British Flags: Their Early History, and Their Development at Sea: With an Account of the Origin of the Flag as a National DevicePerrin, William Gordon
History
British Flags: Their Early History, and Their Development at Sea: With an Account of the Origin of the Flag as a National Device
Perrin, William Gordon
Flags -- Great Britain
If any Galley shall stray from the
Captain, in order to recognise it, if
by day, the Captain makes smoke
on the prow and seeing that signal
the galley which had separated shall
answer by the same signal, and then
the Captain shall order a flag to be
raised on the forward end of the
poop on the right side; and with the
same signal he is to answer and the
Captain shall order to raise a square
flag on the left side of the prow, and
likewise that galley is to answer and
make the aforesaid signal. The Captain
will raise the Ensign of St Mark
and this the galley ought to answer,
and be very attentive not to go
alongside if it does not well recognise
the above signals.
Item the Captain, cruising in any
place, ... not wishing any commander
to lower his boat into the water, will
launch his own boat and raise his
flag on the windward side of the
poop forward, and in this case no
one shall lower his boat as long as
the said flag is hoisted, and if any
does so it shall be under the penalty
which he thinks fit.
Item if the Captain wishes all the
commanders to come to him, he will
put his flag to windward, on the
poop near the ladder, inclined towards
the prow, and then they must
go to him because otherwise he
would have to send for them.
The Venetian orders contain no provision for calling a Council, but
they include two flag signals for calling up the galleys to take
orders. Possibly the Venetians, anticipating Drake, did not assent
to the scriptural dictum that in the multitude of councillors is
wisdom. In the Castilian Instructions there is not only provision for
calling a council by day, by hoisting the royal pendant, but also for
calling an informal council at night. In daytime the captain and a
boatswain[353] from each galley had to come in a boat on board the
Admiral, but at night each galley ranged up with the Admiral in turn,
spoke with him, and then fell off again. Another signal not found
in the Venetian Instructions is that for calling assistance; in the
Castilian Instructions this is to be done by raising the royal pendant.
There are two signals for discovery of a fleet in those instructions;
if the fleet was recognised as an enemy the sighting galley hoisted
the royal pendant and rushed off to tell the Admiral all about it,
without attempting to denote by signal the number of ships, but if it
was merely a strange fleet the sighting galley contented itself with
hoisting a flag to the masthead and raising and lowering it as many
times as there were ships. The first galley to sight land raised a
flag to the masthead, kept it there a short time, and then lowered
it. The recognition signal differs from that provided in the Venetian
orders, but it contains the same serious defect found in most of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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