SIGNALS. 



ftriking the bell, or beating the drum ; thofe which are 

 made by difplaying pendants, enfigns, and flags, of dif- 

 ferent colours ; or by lowering or altering the pofition of 

 the fails ; and thofe which are executed by rockets of dif- 

 / fcrent kinds ; by firing cannon or fmall arms ; by artificial 

 fire-works ; and by lanthorns. See Telegraph. 



The fignals by the drum, made ufe of in military exercife, 

 Inllead of the word of command, are as follow : a (hort 

 roll, q. d. to caution ; a flam, to perform any diftinft ope- 

 ration ; to arms, to form the line or battalion ; the march, 

 to advance, except when intended for a lalutc ; the quick 

 inarch, to advance quick ; the point of war, to march and 

 charge ; the retreat, to retreat ; drum ceafing, to halt ; two 

 fhort rolls, to perform the flank-firing ; the dragoon march, 

 to open the battalion ; the grenadier march, to form the co- 

 lumn ; the troop, to double divifions ; the long roll, to form 

 the fquare ; the grenadier march, to reduce the fquarc to the 

 column ; the preparative, to make ready and tire ; the gene- 

 ral, to ceafe firing ; two long rolk, to bring or lodge the 

 colours. 



Signals have been in ufe in all ages : the ancients, who had 

 no regular couriers, or polls, made ufe of them to convey 

 inteUigence of what palled at a great diltance ; for which 

 purpofe, they placed fentinels on the eminences, from fpace 

 to fpace ; fome mention of which we find made by Homer 

 himfelf, Iliad e. v. 553, &c. OdyflT. s. v. 261. Thofe peo- 

 ple, thus difpofed, lighted fires, or flambeaux, in the 

 night-time. In the Agamemnon of iEfchylus, that prince, 

 at his departure for Troy, promifcs Clytemnellra, that, the 

 very day the city fliould be taken, he would apprize her of 

 his viftory by fires, lighted exprefs. He keeps his word, 

 and tidings are brought tlie princefs, that Troy is taken, 

 and that Agamemnon's fignals are feen. 



Frontinus obferves they were in ufe among the Arabs ; 

 and Bonaventura Vulcanias, in his fcholia on Ariilotle's 

 book De Mundo, adds, that, while the Moors were mailers 

 of the greateft part of Spain, they built on the tops of 

 the mountains an infinity of turrets, or watch-houfes, called, 

 in the Arabic, atalayas, a word the Spaniards dill retain ; 

 whence, by fires, they could immediately alarm tlie whole 

 kingdom. Indeed the cuflom was much more ancient than 

 the Moors in Spain. Q. Curtius obferves, it wa^ very fre- 

 quent among the Afiatics, in the time of Alexander : Livy 

 and Cxfar, alfo, both mention it as ufed among the Romans. 

 Polydore Virgil Ihews it of great antiquity in England ; 

 and Boethius adds, that, in feveral places in England, 

 there were the remains of huge poles that have fcrved for 

 this purpofe. 



Signals at Sea, are figns made by the admiral, or com- 

 mander-in-chief of a fquadron of Ihips, either in the day, 

 or by night, whether for faihng, for fighting, or for the 

 better fecurity of the merchant-lhips under their convoy. 

 See Engagement. 



Thefe fignals are very numerous, and important ; being 

 all appointed and determined by order of the lord lugh ad- 

 miral, and lords of the admiralty, and communicated m the 

 inllruftions fent to the commander of every fliip of the fleet, 

 or fquadron, before their putting out to fea. It is by the 

 combination of fignals, previoufly known, that the admiral 

 conveys orders to his fleet ; every fquadron, every divilion, 

 and every (hip of which has its particular fignal. The in- 

 llrudtion may, therefore, occafionally be given to the whole 

 fleet, or to any of its fquadrons, to any divifion of thofe 

 fqu.idrons, or to any (hip of thofe divifions. Hence tlie fig- 

 jial of command may at the fame time be difplayed for three 

 divifions, and for three ftiips of each divifion ; or for three 

 ihips in each fquadron, and for only nine rtiips in the whole 



fleet. For, the general fignal of the fleet being fliewn, if a 

 particular pendant be alfo thrown out from fome remarkable 

 place on the lame mad with the general fignal, it will commu- 

 nicate intelligence to nine (hips that wear the fame pendant. 



