United Kingdom
In Thomas Venn's 1672 Military and Maritime Discipline in Three Books the duties of Ensigns are to include not only carrying the colour but assisting the Captain and Lieutenant of a company and in their absence, have their authority.
Until 1871, when it was replaced by second lieutenant, ensign was the lowest rank of commissioned officer in infantry regiments of the British Army (except fusilier and rifle regiments, which always used second lieutenant). It was the duty of officers of this rank to carry the colours of the regiment. In the 16th century "ensign" was corrupted into "ancient", and was used in the two senses of a banner and the bearer of the banner. Today, the term "ensign" is still used by the Foot Guards regiments, for instance during the ceremony of trooping the colour. The equivalent cavalry rank was cornet, also being derived from the name of a banner.
Read more about this topic: Ensign (rank)
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