in the military art, a flag or banner under which soldiers are ranged according to the different companies or parties to which they belong.

The Turkish ensigns are horses' tails; those of the European nations generally are made of silk, and ornamented with divers figures, colours, arms, and devices. We learn from Xenophon that the ensign borne by the Persians was a golden eagle on a white ground; the Corinthian standard was the winged horse or Pegasus; the Athenians adopted the owl; the Messenians the Greek letter M; the Macedonians the A. The Romans, at different times, had various ensigns, as the wolf, minotaur, horse, and boar; till at length they assumed the eagle, in the second year of the consulate of Marius. A military ensign on a medal of a Roman colony indicates a colony peopled with veterans.

Ensign is also the designation of the officer who carries the colours. He is the lowest commissioned officer in a company of infantry. See COMMISSION, Military.

NAVAL ENSIGN, a large standard or banner hoisted over the poop of a ship on a long pole called the ensign staff. It is used to distinguish ships of different nations, or to characterize the different squadrons of the same navy. The British ensign in ships of war is known by a double cross, viz. that of St George and St Andrew, formed upon a field which is either red, white, or blue.