The preparatory lignal given by the admiral to the whole, 

 or any part of his fleet, is immediately anfvix-red by thofe to 

 whom it is direAcd ; by (hewing the fame fignal, to tedify 

 that they are ready to execute his orders. Having obferved 

 their anfwers, he will (hew the fignal which is to direcl their 

 operations : as, to chafe, to form the fine, to begin the en- 

 gagement, to board, to double upon the enemy, to rally or 

 return to aftion, to difcontinue the fight, to retreat and fave 

 themf<:lvcs. The dexterity of working the (hips in a fleet 

 depends on the precife moment of executing thefe orders, and 

 on the general harmony of their movements ; a circumllance 

 which evinces the utility of a fignal of preparation. 



As the extent of the line of battle, and the fire and fmoke 

 of the aftion, or other circumdances in navigation, will 

 often prevent the admiral's fignals from being feen through- 

 out the fleet, they are always repeated by the officers next 

 in command ; by diips appointed to repeat fignals ; and, 

 finally, by the Ihip or (hips for which they are intended. 

 The diips that repeat the fignal, befides the chiefs of 

 fquadrons or divifions, are ulually frigates lying to wind- 

 ward or leeward of the line. Thefe fliould be extremely vi- 

 gilant to obferve and repeat the fignals, whether they are 

 to tranfmit the orders of the commanders-in-chief, or his 

 fcconds, to any part of the fleet ; or to report the fortunate 

 or didrelsfiil fituation of any part thereof. By this means, 

 all the (hips from the van to the rear will, uiilefs difabled, be 

 ready at a moment's warning to put the admiral's defign in 

 execution. To preferve order in the repetition of fignals, 

 and to favour their communication, without embarrafi'ment, 

 from the commander-in-chief to the diip for which they are 

 defigned, the commanders of the fquadrons repeat after the 

 admiral; the chiefs of the divifions, according to their order 

 in the line, after the commanders of the fquadrons ; and the 

 particular (hips, after the chiefs of the divifions ; and thofe, 

 in return, after the particular (hips, vice ver/u, when the 

 objed is to convey any intelligence from the latter CtJ the 

 admiral. Befides the fignals above-mentioned, th..,'e are 

 others for different ranks of officers ; as for captains, lieu- 

 tenants, mailers, &c. or for any of thole officers of a pecu- 

 liar (hip. Falconer. 



Signal-flags are hoided at the mizen-peek, &c. ; night- 

 fignals are made with lanthorns, and arc hoided by the lame 

 haliards as the flags. Since November 1805, the red flag 

 at the main-maft has been the fird in rank after the union 

 flag. Sec Flag. 



Signals by Day. When tlie commander-in-chief would 

 have them prepare for failing, he lird loofes his forc-topfail, 

 and then the whole licet is to do the fame. When he 

 would have them unmoor, he looles his main-topfail, and 

 fires a gun, which, in the royal navy, is to be anfwered by 

 every flag-(hip. When he would have them weigh, he 

 loofes his forc-topfail, and fires a gnn, and fometimes hauls 

 iiome his (hceta ; the gun is to be anfwered by every flag- 

 Ihip, and every fliip is to get to (ail as foon a< it can. If 

 with the keward-fide, the llcrnmod (liip is to weigh firlf. 

 When he would have the weathcr-inoll and head-moll Ihips 

 to tack lird, he hoids the union-flag at the fore-topmall- 

 head, and fires a gun, which each llaglhip anfwers; but if 

 he would have the dern-moft and leeward mod (liips to tack 

 fird, he lioills the union-flag at the mizen tO])niad-head, and 

 fires a gun ; and when he would have all the whole fleet 

 tack, he hoids an union both on the fore and mi/.eii-lop. 

 raad-hcads, and fires a gun. Wheu, in liad weather, he 



would 



