Distinctive Flags of Officers.

may be assembled, the senior officer present for the time being, when not already authorized to wear a mark or flag of higher significance, shall wear, in like manner, the mark of a senior officer until he may fall in with a superior, or senior officer in command.

131....No Divisional Commander is to wear the distinctive mark of one when separated singly from the squadron and station to which he belongs; and no officer wearing such distinctive mark, or that of a senior officer present, is, in consequence thereof, to assume any additional title, to allow himself to be addressed by any other than his commission bespeaks, or to permit his vessel to be designated as a flag-ship.

132....Any officer commanding a vessel of the Navy, except one on board which a flag, broad pendant, divisional, or senior officer's mark may be worn, shall wear a narrow pendant at the main. This pendant is to be regarded not as an emblem of rank, but rather as significant of command, and that the vessel is of a public character.

133....All officers of and above the grade of Lieutenant Commander may wear at the bow of the boat in which they may be embarked a flag or pendant of the same character which they are entitled to wear at the mast-head of their respective vessels; but no divisional flag, nor flag of a senior officer, shall be worn in the bow of boats.

134...The distinctive flag or broad pendant of a Commander-inChief, or of the Commander of a squadron, shall be worn only when he is actually in command of such squadron, nor shall it be worn by any vessel in a port of the United States during his absence from that port for a longer period than twenty-four hours. The senior officer present in such cases is, for the time being, to wear his distinctive mark, to issue all necessary orders, and to obey any directions that may have been, or may be, given to him by said Commander.

135....When the Commander-in-Chief of a fleet or squadron, in a foreign port, shall absent himself therefrom, and from the vessels under his authority, to remain away more than twenty-four hours, yet temporarily, his flag or pendant is not to be struck, but it is to be kept hoisted on board the vessel serving as his flag-ship, if either the officer commanding her or the Captain of the Fleet is next to him in rank ; otherwise it is for the time being to be hoisted on board the vessel commanded by the officer who may be next to him in rank, and such

Distinctive Flags of Officers ---- General Instructions.

officer is to issue all necessary orders, and to carry out any instructions that may have been, or may be, given by said Commander-in-Chief.

136.... No officer left temporarily in the place of a Commander-inChief is to assume, or to allow himself to be addressed by, any higher title than his commission bespeaks, nor is he, in his written communications, to subscribe himself otherwise than, after his rank, as the senior officer present.

137....Rear-Admirals in command of shore stations are to wear the distinctive flag to which they may be entitled, and to hoist it on board the receiving vessel; or, if there be no such vessel thereat, at any suitable place in the yard. Commodores in such command who have, by order of the Department, commanded a squadron, are to wear a broad pendant, and to so hoist it.

ARTICLE IV.

General Instructions.

138....The attention of all persons belonging to the Navy is particularly called to the laws for the government of the Navy, and to all general orders and regulations of the Navy Department which now exist or may be issued hereafter.

139....Hereafter every general order issued by this Department, or published by authority, will be read to the officers and crew by the Executive Officer on board of every naval vessel, at the first general muster subsequent to its receipt, and entered upon the ship's log. All officers are directed to preserve a copy of each general order and circular.

140....Although particular duties are prescribed for officers and others in the following instructions, yet it is to be distinctly understood that it is not intended to confine or limit them to those specified, but every person is enjoined to promote, by zeal and energy, the efficiency of the service.

141....Authority is to be exercised with firmness, but with kindness and justice to inferiors.

142....Officers will bear in mind that the authority to punish offences is strictly defined by law; no deviation therefrom will be tolerated.

General Instructions.

143....All persons in the Navy are to be constant in attention to their duties, never absenting themselves therefrom without the consent of their immediate Commanding Officer, nor remaining out of the vessel to which they may belong during the night, after sunset, without express permission from the Commander of the vessel, or from the Commander-in-Chief of the fleet or squadron.

144....Every officer or other person of the Navy shall treat with respect his superior, or any one having authority over him, and is required to set an example of morality, subordination, and devotion to duty.

145....If any person in the Navy consider himself oppressed by his superior, or observe in him any misconduct, he is not on that account to fail in his respect to him, but he is to represent, through the proper channel, such oppression or misconduct to the proper authority. But in all cases such person will be held accountable if his representations should be found vexatious, frivolous, or false.

