THE UNION JACK.

[36]Order dated 5th March, 1649.[37]Heraldry of the Sea, p. 8.

[36]Order dated 5th March, 1649.

[37]Heraldry of the Sea, p. 8.

On the Restoration in 1660 the union flag was reintroduced, and when England and Scotland became constitutionally united in 1707, this was confirmed, with an order that it should be used "in all flags, banners,standards, and ensigns,both at sea and land." The order in council bears "that the flaggs be according to the draft marked C, wherein the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew are conjoined;" but none of the drafts appear in the Register. A representation of this flag will be found in Plate III. No.I., and there being no draft to copy, I have given it according to the verbal blazon, viz. azure a saltire argent surmounted by a cross gules fimbriated of the second—that is, the St. George's cross with a narrow white border.

On the union with Ireland in the beginning of the present century the Irish saltire was introduced. The St. George's cross remained as it was, but the saltires of Scotland and Ireland were placed side by side, but "counterchanged"—that is, in the first and third divisions or quarters, the white, as senior, is uppermost, and in the second and fourth the red is uppermost. The "verbal blazon," or written direction, is very distinct, but in making the flag, or rather in showing pictorially how it was to be represented, a singular and very absurd error occurred, which, in the manufacture of our flags, has been continued to the present day, and which it may be interesting to explain.

The verbal blazon is contained in the minute by the king in council, and in the proclamation which followed on it, issued on 1st of January, 1801. I need not give the technical words; suffice to say that the flag is appointedto be blue, with the three crosses, or rather, the one cross and two saltires combined. And, in order to meet a law in heraldry, that colour is not to be placed on colour, or metal upon metal, it is directed that where the red crosses of England and Ireland come in contact with the blue ground of the flag, they are to be "fimbriated"—that is, separated from the blue by a very narrow border of one of the metals—in this case silver, or white. Of heraldic necessity this border of both the red crosses fell to be of the same breadth. To use the words of the written blazon, the St. George's cross is to be "fimbriatedas the saltire;" a direction so plain that the merest tyro in heraldry could not fail to understand it, and be able to paint the flag accordingly.

Let me premise another thing. It is a universal rule in heraldry that the verbal blazon, when such exists, is alone of authority. Different artists may, from ignorance or from carelessness, express the drawing differently from the directions before them, and this occurs every day; but no one is or can be misled by that if he has the verbal blazon to refer to.

Now, in the important case of the Union flag it so happened that the artist who, according to the practice usual in such cases, was instructed to make a drawing of the flag on the margin of the king's order in council, was either careless or ignorant or stupid. Most probably he was all three, and here is how he depicted it. Thehorizontal lines represent blue and the perpendicular red; the rest is white. (See Fig. 26.)

Fig. 26.—Union Flag as depictedA.D.1801.

Now here, it will be observed, the red saltire of Ireland is "fimbriated" white, according to the instructions; and this is done with perfect accuracy, by the narrowest possible border. But the St. George's cross, instead of being fimbriated in the same way—which the written blazon expressly says it shall be—is not fimbriated at all. The cross is placed upon a ground of white so broad that it ceases to be a border. The practical effect of this, and its only heraldic meaning, is, that the centre of the flag, instead of being occupied solely by the St. George's cross, is occupied bytwo crosses, a white cross with a red one superinduced on it. So palpable is this that Mr. Laughton,the accomplished lecturer on naval history at the Royal Naval College, in a lecture recently published, suggests that this is perhaps what was really intended. "A fimbriation," he says, "is a narrow border to prevent the unpleasing effect of metal on metal or colour on colour. It should be as narrow as possible to mark the contrast. But the white border of our St. George's cross is not, strictly speaking, a fimbriation at all. It is a white cross of one-third the width of the flag surmounted of a red cross." And his hypothesis is that this may have been intended to commemorate a tradition of the combination of the red cross of England with the white cross of France.[38]The suggestion is ingenious and interesting, but it has clearly no foundation. There might have been something to say for it had there been only the drawing to guide us. In that case, indeed, the theory of Mr. Laughton, or some one similar, would be absolutely necessary to account for the two crosses. But Mr. Laughton overlooks the important facts, first, that we possess in the verbal blazon distinct written instructions; secondly, that where such exist no drawing which is at variance with them can possess any authority; and lastly, that in this case the verbal blazon not only is silent as to a second cross, but it expressly prescribes that there shall be only one, that of St. George. To that nothing is to be added—nothing, that is, but the narrow border or fimbriation necessary tomeet the heraldic requirement to separate it from the blue ground of the flag, the same as is directed to be done, and as has been done, with the saltire of Ireland.

[38]Heraldry of the Sea, 1879.

Some years ago I called the attention of the Admiralty to this extraordinary blunder, and I pointed out then, just what Mr. Laughton has done in his recent lecture, that the flag, as made, really shows two crosses in the centre. The Admiralty referred the matter to Garter King of Arms, but Sir Albert Woods, while he did not say a word in defence of the arrangement, would not interfere. "The flag," he said, "was made according to the drawing,"—which was too true—"and it was exhibited," he added, "in the same way on the colours of the Queen's infantry regiments;" and, naturally enough, he declined the responsibility of advising a change. And so it remains. I may observe, however, that in one, at least, of the Horse Guards' patterns, the arrangement of the tinctures is not, as Sir Albert supposes, according to the original drawing, and it is different from the pattern prescribed by the Admiralty. I refer to the flag prescribed for the use of military authorities "when embarked in boats or other vessels." In that flag, of which an official copy is now before me, the fimbriation of the Irish saltire is of much greater breadth than it is in the Admiralty flag, while that saltire itself is considerably reduced in breadth.

Besides the error in the border of the St. George's cross, the breadth of the Irish saltire in all our flags, asnow manufactured, is less than that of the white cross of Scotland, which is clearly wrong. For obvious reasons, and according to the written blazon, they ought to be the same. Indeed, all the three crosses ought to be of the same breadth. So great, however, is the difference in practice, that in the official Admiralty Directions for the construction of a flag of given dimensions, while the St. George's cross is appointed to be 18 inches in breadth, that of St. Andrew is to be only 9 inches, and the Irish cross only 6—this last being exactly the same as the breadth appointed for the border of the cross of St. George!

FigureII.of Plate III. shows the flag as made according to the erroneous pattern now in use. FigureIII.shows it as it ought to be, and as it is appointed to be made by the distinct terms of the verbal blazon, in the order by the king in council. But the breadth of the St. George's cross I have left unaltered.

It is to be hoped that heraldic propriety will prevail over a practice originating in obvious error, and that our national flag will be flown according to its true blazon. The correction would be very easily made. The reduction of the breadth of the border of St. George's cross and the slight increase in the width of the Irish saltire would be little noticed, while, besides correcting obvious errors, it would have the advantage of bringing the flag, in one important respect, into conformity with the designas represented on the coinage. On the reverse of our beautiful bronze coins the St. George's cross on Britannia's shield is fimbriated as it ought to be, that is, by the narrow border prescribed by the written blazon.

UNION FLAGS AND PENDANT. PLATE III.

Fig. 27.

But if the penny is right in that respect, it exhibits another extraordinary example of our slipshod heraldry, by a variation of a different and more startling kind. My complaint against the flag, as made, is, that it represents four crosses, but on the penny there are only two. This was all right when the design was first made in the reign of Charles II., but when the third cross was added to the flag the three crosses should have appeared on the coin. A desire to adhere to the original design cannot certainly be pleaded, for there have been many changes in this figure of Britannia. She was first placed there by Charles II. in honour of the beautiful Duchess of Richmond, who sat to the sculptor for the figure. But her drapery on the coin of those days was very scanty, and her semi-nude state was hardly in keeping with the stormy waves beside which she was seated. Queen Anne, like a modest lady as she was, put decent clothing on her, and made her stand upright, and took away her shield, crosses and all. In the subsequent reigns she was allowed to sit down again, and she got back her shield, with the trident in her left hand and an olive-branch in the right. On the present coinage—a copy of which (the penny) is shown in Fig. 27—the drapery of Queen Anne is retained, but thefigure is entirely turned round, and faces the sinister side of the coin, instead of the dexter, as at first, and the olive-branch (absit omen) has been taken away. But with all these changes there remain only two crosses on the shield. The reader will naturally suppose, however, that the omission consisted in not adding the Irish saltire to that of Scotland, which had been there from the first. But no. In this instance there was certainly no "injustice to Ireland," for the extraordinary thing is, that the St. Andrew's cross has been taken away altogether, and the saltire of Ireland, distinguished by its fimbriated border, has been put in its place, Scotland being not now represented on the coin at all. Of course this has arisen from mere carelessness at the Mint, but it is an error which ought to be at once corrected.

But to return to our flags. The Union Jack is a diminutive of the Union. It is exclusively a ship flag, and, although of the same pattern as the Union, it ought never to be called the UnionJackexcept when it is flown on the jack-staff,—a staff on the bowsprit or fore part of a ship. It is extraordinary how little this distinction is understood.For example, in the Queen's Regulations for the army a list of stations is given at which it is directed that "the national flag,the Union Jack, is authorized to be hoisted." And in a general order issued from the North British Head Quarters as to the arrangements to be observed on a recent occasion of the sitting of the General Assembly in Edinburgh, it was stated that "the Union Jack" would be displayed from the Castle and at the Palace of Holyrood. But theUnion Jackis never flown on shore. The proper name of the national flag isthe Union. It is the shore flag, and, except personal flags, the only one which is displayed from fortresses and other stations.

At the Royal Arsenal and a few other stations the Union flag is displayed daily. At others, such as Sandgate Castle and Rye, it is flown only on anniversaries. At Tilbury, Edinburgh Castle, and other places, it is hoisted on Sundays and anniversaries. And there are similar rules for foreign stations.

On board her Majesty's ships the Union is sometimes displayed, but only on special occasions. It is hoisted at the mizen top-gallant-masthead when the Queen is on board, the Royal Standard and the flag of the Lord High Admiral being at the same time hoisted at the main and fore top-gallant-mastheads respectively. And an Admiral of the Fleet hoists the Union at the main top-gallant-masthead. The Army Regulations, however, referring to the presence of theQueen on board ship, again confound the two flags, and prescribe that a salute shall be fired by forts whenever a ship passes showing the flags which indicate the presence of the sovereign, and among these is specified "the Union Jackat the mizen top-gallant-masthead." If the commandant of a fortress acted on this, her Majesty might pass every day of the year without a salute, as he would certainly never see the UnionJackin that position. The mistake is the more curious as the Regulations elsewhere distinguish the Union Jack from the Union by speaking of the latter as the "Great Union."

The Jack when flown from the mast with a white border is the signal for a pilot. In this case it is called the Pilot Jack. When flown from the bowsprit of a merchant ship it must also have a white border.

It has been said that the term "Jack" is derived from the name of the sovereign James I. (Jacques), in whose reign it was constructed. This is the legend at the Admiralty, but it is of doubtful authority. The Oxford Glossary says there is not a shadow of evidence for it, and traces the word to the surcoat worn of old by the soldiery called ajacque—whence jacket. But this also is doubtful.

The Union, or junction of the three crosses, is used in other cases in the royal navy, and also in the merchant service, not by itself, but in certain combinations.

The flag under which all our ships now sail is the Ensign.

In early times every chieftain or knight, whether serving in the field or on board ship, had his own distinguishing flag, and if several knights were embarked in one ship, the ship carried the flags of them all. In one of the illuminations of the reign of Henry VI., the sides of a ship are covered with shields, and in other examples armorial devices are even shown painted on the sails. When engaged in any active service, a ship would carry also the flag of the leader or admiral, and, in addition to this, the emblem of some patron saint, depending in this on the caprice or superstition of the owner. Besides these a ship usually bore the flag of her port—a usage which, so far as merchant ships are concerned, still holds among us in the practice of carrying what are known as "house flags," though now strictly subordinated to that of carrying the national ensign. With ships of other countries the usage continued till comparatively lately. In France, down to the Revolution, merchant ships flew the flag of their port more commonly than the flag of France; as for instance, of Marseilles, white with a blue cross; or of Dunkirk, barry of six argent and azure, with the alternative of the old English white ensign, white with a smallSt. George's cross in the upper corner next the hoist, derived from the English sovereignty in the seventeenth century.[39]In the same way in the Baltic: in the Netherlands almost every port had its own flag, and the free towns of Germany till quite recently followed the same practice. It was the same in England in early times—a sailor being more a sailor of his port than of his country.

[39]Laughton'sHeraldry of the Sea.

Now, as a rule, the ships of all countries sail under their national colours. With us the flag under which all our ships sail is the Ensign, of which there are three—the white, the blue, and the red. It is a large flag of one of the colours named, with the Union in a square or canton at the upper part of the hoist. I may explain that the portion of a flag next the staff or rope from which it is flown is called the hoist, the next is called the centre, and the outer portion the fly. Besides the Union in the canton, the white ensign has the St. George's cross extending over the whole field.

Although the Union flag of Great Britain was appointed by royal order in 1606, it was not inserted in the Ensign till 1707. Previous to that the Ensign bore only the English cross in the canton.

In the royal navy, not always, but for some time previous to 1864, the fleet consisted of three divisions called the White, the Blue, and the Red Squadrons, each carrying its distinctive Ensign, and, latterly, each havingits admiral called after the colour of his flag. But till 1805 there was no admiral of the Red. Previous to that the admiral commanding in the centre flew at the main, not the red flag, but the Union.

