. and see no possible objection to it, but "jalp"
or "flum" might to the people of some other nationality carry a most
atrocious significance.
It is a practical necessity that all connected with the sea should
understand the use of the International code, therefore, the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty require that all Royal Naval Reserve men who
act as Masters or Mates of ships should be instructed in its working, and
the Board of Trade makes like requirements from all candidates for Masters'
or Mates' Certificates. Its International character is a most valuable
feature, as by its use two captains, say a Dane and a Greek, or a Russian
and a Spaniard, who, on the quay, could not comprehend a word of each
other's language, can at sea, by this common flag-language, come to a
perfectly clear understanding of each other's need, or impart any
information required. It is the only code used at the signal stations
around our coasts. Lloyds' have thirty-three of these signal stations at
Dover, Beachy Head, Lundy Island, Dungeness, Flamborough Head, St.
Catherine's Point, North Foreland, and other conspicuous points on our line
of ocean traffic, and abroad again at Aden, Ascension, Gibraltar, Bermuda,
Honolulu, Suez, Perim, Malta, Teneriffe, and elsewhere, and here too, the
International is the only code recognised.
This "Lloyds," that we may see daily referred to in the newspapers, is a
Corporation that, amongst other marine business, distributes shipping
intelligence. A Mr. Edward Lloyd, in the seventeenth century, kept a coffee
house in Tower Street, which in time from the daily gathering there of
merchants, captains, and others interested in marine affairs, became a
centre for shipping and underwriting news and business. In the year 1692 it
was moved to Lombard Street, and in 1774 the coffee supplying part of the
business was abandoned and rooms were taken in the Royal Exchange. During
the wars with Napoleon, the Government was often indebted to the Committee
of Lloyds' for the earliest information of important events all over the
world. Lloyds' has its agents in every port, and by its complete
organisation and the potent aid of the telegraph, the shipping business of
the world is brought day by day before us. Vessels spoken far out on the
ocean are reported by the vessel that spoke them immediately on its arrival
at any port. Thus a sailing-vessel journeying from London to Vancouver may
be five months or more before it touches land, {140} but during that time
it is sighted by other vessels from time to time, and these report having
seen it, and that all was well on board. So the mother knows that her son,
who is parted from her by thousands of miles of ocean, has got thus far in
health and safety; and the owners of the vessel learn that their venture
has so far surmounted the perils of Cape Horn and the other dangers of the
deep. The good ship is drawing nearer at each report to the end of her long
voyage, and on arrival at last off Vancouver, as the land is sighted, the
signal flags run up once more to the masthead, the news of her coming is
flashed across continent and ocean, and the London newspaper of the next
morning contains the brief notification that far exceeds to anxious hearts
all else of interest its broad pages may contain.
Familiarity, though it may not necessarily breed contempt, dulls the sense
of the wonder of it all, and yet how marvellous it is! We have before us
the _Standard_, that came into our hands about seven o'clock this morning,
and we find from it that yesterday the _Glenshiel_ had arrived at Hong
Kong, that the _Arab_, from Cape Town, had just put in at Lisbon, that the
_Sardinian_, from Quebec, had reached Moville, that the _Circassian_ was
safely at New York, that the _Orizaba_, speeding on to Sydney, had at 2
a.m. passed the desolate shores of arid Perim, that the _Danube_, from
Southampton, had at 6 a.m. entered the harbour of Rio Janeiro. Of this, and
much else of the same tenor, may we read in a space of a quarter-column or
so of the paper as we sit at breakfast and see pass before us a panorama of
world-wide interest and extent; and to accomplish this result, the flags we
have figured have been a potent factor.
Though we have covered much ground, it must have been patent to all readers
who have thus far companioned us that much detail was necessarily omitted,
unless our book had to grow to the dimensions of an encyclopædia. It would
probably, for instance, take some fifty figures or so to give all the
distinctive flags of the various government departments, official ranks,
etc., of a single Great Power. We trust nevertheless that while our labours
have been by no means exhaustive, they have been instrumental in showing
that there is much of interest in flag-lore, and that an increased
knowledge and appreciation of our subject may be one result of our pleasant
labours, and prove full justification for our work.
* * * * *
{141}
INDEX.
A.
Aargau, flag of 116
"Acta Sanctorum," the 38
Admiral's flag, R.N. 56
Admiralty, flag of the 71, 72
Agincourt, battle of 106
Agincourt, flags at 5
Agnus Dei, as device on flag 22
_Ailsa_, flag of the yacht 73
Allan Line, flag of the 75
Allotment of code signals 138
Ambulance flag 117
Ancient Irish harp 33
Anchor as badge 63, 71, 87, 100, 114
Andrew, cross of St. 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116
Andrew, St., of Scotland 37, 42, 44
Andrew, St., of Russia 103, 104
Andrew, St., order of 102
Anne, Standard of Queen 35
Annunciation on flag 4
Answering pennant 134
Antelope as a device 16
Antiquity, standards of 2
Antwerp, device of city of 111
Anvil as device on flag 7
Argentine Republic, flag of 124
Armada, defeat of the 3
Arms of Canada 81, 82
Arms of Washington 91
Army, flags of the 61
Army signalling 127, 128, 129
Arragon, arms of 111
Articles of War 56
Assaye, special flag for 65
Assyrian standards 2
Athene, owl of 2
Australian Steam Navigation Company's house flag 74
Austro-Hungarian flags 101, 102
Avondale flag 43
Awdeley, standard of Sir John 17
B.
Bacon on sea-power 84, 85
Baden, flag of 101
Badge 9, 13, 15, 21, 62, 66, 67, 83, 84, 117
Bahamas, Badge of the 84
Balmoral tartan 1
Banner, its nature 10
Banneroll, kind of flag 18
Bannockburn, battle of 44
Barbadoes, badge of 83
Barcelona, arms of 111
Bar, banner of Sir John de 11
Bardolph, banner of Sir Hugh 11
Basel, flag of city of 116
Bavaria, flag of 101, 119
Bayeux tapestry, flags represented in 19, 22
Bear as a device 1, 2
Beau-seant of Knights Templars 24
Beaver as a device 1, 30
Bede on flags 4
"Beehive of the Romish Church" 3
Bees of the Napoleons 106, 109
Belgium, flags of 23, 118
Bermuda, badge of 84
Berne, flag of 116
Beverley, flag of 5
Birkenhead, burning of the 64
Black and white flag of Prussia 98
Black as a flag colour 7, 24, 25
Black Swan, device of the 84
Blackwall line of shipping 74
Black Watch, the 62
Blenheim, battle of 64, 66
Blue blanket of Edinburgh 42
Blue ensign 40, 56, 73, 78, 83
Board of Trade, flag of the 71
Bohemia, flag of 102
Bolivia, flag of 23, 123
Bombardment of Scio 118
Boots and shoes on a flag 7
Bordered Jack 48, 58
Botetourte, banner of Sir John 11
Bourbon kings, the 107
{142}
Brabant, lion of 112
Brass of Sir John Daubernoun 18
Brazil, flag of 23, 24, 123
Brazil, pendant of 20
Bremen, flag of port of 99
_Britannia_, flag of the yacht 73
British East Africa, device of, 84
British Guiana, badge of 84
British North Borneo, badge of 84
Broad pendant 56
Brunswick, arms of 35
Brunswick, flag of 101
Buckles as device on flag 7
Bugle-horn as a device 15
Builder's square on flag 6
Bulgaria, flag of 121
Bunker's Hill, battle of 87
Bunting as material for flags 22
Burgee, variety of flag 19, 73
Burgundy, flag of 111, 112
Burning of rebel colours 70
Butler's "Lives of the Fathers" 39
Butterflies as a flag device 17
C.
Campbell on the national flag 54
Canada, Dominion of 10
Canada, flags of Dominion of 80
Canadian Pacific steamship line 75
Candlemakers' flag, the 7
Canterbury Cathedral, flags in 66
Cantonal colours 116
Cape of St. Martin 105
Cape St. Vincent, action off 41
Castle Line, house flag of the 75
Castle on flag as a device 111, 112
Cavalry standards 65
Cavers standard, the 43
Ceylon, device of the Colony of 84
Chapel of Royal College, Chelsea, flags in 3, 66
Chaucer, quotation from 12, 18
Cheering to order 102
Cherbourg, flag of port of 75
Chili, flag of 121
Chili, pendant of 20
Chinese flags 125
Chrysanthemum flag of Japan 124
Coastguard flag 134
Codes for flag-signalling 136
Coffee plant on flag 123
Coins, devices on 2, 88, 90, 120
Colombia, flag of United States of 122
Colonial Defence Act 78, 79, 80
Colonial flags 20, 40, 78
Colonies, value of 76, 77
Colour party 64
Colours, Queen's 61, 65, 67
Colours, regimental 61, 65, 67
Colours used in flags 23
Columbus, flag flown by 86, 111
Commodore's broad pendant 56
Commonwealth flags 48
Company or house flags 74, 75
Compasses as a device 6
Compass signals 136
Confederate States of America 27, 94, 95
Congo Free State, flag of 126
Conquest of Ireland 33
Consecrated banner 3, 103
Constantine, Labarum of 2, 3, 51
Consular flag 71
Consul-General, Russian, flag of 104
Cornet, variety of flag 19, 130
Costa Rica, flag of 122
Courtenay, banner of Sir Hugh de 11
Covenanter flags 24, 43, 91
Crescent as device 11, 15, 88, 95, 119, 120
Croatia, flag of 102
Cromwell, arms of 35
Cromwell, funeral of 19
Cross of St. Andrew 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116
Cross of St. George 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87, 116
Cross of St. Patrick 4, 51, 53, 116
Crown of Charlemagne 35
Crowns of Ireland 33
Cuba, flag of 124
Culloden, battle of 70
Cunard Line, house flag of 74
Customs Department, flag of 71
Czarina, standard of the 102
Czar, standard of the 102, 103
D.
Dalmatia, flag of 102
Dannebrog, the 115
Demerara and Berbice Steamship Company 74
Denis, St., flag of 5
{143}
Denmark, flags of 115
Derivation of word flag 8
Desjardins on French flag 107
Devitt and Moore house flag 74
Diana, crescent of 119
Diplomatic Service, flag of 71
Dipping the flag 25
Dragon as a device 17, 125
Drayton, quotation from 15
Durham, St. Cuthbert of 5
E.
Eagle as a device 41, 91, 93, 94, 98, 101, 102, 105, 109, 110
Early Spanish flags 27
East Africa Company, German 100
East India Company, flag of 47, 89
East Kent Regiment, flags of 66
East Prussia, flag of 98
Ecclesiastical flags often pictorial 4
Ecuador, flag of 124
Eddystone Light flag signal 137
Edinburgh Cathedral, flags in 68
Edinburgh Trained Bands 42
Edmonson on flag usage 9
Edward the Confessor, arms of 34
Edward III., "King of the Seas" 25
Edward VI., funeral of 17
Egypt, ancient, standards of 2
Egyptian flags, modern 120, 121
Electoral bonnet 52
Elephant as a device 65, 84, 125
Elephant, order of the 115
Elizabeth, funeral of Queen 17
Elizabeth, thanksgiving service 3
Elsass, flag of 101
Emperor of Germany 98
Ensign 8
Ermine as a flag device 24
Errors in flag-making 58, 59, 60
Excise, flag of the 71
Eye as a device on flag 7
F.
Facings of the regiment 62
Falcon as a device 17
Favyn "Le Théâtre d'honneur" 4, 107
Fiji, badge of colony 84
Files represented on trade flag 7
Flag-book of the Admiralty 120
Flag-lore valuable 58
Flagons on trade flag 7
Flag-signalling 127, _et seq._
Flanders, badge of 111
Flashing messages at night 134
Fleur-de-lys 21, 34, 36, 106, 108, 109, 112
Flodden, battle of 6
Florida, settlement of 86
Florin, arms on the 32
Fly of a flag, the 10
Fork and spoon on a flag 7
Four-flag signals 137
France, flags of 1, 21, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110
Franco-German War of 1870 97
Fribourg, flag of 116
Frogmorton, standard of 17
Funeral obsequies, flags at 6, 17, 18, 19, 22
G.
Garter, order of the 38
Gautier on the Swiss flag 116
Geneva Convention 117
Geneva, flag of 116
Geographical signals 137
George, St., cross of 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87,
116
George, St., of England 36, 37, 116
George, St., of Russia 102, 103
German Unity 97, 98
Germany, flags of 99, 100
Globe on flag 63, 87
Gnu as a flag device 84
Golden Legend, the 37
Gonfalon, kind of flag 8
Government, departments, flags of 71
Governor-General of Canada, flag of 81
Governors of Colonies, flags of 81, 84
Grandison, banner of Sir William de 11
Gray, quotation from 9
Greater Britain 77
Great Seal of Canada 83
Great Seal of Richard I. 30
Greece, flag of 119
Green and white of the Tudors 21
Green as a flag colour 23, 43, 113, 123
Greyhound as a device 17
{144}
Growth of the Italian State 113
Guards, flags of the 65
Guatemala, flag of 23, 122
Guidon, form of flag 21
Guild flags 6, 7
Guinea Company's flag 27
H.
Half-mast high, flags at 25
Hamburg, flag of city of 99
Hammer represented on flag 6, 7
Hand as a device 2
Hanover, arms of 29, 35, 52
Hanover, flag of 101
Hanseatic League, flag of 99
Harfleur, siege of 12
Harleian MS. on flags 16, 21
Harp of Ireland 4, 29, 32, 33, 34, 49, 54
Hayti, flag of 23, 124
Heavenly succour 37, 42, 44, 106, 115
Henry V., standard of 16
Henry VII., flags in chapel of 12
Heraldic Exhibition, Edinburgh 43
Heraldic requirements in flag devising 23, 54
Hesse, flag of 101
Highland tartans 1
"History and principles of Heraldry" 10
Hohenzollerns, arms of the 99
Hoisting one flag over another 25
Hoist of the flag, the 10
Holderton, banner of Sir John de 11
Holland, flags of 117, 118
Hong Kong, badge of colony of 84
Horse as a device 2
Horsham, political colours at 8
House flags 24, 74, 75
House of Orange, flag of 117
Hungary, flag of 23, 102
I.
Idolatrous emblem 87
Illiterate voters, mistakes of 7, 8
Imperial Eagle 66, 101, 102
Inscriptions on flags 3, 4, 13, 15, 16, 24, 35, 41, 43, 49, 66, 88, 90,
93, 122, 123
International signal code 133, 136, 137, 138
Investiture of knight-banneret 14
Invocation of saints 3
Ireland joined to Great Britain 32
Iron cross of Germany 100
Isandlwana, battle of 63, 69
Istria, flag of 102
Italy, flags of 23, 113, 114
J.
James II., statue of 35
Japan, flags of 124
Jerusalem, arms of city of 114, 115
Jewish standards 3
Joan of Arc, standard of 4
Jove, Eagle of 2
K.
Karlaverok, siege of 11, 18
Kasan, arms of province of 102
Katharine of Arragon flag-making 13
Kempenfeldt's signal code 130
Key as a device on flag 15
Khorsabad, slabs from 2
Kingdom of Hungary 101
King's Own Borderers 63
Kiow, arms of province of 102
Knights-banneret 14
Knights of the Bath, banners of 12
Knights of the Garter, banners of 12
Knights Templars, banner of the 24
Köbel, book on costume and flags 101
Korea, flag of kingdom of 125
L.
Labarum of Constantine 2, 3, 51
Labuan, badge of colony of 84
La Haye's book on flags 87
Lamartine on the red flag 109
Lancer pennon 14, 19
Landing of Charles II. 47
Land of the rising sun 124
Laurel wreath on flag 49, 81
Lawyers, flag of the 7
Leeward Isles, badge of the 84
Leon and Castile, arms of 86, 110, 111
Liberia, flag of 125
Liberty, figure of 94, 118
Lion of Scotland 4, 29, 31, 34
Lions of England 4, 29, 30, 34
{145}
Livery colours 7, 14, 17, 21
Livy on Vexillum 2
Lloyd's signal stations 139
Locksmiths, flag of the 7
London, port of, flag signal 137
London Trained Bands 41, 67
Lone Star State, flag of the 95
Lord Cardross, flag of 16
Lord High Admiral of England 72, 80
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, flag of 71
Lord Mayor's Show, flags at 19, 20
Loss of colours at Edgehill 65
Lothringen, flag of 101
Louisiana, flag of State of 94
Louisiana, settlement of 86
Lozenges as a device on flag 41
Lubeck, flag of city of 99
Lucerne, flag of 116
Lunenburg, arms of 35
Lydgate, the duty of chivalry 12
M.
Maccabees, standard of the 3
Machyn, diary of 6, 17, 21, 39, 111
Mackay, extract from 57, 58
Mail service flag 72
Mainsail emblazoned as banner 12
Malplaquet, battle of 64
Man-of-war pendant 20, 78, 93, 110, 111, 121, 129, 135
Maple-leaf of Canada 30, 81
Marmion, quotation from 8, 18
Martin, description of Western Islands 1
Marseillaise, the 98
Marseilles, flag of port of 75
Martlets on flag 34
Massachusetts, flag of 3, 87
_Mayflower_, sailing of the 87
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, flag of 101
Mediæval spelling 6, 22
Mediterranean and New York Company 75
Merchant flag, red ensign 40, 47, 58, 73, 80
Merchant Shipping (Colours) Act 58
Metal-workers, flag of the 7
Meteorological signals 135
Mexico, flag of 23, 123
Milton, quotation from 8
Minotaur as a device 2
Minden, battle of 64
"Mirror for Magistrates," quotation from 15
Mohammedan flags often green 24
Monasteries, flags of 5
Monk, funeral of General 18, 22
Monogram, sacred, on flag 3, 42, 51
Monthermer, banner of Sir Ralph 11
Morse alphabet for signalling 127, 128, 129
Mottoes on flags 3, 4, 13, 15, 16, 24, 35, 41, 43, 49, 66, 88, 90, 93,
122, 123
Mutiny in the Royal Navy 25
N.
Napoleon, flags at tomb of 4
Nassau, arms of 29, 35
Natal, device of colony of 84
Naval Discipline Act 56
Naval Exhibition at Chelsea 41
Navy signalling 129, _et seq._
Nelson, funeral of 18, 22
Neville's Cross, battle of 5
New Brunswick, arms of province of 82
Newfoundland, badge of colony of 83
New Granada, flag of 122
New Guinea, badge of colony of 84
New South Wales, badge of colony of 84
New Zealand, badge of 84
New Zealand Shipping Company 24, 75
Night signalling at sea 134
Nisbet on the tressure 32
Norie's "Flags of All Nations" 26
Northallerton, sacred flags at 5
North German Confederacy 99
Norway, flag of 115
Nova Scotia, arms of province of 82
Nova Scotia, settlement of 87
Novgorod, arms of province of 102
O.
Obsolete flags 8, 22, 26
Ontario, arms of province of 82
Orange flag 8
Orange Free State, flag of 23, 125
Order of Black Eagle 100
{146}
Ordnance Department flag 71
Orient Steam Navigation Company 24, 134
Oriflamme 105
Oudenarde, battle of 64
Owl of Athene 2
P.
Palmetto palm on flag 94, 95
_Pamiot Azof_, flag of the 104
Papal States, flag of the 23, 114, 115
Paraguay, flag of 122
Paris, arms of city of 109
Passion symbols on flag 6
Patrick, St., life of 51, 52
Pendant or pennant, 20, 40, 78, 93, 110, 111, 121, 129, 135
Peninsular and Oriental Company, flag of 74
Pennoncelle or pencel 19
Pennon, nature of the 14, 18, 19
Pepys, extract from diary of 55
Percy, banner of Sir Henri de 11
Percy lion 11, 15
Percy motto 15, 16
Percy standard 15
Persepolis, sculptures of 2
Peruvian flag 123
Pictorial flags 4
Pilgrim Fathers, the 87
Pilot flag 48, 100, 104, 134
Pine-apple as a device 84
Pine-tree flag 87, 88, 89
Plantagenet livery colours 21
Pliny on Roman standards 2
Poland, flag of 105
Political colours 7
Political devices on flags 4
Pomerania, flag of 101
Popham's signal code 131
Portcullis as a device 21
Portobello, capture of 41
Ports, flags of 75
Portugal, flags of 112, 113
Pottery, representation of flags on 89
Precedence a difficulty 28
Presentation of colours 3, 66
President, U.S.A., flag of 93, 94
Printed flags 23
Protectorate flag, the 50
Prussian eagle 98
Q.
Quarantine flag, the 25, 59
Quebec, arms of province of 82
Queen's colour 61, 65
Queensland, badge of colony of 83
Queen's Regulations 54, 55, 64, 71, 78, 81
R.
Ramilies, battle of 64
Rattlesnake flag 1, 13, 87, 88
Raven of the Danes 13
Rebel colors burnt 70
Red ensign 40, 47, 58, 73, 80
Red flag of revolution 25, 59, 109
Relics of saints worked into flag 5
Religious character of early flags 4, 5, 22
Religious service 3, 103
Revenue flag, U.S.A. 93
Rey on the French flag 107
Rhode Island, flag of 87
Richard II., standard of 17
Ridre, standard of Sir William de 11
Riga, flag of port of 75
Ripon, St. Wilfrid's banner at 5
Rolls of arms 10
Rome, standards of ancient 2, 42
Roses as a flag device 16, 21
Rotterdam, flag of port of 75
Rouen, capture of 5, 38, 112
Roumania, flag of 121
Royal Colonial Institute 76
Royal Horse Artillery of 1813 19
Royal Marines 63
Royal Naval Reserve 40, 56, 57, 73, 79, 139
Royal Navy, flag code of the 133
Royal Oak on coins 88
Royal Standard 11, 29, 34, 48, 54, 59, 78
Royal United Service Museum 24, 125, 130, 131
Royal Yacht Squadron, flag of the 72
Royston, political colours at 8
Russia, flags of 24, 102, 103, 104, 105
Russian American Company's flag 26
S.
Sacred monogram on flag 3
Salique law, operation of 36
Salmon as a flag device 82
Saluting the flag 26, 55, 56
{147}
San Salvador, flag of 124
Sarawak, flag of 125
Sardinia, flag of 26
Savoy, flag of 27, 113, 123
Saxe-Coburg Gotha, flag of 101
Saxony, arms of 35
Saxony, flag of 100
Schomburg-Lippe, flag of 101
School of Army Signalling 128
"Scotland for ever" 70
Scots Greys 66
Scottish grievance as to arms 31, 45, 46, 53
Scottish variation of Union flag 46
Scott, quotation from 8, 29
Servia, flag of 121
Seven Champions of Christendom, 38
Seventeenth Lancers 66
Shakespeare, quotation from 15, 37
_Shannon_ and _Chesapeake_ duel 90
Shears as a device on trade flag 7
Siam, flag of kingdom of 125
Signal-book of _Chesapeake_ 133
Signalling by flags 20, 23, 127, _et seq._
Simon de Montfort, banner of, 12
Skull and cross-bones device 66
Sledge flags of Arctic expedition 16
South Australia, badge of 83
South Carolina, flag of 87, 88, 94
Southern Cross 30, 80, 96
Sovereignty of the seas 25, 26
Spain, flags of 1, 24, 110, 111, 112
Spelling, mediæval liberty of 6, 22
Spenser, quotation from 36
Sphinx as a badge 62, 63
Spoon and fork on trade flag 7
Standard, nature of the 14
St. Andrew, cross of 4, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 116
Stars and bars, C.S.A. 95, 96
Stars and stripes, U.S.A. 59
St. Denis, flag of 105
Stewart on tartans 1
St. Gallen, flag of 116
St. George, cross of 4, 10, 14, 16, 35, 39, 41, 45, 48, 53, 84, 87, 116
St. Helena, badge of colony of 84
Storm signals by flags 135
"Story of Thebes," quotation from 12
St. Patrick, cross of 4, 51, 53, 116
Straits Settlement, device of 84
Streamer, variety of flag 20, 21
Strictly confidential signals 133
Stuart, livery colours of house of 21
Sun as a device 2, 17
Swallow-tail flag 14, 18, 93, 110, 115, 116, 130
Swan, black, of Western Australia 84
Sweden, flag of 115
Switzerland, flag of 116
Swynnerton, standard of Sir Thomas de 16
Sydney, Sir Philip, funeral of 18
Sidney, Sir Philip, on war 19
Symbols to express colours 74
T.
Tartans, Scottish 1
Tasmania, device of colony of 84
Telegraph Department, flag of 71
Tessin, flag of Canton 117
_Teutonic_, armament of the 57
Teutonic order, cross of the 100
Texas, flag of the State of 95
Texel, flag of the port of 75
"The late unpleasantness" 96
"Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres" 61
Third Dragoons 66
Thistle as a flag device 42, 82
Three-flag signals 137
Tiger of Korea 125
Titus, the arch of 2
Tobacco plant on flag 123
Torpedo practice flag 133
Trafalgar, Nelson's famous signal 132, 133
Trajan's column, standards on 2
Transport service, flag of the 71, 104
Transvaal, flag of the 126
Trefoils as a device 41
Tressure of Scotland, the 31, 32
Tricolor of France 40, 108
Trinidad, badge of colony of 84
Trinity, banner of the 5, 6
Trowel on guild flag 6
Trumpet banners 12, 20
Tudor flags 17
Tughra device, the 120, 121
{148}
Tunisian flags 120
Turkey, flags of 24, 119, 120
Twenty-fourth regiment 62
Tyrol, flag of the 102
U.
Union between England and Scotland 45
Union between Great Britain and Ireland 50, 52
Union flag 1, 4, 45, 47, 50, 54, 61
Union flag of Sweden and Norway, 116
Union Jack 47, 48
Union Steamship Company's flag 75
United Italy 113
United States of America, flag of 86, 89, 90, 91
Universal code for signalling 28
Urgency flag signals 136
Uri, flag of Canton of 116
Uruguay, flag of 122
Utilisation of liners as cruisers 57
V.
