British Flags: Their Early History, and Their Development at Sea / With an Account of the Origin of the Flag as a National Device

by William Gordon Perrin

Further development of this code ceased in 1782 on Kempenfelt's tragic end in the 'Royal George.'

PLATE XIII — Numerary Signal Flags, (1790-1810)

From 1783 to 1788 Howe held office as First Lord of the Admiralty, and seems to have devoted part of his time to the improvement of the tactics of the Fighting Instructions and of their accompanying signals. He elaborated a new signal book, which he introduced into the navy on taking command of the Channel fleet. In this new book he abandoned the "tabular" method so far as the bulk of the signals—the Admiral's signals—were concerned, employing instead the simple numerary method, and for these numerals he chose the flags that were afterwards, in their transposed meanings, used at Trafalgar. For this reason, and because it was the code used on the "glorious First of June," and at Camperdown, and was the basis of those used at St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar, it is important to consider it in some detail.

This second numerary code of Howe, the Signal Book for the Ships of War of 1790, is a quarto[384] volume of 85 pages.

After three pages of explanatory instructions relative to the method of making the signals, distinctness, destruction of signal books in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, etc., follow two pages relative to the triangular distinguishing flags of squadrons. We then come to the Admiral's signals—nearly 200 in number, commencing at 10. These were, as already stated, in the "simple numerary" system invented by La Bourdonnais, in which each signal number is represented by the numeral flags corresponding to the figures composing it.

The numeral flags, five of which—Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7—are new to us, are shown in the accompanying plate. Each of these numeral flags had, however, another signification when hoisted singly, as follows:

1. Enemy in sight.
2. Form in order of sailing by divisions.
3. Form established order of sailing.
4. Take and keep stations.
5. Engage the enemy.
6. Signal not understood.
7. To chase.
8. To anchor.
9. Leave off chase.
0. Negative answer.

In addition to these, the following flags were to be used:

White cross on red ground.—Affirmative answer.