The first notice of the division of the fleet appears in a MS. report by Mr. Pepys, secretary to the Admiralty, in which it is stated that in the Duke of Buckingham's expedition against the Isle of Rhé in 1627 the fleet was thus divided. The notice is interesting:—"The Duke now lying at Portsmouth divided his Fleete into squadrons. Himselfe, Admirall and Generall in Chiefe, went in yeTriumph, bearing the standard of England in yemaine topp, and Admirall particular of the bloody colours. The Earle of Lindsay was vice-Admirall to the Fleete in the Rainbowe, bearing the king's usual colours in his fore topp, and a blew flag in his maine topp, and was admiral of the blew colours. The Lord Harvey was Rear Admirall in yeRepulse bearing the king's usual colours in his mizen, and a white flag in the maine topp, and was Admirall of yesquadron of white colours." In this instance it will be observed the blue flag took precedence of the white. Under the Commonwealth the blue was put down to the third place, and when on the Restoration the Union flag was reintroduced, the precedence of the three colours remained as it had been determined by the Commonwealth. The arrangement of the fleet into three divisions continued till 1864; but it often proved puzzling to foreigners, and it was foundinconvenient in action. It was for this last reason that Lord Nelson, on going into action at Trafalgar, ordered the whole of his fleet to hoist the White Ensign, and it was under that flag that that great victory was gained.

During the wars of the seventeenth century the Dutch fleets were also divided into three squadrons, distinguished, like the English, by the three colours—orange or red, white, and blue, and both with them and in our own service this was perhaps necessary when fleets consisted of such a large number of ships—our own numbering often as many as 200 sail. Latterly, when fleets were comparatively so much smaller, the distinctive colours became of less importance, and in 1864 the classification was discontinued. Now the White Ensign only is used by all her Majesty's ships in commission. Previous to this it had been ordered by royal proclamation, in 1801, that merchant ships should fly only the Red Ensign, and this is still the rule; but since the three divisions of the fleet were abolished, the Blue Ensign is allowed to be used by British merchant ships when commanded by officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, provided one-third of the crew be men belonging to the Reserve. By permission of the Admiralty the Blue Ensign is also allowed to be used by certain yacht clubs; and the members of one club—the Royal Yacht Squadron—have liberty to use the White Ensign.

The flag of the Lord High Admiral is crimson, having on it an anchor and cable, and it is hoisted on any ship of which that high officer is on board. It is also hoisted at the fore top-gallant-masthead of every ship of which the Queen may be on board. The flag of an admiral is white with the cross of St. George on it. It is only flown by an admiral when employed afloat, and then at the main, fore, or mizen top-gallantmast-head, according as he is a full, vice, or rear admiral.

The Union flag and the Blue Ensign are, with the addition of certain distinctive badges, used as personal flags by certain high officers, and also in particular departments of the service. For example, the flag of the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland is the Union with a blue shield in the centre, charged with a golden harp. The Governor-general of India has the Union with the Star of India in the centre surmounted by a crown, and this also is the flag of British Burmah. British ministers, chargés d'affaires, fly the Union with the royal arms in the centre within a circle argent surrounded by a wreath. Our consuls have the Blue Ensign with the royal arms in the fly. There are also differences in the Union or Ensign with distinctive badges for other offices and departments, and for the Colonies.

The Pendant is a well-known flag in ships of war. It is of two kinds, the long and the broad. The first is a long, narrow, tapering flag—the usual length being twenty yards, while it is only four inches broad at the head. An Admiralty Memorandum regarding the history of our flags bears that the origin of the long Pendant is generally understood to have been this:—After the defeat of the English fleet under Blake, by the Dutch fleet under Van Tromp, in 1652, the latter cruised in the Channel with a broom at the mast-head of his ship, to signify that he had swept his enemies off the sea. In the following year the English fleet defeated the Dutch, whereupon the admiral commanding hoisted a long streamer from his mast-head to represent the lash of a whip, signifying that he had whipped his enemies off the sea. Hence the Pendant, which has been flown ever since. This certainly has been the popular tradition, and the English admiral may, on the occasion referred to, have adopted a flag of the description and for the purpose mentioned, but it was not altogether a new form of flag. In the Tudor MS. we find a description of a long tapering flag of somewhat the same description. It is called a Streamer, and is appointed to "stand in the top of a ship or in the forecastle, and therein is to be put no armes but a man'sconceit or device, and may be of length 20, 30, 40, or 60 yards, and is slitt as well as a guydhomme or standard." From this description the streamer would appear to have been a personal flag bearing "the conceit or device"—crest, badge, or motto—of the owner.

As now used in our navy the long pendant is of two colours—one white with a red cross in the part next the mast; the other blue with a red cross on a white ground. The first is flown from the mast-head of all her Majesty's ships in commission, when not otherwise distinguished by a flag or broad pendant. The other is worn at the masthead of all armed vessels in the employ of the government of a British colony. (See Plate III. No.IV.)

The broad pendant or "burgee" is a flag tapering slightly and of a swallow-tailed shape at the fly. It is white with a red St. George's cross, and is flown only by a commodore, or the senior officer of a squadron, to distinguish his ship. If used by a commodore of the first class it is flown at the main top-gallant-masthead. Otherwise it is flown at the top-gallant-masthead.

Signal flags are those which are used for communication between ships at sea. In the system instituted by James II. intelligence was communicated or messages interchanged by a confused number of flags exhibited at different partsof the ship. Now, signalling has been reduced to a complete system. The flags are of various shapes and colours, each flag representing a letter or number, and by a recent arrangement a universal code has been adopted by which vessels of different nations can now communicate.

A flag of truce is white, both at sea and on land, but on board ship it is customary to hoist with it the national flag of the enemy—the white flag at the main and the enemy's ensign at the fore. On one occasion during the war in 1814 when the French frigateClorindewas about to be attacked by the British frigateDryad, the commander of the former, being desirous to ascertain what terms would be granted in case he surrendered, hoisted French colours aft and English colours forward. Under cover of this the French frigate sent a boat with the message. The answer was a refusal to grant any terms, but the boat was allowed to return to the French frigate in safety before theDryadfilled and stood towards her.

The Ensign and Pendant at half-mast are the recognised signs of mourning. Sometimes also it is an expression of mourning to set the yards at what seamen call "a-cock-bill," that is all the yards topped up different ways on each mast; but this is chiefly done by foreigners, who, on Good Friday and other occasions, set their yards thus. It is also customary as a sign of mourning to paint the white lines of a ship of a blue colour. In older times, when ships were more gaudily painted and gilded thanthey are now, they were painted black all over as a sign of mourning.

The red or bloody flag is a signal of mutiny, and as such it was displayed in our own navy on two noted occasions in the end of last century, when the fleet at Spithead mutinied, and afterwards that at the Nore. In the latter case the mutineers hauled down the flag of Vice-admiral Buckner and in its stead hoisted the red flag. It is a singular fact, however, and characteristic of the British seaman, that on the 4th of June, the king's birth-day, while the mutiny was at its height, the whole fleet, with the exception of one ship, evinced its loyalty by firing a royal salute, and displaying the colours usual on such occasions, the red flag being struck during the ceremony, and only re-hoisted when it was over.[40]

[40]James'Naval History, ii. p. 73.

The yellow flag is the signal of sickness and of quarantine.

Such are the principal naval flags. Of the circumstances in which they may or may not be legitimately used, especially in naval warfare, some interesting stories might be told.

Although it is prohibited to merchant ships to carry the colours used in the navy, this may be done intime of war to deceive an enemy. I may mention one instance when it was practised with happy effect. In the French war in 1797 the French Rear-admiral Sarcy, when cruising with six frigates in the Bay of Bali, came in sight of five of our Indiamen—one of them, theWoodford, Captain Lennox. They were homeward bound, and all richly laden, and to all appearance they had no chance of escape, when Captain Lennox rescued them by an act of great judgment and presence of mind. He first of all hoisted in his own ship a flag which the French admiral knew well—that of the British Admiral Rainier, blue at the mizen, and he made all the other ships in his company hoist pendants and ensigns to correspond. But he did more. He detached two of the Indiamen to chase and reconnoitre the enemy; and as these advanced towards the French reconnoitring frigate theCybèle, the latter, completely deceived, made all sail to join her consorts with the signal at her mast-head—"The enemy is superior in force to the French." On this the French admiral, believing that he was in the presence of a powerful British squadron, made off with his frigates under all sail, and Captain Lennox and his consorts completed their voyage in safety. When Admiral Sarcy discovered afterwards the ruse that had been practised on him, and which had lost him a prize of such great value, his mortification may be imagined.

