HEnsigns are flags which are flown by ships at sea. The British EnsignsHhelped establish the customs still used for flying flags at sea. TheyHalso influenced the flags of a number of nations and territories which/are or were at one time under British dominion.HIn 1620, the British fleet was divided into three squadrons under theHcommand of three Admirals. To distinguish the ships at a distance, theHships in the Senior Admiral's squadron flew plain Red Ensigns; those inHthe Vice Admiral's squadron flew plain Blue Ensigns; and those in the1Rear Admiral's squadron flew plain White Ensigns.HIn 1625, the Cross of Saint George, representing England, was added to1the canton, or upper left corner, of the ensigns.HIn 1663, the British fleet was made smaller and no longer needed threeHseparate ensigns. The navy retained the White Ensign, while the BlueHEnsign was flown by non-military state vessels. The Red Ensign wasDdesignated for use by civilian ships, particularly merchant vessels.HAlthough the kingdoms of England and Scotland had been united in 1603,Hand their flags joined together to create the Union Flag [see the "U.K.HHistory"], the navies of the two kingdoms were initially kept separate.HBut in 1707, the navies of England and Scotland were joined, and so theHSaint George Crosses in the cantons of the ensigns were replaced by theHUnion Flag. The White Ensign was further modified to include a largeHSaint George Cross so that it would not be mistaken for a Flag of Truce.HIn 1801, Ireland was also made a part of the United Kingdom, and theHUnion Flag was modified to reflect this [See again the "U.K. History"].BEach of the ensigns were also modified, incorporating this change.HMany flags have been derived from the British Ensigns. The flags of NewHZealand and Australia are direct modifications of the Blue Ensign. TheHflags of Ontario and Taiwan are examples of flags which are based on theHRed Ensign. See also the "United States Special Menu" for the historyDof how the United States Flag developed from the British Red Ensign.
1620-1625
1625-1707
1707-1801
New Zealand(G90,140L-5,4N6L-7,-1L6,-3L-3,-5L6,2L3,-6(G90,140L5,4N6L7,-1L-6,-3L3,-5L-6,2L-3,-6 Australia
Ontario
TaiwanU
Confederate Naval Jack
Confed. Naval Jack HOn 20 December 1860, one month after the election of President AbrahamHLincoln, South Carolina seceded from the United States and declaredHitself to be an independent republic. A red flag with a large whiteHstar and a white crescent was adopted by the republic. This flag was9flown by South Carolinian ships throughout the Civil War.HAs other southern states also began to secede, a similar blue flag (butHwithout the crescent) was flown throughout the South, and came to be known as the "Bonnie Blue Flag".HBy February 1861, seven states had seceded from the United States andHhad formed the Confederate States of America. At this time, severalAdesigns were put forward for an official flag for the new nation.HThe design finally chosen was based on the flag of the United States andHcame to be known as the "Stars and Bars". This flag was flown on landHand as the Naval Ensign of the Confederacy. Following the British (andHAmerican) custom, the Confederacy also used the canton of the Naval?Ensign for its jack (a small flag flown at the prow of a ship).HBy September 1861, there were 11 states in the Confederacy, and factionsHin Missouri and Kentucky also sought to join. The "Stars and Bars" flag8was modified to include 13 stars, as was the Naval Jack.HAlso at this time it was decided that a new flag, based on one of theHoriginally proposed Confederate flags should be used by the ConfederateHArmy, since the similarity between the Stars and Bars and the UnitedHStates Flag was causing confusion on the battlefield. This Army Flag)came to be known as the "Southern Cross".HBy early 1862, because of continued discontent over the similarityHbetween the Stars and Bars and the United States Flag, new flags beganHto be considered for the Confederacy. In April of that year a flag wasHproposed which featured a sun with as many rays as there were states in/the Confederacy, but this flag was not adopted.HIn April 1863, a different flag was proposed which featured white andHblue stripes with the Army Flag in the canton. A variation of this sameHflag substituted a red border for the blue stripe. The version finallyFaccepted omitted both. This flag was known as the "Stainless Banner".HSince the canton of the new flag had changed, the Naval Jack was changedHto correspond to this canton. The resulting jack was thus identical toBthe originally proposed Confederate flag (except with more stars).HIn Apr 1865 it was decided that the white field of the Confederate FlagHcould be mistaken for a flag of truce, and so a vertical red stripe wasHadded to the flag. Only a month later, however, the Civil War was over3and the Confederate States of America were no more.HThe flags of the Confederacy have left their influence on a number ofHU.S. state flags (such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas), and theHConfederate Naval Jack has survived as the unofficial Flag of the South."South Carolina Republic 1860-1861