Valence, banner of Sir Aymer de 11
_Valkyrie_, flag of the yacht 73
Variation in size a sign of rank 17
Venezuela, flag of 23, 122, 123
Venice, obsolete flags of 27
Versailles, palace of 97
Vessels spoken at sea 139, 140
Viceroy of India, flag of 65, 81
Victoria Cross 63
Victoria, flag of colony of 80
Victualling Department, flag of 71
Virginia, settlement of 86
Virgin Mary on flag 6
Vocabulary signals 137
Voldermirz, arms of 102
Vowel flags objectionable 138, 139
W.
Waldeck, flag of 101
War cries 37
War songs 95, 98
Warriors' Chapel at Canterbury 66, 67
Washington, arms of 91, 93
"Watch upon the Rhine" 98
Waterloo, battle of 70
Weather signals 135, 137
Wellington, funeral of Duke of 18, 22
West Africa, device of 84
Western Australia, device of 84
Western Australia, governor's flag 81
West Prussia, flag of 98
White cross of France 107
White elephant of Siam 125
White ensign 40, 55, 59, 72
White horse of Hanover 63, 66
White horse of Kent 36
White Star Line, house flag of 57, 75
Why called "Jack" 48
William III., standard of 35
Wreath on flag 63, 66, 81
Wolf as a device 2
Wurtemburg, flag of 101
Y.
Yacht flags 100, 138
Yellow flag, its significance 24, 59
York, livery colours of house of 21
* * * * *
{149}
COLOURED PLATES.
PLATE I.
1 Banner of Sir John Botetourte. 2 Banner of Sir Ralph de Monthermer. 3
Banner of Sir Hugh Touches. 4 Banner of Sir William de Ridre. 5 Banner of
Sir Hugh Bardolph. 6 Banner of Sir John de Holderton. 7 Banner of Sir Henri
de Percy. 8 Banner of Sir Hugh de Courtenay. 9 Banner of Sir Aymer de
Valence. 10 Banner of Sir John de Bar. 11 Banner of Sir William de
Grandison.
PLATE II.
12 Percy Flag, Crescent Badge. 13 Arctic Sledge-flag, Expedition of
1875-76. 14 The Percy Standard. 15 Standard of Sir Thomas de Swynnerton. 16
Arctic Sledge-flag, Expedition of 1875-76. 17 Banner of St. Edmund. 18
Banner of Simon de Montfort. 19 Banner of St. Edward.
PLATE III.
20 Streamer, Tudor Fleur-de-Lys Badge, 1520. 21 Streamer, Tudor Portcullis
Badge, 1520. 22 Standard of Henry VIII. 23 Streamer, Tudor Rose Badge,
1520. 24 Streamer, Tudor Red Dragon Badge, 1520. 25 Pendant of H.M.S.
_Lion_. 26 Pendant of H.M.S. _Tiger_. 27 Pendant of Warship of 1520.
PLATE IV.
28 Guidon form of Flag. 29 Abnormal form of Pennon. 30 Lancer Pennon of
present day. 31 Pennon, Royal Horse Artillery, 1813. 32 Flag from Early
German Book. 33 Modification of Pennon form. 34 Flag of H.M.S. _Niger_,
1797. 35 Ecclesiastical Flag, MS. British Museum. 36 Burgee, the Ducal
Shipping Line. 37 Early form of Banner, MS. British Museum. 38 Burgee,
McIver's Shipping Line. 39, 40, 41, 42 Examples from Bayeux Tapestry. 4
illus.
PLATE V.
43 The Royal Standard of King George III. 44 The Royal Standard of Queen
Victoria.
PLATE VI.
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 Illustrations of perverted ingenuity and crass
ignorance, taken from street decorations on occasions of general rejoicing.
PLATE VII.
52, 53 Flags from early Spanish Map in British Museum, 1502. 54, 55 Early
Portuguese Flags, British Museum. 56 The Guinea Company. 57 East India
Company. 58 Early form of Algerian Flag. 59 Russian-American Company. 60
Early English War Flag. 61 Heligoland Flag during British Possession. 62
The Flag of Savoy. 63 Flag of the Grand Seigneur. 64 Turkish Flag.
PLATE VIII.
{150} 65 Ship Flag, Reign of George I. 66 Early form of Red Ensign. 67
London Train Bands: The Blue Regiment, 1643. 68 London Train Bands: The
Yellow Regiment, 1643. 69 Flag of Warship, 16th Century. 70 Flag of H.M.S.
_Tiger_. 71 St. George, and Tudor Livery Colours. 72 London Train Bands:
The Green Regiment, 1643. 73 Flag of Union of England and Scotland. 74
Pendant of H.M.S. _Lion_, 1745. 75 Scottish Blue Ensign. 76 Scottish Red
Ensign. 77 Banner of St. Alban's Abbey. 78 Jack of Warship of the 16th
Century. 79 Suggested forms for Union Flag, 1801.
PLATE IX.
80 Early Union Flag, England and Scotland. 81 Commonwealth Flag, England
and Scotland. 82 Commonwealth Flag, England and Ireland. 83 Standard of
Cromwell. 84 Scotch suggestion for Union Flag, 1801. 85 Flag of
Commonwealth. 86 Commonwealth Flag of England and Ireland. 87 Early Form of
Irish Flag, MS. in British Museum. 88, 89 Suggested Forms for second Union
Jack.
PLATE X.
90 Union Flag of Great Britain and Ireland. 91 Cross of St. George of
England. 92 Cross of St. Andrew of Scotland. 93 Cross of St. Patrick of
Ireland. 94 Regimental Colours: 24th of the Line, the 2nd Warwickshire
Regiment.
PLATE XI.
95 The White Ensign, Man-of-War. 96 The Blue Ensign, Naval Reserve. 97 The
Red Ensign, Merchant Service. 98 Victualling Service. 99 Admiralty Flag.
100 Ranelagh Yacht Club. 101 Yare Yacht Club. 102 Royal Thames Yacht Club.
103 Dublin Bay Yacht Club. 104 Pilot Jack. 105 Board of Trade Flag. 106
Flag of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. 107 Customs House Flag. 108 Ordnance
Flag.
PLATE XII.
109 Green's Blackwall Line. 110 Cunard Line, Liverpool. 111 Peninsular and
Oriental Company. 112 Australasian Naval Company. 113 Devitt & Moore,
London. 114 Canadian Pacific Company. 115 Donald Currie & Co., London. 116
Union Steamship Company, Southampton. 117 Mediterranean and New York
Shipping Company. 118 Houlder Brothers & Company, London. 119 White Star
Line, Liverpool. 120 New Zealand Shipping Company. 121 _Britannia_, H.R.H.
the Prince of Wales. 122 _Ailsa_, A. B. Walker, Esq. 123 _Valkyrie_, The
Earl of Dunraven. 124 _Hester_, Major W. H. Gretton. 125 _Dream_, W. H.
Jones, Esq. 126 _Carina_, Admiral Montague.
PLATE XIII.
127 Cape Colony, Government. 128 Queensland, Government. 129 Canada,
Commercial. 130 Canada, Government. 131 Badge of Straits Settlements. 132
Badge of British North Borneo. 133 Badge of Tasmania. 134 Victoria,
Commercial. 135 Victoria, Government. 136 Badge of New Zealand. {151} 137
Badge of Fiji. 138 Badge of New South Wales. 139 Flag of Viceroy of India.
140 Portion of Pendant, Government Colonial vessels. 141 Governors' Flag,
West Australia.
PLATE XIV.
142 American Insurgent Flag, 1775. 143 Admiral's Flag, U.S. Navy. 144 Flag
used at Bunker's Hill. 145 American Pine-tree Flag. 146 The Stars and
Stripes of the United States. 147 New England Navy Flag, 1776. 148
Massachusetts Flag, 1775. 149 Pine-tree and Stripes. 150 Early American
Flag. 151 Portion of Pendant, U.S.Navy.
PLATE XV.
152 Confederate States of America. 153 Confederate, the Southern Cross. 154
Southern Cross, modified. 155 South Carolina State Flag, 1861. 156
Louisiana State Flag. 157 Chili, portion of Pendant. 158 South Carolina,
1775. 159 South Carolina State Flag, 1861. 160 Texas State Flag. 161 Chili,
Commercial. 162 Guatemala, Flag of 1851. 163 Guatemala, Flag of 1858.
PLATE XVI.
164 Colombia (formerly New Granada), Commercial. 165 Uruguay, General
Service. 166 Guatemala, Government. 167 Costa Rica, Commercial. 168
Paraguay, Government. 169 Brazil, General Service. 170 Venezuela,
Commercial. 171 Bolivia, Commercial. 172 Mexico, Government. 173 Portion of
Pendant, Brazil. 174 Peru, Government. 175 San Salvador, General Service.