146....If any person belonging to the Navy shall know of any fraud, collusion, or improper conduct on the part of any agent, contractor, or other person employed in matters connected with the naval service, he shall report the same, in writing, through the proper channel, to the proper authority; but he must, in all cases, specify the particular acts of misconduct, and the means of proving the same, for he will be held strictly accountable for any frivolous or vexatious charges he may present.

147....If an officer receive an order from a superior contrary to any particular order of any other superior, or to instructions, or general orders from the Department, he shall respectfully represent, in writing, such contrariety to such superior, and if, after such representation, the superior shall still insist upon the execution of his order, it is to be obeyed, and the officer receiving and executing it, is to report the circumstances to the one from whom he received the original order.

148....Every officer who shall divert another from any service upon which he shall have been ordered by a common superior, or require him to act contrary to the orders of such superior, or interfere with those under his command, must show to the Department, or to the officer under whose command he may be acting, that the public interest required the procedure.

General Instructions.

149. -All orders countermanding a written order from a common superior shall be given in writing.

150....No person in the Navy shall, without the authority of his superior or Commanding Officer, exchange with another for the performance of any duty with which he may be charged.

151....When any officer, whether in command of a fleet, squadron, or single vessel, shall meet with his superior or senior officer, also in command, he shall visit him in person, show him his orders or instructions, and consider himself under his command for the time being. If he shall have received confidential orders, he is at once to inform his superior of that fact, and he must not be delayed in the execution of such orders by his superior without an overruling necessity therefor, of which the Department must be informed in detail, at the earliest possible moment; in all cases of such interference, the original instructions must be carried out as soon thereafter as practicable, and full report upon the subject forwarded to the authority which issued such confidential orders.

152....Any officer who may be sent on detached duty, and who may arrive within the limits of a port or station commanded by an officer belonging to the same fleet or squadron, shall always communicate with such Commanding Officer, either in person or by letter, according as he may be junior or senior to such officer, before proceeding to execute any part of the duty with which he may be charged within such limits, unless otherwise directed by their common superior, or the position of such Commanding Officer, or other imperative circumstances would cause a delay prejudicial to the service. Such officer will always communicate with the Commanding Officer of the port or station before leaving it, in order that an opportunity may be afforded to send reports or despatches in case there should be no regular means of communication between him and the Commander-in-Chief or Navy Department.

153....Boats shall not be regarded as being on detached duty while engaged in the ordinary service of the ship to which they belong. Une ss specially fitted for an expedition for which a regular detail of officers and men is made, or unless separated from the ship by unavoidable or unforseen circumstances, they shall be regarded as attached to

General Instructions.

her, and no officer in such cases shall assume authority on the ground that he is engaged on detached duty.

154.... When two or more vessels are in company, whether belonging to the same squadron or not, the senior officer present will regulate the motions of all.

155....No deviation shall be made from the directions of the Navy Department in relation to the construction, repair, arrangement, armament, or equipment of vessels without its previous sanction, or in cases of absolute necessity occurring abroad, of the Commander-in-Chief, or in his absence, of the senior officer present, and then the nature of the alteration, effects produced, and costs are to be reported to the Depart ment at the earliest moment practicable. Nor shall any change be made in the fixtures or furniture of officers' apartments without such sanction, and if made for private convenience, no article substituted for that allowed shall be removed, even though it may have been purchased by the officer desiring the change.

156....Every officer is strictly enjoined to avoid all unnecessary expenditures of public money or stores, and as far as may be in his power, to prevent the same in others, and to encourage the strictest economy consistent with the interests of the service. All persons in the Navy are hereby held answerable for any wasteful or improper expense they may direct, authorize, or knowingly permit.

157...No article of public stores is ever to be appropriated to the private use of any person not in distress, without the consent of the Navy Department, or the order of the senior officer present in command, who shall give to the Department early information of every case that may occur, together with the attending circumstances, and he shall, in every instance, be careful to take the best security for future indemnity to the government that the nature of it will admit. 158....In all cases of real distress, gratuitous assistance is to be offered to the fullest extent practicable.

159... Mechanics on board vessels on foreign stations may be allowed to repair vessels of the merchant service of the United States in cases where a refusal to do so would of necessity impose injurious delays or greatly increase expenses. For such services they may receive such compensation as may be properly offered and their Com