Bonnie Blue Flag 1860-1861!Stars and Bars Mar 1861-Sep 1861
Mar 1861-Sep 1861!Stars and Bars Sep 1861-May 1863
Sep 1861-May 1863#Confederate Army Sep 1861-Apr 1865<G132,111n37e56s37s1sw1s3sw1s1sw3l-23,9l-23,-9nw3n1nw1n3nw1n1
May 1863-Apr 1865%Confederate States Mar 1865-Apr 1865
Alabama#Proposed Confederate Flag Apr 1863
Mississippi&Confederate Naval Jack / Flag of South
ArkansasU
HThe use of flags to represent different nations first emerged during theHCrusades in the 1200s. These flags were used in order to distinguishHthe armies of the different countries. Most of these were simple two-;color flags, usually with large stripes or crosses on them.HThe flag adopted by the English was white, bearing a red Cross of SaintHGeorge, whose exploits had inspired the British soldiers and who had soHbecome the patraon saint of England. The Scottish adopted a blue flagHbearing a white Cross of Saint Andrew, the type of cross on which this=patron saint of Scotland was martyred according to tradition.HIn 1603, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were joined togetherHunder the rule of James I, and the island of Great Britain was unitedHinto one kingdom for the first time. To establish a flag for thisHunion, the flag of England was to be combined with the flag of Scotland.8Several different designs for this flag were considered.HIn 1606, the official design for the Union Flag was determined. TheHEnglish Cross of Saint George was superimposed over the Scottish CrossHof Saint Andrew in a way which attempted to give each Cross equal promi-
nence.HYet the 1606 Union Flag was not universally accepted for some time. InHthe period when the British monarchy was deposed (1649 - 1660), OliverHCromwell preferred a flag with the crosses set in opposite corners. InHScotland, for many years an alternate version of the official Union Flag9was flown which gave dominance to the Saint Andrew Cross.HIn 1801 (long after the official 1606 Union Flag had reached universalHacceptance), Ireland was brought under British rule as an equal kingdomHwith England and Scotland. A flag representing [now Northern] IrelandH(white, bearing a red so-called Cross of Saint Patrick) was incorporatedHinto the Union Flag, forming the new "Union Jack", the official flag of9the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Austria 1200s on
Denmark 1200s on
1200s on
France 1200s-1300s
Rejected Union Flag Design
Union Flag 1606-1801
Cromwell's Union Flag
Scottish Version of Union Flag
Ireland
UNITED KINGDOMU
HMany of the flags used in the pre-revolutionary American Colonies wereHbased on the British "Red Ensign" of the time. [See the "United KingdomHSpecial Menu" for histories of the British flag and ensigns.] TheseHflags all influenced the eventual design of the U.S. Flag, including theH1769 Colonial Union Flag, which used red and white stripes to symbolize
the 13 colonies.HThe first official United States flag was the "Grand Union Flag" orH"Continental Colors", which modified the British Red Ensign to includeHwhite stripes imposed over the red field to form 13 stripes representingCthe 13 colonies. The Grand Union Flag was flown from 1775 to 1777.HIn 1777, the Second Continental Congress modified the Grand Union Flag,Hreplacing the British Union Jack with a blue field containing 13 whiteHstars representing the 13 states, demonstrating clearly that the nationHhad broken away from Britain. The number of points on the stars variedHanywhere from four to eight, as did the arrangement of the stars. ThisHfirst version of the "Stars and Stripes" was flown until 1795. It wasCthe first National Flag of any country to utilize stars as symbols.HDuring the early years of the United States, the design of the Stars andHStripes was not strictly adhered to. One variation even kept the Union8Jack, but with stars in place of the Saint Andrew Cross.HIn 1795, after Vermont and Kentucky were added to the union, the numberEof stars and stripes was increased to 15, and remained so until 1818.HBy 1818, five more states had joined the union. It was decided that theHnumber of stripes should return to 13, representing the 13 originalHstates, but that a new star should be added with each new state. FromH1818 to 1912 the number of stars grew from 20 to 48, but still there was4no standardization for the arrangement of the stars.HSince 1912, when the 48th star was added, the arrangement of the starsHhas been announced by executive order of the President, and the starsHalways have five points. The 48-star flag was flown until 1959, making?it the version of the Stars and Stripes maintained the longest.HIn 1959, Alaska joined the union, and in 1960, Hawaii became a state,Hbringing the total number of stars to 50, and the United States Flag
reached its present form.HThe flag of the United States has influenced the flags of a number ofHother countries, including Malaysia, Chile, and Liberia (founded byHfreed American slaves who wished to return to Africa), and several of
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