176 Argentine, Government. 177 Ecuador, Government. 178 Hayti, Commercial.
PLATE XVII.
179 Oriflamme. 180, 181 Early French forms of Flag. 182 Soissonois Flag.
183 Bourbon Flag. 184 Standard of Charles VI. 185 Standard, French. 186
Man-of-War Pendant. 187 Standard, French. 188 Flag of French Guards, 1563.
189 Flag of Republic, France. 190 Tricolor of 1790. 191 Modern French
Tricolor.
PLATE XVIII.
192 Spain, War. 193 Spain, Commercial. 194 Royal Standard of Spain. 195
Portugal, Royal Standard. 196 Portugal, General Service. 197 Italy,
Commercial. 198 Papal Merchant (obsolete).
PLATE XIX.
199 Saxony. 200 Waldeck. 201 Saxe Weimar. 202 Pomerania. 203 Wurtemburg.
204 Oldenburg. 205 Mecklenburg Strelitz. 206 Brunswick. 207 German Empire,
War Ensign. 208 German Empire, Jack. 209 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 210 Schomberg
Lippe. 211 West Prussia. 212 Hesse. 213 Austria, Government. 214
Austro-Hungarian, Commercial. 215 Russian Jack. 216 Poland.
PLATE XX.
217 Russian Man-of-War. 218 Russia, Commercial. 219 Early Form of Russian
Ensign. 220 Russia, Consul General. 221 Russia, Chargé d'Affaires. 222
Russia, Ambassador or Minister. 223 Russia, Transport Service. 224 Danish
Man-of-War. 225 Danish, Commercial. {152} 226 Russian Imperial Standard.
227 Swedish, Commercial. 228 Norwegian Man-of-War. 229 Union Flag of Sweden
and Norway. 230 Flag of Norway. 231 Flag of Sweden. 232 Switzerland.
PLATE XXI.
233 Greece, Commercial Flag. 234 Italian Jack. 235 Turkey, Commercial. 236
Belgium, Commercial. 237 Holland, Royal Standard. 238 Turkey, Standard. 239
Turkey, Government. 240 Tunis, Government.
PLATE XXII.
241 Bulgaria. 242 Roumania. 243 Servia. 244 Japanese Ensign. 245 Japanese
Imperial Standard. 246 Japanese Transport Flag. 247 Chinese Merchant Flag.
248 Japanese Guard Flag. 249 Orange Free State. 250 Liberia. 251 Congo
State. 252 Rajah of Sarawak. 253 South African Republic.
PLATE XXIII.
254 to 267 Fourteen Flags from the Signal Code of the Royal Navy. 268
Special Flag of the Coast Guard.
269 to 278 Code of Sir Hope Popham, used by Nelson at Trafalgar, &c. 10
illus.
279 to 286 Special Battle Signals, code suggested in 1788. 8 illus.
287 to 296 Numerical Code. Signal Code of 1788. 10 illus.
297 to 306 Pilot Signals of various Nationalities. 10 illus.
PLATE XXIV.
307 to 324 The Flags of the International Code. 18 illus. 325 The
Signal-hoist for the Eddystone Lighthouse, B.D.T.F. 326 Code-signal for the
Port of London, B.D.P.Q. 327 Code-signal of SS. _Germanic_, N.V.B.Q. 328
Code-signal of the _Hesperus_, M.N.D.L. 329 Code-signal of H.M.S.
_Devastation_, G.R.C.T. 330 "Do you wish to be reported?" B.P.Q. 331 "All
safe!" V.K.C. 332 "Report me to Lloyd's Agent." P.D.S. 333 "Do you want
assistance?" H.V.F. 334 "Has any accident happened?" B.G.H.
PLATE XXV.
335 to 339 Signal Flags of SS. _Australia_, _Arcadia_, _Massilia_,
_Victoria_, _Bengal_. (Are all Vessels in the P. & O.) 340 to 344 Signal
Flags of SS. _Oroya_, _Orient_, _Ophir_, _Orotava_, _Ormuz_. (Are all
Vessels of the Orient Line.) 345 to 349 Signal Flags of SS. _La Touraine_,
_Lafayette_, _Ville-de-Tanger_, _Amerique_, _Saint-Germain_. (Are all
Vessels of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique.)
PLATE XXVI.
350 to 354 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Victorias_ on the Shipping
List.
355 to 359 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Australias_ on the
Shipping List.
360 to 364 Flag-signals of some of the numerous _Britannias_ on the
Shipping List.
_The Botolph Printing Works, Crosskey Square, Little Britain, E.C._
* * * * *
NOTES
[1] "Every Isle differs from each other in their Fancy of making Plads, as
to the Stripes in Breadth and Colours. This Humour is as different through
the main Land of the Highlands in so far that they who have seen those
Places are able at the first View of a man's Plad to guess the Place of his
Residence."--Martin's "Description of the Western Islands," 1703. See also
"Old and Rare Scottish Tartans," by Donald Stewart, all illustrated by
actual pieces woven in silk to a reduced scale. The latest tartan, that of
Balmoral, was devised by Prince Albert in the year 1848.
[2] In mediæval days the pastoral staff or crook of the bishop often had a
small scarf attached to it. This was known as the vexillum, and was
supposed to be derived from the Labarum, or standard of the first Christian
emperor, Constantine the Great.
[3] In Favyn's book, "Le Théâtre d'honneur et de Chevalerie," published in
Paris some two hundred and fifty years ago, we read of "Le grand estendard
de satin bleu celeste double en riche broderie de fleurs de lys d'or de
Chypre à une grande croix plein de satin blanc, qui est la croix de France.
"Le grand estendard Saint Michel ange gardien de la France, de satin bleu
celeste de riche broderie d'or de Chypre, semé d'estoiles d'or.
"Le grand estendard de l'ordre du benoist Saint-Esprit, faict de double
satin verd à une columbe d'argent, rayonné d'or de riche broderie, le rest
semé de flammes d'or."
Joan of Arc had a white standard powdered over with gold fleurs-de-lys, and
in the centre a figure of Christ sitting on a rainbow, and holding a globe.
On either side an angel in the posture of adoration, and, underneath, the
words "Jhesu, Maria." On another she had the Annunciation, and the words
"Ave Maria." These were painted at Tours "par James Power, Ecossais,
Peintre du Roi."
[4] Thus the Cross of St. George would be normally represented as in Fig.
91, but we find it much elongated in Figs. 12 and 14, much widened out in
Figs 27 and 56, and yet more so on the shield of the arms of the Dominion
of Canada in Fig. 129.
[5] We do not pause to explain the meaning of any heraldic terms that we
are obliged to employ. Such terms may be readily found in any technical
book on blazonry, and we have ourselves, in "The History, Principles and
Practice of Heraldry," gone very thoroughly into the meaning and use of the
various forms that enter into the blazonry of shield or banner, and do not,
therefore, repeat these matters here.
[6] _i.e._, badges.
[7] "Lord Gordon has arrived at Nauplia. He has brought the Greeks a number
of ensigns, embroidered by Scotch ladies, and sent by them."--_Salisbury
and Winchester Journal_, December 27th, 1824.
[8] This crowned key may be seen as early as 1359 on the seal of Sir
Michael de Poynings.
[9] The bugle horn appears as the crest of Sir William de Bryan on his
brass, 1375.
[10] In an old pedigree of the family is inscribed the lines:--
"Esperance en Dieu,
Trust in hym, he is most true.
En Dieu Esperance,
In hym put thyne affiaunce.
Esperance in the worlde? Nay,
The worlde variethe every day.
Esperance in riches? Nay, not so;
Riches slidethe, and some will go.
Esperance in exaltacion of honour?
Nay, it widderethe away, lyke a flowre.
Esperance en Dieu, in hym is all,
Which is above Fortune's fall."
[11] The modern flag, known as the burgee, largely used in flag signalling,
is like a shortened pennon. It is sometimes also called a cornet.
[12] "Now the often changing fortune beganne also to channge the law of the
battels. For at the first, though it were terrible, yet Terror was deckt
and broachie with rich furniture, guilt swords, shining armours, pleasant
pensils, that the eye with delight had scarce time to be afraide; but now
all defiled with dust, blood, broken armour, mangled bodies, tooke away the
maske, and set forth Horror in his own horrible manner."--SIR PHILIP
SYDNEY.
[13] "A streamer shall stand in the toppe of a shippe, or in the
forecastle, and therein be putt no armes, but a man's conceit or device,
and may be of the lengthe of twenty, forty, or sixty yards."--Harleian MS.,
No. 2,358, dealing with "the Syze of Banners, Standardes, Pennons,
Guydhomes, Pencels, and Streamers."
