Battle of New Orleans.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The Rank of U.S. Army Ensign


In the last four posts about George Ronan I have mentioned his rank as an ensign.  Now, before I started this blog I knew of the Navy rank of Ensign, which is the lowest of the officer grades, but I'd never heard of an ensign.  I know that the lowest Army officer rank is 2nd lieutenant.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has three meanings for ensign:

1.  A flag that is flown (as if by a ship) as a symbol of its nationality.

2.  An infantry officer  of what formerly was the lowest commissioned rank.

3.  A commissioned officer in the Navy or Coast Guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade.

Wikipedia says the ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished by the United States Army in the Army Organization Act of 1815.

So, George Ronan would be the second definition.  Today, he would have been a 2nd lieutenant.

In Case You're Wondering.  --Brock-Perry



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