SIGNALS, certain signs agreed upon, for suddenly conveying intelligence to places to which the voice cannot reach. Thus, in some countries, fires are lighted upon the hills, at the approach of danger : and at the beginning of a battle or an at tack, signals are usually made with drums and trumpets. At sea they are given by firing cannon, or muskets, by lights, flags, sails, &c.
Signals at sea are made by the admiral or commander in chief of a squadron, either in the day. or by night, whether for sailing, fighting, or the better securi ty of the merchant ships under their con voy; these are very numerous and im portant, being all appointed and deter mined by the Lords of the Admiralty. and communicated in the instructions sent to the commander of every ship of the fleet or squadron before their puiting to sea Some of the principal of which are as follow : when a commander in chief would have them unmoor, he looses his main-top-sail, and fires a gun, which, in the royal navy is to be answered by every flag-ship, and every • ship is to get un der sail as soon as she can. When, in bad weather, he would have them wear, and bring to the other tack, he hoists a pendant on the ensign-staff, and fires a gun : then the leeward-most and stern most ships are to wear first, and bring on the other tack, and lie-by, or go on with an easy-sail, till he comes ahead. When any ship discovers land, he is to hoist his jack and ensign, and keep it abroad till the admiral answer him by hoisting his, on sight of which lie is to hawl down his en sign. If any discovers danger, he is to tack and bear up from it, and to hang his jack abroad from the main-top-mast cross trees, and to fire 2 guns : but if he should strike or stick fast, then, besides the same sig. nal with his jack, he is to keep firing. till he sees all the fleet observe him, and en deavour to avoid the danger. When the admiral would have the vice-admiral to send out ships to chase, he hoists a flag striped white and red on the flagstaff at the fore-top•ast-head, and fires a gun: but if he would have the rear-admiral do so, he hoists the same signal on the flag staff atthe mizen.top-mast-head, and fires a gun. When lie would have them give over chase, he hoists a white flag on his flag-staff at the fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun ; which signal is also to be made by that flag-ship which is nearest the ship that gives chase, till the chasing ship sees the signal. When the admiral would have the fleet prepare to anchor, he hoists an ensign, striped red, blue, and white, on the ensign-staff, and fires a gun ; and every flag-ship makes the same sig nal.
.Besides these, there are many other signals used by day-. and different signals' upon these and other occasions, used by night : and others also when a fleet sails in a fog ; all of which are to be found in the Book of Signals.
The signals for managing a sea-fight are also very numerous, the principal of which are as follow : when the admiral would have the fleet form a line of battle, one ship ahead of another, he hoists an union-flag at the mizen peak, and fires a gun ; and every flag-ship does the like. But when they are to form a line of battle one abreast of another, he hoists a pen dant with the union-flag, &c. When he would have the admiral of the white, or he that commands in the second post, to tack, and endeavour to gain the wind of the enemy, he spreads a white flag under the flag at the main-top-mast-head, and fires a gun ; and when be would have the admiral of the blue do so, he does the same with the blue flag. If he would have the vice-admiral of the red do so, he spreads a red flag from the cap, on the main-top-mast-head downward on the back-stay ; if the vice-admiral of the blue, he spreads a blue flag, and fires a guns if he would have the rear-admiral of the red do so, he hoists a red flag at the flag-staff at the mizen-top-mast-head ; if the rear ad miral of the white, a white flag; if the rear-admiral of the blue, a blue flag, and under it a pendant of the same colour, with a gun. If he would have him that
commands in the second post of his squad ron to make more sail, he hoists a white flag on the ensign-staff; but if he that commands in the third post be to do so, he hoists a blue flag, and fires a gun; and all the flagships must make the same signal. Whenever he hoists a red flag on the flag staff at the fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun, every ship in the fleet must use their utmost endeavour to engage the enemy in the order prescribed. When be hoists a white flag on his mizen-peak, and fires a gun, all the small frigates of his squadron, that are not of the line of battle, are to come under the stern. If the fleet be sailing by a wind in the line of battle, and the admiral would have them brace their head sails to the mast, he hoists up a yellow flag on the flag staff; at the mizen-top-mast-head, and fires a gun, which the flag-ships are to an swer; and then the ships in the rear are to brace first. After this, if he would have them fall their head-sails, and stand on, he hoists a yellow flag on the flag-staff of the fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun, which the flag-ship must answer ; and then the ships in the van must fall first, and stand on. lf, when this signal is made, the red flag at the fore top-mast-head be abroad, he spreads the yellow flag under the red flag. If the fleets being near one ano ther, the admiral would have all the ships to tack together. the sooner to lie in a posture to engage the enemy, he hoists an union-flag on the Bag-staves at the fore and mizen-top-mastheads, and fires a gum; and all the flag-ships are to do the same. The fleet being in a line of battle, if he would have the ship that leads the van hoist, lower, set, or hawl-up any of his sails, he spreads a yellow flag under that at his main-top-mast-head, and fires a gun ; which signal the flag-ships are to answer; and the admiral will hoist, lower, set, or hawl-up the sail, which he would have the ships that lead the van do ; which is to be answered by the flag ships of the fleet.—When the enemies run, and he would have the whole fleet follow them, he makes all the sail he can after them himself, takes down the sig nal for the line of battle, and fires two guns out of his fore-chase, which the flag-ships answer: and then every ship is to endeavour to came up with, and board the enemy. When he would have the chase given over, he hoists a white flag at the fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun. If he would have the red squadron draw into a line of battle, one abreast of ano ther, he puts a broad flag, striped red and white, on the flagstaff at the main-top mast-head, with a pendant under it, and fires a gun ; if the white or second squa dron is to do so, the flag is striped red, white, and blue ; if the blue or third squadron is to do so, the flag is a Ge noese ensign and pendant ; but if they are to draw into a line of battle one a-head of another, the same signals are made without a pendant. If they are to draw into the line of battle one astern of ano ther, with a large wind, and he would have the leaders go with their starboard tacks aboard•by the wind, be hoists a red and white flag at the mizen.peak, and fires • gun ; but if they should go by the larboard-tacks aboard the wind, he hoists a Genoese flag at the same place ; which signals, like others, must be answered by the flag-ships.