In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's "Second Captain".
Unlike a "captain of the fleet", a flag-captain was generally a fairly junior post-captain, as he had the Admiral to keep an eye on him, but – like a "captain of the fleet" – a "flag captain" was a post rather than a rank.
Famous quotes containing the words flag and/or captain:
“Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,
Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;
Bravest of all in Frederick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
“It’s simple: either you have discipline or you haven’t.”
—Edmund H. North, British screenwriter, and Lewis Gilbert. Captain Shepard (Kenneth More)