[14] While thus severe in our judgment on misguided foreigners it is only
just to point out that England itself is responsible for a combination as
horrible as any in the green, red, white, of the special flag that she
bestowed on Heligoland, while it was yet a British possession. It may be
seen in Fig. 61.
[15] The famous banner of the Knights Templars, called the Beau-seant, had
its upper half black and lower white. The black symbolised the terror it
should be to the foe, and the white amity and goodwill to friends.
[16] The "house-flags" of the various shipping companies make a great use
of letters: thus the flag of the Orient Steam Navigation Company is white
and divided into four portions by a blue cross. In these four portions are
placed in red the letters O.S.N.C. In Fig. 120 we have the flag of the New
Zealand Shipping Company, where the N.Z.S. Co. are equally conspicuous. Any
reference to a good list of house-flags, such as that published by Griffin,
would reveal scores of illustrations of this feature.
[17] The map is freely embellished with illustrations. In South America,
for instance four immense crimson parrots about fill up Brazil, while in
Africa the parrots are green. Many of these figured details are very
quaint.
[18]
"The dazzling field,
Where in proud Scotland's royal shield,
The ruddy lion ramped in gold."--_Scott._
[19] With only one exception the Sovereigns of Scotland never quartered the
arms of any other kingdom with their own. The only exception was when Mary
Stuart claimed the arms of England and placed them upon her standard, and
thus gave irreparable provocation to Queen Elizabeth.
[20] Brian Boru, who was killed in battle with the Danes, did much to
civilise Ireland; and, amongst other things, introduced the harp. The
ancient Irish harp at Trinity College, Dublin, was long claimed as the
identical instrument of Boru, but it has been proved by the ornament upon
it that it cannot be later than the fourteenth century. The most primitive
representation of the harp in Ireland is in a rude sculpture in a church
near Kilkeny. This is known to date from the ninth century. Though the harp
has ever shone in the poetry of the Irish people, they have but little
claim to it. It has been by no means such a national instrument with the
Irish as with the Welsh. It is one of the most ancient of instruments,
figuring in the mural paintings of Egypt centuries before the Christian
era.
[21] As may be seen beautifully enamelled on his tomb in Westminster Abbey.
[22] Another flag was a plain scarlet one, having this inscription: "For
the Protestant Religion and the Liberty of England" in white upon it.
[23] The following summary may be taken as correct in its broad
facts:--From about 1195 to 1340, the Standard had the lions of England
alone on it. From 1340 to 1377, England and France together. 1377 to 1399,
England, France, and the arms of Edward the Confessor. 1399 to 1603,
England and France. 1603 to 1649, England, France, Scotland and Ireland.
1649 to 1659, Interregnum: a period of change and uncertainty, when divers
changes in the Standard were made that are scarcely worth detailing. 1659
to 1688, England, France, Scotland, and Ireland. 1688 to 1701, England,
France, Scotland, Ireland, and Nassau. 1701 to 1714, England, France,
Scotland, and Ireland. 1714 to 1801, England, France, Scotland, Ireland,
and Hanover. 1801 to 1837, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Hanover. From
1837, England, Scotland, and Ireland.
[24] Spenser.
[25] In the same way, we find the Scottish clansmen rushing to the fray to
the cry of "St. Andrew and our Right." In the ballad of Otterbourne we read
that the Scots
"Uppon Sent Andrewe loude they crye,
And thrysse they showte on hyght."
[26] One interesting exception to this is that, on St. George's Day, the
5th regiment (Northumberland Fusiliers) holds full-dress parade, all
wearing the rose, the national emblem, in their headgear, and the officers
on their sword-knots also. The colours, too, are festooned with roses.
[27] "The x day of January hevy news came to London that the French had won
Cales (Calais), the whyche was the hevest tydyngs to England that ever was
herd of.
"The xj day of January the Cete of London took up a thousand men, and mad
them whytt cotes and red crosses, and every ward of London found men.
"The xxj day of January came a new commandement to my Lord Mayre that he
shuld make men redy in harnes with whyt cotes weltyd with green, and red
crosses, by the xxiij day of the same moneythe to be at Leydenhalle to go
forward.
"The xviij day of May there was sent to the shyppes men in whyt cotes and
red crosses, and gones, to the Queen's shyppes."--MACHYN'S DIARY.
[28] Thus we have the white, the blue, the white and orange, the green and
red, the purple, the blue and white, the orange and green, the red and
yellow, the red and blue, the red and white, and divers others. The orange
company always took the lead. These companies were for a long time in
abeyance, and were superseded in 1798 by the formation of the Royal
Edinburgh Volunteers, but each year the Magistrates and Council still
appoint one of their number to be captain of the orange colours. His duty
is to take charge of the old colours and preserve them as an interesting
relic of a bygone institution.
[29] It is remarkable that none of the flags extant bear the motto which
the Parliament on July 5th, 1650, ordered "to be upoun haill culloris and
standardis," _i.e._, "For Covenant, Religion, King, and Kingdom." It is
characteristic that each body claimed independence even in this matter.
Thus the Fenwick flag bore "Phinegh for God, Country, and Covenanted work
of Reformations." Another flag has, "For Reformation in Church and State,
according to the Word of God and our Covenant," while yet another bears the
inscription, "For Christ and His truths, no quarters to ye active enemies
of ye Covenant."
[30] St. Andrew's day is November 30th.
[31] The question of the Union between England and Scotland was often
mooted. In the year 1291 Edward I., being victorious in the north, declared
the two countries united, but this did not last long. In 1363 Edward III.
opened negotiations for a union of the two crowns if King David of Scotland
died without issue. In the reign of Edward VI. the matter was again to the
fore, but it was left to Queen Elizabeth to take the decisive step.
[32] April 12th, 1605.
[33] Thus in the Royal Standard of Spain, Fig. 194, the arms of Leon and
Castile being In the upper corner next the staff take precedence of honour
over Arragon and all the other States therein introduced.
[34] In a picture in the collection at Hampton Court, representing the
embarkation of Charles II. from Holland, the ship has a large red flag
charged with the Stuart arms in the centre, but so soon as his position in
England was assured he reverted to the royal standard of his Stuart
predecessors and to the original form of the union flag, a form that during
the Protectorate was widely departed from.
[35] "Jaque, espece de petite casaque militaire qu'on portait au moyen age
sur les armes et sur la cuirasse."--BOUILLET, "Dict. Universel."
[36] A contemporary representation of this Long Parliament flag may be seen
on the medals bestowed on the victorious naval commanders, where the
principal ship in the sea-fight represented on the reverse of the medal
flies this flag at her masthead.
[37] Andrew Marvell on the victory of Blake at Santa Cruz.
[38] As the year of his birth is scarcely known within a century or so, it
is too much to expect the month or the day, but the day that is assigned to
St. Patrick in the calendar is March 17th.
[39] In the year 1816, in consequence of the Electorate of Hanover being
raised to the rank of a Kingdom, the Hanoverian Royal Crown was substituted
for the Electoral headgear in the royal arms on the shield and standard.
[40] A writer in the _Retrospective Review_ in the year 1847, thus relieves
his feelings:--"The banner of St. George, argent, and cross gules is still
borne as part of the English flag, though, from the disgraceful manner in
which it has been amalgamated with the Crosses of St. Andrew and St.
Patrick, it has not only lost all its purity, but presents a melancholy
example of the ignorance of heraldry and total want of patriotism and taste
which must have characterised those to whom we unfortunately owe its
arrangement."
[41] "All Her Majesty's Ships of War in Commission shall bear a white
ensign with the Red St. George Cross, and the Union in the upper Canton,
and when it shall be thought proper to do so, they may display the Union
Jack at the bowsprit end."--_Queen's Regulations._
[42] We read, for instance, in the Diary of Pepys that in the expedition of
the Duke of Buckingham, in the year 1627, against the Isle de Rhé that "the
Duke divided his fleet into squadrons. Himself, ye Admirall, and General in
chiefe, went in ye Triumphe, bearing the Standard of England in ye maine
topp, and Admirall particular of the bloody colours. The Earl of Lindsay
was Vice-Admirall to the Fleete in the Rainbowe, bearing the King's usual
colours in his foretopp, and a blew flag in his maine topp, and was
admirall of the blew colours. The Lord Harvey was Rear Admirall in ye
Repulse, bearing the King's usual colours in his mizen, and a white flag in
the main topp, and was Admirall of ye squadron of white colours."
[43] On the hoisting of the Ensign all work stops, and all ranks muster on
deck, standing with hand raised to the cap in salute, while the ship's band
plays the opening bars of the National Anthem.
[44] Charles Mackay.
