There is an exception made in these proportions in the case of the flags carried by the troops, in which case the sizes are established by special orders for the Army and Navy.
For the small flags flown by the small boats and launches of the ships of war and other government ships the executive order places the number of stars in the union at thirteen on account of the fact that the identity of the several stars would be lost if the whole number of forty-eight were used.
The Union Jack is a flag consisting of the union of the national flag, and it is flown at the jackstaff in the bow of ships of war. Its size should be the same as that of the union of the flag with which it is flown.
A pennant is triangular shaped, in some cases having a V-shaped notch cut in the outer end of the fly.
The “commission pennant” is long and narrow, the portion next the hoist, or mast, having a blue field with thirteen white stars and the remainder being divided longitudinally into two parts, red and white. It is flown at the mainmast head of all ships in commission which have no officer on board above the rank of Captain in the Navy, and indicates that the ship carrying it is “in commission,” or on active service.
On ships of war carrying an officer senior in rank to a Captain the prescribed distinctive flag for such officer is flown at the mainmast head in place of the commission pennant, and the ship is known as a “Flagship.”
Naval officers above the rank of Captain in the Navy are called “Flag Officers.”
These distinctive flags of higher command are shown in the illustrations. When two or more flag officers of the same grade are in the same fleet the senior one flies the blue flag of his grade and all the others fly the red flag of the grade.
On any one ship of war only the distinctive flag of the senior officer of flag or higher rank is flown; thus, if the President is aboard an Admiral’s flagship the flag of the President is flown but not that of the Admiral.
In former times the flag was carried into the front line of battle by the troops who used it as their rallying point, but in the battles of to-day, where every attempt is made to disguise and screen the lines of troops from the enemy, the flags and standards of the brigades and regiments would serve to mark the exact position of the lines and thus convey valuable information to the enemy and enable him to concentrate the fire of artillery and machine guns upon them. Therefore the flags are kept far in the rear to be carried in parades and ceremonies only or when the victorious troops march in triumph through the streets of cities captured from the enemy.