| ADMIRAL | VICE ADMIRAL | REAR ADMIRAL SENIOR IN RANK |
| For junior in rank, red field |
| SENIOR OFFICER’S PENNANT | COMMISSION PENNANT |
ENSIGNS, FLAGS AND PENNANTS.
CHAPTER III
ENSIGNS, FLAGS AND PENNANTS
The National Flag of a country is the flag which bears the device of the nation, the emblem by which the nationality of the state is shown.
An Ensign is the flag or insignia used to show the nationality of the armed forces of a nation; more properly speaking, it is the colors displayed by a ship of war or carried by a regiment of soldiers.
In some countries flags of different designs from those of their national flags are prescribed to be carried by the troops of the armies or displayed as “colors” by the ships of war, but in the United States of America the National Flag, the “Stars and Stripes,” is carried by the Army and displayed as the colors by all ships of the Navy.
The flag of the United States was authorized by a resolution of Congress of June 14, 1777, reading as follows: