CAPTAIN, in its general application refers to the leader, master, chief or person of similar status in any walk of life, as illustrated in Deut. i. 15—"So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you, Captains over thousands, and Captains over hundreds, and Captains over fifties and Captains over tens, and officers among your tribes." In the realm of sport the "Captain of the side" exists in all team games. "Captains of Industry" is also another common ex pression. The word is derived from Lat. caput, the head ; Ger. Hauptman; Sp. Capitan; It. Capitano.
In its limited sense it applies to a definite rank of an officer in the fighting services. It is the oldest military rank extant and implied a far higher command before the 16th century than it does now. Even in the military sense a great commander of whatever rank is sometimes referred to as a "Great Captain." The mediaeval rank of "captain-general" was equal to com and it persisted in that general sense to the 18th century. In 1772 the Prince of Wales was appointed Captain General of the Honourable Artillery Company. In the British service it still survives in one solitary instance, in that the official title of the Governor of Jamaica is "Captain-general and Gov ernor-in-chief." In the Spanish Army it is the rank of an army corps commander.
Up to about the middle of the 18th century the field officers had companies, the executive command being vested in the three senior lieutenants, styled "captain-lieutenants," being the modern equivalent of "acting-captains." The captain of a ship, whether naval or mercantile marine, is the officer in charge of the vessel, and all persons whether officers, crew or passengers are by virtue of their being embarked, sub ject to his commands in all matters affecting the safety of the vessel and the well-being of the community on board. In the British Navy, the principal war-ships are commanded by captains, or, as they used to be known, "Post Captains." Smaller ships may have commanders or lieutenant-commanders in command, and they would be known on board as "the captain," but this does not warrant their using the rank, nor is it correct so to address them in writing.
It is, however, an old custom in the British Navy, less prevalent to-day, to give commanders the courtesy title of captain, although, in fact, they are of a definitely junior rank. The equivalent rank of captain is also held by officers of the non-military branch, e.g., engineer-captain, surgeon-captain, paymaster-captain, but they should not be addressed simply as "captain" without the proper prefix to the rank. The equivalent ranks in the British Navy, Army and Air Force are Captain, R.N., Colonel, Group Captain R.A.F. (T. J. E.) The United States.—This rank is used in the U.S. army and navy, the navy rank of captain corresponding to the army rank of colonel. The appropriate command of a captain in the army is the company of infantry, the troop of cavalry and the battery of artillery all of which are tactical as well as administrative units. Army officers of this rank generally comprise the staff of regiments and assistants to the staff of the higher echelons.
The appropriate command of a captain in the navy is the capital ship, the light cruiser, the division of destroyers or the yard. Staff assignments, in general, include chief of staff of a battleship division, and assistant chief of staff of a battle fleet. The insignia for the army is two parallel silver bars worn on the shoulder strap of the uniform, and for the navy, four parallel rows of gold braid on the cuff of the blue uniform and on the shoulder strap of the white uniform.