U.S. Navy Officer Rank Insignia Identification Guide

1776-1841.

Recognizing the necessity for a naval force, on 5 October 1775, Congress established a Naval Committee to manage all seaborne military activities and authorized the procurement of four ships to be employed against the British. By a Resolution of December 13, 1775, Congress authorized to construction of thirteen frigates, ranging from 24 to 32 guns. The combination of the Continental Navy, privateers, and the State forces caused significant injury to the British war effort and shipping. The Naval Committee, generally known as the Marine Committee, was in charge of not just the procurement of ships but also all other responsibilities related to forces afloat. On September 5, 1776, a uniform instruction was issued with the following uniform provision: Captains: Blue cloth, with red lappels, stand-up collar, slash cuff, flat yellow buttons, red waistcoat with narrow gold lace, blue breeches. Lieutenants: Blue cloth with red lappels, round cuff, faced with red, standup collar, yellow buttons, plain red waistcoat, blue breeches. Masters: Blue cloth with lappels, round cuff, red waistcoats, blue breeches. The blue and red uniform mandated by Congress evidently was not to the liking of all officers, as a group of captains convened in Boston in 1777 to discuss a new uniform. The uniform chosen was quite similar to that of the Royal Navy. Under the unofficial agreement, the following uniform was accepted: Captains: Blue coats lined and faced with white and adorned with gold lace or embroidery. An epaulet was to be worn on the right shoulder. A white waistcoat and breeches were to be worn. Lieutenants: Wore captains’ uniforms with no lace or embroidery, and no epaulet. Masters: Wore the same uniform as lieutenants with no white lapel facings and with turndown collars instead of stand-up collars. Paintings exist of Captains wearing a second epaulet. This reflects a rank of “Commodore” in charge of a squadron of ships, and indicates his rank as that above a captain. On August 24, 1797, Secretary of War, James McHenry issued the first formal uniform instruction for the United States Navy. The uniform was as follows: Captains: Blue coat with long buff lapels with nine buttons on each, two epaulettes, four buttons on the cuff, vest poskets, and pocket flaps. Lieutenants: Blue coat with short lapels with six buttons on each, one epaulet on the right shoulder, three buttons on the cuffs and pocket flaps. Sailing masters: Blue coat with blue lapels and buff edges. ling masters who wore blue. Under these regulations, doctors, surgeon’s mates, and chaplains were commissioned non-combatant officers but did not wear a uniform. On August 27, 1802, regulations were published. All combatant officers wore coats with the same basic pattern, and the rank was indicated by the number and location of gilt buttons as well as the presence or absence of gold lace. Only two officers were allowed to wear epaulets, two for a captain and one for a lieutenant, as under the previous order. When in command, a lieutenant’s epaulet was worn on the right shoulder, but when second in command, the epaulet was shifted to the left. Non-combatant officers wore uniforms similar to those worn by sea officers, but with modifications that clearly indicated their rank. A full dress coat of a surgeon was trimmed quite elaborately with gold lace frogs at the nine buttons on the lapels, the three at the pockets and on the cuffs, and the two on both sides of the collar. The coat of the surgeon’s mate was similar to the coat of a lieutenant with gold trim at the two buttons on the collar and at the buttonholes. Pursers wore the least elaborate uniforms. Although the coat was cut like the surgeon’s coat, the cuffs were slashed, with small buttons in the openings. The gold frogging was removed, but pursers were instructed to wear a band of gold lace around the top of the standing collar that was not more than three-quarters of an inch wide. No mention was made of a special dress for chaplains. The eagle and fouled anchor appeared on uniform buttons at this time. Regulations for the Uniform and Dress of the Navy of the United States approved on November 23, 1813 included the following instructions. For the full dress coat of a captain, the lace trim on the pocket flaps, on the collar, around the cuffs and lapels, was carried over from the 1802 order. Officers wore nine buttons on each of their lapels and a captain had four buttons on the cuffs and pockets. Between captain and lieutenant, there existed a rank called master commandant, which is now known as commander. A master commandant wore the uniform of a captain, with no lace on the pocket flaps and no button on the standing collar, but four buttons on the cuffs and pockets. The master commandant wore just one epaulet on the right shoulder while the lieutenant wore an epaulette on the left shoulder. The practice of prescribing one uniform for all officers of the Navy with a standard system of rank insignia and devices to identify specialties was introduced in 1830 by a uniform order of 1 May. A captain has the greatest amount of embroidery, including cuffs, collar, and pocket flaps. A master commandant had decoration on the cuffs and collar only. A lieutenant only showed gold on the collar. A master did not have embroidery but showed a button on either side of the standing collar and laced buttonholes. To provide room for the specialty device, the band of collar embroidery was narrowed on the collars of surgeons and pursers. The staff corps device was the staff and serpent for surgeons and the cornucopia for pursers. These devices were changed on Jamurary 20, 1832 to a sprig of olive leaves for sergeons and a sprig of oak leaves for pursers. Examples of period naval epaulettes are shown below.

1780 Naval Epaulette	1805 Naval Epaulette	1820 Naval Epaulette

1841 Regultions

The February 19, 1841 regulations were the first to contain a section on enlisted personnel’s clothing. The two senior officers, captains and commanders (the rank of master commandant had been changed to commander in March 1837) lost the elaborate collar embroidery of the 1830 instruction, whereas lieutenants retained it. Surgeons lost their specialty device but pursers retained the oak leaves. According to the 1841 regulations, a captain commanding a squadron wore a silver anchor and eagle, with a silver star above the eagle, on the strap of each epaulette. Captains’ epaulettes had only the eagle and the anchor. Commanders wore plain epaulettes and lieutenants wore a plain epaulette on the right shoulder. A system of rank insignia for undress was initiated. A captain commanding a squadron wore blue shoulder marks with a gold edging and a silver star in the middle. The captains’ shoulder marks were the same but without the star. A strip of gold lace was authorized for other officers.