In going into action it is the custom with the ships ofall nations to hoist their national colours. Nelson at Trafalgar carried this to excess, for he hoisted several flags lest one should be shot away. The French and Spaniards went to the opposite extreme, for they hoisted no colours at all, till late in the action, when they began to feel the necessity of having them to strike.[41]Nelson on that occasion ran his ship on board theRedoubtable, a large seventy-four gun ship, and fought her at such close quarters that the two ships touched each other. Twice Nelson gave orders to cease firing at his opponent, supposing she had surrendered, because her great guns were silent, and as she carried no flag there was no means of instantly ascertaining the fact. It was from the ship which he had thus twice spared that Nelson received his death wound. The ball was fired from the mizen-top, which, so close were the ships, was not more than fifteen yards from the place where he was standing. Soon afterwards theRedoubtable, finding further resistance impossible, hoisted her flag, only to haul it down again in sign of surrender, within twenty minutes after the fatal shot had been fired. In this great battle each of the Spanish ships had in addition to her ensign a large wooden cross hung to the end of her spanker boom.

[41]Southey'sLife of Nelson.

When a ship surrenders the fact is usually intimated by her hauling down her flag, but in Lord Cochrane's spirited attack on the French fleet in Basque Roads in1809, two of the French ships, theVarsovieandAquilon, made the token of submission by each showing a Union Jack in her mizen chains; and in other instances during the war French ships hoisted a Union Jack as the signal of their having struck.

Of course when a ship has surrendered the fire of both ships ceases. In an action off Lissa between British ships and a Franco-Venetian squadron, the French shipFloresurrendered to the British frigateAmphion. Immediately afterwards the Venetian frigateBellonabore up and commenced a heavy fire against theAmphion, and some of the shot struck the captured ship on the other side. Supposing, erroneously, that the shot came from the British ship, one of the officers of theFlore, in order to make more clear the fact of her having absolutely surrendered, took the French ensign, halliards and all, and holding them up in his hand over the taffrail to attract the attention of theAmphion'speople, threw the whole into the sea. Having captured theBellonaalso, the captain of theAmphiontemporarily left the surrendered ship while he pursued another of the enemy, theCorona, which he also captured. When thus engaged, however, he was mortified to see his first prize, theFlore, notwithstanding her emphatic act of submission, dishonourably stealing away, and she actually effected her escape into the harbour of Lessina. Captain Hoste, who commanded the British squadron, afterwards sent a letter by a flag of truce to thecaptain of theFlore, demanding restitution of the frigate in the same state as when she struck her flag and surrendered to theAmphion; but the commander of the French squadron replied by a letter, neither signed nor dated, denying that theFlorehad struck, and falsely asserting that the colours had been shot away. The letter was sent back and the demand repeated, but no answer was returned.

I may mention another instance in which captured colours were thrown into the sea in token of surrender under different circumstances, but not more creditable to the vanquished party. In the war between America and the Barbary States in the early part of the century, the United States schoonerEnterprise, under the command of Lieutenant Sterrett, fell in with and engaged a Tripolitan polacre ship, and in the course of the action the colours of the latter were either shot away or struck—in all probability the latter, for the Americans believed she had surrendered and quitted their guns. The Corsair, however, re-hoisted her flag and continued the action. Thereupon theEnterprisepoured in so destructive a fire that her opponent this time unequivocally hauled down her colours, and Lieutenant Sterrett ordered her under his lee quarter. This order was obeyed, but the Tripolitan, when he got there, thinking his position favourable, re-hoisted the red flag, and having poured another broadside into theEnterprise, prepared to board. TheAmericans, justly incensed at this treacherous act, delivered a raking broadside which effectually terminated the affair. The Tripolitan captain now abjectly implored the quarter which he had justly forfeited, and bending over the waist barricade of his ship, and as an indication of his sincerity, raised his colours in his arms and threw them into the sea.

In contrast to the conduct of the captain of theFlorein carrying off his ship after he had surrendered, may be mentioned the very different course taken by the officer in command of a French 40-gun frigate, theRenommée, which was captured off Madagascar in 1811, after an action between a French squadron, and a British squadron under Captain Schomberg. From the state of the British ships after the action, Captain Schomberg, when night was coming on, could only send on board the prize a lieutenant of marines and four seamen, in a sinking boat. At this time theRenomméehad a crew of nearly 400 effective officers and men, and they could have had at once retaken the ship and got off during the night. The crew wished to do so, but Colonel Barrois, who—the captain having been killed—was now, according to the etiquette of the French service, the commanding officer, acting on a high principle of honour, refused to give his sanction, as they had surrendered by striking their flag. The lieutenant and his few hands remained accordingly in quiet possession of the prize, tillthe prisoners were taken out next morning, and a proper prize crew placed on board.

When an action takes place at night, when flags cannot be seen, other modes of intimating surrender have to be reverted to. In the war with America, in 1815, when a British ship in a disabled state found she had no alternative but to surrender at midnight to an American ship of superior force, she did so by firing a lee gun and hoisting a light. In another case a French frigate, theNéréide, after a severe action during night with the British frigatePhœbe, surrendered to the latter by hauling down a light she had been carrying, and hailing that she surrendered. In another case a French ship intimated the fact of her surrender by hoisting a light and instantly hauling it down.

