Captain, the rank designating a commander of a company in
infantry, or of a squadron or troop in cavalry, or the chief officer
of a ship of war. In most continental armies in Europe captains
are considered subalterns; in the British army they form an
intermediate rank between the field officer and the subaltern, the
latter term comprising those commissioned officers only whose
rank does not imply a direct and constant command. In the U:S.
army the captain is responsible for the arms, ammunition,
clothing, &c., of the company under his command. The duties of a
captain in the navy are very comprehensive, and his post is one of
great responsibility. In the British service he ranks with a
lieut.-colonel in the army, until the expiration of 3 years from the
date of his commission, when he takes rank with a full colonel. In
the old French service he was forbidden to leave his ship under
pain of death, and was to blow it up rather than let it fall into the
hands of an enemy. The title of captain is also applied to masters
of merchant or passenger vessels, and to various petty officers on
ships of the line, as captain of the forecastle, of the hold, of the
main and fore tops, &c. The word is of Italian origin, meaning a
man who is at the head of something, and in this sense it is often
used as synonymous with a general-in-chief, especially as regards
his qualities for command.