Captain commanding a squadron	Captain	Other ranks	Captain commanding a squadron	Captain

1852 Regulations

The March 8, 1852 regulations are significant as they established the use of gold lace on the sleeve as a rank structure. A captain would have three stripes of three-quarter inch lace around his cuffs. A commander had two stripes of three-quarter inch lace on his cuffs. Lieutenants had a single strip of lace on their cuffs, whereas masters had none. Under the 1852 order, the epaulettes and shoulder marks showed the specialty and rank of a commissioned officer. Both had insignia for commanders and lieutenants. The various staff corps were identified by letters in Old English characters, using M.D. for the Medical Department, E for head engineers, and P.D. for pursers.

Senior Captain	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant
Captain	Commander	Lieutenant

Senior Captain	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant

1857 Modifications

In 1857, the rank of Senior Captain was changed to Flag Officer, and the Master rank was authorized to wear epaulettes or shoulder marks without insignia.

Flag Officer	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant

Master		Senior Captain	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant	Master

1862 Regulations

On July 31, 1862, regulations were published which revised the rank structure. The rank of rear admiral was the highest ranking officer, and the title “flag officer” was replaced with “commodore.” Between commander and lieutenant, the rank of lieutenant-commander was established, and a new junior rank of ensign was added. A rear admiral wore six stripes alternating between three-quarter inch and one-quarter inch lace around his cuffs. A commadore wore three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace seperated by two stripes of one-quarter inch lace. A captain continued with three stripes of three-quarter-inch lace and a commander had two stripes of three-quarter-inch lace seperated by a stripe of one-quarter inch on his cuffs. A lieutenant commander wore two stripes of three-quarter-inch lace around his cuff. Lieutenants had a single stripe of three-quarter-inch lace with a stripe of one-quarter inch lace above. Masters had a single stripe of three-quarter-inch lace around his cuff while an ensign had a single stripe of one-quarter inch lace.

Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander
Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master	Ensign
Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander
Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master	Ensign

Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master	Ensign

1863 Regulations

in May 1863, the three-quarter and quarter-inch lace combinations were replaced by stripes of one-quarter inch lace. The number of stripes ranged from eight for a rear admiral to one for an ensign. A five-pointed star was introduced to be worn above the lace for command officers. Minor changes were made to the insignia used on epaulettes and shoulder marks.

Lieutenant	Master	Ensign
Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander
Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master	Ensign

Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master	Ensign

1864-1866 Regulations

in 1864, vice admiral was added to the rank structure and wore 3 lace stripes with one measuring two inchs and two one inch stripes above. The rear admiral cuff insignia was changed to 2 lace stripes, one two inch and one one inch above. The rank of admiral was added in 1866 and wore 3 lace stripes measuring two inchs, one inch and two inchs. The commadore cuff insignia was changed to 2 lace stripes, one two inch and one one inch above. Minor changes were made to the insignia used on epaulettes and shoulder marks.

Admiral	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral
Admiral	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commadore

Admiral	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commador	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant
Master	Ensign

1869 Regulations

in July 1869, The gold cuff lace was changed to match the style and configuration used by the British Navy. With minor changes, this configuration has continued to the present day. Minor changes were made to the insignia used on epaulettes.

Admiral of the Navy 1905-1917 Fleet Admiral 1945 to-date	Admiral 1945-to date	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral
Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign
Admiral of the Navy 1905-1917 Fleet Admiral 1945 to-date	Admiral 1869-1891/1899-1905/1913 to-date	Vice Admiral 1869-1890/1913 to-date	Rear Admiral 1869 to-date
Commadore 1869-1899/1905 to-date	Captain 1869 to-date	Captain 1869-1869 Commander 1869 to-date	Commander 1869-1869 Lieutenant Commander 1874 to-date
Lieutenant Commander 1869-1874 Lieutenant 1874 to-date	Lieutenant 1869-1874 Master/Lieutenant JG 1881 to-date	Master/Lieutenant JG 1869-1881 Ensign 1881 to-date	Ensign 1869-1881

The 1869 regulations also introduced a new service uniform, the officer's blue service coat. It was closed to the throat with a standing collar. It was trimmed around the edges with black mohair braid, and the rank was also shown on the cuff in similar black braid, of the same widths and arrangement as the gold stripes of the full dress and frock coats. The line star distinctions were not worn on the sleeves, but the coat also had collar devices to indicate rank. The low-contrast black stripes were changed to gold in 1897. The fouled anchor insignia was worn on each side of the collar following the rank device. Ensigns wore only the foulded anchor device. A similar style service uniform in white was authorized in 1883.

Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign

Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign	Commander

1898 Regulations

Admiral of the Navy 1905-1917 Fleet Admiral 1945 to-date	Admiral 1945-to date	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign

1912/1917 Regulations

In 1912, aviation officers began wearing a khaki uniform. Shoulder straps were worn to indicate rank. An officer's uniform in forest green was authorized in 1917. Again, shoulder straps were used to indicate rank. Also in 1917, the khaki uniform was designated as a summer work uniform. Soft shoulder straps were authorized for wear on the uniform shirt.

Fleet Admiral 1945 to-date	Admiral 1945-to date	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign

1922 Regulations

Metal pinback insignia replaced the embroidered collar insignia where appropriate. The metal insignia is approximately 2/3 the size of standard Army insignia.

Fleet Admiral 1945 to-date	Admiral 1945-to date	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commadore	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant	Master/Lieutenant JG	Ensign

Other than the introduction of a gray working uniform in 1943, Navy officer insignia has remained standard up to the present day.