[45] Other regiments with green facings are the 5th, 11th, 19th, 36th,
39th, 46th, 49th, 73rd, etc. Regiments with blue facings are the 1st, 4th,
6th, 7th, 13th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, etc., while buff is found in the
2nd, 3rd, 14th, 22nd, 27th, 31st, 40th, etc. Amongst the regiments with
yellow facings are the 9th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 20th, 26th, 28th, 29th,
30th, 34th, 37th, 38th, etc. White is met with in the 17th, 32nd, 41st,
43rd, 47th, 59th, 65th. Red is not so common, since the colour is that of
the tunic ordinarily, but we see it in the 33rd, 48th, and 76th. Black is
also less commonly used, but we find it in the facings of the 58th, 64th,
70th, and 89th Regiments.
[46] The "Black Watch," the gallant 42nd, and other regiments also bear the
Sphinx for their services in Egypt in 1801, where Napoleon received his
first serious check from British troops.
[47] When a regiment consists of two battalions the distinctions won by
each are common to both, and are, quite justly, the property of the whole
regiment.
[48] In like manner we find the Royal Marines bearing on their colours an
anchor, first granted to the corps as a badge in the year 1775. The lion
and crown was added to this in 1795. In 1802, in honour of the gallant
share taken by the Marines in the capture of Bellisle, a laurel wreath was
added to the other badges of honour, and in 1827 the motto "_Per Mare per
Terram_" and a globe, surmounted by the word "Gibraltar," was also placed
on their colours, as a testimony to the services of the Marines all over
the world, and notably at the taking of Gibraltar.
[49] Blenheim, August 2nd, 1704; Ramilies, May 23rd, 1706; Oudenarde, June
30th, 1708; Malplaquet, September 11th, 1709; Dettingen, June 16th, 1743;
Minden, August 1st, 1759.
[50] This, with many other interesting trophies of war, may be seen in the
Chapel of Chelsea College. The Blenheim Colours are now nearly all consumed
away with age: of one but the staff remains, and many others are now as
tender as tinder. French, Russian, American, Chinese, and many other flags
of former foes may there be seen quietly fading away, as the old national
animosities have likewise done.
[51] Amongst the various devices seen on the flags of the Parliamentarians,
was one of a skull surrounded by a laurel crown, accompanied by the words
"_Mors vel Victoria_."
[52] There are the colours of other regiments as well. Those that we
specially refer to above will be found in what is known as the Warriors'
Chapel. We deal with these especially, because, as being the flags of the
territorial regiment, they find, with particular appropriateness, their
resting place in Canterbury Cathedral.
[53] There is now no Lord High Admiral of Great Britain; his functions are
analogous to those of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army; the last Lord
High Admiral was William IV., who received this appointment when Prince of
Wales. The office is now said to be "in commission"--its functions are
performed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, a board uniting the
dual control which is exercised over the land Forces by the War Office and
the Horse Guards. Commissions of Naval Officers are not signed by the
Queen, they are headed "By the Commissioners for executing the office of
Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom," etc.; and they are signed by two
of the Lords.
[54] We find the Royal Yacht Club, in 1815, and the Royal Thames Yacht
Club, in 1835, flying what would be a white ensign if it had but the great
Cross of St. George upon it; an entirely white flag having the Union in the
corner next the staff. One may get a fair notion of its effect by looking
at Fig. 154, but imagining the Union in the place of the device there seen.
The Royal Yacht Club burgee at this period was plain white, without any
device whatever. The burgee of the other Club we have named has undergone
many changes. In 1823 it is scarlet, with the letters T.Y.C. in white; in
1831 the prefix Royal has been gained, and the flag, still red, has the
crown and the R.T.Y.C. in white upon it; while in 1834 we still find the
crown and the same letters, but now, not white on red, but red on white.
[55] "BY THE COMMISSIONERS for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.
"WHEREAS, we deem it expedient that Canadian registered vessels shall be
permitted to wear the Red Ensign of Her Majesty's Fleet, with the Canadian
Coat of Arms in the Fly thereof.
"We do therefore, by virtue of the power and authority vested in us, hereby
warrant and authorize the Red Ensign of Her Majesty's Fleet, with the
Canadian Coat of Arms in the Fly, to be used on board vessels registered in
the Dominion.
"Given under our hands and the seal of the Office of Admiralty, this second
day of February, 1892."
[56] The Maple is to Canada what the Rose is to England, or the Shamrock to
Ireland. Hence, we find it on the coinage, etc. In the Canadian Militia
List before us we find it on the accoutrements of many of the regiments,
enwreathing the motto or device; sometimes alone, and often in association
with the rose, thistle, and shamrock.
[57] Thus in a French book on flags (La Haye's), published in 1737, we see
a "pavillon de Nouvelle Angleterre en Amerique." This is a blue flag,
having on a white canton the Cross of St. George, and in the first quarter
of this canton a globe, in allusion to America, the new world.
[58] In September, 1775, Moultrie, the heroic defender of the fort which
still bears his name, devised this the first flag of the State of South
Carolina, the uniform of the South Carolina men being blue, and some of the
regiments having a silver crescent in their caps; but why they had the
silver crescent as a badge no record seems to inform us.
[59] It may be somewhat of an assistance to our readers if we give a few
chronological details: The obnoxious duty on tea and other articles imposed
by the British Parliament, June, 1767. Tea thrown overboard in Boston
harbour by the discontented populace, November, 1773. The Boston Port Bill,
by which that port was to be shut up until compensation made to the East
India Company for the tea destroyed, passed March, 1774. General Congress
of the colonists at Philadelphia, September, 1774. Revolution, first blood
shed at Lexington, April, 1775. Washington appointed Commander-in-Chief of
the American Armies, June, 1775. Thirteen colonies declare themselves
independent, July 4th, 1776. Independence of Colonies recognised by France
in March, 1778, by Holland in April, 1782, and by Great Britain in
September, 1783. John Adams received as ambassador from America by George
III. in June, 1785, and first ambassador sent from Great Britain to the
United States, in 1791.
[60] In an old print before us of the fight between the _Shannon_ and the
_Chesapeake_, we see that the latter hoists three American flags, all
having the top and bottom stripes white, and at the foremast a white flag
inscribed with the enigmatical motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' rights."
[61]
"Forty flags with their silver stars,
Forty flags with their crimson bars."
WHITTIER, "Barbara Frietchie."
[62] At a banquet at the Mansion House, when many leading Englishmen and
eminent Colonists gathered together to celebrate St. George's Day, the
American Ambassador, an honoured guest, said that he was very conscious
that he was there at a gathering of the clans. "There was a tradition that
the mischievous boy was generally the favourite of the household. His
mother might confess it openly, his father secretly, but the rest of the
family said nothing about it. Now there was a mischievous boy who broke
away from home something more than a century ago, but let them not suppose
that because he left the home he or his descendants ever came back without
a strong feeling that it is the home." He went on to say that he never met
a body of representative Englishmen, British men, speaking the same
language that he did, without a sense of grave joy and pleasure: the sense
that they were his brethren in a great cause, and that he joined with them,
he and his people, in sustaining the best hopes and aspirations of the
world's civilization. Blood is thicker than water, and all right-minded
Englishmen will read his kindly words with pleasure, and give them
heartiest reciprocation.
[63] To the Germans, in their campaign against France, this and the "Watch
upon the Rhine" were worth many battalions as a spur and stimulus to heroic
deeds. During the American War both Federals and Confederates owed much to
the influence of stirring patriotic songs. There can be no doubt that the
songs of Dibdin contributed not a little to our own naval victories, and
every cause that is worth fighting for evokes like stirring strains.
Perhaps one of the most marked illustrations of this is the birth of that
grand war-song known as the "Marseillaise." Rouget de l'Isle, its author,
was a captain of French Engineers stationed in Strassbourg on the opening
of the campaign against Austria and Prussia in 1792. On the eve of the day
that the contingent from that city was going to join the main army of the
Rhine, a question arose as to what air should be played at their departure.
Several were suggested and rejected, and Rouget de l'Isle left the meeting
and retired to his own quarters, and before the gathering broke up had
written both words and music of "Le Chant de l'Armee du Rhin." On returning
to the meeting, still in consultation on the various details of the morrow,
he sang his composition, and it was at once welcomed with delight. It flew
like wildfire throughout France, and, owing to the Marseillaise troops
singing it on entering Paris, it derived the name by which it has ever
since been known. Its stirring words and the grand roll of the music
aroused the enthusiasm of the country, and at once made it the battle-song
of France, to be at times proscribed, but never forgotten.
[64] The book on German costume by Köbel, printed at Frankfort-on-the-Main
in 1545, should be referred to, if possible, by the reader. It is,
unfortunately, a very rare book. The first edition of this splendid volume
contains 144 large illustrations of standard-bearers; the figures are
admirably drawn and very varied in attitude, while the flags they carry are
replete with interest, many of course being now quite obsolete, while
others there represented have come down to us through the three centuries
intact.