When a ship has surrendered and is taken possession of, the captor hoists his ensign over that of the enemy. In one instance a mistake in this produced disastrous results. In the celebrated capture of theChesapeakeoff Boston in 1813, when the American flag was struck, the officer of theShannonwho was sent on board theChesapeaketo take possession, inadvertently—owing to the halliards being tangled—bent the English flag below the American ensign instead of above it. By this time the two ships were drifting apart, and when theShannon'speople saw the American stripes going up first they concluded that their boarding party had been overpowered,and at once reopened their fire, by which their first-lieutenant and several of their own men were killed. The mistake was discovered before the flags had got halfway to the mizen peak, when they were hauled down and hoisted properly. In this brilliant but short action—for between the discharge of the first gun and the conclusion of the fight only fifteen minutes elapsed—the American ship, by way of display, carried more than the ordinary number of flags. She flew three ensigns, one at the mizen, one at the peak, and one, the largest of all, in the starboard main rigging. She had besides, flying at the fore, a large white flag inscribed with the words "Sailors' Rights and Free Trade," with the intention, it was supposed, of damping the energy of theShannon'smen by this favourite American motto. TheShannonhad the Union at the fore and an old rusty blue ensign at the mizen peak, and besides these she had one ensign on the main stay and another in the main rigging, both rolled up and "stopped" ready to be cast loose in case either of the other flags should be shot away.

A similar display of flags occurred on the occasion of the encounter off Valparaiso in 1814 between the British 36-gun frigatePhœbeand the United States 32-gun frigateEssex, which resulted in the capture of the latter. Captain Porter, who commanded the American ship, made an attempt, as in the case of theChesapeake, on the loyalty of thePhœbe'sseamen, by hoisting at his fore top-gallant-masthead the stock motto, "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights." This, in a short time, the British ship answered with the St. George's ensign and the motto, "God and Country—British sailors' best rights: Traitors offend them." Subsequently theEssexhoisted her motto flag at the fore, and another on the mizen mast, with one American ensign at the mizen peak and a second lashed on the main rigging. Not to be outdone in decorations the British ship hoisted her motto flag with a profuse display of ensigns and union jacks, and all these were flying when the American ship was captured.

To hoist false colours in time of war in order to entice an enemy within reach has always been considered legitimate, but it is not allowable to engage, or to commit any hostile act, under them. While it is considered legitimate to mislead, however, it is not legitimate to cheat. An example of what might appear to be a distinction without a difference is afforded by a case which occurred in 1783, when the French shipSybille, a powerful 36-gun frigate, was sighted off Cape Henry by theHussarof 28 guns. TheSybillehad, a few days before, had a drawn fight with one of our ships of the same force, and, in consequence of injuries she had then received, had been dismasted in a puff of wind, and was under jury masts. As she was unable to chase theHussar, she sought to entice her alongside, in order to take her byboarding, and accordingly she hoisted at the peak the French ensign under the English, as if she had been captured. All this was legitimate, and theHussarmight or might not have been deceived by it. But the French captain did something more. He hoisted in the main shrouds an English ensign reversed, and tied in a weft or loop. Now this was a well-known signal of distress—an appeal to a common humanity, which no English officer was ever known to disregard, and theHussarclosed at once. But fortunately her crew were at quarters, and theSybille, hauling down the English flag at the peak and hoisting the French above, endeavoured to run her on board. Her extreme rolling, however, steadied by no sufficient sail, exposed her bottom, and several shots from theHussarwent through her very bilge. By this time another of our ships, theCenturionof 50 guns, had come up, and theSybillestruck her flag—the reversed ensign with its weft, so dishonourably hoisted, remaining in the main shrouds. The English officer who took possession sent the French captain on board theHussar, and he presented his sword to Captain Russell on the quarterdeck. Russell took the sword, broke it across, and threw it on the deck; and sending the Frenchman below, kept him in close confinement in the hold till his arrival in port some days later.[42]

[42]Laughton'sHeraldry of the Sea.

