ENSIGN, in the military art, a banner or colours under which soldiers are ranged, according to the different companies or parties they belong to. See FLAG, COLOURS, STANDARD, &c.
The Turkish ensigns are horses tails; those of the Europeans are pieces of taffety, with divers figures, colours, arms, and devices thereon. Xenophon tells us, that the ensign bore by the Persians was a golden eagle on a white flag; the Corinthians bore the winged horse, or Pegasus, in theirs; the Athenians, an owl; the Messenians, the Greek letter M; the Lacedæmonians, the . The Romans had a great diversity of ensigns; the wolf, minotaur, horse, boar, and at length the eagle, where they stopped: this was first assumed in the second year of the consulate of Marius†.—A military ensign on a medal of a Roman colony, denotes it a colony peopled with old soldiers.
ENSIGN is also the officer that carries the colours, being the lowest commissioned officer in a company of foot, subordinate to the captain and lieutenant. It is a very honourable and proper post for a young gentleman at his first coming into the army: he is to carry the colours both in assault, day of battle, &c. and should not quit them but with his life: he is always to carry them himself on his left shoulder: only on a march he may have them carried by a soldier. If the ensign is killed, the captain is to carry the colours in his stead.