Confederate Commissioning Pennant (Dixie Forever)

The commissioning pennant (or masthead pennant) is a pennant (also spelled "pendant") flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they commanded. Today, the commissioning pennants are hoisted on the day of commissioning and not struck until they are decommissioned. Some navies have a custom of flying a "paying off" or "decommissioning pennant," the length of which often reflects the length of service of the warship.

Confederate States Navy
The commissioning pennant of the Confederate States Navy was first "blue at the hoist, bearing seven white five-pointed stars; the rest of the pennant consists of three stripes alternating red, white, and red." This was changed in 1863 when the national flag was changed, to show a short red bar, field of blue bearing 13 stars, another red bar, then white.

The third pennant, lasting from 1865 to 1948, is patterned on the battle flag, being "a white field, with a red union bearing the St Andrews Cross outlined in white." Finally, after the end of the second world war, the navy changed the commissioning pennant to one modeled on the first, namely "a blue field bearing 13 white stars; the rest of the pennant bearing three stripes of alternating red, white, and red."

The pennant of the Confederate Coast Guard is similar, being "blue at the hoist, bearing seven white stars; the rest of the pennant bearing a white bar the same length as the blue, and the rest of the pennant red."

Ships of the Confederate States Navy and the Confederate States Coast Guard fly their respective commissioning pennants from the moment of commissioning until the decommissioning ceremony, the only exceptions being when either a flag officer or a civilian official is embarked and the flag officer's or civilian official's personal flag is flown in its place.

The ensign, jack and commission pennant are hoisted directly after the reading out of the commissioning order and struck as the final act before the captain declares the ship decommissioned.

The CSN and CSCG use the respective pennants as the symbol of the vessel's commanding officer.

Paying Off
It is the custom in many navies for a ship which is "paying off" to wear an extremely long commissioning pennant, which is normally at least the length of the ship, and the length of which reflects the length of service. This is in contrast to the modern practice of using pennants of not more than one or one-and-a-half metres for convenience.

Formerly a ship "paid off" each time she returned home after a commission overseas: the term refers to the fact that sailors were not paid until the ship returned home, to avoid desertion. The bible of Royal Navy traditions and slang, Covey Crump, emphasises:

"It should be borne in mind that the commission referred to is the length of time the ship's company has been abroad, not the ship herself: when a ship recommissions abroad a fresh commission is started; thus a commission of longer than 2¾ years is exceptional."

This custom is maintained in the Confederate States Navy, where the paying-off pennant is known as the "homeward-bound pennant". Nevertheless, present usage in the Royal Navy has degenerated to using paying-off pennants only as part of a ship's decommissioning ceremony.