As I mentioned here, the current French naval flag in the "Napoleonic" period is barely accurate; it was used for only a few years before the revolutionaries decided that white, being the colour of the monarchy, was inappropriate, so naval and merchant ships alike all used the national tricolour flag. However, making this happen in the game would mean you can't tell by looking at a French ship's flag whether it is a merchant or naval ship.
America is in the same position. For a start, if you see a ship with this flag...
... is it merchant or navy? That depends on whether you're playing in "Revolutions" or "Napoleonic" - it's the naval flag in one and the merchant flag in the other! It probably shouldn't exist in "Napoleonic" as by that time the US flag had been standardised to the version with 15 stars and stripes currently used as the "Napoleonic" naval flag.
It is not often necessary to look at the flag to determine whether a ship in "Napoleonic" period is merchant or navy anyway, as there are only a couple of "versatile" ships for which confusion can occur. Sloops and ketches can be both trade or war; everything else is either specifically trade or specifically war.
My suggestion is therefore to have both France and America use their respective national flags of the "Napoleonic" period for both merchant and navy ships, and to have distinct merchant and navy pennants instead for the benefit of people who can't figure out that a Fast Merchantman probably isn't a naval ship.![LOL xD xD](/styles/emoticons/grin.png)
America is in the same position. For a start, if you see a ship with this flag...
![betsy_ross.jpg betsy_ross.jpg](https://www.piratesahoy.net/data/attachments/18/18203-d0e0ef6d6ba1f1ee8ba2b8789d132dcf.jpg)
... is it merchant or navy? That depends on whether you're playing in "Revolutions" or "Napoleonic" - it's the naval flag in one and the merchant flag in the other! It probably shouldn't exist in "Napoleonic" as by that time the US flag had been standardised to the version with 15 stars and stripes currently used as the "Napoleonic" naval flag.
It is not often necessary to look at the flag to determine whether a ship in "Napoleonic" period is merchant or navy anyway, as there are only a couple of "versatile" ships for which confusion can occur. Sloops and ketches can be both trade or war; everything else is either specifically trade or specifically war.
My suggestion is therefore to have both France and America use their respective national flags of the "Napoleonic" period for both merchant and navy ships, and to have distinct merchant and navy pennants instead for the benefit of people who can't figure out that a Fast Merchantman probably isn't a naval ship.
![LOL xD xD](/styles/emoticons/grin.png)