Flags of the Confederate States Navy
Illustration of a three masted ship demonstating
placement of the ensign, commission pennant, and jack.
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
The Navy Ensign
CS Navy Ensign as prescribed by the Regulations of 26 May 1863
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
The ensign of the Confederate States Navy was the same as the national flag, that pattern from 1863 to 1865 being the design known as the Stainless Banner. It was flown from the stern of a ship, usually from a gaff on ships rigged for sail, and on an ensign staff on steamers without sails and ironclad gunboats.
Twenty-five days after the Stainless Banner became the official Confederate flag, the Secretary of the Navy issued regulations governing navy ensigns. Rather than the 1:2 ratio officially prescribed for the national flag, the regulations called for the ensign to have a length one and one-half times the width of the ensign. In fact, the national flags actually made for the army corresponded to the proportions of the navy regulations.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
The Commission Pennant
CS Navy Commission Pennant, 1863
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
A commission pennant indicates that the ship on which it is flown is commissioned in the naval service of its government. Only naval vessels (or in some cases, other vessels in government service) fly a commission pennant.
The new commission pennant prescribed in the 1863 regualtions was based on the design of the new ensign. There are, however, no extant examples of a commission pennant conforming to the regulations.
Variant of the Commission Pennant
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
from a sketch by Howard M. Madaus
There is one surviving CS Navy commission pennant which, while not conforming to regulations, is patterned on the Stainless Banner. It does have a white field, but rather than the elaborate arrangement set forth in the regulations, the union is a red field with a white bordered blue saltire. There are no stars on this pennant.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
The Navy Jack
Jack of the CSS Atlanta
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000
A jack is a small flag flown at the bow of a ship. It is not flown while the ship is at sea, but only when at port, or while entering or leaving a port. The staff from which a jack is flown is often removed when the ship is underway. It is said that this was to keep it clear of the forward field of fire in combat.
By tradition inherited from the Royal Navy, the jack of the US Navy is the union of the ensign. The CS Navy carried forward this tradition. Therefore, the 1863 jack was a rectangular version of the battleflag canton of the ensign. The 1863 jack, as a result, is similar in design to the Battle Flag used in the Army of Tennessee from late 1863 to 1865.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., 05 February 2000