Cornet

A cavalry subaltern rank of the British Army from 1646 to 1871, the junior officer who carried the troop standard.

Overview

Cornet was the junior officer of a cavalry troop, the equivalent of the infantry ensign, named for the cornet, the swallow tailed standard the officer carried. The rank was an appointment to carry the troop color, becoming a substantive grade in the British Army from 1646 until the Cardwell reforms of 1871 abolished it in favor of second lieutenant across the board. The purchase system sold cornetcies as investments in careers, as it did all company officer grades. Winston Churchill entered the Army as a cornet in the 4th Hussars in 1895, one of the last generation to hold the romantic title. Literature from Napoleonic novels keeps the word alive.