[65] The _Pamiot Azof_, one of the most powerful ironclads of the Russian
Navy, flies at her mast-head the Cross of St. George (white on red), in
memory of the gallant service at Navarino in 1527 of her predecessor of
that name. The Czar Nicholas decreed that all future _Pamiot Azofs_ in the
navy should bear this distinguishing mark of honour. Peter the Great built
the first _Pamiot Azof_ as a memorial of the great siege of Azof, and the
name has been handed down ever since. The influence of that piece of
scarlet and white bunting will doubtless be such that no _Pamiot Azof_ will
ever fall short of the highest expectations that this exceptional honour
would suggest.
[66] "Clisson, assura sa Majesté du gain de la bataille, le roi lui
répondit: 'Connestable, Dieu le veeulte, nous irons donc avant au nom de
Dieu et de Sainct Denis.'"--_Vulson de la Colombière._
[67] In a miniature of Charles II., A.D. 869, in a book of prayers, the
royal sceptre terminates in a fleur-de-lys. The crown of Hugh Capet, A.D.
957, in St. Denis, is formed of fleur-de-lys, as is that of his successor,
Robert le Sage, A.D. 996, Henry I., 1031, and many others. To make the
matter more complicated, we find on the crown of Uffa, first king of the
East Angles, A. D. 575, true fleurs-de-lys.
[68] One old writer asserts that Louis VII., on setting out in the year
1137 for the Crusade chose the purple iris flower as his emblem.
[69] "Recherches sur les Drapeaux Français, Oriflamme, bannière de France,
Marques nationales, Couleurs du roi, drapeaux de l'armée, pavilions de la
Marine."--GUSTAVE DESJARDINS, Paris, 1874.
Another good book to see is the "Histoire du drapeau de la Monarchie
Française," by M. Rey.
[70] It may be helpful here to append for reference the chronology of the
earlier sovereigns of the House of Bourbon:--Henry IV., "the Great,"
ascended the throne in 1589; Louis XIII., "the Just," 1610; Louis XIV.,
"the Great," 1643; Louis XV., "the Well-beloved," 1715; Louis XVI., 1774,
guillotined in January, 1793.
[71] Thus, at a grand military _fête_, on May 10th, 1852, in the Champ de
Mars, on restoring this symbol, we find the Emperor addressing the
troops:--"The Roman eagle, adopted by the Emperor Napoleon at the
commencement of this century, was a brilliant symbol of the grandeur of
France. It disappeared amongst our calamities. It ought to return when
France, raised up again, should no more repudiate her high position.
Soldiers! Take again the eagles which have so often led our fathers to
glory." In 1855, in addressing a detachment of the Imperial Guard prior to
its departure for the Crimea, he exclaimed, "The Imperial Guard, the heroic
representative of military glory and honour, is here before me. Receive
then these eagles, which will lead you on to glory. Soon will you have
planted them on the walls of Sebastopol!"
[72] First Republic, 1792 to 1799. The Consulate, 1799 to 1804. The first
Empire, 1804 to 1814. The Restoration, Bourbon and Orleanist, 1814 to 1848,
the second Republic, 1848 to 1853, the second Empire, 1853 to 1870, the
third Republic from 1870.
[73] The diary of Henry Machyn, "Citizen and Merchant Tayler of London,"
from which we have already quoted, tells us how the writer saw the "Kyng's
grace and dyvers Spaneards," the said King being Philip of Spain, riding
through the city attired in red and yellow, the colours of Spain. In the
cavalcade, Machyn tells us, were "men with thrumpets in the same colors,
and drumes made of ketylles, and baners in the same colors."
[74] This quarter of the flag, the arms of Leon and Castile, was the entire
flag of the time of Columbus. Isabella gave the great explorer a personal
flag, a white swallow-tailed ensign having in its centre a green cross and
the letters F.Y. The quartered arms of Leon and Castile are sculptured upon
the monument in Westminster Abbey of Alianore, the daughter of Ferdinand
III., King of Leon and Castile, and the wife of Edward I. of England. The
date of the tomb is 1290.
[75] The following chronological items may prove of assistance. Crown of
Navarre passes to France, 1276. Ferdinand of Arragon re-conquers Navarre,
1512. Accession of House of Austria to throne of Spain, 1516. Spain annexed
Netherlands, 1556, and, shortly after Philip II., husband of our Queen
Mary, annexed Burgundy. Portugal united to Spain, 1580. Portugal lost,
1640. Philip V. invades Naples, 1714. Charles III., King of the Two
Sicilies, succeeds to Spanish crown, 1759.
[76] The various heralds and pursuivants in their tabards blazoned with the
lions of England, the fleurs-de-lys of France, or the castles of Portugal.
[77] Az. three crosses in pale or.
[78] The Turks, originally an Asiatic people, overran the provinces of the
Eastern, or Greek Empire, about the year 1300, but did not capture
Constantinople until 1453. Thirty years afterwards they obtained a footing
in Italy, and in 1516 Egypt was added to the Empire. The invading hosts
spread terror throughout Europe, and in 1529 and in 1683 we find them
besieging Vienna. Rhodes was captured from the Knights of St. John, Greece
subdued, Cyprus taken from the Venetians: but later on the tide of war
turned against them, and frequent hostilities with England, France, and
Russia led to the gradual weakening of the Turkish power.
[79] There is such a general impression that officials are so very much
bound up in highly-starched red tape that we gladly take this opportunity
of acknowledging the extreme consideration with which all our enquiries
have been met. The libraries of the Admiralty, the Royal United Service
Museum, the Guildhall, South Kensington, etc., have been placed
unreservedly at our service. The authorities of the Board of Trade, of
Lloyds, of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, of the Royal Naval Exhibition, the
Agents-General of the Colonies, have all most willingly given every
possible information, and we have received from all to whom we have applied
for information the greatest readiness to afford it, and the most courteous
responses.
[80] The position of Sultan, though one of great dignity, has its serious
drawbacks. This all-conquering Murad was, after all, assassinated; his son
and successor, Bajuzet, died in prison. Isa Belis the next holder of the
throne, Solyman who succeeded him, and Musa, who succeeded Solyman, were
all in turn murdered by their brothers or other relatives.
[81] "Order and progress." Not a very happily chosen motto, since, as a
Brazilian said to us, such a sentiment might equally be placed on the flags
of all civilized nations, order and progress not being features to take any
special credit for, but to be entirely taken for granted, and as a matter
of course.
[82] Our English name, Japan, for this land of the Far East, is a
corruption of the Chinese name for it, _Zipangn_, a word of the same
meaning, Land of the Rising Sun.
[83] There are four Orders of Distinction in Japan; the first is the Order
of the Chrysanthemum, and the second that of the Rising Sun.
[84] Each spring and summer our Volunteers have long-distance practices.
From the account of one of these now before us, we see that the line
extended from Reculvers on the north coast of Kent, to Aldershot, a
distance of over one hundred miles, messages from one point to the other
being rapidly and accurately transmitted by signalling parties on the
various eminences, such as Beacon Hill, Gravelly Hill, Box Hill, and St.
Martha's Hill, between the two extremities of the line.
[85] One may see here, too, the signal book of James, Duke of York, dating
about 1665, by means of which most of our sea-fights with the Dutch were
conducted, and also the code introduced by Kempenfeldt.
[86] The _Victory_ at this time was somewhat less than a mile and a half
from the enemy's line.
[87] The signal for "close action" was flags 1 and 6. All flag signals are
always read from above downwards; 6 and 1 would mean something entirely
different to 1 and 6.
[88] "Expects," it will be seen, is expressed by one hoist of flags, while
"confides" would have necessitated the pulling up and hauling down of eight
distinct sets.
[89] Special hoists are also used for special purposes, thus the display of
the yellow flag, with a black ball on it, is an intimation that torpedo
practice is going on.
[90] June 1st, 1813.
[91] This system was introduced by Captain Columb in 1862. On one occasion,
during heavy weather, from a steamer fifteen miles off shore he sent a
message through a station on the Isle of Wight across to Portsmouth, and
received his answer back in thirteen minutes! This was altogether too good
to be gainsaid or shelved, and the system was speedily adopted.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
The following corrections were made to the printed original:
Table of Contents, Chapter V:--"England expects" printed as "Englands
expects" in original.
Page 5:--In "a priest of Beverley for carrying": "carrying" printed as
"carring" in original.
Page 10:--In "we find these charges represented": "charges" printed as
"changes" in original.
Page 126:--In "their thoughts turn to the dear homeland": "turn" printed as
"turns" in original.
Page 136:--In "thirteen then existing codes": "thirteen" printed as
"thirteeen" in original.
Page 138:--In "Our readers will see": "Our" printed as "Ours" in original.