I may mention another case where a legitimate ruse wassuccessfully practised on an enemy by our great naval commander, Lord Cochrane. It occurred in the early part of his brilliant career, when he was cruising in the Mediterranean in his little brig theSpeedy. This small craft, under her daring and skilful commander, had made herself so much an object of terror by the many captures she had made that a Spanish frigate, heavily armed, was fitted out and sent after her. In order to get near theSpeedythe Spaniard was disguised as a merchantman. For the same reason, Lord Cochrane, to lull suspicion and enable him to get near the merchant craft of the enemy, had also disguised his small vessel, and was sailing as a merchant brig under Danish colours. Perceiving the supposed Spanish merchantman, Lord Cochrane at once gave chase, and he only discovered his mistake when his formidable antagonist opened her ports and showed her teeth. At the same time the Spaniard lowered a boat to go on board theSpeedyand see what she was. Discovery and capture were apparently now unavoidable, but Lord Cochrane was equal to the occasion. Hoisting the yellow flag—the dreaded signal of sickness and quarantine—he made straight for the frigate, and, having dressed a petty officer in Danish uniform, on the gangway, he ordered him to hail the boat with the intimation that they were out just two days from Algiers, where it was well known the plague was then violently raging. This was enough. The boat pulledback, and the frigate at once filled and proceeded on her course.

It was a narrow escape; yet the crew of theSpeedycomplained loudly that they had not been allowed to fight the frigate! They had been admirably trained, and had implicit confidence in their brave commander, and thought he was equal to anything. Lord Cochrane was not a man to disregard murmurs uttered in such a direction, and he told them that if they really wanted a fight they would get it with the first enemy they came across, whatever she might be. They had not long to wait before they fell in with a large Spanish zebec, theGamo, which, to the astonishment of the big ship, Lord Cochrane immediately attacked. A fight with the guns could not have lasted long, for the Spanish ship carried 30 heavy guns with a crew of upwards of 300 men, while theSpeedyhad only 14 four-pounders and a crew of 54 all told. Lord Cochrane, therefore, notwithstanding this immense disparity of force, determined, as his only chance, to board the frigate, and this he succeeded in doing, taking his entire crew with him and leaving only the surgeon at the wheel. A deadly hand-to-hand conflict ensued, when, just as his small band were nearly overpowered, Lord Cochrane ordered one of his men to haul down the Spanish colours. This was promptly done, and the Spaniards—their commander having been killed—thinking that their own officers had struck, ceased fighting, and Lord Cochranebecame master of the frigate. How to take care of his numerous prisoners was not a small difficulty, but he succeeded in doing so, and brought his prize safely into Port Mahon. It was one of the most brilliant affairs in the glorious life of this great seaman.

Another interesting example of an enemy's ship being taken in consequence of her colours being hauled down, not by her own officers but by the party assailing, occurred at a much earlier period in an action between the British and Dutch fleets off the English coast. A runaway boy—Thomas Hopson—an apprentice to a tailor in the Isle of Wight, had just before come on board the admiral's ship as a volunteer. In the midst of the action he asked a sailor how long the fight would continue, and was told that it would only cease when the flag of the Dutch admiral was hauled down. The boy did not understand about the striking of colours, but he thought if the hauling down of the flag would stop the fight it might not be difficult to do. As the ships were engaged yard-arm and yard-arm, and veiled in smoke, Hopson at once ran up the shrouds, laid out on the mizen-yard of his own ship, and having gained that of the Dutch admiral he speedily reached the top-gallant-mast head and possessed himself of the Dutch flag, with which he succeeded in returning to his own deck. Perceiving the flag to be struck the British sailors raised a shout of victory, and the Dutch crew, also deceived, ran from their guns. While the astonished admiral and hisofficers were trying in vain to rally their crew the English boarded the ship and carried her. For this daring service the boy was at once promoted to the quarter-deck, and he rose to be a distinguished admiral under Queen Anne.

In time of peace it is considered an insult to hoist the flag of one friendly nation over that of another. This has given rise to an order that national flags are not to be used for decoration or in dressing ships. This order has reference more particularly to two flags, which are in ordinary use as signal flags. One of these is the French tricolour, but with the red and blue transposed; the other is the Dutch flag turned upside down, and there are two pendants to match. An unintentional departure from this rule gave rise to some unpleasantness on one occasion in the early part of this century. On the 23d of April, 1819, the English frigateEuryalus, lying at St. Thomas in the West Indies, had dressed ship in honour of St. George's day—the fête of the Prince Regent—and in doing so had made use of the blue, white, and red flag, which four years before had been the national flag of France. A three-coloured pennant hung down from the spanker boom and trailed in the water, and another three-coloured flag was at the lower end of the line pendant from the flying boom.This was observed by the French Rear-admiral Duperré, who was there in theGloire, and he demanded and received apologies for what he conceived to be an insult offered to a flag which had lately been the flag of France, and under which he and many of his officers and men had served.[43]

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